#Boon!eclipse

[solunest]

Your boom chief Eclipse is such a soggy wet cat I love him I hope they kiss so they can go back to their timeline and live happily ever after Cant wait to see human Eclipse and past Eclipse interact I wonder how that'll go I have so many thoughts about all this! Just know this simp is rooting for them!

Mr. Q would most certainly agree.

[windvexer]

farming magic versus wild foraging magic

It's been on my mind a bit but I really think in Witchcraft, a lot of it is finding power. A LOT of it.

You know I talk about my system a lot, building relationships with ally spirits ("correspondences"), evoking and petitioning spirits, laying a compass, carefully storing and distributing energy between spells.

And this is all kind of like farming; you can learn how to cultivate the magical ecosystem around you to carefully seed, grow, harvest, and store power, and to make friends with the gods and spirits within and around this system who help you (or decline to hinder you, which is also very good).

This farming is good because it serves the same function as regular farming, i.e., it's hard work but it provides reliable and predictable resources available throughout the year.

But that's not finding power, that's farming it.

Several months ago I did one of the most powerful workings I had done in a while, which transformed my life. There was no evoking correspondences or compass laying or invocations or spirit offerings.

I found a free-flowing source of incredible power (an eclipse, and I found it by looking up), called it into myself, and asked that it do something specific.

No candles, incense, bells, talismans, or whatever: the actual technique I performed was extremely basic energy work.

The results were humbling, and continue to humble me, and I believe it is probably beyond what I would have been able to accomplish working only through 'farming'.

After all, I am a competent adult. I could build a fish farm. I could learn to keep it regulated and sustained to provide fish all year round.

But it doesn't matter how good of a farmer I am, I'll never be able to compete with the open ocean.

A lot of this stuff about Witchcraft techniques - if it seems like a lot, that's because it is a lot; it seems like hard work because farming is hard work, and it seems like you must plan ahead so much because farmers must plan seasons ahead.

But that's not all of Witchcraft, and homesteading your magic isn't just farming - it's wild foraging, too.

So if all this Traditional stuff seems a bit stuffy and laborious and lacking in spontaneity, perhaps it's good to ask if you're ever leaving the boundaries of your homestead and venturing out into the woods.

And all those planets and transits and holy days and plant lore and special tricks for foraging power without profaning it are not tedious rules, but maps that show pathways to wild foraging your own power, bringing great boons and benefits to uplift your seasonal farming.

[thaoworra]

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association recently released the poems that made it to the finalist stage for consideration for the 2024 Rhysling Awards for Short and Long Speculative Poems of the year. Congratulations to all of the nominees! This will be the 46th year these awards have been conferred!

Short Poems (50 finalists)

Attn: Prime Real Estate Opportunity!, Emily Ruth Verona, Under Her Eye: A Women in Horror Poetry Collection Volume II

The Beauty of Monsters, Angela Liu, Small Wonders 1

The Blight of Kezia, Patricia Gomes, HWA Poetry Showcase X

The Day We All Died, A Little, Lisa Timpf, Radon 5

Deadweight, Jack Cooper, Propel 7

Dear Mars, Susan L. Lin, The Sprawl Mag 1.2

Dispatches from the Dragon's Den, Mary Soon Lee, Star*Line 46.2

Dr. Jekyll, West Ambrose, Thin Veil Press December

First Eclipse: Chang-O and the Jade Hare, Emily Jiang, Uncanny 53

Five of Cups Considers Forgiveness, Ali Trotta, The Deadlands 31

Gods of the Garden, Steven Withrow, Spectral Realms 19

The Goth Girls' Gun Gang, Marisca Pichette, The Dread Machine 3.2

Guiding Star, Tim Jones, Remains to be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, ed. Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press)

Hallucinations Gifted to Me by Heatstroke, Morgan L. Ventura, Banshee 15

hemiplegic migraine as willing human sacrifice, Ennis Rook Bashe, Eternal Haunted Summer Winter Solstice

Hi! I am your Cortical Update!, Mahaila Smith, Star*Line 46.3

How to Make the Animal Perfect?, Linda D. Addison, Weird Tales 100

I Dreamt They Cast a Trans Girl to Give Birth to the Demon, Jennessa Hester, HAD October

Invasive, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Polar Starlight 9

kan-da-ka, Nadaa Hussein, Apparition Lit 23

Language as a Form of Breath, Angel Leal, Apparition Lit October

The Lantern of September, Scott Couturier, Spectral Realms 19

Let Us Dream, Myna Chang, Small Wonders 3

The Magician's Foundling, Angel Leal, Heartlines Spec 2

The Man with the Stone Flute, Joshua St. Claire, Abyss & Apex 87

Mass-Market Affair, Casey Aimer, Star*Line 46.4

Mom's Surprise, Francis W. Alexander, Tales from the Moonlit Path June

A Murder of Crows, Alicia Hilton, Ice Queen 11

No One Now Remembers, Geoffrey Landis, Fantasy and Science Fiction Nov./Dec.

orion conquers the sky, Maria Zoccula, On Spec 33.2

Pines in the Wind, Karen Greenbaum-Maya, The Beautiful Leaves (Bamboo Dart Press)

The Poet Responds to an Invitation from the AI on the Moon, T.D. Walker, Radon Journal 5

A Prayer for the Surviving, Marisca Pichette, Haven Speculative 9

Pre-Nuptial, F. J. Bergmann, The Vampiricon (Mind's Eye Publications)

The Problem of Pain, Anna Cates, Eye on the Telescope 49

The Return of the Sauceress, F. J. Bergmann, The Flying Saucer Poetry Review February

Sea Change, David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Ann K. Schwader, Scifaikuest May

Seed of Power, Linda D. Addison, The Book of Witches ed. Jonathan Strahan (Harper Collins)

Sleeping Beauties, Carina Bissett, HWA Poetry Showcase X

Solar Punks, J. D. Harlock, The Dread Machine 3.1

Song of the Last Hour, Samuel A. Betiku, The Deadlands 22

Sphinx, Mary Soon Lee, Asimov's September/October

Storm Watchers (a drabbun), Terrie Leigh Relf, Space & Time

Sunflower Astronaut, Charlie Espinosa, Strange Horizons July

Three Hearts as One, G. O. Clark, Asimov's May/June

Troy, Carolyn Clink, Polar Starlight 12

Twenty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary, John Grey, Medusa's Kitchen September

Under World, Jacqueline West, Carmina Magazine September

Walking in the Starry World, John Philip Johnson, Orion's Belt May

Whispers in Ink, Angela Yuriko Smith, Whispers from Beyond (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Long Poems (25 finalists)

Archivist of a Lost World, Gerri Leen, Eccentric Orbits 4

As the witch burns, Marisca Pichette, Fantasy 87

Brigid the Poet, Adele Gardner, Eternal Haunted Summer Summer Solstice

Coding a Demi-griot (An Olivian Measure), Armoni “Monihymn” Boone, Fiyah 26

Cradling Fish, Laura Ma, Strange Horizons May

Dream Visions, Melissa Ridley Elmes, Eccentric Orbits 4

Eight Dwarfs on Planet X, Avra Margariti, Radon Journal 3

The Giants of Kandahar, Anna Cates, Abyss & Apex 88

How to Haunt a Northern Lake, Lora Gray, Uncanny 55

Impostor Syndrome, Robert Borski, Dreams and Nightmares 124

The Incessant Rain, Rhiannon Owens, Evermore 3

Interrogation About A Monster During Sleep Paralysis, Angela Liu, Strange Horizons November

Little Brown Changeling, Lauren Scharhag, Aphelion 283

A Mere Million Miles from Earth, John C. Mannone, Altered Reality April

Pilot, Akua Lezli Hope, Black Joy Unbound eds. Stephanie Andrea Allen & Lauren Cherelle (BLF Press)

Protocol, Jamie Simpher, Small Wonders 5

Sleep Dragon, Herb Kauderer, The Book of Sleep (Written Image Press)

Slow Dreaming, Herb Kauderer, The Book of Sleep (Written Image Press)

St. Sebastian Goes To Confession, West Ambrose, Mouthfeel 1

Value Measure, Joseph Halden and Rhonda Parrish, Dreams and Nightmares 125

A Weather of My Own Making, Nnadi Samuel, Silver Blade 56

Welcoming the New Girl, Beth Cato, Penumbric October

What You Find at the Center, Elizabeth R McClellan, Haven Spec Magazine 12

The Witch Makes Her To-Do List, Theodora Goss, Uncanny 50

The Year It Changed, David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Star*Line 46.4

Voting for the Rhysling Award begins July 1; a link to the ballot will be sent with the Rhysling Anthology, as well as with the July issue of Star*Line. More information on the Rhysling Award can be found here.

