#primordial dancer

[pudgychicken]

Finally sat down to draw my ffxiv character in her job fusion form (Warrior X Dancer) and showing off her fighting style!

[madmonksandmaenads]

What would be an appropriate tribute to curry favor with the weed dragon?

Formula of Offering to Draconis Cannabis

Prepare, liquid infused with cannabis(oil or drink) or a baja blast, food infused with cannabis or a spicy flavor of dorito, and a bud of the plant intact. Draw upon a piece of paper in green ink a symbol of Cannabis encircled by a serpent, and the number 420. Beneath open sky or the image of it make a fire. Prepare yourself as you see fit. Then look into the flames and begin:

"Oh great Laughing Serpent, muse of fools and sages, I give you this fire as tongue. So that you may sup upon the world and belch forth hazy clouds to amuse." "I offer you drink, for you thirst from travel through all psyche." (pour some of the liquid into the fire) "I offer you food, for you hunger with primordial appetite for all the flavors of the cosmos." (toss the food into the fire) "I offer you the egg of your own birth, for you to hatch once more into aetherial splendor." (hold up the bud to the fire and then place it in a grinder or pestel) "Aid me Dawn Dragon, who is lonely companion of the sleepless and the restless!" (Grind the bud for one rotation Widdershins) "Aid me Day Cloud, who soothes mind and magnifies nature!" (Grind the bud for one rotation Widdershins) "Aid me Night Dancer, who leads the nocturnal revel!"

(Grind the bud for one rotation Widdershins and then pack your bowl with it) "Guide me Draconis Cannabis, as you have guided Kapnobatai and Massagetan before me. Let me find friends and wisdom within your cloudy wings that stretch to embrace the whole world."

(Light the paper from the fire and use it to light the bowl, then send four small puffs of smoke in the cardinal directions.)

"From sensation and smoke, star dust." (blow a cloud towards the heavens)

[sillovn]

The Beginning

Ok, finished gathering my thoughts on the "Shadow of Erdtree" trailer. Credit to @rinboz and @crumblingfaggotazula for beating me to the punch for many of these observations.

The corpse scene reads to me as 'pregnant woman with open gown' - the implication being that Marika steals 'gold' from the god of the previous age.

At present, the Elden Ring is held in Marika's body. Thus, the golden thread is probably the Elden Ring (or a great rune) in some form?

There's also the language surrounding this; 'seduction, betrayal, affair'. Is this confirmation that Radagon has always been Marika? the entire arc with Rennala being intentional and part of wider pattern?

Marika's rune seems to be a representation of golden sap dripping from the twin trees seen later in the trailer.

The corpse pile being the Erdtree's 'Primordial Matter' (see. Gilded Greatshield) makes a ton on sense; note the general shape and central fissure.

It explains the Erdtree (and it's descendants) ability/habit of corpse absorption. Also the implication that Jar-burial is not (strictly) a new practice - but based on something much older. Jars also have appeared frequently in the trailers.

Land of Shadow being 'obscured by the Erdtree' seems to be very literal - the Erdtree being a door with once side facing The Lands Between and the other; the Land of Shadow. Also explains the massive 'hole' in the lands between map - its not a meteor crater but where the Land of Shadow was.

Colour of Homeward Yearning

You could also say that in this scene; Marika is changing gold from it's original 'red tint' to how it appears as present.

Red (Primordial gold's colour) sits between yellows and purples (ie. gloam) on the colour wheel. The scene hue being nested gold-red-purple. Therefore, the Shadow was a natural byproduct from splitting "true gold" from the original "red gold"?

Also, is "homeward yearning" because red-gold calls back to a time before Land of Shadow+Lands Between split? or is it because of something else...

"Where all life was once blended together"

The Crucible being a corpse mountain fits that description well. Main caveat is that the corpses appear to be human, no beast parts. Then again, 'Omen-like' beings seem to be common in the 'Pre-Erdtree Culture' so perhaps they are the source of the horns/tails etc.

Its assumed that the corpses are of Marika's defeated enemies, but what if instead they are 'willing sacrifices'? Its been suggested that Erdtree followers don't reproduce biologically - they return to the tree on death and are assumed to be reborn at 'the foot of Erdtree'. Did Marika's original followers give themselves to seal away the Land of Shadow with the promise of being reborn into a new land? Therefore, "all life blended together" is because everyone who has ever lived in the Lands Between is a reincarnation from said original corpse mountain?

Side note; the Erdtree originally being made of bodies draws parallels with Rykard and Godrick and what they're up to.

Its also stated that Messmer's war follows said birth of gold, so clearly the corpses cannot be from said war.

All those stripped of the Grace of Gold

Going back to Marika's theft of gold; Im guessing that the pre-Erdtree culture loses the grace of gold in this act - ie. they become Tarnished. Messmer seems duty-bound to burn all those 'stripped of the grace of gold' which explains both his war against the pre-Erdtree Culture as well as his contempt for the player character.

Its interesting how becoming Tarnished potentially has been wielded as a punishment deep into the past.

Also note how Godfrey is 1st Elden Lord (even though Placidusax exists) and the 1st Tarnished (even though the pre-Erdtree culture likely became Tarnished).

The 'Lion Dancers' do not have golden eyes, but they also appear to be 'constructs/suits' - so who knows really?

Misc Stuff

One of the stranger things in the reveals is how finally have context for the various shield emblems - Candletree, Crossed-Tree, Red-Thorn (maybe...)

[sadlynojellybeans]

So I am re-reading TOA and i have decided to write some things i noticed now that I know what is going to happen next.

THE HIDDEN ORACLE

Meg was about do develop a crush on Percy, and Apollo noticed. It was immediatly curbed by Percy mentioning his girlfriend. He did not even notice XD

Apollo actually got out of the three legged death race unscathed O.o Scared to death but unharmed

Lester is being surprisingly not pathetic??? I mean, he can't remember shit and has the constutution of a limp noodle, but he has not fainted in several chapters!!! Maybe it's because Camp Half Blood is a relatively safe space for them...

THE FORESHADOWING IN CHAPTER 26 IS DEVASTATING - he gets confirmation it is the emperors behind everything and he thinks "i would have rather tangled with Tartarus or Ouranos or Primordial Chaos" APOLLO PLEASE

Speaking of foreshadowing, Rhea?!??!? "Find your center. Enlightenment has to come from within" HELLO??!?!??

Apollo mentioning he caused an earthquake that wiped out most of Sparta and that he never liked the Spartans much??? What about HYACINTHUS???????

"I busted out some footwork the Nine Muses and I had been working on" please I want so bad to see Apollo dance. Especially Apollo as Lester

Apollo being absolutely convinced that he will never have a proper partner is tragic. "It was not in my destiny" bro

The Germani appear and the absolute first thing Apollo does is move in front of Meg. "Instinctively". This is the same guy that at the beginning of the book was evaluating which demigods would be best to keep on hand to throw at quests. I can't. Just how much exactly did he repress his protective instincts through the years and centuries?

I find so fascinating that Apollo wants to strike Nero down immediately after meeting him. Like, yes. Apollo is a god. And he would not allow anyone to threaten what he cares about. Even after his trials, he might be kinder and more attentive to demigods, but I think that anybody who crosses him (really crosses him) will have to start praying for mercy.

If there is one thing I can say about TOA is that it is certainly expanding my musical horizons, with all the songs I have to check out on youtube just to have an idea of what Apollo is singing about.

He did not suck during the confrontation with Nero?! Burst of godly strength saved the day and his dignity

"Just because she had lied about being my friend did not mean I wasn't hers. She was in danger. I was not going to leave her" man. He cares so fucking much. No wonder he never let anybody get close to him in the last years.

