#Snake Powers? Mystical Snake?

[ultimate-snek]

ermmmm vampire matthew vs tastes really good hebichi (he is a littol leech)

[anthonyspage]

👸🐍

[celestialtarot11]

The Nakshaktras 🦢🌷

Hi friends! Just thought I’d share some Vedic astrology notes 👀 I may have been reading just a bit on it. Please enjoy as always! Feel free to like, comment and reblog.

🌷 Ashwini Moon are intelligent people. Despite their fiery nature the moon resides in-these people can be attracted to the water depths of spirituality. They can have strong beliefs or values in spirituality or God. Or none at all. These natives are strong minded.

🦢 Sun in Ashwini is exalted. These natives can be great physicians and healers, even great reiki healers. In Hinduism, the Ashwins are depicted as divine mystical doctors who were healers. They brought their healing energy to the earth. Therefore, Ashwini sun + other placements have a tenacity for healing through touch, but also can pick up on nursing/being a doctor of some kind.

🌷 Bharani natives are ruled by Venus. Bharani in Hindi means to bear, to give, so Bharani’s also have a dedicated, loyal nature to them. Their mars-venus interaction adds to their appeal. Represented by the elephant of burden, Bharani natives can find themselves carrying the stress of work, family, etc. especially moon in Bharani.

🦢 Sun in Bharani denotes leadership, authority, and power. Sigmund Freud had this placement. He struggled with the burden of a philosophical mind, overthinking and all-seeing. But, he delivered a great deal of help to understanding our psychology today.

🌷Krittika natives experience an exaltation in Taurus. Krittika natives fight for a cause and have strong will, and also have the power to burn. Destroy, and recreate. Krittika is symbolized by a flame, to burn away negativity. These natives may posses the power to cleanse a room just by their presence alone. They help people feel safe, and grounded. Krittika natives enjoy the pleasures of cooking, art, music or painting of any kind. Frida Kahlo had her moon in Taurus. Princess Diana’s venus also resides in Taurus.

🦢 Rohini natives and sensual, beautiful and charming. Rohini represents the cosmic force needed to create. Universal energies reside in this placement. The native can see tremendous growth by remaining disciplined and focused. Rohini also has the ability to become very spiritual ore religious. The native may find themselves constantly shedding to release, similar to a scorpio. They are represented by the snake, a sign of shedding old skin.

🌷 Mrigashira natives are represented in Hinduism by the “searching star.” “Beginning of search.” Ruling planet is mars, reflecting the great warrior within when it comes to the truth. The native can be relentless, restless for the truth. Whether it concerns themselves, others, of everyone. They can often feel the need for spiritual liberation in their life. These natives can have a deer like appearance-Brooke Shields has her moon in gemini.

🦢 Ardra natives are ruled by mercury. Strong, independent and passionate thinkers. Ardra is represented by tears, or water. Although it is ruled by mercury, natives have a watery depth to them. Their water is the clarity that comes after a storm. These natives love being helpful, solution oriented, and goal driven. Their water is pure, cleansing away any bad omen. Ardra also knows the power of knowledge, these natives are often projected as “fickle,” “naive” or “confusing” but in reality, they cover every perception, choice, and outcome. They just have a high sense of awareness.

🌷 Punarvasu natives are represented by the mother Goddess Aditi, who tends to her seeds for growth. She has power to gain wealth and abundance. Its symbol is arrows, representing the success of projects and goal oriented mind. The native can struggle mentally, due to over-intellectualizing their life. They can become severe and critical in nature. Although the represent the return of the light, they can struggle with reaching their light, and may turn to intellectualizing their emotions.

🌷 Punarvasu career paths: 🌷

-Acting, drama, entertainment, politics, writers/publisher, spiritual teacher.

🦢 Ardra’s career path: 🦢

-writer, teacher, hospice work, social services, public relations, sales, athlete.

🌷 Mrigashira career path: 🌷

-writer, poet, astrologer, researcher, engineer, gemologist, acting profession, real estate, music.

🦢 Rohini career path: 🦢

-politician, authority positions, musician, hotel business, fashion designer, model, artist, actor

🌷 Krittika career path: 🌷

-spiritual teacher, advisor, mentor, musician, dancer, singer, modeling, fashion, military career.

🦢 Bharani career path: 🦢

-publisher, writer, film/music industry, astrologer, psychologist, lawyer, financial consultant, occultist, entrepreneur.

🌷 Ashwini career path: 🌷

-psychologist, therapist, physician, reiki healer, military personnel, police, criminal courts, salespeople.

Thank ya’ll so much for reading! 🌷❤️ Please enjoy and feel free to comment, follow and reblog! Do ya’ll want a part 2? 👀

Paid Readings! 🦢❤️

[ystrike1]

Mystic Prince - By Aheuredal (8/10)

Do you hate harems? Don't worry. There's loads of unrequited love here. Our female(?) Protagonist is a mystery. The entire story is a tournament arc. There's a bratty yandere, a loyal yandere who was sired by a loyal yandere Emperor, and a starving lovestuck demon. Mystic Prince is not just a yandere story. You will have to be in it for the action and intrigue, and the uncertainty.

I'm going to say it right out the gate.

There is no slavery in this one. Only voluntary servitude. In this particular fantasy setting Demons and Gods exist. Demons have white hair. Gods have black hair. The Gods grew emotionless. They stopped caring for humanity, so they gave humanity the power to protect itself as a final gift.

Regular humans live for about a hundred years, but there are special demi-gods now! They can defend the humans and rule the land! Great! Also the Emperor is decided through various tests and trials, not by blood. Great! The Emperor must maintain a Barrier around his nation to protect it. If that barrier breaks well...chaos. So, that means the tests are extremely hard. Great!

Oh, did I mention that the Emperor must be male? Yes, there are NO female demigods. Only pretty priestesses who spend their entire lives in captivity, waiting for the chance to oversee the Emperor Tests.

The gods send down a signal 500 years late, because they really don't give a shit, and a new Emperor can finally be chosen.

One candidate is the handsome and heavily scarred Yeon. He always bathes alone, because the deep marks on his chest are disgusting to look upon. He wants to be Emperor so he can ascend to Godhood after his reign, and he plans to bring his half-demon attendant with him. Biseol struggles with the urge to eat his leige, whom he secretly loves. Biseol and Yeon are both outcasts. Underdogs. Unwanted. Yeon in particular seems to have a persecution complex, due to the abuse he faced for bring born female.

You see the gods made an error when they gave demigod powers only to male princes. Sexism is rampant in the glorious kingdom of Yeol. Can you imagine? You’re a wife in a great family, and you only birth girls. That means your family never, ever gets the chance to participate in the "fair and balanced" Emperor Tournament.

Women who give birth to too many girls are often thrown out because of this.

The First Prince is the son of the current Emperor. Fair is fair....but a head start is a head start. Doha has struggled with his feelings for Yeon since he was a child. He is very much like his father. He struggles with the urge to follow his crush around. To be clear Yeon and Doha are not on speaking terms. Doha struggles with the idea of being attracted to a "man", and Yeon only sees Doha as competition...until he constantly starts sacrificing himself to save Yeon.

The most qualified prince actually isn't interested in becoming Emperor.

Doha entered the tournament to look for answers. You see, his mother was a commoner. A mortal with red hair. Priestesses and the like usually marry Demigods because they can live about two hundred years, which is a little better than a pitiful human. She was the current Emperors only lover, ever, and by the way the Emperor is 1000 years old.

Yeol has lived in peace because it's what she wished for. Upon her death he planned to kill everyone and let demonkind into the kingdom.

His existence is torture. He has been longing for death ever since, but he does love Doha.

He knew Doha never wanted to be Emperor, so he shares the truth. His mother was never treated with respect. She was only happy with him, but the snakes in the castle never relented. She died shortly after giving birth to Doha.

We meet a classic snake/cockroach type prince. He's kinda the weakest plot point. His stupidity pushes the plot forward too much, and he becomes a running joke. I think the story would have been better off without him.

Doha starts protecting Yeon because of idiots like him.

Yeon also struggles with real, actual anger issues. She is no saint. Pursuing the throne to become truly immortal, instead of just long-lived, with your bestie is kinda really selfish. I do think Yeon would be a fine Emperor though. She's better than the morons. She wants respect and power, and she's highly capable.

Also, Yeon does identify as female.

She just can't....be that to be respected. It's awful. Her secret is extremely well kept. Her breasts have been completely cut off from what the art implies, and she packed on muscle during her fire training. The only giveaway is what's under her skirt, and that's why she bathes alone.

She hates to see Biseol disrespected, because he knows her. She can relax around him. By the way she only has fire power. The other princes, who are male, have the ability to use any element if they apply themselves. Yeon only has fire, and a demonic attendant who is sometimes more unstable than her.

Yeon had a loving mother.

A little sister.

A father who wanted a son.

Being born female ruined her life. She was able to become a "prince" and obtain the long life Demigods have by lying and gaining the support of the weakest Sage. Every Prince has a Sage and an Attendant supporting them. That's why Yeon blends in. It's why nobody really suspects she's a woman. The lies run deep, and she does have support.

It just...feels fragile.

It may fall apart like a house of cards.

Yeon is especially kind to women, because men are not. She uses her position of power to get justice for wronged women on several occasions. We see the ugly side of love, again and again.

We are left to wonder if Biseol or Doha would respect her opinion if she didn't have her powers.

Powers which were born from the unfair abuse she experienced. Yeon accidently burned up her entire family. The father she hated, and the mother she loved. Her baby sister too. She had no choice. It wasn't on purpose, but she wouldn't have died anyway.

Her father decided to kill her. Her sister and her mother too. He called them useless and he threw them out of the house. If Yeon didn't use her rage and fire she would have died in the street, with her mother.

Hamil is a nasty example of a bratty yandere. Yeon trusts him and he takes advantage of them. Yeon thinks Hamil is cute and sunny. Hamil is the only prince Yeon is close friends with. Biseol knows Hamil is manipulative, but he doesn't tell Yeon...because Yeon would never believe it. Hamil is meticulous. Kind. Even the female servants love him, and that's how he catches Yeon. She sees sunny, bright Hamil innocently chatting with maids. Always kind to women (when she's around) and she trusts that.

