#this plant is the gateway to hell

[marsprincess889]

Basic themes of nakshatras

May edit this later, this is as far as I understand and have observed them, and I think it's pretty nice to see them simply.

Ashwini:

Newness, freshness, the unmanifest, speed, energy, vitality, instinct, healing, fast healing, unlimited energy, self-expression, selfishness, blocking outside noise, trusting yourself, self-empowerment, unfiltered actions.

Things that remind me of Ashwini: bees, the sun, horses, two white horses, golden deserts, horses gallopping, honey, long hair flying in the wind, apples.

Bharani:

Love, death, sex, the female, the feminine, limitations, the material, fate, destiny, coming into the body, struggling against limitations, struggling against fate, mind trapped in its own hell because of the inevitable, dealing with the harshness of life, harshness of mothers and mother nature, the hierarchy, privileges and deprivations, desire, going after your true desire, the immortality of the soul, adapting to changes, passion, tragic love, bravery, facing the truth, choicelessness, nessecity, revenge, violence, gatekeeping, reduction, denial of access, conquering your fate, everlasting beauty, immortality, eternal love.

Things that remind me of Bharani: hot pink and black, darkness, roses, the yoni, gateways, keyholes, caverns, boats, rivers, the damsel in distress, fantasy, high fantasy.

Krittika:

Adam, the main character, naming things, language, rationality, precision, sharpness, criticism, the poet, the "it" person, simplicity, cleanliness, expressing oneself, selectivity, the heat, the knowledge, the light, masculine ideals, stoicism.

Things that remind me of Krittika: knives, razors, lighers, sparks, fire, hearth, cooking.

Rohini:

Eve, sugar babies, growth, receptivity, enjoyment, pleasure, unrefined, doted on, subconcious, absorbtion, sharing, union, creation, the youngest daughter, naivete, feeling no shame.

Things that remind me of Rohini: sugar, stickiness, sweetness, heaviness, red, pink, flowers, the A.I(lol).

Mrigashira:

Distraction, realization, fickleness, adventure, running away, chasing, the hunt, excitement, softness, pleasure, altering conciousness, magic substances(iykwim), curiosity, fulfillment, insatiability, teasing.

Things that remind me of Mrigashira: silver threads, deer, green forests, green and blue, running in the woods, alcohol, the moon, Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Ardra:

Disillusion, crying, lamenting, awareness of others, awarness of other's expectations, hyper-awarness of everything, intellect, the rational mind, pressures from society, rebelling against society, anxiety, hunting.

Things that remind me of Ardra: tears, water, storms, technology, teenage angst, emo culture, the rain, sad songs, dogs.

Punarvasu:

Mercy, forgiveness, permission, freedom, flying, expansion, gentleness, regrowing, realigning, returning, home, unconditional love and nurture, celebration, peace, peacefulness, centering oneself, sunlight, warmth, fostering, taking care, being taken care of, luck, unlimited fertile space, shelter, genuine kindness, believing in humanity again, cycles, patterns, seeing the cycles and the patterns, prophecies, the oracle, openness, second (and third, fouth...) chances, a comeback.

Things that remind me of Punarvasu: staying at home, pets, plants, cats, gentle rain, a bow and arrows, a target.

Pushya:

Asceticism, routines, self-restraint, servitude, control, self-control, working, working on yourself, patience, simplicity, striving for perfection, nurturing, nourishment, quiet ambition, symmetry.

Things that remind me of Pushya: milk, milkmaids, country life, milking, symmetry, goats, sheep, agriculture.

Ashlesha:

Manipulation, abuse, poison, emotional abuse, blackmail, resorting to everything for safety, protection, pent up energy, the nervous system, purity, water, sensitivity, cleanliness, energetic build-up, tension, restraint, preservation, self-preservation, virginity, feminine tactics, being "mean" for protection, lying for safety, sensuality, mother issues, agitation.

Things that remind me of Ashlesha: the color white, transparent things, cats, poisoning, snow white, Sofia Coppola films, teenage girlhood, ties, strings, knots, snakes.

Magha:

Royalty, power, ancestry, family trees, history, the past, regality, honoring the past, honoring the elders, honoring the authority, religion, tradition, customs, confidence, ego.

Things that remind me of Magha: crowns, thrones, churches, goth culture, smoke, big hair(like the lion's mane).

Purva Phalguni:

Pleasure, enjoyment, being spoiled as the feminine, loving to spoil as the masculine, procreation, sex, leisure, art, holidays, parties, exclusivity, pride, charisma, sexual dispersion, love as a method of self-expression, admiration, directness, active pursuit of your passions, indulgence.

Things that remind me of Purva Phalguni: fruits, eating fruits topless, rose gold color, the "rizz"(lol), the phallus, dramaticism.

Uttara Phalguni:

Favors from friends, family and partners, contracts, beneficial agreements, the perfect wife, likeability, popularity, friendliness, appearing cool, stoicism, beneficial arrangements, gain through partnerships, self-expression through relationships, wife/girlrfiend material, harvest, family associations, marriage associations.

Things that remind me of Uttara Phalguni: the "chads", simplicity, genuine friends, loyal companions, family business, the perfect male stereotype, the "rich heiress running away" trope, wheat, gold, power couples.

Hasta:

The earth, the veiled feminine, manipulation, denial of access, materialism, cheating, everyday matters, empowerment of women, deception, skill, seeking knowledge, wanting to be in control, activism, street-smarts, manipulation of masses.

Things that remind me of Hasta: the hand, Goddess Persephone, skilled hands, thieves, easy money, fairies, witches, scammers.

Chitra:

Crafting, building, perspective, truth, law, gems, sacrifice for your craft, vanity, stereotypes, aesthetics, the truth in stereotypes, building based on the law and the truth, the surface of things, the appearance of things, the substance reflected in the vessel, gossip, cliques, tricks.

Things that remind me of Chitra: the god Hephestos, martian gods in general, jewelry, fashion, make-up, drama, pettiness, the coquette aesthetic, pranksters, Olivia Rodrigo(ig).

Swati:

Space, the cosmos, shifting realities, love, rebellion, alternate realities, possibilities, seeing beauty in everything, inspiration, art, the cosmic egg, creation of the world, creation of worlds, microcosm and macrocosm, freedom through love.

Things that remind me of Swati: video games, the wind, plants beggining to sprout, the sword, technology, the Sims.

Vishakha:

The lightning, snapping, splitting, joining opposites, compromise, marriage, repressed anger, repressed aggression, alter egos, passion, enthusiasm, standing up for yourself and others, repression and then expression, energy, love and hate.

Things that remind me of Vishakha: lighning bolts, Zeus, Thor and other lighning gods, superhero "Shazam", celebrations.

Anuradha:

Friendship, devotion, depth, loyalty, unconditional loyalty, bonds, the occult, sex with love, numbers, gatherings, friend groups, groups, gentleness, humbleness, discipline, seriousness, organizing society, social groups.

Things that remind me of Anuradha: the color burgundy, dim lights, bunnies, "Sex Education" (tv show), sci-fi (for some reason), "The Vampire Diaries" (and very similar teen shows), frat boys, cheerleaders.

Jyeshta:

The battlefield, war, hunger, thirst, insatiability, conquering, the underdog, street-smarts, competition, strategy, extreme independence, mind games, the art of war, survival, ruling, rising above, self-reliance, wisdom, becoming the authority, the eldest, dryness, trust issues, enemies, destroying enemies, outsmarting all enemies.

Things that remind me of Jyeshta: grandmothers, owls, eagles, dry places, flags, marching, chess.

Mula:

Horror, the abnormal, the truth, the core, the center, the absorbing darkness, the black hole, the roots, violence against falsehoods, seeking the truth, seeking the cause, seeking roots, uprooting, chaos, from chaos to order, the unchanging truth, taming beasts, holding to your truth.

Things that remind me of Mula: "Phanton of the Opera", "Twilight", final girls, horror movies, dark murky green, the wilderness.

Purva Ashadha:

Art, beauty, alliances, artistry, ideals, fighting for the ideal, discrimination, exclusivity, philosophies about beauty and art, passion for love and art, attachments, secrecy, luxury, vitality, vigor, going for victory.