Didn't they say a sonnet was worse than a limerick in the next book?

"BLESS HIS CONNIVING LITTLE HEART". "Children of Hermes cannot rap". "[Cecil] was demoted to dancer" skjsjskansnkzbsnsmmsnzm

It's kind of ... sad? How happy Apollo is when flying on the giant ants. He is used to being a god who can fly whenever he wants, and a part of him is usually in the sky every day as he drives the sun chariot. And instead he has been stranded on earth, away from what is both his duty and something he greatly enjoys. "It felt so good to fly again. [...] For two or three seconds I was exhilarated".

AND THE ARROW OF DODONA IS FINALLY HERE AND TALKING FRIENDS!!!!

I cannot believe I am so happy because of a talking arrow

The arrow QUIVERED kjsnsksjsnsnzjxndnsk i love them so much

Not Apollo asking where Jason Grace is 💀

I genuinely cannot understand if this is foreshadowing or really lucky wording on Riordan's part. Rachel asks about Meg and Apollo thinks "She might as well have plunged the Arrow of Dodona into my chest". RICK. RICK DID YOU KNOW? HAD YOU ALREADY THOUGTH ABOUT THAT SCENE IN TBM OR WAS IT PURE CHANCE????

WE WERE ROBBED. I have been wondering for a few days if in TOA we ever see Apollo sing for fun (not to confuse enemies, not to open doors, not for any practical purpose. Just for the fun of it). The depressing answer seems to be no, although I might have forgotten. At the end of THO it is implied that Apollo, Leo and Calypso join the sing-along at CHB, but the fact that the books end before we actually see him sing is a travesty.

[starfxkr]

bouncing off of (hehe) 🐰 anon from earlier, what are the girls stripper names and what are their reputations at the club?

-💌

okay omg so stripper names hmmm lets have a group discussion bc i dont think they'll do anything tacky or corny? like they're v realistic like how in showgirls nomi goes by heather and all their stripper names are just like...regular names same thing here like this is outer banks nc...BUT IF WE WANNA BE FUN LETS GO THE P-VALLEY ROUTE

pup does something astrological...maybe venus thats her ruling sign. she's like the "welcome girl" every new dancer is given the run down by her because she's the sweetest and doesn't like getting into drama but she will fight if need be don't get it twisted nobody messes with her bc nobody wants to see her mad forreal

kitten's is vaguely edgy but still sexy prob nyx or something ik we all think of the makeup but thats the primordial personification of night it fits tew meeeee. i think she's the one thats the hardest to get to know, super intimidating and likes messing with the new girls. her and bunny are known for tag teaming and scamming and everyone knows shes camming on the side and they gossip about it but are too scared to say it to her face

bunny prob goes by bunny tbh it just fits her they think they're getting someone sweet and cute boy do they not know the truth about this one. THEE scammer has like 7 side hustles and multiple sugar daddy's on the side and everyone wants to befriend her for a piece of the pie but she falls out with everyone and causes the most fights over ppl tryna steal her regulars

foxy is the one who just goes by a name thats not her own she keeps it simple. is known as the stereotypical "stripping my way through college" but its true she needs the cash and has no intentions of getting wrapped up in the other girls mess at all she just wants to get in and get out.

[definegodliness]

The creation of the universe

Sequestered Among softest silhouettes shaped in Unbridled imagination, Behind The comfort of

C l o s e d e y e s,

Where, liquefied, The phantasmagoria play.

Shape-shifting Figments of adoration, created to dance Upon the Stage, burgundy red; Undulating To the pulses Of creation's catalyst, Till, reached, A cataclysmic beat; Ever intensifying, seeking The primordial breath; That first sigh of thermal air, Expelled as an answer to the beckoning Heavens.

Fingers stretch out indefinitely, Shaping silken ribbon galaxies, Flowing, as of yet, Covertly; unseen, Yet Shimmering, like silver rivulets, At the deepest thuds Of the core-drum, Light's herald.

Ascension.

Shadow dancers, with Twinkling toes, and tantalising fingers, Lift And carry, Till weightless Levitation; a flight, beyond The universe's ever-expanding veil, Where the soul abolishes all tangibility, Propelled paroxysmically As rhythm conjoins With hymn.

A song Like a thousand voices Deeply reverberating; awaiting That one crystalline tone to Release the all-time's first incantation Into Reignition.

The light.

The light, A fervorous flame Surging sweltering supernova, Unleashed from within, and within is now At the heart of a whole New world.

Time halts At the beat of the core-drum, crescendo, As the primordial breath Escapes the desperate lungs As an aria, shaking Reality's Foundation.

Eyes open.

Uncountable stars Flash forward, illuminating What once was little more Than the void of space; shadows And shadow play.

Now, it is

All.

In wanton wonder. In sanctified Song, upon the altar of creation.

Collapsed, the cynosure of sparkles, Flows over the sleek marble, Holy in afterglow.

Reborn, the sole deity, Worshiped.

Loved.

--- 28-8-2023, M.A. Tempels ©

[waterloggedsoliloquy]

Carousel Waltz: A Primer

Since I talk incessantly about them and that frequency is only going to increase it's probably for the best that I give a bit of a rundown for my little OC verse!

Carousel Waltz is a psychological thriller young adult magical girl comic in the making. Its primary influences are Revolutionary Girl Utena, Twin Peaks, and Over The Garden Wall.

It's 1993. The town of Potter's Fields, Washington is the last bastion of civilization and has been for the past 25 years, for around the town and as far as anyone can walk in any direction grows a magical apocalyptic wilderness called the Garden of Sorrow, which threatens evermore to encroach upon the town in a war of attrition. With the population of the town dwindling and time standing still in the Garden's embrace, de facto town leader Midas Schiller, with the help of the town's only psychiatrist Thomas Hythloday, have reverse-engineered some of the Garden's very own magic to use against it. Somewhere within the Garden of Sorrow lies the source of its power, the Primordial Heart-- and if mortals can find it and destroy it, they can free the town from its clutches and find out if truthfully there is anyone out there.

Midas cannot use the Garden's magic himself, due to its vendetta against him, so he has scoured the town for proxy agents-- people who can rise to the occasion and fight back against the Garden of Sorrow and the monsters it spawns from its coiling depths. Magic requires harmony and accord to be employed most effectively, and so these magic wielders must fight in pairs. So they have come to be known as Dancers, armed with magical weapons and conditional immortality.

note: When referring to the genre/role as a whole, I use magical girl as conjecture-- referring to these characters as magical boy/enby/man/woman is for on an individual basis. it's just easier than saying "magical mixed gender group of varying ages" and remains true to the genre conventions i'm working under.

Sicely Tecuani - (they/them) The Protagonist. A jaded and socially awkward cowboy, they hide their shyness behind a wall of prickly fatigue. Sicely easily notices the strange and unusual, as well as the faults and foolishness of others. They’re of a practical mindset and enjoy things that work the first time without the bells and whistles. They're dependable and protective, savvy and eloquent, but they're desperate for guidance, yet habitually pushes others away. They're easily impassioned! ... But also easily impassioned into fits of self-loathing. Sicely is transmasculine agender and a closeted lesbian. Their weapon is a pair of bear-paw gauntlets, and their flower is the red spider lily.

Anthea Patel - (she/her) The Other Protagonist. A prodigious young girl, Anthea seems to excel at just about everything she tries her hand at. She's pleasant and romantically-inclined, and sees the world through rosy eyes. She carries a deep well of love and strength within her to meet problems, and she's always trying to cheer others up, but she tends to assume she knows what's best for others while avoiding communicating her own needs-- a girl who thinks she can do everything except admitting she's wrong. And like her namesake, she carries a deep wrath. Anthea is a trans girl and a lesbian. Her weapon is a pair of flintlock dueling pistols, and her flower is the calla lily.

