#23 calendar magic

[five-rivers]

Dreadful Calm Chapter 1

Tags from AO3: Major character death, freezing solid, Vomiting, gagging, suffocation, Hypothermia, most of those things don't REALLY happen, but it's close enough those tags should do it, Body Horror, ectoberhaunt 2023 day 11: dread vs calm

(MCD not shown in this chapter.)

.

Danny was glad the 'Fenton Family Vacation-slash-Road-Trip-slash-Ghost-Hunting-Extravaganza' was over and they were finally on their way back to Amity Park.  The trip had been as long and tedious as its name, and Danny hadn’t wanted to go in the first place.  They’d be crossing the city limits soon, and it'd only take another fifteen minutes to get home.  

For Danny, it couldn’t come soon enough.  He loved his parents.  He really did.  But being around them constantly for days had been taxing, and would have been even if he hadn’t been a half-ghost who had to watch himself for ghostly slip ups.

That wasn’t even touching on the stress of being away from Amity Park, which was the source of most of said slip ups.  Heck, about halfway through the trip, he’d woken up from a nightmare in a panic, convinced something terrible had happened, and only calls from Sam and Tucker telling him that everything was fine had kept him from flying all the way back home to fight the perceived threat.

Although… Now that he thought about it, he wondered…  how did they know to call him in the first place?

The GAV ka-thumped over a pothole - not one Danny had made by being thrown into the asphalt at high speeds, incidentally, he remembered those - and the thought was thrown from his head in favor of grumbling.  Grumbling, and a faint sense of unease.  

He leaned to the side so he could look out the windshield at the skyline, and couldn’t help the thought that something was different, something was wrong.  Nothing he could see.  All the buildings seemed to be there, and he would know.  

The ‘Welcome to Amity Park’ sign flicked by the window, unreadable at the speeds Jack was driving at, and–

And Danny slammed his right hand over his mouth, unlatched his seatbelt with his left, and dove for the tiny bathroom in the back of the GAV.  He got the door closed and locked behind him, and immediately fell into the tiny cubicle shower, dropping to his hands and knees.  

His ghost sense dripped and oozed off the tip of his tongue and past his lips, heavy and almost liquid, despite still being insubstantial mist.  It fell in wispy curls and silky folds, dispersing along the floor and leaving behind feathery patterns of frost.  He retched, trying to clear his airway, and managed to draw in a single gasp of fresh air before his ghost sense reasserted dominance.  

Well.  Danny was assuming this was his ghost sense.  It lacked the usual sense of accompanying hostility, and while his ghost sense might make him gasp, it had never made him gag.  

“... motion sickness?” called Maddie from the front.

“Y-yeah!” rasped out Danny.  He winced at the sound of his voice, then shivered once, violently.  

“Don’t worry, son!  We’ll be home in no time!  And motionless!  With fudge!”

Bluish mist pooled in the bottom of the shower well, and spilled over the shallow plastic lip, into the rest of the bathroom.  Danny was glad that his mother had insisted on the bathroom door having a plastic seal and a separate ventilation system after one too many ‘incidents,’ otherwise the mist would be leaking out into the main cabin of the GAV.

He shivered again, and a hum from his core turned into a croon in his throat.  To it, the cold felt like a comforting welcome, even though it was the one producing it.  

But what was making it produce cold like this?  Even Pariah Dark hadn’t felt like this.  Going into the Ghost Zone for the first time hadn’t felt like this.  Nothing felt like this, like being suddenly supercharged in the worst way, to the point of losing control, but also feeling paradoxically good, power dragging fingers up his spine, wrapping around him like a blanket.  

He got in another breath, then lost it, giggling as a delicious chill spread from his core all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes.  

What he should do, what he wanted to do was go ghost and fly away somewhere he could release all this energy safely.  But his parents had upgraded the GAV before they’d left on the trip, and had spent the last several days explaining all the new features in detail.  

There were a lot of weapons.  A lot of weapons.  

There were detectors, too, ones that would be able to see Danny if he was in ghost form.  

Possibly more importantly, the walls were painted with Fenton Paint, and Danny couldn’t phase past that.

Another wave of cold bloomed from his core, and he exhaled more frigid fog.  He could feel ice on his wrists and hands, and he snatched them up, off the floor, blinking tears out of his eyes.  Those tears fell to the floor with tiny clinks.  

Afraid of what he’d find, he pressed his tongue against the back of his lower lip.  His tongue was slow, heavy, it didn’t want to move.  Tiny spears of frost crunched against one another, then were bound together by another plume of mist.  He could feel more frost forming around his back teeth, locking his jaw open.  Danny crooned again, and the sound was oddly content for how terrified Danny was.  

Sudden, sharp pain radiating from around his core forced him to double over the rest of the way into a fetal position, trapping his arms between his legs and his chest.  There was ice forming around his core.  He knew this with a terrifying certainty.  There was ice forming around his core, in his chest, in his organs.  He could feel it creeping across the outsides of his lungs, freezing them in place even as he choked in a final breath past the mist still curling past his lips.  He could feel his heart slow then stop as his blood turns to slush, then freezes solid.  

Despite this, despite the pain, part of him still found this comfortable, pleasureable.  The cold was good.  The power was good.  Whatever was doing this, it felt like home and safety and welcome back.  He knew, he knew he could use this, once he got it under control, to help and protect people, his people, his city, his family, his friends, better than ever.  Ice clattered against ice as more tears fell from his eyes.  His core purred happily, and all the ice crystals around it reverberated with the tone.  

It hurt.  It hurt so much to have all those crystals inside him chime, vibrating enough to feel them inside his flesh, inside his bone, but it also soothed him in ways he couldn’t explain.  

He could still transform, could still go ghost.  But the GAV’s defenses were still there, still active.  He’d be trapped again, just in a different way, and for all he knew, this could get worse if he went ghost.  Right now, his out-of-control powers were only freezing him, but they could very easily freeze other people.  People who didn’t have built-in resistance to being frozen solid.  

(The humming purr of his core stuttered momentarily, as if that had finally gotten through to it, but the moment didn’t last.)

And either way… his parents would know.

No.  He wouldn’t transform.  

He blinked tears out of his eyes again, but this time he could not open them.  His eyelids had frozen shut.  He tried to shift, to bring up a hand to break away the ice, but the cold had made his joints and muscles stiff, immovable.  

He was stuck.  Trapped.  The only parts of him still mobile were the fog pouring out of his mouth and nose, the growing ice, and his core, humming away without a care in the world.  Everything else was frozen to stillness.

Trapped, and he wasn’t even trapped alone, somewhere he would have time to figure this out and get it under control.  Any moment, they would arrive home, and his parents would want to know why he wasn’t coming out, and when he didn’t answer, they’d barge in, because they’d worry, they would, and they’d see him like this, and know he couldn’t be anything but dead.  

Ice crept up and down his spine, filling in the gaps between his bones.  It touched the base of his skull, and spread slowly along his scalp, like a hand carding through his hair.  The feeling sank deeper, into his skin, his muscle, his bone.  Someone approved.  Someone was proud of him.  Someone cared.  Someone was thanking him.  Someone wanted him.  Someone loved him.  

Each and every part of him sang with the song of his core.  He was frozen solid, coated with ice inside and out.  

Danny stayed that way for what felt like hours, his feelings churning between the externally-induced happiness of his core and the very real dread of his parents finding him like this.  But for all that he was, nominally, in human form, the parts of him that were human were asleep in the ice.

The calm won out.  

The calm… Out the window, Amity Park had seemed remarkably calm.  

The thought slithered away from the numb, chilled fingers of Danny’s mind, and he let it.  He’d been distracted by a new sensation.  An unbearable lightness.  It filled him up as thoroughly as the ice, with his core as the kernel.  It felt like his soul was straining against the upper surfaces of his body.  It felt like he was having a fight with gravity that was far more personal than usual.  It felt like peace and contentment, just out of his reach.  

Below him, there was a resounding crack as he lifted up off the floor to float mid-air.  His core-song grew louder, without the damping effects of touching something that wasn’t in tune.  

He didn’t know how long he hung there, floating, in the air, his thoughts becoming progressively sleepier and more abstract, drawn out into slow, simple cycles by the lack of anything to think about.  His usual methods of time keeping were out of reach.  No light, not action, no breath or heartbeat, and for all that the ice and the song and the floating made him tired, they barely put a dent in his energy.