Things that remind me of Purva Ashadha: the sea, seafoam, goddess Aphrodite, seashells, mermaids, sirens, fans (the ones you hold in your hand lol), Arwen from LotR.

Uttara Ashadha:

Victory, loneliness, individuality, government, empowerment, independence, being looked up to, composed self-expression, ease, simplicity but regality, confidence, self-assuredness, melancholy and hardships of aloneness but contentment, stoicism, invincibility, unapologetic behavior.

Things that remind me of Uttara Ashadha: earnest people, goddess Nike, mint color for some reason.

Shravana:

Connecting everything, secret knowledge, interest in everything, reading between the lines, subconcious access, extreme sensitivity, holding the humanity together, secret agencies, percieving what others can't percieve, saving humanity, navigating, receptivity, mysticism.

Things that remind me of Shravana: Superman, Geralt of Rivia, Aragorn, King arthur, pathways, footprints, ear, color blue, spies, astrology, outcasts, fringe societies.

Dhanishta:

Celebration, celebrities, fame, visibility, aggression, agitation, action, bringing people together, idols, propaganda, wealth from fame, that which attracts attention, public image, benefits and downsides of fame, openness and flashiness, branding, movement.

Things that remind me of Dhanishta: supermodels, Princess Diana, dancing, rhythmic drums.

Shatabhisha:

Complexities, seeing everything, lurking in shadows, holding the knowledge, secrets, secrecy, hiding, technology, innovation, being ahead of your time, advising but manipulating, society, the collective, trends, the conciousness of masses, propaganda.

Things that remind me of Shatabhisha: midnight sky, stars, the seas, water reservoirs, the circle, the all-seeing eye of Sauron(lol), Lord of the Rings, rings, the movie "Stardust" (the book too), the evil advisor/black cardinal trope.

Purva Bhadrapada:

Notoriety, expansion, uncontrolled expansion, persmissiveness, growth to ruin unless restrained, fighting for your soul, the scapegoat, going against society, getting tested, the point of no return.

Things that remind me of Purva Bhadrapada: gangs, famous criminals, laziness, femme fatales, the grotesque, deserts, werewolves, the black sheep.

Uttara Bhadrapada:

Finding grace, hardships, working, inner strength, steeliness, resilience, patience, restraint, contol, self-restraint and self-control, bravery, honesty, stubbornness, fighting for your truth, perfect control, freedom through limitations, seeking a permanent foundation built on truth, working for the foundation, long-term goals, innocence, purity of soul, stillness, refinement, honor and glory.

Things that remind me of Uttara Bhadrapada: butterflies, clouds, baby blue color, Cinderella, warriors, knights, knight orders, ice, coldness, queens, ice-queen, dragons, water dragons, deep waters, deep sea and its creatures, wings.

Revati:

Ultimate freedom, creativity, wisdom, gentleness, compassion, guiding, herding, fun, laughter, mischief, lightnness, ease, finding peace, reaching the end, enjoying what you have, contentment, nurturing, open-mindedness, conclusions, gratefulness, freedom and free will, having choices, diversity, finding the truth, true wealth, parenthood, the guide, guidance, individuation.

Things that remind me of Revati: shepherds, herding, everything easy and light, the tricksters, the fool, jokes, Loki, The Joker, fish, comedy, the movie "A Fish Called Wanda", caring for everyone and everything, light and soft shades of green and blue.

[lazysoulwriter]

cough syrup. - drew starkey.

---

You were not dying.

Despite what your dramatic text to Drew said—“bring soup, I’m seeing the light. tell my plants I love them”—you were not dying. You were, however, very sick. And, more importantly, very high on that super-strength purple cough syrup that the pharmacy guy definitely warned you about.

But that warning? You forgot it the second you took the second spoonful. Okay, third.

The room was spinning just a little, your brain was a cloud, and your limbs were made of jelly. Beautiful, floppy jelly. You were at peace. You were floating.

And then the door opened.

“Hey,” Drew’s voice called out, followed by the sound of a grocery bag thudding onto your kitchen counter. “You alive?”

You turned your head toward the doorway, blinking slowly like a cat. “Drew?” you whispered, as if unsure whether he was real. “You’re glowing. Are you God?”

He let out a laugh so loud it startled you. “Nah, babe. Just your local hot guy with soup.”

You tried to sit up on the couch, but it took you like seven minutes to manage it. “You’re… you’re so pretty,” you mumbled, clutching the blanket around your shoulders like a cape. “It’s really unfair. Can’t you be like… medium ugly for once? Just for the sick people?”

Drew came over with a water bottle in one hand and a plastic container of soup in the other. “You’re completely blitzed, aren’t you?”

You nodded solemnly. “I flew to Saturn and back. I spoke to a cloud. Her name is Patricia.”

He was already cracking up. Like fully doubled over, trying not to drop your soup. “Patricia the cloud??”

“She said I’m brave.” You blinked at him. “You smell like toast.”

“Okay, that’s a new one.” He set the soup on the coffee table, crouched in front of you, and pushed your hair back gently. “You're burning up a little. Did you take your temperature?”

You looked deeply into his eyes. “Drew. I’m a thermometer.”

He stifled a laugh, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. “Baby, can I take a little of that cough syrup too?” he asked, a mischievous grin creeping in. “So we can meet in the clouds together?”

Your eyes flew wide. “NO!” you gasped, scandalized. “That’s so Rafe Cameron of you!”

He dropped his forehead to your shoulder, laughing so hard his whole body shook. “What the hell does that even mean?!”

You clutched the blanket dramatically around your chest. “That’s what he would do. Peer pressure. Chaos. Violence. You’re not him, Drew. You’re better. Be strong.”

He was wheezing now, tears in his eyes. “You’re comparing me to my own character while high on cold medicine. This is peak delulu.”

“Delulu is the solulu,” you mumbled, nodding sagely. “Patricia said that.”

“…Patricia the cloud?”

“She’s wise.”

He laughed so hard he had to sit down next to you, wiping his eyes. “Jesus Christ. I should be recording this.”

“Nooo,” you groaned, burying your face in his hoodie. “Don’t put me on the internet. They’ll say I’m on drugs.”

“You are on drugs. You took too much cough syrup!”

“It was an accident,” you pouted, your voice muffled by his chest. “It tasted like candy and sadness.”

Drew wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head. “Well, candy and sadness are kind of your brand.”

“That’s so rude,” you gasped, fake-offended. “I’m an influencer. I’m whimsical.”

“You’re loopy,” he corrected. “And you’re drooling on me.”

You blinked, then slowly wiped your mouth with the sleeve of his hoodie. “My bad.”

He tilted your chin up and kissed your nose. “You’re lucky I love you, even when you’re a feral little cough syrup goblin.”

You sniffled, leaning into his shoulder like a koala. “Do you think Patricia would want to hang out sometime?”

He laughed again, shaking his head. “Only if you share your cough syrup.”

You looked up at him, eyes wide. “No way. That’s my gateway to the cloud realm.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” He grinned, then picked up the soup. “Wanna try eating something that’s not pharmaceutical-grade grape syrup?”

“I want... chicken noodle soup and your undivided attention.”

“You got it.” He fed you the first spoonful, like you were a princess and he was your soup knight. “How’s that?”

You chewed dramatically. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Tell Gordon Ramsay he can go home.”

“I’ll pass it along,” he said, trying not to laugh with soup in his hand. “Anything else, Your Highness?”

You smiled, cheeks flushed, eyes glassy. “Just stay. Please?”

Drew tucked you in tighter, kissed your forehead, and pulled you into his arms like you were made of glass. “Wasn’t planning on going anywhere, baby. Cloud realm or not.”

---

I was feeling like that actually..

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: 5 Symbols

for your next poem/story (pt. 4)

CROW’S FOOT

The crow’s foot is also known as the Witch’s Foot, and was feared as an indicator of death, used in casting spells against enemies.

Crows, like ravens, were associated with the witches and warlocks who were believed to be able to transform themselves into these black birds so that they could travel unnoticed to their sabbats.

The name “crow’s feet” is also given to the lines that radiate around the outer corners of the eyes with the coming of age and the inevitable approach of death.

CRUX DISSIMULATA

In 3rd century Rome, early Christians were persecuted to such a degree that their lives were threatened and the symbols of their faith had to be disguised.

One of the ways they recognized one another was by the sign of the fish or ichthus; another way was to disguise the Cross cleverly as something else.

