Not sure if you talked about this yet or not, but any thoughts around Benehimes white world?
Who knows if I've rambled about the Between specifically but I will 100% talk about it now ty.
I don't remember what my original thoughts were when you originally sent this ask (my bad this has been sitting in my drafts) but I had a new thought come to my sickness riddled mind and while I lay in bed sipping tea I must tell you about it.
Spoilers for Spirit End probably
So firstly, I'm just gonna mention the titles for Benehimes white world and what they mean in context of our source, and then what they could mean for us when given a more typical context.
The Between is simple, it's the space between the Spirit world and the abyss outside. The Veil is I genuinely can't remember why this was a point I had to make, I know I started this at work and then came back while I was sick as fuck, but this is literally all I had in this draft.
Anyway, I came up with this new idea while listening to sad songs so YEAH.
Rebirth is a concept in this series, it's mentioned only once by a single character in the first book, Coriano himself (his first name is Gerard and that fucks me up every time I remember it), and isn't it funny how a singular line of throw away dialogue can cause major implications.
Because why does he seemingly genuinely believe in his final moments that both his human soul and the dying spirit in his broken sword are going to be reborn and reunited in the next life.
ESPECIALLY WITH THE UNIVERSE BEING A BUBBLE FLOATING IN THE VOID.
So like, rebirth is a concept, grand, anyway let's run with that.
I REMEMBER NOW WHY THE TITLES WERE IMPORTANT look at me go.
The Between is literally between the Spirit world and the demon void. Boom easy. There's two layers to the weave, the white world is smack dab in the center. (Side note, the inside weave is the sky, the outside is black? Too dark to see? When Nico is in the void she sees the opening not the walls. Fascinating thought.) The Veil is the cloth the weaver weaves. Simple, easily explained within the source.
BUT LET'S CONNECT IT TO TYPICAL SUPERNATURAL BELIEFS
Death isn't destruction. Death isn't the opposite of Creation, it isn't the nature of the Demons. Nothing lives or dies in the void. That is a gift of Creation, it thrives in the Sphere. Where does the spirit go when it dies?
It doesn't cease to exist within the sphere, or the spirits would find death instead of endless sleep. It has to flow like the water cycle. From the sea to the rain to the rivers to the sea.
And the soul would pass through the veil, see the light if you will. And eventually be shepherded into their next life. Reborn. Recycled really.
When the Hunter was killed, everyone heard his death, because he was a Power, one of the three. Ancient and beloved, but I like to imagine it echoed because it was in the Between.
Imagine souls passing through the Between as echos before entering the Sphere again. Not as ghosts but just whispers of old lives, blowing past in your periphery.
Think of Benehime siting vigil by her Sphere for five thousand years, deaf to the death zipping invisible past her, while she ignores the air.
Eli not knowing why the white world chills him other then it being a frigid Power's household. Meanwhile he's surrounded by death he can't see or hear.
What if Eli was truely close to slipping away, but the Weaver caught him and pulled him back to life when he saved him from Benehime's stabbing. What if the Weaver was successful because they were so close to the Veil.
It's sad but hopeful I think. To imagine a renewal to all spirits within the sphere, regardless of creed.
Maybe demon seeds slain by the League get a second chance. Their seeds may live on, but their once human souls may be released and forgiven. And even that premise isn't too sad, as all the seeds of the Demon Under The Mountain fell dorment when it was banished.
Maybe Nico will eventually die. Maybe she already did. Still the sphere goes on, the bubble stays whole.
Maybe even Benehime found peace.
But I think humans and spirits are simply not supposed to be in the Between for long. We only have two of Benehimes human favorites, and I will remind y'all that Nara was just a star before she became favorite, only to be replaced by Eli who jumped to the top immediately though no hand of his own. But we know Nara didn't spend much time in the Between, she entered it using a tear and such. But she didn't stay there to our knowledge like Eli did. I don't know what I think that means. Maybe spending years in the between may have enlightened her to Benehimes crimes, maybe not. Maybe Eli was the first, maybe he wasn't.
But I leave you with this. Benehime was humanity's first mother. She gave them their short lifespans, lifespans unheard-of in a world of mountains and Powers. And she offered her favorites the gift of immortality. She was life and death. Creations cycle.
Wouldn't her home, be death's house? Her singular haven, shared with no one, but the ultimate rest stop? A highway of the Sphere, spanning the entire world, watched over but the Shepherdess.