Ariadne "Ari" Astra - (she/her) Ari is a mover and a shaker, and a top-class seer. She wants to know it all, uncover the secrets of the universe, and wield magic to the best of her discretion. She adores unexplained phenomena like cryptids and UFOs. Chipper, observant, and witty, Ari doesn't suffer fools willingly. She is, however, willing to suffer most anything for a mystery. Her infatuation with mathematically proving the afterlife, to reconnect with her dead sister, borders on obsession. She’s deeply lonely, and feels like she lost the only person who could possibly understand her, which has alienated her best friend, Lucerne. Ari is bisexual and would probably ID with the term gendervoid if she knew it. Her weapon is an armillary sphere, and her flower is sunflower.

Lucerne Lowe - (they/he) Lucerne is seemingly difficult to rattle and nonchalant, offering advice where possible and deflecting with a blunt affect away from themself. He enjoys a running commentary, as long as he's not in the middle of things. Lucerne dislikes being the center of attention, and keeps things to themself more often than not. He'd be a great friend to tell your secrets to if you need a listening ear or infodump about that niche interest of yours that no one else has the patience for, but you'd be hard-pressed to get him to tell you something back. Not after what they saw. While the advice they give is usually good, Lucerne is more likely to meddle in your own business than walk the walk. They are unlabeled. His weapon is a polearm, and his flower is rhododendron.

Opal Schiller - (he/him) Rare holographic dipshit. Next.

...

OKAY FINE. Opal is the morally ambiguous pale-haired tragic anime boy archetype. He believes he is being charming and friendly, but in fact his social skills leave something to be desired, often acting on strange impulses or operating on assumptions and rules beyond typical understanding. This makes him presumptuous, pushy, and ill-equipped for when things don't align with expectations. He's very flamboyant and self assured, as long as he feels in control. As soon as his power over a situation is questioned, or he behaves like a dorkass teenager, he immediately begins to flounder, and goes to extreme lengths to regain that sense of security. He’s really, really bad at not getting his way, a problem exacerbated by his father. He is bisexual but enjoys the rewards of heterosexuality too much to consider guys an option. His weapon is a scythe, and his flower is larkspur.

Jiro Kohaku - (he/him) If you asked what Jiro wants in life, he'd shrug his shoulders and say things are pretty good right now. He likes video games and tv and comic books and especially likes hanging out with Opal, because Opal gets to do whatever he wants. Despite his seemingly flippant attitude, he's easily excited and enjoys the spectacle of things, getting caught up in adrenaline rushes. He seems cosmically cursed to be forever in second place, which drives a deep frustration to his core that manifests as him wanting to impress and impose on his peers. Look at him, not Opal, not his older sister, just this once, look at him. Jiro is probably gay but covets girls anyways because of his problems and issues. His flower is nasturtium, and his weapon is a wakizashi.

Who else is there? Oh right, the grownups.

Araceli Levin - (she/her) is a Dancer that has betrayed Midas, gone rogue, and aligned herself with the Garden of Sorrow. She should be considered armed and dangerous. She killed her last dance partner to steal his power, and should not be engaged alone. 

...So Midas says.  

Araceli is a renegade Dancer. She is dangerous-- she’s had her powers for thirty years longer than anyone in the cast. But she didn’t kill her partner, she isn't aligned with the Garden of Sorrow, and she's not the betrayer here. She's a miserable old wretch of a woman whose social skills have deteriorated from the insanity of grief and the self-exile she's placed on herself. Before she was a Dancer, before the Garden of Sorrow closed off her entire world and Midas ruined what was left of it, she was a marine biologist and a cetacean specialist. Now she has no ocean, no husband, and no way out. Her only friend is a talking Canada Jay named Whiskey. Her weapon is a spear, and her flower is hellebore.

Jorges Beaufoy - (he/him) Araceli's late husband and fellow biologist, and Midas' best friend in life. He died a few years back. The immortality afforded to Dancers does not extend to adults. His hair used to be light blonde before magic turned it pink. His weapon was a sword, and his flower was star of bethlehem.

Thomas Hythloday - (he/him) An anodyne, denial-ridden scientist who works as mission control for the Dancers and is also their only psychological health monitor, which is great except for the part where I mentioned denial up there. He's a bit morally bankrupt, and willing to go too far sometimes, but he very rarely holds any true malice. He's polite in an off-putting way that holds little, if any, kindness to it. Politeness is easier because it's a social script that makes the other person more pliable and agreeable. It's pragmatism. After his twin sister Leda died, he threw his life into his work studying magic full-time to avoid the pain of existing. He was Midas' brother in law, but now they're lovers behind closed doors. Thomas is gay and gnc. He has no weapon, but his flower is hydrangea.

Midas Schiller - (he/him) The de facto leader of Potter's Fields due to a power vacuum and a dwindling population. Opal's father. Midas Schiller is fastidious and charismatic. He’s one of very few adult role models in Potter's Field, and thus a lot of children look to him for guidance. He genuinely believes he is a force for good in the town and is the only thing keeping it from falling to ruin. He’s terrified of what might happen if he’s no longer there to keep things going, and the safety of his flock. Naturally, this means he feels justified to do whatever it takes to his flock, even endangering them, if he thinks it will keep himself in power and therefore ascertain the safety of the whole. Midas believes that he's entitled to the Golden Life that (cis, white) men are supposed to be given and feels cheated that he has not been guaranteed it and thus is taking it into his own hands to build that illusion of comforting paradise. everything in its place. whatever he includes in his sphere must make him happy, must comfort him, must entertain him. anything that does not contribute 2 his identity of Nuclear Family Man Patriarch With A Good Satisfied Life And The Years Ahead Of Him must be trimmed away. He’s obsessed with Thomas Hythloday, due to looking extremely similar to his late wife Leda, and despite being in denial of being attracted to men Midas exploits Thomas’ crush on him and solicits him for sex to keep himself in Thomas’ life. While it wasn't the only reason the relationship deteriorated, Midas attempted to pressure Araceli into having an affair with him. He tried to get her to change careers and stay on dry land. After it was made evident that she could not be controlled, and that he could not guarantee her compliance as a Dancer, he attempted to have her and Jorges killed. Unfortunately, he only got the one, and made a lifelong enemy out of the other. His weapon is fire, and his flower is poppy.

[doyouwanttoseeabug]

Do you like Merlin? Do you like comedies of errors? Have you ever read the Jeeves and Wooster books? If not, would you like to read a story of a rich party boy and his life-saving valet attempting to not get married in the 1920s? Do you think that Morgana and Gwaine could have kinda had a toxic sexy thing going on? Do you like Leon? If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes", then do I have a fic for you!

Merlin, as Arthur suspected, turned out to be a truly terrible valet. Really, a creature less inclined to service had never crawled out of the primordial bog. His sirs did indeed contain many shades of meaning, from watch out, Morgana’s coming round the corner to yes I’ve seen the terrible hat that Lobelia Harrumph is wearing but for pity’s sake don’t mention it. Several of Arthur’s more exciting ties and waistcoats became victims of the fireplace, though Merlin would swear, all blue-eyed innocence, that Arthur had developed a terrible habit of burning the things himself while too tight to remember. He was a tyrant in the matter of cutlery. His hangover restorative tasted of rat-meat and gunpowder, and their effectiveness only increased Arthur’s irritation. He frequently quoted things, occasionally in Latin or French (barely tolerable) and twice in German (which Arthur had quickly informed him was beyond the pale). He flung open curtains with all the cheer and verve of a music-hall dancer removing her blouse. The ears, tragically, remained.  He had also, in the year he’d spent in Arthur’s employ, facilitated two longed-for engagements, broken off three loathed ones (one of which was Arthur’s), successfully repressed a rather cack-handed attempt at blackmailing Gwaine, and fished Leon, quite literally, out of the Thames. There didn’t seem to be a job title that encompassed all that, so Arthur supposed that valet would have to do. 