[falloutnewnobody]

in honor of the eclipse thing happening today, what fnv characters would do in the event on an eclipse (knowledge of what an eclipse is not required this is just based on vibes)

boone: stare directly into the sun

cass: stare directly into the sun

Veronica: stare directly into the sun

lily: stare directly into the sun

raul: stare directly into the sun

lily: stare directly into the sun

ulysses: stare directly into the sun

edward ceasar: stare directly into the sun

vulpes: stare directly into the sun

presidant aaron kimball: stare directly into the sun

general lee oliver stare directly into the sun

Benny: stare directly into the sun

the king: stare directly into the sun

ringo from goodsprings: stare directly into the sun

arcade and joshua graham: yell at everyone to STOP FUCKING STARING DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING DONT DO THAT???????

[wordslikesilver]

I wanna gush about my pathfinder paladin here so to the one player in the game that follows me do NOT read unless you’re down to get SO SO spoiled.

Her name is Dame Shvana Peacepainter and she’s a Brightsoul Ifrit in her sixties who looks like a walking eclipse. Her skin is pitch black and she radiates light in such a way that it almost looks like she’s illuminated from behind like there’s a sun at her back no matter what angle you look at her from. Hair down to her mid back glowing with radiant embers that descend into grey and white ashes. Regal horns about her brow owing to her heritage, making many mistake her for a tiefling at first. She carries a tower shield and full plate armour, but never a weapon, as she is first and foremost a redeemer and one who offers an open hand before ever turning to violence.

Yet I’ve told you a lie already, because there was one night she did resort to violence first, a time when she did carry a weapon that she had to set down and never pick up again. For all her life she was a paladin of the goddess of the sun, Sarenrae. Wherever she’d go, she’d carry the sun with her. And then, she fell in love with a pretty lil Leshy woman who inhabited the body of a dryad and took care of the city’s library. A witch of great power and love who kept a snuggly bat winged cat familiar with her as she took care of the shelves and kept her space tidy. Viridian Peacepainter, the woman whose last name Shvana would end up taking, was her wife of 40 long years of devotion until the untimely night of her death at the hands of Rovagug cultists who sought to destroy her and the library’s profound knowledge kept within. It was on that night that Shvana broke her oath and killed without mercy nor clemency to protect her wife, yet ultimately it was all for naught as her wife still perished at their hands and Shvana no longer wielded the precious divine power she’d cultivated over decades in order to heal her dying wife.

Sarenrae would never bless Shvana again, not because of the betrayal, but because all her life Shvana had held it in her heart that if the oath stopped her from saving a life, it wasn’t an oath worth keeping. That she’d follow her heart no matter what, because she knew deep down that’s how she could do the most good. Sarenrae saw this promise be fulfilled and as a goddess of honesty and truth, she knew the oath was forevermore “not worth keeping.” She wept for Shvana but could not grant her the boon she once did. Now, it would be the love of another who would guide Shvana onwards, though Shvana would never know. (Yet ♥️)

Viridian’s soul would linger still and wrap itself around Shvana’s heart and around her shoulders. Before the end, she made Shvana swear to her a new vow to bind their marriage once more, one where Shvana would vow to remain kind and Viridian would promise to never leave her. Shvana wouldn’t know how truly her wife would keep that promise, as now Viridian’s soul intertwines with her own and through love and possibly a fragment of divinity housed within, she blesses her Paladin wife with the powers Sarenrae would no longer be able to grant her.

I’m so excited to develop and explore this character, when she reaches level 5, she’s going to have such a fabulous moment of drama becoming “fae-touched” and having a pattern of her wife resting atop her chest burned into her skin. Like the skin turns to bark and her own flames turn it to glowing white ashen wood, ugh, with the hand print of her wife on her cheek! I’m gonna sob. She falls asleep and dreams of her wife giving her sunflowers only to wake up and see a lil sunflower leshy summon sitting there in her hand. And when my group returns to our home base and talks to our big important godly quest giver, as a means of gaining Shvana’s trust she’ll ask this person to show that she knows what Shvana’s oath is and instead of reciting the one she made to sarenrae, the person will fill the air with the sound of her last moments with her wife, her TRUE oath that fuels all that she does. My beloved irl wife agreed to do a back and forth live reading of dialogue for the moment to make it even more heartbreaking and beautiful for the other players there to witness it. I’m so so so excited to role play these gorgeous moments and make something truly special for my friend’s campaign ♥️

Some small extra fun facts! Shvana means “dog” and she’s a trans lesbian. She’s the party’s tank and she’s about 6’4 and in battle has the vibe of the OG Destiny 2 sentinel lore card, “I am a wall and walls don’t move because walls don’t care.” She’s the party’s grandma and is unfazed by nearly any emotional trauma or horror you could possibly throw at her at this point since over the decades she’s seen it all, really, but at the topic of her wife she melts like butter and she’s never gotten used to the loss of life, no matter how much it happens in front of her. Autopsies and desecration of the dead for any reason does make her deeply uncomfortable though for moral reasons and she tries to avoid anything of the sort. There is no multiverse or timeline where she has ever for any reason killed her wife no matter what. It is an absolute constant and it wouldn’t even be possible to mind control or possess her body to do it. Thats how ironclad the conviction is in her soul, no matter what version of her you come across. She never had kids but she took care of many stray or homeless children at the temple over the years so she ended up with her fair share of experience regardless. She’d take time to help rehabilitate criminals whenever she could, especially if her word guaranteeing their safety is what brought them to surrender. The weapon she used to use was a battle axe and her wife loved watching her use it to chop wood for their hearth. After her wife’s death, she buried it with her wife’s grave, considering it her darkness, her rage and her bloodlust that she’d have to relinquish completely if she would keep her vow to her wife. The axe lies in front of the grave while the tree that her body is beneath lies behind the grave. One of her wife’s last wishes was to be reduced to ashes by Shvana’s flames, to be consumed by her completely and then when the tree bears fruit, Shvana would consume her in kind.

[rednexxsaysthing]

Assigning my Moots Songs I Associate With Them!! (but like, non synesthesia vers.)(none of this is supposed to be offensive btw!)(if you dislike being tagged pls lmk!)

@asktheevilgeniusesson - In Cold Blood, alt-J

@a-chance-of-raine - Sweet Cis Teen, Dazey and The Scouts

@bootyshakerrr9000 - Undone - The Sweater Song, Weezer

@chuchucharlie - Ballad of a Homeschool Girl, Olivia Rodrigo

@composer-of-chaos - Real M3ssy Bitch, Ayesha Erotica

@eclipsed-jester - Change (in the House of Flies), Deftones

@edgyhedgie - Work Song, Hozier

@funkyfandomlover - Tear in Space, Glass Animals

@happyfacelol - Take me to Church, Hozier

@insomniac-lifestyle - Symphonia IX, Current Joys

@itzvio - Mystical Magical, Benson Boone

@itz-pandora - Look Who's Inside Again, Bo Burnham

@st4rboyloser - Type A, Ricky Montgomery (or 2AM by Bear Hands)

@thesoundofspeed - Let Them Know They're on Your Mind, Cavetown

@thepossumest-awesome - Creatures in Heaven, Glass Animals

<33

[saturniandevil]

March 2025 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's March Forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock. It's a big month ahead and I'm already late, so I'm gonna skip the recap for today.

We enter March on the back off Mars finally going direct, but now it's Venus's turn to go retrograde! As these two planets dance with each other and the Sun, we'll launch into eclipse season and Mercury retrograde, with Neptune adding influence to everything before ingressing to Aries for the next ~15 years.

Mars's station in late February still hangs heavily over the next few weeks--we may have a lingering feeling of exhaustion or conflict highlighted by the retrograde, though the direct station shows us the way forward.

March 1st - Venus stations Retrograde She's been slowing down for the past couple months as she passed her shadow period in Pisces, but now we're really in it. Venus is at her brightest right before her retrograde, after which she slows down and then disappears within the Sun's rays for 40 days and 40 nights. Symbolically, she goes to the underworld and eventually emerges through the other side (from evening to morning star) as a new person. During this time we deeply question Venusian matters, often "What and who do I really want?"

Venus rx is a great time to redesign areas of your life (look to the Aries-Pisces houses she'll be revisiting) or reevaluating your creative pursuits. Other keywords involve relationship turning points or breakups--Dorotheus (~500 CE) actually has a horary (casting chart for a question the moment it's asked) guideline for this: if Venus has yet to conjoin the Sun, he predicts a lost lover/spouse will return because there's still a celestial union to be made, but if Venus has already had her cazimi, they won't. In general, let things shake out before trying to make permanent decisions, because changeups are still ahead anyways. This may also be a good time to follow the beat of your own drum, even if it doesn't line up with what everyone else expects. Sometimes a weird approach works, and works just for you (a key signature of people born under Venus rx).