But then, past the layer of ice over his ears, he felt-heard the door open, and people came in.  He couldn’t see them, of course, but he felt their warmth/energy/emotion, and they looked on him kindly, lovingly, with gentle affection and concern.  They touched him with warm-cool hands, and he let them direct him, effortlessly, first out the bathroom door, then out the GAV, and from there into his home.  

Weightless cold pulsed through him again as they crossed that threshold, the power even greater here than outside.  The hands withdrew, then, for the first time since they’d found him, and his core-song turned plaintive, the notes making his notes ache bitterly.  But the hands returned, their journey not yet done.  

They continued, into the kitchen, through the lab door, down the stairs, and–

Danny couldn’t help it.  His song turned sad, mournful.  This was where he had died the first time, for all that it was also where the power coursing through him was the strongest.  Those with him wept as well, feeling the same, he could tell.  But they didn’t stop.  They pushed him steadily deeper into the lab, steadily further and further into power, into pain.  

Into the portal.  

He passed into the Ghost Zone, and whatever was feeding him power simply went away, as if it had never existed.  Danny’s ghost sense stopped streaming from his mouth.  The sublime weightlessness receded into the regular weightlessness enjoyed by most things in the Zone.  The things that were keeping Danny awake, stopped.  

He slept.  

[doiyi-yt]

EH day 9: Robots/ Dragons

Dragon Danno!

Any criticism/tips are highly encouraged, help me art.

[thisisnotthenerd]

with misfits & magic season ii coming out on 9/25, it's time for a spreadsheet update!

links to the relevant sheets:

thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats: the og spreadsheet. where this all started.

d20 episode randomizer: watch orders! go here to see all of the episodes listed in various ways, and to pick a random episode!

d20 seating chart stats: the table and how it plays out every season. check the compiled chart for basics on each character

anyways, on to the stats!

general stats:

total episode count: 251, spread over 22 seasons.

there have been 8 main cast / intrepid heroes seasons, that make up 147 of the 251 episodes, or 58.5% of the total count. if we include oneshots in this count, the count goes up to 151 of 251, for 60.1%.

total runtime: 541:54:53. that's 3 weeks, 1 day, 13 hours, 54 minutes and 53 seconds of dimension 20.

average runtime: 2:09:32. the median is 2:08:32, which i thought was funny. the episode that's closest to the average, with 2:09:33, is 'the house always wins' from a starstruck odyssey.

some more recent updates: never stop blowing up has the third-shortest average (1:49:18), following fantasy high (1:39:43) and coffin run (1:43:16).

nsbu is the shortest of the 10-episode seasons, with a total runtime of 18:12:59. compare that to the longest 10-episode season, the seven, with a runtime of 23:55:12.

for mismag, this is our first sidequest sequel season. aabria is the first guest dm to get a sequel season of her own (matt is a little diff by virtue of brennan running acoc). it's the first KOB sequel season as well--that speaks well for d20 expanding their game systems.

mechanically, they're now using a version of nsbu called never stop making magic, so i'll be tracking stat explosions this season as well. i do think d20 is leaning towards expanding the systems they use, so we'll see how they continue to expand going forward.

it's also the first odd-numbered sidequest season, with 11 episodes. by december 5, we'll have had 16 episodes in the world of mismag, which is just under a main cast season.

player stats:

aabria's back in the dome for her 7th season, and 4th as the game master! with an 11 ep season she's up to 59 episodes, and remains the most common guest on d20. at this point she's the second in-house dm. she has the Q4 10-ep season on lock. the first sidequest sequel season is hers.

brennan is up to 21 seasons and 257 episodes (including time quangle and mismag ii). he now has 2 seasons on the right, evening his split out a little bit (3:2)

lou has dethroned ally and taken the top player spot, with 12 season and 187 episodes. he has a new fave seat, with 4 seasons in L1 as well as R3.

erika isn't far behind aabria, with 47 episodes and 6 seasons. they're split between L3 and R2 (2 each)

danielle's joining the ranks of what i consider the recurring guest cast, with 3 seasons and 22 episodes under her belt. she's behind rekha and izzy (tied with 36), erika, and aabria.

production notes:

in terms of production, the release of the time quangle episodes puts us at 45-46 episodes for 2024, depending on when the december releases start. this also sets us at a total of 268 episodes by the end of 2024.

if we include all of the adventuring parties, adventuring academies and various other d20 auxiliary content, 2024 might take the cake for the most total episodes, dethroning 2021.

i'm guessing that this was the first season filmed after brennan's parental leave, so they're probably still 6 months to a year ahead of the releases

production calendar is looking like main cast season in Q1-Q2, varying number of sidequests/oneshots through Q2 and Q3, with aabria/another guest dm in Q3-Q4. depending on when aabria's season starts, they may start the intrepid heroes' season in Q4 going into the following year. general disclaimer that this is just a guess.

[solangeloweek]

AUctober 2024

Happy AUctober! We are very excited to be partnering with @solangelo for the first week of this year's event. (Yes, double-dipping is allowed! If you don't vibe with the prompts listed for days 1-5, check out the alternate prompts on the solangelo 10th anniversary post!) We are also excited to bring back Free Day Fridays, and are introducing Movie Monster Mondays!

Remember to check out our event rules, and be sure to tag @solangeloweek in your post to make sure we see it! All creations will be reblogged to this account, but we can only reblog them if we know they exist!

Prompt calendar under the cut:

Tuesday / 1: Boundaries (alt. prompts from @solangelo: Light / Shade)

Wednesday / 2: Love (alt. prompts from @solangelo: Cure / Precious)

Thursday / 3: Reflection (alt. prompts from @solangelo: Scry / Knowing)

Friday / 4: Confession (alt. prompts from @solangelo: Endure / Insomnia)

Saturday / 5: Rainbow (alt. prompts from @solangelo: Refract / Crystal)

Sunday / 6: Body-swap

Monday / 7: Dracula

Tuesday / 8: Long Distance

Wednesday / 9: Artist

Thursday / 10: Ghosts

Friday / 11: FREE DAY

Saturday / 12: Blind Date

Sunday / 13: Immortal

Monday / 14: Frankenstein

Tuesday / 15: Magic

Wednesday / 16: Exes

Thursday / 17: Clowns

Friday / 18: FREE DAY

Saturday / 19: Shakespeare

Sunday / 20: Athlete

Monday / 21: Jekyll & Hyde

Tuesday / 22: Roommates

Wednesday / 23: College

Thursday / 24: Creatures

Friday / 25: FREE DAY

Saturday / 26: Camp Swap

Sunday / 27: Amnesia

Monday / 28: Slasher

Tuesday / 29: Pumpkin Patch

Wednesday / 30: Reincarnation

Thursday / 31: Halloween / FREE DAY

[bucktommywinterfest]

Warm-up rounds:

Halloween - October 27-Nov 2: couples costumes and/or magical realism

Thanksgiving - November 24-30: firefam friendsgiving and/or accidental texts

Event Prompts:

December 1-7: first [insert winter holiday/tradition] together and/or clothes sharing

December 8-14: hallmark movies/movie night and/or “I've actually never seen snow before.”

December 15-21: holiday-themed calls/a q-word shift and/or mistletoe kiss

December 22-28: Christmas/Hanukkah and/or firefam holiday party

December 29-January 4: midnight kiss/resolutions and/or early mornings/late nights

January 5-11: holiday/post-holiday blues and/or trans character(s)

January 12-18: enemies to lovers and/or weird weather/stranded 

January 19-25: sports au and/or love confessions

January 26-February 1: different era (80s, 90s, etc.) and/or painted nails/Uncle Tommy

February 2-8: Tommy in the Firefighter calendar and/or buck 1.0 meets closeted Tommy

February 9-15: Valentine’s Day and/or secret(s)

February 16-22: seeing each other on calls and/or time travel/time loop

February 23-March 1: meet cute/meet ugly and/or different jobs

March 2-8: daddy issues/daddy kink and/or dancing in the kitchen

March 9-15: werewolves au and/or polyamory

March 16-22: married in Vegas and/or bucktommy dads/accidental baby acquisition 

March 23-29: bucktommy anniversary

[breelandwalker]

Snow Moon - February 23-24, 2024

Boots and mittens on, witches - it's time for the Snow Moon!