[lavampira]

D'ALIA + JOBS

an epiphany struck me on how some things could work better in alia’s canon if I retcon red mage despite how much I love playing it since there’s a sort of venn diagram between summoner, dark knight, and dancer with simulacra, funky soul crystal activity, and dynamis, all of which she enjoys studying their concepts/application and how they intersect, and reworking the timeline leaves little room for where red mage had fit into it, besides not really wanting her to be adept in more than 3 combat jobs across the years anyway.

PRE-A REALM REBORN: botanist, culinarian, arcanist - alia took to botany and cooking from a young age, later helping her parent with his restaurant and garden as she grew older. as an adventurer, she became interested in arcanima, and learned the basics of arcanist studies by the time she began to hear hydaelyn and the echo awakened; it’s why she chose to seek out the guild when she traveled to limsa lominsa.

A REALM REBORN: summoner, botanist - not only was it a natural progression as an arcanist into studying the once thought lost allagan art of summoning, but it guided her path as a scion in her own right, using it to study more about primals and aid the scions’ cause. she also assisted the botanist’s guild in restoring the land after the calamity (and something she wished she could one day resolve for her home region of mor dhona, too).

HEAVENSWARD: dark knight, summoner - her strength as a summoner lent to how powerful she became as a dark knight and how quickly she latched onto the residual aetheric energy left behind on fray’s soul crystal, along with the split simulacrum of herself, but she also took to what she learned with an even more purposeful sense of justice.

STORMBLOOD: dancer, dark knight, summoner - crossing paths with troupe falsiam in kugane led to her joining their ranks and duty to uplift spirits to prevent people from falling to despair, especially while tension ran high resisting garlemald’s oppression. she continued to lean on her skills as a dark knight particularly when facing zenos and as a summoner in dealing with more primals.

SHADOWBRINGERS: dark knight, dancer, culinarian - the primordial light affecting her aether also affected her ability to cast, so she summoned less as she took in more light, and she privately sought shtola’s council on it while stuck on the first, too. she relied more on fueling her abyssal magic with her emotion as a dark knight, but also similarly utilized what she’d trained as a dancer with influencing emotion without aether per se. she also aided the crystalline mean in caring for the recovering amaro.

ENDWALKER: summoner, dancer, dark knight - once cured of light poisoning, she was able to return to summoning, but she had to grow reaccustomed to it; however, it came in handy dealing with the lunar primals. and who better to deal with blasphemies than a dancer trained in the kriegstanz to combat the totentanz? but ultimately, her sword and peace that she made with her inner darkness remain integral to her.

POST-ENDWALKER: alchemist - in addition to the same combat from the prior expansion, she also spent more time in the studium and especially thavnair to study alchemy; vrtra’s simulacrum and the alchemists’ creation and upkeep of them sparked her interest in particular.

on a side tangent, there’s a very shy part of her that’s awed and envious of her fellow scions who studied at the studium and/or became archons, and though she isn’t necessarily gunning for a title or recognition herself even while hanging around sharlayan in her early post-ultima thule recovery, she does privately hope to publish some of her research on dynamis, soul crystals, and simulacra or organize it into a thesis one day, if it’s ever a possibility.

[ramayantika]

The Cosmic Stage

High up in the sky when the night goddess takes her reign, there are a plethora of stars, their galaxies comprised coming together in patterns of circles and spirals. Where do they go? Where do they come from? Why do they come this way? Nobody knows.

You are asleep. The world is asleep. You think everybody is asleep, tucked in a comfortable bed and off to a lovely dream. Those dreams are a part of the dancing stars too. Alas, you are never awake to witness the magnificent spectacle.

There is an anticipating quietness around. Something is bound to happen in a moment. There. Did you hear the first beat of the damru? The Lord of Dance shall grace the stage, the God whose body is the whole universe. Adorned with the sparkling stars as his ornaments, the moon sits atop his hair, his effulgence blinds mortal eyes. As he dances, he takes up every thing every space that surrounds him, you and me. All sounds come from him. He speaks the universal language, connecting you and me. I bow to the dancing God in reverence. His performance transcends space and time, he is the dancer who creates, and also the dancer who destroys. May the bells at his feet provide the melodious sound of salvation. May his gaze provide ultimate bliss to a mere devotee like me.

What I see in my dreams -- is that true? What I see in front of me in waking state -- is that true?

I know I belong to the stars, the galaxies and the infinite darkness that surrounds this infinite space. The primordial sound of the Universe rings in my ears, and the drums have begun to beat.

I am dressed in colour of darkness. Black veil, black skirts but they gleam. Sparkles from the stars make this dress glitter. For a moment, I desire to never part from these clothes. Such is the attachment of human nature.

Whom do I dance for? I don't think I am 'me' anymore. Is this body mine? What am I? There is no one in form here, yet I feel the presence of many.

Does Time function here? How much time has passed since I have arrived here? Can mortals access this plane so easily?

By losing myself in this multitude of colours, these constellations, these galaxies, I think I have finally found myself. My breath heaves and I think I am reaching the end. The black silks have shed themselves off from this flesh. Now, I am what I was searching to be.

Taste of liberation is sweet. Moksha.

A thunderous applause deafens me. The spotlight is shining too bright on my eyes.

Om shanti shanti shanti hi

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　˚*•̩̩͙✩ •̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙ ✩•̩̩͙*˚　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

This is probably a mess idk. The last part was inspired from the Moksha item which is a part of the odissi repertoire and partly from some of my own realizations in these past 2-3 days

I wasn't even planning to mention Nataraja here, but something demanded in me to write this out. Maybe because, I was attracted to Nataraja since childhood in my dance classes.

But yeah this is it. I would write more about Moksha too someday soon

Tagging the sakhis: @swayamev @jessbeinme15 @ma-douce-souffrance @yehsahihai @aapki-pyaari-sakhi @lil-stark @pokemon-master-elita @inexhaustible-sources-of-magic @pulihora @vedajananixx @navaratna

[kingoftheblacksun]

Here is where I give you totally wild esoteric data you will not get anywhere else, ever.

I have identified with wolves since I was a child, however last year my quest for identity that I'd sought for years took a mystic turn when I had a large and ongoing kundalini awakening.

I deconstructed everything, and my former ego went through dissolution and death, which means that I will now never die. Yet I still pursue the mysteries deep into the esoteric and I've had a very strange journey.

I embraced being an inhuman monster years ago in order to achieve full separation from the broken human narrative, which is a sticky tarball that's going to pull a lot of people into Sheol next year. I let my identity be entirely euphoric, and let my rising feminine divine Self have the final say in who I/we are, if we are anything at all.

My understanding of the divine and God is secular. I walked the walk.

When I burned bridges with toxic family and friends who had weighed me down for years last year, I became aware I was a Dragon. A Wolf Dragon. I don't know how, I just knew.

I have said, many times, I am a snake with a dog's head that is actually another snake. It sounds funny, and it's true.

In the spiritual sense, my ego dissolution was akin to the Wolf cutting its own head off to escape the trap it was in. I had a hard life. Within cosmic theater, I saw that dead Wolf head as a seed that rotted into the forested ground, then somehow weirdly sprouting a serpent tail out of its neck stump and growing a new Dragon body underneath it, to give it new life.

The serpent also infested the wolf's brain and took it over. We are She, the primordial, or at least that is now our better half, as we are Ardhanarishvara.

