#lament of the asphodels

[cautiouscrab]

Are we as a society ready to talk about how Orpheus and Eurydice are character foils in the game?

Orpheus is weighted down by his and Eurydices death. He’s trapped by it, unable to see past his mistakes

Eurydice, on the other-hand, is freed by her death. Although she is angry at orpheus for his screw up, she’s found peace within her solitude in Asphodel.

This in turn gives the line “don’t look back” a different meaning in Lament of Orpheus, as it shows how Eurydice refuses to “look back” on her past life due to the peace she’s discovered in death, while Orpheus ONLY chooses to look back into his mistakes.

Looking back for Orpheus would mean that he’d have to realize change could be made, even now that he’s dead

But that’s just a theory, a ga- *gets shot*

[cats-of-eden-valley]

name: Miram, Honeysuckle

roles/skills: Teller

age: Middle-aged

sex: Molly

traits: Clever, Friendly, Passionate,

-----

1stlitter: Asphodel, Larkspur

grandkits: Iris, Lavatera

------

Relationships

mate(s): Ursinia

Cypress(trusted friend)

Locust(friend)

Calendula(daughterinlaw)(positive)

--

- Born an outsider named Miram, raised by her father alone on stories about the world. Her mother was a Teller, and her father lamented that he couldn't pass on that knowledge in the way her mother could have.

- They moved from place to place, and along the way Miram began to fill some of the gaps that her father could not. The more cats she met, the more intrigued she became about Eden Valley's insular culture.

- She would first meet her first pridemates at a Trading, where she and Cypress eventually strike up a friendship.

- When her father grew sick and passed away, she came to Goldspring and asked to join. With Cypress's support, she was welcomed into the pride. A coolheaded, polite personality lets her meld seamlessly with the pride, along with her desire to commit to her study.

- And the cat she studied under, Ursinia, was just about the first to fully match her. She rocketed through the Teller's training, and seept Ursinia off his paws along the way.

- The two were given permission to have a litter, resulting in Asphodel and Larkspur

[miirshroom]

Elden Ring: A Study of the Church of Irith

Continuing my series musing about the types of environmental storytelling attached to each type of structure found in the Lands Between. The Church of Irith is a good candidate to examine because of the mystery of who/what is "Irith" and also it is located in Liurnia, which has seemed to me the zone that in a lot of ways can serve as a tutorial for noticing the more subtle forms of environmental story.

Part 1: Basic Layout

The Church of Irith is located at the north side of Stormveil Castle, on approximately a north-south orientation, where the entry door is at the north end. It is the nearest Church to the Chapel of Anticipation, geographically. There is a Sacred Tear Chalice found at this church. Thops is met here and he is seated below the left hand of the Marika Statue. At the conclusion of Thops' questline there spawns in this church a scarab with the "Thops's Barrier" Ash of War. 

From standing at the foot of the Marika statue and looking out the door, a yellow-leafed tree can be seen perfectly centred on the door. Actually, it is two trees stacked in the same alignment, which is what makes the foliage of this tree look fuller than a typical tree of this size. Continuing past the tree and into the distant horizon, the entry to this church is also aligned with the "Guest Hall" of Volcano Manor on Mt. Gelmir.

Part 2: Linguistics

There is a statue of Marika in this Church, so rather than "who is Irith?" a better question is "what aspect of Marika is Irith?" Like a similar principle to real churches, where sometimes you get a Church of Christ the King and sometimes a Church of the Redeemer.

"Irith" as a complete word string may be a conjugation of the Welsh word "iro" meaning "to anoint" or "to oil" in the singular future third person as in "one who will be anointed". Or perhaps "one who will be oiled" in preparation for being set on fire. 

In Hebrew, Irith is a variant of "Irit" meaning asphodel (the flower). In Greek myth, Asphodel Meadows is the place for the souls of people who led mediocre lives. Amusingly, this is the church where Thops is met, and he laments his bluntstone mediocrity.

The first 3 letters of "Irith" match those of "Irina", and indeed Hyetta's first location after the death of Irina is visible from this church. The word string "iri" has many meanings, but the one I find most appropriate to highlight is the Yoruba word ìrí meaning "the act of seeing, sighting, or discovering", as previously I have noted that the "Ori-" in "Oridys" is of Yoruba origin. The "-th" in this case is just a modifier that makes nouns of verbs of action. So to simplify this could be called the "Church of Sight and Discovery", which again has relevance to Thops - he is the only person from which the Starlight sorcery can be learned and this is used to provide sight in dark places.

Splitting into "I" and "Rith" there is some meaning to be found. Since the 3 definitions I find for rith are English, Irish, and Welsh in originit seems reasonable that "i"/"me" applies to the first syllable. The English meaning is "a small stream", the Irish meaning is "to run", and the Welsh is a mutation of "rhith" meaning "form, guise, disguise, or illusion". So in this context Irith represents a small stream that runs and adopts an illusory disguise while doing so. With the context of this Church being just outside the throne room of Stormveil Castle, this calls to mind the story related by Kenneth Haight where Godrick fled the Capital disguised as a woman. And the illusion functionality of the "Marika's Veil" item that he also took from the Capital during this flight.

Examining the Japanese in Romanized phonetics - イリス, "Irisu" - shows that half of the previously mentioned meanings for Irith are obfuscated by the translation. Instead the etymology document by The_RedScholar notes that it is implied to be the "Church of Iris", which could refer to the flower, the goddess of the rainbow, or again a part of the eye. Personally, I have some opinions about how the progressive colours of the rainbow are the basis for the magic system used in the Lands Between through the intermediary of chakras. In short - a spectrum where red spells are most grounded in concepts familiar to physical reality like "blood" or physical meat, orange/scarlett spells are like "biochemistry", yellow spells are learned "reflexes" or "unconscious biases" reinforced by memories stored in amber, green is the one that the game itself is all fucked up about (see: poison swamps) - probably emotions or empathy related, up to blue spells being manifestations of intangible concepts like "communication" and "thought", and purple being even more abstract concepts like "dream" and "cosmos".

One more point should be noted regarding the linguistics of Irith, which is the similarity between "Irith" and the "Irithyll" of Dark Souls. Irithyll has been proposed to mean "the time of the moon" from "Ir" + "ithil" as sourced from Tolkein's elvish languages. However in this case the word "ithil" meaning "moon" is truncated, and also the Church of Irith is one of the few places in Liurnia where the moon is NOT ever visible, because it is behind Stormveil from this vantage point.

Since Thops is physically present in the Church, his name should be considered as well. The Vietnamese word "thóp" means "fontanelle", which is the weak point on a baby's head. Phonetically, the word "thóp" is pronounced similar to the Japanese romantic version of the name トープス, Tōpusu. Therefore, his name likely means "weak points". This aligns nicely with his character arc in which his greatest achievement is creating the "Thops's Barrier" spell - the purpose of a barrier is to cover weak points.

Part 3: Additional Environmental Context

Observations of the landscape can be made by climbing the walls. There are 4 total climbing paths at approximately the 4 corners, which can be reached by platforming with Torrent's double jump. Recommended vantage points are provided at the tops of the walls as marked by smooth rectangular platforms sitting at the top of the crumbling walls. This use for the platforms is most clearly demonstrated at Church of Elleh. From the site of grace inside that church, the statue on top of the Fringefolk Hero's grave is directly aligned with the Weeping Peninsula Minor Erdtree. Upon climbing the wall to get a better look at this phenomena, it was noted that a square platform also sits on this alignment. And though I would love to show this alignment with the site of grace on the map, I can't because as it turns out the marked location of this particular site of grace is a lie and it's actually offset by a few metres. I can show the matching alignment by rotating the compass as below:

Similar framed observations of distant landmarks can be made from each corner of the Church of Elleh, and at every other church (except maybe the ones in Caelid), but given the choice between the two locations I prefer to examine Irith first.

Location 1: From the Northwest corner two things can be seen simultaneously: Hyetta is centred directly on the Erdtree and the Liurnia Divine tower is exactly hidden behind a rock spear (one of several scattered across Liurnia with no apparent rhyme or reason - except that in cases like this they obscure objects in the distance). Within the Church itself from this perch the Marika statue is visible framed within a gap in the stonework such that her hands are hidden by stone, and with an optical illusion barrier of stone columns between her and Thops. It can also be clearly seen from here that the Chapel of Anticipation is disconnected from the mainland.

To the west Raya Lucaria is clearly visible with the Academy Gate Town at its base, the arched gate to Laskyar Ruins is visible, the Cathedral of Manus Celes is framed in front of a Minor Erdtree, the 3 pergolas on the lower part of the plateau are visible, and the chasm that leads forwards into the lowlands is well defined between two rocky outcrops that end in dead end graves.

Location 2: From the Northeast corner, the rock spur shifts to cover the Carian Study Hall and Hyetta is standing generally below the Altus Plateau Divine Tower where Rykard's Rune is activated. Raya Lucaria is still visible if turned to face there directly, but is obstructed in peripheral vision. The trunk of the Erdtree is generally obscured by yellow-leaved trees.

