#VASILISA║ AESTHETIC

[avilionea]

@koschyei Koschei + Vasilisa --The Death of Koschei the Deathless

Let’s go home. I am home.- The Punisher / Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric - Claudia Rankine / Post by @ryebreadgf / Androgue by Jorge Luis Borges / Your Story Still Ends With You Lost And Intertwined (via lostcap) / Fyodor Dostoevsky / "In the autumn forest" - Mikhail Nesterov (1862-1942) / Anne Sexton, from a letter featured in Anne Sexton; A Self-Portrait In Letters / I am Dragon / Pushkin’s Vasilisa the Beautiful, illustrated by Aleksandr Koshkin, 1994.  / The Frog Princess (Царевна-лягушка) Soyuzmultfilm, 1954 / Cycles by Sean Mundy / Yoshitaka Amano "1001 nights" / George Abraham, "Untitled,"

[stingrayextraordinaire]

Fairytale Moodboards // Vasilisa the Beautiful

O my dear little doll, they are sending me to Baba Yaga's house for a light, and Baba Yaga gobbles people up, bones and all.

[reputayswift]

VASILISA PETROVNA was an ugly little girl: skinny as a reed-stem with long-fingered hands and enormous feet. Her eyes and mouth were too big for the rest of her. Olga called her frog, and thought nothing of it. But the child’s eyes were the color of the forest during a summer thunderstorm, and her wide mouth was sweet. She could be sensible when she wished—and clever—so much so that her family looked at each other, bewildered, each time she abandoned sense and took yet another madcap idea into her head. In truth, VASYA was still awkward, but she had begun growing into her face. The bones were still rough-hewn and overlarge, her mouth still too wide and full-lipped for the rest of her. But she was compelling: the moods passed like clouds over the clear green water of her gaze, and something about her movements, the line of her neck and braided hair, caught the eye and held it. When the light struck her black hair it did not gleam bronze as Marina’s had, but dark red, like garnets caught in the silky strands. (x,x)

[bashirachan]

The Dead Bride - Vasilisa Chernokrovnaya

"In Morozovia, they believe that bloodstains on a wedding dress are a bad omen. It means that love is a lie. And if the groom looks into the forest and hears someone softly whimpering - it's better for him not to marry at all..."

[bloomingfromtheinside]

currently reading The Bear and the Nightingale

[avernine]

chookum doodle!

[princessofgotham777]

What if I wrote Vampire Academy fanfic????

[attollogame]

Summer Festival Burst Event

Running from July 15-Sept off of patreon (accessible for all tiers), the summer festival will consist of 6 short stories surrounding the Attollo Summer Festival occurring at Lovers Square!

Smash bottles, get lost in a horrible fun house, take a boat out on the ocean (with assistance), and enjoy the fireworks over some snap shots with the core cast.

------

Contrary to belief, Attollo is not always the dreary, destitute location that many perceive it to be, and you discover that when summer officially begins.

The smog that so often hangs above the city soon becomes a means of trapping the heat between the buildings and the concrete roads. You can see the shift in the population, as well; more people spend time indoors with their air conditioning—rendering some parts a ghost town—while others gravitate towards patios and store overhangs to bask in the warmth. 

You're surprised to see that even the sun appears to be combating its way through the clouds in a more proficient manner. 

The thing that really interests you about the shift into summer, however, are the posters that begin popping up around town on various telephone poles and building walls. With a bright, colourful theme, it greatly contrasts the usual aesthetic you find yourself subjected to—which is why you yank one off of the wall as soon as you see it. 

Your eyes narrow in suspicion as you read over what’s advertised. It’s a summer festival—apparently one that comes around every July. You flip the poster over in case there’s anything else advertised, but only a white sheet greets you back. 

Doubt still creeps in your mind as you pull out your phone and skim through the list of contacts you have available. You wanted to do a little status check on this thing, in case it’s Attollo’s version of a lure trap to just get all of the meagre amounts of money you have available. 

Your tongue sticks out a little as you thumb through who’s active. 

DW

Operator

Pariah

Suha

Sysba

Vasilisa

SYSBA EXCERPT

...

When you glance to the side, you spot Sysba lounging on one of the chairs, their feet up on the table and a glass of something red and questionable in their hand. They’re wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and staring intently at the bar across the street. You approach with an amused, albeit slightly confused, look. 

“Did something happen?” You ask as you sit in the chair next to them. Sysba hums and takes a slow sip of their drink before speaking. 

“Did you know they opened their patio after I did?” They finally say, moving their straw around their drink as they keep staring at the bar across the street. “Not only that, but they’re offering the same deals I’m offering my clients, they’ve started a throwback Thursday, and they’re doing renovations like I am.” 

