The wicked march of the witch hunters has long been recorded in history as a dark and terrifying period. Across different times and cultures, a fervor for eradicating those who were believed to practice witchcraft swept through communities, causing mass hysteria and unimaginable horrors. Witch hunts often began with accusations based on superstitions, rumors, or personal vendettas. Fueled by fear and ignorance, witch hunters targeted primarily women, labeling them as witches and blaming them for everything from failed crops to mysterious illnesses. These allegations were often supported by flimsy or fabricated evidence, such as the ability to float in water or having a birthmark. Once accused, the accused witches faced cruel and torturous interrogation methods in an attempt to extract confessions.
Selece is Umi's Mashin and is a helpful ally to her, but the second season of the anime shows them deepening their friendship, with Umi having a heart-to-heart conversation with him during her imprisonment and even requesting him to call her by her actual name.
Due to the lack of Pillar Emeraude s position the world was in crumbling state and three other worlds, Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren, attempted to take over. His usual attire consists of long, elaborate white robes, a diadem studded with aquamarine gems and a large blue horn at the center, and gold earrings.
Once accused, the accused witches faced cruel and torturous interrogation methods in an attempt to extract confessions. These methods included techniques like the infamous dunking or swimming test, where accused individuals were thrown into bodies of water, and if they floated, it was considered proof of witchcraft. Another brutal tactic was the use of the "witch's mark," where a mole or blemish on the body was identified as a sign of demonic influence.
[WIW] Magic Knight Rayearth (1 Viewer)
You may have noticed that my past writing output has been erratic at times. This hasn't been because of lack of time or anything; rather, things just get difficult for me. I can write this stuff pretty fast when things are flowing well, but they usually aren't. Usually it's more a mix of flowing and stumbling. Sometimes it feels really unpleasant, and occasionally (usually after letting things sit for a while) trying to push through that gets me back into a flow state, but more often that doesn't help. Like that, I can only write a bit even when I am pushing myself, and I tend to dislike the results. And sometimes I just look at it and completely bounce off and go do something kinda-meaningless for the rest of the day. Or week.
I rarely talk about this. but the thing is, difficulties like that are not just limited to writing for me. As a kid things were mostly okay, academics were easy for me, and sure I behaved in weird ways sometimes and spent a great deal of free time just reading in secluded spaces, but nobody seemed to mind that too much. As I grew older, though, I kept being expected to do more, to become an adult, and somewhere along the line. I just hit a wall. Suddenly couldn't cope anymore. I dropped out of high school. I've never been able to keep even a part-time job for long. I can't drive - trying to learn was especially hard, and I gave up after basically pushing myself into a nervous breakdown. For the past decade, I've barely even left the house. And I could never figure out why. There never seemed to be a reason for any of this, at least nothing that made sense.
Over the last several months, I've been seeing various doctors - mostly about a separate issue, but I figured hey, as long as I'm at it I might as well take another swing at figuring out why I've had so much trouble. I've tried that before, investigating every diagnosis that seemed halfway-fitting, only to have test after test come back negative. As far as anyone could tell I was perfectly healthy. And my troubles were vague enough that I wasn't sure they were wrong. This time, things were going the same way. until the therapist I started seeing recently (not the first one I've seen, but by far the best) suggested that I might have Sensory Processing Disorder.
That was something I'd never heard of. It sounded like a weirdly dubious guess to me at first, but upon researching it, reading accounts from other people with it. it actually fits. It fits so well. It doesn't just explain the troubles I've had, it also explains all sorts of odd personal quirks that I have, connecting everything into a coherent whole. Things actually make sense now. They never did before. (I've only experienced a paradigm shift like this once before: when I realized I was a trans woman. This is that same scale of revelation. It really surprised me; I'd never have expected that I'd experience something like that again.)
So, about SPD. This is a neurological condition that affects how my brain processes and filters sensory input. Since that's basically the entire input stream of the mind, that can have pretty massive ramifications. It can manifest in different ways for different people. It's also very poorly understood, with little research or awareness of what it is. (Usually people think of autism when they think of sensory issues, and autistic people do often have sensory issues, but they don't always go hand-in-hand.)
