Cloudy With a Chance of Information
Nov. 2nd, 2020 12:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerAny mistakes on Buddhist Demons (Mara) are mine.
(*whispers into the dark* I am so worried about this election aaaaa)
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry
Chapter Summary: Giles and Willow have results on the Research Front.
Word Count: 1503
Rating: Teen
Warning: Very quick references to cult abuse.
At some point, Alisha’s showed up, which makes him breathe a slight sigh of relief. They’re standing outside the door of the bedroom, and he’s lowered his voice, keeping a careful eye on the two of them. “The kiddo’s super smart and she’s got some kinda power, which might be why they’re after her.” Alisha opens her mouth to say something, but he doesn’t have time for an extended conversation about this; he’s got an appointment. “I have to go; my team’s got some info for me, and I hate fighting blind.” Sure, he’ll do that, but it’s so much more thrilling when he knows exactly what he’s doing and it’s effortless. He’s got a complicated relationship with surprises. “I know I’m not supposed to leave, which is why I’m not doing it on foot. If anything happens, call the office and I’ll just be a few shadows’ jumps away. They’re not pains in the ass like the Shaede; they didn’t even blink when I visited the phone booth earlier.” Which means he’ll have that up his sleeve.
She nods, looking grim, and he tsks at her. “Hey, this is just a stroll in the park.”
Alisha waves, managing a smile. “Don’t get stabbed again. Your heart might be able to take it; mine can’t.”
He grins. “That’s better.”
The darkness where he’s standing ripples, and silently he sinks into it. It is a little like skipping through puddles when he was a kid (at least he thinks, based on a dark and nebulous recall). He does manage to startle one cat, which turns an extremely disturbed face at him and hisses, arching its back to make itself look as large as it possibly can. “Sorry there, kitty.” It’s better than a human seeing him, anyway. The last one he decides to lean into the shadow of a brick building, curious to see if it works the same way, and he finds himself just striding out from the darkened reception desk.
“How much longer is he planning on making us wait?” Giles asks, irritated, and, well, no better entrance, right?
“Not much longer,” he promises, slapping the man on the back lightly. The man bites back a curse. “So, we getting started?”
“Xander!” Willow jumps up to hug him as tight as he can; it doesn’t even impact his breathing, though he appreciates it anyway. He pats her arm gently in return. She lets go and makes it over to where she’s written some neat little notes in one of the notebooks he’d gotten her; seemed to make her happy enough.
“Good work, everyone,” he tells them, glancing at each in return—Buffy in particular looks really smug, not that she doesn’t have a right to do so. She’s also munching on the Guilt Cookies, but he supposes she deserves them too.
“I believe I have discovered a spell that could be of use, though I will need to be in the courthouse to cast and maintain it.” Giles sounds almost irritated by his victory, but that’s all right; he hadn’t expected anything else.
“And!” Willow’s almost desperate, and the thing is, he wants to spend more time with her; she’s obviously starved for interaction of any kind. He just doesn’t quite know how to do it. “I found information on Buddhist demons. They’re called Mara.”
He nods, settling down (these couches were a great steal) and crossing his legs so he’s comfortable. “I thought I’d remembered that, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Did you know the kinds, though?” she continues, defensive, and that gets his attention.
“Not off the top of my head, no.” Buddhism was never his cup of tea; this world was far too fun.
“Supposedly, there’s one big bad, Mara. They’re all trying to stop you from transcending existence. The traditional ones—a-and they’re supposedly real and metaphorical—are, um.” She glances at her notes again. He kind of wishes he had her handwriting. “Devaputramara, the demon of geeking out I guess?”
“That one’s got my number,” he responds with a smile. “Go on.”
“Kleshamara. More…I don’t know, your average demon? It’s your ‘mental afflictions’, such as greed, hate, or delusion.” Her pronunciation is a little off, he thinks, and surreptitiously bites the inside of his mouth, because this isn’t the time and also she’s the academic one, not him.
“Skandamara. That’s your senses, which only tell you about the material world.” His tell him about more than that, but he can see where that one’s going. Illusions. Which could be a bear in the courtroom. They’ll have to keep an eye out.
“And Mrtyamara, death. Because that’s just temporary.” Unconsciously, he licks his lip at the thought of what the fight would be like, then realizes what happened and hopes the girls didn’t see that. They don’t need to worry about him any more than they have.
“There are others, though.” Willow at least continues like she hadn’t noticed anything. “Mara also had daughters he tried to use to tempt the Buddha. The number of daughters changes per the retelling.” She looks back at her notes, reading from them. “The most common is three: Tanha, thirst, Arati, aversion, discontentment, and Raga, attachment, desire, greed, and passion.” Tanha doesn’t sound impressive, compared to her sisters, but he’d bet there’s a reason she’s still a demon.
He catches a glimpse of a drawing in her notes and gets up to wander over. She squeaks and turns the page, which he can see has two doodles, one in red pen and one in blue, of humanoid beings with three eyes, six arms, and fangs. You definitely wouldn’t want to be on the other end of a pummeling match from that thing. “What about if there’s more?” He grabs three of the Guilt Cookies and stuffs them in his mouth at once. He won’t be able to speak for a bit, but hey, nothing wrong with that.
