#sacred potatoes grow here

[foyermusic]

somewhere unsettled and beautiful

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

i watched My Neighbor Totoro for the first time, here's my chronological viewing experience:

woo-hoo! dusty old japanese house with japanese architectural details aplenty

these kids got some ENERGY my goodness

family dynamic's adorable. peak quality dad humor

kids: our house is haunted. parents: that's so cool!

hell yeah, wrinkled old lady rep. we need more friendly old women with potato faces and warts like storybook witches. the backbone of society, these ladies

Plot Summary: Small Child Bothers Local Wildlife

sacred tree sacred tree sacred tree

Introducing Totoro! nobody said this fucker's got TEETH???

Uh-Oh! Inadequate Parental Supervision Detected

(you misplaced your four year old! you're not supposed to do that)

4-year-old: i met a magic forest spirit. dad: oh shit fr?

4-year-old: *angrily hugs sister* missed u bitch

this small child has a smile like a toad. like a really really cute toad. like the cutest toad in all existence. i love her she's perfection please just let this child be happy

rice paddies are so pretty....so back breaking....rice is such a prissy crop

*my crush is stranded in a rainstorm* takethisumbrellait'syoursnowBYE *runs away in panic im so good at flirting*

Giant Chinchilla Learns To Hold Umbrella, Is Fucking Delighted By Experience

take this, it will help you on your quest! *hands u trail mix wrapped in a leaf*

LO-FI HIP HOP STUDY LIST!

crouching down to peer at dirt--A++ top notch foundational childhood experience

mom has a big ass forehead

honey! the chinchillas are performing Rituals in the backyard again

help yeah let's jack and the bean stalk this shit

huh so we're all just climbing aboard the giant chinchilla's tiddies now ok

class trip!

the pure adrenaline of Vegetable Gardening

no! the small child is crying! she is bawling her eyes out. no no no. i can't cope with this. emotionally i cannot cope 🥺🥺🥺

i've only had Mei one hour but if anything happens to her i will raze this earth and everyone on it

please someone make this small child smile again

oh no the tall child is crying too

i can't take this. my heart can't take this.

i need a drink

small child running determined to deliver magic veggies to the hospital. this kid is my hero

she is also unsupervised. so, so unsupervised

babe you are FOUR

godDAMMIT ghibli, you cannot give me watercolor sunsets while a small child is missing. u are killing me. my heart is giving out. this is me, experiencing heart failure.

Totoro to the rescue!

no wait CATBUS to the rescue!

i admit i initially thought the cat was a creep. alice in wonderland prejudiced me. i have revised my notions of smiling cats

i've decided the cat is a metaphor for the magic of a robust public transport system

MEI'S OKAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and so is mom. she's a lovely lady im sorry for what i said about her forehead. it's a noble forehead.

happy ending YES bitch!!!!!!

ok. ok ok ok. that was magical.

(as a first-time adult viewer i was worried i wouldn't be able to Access the Magic. but i could and i did and it was incredible. that was culture. that was ART. joy distilled into animated form. holy rites of childhood. i understand now. how glorious, this world we grow out of. how full of marvels. i'm going outside to smell grass and sun and get dirt under my fingernails. miraculous.)

[tkingfisher]

I have a question I just thought of. I remember reading that the potato is something that you can discuss at length. I'm curious about the Irish potato famine (as it's called by many people) of 1845 - 52. The potato blight killed a whole load of potatoes, and blight warnings are still a thing today. But... honestly, why? Was just one variety of potato grown? If not, wouldn't different varieties have resisted? The only thing I'm even remotely familiar with is Panama Disease, which is killing off Cavendish bananas because they're all genetically identical - was that the case for the potatoes being grown at the time?

Oh boy. Okay, this is a huge complicated topic and I can only do the Cliff Notes version and even that is absurdly long, but here we go.

The cause of the Irish Potato Famine were, in order:

A) the British

B) the British but moreso

C) still the British but also capitalism

and

D) monoculture

I am not nearly so equipped to talk about A-C as many, many other people, so let’s talk about D.

Now, the humble potato is frankly one of the most glorious products of agricultural science ever created, for which we must thank the indigenous people of Peru, who produced some goddamn geniuses at potato breeding (and also figured out how to freeze-dry potatoes centuries before Idahoan.) The Incas had literally thousands of potato varieties, every size, shape, color, growing condition, right down to sacred potatoes only for consumption by the royal family. They did seriously epic shit with a weird little tuber, a feat perhaps only surpassed by the geniuses who made corn out of teosinte.

