#like at that point it was ONLY about primrose

[d12victor]

katniss doesn't by any means hate (strong word) any of the other tributes, she just has a strong preference for those from the poorer districts, hence disliking the career tributes..

[icewindandboringhorror]

Misc. photos from the past year or so ~

[luveline]

what if bombshell!reader proposed to Spencer? Instead of Spencer proposing to bombshell!reader? Would he be upset or just as happy? Also, I absolutely adore your writing! 🥰💕

ty for requesting!! —spencer gets a love he deserves, 1.4k, fem!reader

The first proper time that you and Spencer slept together, he wasn’t nervous. It was sort of like a high school sleepover. You’d slept in shared beds in stuffy hotels and he’d once stayed the night while he was too drunk to remember it, but the first time you invited him in with intention to just be together, he wasn’t scared. You remember being surprised. Looking back, you shouldn’t have been. 

You laid together like you are now. He wore a grey t-shirt and a pair of blue chequered pants, and he’d pushed his hair back all day leaving the front pieces limp, and he’d touched your cheek to encourage your face to his before he moved in for one polite kiss. “I love you,” he’d said, much too early and a couple years too late at the same time. 

You turn on your side now to look at him. His contacts are out, his glasses perched on the edge of his nose. He’s watching a video on his laptop and the line of his jaw is soft. Or, softer than usual. He has a very sharp jaw. 

You shift a bit to alleviate the pressure on your hip.

“You okay?” Spencer asks. He doesn’t look away from his laptop nor does he sound tuned in. It’s sort of funny that he manages to care even when he’s not paying attention.

“Yeah.” 

“Tired?” 

“Not really.” 

“Hungry at all?” 

“Just brushed my teeth.” 

“That’s not the question I was asking.” 

“Not hungry, Spencer. Can I watch too?” 

He turns the laptop toward you to the point where his view is obscured, raising the volume a touch. “It’s about Tuberculosis. Do you wanna watch something else?” 

“No, this sounds interesting.” 

He settles in next to you. His fingers brush your chest. For a good forty five minutes, you and Spencer watch the rest of his video. He gets visibly tireder the longer it goes on, but neither of you attempt to get ready to sleep until the video’s finished. He closes the lid of his laptop, twisting in bed to deposit it gently on the floor. There’s a familiar shush of him sliding it under the bed to stop you from standing on it (a learned precaution). 

“Did you take that vitamin, the primrose?” he asks, flicking off his bedside lamp, leaving yours as the only source of light in the entire room. It’s a pink glass shade that kisses his pale skin a rosy hue. 

“Yeah, Spence.” 

He shakes the sheets back and the over you both. One minute you’re apart and the next he’s pulling you into him, confident handed, his breath warming your face as the gap between you thins. Despite his readying, he doesn’t say goodnight, or close his eyes. This is your time now. You often spend time at night just talking to each other about everything you’d meant to say that day, or nonsense conversation, until one or both of you has been lulled into a peaceful sleep. 

“I have something I want to tell you,” you say. 

“Okay.” He sounds completely trusting, no worrying, no reluctance. 

“You remember the first time you stayed at my apartment?” 

“No.” 

“The second time,” you correct. 

“Yes,” he says, grinning. “I was much less intoxicated that time.” 

“You were sober.” 

“I didn’t feel sober,” he says. 

“Nice. You’re getting so good at this.” 

“Thank you.” 

“But do you remember that?” You trace the curve of his nose. He’ll have to take his glasses off soon. They’ve already worn red crescents into his skin. “You told me you loved me.” 

“I can’t forget it,” he says, still grinning. You’ve tried to tell people —idiots— who don’t understand you and Spencer that, even without his million charms and idiosyncrasies, you’d love him for his smile. It changes his entire face. He never looks as beautiful to you as he does when he’s smiling. 

“I didn’t say it back.” 

“We’d only been together for a few days,” he says. “It was one of my moments.” 

“Spencer, I did love you, though. I should’ve told you. I knew in that moment that you really, really meant it, and I just want you to know that when you said it, I could have said it back. I should have. I loved you just as much, I promise.” 

“I know,” he whispers, eyes slightly widened. 

“I think I’ve loved you since the day we met. It’s cliche.” 

“Sometimes things are cliche because they’re good,” he says, laying his cheek more firmly into his pillow as he raises a hand to your face. His thumbs rests in the space under your chin. His fingertips brush along the skin just beside your lips. “And true. I loved you the minute you introduced yourself.” 

You savour the feeling of his hand on your cheek. 

“You’re so handsome,” you say, “and kind. You’re everything to me. You know that.” 

Spencer wraps his arm gently under your chin and behind your head as he lays closer to you. “I know. You’re everything to me. You’re my best friend in the whole world, I– didn’t even know how happy I could be before now.” 

“Me too, baby.” 

He closes his eyes. Your noses touch. 

“Spencer Reid, will you marry me?” you whisper.

Quiet. Aching, total quiet. He curls his arm behind your head until your lips are a hair’s width apart, and when he answers, it’s like he’s spoken directly to the deepest parts of you. “It’s all I want,” he says. 

“I got you a ring,” you murmur. 

The air races with your heart. The sound of your skin and clothes is the only thing to be heard between breaths. “I got you three,” he says. 

“Spencer, what for?” you ask, afraid to open your eyes and break the spell, the branching, unending feeling of connection you share. 

“I didn’t know which one you’d like.”

“You’ll marry me?” you ask. 

“Angel, I already said yes. I love you. I told you already we’d have to get married.” 

“Oh, we have to?” 

Spencer kisses you. It’s startlingly open-mouthed for a moment, but you adapt and overcome, you love him and his every touch, tilting your head to the side to allow him room to ferry in and kiss you deeply. It’s slow and measured, then quick and undecided. He turns his face one way to kiss you, then the other, back again, a hint of roughness —of hunger to it as he pulls your face to his. 

A spark of heat against your nose. 

Your eyes flutter open, a pinked path of light scored diagonally down his cheek. “Spence,” you say, feeling the weight and heat of tears gather behind your eyes, even as you smile, “don’t cry, baby.” 

“I feel like I spent my whole life waiting for someone to love me and it doesn’t feel real that it’s you,” he whispers slowly. 

“No? How do I make it more real for you, sweetheart? What can I do?” you ask sincerely. 

He shakes his head. 

You push your forehead into his. He doesn’t cry anymore than two burning hot tears, rubbing your shoulder as you yourself sniffle back your own emotion. You’re really not sad. You hurt for him, but this is one of the best things that’s ever happened to you. 

“Do you want to choose your ring?” he asks, enthusing his voice with cheer. 

“Do you want to see yours first?” 

“Did you get me a diamond?” he asks. 

“Don’t be silly, Spencer, of course I did.” 

He laughs and kisses you three times in quick succession before he sits up, wiping his face, chuckling wryly. “Sorry, I didn’t think I would react like that.” 

You tangle your fingers with his before he can get too far away. “I love you, honey. There’s nothing wrong with crying about it.” 

You aren’t expecting to start crying when he slides one of the rings he’s chosen for you over your finger. He says you can see each one in action and choose after you've seen them all, but the moment the band is over your knuckle, you know it’s the one you’ll keep. You push the ring you’d bought for him onto his finger with your cheeks still tearstained.

The diamond on his ring isn’t quite as big as the one he’d bought for you, but it looks right nestled against his pale skin. That night, you talk more than you ever have before, falling asleep only minutes after the glowing threads of morning have painted your twined hands with gold. 

[mortal-song]

and it’s funny to see people say that prim’s death happened for “no reason.” because it’s almost like…… war of any kind inevitably causes the senseless death of thousands. and it doesn’t mean anything. yes, prim died for no reason, and that was the point.

coin only ever cared about power, it was thinly veiled as a pursuit for justice. she was fine with innocent children dying if it meant citizens would think the blood was all on snow’s hands. pair this with gale’s weapon, and the fact that prim happened to be on the front lines, and bam. innocent, senseless deaths.

that’s from an emotional standpoint, though. from a narrative standpoint, prim’s death actually DID make sense. just as rue’s death served as the catalyst that convinced katniss to die by nightlock (the act that began the rebellion), prim’s death was the catalyst that forced katniss to confront coin’s true colors. now, katniss knew that coin was really no different from snow. it all went in a circle. the rebellion started because of katniss’s love for prim, and the rebellion was won because of that same love.

and on a final note: prim’s death was foreshadowed by her name alone. a primrose is a flower that wilts shortly after blooming.

[xopearlz]

pinky promise | katniss e.