She giggles to herself. “I found something about ten.” He throws himself backward onto the couch, and it scoots backward a few inches. He’d smile sheepishly, except his mouth is full and that doesn’t work, so he just shrugs his shoulders instead. “There’s Sakkaya-ditthi, like the ego,” making Raga or Kleshamara the id, except he knows that’s exactly not what was meant by that, “Vicikiccha, your inner skeptic. Silabbata Paramasa, who’s anti-heathens I guess? Kama-raga, the succubus lady. Patigha, who’s, like, a living evil eye?” She sighs. “Okay, I’m going to mess this up, bcause I didn’t have a long time to research…” Xander nods reassuringly, still chewing the remainder of the cookies. “And then they’ve got two sisters who represent being too attached to the Form Realm, she’s named Rupa-raga, and the Formless Realm, she’s named Arupa-raga. The Form Realm is like a heaven where you still have bodies, and the Formless Realm, which…is just a concept that doesn’t exist in physical reality and the beings that live in it don’t either?”
“It’s…not a perfect explanation, but for a beginner and our audience,” Giles glares at Xander, who just smiles innocently, “…it’ll do.”
“Then there’s Mana, who’s superiority and I’m not sure how she’s different from Sakkaya-ditthi. The last two are Uddhacca, who’s agitation, and Avija, who’s ignorance.”
He can see clearly how some of those powers would translate to a fight, but on the other hand some of them, he’s just got no clue. Then again, maybe that’s the point. Maybe some of then are just supposed to tempt humans into joining the cult, only slightly more effective than your average cult recruiters. She flips to a different page, catching his attention. “I did also find some materials on tantra—rituals you can supposedly use in Buddhism to get spiritual power. They’re not officially part of it, but…”
He swallows the remains of the cookies, suddenly completely serious. “Lemme guess. It includes human sacrifice.”
“Depending on the tradition…yeah. It was in Tibet before Buddhism, so it makes sense some people wouldn’t want to let go. Also Mandalas, exorcisms, and…”
“Sex,” Buffy finishes, reading off her sheet. She exchanges a look with Xander, who’s still grim.
“It is a messed up situation where I’m hoping they’re just going for the human sacrifice angle,” he complains, grabbing one of the sodas from the table and opening it.
(*whispers into the dark* I am so worried about this election aaaaa)
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry
Chapter Summary: Giles and Willow have results on the Research Front.
Word Count: 1503
Rating: Teen
Warning: Very quick references to cult abuse.
At least he has a little more information, plus who to contact for the whole pro bono thing, to give Lindsey when he shows up, and the guy only kind of growls at him. Part of it is that he’s already moved into his charismatic lawyer phase. He’s not sure how the guy does it—maybe he actually owns an iron, or picked up some magic along the way, but that suit doesn’t look like it’s been on the floor, and you’d never be able to tell the guy’s hung over. Say what you like about the man, but he’s a professional. He’s turning on the charisma and charming the police and Jane Dowell just as he’s supposed to.
At some point, Alisha’s showed up, which makes him breathe a slight sigh of relief. They’re standing outside the door of the bedroom, and he’s lowered his voice, keeping a careful eye on the two of them. “The kiddo’s super smart and she’s got some kinda power, which might be why they’re after her.” Alisha opens her mouth to say something, but he doesn’t have time for an extended conversation about this; he’s got an appointment. “I have to go; my team’s got some info for me, and I hate fighting blind.” Sure, he’ll do that, but it’s so much more thrilling when he knows exactly what he’s doing and it’s effortless. He’s got a complicated relationship with surprises. “I know I’m not supposed to leave, which is why I’m not doing it on foot. If anything happens, call the office and I’ll just be a few shadows’ jumps away. They’re not pains in the ass like the Shaede; they didn’t even blink when I visited the phone booth earlier.” Which means he’ll have that up his sleeve.
She nods, looking grim, and he tsks at her. “Hey, this is just a stroll in the park.”
Alisha waves, managing a smile. “Don’t get stabbed again. Your heart might be able to take it; mine can’t.”
He grins. “That’s better.”
The darkness where he’s standing ripples, and silently he sinks into it. It is a little like skipping through puddles when he was a kid (at least he thinks, based on a dark and nebulous recall). He does manage to startle one cat, which turns an extremely disturbed face at him and hisses, arching its back to make itself look as large as it possibly can. “Sorry there, kitty.” It’s better than a human seeing him, anyway. The last one he decides to lean into the shadow of a brick building, curious to see if it works the same way, and he finds himself just striding out from the darkened reception desk.
“How much longer is he planning on making us wait?” Giles asks, irritated, and, well, no better entrance, right?
“Not much longer,” he promises, slapping the man on the back lightly. The man bites back a curse. “So, we getting started?”
“Xander!” Willow jumps up to hug him as tight as he can; it doesn’t even impact his breathing, though he appreciates it anyway. He pats her arm gently in return. She lets go and makes it over to where she’s written some neat little notes in one of the notebooks he’d gotten her; seemed to make her happy enough.