Snow Moon

The Snow Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs during the month of February. Despite what certain groundhogs will tell you, February is the month that sees the highest rates of snowfall across much of North America, according to the National Weather Service, and many alternative names for the moon and the month in which it falls reflect this.

As with many full moon names, we find the roots of the Snow Moon among the indigenous peoples of North America. In this particular case, a colonist explorer noted in 1760 that the Naudowessie (Dakota) people called this month Snow Moon specifically due to the tendency for snowstorms to come during that month. Some other indigenous names for this moon and month refer to commonly-sighted animals. Some examples include Eagle Moon (Cree), Bear Moon (Ojibwe), Groundhog Moon (Algonquin), and Goose Moon (Haida). Another notable example is Hungry Moon (Cherokee), denoting the scarcity of available food in deep winter.

The Snow Moon this year is what is known as a "micromoon" - basically the opposite of a supermoon. Where a supermoon brings our beloved satellite closer to Earth, at the perigree (or zenith) of its' elliptical orbit, a micromoon is at the apogee (or nadir), placing the moon at a point comparatively farther away. The moon will be at peak illumination at 7:30am EST on February 24th, meaning the moon may appear to be full on the 23rd and the 24th, depending on where you live.

What Does It Mean For Witches?

February is a month of change and transition. Though winter still holds on, many places may be showing early signs of spring. Little buds may be coming out on the trees, certain species of birds are beginning to migrate back, and hibernating animals start to wake up and reappear.

As we begin to turn toward the end of our long winter's rest, it's a good time to think about how we prepare for oncoming change and how we care for ourselves and our practices during times of stagnation.

With the moon in apogee, we might also contemplate the concept of distance as it relates to our practices, be it keeping long-distance bonds fresh, doing things remotely either alone or as part of a larger group, or feeling distant from your craft or your deities. And yes, such things are normal and cyclical. Our inspiration and motivation wax and wane just as the moon does. If it feels like you've been far away from your craft for too long, perhaps it's time to bring it back into your orbit.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

Gather fresh snow or icicles for moon water, or make your own moon ice by leaving a bowl of water out overnight to freeze, if the temperature drops low enough.

If it snows in your area, you can wish upon a snowball. Grab a handful of powdery snow, whisper your wish to it, and throw the whole thing up in the air to release the wish into the universe

With winter scarcity in mind, practice creating a minimalist spell as an exercise. Create a workable spell with as few components, words, movements, or ritual elements as possible. This is more of a challenge if you're used to using material components or rituals in your spellwork. Many witches cast spells with focused thought or energy work alone.

Explore the concept of self care as magic. Use your routines to create moments of rest and harmony, make a point of being kind to your body and your mind, and cultivate a more positive relationship with yourself - it's the only one guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Connect with your local biome by looking for any early signs of spring in your area. Feed the returning birds and identify the plant and animal species you see around you as they appear one by one.

Happy Snow Moon, witches! 🌕❄️

SOURCES & FURTHER READING:

Bree’s Lunar Calendar Series

Bree’s Secular Celebrations Series

Snow Moon: Full Moon in February 2024, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Snow Moon: The Extraordinary Full Moon of February 2024, The Peculiar Brunette.

Moon Info - Full Moon Dates for 2024

Calendar-12 - 2024 Moon Phases

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar, check out my monthly show Hex Positive, and find my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[srbachchan]

DAY 5939

Jalsa, Mumbai May 22, 2024 Wed 10:14 PM

And a statistical video ..

🪔 ,

May 23 .. birthday greetings to Ef AMIT Ladva from Ahmedabad ..❤️

all good wishes from the Ef family for this special day .. love 🌹

A day of nothingness .. pity .. nothingness brings nothing .. no desire, no effort, no routine , no discipline ... nothing .. it is the most wasteful exercise ever .. and they that lament its absence in their busy occupied lives , never ever fall for this trap of having nothing to do .. it is the most wasteful denominated degree in your existence ..

I speak for myself of course .. it may differ with others .. maybe they do need that moment when they be in 'nothingness' .. ad quite like it .. like it to the extent of being in it ever .. well bless you .. you are in the category of unique individuals .. !

There is actually a lot to do .. the riddance of excess be prime .. paper work that does not need the attention it deserves .. reading .. so much before thee, that it is frightens one .. where to begin and where to not .. which truly is contrary to the :

राह पकड़ तू एक चला चल, पा जाएगा मधुशाला .. catch but one path and travel on it .. thou shall find the House of Wine - the desired destination

.. the object of your projected mind ..

the normal usages of the factors obstructing the day doings , do appear in abundance .. but the will or the need to be in it to perform it does not come to the front .. and you lie around in this blanket of blankness .. uninterested uninvolved and deflated ..

heck the number of the DAY .. the date the location , month year , time .. the Calendar for the wishes for the special days .. the text as it forms without any preparation .. puch the first word in and the rest of it ,begins to magically flow along .. no stoppages, no barriers, nothing .. no nothingness in this .. none at all ..

But yes .. there has been a learning .. a learning for the next technical communication centre .. and with the help of them that excel in them to be able to do it .. yes do it .. myself ..

Apart from this there is immense reading to do .. the reading of scripts that lie by my side .. and to report to the concerned, my evaluation of whether it can have my involvement in it ..

And ..

yes .. tomorrow shall be that dedication on it ..

HAH .. !!

Famous last words .. tomorrow ..

It never comes and in all likelihood shall not come either ..

But no harm in addressing it ..

Keep well .. keep hydrated .. keep calm and cool ..

Amitabh Bachchan

and the Ef Moses, collects these details for my benefit

9 films of you. Till 1986 Incredible

[destielmonth]

Destiel Month 2023 Prompts

Hello! Destiel Month is back for the third year in a row!

I would like to apologize for the delay in prompts. All of our mods have been quite busy but our hearts are still full with appreciation for these two.

We don't have a calendar this year but we do have 30 whole prompts!

A Quick Reminder - Don't force yourself to create content for all 30 days! This is a fun, stress free event in celebration of Castiel's confession!

How to Participate -

On TUMBLR or TWITTER: Post your piece or link to your piece using the tag #destielmonth or #destielmonth23 OR mention us ( @destielmonth​ ) in your post

On AO3: Add your piece to the collection (Destiel Month 2023) when you create your work

Day 1 - Nicknames

Day 2 - Bonding

Day 3 - Mythology

Day 4 - Rescue Mission

Day 5 - Confession

Day 6 - Moment of True Happiness

Day 7 - Desire

Day 8 - Potions & Magic

Day 9 - The End

Day 10 - Favoritism

Day 11 - Movie / Game Night

Day 12 - Missed Connections

Day 13 - Angels / Demons

Day 14 - Cologne / Scent

Day 15 - Scooby Doo

Day 16 - Book Store / Library

Day 17 - King of Hell

Day 18 - Bubble Bath

Day 19 - Memory Loss / Amnesia

Day 20 - Humanity / Human Kindness

Day 21 - Red String

Day 22 - Badass in Distress

Day 23 - Giving

Day 24 - Accidents Happen

Day 25 - Back Seat

Day 26 - French Mistake / Alternate Reality

Day 27 - Transformations

Day 28 - Apple Pie

Day 29 - Seasonal Depression

Day 30 - Rewards

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Celtic beliefs in trees (27)

A for Ailm (Pine) - December 23rd Birth of the Divine child

“The birth of the King of the Flourishing Half Year - The Celtic Tree Calendar” 

Stars: Mars & Sun; Gender: female; Metal: gold; Patrons: Artemis, Ariadne, Rhea, Cybele, Druantia, Dionysus, Bacchus; Symbols: foresight, purity, objectivity, birth

The Ogham alphabet has 5 vowels. The number 5 is the sacred number of the 'White Goddess'. Like all five vowel trees, pine is a female tree. And it is also the first vowel A, the tree of birth.

In ancient Greece, the pine tree was the goddess of the moon and dedicated to Artemis, who was responsible for the birth of children.The birth of Christ is celebrated on 25 December, and the Christmas tree decorated on this day is Norway spruce. The spruce is a member of the pine tree family. Although Christ's birthday is now celebrated on 25 December, it is believed that in earlier times our ancestors celebrated the birth of the Son of God on 23 December.

23 December marked the beginning of the 'Half Year of Light' and the birth of the "Son of God, the King of the Flourishing Half Year", and a gift of the wisdom of our ancestors.