Also from this vantage point the Liurnia southwest plateau is completely hidden from view by the church spire and the gap between the Chapel of Anticipation and the mainland is obscured so it can't be seen that it is not intact, and the Marika statue both over there and inside the church are hidden from view.

From both of these corners, far to the north Ranni's Rise can be seen clearly, and Renna's Rise is directly over Bellum Gate and Seluvis's Rise blends into the stone plateau. The Liurnia North Minor Erdtree is approximately in line with the Dectus Lift, with a spur of rock partially covering the trunk. As previously mentioned, the Mt. Gelmir Guest Hall is also visible.

Location 3: From the Southeast corner, the Marika Statue is seen from the back, and also generally the full interior of the church is visible. The disconnection of the Chapel of Anticipation is again clearly visible. Much of the landscape is otherwise obscured by yellow-leaved trees, except for a small window through to the Cathedral of Manus Celes. Whether or not Thops can be seen from this corner depends on positioning - from the position with the window to the Cathedral he is invisible behind the statue, and can only barely be seen by inching to the corner of the platform.

Location 4: From the Southwest corner, only the hands of the Marika statue are barely visible and Thops can be seen by looking straight down. The Chapel of Anticipation is visible, but also the Church of Dragon Communion is visible around the edge of Stormveil. Much of the surrounding landscape is again blocked by yellow-leaved trees, except that both the Liurnia and Altus West Divine Towers are visible and so is Hyetta. Although with a small note that at night time the Altus West tower disappears almost entirely into the darkness.

There is another thing missing from all of these views, which is that the moon cannot be seen at all from anywhere within the church because it is hidden by the castle. This is also one of the churches with no site of grace in it, although I have noted that even at Churches with a site of grace present there will be certain angles at which it is hidden behind a pillar. I had already picked up the Sacred Tear Chalice and attacked the scarab with the Thops's Barrier ash of war, so I have no data on what angles these are visible from.

Next Steps

The observations from the Church of Irith provide multiple jumping off points to follow the trail of environmental observation.

Jumping back to the nearest site of grace - in front of Lightseeker Hyetta - a few observations can be made. From the Site of Grace, the Marika statue at the Chapel of Anticipation can be seen hovering over the Church of Irith - strengthening the connection between these two locations. Also from the Site of Grace vantage Hyetta is aligned with Raya Lucaria. And Boc is here although he was previously not visible from the Church due to standing behind a bush. He is staring at the Erdtree.

Hyetta as the next breadcrumb in this little trail and it is found that when approaching square to the front of her she is standing in a way that she is directly under the distant Chelona Rise. From Hyetta's vantage point (and also even to a lesser extent from the site of grace) the dark half of the moon can be seen in the sky, although likely with her weak eyes she would likely not be able to see it since the illuminated crescent is still behind Stormveil. Also from her location, the Marika statue at the Chapel of Anticipation is hidden behind the Church, but the statue of the man wrapped in gold vines is still visible.

Another thing to follow up on was the connection to the Precipice of Anticipation. The Church of Irith is clearly visible from the location where the portal drops the player, and so is the Cathedral of Manus Celes. However, there is an odd discrepancy - the position of the Church of Irith is wrong and the corners do not match. But what is very clear from this angle is that the spire of the church has been placed to align directly with the Liurnia Divine Tower.

Anyways, those are all of the methods that I can currently think of to extract information about the churches, for which there is little to no written lore placing the context of their existence. I would recommend the other churches in Liurnia as other good places for an introduction to thinking about the context that these structures are placed in, or the Church of Elleh. There is a degree of difficulty scaling depending on map region for sorting through what details to focus on.

[deathlessathanasia]

“Although Homer does not attempt to describe the topography of the lower world, he alludes to its most distinctive feature, the famous meadows of asphodel; for Odysseus sees the ghost of Achilles striding off through an asphodel meadow, and sees the dead hunter Orion herding ghostly beasts across it. Romantic though its name may sound in English, asphodel is a dingy and unprepossessing plant which grows on barren ground, and we should imagine this accordingly as a bleak monochrome landscape that provides a suitable setting for the colourless half-life of the shades. The abode of the dead is usually pictured as a gloomy subterranean land which contains these meadows of asphodel and also, in many subsequent accounts, groves and hills and other features of a conventional landscape. It is separated from  the world of the living by a boundary-river, the Styx in the Iliad, but usually the Acheron in later sources. Four infernal rivers are mentioned in the Odyssey, namely the Styx, Acheron, Kokytos (here described as a branch of the Styx) and Pyriphlegethon (also known as Phlegethon); and a fifth river, Lethe, is added in the subsequent tradition. Their names are significant in every case, meaning respectively the Abhorrent, the Woeful (if the name of Acheron can be rightly derived from achos, woe, distress), the River of Lamentation, the Fiery, and the River of Forgetfulness. The name of Pyriphlegethon had nothing to do originally with fires of punishment (although it is mentioned as a place of torment in occasional late passages), but simply referred to the flames of the funeral pyre. Acheron was sometimes said to have issued into a swampy lake or mere (Acherousia or the Acherousian lake); its name was also used, by extension, as a poetic name for the Underworld.

Hesiod mentions the Styx alone, stating that it flows down from the Ocean taking a tenth of its water, and that the gods swear their solemn oaths by it. The Styx, Kokytos and Acheron had counterparts in the upper world, the Styx in Arcadia, the Kokytos in Thesprotia in north-western Greece, and the Acheron in Thesprotia and  elsewhere. There was a Styx in northern Arcadia that plunged several hundred feet down a sheer cliff-face near Nonakris (at the falls now known as Mavronero), much as the infernal river is said to flow down from a tall precipice in Hesiod’s account. In the earliest surviving reference to the Arcadian Styx, Herodotus mentions that the Arcadians swore oaths by it and believed that waters from the infernal river issued into it. There is no way of telling whether the traditional conception of the infernal river was influenced by knowledge of the Arcadian Styx and its falls, or whether, conversely, the Arcadian Styx was first given that name because its chilly falls resembled those of the Styx in Hesiod’s description. It is no surprise that the waters of the Arcadian river should have been credited with sinister qualities. Pausanias reports, for instance, that they were reputed to bring death to animals and human beings who drank from them, and to have the power to dissolve or corrupt almost everything, including glass, crystal and agate, and even pottery; and a tradition claimed that Alexander the Great was poisoned with some Styx-water that was sent over to Asia in a horse’s hoof, the only substance unaffected by its powers. The Thesprotian Acheron was also rendered impressive by its setting, for it flowed through deep gorges in a wild landscape, occasionally disappearing underground, and passed through a marshy lake before emerging into the Ionian Sea; it had an oracle of the dead beside it, as did another Acheron near Heracleia Pontica in Asia Minor. There was also an Acheron in southern Elis.

An allusion in Plato’s Republic provides the earliest evidence for Lethe as a river of the Underworld. It is fitting that waters of Forgetfulness should flow through the Underworld since it is a realm of oblivion where the shades of the dead can expect to forget all or most of their earthly experiences. A poem by Theognis observes accordingly that Persephone brings le¯the¯, forgetfulness, to mortals by impairing their wits, and Aristophanes refers to an infernal plain of Lethe (which probably figured in Eleusinian eschatology). Once the idea had arisen that waters of Lethe flowed through the Underworld, it could easily be imagined that the newly arrived dead would be deprived of their memory by drinking from them; and for those who believed in reincarnation, a subsequent draught of Lethe could explain why souls that have been reborn into earthly bodies remember nothing of the other world or of their previous incarnations. It is in the latter connection that Plato refers to a river of Forgetfulness (Amele¯ta potamon). As a further thought, it might be imagined that newly departed persons who possessed the requisite knowledge might be able to abstain from drinking from the waters of Lethe and so retain their full memory and understanding. Instructions on this  very matter are provided on gold leaves that have been excavated from the tombs of Bacchic initiates in southern Italy and elsewhere; on one such leaf from Hipponion on the heel of Italy, dating to about 400 BC, the initiate is told to avoid a spring on the right-hand side beneath a white cypress on entering Hades, but to drink instead from the cool waters  that flow from the lake of Mnemosyne (Memory). Although the spring that is to be avoided is not explicitly named, it is evidently a spring of le¯the¯, forgetfulness. In ordinary life,  people who wanted to consult the oracle of Trophonios at Lebadeia would drink from two neighbouring springs, first from that of Lethe to clear their mind of all previous thoughts, and then from that of Mnemosyne so as to be able to remember what the oracle would reveal.”

 - The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

Flowers with negative connotations

Abecedary: Volatility.

Abatina: Fickleness

Achillea Millefolia: War.

Aconite (Wolfsbane): Misanthropy

Adonis, Flos: Painful recollections.

African Marigold: Vulgar minds.