Quite a long time later—by which I mean about ten thousand years after the potato was domesticated—the Irish were growing a potato variety called the Lumper. It was a big, coarse, ugly-ass potato which apparently didn’t even taste that great. Irish farmers had other potatoes that they liked a lot better! But the Lumper had three things going for it—it gave huge yields, tolerated nutrient-poor soil, and it didn’t mind wet feet.

(Wet feet is the gardening term for plants with their roots in waterlogged soil. Most potatoes do not actually like wet feet and will rot. But the Lumper was fine with it, which meant that basically you could grow the things in poor soggy soil, which large swaths of Ireland had in generous supply.)

Because of a whole lot of really abusive shit by various landowners, a lot of Irish people ended up dependent on the Lumper for their diet, and I mean dependent. You can live for a really long time on cow’s milk and potatoes if you have to, and a potato that would produce massive yields in crappy wet soil was a godsend. So you had vast areas that were planted with just the Lumper. (There are some reports that other, better-tasting potato varieties were grown for the landlords, but while the workers dug them, they were not allowed to eat them. I can’t speak to the truth of this or not, but it’s definitely worth looking up a full history of the socioeconomics of the famine, if you ever happen to be feeling too good about the world and want to be crushed.)

Unfortunately, the Lumper has one other significant trait—it is extremely vulnerable to potato blight, a disease caused by Phytophtora infestans, which is a weird little thing called an oomycete. It’s more like a fungus than it is anything else, but it’s actually in a separate kingdom called Chromista. (Currently, anyway. Taxonomy is where idealistic young scientists go to become old before their time.) Nevertheless, for our purposes, let’s just call it a fungus. (Also, Chromista is a great name for an alicorn in My Little Pony.)

P. infestans loooooves members of the Solanum clan, which include tomatoes and potatoes. This love is not returned. In a tomato, it’s usually called late blight, in a potato, it’s potato blight, no matter what you call it, it’s bad news. It likes damp, cool conditions, and of course Ireland is basically one big damp cool condition, so once the blight got established, it was in heaven.

Blight on a potato takes about five days from start to finish. This sucker is FAST. One day there’s a blotch on a leaf, next day there’s some whitish stuff under a leaf, then the tubers are suddenly turning black and mushy and stink to high heaven. You may even think you got a good tuber and put it in storage and then you open the door to the root cellar and the whole bin has rotted practically overnight.

The spores can spread by wind, and once it landed on a potato plant, all it needed was like two days above fifty degrees with high humidity, and it was off and running. And it gets in the soil. But worst of all, it lives in the tubers themselves.

Potato cultivars, for those who don’t know, are almost always a clone of the parent. All Yukon Golds are basically the same Yukon Gold. You pop a tuber off a plant, you pop it in the ground, it grows another plant just like the first one, asexual reproduction at its finest.*

Now, potatoes can and do set seed, but there’s some variation even in a seed with two parents of the same variety. Two Yukon Golds might give you Yukon Goldish. Mix up multiple varieties and you don’t always know what you’re gonna get.** (I have grown potatoes from mixed seed and thus made my own cultivars, it’s fun, but the results are wildly variable. Some don’t set tubers at all, some contain high levels of solanine.***)

If you want specific, uniform varieties that all perform the same way, you probably use the tubers. More importantly, tubers start growing right away once you wake them up, whereas potato seedlings can be finicky and often won’t do anything impressive the first year.

To make matters more confusing, the little tuber clones are referred to as seed potatoes.

Anyway, back to the blight. Everybody was growing from little tuber clones, which could be infected with the blight. This means that if your seed potatoes are infected with blight, even if they look fine, if you plant them, your whole crop is infected. The minute you get a cool wet day, the oomcyte wakes up and goes to town. And if you leave an infected potato in the ground, it infects everybody else—and if you’ve ever dug potatoes, you know that you always, always miss one.

Well. The blight came, it hit the Lumper, and it spread like wildfire. The Lumper grew in the wet conditions the blight loved, and was also really susceptible to it, so it was a match made in hell. There were potato varieties even then that were more resistant to the blight, but they were tiny islands and a sea of blight was washing over them daily, so they eventually succumbed. Even if you planted a different potato, if it was in soil that had previously held the Lumper, it was likely doomed.