On the winter solstice, druids (Ref2) in Europe lit large bonfires of pine and yew. Around the same time, the festival of the Druid Queen, Druantia, also took place. These large bonfires, which were built on the winter solstice, were passed on to the Yule Log. While the Yule festival lasted, people lit candles on pine trees and decorated them with glittering objects. The Christmas tree is the successor to this custom.

The ancients believed that the pine cones were cleverly guided by magical powers, as they spiralled and followed the same clockwise direction on their trunks as the earth around the sun. Yellow pollen was utilised in the 'money-accumulation spell' as yellow attracts gold. Pine branches are said to prevent evil from entering the house if hung over doors and windows, and old people are said to be rejuvenated if they carry pine cones.

Futhermore, Native Americans put a bag full of pine needles under their pillows on the floor when they have insomnia. In ancient Egypt, doctors in the Pharaoh's service used pine tar and turpentine oil to treat pneumonia.

The ancients learnt from the towering pines the importance of looking at things objectively and from a broad perspective. Pine teaches that you have to be positive about things, correct mistakes immediately and chase responsibility yourself.

So, have a happy Christmas everyone, surrounded by the tree again this year.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

ケルト人の樹木の信仰 (27)

AはAilm (ﾏﾂ) - 12月23日 神の子の誕生、ケルトの木の暦（参照）

星: 火星＆太陽、性: 女性、金属: 金、守護神: アルテミス、アリアドネ、レア、キュベレ、ドルアンティア、ディオニックス、バッカス、シンボル: 先見の明、清浄、客観性、誕生

オガム文字には5つの母音がある。数字の5は「���い女神」の聖なる数字。5つの母音のすべての木がそうであるように、マツも女性の木、そして最初の母音のA、誕生の木でもある。

古代ギリシャでは、マツは月の女神で、子供の誕生をつかさどるアルテミスに捧げられた。キリストの誕生を祝う12月25日、この日に飾るクリスマス・ツリーはノルウェートウヒ。トウヒはマツ科の木である。現在、キリストの誕生日は12月25日とされているが、その昔、祖先は12月23日に神の御子の誕生を祝っていたとされる。12月23日は「光の半年間」の幕開けと「神の子・盛りゆく半年の王」の誕生を一緒の祝う先祖の知恵の産物であった。

冬至の日、ヨーロッパのドルイド（参照2）は松やイチイの大きな焚き火をした。これは、太陽神を冥界から呼び戻し、この世に再生させるためであった。ユール祭が続く間、人々はマツの木に蝋燭を灯したり、きらきら光るものを飾ったりした。それは、生命の源である太陽神の聖なる光を守るためであった。また、その光は暗い冬の間も常緑樹の植物に蓄えられると古代人は信じていたからだ。その習慣を受け継いだのがクリスマスツリーである。

松ぼっくりは、螺旋を描きながら、太陽の周りをめぐる地球と同じように時計回りに幹につくため、魔法の力を巧みに導く存在であると、古代人は信じていた。黄色い花粉は黄色がゴールドを引き寄せるとして「お金がたまる呪い」に活用された。マツの枝はドアや窓にかけると邪悪なものが家の中に侵入できなくなり、老人は松ぼっくりを持ち歩くとして若返ると言われている。

さらに、ネイティブ・アメリカンは不眠症のとき、マツの葉が詰めた袋を枕の下に敷いて床につく。古代エジプトでは、ファラオに仕える医者が肺炎の治療に松脂とテレビン油を使ったという。

古代人は広い視野に立って客観的、長期的にものを見る重要性を、高くそびえる松に学んできた。物事には前向きに取り組み、過ちはすぐに正し、責任は自分で追わなければならないと、マツは教えている。

さあ、今年もまたツリーにかこまれて、みなさん楽しいクリスマスをお過ごしください。

[samsseptember]

Samtember 2023 Calendar, Rules, and Guidelines!

Hi, Sam Wilson Nation! It's that time of year again when we all get together to celebrate our beloved Sam Wilson's birth month. That's right, it's ✰samtember2023✰ !!! 🎉

As per usual, the event will be running from Friday, September 1st to Saturday, September 30th and there will be prompts set for each day:

Fluff/Family Week (and Two Days):

September 1 - Free Space

September 2 - First Flight | Riley  

September 3 - Delacroix | Louisana

September 4 - Siblings | Uncle Sam

September 5 - Fishing | Camping

September 6 - Day Off | Vacation

September 7 - Memories | The Future

September 8 - Figaro | Sick Day

September 9 - Carnival | King of Mardi Gras

Captain America Week:

September 10 - Cap Quartet 2.0 | Mission Fic

September 11 -  Workout | Team Training

September 12 - Shield | Legacy

September 13 - Interview | Rumor

September 14 - Magic | Multiverse

September 15 - Undercover | Amnesia 

September 16 - Night Out | Madripoor

AU Week:

September  17 - Wings | Angel

September  18 - Western AU | Cowboy  

September  19 - Celebrity AU | Royalty AU 

September  20 - Bird Telepathy | Redwing

September  21 - Zombie AU | Apocalypse AU 

September  22 - Hurt/Comfort | Disaster Fic

September  23 - Birthday 🎂🧁

Canon Week:

September  24 - In the Air Force | Time in D.C.

September  25 - Part-Time Avenger | On the Run

September  26 - Working for Fury | Wakanda

September  27 -  Post-Blip | TFATWS

September  28 - Post-TFATWS | Meanwhile, On the Boat

September  29 - Uniform | Cap Suit 

September  30 - Sam Wilson 

We have opened a collection on AO3 that can be found here, or by typing samtember2023 in the add to collections option.

You can also tag any works you post with #samtember2023 or tag this blog @samsseptember​ - works will be reblogged every day throughout the month. 

Can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with! 

What works count for this fan event?

Any of the following count:

fanfic

podfic

fanart

gifsets

photosets / moodboards

graphics

Haikus

videos / edits

playlists

Whichever way you want to celebrate Sam Wilson, it’s up to you! 

The rest of the FAQ and rules are under the cut.

FAQ

What is this?

It’s a Sam Wilson fan event.

Is there any pressure?

No pressure at all. Fill one prompt. Fill all the prompts on for the month. Do however many you please.

Can I fill more than one prompt with one piece of art/one fic?

Yes! You can fill one prompt with one piece of art or fic. You can try to fill all 30 prompts at once with one piece of art or fic. If you can fill every single prompt from every single day in one fill, that’d be wild but it’s okay by the rules. You can do any number in between.

Are there any prizes for making anything for this event?

Just the satisfaction that you made something cool.

Should the work I make be Sam Wilson-centric?

Yes. You can make a gen work or a piece with any ship with Sam Wilson in it, but the main focus should be Sam Wilson.

How long will this event run?

It will run from September 1st to September 30th.

I heard there are badges I can use for each fill?

There will be! They will come out daily.

Do I have to post my fic for the prompt on the day of the prompt?

You can if you'd like, but it's okay if you post a piece on a day other than the day of the prompt.

RULES AND GUIDELINES

What are the guidelines for the event?

I will be borrowing some of this from the MYSU Valentine’s Day Bingo 2022 Guidelines, since they were fantastic.

For Everyone:

1. Remember to tag @samsseptember in the post as well as #samtember2023.

2. Please also tag the prompt you’re using (for instance, if the square is “Redwing”, use “#redwing” as one of your tags when posting about it on Tumblr).

3. If you’re uploading to AO3, please:

a ) Say somewhere which prompt you’re filling.

b ) Add it to The Samtember Collection (under Samtember2023).

For Artists:

1. Create at least one piece of new art that can’t have been posted anywhere else before this.

2. All visual art forms are welcome:

a ) Gifsets or photosets, at least 3 gifs or photos.

b ) Aesthetic boards or moodboards, at least 4 images each.

c ) Drawing/painting, that is not a sketch.

d) Fan video.

e) Graphics edit.

For Authors:

1. At least 500 words.

2. Posted on Tumblr or AO3.

3. Can be part of a series, but should work as a standalone.

For Podficcers:

1. The podfic should at least be 10 minutes long.

2. It should be posted on either Tumblr or AO3.

3. The podfic can be of a fic made for the event, a fic not made for the event while still adhering to the prompt, or a notfic.

Things to be mindful of when creating:

For Sam

Avoid framing Sam only as a caretaker or emotional support for Bucky. Be mindful of Sam acting angry or aggressive in an out-of-character way and falling into the angry/sassy Black man trope (check out the MCU source material to help with character traits).