Agnus Castus: Coldness. Indifference

Almond (Common) : Stupidity. Indiscretion

Almond, Laurel: Perfidy

Aloe: Grief. Religious superstition

Anemone (Zephyr Flower): Sickness. Expectation.

Anemone (Garden): Forsaken

Apple, Thorn: Deceitful charms.

Apocynum (Dog’s Vane): Deceit

Ash-leaved Trumpet Flower: Separation

Aspen Tree: Lamentation

Asphodel: My regrets follow you to the grave

Auricula, Scarlet: Avarice

Balsam, Red: Touch me not. Impatient resolves.

Balsam, Yellow: Impatience.

Barberry: Sourness of temper.

Barberry Tree: Sharpness.

Basil: Hatred.

Bay Leaf: I change but in death.

Bay (Rose) Rhododendron: Danger. Beware

Bee Ophrys: Error.

Belladonna: Silence

Belvedere: I declare against you.

Betony: Surprise

Bilberry: Treachery

Birch: Meekness.

Birdsfoot Trefoil: Revenge

Valerian: Rupture

Borage: Bluntness.

Box Tree: Stoicism.

Bramble: Lowliness. Envy

Burdock: Importunity. Touch me not.

Buttercup (Kingcup):Ingratitude. Childishness

Butterfly Weed: Let me go

Cardamine: Paternal error

Carnation, Deep Red: Alas! for my poor heart.

Carnation, Striped: Refusal.

Carnation, Yellow: Disdain

Cardinal Flower: Dittitutim.

Catchfly: Snare

Catchfly, White: Betrayed

Champignon: Suspicion.

Chequered Fritillary: Persecution

Cherry Tree, White: Deception

China or Indian Pink: Aversion

Cistus, Gum: I shall die to-morrow.

Citron: Ill-natured beauty

Clematis, Evergreen: Poverty.

Clotbur: Rudeness. Pertinacity

Colchicum, or Meadow Saffron: My best days are past.

Coltsfoot: Justice shall be done.

Columbine: Folly

Columbine, Red: Anxious and trembling

Convolvulus, Major: Extinguished hopes

Corn, Broken: Quarrel

Creeping Cereus: Horror

Crowsbill: Envy.

Crowfoot: Ingratitude

Currant: Thy frown will kill me.

Cuscuta: Meanness.

Cyclamen: Diffidence. (Modesty/shyness resulting from a lack of self confidence)

Cypress: Death. Mourning

Darnel (Ray grass): Vice

Dead Leaves: Sadness

Dogsbane: Deceit. Falsehood

Ebony Tree: Blackness.

Eglantine (Sweetbrier): Poetry. I wound to heal

Enchanter’s Nightshade: Witchcraft. Sorcery

Fly Orchis: Error

Flytrap: Deceit

Foxglove: Insincerity

French Marigold: Jealousy

Frog Ophrys: Disgust

Garden Anemone: Forsaken

Garden Marigold: Uneasiness

Geranium, Scarlet: Contorting. Stupidity

Hand Flower Tree: Warning.

Harebell: Submission. Grief

Heath: Solitude.

Helenium: Tears

Hellebore: Scandal. Calumny

Hemlock: You will be my death

Henbane: Imperfection

Hop: Injustice

Humble Plant: Despondency

Indian Plum: Privation

Jasmine, Carolina: Separation

Judas Tree: Unbelief. Betrayal

Laburnum: Forsaken. Pensive Beauty

Larch: Audacity. Boldness

Larkspur, Pink: Fickleness.

Larkspur, Purple: Haughtiness

Laurestina: A token. I die if neglected.

Lavender: Distrust.

Leaves (dead): Melancholy

Licorice, Wild: I declare against you.

Lobelia: Malevolence

Love lies Bleeding: Hopeless, not heartless

Madder: Calumny

Manchineal Tree: Falsehood.

Mandrake: Horror.

Maple: Reserve.

Marigold: Grief.

Marigold, African: Vulgar minds.

Marigold, French: Jealousy.

Marigold, Prophetic: Prediction.

Marigold and Cypress: Despair

Meadowsweet: Uselessness

Mesembryanthemum: Idleness.

Mezereon: Desire to please.

Michaelmas Daisy: Afterthought

Mock Orange: Counterfeit

Moschatel: Weakness

Mosses: Ennui

Mourning Bride: Unfortunate attachment. I have lost all

Moving Plant: Agitation

Mulberry Tree (Black): I shall not survive you

Mushroom: Suspicion.

Musk Plant: Weakness.

Mustard Seed: Indifference

Narcissus: Egotism

Nettle, Burning: Slander

Oleander: Beware

Pasque Flower: You have no claims.

Passion Flower: Religious superstition

Pea, Sweet: Departure

Peach Blossom : I am your captive

Pennyroyal: Flee away.

Peony: Shame. Bashfulness

Persimon: Bury me amid Nature’s beauties

Pine: Pity

Pink, Variegated: Refusal

Pomegranate: Foolishness

Poppy, White: Sleep. My bane. My antidote

Prickly Pear: Satire.

Pride of China: Dissension

Ranunculus, Wild: Ingratitude.

Raspberry: Remorse.

Ray Grass: Vice

Rhododendron (Rosebay): Danger. Beware

Rose, Carolina: Love is dangerous

Rose, Deep Red: Bashful shame.

Rose, Dog: Pleasure and pain

Rose, Unique: Call me not beautiful

Rose, Yellow: Decrease of love. Jealously.

Rose, York and Lancaster: War.

Rose, Full-blown, placed over two Buds: Secrecy

Rue: Disdain

Saffron: Beware of excess

Saffron, Meadow: My happiest days are past

Sainfoin: Agitation.

Saint John’s Wort: Animosity. Superstition.

Sardony: Irony

Scabious: Unfortunate love.

Scabious, Sweet: Widowhood

Snapdragon: Presumption.

Snowball: Bound

Sorrel, Wild: Wit ill-timed

Straw, Broken: Rupture of a contract

Sweetbrier, European: I wound to heal.

Sweetbrier, Yellow: Decrease of love

Syringa, Carolina: Disappointment

Tamarisk: Crime.

Tansy (Wild): I declare war against you.

Teasel: Misanthropy

Thistle, Fuller’s: Misanthropy

Thistle, Scotch: Retaliation.

Thorn Apple: Deceitful charms

Throatwort: Neglected beauty

Trefoil: Revenge

Tuberose: Dangerous pleasures

Tulip, Yellow: Hopeless love

Tussilage (Sweet-scented): Justice shall be done you

Whin: Anger

White Rose (dried): Death preferable to loss of innocence.

Whortleberry: Treason.

Willow, Creeping Love forsaken

Willow, Weeping: Mourning

Yew: Sorrow

Zinnia: Thoughts of absent friends

Aconite: Beware

Barberry: Bad temper

Carnation (Striped): No, Refusal, Sorry I can't be with you

Carnation (Yellow): Disappointment, Rejection

Cyclamen: Resignation, Good-bye

Daffodil: Regard, Unrequited love, Respect

Everlasting: Never ceasing memory

Geranium: Stupidity, Foll

Golden-Rod: Be cautious

Hyacinth (Purple): Sorrow, Please forgive me

Hyacinth (Yellow): Jealousy

Hydrangea: Thank you for understanding, Boastfulness, Heartlessnes

Marigold: Grief, Despair, Jealousy

Marigold (Common): Pretty love, Sacred, Affection, Caress, Sorrow

Monkshood: Beware, A deadly foe is near

Petunia: Resentment, Anger, Your presence soothes me

Phlox: Our souls are united

Poppy (General): Eternal sleep, Oblivion, Imagination

Rhododendron: Danger, Beware, I am dangerous

Roses (Assorted Colours): You're everything to me

Roses (Single Full Bloom): I Love You, I still love you

Sweet William: Grant me one smile

Black dahlia: Evil, dishonesty, betrayal, doom

Butterfly weed: Leave me, You’ve been warned

-

(Yeah some of these aren’t flowers. What of it?A few of them aren’t so negative- I thought about Jesse’s train of thought/outburst when picking them.)

(If you see any repeats No You Don’t.)

*buried under several flowers and at least one tree*

But ooh. ooh. ooooooooooooh these would be soooo much fun to play around with >:3

[jeweledflowers]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞.

𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵!

i have not included all of the flowers or plants here. i went through several dictionaries, and picked those plants that i wanted in the prompt list.

𝐀

Acacia (Acacia). Friendship.

Acacia, rose or white (Acacia). Elegance.

Acacia, yellow (Acacia). Secret love.

Achilliea Millefollia (Asteraceae.) War.

Aconite Wolfsbane (Aconitum). Misanthropy.

Aconite, Crowfoot (Aconitum). Lustre.

Adonis, flos (Adonis). Painful recollections.

African Marigold (Tagetes erecta). Vulgar minds.

Agnus Castus (Vitex agnus-castus). Coldness; indifference.

Agrimony (Agrimonia). Thankfulness; gratitude.