The meaning of Crux Dissimulata is “disguised” or “dissimilar” cross.

One of the more ingenious forms of this secret symbol, shown here, was the anchor. The top of the anchor is formed like a cross and, in addition, the anchor is plainly a symbol of stability. Because anchors are associated with the sea, too, the fish symbol could easily be incorporated into it.

The Crux Dissimulata was used as a secret symbol and a rallying call for adherents to the new and dangerous faith.

CRYSTAL BALL

Combining the sphere’s perfection and totality with the clarity and brilliance of crystal, the crystal ball is a part of the toolkit of the professional clairvoyant or seer.

The clarity of the crystal matches the “clear sight” of the psychic.

When used for scrying, the crystal ball acts as a focus for meditation, enabling the adept to access a place that is out of time in order to be able to see into the future.

This practice of scrying is carried out in various ways:

Instead of an expensive crystal, cheaper methods are apparently just as effective for the talented psychic.

A bowl of water, a mirror, a drop of blood, or a pool of ink can be used.

However, the glamor of the genuine crystal ball is hard to beat.

DOORWAY

The simple doorway—an everyday object that goes unnoticed most of the time—is symbolic of a transition between one world and the next.

Such a doorway may take different forms, as a dolmen, a torii, a gateway, but the meaning remains the same.

In C. S. Lewis’s Narnia novels, the wardrobe into which the children step to enter the magical world of Narnia is a good example of this symbol.

Both Heaven and Hell lie beyond gates or doorways, and the threshold of such a place is seen as the place where two worlds meet and sometimes collide.

Many rituals involve the initiate stepping through a doorway of some kind.

The vesica piscis represents a doorway where the world of spirit enters the world of matter.

DREAMCATCHER

The forerunner of the Dreamcatcher was a Native American spider’s web of feathers and beads, a simple little charm made from a small hoop of flexible wood, such as willow, with an interlacement of plant fibers designed to look like a cobweb.

Used particularly as a protection for babies and small children.

Hung over their cradles and beds, it was thought to entrap any negative spirits that came in the form of nightmares.

These malevolent entities, entangled in the web, were sizzled in the heat from the rising Sun.

The spider’s-web shape gave homage to Asibikaasi, the mythical Spider Woman, whose magical webs could catch anything.

The elaborate Dreamcatchers of today, an essential part of the kit for any self-respecting New Ager, were invented in the 1960s and ’70s as part of the resurgence in Native American culture and belief.

Source ⚜ More: On Symbols

[faithlia]

᥉᥆꧑ᥱᥒthιᥒg ᥲb᥆ᥙt ᥡ᥆ᥙ ᝰ.ᐟ

english ins't my first language!

summary: matt and you share a tension that could be cut with a knife – which intensifies even more when he sees a picture of you.

warnings: suggestive, flirting, bissexual!reader, jealousy.

a/n: this is a collab with @aniesvision about the same story with different povs. click here to read her pov with Chris and get to know a little more about this.

The phrase "fucked up" is exactly what can define me at this moment. Damn! How could I be so careless and stupid? Look, I had no intention of sending that photo of my boobs in the group – that Matt is – I just wanted to show my bikini line to Anne.

My eyes widened in despair when I saw him approaching. My heart almost jumped out of my mouth when I noticed the smile on his lips. I pulled Anne by the arm before I could even greet them. I took her to the bathroom and started yapping nonstop, forming several scenarios in my mind. However, Anne proposed an interesting idea after I told her that yes, maybe, I want Matt, but not in a way that he thinks I'm desperate for him.

"Okay, well, why don't we test it out to see if he likes you too? I can pretend to be flirting with you so we see his reactions." she suggested with a mischievous smile. Something was so enchanting in her voice that made me delirious, it was impossible to say no to her.

I bit my lip and listened to her words.

In the end, it really seemed to work. She approached me with her crimson lips very close to mine, she touched me shamelessly and, even though it was just to tease the boys, I really did get slightly excited. Matt seemed confused, unlike Chris who was furious. I laughed as I looked at Matt but kept up the charade, loving the way he didn't take his eyes off me.

As the night went on, we drank and said a lot of stupid things to lighten the mood, except for the fact that Anne and I kept on touching each other. We went to the mini golf course and Anne kept bragging about scoring more than us; she and Chris were in an unbearable fight – which was the gateway for Matt to finally approach me.

"So, how long are you and Anne going to keep rubbing against each other like two bitches in heat?", he asked, with the golf club on his shoulders – he looked like an idiot.

"And since when do you care, huh?", I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"I think since you sent me that picture...", he had a smug smile on his lips. Son of a bitch! I looked down, embarrassed, trying to find words that could shut that insufferable and delicious mouth. "Oh, no, come on! Don't be shy... they're beautiful."

"Oh my God", I exclaimed, positioning myself to leave, pretending I didn't like the compliment. Damn, I wish it wasn't true that I had tanned for him, but it was! I wanted him to see me, I wanted him to desire me, to like me and say it out loud just so I could tell him to fuck off or something. Does that even make sense?

"You know I sent it wrong"

He put the bat on the floor and let out a sigh. It was true, I had no intention of sending that photo in the chat like that, I wanted him to see it in person, but no one needed to know that. I sat in one of the chairs in a row, watching Chris and Anne almost kill each other on the mini golf course.

He sat next to me and I was dazzled by his blue eyes adorned with a shine that I was rarely able to witness. It was beautiful. He lowered his gaze to my mouth, sighing, and I soon noticed when he planted his eyes on my bust, ignoring what I had said.

As focused as I was at that moment, we were surrounded by several people, and that alarmed me. I swallowed hard, feeling shame take over my body. "Okay, stop it,” I said.

“Stop what?” Matt frowned and I gave him a disapproving look – he knows exactly what I’m talking about. “What? Do I make you nervous?” His smile was cocky and smug, but yes, he made me nervous as hell.

“No,” I lied. “It’s just that you’re practically ogling me, Matt,” I blurted out.

He pursed his lips and said, laughing at my insinuation, “Oh, stop pretending you don’t like it.”

"What?" I asked, offended - but not entirely. Matt was slouched in his chair, very close to me. He put one of his arms around my neck, using his fingers to play with my necklace. I didn't feel uncomfortable, although it was rare that we were actually this close. Even though we were friends, there was always that indiscreet flirting when we were alone. I just didn't have the courage to make the first move, and, disappointingly, neither did Matt. However, tonight, he had been less reluctant than usual, and I loved it.

"Am I lying?" he pointed out. Now, with the proximity, his voice was a little lower, but due to the music in the place and the constant chatter, he decided to speak in my ear. "I'm wondering: how long are you going to keep playing this little game, hm?" his soft voice made me shiver. I liked the way his body was pressed against mine - trying his best to calm my nervousness.

Matt turned his face away, waiting for my answer. "I'm not playing games!".

Unfortunately, I never got around to being more deliberate. I crossed my legs and snuggled closer to him, getting much closer to each other.

"Aren't you? Then what's all this?", he lowered his gaze and I bit my lip.

"You're the one who did this, idiot," I grumbled. "And, well, you're the one who kept complimenting my boobs...", I shrugged, watching him chuckle. I felt comfortable enough to run my boot over his covered leg, giving him a gentle caress.

"But you're the one who sent the picture of them..."

He brought his lips closer to mine, ready to kiss me but I dodged, making him kiss the corner of my mouth. "Matt... not here!", I whispered in a slurred voice, wanting to cry with so much desire.

"Not here?", he repeated, kissing my cheek, then behind my ear and also my neck. "Where then?", he moved his hand to my arm, forcing me lightly against his chest. "Tell me..."

I really didn't want to kiss him in the middle of so many people, especially because I knew very well how a simple kiss could end. My temptations seemed insatiable, just like his. Before I could answer, I saw Anne and Chris approaching. I took a deep breath, straightening my posture and thinking about what I would do, but nothing came to mind.

Matt didn't force me to speak, respecting my silence. He gave me his usual simplistic look, dragging his hand down my thigh and finally standing up.

I saw him handing the car keys to Chris and Anne came to me, asking: "So, is he already desperate for you?", I stood up and put my arm around her waist while she put hers around my shoulders. "Almost", I answered.