𓆉 katniss everdeen x fem reader

summary: katniss made you a promise before the games, and now that she’s back she’s going to keep it.

cw: fluff!!, little angst, but not much, rain kiss scene bc why not??? sfw!!

a/n: first ever post!! might not be the best as im not that good at writing yet but thats ok. beginning takes place before the games and the end takes place after, time jumps are divided by a dash (-)

wc: 1.1k

your hands brush past the rough bark as you move briskly through the trees, keeping your eyes out. you hear a snap of a twig, causing your movements to halt as you listen closely. a hand places itself in the small of your back, causing you to let out a small gasp as you jump away, turning. you smile once you see who the hand belonged to, walking over.

“gosh, you scared me! you have to stop sneaking up like that.” you grin, katniss smiles back.

“if you’re going to be out in the woods, you have to focus better on your surroundings. who knows whats out here.” she replies and you roll your eyes playfully. she reaches out a hand which you take, interlocking your fingers as they brush against her slightly rough skin.

she leads you further into the woods, stopping at the edge of a lake. you let go of her hand and head to the edge, sitting upon a big rock that rests besides the water. you dip your fingers in, relishing in the cool sensation. katniss watches you for a moment before walking over and sitting besides you. you turn to her with a soft smile and she reaches a hand to brush the hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear.

“you always look so pretty, especially surrounded by nature.” you blush slightly, turning your head to look at the lake. she smiles at your reaction.

“i’m serious, you really do.” she says softly, watching over your features, her thumb gently brushing your cheek as she holds the side of your face in her hand.

you and katniss had been seeing each other in secret for a while, not wanting to risk anything with the chance of getting reaped still present for the next few years of your lives. you had known each other for only a few years, but it felt like forever. you chew gently on the inside of your cheek, thinking about the reaping which was upcoming in the next few days. katniss noticed the change in your face and her brows gently furrowed.

“what is it?” she asks, causing you to turn back to her. “what’s wrong?” you sigh softly.

“it’s just the reapings… what if one of us gets picked?” a slight hint of worry is in your voice. her hand still cups your face gently.

“it’ll be fine, they won’t take you from me. i won’t let them.” you shake your head slightly.

“but what if they take you?” she looks you in the eyes, gaze unwavering.

“i’ll come back to you. then we can be together.” you nod before holding up your pinky.

“promise?” you ask, to which she smiles softly.

“promise.” she confirms as she wraps her pinky around yours.

-

you sat on the couch, blunt nails digging into the armrest as you watched the broadcast of the annual hunger games. katniss had volunteered for her sister primrose who had gotten picked, and many things have happened since then. for starters, the male tribute, a bakers boy named peeta, declared he was in love with katniss. to make matters worse, you had to watch them as they kissed. you barely focused on the games after that, tuning in from time to time to get an idea wether or not katniss had survived, yet the bitter feeling of jealousy washed over you. you were never officially together, only in secret, so you couldn’t really be mad. maybe katniss just found something better and assumed because it was private then there wouldn’t be a point in discussing it. your stomach churned at the thoughts.

-

the day had come of katniss’ return. of course, she was returning with her newly found lover, yet all that mattered was she survived. at least, that’s what you tried to believe. you couldn’t ignore the feeling that washed over you when you saw the two of them get off the train together, holding hands. you couldn’t stop yourself from turning around and going home rather than trying to greet the other. you also couldn’t stop yourself from staying locked in your house, avoiding any possible encounters with katniss. you could only avoid the inevitable for so long, however.

you find yourself back at the lake you were at only a few weeks ago, watching the small tadpoles swimming around the clear water. there’s a light sprinkle of rain, raindrops falling softly onto your face. you don’t sit on the rock as you did before, instead standing off to the side. you feel a presence, causing you to turn around. you were greeted by katniss who offered a small smile.

“guess you started focusing on your surroundings.” she says slightly sarcastic. you chew on the inside of your cheek, turning back towards the lake. katniss’ smile drops as she walks over.

“hey, what’s wrong? you’ve been avoiding me ever since the games…” she starts, reaching her hand towards yours. the metallic taste of blood slightly fills your mouth as you bite harder down. you focus your gaze on the tadpoles.

“i’m surprised you even noticed, considering your new ‘star crossed lover.’” you mutter. she brings a hand to cup your face and turn your head towards her. your gaze finally meets hers, her hands are softer than before.

“he’s not my lover. it was for the games.” she breathes out a small sigh through her nose. “you are my lover, nobody can change that.” she smiles, and you feel your heart quicken.

you had been jealous of the boy, enough to not see the accomplishment katniss had made by winning the games. you offer a soft smile, shaking your head slightly.

“i guess i was jealous.” katniss lets out a small laugh.

“why?” you gently bite on your lip, looking down.

“because he got to kiss you.” katniss is silent for a moment, her thumb brushing your cheek.

“he doesn’t get to kiss me now.” she says quietly, causing you to look at her once again. her eyes are soft and she smiles slightly, and she starts to lean in. your eyes flutter shut as her lips meet yours. her lips are slightly chapped, but you could care less. she had come back to you. 

the rain seems to fall harder as you wrap your arms around her neck. after a while, you both pull away to breathe. you smile at her, fingers brushing through her hair she had chosen to keep down.

“i told you, i promised you.” you nod, giggling slightly. you take a moment to look her over, sensing a new level of maturity she gained from the games. even at sixteen, she seemed older.

“what?” she asks, causing you to focus.

“you’re just so pretty.” you say, and she smiles. you giggle slightly as she places another soft kiss on your lips.

she takes your hand in hers, intertwining your fingers together. you lean your head on her shoulder and look back to the lake, the rain going back to a slight drizzle as it splashes gently on the water.

[catastrxblues]

the stark differences between book!gale and movie!gale after katniss asked him about the bomb was something i was kinda surprised about when i first watched the movie yesterday. like, i had to get my book out for this when i first came to the scene. because in the movie, he actually had the decency to look guilty, to sound like he was actually sorry that he couldn’t protect her family. when katniss said he didn’t try to visit her at all, he tried to make reason for himself and said that he actually wanted to. hemsworth even went as far as making his voice break, and he actually seemed like he felt remorse for the loss of her sister etc etc.

but in the book, what did he do??? when katniss said he didn’t visit her at all, he didn’t answer. when katniss asked if that was his bomb, he only shrugged and said “does it matter? you’ll always be thinking about it” and then continued to say that taking care of her family was the only thing he had going for him. and that’s it. as if his place in katniss’ life was more important for him to talk about at this moment rather than i don’t know. sorry for your loss??? sorry for prim?? the loss of a person you loved more than anyone else?? the reason you did everything you did?? sorry that i might be the cause of it?? even just a slight empathy?? none of that and yet he still had the audacity to touch her cheek before leaving the room. this whole peeta-katniss-gale isn’t the main point of the hunger games, it never was. but how did the debate for the love triangle even came about? how was there even any other choice? you have a man who did this shit and you have a man who came back home to her and plant a garden there to honor her sister’s death with evening primroses because that was the flower her sister was named after. how was there even a competition in the first place

[most-tragic-character-tournament]

So,

What a wild ride, everybody.

This tournament went live on July 13th, 3023, and concluded January 1st, 2024. For a long time before, I’d been wondering if I should try my hand at running one of these tournaments, and then I realized we hadn’t had a general tumblr-wide one for tragic characters. I knew that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I decided to bite the bullet and take the URL. The rest is history.

I didn’t have a set plan, but I figured I could take 128 entries. And then in less than a week and a half, I had ~122. And honestly, I wasn’t happy continuing with just those I’d gotten so far, and thought it’d be unfair if it closed that quickly without warning, so I decided to up it to 256 with a max 2 characters per canon after preliminaries. Only after that did I go on a mad search to find brackets that were big enough for that, and I’d almost given up before I finally found these:

Those are all the characters that made it past prelims and into the competition. Some quite unexpected results came out of these matchups, round after round, and honestly I’d consider the first round to have had the most brutal competitions, because I had tried to do the best I could to match levels of popularity with each other, as far as I could tell. (Yeah, that’s why we had c!Tommy v Jon Sims and Primrose v Jinx.). But even eclipsing all of those, as the weeks went on, we were eventually met with Antigone versus Lloyd Garmadon. Ah, those crazy kids.

At some points it was stressful, in the early rounds when I had dozens of posts, each with edited images and alt text, to prepare for every round, but I never regretted starting this. As of posting, this blog has 2,020 followers and has made over 1,000 posts. This will be the last post on this blog—any future asks I receive I will answer privately back to the asker, or cannot be answered if they are anon—but it will always remain here for posterity. The link below is to the similarly-preserved google sheet compiling every word of every submission this tournament ever received.