Agapanthus (Agapanthus). Love letter.

Almond (common). Stupidity, indiscretion.

Almond (Amygdalus communis) (flowering). Hope.

Almond, Laurel (Prunus laorocerasus). Perfidy.

Allspice (Myertaceae). Compassion.

Aloe (Aloe vera ). Grief; religious superstition.

Althaea Frutex (Syrian Mallow) (Common Hibiscus). Persuasion.

Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) (Sweet). Worth beyond beauty.

Amaranth (Amaranthus) (Globe). Immortality; unfading love.

Amaryllis (Amaryllis). Pride; timidity; splendid beauty.

Ambrosia (couldn't find the scientific name but the subfamily is Asteraceae). Love returned.

American Cowslip (Primula Meadia). Divine beauty.

American Starwort (Sabulina fontinalis). Welcome to a stranger; cheerfulness in old age.

Amethyst (Browallia Americana). Admiration.

Anemone (Ranunculaceae) (Zephyr Flower). Sickness; expectation.

Anemone (Ranunculaceae) (Garden). Forsaken.

Angelica (Angelica). Inspiration.

Angrec (Angraecum). Royalty.

Apple. Temptation.

Apple (Blossom). Preference ; fame speaks him great and good.

Apple thorn. Deceitful charms.

Ash-leaved Trumpet Flower (Campsis radicans). Separation.

Ash Tree (Fraxinus). Grandeur.

Aspen Tree (some, but not all, are classified in the genus Populus). Lamentation.

Aster (China) (Callistephus chinensis). Variety; afterthought.

Asphodel (Asphodelus). My regrets follow you to the grave.

Auricula (Primula auricula). Painting.

Azalea (Rhododendron). Temperance; fragile and ephemeral passion.

𝐁

Bachelor's Buttons (Centaurea cyanus). Celibacy; single blessedness.

Beebalmn (Monarda). Sympathy.

Balm, gentle (Melissa officinalis). Pleasantry.

Balm of Gilead (Cedronella canariensis). Cure; relief.

Balsam, yellow (Impatiens noli-tangere). Impatience.

Basil (Ocimum basilicum). Hatred.

Bay Leaf (Laurus nobilis). I change but in death.

Bay (Rose) Rhododendron (Rhododendron--that's just the higher classification). Danger; beware.

Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis). Glory.

Baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata). Everlasting love.

Bearded Crepis (Crepis). Protection.

Belladonna (Atropa belladonna). Silence.

Begonia (Begonia). Caution.

Bellflower (Campanula). Gratitude.

Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis). Good luck.

Bird of Paradise (Strelizia reginae). Magnificence.

Blackberry (Rubus). Envy.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia). Justice.

Bluebell (Hyacinthoides nonscripta). Constancy.

Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis). Passion.

Bouvardia (Bouvardia). Enthusiasm.

Broom (Cytisus). Humility.

Buttercup (Ranunculus acris). Ingratitude.

𝐂

Cactus (Opuntia). Ardent love.

Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica). Modesty.

Camellia (Camellia). My destiny is in your hands.

Candytuft (Iberis). Indifference.

Canterbury bells (Campanula medium). Constancy.

Carnation, pink (Dianthus caryophyllus). I will never forget you.

Carnation, red (Dianthus caryophyllus). My heart breaks.

Carnation, striped (Dianthus caryophyllus). I cannot be with you.

Carnation, white (Dianthus caryophyllus). Sweet and lovely.

Carnation, yellow (Dianthus caryophyllus). Disdain.

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita). Energy in adversity.

Cherry blossoms (Prunus cerasus). Impermanence.

Chervil (Anthriscus). Sincerity.

Chestnut (Castanea sativa). Do me justice.

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum). Truth.

Cinquefoil (Potentilla). Beloved daughter.

Clematis (Clematis). Poverty.

Clove (Syzgium aromaticum). I have loved you and you have not known it.

Clover, white (Trifolium). Think of me.

Cockscomb (Celonia). Affectation.

Columbine (Aquilegia). Desertion.

Coreopsis (Coreopsis). Always cheerful.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum). Hidden worth.

Corn (Zea mays). Riches.

Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus). Joy in love and life.

Cranberry (Vaccinum). Cure for heartache.

Crocus (Crocus). Youthful gladness.

Cypress (Cupressus). Mourning.

𝐃

Daffodil (Narcissus). New beginnings.

Dahlia (Dahlia). Dignity.

Daisy (Bellis). Innocence.

Daisy, gerber (Gerbera). Cheerful.

Daphne (Daphne). I would not have you otherwise.

Daylily (Hemerocallis). Coquetry.

Delphinium (Delphinium). Levity.

Dittany (Dictamnus albus). Childbirth.

Dogwood (Cornus). Love undiminished by adversity.

Dragon plant (Draceana). You are near a snare.

𝐄

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum). Noble courage.

Elder (Sambucus). Compassion.

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus). Protection.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis). Inconstancy.

Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus latifolius). Lasting pleasure.

𝐅

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Strength.

Fern, maidenhair (Adiantum capillus-veneris). Secrecy.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium). Warmth.

Fig (Fiscus carica). Argument.

Flax (Linum usitatissimum). Argument.

Forget-me-not (Myosostis). Forget me not.

Forsythia (Forysthia). Anticipation.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). Insincerity.

Freesia (Freesia). Lasting friendship.

Fuchsia (Fuchsia). Humble love.

𝐆

Gardenia (Gardenia). Refinement.

Geranium, oak-leaf (Pelargonium). True friendship.

Geranium, scarlet (Pelargonium). Stupidity.

Gladiolus (Gladiolus). You pierce my heart.

𝐇

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna). Hope.

Hazel (Corylus). Reconciliation.

Heather (Calluna vulgaris). Protection.

Heliotrope (Heliotropium). Devoted affection.

Hibiscus (Hibiscus). Delicate beauty.

Holly (Ilex). Foresight.

Hollyhock (Alcea). Ambition.

Honesty (Lunaria annua). Honesty.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera). Devotion.

Hyacinth, purple (Hyacinthus orientalis). Please forgive me.

Hyacinth, white (Hyacinthus orientalis). Beauty.

Hydrangea (Hydrangea). Dispassion.

𝐈

Ice plant (Carpobrotus chilensis). Your looks freeze me.

Impatiens (Impatiens). Impatience.

Iris (Iris). Message.

Ivy (Hedera helix). Fidelity.

𝐉

Jasmine, Carolina (Gelsemium sempervirens). Separation.

Jasmine, Indian (Jasminum multiflorum). Attachment.

Jonquil (Narcissus jonquilla). Desire.

𝐋

Laurel (Laurus nobilis). Glory and success.

Lavender (Lavandula). Mistrust.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Cold-heartedness.

Liatris (Liatris). I will try again.

Lilac (Syringa). First emotions of love.

Lily (Lilum). Majesty.

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis). Return of happiness.

Lobelia (Lobelia). Malevolence.

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera). Purity.

Love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus). Hopeless but not helpless.

Lungwort (Pulmonaria). You are my life.

Lupine (Lupinus). Imagination.

𝐌

Magnolia (Magnolia). Dignity.

Marigold (Calendula). Grief.

Michaelmas daisy (Aster amellus). Farewell.

Migonette (Reseda odorata). Your qualities surpass your charms.

Moss (Bryopsida). Maternal love.

𝐍

Narcissus (Narcissus). Self love.

𝐎

Olive (Olea europaea). Peace.

Orange (Citrus sinensis). Generosity.

Orange blossoms (Citrus sinensis). Your purity equals your loveliness.

Orchid (Orchidaceae). Refined beauty.

Oregano (Origanum vulgare). Joy.

𝐏

Pansy (Viola). Think of me.

Passion flower (Passiflora). Faith.

Peach (Prunus persica). Your charms are unequaled.

Peach blossom (Prunus persica). I am your captive.

Pear (Pyrus). Affection.

Pear blossom (Pyrus). Comfort.

Peony (Paeonia). Anger.

Peppermint (Mentha). Warmth of feeling.

Periwinkle (Vinca minor). Tender recollections.

Persimmon (Diospyros kaki). Bury me amid nature's beauty.

Petunia (Petunia). Your presence soothes me.

Phlox (Phlox). Our souls are united.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus). You are perfect.

Pink (Dianthus). Pure love.

Plum (Prunus domestica). Keep your promises.

Polyanthus (Primula). Confidence.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum). Foolishness.

Pomegranate blossom (Punica granatum). Mature elegance.

Poppy (Papaver). Fantastic extravagance.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum). Benevolence.

Potato vine (Solanum jasminoides). You are delicious.

Primrose (Primula). Childhood.

Protea (Protea). Courage.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). Strength and health.

𝐐

Queen Anne's lace (Ammi majus). Fantasy.

Quince (Cydonia oblonga). Temptation.

𝐑

Ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus). You are radiant with charms.

Raspberry (Rubus). Remorse.