I was listening to Spirit War at work cus I be looking for a scene and I got to this one and I HAD TO COME BACK TO THIS POST
This feeds into my original post so well I can't believe I forgot about this. It's mentioned in Spirit End that Eli upon waking up in the Between after being stabbed, that he fears for a moment that Benehime had brought him back to life for more torture. So I just gotta add that I think we can assume Eli in some form has witnessed Benehime resurrecting someone.
My friend wants a post about the characters withstanding hot weather, as it is too warm to do anything today, I will indulge.
I'M STARTING WITH JOSEF. He's from the coast, an island if we're specific. It's hot, Eli mentions being uncomfortable, while Josef doesn't seem to care much, guy has the endurance of a rock. Will also add that islands are humid as fuck, so he's really fine. At least he's not a complainer, he's still gonna be lazy if he can and cool off in any way he can.
Eli is definitely complaining, he'd say water is too wet if it meant he could hear himself speak. I also think of him wearing sun hats often. Not just to hide his face because of his bounty, but also to keep the sun off his black hair. Eli is better with dry heat then humid. I think he's fine sweating, but if he's just wet because the humidity is fucking up cooling system he's grouchy. He's also got Karon, and I headcanon that he's just at a naturally warmer body temp, so he prefers cooler mainland weather.
Nico is complicated as a demon, and she's also very stone like in her endurance. But she also wears all black, and that heats up the most. So I can imagine that while she doesn't get grouchy in heat or sun, that she avoids it anyway and sticks to the shade and shadows when traveling or staying in such weather.
And she does get thirsty and tired out traveling and such, so I think while she's not calling uncle first when working in the heat, she's definitely one of the first to enjoy a shady rest or cool swim. She's independent and self sufficient, she's not complaining she's pushing through, she's solving her own problems the moment the opportunity presents itself.
Miranda burns and freckles, I don't think she uses any sort of sun protection even though she should, she could use her spirits like her wind and her mist to keep her cool even before Mellinor, but I actually think she's the best in the heat after Josef. Miranda is a court wizard, fancy robes and politics, but she's mainly out in the field traveling and fighting enslavers, she's got a higher endurance then most.
I still think she gets heat stroke a lot, or dehydration, lady is not good at taking care of herself, she's too driven in her goals to focus, and I think Gin has to remind her to drink water.
My favorite shoe company has new shoes on preorder and god they are tempting, I have money for a pair but that means I have to decide what color way to invest in
There's black on black too, they look so comfy.
They'd go perfect with my future plans for Miranda cosplays but also my normal steampunk stuff.
Can't stop me from snatching this out of the tags on a different post and making a new one!
I fucking think about this scene ALL THE TIME.
Eli specifically setting out to find Nico to check on her, actually finding her, and sharing an intimate moment of friendship with her.
It's important to me because one, the first time we see Eli specifically go out of his way to show Nico she's important to his team is in Spirit Rebellion with their meeting with Slorn. And then through Spirit Eater we get a rift between the two of them. And this rooftop scene is like the first moment they get where yes, they once again get a bridge between them via their concern and feelings for Josef, but also them being wizards together.
And like, Nico doesn't get a pov in the first book, in the second we get to see how she actually feels internally about Josef and Eli, and we get to see Eli appreciate her but still treat her as Josef's friend. It's like they have an understanding that Josef is what ties the two together, and they have to level with that. In book two we get Eli finding out about demon seeds being wizard and starts inviting Nico into that world, trying to open that shared thing. That is then stressed in the third book, but they do come back together and trust each other, for Josef and for their trio.
And that rooftop scene is great because they get a moment of friendship. That also leads into one of the best scene openers of all time; the King and Queen of trash.
Also, it's the first time Nico admits feelings for Josef, and her mental spiral about Adela being his "perfect demon free princess", fucked me up. So I'm glad to have immediately gotten a scene where she is both introduced to alcohol and platonically intimate with Eli.
Also her seeing the spirit world, and being the actual first thing in the entire sphere to try and describe what she's seeing to a person who can't. Not even Gin was able to describe what spirits looked like/how they see to Miranda, but Nico tried and succeeded. That's huge.
And Eli flashbanging her with his spirit on a hunch is hilarious. That's another thing. Eli doesn't fucking do that.
He's really powerful, and he's got (at this point in canon) the mark of the Shepardess, but he's a master of soft touch. Like Miranda has figured out the smallest opening of the spirit can make everyone a little unnerved and step away from her, but Eli doesn't go opening his spirit full blown often, he uses it to grab spirit's attention very gently. And he HATES showing Benehime's mark. And doing either would gather the attention of every spirit in his range, full open spirit or mark of the favorite, they will fucking wake up. But like nada, no spirits woke in the roof.