I’d like to take this chance to say thank you to everyone who submitted characters, supplied photos, sent in propaganda, reblogged the polls, indoctrinated their teachers into greeklitsweep, and everyone who kept good sportsmanship when their blorbos proved so tragic they couldn’t even win. Thank you to the small group of URLs whom I’ve consistently recognized in my inbox from submissions all the way to finals, thank you for letting me know when a name was messed up, and thank you for your patience in-between rounds. (Shoutout to @elemom as well for having their tiktok on the original antigone/lloyd poll blow up.)

If you’ve stumbled upon this blog weeks, months, or even years after this was posted, I would direct your attention to the tag map in the pinned post to sift through the tumblr history you’ve just uncovered. And I would also be tempted to point at the big sign next to it reciting the nuclear zone warning poem. Lastly, if anyone here or there wishes to talk to me about anything regarding the tournament, you’re welcome to DM @twilight-skies.

There were times when I said to myself this was a one-and-done thing—I was NOT dealing with this again, but….keep a look on the horizon, ya never know.

But until next time, it’s been amazing.

Sayonara you weeaboo shits.

[stalkerofthegods]

Lady Nyx/Nox deep dive, straight to the point info

Lady Nyx is wonderful, her beauty even ascends the stars, May we respect and adore Lady Nyx as a goddess and as a wonderful mother.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Herbs • Dahlias, Cannas, Some lobelia, Night-blooming jasmine, Moonflowers, Datura, Tuberose, Evening primrose, Queen of the Night epiphyllum, Herbs that only grow at night, black leaves, black flowers, Blackthorn, Cypress, Holly, Juniper, Locust, Pomegranate, Witch Hazel, Comfrey, Honeysuckle, Ivy, Lavender, Mugwort, Patchouli, Primrose, Vervain, Nectarines, Dragon Fruit, Morning Glory, Nightshade, Roses, Lilies, Poppies

Animals• Horses, Owl, dogs, bats, black bulls, Blue Jay, Crow, Sparrow, Snake, Turtle, cat

Zodiac • your moon sign. 

Colors • Black, Dark blue, Dark green, Dark Purple

Crystal• Obisidian, Morion, Jet, Hematite, Onyx, Black tourmaline, Black Sapphire, Black moonstone, Black agate, Shungite, Black calcite, Eye Agate, Amethyst, Andalusite, Apophyllite, Cat's Eye, Hematite, Moss Agate, Moonstone, Petrified Wood, Smokey Quartz

Symbols•  Black wings, Dark clouds, Black fog, Egg, New Moon, Stars, key, veil, poppy, serpents, owls.

you can wear in their honor• you can veil in their honor, PJs 

Deity of• Night, she is the personification of it

Patron of• Night, Sleep, Death, the Fates, Nemesis, Old Age, Darkness, Light, Motherhood, Magic, Mystery, and the unknown;

Offerings•  Black candles, Poetry or songs related to the night, Images of the night sky, Beef, Milk, Black flowers, Black fruits, Dark red wine, Black animal votives, Dew (the one that gathers after sunset), Dark feathers, Dark liquors/beers. Black Tea/Coffee, Symbols of Her children (ex-torch, skull, scissors), Black fabric/veil/cloak, Dark chocolate, Honey/molasses, Viniq (shimmery liqueur that looks like a galaxy in a bottle)

Devotional• Go star gazing, donate to owl shelters, go to the zoo to see her animals, draw her, listen to a playlist for her, go camping under the stars, go glamping to look at the stars, Take a night time walk, Get a good night’s rest, Learn a new star or constellation each week, Stay up late, do something you enjoy without fearing the dark, Sleep with your windows open, Burn a candle that represents the stars, Sleep in every once and a while, Watch an astronomy documentary, Be extra polite to those who have to work the night shift, Wear dark colors, Learn about which animals are active at night in your area, Go for a night drive, Do divination at night, Listen to music with your headphones in, Use silver, black, and gold glitter, Plant some flowers that only bloom at night, Use a star/constellation app, Read the House of Night series, Watch the evening light fade away into darkness (you can do this in your window, or watch a lapse on YouTube of it), Wear more things with the stars or planets on them, Defend someone who is vulnerableble, Turn your electronics off a couple hours before bed each night, Drink an herbal tea with cinnamon before bed, If you’re staying up late already, make your night productive. (Ex- Complete some homework, tidy up your room), Keep a dream journal, Learn how to identify owls by their calls, Make the night sky your screensaver/home screen, Wear scents that remind you of the night, watch a video of the stars, and sleep with stars in the background.

Ephithets• Bringer of Night, Mother of Daimones, Mother of the Cosmos, Subduer of Gods and Men, Mother of Mysteries, The Dark and Shining, The Winged, of the Great Shadows, Dressed in Stars, Dew Bringer, of the Witching Hour, 

of the Deep and Silent Dark.

Equivalents (alike but not the same)• Nótt (Norse), Selene (Greek), Hecate (Greek), Nox (Roman), Nyx (Greek), Al-Qaum (Arabian), Nabatean (Arabain), Itzpapalotl (Aztec), Metztli (Aztec), Tezcatlipoca (Aztec), Khonsu (Egyptian), Nut (Egyptian)

Signs they are reaching out• Sudden fascination with stars, seeing her Symbols and attributes all of the sudden, a pull to her and the night.

Vows/omans• None, maybe wedding vows, but many say she just has Erebus as a boyfriend, not a husband.

Morals• Unkown, but most suspect Morally grey.

Courting• Erebus (darkness)

Personality• She is motherly and protective of her children, 

Home• Tartruas 

Mortal or immortal • immortal 

Fact• The first Deity to exist, 

Roots• Gaia, Birthed at the beginning of time, lived in Tartarus. 

Parentage• Chaos 

Siblings• Gaia (goddess of the Earth/mother nature), Erebus (god of darkness), Uranus/Ouranos (god of the heavens), and Tartarus (god of the underworld).

Pet• The two/four horses pulling her chariot 

Children • Aether and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness), Thanatos (gentle death), Hypnos (sleep), she also made the spirits - the Fates, Sleep, Death, Strife, and Pain. Aether, Moros, Apate, Dolos, the Keres, the Moirai, the Hesperides, Oizys, Momus, Philotes, Geras, Eris

Appearance in astral or gen• In ancient art Nyx was depicted as either a winged goddess or charioteer, sometimes crowned with dark mists.

Festivals • Wiccan Yule, Wiccan Samhain, Winter solstice, you can do a ritual for her on the full and dark moon, but there is a feast you can hold in her honor, which is called Lemuralia.

Day • her time is Twilight, Dusk, and Midnight, and her day is Monday  

Season• winter 

Direction• north 

Status• Primordial Goddess of night, even Zeus fears her, one of the first primordial beings alive, she was there for the creation of the universe.

Planet• Moon

Her Tarot cards• Death, Temperance

Scents/Inscene • Myrtle, Camphor, Patchouli, Lavender, watery, musky, earthy

My opinion • She is a very hard divine being to find information on, I hope this helps, but I've never met her before, I assume she's great, my friend says she is kind and calls her ‘Mother’ 

Prayers• 

In general

Beautiful, black-eyed Nyx, cloaked in darkness, older than old, daughter of misty Chaos, mother of great and mighty spirits, I call to you. Ever-present one, you live in the shadows; we know you in the dusk, in the comfort of the night. Broad-winged Nyx, you clasp the hand of bright Hemera, each eve and morn, you greet her with love and sorrow for only in those moments may you embrace your child. Goddess, awesome one, in your realm are we all unblemished, in your realm do lovers’ promises ring true, in your realm are all things possible, if only until daybreak. Nyx, I honor you.

Small prayer 

“Nyx, mother of the night, mother of sleep, mother of death: Might your darkness embrace me Might your energy caress me Might you be mine and Might I be yours Blessed be.“

In general 

O ancient Goddess, born of Chaos and steeped in shadow, I honor you now and always. With eyes which have watched the beginnings of all that is, see us now embracing your sleep and mystery. With power that strikes fear into the hearts of the most revered of Gods,

I remember your strength when I am searching for my own. In the starless night where light shines not i will give my thanks to your Greatness, And surrender to the dark.