March 2nd Sun square Jupiter, Mercury conjunct Neptune

March 3rd - Mercury enters Aries Mercury is going to spend a lot of time here, as he'll station retrograde on the 15th.

March 5th - Electional chart for the month (not pictured)

The chart is for around 10:30am local time, with 12 Gemini on the Ascendant. This places Jupiter right on the Ascendant, bringing boons to our ventures before things get crazy later in the month. The Moon is in Gemini, applying to a wide conjunction to Jupiter (but still within the 13° orb recommended for the Moon in electional charts). Venus is already retrograde, but Mercury is still direct and applying to a conjunction with Venus and a sextile with Jupiter. Chris recommends starting endeavors early in the month before Mercury retrograde and eclipse season starting later on.

March 11th - Mercury conjunct Venus

March 12th - Sun conjunct Saturn

March 14th - Virgo Lunar Eclipse Through his mundane studies over the past few years, Chris has found that "eclipse season" begins about a week before the first eclipse (they always come in pairs!) goes exact, meaning around March 7th we'll already start seeing the pace increase, including the rise and fall of prominent figures in the news and major endings -> beginnings in our personal charts.

This is also our first eclipse in Virgo (of the Virgo-Pisces eclipse series we'll experience for the next two years). This is a South Node eclipse, and the Tail of the Dragon connotes losses, endings, letting go, and things disappearing. On a positive note this is a good time for quitting bad habits, but this is also the kind of time where governments shut down because they can't agree on a budget and the money we normally expect is suddenly gone. We can't physically see the nodes or land on them, but they're responsible for the most dramatic change possible in the sky: eclipses. Thus eclipse events are often caused by subtle, shadowy, half-hidden processes that suddenly become very important. This particular eclipse is ruled by a weakened, soon-to-retrograde Mercury, so it will likely be particularly chaotic (the US budget is due on the 14th 👀).

We've had one eclipse in Pisces before, but this is the first in Virgo. This Virgo-Pisces series lasts longer than others, starting early and ending late. This eclipse (23♓/♍) really emphasizes the Saturn (22♓)-Neptune (29♓) conjunction. In other words, the lights are barely separating from Saturn at the time of this eclipse, with the Sun headed for a conjunction with and the Moon headed for an opposition to Neptune. Chris predicts bubbles will be popped in society & personal charts. The eclipse is also close to a trine with Uranus (24♉), which is the first aspect the Moon will make after this eclipse. Hopefully this disruptive energy will be flowing and liberating for some people. Letting things go can be freeing; sometimes the space and time gained by giving something up is more valuable than the thing surrendered. This is also a good aspect for castle walls collapsing suddenly instead of the siege we all expected. The North Node-Saturn-Neptune alignment of this eclipse happened once in the 20th century (when the Berlin wall fell), and once in the 18th century, in 1773 (year of the Boston Tea "Party").

In our personal lives events will probably not be so dramatic, but we will see walls suddenly fall down, or decide to abandon projects that are never going to work and build somewhere else. Austin urges us to look for the silver lining in the months ahead. We're not getting a lot of new good things, but negative influences on us may be themselves negated, and that's something good too. You have to let go of old things to make space for new things. We may also see in retrospect that smaller happenings now will turn out to be hugely important later in our lives. Eclipses speak to feeling pulled towards something and you're not sure why yet, or finding yourself loosening your grip on something, with the reasons becoming clear to you later. The Sun is going to make many important meetings (conjunctions) with other planets, most of which occur right in this dark period between two eclipses (Mercury and Venus are both invisible for most of the next 2 weeks!). Whatever happens at these points will turn out to be very important a few weeks (or months) down the line.

March 15th - Mercury stations Retrograde Keywords for Mercury retrograde include technical and logistical snafus, miscommunications, and delays in travel. With two inner planets (Venus and Mercury) retrograde at the same time, our expectations in every day life will be subverted/inverted/change trajectories a lot. Both planets will also conjoin Neptune as they regress to Pisces, adding even more confusion to the mix.

Mercury will also be squaring Mars for much of this retrograde, bringing speech that start fights, foul language, vicious insults and cutting words. Hidden in the peace offering is a little poisoned dagger.

March 19th - Sun conjunct Neptune

March 20th - Sun enters Aries This month the Sun and Neptune trade places with Venus and Mercury, as the former two enter Aries and the latter two regress to Pisces. All our stories overlap this month, going back and forth between the two signs. Themes we saw in January and February will come back into our lives as Venus and Mercury revisit those points in our charts.

March 22nd - Sun square Retrograde Venus This Venus cazimi (exact conjunction to Sun) takes place halfway through and serves as the turning point of the retrograde. Things won't fully resolve until April, but we'll start seeing how we can move forward. Exalted Venus returns to her throne, but finds matters in disarray.

March 24th - Sun conjunct Retrograde Mercury

March 27th - Retrograde Venus enters Pisces, squares Neptune Venus is in her place of exaltation, while also being weighed down by Saturn and confused by Neptune.

March 29th - Solar Eclipse in Aries Unlike the Virgo eclipse, this is concluding a series of events on the Aries-Libra axis. This eclipse is an especially big deal, as every other eclipse in Aries has coincided with major geopolitical events in the world. For example, Aries/Libra eclipse season a year ago saw Iran and Israel in direct missile conflict, and the next escalation occurred during the following eclipse series (as well as assassinations). Thus a continuation or escalation is unfortunately on the horizon. Decapitations and leaders of assassinations also occur under North Node Aries eclipses. As the sign ruling the head and exaltation of the Sun, leadership especially is implicated during Aries eclipses (and eclipses already indicate political leaders stepping down or disappearing). In terms of Venus and Mars transits, we're seeing a return of 1961 (the Bay of Pigs), 1929 (stock market crash), and 1969 (when Nixon took office and secretly bombed Cambodia). Both our hosts predict major power shifts and rearrangements over the next decade, with important events taking place during flash points like the eclipses. This eclipse is like the earthquake that then sets off a tsunami, which in turn causes a leak from a nuclear power plant.

For personal charts, pay attention to the Aries house of your chart, especially events from last fall (September-October 2024), and last spring (March-April 2024), where we had the first full set of eclipses in Libra and Aries. Our hosts may have to record the April forecast before the events of this eclipse occur, which makes it a big cliffhanger forecast-wise.

I didn't catch a chart in the video, so here's one I pulled from Astro-Seek:

March 30th - Neptune enters Aries, Mercury enters Aries Unlike Venus, Mercury enters into a position of fall here, so the conjunction with Saturn into conjunction with Mercury really hampers our ability to communicate.

Neptune enters Aries for the next 14-15 years (talked about at length in the yearly forecast--here are my notes). Historically, Aries Neptune has brought us some very heroic and also very violent dreams: the US Civil War broke out on a Neptune Aries ingress, and the Taiping Rebellion's bloodiest years were under an Aries Neptune. If that wasn't enough, after the eclipse activating everything in the sign, Saturn is going to be hovering around Neptune just out of exact conjunction distance for the next few months (receding at the end of this year, but coming back with a vengeance in early 2026).

My advice for the month ahead is: brace yourself for the storm and don't act rashly. Listen to your gut, wait it out, and let go of anything dragging you down.

[rhonuscorner]

Do Sun and Moon have some kind of religion or belief system on their home planet?

Sssssssorta?

They don't have any deities, they don't believe in a higher power that will give them boons or fortune or an eternal rest in a fancy afterlife or something like that. They have no temples or places of worship.

But they are very... let's just say appreciative of light in its many forms, whether that's the natural light of their planet's sun and moon, the pulsing glow of the many different kind of crystals that grow natively, the bio-luminescence in certain native plant life and this inner glow that nebuterrans and many other creatures have.

It's why most nebuterrans have chosen to live there where the sun never fully sets (the capital city) and the nights are rarely truly dark (their moon is rather bright too).

Light means safety. Light is literally life to them.

Darkness is danger and death. Like the treterirs who thrive in dark damp places, or the darkness of space where it's full of danger. There's a reason why nebuterrans no longer travel and rarely leave their homeworld anymore.

So while light as a whole is not something they worship it's not attributed to some kind of higher being, but nebuterrans cherish it as something important and valuable, not to be taken for granted. They have sayings to match this, greetings and wishes for good fortune or health all having to do with light in one way or another. I can't currently give an example of this right now though because I'm not at home right now and don't have access to my translator files, but yeah.