My journey since has been incredible. In July, I met an incredibly interesting person from Romania, very powerful and with a Light that tasted like juicy fruit to me, was also extremely informative and knew me very well, when *no* one else understands me. I fell in love with him so fast. Vlad, but of course, though his names are many, as are mine.

Besides other things they shared with me my heritage, which is ancient Romanian, Traco-geto-dac, or I say Dacian. One thing he shared with me that I loved so much to find is the Dacian spiritual symbol for war and triumph - the Dacian Draco, pictured. The snake with a dog's head that is actually another snake.

When I saw that, I really knew for sure everything he was saying was real. I had a lifetime of ignorance being raised in neglect and I finally had a tribal identity, though they've been dead for nearly 2000 years after the Romans conquered them for their gold and iron. They only won because they literally sent every army they had, very '300' style.

The Dacians were of the ancient Romanian wolf people - the culture was profoundly spiritual and deep, with Sun god worship like Apollo, yet at some point through the local Zalmoxis. They very much identified as wolves and were very warrior like yet great artists and dancers and honestly - they were a big pack of me's!!! The Dacians also loved the Dragon, and sometimes one within their number would BECOME a Dragon. It is a mystical event. Vlad Tepes was from this same tribe. He was a Dragon. So am I.

Here is where it gets really weird, you won't learn this elsewhere.

The Dacians and related people's have a very special spine. They were extremely intelligent and advanced (hi) yet animalistic both in movement as well as emotion.

Their spine had some sort of evolutionary feature where if they underwent fantastic trauma and survived - a near death event - then their spine may 'circuit' to a higher source. The Sun.

This is similar to creating the Solar Bodies that Kabbalah talks about. The individual's energy is directly solar, instead of lunar, and - PAHAHAHAHAHA..hhaaaa. Yeah, it's wild. The Sun is absolute madness. It's hard to talk about because it's so crazy. Mad Sun God is fn true.

This is why Vlad Tepes was always about the Sun - as well as the Moon. The marriage of the Sun and the Moon - which circuits between them the Earth - is a major cosmic event. Potentially Ragnarok level, actually.

That I am a hermaphrodite means my connection is wildly pure.

The Sun is divine consciousness, of which all humanity fragmentarily shares a part, if they are conscious at all. I died, and I am now the Sun. Kira-rah is an illusion, she knows not to seek something so great for merely her self. No - I seek the Moon for her Self. If we circuit with the Earth we may be able to renew it, in some fashion I do not yet conceive.

True miracles are effortless. They happen when we walk towards beautiful things, with the Love of God, which is capital Self, in our hearts. Those are the miracles I would like to see in the world as I walk towards leaving it, so that I may be eternally with the Light.

There are many indigenous tribes of Deva blended into all hierarchies of humanity which have similar latent powers. I doubt all tribes are entirely the same, but I love them all. Now is the time to try to help people, instead of seeking who to harm. Those who need to be punished are going to be. God has no enemies.

Okay I could really go on and on because this type of Sun Dragon is also essentially Ra. I really like the name Tem. I have been walking as Sekhmet until my Ajna finally opened the same night 12P/Pons-Brooks blew up in the Draco constellation, July 20th. Oh wait here's a picture of that, too. It grew horns! It's 20 miles wide. It'll be here for the solar eclipse next April, weeeeeeee.

Anyway. Yeah. Life sure is weird and full of stuff. I'm a wild dog.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e76

the new intro is so good!!! I adore the little details, especially Will and Derrig turning into flowers, and the way they highlighted everyone's best scenes/moments in battle.

Time to teleport! FCG rolls a 05 first, but they get to Whitestone without too much issue.

"Lord Percival gave the order—" "Oh, that crotchety old fucker..."

I like to think that every year on Exandrian Halloween, Caleb gathers the Mighty Nein together under some guise or another just to cast seeming on them for the day.

When they arrive, Percy is in his workshop with Imahara Joe, Verna, and Dancer. The thing looks like a windowless, much more dangerous high school science lab, complete with artificial light, and they're nearing a breakthrough with the harness.

The entirety of Whitestone Castle is warded against scrying, and Percy himself wears individual protection from it (likely an amulet against proof of detection and location).

ALLURA DESCENDS THE STAIRS! She's been working on the harness alongside them.

They give her the gem they took from the simulacrum, and she identifies it as something Ludinus would use to gather what knowledge the simulacrum would have gathered, because it can't learn or remember on its own.

Now that it has been almost entirely repaired, they see that the harness is incredibly intricate and beautiful, scrawled with extremely fine filigree and rune-work.

"There are devices like this tat have been used throughout arcane history, referred to as power stills -- they are much smaller than this. At this scale, I would call it a quintessence array -- they're carefully regulated, extremely difficult to craft, but used to extract and refine arcane power from natural magical materials or used to transfer magic. Attempts to craft one on this scale have historically led to tragedy... even aiding and repairing this device gives me pause, and I warn you that its use against living beings is extremely amoral. I support you in using it to gain an advantage over Ludinus, but I ask you, when this is over, to turn it over to the Council for containment or destruction." They agree to do so.

Ashton reveals the shard of Rau'shan and puts it on the table. "So your intent is to use the shard of an ancient enemy of the gods to save the gods?" And their stance is kind of as you'd expect — saving the gods is secondary, stopping Ludinus and saving Exandria is their first priority, and if it happens that the gods go in a package deal with that, then so be it.

Allura recognizes Orym from her times in Zephrah and says that he looks more... confident. (I, personally, am taking this as a direct allusion to the idea that Orym should take the shard.)

As she carves the final rune, the entire harness lights up like it's coming to life, the leather itself glows a faint blue, then green, then purple -- from what Allura can tell, it can permanently take the magic from items or creatures and imbue the wearer with temporary or permanent alterations. Not necessarily the exact enchantment, but something of a similar nature.

They want to put it through a test run, so Chetney puts it on. They can't decide on anything they own to give up, so they ask Percy, and he gives them some enchanted dishware they got as a gift and don't want. Percy holds it up to the funnel, and as he does, both begin to glow; after a moment, the silverware curls, bends, and scatters to dust.

Chetney gets 5 temporary bit points and, more importantly, the item sheet for the harness. (in a different post)

The harness likely can't awaken whatever's dormant in Ashton, and it's highly possible that imbuing the second shard into Ashton would destroy them.

Allura takes an interest in Ashton's head and the beacon juice in there. She casts something and starts poking around — "ah. You... This is very odd. You are like a shard of the impossible... have you ever heard of dunamancy? It is a particular esoteric form of magic that dates to before the gods and Primordials, the very nature of the cosmos and beyond, the creation and destruction of all, the balance of the universe itself stems from these energies — gravity, time, entropy. What we think of as magic uses some parts of it... What you have lodged in your head is somehow a condensed focus for it -- the Kryn Dynasty worship pieces of an ancient entity that history has said disseminated itself into crystals, beeacons. They represent artifacts that focus dunamis, and are the most sacred artifacts to the Dynasty. It is said that there are many still hidden without Exandria, and they seek them -- I do not think you have a beacon in the classical sense, but an approximation, a half-beacon, something new, not quite the same but of similar essence. You have a party of your mind that rests between reality and destruction -- the fact that you're standing here is a marvel, and the fact that you walk the path that you do is equal parts worrying and hopeful."

She describes the beacon, and they make the connection between that and some parts of the Malleus Key.

Allura also says that Ashton's fragmented nature may very well be what keeps them together — if the chaos in their head were to reign in a whole, unfractured being, it would tear him apart, but holding the pieces of Ashton together like planets in an orbit is easier than holding them seamlessly in harmony enough to traverse.