Links/websites/sources • Nyx - Greek-Goddesses Wiki - Fandomhttps://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Nyx.html mystical-sleepy-musings <a href="https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/nyx/">Nyx – Greek Goddess of The Night: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net</a> - Greek Gods & Goddesses, June 10, 2018 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyx https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Nyx.htmlhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Hypnoshttps://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/nyx/https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/nyx-goddess-0017255 https://www.worldhistory.org/Nyx/https://gods-and-demons.fandom.com/wiki/Nyx https://www.moonfallmetaphysical.com/s/stories/nyx-greek-goddess#google_vignette https://www.moonfallmetaphysical.com/s/stories/nyx-greek-goddess#google_vignette https://mythopedia.com/topics/nyx https://oldworldgods.com/greeks/nyx-greek-goddess-of-the-night/https://www.vintageisthenewold.com/game-pedia/what-does-nyx-goddess-look-like https://aminoapps.com/c/hellenistic-polytheism/page/item/nyx/Vn7V_bmCvIP7XMLvlKzJJbl2lGY55JLxDZhttps://thebacchichuntress.tumblr.com/post/127160005123/offerings-to-nyx/amphttps://www.tumblr.com/heatherwitch/161308460295/nyxhttps://tuiliel.tumblr.com/post/139053552874/epithets-of-nyx/amphttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_night_deities https://greekpagan.com/category/prayers-2/nyx/#:~:text=older%20than%20old%2C%20daughter%20of,the%20comfort%20of%20the%20night.Magickal Spothttps://magickalspot.com › nyxGoddess Nyx: Prayers, Symbols, Books & More [Guide]https://www.tumblr.com/moonlitmagic/189775766368/prayer-for-nyx

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

This post is payment to my friend @briislame

May Nyx cover you with the calmness of night.

I use resources, I do not own the info, and most deep dives have UPG (that I use in my work.) And I only take some information from sources. I am 14, this is my hobby, I am learning but I spent many hours and days on this, and I am always open to criticism. I have been doing worship for 5 years. Please know you can use the info, I do not sue, but I will take action if this work is used without permission and not put as a resource if used in any work. without permisson and not put as a resource if used in any work, for the public.

[waywardangel-wilds]

Another HC because I’m in the midst of brainstorming for fic writing purposes:

[once again, this is just my hc, no one who doesn’t want to has to accept it!]

Hobbies.

Peeta and Katniss both have their individual activities - Painting, baking, hunting, writing, music, etc. they’ve, of course, shared each of those with the other but none of those are something they could consistently do together because it’s just not the others jam. But thing is, they want to have a shared activity! That’s where the garden comes in.

Peeta started the garden (unwittingly) when he planted the primroses. They both take care of those flowers with so much love and patience, it was only natural to plant something else eventually.

Now, their house doesn’t have an aesthetic garden - neither of them knows the first thing about landscaping - their garden is all about life and learning and utility.

I’ve always pictured their Victor Village house as a large ornate house on a big plot of land. So, there’s a lot of space in the front and the back. I think their actual garden is in the back of the house, just because I’ve always pictured their kitchen in the back of the house with a door leading right to it, but I might be wrong about that layout. When it comes to houses in books I tend to create an entire layout in my head based on vibes and not the text at all haha. Like I literally have a stronger mental image of their house than of either of their faces lol.

Anyway, the garden is in the back. There’s a homemade scarecrow there, made up entirely of Peeta’s old shirts which have been stitched together and stuffed with hay and leaves.

They grow all kinds of food - they’re those neighbours that always ask if you’d like some tomatoes in the summer ‘cause they’ve got lots! There’s also all kinds of medicinal plants - think of the garden as a natural next step from the plant book.

Sometimes, Katniss teaches her music/daycare class/group of kids about plants via the garden. She does this before taking them into the woods to get them familiar with the shapes and colours they’re going to be looking for. She then tests them in the woods, “who can find me a katniss root?”

I see their garden as natural / not like a farm or a typical garden - like the plants might be in rows (?), sure, but no one is controlling in which direction they grow, nor are they necessarily divided by type. Like when you’re growing rubber, they would plant it in the way that makes most sense for that plant - big distances between each plant (for rubber not for like every plant lol), plus keeping it side-by-side (root wise) with another plant that does well with it, in the case of rubber I cannot remember if that’s corn or sugarcane? It doesn’t matter, you get my point, plus they’re not planting rubber in twelve lol. It’s more like those forest gardens you can sometimes find - the ones indigenous people used to plant back in the day? Along their migration routes? Something like that. I don’t see Katniss valuing some sort of Capitol-imposition looking garden that doesn’t jive with the surrounding environment. She wants something that feels like the woods and looks like it belongs. So it’s all native plants and vegetables, and they’re planted in a way that makes sense for the ecosystem.

My point is that their garden is their shared hobby. They spend a lot of time back there, so much time in fact that Haymitch sometimes drags a chair there to hang out with them too. Peeta set up a hammock between 2 fruit trees (I wanna say plum trees but idk what ppl in Appalachia would grow so ignore me) and is known to fall asleep in it all the time. The first summer they started spending time there Peeta got horribly sunburned so he has a designated hat for being out in the sun (“the Peeta hat” to Katniss and “The Hick Hat” to Haymitch). Katniss teaches Peeta all her food preservation secrets -- Peeta already knew some stuff, it’s not like the bakery didn’t also have to keep a store of food, it’s just that Katniss knows even more things you can do with food — their cellar is filled with everything you can think of, pickled, fermented, even dried. Everything.

When the kids are born it’s a family activity for as long as they’re interested — they grow out of it eventually, choosing to spend their afternoons playing in the street or at a friends house instead — they get a real kick out of planting seeds, picking fruits, yanking out roots, and weeding and checking for bugs. The girl did a whole science project on it once, it was all about the water cycle and the role of plants. Katniss proudly keeps a picture of her and the project on the fridge. It hangs there for the rest of her life.

When they’re elderly they still take care of the garden. The kids hem and haw about their knees, heat stroke, water intake, sinkholes, and the possibility of a sudden and unexpected earthquake. Their worries are soundly ignored. The plants keep growing, the food keeps coming. By this point there’s a number of pet graves (buttercup descendants, a few fish, and an ill-fated bunny that was not killed by the children it was an accident!) When Katniss and Peeta are no longer around, one of their kids keeps the garden going, they keep the house in the family and teach the next generation about what plants are good for eating and which ones are good for healing. Can you believe it?They even have a book!

[mega-aulover]

Can we appreciate just how amazing Peeta Mellark is? I mean a teenage boy who basically slept in the bed of the girl he was in love with, adored, obsessed with, and never crossed the line. I think it was @arbyeatscheesebuns hubby @hubbyofaneverlarkedwife who pointed out Peeta was playing the long game. Peeta was just a nice guy who always wanted to do the best thing for Katniss.

Nice guys don't always finish Last.

Peeta sacrificed everything for Katniss. She was important to him. So much so that Peeta was the only one who acknowledged Prim's death.

No one, not Haymitch, Not Greasy-Sae, Not Mrs. Everdeen, Not the Capitol, Not Paylor, Not Districts, Not District 13, Not Gale, Not the Hawthorne Clan, NO ONE - Except Peeta - acknowledged Prim's death.

He understood what Prim's death meant to Katniss and how devastating that was for Katniss. The first thing he did when he came from the Capitol was spent the entire morning seeking Primrose Bushes in the woods (which he's not familiar with!) and then proceeded tp plant them as a memorial to Prim, on the side of Katniss's house.

I wake with a start. Pale morning light comes around the edges of the shutters. The scraping of the shovel continues. Still half in the nightmare, I run down the hall, out the front door, and around the side of the house, because now I'm pretty sure I can scream at the dead. When I see him, I pull up short. His face is flushed from digging up the ground under the windows. In a wheelbarrow are five scraggly bushes.

“You're back,” I say. “Dr. Aurelius wouldn't let me leave the Capitol until yesterday,” Peeta says. “By the way, he said to tell you he can't keep pretending he's treating you forever. You have to pick up the phone.” He looks well. Thin and covered with burn scars like me, but his eyes have lost that clouded, tortured look. He's frowning slightly, though, as he takes me in. I make a halfhearted effort to push my hair out of my eyes and realize it's matted into clumps. I feel defensive. “What are you doing?” “I went to the woods this morning and dug these up. For her,” he says. “I thought we could plant them along the side of the house.” I look at the bushes, the clods of dirt hanging from their roots, and catch my breath as the word rose registers. I'm about to yell vicious things at Peeta when the full name comes to me. Not plain rose but evening primrose. The flower my sister was named for. I give Peeta a nod of assent and hurry back into the house, locking the door behind me. - Mockingjay CH 27 S. Collins

He was the only one of all of the people who knew Prim, that openly mourned her death. Peeta showed the depth of emotion he had for Katniss and her family. It was a sign of respect and love.