Me, I tend to be pretty hypersensitive. Rough fabrics bother me a ton, for example. But I also have a lot of seeking behavior: I need to avoid some particular input, and I need to have other particular input. Like, I sleep on a thin pad on the floor because the hard surface provides more deep pressure, which is super nice. If I'm not getting enough of the right stuff my mind starts going haywire pretty fast. Also, I'm pretty sure I have some undersensitivities when it comes to areas like proprioception - that'd go a long way towards explaining why I was always very bad at sports. And why I frequently bump into doors and corners and things. Overall, things just go every which way. Some of it isn't even consistent! Sometimes I really want particular sounds (I can listen to one song on repeat for hours quite happily), other times nothing but silence.
Most of that is pretty harmless, or even enjoyable. And this forms a pretty core part of who I am and how I relate to the world - I wouldn't want to just "be normal", even if I could. But. some of it's pretty hard. As far as I can tell, it seems like the worst of it comes from not being able to filter sensory input very well. When there's a lot going on - like if I'm around more than a couple people, riding in a car, or walking through a grocery store (stuff that most people would never think of as being even slightly difficult) - it all floods into my brain and hinders my ability to process things and to actually think. So when I start getting overstimulated, normal functioning starts going out the window. I might start getting snappy, having no processing power to spare for social niceties. Push things too far, I might freeze up, and even lose the ability to speak. That can be pretty scary. (I used to think those were panic attacks, but looking back now, I'm pretty sure it was just extreme overstimulation.) And even when I get through things okay, stimulation is exhausting. Sleeping 10-12 hours after a busy day (where "busy" is something like "was out of the house for a few hours") is not uncommon for me. So, y'know, there's areas where I would like to be able to cope with things better. There's so much more I'd like to do if I could.
Even things that should be simple. like, when I try to watch new anime, I've never been able to keep up with more than two shows at once. That should be simple, right? Some people watch a dozen! Or more! Yet whenever I grab a few it's like things start fracturing in my head and I start getting repulsed and either abandon them or crash and then abandon them. And when writing these WIWs. well, watching something and writing can get pretty complex. I kept wanting to do more of a stream-of-consciousness thing, but my mind would just jam up, and it felt incredibly frustrating. I think I understand why, now.
Now, as far as I'm concerned, the biggest test of this SPD thing is if it helps me. I haven't had a chance to do much about it yet. But just knowing about it is really helping a lot. I can understand so much more of what's going on in my mind now, and I'm much better able to recognize when things are going bad and figure out what I need to pull away from that. Over the past couple months, I haven't had any real bad days - some are harder than others, sometimes I spend most of the day focused on just coping, but compared to the frustration/anxiety/upset/confusion/aversion/chaos I'd get stuck in before, it's a dramatic improvement. I'm able to process things that would've knocked me out for days before. Still getting exhausted and sleeping a lot, though. And I'm still pretty far away from typical adult levels of functioning.
About writing specifically: I tried to pick up this WIW again about two weeks ago, and was still having a lot of trouble with it. But this time I wanted to figure it out instead of just pushing myself to do it. I know by now that just trying to push myself harder won't get things to start working right - that's what you always hear with creative endeavors, just do it a lot, keep practicing, you'll get it. but I just don't get used to things like that.
One thing I've tried in the past is to write something else when I'm feeling stuck. That hasn't really helped. But last week I decided to just write out what was on my mind, not making a story or anything, not even putting it into a form that'd necessarily be comprehensible to anyone else. this was incredibly difficult at first, but then things started to flow. And it had a remarkable mind-clearing effect on me, helping me sort through things, and sweeping aside all the little preoccupations and worries that keep building up. This time, I seem to have found just the right level of introspection and drive to actually make it work. I decided I'd try to do that again at least once a day, see if it keeps helping. instead, I've ended up doing it several times a day, whenever I'm feeling a bit stretched or mentally busy or just off. It's gotten a lot easier already, it usually only takes a few minutes to have a pretty dramatic effect on my mental state - and it's actually reliable? That last part I find especially remarkable, because most of the coping mechanisms I've come up with in my life are things that kinda maybe worked sometimes but usually didn't. I keep expecting this one to totally fail too and it keeps not happening.