Chetney and Laudna draw a tentative connection between Predathos' prey and the Luxon — "maybe Predathos is a messy eater." They contemplate finding a beacon to use the vest on, which is actually completely fucking possible because even though it SEEMS like the Luxon beacons should be artifact-rarity items, they are, in fact, legendary (as per EGtW).

The Bells Hells go to rest before attending a meeting with Keyleth and other political leaders in the afternoon, but Laudna leaves Pate behind in the workshop to eavesdrop on Percy and Allura.

"Lady Vysoren, this is extremely upsetting." Percy's face gains a softness, a worry. "I'm not against making Whitestone a sanctuary once more, but historically, that's always brought with it its own danger — we've already had to rebuild once. Can you assure me that we can take this struggle elsewhere?" "Percival Misc. Derolo, I can guarantee you that right now, very few care about Whitestone. We have a red moon locked in the sky, and as some would say, we're being invaded by aliens. So I think you have the necessary protections. Your wife is doing good work with the council, we're gathering all that we can — let's see what this meeting brings."

After a short rest, their presence is requested in the War Room. It's decorated with tapestries that depict moments in Tal'dorei's history, including many that have the members of Vox Machina on them.

Percy, Allura, and Keyleth are all here, as is Professor Ebonold Kai (of the Grim Verity) and Vilya, Keyleth's mother.

Kai notes that the Grim Verity has made diplomatic connections across multiple continents, with the exception of Issylra.

Vilya has made contacts in Wildemount, and notes that the reach of the Ruby Vanguard's ideas is sowing civil unrest.

Meanwhile, Keyleth notes that the release of legendary threats to Exandria has kept its most legendary heroes busy and divided "in a time when unity is paramount."

Allura confirms that the source of the befuddling of magic is indeed the Malleus Key, and that Vasselheim is the only military force that has been free enough to surround the site. However, Reilorans appear to have some innate ability to suppress divine magic, including healing (though it is lessened, it is not entirely disabled).

Additionally, the longer that the key holds the apogee solstice in place, the more strain is put on the weave of magic, on the leylines themselves. It's unprecedented, but she worries that with enough tension, the weave itself could tear apart — rearranging it at best, and destroying both it and Exandria at worst.

They need to destroy the key to restore the weave, but that would cut off access to Ludinus; they need to know what awaits them on the moon before they can send forces there, and the Bells Hells offer to scout it. The fact that the gods still exist after all these weeks means that releasing Predathos is not as simple as Ludinus shaking the moon awake.

Not only do they have Imogen's connections to Liliana to get them close, but they have a man on the inside, too: Ira.

Meanwhile, Matt: we are not rolling for pregnancy.

They mention Beau and Caleb — Allura immediately recognizes their description. She hasn't heard from them specifically, but has been in contact with other members of the Mighty Nein, and could find out.

Teleporting directly to the moon has been ruled out — the "fragment of the Divine Gate that surrounds Ruidus" also prevents teleportation to and from it.

Ludinus appears to be "casually walking" toward his goal, and they don't know how long he'll take to reach it. But you know what they say — if something isn't chasing you at full sprint, there's a reason it doesn't have to run.

As part of their preparations, the Bells Hells ask for the components for a heroes feast.

Keyleth approaches as they depart the chamber. "You've all done great things, but it seems that fate has us all intertwined in ways we don't expect. It's funny; I hoped these days would be done in my lifetime, before I realized my lifetime is far longer than I anticipated. So I suppose it's just part of enduring. But what makes me heartened is knowing that people like you will rise to the occasion. Sleep well. Be careful. Be brave, but don't be stupid. And good luck."

Meanwhile, Ashton and Fearne contemplate contacting the followers of the Betrayer Gods, because "you don't negotiate when you're drowning." I mean, he's got a point — especially with the lawful Betrayers like Asmodeus, they do indeed follow their word to the absolute finest detail, and the danger is in reading the fine print.

FCG just got access to planar ally, and it is indeed very different than how Sam is interpreting it. They couldn't summon a specific devil; they would beseech either Asmodeus himself or another devil lord to send a lesser demon to assist them.

Laudna wants to explore Whitestone to see what they can find, because she's less afraid now and you never know what you're gonna find when you wander around a mysterious and rebuilt town.

They decide to explore the castle a little first, and Orym notices that they're being followed -- chasing the shadow, he finds Gwen, Percy's daughter, in a reading nook. Orym takes her over to introduce herself — "I am Lady Gwendolin Derolo, I am the queen of the house, and everyone shorter than me has to do what I say."

Okay, the Bells Hells being good with kids is actually fucking adorable, especially Chetney (because he's a crotchety old fucker who's rough as the sandpaper he uses) and Laudna (redemption for the fun scary!!).

Gwen reaches out to touch Laudna when she offers, and she runs — Fearne, Laudna, and Imogen pursue. "I'm afraid of her, and I don't know why... why does she hate me? I've never felt hate like that." Gwen is sensing Delilah — it's not Laudna who hates her or who she's scared of, it's Delilah.

Chetney, Orym, and Ashton visit the temple to the Raven Queen within the city, and find that the path leading to it is covered in snowdrops. They also see another cloaked, white-masked figure kneeling in front of the Raven Queen's own statue, and they recognize it as Vax'ildan — the figure they saw defend the Voice of the Tempest, the "guy with the move and the one-liner." There is a plaque there: "the Champion of Ravens, in memory of friendship, sacrifice, and the day he will carry us over the threshold and beyond."

They enter the central room of the temple, and find sarcophagi whose faces have no discernible features. Ashton pushes one open, and it's empty. "How do you meet a death god, do you think?" They jump inside, and the groundskeeper pushes the lid closed on them. Chetney and Orym share one, feet-to-feet.

Orym offers reassurance -- "I hope we can help." Chetney offers lenience -- "take your time." Time passes -- minutes, hours, alone, with nothing but the sound of their own breathing... "did you stop breathing? No, you can hear him breathing, but not anymore — you feel for a shift in rise or fall of your chest, you are uncertain if your eyes have been closed or open this whole time, and the minute you think of it, you force them open, and darkness still surrounds you but for a faint white light, like a spotlight on the horizon." They all see the same thing, and can hear each other but not see. Orym steps forward to the light, confidently, and the others follow — it highlights a sphere, an orb. Formless. Distant. The closer they get, the more it takes detail, the more it looks like a hill or the back of a chair— "no, it seems like it's miles away, then but feet away, then it begins to move. What was once just a mound, a colorless shape, it rises and elongates until it has a humanoid outline, facing away. All you see is a cloak of black."

Chetney calls out. The figure turns to face them — from beneath long, black hair, a pale, white, expressionless porcelain mask, feminine and cold. A hand reaches to pull the mask away. Behind it, there is a black void, nothing. It rushes in, and they are pulled into a second wave of shadow, lost, floating in absence — metal hits metal, clinking, jangling ike chains dragging against chains. Looking up, they see a ring of light, like they're staring up from a grave, and looking down is the masked figure, chains around their wrists that dangle into the grave.

They climb, Ashton first, up the chains toward the exit. The masked figure of the Matron raises her arms, and the chains are affixed to shackles around her wrists. Another pull, and they break — she lowers her hands and looks up as giant raven wings release, flap once, twice, and she flies as they fall. She breaks into hundreds of black ravens, flying free and away as the light diminishes and they return to darkness. They don't feel scared — that's important to mention. They don't feel perturbed or exploited, they feel noticed and, oddly, appreciated.

Then, pins and needles numbness, feeling in their body, awareness of time, and they're back in the coffins. "Is there a gift shop?"