Avoid decentering Sam as a main character and refrain from focusing entirely on Bucky.

In art: avoid whitewashing Sam’s skin and research drawing Black characters.

General disclaimer: Race affects every aspect of his life, including interacting with police/government and the white structures of the world when it comes to performing his duties as Cap and simply being a Black man that lives in the U.S.

Specific Tags:

Avoid tags in AO3 like “Sam Wilson is a Gift” and “Sam Wilson is a Saint”.

Have fun and we look forward to your Samtember 2023 works!

[five-rivers]

Grain Chapter 2

Part of the Woods of Amity series!

Written for Ectoberhaunt Day 2: Botanomancy.

.

On rising, Danny did his best not to think about anything in particular, particularly nothing about families, or humans, or wolves, or being lost, or monsters, or shapeshifting, or… 

There were a lot of things Danny didn’t want to think about. If he did, he knew he’d start crying again. He didn’t want to cry anymore. He suspected that if he cried enough, he’d start to feel the lack of salt and water, like how when he’d turned into a sheep and had Tucker cut off his wool, he’d started to feel hungry. He didn’t want that.  

Also, crying was gross, and made his eyes, nose, and throat hurt.  

So. New resolution. No more crying. It wasn’t productive.  

He sniffled.  

Leaves brushed consolingly against him as he traveled across branches in a form too close to human to be practical. Now he was reducing humanity to a matter of practicality. What was– No. No. He wasn’t thinking about it, and he wasn’t crying. He was dealing with this. He was coping. It wasn’t like this was permanent.  

Who was he kidding, exactly?  

He sighed and laid down on the branch he was on, settling back into the cat he’d been yesterday and tucking his paws underneath him. Resting wasn’t what he needed - he needed something to take his mind off of all of this - but he didn’t want to walk off a branch (could he even do that, with the way he was now, with the very trees whispering to him and anchoring him?) or something equally stupid because he was distracted.  

Before he did anything else, he had to get his thoughts in order. At least, he had to get them in order enough that he wasn’t breaking down every ten minutes.  

… Jazz used to do this with him. He wondered again if she’d even been told he was gone.  

Not that he was actually gone.  

Start with what was actually upsetting him. Not the whole, overall thing, because that was too big, and, if he could be the teeniest, tiniest bit honest with himself, he wasn’t coping with it well at all. No. Start with this particular incident that had set him off.  

He’d been called a monster.  

Which… wasn’t entirely untrue. He was, as he was more or less continuously reminded, a creature of the woods, and, strangely, he didn’t hate it. His ruin-home was comfortable, shapeshifting was cool, the touches on his mind were friendly.

He’d also had stuff thrown at him.  

Words could hurt, but words backed with actions hurt more. Especially coming from people he’d rescued.  

Rescued from wolf-things that were not wolves but something else entirely. Rescued… while looking quite a bit like a wolf himself.  

That might have something to do with the name-calling and the stuff-throwing, if he thought about it. Still, he was allowed to be upset, wasn’t he? He was.  

This wasn’t helping.  

He massaged his aching head with his paws. Maybe he should give up on today. Try again tomorrow. Sleep. Put some additional distance between himself and the problem.  

And lie awake turning over every little detail of the problem, and making up more problems while he was at it?

This worked much better when Jazz was doing it. Like this, he had to admit that all he’d done was talk himself in a circle.  

Not that it was the first time he’d done that. As much as he liked to pretend otherwise, nights got long and lonely. He’d been attacked by Sam’s royal guard first thing after he’d been changed, and his parents had told him many, many stories about virtuous Rangers fighting horrid monsters.  

(Especially after his cousin had gone missing, although as far as anyone could tell, Flynn’s disappearance didn’t have anything to do with monsters.)

It’s just… maybe… he’d been hoping… After all, Sam and Tucker weren’t afraid of him, and they were the people he’d been interacting with since then, so…  

(It wasn’t like he’d forgotten what he was.)

(But it had, perhaps, slipped his mind for a moment.)

Speaking of Sam and Tucker, he had a job to do.  

(Or, not a job, but a favor, and not the one he’d really assigned himself, either, but who was keeping score? Not him.)

(Besides, it did feel like it was his job, somehow. Like it was something he was supposed to be doing.)

He stood up, arching his back, and stretched very deliberately before shaking himself all over. Enough. It was enough. Enough rest. He’d only been up for an hour, anyway.  

The grain. He was looking for the grain, and whatever might have taken it. He would focus on that. And on staying on the branches. He wasn’t in the mood for losing control of his body today.  

The rest of the morning was quiet, with no more mental breakdowns and no humans popping out of the undergrowth to yell at him. Just birds, squirrels, and mice. All of which seemed remarkably calm around Danny, considering that he currently had the appearance of a sizable forest cat.  

But maybe that was it. He had the appearance of a forest cat, but he wasn’t actually a forest cat, was he? He was… well, he didn’t know and he wasn’t thinking about it.  

As the sun grew higher in the sky, however, he started to feel… something. It wasn’t that tug he’d felt before he’d run to the aid of those merchants, but it was similar. Gentler, less urgent, but similar.  

He adjusted his path to follow the pull.

Honestly, following strange feelings around probably wasn’t the best of ideas, especially given his status of ‘extremely cursed.’ It’d bother him, though, if he didn’t.  

This part of the woods felt newer, the trees younger. He didn’t quite know how that could be. They seemed to be about the same width and height, and his relatively untrained eye couldn’t pick out any differences in bark, or root. He didn’t think that this was just coming from his contact with the trees, although it may have been.  

Something to do with the scent, maybe? Or the color of the leaves? Sounds?  

He tilted his head, listening to birdsong, and the shifting rustle of the leaves in the faint breeze. There might have been something missing there, but he couldn’t put his finger (or paw, for that matter) on it.  

Maybe it was younger, though. Maybe this had been a farmer’s field, left to grow over, and that was what he was picking up on. Maybe there was just ever so slightly more new growth. As it was, though, everything looked approximately the same as where he’d explored before, from the tops of the trees to–

He paused as his eyes swept over the forest floor. There was no deadfall here. No rotting tree trunks. No wilting, dying vines, or sprouts chewed through by bugs before their time.  

Huh.  

While he didn’t think it was impossible for a section of forest to be like this naturally, it was very strange. Maybe a woodcutter lived nearby, and tended the deadfall and the underbrush? Kept things neat for themself and their family? Could that be the source of the pull he was feeling?  

If it was… he didn’t have to show himself. He could stay as something small, something normal to find in the woods. Just… make sure that it wasn’t because someone was in danger. That’s all.  

He kept going, then froze, as he heard voices. He pressed himself flat to the the branch, claws dug in, eyes wide. The voices were getting closer. And more familiar.  

He bounced up, and raced through the treetops before coming to a loud rustling stop over his targets, who–

–Who had crossbows.  

“Sam! Tucker!” he said, narrowly dodging a projectile. “Don’t shoot! It’s me!”

“Danny?” said Tucker, who hadn’t gotten his crossbow into position to fire yet. “What are you doing here? How did you even get here?”

Danny stuck his head down, past the lowest branches. “Uh, I live here, now, remember?”

“No you don’t,” said Sam. “Not here.”

“Well, yeah,” said Danny. “But you don’t actually expect me to stay in one place all the time, do you? That’d be boring.” And way too prone to introspection (and crying) of the type he’d been trying to avoid all day. But he wasn’t thinking about that.  

Sam squinted at him. Or was it more of a glare?

“Say something only you’d know,” she demanded.  

“Uh,” said Danny. “Why?”

“I want to make sure you’re our weird shapeshifter, and not some other weird shapeshifter.”

Okay. That made some sense, even if Danny didn’t understand why she wanted to do this now, rather than all the other times they’d met up since his transformation. “But would something only I knew really help? I mean, if only I knew it, wouldn’t you not know it? So how would you know it’s something only I knew, instead of just something you don’t know?”

“He’s got you there,” said Tucker, who still wasn’t aiming his crossbow at Danny.  

“Fine. Fine. Something only the three of us know.”

“Um,” said Danny, “behind the door you had me look at, there was a tree with red fruit on it, and none of us knew what they were?”  

Sam sighed and her shoulders slumped. “It is you. Okay.”