Redbud (Cercis). Betrayal.

Rhododendron (Rhododendron). Beware.

Rhubarb (Rheum). Advice.

Rose, burgundy (Rosa). Unconscious beauty.

Rose, moss (Rosa). Confession of love.

Rose, orange (Rosa). Fascination.

Rose, pale peach (Rosa). Modesty.

Rose, pink (Rosa). Grace.

Rose, purple (Rosa). Enchantment.

Rose, red (Rosa). Love.

Rose, white (Rosa). A heart unaquainted with love.

Rose, yellow (Rosa). Infedility.

Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis). Remembrance.

𝐒

Sage (Salvia officinalis). Good health and long life.

Scabiosa (Scabiosa). Unfortunate love.

Snowdrop (Galanthus). Consolation and hope.

Spirea (Spiraea). Victory.

Starwort (Stellaria). Welcome.

Stephanotis (Stephanotis floribunda). Happiness in marriage.

Stock (Malcolmia maritima). You will always be beautiful to me.

Stonecrop (Sedum). Tranquility.

Strawberry (Fragaria). Perfection.

Sunflower (Helianthus annus). False riches.

Sweet briar (Rose rubiginosa). Simplicity.

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus). Delicate pleasures.

𝐓

Tansy (Tanacetum). I declare war against you.

Thistle, common (Cirsium). Misanthropy.

Thrift (Armeria). Sympathy.

Trillium (Trillium). Modest beauty.

Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans). Fame.

Tuberose (Polianthus tuberosa). Dangerous pleasures.

Tulip (Tulipa). Declaration of love.

𝐕

Verbena (Verbena). Pray for me.

Violet (Viola). Modest worth.

𝐖

Water lily (Nymphaea). Purity of heart.

𝐘

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Cure for a broken heart.

𝐙

Zinnia (Zinnia). I mourn your absence.

[fellstcr]

—  crocus ;  &. the love lies bleeding.

⚔️ // “. . .”

            byleth  found  herself  staring  blankly  at  the  overcast  sky.  white  flecks  of  snow  slowly  drifted  down  and  landed  on  her  cheeks  ,  caught  in  her  hair  ,  covered  a  thin  ,  white  layer  of  frost  over  her  clothes  and  the flowers  that  stubbornly  bloomed  there.  but  at  least  it  was  not  rain.

            so  ,  it  would  have  been  a  year  ago  now. . . .  or  . . .  no.  six  years  ,   byleth  supposed.  even  still  ,  it  felt  like  yesterday  that  the  sky  had  clouded  grey  ,  like  this.  the  heavens  had  wept  just  as  she  had  wept.  the  world  had  fallen  apart  as  byleth  felt  the  life  drain  away  from  her  father’s  pale  and   still   form  ,  leaving  behind  only  a  corpse.               even  now  ,  her  own  chest  grew  TIGHT.               her  eyes  stung  with  the  swell  of  tears.  

            back  then  ,  a  WAILING  had  torn  through  her  entire  body  and  she’d  wished  —         (  don’t  go                                   a  marigold  sprouted  in  her  palm.                   take  me  with  you  -            cypress  at  her  wrist ,  just  above  the  vein.              i  still  need  you.  —  don’t  leave  me.  )        

                                                 . . .     i  love  you.         motherwart                                                                                                      across  the  chest.                                                   blooming  from  the  scar  that  marked                                                       a  heart  that  didn’t   -  couldn’t  beat.

            it  was  her  fault.  losing  jeralt.  and  sothis  after  him.  and  all  of  the  lives  she   had  lost  in  between.  all  because  of  her  foolish  desire  to  smite  down  the  woman  who  had  stolen  her  father  away.  who  had  taken  him  well  before  his  time.

        another  flower  sprouted.  this  one  ,  a  pale  ,  six  petaled  bloom  with  a  thin  red  vein  bleeding  down  the  middle.  the  petals  fell  around  the  tips  of  her  ears.  another flower  bloomed  to  match.  both  delicately  centered  on  each  side. 

            would  only  that  she  bore  a  crown  of  thorns  to  match  this  terrible  ,  skull-splitting  ache. 

        sothis  had  called  his  death  fate. 

                   ...  their  union  ,  too  ,  was  fate. 

                                                       (  and  for  what?  for  what? )

        byleth’s  fingers  unfurled  and  she  raised  her  hand  in  the  air.  snowflakes  danced  around  her  still  form  and  settled  into  the  enlightened  one’s  palm.  drifting  ,  settling   ,  melting  ,  gone.  all  save  for upon  the  marigold  that  stubbornly  stayed.  (  for  the  truth  of  it  all  lingered.  gold  in  the  silver  snow.  )

          byleth  watched  as  the  pale  green  of  her  veins  underneath  her  reddened  skin  flourished  into  vines  that  spread  across  her  wrists  and  arms  ,  and  wound  through  the  gaps  in  her  fingers.  CHOKED  upon  the  wordless  wailing  that  clawed  even  now  at  her  throat  ,  and  clenched  her  jaw  against  the  weight  of  a  new  pain  lodging  squarely  there.  as  the  vines  spread  alongside  motherwart  and  cypress  ,  asphodel  and  marigold  ,  byleth  coughed  up  the  long  red  blooms  that  had  lodged  within. 

              body  bent  ,  crooked  ,  spitting  red  flowers  and  blood  into  the  snow.

           (  for  there  was  no  grave  to  place  any  flowers  upon.  )

            enlightened  one  ,  whose  fingers  trembled  ,  whose  body  shook  ,  twisted  and  laden  with  vines  and  flowers  ,  exhaled  the  shudder  in  her.  stood  ,  still  ,  before  lifting  her  flower-crowned  head  towards  the  sky  where  it  did  not  rain.  it  snowed. 

             she  squared  her  shoulders.              steeled  herself.

             struggled  ,  against  the  roots  that  anchored  her  feet  in  place  to  this  meadow  of  dead  things  and  purple  crocus.  braced  ,  as  she  stumbled  free  and  turned  back  towards  the  main  road. 

      stepped  away  from  where  her  love  lay  bleeding.              grit  her  teeth  in  silent  lament  for  the  words  she  would  never  get  to  say.

[mythvoiced]

-. Hades brainrot, have a few disconnected thoughts:

fighting Lernie is so MUCH FUCKING FUN oh god i can’t get enough of that fight IT’S MY FAVOURITE

he only recently dubbed her Lernie for me but what the fKIG ‘Lernie Vanquished’ THIS GAME

i underestimated the lambert plume at first but by god the way it makes me lOSE MY MINd you get to a certain point Zagreus becomes so fast (if you get a few Hermes boons while you’re at it, EVEN FASTER) that i sorta start cackling maniacally at my screen

next god i’m forging a bond with is Ares because that guy’s doom curse saved my ass so often and also i love how this rendition of him makes him so ELEGANT~

Asterius gib me that AUTOGRAPH, Zagreus WHY WON’T YOU ASK HIM

one of these days i’m gonna figure out how to fuck up Theseus before Asterius bc i wanna hear the dialogue that would produce

when Hermes asked me if i wanted him to shut up for a moment i was APPALLED he better never

least favourite gods are Zeus for obvious reasons and Poseidon bc he was the first trial of the gods disadvantage i had to get through and that wave PISSED ME OFF

least favourite boons are Dionysus’ but that’s only because i don’t know how to use ‘em lmao I MEAN THAT? GAIN SOME HEALTH WITH EACH HIT ONE? oh god that actually got me through that first hades win EDIT: that’s not a boon, that’s a daedalus hammer for Stygius lmao

that thing people say that when they hear Eurydice for the first time? or Orpheus singing his lament? yeah, it’s true, i lost all brain capacity because i truly tried to get into this game BLIND as hell, they fucked me up

there was this one point where i was doing pretty well with the pierced butterfly and Zagreus drops a line after clearing a chamber that sounded SO EERILY like Thanatos (like? the delivery?) and there’s no way Darren Korb didn’t do that on purpose HE’S INSANE he obviously did

Than’s butterfly pisses me off the moment i hit asphodel and start stepping in magma I MEAN i got the layout down SURE but YOU KNOW

i will literally sometimes choose a chamber JUST because i want to talk to that particular god and by that particular god i mean Hermes no strategical thinking there, just straight up brainrot

a few runs ago i somehow managed to guess that not only was Thanatos gonna spawn in this run but also the exact chamber he’d spawn in, i just chose a door and was overcome by this certainty that Than would be on the next field and BOOM, thanks for the centaur heart bby

my least favourite fury to fight against is Alecto because i’m far worse at defeating her than i am at the other two lmao (altho surprisingly Tisiphone almost beat my ass the other day, i haven’t lost against a fury in AGES that would have been embarrassing~)

i can’t bring myself to give Sisyphus a nectar because the version of his myth i’m familiar with makes me hate him and i can’t get past that lmao but i also WANT to get him a nectar FOR THAT COMPLETITION RATE

when i got into the temple of styx for the first time i almost threw an aggressive tantrum and start crying at the notion of having to fight Cerberus and I KNOW he’d never would have but the small part of me that doubts everything DOUBTED and then Zagreus stopped his bullshit and gave the CUTEST LIL LAUGH I’VE EVER HEARD and that laughter right there defined so much about how i see him lmao he’s a cute lil shit he’s the worst he’s my baby he’s an immortal god he’s sassy as fuck he’s absolutely useless at administrative work he’s strong and dangerous he’s just some guy he’s my son and my enemy he’s in love with everyone he isn’t related to he’s fucking terrifying

demeter is so COLD and MEAN she doesn’t know she’s my grandmama AND IT SHOWS

[sourcherrymag]

dirt for the horses by nxy (they/them) Content warning: allusions to animal death, light gore imagery, references to deaths, references to floods 

They buried a pair of nameless horses at sunset in a Town with no roads out. A funeralgoer says She used to call them the silver one and The other one, I never thought they needed names, she laments, an Expression of dourness sat pulling the corners of her mouth like Dirt pouring in from the side of A loose grave made misty by the flood, And now they’re gone it don’t seem right that they never had them.