You raise an eyebrow with a smirk. “You know that a lot of clubs and bars do deals and throwback nights, right?” 

At this, Sysba snaps their attention to you, and you can feel their glare even though their glasses conceal it. “They’re copying me, and it’s pissing me off.” 

...

SUHA EXCERPT

“Do you want to do it again?” Suha immediately asks, which has you sending her an incredulous look; or, you would have sent her this look, if your eyes were able to focus on her properly. You feel her hand lightly grab your arm again as she guides you over to a nearby bench and urges you to sit down. She stands in front of you and tilts your head back so that you’re looking up at her.

For a moment, she looks genuinely concerned.

Then she speaks.

“If you plan on vomiting, please do it in the trash bin and not on me. I didn’t pack paper towels.”

...

DREAMWALKER EXCERPT

“Nothing to concern yourself over.” He sighs before shifting in his seat. He reaches down and pulls a ball cap out from under the table, which he then pulls on his head. This is quickly accompanied by a pair of dark sunglasses, and after a moment, you’re looking at someone who is trying to be inconspicuous in the most conspicuous way. 

You stare at him, and he stares back as he crosses his arms over his chest. “What?” 

“You look ready to rob a bank.” You reply with a little grin. Either that, or hack the mainframe. Dreamwalker has a talent at blurring his features when he’s doing his whole ‘terrorize in your dreams’ spiel, but you’re still pretty sure that at least one person will recognize him based on demeanour alone. A scowl like that can only belong to one man. 

...

PARIAH EXCERPT

“My, oh my! Don’t we have ourselves a sharp shooter here?” The worker whistles slowly before stepping back and pointing to the rack above them. “Well, what would you like to claim today, then?”

Pariah looks up at the rack and puts their hands on their hips. After a moment, they point to a cat with large eyes and a permanently shocked expression on its face. The worker pulls one down and hands it to them with a cheery smile.

When Pariah steps down and goes back to where you are, they shove the stuffed cat in your arms. “Here. You two are wearing the exact same expression right now.”

Your expression shifts to a sardonic one as you wave the cat in the air and follow along after them. “Thanks. You really know how to make me swoon.”

“You think I’m trying to make you swoon?” They glance back at you with a cheeky grin. “Please, you look like you’re about to collapse in my arms from the heat alone. You think I need to work for this?"

...

OPERATOR EXCERPT

“God, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” you muse as you squint up to the cavernous ceiling above. It truly is an architectural feat, to craft an entire metropolis below ground. It’s an act that would usually take years to complete, but you figure that the perk of having powered abilities probably got it done a lot faster. Operator pockets his keys and comes to stand beside you.

“You’ll get used to it, trust me,” he sighs. “The more you come and visit, the more it’ll feel like entering any other city—other than the several hazards this area poses. Like stray dogs, for example.”

He gives you a pointed look before turning and beginning to walk down the street. You grimace as you follow behind. Stray dogs… it feels like he has no intention of letting you live that down any time soon.

In fact, you wouldn’t be surprised if he had a recording of your standoff saved on his hard drives downstairs.

...

VASILISA EXCERPT

By some miracle, you actually survive until you hear the familiar put, put, put, of Vasilisa’s car pulling up. You’re pretty sure it’s an import from outside of Attollo, and you’re also pretty sure it was made in the early 90’s. It’s a wagon with manual roll down windows, and yet she looks so happy as she pulls up and tugs down her sunglasses to peer at you.

“Well? How’s your first Attollo summer?”

You send her a look before circling back and getting into the passenger seat. You make sure your seat belt is on real secure before happily accepting the ice cold drink that she offers you. “I think I speak for everyone when I say it’s weather to melt in.”

[rose-bookblood]

When the Stars Alight appreciation week — Day 6

When the Stars Alight is @aninkwellofnectar's debut novel, first in the Essence of the Equinox series.

Day 6: Favourite quotes, chapter or moments

I always have a terribly hard time pinpointing exact quotes, and the flowery beauty of this book's writing makes it even harder. Honestly, every paragraph sounds like it could be made into an aesthetic quote on Pinterest. So, choosing particular moments is a little easier.

If you've stumbled across this post and haven't read WTSA all the way to the end yet, beware because there will be major spoilers.

A scene that immediately struck me was Dr Hariken's possessed body gruesomely murdering Hana. And, immediately after, the scene of Darius eating Hana's eye. The brutality took me aback for a second and set the tone for the entire series.

Darius and Vasilisa's meeting also instantly engraved itself into my brain. I found their relationship extremely fascinating and, even though I wanted to see more, this scene was a perfect snapshot into it that captured what I needed to know.