“I know you weren’t expecting to see me,” said Danny, who was now far enough past his surprise to start feeling hurt, “but, like, this was a bit extreme, don’t you think?” 

“You don’t understand,” said Sam. “You can’t be here, it doesn’t make sense. This is where the silos were, the ones that disappeared. It isn’t connected.”

Danny blinked. “Are you sure? Because I would’ve noticed if I could suddenly leave the woods. That would have been a big thing to me. Huge. Very noticeable. Especially the part where if I touch the ground, my body does horrible shapeshifting things.”

“Yes. I am sure. Even if I hadn’t inspected the place myself multiple times before this, the actual woods should be miles away, I’ve seen it on a…” she trailed off.  

“On a map?” asked Danny, raising an eyebrow.  

Sam inhaled deeply through her nose, then exhaled slowly. “Right. The woods were - are - unmappable. I just didn’t think that applied to parts that weren’t even touching.”

“Should they even count as part of the woods if they aren’t touching?” asked Tucker. “I mean, it looks like they do magically, but, like, definitionally?”

Danny hummed, thoughtfully. “I think one of my parents’ books said that some people think that all magic woods are the same woods, but that it was a fringe theory, and it was probably just the Woods of Amity, Daire, Elmeria, Urn… You know, stuff that’s nearby.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“That doesn’t matter,” said Sam, decisively. “What matters is that we’re all here, and we can search together, after all. Although, knowing that this is connected to the actual woods, there’s a lot more space to hide things.”  

“Yeah,” said Danny, his mood lifting. “Yeah, we can search together. But… are you guys here alone?” Sam may have snuck into the woods to talk to him before, but that was substantially different than going out looking for trouble. She was a princess, she should at least have a bodyguard.  

(Tucker didn’t count.)

Both Sam and Tucker made faces.  

“We were separated from my guard,” Sam said, finally.  

“Like, accidentally or…?”

“They were under orders to not let me near anything even remotely important. I couldn’t investigate like that.”

“I’m expecting my execution orders to arrive any day now,” said Tucker.  

“Oh, stop it. My father won’t execute you over this. The worst he would do is exile you.”

“Yeah, because being forced to go live in Elmeria is so much better than death,” said Tucker, sarcastically.  

“You can come live with me if you get exiled,” offered Danny.  

“Thanks, Danny, you’re a real friend.”

“If you two are quite done,” said Sam, prim in a way only a princess could manage, “we have work to do. Danny, did you find anything?”

Danny opened his mouth to tell them that no, he hadn’t, really, but closed it for a moment, contemplating. “Maybe. I’ve had this sort of feeling today, like the woods want me to go somewhere, like they’re trying to show me something. Just a sort of pull.”  

“Really?” asked Sam. “Do you think that’s safe?”

“Safe?”

“The woods did sort of curse you. And eat a bunch of grain silos.”

Danny made a face. “I don’t know that it’s all the same thing doing everything. And the trees are helpful. Also, um.” He hadn’t intended to tell them this, but if it helped them understand… “Yesterday, I got something similar, and it took me to where this family was getting attacked by wolves, and I fought them off.”

“Attacked by wolves? Did any of them bite you? There are so many diseases–”

“Not really,” interrupted Danny, before Sam could list any of the diseases, all of which were, he was sure, horrible and disgusting. He didn’t think Tucker could take it. He’d always been squeamish about things like that. “I think I’d have started feeling nasty by now, anyway, if I’d caught anything.”

“There are things that take a longer time,” said Sam, “and as we were only just talking about magic, I wouldn’t rule anything out.”

“Were the wolves magic?” asked Tucker, with a touch of skepticism.

“Sort of? I think? They didn’t feel like normal wolves, anyway, but they didn’t do anything especially weird. Except they were sort of green. I don’t know.”

“Can you show us?” asked Sam. “You know, with your shapeshifting.”

“Um, maybe. There’s not really a good place for me to stand. Wolves aren’t good at trees. The point is, maybe the woods are trying to help by showing us something. About the silos, I mean.”

“That seems… convenient,” said Tucker.

“It isn’t like we have any other leads,” said Sam, “and we can always run.” She cranked back her crossbow and slotted in a new bolt.  

Danny felt his nails prick into claws. “I could also go check it out by myself…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Now that we’re together, of course we’re coming with you. It would be foolish not to.”

“Yeah,” said Tucker, “I mean, if anything bad does happen, you can turn into a bear at it.”

“I hate to say it, but I’m pretty sure that something that can move grain silos around like that isn’t going to be scared of a bear.”

Neither Sam nor Tucker had any reply for that.  

“You are certain the woods aren’t misleading you?” Sam asked.  

“Well, no. But it doesn’t feel like they are. And I was able to help those people, with the wolves.” He shrugged. He didn’t think they’d get certainty of any kind anytime soon. And if they did, they should be suspicious of it. 

Sam sighed. “It’s still our best lead. I’m going to go with you.”

“And if she’s going, I’m going,” said Tucker. “You see what you’re missing? Dragged around by a pushy princess all day… And she doesn’t even eat meat!”

Danny tilted his head, confused by the sudden change of subject. “What?”

“Like I have tried to explain to Tucker,” she said, “my mother is from Iieda. She’s Iiedish. We both bow to the Iiedish gods. And one of the rules of the Iiedish gods is that you can’t eat an animal unless you kill it yourself, or it’s been sacrificed by an Iiedish priest, in strict accord with recorded law.” She punctuated each sentence forcefully, rhythmically, as if reciting something by rote. “The priest that came with my mother when she got married died when I was five. It’s easier, and less wasteful, to just not eat meat than to have it shipped from the nearest proper temple.”

“But,” said Tucker, with the air of someone who had already had this argument several times, “they’re the same gods.”

“That doesn’t matter,” said Sam. “What matters is that they told my ancestors to worship them that way, so that’s the way I’m going to do it. You can worship them the way they told your ancestors to do it. It’s not like my not eating meat is hurting you.”

“It’s not about it hurting me, I just don’t get it. I don’t get how anyone could just choose not to eat meat.”

Sam scoffed. “And he wants to be a monk.”

“Again, that’s because that’s where all the books are.”

“Does… does any of this…matter right now?” asked Danny.  

“No,” said Tucker.  

“Lead the way,” said Sam. “Please.”

.

The trees got denser and thicker as they went further in, but Danny’s earlier sense that this was all new didn’t abate. Which made sense. According to Sam and Tucker, this was all new. Grown literally overnight in place of the grain silos. It was just such a strange thing to think of, even stranger than his own transformation. Danny was only one person, after all, a single entity. Small and brief, in the reckoning of the world. A place like this should have more inertia.  

It was making him nervous, and even with his body warped into something catlike and hidden by the lower branches of the trees, he knew Sam and Tucker were picking up on it, too. He could tell by the low-grade bickering.  

Speaking of which, when had they gotten comfortable enough with one another to bicker like that? It should be weird. Sam was, after all, a princess. But it wasn’t. It felt normal. Comfortable. The anger more performance than real.  

But then, Danny had no room to talk about things being weird. Here he was, climbing along tree branches with claws, trying to find something that had stolen entire buildings by following an ambiguous mental pull that may or may not be something sent to him by the Woods of Amity themselves. Obviously, this wasn’t a normal situation at all.  

The branches around him rustled. He froze. The wind wasn’t blowing that way.  

“Wait,” he said, quietly, and Sam and Tucker stopped. “I think we’re close.” 

“I think you’re right,” said Sam. “There’s some kind of clearing up ahead, and… do you smell that?”

Danny inhaled deeply, slowly. Rich earth and new decay. Sharp pine sap and sweet maple. Sam and Tucker. The bitter, almost spicy odor of the vines Sam and Tucker had stepped on earlier. Dust. The birds contemplating nesting nearby. The faint smell of himself. Sunlight, hot and steady, on freshly-grown grass. Cooking grain. Greenness. Yes, he could smell that. All of that.  

“I should scout ahead–”

“Not a chance,” said Sam. “We both remember what happened last time you went somewhere without us.”

“I didn’t really go without you–”

“You kind of did.”

“You don’t know what’s here,” protested Danny. “I can run away way faster than you can.”

The trees swayed, overhead branches parting, letting the sunlight through. Where the sunlight struck, new sprouts of grass pushed their way up from the packed and mossy dirt.  

Danny clung to his branch momentarily, then jumped to the ground, near Sam and Tucker, hoping to put himself in-between them and whatever this was.  