Also, light can be responsible for a very rare phenomenon on their homeworld, something that is seen as a miracle and a sign of good things to come and it has something to do with Eclipse.

But I'm not gonna spoil it of course 😜

[spnbabe67]

Sex, Drugs, Etc.

Kinktober Day 17: High Sex (T.O.)

Pairing: Tyler Owens x Fem Original Character

Warnings: Smut, Weed,(Loretta isn't incoherent), Alcohol Oral (F&M rec.), teeth rotting fluff, aftercare

Summary: Loretta gets her hands on some of Boone's weed and shenanigans ensue

Word Count: 2147

Authors Note: Title inspired by the song Sex, Drugs, Ect by Beach Weather.

Also, I have never been high, but for the sake of my own feelings towards that kind of stuff, I didn't write Loretta as super intoxicated. I know that everyone has different tolerances for substances, so talk with your partner if you choose to engage in sexual acts while one or both of you are under the influence, and talk about boundaries before you enter an altered state of mind. Be safe friends!

Tyler couldn’t keep his eyes off of Loretta. He and the rest of his team had been chasing a storm cell in the heart of Kansas, holing up at one of the small motels on the outskirts of a nearby town for the night. The engine blocks had barely cooled when his friends brought out the booze, and in Boone’s case, the weed. At some point throughout the night, the sun falling in the sky, Loretta must have stolen a couple drags off of Boone’s blunt when Tyler wasn’t looking. Tyler never much cared for the weed, participating in the occasional celebratory drink, but never the pungent herb he’d seen Boone and Lilly roll into blunts and smoke more than a chimney. 

Loretta had slunk up to him all shy like, more shy than she normally was, giving him a sheepish grin. If the stink of pot wasn’t enough to indicate to him that she was high, then her pupils, blown so wide that her pretty aquamarine irises were almost completely eclipsed, would have. Tyler couldn’t help but smile gently as Loretta wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking herself against his side. 

“Heya, Doll.” Tyler smiled down at her, plucking the baseball cap he had been wearing off and placing it down over her fawn brown hair. 

Loretta’s cheeks tinged pink as he placed the cap on her head backwards. “Hey yourself, Cowboy.” She gazed up at him.

Tyler wrapped his arm around her waist, squeezing her hip as Loretta leaned up on her tippy toes to brush her mouth against his, her hand coming up to rest against the side of his face. Tyler sighed into the kiss, wholly content in this, in her. He only pulled away, smoothing his hand up and down Loretta’s back when Dani wolf whistled at them. He chuckled as Loretta stuck her tongue out at her friend. 

“Get a room you two!” Lilly joined in with the teasing, Boone and Dexter joining in, laughing goodnaturedly. 

“Maybe we will!” Loretta called back.

Tyler couldn’t help but duck his head, laughing along as Loretta laced their fingers together, her smaller hand fitting perfectly in his own. He rubbed the pad of his thumb along her hand as Loretta guided him out of the parking lot, digging into his pockets to pull out the key for their room. His chest warmed, knowing how his friends, his chosen family, had accepted her as one of their own. She had chased with them long before Tyler took things further between them, but when they did make their relationship known to the rest of the group, they’d been met with nothing but overwhelming acceptance.

“Be safe! Use protection!” Boone called after them. 

Tyler busted out laughing when Loretta lifted her hand up, flipping their friend off.

“Kiss my ass, Boone!” She snarked back, sliding the card through the slot, the tumbler of the lock giving way.

“That’s Tyler’s job, not mine!”

Tyler sighed, hoisting Loretta over his shoulder as she lunged, aiming to engage Boone in a good-natured scuffle no doubt. 

“Owens!” Loretta giggled, pounding her hands against his back as he kicked the door shut behind him.

“Jones.” Tyler countered, smacking Loretta on the ass before tossing her on the bed. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

Her surprised yelp quickly dissolved into a fit of giggles as she sat up to sit cross legged on the bed. Tyler could help but admire her, the way the warm light from the bedside lamp glanced off the soft curls of her hair. It deepened the barely-there freckles that were smattered across her cheeks and nose, adding an alluring glow to her. The oversized t-shirt had slipped off her shoulder slightly and Tyler was convinced that she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever gotten the privilege of laying his eyes on. Her siren song had thoroughly enraptured him because when she crooked a finger at him, that sultry look in her heavy-lidded eyes, he was powerless to resist.

His fingers brushed against the soft curve of her jaw as Tyler closed the distance between them, his lips meeting hers once again. The kiss was gentle and tender, no need to rush because of time constraints or that ‘I need you so bad’ feeling that had them tearing each others clothes off like horny teenagers. Loretta had pushed herself up to her knees on the bed, evening the height difference between them. Tyler ran his hands along her sides in long, slow strokes, exploring her body beneath his touch like it was the first time. He shivered as Loretta’s chilly fingers brushed under his t-shirt and made contact with his bare skin. Her hands wandered like his were, tracing the lines of his body, sliding up the front of him. 

They broke the kiss only long enough for Tyler to help her pull his shirt up and off. He reached up, taking his cap from off her head, tossing it to the ground to join his shirt. Tyler dipped his head, aiming to reclaim her mouth but Loretta was already ahead of him, pressing an open mouthed kiss to the column of his neck, her hands braced on his chest. His head rolled back as she mouthed at his neck down to his chest, her hands sliding down the front of him to end up at the button of his jeans. Tyler’s hands found their own way under Loretta’s shirt, his touch careful as he tugged it over her head, leaving her in her sports bra and jean shorts. 

Her lips continued to trail south, readjusting so instead of kneeling on the mattress she was back to sitting, her legs on either side of his. Tyler dipped down, firmly kissing her as her nimble fingers made deft work of his jeans. He helped her slide them down his thighs along with his boxers, stepping out of them. He groaned into the kiss as her small hand wrapped around his length, running her palm up and down him. Loretta pulled away from him, nipping at his bottom lip for good measure as she dipped her head down. 

Tyler hissed through his teeth as Loretta’s tongue laved its way up the underside of him. He flexed his hands into fists and back again as she enveloped the tip of him inside her hot mouth. Her cheeks hollowed out around him, her hand lazily pumping the rest of him as her mouth worked the top of his cock. 

“Fuck, Doll. That’s it.” Tyler praised as Loretta started to bob her head, taking more and more of his length into her mouth with each pass. 

Tyler gazed down at her, watching her work him over with that mouth of hers. He gathered her hair, gently moving the curtain of locks away from her face, holding it in a ponytail at the back of her head. He couldn’t help the way his hips shallowly rocked forward, chasing the feeling of her mouth around him. Tyler choked on a moan as Loretta looked up at him. The sight of her, mouth full of his cock, eyes glossy, nearly had him spilling himself down her throat then and there. He clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath through his nose, telling himself he needed to hold off a little longer. 

But he knew he wasn’t gonna last long with the way Loretta’s tongue ran along that tender spot on the underside. He fisted his hand in her hair as that pull in his lower stomach grew tighter and tighter until he moaned her name, warning her almost too late before he spilled himself down her throat. Loretta’s hand snaked around his thigh, holding his hips nearly flush with her lips. The feeling of her throat swallowing around him was too much, felt too good. He pulled his still semi-hard cock from her mouth, swiping his thumb across her lower lip, wiping away a mixture of spit and his cum from her mouth. 

Tyler chased Loretta up the bed, shedding her clothes on the way until she was sprawled out naked under him, her hair splayed around her head like a halo; his own personal angel. Her body was soft and warm, and so damn responsive as Tyler took his own turn tracing his lips along the supple curves of her body. His mouth left a trail of kisses from her mouth down her body like stops on a roadmap, a curvy back road for only him to explore. At at the end of that road lay salvation between her legs. The first taste of her was sweet, and her resounding moan was even sweeter. 

Tyler gripped her thighs apart, feasting on her like she was his first meal in weeks. He licked at her clit, wrapping his lips around the erect bud, letting his teeth graze it ever so slightly. Tyler grinned against her core as her nails scraped against his scalp, massaging and tugging at his hair, pressing his face further against her pussy. Her moans filled her ears, getting more and more breathy as he sucked and licked until her thighs started to shake around his head. That’s it, Baby. Let it all go. Tyler laved his tongue up the center of her, working her through her orgasm until she was pushing his head away from her core, mumbling about it being too much, and instead pulling him back up her body. 

“So pretty.” Tyler mumbled against her skin. “My pretty girl. My girl.” 

Tyler grinned against Loretta’s mouth as she rolled them over, straddling his waist. He felt Loretta grin against his mouth as he sat up, holding her in his lap. 

“I love you, Tyler.” Loretta breathed into the space between them, placing her hands on his shoulders.