It was a controlled flashbang. But imagine that for a moment. Just as you gotta imagine how it is for a spirit deaf person to watch Eli converse with a wall. You gotta think about how Eli watched Nico react to a trick he was testing, just she looks dead in his eyes, and recoiled having been blinded by fucking nothing he can see. Like he knows what he did, that was the test, but it's probably the closest he's gotten to half of an experience. And then he gets to question a person with Spirit eyes and know in some part he can trust her for it.
Also, I checked the scene to write this, when Eli interrupts Nico's internal dilemma, she takes a moment to process it's him, because he's glowing. And then that light goes out and they have their moment, AND THEN he flashed her. So Eli snapped her out of her throughts by putting the bottle to her cheek, but his spirit was open.
So I will point out he probably tried to get her attention by talking to her like a spirit, just as he does later in Spirit End. And when she didn't react, then he prodded her with the bottle. But it means he was trying to wake her from her mental sunny field by talking gently in his spirit voice, which was probably his second attempt.
So adding onto that lovely Nico and Eli scene, shown to us via Nico's perspective, is Eli, finding his friend on the roof of the palace facing the window and thus the door Josef just disappeared behind, in a complete trance, and he tried very sweetly alerting her to his presence for a while before lightly touching her face and her jerking to reality and staring in confusion dead at him because she couldn't see him behind his slightly open spirit.
And then they pulled an all nighter, bribing servants into bringing them junk to look at.
In the middle of a war. Like they knew by then their continent was facing invasion by the Immortal Empress by then. Nothing bad had happened yet but like they knew she was active.
I love them so much
Stole this from @camthecatchameleon 's tags so I'm tagging you so you can see this lmao tehe
I bet Eli forces Nico and Josef to have tea parties
and while Josef hates them, he knows the proper etiquette since he is a prince and gets annoyed when the other 2 do something inproperly
Okay okay, so we have leeway, because its the opposite.
Josef sucks at being a prince, it was completely surprising to his closest companions that he grew up in a palace. Literally the only mention before that hinted at him being noble is him having "tutors" who first taught him swordfighting. And like after he mentions in an internal pov that he broke the habit of sleeping in late when he ran away.
But like he sucks in every way at being a prince, hence he ran away. I will come back to this because the man doesn't drink, and I don't think he'd enjoy coffee, so tea is like the obvious choice in beverage then right.
Eli is basically a Disney princess, he was raised in a tower by what is technically a government official (Banage was a Tower Keeper back then, and while the Spirit Court isn't apart of the government he's pretty fucking close that's what Tower Keepers are they are the go between for the spirits and humans for a designated region. They are legal representatives), ran away, got kidnapped and groomed by an evil nature lady, ran away and got adopted by a rogue who taught him how to steal. There's probably a fairy tail out there with that premise and we haven't even gotten to the talking to trees thing.
Now we know two things.
Banage and Miranda have a tradition of having breakfast together in the garden
And Giuseppe is fancy as fuck.
So Eli is the one who knows the etiquette and is good at it.
Now, Eli talks with his mouth full and puts his elbows on the table in canon. The three of them are lax on manners, they are rogues they are allowed.
But see, while Eli doesn't care for manners and the proper way of doing things, man loves annoying the shit out of Josef.
So they have tea, proper tea with cups and a pot of it, Eli is going to take the piss out of it. He's going to criticize everything Josef does, he's gonna act like he's better then him by being proper, he's going to comment on everything. And Josef is going to take it because he doesn't care and knows Eli is just being hilarious.
Now Nico, we know she ain't got any past with tea, doesn't mean she doesn't have manners. A lack of previous memory doesn't mean anything for this, and we don't got much in canon to say she's a proper tea drinker or not. But we know she doesn't like it when Eli teases her, but is often entertained when Eli teases Josef.
So we can fucking assume that if they are having tea together she's gonna make sure she isn't a target, and if she is, it's because she's doing everything right. At least as far as Eli has chastised Josef for.
And that just adds to Eli's game. Cus Eli can call Josef an animal for getting crumbs on the table, and watch Nico quietly brush the crumbs off her side of the table, and point at her and go "see Josef? Nico understands cleanliness."
And that's entertainment for the two of them, while Josef gets to watch them laugh at his expense. Which he tends to be okay with.