“I should hope,” said a low, feminine voice that rustled like wind blowing through wheat, “that you should not have to run at all, child.”  

In the sunlight, where the trees bent away into a clearing, stood the form of an older, almost grandmotherly woman. The form, only, because what stood there had less claim to being called flesh and blood than Danny did. She appeared to be woven, clothes and all, from grass, most of it fresh and green, but some strands dried to almost tan shades. Her dress was a vivid gradient of near-blues to deepest viridian edged with purple, flowering heads gathered at the hem as a ruff. She wore a dry, buff coat of straw over it, belted at the waist with long, braided stalks. Her hair was grain of a dozen varieties, colors, and ripenesses, layered and braided over itself. Her face and hands were made of fibers of grass so fine that Danny could barely pick out the individual strands. The only deviance from the rule were her eyes, which were not grass but two brilliant points of yellow light.  

From a distance, and immobile, and without those eyes, she would have been an impressive simulacra. As it was… In this context…

She didn’t feel out of place, exactly. It wasn’t wrong that she was here. But she was foreign to this place, and she was dangerous in ways even the whispers of the trees could not convey.  

She moved forward, and Danny could not say if she stepped so much as she planted her feet amid the tall grass.  

“I have been waiting for you, young Guardian,” she said, looking directly at Danny. Her gaze moved to Sam, and her expression became markedly more pinched. “And you as well.”

Sam stepped forward, back straight, crossbow pointed carefully down and to one side. Danny could tell that she and Tucker could sense the threat this being represented, even without any connection to the woods. “You expected us?” she asked. She licked her lips. “You have something to do with the disappearance of the grain silos, then?”

“And if I have, what would you say, then, princess of the land?”

“I would ask why, and I would… I would be willing to negotiate for its return.”

“Such negotiations may prove unsuccessful.”

Sam’s grip on the crossbow tightened. “There are always alternatives when negotiations fail.”

The woven woman turned her attention back to Danny. “Guardian, I call upon you for your service as arbitrator and representative. A great transgression has been made against me and thee, and it must be addressed, lest this, my new home, meet the same fate as my last.”

A tingling sensation swept over Danny’s skin, and he was shifted into a more humanoid form, although he noted with some discomfort that his hair had turned as green as the grass growing around them.  

Around him, in him, through him… The pull on him was strong, steady. He was urged to respond, to agree, but… “I don’t understand,” he said, instead. “I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm not…" But he couldn't deny that he hadn't even blinked when she called him a Guardian the first time. The title fit him.

Somehow.  

He didn’t really feel like he’d been guarding anything, though. But maybe he should be? Was that part of his whole thing? Part of this curse?

The expression on the grass woman’s face loosened slightly. “You are young, aren’t you?” 

Danny wasn’t sure if that was a question he was supposed to answer, so he stayed silent.  

A wind rippled the grass in a sigh, making the trees to either side creak uneasily. They did not like this. They were not made to bend this way, not like grass, or reeds. Danny wanted to yell at the woman to stop it, but he wasn’t even sure it was her.  

“You were called here, were you not? Did these Woods not whisper to you my need?”

Most people called the woods the woods, but Danny could hear the slight emphasis in her tone. The Woods. The Woods.  

“Danny,” said Tucker, voice low and tight with tension.  

“I… guess so.”

“Then I ask again. Guardian, will you aid me as representative and arbitrator in these negotiations?”

“I won’t help you hurt anyone,” said Danny, despite another pulse of need, another urge to just say yes.  

“I have raised no hand against another.”

“The trees,” said Danny. They were stressed, bending against their roots.  

“A momentary discomfort. I am well aware of the limits of my environment, Guardian.”

“And– and these are my friends. I’m not going to go against them.”

“That is not what I have asked,” snapped the grass woman. “You are the only Guardian who came to my call. I will accept your biases. I ask you a third time. Will you mediate our negotiations?”

“Yes,” said Danny, finally giving into the call. Three times was just too much. He glanced at Sam and Tucker. “I will.”

The grass woman moved backwards the same way she moved forward. “Then come. We have much to speak about.”

[writeblrgarden]

the writeblr garden's advent calendar 🎁

welcome to the writeblr garden's advent calendar event! this is the garden's third event, which is all about worldbuilding and characters, along with some other fun prompts in between. 🎊

this event will last twelve days from december 12th to 23rd, and each day is dedicated to a different prompt. you do not need to do every prompt. all you need to do is answer each day's prompt in any way you would like to- graphics optional (unless it's a graphic based prompt 😉). you can list things, share excerpts, show some art- whatever works for you! you can also make multiple posts for each prompt if you have multiple wips you'd like to share!

when creating your post, include the writeblr garden's advent calendar event in your title (or somewhere in your post.) tag your posts with #writeblrgarden and #twgcalendar. if your post is pretty long and text heavy, put a bit of it under a read more to not clog people's dashboards. join our discord server to guarantee your posts are seen and meet other writers! we're looking forward to growing with you 🌱 prompt list below - cut for length <3

the prompt list

dec 12. holidays.

dec 13. winter moodboard. - make a moodboard with vibes about winter in your wip, or post an excerpt in winter instead.

dec 14. found family.

dec 15. excerpt.

dec 16. traditions.

dec 17. wip playlist. - a short playlist with songs about your wip, seasonal vibes optional.

dec 18. excerpt.

dec. 19. religions.

dec 20. relationships.

dec. 21. cover graphics. - make a graphic about what you'd like your cover to look like! or make a moodboard for the inspiration you'd use for it!

dec 22. magic system.

dec 23. wildcard. - anything you'd like to do! another excerpt, some art, a graphic, another topic you'd like to cover, etc. go wild! ✨

[rowaelinscourt]

Rowaelin Month: PROMPT LIST

HERE IT IS! The Rowaelin Month 2023 Prompt List! We are ecstatic to be back for a the full month of September once again!

We hope you all love these prompts as much a we do and we are so excited to see what everyone will create in honor of our beloved Fireheart and Buzzard!

We've included a handy calendar image for you all, but if for any reason the image isn't working or is hard to read, the full list will be written out below the cut.

START DATE: September 1st

Green filled boxes denote CANON SPECIFIC PROMPTS

1. Participation every day is not required. You can create a many or as few submissions for the listed prompts as you like!

2. Please remember to tag your creations with #rowaelinmonth so people following the tag can find them! And don't forget to mention @rowaelinscourt in your post do we can reblog it!

3. Please remember that all works MUST have appropriate tags and content warnings. NSFW content is required to be tagged clearly and hidden below a 'Read More cut. We want everyone to have a fun and safe time engaging with content!

4. All genres of work are welcome, but please note any major warnings at the top of the work so readers or viewers have some idea what to expect.

5. Canon Week is back (with 2 whole extra days!) to fill that canon shaped hole in our hearts! While we kindly request that Canon Week prompts remain specifically for canon scenarios, remember that any and all prompts are welcome to be interpreted as canon/a canon-inspired setting as well! With creativity and imagination, the possibilities are limitless!

6. Any kind of fanwork can be submitted for this event so long as it can be applied to the prompt! Fanfiction, fanart, headcanons, playlists or any thing else you can think of! There are no requirements and you can submit multiple works for the same prompt of your so wish.

Rowaelin Month Prompt List

September 1: Song Fic

September 2: Accidents Happen

September 3: Rowaelin as teens

September 4: "Friends don't do this"

September 5: A Bad Date

September 6: Forced Proximity

September 7: Vacation or Outdoor Adventure (ie a road trip, beach day, hiking ect)

September 8: Single Parents

September 9: Renaissance Fair

September 10: Co-host/Guest Star with Chemistry

September 11: Getting Arrested/ A Trip to the Police Station

September 12: Meet Cute / Meet Ugly

September 13: Babies / Kids / Next Gen

September 14: An Argument/ Making up After an Argument

September 15: Meeting the Parents

September 16: Mob AU

September 17: Mating Ceremony

September 18: Aelin with hawk Rowan

September 19: Telling Their Children about Their Tattoos

September 20: Drunken Antics

September 21: Scars

September 22: Magic/Shifting Lessons with the Children

September 23: Domestic Fluff

September 24: How Rowan Knew "Fireheart"

September 25: Arranged Marriage

September 26: Taking care of the littles solo

September 27: Person A is touch starved but didn't know how to reach out to Person B

September 28: Wartime Sweethearts

September 29: Firsts (date/kiss/time/child/ect)

September 30: A Missing or Alternate Scene from Canon

[talonabraxas]

Sun in Leo II – Isis

The Sun enters Leo II The Laurel Crown on 1 August 2024 at 2:53 pm EDT. Austin Coppock gave this name to this decan, while T. Susan Chang called it Your Moment in the Sun. It’s associated with the Six of Wands — the card that shows a man on horseback riding in a triumph with a laurel crown upon his head. The Sun will pass through Leo II until August 12, 2024 at 1:16 am EDT, making ten days, ten hours, 23 minutes.