Hamil knows she is a woman hiding her gender, and he does anything and everything to appear cute...to make her depend on him for comfort.

Doha....gets over it but he's tempted by his own selfish desires for a long time. He wants to protect Yeon. He wants Yeon to choose him. He wants to be alone with Yeon. He doesn't want anybody else to touch Yeon. He doesn't want Biseol close to Yeon. He doesn't want Hamil close to Yeon.

He fails and fails. Yeon doesn't notice his love, because its so twisted and repressed.

Eventually, Doha decides to support her bid for the throne out of love. He decides to stop thinking only of himself. Yes, he is the endgame love interest. Who would have thought the second generation yandere who is also the most powerful would win. I totally didn't haha...

I'm kinda worried that Biseol will die or become the villain.

[gaykarstaagforever]

FREE ON YOUTUBE

...YouTube, I feel like your free animated movie recommendations have declined in quality a bit since the halcyon days of Osmosis Jones.

Yes, it is a blatant Kung Fu Panda knockoff, with an American voice cast that is clearly whoever was home at 11 am the week they called.

This is bad. Like, unfinished, I think I'm missing like half the movie, they forgot to resolve the main plot and it just stops, bad. There is a scene where the only character on screen suffers an animation error, and no one fixed it. The framerate of the movie drops every time the action picks up or the camera swings around too fast. Like...you made a computer-animated movie, and you don't have the hardware or time to do...you know...computer animation? The stones on the Chinese producers of this mess.

Not everything has to be Pixar or DreamWorks. CG is hard. I get it. But you gotta work to your strengths. In this case, the computers you are using can't even render the movie properly. Like...I don't know how you get around that. That's kind of a major issue.

Technical incompetence aside, this suffers from the usual bad CG animation problems of every character looking like they come from a different artistic universe, and most of the action is generic mocaping that doesn't take into account how any real bodies shaped like these bodies would move. And there are just things they didn't bother capturing. Like none of these dough monsters ever stands up on screen.

Shot composition is a disaster. Most scenes are a mob of creatures standing in a pack in an empty space, doing exaggerated facial reactions to someone else talking. It's like bad machinima made in the Skylanders games engine, except all of the character designs are way worse.

The plot, such as they attempted it, is supposed to be about a small, incompetent warrior who looks like Jackie Chan who gets transported to the mystical realm of Merryland by a magical jade necklace his grandfather gave him. There, he transforms into an anthropomorphic panda, for reasons that are never explained. There is a prophecy that a Panda Warrior is destined to save the realm, and our guy is apparently it, except there is a flashback to like a couple of years ago when the ultimate evil took over, and...there is ANOTHER Panda Warrior who was just there and sort of stopped it? But then didn't? Who the hell was that guy?!

Also the ultimate evil is one of the two sky-whales who guard the Dragon Ball (yes, literally) just turning evil because it absorbed too much power. Why did this happen? How are you going to stop it from happening again? Then that whale turns into a nine-headed snake after an evil mouse from the real world just...is there, and merges with the Whale. After the snake is defeated the mouse just crawls out of it and runs away, and no one says a damn thing.

Our panda warrior and his 7 legendary warrior friends kung fu fight the snake at least 3 different times, and never get close to stopping it. And the panda doesn't do anything special or lead them, he is just there, and then at the very end his necklace glows and that...helps? Somehow? The true hero here is, and I'm not joking, Jimmy Ginseng, a tiny ginseng man with an erhu who shows up whenever the warriors are losing, plays the erhu, the enemy gets soothed by the song, and then Jimmy gets tired and leaves. EVERY BATTLE ends like this, including the final one.

So...?

The panda has that cool green sword in the picture. And he does have it. It is just...a sword, thst someone randomly gives him. I think he ends up dropping it and it never comes up again.

Also all the warriors are animals, except for the one who is a talking tree stump...filled with lava. And he dies at the end by setting himself and the snake on fire. Because his master, a purple fox, told him to do that to save everyone. ...Except the SNAKE SURVIVED IT, and they had to fight it again, lose, and wait for Jimmy to show up.

The bull character also sacrifices himself, TWICE, to save everyone else, and both times that doesn't work, either.

The movie ends with Merryland being restored from the devastation of the snake...BEFORE the snake is defeated. It just...gets better, after they resuce an elf girl princess who does...something...? And then the regrown flowers shoot the snake with missiles of some kind. Which ALSO fails to defeat it.

The panda doesn't go home and become human again and nothing is explained. But during the credits there is a fight scene between the little human warrior and his general, in which they get drunk and wrestle and tons of fight animations repeat in a loop for 3 minutes. Is this part of the movie? Are these outtakes? What does this have to do with anything? If this is what happens after he got home, I don't know why or what it means.

...My guess is that the first panda warrior we see was supposed to be his grandfather, as a panda? That was probably the idea? But no one ever says that. The movie doesn't remember to explain that.

This was translated from Chinese. Perhaps the translation is terrible. Or they did a massive reedit of this for the US release. That could explain some of this. ...But then why didn't they cut out the glitch scene, or some of the shots with the bad framerate? There are literal 10 second sequences in this movie where there is no dialogue or music, just a camera sleeping over a scenery to ambient nature sounds. Who reedits a movie for the foreign market and cuts out vital plot scenes, but leaves in shit like that?

...Unless all those vital plot scenes had even worse technical problems. Jesus. That's a terrifying thought.

One positive here. While nearly all of the voice work is as boring and bored as you'd expect, the immortal Tom Kenny is good, with what very little he is given to do, here. The man is a professional.

And here is the weirdest thing: Rob Schneider is really good here as the panda man and Jimmy Ginseng. Like, shockingly good. Like, this is without exaggeration the best performances of this man's miserable life. He is funny, charming, nuanced, he feels like he is reacting properly during what were probably one-sided conversations recorded on different days in different places. It is shocking how good he is in this awful, stupid movie. My only guess is that he was somehow involved in bringing this over and it was going to serve as an audition piece to get him more voice work. In which case, like, fair enough, dude. You nailed it. He is genuinely very good in this very bad movie.

What an odd artifact from 2012. What a waste of time. Why did YouTube recommend this? What do any of us gain from being shown this? I am just flabbergasted.

You're on time out with these movie suggestions, Google.

Also there is a pig who flies who looks like this:

Those aren't ears, they are just gross misshapen tendrils that bob around as she moves. It's like someone was playing with a stretch tool and then...stopped.

I was gonna end with "Now let's have Jimmy Ginseng play us out," but I can only find this one bad picture of him, and it doesn't show his erhu:

Here is some nice erhu music from someone else. Something redeeming in this godforsaken post:

[non-plutonian-druid]

look guys i actually did some spirit designs

[ID: the Hargreeves' spirits in the Paranatural au - or at least, the five of them that are kids in this au.

Luther's is an ape that looks like his body from the comics. Diego's is a creature that looks a bit like a small porcupine. Allison's is a large snake with its mouth duct taped shut. Klaus' is a blue raccoon with three eyes and a pink tail, and Viktor's is based off of the White Violin from the comics, except its head transforms into reaching arms. End ID.]

sorry, the ID got REALLY long this time. that's a summary for anyone scrolling, theres a more detailed one under the cut!

[ID: Luther's spirit is labelled First Simian In Space: THE MARTIAN APE. He looks like the ape that supplied Luther's body in the comics, drawn in the paranatural style; blue, with one eye. He is wearing an astronaut helmet and sitting in a coin operated rocket ship that is much too small for it. He has transformed the world around him into a scifi martian landscape; cardboard standups with doors and lockers scribbled on them are the only indication of the real world. Luther is sprawled on the ground staring in shock, while the Martian Ape says "Y'know, you should totally just kill your dad".

Diego's spirit is a very small creature that looks a bit like a porcupine.

Panel 1: Diego holds his spirit in his hands and says, "So, what's your name?". His spirit responds "I am called..."

Panel 2: A caption appears; Projectile Extraordinaire: KRAKEN. The image is in full color, focusing on Kraken, which glowers cutely and shows off her spines.

Panel 3: The same shot as panel one, except Diego now looks very skeptical. He says "..." and then "Why." Kraken responds "It sounded cool."

Allison's spirit is a giant green snake coiled around a tree branch, with a pattern down his back that looks like open mouths.

The first two images are centered on Allison, who is scowling in both. Someone unseen says "It can force people to do things, honey!" and "It's too dangerous to leave you alone with it." and finally, "So we fixed it."

The final image is of the spirit. He is captioned Muzzled Mind Controller: THE RUMOR. His mouth has been duct taped shut. He does not look pleased.

Klaus' spirit is a blue raccoon with dark purple legs and a fluffy striped pink tail. It also has three eyes.

Panel 1: The large colored closeup of Klaus' spirit. It is captioned Mystical Conartist: THE SEANCE.

Panel 2: Klaus asks it "With a name like that, what's your power?" The Seance, its nose just high enough to fit into frame, replies, "Oh, I can sense ghosts"

Panel 3: Klaus looks supremely unimpressed. In the background, a ghost says "Hi" to Allison and Luther, and they say "Oh, hey" back.

Panel 4: Klaus asks, "Seriously?"

Panel 5: The Seance, viewed from above, says "Hey, I can sense them even when they're not visible! Like behind walls and stuff!"

Panel 6: The Seance adds "Also I can float." It is demonstrating, floating about eye level with Klaus and emitting a cloud of cyan spectral energy as it does so. Klaus looks more pleased with this and says "Okay, that one's pretty good."

Viktor's spirit is a Wight, a spirit so warped by rage and pain that it has permanently been changed, its spectral energy has become white, and has gained massive, devastating power. It looks a lot like the design of the White Violin in the comics, but it manifests too many or too few arms from where its head should be.

There are three images of it. In the first, it is kneeling. It has manifested six arms in varying degrees of completeness, and all of them look sad.

In the second, the matter of its head has split into many small pieces that almost look like parts of mouths, save for two clawing hands. It screams, in the Wight spirit language from Paranatural, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME.

In the third, the largest, its knees buckle as it stands and manifests one reaching hand. It is captioned Violent White: THE WHITE VIOLIN. End ID]

[littleplasticrat]

The Inkskin Pact [Rugan/Tav, explicit]

Rugan has a magic tattoo that grants him virility if he always ensures his partner is satisfied first. It doesn't have to happen in the same encounter. When Rugan pins Tav to a wall in the Zhent hideout and finishes her unceremoniously, she knows he's going to come back and find her again later, when she's least expecting it.