Josef does get to have fun too, don't worry. He'd shove food into Eli's mouth to shut him up, and then tell him it's impolite to talk with his mouth full.
Who gets the last treat? Nico.
It's always going to be Nico. Eli and Josef could wrestle for it but it's going to be Nico who gets it in every scenario. Why? She deserves it. But also that one Daggerback scene in Spirit Thief sits in my mind at all times. Nico wins, Eli and Josef are distracted, both are alright with her winning.
But in this specific thinky thought she takes the last cookie or whatever and Eli notices it's missing while it's still in her hand and is like "who took the last-" turns and sees Nico shove it into her mouth as fast as she can, and screeches "THIEF!" while Nico tries not to choke on her prize.
And just blatantly adding onto this post, I think Nico is a black tea with cream and sugar type or person.
Josef likes herbal like ginger or something, but will drink anything.
Eli will drink anything but enjoys sweat ice tea in the afternoon.
And adding Miranda she's a fruit tea without sugar kind of person I think.
And Eli is really good at biscuit chicken, where you dunk your tea cookie and then eat it without it crumbling apart, Nico is not as good at it, can't get the timing right. Josef doesn't see the point of the game, I don't see him as a tea dunker.
Not sure if you talked about this yet or not, but any thoughts around Benehimes white world?
Who knows if I've rambled about the Between specifically but I will 100% talk about it now ty.
I don't remember what my original thoughts were when you originally sent this ask (my bad this has been sitting in my drafts) but I had a new thought come to my sickness riddled mind and while I lay in bed sipping tea I must tell you about it.
Spoilers for Spirit End probably
So firstly, I'm just gonna mention the titles for Benehimes white world and what they mean in context of our source, and then what they could mean for us when given a more typical context.
The Between is simple, it's the space between the Spirit world and the abyss outside. The Veil is I genuinely can't remember why this was a point I had to make, I know I started this at work and then came back while I was sick as fuck, but this is literally all I had in this draft.
Anyway, I came up with this new idea while listening to sad songs so YEAH.
Rebirth is a concept in this series, it's mentioned only once by a single character in the first book, Coriano himself (his first name is Gerard and that fucks me up every time I remember it), and isn't it funny how a singular line of throw away dialogue can cause major implications.
Because why does he seemingly genuinely believe in his final moments that both his human soul and the dying spirit in his broken sword are going to be reborn and reunited in the next life.
ESPECIALLY WITH THE UNIVERSE BEING A BUBBLE FLOATING IN THE VOID.
So like, rebirth is a concept, grand, anyway let's run with that.
I REMEMBER NOW WHY THE TITLES WERE IMPORTANT look at me go.
The Between is literally between the Spirit world and the demon void. Boom easy. There's two layers to the weave, the white world is smack dab in the center. (Side note, the inside weave is the sky, the outside is black? Too dark to see? When Nico is in the void she sees the opening not the walls. Fascinating thought.) The Veil is the cloth the weaver weaves. Simple, easily explained within the source.
BUT LET'S CONNECT IT TO TYPICAL SUPERNATURAL BELIEFS
Death isn't destruction. Death isn't the opposite of Creation, it isn't the nature of the Demons. Nothing lives or dies in the void. That is a gift of Creation, it thrives in the Sphere. Where does the spirit go when it dies?
It doesn't cease to exist within the sphere, or the spirits would find death instead of endless sleep. It has to flow like the water cycle. From the sea to the rain to the rivers to the sea.
And the soul would pass through the veil, see the light if you will. And eventually be shepherded into their next life. Reborn. Recycled really.
When the Hunter was killed, everyone heard his death, because he was a Power, one of the three. Ancient and beloved, but I like to imagine it echoed because it was in the Between.
Imagine souls passing through the Between as echos before entering the Sphere again. Not as ghosts but just whispers of old lives, blowing past in your periphery.
Think of Benehime siting vigil by her Sphere for five thousand years, deaf to the death zipping invisible past her, while she ignores the air.
Eli not knowing why the white world chills him other then it being a frigid Power's household. Meanwhile he's surrounded by death he can't see or hear.
What if Eli was truely close to slipping away, but the Weaver caught him and pulled him back to life when he saved him from Benehime's stabbing. What if the Weaver was successful because they were so close to the Veil.
It's sad but hopeful I think. To imagine a renewal to all spirits within the sphere, regardless of creed.
Maybe demon seeds slain by the League get a second chance. Their seeds may live on, but their once human souls may be released and forgiven. And even that premise isn't too sad, as all the seeds of the Demon Under The Mountain fell dorment when it was banished.