They stood with their backs To the barn and their faces To the sun, where incandescent flames spat out rivets of amber and squash along shallow Watercolour plashets and they sang country ballads ballasted out to the sky-dome In place of a requiem. No one cried but tears stood frozen amidst the crowd as attendants to the Funeral, flickering and looming as though the heart grieved for something which The body cannot contain.

In the evening they played music in a house with only Two walls; white plaster arched over them all chameleonesque— The fluttering ballet between sky and earth pliés and pirouettes through oil paint pallets and the heart Smears shades of vitality on dull walls. The evening breeze carries Easy; a through-wind which the house shudders with as though its lungs had wept And woken up from pneumonia. Friends, said the poet under the dying light to The graves of the horses, thank you for being there, she says these words whilst Bones of the earth unfurls beneath the mud and whilst Shadowmen flicker like stolen television signals amongst them. She says those words and their Intonations spread as sinew amongst the people; And later he will leave this town, and she and she and He, on their cars and on their feet and on rickety airplanes fuelled with ink-black tar and on Clouds exhaled from rose-petal lips and on tapes rolling like pig innards recording weather-tuning and Book-burning and parrot-watching and on—

You know the feeling. Vertigo, tunnel vision, like the ground is not the ground but Stacked fifty stories high with varnished oakwood coffins. The poet touches the grave and wishes There was a bell; windchimes of beetle bones or huge brass bells bellowing Liberty, liberty, freedom and equality. Here is where houses are rotting From the foundations up, where gnats gnawed on half-finished wood and Analog tapes buzzed like dying bees around springtime tulips. Here were ripened tomatoes stamped to the ground, a handful of rubies discarded amongst ferns And yesteryear’s dreamers. When they buried The horses at sunset the smell of the tomatoes ferments and rose with the rays of Scattered light and conjoined together as a sky-spiral to settle in the pores of the funeralgoers. When the sun sets later over the graves the air will smell of nothing but Fresh soil and rain, fresh paint, shroud of life over This mass grave.

And earlier There was a flood, There was rain and the rain soaked through the ceilings into little TV stations where You tune in and they talk about nothing in particular; someone’s trash was Eaten by the neighbouring raccoons and someone else’s garden filled up with Glass shards from the outer worlds. The flood opened its sinkhole like an Emptying maw, stretched until its serpentine jaw popped from its hinges And the snakeskin drew warped and thin around its belly; if you look closely, you can see faces Pressed against the skin, smiling and eternally seventeen, or twenty, or… They’re begging to be born, or have never been born at all, or have returned to be Born again whilst the latter-day saints hover their cold and blue feet over Termite-eaten pews. This Lethian flood will wash through the gates of Hades, and Asphodel, and Elysium, and…

And earlier still There was a flood, A flood of ash and of ‘hem greedy-eyed bastards who took and took and look: Take the township in both your hands and put one at each end and Twist, Wrung it dry as you might a towel and discover it to be still damp With condensation and sweat. There were battlefields that played out on this town, Boys who pretended to be men and men who beat their chest to play games of Cat and mouse; it’s firecracker season, the season where you pull the trigger on Finger guns and pretend they’re real, the season of the autumnal patriarch whose rot You delight in. All the world’s an open grave now, from the skyscrapers to The houses with their ribs pried open; and you will leave too, riding On rumbling earthworms who carries you from grave to grave whilst you reflect on the never-was, And the could-have-beens, And the—

And anyways the sun is setting over the horizon. Hold the dirt up to your lips and Drink It all in; On the dirt mound in the middle of town The soil spiral into itself in the motion of an Ouroboros and languid cats chased Fireflies round and round a hole Dropped to the middle of the earth.

We buried a pair of nameless horses at sunset in a Town with no roads out. The ritual holds us in place like A spell, and for an instant we all believed that there is love, for an Instant we held that love in our hands like The fledgling sprout of the sun, and for an instant We forgot that the sun was setting too. In the evening we will play music in the empty House, and by morning the final flood will come and Wash everything away, but

We saved what we could.

@poemsbynxy on instagram  I reside and write in the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people as the Traditional Owners of the land

[razorsadness]

Even the rivers come, though never all at the same time. Sopping wet, clothes clinging to their skin. Acheron with an asphodel blossom in his lapel; Phlegethon smoking constantly; Cocytus in jeans, her huge bone-pale headphones keeping the lamentations piping in; Styx, runway thin, bespoke black silk from top to bottom, always asking for change; and Lethe, her wet hair dyed blue, her long lashes inviting the universe to drown itself in her.

—Catherynne M. Valente, from “L’Esprit de L’Escalier”

[ukdamo]

The Lost Tails of Miletus

Francis Bret Harte

High on the Thracian hills, half hid in the billows of clover, Thyme, and the asphodel blooms, and lulled by Pactolian streamlet, She of Miletus lay, and beside her an aged satyr Scratched his ear with his hoof, and playfully mumbled his chestnuts.

Vainly the Maenid and the Bassarid gamboled about her, The free-eyed Bacchante sang, and Pan - the renowned, the accomplished - Executed his difficult solo. In vain were their gambols and dances; High o'er the Thracian hills rose the voice of the shepherdess, wailing:

'Ai! for the fleecy flocks, the meek-nosed, the passionless faces; Ai! for the tallow-scented, the straight-tailed, the high-stepping; Ai! for the timid glance, which is that which the rustic, sagacious, Applies to him who loves but may not declare his passion!'

Her then Zeus answered slow: 'O daughter of song and sorrow, Hapless tender of sheep, arise from thy long lamentation! Since thou canst not trust fate, nor behave as becomes a Greek maiden, Look and behold thy sheep.' And lo! they returned to her tailless!

[dracox-serdriel]

Lament of the Asphodels - Epilogue: The Cornucopia of Demeter

Lament of the Asphodels

Title: The Munificence of Demeter Author: Dracox Serdriel Artist: @liamjcnes Artwork: Post 1 | Post 2 Word count: 1,400 Rating: NC-17/Explicit (except on FF) Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence, Graphic sexual content, Declaration/threats of sexual violence, Minor character death, Social stigmatization/abuse, Detailed descriptions of hopelessness/depression/inner turmoil, Descriptions of the effects of extreme phobias/social anxiety, including anthropophobia, thalassophobia/hydrophobia, and hylophobia/dendrophobia, Descriptions of shipwrecks and storms at sea

Read Lament of the Asphodels on FF, AO3, LJ, or start at the beginning on Tumblr. Written as part of @captainswanbigbang.

Epilogue: The Munificence of Demeter

To avoid Manticore-inspired panic from each new arrival, Emma and Killian abandoned the sidewalk - and Pegasus and the Manticore - for the interior of the Library. By the circulation desk, they all gathered together: Henry, Snow, Charming, Baby Neal, Regina, Robin Hood, Belle, Mr. Gold, Granny, Red, Doctor Whale, Ashley, Sean, Jefferson, Zelena, Blue, Doctor Hopper, August, Ariel, Eric, Abigail, Frederick, Mr. Smee, and dozens of other faces they thought they'd never see again.

After much jubilation and far too many embraces to number, Killian inquired after the state of the town, and Emma, the cause for the entirety of the town collecting in the Library.

And with many voices they answered.

No one agreed on exactly when it began. A few said it was as soon as Emma made her leave. Others insisted it was the day after, when Mr. Gold and the rest of the rescue party returned without the Savior. And a handful - by far the loudest and most willing to interrupt, given that Grump was among them - claimed that it was several weeks before anything went truly amiss.

Despite the discrepancy of when it started, not one person argued how it began, for a consensus had long ago been reached in that regard. It was when the enchantment that kept a Land without Magic at bay fell with neither warning nor report.