Way up at the top of this, I talked about having difficulty getting things to flow while writing. When things weren't working for me, I couldn't do anything other than just wait and try again another day. But now, I think I actually can. I can sort out some of this stuff that's in my head, enough to unjam things and keep the gears turning much more reliably. I might actually be able to write more, to do more of the things I want to do. And I'm actually happy with that last episode's post, much moreso than I tend to be.
Anyway, that's the basic tour of where I've been. Kinda messy and rambling. But I'm pretty tired by now, so this will have to do.
Good to see Ferio has finally accepted the fact that he is but a mere male love interest in a magical girl show. Good to exeunt now before he gets himself kidnapped, brainwashed, tortured, and/or killed (possibly multiple times).
Clef used his magic to protect and help the Knights in their numerous battles but ended up bedridden from the strain of repeatedly performing such powerful spells. Amidst all this, Clef also became increasingly curious about the mysterious Debonair, whom he was convinced was the true enemy, rather than the three invading countries. Unable to convince a brainwashed Alcyone to tell him more about Debonair, Clef left the task of asking Debonair's whereabouts to Sierra and wondered as to whom exactly the new Pillar was, given that the Proof of the Pillar was already changing its shape.
The trials of accused witches were sham proceedings, with little regard for fairness or justice. Confessions were often coerced through torture, and those who maintained their innocence were still deemed guilty due to the commonly accepted belief that witches could lie or deceive. Punishments ranged from public humiliation, such as being paraded through town, to execution by hanging, burning at the stake, or even drowning. The march of the witch hunters was not limited to a specific time or place. In Europe, the height of the witch hunts occurred during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, claiming the lives of thousands. The infamous Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts during the late 17th century were another dark chapter in the history of witch hunting, resulting in the execution of nineteen innocent individuals. The wicked march of the witch hunters ultimately revealed the depths of human fear and cruelty. Innocent lives were lost, families torn apart, and communities destroyed. It stands as a stark reminder of the dangers of unsubstantiated accusations, blind faith, and the power of mass hysteria. Though witch hunts have largely ceased to exist in contemporary society, the echoes of this dark period continue to resonate. It serves as a reminder to remain vigilant against baseless accusations and to promote tolerance and understanding in the face of fear and ignorance. The wicked march of the witch hunters represents a dark chapter in human history, one that must be remembered and learned from to prevent similar atrocities in the future..
Reviews for "Exposing the Witch Hunters: Shedding Light on Their Wicked March"
1. John - 2 stars
I was really excited to read "Wicked March of the Witch Hunters" as I am a fan of fantasy novels. However, I was left disappointed and underwhelmed by this book. The plot was incredibly predictable, and I found it difficult to become invested in the characters. Additionally, the writing style was dry and lacked the creativity and descriptive detail that I usually enjoy in this genre. Overall, I felt let down by this book and would not recommend it to fellow fantasy enthusiasts.
2. Emily - 1 star
I found "Wicked March of the Witch Hunters" to be an incredibly boring and unoriginal read. The storyline felt like a recycled version of other fantasy novels I have read before, without offering any new twists or original ideas. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked depth, making it difficult for me to connect with them. The pacing was also off, with slow and tedious sections that made it hard to stay engaged. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book to anyone seeking a captivating and unique fantasy read.
3. Sarah - 2.5 stars
I had high hopes for "Wicked March of the Witch Hunters" but was ultimately disappointed by its execution. The concept was intriguing, but the execution fell flat. The world-building was lacking, and I found it hard to visualize the different settings. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the characters. While there were a few moments of suspense, they were overshadowed by the overall lackluster storyline. Overall, I found this book to be a missed opportunity and would not recommend it to others.