Maybe Nico will eventually die. Maybe she already did. Still the sphere goes on, the bubble stays whole.
Maybe even Benehime found peace.
But I think humans and spirits are simply not supposed to be in the Between for long. We only have two of Benehimes human favorites, and I will remind y'all that Nara was just a star before she became favorite, only to be replaced by Eli who jumped to the top immediately though no hand of his own. But we know Nara didn't spend much time in the Between, she entered it using a tear and such. But she didn't stay there to our knowledge like Eli did. I don't know what I think that means. Maybe spending years in the between may have enlightened her to Benehimes crimes, maybe not. Maybe Eli was the first, maybe he wasn't.
But I leave you with this. Benehime was humanity's first mother. She gave them their short lifespans, lifespans unheard-of in a world of mountains and Powers. And she offered her favorites the gift of immortality. She was life and death. Creations cycle.
Wouldn't her home, be death's house? Her singular haven, shared with no one, but the ultimate rest stop? A highway of the Sphere, spanning the entire world, watched over but the Shepherdess.
If you were in the world of Eli Monpress, would you be a spiritualist, demon seed, wizard or spirit deaf?
And what would you do/what group would you join in the story?
I have a feeling if I was a wizard, I would likely want be a spiritualist, I know this because I'm opinionated but generally for the greater good.
That being said, I think I'd be a lousy spiritualist. As I think my options are being hated for being reclusive and working with just spirits, or being annoyingly pro spirits when interacting with the general population.
I enjoy people, but being a powerful wizard in charge of educating people on how to be kind to their environment sounds like being a teacher on a good day, and customer service on a bad one. I feel like I'd lose my temper with idiots faster then Miranda does.
I also enjoy living my life doing hard labor while day dreaming. I'm not a scholar, and mental work tires me more then just doing something with my hands. So I think the life of a spiritualist wouldn't be very fulfilling for me.
SO, I've decided if I was a wizard I would most certainly want to be a Shaper, as that sounds like the best balance.
That being said I don't think I'd be a great shaper, as much as I like the idea of spirits and I like making things in every context, I feel like I would miss the sunshine and warmth outside the mountain. So, not a perfect life but well we make due with what we're delt.
If I was spirit deaf however I would definitely live in Zarin. It's not a monarchy, it's capitalist as fuck and that's not much better but at least it's what I'm used to, I could find a shop to run or mill to work in, somewhere near the port as I'm also from a port city so that would be comforting and profitable. And I'd be close to the gossipy bounty boards, and the lively Spirit Court.
And I would enjoy being near the Spirit Court I think, all those wizards traveling in and out, and as important as Zarin is, not much happens there.
Like, for the headquarters of like the entire wizard population, it's very quiet. They had a flood (but everywhere was effected by spirit panic when that happened so like it's not unique to Zarin), and then at one point the army tried to siege the Spiritualist's tower. But other then assumed mishaps with apprentices, nothing world shifting happens other then the world shifting.
I don't think I would interact with the plot much, I'd probably be an npc, like if asked of course I have heard of what Eli Monpress is up to, he's famous. Yeah have you heard what's up with that Spiritualist Lyonette? I've read the papers and people say she's in league with the thief!
I'm not nosey enough to become more then a passing side character.
So those are my thoughts! And I'll link this because why not, I personally think it's one of the best things I've made.
Welcome to the world of Eli Monpress, a world of many strange folk, what are you? Take a small adventure and find out!
Long car ride, my options are work on posts or read fanfic, I can't focus on working, and I don't have new fanfics to read. So I guess I'm just stuck rereading my own.
I'm gonna start with my first ones and refresh my memory
Long car ride, my options are work on posts or read fanfic, I can't focus on working, and I don't have new fanfics to read. So I guess I'm just stuck rereading my own.
I'm gonna start with my first ones and refresh my memory
Been on my bullshit lately please behold my scrunkles dressed as my other scrunkles
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN MASHUP CAN I GET APPLAUSE
Eli Monpress as Captain Jack Sparrow
Miranda Lyonette as Barbosa
Nico as Will Turner
Josef Liechten as Elizabeth Swann
I'm not creative enough to come up with a proper character meet character crossover but I love mashing these fandoms together look at them, I love my little flat earthers.
I have reasons for these picks, and I hope anyone who looks at this can figure it out but if needed...I will of course explain.
kianamaiart
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
origamiaround
yousharknotpass