“Good work, everyone,” he tells them, glancing at each in return—Buffy in particular looks really smug, not that she doesn’t have a right to do so. She’s also munching on the Guilt Cookies, but he supposes she deserves them too.
“I believe I have discovered a spell that could be of use, though I will need to be in the courthouse to cast and maintain it.” Giles sounds almost irritated by his victory, but that’s all right; he hadn’t expected anything else.
“And!” Willow’s almost desperate, and the thing is, he wants to spend more time with her; she’s obviously starved for interaction of any kind. He just doesn’t quite know how to do it. “I found information on Buddhist demons. They’re called Mara.”
He nods, settling down (these couches were a great steal) and crossing his legs so he’s comfortable. “I thought I’d remembered that, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Did you know the kinds, though?” she continues, defensive, and that gets his attention.
“Not off the top of my head, no.” Buddhism was never his cup of tea; this world was far too fun.
“Supposedly, there’s one big bad, Mara. They’re all trying to stop you from transcending existence. The traditional ones—a-and they’re supposedly real and metaphorical—are, um.” She glances at her notes again. He kind of wishes he had her handwriting. “Devaputramara, the demon of geeking out I guess?”
“That one’s got my number,” he responds with a smile. “Go on.”
“Kleshamara. More…I don’t know, your average demon? It’s your ‘mental afflictions’, such as greed, hate, or delusion.” Her pronunciation is a little off, he thinks, and surreptitiously bites the inside of his mouth, because this isn’t the time and also she’s the academic one, not him.
“Skandamara. That’s your senses, which only tell you about the material world.” His tell him about more than that, but he can see where that one’s going. Illusions. Which could be a bear in the courtroom. They’ll have to keep an eye out.
“And Mrtyamara, death. Because that’s just temporary.” Unconsciously, he licks his lip at the thought of what the fight would be like, then realizes what happened and hopes the girls didn’t see that. They don’t need to worry about him any more than they have.
“There are others, though.” Willow at least continues like she hadn’t noticed anything. “Mara also had daughters he tried to use to tempt the Buddha. The number of daughters changes per the retelling.” She looks back at her notes, reading from them. “The most common is three: Tanha, thirst, Arati, aversion, discontentment, and Raga, attachment, desire, greed, and passion.” Tanha doesn’t sound impressive, compared to her sisters, but he’d bet there’s a reason she’s still a demon.
He catches a glimpse of a drawing in her notes and gets up to wander over. She squeaks and turns the page, which he can see has two doodles, one in red pen and one in blue, of humanoid beings with three eyes, six arms, and fangs. You definitely wouldn’t want to be on the other end of a pummeling match from that thing. “What about if there’s more?” He grabs three of the Guilt Cookies and stuffs them in his mouth at once. He won’t be able to speak for a bit, but hey, nothing wrong with that.
She giggles to herself. “I found something about ten.” He throws himself backward onto the couch, and it scoots backward a few inches. He’d smile sheepishly, except his mouth is full and that doesn’t work, so he just shrugs his shoulders instead. “There’s Sakkaya-ditthi, like the ego,” making Raga or Kleshamara the id, except he knows that’s exactly not what was meant by that, “Vicikiccha, your inner skeptic. Silabbata Paramasa, who’s anti-heathens I guess? Kama-raga, the succubus lady. Patigha, who’s, like, a living evil eye?” She sighs. “Okay, I’m going to mess this up, bcause I didn’t have a long time to research…” Xander nods reassuringly, still chewing the remainder of the cookies. “And then they’ve got two sisters who represent being too attached to the Form Realm, she’s named Rupa-raga, and the Formless Realm, she’s named Arupa-raga. The Form Realm is like a heaven where you still have bodies, and the Formless Realm, which…is just a concept that doesn’t exist in physical reality and the beings that live in it don’t either?”
“It’s…not a perfect explanation, but for a beginner and our audience,” Giles glares at Xander, who just smiles innocently, “…it’ll do.”
“Then there’s Mana, who’s superiority and I’m not sure how she’s different from Sakkaya-ditthi. The last two are Uddhacca, who’s agitation, and Avija, who’s ignorance.”
He can see clearly how some of those powers would translate to a fight, but on the other hand some of them, he’s just got no clue. Then again, maybe that’s the point. Maybe some of then are just supposed to tempt humans into joining the cult, only slightly more effective than your average cult recruiters. She flips to a different page, catching his attention. “I did also find some materials on tantra—rituals you can supposedly use in Buddhism to get spiritual power. They’re not officially part of it, but…”
He swallows the remains of the cookies, suddenly completely serious. “Lemme guess. It includes human sacrifice.”
“Depending on the tradition…yeah. It was in Tibet before Buddhism, so it makes sense some people wouldn’t want to let go. Also Mandalas, exorcisms, and…”
“Sex,” Buffy finishes, reading off her sheet. She exchanges a look with Xander, who’s still grim.
“It is a messed up situation where I’m hoping they’re just going for the human sacrifice angle,” he complains, grabbing one of the sodas from the table and opening it.