[dr4wingfranciss]

"Gale is worse than Snow", "Prim Reaper", "Gale didn't love Prim", "he was just trying to separate Katniss and Peeta bc he's a asshole"

okay, i'm gonna hold your hand while i say this:

Gale Hawthorne, as much as he was annoying, an idiot, and often acted like an asshole, was a literal fucking WAR CHILD.

he grew up only knowing that the Capitol and President Snow were the ones causing pain across Panem, and keeping the Games going even after it was stablished that they were no longer a punishment to the districts but a mere entertaining show. The only thing Gale knew was that he was angry and that his best friend was willing to die just so she could spare her sisters life. He was inspired by Katniss' actions, and tried his best to protect her family while she was out in the Games.

he loved her in a very VERY toxic and possesive way, that will always be something i will NEVER excuse, and he hurted a lot of people with his inability to put his emotions into words, but he was still going to support Katniss and the revels. Gale was ready to put all of himself so the rebellion would succeed, and Panem will finally be free.

he despised Peeta, yes, but it was because of simple and pathetic childish jealousy, not because Peeta ever did something to him. They even would get along if needed, and respected each others opinions and points while discussing important topics. They weren't each others favorite person, but they were mature enough to try and "get along". I mean, do we all remember that Gale went on a mission to RESCUE Peeta?

and, the biggest mistake Gale ever made was to drop those bombs. Or at least, help create them.

i believe it is never implied/said that Gale knew that Prim would be there. He new the paramedics would be, so they could attend people's wounds, but we don't know if he was aware of the fact that Primrose Everdeen, the girl he saw grow up, that he protected like she was his own little sister, the girl he took care of when her big sister went to the Hunger Games just so she could live and then came back, the girl who was sweet and took care of others in a motherly way nobody else in Twelve seemed to be, would be there.

As much as i hate and can't stand Gale, i will never, under ANY circumstances, believe that he would EVER be okay with "dropping" a bomb over Prim. He would "drop" it over Capitol children any day, (which i believe is so fucked up i can't even put my disbelief into words) but Primrose Everdeen would remain untouched.

or at least that's what i think he thought.

if you are thinking this is a Gale defending post, and that i am a Gale Hawthorne apologist, you are absolutely wrong.

never in my life you would catch me excusing and trying to mend a FICTIONAL character's actions, but i will try my best to explain them. I've seen some justified hatred towards Gale as a character because of his actions, but it's more the amount of hatred i've seen from people that think Gale is redouced to a annoying bitch who just wanted to get with Katniss and who didn't care about her.

a) that shows me the amount of media literacy you have (none).

and b) you are just hating on him for the sake of hating, not for VALID reasons.

hating Gale because of his toxic behavior, his problematic ways of dealing with tense situations, and how he acted with other people are VALID reasons, but hating him because he was mean to Peeta, wanted to get with Katniss and killed Prim "in purpous" is perhaps the stupidiest shit i've ever read. Stop watering down COMPLEX and MORALY GREY characters just because of their superficial mistakes/actions.

[m0nsterqzzz]

Feed Into Her Ego

pairing: katniss everdeen x reader

summary: after living in the woods for five years, your wife is shocked to find a little boy on your guy's doorstep

warnings: cussing? little mention of a wound, abandonment if that needs a warning? idk

a/n: this idea just popped into my head and i wrote it in like thirty mins lol :)

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

She didn’t mean to scare the little boy. The child had caught her off guard, but the fear filled whimper he let out when she lined a arrow up with her bow and pointed it at him was one she wasn’t used to hearing after five years in the forest. The boy had stumbled backwards before taking off into the woods with clear determination to get away from this woman with an arrow pointed at him. The woods that Katniss knows like the back of her hand. The woods that someone who hasn’t spent half a decade hunting in would easily get lost in.

So, like any decent person would do, she sprinted after him. She couldn’t just let a young child run off into acres of land where only you, her, Peeta, and Haymitch would be able to find him. Granted, that’s a lot of people but still, she has to find him. “Kid! It’s okay! I’m not gonna hurt you!” She yells out.

Avoiding ditches and dodging trees, Katniss screams out for the kid, and soon enough she's in a familiar clearing. Her eyes narrow when she sees you, basket of vegetables in hand and a little boy hugging your legs. The same little boy she's been running through the woods looking for. “Honey?” She hushedly says, and your head flies up to look at her with wide eyes filled with confusion. 

None of your friends who live close enough for this child to be there have kids- as far as you know. 

He looks like a capital child; sapphire blue hair cut short, pants in a similar color, and a bedazzled gray shirt. Even after the districts were joined together and the hunger games were demolished, some people who spent their lives in the capitol still dressed the way they used to. He’s clearly one of them.

Said little boy’s eyes widen when he hears the new voice, moving to hide behind your legs but still hugging them tightly. You nervously chuckle, reaching your free hand backwards to pat his head. Katniss tentatively walks closer to you guys, and the little boy takes a chance by peeking out from the side of his heading place. She sends him a small smile, but it's really futile as he just grips your legs tighter.

Taking control of the situation, you gently remove his arms from around you and turn around to face him. Squatting to his level, you send him your warmest smile. He looks scared, but not as scared as he looked when he ran over to you while you were gardening. “Hey bud….what’s your name?” 

His gaze moves back and forth from you and your wife as he says, “Cyrus. Cyrus Snow. My Nana calls me Sun ‘cuz that’s what my name means.” 

His eyes finally lock onto the bow and arrow in Katniss hands, and you face her for a second to send her a look that says, “you’re scaring him” She sighs, placing the weapon up against a tree and holding her hands up in surrender. He seems to calm down a bit more now that the bow is out of her hands, but his eyes don’t leave hers as he tells you, “She told me to give you the letter. She said you could help me.”

“Alright Cyrus. We can help you. Your Nana, what’s her name?” You ask, and he thinks about it for a moment before hushedly saying, “People call her Tigris. But we don’t see people very often.” Both you and Katniss freeze, your eyes going wide as you stare at him. He doesn’t look like the designer. If anything, he looks like Primrose, Katniss’s late sister, with his ocean blue eyes and face shape.

Cyrus reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a small piece of paper, placing it in your palm. “It’s from my Nana. She says to give it to Katniss. Which one of you is Katniss?” He slightly miss pronounces her name, but neither of you correct him for now as you unfold the paper. Katniss moves a bit closer to read it over your shoulder.

Dear Katniss,

I am forever sorry.

Love, 

Tigris Snow

That’s all that's written on the lined paper in some of the prettiest handwriting you’ve ever seen, and you flip it over only to find the other side blank. Katniss scoffs, beginning to pace back and forth as she mumbles stuff under her breath. Most of them sound like she's cussing out Tigris, and you can’t exactly blame her. 

You're about to ask him something else when he winces, hand going down to hold on to the back of his leg. 

“Hey…what’s wrong Cyrus?” He whimpers, his hand coming back covered in blood and your face pales. Taking a quick look at where his hand was, you see a pretty big scratch on the back of his leg through his ripped blue pants, probably from running in the forest. 

You hastily pick him up, starting towards your home with your wife hot on your tail. “What are you doing?” She sharply asks, placing a hand on your shoulder to try and keep up with your pace. 

Cyrus curls into your hold, placing his head in your neck as small whimpers of pain leave him. “I’m helping our friend's grandson.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

So that’s how you ended up here, letting the little boy keep a painful grip on your shoulder as you use some medicine you made a while ago to clean his wound. 

Katniss stands beside you, eyes never leaving Cyrus who sits on the bathroom counter. 

He lets out a loud cry when you touch a certain part of the cut, his hands flying to grasp Katniss's sweater. She tenses, reaching out to awkwardly pat his head. 

“You’re alright kid.” She mumbles, slightly relaxing as she runs her fingers through his blue hair.

You place some gauze over it and then wrap a bandage around his leg, successfully stopping the bleeding and helping it not get infected. “Okay Cyrus. You’re all good.” You say as you go to help him off the counter, but he refuses to let go of Katniss. She sighs before gently picking him up, letting him wrap his arms around her neck as she carries him out of the bathroom, down the hall and into the guest room that's reserved for when Peeta or Haymitch stay over.

