#and it was so

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

A woodblock illumination of the fourth day of creation, by Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, fifteenth century

* * * *

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

There was a day when a human hand first wrote those words. This sentence is a masterpiece of compression. It approximates as closely as words allow the instantaneous realization of an intent, the bringing into being of the diversity of things that make up the world of fundamental human experience. It describes an act and characterizes the Actor.

The Babylonian epic the Enuma Elish begins with an account of the gods in their generations not creating but emerging, through a kind of parturition, into a preexisting state of unbeing. Hesiod’s Theogony, a much later work that had authority as an inspired text among the ancient Greeks, also begins with the begetting of gods, though without the interesting Babylonian pause over the question of what preceded them. In the Hebrew narrative, Creation is unified by the recurrent phrase “and it was so,” evoking the sense of the instantaneous efficacy of God’s will, a sense of the marvelous particularity of each enrichment of the living world, and also a kind of reverent amazement on the part of the unimaginable knower, in effect the observer, of this emergence of being out of the void. It is the world we know—the sun giving light to the earth, sea creatures swarming, birds in flight across the heavens—seen in all their wondrous singularity, yet made one in the seven iterations of the word good. The goodness of God and His works, central to the whole of Scripture, are established together in a lovely catalogue of the things of this world.

[And It Was So :: Creation in Genesis] :: HARPERS magazine]

by Marilynne Robinson

[zeawesomebirdie]

Just so you are all aware, once I get a hold of a digital copy of Gunsmoke I'm going to be so insufferable about Matt and Chester now that I can make gifs

[sonder-paradise]

we hit 3.2k followers!! 🤩💞💞

this is actually so amazing i’m stunned, on the floor, spiraling and confused but also grateful and i’m just omfg i swear i’ll try to get over my writer’s block soon 🥲💕

[johannstutt413]

(requested by calligomiles; continuing from this) Skadi/Gummy 7: Someone’s Gonna Die From Sugar Overload

♫Precious, I’m home!♪ Rada kicked the door closed behind her, arms occupied by groceries. “Skadi? Are you in the bathroom or something?”

Skadi dashed out of the bathroom, the towel she’d been using to dry herself off with completely forgotten. “You’re finally back~”

“Hold on hold on hold on I’ve got eggs in this bag!” The Ursus made an emergency decision to set her grocery-lugging bag on the floor, which saved the eggs but meant her head was at chest level by the time the orca arrived to smother her with affection.

“I know I saw you at lunch,” the former Hunter admitted, perfectly happy with Gummy’s face’s current placement, “but I haven’t had a chance to hold you since this morning.”

The chef managed to squeak out, “C-can we put away the groceries before I forget they’re there?”

“Oh, if we must,” Skadi exaggeratedly sighed. She didn’t bother putting on clothes while helping her precious with the food - after all, they’d just get in the way later.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Gummy exclaimed, apologetically glancing at the orca. “Natalya asked if we were busy tonight, and I said we didn’t have any plans. She wants to come over for dinner.”

Well, looks like those clothes might be needed after all. This time, the sigh was genuine. “I guess we aren’t.”

“I can tell her something came up.” What was she doing again? Right, eggs, fridge, quickly.

“...No, it’s fine,” the ex-Hunter confirmed, “as long as we have a couple hours before she comes over.”

Rada gave her a thumbs-up. “She eats late, anyway, so we’ve got time.”

“Good. Just Natalya, or is Zuzu coming, too?”

“Oh, I didn’t ask,” the Ursus replied, tapping the side of her head. “I got enough for four, but I did just kinda assume.”

Skadi ruffled her precious’ hair as she grabbed some spices from the bag. “We’ll find out when they get here, then. Usual places, right?”

“Yep!” Nothing weird about tonight, after all.

Nothing weird at all.

-----

The first sign things were a bit weird was the fact that Natalya hadn’t, in fact, brought Blue Poison with her; when Skadi opened the door (in a T-shirt and athletic shorts), the Sniper was alone and looking as if she’d hurriedly fixed her makeup before dinner. “Good evening, Skadi.”

“Is it?” The orca gave her a once-over before letting her inside and ambushing her with a hug. “Your face says otherwise, Tasha.”

“...Do you think Rada will notice?”

The chef left the stove to join the Sniper Sandwich as Skadi whispered in reply, “You know she will.”

“Tasha!” Gummy found the exact angle to bear-hug Rosa while also reaching the small of her precious’ back. “Is Blue busy tonight?”

“Something like that,” she muttered.

Rada pulled back - dinner to attend to - but not before looking her friend in the eye for a moment. “Almost done with dinner, so make yourself at home~ Want anything to drink?”

“Some tea would be nice.” After a second thought, though, Natalya added, “With a drop of honey, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, we’re all friends here. Did something happen today, though?” Insight 100 Gummy had definitely noticed the makeup situation.

The Sniper followed Skadi to the table as the ex-Hunter went about getting her that honey tea. “We… I wouldn’t say we had a fight, but certainly a discussion during which some harsh words were exchanged.”

“Zuzu and harsh words?” The orca whistled. “Must’ve really been something to get her worked up.”

“I lost my cool first, which I believed was the primary contributor, as the question was rather innocuous in hindsight. However, I’ve asked her not to bring it up before, and she- no, I shouldn’t rehash the argument without her here to explain her side of it.” The last time a member of the Group had done something like that, the USSGG had stopped meeting.

Skadi waved her phone in the air as she located the honey. “We could change that.”

“N-no, I asked her not to come,” Rosa admitted. “I… I need to get this off my chest, and if she’s here, I’m not sure I’d be able to.”

“Fair enough.” She brought the teacup and honey bottle to the Sniper before going back to the cabinet.