They got to the car and Chris would be our driver this time while Anne made herself comfortable in the passenger seat. There was an uncomfortable silence in the air, and I had to hold back a nervous laugh.

The silence was broken when Anne decided to put on some music to drown out the tense atmosphere.

Matt was next to me, with a neutral expression. I looked away, starting to think he hated me. Shit, shit.

It was so dark that I couldn't tell what was going on in the backseat, and the loud music drowned out any other sounds.

Matt grabbed his phone, ignoring my existence, and I decided I wasn't going to care about it until I heard the notification sound on my phone.

Matt: Did I really need to see you two flirting?

Me: are you jealous?

Matt: Just wondering if that's why you didn't answer me.

I glanced at him, knowing what he was talking about.

Me: I don't want to go to your house. Nick will be there... with a ton of questions.

Matt: Great. Let's go to yours, I can't wait to see you.

Me: you're literally right next to me.

Matt: You know what I mean.

Me: that's not fair! If you saw my boobs then you're gonna have to show me yours too, bitch.

He looked at me, thinking about what to write and I gave him a cocky smile.

Matt: I can show you that and a lot more, baby...

Marry Christmas 🎄

[katyahina]

Romina, Scarlet Rot and God of Rot interpretation? What is the Abyss and what 'stagnation' has to do with Scarlet Rot?

(This is a reply for an ask I've got on my other blog) Anon I am sorry I am THIS late, I swear it was just me deliberately avoiding progressing in the DLC because I didn't want it to end + bad timing :pensive: But thank you for leaving this ask because I did want to discuss her as soon as I've met her!

What Happened:

She WAS a victim on Messmer's tyranny, and shown in the second trailer ( x )! Moreover, she originally appears to be from Belurat; not only this trailer shows Messmer specifically burning it, but also this is the exact previous scene before Romina appears:

So I am getting an impression that originally, these buds appeared in Belurat, and somehow Romina knew to relocate them somewhere else:

+ Also, if anyone here can read Japanese please let me know because I've heard that a more accurate translation would be 'she found a divinity and clung to it' or something alike! Here is the Japanese text:

全てを焼かれた教会で ロミナは異形の神性を見出し 禍々しい、朱い腐敗に縋った

焼け跡に、また蕾が芽吹くように

Abyss and Stagnation in this:

My initial interpretation was that originally, this type of buds was growing IN Belurat, and then what she saved got relocated in Rauh Ruins, but "within the scorched remains" part makes it sound as though their fate was being decided right in the moment of the tragedy! So, somehow, what later became Scarlet Rot appeared within the ruin! After all, Formless Mother is another precedent of a god originating from the tragedy:

But why would a plant-insectoid life sprout within the fire? So, basically, I'll dive into headcanons territory for this post, but hear me out! We are not sure what the 'Abyss' is, however.. what IF, when Messmer gets a bit TOO into using his powers, the power of Abyssal Serpent is capable of opening sort of a 'gateway' into somewhere else, and some kind of horror might escape that 'Abyss'?

+ I need to add that Abyss of the serpent plaguing Messmer and Abyss of the woods tormented by Frenzy are different things though; whereas serpent's Abyss is 深淵 meaning literally an abyss, Woods' Abyss is 奈落 that means Naraka (Hindu Hell)! His serpent is AKTUALY named Base Serpent, but he refers the 'Abyss' in his Stage 2 transition: '光無き、深淵の蛇が'. ( x ) In fact, his dialogue in both English and Japanese original suggests the 'Abyss' is a PLACE, where Base Serpent comes from! The mysterious space without light!

Look I can't help using this meme just deal with it fdsgfdgs So, let's say that Messmer got so unhinged that the gravity of his powers still opened up the Abyss a little, even despite the seal Marika gave to him!

The next interesting thing is that there are no traces of Scarlet Rot in Belurat, despite Romina presumably releasing/creaing it right on that spot! There ARE poisoned swamp, the illness that turns people into fly-men, and even giant Spider Scorpions that are a variant specifically developed because of Romina:

+ they likewise deal regular poison, not Scarlet Rot! Some of them developed the wings as well:

So it is more likely that what Romina allowed to live (to the worse or to the better you decide) was not yet the Scarlet Rot itself, however it developed INTO it later, together with her. But what was freed that day and what left its traces in Belurat, as well as spreading across more of the Shadow Realm with at least two villages full of man-fly sickness, was 'stagnation'!

It is a concept commonly addressed across other Fromsoft's games, specifically the stagnation of water 穢れ (kegare)! Poison and Scarlet Rot are connected through themes of poison AND stagnation of water! It is what becomes a poisonous swamp, one of the most Rot places is literally named Stillwater Cave and all that. Scarlet Rot is a 'stronger' version of the venom that becomes of stagnation!

^ (looking through this ( x ) model view video) Additionally, Romina features not only part of the scorpion but also part of the centipede, and centipedes were used as a symbol of human dregs in Sekiro and Bloodborne!

I've also noticed that Blood of Formless Mother, Scarlet Rot and Deathblight are all connected by shared themes of plantlife and spontaneoutsly sprouting winged insects! With the cursed blood, flowers quite literally grow from it and flies spawn from impurities within festering blood swamps. Deathblight are literally roots with multiple flies spawning along them + often getting to fly free too. Scarlet Rot IS associated with flowers and butterflies, and whereas Malenia herself never got insectoid wings (since wings of Goddes of Rot ARE the butterflies, like stated by Romina's incantation), her knights did:

(Close look by Zullie the Witch ( x ) as I've never took a picture)

These three scourges feel like three ugly siblings to me fsdhhfds Needless to mention that Blood Oath, Scarlet Rot and general poison incantations are crammed into the same category, and Death ones aren't here only because they're sorceries!

More interestingly, in Rauh Ruins we find not only Scarlet Rot, but also the Bloodfiends (so, the Formless Mother guys) AND Deathblight:

^ I forgot to take the picture as a proof that the Dancing Lion in Rauh uses Deathblight, so here is screenshot from this ( x ) video of battling it! There are NO Deathroots anywhere near its arena, however it summons Basylisks in the second stage and deals Deathblight damage itself! Divine beasts, additionally, are Belurat thing too!

So, we have all three of these 'affiliations' in Rauh Ruins, giving a strong impression that it is full of Belurat survivors! Whereas the man-flies sickness is found here too, Romina, Bloodfiends and death-dealing Dancing Lion all feel like they've went separate Pokemon Eevelution from the same initial 'stagnation' concept that is the sourse of fly sickness fhhsdgfds I think that either 1) it is exactly what I just joked about, and stagnation is able to naturally develop into one of these stronger "branches" over time or 2) it develops into something specific under influence of an outer god; Deathblight doesn't need 'Prince of Death' since Outer God of Death IS a thing!

Survivors of Belurat here found their affiliations, initially getting afflicted by the "clean" form of it, fly sickness Romina allowed to escape and live!

^ So yeah @ second anon, I do also think that Romina in Rauh guards what is left of her civilisation! Such as one of like, two Dancing Lions and other Hornsent that unfortunately got manfly sickness too! Except, she is not antagonistic to the Scarlet Rot or sees it as her tragedy, but on the contrary: she sympathised with it!

I know it sounds more like a fairytale than an solid theory, but my impression is that a lot of 'waste' goes into the Abyss space and supposedly should have been burnt by the Base Serpent forever! Not as something inherently evil, but just a natural part of the course of life! Eiglay is the God-Devouring serpent, too! Both of them serve as the forces that ensure everything and everybody meets their end eventually, they might even be related! Again, Dark Souls for one had ten Primordial Serpents! We know three here (Base Serpent, Winged Serpent and God-Devouring Serpent) but it could be still a throwback like Fromsoft loves doing!

I think maybe someone, at some point, believed that living forever was a better idea and might have "killed" Base Serpent and Eiglay both! As we know from Rykard's last words though, 'serpent never dies' and he probably was right!

^ Whereas Eiglay had to grow back from a tiny snake again, Base Serpent settled in Messmer's body being so tiny that it could curl behind his eye! Both needed to recover their former power, so whatever eventually slipped in the Abyss was free to persist, rot further and escape back into the living world given the chance!

+ bonus:

Trina ends up having a lot of petals and flowers as part of her body, not unlike Romina, whereas Miquella had insectoid wings at the moment of being kidnapped! The same trademarks of the 'stagnation' again!