She places him down on the twin sized bed that Haymitch complains about every time he sleeps over to which Katniss always replies, “Then go home.” and brushes his hair out his face. He’s still in his blue pants but now has a t-shirt of your wifes that goes down to his knees so he can sleep without the jewels on his shirt digging into his skin. Exhaustion is clearing taking over him, and he smiles tiredly at you guys before curling up into the blankets.

You guys stare at him for a few seconds before quietly making your way out of the room, closing the door but leaving it open just a crack so you can hear if he cries or yells. 

Katniss falls flat on the bed with a huff as you chuckle and sit down on your side of the bed, grinning when she crawls up the bed to place her head on your stomach and wrap her arms around your waist. 

“What are you thinking Kat?” You suddenly ask after watching her eyebrows furrow in thought for a while.

The brunette just shakes her head, placing a kiss on your stomach. “I…..why would Tigris send him here? Why did she need to send him anywhere actually? Is she…did something happen to her? Is she sick? When did she have kids?” 

They’re all questions you don’t know how to answer, so instead you simply gently scratch her back the way you know helps her fall asleep. 

“I don’t know. Maybe something is happening to her. Maybe this is temporary and she’ll come get him back soon. Maybe we’ll never see her again. But I know what we have to do for now; make sure he knows he’s safe and cared for alright? Tigris probably brought him here because she knew we could do that.” 

Katniss scoffs at your words, rolling over to lay on her side of the bed. “No we can’t!” Her words are harsh and cold, but you know she's just nervous.

“Yes we can. And besides, we couldn’t exactly leave him in that forest to die.” She mumbles something under her breath, and you narrow your eyes as you ask, “What was that? Speak up Katniss.” 

She sits up while running her hands over her face, making her next words come out slightly muffled, “Maybe that would have been better.” 

You sigh, rubbing a hand up and down her back in hopes of relaxing her tense body. “You know that isn’t true. It would have never been better. We would have to live with that. WIth the knowledge that we could’ve helped him and we didn’t.” 

Your wife is silent for a minute before she whispers, “His eyes. They look like Prims. He looks just like Prim. I can’t handle it.” A part of you knew this would happen when you noticed how much he looked like the young girl, but you figured your wife would close off her emotions before she would tell you about them.

“Prim…..Prim is a special girl. She changed lives, especially yours and mine. She did that so that we could be better people for everyone else in our lives. All that work she did to help us survive…to make our hearts pure, it can’t be for nothing.” She stares at you for a few seconds before she relaxes her body and lays down on top of you. Her head rests on your chest, your hands naturally reaching to play with her hair out of habit.

“You’re so wise my love.” The brunette whispers into the new found silence as if it’s a secret.

“It’s a gift.” You whisper back playfully as you watch the sun set outside of your guy’s bedroom window. Gale isn’t wise.

You two slowly fall asleep, the tiredness from going hunting in the morning and then finding a child in the woods finally catching up to you guys. 

You stay in that position all night, Katniss sleeping soundly. It’s odd really. Most nights, she has nightmares. Even after all this time they still haunt her. They probably always will. But tonight, your bedroom creaking open is what wakes you up, not her erratic breathing and loud cries.

A little figure you can barely make out in the darkness walks closer to your guy’s bed, and it takes a second for Katniss to remember that there’s someone other than you two in the house and she shouldn’t attack. He seems to be on autopilot as he lifts himself onto your bed on the side your wife sleeps on and curls up next to you guys. You can get a better look at him now, the moon light coming in from the window making it easier to see the dried tears on Cyrus’s face.

“What’s wrong kid?” Katniss asks, her raspy voice coming out like it always does when she wakes up. He sniffles, reaching his arm out to rest on her back as he says, “My nana’s never coming back is she?”

Your wife lifts her head so she can face him before laying it back down. You just watch silently as she tries to figure out how to comfort him. Sure, you could help her and you will if she really needs it, but you believe in Katniss. She can do this.

“I…I don't know.” Cyrus deflates at her answer, a fresh tear sliding down his face and onto your sheets. “But….you wanna know what I do know?” He sighs and nods. “I know that you’re safe here. We’re gonna take care of you kid. I promise.” The blue haired child seems to slightly relax, scooting closer until he can finally throw a leg over the bundle that is you and your wife and lay on top of Katniss’s back. She just tiredly chuckles, as do you even though you can barely breath from the weight. And that’s how you guys fall asleep, keeping eachother warm against the cold night arm seeping in through your window.

When you wake up, neither Katniss nor Cyrus are there. It makes you panic at first, but then the sound of giggling and muffled voices makes you relax enough to lay back down for a few minutes before making your way out of the bedroom. You find your wife in the kitchen, music playing at a very low volume as she stirs something on the stove.

Cyrus is sitting at the table with a coloring book and crayons in front of him, a joke gift from Haymitch after he called Katniss childish for the thousandth time. He doesn’t look up from the messily colored page of a horse as you walk past him to greet Katniss. 

“Hey my love.” You hushedly say, arms wrapping around her waist from behind.

She relaxes in your hold, leaning back with a small smile. Then she turns around, silently holding out a plate of breakfast towards you. You nod, thanking her with a quick kiss to the cheek before you join Cyrus at the table.

He glances up at you now, hesitantly smiling when you brush some of his wild, fluffed from sleep, blue hair out of his face so you can see him better.

“So I was thinking,” You start, gaining both his and your wife's full attention. “maybe I'll take you out to my garden today. Teach you about some of the things we plant.”

He grins humming in agreement, nodding as he spoons some oatmeal into his mouth.

“Then tonight we’ll go visit some friends of ours. Haymitch and Effie, and Peeta.”

The blue haired boy looks a bit nervous at the mention of meeting new people, so you try your hardest to make him feel better. “They’re so nice. I promise. Haymitch is funny, Peeta bakes the most amazing treats that I’m sure he’d love to share with you, and Effie is….well Effie is the life of the party.”

He sends you a small smile, nodding before he goes back to coloring.

“And then Katniss can take you out hunting.”

She swirls around to face you, mouth agape as she drops the serving spoon onto the pan. “I can?”

You glare at her over your shoulder, nodding with a tense smile. “Yes. You can.”

You two have a staring battle for a minute before she sighs in defeat, nodding. This happens a lot. You usually win. She says she lets you win.

“Alright then. It’s settled. But first, we gotta find you some clothes.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

“Doesn’t he look adorable Kat?” You squeal, nudging her with your arm as you point at the little boy standing in front of you. You went through the attic and found some kids sized clothing in one of your wifes emergency boxes. She packs them and keeps them for safe keeping, “just in case.” just in case something happens, and you two have to start your own community somewhere else just like district thirteen did. It’s an understandable fear, so you let her.

She just nods, hooking her quiver to her back and grabbing her bow.

He does look adorable. You don't need her verbal agreement to know that. He’s wearing a puffy jacket that makes him look like a small marshmallow, jeans, and a plain black t-shirt. He’s also got some sunglasses you had lying around and are letting him borrow just because he likes them, and even though they’re big on him and slowly but surely falling off, he still looks so cute.

“Let's go kid.” The archer speaks monotone, holding the door open for him as he waddles out, you slowly following behind him. You’ll go out with them just to make sure everything is okay, but both you and Katniss know that you’ll probably go to your garden half way through the time she spends hunting. You always do.

Hunting is her thing, and gardening is yours.

She has many bows at home, but all of them are way too big for an eight year old. So she spent most of the morning making him a quick one out of a piece of wood that could 100% break at any moment. He loves it with his whole heart though, that much is clear as he grips it close to his chest and pretends to pose in the same stance your wife does when she’s about to shoot an arrow.

“So to start off, you always keep your hands right…here.” She demonstrates, eye twitching the same way it does every time she’s becoming annoyed when he struggles to do it and then drops it on the floor. Luckily, she’s had five years alone with her wife and annoying ass friends in the middle of nowhere to work on self control, so she just kneels down next to him and moves his hands to the exact spots they have to rest on.

“Alright. Then, when you see something, like an animal or….” She stops before she says “a person”, glancing at you and him before she clears her throat and continues, “You line up your arrow….” Katniss takes a deep breath, lining up an arrow with her bow and closing one eye as to aim it at the tree a few yards in front of her.

“And shoot.”

It flies towards the targets she’s set up from the many times she’s tried to teach you, and you all watch as it hits right in the middle. Bullseye. No big surprise.

Cyrus cheers, clapping his hands together as he puts his bow on the floor. “Again! Again!”

Katniss’s eyes soften as she looks at him, slightly smiling and blushing in embarrassment. She’s never been one to love the attention on her.