Rada clicked off the stove’s gas and grabbed a few trivets for the table. “Take your time. Precious, could you- oh, you read my mind, thank you~”

“Of course.” The orca had retrieved a bottle of vodka to split. “Self-serve tonight?”

“The last time I tried to keep up with you asking for seconds, my arm nearly fell off~ Alright, let’s dig in!”

After devouring her first portion with more gusto than she’d felt about anything that night, with her tablemates doing the same, Natalya felt ready to speak. She took a sip of her honey tea, thankful for the way it soothed her throat, and said her piece: “This morning, when I asked if you both were busy tonight, I intended for there to be four of us. However, when I mentioned it to Blue, she asked me, teasingly, if I simply wanted an excuse to see Rada. Admittedly, she wasn’t wrong, but I’d hoped to bring her along tonight to help clarify my feelings.”

“Clarify your…” Gummy couldn’t imagine where her friend was going with this. “Um?”

“Radechka,” Rosa continued, “I’ve loved you as more than a friend for the longest time, and I’m sorry I didn’t speak up sooner.”

The room fell eerily silent for all of a few seconds before Skadi replied, “I mean, so do I. Isn’t she amazing?”

“I… Tasha, I don’t know what to say.” Neither of the Ursus were nearly as put together as the ex-Hunter at the moment-

“When you were talking to Zuzu,” the orca carried on, loading a fourth portion into her bowl, “what was the part that made her upset? I can tell you it wasn’t you having a crush on my precious.”

Rada gave her girlfriend a disbelieving look as Natalya replied, “She only said what she said after I suggested that if she was so okay with infidelity, I wasn’t sure I could trust her.”

“Infidelity?! Tasha, what-”

“See, that’s a strong point of difference between the land-dwellers and the sea-dwellers.” Skadi gave the Sniper a toothy smile. “We call someone our ‘precious’ because they’re the person we can’t live without, but as they say in Iberia, there are many fish in the sea.”

Both Ursus looked away from the table, their eyes finding the same spot on the floor but not acknowledging it. After a sufficiently awkward pause, the chef asked, “So if I say ‘I love you, too, Tasha,’ you won’t be mad at me?”

“You’re an almost infinite supply of love barely contained in that heart of yours, precious. I don’t mind at all, and Tasha, I know I speak for Zuzu on that, too.” The ex-Hunter’s gaze drifted along the Sniper’s frame, at least what was visible with the table in between them.

“...I need to make a phone call.” Natalya bolted to her feet, pulled out her phone, and dashed to the bathroom.

“She could step out into the hall,” Skadi observed. “Even if she ran out of the apartment in a gay panic-”

Rada punched the orca’s arm. “Precious, I love you, but that was uncalled for.”

“She came to confess to you, and I know how you all love your Group. Hunters live in pods, too, you know.” She poured herself a glass of vodka.

“True, but-” The thought died in her throat as Rosa reappeared. “Are you okay?”

The Sniper nodded. “Blue’s on her way.”

“You made up? Oh, thank the tide.” Skadi started on her fifth portion.

“Save some for Blue, you!” Gummy smacked her arm again, more playfully this time. “You did make up, though, right?”

Natalya nodded. “We have… and we want to know how you both would feel about a partner swap for the night.”

“Why not all four of us together?”

“Skadi!” The third smack from the chef’s hand sent the orca flying sideways out of her chair. “Shit, I’m sorry, I-”

The ex-hunter laughed. “You’re fine, precious, you’re fine. I love it when you get feisty~”

“Blue initially suggested a foursome, but I thought Rada might be opposed,” Rosa explained now that the dust had settled.

“Oh! Well, I mean…” Rada couldn’t pretend it took much consideration. “I don’t see why we can’t? You’re, um, not against it, are you?”

The Sniper shook her head. “It sounds like a good plan to me.”

“Alright, then.” Gummy looked around the apartment, making a few calculations before determining they probably had enough space for what promised to be an exciting evening.

And if she was wrong, they probably needed to replace the bed soon, anyway, so it wouldn’t be too much of a loss…

[fogmoo]

[ugartecoco]

the transition im crying

[whiteshipnightjar]

Zoozve, my beloved

[ourlordapollo]

The zoo in my hometown posted this picture of one of their cheetah cubs and I'm obsessed

HIS NAME IS YAM ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDINF ME

[riacte]

not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing [what would happen between earth and the moon if the earth stopped spinning as illustrated by xkcd randall munroe]

[wizardpotions]

Christmas as a cultural icon is starting to get really dystopian in a climate sense, december has historically been a time of year in which there would be snow in a significant portion of europe and north america, and the fact that its not even icy this time of year and all the christmas songs and decorations reference a time of year that will likely never exist in the same way again in my life time is so strange.

[tothechaos]

this is what every tiktok screenshot looks like to me

[bonesandthebees]

one of the most infuriating things about becoming an adult is when you realize that it actually is 10x easier to solve problems by making a phone call vs literally any other communication method

[snakesinsocks2005]

Pin for survivors

[gwenlena]

hello tumblr

[liquidstar]

i always think abt my cousin in greece who's like obsessed with american culture, bc ill say that im going to a barbecue and she'll be like "wow.... a real life american barbecue... will there be red cups?" you bet your ass there'll be red cups. take my hand. have a hot dog. all your dreams can come true here at the real life american barbecue

[sunbentshadows]

Hey all, you know how internet searches suck now? When the results are awful, full-of-AI, death-of-the-internet levels of bad?

Start appending date constraints to your searches - "before:2023".

My results have gone from 90% AI bullshit to ~60% usable - which frankly at this point is a huge improvement.