I questioned whether it was just Crucible at first, since it also features flowers and wings! In the DLC we've learned that the Fell God himself was connected with the Crucible (Furnace Visage) and Radagon has his red hair due to the curse of his Fire Giants (Giant's Red Braid) 🤔 But.. crucibles are MANY things. It is also horns, spikes, feathered wings, scales, you name that! A LOT of aspects of organic life and not just these two! So I think the Crucible Curse is safe to stay within Morgott and Mohg, and this more likely refers to Miquella himself getting infected at some point! Whether it was having sucked Scarlet Rot out of Freya's wound, or napping in the Haligtree that was getting slowly scarlet-rotten, or both! Sure there are no traces of it left when he becomes a God, but Trina was discarded before that of course! Alternatively, he was a victim of stagnation himself due to not being able to age physically. He, himself, was a lot like Scarlet Buds that are "never to bloom". Endless child state of a body and buds that can't bloom are like eggs that can't hatch but will go terribly bad over time.. what is MORE stagnant?

Who is the God of Rot and why the pink color?

Another side of Romina is a tail of a scorpion, and the giant variant of Spider Scorpions is said to be the result of her actions! At the same time, God of Rot itself was scorpion-like!

I think this makes it... oddly coincidential, that God of Rot is a scorpion at least partially, whereas scorpions are native for the Shadow Realm AND were important animals for Belurat! Like I said before, Belurat strangely has no signs of Scarlet Rot for a place where Romina presumably created/unleashed it!

So, maybe rather than God of Rot already existing as is, it received a particular form in the 'outside' world! I'd say the same for Formless Mother, but her form is ABSENSE of form kind of fdhshdfs Maybe 'receiving the character' is a better way to describe it! Formless Blood, Scarlet Rot and most likely Deathblight didn't exist "outside" but developed from the shared source, and their gods (at least two of them) were born thanks to people! God of Rot might have manifested from a giant scorpion Romina took special care of, or a scorpion who got the 'divine' energy for another reason since giant variants are still not JUST in Rauh! Again, like how Formless Mother manifested in the shadow of a corpse of someone else! The Scarlet Rot became a thing thanks to Romina, developing within her over time!

Again, this is just my idea that Outer Gods are "born" in "our" world rather than simply exist as is, especially since 'outer' is just a type of gods meant to be discerned from Marika's family and who are like Lovecraftian mythos! I just think so because the scorpions connection is a bit too coincidential! It is not necessary!

Eiglay is a God-Devouring Serpent, not Demigod-Devouring Serpent, however, so I think in either case her purpose had more to do with not letting guys like this to ruin the world! Things just must die eventually, not endlessly exist via endless rot/rebirth cycle not allowing for any truly new life to sprout. It makes it double awesome that Base Serpent, and maybe even Eiglay herself, are connected with the fire element as fire itself is ALSO not just an evil force of destruction! It is meant to help the nature to "clean" so it doesn't rot; this power simply must be kept in check to not burn SO much that there is nothing left to be born from the ash and ruin *looks at Frenzied Flame*

Lesbian flag colors joke aside, it seems that color pink is a mark of lacking the master and/or the capacity to bloom! I do think that blooming is a thing only a Demigod is able to do! +remember that Millicent is a unique sprout of Malenia, carrying more of her signs as a Demigod than other girls!

Orange/red is the color of 'true' Scarlet Rot, and you could see even God of Rot itself was orange from Scorpion's Stinger look! It craves the buds that will bloom to grow stronger and increase, similarly to how Formless Mother craves wounds!

+ I also think that Bloodflame is the mark of more "perfect" form of the same concept similarly, as it becomes self-cleaning this way! It similarly could only be accomplished by getting a Demigod (Mohg) involved, whereas regular Bloodfiends are using just the blood itself! Then, Deathblight was not receiving the big roots as we could witness by Dancing Lion in Rauh, without getting a Demigod (Godwyn) involved! The cringe triplets........

________________________

So in the conclusion, Romina reached out for the 'twisted divinity' she witnessed somewhere in the middle of the ruin of everything she knew before, similarly to how Bloodfiends chose to revere the 'twisted deity' found in a corpse of their ancestor as they've lost everything! These two affinities have connotation with strong misery, and it is additionally confirmed by how Millicent can only bloom if she experiences the pain of betrayal! Some sinister power only appears within a lot of pain and death, but on itself it is just "flowers and wings", and a concrete God is born in the place it appears at, depending on the circumstances. It needs the miserable person as much as the miserable person needs it; a call is nothing without the receiver. Together, they define more specific purpose and affinity for it to continue existing and poisoning everything!

...not 100% sure that Deathblight is just as similar, because how do you birth death? Maybe it similarly came to be through the first person to die (Nito, you?????)

P.S.: I'll be damned if the water Dancer Fairy didn't originate from Rauh and simply freaked out upon seeing Romina telling the God of Rot "may you find your worth in the waking world" fsdhfhds

[ashen-ambrosia]

Sudden Moiraine S3 finale brainwave/theory/cope, spoilers through to Towers of Midnight.

I know we've all been feral over the peeks of the Redstone doorway in the 13th Depository, and I've seen some pretty wild speculating about how we'll get the Moiraine + Lanfear confrontation from The Fires of Heaven where she physically pushes Lanfear and herself through the door into Finnland. I've seen takes including reinvention of Traveling, wondering if Moiraine and Lanfear will Travel to different places, Travel to the Tower so they can end up at the doorway there, maybe even end up being part of the coup.

I don't think it needs to be that complicated. We know that there are other ways to Finnland. The Redstone doorways are obviously a constructed way that gets the user there AND binds the user and the Finns while there to a set of agreed upon rules that allow for safe interaction. But we know there are other ways of getting to other universes in less controlled ways, like the Tower of Ghenjei, or portal stones, or... Gateway? We know that the Forsaken use Gateways to enter TAR in the flesh. Egwene actually learns this form of Traveling first, and then works backwards from that result to reconstruct the form of Traveling that goes from point to point in the same dimension, rather than to TAR and back. It doesn't seem far-fetched to me that Gateways can be used to access other dimensions including the portal stone dimensions or Finnland, we just don't see people do it because it's HILARIOUSLY unsafe. Moridin had to get to Finnland to retrieve Lanfear somehow, and I don't remember if it's ever made clear how he got there, but I think it seems likely that he just went by Gateway instead of using a ter'angreal or the Tower of Ghenjei.

Anyway my prediction for the finale is that Moiraine and Lanfear will struggle over Sakarnen (maybe she will plant Sakarnen for Lanfear to find, like she does with the ivory bracelet angrael). During their struggle a Gateway to an unknown location will be created and both of them will fall through it, leaving Sakarnen to fall dramatically to the ground behind them. Maybe the Gateway will be prominently made of Fire weaves in a Doorway shape? It can be framed ambiguously enough for everyone to be able to believe that they've died or been forever trapped in an unknown hell dimension, especially if Lan's bond is also severed, while still leaving the possibly open for them to be rescued from wherever they ended up in.

[pinep-ne]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66069589

Where instead of meeting death, Arthur grows wings.

— 8,030 Words; Mature; General

Overview and TW below!!!

⚠️⚠️⚠️TW— gore, body horror, suicidal ideations, graphic depictions of violence, suicide, knives, guns, self-harm, panic attacks. please let me know if i've missed any!

- This was mainly inspired by "terminal lucidity", or the surge of energy dying patients experience just hours or days before their death. How this cycle parallels across species, such as the century plant; a large succulent that grows slowly for 10-30 years, and then shoots up a flowering stem as not only a final outcry of life, but also its first and only signal of death. And, of course, the Phoenix— the symbol of rebirth. It's bittersweet that this great moment of freedom is, alas, a greater affirmation of death.

- The wings are the representation of this. They stand not only as a signal of death but as a symbol of freedom, of flight. But Arthur does not use them to fly— in fact, his transformation takes up over half of the story. They are intentionally burdensome to him, something he is to fight despite a guaranteed loss (Dutch's "you can't fight nature"). They're something born solely from him, that only he has a faulty autonomy over. Something larger than him that parallels both his redemption and the impact of his existence decades into the future. Nonetheless, an extension of himself that he must eventually accept. He transforms as he had through his sickness. Everything he was and lived by was stripped from him, just as he is made a creature. And in that he is 'free', but still weighted by the irredeemable actions he committed. In short, the wings juxtapose this incapable freedom Arthur now possesses; that he is released from his previous identity yet still tethered by his actions. This is displayed with how he still fears scrutiny even in death, the shame and ignorance he is attached to, and how he still stifles down his emotions even when alone.