Ohhh, I think I get it now. The Bells Hells questioning whether or not they want to save the gods is the point — their chaos and ability to help is based not on their existing or even their potential faith in the gods or otherwise, it lies in their state of flux, the fact that they are neither beholden to faith nor committed to the lack of it.

Lastly, FCG goes to the temple of the Changebringer they visited before. "I feel like something bad's gonna happen, there's doom on the horizon — but I think it's right that we're going. I wanted to ask you, not for guidance or answers or anything, but if you could look out... if something goes bad, if you could make it happen to me and not them, I would really appreciate that." FCG swears they see the stone eyes of Avandra blink, and when they open there's a deep burgundy color that sinks to a deeper red. They see crimson tears run down the cheeks, the head seems to shift and look down to address them, her bloody gaze — "dark days are ahead for all. But those who walk the path of bravery can save that what they care most about. [Am I walking the path of bravery?] You are. And you're not the only one. There are many who do; the road before you is fraught with peril and loss, but that is what it is to be a hero, to be a paragon, to be a child of change. [Is it a— thank you. I don't think I want to know any more than that. But maybe, just — it's just nice to know that you've been watching me, and will continue to. You will, right?] Always. We watch over you always. [We, meaning all the gods? Or just you?] We are all in danger. [We're coming. We might see you tomorrow; it seems like it's gonna be a pretty bad day. Or maybe it'll be a great day! Maybe it'll be smiley! Anyway, thank you for this coin, and for all the guidance you've given me in the past. I feel like I've realized that you're not given a purpose, and you don't choose a purpose -- you just sort of make one as you go, and I think I'm ready to make one.] That is true freedom, and one of the great many meanings of life. [Can you — this is the only thing I'll ask. Can you make some crazy sign for Ashton? I want to make them believe — that's minor, actually, never mind, just strike that, I just think that would be neat.] Guide him to the path that inspires you. One must be open to miracles for them to be believed... be safe, and do not forget: if the road ahead is frightening, you can choose to walk another, for freedom, freedom, freedom."

To the arbiter of the temple, the Changebringer seems distracted, but aren't they all? There's solace in knowing that even the gods can be fallible, anxious, for does that not bring them closer to mortality?

Laura as a player picks up on something — the Changebringer here seemed to be different. Combined with the crimson tears, she seems to think that FCG's vision could've been hijacked by the Vanguard. But with a very high insight check, FCG gets the sense that her nature is semi-mercurial — an aspect of her faith, a very tenet of her being, is adapting herself and changing her message in response to the changes of a follower. If forceful direction doesn't work, then coercion, reverse psychology, or enticement might. There is no malice here, nothing to distrust, just a unique understanding of the Changebringer's very being. Much like the wind, she can buffet her followers in different ways.

They reconvene. At the end of the day, they go to a crepe stand, and find WHITESTONE FUCKING ANDY. They harass him for a while. "It's like he didn't matter to anyone but you [Laudna]!" Thank god someone finally said it—

Meanwhile, Ashton scours the castle for history books to figure out what made the Derolo family so fucking weird.

After resting in a smattering of challenged spaces, it's welcome to sleep in a plush, warm bed. They think of the strange day to come, the stranger device their friends repaired, and the burning crystal that still thrums in the workshop below.

[daybreakrising]

VAUTRIN INTERACTIONS WISHLIST

bc my funky lil oceanid man needs people to talk to-

just want to clarify, these suggestions are intended as NON-ROMANTIC DYNAMICS - that's not to say i wouldn't be open to developing some of them in that direction if they vibe, but i'd like to establish any dynamics in general first!

most of these will be in his current timeline verse for obvious reasons, but any characters who would have been alive 400+ years ago are also welcome to interact in his canon past verse!

i am sticking mainly to characters that would make sense for him to interact with (this list will almost entirely be characters from f.ontaine) but i'm always open to others if you have ideas, so if a character isn't on here it doesn't mean i'm not interested - the only exception to this rule is n.euvillette, as i already have three incredible neuvis to write with and i want to focus on those developing dynamics and give them the time and unique attention they deserve.

THE LIST

w.riothesley vautrin feels a sense of duty towards the fortress, but he also has a great respect for the man who currently runs it. it's my hc that vautrin first "awakens" again within the fortress & therefore, interacts with wrio and s.igewinne before anyone else (this can be tweaked if necessary). i also like to think vautrin would offer his services to the fortress and/or request to continue serving the sentence that was cut short by his "death".

melusines - all of them, any of them vautrin will adopt all of them as his family.

c.hevreuse former captain & current captain. again, i like to think vautrin would offer any help he can provide to the team he used to be a part of. also.... i just think they'd get along well.

the HotH siblings listen, i just think they'd vibe. l.yney in particular with his dedication to his family and the fact he'd do anything, even put his life at risk, to protect them.

a.rlecchino OR any harbinger this could just be an interesting dynamic, and i've always thought the f.atui might be interested in a being who returned from the dead for ??? unknown reasons, and also has weird, lingering powers from the primordial sea. especially if they could convince him to help them........

n.avia the man needs a purpose in this new life, and he likes to help people who stand for justice and/or protecting those who are less able to protect themselves, so i feel like he'd vibe with n.avia and the s.pina di r.osula. also i feel like she'd be very good at helping him find himself again.

f.urina vautrin's parents were professional performers & he was a dancer as a child. he needs to rediscover his love for music and dance - and the stage - and who better than f.urina to do that??

a.rchons or other ancient and/or inhuman beings this is a very general, vague suggestion - vautrin needs friends who understand what it's like to be Other, to not be human, to live out of time and to face the prospect of immortality/long-life. he needs people who can help him understand what he is, why he came back, or at least help him look for those answers.

again, characters from other regions are more than welcome if there's an Idea there, and i do hc that vautrin does travel around t.eyvat at some point to see the world as it is now, so it's not impossible for him to cross paths with anyone!

and just as a quick additional note regarding potential ships:

vautrin is Complicated when it comes to shipping, as he is a very closed-off person by default, and he's now struggling with being alive again and being Not Quite Human Anymore so.... it's a lot to deal with. that being said, shipping is never a no. just please bear in mind that:

vautrin identifies as bi, but has a HEAVY preference for male-presenting partners.

he is exclusive with @wwriothesley's wrio. any dynamics with other wrios will be non-romantic only.

[ya-zz]

REQUESTED DRABBLES

A new addition to requests, ones that I should be able to complete a lot faster that full fics. If you would like one, send a character and a prompt and I will get to is ASAP.

I will still put the drabble tags under the post so all drabbles get put together when tag searched.

!! The red means it NSFW or has a content warning !!

1 Ramattra - Begging on Hands and Knees

2 Cole Cassidy - Self hatred

3 Ramattra - French

4 Junkerqueen - Sensory Videos

5 Junkerqueen - Teasing

6 Junkerqueen - Headlock

7 Hanzo - Dancer

8 Ramattra - One Year Later

9 Cole Cassidy - Sittin' on his Lap

10 Ramattra - Throat Fucking

11 Ramattra - Do not Leave me

12 Ramattra - Internal Love

13 Ramattra - Sparks

14 Ramattra - Playfight

15 Poseidon!Ramattra - Flower Crown

16 Primordial!Ramattra - Change

17 Junkerqueen - New Food

18 Ramattra - Cuddling

19 Ramattra - Saving the Companionship Model

20 Ramattra - Adoption

21 Ramattra - Mechanics Mistake

22 Ramattra - Heat

23 Ramattra - Laughter

24 Ramattra & Echo - Null Sector

25 Ramattra - Cat

26 Ramattra - Discord // Part 2 - Harmony

27 Cassidy - Too busy

28 Ramattra - Nightmare

29 Ramattra - Onions

30 Diesel Baron!Ramattra - Price to Pay

31 Primordial!Ramattra - Paradise

[lookbluesoup]

Here's a part II to my original NSFW ffxiv headcanons! Someone requested an afab version :3

Some of the information below will be repeated and expanded on from P1 since it's relevant, but this post will focus mostly on the female sex and also delve a little more into reproduction. It's more technical in wording than the original post, mostly because I've spent more time thinking about this since then, fleshing out my ideas.