At first this led to nothing more than a rise in belligerent fauna. (And, to this day, many residents of the town will insist that, despite its name, a Land without Magic has its dragons, which, for some reason, are called moose.)

Many attempts were made to restore the barrier, but they all failed. As it seemed more of a nuisance than a true ill, the dwarves took action, setting up deterrents around the town line and shooing away whatever they could with their pick axes.

But then people - confused and ornery people - found their way into Storybrooke. Most departed as quickly as they arrived, scowling at their out-of-date maps and devices, but some did not go so quietly. They became enamored of the town - either from its charm or its mystery - and only relented when Regina and Blue resorted to a memory spell.

Again, attempts at re-enchanting the town line - this time countless in number - failed, lingering at best for a few hours before fading away.

As the weeks turned to months, increasingly drastic measures were taken to avoid the onslaught of tourists. At first, stores locked their front doors and hoisted "CLOSED" signs in their windows, but this only resulted in angry visitors pounding on the doors. (Granny admitted that they might've done better had they considered that resident shoppers were clearly visible to anyone outside the door, but, of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty.)

So then they boarded up windows and abandoned their shops during the day, hoping a ghost town would deter traffic and visitors alike. They set up fake detours and roadblocks, which were quite effective until an official from the Maine Department of Transportation showed up to investigate a shockingly high volume of complaints.

That was when truly drastic measures had been taken.

As the plan required unlawful deception, Snow yielded her mayoral seat to Regina, who, beyond having no qualms with lying, also had twenty-eight years to familiarize herself with the complex government of this land and was at far less of a loss than anyone else. Everything went according to plan, save for a bit of poorly timed desperation and bad paper work.

Thus, Storybrooke was declared a quarantine zone for a deadly outbreak of an unnamed weaponized biological agent in the same month as it was declared a critical habitat for the northern long-eared bat. As of yet, no one from the government has seemed any the wiser, and after confirming the town's abandonment, promptly sealed off the three major roads leading into it.

But, of course, the town was not abandoned. The residents had merely hidden away in the catacombs beneath the Library. And their oddly achieved success was well-timed, for that was when the weather soured, becoming thrice as bitter as any winter they'd ever had. Each day brought punishing storms that uprooted trees and tore at roofs and windows before vanishing abruptly.

Only the bravest dared to venture outside during the lull between storms, and those who did discovered that the weather was not the only danger awaiting them.

Monsters of every shape and size roamed the streets and woods, often incited by the whims of the tempests, rampaging with the winds and hail.

Even the most stubborn of residents finally took refuge in the Library, for Mr. Gold (and - though he would never admit it - Blue) cast layers of charms and spells and enchantments, for only the most intricate of magicks provided protection from monsters and storms alike.

But Storybrooke was far from defeated.

Hunting parties set out each morning to drive the creatures into the woods, where portals that led to the Enchanted Forest were cleverly hidden to transfer as many as they could catch. Those that could not hunt crafted countermeasures to keep the beasts at bay. It was a crawling but steady pace, gradually turning the tides in their favor. Until at last - just one week previous - the most vicious tempest to ever touch Storybrooke descended on the town and drove the last of the monsters away.

And then the storm broke.

With hope and trepidation, they began to repair and rebuild the town, though they always returned to the Library at nightfall - or at any hint of a coming storm - for fear of being caught in an even more powerful tempest, though a storm had not so much as brewed on the horizon in the past seven days.

Once the many voices finished their tale, Henry asked, "But what about you? Were you in the Underworld for all six months? How did you escape?"

"That's actually a much longer story," Emma replied.

"Aye, lad," Killian added. "And, as to our escape, we had help."

A chorus of voices asked, "From who?"

"You," Emma replied. "All of you. Everyone here helped us get home."

"Everyone here," Killian repeated. "And many who are no longer with us."

"No longer with us?" Henry asked. "You mean... you mean like Graham?"

"Yeah, kid, Graham," she responded. "And my grandparents, Eva and Leopold, and the Apprentice, Greg and Tamara, Killian's brother Liam."

"And Milah," he said. "And, though he didn't mean to, Peter Pan helped us a little. Even Cora did."

"My mother?" Regina asked skeptically.

"More your father than she," Killian replied. "But, it's true, without her we might never had made it home."

"Before we get into all of that," Emma suggested as she intertwined her hand in his. "Maybe we should see if we can't seal off the town again, huh?"

------

From the moment the Fates weaved two golden threads into one, a wail of bitter beauty sounded from the deep, equal parts mourning and ecstasy cast about by the wind. And those that heard it knew it was the tears of the asphodels.

These were not the flowers of Elysium, the incorruptible isles deeply stirred from joy, where the righteous dead reside free from toil and virtuous heroes rested evermore, untouched by sorrows. Nor were they the flowers of Tartarus, where gloom and fire enveloped mortals, deities, and titans alike with unending torments as punishment for their wickedness.

No, neither monsters no heroes - the mighty nor the feeble - took their final rest in the Asphodel Fields. It was a place for those whose work was complete, and so, the flowers there knew neither torment and fire nor bliss and glory. They discerned two things, and two things only: peace and beauty.

So when the asphodels wept in elation and grief, it was not for loss or for freedom, but instead for two shattered souls healed into one, the most impossibly beautiful thing to exist in any realm.

And when the asphodels weep, the world is changed.

-----------

The last of the winter came down from the north in wailing waves that corrupted spring's fine morning dew, cruelly cutting down anything that dared to grow before the last of its savage, slackening grasp.

And yet, not too far from the Library, an entire field bloomed in open defiance of the frost, spared by the power of someone who had not set foot in this realm - nor any other like it - for a very, very, very long time.

Persephone hadn't meant to linger, but her curiosity outmatched both her caution and her manners. Why would her husband let a mortal free from his realm? In all her years, he had never once allowed such a thing, not for gift nor service nor threat nor promise. And yet he relented, and not just for any man, but a man who already cheated his mortal's fare for centuries.

Had she been gone for so long that those rules were gone? Or had her husband been the one to change in their time apart.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" someone asked.

Persephone recognized the voice, but she couldn't believe it. She turned with deliberation, her breath held and her eyes downcast for fear that, somehow, the truth might yet rob her of this, the one joy she'd coveted - the one she herself had prayed for - since her wedding day. Even after she caught sight of his boots - dragon hide and wrought iron with accents crafted from a Harpy's feather - she dared not look up.

Hades reached out to her, letting his knuckle sit just below her chin. Then, ever so carefully and ever so gently, he lifted until her eyes met his own.

"How... how are you here?" she asked.

"Can't a husband surprise his wife?"

Did it matter how he came to be here? He was here now. And at once, Persephone's mind began to race with possibilities, with all the places she could share with him now that he could walk in the realms of the living at her side.

As if he'd read her thoughts - and, after a fashion, he had done something akin to that - he smiled with the brilliance of ivory dreams clinging to his every feature and loosed a lighthearted laugh.

Unwilling to waste another moment, Persephone took hold of Hades and kissed him soundly under the glowing ebb of the springtime sun.

---------

As was written before, there are some truths that no living mortal may remember, be they Killian Jones, Emma Swan, or any of the countless number who have since heard their adventures.

Perhaps that is why no one can say with true authority what part of that which follows is truth or legend or pure and wild invention.

It is said that Killian Jones and Emma Swan lived seventy five years with a shared heart before Atropos cut the golden thread that bound them as one soul. They defeated villains, tamed monsters, and protected their home while raising their family in Storybrooke. Their children - and their children's children - all tell the story of the man who sacrificed himself to rid the world of darkness and the woman who refused to surrender him even to death. She disappeared into the earth to find him again, and six months later, they rose like the first sprigs of green in the spring's thaw.

And on that magnificent day, so joyous was the occasion, that every realm had a reprieve: not even a single soul passed to the Underworld from that sunup to the next.

But like so many of the tales mortal tell of the hereafter, the truth of it remains a mystery, or, as the saying remains, only the asphodels know.

End-of-chapter notes: Demeter was the goddess of the harvest and agriculture in Greek mythology. One of her symbols was the cornucopia, the horn of plenty, which represented abundant nourishment.

For next and previous chapters, proceed to the Lament of the Asphodels main Tumblr page.