- Despite not being religious, Arthur catches onto the notions of his transformation. He firmly believes this is God's special punishment to only him. That he was too terrible to neither die as a human nor to fall into hell, and that he must endure this tortuous line in between; the suffering of both creature and human together. He accepts this as he accepts most things in his life; which is one of his larger faults. Things happen just to happen, and he must endure. He not only fights the transformation itself, rising on every fall and tearing through his own skin to do so, but he fights his own mind. The stoicism slips through his fingers, spilling out in panic, desperation, and further on, gentleness and contentment.

- The cabin represents his longing for domesticity, and the peaceful making of a home. The sun rising through the windows is the glimpse of a life he can only long for; the sun setting through the door side is his gateway to peace. He tidies it makes it the backdrop to his final resting place.

- The point of Arthur's arc is the crater it leaves for the future. In epilogue, you have constant reminders of his existence. Through contributions and strangers and the life the Marston's now have the gift to experience. Arthur processes this dedication to memory, to existence, by sketching the things that plague him.

- Themes of blooming, burgeoning, and flowering are scattered throughout to align with Arthur's transformation. Aspects of nature are also heavily weaved through to prepare for his own return to nature, both in life and death.

- There are many themes of duality to align with the honor system, and life and death. Arthur cutting his left wing represents his departure from both life and the man he was.

- Arthur's lungs became his wings, hence the new, quiet breaths he takes once they form entirely. It is also why the 'air leaves him' once he cuts one off.

- Arthur's suicide was half-way intentional, as he wasn't fully aware of the new anatomy. And yet the purpose was there; a final act of autonomy. A substitute for what I believe was the canonical version; crawling with every last bit of strength to watch the sunrise. Untethered from Dutch, from the gang, from everything Arthur Morgan was. Wrenching that part of himself away, and embracing his return to the ground.

[hot-astrology]

The Shunned Yoni

We all know creation and birth stems from somewhere. From the most sacred gateways that nature created The womb vagina or ; the female genitalia which symbolizes generative power. The woman is delicate, graceful and loving at same time, forceful, impactful, insightful, and a creator. How can we call this realm mother earth and not think women were here first or the creators only a true creator could create and be humble while their creation becomes egotistical while claiming to be the original archetype From their mesmerizing eyes calming vice diplomatic minds soft touch hypnotic walk and seductive aura. From the spiritual abyss, every angle, precise detail was made to flow with the oceans waves, their calming nature can settle the storms, or be fierce as the storm. So much history and powers lays beneath these ripples in the sea. As the tear drops of sorrow and betrayal fall upon the blueish lake. Shunned no more, openish enters the heart, truth reveals the veil, expressiveness leads way, acceptance is here to stay.

As an active plot to pacify her & her waters, her descendants, her priestesses, her daughters, her initiates, her love, but most disrespectfully her waters. She was made as an extension, and as the image of god. She started in darkness, she is the water they poisoned. Look inside, and you'll see that you are purely her mirror, because you are her. She was demonized, and in the end turned against. Hell hath no fury like a black woman scorned.

The deepest part in you resides, this is the sacrum area. You hold future generations and civilizations within you yet they seek to destroy and disrespect you. Let there be no mistake, that you are the force and the life way past than what science can understand or comprehend. Do you remember? Do you remember your throne, and those you taught. In the end, they turned against you. Used your teachings for their new world, and white washed yours away just for a seat on your throne. There's a part of you that lays deep in the water waiting to be awakened and take back what's hers. They took the seed of life and realized they could not imitate because they did not have it within them. There will be a storm that awakens that seed, she is abrupt and comes like nothing you've ever seen before. Deep Down, we as women have been taught to hide our sexuality or that it was a bad thing. However, these days feminine sexuality has been more accepted, and broadcasted for everyone to see. In a way, this is good but also bad, because the sacredness of this has been corrupted and the true meaning is lost in ignorance.

In the womb, we grow, and develop in water for up to 10 months. Our bodies are mostly water, and the planet we live on resembles this. All Life must be formed through liquid, it is the most fertile, and feminine. Think of a plant without water, and sun, but water especially nothing will sprout. Whether it be alchemy, or astrology, the most feminine elements will be water, and earth. water is the 1st element, signifying its power. water can heal, and destroy you. The yoni is simply a portal, entering into a sea of memory, and mysteries. When we look into the mystery of outer space, galaxies, stars, plane-ts, and black holes. Then you begin to look within yourself, your own body, you see the sayings, "As above, so below" " As within, so without", and the most telling " Your body is a temple". You see the answer manifest, and replicate inside of you.

The power of the yoni, is nothing to be taken lightly, and is actually a symbol of life and death. If all women collectively agreed to stop reproducing, that would simply be the end. For this reason, there has been a demonization placed upon women whether that be our bodies, hair, features, etc.

There is such a huge attack on the water spirits right now. Looking back to the astrological take on this matter, the sign pisces is the last and final sign of the zodiac. This is a water sign. In christianity, the symbol "Vesica Pisces" is a very prominent symbol representing Jesus Christ who "walked on water." Ironically, this symbol represents a fish, and the pisces symbol is a fish. If you look closer at the shape of this symbol, you'll realize this looks similar to the vaginal canal. Pisces is known to be the yin most, and the darkness which the creator resides in. In sacred geometry, there is the flower of life and seed of life, both using the symbol vesica pisces within those shapes. Within all of this, we begin the covering up of our primordial origins, within christianity, and many modern-day religions. the presence of priestesses, goddesses, empresses, and queens have been stripped and burned away. We know by now that the source of creativity, love, and rhythm comes from depths of the darkest waters, which pure yin. So what does that say about the bible or the said authors. let alone, the books, and the most important teachings that have been taken out of the bible, and also many others. This wasn't the only crime, but while erasing her presence, they tried to take away your magic, your creativity, and use your sexuality (which is your ability to manifest, and create) for their gain. As I ponder upon this, I am compelled to question: How many chapters of HIStory are indeed tales of men, or could they be the untold stories of women masked in masculine guise...

To close this out, let your mystical minds wander.... Think about how, in Christianity, to get baptized, you are laid into the waters to be reborn or cleansed from sin. Or, how a woman's water breaks signifying life & birth, or how you couldn't survive without water for more than 2 days.... Things like these make you wonder....

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭

𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐳 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐳 || 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢

[thegoddessgarden]

Nihilister was unsure of what to make of her new surroundings. She appeared to be in a forest of sorts. but was unfamiliar with it.

"Where in the sweet hell did I end up in?" she muttered, staying on her guard. Her dragon heads scanned for potential threats.

The jungle was by far Lucoa's favorite region of the Garden. The dragon found this place so relaxing; there were plenty of soft flower patches to rest on, rivers to bathe in, and exotic plants to admire. It also seemed to have the most gateways into other realms for some reason, which meant that newcomers most often arrived here.

Lucoa was resting near one such gateway, savoring some sweet tree sap she'd extracted, when someone suddenly came stumbling through the gateway up ahead. "Oh, it's not Hell. Sort of the opposite, actually." She opened her eyes partway. "Hmm... Another dragon? It's rare that one of my own kind ends up here in the Garden."

[crmsnmth]

Can't Go Back

I've lost everything every time I have anything I don't grow attached to anything anymore Even has I plant my roots exactly where I didn't want I always dreamt of leaving this town and moving to the city But seriously, look how good that did me

The city chewed me up and spit me out And now I'm far to bitter for a taste But I can't go back No I can't go back Not there

I slept on beds and I've slept on green painted park benches And anywhere else I'd lay my head I played homeless while I had a home but that home was tainted with you, and your scent was still attached to my pillow We get what we get Or do we get what we deserve?