Thank you to @dustdeepsea and @fistfuloftarenths for the amazing tattoo ideas and then to everyone on the Discord for egging me on with writing this muck. Thanks also to @captainsigge for the incredible edits of Rugan wearing the alternative Bhaalist armour set, which has honestly ruined my life.

Read it below or on Ao3.

+++

Tav smiled as she admired the muscles working in Rugan’s torso. The movement made the huge winged snake tattoo across the broad of his back writhe almost hypnotically. He had a light dusting of freckles on the tops of his shoulders that would probably darken in the sun if he ever went outside without his leathers. She reached down and stroked her nails through his hair, and his blue eyes met-

She clenched down on the fingers inside her as he chose that moment to change what he was doing with his tongue. Her reaction excited him and he repeated the flurry of diagonal strokes against her clit until she was squirming and breathing his name. When she pressed a hand over her eyes and began to push her hips up in earnest, he pulled back and kissed the softest part of her thigh before she could finish.

Earlier on that evening, he’d told her over dinner that he wanted to learn exactly what would make her sing for him in the bedroom. Tav’s mouth had fallen open and her cunt had unfurled like a flower as he sat there watching her with that lop-sided way he had of smiling. It’s for the inkskin enchantment. She’d nodded; she knew the deal. It was a pact that had served her well.

After they’d first fallen into bed together, he’d explained each tattoo to her. The cascade of coins and shamrocks that signified good fortune in Luskan. The juncture of the snake coiling up his arm and the black hand on his chest representing the fealties of the Zhentarim. And finally: the bull's skull, all bleached bones and with wildflowers and vines wrapped around the horns. Emblazoned on his upper thigh, it had tingled beneath her fingers as she’d sucked him off slowly earlier that evening. The magic was subtle, but it was there. He’d got it from some back-street mystic who’d promised him eternal masculine power provided he always stoked the counterpart energy in his partner. Tav had looked at him, missing the meaning behind the cryptic prescription and his suggestive tone. You’ll always finish first with me, he’d promised.

He was kissing her leg up and down now, waiting for the pressure of her cunt to subside around his fingers as she calmed down. She knew his tongue would soon return to where it belonged, perfecting the motions that would bring her to ruin.

+

A few days later, and the shipment they’d been waiting for had finally rolled in. No more leisurely mornings where they clasped each other, sleep-warm and pliant; no more fucking across Rugan’s desk with the door cheekily ajar. They were both out of bed at the crack of dawn, and Rugan was knee-deep in paperwork, which he would hurriedly address in between organising the splitting of the shipment and rearranging caravan teams and routes. Tav was focused on packing the most delicate parts of the shipment so they’d survive the roughest legs of the upcoming journey. The caravan had been late to arrive, and it didn’t do to rush a smuggler’s route. The missing time had to be made up somewhere.

At some point, Tav and Rugan found themselves hurrying down the same corridor. Tav had a crate of liquor, while her lover was absent-mindedly clutching a fistful of manifests.

“Hi,” she said, warmth blooming in her chest at the sight of him. He glanced at her, gave an affectionate smile, then set his gaze back on the corridor ahead.

“I want to fuck you later,” he said, without looking at her.

“Ha ha, all right,” she said, scurrying to keep up with his long-legged strides.

Suddenly, a large, warm hand arrested her movement by grabbing the back of her belt. The papers and the liquor found their way onto the floor. He took her hips in both hands and gently pushed her against the wall. She ran her palms up his firm chest, the black leather kindling something inside her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Rugan dipped his head so his lips brushed the tip of her ear. “If I make you come now,” he murmured. “I reckon that’ll count towards my pact with the bull.” He bent further and licked her neck. “What do you think about that?”

“I’m not an expert,” Tav breathed, “But it sounds like a good plan to me.”

Stealing glances up and down the corridor, Rugan pulled her belt open one-handed and plunged his fingers beneath her waistband. He used his knee to spread her legs apart. To Tav, one of her favourite things about fucking him was the confidence with which he handled her. Her sigh of satisfaction turned into a moan as he pushed his thumb between her folds and onto the hood of her clitoris. Two long fingers curled lower and slid into her wet entrance with little resistance and her eyes fluttered shut. As she tilted her head back, already feeling hot and extremely bothered, Rugan kissed her on the cheek.

“Do you want me to talk to you, love?”

Tav nodded. “Yes, please.”

“You dirty girl,” he said, his voice low, rough and adoring. “My trousers get tighter every time I see you hurrying around with your tits bouncing inside your blouse. Just knowing what it looks like when you sit on my cock and drive yourself wild.” His thumb was replicating that same motion he’d perfected that day he’d spent an hour edging her with his clever tongue. The sensations tumbling over Tav quickly had her pushing her hips forwards as she chased her climax. Rugan’s left hand held her steady against the wall.

“I’m close already,” she said, unable to keep the whimper out of her voice.

“I know, I can see your toes curling in your boots,” he told her, smirking.

“Do you-”. Tav had to pause to moan. “Do you want to meet in your bunk later? So I can ride you?”

Rugan chuckled. “No, I had something else in mind.” At this, Tav raised her eyebrows, her climax receding somewhat as curiosity took her. “Next time I find you alone, wherever you are, I’m going to have you. Maybe you’ll be checking a crate and I’ll find you bent over, ready to be fucked. Or we’ll meet in another corridor and I can pin you against the wall like this, but I’ll be feeling your body around my cock instead of my fingers.”

Tav screwed her eyes shut, her thighs twitching. “You’re just going to use me like a fuck toy?”

Warm air tickled her ear as he leaned in to whisper to her. “How else will you know you’re mine?”

Every nerve in Tav’s body began to sing, and the pool of heat in her abdomen swirled and shivered as the orgasm swept through her. She wrapped both arms around Rugan’s neck and muffled her moans against his skin. He continued to rub her through and past her peak, gently, slowly. After a few moments of standing like that as Tav’s breathing recovered, he pulled back and gave her a kiss on the nose. Withdrawing his hand from her underwear, he winked at her, adjusted himself in his trousers, and bent to pick up his paperwork.

“See you later, love,” he said, then set off down the corridor in the direction they’d been going in before he’d waylaid her.

Tav paused briefly to watch him leave, the curve of his arse in his tight leathers never ceasing to please her. And then it was time to straighten herself up and get on with the job at hand.

+

Knowing what he’d promised to do, Tav felt electrified every time they saw each other around the hideout. Their eyes met across the crowded room during lunch; she was sitting with Olly and a few of the other youths, all of them concentrating on spooning stew into their faces as quickly as possible. She’d looked up from her bowl and saw that familiar, dream-blue gaze upon her. He gave her a slow half smile, his eyes glittering, then had gone back to the sheaf of papers arrayed before him.

Later, she was reaching for a high shelf in the store room when those firm, big hands settled on her waist, pulling her arse back against a rapidly hardening cock. She leaned into him and he ran one hand up to cup a breast, the other hand coming to her lips. The fingers that had been inside her earlier pressed onto her tongue and she licked at them, tasting the vestiges of her arousal.

“Are you still wet for me?” whispered a voice against her neck.

Suddenly remembering herself, Tav cleared her throat and pushed away from him. “Er, lads?”

Three heads popped out from behind a shelf on the other side of the room.

“What is it, Tav?” asked Olly.

“Rugan wants to know how you’re getting along with the inventory,” she said, giving her lover a sardonic smile.

“Great, thanks! That counting trick you showed us is pretty good!” he said cheerily.

“As you were then, lad,” said Rugan.

After the faces disappeared back behind the shelf, she risked a glance downwards. The bulge was unmistakable to her, but she thought it was fairly well camouflaged by the lacing. Their eyes met again, and then he leaned forwards to give her a quick kiss on the mouth.

“Thanks for cleaning my fingers,” he said, and then he was gone.

+

Tav's anticipation waxed and waned as the day progressed. Some parts of the work occupied her full attention, while other parts left her free to daydream about what would happen when she was finally alone with Rugan. The covered cart of bottles and exotic fabrics was fully packed and ready to be hitched to oxen the next day. Another cart of cheese truckles, which masked the real shipment of precious gemstones, waited for final checks from the boss. 

Tav stood and ran her eye over it one last time. Noticing one of the crates was sitting with its lid askew, she vaulted lightly into the cart and set it right, pushing a staple in with the hilt of her dagger. Dusting her hands off for a job well done, she tucked the weapon back into its scabbard and came back to sit on the edge of the cart, ready to alight. It was at that moment that she saw the door to the rest of the hideout was closed. She stared at it uncomprehendingly, then jerked with surprise when she realised that Rugan was leaning against the side of the cart.

“Sweet hells, when did you arrive?” she demanded, moving to jump down from her seat. Rugan stepped forwards quickly and put a hand on her thigh.

“You're alright exactly where you are,” he said. “I'm told this one's ready for me?”

“Are you talking about me or the cart?” Tav asked. Rugan took her other thigh in his free hand and pulled her legs open in a rapid motion that made her gasp. Stepping between her knees, he leaned in close; she realised that his was casting his eye over her shoulder and across the crates as he flattened a hand on her upper thigh. His hips pressed in close to hers, pushing his growing bulge against her centre in a wordless promise.

“Hmm, let me see… Yes. I can tell an expert has packed this,” he murmured. She could feel his hand working on something between them, but his shoulder was in the way. “This is all looking good to me.”

He drew back slightly and Tav realised he'd been loosening the laces on his trousers enough to pull his hard length free. She sighed at the sight of it; the veins running up the shaft, the rutilant tip and a glistening bead of pre-come catching the light.

“I'll check the shipment properly later,” he said, eyeballing her. “But there's something else I've got to do properly first.”

At this, Tav giggled. “Kind of wishing I’d worn a skirt,” she said.

Rugan smiled indulgently and pressed his lips to hers; she felt him running his hands down her left leg to her boot.

“S’ok,” he said against her mouth, pulling her boot and sock off in quick succession. “A quickie is one thing, but I like unwrapping you.” The other boot and sock disappeared over his shoulder.