The moment where Laila finds Lanius beating Darius and defies him isn't only one of the most significant shows of her compassion and righteousness, but of her strength as well. Her smirking at Lanius after he hit her could've come out like many other corny attempts at making a female protagonist badass, but here it landed excellently.

Fast-forward to Gravissia's siege, it was brilliant. The scene where Darius finds Dominus bent over Vasilisa's body held such emotion, which was enhanced by what followed. Having the two brothers fight together and giving me a glimmer of hope for a reconciliation, them hugging and Darius savouring it for a split second, just to then stab Dominus, and Dominus's last speech was all incredibly rude of Cammie.

Léandre's sacrifice was an equally heartbreaking scene. Reading Laila's desperation was like having my heart strangled, all made worse by Amira's coldness in the face of her daughter's pain.

Finally, I'm grouping the end of chapter 27, chapter 29 and Laila and Darius's goodbye together as some of my favourite shippy moments. Nothing deep and metatextual in here, I just love them.

(Bonus: Katerina's presence automatically saves a scene.)

[teenageslove]

instagram aesthetic 1/? : vasilisa dragomir ft. @iridescint.

[avilionea]

VASILISA

[psykulor]

The Flaming Skull: ruminations on creating legendary items that match your game world

In Vasilisa the Beautiful, one of the most popular tales featuring the witch Baba Yaga, Vasilisa is tasked with retrieving fire from Baba Yaga's house. There were no doubt even more stories of Baba Yaga's cruel and arbitrary violence in that time than are available today. But Vasilisa is brave, and has a guide and helper in the form of an enchanted doll her mother gave her. And so she goes into the dark woods, enters the bone-fenced yard of Baba Yaga's chicken-legged house, and completes the impossible tasks set for her.

Vasilisa's reward for this quest is the fire she was sent for - a skull-lantern from the bone fence. More than a simple light, it is a powerful magical artifact that turns Vasilisa's wicked stepmother and stepsisters to ashes. This is a classic Baba Yaga solution to a simple problem.

Players in an RPG often expect powerful items at the end of their own quests. There's nothing wrong with putting a +1 sword or a bag of holding at the bottom of your gobbie dungeon, but the best quest rewards are ones that tell a story. Like the example above, good quest items

match the theme of the quest

resolve a story problem in the quest

aren't quite what the recipient expected

We can imagine Vasilisa being uncomfortable, disgusted even, with her gift from Baba Yaga. Was this skull from someone who failed the quest before her? What keeps it burning? But one sees immediately that only a flaming skull will do. Baba Yaga does not hand out flames in attractive crystals or enchanted jars. If she gave you a rose with a glowing coal in the center of its petals, you'd be well-advised to be more suspicious.

And if the aesthetics are spot-on for our beloved witch, the skull's power is even more so. Baba Yaga is not going to make you a princess, or give you a new home in a far-off land, or patiently explain the patriarchal dynamics of the wicked-stepmother trope to your antagonist. If you find approval in her eyes, she's going to burn your enemies to the ground. This, presumably, was not Vasilisa's intention.

So for my adventure, the PCs are exploring the Tunguska Wastes, a thinly-veiled tribute to the Siberian oil fields. Blighted by thousands of years of extracting unholy power from the land, the Wastes are cold, grey, and tarry. The only things that grow strong there are the mushroom spires, a Prototaxites-like fungus that can metabolize oil waste.

The PCs' quest at the moment is to cross the wastes to reach an Everlight monastery (one of the PCs' religion), one usually reached by climbing the mountains on the other side. They don't (yet?) have the goal of healing the Wastes. But at every turn, the toxic landscape will oppose them. If the players hope to erase the blight at any point, they will need a powerful tool.

So the quest reward for this journey is going to be light-themed and religious in origin. Its ultimate effect will be to heal the blight. And the manner in which it helps the party complete this task will be unexpected.

Enter the Wand of Unceasing Light, a magical focus that amplifies light effects on spells and can project colors and images at the wielder's command. Clues to the wand's ancient past and other treasures found on the journey point to a solution - together with two other ancient artifacts, the wand will form a light-projection map that identifies the source of the corruption. This union of mechanical and narrative function will hopefully make the artifact compelling to both story- and action-oriented players, and give them an idea of what they're dealing with.

[scoutingthetrooper]

vasilisa romanenko

[lostinpages-99]

Character Aesthetic (1/?)

The Winternight Trilogy - Morozko, the Winter King.

[jckthelad]

the bear and the nightingale: moodboard

[debbie-sketch]

"Even more strange was the Baba Yaga's house. It sat atop huge scaly yellow chicken legs, and walked about all by itself and sometimes twirled around and around like a ecstatic dancer"

insta: @debbiebalboa