“I love you too, Lor.”

Loretta let out a shuddering breath as Tyler felt her reach around to grasp his cock, painfully hard again, running the head of him through her folds. “Say it again.”

Tyler moaned. “I love you.”

Tyler squeezed her hips, yanking on that leash holding him back from fucking up into her as she sank down onto him, her warmth enveloping him. He kissed her sloppily, all tongues and teeth, moaning her name as Loretta rode him slowly. She ground her hips against his, so lazily, rocking back and forth. Tyler couldn’t pick a spot for his hands too stay, not with so many soft curves to choose from. Her breasts, her sides, her tummy, her hips, her ass, he loved every inch of her and thanked God every day that he got the chance to show her just how much he did. Tyler slid an arm around her waist, holding her to him as his other hand found her clit, rubbing in soft circles as she moved atop him. 

“Thatta girl.” Tyler said softly. “Take what you need, Baby.”

It was a slow, gentle building of pleasure between them. Tyler could feel Loretta grow lazy with her movements getting closer and closer to her climax; he held her hips, assisting her movements as he swiped his tongue into her mouth. Loretta whimpered into his mouth as her thighs shook against his own, her climax having her inner walls fluttering around him. Tyler held onto her like she was the last piece of wreckage amongst a tempest at sea as his own orgasm rocked through him, Tyler moaning against her shoulder. 

In the aftermath of their collective high, Tyler gently lifted Loretta off of him, laying her down on the bed as he quickly grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom, wetting it under the tap. Loretta smiled at him as Tyler came back over, running the cloth gently between her legs, pulling a low whine from her. He tossed the cloth aside, motioning for Loretta to roll over on her stomach before climbing into bed beside her. Tyler rubbed his hands up and down her back, putting pressure behind his thumbs, finding the knots he knew plagued her along her shoulder blades and lower back. 

He heard Loretta hum contentedly into the pillow, sighing sleepily. “You’re always so good to me.”

Tyler huffed a laugh leaning down to press a kiss to the spot between her shoulder blades against her spine. “Only the best for my girl.”

Loretta hummed noncommittally as Tyler worked out the knots in her back. Tyler paused as he realized Loretta’s breaths had evened out, her eyes having shut minutes ago. He smiled to himself, turning out the light before stretching out beside her. She snuggled up against him as he pulled the covers over both their naked bodies, tucking an arm under her to pull her into his side.

“I love you Lor.” Tyler whispered into the darkness. “Sleep well, my girl. I got you.”

[mountpantheon]

Omen. A wip snippet by DJ Walker

“Cliff, you know what's coming. I tried to protect you from the state as long as I could. Some things, as a parent, you can just feel. They're going to make you a wardog soon.”

A pit formed in the boy's stomach. There is no low speed in his mother's government stealth jet. Just incredible physical comfort at one point five mach. He didn't feel the speed, but his mind was eclipsing hills and valleys below him before the Manta did. Cliff rubbed his vein-stricken temples. “So it's my fault, then?” He meant to sound sincere, yet his tone betrayed some harsher nuance.

Akila shook her maroon curtained head, checking forward before risking a concerned glance his way. “Cliff, no, it's not your fault, baby. That's never been what I'm trying to say.”

Cliff scoffed, “Then, what are you trying to say?”

“Cliff…” she started, but the boy continued his uproar.

“It just seems like I can never be safe enough. Sane enough.”

Akila flinched, the rare time her age showed fully. 

“There's actually another crime someone's about to commit to me or around me, and I'm just supposed to be safer than such things. Saner about ‘em. Not worry about people hurting each other, even though that is all any of us ever fucking do!” The kid was ranting and yelling now. He and his mother were sharing a lot of that, now. Words as blows.

Akila was cracking, too. “Your metal is in the shape of an axe, Cliff! Same as mine and so much bigger, I mean, fuck! People see you and just assume you're a wardog already.” 

He threw his arms in the air in a huff. “I didn't choose it.” He paused, trying to contain his anger. He had no clue why every adult in his life talked about the axe, Berserk, like this. As if he wasn't born with the organic metal, same as a sixth of the population.

Pressure was rising in his throat, and it was making him think about nothing but screaming, so he did. “I didn't choose it! I didn't fucking choose it!” He wasn't crying; he wasn't sad. No, currently he was punching the dashboard in front of him, and his legs and the door. Anything safe enough to damage.

In an instant, Akila's strong right hand shot out to grab his left. Blue light sizzled off her fingers. She'd used lightning to grab him without looking. She warned in a deadly calm, “I am your mother. Watch your damn tone.”

He just shrugged as she let him go. “Let's both stop yelling and cursing.”

“Fair, but Cliff. Make no mistake. I am a wardog, too. Just a special one. Powerful one, whatever. Your father will be here soon.”

There was a silence that formed in her with those words, as it did in Cliff when she looked over.

She took a deep breath and continued. “Neither of us has been told, but…” 

Her voice trailed off once more as they exited sonic speed and she looked left pointedly, steering the Manta into a smooth dive and center towards familiar terrain.

“We've been asked about your health too much for me not to be sure. That ward specifically was recommended to me. To learn whether or not you were dysregulated.” 

Sometimes, parents are offered such boons of luck as to be able to hide their eyes while navigating a vehicle and delivering bad news. The ship had reached the city's edge now.

Both their shoulders fell at the sight of the skyline that seemed only to climb up home to their little penthouse neighborhood, Skytop Canopy. Still, the thickness in the space between them lingered.

Finally, Cliff spoke up for himself again. In a lower tone, he argued, “But Mom, I'm not dysregulated and I chose to go for myself. For you. The people there told me I'm not dysregulated. Right?”

Cliff was able to look up at his mother for reassurance, but no good driver, or parent for that matter, would have met his eyes in that moment.

Akila shook her red, braided bangs out of her eyes again. “Son, I know you're not dysregulated. I know you're not a criminal. And I wouldn't care. Not morally. But now the state knows you're violent. And that's the unavoidable, completely uncomfortable truth we're dealing with.”

“I'm not violent.”

“You are, kid, okay? Let's just get that clear right now. You've used that thing to hurt people already.”

“Not like that, he was–”

“It doesn't matter who or what he was, Cliff. There are better ways.”

“Yeah, and so that's why you're a wardog, now.” Cliff didn't care how his words felt. He was tired of being told he was a problem.

Akila, however, seemed just as shocked and hurt as his words were meant to, “Oh my god, Cliff. I wish I could smoke in here! I have had it with this holier than thou crap. I never ever wanna put you down or darken your heart, but you need to face reality, son. We're in this jet right now because you put a kid in the hospital with your bare hands after threatening him with that… Ugh. With Berserk. Not because you were sad.” She sucked her teeth as soon as she said it, but Cliff was totally intent on running a mile with the word.

“Sad? Could've fuckin' lost me forever, yeah sure I was sad. Don't you want me to be this confident again?"

“Yes.”

“Don't you want me to stick up for the things I believe in? People I care for?”

The jet was slowing now as the ship glided between towers and bridges on its way up the city slope. “Just be honest with me, okay? Between us?” She risked extending her pinky to him as the ship leveled, their earliest gesture of trust.

He gave in and entwined his left.

“I can't meet your eyes just yet. Maybe that's better." Akila took a deep breathe, then continued, "Do you like hurting people, Cliff? Please answer honestly.”

“No." His answer was clear, but when his mother stayed quiet, he reformed his thoughts. "No, I felt stupid hurting him. It's all a stupid mentality. You have to take your brain to stupid ass places just to get there. But he bullied Tristan. Me, too, if anyone could just believe that. That asshole’s still here. My friend's not.” There was thick bile in those last few sentences.

His vitriol seemed to be picked up on by her, by way of wincing, but she ignored it. She just sighed as the ship stabilized to land in front of their home. “As your mother, I don't want to lose you to anything, be it violence, death, or the state. It's all harm I never wanted to see you tied up in.”

“Is this both of us learning that that's all inevitable?”

She gave her son an uneasy glance as they came to a full stop, but relented with her own shrug. “No one at work has said anything about your employment, and you have the most vigilant parents maybe on the whole planet. And I should know. I was a vigilante.”

The boy shook his head. “Gotta be the only person around ashamed to be a superhero.”

Akila looked up at Cliff as he stepped from the pod door. “But I'm not a superhero anymore.” She couldn't hide the unspoken sadness in her voice. Never from him.

“You're not coming with?” he observed.

She gave a short “nah” as she engaged the engine again.

“Well, you're wrong, by the way.”

“Huh?”

“You are still a superhero. Even if you're just mine and Dad's.”