Raising her hips so he could tug off her trousers and smallclothes, Tav let out a breathless laugh, then reached for the hem of her thin shirt.

“Leave it on,” Rugan said slyly. “Watching your tits bounce is half the fun. And seeing that pleading look you give me when I go slowly.” He paused and looked at her face. “Yes, almost like that.”

“You leave your clothes on too, then,” Tav told him. “If you can move properly in those tight leathers.”

“Let’s find out,” he said with a smirk, then gently pushed her down onto her back. Lifting one of her legs so her ankle was resting against the side of his neck, he lined his cock up with her entrance.

“You are still wet for me. Good girl.” With that, he pushed the tip in. Closing her eyes, and succumbing to the wave of warmth, Tav squeezed a fistful of her blouse and arched her back. Teasing her with the shallowest of thrusts, Rugan chuckled at her wriggling.

She reached out and scrabbled at the black leather at his hip. “Give me more,” she whined.

“More what?”

“More of your–ah! Ru- Rugan!”

He’d interrupted her by hilting himself inside her. The sensation seemed to overwhelm him as much as her, and he leaned forwards as she opened her eyes, breathing heavily.

“Fuck, Tav. You feel incredible,” he said, regarding her with a heavy-lidded gaze. “In every single way.”

She touched his cheek. When he leaned down to kiss her, Rugan’s thigh tattoo tingled lightly against the back of her leg. She thought she felt a shiver emanate from the bull skull, and was startled when the thick cock inside her gave a corresponding twitch.

“I’m going to lose my mind if you don’t start moving,” she told him, pulling him back from the kiss by his hair.

“Yes, m’lady.”

He pulled back upright and began to fuck her with ardent heat, using her leg as leverage to grind in deep with every thrust. Tav’s hand sought and tweaked her nipple, which made Rugan groan. Loud sounds of pleasure filled the room; the cart began to creak beneath them, matching his punishing rhythm.

The pressure building inside her was on the brink of spilling into an orgasm. When she covered her eyes with her arm in anticipation, her lover slowed, cock pulsing inside her.

“Look at me, Tav.”

Blushing, her face clouded with pleasure, Tav knew she was sweaty from the work, and filled with fervour from being teased all day. Whatever feelings would cross her face were going to be powerful.

“Don’t make me,” she said in a small voice.

“I love looking into your eyes when you come for me,” he told her, his voice gentle. “Please.”

She haltingly lowered her arm and met his gaze.

“Beautiful,” Rugan told her, pushing his hips forward, cock rubbing against that secret little spot inside her. “You’re beautiful. Stay with me.” His thumb found her clit and he began stroking.

She was so close and so desperate to hide from him as she hit that peak. But whenever her eyes fluttered shut, he placidly ordered her to look at him. Her cunt began to flutter and then she was coming, pinned by his blue eyes as he swelled inside her, spilling his hot seed and groaning her name. The synchrony of their climaxes seemed to turn the time around them molten, and they quivered and moaned around each other, locked together for a timeless moment.

Rugan eventually released her leg, pulling his softening cock out of her. Their juices dripped down her body and onto the floor as she stood. He tucked himself back into his trousers and began to laboriously re-lace the front as she got dressed. An amicable, satiated silence had enveloped them.

“Come on, lass, let’s go and get some dinner,” he said, running his fingers down her arm. After he unlocked the door, they left the room, her hand folded into his.

[avelera]

Some missed opportunities for Norse Mythology references in the Loki S2 Finale

I want to quickly preface this by saying the Loki show never claimed to be about or even incorporate more than passing nods to Norse mythology, so the following "missed opportunities" are more things that I think could have been cool and were perhaps within reach as references, but that even at my most wildly optimistic I didn't and still don't really expect because the show has been so very clear on this front. It's not fair to say these are flaws because the show never pretended to be about Norse mythology. NEVERTHELESS, because I'm a big nerd:

1) Ragnarok - All respect to Waititi and Thor III, it was a great interpretation of the myth, but I've always longed for something a little closer to the doom and mysticism of the mythology and the Loki S2 finale came tantalizingly close to invoking it, but fell short of actually using the word. Because Ragnarok isn't just about the fall of the gods, it's about the destruction and rebirth of the world. "After [the events of Ragnarok], the world will rise again, cleansed and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors." 

Gee does that sound familiar! Almost like destroying all of the timelines to create them anew! Almost like that's what Sylvie was invoking by telling him it's better to accept destruction rather than accept imprisonment, and to build something new out of the ashes.

That's Ragnarok. That's literally Ragnarok and they invoked it in so many ways there short of actually using the damn word.

Loki, the god destined to bring about Ragnarok, proceeding to directly bring down the current timeline by destroying and then renewing it with a male and female survivor to help rebuild (visualized with Mobius and Sylvie's little chat at the end, even if it's the TVA they helped rebuild not the human population) sure does sound astonishingly close to invoking the story of Ragnarok.

And even though I'm bummed they never called it Ragnarok, I completely understand why! Ragnarok has kinda already happened in the MCU (never mind that Ragnarok itself is cyclical and will come again, but I digress)! I'd even go so far as to guess that earlier drafts probably did make it clearer but the thread, except for its bones and outline, were abandoned or left unnamed explicitly because it would be confusing for those not familiar with the myth or who would conflate Ragnarok with its Thor III invocation. Alas.

2) Loki bound - Already sort of invoked in Thor II with Loki imprisoned, which is why I don't think any more overt reference was made, but Loki was rather famously bound up in mythology. In this case, in a cave with a snake's poison dripping into his mouth. Not saying Loki bound to his throne of time needed to be conflated with how he was imprisoned until Ragnarok in the myhology, but the imprisonment parallel is there.

3) Loki becomes the new Odin, sacrificed upon Yggrasil - "The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is "Odin's horse", meaning "gallows". This interpretation comes about because drasill means "horse" and Ygg(r) is one of Odin's many names. The Poetic Edda poem Hávamál describes how Odin sacrificed himself by hanging from a tree, making this tree Odin's gallows. This tree may have been Yggdrasil." (source)

IE, Loki has sacrificed himself upon the world tree for power and knowledge and for the sake of the world. In this, unlike in the mythology where Loki is not Odin's son, Loki ascends to a parallel of his father's throne to follow in his legacy, having finally learned his father's lessons about rulership and self-sacrifice. Perhaps like the mythological Odin, we will learn that in making this self-sacrifice, Loki too has gained phenomenal knowledge and power?

4) Ratatoskr - This is more foward-looking and I don't in a million years think they'll do it but it would be so cool - so cool - if at some later point Loki has a friend or a servant or a squirrel form or idk, something that invokes Ratatoskr, the squirrel that lives in the World Tree and freely travels up and down its branches delivering messages. Please, MCU, give Loki a little squirrel friend??

[blayjane]

AFTER MONTHS OF WORK BESIDE MY TRAINING/WORK AS PROGRAMMER I FINALLY GOT THIS DRAWING DONE IN MY FREETIME, i studied many props and eventually made this huge piece. Rare games especially kameo and the char, the mystic mean alot to me.

[anthonyspage]

👑🐍✨

[atane-is-here]

snake appreciation month

Headcanon

Infinite City

I´m going to give you my headcanon about the creation of the veil and how I think it is connected to the Infinite City below the planet’s surface.

Disclaimer: I´m going to ignore the canon timeline because it doesn´t make sense to me. Like, the veil is supposed to be this ancient thing but also everything happened 13 years ago? This is my hc timeline:

In the beginning of the universe the mystic energy of celestial bodies resided within them. The creatures that would evolve on these worlds would inherit some of that power in their own hearts. This was the source of their magic. Civilizations like the ancients of Metamoor extracted the celestial powers and channeled them into objects or people. Like this, the heart of Meridian was born. The people of the elder days became incredibly powerful and sought to expand their influence. Many conflicts raged across the universe. To restore the balance between worlds the council of Kandrakar was created.

To stop the conquest of hostile aliens Kandrakar cuts these worlds off from the rest of the universe by the creation of the veil, sealing them away in these pocket dimensions. Confined to their own planet the ancient civilization of Metamoor destroys itself and leaves their monuments for the other species of the planet to inherit. All that is left are its ruins. Ruined portal frames and the never ending catacombs of the Infinite City are the only traces of an empire which had once spanned across the stars. So begins the long dark age of Metamoor in which the different factions fight over control of the planet, its magical heart and what is left of the old empires destructive tech.

In these conditions the Escanors arrive to the planet and gain control of the heart. Their dynasty manages to mostly unite and stabilize the situation. At this point most of the ancient technology is destroyed and the heart of the planet restabilized. The Council of Kandrakar considers lifting the veil which has gone frail over the millennia and free the planet from its quarantine. Their hopes are crushed by Phobos, a tyrant who seeks to rekindle the planets legacy of conquest by gaining control of its heart and using the portal magic native to the planet to invade other worlds.

Phobos is eventually defeated. Though the underlying weakness of these worlds remains. The hearts of the planets are controlled by individuals who can be corrupted or removed from the worlds. The power of the hearts gives great opportunity to these civilizations, but also brings great risks.

[tangledinink]

!!! it's chapter five of i'm sorry, teenage mutant what now? !!! everything continues to go very well for the hamato boys. read it on ao3 or below the cut!

[ prev ]

It had been ten years since Baron Draxum had walked freely on the earth.

Ten years since he had been imprisoned for his so-called ‘crimes against nature,’ wrongfully punished for his desire to protect Yokai-kind. He gave his life to the survival of their people, and this was the thanks he received?! This was how they repaid him!? The fools were too blinded by their bleeding hearts to see the truth right in front of their eyes… To see the necessity of his plans.

And then they thought that they could be rid of him? Thought they could lock him up!? Imbeciles! There wasn’t a prison on earth that could hold Baron Draxum!

 … Okay, so, admittedly, this one had, in fact, held him for ten years. Which was pretty good. And kind of a lot more time than he had initially been planning for. 

But no longer!!!

It had simply been a matter of time. Though his mystical abilities were suppressed by the enchantments of his prison, there was not a force on earth that could eliminate his abilities. Of this he was certain. All he had needed was time… Time to adjust and learn the bonds surrounding him. Learn enough so that he could creep around them. He had been practicing for years now, slowly training himself how to summon his powers even beyond the limitations enforced upon him. It had been slow, difficult work. But he was nothing if not determined.