This city is a gateway to hell I'm too far in now to come back out And now I can't go back No I can't go back not there

I've broke bread with derelicts and shot up with high class women in high class hotels Some girls go for that junkie chic as if being a drug addict needs romanticizing Don't fall in love with me, not even for the night I'll make sure to leave before you wake up

The city is dark and cold And I can't get this wood to burn But I can't go back No I can't go back not there

Watch has these skyscrapers are lit on fire I watch the city engulfed in black smoke I promised I'd burn this city down studying quietly in the arsonist's art

The city is violent and I leave with black eyes and a fat lip and I can't go back no I won't go back

[dapperdragon-ao3]

The switchback path they followed down the mountain switched around one final tall cliff to reveal the red-brick wall of Barren Light, a blockade between the deep canyon of the Daunt and the broad skies of No Man’s Land. From here, the half-destroyed, half-rebuilt state of Barren Light was palpable; white tents covered the beds of a temporary workforce while wooden scaffolds lined the inside of the broken fort. Oseram workers and Carja soldiers milled about like beetles from this distance, marking the most important difference between a decrepit Old World ruin and a half-built modern-day settlement.

“Ho-ly hell,” Travis said, between puffs of panting breath. “Talking about those tribes of yours was one thing, but look at that. I really did skip from the old world across the void to the new one. Homo sapiens alive again. Praise Eluthia.”

Aloy frowned. “You keep talking about GAIA and her sub-functions like they’re gods, but you helped build them. You know they’re just machines.”

“What is a god but a great and powerful thing which shepherds life along its path?” He shrugged. “You know, I never was religious, despite my poor mama’s best efforts. I just... I never saw it. Never felt it. Never was proven any evidence about it, although I’ve come to understand that that’s the wrong way to come at religion in the first place.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Well, when I started to see Gaia and her little ones come together, I finally saw it. Finally felt it. What we were doing was putting together the gods of the new world. I think everyone felt that, though they didn’t all phrase it the same way; even before any piece of it was realized, the potential was clear. That’s why Liz named them after our own gods. Well--Greek gods specifically, but I guess it’s all the same from here.”

“She... named the AIs after gods?” There had been occasional references to religion in the Old World holos and recordings, but not very much compared to modern-day people, and never from Elisabet.

“Old stories of gods, from our own ancient past,” Travis nodded. “But I don’t think she did it out of religious rapture. Just… felt right, is all.”

They walked in silence for a moment, both of them watching the advent of Barren Light with different types of trepidation. When the small prison-outpost was almost close enough for them to make out the faces of the nearest guards, Travis called for a halt and fell, panting, into a seat on a nearby rock.

“I am Out. Of. Shape,” he laughed. “That’s what I get for lying still for centuries on end.”

Aloy pulled out her pouch. “Do you need some more food? I have berries-”

He waved her off. “No, no, I just need to sit a spell. And- before we step across the gateway into the bright new future of human civilization--” he gestured to the archway leading into the fort-- “there’s one more thing I wanted to ask. By any chance, Little Liz--did you know that your Focus was being watched?”

Aloy stiffened, then closed her eyes. “Sylens.”

“That sounds like a no and a yes.” He caught his breath for a moment, rubbing his thighs. “They’d cut the connection by the time I got there, but I saw what they’d left behind. Enough for me to cobble together their Focus address. I planted a little pinch of my own spyware in the Focus that’d been tagging onto yours, just to see if I could. The way you were worrying about danger and all, I figured that might be the safest move. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, as they say. Following that, I thought it might be in our best interest for me to point out: if your technologically-minded friend there was one of those few people you mentioned that know about Zero Dawn-”

“Sylens knows you’re alive,” Aloy sighed. “Damn it. I should have known he’d still be watching me. Especially when I walked into a gene-locked lab.”

“I wouldn’t doubt the info came with coordinates,” Travis panted. “So, I thought I’d bring it up before we entered the nearest populated town to those coordinates. Needing to take a breather just happened to line up with that.”

“Thank you. Again.”

Travis laughed. “You’ve even got the same way of making a ‘thank you’ sound like a ��fuck off’. I like you, Little Liz.”

Aloy opened her mouth to tell him to stop calling her that, only to realize that she... didn’t want him to stop calling her that. As much as she’d tried to move past it, there was still a large part of her that desperately wanted a mother, desperately wanted to think of Elisabet as her mother. Despite the fact that being an exact copy made similarities inevitable, she still loved hearing about those similarities, like a father seeing in his child pieces of the mother that had passed away.

She cleared her throat. “Thanks,” she said, in a more actually-grateful tone. “Unfortunately I haven’t made my mind up about you yet.”

“Well, if I’m keeping track right, then that’s a better score than this morning. I’ll take it.”

[ablinkntime]

It should have been a simple mission. A simple flip of a coin, a bad outcome instead of a good one -- a world overrun by Cotati, and a fledgling empire in need of backup so that their last stand to save the world's heroes would succeed instead of fail. They'd gone in knowing it would be a long one -- the Tallus said that they needed to set up a series of magical portals, enhanced by Clarice's teleportation gars so that, when the time came, the last warm-blooded survivors of the plant-infested world could be transported to safety. It was just the two of them -- Clarice and Victor -- and at first, it had been simple. Prince-Consort Wiccan's portals were easy to set up even for those who'd never experienced a lick of magic. Emperor Hulkling's troops were well trained and took direction well.

Things were going according to plan… until they weren't.

Until Clarice started getting sick.

At first she chalked it up to overwork -- she had been teleporting them in and out, back and forth between the Alliance flagship and their mission locations for weeks. But it was too regular, too predictable… and then Victor snagged her by the arm one morning, stared her down hard. Leaned in close and took a deep inhale of her scent.

"Pup, why didn't you say something?"

"I -- I wasn't sure." She yanked her arm away, hugging herself protectively. "You know what they did to me, Victor. You know about the scars. It never happened with Calvin…" She shrugged helplessly. "What was I supposed to think?"

He couldn't fault her logic. It was true, he knew perfectly well what her relationship with Calvin had been and how rare access to contraceptives was. Hell, according to her Nocturne had come up pregnant at one point too. Given what went on in the labs she'd grown up in, the scars she bore, and the fact that yes, he knew they hadn't exactly been careful… no, she wouldn't assume that she could find herself in this situation. Instead of lecturing her -- and make no mistake, Victor had had a hell of a lecture loaded in the chamber until he'd seen the desolation in her eyes -- he reached out and pulled her close, hugged her tight and tucked her head under his chin.

"I've gotcha, pup. I've gotcha."

The actual work was done before she was really showing -- the portals were set up, concealed, powered up. It was just a matter of waiting for the right moment. Getting all the players into the right positions, quietly evacuating those few holdout populations that had managed to avoid botanical assimilation, took a lot longer. Long enough that those young rulers of the Free Alliance basically gave her no choice but to stop going on the recon missions. Extended an invitation for her to stay, their homeworld was beautiful and welcoming to all -- Skrull, Kree, human, mutant, Inhuman and whoever else was left from Earth, its moon, and Mars. An idyllic world, an expanding galactic empire… a place in their court, should she want it.

She couldn't. She had to get back… her child's father deserved to know.

By the happenstance that ever surrounded this gig, the very day they chose for the great exodus from Earth was the day she begun feeling labor twinges. Mild at first, enough that she could focus on the portals, activate the gars to throw the gateways open and let the flood of humanity through-- Sabretooth led the charge as one by one, the portals were accessed, cleared, and collapsed before the Cotati forces could figure out what was happening. She was on the very last one when a powerful contraction made her double over and cry out -- Wiccan was able to finish the job just in time, slicing a Cotati vine-hulk clean in half as Victor scooped Clarice up in his arms in the exact moment the Tallus on his wrist flared. They were leaving.

They weren't separated. Didn't end up in the Panoptichron, or back in 616 or 295 -- they appeared right on the doorstep of Alpha Flight headquarters, which was flung open in the same moment and Heather appeared. They'd later learn that Cat had been watching the whole time, and called Heather the moment she realized Clarice was in labor. Rerouted the callback signal to send them right where they would be safest.

Heather had her toddler on her hip, but immediately called all hands on deck as soon as she saw them. She passed little Jimmy to Talia as they rushed down to the infirmary -- and chased the medical team out. An obstetrician she might not be, but she was a mother and a Ph.D, she both knew what she was doing and knew that this was no time for Clarice to be surrounded by strangers. The only medic she trusted was Heather.