“Again? I can do it again.” He cheers louder, nodding as he points towards the bow in her hand. She looks at you, grinning as she gives you a look that says, “He liked my trick!”. It's always adorable seeing her getting excited over little things like this.

You could tell when he first showed up that Katniss wasn’t his biggest fan.

Maybe all he needed to do was feed a bit into her ego.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[weirdowithaquill]

The Importance of Names in the Railway Series

It's been a hot minute since my last take on the world of Thomas & Friends - so here's one that has sort of been wandering about in the back of my mind for a while.

How important is a name to an engine? Cause we know the engines do put a lot of value into a name. Stepney and Edward say as such:

"[...] I think our Controller was right. All engines ought to have names." "Yes," agreed Edward, "it's most important."

And it's further reinforced by Bear later in the series:

"It's nicer than just having a number," he (Bear) says. "Having a name means that you really belong."

Donald and Douglas echo this by giving themselves names (partially to fool the Fat Controller) and the interesting thing is that Sir Charles actually uses their names almost exclusively from that moment on - unless referring to them by their new numbers.

Even BoCo gives himself a name! And it feels pretty on-the-spot too, seeing as he just goes "but you can call me BoCo".

But in contrast, every single rail-based 'villain' or 'antagonist' in the Railway Series only has a number, or is Diesel, who doesn't really have a name either. Check me! There's:

Diesel

The 'Big City Engine'

Class 40 (D261/D471)

D199

D40125

None of them have names - not even 'the Big City Engine'. They're given nicknames by the engines, but otherwise they are just numbers. And I think it runs a bit deeper than that. A little while back I did a post on the 'railway rulebook' - and something I said was that managers did everything in their power to both dehumanise the engines and make the engines loyal to them. What better way of doing that than only giving certain engines names? 'Flying Scotsman' gets a name because he's a prestigious express engine, but the engine who shunts his coaches? The goods engine who brought his coal? Why would management give them names - to do that is to undermine the class system they've built to keep the engines fighting amongst themselves. If the engines are on equal footing, then they'd want equal rights.

You know... this sounds a lot like the Communist Manifesto. I don't think the Rev. W. Awdry intended it that way, but it does.

But that's beside my point. Certain railways either don't want their engines to have names. In particular, I would point at the LMS and the LNER, which both had a massive roster of engines. Not only is recording all their names a pain, but it would also add a sense of individuality to them and muck up their spreadsheets. In most countries, people have an ID number for identification - and that's what these companies needed. Not names; numbers.

The GWR is a notable exception to this, and I think people have noticed that. Both Duck and Oliver arrive with names, and Sir Topham I was a Swindon-apprentice who would have grown up with GWR ideology. Edward got his name because he was built as an express engine, Henry and Gordon for the same reasons - and everyone else either gives themselves names or have names given to them.

Toby probably got his from his crew and the locals after decades of being in the same area - I mean, he literally runs into their town, of course they have a name for him. Percy is given his by Sir Topham, and we can infer Thomas and James got similar treatment. Donald and Douglas gave themselves names, and so did BoCo.

Another possibility is that a preservation society would give engines names, though that was more the engines on said heritage line - like in Stepney the Bluebell Engine, where Stepney refers to all his friends on the Bluebell by name, and says his controller gave out some names, like Bluebell and Primrose - but Adams and Cromford got their names from the other engines and they don't want the controller finding out. And again, Stepney and Edward both explicitly say that they believe engines ought to have names - and that they believe it really makes an engine feel like family.

This almost exclusively applies to engines in a steam-dominated society, and once again I have to return to my old nemesis: early British Railways. British Railways inherited a massive network that spanned a continent and had thousands of engines - not to mention the fact they were going to scrap all their steam engines and replace them with new diesel engines. Names were never ever going to be viable. But moreover, they were going to kill all the steam engines - if these engines were seen by the public to be very sentient and intelligent, then there would be an outcry. Dehumanising these engines was extremely important to their business model.

So almost every new engine built under BR got no name. And that includes steam and diesel engines. And this sort of environment, where engines referred to each other by number, became standard.

Names have a lot of meaning behind them. We give names to things we believe are very valuable to us, things we really bond with, like a teddy bear or a beloved family car. Names confer a level of love and care, as opposed to numbers, which have a level of 'repetitive factory conveyor belt' to them, for lack of a better term. These engines, referring to each other by number, didn't sound as human as those referring to each other by name.

For a good example, as mentioned above, the GWR gave all its engines names - and the GWR has the most engines from its company preserved. The fact that people knew these engines had names, and possibly by name, really contributed to how many were saved.

But what makes it even more interesting is the fact that often engines give each other names. Bear is given his name by the other engines, Duck is a nickname given to 'Montague' because he waddles. And I think the reason that none of these diesels have names is because no steam engine ever gave them a name, and company policy means no diesel has the mindset for giving out names either. Steam engines give each other names, but it becomes exclusive to them and friendly diesels, and thus dies out over the generations.

Engines today don't have names. They don't even really have a proper visible number. They have a serial number somewhere, but that's about it. And I think that says a lot about what happened to the tradition of names for engines.

To sum up a very long, winding ramble, I think names came from several places:

Themselves. Engines could name themselves, like Donald and Douglas - who got their names from (maybe) former drivers?

From crew and community. Toby most likely got his name from the people around him, being on an isolated tramway.

From their owners. Flying Scotsman, Mallard and Percy are good examples of this. It represents a level of importance and care for this engine, as well as in some cases reinforcing class.

From other engines. Duck and Bear are great examples of this, as they are given names by their friends that they like, as it makes them feel as if they fit in.

And these names were very common in the steam era as engines gave each other names and communities knew specific engines and gave them names. As everything became more commercial and bureaucratic, naming was lost. Numbers reinforced company identity and dehumanised the engines to make them less sympathetic to the public. Look at Donald and Douglas, who probably had their names for decades - given by their friends - but never learnt by management.

Wow, that took a bit of a dark turn. Thanks for reading, and as usual, none of the above pictures are mine.

[loregoddess]

some general observations as I put together notes for analyzing the Octo1 characters weaknesses from the extra battle update to Octo2. Some minor spoilers for late-game stuff.

weaknesses are definitely mechanics-driven, every character has 3 weaknesses, except Primrose and Ophilia, who each only have 2 weaknesses, which is interesting since they're each the main "support" character for their respective teams, so it's apparently harder to hit and take out the support (and from what I've heard so far about Ophilia's battle kit, she is the one you wanna take out first which is SO funny considering that like, story-wise Ophilia is just the sweetest, even if she doesn't take shit from anyone)

the rest of the travelers being balanced at 3 weaknesses each (and having access to the secret jobs), makes me think the extra battle takes place in Octo1's post-game as well, as they'd be more experienced (less weaknesses) and also work together more cohesively as a team (hence why this extra battle is so hard, ignoring the fact that it's a special post-game bonus superboss-esque fight)

like what we see with the Octo2 characters' weaknesses, every character who uses long-ranged weapons has a weakness to a short-ranged weapon and vice versa. Daggers seem to be treated exclusively as long-ranged weapons, which makes for an even balance of 3 long- (polearms, bows, daggers) and 3 short-ranged (staffs, axes, swords) weapons. The fire-ice, lightning-wind, and light-dark weakness patterns are also consistent.

there's some fancy balancing with the weapon weaknesses again, every weapon is strong against at least 2 characters, with the exception of polearms which are only strong against 1 character (Therion), and daggers which are strong against 3 characters (Ophilia, Cyrus, and Alfyn)

likewise we have some interesting numbers for elemental weaknesses, as each element is strong against at least two characters except lightning and light, which are only strong against one character each

I'm assuming the balance of weaknesses is for battle mechanics balancing purposes, since it fairly equally spreads out the potential weaknesses (and the player is expected to be using secondary jobs and secret jobs at this point, and should theoretically be able to hit any weakness), but it is interesting that polearms, lightning, and light are unpopular choices for weaknesses

for character specific observations:

Ophilia is weak to daggers (ranged counter against her melee staff), and dark (counter to her light), which makes sense overall (her main antagonist was working in the shadows along assassins, so the dagger specifically makes sense as a weakness). Nothing too surprising about her except her lack of weaknesses (despite her kindness, she is incredibly capable and aware).

Cyrus has no elemental weaknesses (makes sense given his general mastery of elements, even if he's not a magic scholar specifically), and instead is weak to swords, daggers, and axes. The daggers make sense as the ranged counter to his melee staff, but swords and axes fill out the rest of the melee-ranged weapons for his weaknesses which is very interesting (and entirely opposite from Osvald's "ranged-weapons only" weakness set). But if we consider the fact that all of Cyrus's story's major beats occur with people close to him betraying him in some way (Therese telling a lie about him, Yvon kidnapping him, etc.), it does make sense that he would have a weakness to weapons a person would need to get close to him to use.