In the calendar preserved by Cosmas of Jerusalem, this ten-day period is given to Isis the sister-wife of Osiris the god of the underworld. She began as a relatively minor deity in Egyptian funerary rites, although she was a major figure in the mythology of Osiris’ transition to god of the underworld. However, as the New Kingdom emerged from the monotheism of Akhenaten, Isis became the primary goddess of Egypt, and took over Hathor’s sun-disk-and-bull-horns crown. As a goddess of magic, marriage, pregnancy and motherhood, and the protection of ships at sea, her worship spread around the Mediterranean Sea during the Hellenistic period. Some scholars today think (admittedly with scant and ambiguous evidence, at best) that Isis ‘hid’ herself inside the emerging doctrines of Christianity as Mother Mary — with the Christ-child in her lap a barely disguised Horus.

Wanderings in the Labyrinth:

[solangeloweek]

AUctober 2023

[ID: An orange and purple prompt calendar for the month of October, titled AUCTOBER, with clipart of bats, a ghost, a pumpkin, and a scarecrow /end ID]

Happy AUctober!

This year's prompt calendar includes themed days of the week, including Monstrous Mondays, Terrifying Tuesdays, Free-Day Fridays, and Soulmate Saturdays! As always, Halloween (Oct 31) is a free day as well.

Event Rules can be found Here. Any questions can be directed to @solangeloweek or any of the mods! Written list of prompts below the cut:

Sunday, Oct 1 - Roommates

Monday, Oct 2 - Sea Creatures

Tuesday, Oct 3 - Ghost Hunters

Wednesday, Oct 4 - Exes

Thursday, Oct 5 - Royalty

Friday, Oct 6 - Free!

Saturday, Oct 7 - Red String

Sunday, Oct 8 - Artist

Monday, Oct 9 - Vampires

Tuesday, Oct 10 - Magic

Wednesday, Oct 11 - Childhood Friends

Thursday, Oct 12 - Enemies to Lovers

Friday, Oct 13 - Free!

Saturday, Oct 14 - Soulmate Tattoos

Sunday, Oct 15 - Canon Divergence

Monday, Oct 16 - Werewolves

Tuesday, Oct 17 - Necromancers

Wednesday, Oct 18 - Athletes

Thursday, Oct 19 - Office

Friday, Oct 20 - Free!

Saturday, Oct 21 - Dreams

Sunday, Oct 22 - Musicians

Monday, Oct 23 - Ghosts

Tuesday, Oct 24 - Saw Trap

Wednesday, Oct 25 - DnD

Thursday, Oct 26 - Canon Rewrite

Friday, Oct 27 - Free!

Saturday, Oct 28 - Soulmate Timer

Sunday, Oct 29 - College

Monday, Oct 30 - Zombies

Tuesday, Oct 31 - Happy Halloween! Free Day!

[topguncortez]

WELCOME TO G’S WHUMPTOBER 2023 CHALLENGE:) 

➢It’s that time of year again!!! This year I am taking part in @/ailesswhumptober and I can’t be more excited!

MY RULES:  

One topic/day will be assigned to one character for that day (i.e Jake gets Day 1, Rooster Day 2, Floydsin Day 3). I will not be doing more than one character a day.

ABSOLUTELY NO MINORS. As these topics all fall under the WHUMP category, there will be heavy content written and shared. Fics will be tagged accordingly, but no minors are permitted to interact. If I find you are a minor interacting, you will be blocked immediately. 

During this time I will not be posting any other fics/blurbs/one-shots or taking requests, primarily because I’ll be writing a lot and posting a lot and I don’t need that added stress.

HOW TO REQUEST: 

As I said before, one character will be used a day. Therefore, whatever day and character come in first will be assigned. 

Example: “Jake, Day 27 pls!” 

-Jake will be used as the main character on Day 27. 

Example: Rooster Day 18! 

    Iceman day 18!

-Rooster will be used as the main character on Day 18 because the request came in first. 

You can request what prompt you would like

My normal requesting rules still stand: if you are a blank blog, a minor, a character I don’t write for, or exceed the two-three sentence limit, your request will not be fulfilled

I will update the calendar/character list on SUNDAYS, so you know what days are left.

ALL REQUESTS MUST BE DONE BY: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22nd  (exceptions maybe made if days aren’t all filled)

THE WHUMPTOBER CALENDAR: (the days are in bold)

1 | PICK YOUR POISON

Drugging | Sick | Poisoned

2 |  SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE DEAD

Overworked | Insomnia | Exhaustion

3 | LET YOUR SENSES GUIDE YOU

Sensory Deprivation | Overstimulation | Isolation

4 | THE SECRETS THAT YOU KEEP

Hiding an injury | betrayal | lying

5 | HELD AGAINST YOUR WILL

Hostage | Kidnapping | Held at Gunpoint

6 | OUT OF YOUR MIND 

Conditioning | Mind Control | Forced to Hurt Someone Else

7 | NOT DEAD TILL YOU’RE WARM N DEAD

Flatline | Restrained | CPR

8 | A BRAIN ON FIRE

Panice Attacks | Dissociation | Seizure

9 | DEAD ON YOUR FEET

Scar Reveal | Interrogation | Presumed Dead

10 | A GIFT TO REMEMBER

Branding | Scarring | Collar

11 | FLOAT LIKE A FEATHER

Fainting | Paralyzed | Adrenaline 

12 | LEFT A SCAR ON MY HEART

Self Harm | Sacrifice | Character Death

13 | A FORCE OF NATURE, AN ACT OF GOD

Earthquake | Flood | Crushed

14 | 9-1-1, WHAT’S YOUR EMERGENCY?

Bleeding through the bandage | Field Medicine | No Anesthesia 

15 | WHO’S THE NEW KID?

Experimentation | Muzzle | Transformation

16 | ONE HALF OF A WHOLE PERSON

Amputation | Chronic Pain | Hospital

17 | INTO THE FIRE

Hypothermia | Heat Stroke | “You Look a Little Pale?”

18 | TAKING A SICK DAY 

Fever | Vomiting | Warm Soup

19 | I’LL NEVER PUSH YOU AROUND

Taken for Granted | Left Behind | “Why Wasn’t I Enough?” 

20 | THE BEAUTY FELL FOR THE BEAST

Dehumanization | Stockholm Syndrome | Master & Servant

21 | WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU

Blood loss | Shock | Near Death Experience

22 | PAIN MAKES YOU STRONGER

Whipping | punishment | stress position

23 |  DON’T TRY TO BE THE HERO

Begging | “Take Me Instead” | Forced to Watch

24 | RUNNING UP THAT HILL TO MAKE A DEAL WITH GOD 

Failed Escape | Hunted Down | Too Exhausted to Keep Running

25 | BAD DREAMS, BAD DREAMS, HERE TO STAY

Nightmares | Flashback | “Why Didn’t You Save Me?” 

26 | THE LAZARUS EFFECT  

Magical Exhaustion or Injury | Curse | Came Back Wrong

27 | NEVER LET GO

Forgotten | Locked Away | Immortal

28 | OUT OF BREATH AND OUT OF TIME

Whumpee hair pulling | Oxygen Deprivation | Sweating

29 | ONE TICKET TO HELL 

“The Easy Way or The Hard Way? | Bargaining | Forced to Choose

30 | YOU’RE MINE, ALWAYS WILL BE MINE

Possession | Mind Games | Coma

31 | A light at the end of the tunnel 

PTSD | Headaches | Crying

MY CHARACTER LIST: 

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin  Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw  Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace  Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell  Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky  Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw  Henry ‘Wolfman’ Ruth Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson  Rhett Abbott

MY PAIRING LIST:

Jake & Shy!Wifey  Dragon & Rooster Coyote & Val Phoenix & Cerberus  Bob & Bea  Hangman & Athena

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