“Huh,” as a weary affirmation this time. Then her shoulders finally rested again. “Meet me downtown. Uh. Here, downtown at eight. I do have to keep an eye on you. It'll be good, though. To get to be at home.” She already sounded far away, her brown eyes probably imagining whatever nightmare meeting awaited her at the precinct.

Cliff smiled at the thought of Akila being home for once. “Yeah, maybe we can watch that movie?”

She laughed a full breath, a youthfully high sound. Her laughter always calmed the kid’s nerves. “What, Thor-girl? I'm telling you, they stole my whole vibe. I'd love to watch a movie, son.”

His mother was smiling, despite the uncertainty. Cliff felt so gladdened by that, he was smiling, too. “Love you, Mom. See you at 8.”

[solunest]

I personally have no idea how my brain wants to tell the rest of this story, but I wanna tell so bad. So, instead, I'm satisfying a few beasts by posting some concepts that are in the lore. Maybe one day I'll get around to actually typing it ;-;

[satoshi-mochida]

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC - Gematsu

Atari-owned developer Digital Eclipse, in cooperation with Warner Bros. Games, has announced Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch in 2025.

“Mortal Kombat irrevocably altered the cultural landscape of video games,” said Digital Eclipse studio head  Mike Mika in a press release. “It was audacious, shocking, and unflinching. It marked a seismic shift in interactive entertainment, pulling the industry into a more provocative, mature direction that continues to influence game design and cultural discourse over three decades later. With Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, we set out not just to preserve its legacy, but to contextualize it—inviting players to experience its origins, trace its evolution, and appreciate the bold vision that transformed it into a global icon. For us, this project is both tribute and testament.”

Here is an overview of the collection, via Warner Bros. Games:

About

Developed and published by Digital Eclipse and officially licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection brings together a vast library of titles from the franchise’s early years, with original arcade games, the iconic Super Nintendo Entertainment System and SEGA Genesis home versions, and releases across Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega 32X, Game Boy Advance, and more platforms—all newly enhanced with player-friendly features. Online support with rollback netcode will be added to many of the arcade and console editions. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection also includes an interactive documentary chronicling the series’ groundbreaking history, featuring rare concept art, archival video footage, and exclusive new and vintage interviews with original creators Ed Boon, John Tobias, Dan Forden, and John Vogel, along with dozens more, to tell one of the gaming industry’s most compelling origin stories. In addition to documenting the making of the games, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection will also chronicle the epic conflicts of the Elder Gods, Outworld, Edenia, and Earthrealm throughout the arcade era, with helpful guides to character backstories. Each title in the Kollection will also be enhanced with a variety of optional quality-of-life features, which will be detailed closer to launch. Currently announced games in Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection include:

Mortal Kombat – 1992 (Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear)

Mortal Kombat II – 1993 (Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, 32X)

Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995 (Arcade, SNES, Genesis)

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995 (Arcade, SNES)

Mortal Kombat 4 – 1997 (Arcade)

Mortal Kombat Advance – 2001 (Game Boy Advance)

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – 2002 (Game Boy Advance)

Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition – 2003 (Game Boy Advance)

…and more to come!

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

[vahalia-cress]

⸸ Eclipse ⸸

Sand coursed through the large hourglass within the titan’s grasp, a magnificent structure to behold if only she could sit and inspect each grain, having the time to feel the stone structure itself, touched by time but just as equally forgotten. It made her wonder how ancient the ruins or tomb had been, how many years had it been since someone stumbled upon it or looted its treasures.

None of which seemed to pique the interest of the sable-haired woman; instead, it was the make of the structure itself and what mysteries it had been privy to. How many people passed through the gates only to never return? How much time had passed since the mouth of the space had been abandoned? Who made it?

A buzz in her ear caught her attention and just over the sandy dunes behind her, she could sense a presence but no figure to accompany it. This, all of it felt familiar – dangerous. She was no stranger to the lure and pall around her, the skies above were dark, though short-lived lived when a sharp pain found her temple, causing her to instinctively grab for her head.

A myriad of images passed under her eyelids, static and choppy, a flutter of visions and voices. Unknown to her, the sands in the hourglass shifted and spun, turning viciously and reversing from their fallen state, like time had been rewinding through a series of images.

A barrage of sand hit her, prickling her skin and a vortex of darkness caught the ground in a violent shake. Entrenched within the whorl of darkness she caught glimpses of a crown, radiant rays of sun, sigils that glowed embedded into stone and a set of bright eyes that burned with the fury of the sun. Deep within the gaze she knew that stare but it was far beyond her reach to properly place it.

When the sound of water found her ears, she looked down past the shield of her arms to watch the thick substance of red coating her ankles, waves of it washing past her in a small river of blood and when she turned to find the source a large hand shot through the darkness of the vortex gripping her by the throat, as hands came forward to fend off the strength of the entity beyond, chains snapped toward her and when the rattle of the metal loosed – everything went black.

Somewhere in the distance, a bell tolled, and Vahalia found herself in bed with her hand stamped to one side of her face. The sweat that clung to her brow felt cold despite the heat of the day lingering well into the evening. Trying to sort herself out, her attention was drawn to the open window nearby, and the waves beyond that crashed against the sharp edges of the cliffs not too far off.

She was back in Black Water, that much she could surmise, thankful for the comforts of her own home and bed despite the dream leaving her feeling less than such. Her body was rattled despite not a shriek or a jolt coming from her, which was a small boon to not have woken Hakan as he lay resting.

It was still dark, perhaps she hadn’t been asleep long, it was difficult to return to the normalcy she had in Black Water after being in Dalmasca for as long as she had been. A personal quest of Hakan’s that she had seen to accompanying him on and what had turned into a trip she had thought to be a couple of weeks at most, had turned into nearly two months.

Slowly, her hand drew over her face, and she slipped from the sheets, bare feet finding purchase along the cold floor. The lantern at her bedside flickered a soft green, her timepiece wrapped around the base of the metal cresset, which lay with many of her other belongings she often kept upon her person.

She needed a distraction, something to lull her away from the dream and the series of things she had been witness to. Drawing her silken robe along her frame, she made for the far side of the room where a bassinet had been placed, peering within to see Aradia slumbering peacefully.

It was said to let sleeping babies lie, but there was a selfish need for some sliver of comfort and so, Vahalia dipped her hands into the bassinet carefully and cradled the infant towards her, a gentle sway finding her gait as she strode from the room and out into the hall. Passing portraits of elders passed and the various collections of armor on display, Vahalia tucked into the Library and found comfort within the seat across from the fire.

At first, her voice was a low hum and then a melody of words was offered as she rocked the sleeping babe, putting her focus elsewhere than the event that left her calloused.

In the twisted grove where shadows play, A silent watcher bides its stay Hidden ‘neath the ancient tree, A knower of things that should not be. It speaks in tongues of elder times, Each word a bell of chilling chimes Its sight pierces through the veil. Of futures written in detail. Dare you speak to that which waits. Behind a veil of fae gates? Its counsel deep, a venom’s kiss. Clad in the guise of promised bliss. Its roots are steeped in blood-soaked lore, Its branches scratch at heaven’s door A serpent’s coil, a spider’s web, In its gaze, the World’s ebb. Whispers weave into your mind, A tapestry of fate unkind With every truth it so imparts, A darker seed in your heart starts. Flee the glade, ignore the call, Of the one that sees, predicts, enthrals. For once its visions in you burn, There’s no return, no overturn. So children heed this fearsome rhyme, Keep to the light and bide your time For the dark, the truths you seek, May be the end of the brave and meek.

Dipping her head close, Vahalia placed a small kiss along Aradia’s cheek, the child barely stirring as they slept and not too soon after had a cold touch come upon her mantle. Her attention garnered as it had been desired and the set of golden eyes peered over her shoulder to the rest of the room, only to find the looming shadow of a being behind her, elongated fingers clutching down over the entirety of her shoulder.

Breathlessly, she scoffed, almost amused, which caused her to nearly chuckle had it not of been for the sleeping child within her arms, “There you are,” she spoke in a whisper, as if an expanse of stress had freed itself from its cage within her ribs.

Finally.

Gently her hand lifted and found purchase against the cold inky flesh of Creature, a series of chittered emitting from the Voidsent as the other hand of Creature’s found the back of the chair Vahalia had been sitting in, his lumbering form arching over to get a better look at the infant that slept so soundly cuddled against his Mistress’s bosom.

“This one is different. New.” He spoke, a cacophony of voices coupled into his words.

“Indeed, just so.” Vahalia replied with a smile and she pulled the blanket from Aradia’s cheek for Creature to gather a better view, the precious daughter that carried Cress blood, a proper Daughter of Dalmasca, “Aradia, I would expect you to protect her as you do me, she is to be part of the future someday. Perhaps not soon but it is promised. I expect great things from her.”