You're welcome to adopt parts of these for your own fics/headcanons/etc if you like them, I don't mind! You're also welcome to keep doing you if you don't. To each their own pussy. If you like pussy.

There is a lot of vulva talk under the cut. If you don't want to read about genitals then don't click the cut. There is also a version with illustrated diagrams on my Pillowfort(here), if you do not want to see vulvas, do not click the link. The post was intended to have the visual guide alongside it, but I have to leave these out on tumblr bc of content restrictions.

There is also some mention of the role of things like tail docking and food restriction to maintain body shapes, so if you're sensitive to these themes, read with care.

Descriptions of genitals are "averages" but ofc size, shape, color, hair content might vary significantly between individuals!

Miqote vulvas are pretty similar to Hyur in size, shape, and variation. It should be noted, however, that instead of pubic hair, Miqo'te women grow fur similar in texture to that of their tails, which may also be similarly patterned. Fur does not grow around the anus, leaving a smooth gap between the tail and mons pubis.

Most healthy Miqo'te have a "primordial pouch", a pair of fatty deposits around the lower abdomen, stretching to the start of the legs. It is generally soft and warm, used to insulate and as a bit of natural protection over their organs. A prominent pouch is considered attractive in traditional Tribal environments, where it represents being well fed. Though the novelty of its softness can be quite enjoyable to non-Miqo'te, some working as dancers or in Ul'dahn pleasure houses may be encouraged to restrict their diet and reduce its size so they might appear more conventionally appealing to patrons of other races.

Males do not have heat cycles, but females do. Females in heat have an extremely strong drive to mate that is often impairing to other senses, and bear a distinct scent which will arouse and attract male Miqo'te. Heats commonly last between 2-14 days, and reoccur every 2-3 weeks if medicines, magics, or potions are not used to limit it. If pregnancy occurs, heat will end "early" within the next day, and the heat cycle will be suspended until roughly a month after the end of the pregnancy. 

Ovulation is induced by genital stimulation, particularly from the soft "barb" like structures on the surface of an erect Miqo'te penis. Pregnancy is possible outside of heat cycles and with amab partners who have smoother dicks, but both are extremely uncommon.

Because they are induced ovulators and have heat cycles, Miqo'te do not menstruate.

Pregnancy lasts about seven months. Fraternal twins and even triplets are extremely common, and may have different fathers. Miqo'te children learn to climb often before they can even walk very well, and infants are known to put this to use escaping cribs and getting on top of furniture where they absolutely shouldn't be

------------

(Note this section is subject to potentially significant rewriting if we ever get playable female Hroths and more lore)

Hrothgar vaginas are relatively small, though the single set of labia around it are quite large by comparison and covered in short, thick fur, joining in a point near the top. The clitoris is deeper inside the vagina and not usually visible from the outside. There is a small hairless patch directly around the anus, but otherwise the nether regions are entirely covered in fur.

Like Miqo'te, Hrothgar often have primordial pouches around their lower stomach and upper legs. These tend to be less common in Hrothgar, however, and less prominent. They are visually more obscured by fur, and may not be noticed without being touched.

They have a heat cycle and traits similar to Miqo'te, however, female Hrothgar only go into heat every 3-4 months. Cross-race pregnancies for Hrothgar mothers are especially rare, as the barbed penis of male Hrothgar is necessary to stimulate ovulation. Mating between Hrothgar can be painful because of these barbs, so it's probably not done for pleasure much outside of heats, unless the gal's really into masochism.

Because they are induced ovulators and have heat cycles, Hrothgar do not menstruate.

Pregnancy lasts around 9 months, and while twins are far more common than in other races, usually only a single child is born. 

------------

Viera vulvas are not terribly different from Hyurs, though on average tend to have much larger labia and prepuce, and a smaller vagina. The clitoris is quite large and erects significantly when aroused. Viera naturally grow a lot of pubic hair, which if left unshaved will typically completely obscure the genitals. 

Viera are born with fluffy tails that curl upward to around the small of the back. In traditional villages, these are usually docked off of infants and magic may even be used to remove the scarring during the healing process. It is not widely discussed with outsiders, to whom it often appears that some Viera have tails while others do not.

Female viera have no heat cycle. Ovulation occurs during arousal and genital stimulation. Because they are induced ovulators, Viera do not menstruate.

Pregnancy lasts around 18 months, but can go on as long as two years, at which point a single child completely devoid of hair is born. Twins are very rare.

------------ 

Au Ra vaginas are tucked inside a scale-covered cloaca. The cloaca is the only rear orfice, concealing also the urethra and anus. This slit is convex (curving inward) usually, but when aroused, will convex out as it swells. The cloacal entrance usually does not reveal anything internal on its own, and must be pried open (y'know, with a dick. or fingers. or a toy.) However, during orgasm, it's known to "flash" open in time with spasms.

The "labia" are fused to the walls of the cloaca and large. While the vagina appears narrow between these and the large clitoris, it can be stretched open fairly wide. Note that "fairly wide" is relative - Au Ra women are quite small and races like Roegadyn and Hrothgar would likely cause pain if their dicks were forced in very deep. Small dicks are generally preferred, unless, like that Hrothgar lady, you're into it. 

Au Ra do not have heats, but do have yearly "mating seasons" when the drive to reproduce is stronger for both sexes, and offspring are more likely to be conceived. Outside of these conditions, Au Ra females enter a period of estivation where their reproductive cycle is suspended. This may lead to decreased interest in non-reproductive sex. Au Ra do not menstruate.

Pregnancy lasts around 5-6 months. Au Ra children are born extremely small, but grow quickly and from one year up until about 10 years of age, tend to be larger than children of the same age in other races.

[abellinthecupboard]

The Death of the Loch Ness Monster

Consider that the thing has died before we proved it ever lived 　　　　　and that it died of loneliness, dark lord of the loch, fathomless Worm, great Orm, this last of our mysteries — 　　　　　haifend ane meikill fin on ilk syde 　　　　　with an taill and ane terribill heid — and that it had no tales to tell us, only that it lived there, 　　　　　lake-locked, lost in its own coils, waiting to be found; in the black light of midnight 　　　　　surfacing, its whole elastic length unwound, and the sound it made as it broke the water 　　　　　was the single plucked string of a harp — this newt or salamander, graceful as a swan, 　　　　　this water-snake, this water-horse, this water-dancer. Consider him tired of pondering the possible existence of man 　　　　　whom he thinks he has sighted sometimes on the shore, and rearing up from the purple churning water, 　　　　　weird little worm head swaying from side to side, he denies the vision before his eyes; 　　　　　his long neck, swan of Hell, a silhouette against the moon, his green heart beating its last, 　　　　　his noble, sordid soul in ruins. Now the mist is a blanket of doom, and we pluck from the depths 　　　　　a prize of primordial slime — the beast who was born from some terrible ancient kiss, 　　　　　lovechild of unspeakable histories, this ugly slug, half blind no doubt, and very cold, 　　　　　his head which is horror to behold no bigger than our own; 　　　　　whom we loathe, for his kind ruled the earth before us, who died of loneliness in a small lake in Scotland, 　　　　　and in his mind's dark land, where he dreamed up his luminous myths, the last of which was man.

— Gwendolyn MacEwen, Afterworlds (1987)