 He meditated until he could feel the earth. And he pushed forward until he could feel the seeds within the earth. He learned to reach out to them all over again, and how to speak to them, even through the hellish screaming of the spells that imprisoned him. And once he could speak to them… He could command them once more.

It was a slow, steady process, summoning vines, little by little, to carve an escape for him through the ground. His connection was faint-- he might even dare call it weak, which was a word he would very rarely attribute to himself. It had taken weeks to will a tunnel to freedom, slowly burrowing beneath the earth, and out to the world beyond. It took him even longer to chip through the concrete and stone that held him here.

 But in time, he managed it. 

 And when he walked outside of his cage for the first time in a decade, strolling easily beneath the walls that were meant to keep him inside, his power returning to him was like the impact of a train, ripping through his very soul, screaming through his veins and twisting his nerves. He felt the rust in the gears, and he felt the exhaustion that crept inside of him, too, having been separated from his mystical abilities for so long… but as compared to the absolute nothingness he felt only moments before? It was like a cyclone to a butterfly’s wingbeat. It was dizzying. It was divine.

He had never missed anything more. Breathing in fresh air, walking into the open and seeing no walls to hold him, Baron Draxum threw back his head and laughed. 

 Ten years. Ten years, yes. But not another day more.

 A near-giddy grin curled open his lips, he squared his shoulders, thin vines blossoming around him by the dozen, curling like snakes. 

 It was high time he finished what he started.

---

“Sooo,” Mikey hummed, leaning over slightly, his toes tapping impatiently against the floor. “How’d it go?”

Okay, fine. So he was a little impatient to hear about the swim meet! He still couldn’t believe they had gone a whole chapter without him! As if those little mentions in flashbacks and stuff actually counted. And then they all got home exhausted and immediately went to sulk in their own rooms instead of giving him the run-down! Who does that?! Quite frankly, Mikey had already exercised an enormous amount of restraint in holding his tongue this long-- even if it was only until the following morning.

“Bad,” Donnie immediately responded. “Raph beefed it.”

“Wha-- Hey! Raph did not beef it!” His older brother immediately spluttered out a protest, his face flushing red as he bristled. “It went fine! ‘Sides, I didn’t see either of you offering any support, so keep your comments to yourself, thanks!”

“Is this the swim meet thing?” April questioned, shifting slightly in her seat to counteract the back-and-forth sway of the rattling subway, providing a constant chugging soundtrack to their conversation.

 “Yeah, and he didn’t tell us anything at all!” Leo groaned, tilting his head back to thunk against the subway wall, the loose curls of his bleach-blonde hair bunching up behind him. “It was a total bust. And Raph let him get away with it.”

“Look, he said it was fine! He said it was nothing and to let him handle it! So we’re letting him handle it! I dunno what else you want me to do!” Raph protested, throwing his arms up. “You really want me to argue with him?! When he’s givin’ me eyes like that!?”

“Yeah, but he was obviously lying,” Donnie muttered. “He’s talking to himself now, you know. Like, more than normal. In his room. I overheard him last night. He was having a full-on conversation.”

“Maybe he was on the phone?” April suggested, raising a brow.

“At one in the morning?” Donnie scoffed.

“I dunno. Time zones?” April shrugged. “He’s from Japan. Maybe it was an overseas call.”

“If it was, it’d be the first,” Mikey remarked, frowning a bit. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk to, like… anyone that he knew from Japan. Or even talked about them.”

“You know how much he hates to talk about himself and his past and all that,” Leo muttered, making a face. “He never tells us anything! It’s all just one big secret with him! Wrapped up with even more secrets, and layered with secrets!”

“Honestly, I don’t know how he can sit there and lie to us and refuse to tell us anything about himself, and then ask us to trust him,” Donnie muttered under his breath, his brows furrowed and his lips curved into a sharp frown.

 Mikey faltered for a moment, his expression pinching before he forced a half-smile.

“Hey, come on. Just because he’s private doesn’t mean we shouldn’t trust him. He’s our Dad! He loves us!” Mikey pressed, nudging his brother a bit, who scoffed and rolled his eyes in response.

 “Yeah-- exactly what Mikey said!” Raph likewise defended, his shoulders set and angry. “Dad doesn’t have ta’ tell us nothin’ he doesn’t want to, okay? If he doesn’t wanna talk about it, he doesn’t wanna talk about it! He hasn’t steered us wrong yet, so there’s no reason to stop trustin’ him!”

“Everyone needs to chill, for real.” April interrupted, waving her hands at her younger brothers as if trying to physically tamp down their energy. “Look, I’m sure Yosh has a good reason for acting all crazy. He usually does! Usually.”

The group stayed quiet for a bit before finally Leo huffed. 

“I just wish he trusted us more. That’s all.” 

This didn’t really do much to alleviate the silence that had settled, and Mikey winced, hesitating a moment before speaking up again.

“Look, you know Dad really values his privacy. And that it’s complicated, and stuff.” Or so they’d been told. ‘It’s complicated,’ was a frequent response to questions. “But if Dad doesn’t want us to know, it’s probably for a good reason!” 

Even Mikey had to admit that their dad’s secrecy could be frustrating at times. He wished he could know more about his past and their early childhood as much as his brothers did, but it wasn’t like they could force him to tell them anything he wasn’t ready to talk about. Doctor Feelings had tried to broach the topic plenty of times, but it was pretty clear that that was a hard boundary for him.

“Look. We’ll… keep an eye on it, alright?” Raph said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I don’t wanna bother Dad about it any more than we already have. So can you guys please just be cool?”

“Be cool? How can you just brush this off and tell us to ‘be cool--?’”

Mikey winced, sinking back into his seat, drawing his arms into his sleeves to hug himself and tuck his chin down, focusing on tuning the rest of his family out for a bit. He hated it when they argued. Like, for real argued, not just bickering over what the best Jupiter Jim movie was. 

… This was his fault, wasn’t it?

 He frowned, his brows furrowing and his muscles tensing a bit. He knew exactly what his therapist would say. He knew what Doctor Feelings would say. That it wasn't his fault. That he hadn't done anything wrong. That the events leading to this had been out of his control. Blah blah blah. But it was way easier to say that kind of stuff than to feel it. Playing Doctor Feelings at his siblings was one thing, trying to do it to himself was an entirely different ballgame. And the fact of the matter was that things hadn't gotten weird until he started that fire. Even if he didn't mean to. Even if he still had no idea how in the world that had happened. That was, without question, what had started this whole thing, and it was absolutely eating him alive. He hadn’t had a good night's sleep since. He still couldn’t manage to recreate any of those sketches that he lost.

 He had spent hours upon hours replaying that night in his head, trying to figure out what went wrong, but every single time he came up blank with nothing to show for his efforts but a great big lump in his throat. It was scary, not knowing what happened, not understanding why it had happened, and not knowing if it was gonna happen again. Dad said it was a 'freak accident.' Freak accidents don’t just happen to people twice, right? Usually, they don’t even happen once! So surely he had hit his quota? He knew Donnie would tell him that ‘statistics don’t work like that,’ but, what were the odds, really?  Sometimes weird things happen, sure, but this wasn't some sci-fi movie or fantasy novel.

 He just wished he actually believed himself when he said stuff like that.

 Usually, Mikey really enjoyed being left home alone. It was thrilling, getting the house all to himself for once, as opposed to its usually bustling state, having the freedom to call his own shots and mess around without supervision. But last night, he had been an absolute wreck. Thank God for April, who stayed with him the whole night, right up until their family got home, watching cooking shows on loop and offering reassurances.

 “It’ll be fine, Mikey! I know they’re not exactly on your level, but the guys have got this handled. Nothing bad is gonna happen.”

“But what if it does?” He had repeatedly protested, fighting off the urge to tear up. “What if they fight? What if something really important happens and I miss it?! What if they need my help!”

 What if they talk about it and they all agree that this is my fault? He hadn’t said that one out loud. Mikey had always disliked swimming, finding the experience overwhelming and unpleasant. He wasn’t graceful in the water like his brothers-- he had always been clumsy and off-kilter, struggling to keep up and hating every second of it. But last night, he had wished so desperately that he was on the swim team with them.

 He just had this gut feeling that this wasn’t as simple as a ‘freak accident.’ Like it wasn’t something they could just forget about. He knew that Donnie would say that ‘the concept of intuition has no scientific backing,’ but he just couldn’t shake it. It held onto his legs like dead weight, dragging behind him through each moment of each day, demanding his attention, demanding space in his brain. What if it happened again? What if it was worse next time? 

He wished he could talk to his brothers about it, but they didn’t even believe him in the first place. Donnie and Leo were convinced he was playing with lighters, having made it perfectly clear that they didn’t see much credibility in his story, and Raph wouldn’t stop texting him WebMD articles about the dangers of smoking, which, quite frankly, was really starting to piss him off.

 ... At least Dad believed him. Kinda… Well, it wasn't that Dad believed him, per se. But he didn't... Not believe him, either. 

He believed him enough to be worried about him. Believed him enough to comfort him and tell him it would be okay.

He sighed very softly through his nose, smiling the teeniest, tiniest bit at the thought. Yeah. 

He did still trust their dad. 

His brothers would come around, surely. He just had to… be patient. Just for a little longer…

---

April loved all her little brothers equally, but it was no secret that she and Donnie were basically besties. They were just too lame for her not to develop a soft spot for them, and the two of them regularly spent hours together studying, watching stupid conspiracy videos online, or just talking about whatever random thing was on their minds recently. Despite how fucking annoying they were, they were fun to hang out with, so they did often-- including every fourth period during school.

Now, April was a grade above Donnie, so they didn't actually have any classes together. In fact, Donnie had very few classes with any of them, beyond maybe one or two with Leo. That was because Donnie is smart. Like… stupid smart. They had a rule about not acknowledging it any more than twice a week at the very most because they were already way too aware of it, but it was the fact of the matter and none of them could deny it, even if they could all also agree that Donnie was an idiot. If he wanted to, April was pretty sure he could be halfway done with college by now. But, instead, they did 'hybrid schooling,' splitting their time between actual high-school classes, advanced online courses, and attending classes at NYU. 