For the first time that Vahalia could tell, Creature seemed uncertain but quite curious about the small ‘pink-thing’ that wiggled within the blanket and scrunched its face. Odd, he had been around Evran and Idalia plenty and had made his comments about them, but this time, a guttural grumble loosed from his maw, and eventually, he turned away.

“As you say, but it must be said that this one is equally blessed by the day. I am not certain which way it will sway. Something is not quite right. Not inherently wrong either.”

Vahalia turned to watch as Creature began to tapper towards the space where the walls connected and the corner drew dark, “A blessing you should consider important to your survival and hunger for life. Trust me when I tell you this, I suspect her to be my successor someday.”

“Someday.” Creature parroted. And with a series of clicks and chitter, he disappeared, tendrils and inky shadows slithering in his wake until the darkness of the wall turned natural.

[ Poem used in the story by Willaim Moore; The Tome of Terrible Truths ] Mention(s): @belgravexiv

[elminx]

Energy Update: May 2024

May is a "4" Universal Month [5 (May) + 8 (2024) = 13 = 1+3 = 4] in an "8" Universal Year. "4" months are about shoring things up and creating structure. We were put through the wringer during April's intense total solar eclipse and Mercury retrograde cycle, and now we are tasked with picking up the pieces and making something out of what is left.

The Set Up

We begin the month of May with the Sun, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus in Taurus; Mercury and Mars in Aries, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, and Pluto in Aquarius. This continues our pile-up of planets which have now been in a sequence of conjoining signs for several months. This indicates that this area of life - stretching from Aquarius and Pisces (the last two signs in the horoscope wheel) through to Aries and Taurus (the first two signs) - needs all of our attention. Something is ending and something is beginning but we are still mid-process.

By month's end, the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter will have entered Gemini and Mercury will enter Taurus. Additionally, Pluto will have stationed retrograde.

The Nitty Gritty

When I say that "4" months have a certain feel, I want to point to May 2024 as a prime example. April was challenging for many people (I hesitate to say most but I think it might be headed in that direction) and it has left a big mess in its wake. It may take some time to gather ourselves enough to pick up the pieces, but May, with both its transits and its 4 energy, will offer us every opportunity to do so. The thing is, "4" energy isn't something that just happens, you need to work for it.

In this, often-lazy Taurus isn't doing us any favors but we are getting quite a bit of support from Mars in its home sign of Aries and Saturn in Pisces. This month's big flex will be to get up daily and put one foot in front of the other. Show up for yourself. There are a couple of potential windfalls towards the end of the month but they will be much more beneficial for those that have put in the work beforehand.

The month begins with a bit of an ending as Venus in Taurus meets up in a fixed square with Pluto in Aquarius. There are a couple of things in play here. The first is that Pluto retrogrades the next day; during this retrograde, it will move backward into Capricorn for the last time later this year. The second is that this is part of an ongoing interplay between Venus and Pluto that stretches back to Venus's retrograde in January of 2022 which was directly conjunct with Pluto in Capricorn.

We are in an ongoing cycle that involves the evolution of relationships (highlighted by our lunar node's transits through Aries and Libra) with a marked push towards valuing the individual over the system as a whole. Venus, through her rulership of our relationship-loving sign Libra, has been in the hot seat for a while now. Now she is in her other ruling sign, Taurus, a sign that can be equally as unwilling to make a change. The problem is that Pluto isn't a planet that can be reasoned with - as one of our outer planets, it is far beyond our control and immune to our influence.

When given the choice to bend or break, Taurus rarely chooses to bend. That will be a problem all month long as our personal planets all move through the sign of the bull and are forced to butt heads up against the inevitability that Pluto brings to the table.

Mars is in play here, too. At the end of April, Venus and Mars entered their home signs which is generally a positive indication for relationships of all kinds. Unfortunately, it brings both into immediate contact with Pluto. This could be a boon for relationships that are future-focused and committed to changing in ways that benefit all people involved. But it will be part of the ongoing stressor for those that are not. This is your cosmic reminder that the North Node in Aries demands independence for all parties during this time; avoid that at your peril.

Pain is on the table. Mercury, now direct, is working its way through its post-retrograde shadow where it meets up with Chiron for the third and final time at 21° Aries. This is very close (within 1°) to the point of our solar eclipse last month which included a rough stellium between the Sun, the Moon, retrograde Mercury, Chiron, and the North Node. We may have moved on (it has been a whole month and we are about to experience a new moon at 18° Taurus), but the scars have barely scabbed over. Monday 5/6 may prove a rough day for many who had difficulty with the solar eclipse as it may echo those same repeating themes.

As a culture, we are taught to ignore our pains but Chiron calls for us to stand up and look at them in the eyes. To know them and where they come from. This isn't the easy path and it can require help (professional or otherwise). All aspects to Chiron support shadow work and healing of all kinds. With Mercury involved, you may want to talk it through or write it out.

This will still be in play for our New Moon at 18° Taurus on late Tuesday night (5/7) or early Wednesday morning (5/8) depending on your time zone. This lunar conjunction is in a strong sextile with Saturn in Pisces. Saturn can be a hard taskmaster, but that is necessary here - after a rough month, we are tasked with picking up the pieces and moving on. This is our first new moon since our eclipse cycle and our first chance to set intentions or to set things right. Taurus can be a very self-indulgent sign, so do your work and get yourself a little treat afterward for morale.

Small consistent steps are the name of the game all month long. Saturn can help us here. Things may feel hopeless (especially if you were rocked by eclipse season or Mercury retrograde) but Saturn reminds us that time changes all things. Today is the first day of the rest of your life, you might as well get going and do something about it.

After that, we sit for almost a full week without any non-lunar aspects. This is always a sign that we need to think about what we've done. This doesn't have to be a bad thing. Keep moving. If today is hard, wake up tomorrow and start all over again. Taurus has a lot of staying power, you just need to tap into it.

5/13 will be a big turning point in the energy of the month. Venus in Taurus will sextile Saturn (another chance to work, I guess?) and Mercury will finally exit their post-retrograde shadow. Additionally, our Sun will conjunct Uranus at 23° Taurus - this starts a major Taurus stellium between the Sun, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus that won't complete until Venus conjunctions Jupiter at 28° on 5/23.

Ten days to get some shit done, that's nothing to snaggle about. This energy will go from intense to more fruitful. I'd stay very aware and out of the fire on 5/13 (Uranus rules unexpected disasters) - don't handle explosives if you don't have to, physically or metaphorically. Uranian energy is uncontrollable at best, so step out of the way if you need to. But it does tend to encourage change and, with both the Sun and Jupiter involved, we can use this to our advantage.

On 5/15, Mercury finally enters Taurus after its ten-week tour of Aries. This was a really long time to experience our planet of communication in the fiery cardinal sign of the ram. It's been a rough go all around with seemingly everybody having opinions about things they know nothing about. May the know-it-alls fall back into the shadows where they belong. Mercury in Taurus can be a bit bullheaded, but, for the most part, will think before they speak which is a major win. Depending on how your April went, you might need to apologize for a few things you said or fights you picked. Own up now because Mercury will meet up in sextile with Saturn soon enough. (Saturn rules consequence and repercussions)

In fact, Mercury makes an immediate square with retrograde Pluto in Aquarius. Pluto, like Uranus (who is very much still in play in that major Taurus stellium), acts upon us as an otherworldly presence. We don't get to control how the planet of death and transformation shows up in our lives; the best we can do is adapt to these overarching inevitabilities. Neither Taurus nor Aquarius is particularly adaptable, so this may be a tough day - thankfully, Mercury transits pass quickly.

5/18 is our first benificent day of the month: our Sun is conjunct to Jupiter which brings great opportunities for luck and expansion (especially in the abundant, fertile sign of Taurus), Venus is conjunct to Uranus so chance is on the table, and Mars is conjunct to the North Node in Aries. If you need a change of pace, this is your day. If you are looking for luck, love, or money, this is also your day. I would work firstly with the Sun, then with Jupiter, and finally with Venus. Together this trifecta can pull in the power of otherworldly Uranus and our lunar nodes.

The seasons are beginning to shift again and we look to the late-spring mutable air sign Gemini. Our Sun in Taurus makes a quick and murky sextile to Neptune in Pisces on Sunday 5/19 before entering the sign of the twins on 5/20. Venus and Jupiter aren't far behind which is a major boon to anybody with a strong Gemini element in their charts. But first, our Sun meets up with retrograde Pluto once again, this time in trine rather than last month's square. The changes that need to be wrought this month are getting easier the further that we progress - Gemini, unlike Taurus, is open to bending in the ways needed to accommodate new things. That is, so long as they understand what they are bending for.