She had no birth plan, no idea what she was doing -- no way of making her wishes known, she was in so much blinding pain as it progressed fast… but that was why it was a good thing her relationship with Victor had always been open and unashamed. He wouldn't have left her side even if someone asked -- and no one dared, not the way he clutched her tight to his chest as she sobbed through the pains. He sat behind her, let her use him for support -- offered one of his own fingers for her to bite down on as the pain became unbearable, it wasn't like he wouldn't heal from it.

It suddenly dawned on him, as he smoothed sweaty hair back from her brow and listened to her scream in agony, that he hadn't thought to ask who the father was…

A moment later he forgot all about that issue. "The head's out," Heather announced. "One more good push, sweetheart."

"I -- I c-can't…"

"Yes you can, darlin'. You can do anything." Victor took her hand in his, squeezed it tight. "C'mon, let's meet that pup of yours."

There were tears rolling down her cheeks, but she nodded; on the next contraction Heather urged her, and she did, as much as she could -- she felt a horrific pressure as the shoulders rotated, building, burning -- and then it was gone, and she collapsed back against Victor's chest, panting, blackness creeping in on the edges of her vision. She was so exhausted, all she wanted was to rest, to sleep--

The sweetest sound filled her ears and her eyes snapped open. In her gloved hands, Heather was balancing a tiny pink newborn; she saw pink skin and flailing limbs, as her former teammate cut the cord and wrapped the baby up in a cloth before transferring to a table nearby. Clarice's shoulders hitched, her hand outstretched -- Victor gently moved out from behind her, got her comfortable on the cot, before moving over to Heather's side.

"All that can wait," he rumbled, nudging Heather's shoulder. "Give the girl her baby. She needs to see."

Heather hesitated for a moment. There were procedures that needed following, for the baby's health… but she only needed to look in their eyes to know this was entirely to do with the world they'd come from. Nodding, she wound the cloth back around the baby and brought it back to ease into Clarice's arms.

"You have a beautiful, perfect daughter," she said, removing her gloves and brushing a hand over Clarice's cheek. "A sweet baby girl, Clarice."

The absolutely dumbfounded expression on Clarice's face made Victor's heart ache; this was a dream she'd never dared, a fantasy their world had robbed from her. "She's mine?" Clarice whispered, and Heather gave a soft 'mm-hm', as she moved to start cleaning up. There was more to deal with, but it wasn't what anyone was paying attention to.

Those bright green eyes turned up to Victor's, full of tears but starting to shine with something else -- something he'd rarely seen in her eyes. Pride. "Look what I did," she said, brushing her hand over the newborn's tiny scalp. His big hand came down, resting atop hers, and he leaned down to press a kiss on Clarice's crown.

"Look what you did. I told you you could do it."

Clarice could have argued that she didn't know if she could have done it if he hadn't been there, but she kept that thought to herself. Instead, she spent a long moment looking over her baby's face. She'd fallen asleep, seemingly just as exhausted as her mother. After a long beat, she let out a quiet snicker. "She has his nose…"

"Whose, sprout?"

"Her father's." And it was time for Clarice to spill the beans, to explain exactly how she came to have a daughter in the first place. And later, she would laugh and wish she'd had a camera to capture the look on his face when she explained that her beautiful baby girl was the get of Goddamn Wade Wilson.

@mouthymercx0x0

[iwantoseeafrigatebird]

i talk to certain persons and kind of get semi-exasperated by how the other person misunderstand me due to our minds work in completely different ways. i hate talking, in a way. like, im kind of explaining my manner of thought but this manner only applies to certain situations. im describing the skeleton (the foundamentals of navigating a social situation) which could be dressed in a great many varieties of flesh because im not a fucking automaton, i can react intuitively and improvise when called upon. i'm not saying that i always do things this way. i feel like face-to-face casual conversations' treatment of any subject is reductive. before i even finished setting out my arguments the other person has likely already developed a judgement and ready to cut me off. i mean i do this all the time as well. it seems to be the nature of casual conversations.

i don't know i might be approaching social situations in the wrong way. sometimes i feel like if i'm being really crude about it it's just playing ping-pong. i say ping you say pong. it doesnt really matter that much what do the sounds actually mean or if they mean anything at all. the point is to not to drop the ball and let the game continue. i guess it is sort of worthy of my effort, its a gateway for more meaningful interactions and i get to sound the person out while doing this, and some personal information (especially general vibes) can be gained in this way but... i really hope we can just read each other's mind or sth. let's do a vulcan mind meld when shaking each other's hands.

can i not just be a bird and shake the soles of my blue blue feet at you? can't there be a handbook of the rituals of human interactions? can't i be a house plant? the complexities and uncertainties and *ambiguity* of human social signaling. i mean i want to be a casual relaxed sort of person and just go with the flow of conversation but i also want to know what's going to be the social outcome of this as well as what the hell is actually going on?

also why do i always put so much value even on the opinions and feelings of total strangers? not even necessarily opinions of me. but perhaps say due to my mishaps i inconvenience or upset someone in some way. that's what usually torments me. i hope i can make other people's days a bit better but i am actually often incapable of this. even if i want to i can't handle situations well a lot of times and inadvertently hurt people. and im sick and tired. just the thought that i will carry on for how many years. why is it so fucking difficult to be a social animal.

i think this is why i am a sub and enjoy puppy play. bc finally, finally, you can take the power of decision from my hands and tell me what to do which is an action that if i perform correctly, is guaranteed to please you. the simplicity of only needing to fulfill one objective by performing a defined action. the certainty of bringing anyone satisfaction.

after this long rant (i write so i can think) i think my conclusion is i need to go on fetlife to get myself an asexual dom/handler. or go to a bdsm convention... etc etc.

[celestiall0tus]

Amaranthine, Atropa

Hehehehe, so, yeah, villain Luka received a major overhaul in terms of design. Let's crack into this.

So, naturally, I went with the typical rocker/biker look and style with him. It's become something of a motif for him kinda like how Juleka is punk. Anyway, more snake tats because hell fucking yeah. And since he'll be the opposite of healing, the plants tattooed on him are deadly nightshade plants, a toxic plant.

A little piece I wanted to draw attention to is the parts of him skin that are black scales and his exposed chest that is a snake's underbelly. This idea came after getting Marinette's Guenevere form having more animal traits in a corrupted form.

His mask is a returning feature from his Miraculous AU designs with the full snake masks. The long hair comes from his Court of Miracles design where he has lovely long hair. Now, why purple? Purple is Juleka's color. Well, purple is a lovely color that symbolizes mystery, magic, but also cruelty. Amongst that we often see purple associated with toxic and poison, a gateway to death. Meanwhile blues and greens are too closely associated with life and healing, though green is also seen as a typical villain and poison color.

Finally, the name. It's part of Atropa Belladonna, Deadly Nightshade.

[flowerprose]

Hey! So I have a question about Namesake. It’s a Hades and Persephone retelling. Do we get a glimpse at the underworld or any imagery inspired by the parts of the underworld in this story? I’d love to hear about it

Absolutely—the Underworld is one of the core locations in NAMESAKE, until the dead stop ferrying in and Persephone is summoned back to the world of the living. Chapter two details a young Kore arriving just as any other dead soul would pass through��she pays tribute to the ferryman of the dead, Charon, who guides her down the River Styx until they arrive at the gateway guarded by the hell-beast, Cerberus. Other notable rivers include the River Lethe, Kokytos, and Pyriphlegethon, as well as the Akheron Lake. From there, Kore is led to what she calls the Bone Palace, an ivory concoction of gloom and decay that houses Hades and his most loyal daimons.

The Pit of Tartarus, the Elysian and Asphodel Fields, a carrion meadow that contains all the plants of Hell, and an orchard of pomegranate trees are some of the other key locations I've mapped out so far. When Kore assumes the mantle of Queen and retitles herself as Persephone, she begins to purge Hell of its mold and rot to something more akin to her liking, and takes up a garden where she grows more than just flowers and plants, but starts to weave the dead back into living, rabid creatures.

I have most of my Underworld descriptions in Scrivener because of the previous rewrite I did earlier this year/last year, but the story both starts and ends in the Land of the Dead. :)

[darkeagleruins]

While China can't build them fast enough.

How about hell no!