[dracox-serdriel-log]

Works in Progress

Category: Works in Progress Update type: Writing and Proofing Description: Currently working on several multi-chapter pieces (works in progress), including adding new chapters and proofing/updating existing chapters. Status: Currently, 9/13 fics are works in progress (4 completed), overall status of development:

Overall WIP Progress

92 / 237 chapters (39%) complete

By Title

Addendum GW, a GrimmFiles (Grimm/X-Files) Crossover

5 / 50 chapters (10%) complete

The Force Rises, a Star Wars Fic

4 / 30 chapters (13%) complete

Gargoyles and the Amber, a Vampinals (Originals/Vampire Diaries) Crossover

3 / 13 chapters (23%) complete

The Great and Noble House of Gand, a Supergirl Fic

5 / 20 chapters (~25%) complete

The New Order, a Star Wars Fic

1 / 5 chapters (20%) complete

Orion, a Flash Fic

12 / 30 chapters (40%) complete

The Pirate, the Swan, and the Broken Sword, an Once Upon a Time Fic

5 / 10 chapters (50%) complete

The Second Death, a Superdead (Supernatural/Walking Dead) Crossover

8 / 30 chapters (26%) complete

Recently Completed, By Title

Bad Rain, a Supernatural fic

5 / 5 chapters (100%) complete

Different Worlds, a Supergirl fic

2 / 2 chapters (100%) complete

Lament of the Asphodels, an Once Upon a Time Fic

39 / 39 chapters (100%) posted

Restoration, a Defendevil (Daredevil/Defenders) Fic

3 / 3 chapters (100%) complete

[tkbeatsdr]

[jacqcrisis]

Hello! Sorry, yet another person here to absolutely fawn over your fallout au, which I finally just finished. I've really enjoyed reading through all of the tumblr posts all morning, I had a thousand qs I'd ask about the characters and story if I could but just… WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT PAT AND ACHILLES. How do they find out. Is Hermes just like "yup, guess we should go back to see Achilles" one day and Patroclus is like "Hold up what the fuck did you just say"?

Anyway I appreciate this story ended a while ago and you're probably out of charmes inspiration these days so don't worry if you have nothing to say, I am going to go and stare into space and think about Charon and Hermes smooching instead of doing my day job thanks

A) thank you so much for all your kind words, including your comments. I'm just very bad at responding to those but I am grateful and extremely happy you enjoyed my stuff!

And b) while I am burned out of Hades content, you did unfortunately activate my trap card that is talking about sad old ghouls and centuries long pining. So I'm using this as an excuse to detail how Achilles and Patroclus finally meet each other once again.

So, after everything in fallout au, Zagreus starts what I like to call the White Boy Soul Search™. He runs away from Asphodel and his father several times in order to try and find out more about himself and who made him (Persephone) all while the dynamic duo of Theseus and Asterius are tasked with bringing him back (which they succeed several times cause, listen, Zag did beat the mutant in a 1v1 but they are still an ex-Brotherhood Paladin and an ex-Unity Nightkin tag-teaming dragging an android man back to daddy).

On these travels, Zag meets up with Hermes quite often, as Hermes is secretly checking up on him under the guise of 'haha wow we crossed travels again, cuz! Crazy, amiright haha'. At one point early on, Zag laments how his power supply seems to run out so quick and he just can’t understand why but if he could fix that, then he could continue his investigation longer while leaving the guards tailing him in the dust. Hermes, upon hearing this, is all too eager to drag him off to go see the friendly neighborhood android doctor, Pat, who welcomes them in with less than enthusiastic arms. 

Now, Zag has, in the past, read most if not all of Achilles' journals he keeps around in his private rooms, and is well versed in his personal history and his long lost love he still dreams of and sees false images of in the crowds at the arena. So when Patrolcus introduces himself with that long dead lover's name, while also being a ghoul, Zag starts to get curious. While Hermes is off getting bullied by goats and a rooster, Zag starts asking questions as Pat is looking him over: what'd you do before the war, where were you stationed, what have you been doing since, anyone you miss from that time?

Pat is dodging all of these as he has always done, but just as he's wondering if he should force a sleep cycle on this new synth, Zag just comes out and asks if he knew anyone named Achilles. That's a name Pat hasn't heard in decades, one even he doesn't dare to speak aloud and, as you would expect, he drops whatever he's holding. He assumes he misheard, but when Zagreus clarifies that he knows a ghoul named Achilles who writes often of a Patroclus he knew before the bombs dropped, Pat forcibly enters him into sleep mode.

When Zag awakens, his power supply problem has been fixed and, in payment, Patrolcus demands he leave and never speak about this 'person' again as it is impossible his Achilles survived the bombs, suffered from ghoulification, and lived for as long as Pat has. By his words, it is cruel to string a old man along like that with the hope such a person could be alive only to dash it once its revealed he's speaking of the wrong person. Zag tries to argue but Pat is adamant and sends him and Hermes on their way, considering the topic null and void.

So Zag goes back to town, heads directly to Achilles, and tells him about Patroclus, expecting at least one of them to be happy to hear about the other. Achilles indeed is, in disbelief and elated beyond measure Patroclus is alive but that happiness fades. There’s a sadness to him as Zag describes Pat’s condition and reaction and, when he suggests Achilles go and see him, Achilles refuses, stating it's for the best he stays away.

It takes a while for either of them to budge. Achilles is wracked with guilt over having abandoned Pat during what could have been their final moments, and the idea of seeing him again, and seeing what would be justified anger and hatred at his actions, would be too much to bear. Patroclus, on the other hand, refuses to believe this Achilles is the one he knew, that upon seeing this person, that being faced with one final confirmation that his Achilles is dead, it’ll become all too real for his steadily declining grip on reality. They’ve both spent nearly two centuries mourning someone and neither wants to have that festered, scar reopened, to go through it all again.

Eventually, Zagreus appeals to a sense of catharsis in Achilles, that perhaps apologizing, even if it's to a closed door, will bring him some peace. So he agrees to go without Zagreus as this is something he needs to do alone, and after a boat ride and a long lonely walk with his thoughts, practicing an apology over and over again, he finds himself at the quaint isolated farm. At the sight of a man across the fields tending to his crops and his animals, Achilles nearly turns right back around, centuries of guilt and grief and hope hitting him like a freight train.

He doesn’t get to as some of the goats spot him, bleating and tottering over to the frozen ghoul in their curiosity, alerting their master to the visitor’s presence. Patroclus moves closer, not recognizing the person standing among the tall grass, about halfway to his homestead from the fence, with his hand on the pistol at his hip. He calls out as he continues to step closer, tells the ghoul he doesn’t take in wanderers and the stranger will need to move on now if he wants to avoid the deathclaw’s sunset hunting hours.

They've both changed physically, recognizable features sloughed away as their skin and soft cartilage dried and fell off throughout the years but one thing that hasn’t is the way Achilles says Patroclus’ name, choked in disbelief and a reverence that carries unaltered by the breeze. It’s Patroclus who stops in his slow approach, hand falling from the pistol and the breath knocked out of him. Achilles takes a cautious step forward, saying something but Patroclus doesn’t hear it, falling to his knees as he begins laughing.

He’s certain he’s finally lost it, that the radiation burning away at his brain has finally done its job, that this is some hallucination, and as Achilles comes to his side, touches him cautiously, his laughter turns to weeping. He falls into Achilles’ embrace, assured by the physicality of it that this is real. That’s he’s real, that he’s alive, oh God, he’s alive and has been just a few days' travel away for years...

It’s happiness. It’s guilt. It’s mourning once again, but this time not someone lost, instead years, decades, centuries wasted alone when it could have been together.

But, as a similarly crying Achilles promises, that doesn’t matter. There’s explaining to be done, apologizing to be had but they’re together now. They have time now and he’s not going anywhere this time if Patroclus doesn’t want him to.

[postpunkindustrial]

01. Kate Bush - This Woman's Work [EMI, 1989]

02. Iannis Xenakis - Polytope De Cluny [Mode, 2008] [org. 1972-74]

03 Maja Ratkje - Octo [Rune Grammofon, 2002]

04. Pierre Bastien - Le Décalajdésson [Lowlands, 1999]

05. Ken Thomson w/JACK Quartet - Thaw [Cantaloupe Music, 2013]

06. Tom Bruynei - Reflexes

07. Rajmil Fischman - Alma Latina [Lorelt, 2001]

08. Paul Lansky - Idle Chatter [Bridge Records, 1994]

09. Unknown Artist - Alchemy

10. Lhasa - El Desierto [Les Disques Audiogramme Inc., 1997]

11. Bernard Parmegiani - Dynamique De La Résonance [Editions Mego, 2013] [org. 1975]

12. Lukas Ligeti - Chimæric Procession [Tzadik, 2008]

13. Oliver Coates - Another Fantasy [PRAHRecordings, 2014]

14. Nomadic - Trek 19 [Touchin' Bass, 2007]

15. Kaija Saariaho - Sept Papillons - For Solo Cello [Ondine, 2005] [org. 2000]

16. Chris Clark - Caveman Lament [Warp Records, 2001]

17. Horacio Vaggione - Agon [1998]

18. Curtis Roads - Tenth Vortex [Asphodel, 2005] [org. 2000]

19. Handel / Taverner Choir, Taverner Players, Andrew Parrott - Chorus: He Sent A Thick Darkness Over The Land [Virgin Veritas, 1990]

20. Carl Michael Von Hausswolff - As Far As It Goes Without

21. Original Swimming Party - Weeping Song II [2014]

22. Iancu Dumitrescu - Multiples (I) [Edition Modern, 2000] [org. 1971]

23. Efterklang - Cutting Ice To Snow [Leaf, 2007