We've got a full moon for that! On Thursday, 5/23, Venus conjuncts Jupiter (so, so auspicious!) under the light of the full moon at 02° Sagittarius, the sign ruled by Jupiter. This is our second beneficent day of the month. Both Gemini and Sagittarius are inquisitive signs eager to learn and study. This is an auspicious day for all, but especially for scholars, students, artists, and writers. This is a great day to plan out your (artistic) year ahead, to apply to see your work published or in an art show, or simply to work with the magnanimous energy of Sagittarius to expand and grow. Set out some milk and cookies for Jupiter during this time (or maybe a good glass of scotch) and ask for some inspiration, it will be sure to follow. Later in the day, Venus enters Gemini.

On Saturday, 5/25, Jupiter joins Venus and the Sun in Gemini. Anytime our intermediate or outer planets change signs, the energy shifts substantially. We may find ourselves more interested in intellectual pursuits while Jupiter transits the airy sign of the twins, but we should be wary of Too Many Mind. Jupiter enbiggens everything it touches and Gemini is known for its chronic indecisiveness. Unlike some signs which can be too maudlin to see any options at all, Gemini's indecision comes from seeing too many choices and a desire to explore them all. You may need to take concrete steps to stay on track. (unless you enjoy rabbit holes, I'm not judging)

With Jupiter in Gemini, Gemini season will happen fast and you can see that reflected in Mercury's aspects. Mercury in Taurus makes a tougher aspect to Saturn in Pisces on 5/27 which is a reminder to keep a check on our thoughts during this airy season (always important) and then makes a major conjunction to Uranus at 24° Taurus. Uranus is the higher octave of Mercurial energy - where Mercury is thought, Uranus is pure inspiration, or, sometimes, madness. If you are prone to extreme flights of fancy or intense mania, this is a day to watch out for. If you need a good push to create or be bold, it can be used to your advantage.

Our last aspect for the month is a tough conjunction between Mars and Chiron at 22° Aries - this again is a reminder that when we are not paying attention to our actions, we can end up in some pretty rough places. Mars in Aries would rather run at full speed and is known for not looking where he is going. You might need to reign in some of your impulses as we get deeper into Gemini season, or else you end up sore muscled, and unable to move for a bit.

The Details

5/1 - Venus in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius 5/2 - Pluto retrogrades 02° Aquarius 5/3 - Mars in Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius 5/6 - Mercury conjunct Chiron 21° Aries 5/7 - New moon 18° Taurus (EDT, will be 5/8 for most of the US), Sun in Taurus sextile Saturn in Pisces 5/13 - Sun conjunct Uranus 23° Taurus, Mercury exits its post-retrograde shadow 27° Aries, Venus in Taurus sextile Saturn in Pisces 5/15 - Mercury enters Taurus 5/17 - Mercury in Taurus square retrograde Pluto in Aquarius 5/18 - Sun conjunct Jupiter 28° Taurus, Venus conjunct Uranus 23° Taurus, Mars conjunct North Node 13° Aries 5/19 - Sun in Taurus sextile Neptune in Pisces 5/20 - Sun enters Gemini 5/22 - Sun in Gemini trine retrograde Pluto in Aquarius 5/23 - Full Moon 02° Sagittarius, Venus conjunct Jupiter 29° Taurus, Venus and Jupiter in Taurus sextile Neptune in Pisces, Venus enters Gemini 5/25 - Jupiter enters Gemini 5/27 - Mercury in Taurus sextile Saturn in Pisces 5/29 - Mars conjunct Chiron 22° Aries 5/31 - Mercury conjunct Uranus 24° Taurus

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[blueishspace]

Had some issues with making Scar boons so here have some duo boons for the first 4

Duo boons

Grian + Scott

Blinding nova- Dazzled enemies have a 1% chance of exploding taking 500 damage and inflicting Burn to nearby enemies.

Grian+Pearl.

Total Eclipse- Every 3 seconds all enemies have a 5% chance of automatically becoming Blind, Frostbitten foes have an extra 10% chance of it.

Scott+Pearl

Frozen bond- Hitting a foe will cause a random enemy to also receive the same amount of damage.

Grian + Martyn

Burning treachery- Backstabbing a foe will stack multiple Burns.

Scott + Martyn.

From the shadows - All attacks have a 20% chance of dealing double damage and inflicting Dazzled.

Pearl + Martyn

Waning frost- Every 5 seconds inflict Frostbite to the nearest enemy.

Grian Scott Pearl Martyn

Scar

[beardedmrbean]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as she promoted her efforts to boost clean energy, Vice President Kamala Harris said in Tuesday's debate that the Biden-Harris administration has overseen “the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes that we cannot over rely on foreign oil.″

The comment by Harris, a longtime climate hawk who backed the original Green New Deal, surprised supporters and opponents alike — and conflicted with frequent boasts by Harris and President Joe Biden that they are champions in the fight to slow global warming.

After former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Biden-Harris administration reentered the global pact aimed at reducing emissions. The administration also set a target to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and moved to accelerate renewable energy projects and shift away from fossil fuels.

Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist, said it was notable that at a debate in energy-rich Pennsylvania, Harris chose to “brag about something that President Biden has barely acknowledged — that domestic fossil fuel production under the Biden administration is at an all-time high.″ Crude production averaged 12.9 million barrels a day last year, eclipsing a previous record set in 2019 under Trump, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The statement was “another sign of Harris’ sprint to the middle″ on energy policy and other issues, said Donovan, who works with energy industry clients at the Bracewell law and lobbying firm.

Harris went one step further, rebranding the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — the administration's signature climate law — as a boon to fracking and other drilling, thanks to lease-sale requirements inserted into the bill by independent West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a key swing vote in the Senate and a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry.

Harris's comments disappointed some in the environmental community.

“Harris missed a critical opportunity to lay out a stark contrast with Trump and show young voters that she will stand up to Big Oil and stop the climate crisis,'' said Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, one of the groups behind the Green New Deal.

“Harris spent more time promoting fracking than laying out a bold vision for a clean energy future,'' O'Hanlon said. “Young voters want more from Harris'' on climate change, she added. “We want to see a real plan that meets the scale and urgency of this crisis.''

Her group is working to turn out young voters, “but we hear people asking every day, ‘What are Democrats going to do for us?’” O'Hanlon said. “To win, Harris needs to show young people she will fight for us.”

Other environmental groups were less critical, citing the looming threat to climate action posed by Trump, who rolled back more than 100 environmental protections during his term as president.

“There is only one presidential candidate who is a champion for climate action and that is Kamala Harris,'' said Alex Glass, speaking for Climate Power, a liberal advocacy group. Harris "laid out a clear vision to invest in clean energy jobs and lower costs for working families,'' Glass said.

By comparison, she said, Trump "will do the bidding of his Big Oil donors.''

Glass cited the conservative Project 2025, written by Trump allies, saying it will put millions of clean-energy jobs at risk and let oil companies "profiteer and pollute.'' Trump has denied a direct connection to Project 2025 but has endorsed some of its key ideas.

Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry's top lobbying group, said Harris' comment in support of fracking reflected political reality in the closely contested election. “You have to be for fracking to be elected president in 2024,'' he said. “That's good news for our industry and great news for American consumers.''

Asked why he was so confident about the need to support fracking, Sommers offered a one-word answer: “Pennsylvania.”

Not only is it a key swing state in the election, Pennsylvania also “is the beating heart of the natural gas industry in this country,” Sommers said, second only to Texas in total production.

"You don't win Pennsylvania without supporting fracking, and you don't win the presidency without Pennsylvania,'' Sommers said.

In the debate, Trump disputed Harris's claim that she will not try to ban fracking, but Sommers said he takes Harris at her word and welcomes her support for fracking and oil drilling more generally.

Asked if he was concerned about Harris' past actions suing oil companies, Sommers said no. The oil and gas industry supports 11 million jobs, he said, and the price of gasoline “is determined by economics — supply and demand. There is no man behind the curtain” rigging prices.

As California attorney general, Harris “won tens of millions in settlements against Big Oil and held polluters accountable,'' her campaign says. Her platform includes a promise to ”hold polluters accountable to secure clean air and water for all.''

Trump, meanwhile, has vowed to rescind unspent funds from the climate law and other programs, and said he will target offshore wind projects. He said Harris would move to restrict onshore oil and gas production if elected.

“They’ll go back to destroying our country, and oil will be dead, fossil fuel will be dead,” Trump said.

A president’s power to restrict fracking, even on federal lands, is limited, and barring the practice on private land would require an act of Congress.