The upside to this was that every day during fourth period, it was perfectly easy for April to ditch class and make her way over to the empty room where Donnie was set up with his laptop and hang out with them instead. It wasn't like they actually took attendance at study hall, anyhow, so she was never missed. They usually didn't talk that much, seeing how Donnie was technically in a virtual class, but it was nice to just hang out in the same room together for a while. 

By the time she arrived, Donnie was already set up on their computer with headphones on, and April settled down at the desk next to him to get some work done, as per routine. But she was perhaps a bit less focused than she usually was. She dragged herself through her geometry homework as best as she could, but… her eyes betrayed her and glanced over at her friend again and again, totally against her will, and frowned ever so slightly.

The boys were stresst with a capital T. April had known them more than long enough to be able to recognize that much, at least. Typically, she was, quite frankly, amazed with their ability to roll with the punches and handle whatever was thrown their way, seamlessly adding it to the cacophony of activities they juggled day-to-day. It almost irritated her how casual they usually were about it. Oh, yeah, we're traveling out of state next week for a National Tournament-- it's no biggie, we can do some online sessions so we don't miss too much at school. Yeah, uh-huh, I'm taking five AP classes but that won't stop me from also doing three different varsity sports. And we can pick up some side-hustles and part time jobs, too, why wouldn't we? Etc etc etc. It was almost ridiculous, and a little annoying, and yet they all seemed to thrive under their fast-pace, high-pressure lifestyle. Don't get her wrong or anything, compared to the average high-schooler, April was out there hustling, too. AP courses, Varsity softball, after-school jobs, (while they lasted...) She was doing plenty! But gotdamn. The Hamatos were on another level.

She was used to it by now. She didn't really think about it too much, so long as they still made sure to leave time for her in their schedules, which they always did. She attended martial arts tournaments, robotics demolition derbies, and theatre productions when she had the time, and they visited her at whatever job she had that week and showed up to her softball games when they were able to. It all evened out. 

But it was times like these when she became aware of it again. 

She could see it in the way Donnie’s fingers tapped out an anxious rhythm on their thighs, their leg bouncing up and down as they listened to their professor. She saw it in the way Leo huffed and rolled his eyes, all bristly and lackadaisical and annoying the whole morning. She saw the way Mikey curled in on himself, the way his eyelids tugged with restlessness lately. And she could see Raph’s back bending with the weight and the worry he carried, the way his shoulders squared off and his snaggletooth pawed anxiously at his bottom lip whenever he was idle.

They were a whole pack of emotional disasters. And once she fixed it for them, they were going to owe her big time. 

She was used to it, though. They had always been disasters.

“Hey!”

The child across the alley jumped, taking two big steps back and going absolutely rigid, their eyes blown up wide behind their glasses. April stomped her way over, both her hands on her hips, bunching up her overalls with the amount of attitude she was putting into the pose.

“That’s mine.” She said firmly, moving to grab the little green Magnetix rods from the stranger’s hands back. Like, yes, okay, she had accidentally left a couple here a few days ago. But she had meant to come back and get them! Who went around just grabbing random, very obviously valuable and well-loved toys out of alleyways!? And who was this guy anyway?! She had never seen any other kids playing around here before. This has always been her alley.

As soon as she so much as brushed the other kid’s hand, however, he fucking opened his mouth and screamed. April, quite startled, like a reasonable person might be, jumped back and screamed in response, clapping her hands over her ears, and he did the same, screaming a second time. April was thinking about screaming again, just so that she could get the last word when suddenly, there were two strangers.

“Leave my brother alone!” Strange Kid Number Two declared loudly, planting himself firmly in between herself and Strange Kid Number One. April frowned deeply, looking them up and down suspiciously, taking note of the odd stripes over his eyes. She had never seen anything like that before.

“I didn’t do anything to him!” She immediately argued, crossing her arms over her chest with a scowl.

“You did too! I watched you! You grabbed him and he doesn’t like it when people touch him!” The other accused firmly, reaching back to grab their brother’s hand in what seemed like a gesture of comfort. April balked.

“You’re touching him right now!”

“Yeah, ‘cause that’s different! He likes me!” 

“He stole my Magnetix!”

“He did not!”

“Did too!”

“Nu-uh!”

“Yeah-huh!”

“Liar!” Stripes accused boldly, stepping forward just enough to shove her a little bit by the shoulder. April gasped loudly at the sheer audacity of this kid. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped forward and pushed him right back-- hard.

With a little chirp of surprise, Stripes stumbled backward, falling flat on his butt. He blinked a few times, seeming kind of shell-shocked for a moment, processing what had just happened. He stared widely up at April for a moment, who looked at him right back, her hands on his hips. No one messed with April O’Neil. Especially not in her own dang alley!

“... Yeah, okay.” He said after a minute, completely calm all of a sudden, before getting back to his feet and brushing some dust off his jeans. His brother reached over, tugging at his sleeve and placing the plastic toy in his hand, which he then, in turn, immediately presented to April.

“Here, Donnie said you can have this back now.”

Okay, now it was her turn to be a little taken aback. She hesitated for a second before reaching forward and slowly accepting it, shoving it into her pockets.

“We’re gonna play Shell Bowling now. Do you wanna come?”

Shell Bowling? She had never heard of anything like that before in her life. These kids are weird, she thought to herself.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Cool.” Stripes said, grinning. “Come on, this way. We’re trying to find stuff we can use for pins.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“I dunno, like. Cardboard and empty bottles and stuff?”

“Your parents let you play in the trash?” April gaped, her eyes widening a bit. Stripes looked confused.

“Yours don’t?”

April absolutely beamed as she shook her head no.

“Oh. That’s weird.” Stripes remarked, tilting his head to the side. “... That’s okay. We’ll let you play with us anyway. What’s your name? Mine’s Leo.”

“April. April O’Neil! Do you think you can do Shell Bowling with traffic cones?! I know where we can find a whole bunch!”

… Okay. Fine. So maybe she was a disaster, too. That was why they all fit together so nicely. 

She could see Donnie’s laptop screen easily from where she sat, and as soon as class ended and she saw him switch his headphones back over to ‘awareness mode,’ she spoke.

“Movie night tonight.”

 It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Donnie frowned a little bit.

“... I have a test tomorrow.”

 “So?”

“I have to study.”

“No, you don’t. You never study.”

“Mikey and I have dance class until eight.”

“That’s fine. We’ll start movie night at eight, then.” She replied easily, tilting her head up just enough to give the other a look. Donnie sighed a bit, pursing his lips.

 “... Fine.”

April smiled. One down, three to go. Not that she expected much of a fight from anyone else. She knew Donnie wasn’t always the most gung-ho about family activities or social events, but she also knew that they would end up enjoying themselves and that all four Hamatos kids could benefit from having a chill night together. Besides, she missed hanging out with all her brothers. 

Tonight would be good. She was sure of it.

---

Responsibility was difficult. It was a great honor to be trusted, though it could be a very heavy burden to bear. 

But it was one he would bear with pride.

Even if he was just a little guy.

Agent 64’s paws pattered softly on the concrete as he darted through the dimly lit alleys of New York, the long evening shadows painting tiger stripes across his yellow fur. He knew well enough that the Council was counting on him. Already, despite attempts to halt panicked rumors and keep the peace, the Hidden City was in an uproar at the news of the infamous Baron Draxum’s escape from prison. The tales of his barbaric human and yokai mutations, experimenting brazenly upon unwilling, kidnapped subjects, had horrified citizens years earlier when the story first broke. Agent 64 remembered it well, as it had been he who had investigated the crimes. It was he who broke into Draxum’s lab, ten years ago, at the council’s command, and collected evidence of his unlawful cruelty. It had been a fluke, truly, that the investigation had taken place at all. The council had long been suspicious of the warrior alchemist’s work, but it was only an off-hand comment from a Battle Nexus guard regarding the actions of his gargoyles, heard by chance by the correct pair of ears, that had spurred them into action. 

Even now, thinking of the things he had seen during his espionage mission, those many years ago, made all his fur stand on end, his lips curled back over his tusks in disgust. But the pride he felt in the part he played putting him behind bars made his tail puff up and sway. It had taken nearly two years with how desperately they had fought in court… But with his evidence? They had won.

It was only fitting that he do it again.

That being said, Agent 64 knew their place. They were a spy-- an envoy, a collector of secrets and knowledge, but a fighter, they were not. He was, as previously mentioned, just a little guy. But that was not an obstacle to him. 

He parted his jaws to scent the air, the aura of New York flooding his senses as stale city air hit the roof of his mouth. His eyes narrowed, head bobbing slightly to the right. 

Soil. Earth. Wool. Rotting. Vegetation. 

This way. The scent went this way. He was close-- and on the move.

His mission wasn’t to engage. He wasn’t meant to engage-- his mission was simply to find him . Find the fugitive, and alert the Hidden City Police, and they’d lock him away for good this time. He just prayed it was before anyone got hurt.

If he could prevent even one more victim from falling under Baron Draxum’s heels, then all the work, the nightmares, the danger… it would all be worth it. 

He had already tracked him this far. All the way up to the surface, beyond the realm of Yokai-kind, and Agent 64 had a hard time believing that there could be any innocent reason for this. No… There were no good intentions in this man’s decisions. He had to hurry. A horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that there was danger ahead. His teeth bared in a soft growl, he darted forward, scampering through the cold city streets before he disappeared with a flash of glimmering cyan light, the sharp scent of smoke and sulfur left to settle on the wet stone in his wake.

---

Had he slept very soundly this past week or so? No. Had he consistently remembered to do any of his homework in that same timeframe? Also no. Had the scorch marks on his desk stopped making him freeze up every time he saw them? No, definitely not!

But he was still so pumped!