Tressa is weak to staffs to counter her ranged polearm and bow, as well as fire and lightning. The lightning makes sense, given that Tressa's main element is wind, but the fire is interesting. Tressa does live in a coastal village, so this could be the idea of fire being the natural opposite to water, the same way we see how Ochette (who lives on an island) is weak to fire.

Olberic's a fun enigma, because he's weak to axes, ice, and wind. As a warrior (master of arms), I'd expect him to have nothing but elemental weaknesses, similar to Hikari, but we don't see that here. Axes counter Olberic's ranged polearm, and wind is Erhardt's main element in CotC (Olberc also notably has access to lightning skills in CotC to allow the player a way to break an elemental weakness w/ Olberic, and as a tie-in to the fact that Olberic is Brand god of battle thunder's chosen traveler), so the wind weakness makes sense, albeit in a somewhat tragic way. The ice weakness is surprising though, especially given that both the Highlands and Hornburg are mountainous regions (high elevations tend to be chillier), but if I had to hazard a guess I'd say it has something to do with Olberic's burning passion to protect others (ice being the counter to fire).

[It should be noted that, in-game Erhardt is weak to swords, axes, ice, and dark, so Olberic and Erhardt share the axe and ice weaknesses (Erhardt is the "Blazing Blade" so the ice weakness isn't as surprising); swords probably exist as a weakness for mechanical purposes to ensure the player can break him during the forced fight in Olberic's Ch3, although dark is surprising--perhaps it hints at Erhardt's eventual heel-face turn?]

Primrose is weak to swords (to counter her ranged dagger) and light (to counter her dark), which more or less checks out with her narratively as well. Her quest for revenge requires her to live and operate in the shadows, and shining light on it would only show the truth of the violence of her quest. I was under the impression that Simeon stabs Primrose with a dagger at the end of her Ch3, but for all I know it was a sword, and even if it wasn't, some daggers are long enough to be considered short swords.

Alfyn is weak to daggers and bows (ranged counters to his melee axe), and fire (counter to his ice). It was interesting that polearms weren't amongst his weaknesses, given the whole situation with Miguel, but if we assume the extra battles take place in a hypothetical "post-game", maybe Alfyn's lack of weaknesses to polearms is testament to his character growth over the course of his story.

Therion is weak to polearms and bows (ranged counters to his melee sword, although it is interesting to note that this may be the only case when dagger is treated as a potential close-ranged weapon). The fact that he has only weaknesses to ranged weapons is consistent with his characterization--Therion won't let anyone get close enough to hurt him (emotionally) again, so the only way to hurt him is from afar. He's also weak to ice as a counter to his fire affinity, although this makes the fact that his final chapter takes place in a cold and bitter place rather symbolic (he must go into his weakness--the cold, and also trusting Heathcote--to fulfill his quest).

H'aanit is weak to staffs (melee counter to her ranged bow), and more interestingly to wind and dark. Wind makes sense, given that H'aanit's main element is lightning, but the dark is surprising, since unlike Castti (who also had a weakness to dark because of story events), we don't see H'aanit struggle against anything "dark" except Redeye, who she's entirely triumphant against. However it's interesting to note that in CotC, Z'aanta has access to light attacks, and given that he raised H'aanit, it's possible she has an affinity to light despite not having access to it as an elemental attack. Additionally, H'aanit works alongside Eliza closely during the events of her story, and Eliza also has access to light as her main element in CotC, making most of the characters H'aanit works closely with light-aligned.

[In addition to Z'aanta and Eliza, Alaic has a weakness to dark as well, either in connection to his backstory and/or because he too has an affinity for light--potentially. I don't have a good guide to all NPC's weaknesses for either of the games, so I can't go and double-check all of H'aanit's NPC weaknesses, but it is interesting that at least 3 of the major NPCs in her story either share her weakness to dark or are definitely linked with light.]

Again, no specific direction or point I'm trying to make with these notes, just jotting them down for the sake of thinking about game mechanics and characterization ties.

[wri0thesley]

omg nat this game looks so fun! how about geto with E?

E - Evening primrose (fickleness): “Now, you know it’s cruel to play with other people’s feelings, don’t you?”

cw: not sfw, dub-con/non-con, breeding mention

Suguru's voice only pretends to be casual; much like the long fingers on your thigh, the ones that have pushed up the fabric of the robe you wear so that he touches bare skin. The other cult members who are here, party to your humiliation and discipline, do not say anything at all. Suguru has not bid them to, and they are loyal to a fault.

"You know it's cruel to play with other people's feelings, don't you?" He repeats, his voice like black silk. His fingers inch higher, tantalisingly close to the space between your thighs, and you have to force yourself to breathe through the painful spasm of want that your body presses upon you. "You know how much you mean to us, hmm?"

You know, partly, what you mean to Suguru. You know that you mean a face pressed into cool pillows and a firm hand on your head and a purr about how well you're doing, how when all of this is over he will ensure that you help populate the world anew with only sorcerers. You mean a toy to him; a game, a distraction, and a plan when he has finished his delusions of grandeur and genocide.

Too, you mean a game won.

"I don't want this anymore," you hear yourself saying. "I think-- I think Satoru was right, Suguru--"

It's a slap; harsh, against the soft skin of your cheek. Suguru's teeth grit.

"You promised me," he whispers, an insidious hiss. "You chose me. You chose this." To punctuate his point, his fingers slide all the way up; resting over the seat of your underwear. One finger slides into the space between, pressing the fabric against wet slit with a pleased exhale. "You had your choice and you made it."

Your body pounds with want for him. You try and think about Satoru again - the cause of this argument. He almost always is. You try and imagine being somewhere else.

There's a murmur of disquiet around from the spectators, and Suguru seems to remember they're there.

"Out," he says, a firm command that is followed to the letter - the crowd disperse, and you are left with Suguru and the ghost of your past glimmering betwen you. The choices that either one of you could have made.

(When Satoru had kissed you, you could have kissed him back and shoved down your crush on Suguru. You could have let yourself love Satoru Gojo. Maybe then--)

"You're not leaving me," Suguru says, as much a threat as it is a statement. "Not now, darling. Not when we have a whole world to put back to rights."

Your throat is dry.

"And what if I do?" You whisper. "What if I don't love you?"

He barks out laughter. The hand that slapped you grabs your chin, yanking it roughly at the same time as he pries fingers beneath the gusset of your underwear and a calloused index finger finds the pulsing pearl of your clit. Traitorous; you're wet for him just from the briefest of touches.

"Your body already knows what you were made to do," he murmurs. "Loving me hardly matters, darling."

But you'd seen the steely flint in his eyes when Satoru's name had dropped from your lips; heard the ice in his tone when he realised that some of his underlings were about to see you despoiled. He cannot keep himself entirely under wraps.

Maybe he does love you.

In his way.

[thesunpersists]

okay for the AU ask: regency everlark, katniss dislikes the marriage market but meets peeta at the first ball

Thank you for playing @oolhan, I always love your asks! 🧚🏻

AU game: send me an AU and i'll tell you 5 things that’ll happen in the story Okay, I had never seen Bridgerton, and I knew I had to watch an episode or two before I could take a crack at this ask. That’s why I am super late— sorry! Funny story: I started watching it with my boyfriend and I think he wasn’t paying attention at first because during the ball scene, he just turned to me, 100% serious, and said “What is this… a market for marriage?” LOL 

Let’s go! Katniss dislikes the marriage market but meets Peeta at the first ball.

1- Katniss has no choice but to dislike the marriage market with her measly dowry. It doesn’t help in the slightest that her younger sister Primrose is far more handsome and talented than she is.

2- She is accompanied to the ball by a family friend, Lord Abernathy, who reminds her to keep her strangely dislikable manners to herself if she is to find a match. 

3- Peeta introduces himself and asks her for a dance. She briskly tells him that he shouldn’t waste his time as she has no intention of marrying him. To which he smiles and replies, “I should hope so. A third son of a modest family would hardly be a match for you.”

4- Relieved to be in good company and spared from the pressures of the first ball, they spend the whole evening together.

5- At one point, they make up a game where they give each other a piece of gossip about someone only they know, and the other one has to guess whether it’s real or not real.

Bonus: The story is called “the man who feels like your dearest friend.”