Mikey knew that it hadn’t actually been that long since they had a movie marathon night, but it felt like it had been ages! April had barely even gotten the words out of her mouth before he was excitedly proposing the films they would watch, what order they would watch them in, the seating arrangements, and, most importantly, the snacks. He was preparing all the family favorites. Pep-corn, caramel-pretzel cookies, pizza bites, triple-chocolate-hot choccy, plain saltines…

Okay, so. There were a variety of palettes in the family. That was fine! He could accommodate all of them. He had absolutely rushed home from dance practice that evening, all but dragging Donnie behind him in his hurry to get back to the apartment and have time to prepare everything. It was cutting it a bit close, but so long as he got everything that needed to be baked in the oven before everyone was ready, they should be just fine! Though he had only just gotten home, he had already chased Donnie down to the Lair to set up the projector, immediately throwing himself into his cooking and blocking everything else out. He was just bursting with impatience for them to get here, so that he could start the battle to convince them all that they should definitely watch, “ Jupiter Jim in Jupiter Jim’s Quest Through The Asteroid Belt And The Forgotten Relic Mistakenly Left on Mercury: The Second Sequel” first. It was gonna be a hard sell, he knew, but he was up for the challenge! It was honestly super underrated. Plus, he knew that the snacks were gonna put automatic points in his ring.

 He grinned to himself, unable to bite back his smile as he measured out dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, hurriedly running through the recipe that he already knew by heart. For the first time since ‘The Incident,’ he felt almost at ease again. Like, maybe, things were gonna be okay. It was as if that shadow that had been hanging over him the past few days had finally faded away, and he was just oozing out sunshine in response. 

This was gonna be a good night.

He was momentarily distracted from his thoughts by a sharp, heavy rap on the front door. 

“I’ve got it!” He shouted, tossing the measuring cup down on the counter and scampering off down the hall, brushing some stray flour off his shirt as he went. Aw, man, this was one of his favorites, too. He shoulda worn that apron Raph got him for his last birthday, he always forgot to put it on…

He wasn’t even looking up properly when he swung the door open, but a spare upward glance immediately turned into a double-take.

A hulking figure lurched over the door frame, slitted magenta eyes blown wide and wild. A fanged maw was twisted into a snarl behind a facemask of cold, icy glass and ribbons of bronze. Their hair was long and crazed, whipped about in frenzied cyclones around their neck and shoulders, and artificial metal horns jutted from their cheekbones like weapons. Their clawed hands slammed into the doorframe, peeling chips of paint away in their furious grip, a creaking crunch being pulled from the abused wood as they did so. 

 “WHERE IS LOU JITSU?!” The stranger roared, heavy breath fogging up the glass of their own helmet. Their expression was wild and furious, animalistic and predatory-- searching desperately for their prey, as if the failure of their hunt might kill them entirely. 

Mikey blinked slowly, their eyes wandering up the figure, and then back down. He chewed the inside of his cheeks, bunching his brows together nervously before he tilted his head back just enough to call into the apartment.

“... Hey Daddddddd?” 

[ next ]

[liquidstar]

Between commissions I finally managed to finish this OC set of parent characters! If the looks aren't enough to show you who their kid is, the background colors match them ^_^ but of course more details below!

Name: Thuban

Name origin: The former pole star, before the north star (Polaris), it's name means "Large snake" and is referred to as the “Dragon's tail”

Pronouns: He/him

Age: N/A

Relation: Raised Polaris, though they're not related by blood and have a somewhat distant relationship, until he suddenly went MIA

Weapon: Spear (Same as Polaris's)

Ethos (Power): N/A

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Make no phallic jokes about the large snake thing and you'll be rewarded

Name: Ananke

Name origin: A moon of Jupiter, named for the mythological spirit of necessity, inevitably, and compulsion

Pronouns: She/her

Age: -

Relation: Bella's mother, she raised her to be a warrior

Weapon: Bardiche

Ethos (Power): Indomination (The ability to freeze the movement of objects and people, and lock them in place)

Flaw power is based on: Her strict enforcement of obedience through authoritarianism, and a lack of concern for the wishes of others

Notes: She believes in tough love. It's better in the long run to give your kid strength rather than affection.

Name: Rhea

Name origin: A moon of Saturn named after the Titan known as the mother of the gods

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 38

Relation: Saiph's mother, though she gave him up to the guild when he was very young

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Was unable to take care of a baby at the time, and gave Saiph to the guild. She wishes she'd visited beyond that but it's probably too late now...

Name: Arche

Name origin: One of Jupiter's moons, it's name comes from the muse of new beginnings and is associated with springtime

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 7

Relation: Saiph's half-brother. Neither currently knows the other exists

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: He's just a little guy. He likes flowers and playing with toys. He wants to be a cool hero like his dad

Name: Poerava

Name origin: A star in Tucana, the Maori word for a black pearl of mystical beauty and perfection

Pronouns: She/her

Age: -

Relation: Al's mom. She mostly raised him on her own while her husband was with the knights.

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Probably the best parent of the bunch if we're being real.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Yandere Brotherhood (X men Evolution) and preteen fem reader who has Prehensile Hair and can talk to animals and is being fostered by Mystic.

Oooo, yes, more Brotherhood! I can do that, but I keep the Reader gender-neutral, or as the Reader's gender (which means for each Reader, it is whatever they are). Cool mutation idea! Let's try this out:

Your new guardian was pretty weird.

Not just because she was a mutant and a principal (and maybe evil?).

She had other kids at the Brotherhood home, and so far-

There wasn't anyone your age.

Your powers were pretty cool, with prehensile hair, in the shape of tentacles, that curled and grew long, wriggling when you were uncomfortable or curious. Your other power was even cooler, being able to talk with animals, and have them understand you.

It meant you made a lot of friends amongst the natural world...

But it also meant you earned quite the interest from the older teens.

You're looking at a little frog, who's wandered close by after the rain, and are approached by Toad, or Todd, as you try to call him.

"Yo, little teen, what's up?" he asks, squatting next to you in the grass. His tongue flicks out for a second, snatching a mosquito.

"Nothing much. Ribbit-Croak-Plip-The-Third here says he's never seen an amphibian as big as you. Yeah, I know, little guy, he pretty cool. Did ya want to say hi?" You pick the frog up, gently holding it so it can look at Todd. "See? He's kinda like you!"

"It- he... can understand you? And you understand him?" Toad asks, scratching at his hair.

"Yep! And he says he would like to be your friend!"

"That's... That's pretty cool. You're cool, little frog man," he replies, and taps his knuckle against the frog.

"He said you're cool... Okay! Ribbit-Croak-Plip says you're cool, too, and that he knows where some good worms are. If you want, he can show you," you translate.

And that's how you helped Toad and your frog friend make a new friend.

Lance and Fred learn you can lift things with your hair- tentacles- hair-tacles, when you're trying to cook dinner one night.

Two thick strands hold up the mixing bowl as three thinner ones add in herbs, milk, and creamy chicken soup. A few longer pieces are setting up the pan with rice, while the rest dice up the chicken meat. It's busy, enough so that you don't notice them come in right away.

"And that's what Toad said he heard from- Woah! Your hair's moving!" Fred exclaims, and you turn to look at him, as well as Lance, who'd he been talking with. You wave at them, as well as one your hair-tacles.

Lance's face turns pale, then a little green. "I... um. I think I might need to sit down a minute," he mumbles, plopping down into a chair by the chipped table. Fred only comes closer, looking at them and the ingredients.

"Whatcha cooking?"

"Chicken and rice casserole."

"Does it taste good?"

"Mhm..."

"... May I touch one of your... thing-a-ma-jigs?"

"Sure," you say, turning back to the bowl, now being filled with the diced chicken, the now-free strands opening up the oven as you pour the mixture into the pan. You feel a light touch on one of the tentacles, gentle and shaking. With a quick curl, it bumps the hand. "Boom, hair bump," you chirp, adding in some rice and stirring it into the mix, and once it's settled in the pan, you pop it into the oven.

"So... it's not snakes?" Lance asks weakly.

"No... It's like a little octopus," Fred says in quiet awe, bopping another one with a finger, earning a small bop back.

"Oh... So... An Ursula version of Medusa?" Lance says, then looks at the nearest tentacle. It boops him on the nose, then ruffles his hair. "Hey, leave the hair alone!" That only gets a giggle out of you as you wait for the casserole to cook.

Pietro isn't much issue, and neither is Wanda, both accepting g it without much problem, especially once you gift them a kitten, one who happily purrs the moment you plop it into their hands.

"This is Potter, they love people, they're an orphan, and they saw you, Wanda, and wanted to know if she needed a mouse catcher and loyal guardian. They also saw Pietro and said he'd like to nap on him, that he vibrated and so he must purr so much and be happy," you babble, stroking its small head with slow ministrations.

"... I will guard them with my life," Wanda says firmly, petting the kitten as it only purrs louder.

"... And I guess we could use a mouser. But it's not sleeping with me!" Pietro mutters.

(The kitten ended up sleeping with him, and would do so every night after, never being kicked out no matter how much Pietro acted mad) (He wasn't, the kitten, Potter, said it was cooed over and cuddled and given so many kisses that they couldn't help but give the purring mutant and the powerful guardian all the kisses it could give)

Mystique didn't cause as much mischief when you were part of a mission, but that didn't stop her from setting you up in odd situations.

"Why do I have to pretend to be your child?" you asked, looking up at the currently-disguised mutant.

"Because, my dear, it is imperative we catch Xavier while his guard is down," she practically purrs, then pulls you into a hug. "Now, let's try to get closer; I think I see our opening."

The two of you walked around the park, enjoying the pond and nature around you, even getting ice cream together. It was the perfect act, enough to let you two spy on the X-Men's older leader/guardian (it wasn't an act for Mystique, she just wanted to spend time with you and show you off to Charles).

It was pretty nice, overall, being with the Brotherhood.

You just had to keep away from the X-Teens, or otherwise you ended up grounded.

[fbfh]

girl dad!steve x reader hcs

wc: 900

pairing: dad!steve x mom!reader (no pronouns used)

warnings: mentions of pregnancy, steve has six little nuggets, steve is a good dad, steve is raising his daughters right, lots and lots of glittery girly hyperfemininity

a/n: I'm thinking and planning and plotting and scheming!!! good things to come!!!! also happy almost new year (as of the time I'm writing this lol)

tags: @yesv01 @hopefullhearts @littlewinter1917 @thatawkwardlittlefangirl  @Sad-brunnettee @ilikemypolarbear @lubsana @cowboylikekelsey @paris-loves-dustin @girlfriendwhoseawitch @the-snake-pit @hxgemxscles @demirunner @cosmiq-cloud @if-only-i-was-fictional @brinaslittlefreak @almostjollypizza  @mystic-writings  @babiesimagines @Fictionalcomforts  @lizziebitch33 @urmum-xoxo @legramilis @mrscarolscaramoucheplease

Steve Harrington is 100% without a doubt  a girl dad

He knew 

Even before any of your girls were born

That they would all have two things

His perfect hair and winning personality

Unfortunately he knows there’s also a pretty good chance they might have some of that mean girl streak he retired in high school

He’s fully aware of that going into this

And he doesn’t want his kids to make the same mistakes he did

So he really prioritizes teaching them from a young age to be compassionate and think about how their words and actions could affect other people

To look out for the kids that are shy or lonely or don’t have anyone to play with

He teaches them to use their powers for good, like aunt El

But before we get into any more of that

When Steve realized all six of your kids were going to be girls???

He was so over the moon

He initially was hoping for three girls and three boys

You had two girls back to back at first

Then for your third pregnancy, you found out you were having twins

Both girls 

After your fifth girl he realized you could go 6 for 6 all girls

The idea made him way more excited than he expected to be

In the second trimester of your sixth pregnancy, the doctor looked at the ultrasound closely before turning to you and steve with a smile

“It’s a girl!” 

Steve was so happy 

He couldn’t stop hugging you and crying 

Kissing your forehead, thanking you for giving him such beautiful children, such a beautiful family 

When you were pregnant with the twins, he really started stocking up on girl stuff for them

He realized he’s going to jump from two daughters to four

And if Steve Harrington is anything, he’s a provider

He gets your oldest two to help him pick out stuff for them and their new sisters

Barbies, baby dolls, nail polish, hair accessories, dress up costumes, my little ponies, polly pocket sets, and much more

All picked out by them 

Soon find their way into your living room and nursery 

Not to mention the books and movies about princesses, fairies, fashion, friendship, and every other hyperfeminine childhood dream

And all the classics about sisterhood too

Vhs tapes of pride and prejudice, little women, sense and sensibility, fiddler on the roof

Even my neighbor totoro 

Are all quick to become favorites at your house 

A few years later when all six of your girls are here

Steve has become a master at being a girl dad

He can braid hair like a champion and he’s never met a tea party he didn’t like 

And every time one of your girls brings home a new friend, quietly telling steve that they were playing by themselves and she didn’t want them to feel lonely 

He knows he’s done his job well

Don’t get me wrong, there have been times where someone’s copped an attitude and been grounded from lip gloss or butterfly clips for a few days to keep that in check 

But for the most part they remember and follow every word of their dad’s advice

As mentioned in another post, sleepovers are a huge deal 

Once a week you’ll rent a couple movies for your girls so they can watch and play barbies while you and Steve plan and coordinate schedules for the upcoming week 

There’s usually some birthday party or sleepover 

And there’s definitely more than a few play dates to coordinate too

Plus ballet classes, gymnastics, girl scouts

Not to mention the horse riding lessons your twins have been begging you for

You both sit down with some coffee or tea and get everything planned out

It takes some effort to coordinate pick ups and drop offs and homework assignments 

But it means his girls are happy, so he really loves to do it

The only flaw in Steve’s parenting 

The one thing you’ve been warning him not to do too much 

Is spoil them

But your stevie really is a provider at heart

When his girls beg him for something with puppy eyes 

Especially if they all ask together to wear him down

He doesn’t stand a chance

Besides, he really really loves spoiling them

He loves seeing his girls happy 

Every time he caves, it’s always followed with a “alright, now let’s pick something out for your mom” 

Because holy shit he loves spoiling you too

He loves you so much

He loves everything about you

And he especially loves the beautiful family you gave him 

Every day his daughters remind him more and more of you

And he really couldn’t be prouder

He’s looking forward to when the years full of makeup and dates and prom dress shopping 

And everything before and after that 

He’s so proud of who they are and who they’re going to become

He’s so proud to be their dad

And to get to parent them alongside you

There’s not one day that goes by without glitter and lisa frank stickers and lip gloss and hair clips

And there’s not a day that goes by without laughter and smiles and hugs a

And Steve telling all of you how much he loves you

[talonabraxas]

Huichol Yarn, Deer, Eagle Shaman & Sun Eagle Talon Abraxas

A GUIDE TO HUICHOL SYMBOLOGY SHAMANS - The spiritual leaders who are ambassadors to the gods, shamans preside over ceremonies, recite the divine passages, cure the sick, interpret dreams, etc. They are believed to have supernatural powers and insights in the metaphysical world that are considered out of reach for normal humans.

SPIRIT GUIDES - Intermediaries between human and spirit realms, the guide can take the shape of half-human, half-animal being. These figures appear in visions and dreams and remain with each shaman even after apprenticeship is over.

FIRE - Considered a very valuable gift from the gods, fire is called Tai. Tai is believed to enable the Huichol to have visions. The fire god, Tatewari, is always honored at Huichol ceremonies, and receives many offerings such as corn meal, sacred water and much of the art that they make.

HEALING WANDS - Called Muvieri, each shaman carries a wand in their medicine basket. They are made of pairs of eagle or hawk feathers attached to ceremonial arrows, and are used in rain making ceremonies and other divinations.

PATH OF LIFE - Wavy lines represent the "vine of life", which the Huichol Goddess of Life gives to every soul (plant, animal, human) at birth. This vine is the soul's spiritual connection to the breath of the goddess in the ethereal realm. When people chose to follow her "path of flowers", they receive her blessings: prosperity, abundance, creativity, health, and their hearts' desires.

WOLF PEOPLE - Believed to be the earliest ancestors, they spoke and lived like people. Tacutsi, the goddess of life, first taught them how to live well and overcome hunger and cold.

PRAYER ARROWS - Used to express gratitude or requests to the gods, called Urus, prayer arrows, like gourd bowls, are ceremonial objects through which the gods are believed to give their blessings. Special prayer arrows have crystals attached to them, representing the spirits of departed ancestors.

PEYOTE CACTI - Symbol for life, sustenance, health, success, good luck, and acquisition of shamanic powers, the peyote appears in practically all Huichol art and is considered a gift from the gods to the people to enlighten their lives and bring them into the mystical realm.

THE SUN - Brings light and illumination to the world. Tayaupa is father sun, master of the heavens, and his wife is the Eagle, mother of the sky and goddess of life. The Huichols believe all living things receive their power from the sun, and that He guarantees healthy crops and abundant food.

SNAKES - Instruct shamans to become healers. The rattle on the Rattlesnake is believed to be the tongue of the greatest shaman of all, which is the fire god. Snakes may also be associated with the rain goddess. The Mother Goddess of the Sea is pictured as a huge coiled serpent forming herself into a cyclical storm cloud from which rain falls. The Huichols believe that rain itself consists of millions of small snakes. They are valued for their work in the cornfields where they eat the rodents and pests harmful to the corn harvest.

DEER - The spirit guide Kauyumari, who leads the shamans on their visionary pathways and teaches them how to gain their special knowledge. One of the most commonly seen motifs, the deer, maxa, in Huichol, often appear in male and female pairs, symbolizing the unity between men and women on their spiritual journey. Legends about the deer abound in Huichol culture. The deer mother is the guardian spirit, the important animal in Huichol shamanism. She holds tobacco gourds and corn plant, both of utmost importance for Huichol survival. The Huichols believe that deer give their lives willingly to those who hunt them in a sacred manner. After a deer hunt, the hunters have to perform purifying rituals for many days to insure that the animals are properly thanked for giving their lives to the benefit of the people.

FLOWERS - Play a part in all Huichol ceremonies, and all flowers are considered sacred in healing rituals; the patient's head is anointed with flowers. Shamans use them to prepare for the deer hunt and during harvest ceremonies to adorn the new corn. One flower that appears often is called Kiera, the tree of the wind. It is a hallucinogenic plant said to open the Huichols spirits to the highest level of enlightenment.

BIRDS - Believed to be messengers to and from the gods, all birds are held in great regard. The shamans use tail and wing feather of eagles and hawks in their rituals and ceremonial chanting. The double-headed eagle is another common design, representing the shaman's omnipotent power to see in all directions.

TURTLES - Esteemed as assistants of the rain goddesses, turtles are believed to be responsible for replenishing the water of underground springs and the purity of all water sources.

WOLVES - Carrier of spirits, Kumukemai, the wolf, is honored in all peyote ceremonies. Many Huichols believe they are descendents of the "Wolf-People" of primordial times. Huichol shamans claim to possess the power to transform themselves into spirited wolves.

GOURD BOWLS - Used by shamans as containers filled with important symbols, such as corn, animals, and images of family members. Colorfully decorated, they are carried during ceremonies and prayer for protection, health, and abundance. The symbols themselves represent attributes of different gods and goddesses. They are placed in shrines and sacred sites throughout the Huichol homeland.

SCORPIONS - Used by shamans to repel evil and bad luck. They are both esteemed and feared. A deadly species of scorpion inhabit Huichol land and cause numerous fatalities every year. However, the Huichols believe that the scorpion spirit is a powerful ally that protects them as well.

SALAMANDERS - Agents of the rain mother, salamanders are connected with the water and rain, stirring up clouds and making rain fall.

JAGUAR - Messengers of the god of fire, Tatewari, they are guardians of the sacred vows taken by shamans during their years of initiation. Called Mayetse, they are given the power to devour the spirits of those who fail.

EAGLES - Believed to be the embodiment of a goddess known as Mother Eagle, Mother of the Sky and Queen of Heavens. Huichols admire Werika, the eagle as the most magnificent among all birds.

CANDLES - Represent the illumination of the human spirit, Catira, candles hold the sacred gift from the sun and fire gods. Along with flowers and ribbons, attached candles serve as offerings and payment to the deities who have granted special wishes to a Huichol.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COLORS:

WHITE - Cloud Spirits.

RED - The East, fire, masculinity.

BLUE - The South, Pacific Ocean, water, rain, femininity.

GREEN - The Earth, the Heavens, healing, the heart, grandfather, growth.

YELLOW - A special root from Wirikuta used for face paint in ceremonies.

ORANGE - "Wirikuta", the sacred land where the Huichol believe life began and also where they gather peyote.