This is the problem with monocultures. You plant all one variety and it’s susceptible to some particular bug, when that bug hits, you have no fall back position. And potatoes, being more or less clones, are even more vulnerable than most seed-grown crops, and this bug is particularly nasty and the spring of ‘45 was exactly the right weather and the British government was being particularly evil and ultimately a million people starved to death because of a perfect storm.

The Lumper still exists. Somebody turned up some heirloom seeds back in 2008 and grew them out, and what they got is probably pretty close to the original. Being seed grown, it doesn’t carry the blight. It’s an ugly, watery, kinda waxy potato that even its champions think tastes sorta okay, I guess. Cultivariable, one of the few sources I can find, says that in addition to not being resistant to blight, it’s not resistant to anything else either, and there’s not much point in trying to grow it unless you have long dry summers and no local blight.

And that is the saga of the Lumper, the blight, and why I personally always plant at least four varieties of potato.

* There’s some subtleties here, but for layman’s purposes, we’ll go with this.

** It’s actually way complicated, but this is already hella long.

*** Same stuff that makes green potatoes toxic. Super bitter, so you know right away it’s inedible and spit it out. We still refer to taste-tasting the new crop from seed as “the Potato Suicide Pact” but it’s not actually dangerous.

[deathbecomesthem]

+18 ONLY - Minors DNI

Eddie Munson x Reader | ~650 Words

What is this? I don't know. Just thinking about how Eddie feels when he's cleaning himself up before some fun play time with his partner. The reader wears a strap.

The ritual gets him ready. He’s thought about what will happen if/when you decide to move on from him, if he’ll ever be able to feel the warm water between his cheeks without getting hard. He pours the soap onto the center of the soft and soaked cloth and watches the bubbles foam. The steam that fills his small bathroom smells of coconut and vanilla.

The ritual dictates his movements, starting with rubbing that soft and textured cloth along his forehead. Wiping away the dust in the corner of his eyes. Behind his ears, he doesn’t want to grow potatoes back there, and under his curls at the back of his neck. His shoulders and chest. He ignores the way the blood rushes south as the soapy cloth runs against his bellybutton. The soap lathers in the fine hair that turns coarser and coarser as he goes down, down, down and washes himself where he’s aching to be touched.

He can’t help but rest his head against the tile focusing on the way it cools his skin. He resists the urge to stroke himself and wills himself to remember the ritual. He cleans his erection, and the soft sac underneath. He does not stroke. He does not give in to it. He moves down to his legs, ignoring the way he’s speeding up now. He knows what comes next. He knows what’s waiting for him in his bedroom, behind the thin and evil wall where he rests his head.

He takes the bottle of body wash and squeezes it into the washcloth. He turns his back to the stream of hot water, letting it stream down his back. He’s shaking, no vibrating. He spreads himself to let the almost scalding water run down his open slit, that aching hole clenching at the feeling. The soapy cloth does its work, and his eyes roll back into his head at the feeling of it. Oh god, does it feel so right to be touched there. He’s forgotten about his cock while he cleans himself, but it moves in the open air of the shower. It thrusts into nothing with each swipe of the slightly rough cloth.

He wonders if you know how much self control it takes to not bend himself in half, letting himself get carried away with the sensation. Letting himself pulse and cum in the steaming hot bathroom. Oh, yes. It would feel nice, and he tucks the thought away - maybe someday he won’t have you waiting for him in the other room. He takes the shower head from its hook, and sprays the head against his open ass. He’s scrubbed clean, and he’s rinsing it all away before he enters that sacred space with you.

He’s hard, so hard, when he steps onto the bath mat outside of the shower. He takes his time, breathing the steamy air through his nose while he uses the soft terry cloth towel to dry himself. He didn’t know a towel could feel so soft, but you’ve taught him the magic of vinegar in the washing machine. It’s not the only thing you’ve taught him. He takes a moment to breathe in the smell of the fresh towel before wrapping it around his waist and releasing the steam of the shower into the bedroom. 

You’re laying in the bed, your cock already strapped on and standing tall. You’ve been watching the door, waiting for him. God, you can’t believe how he looks right now. His pale skin with the black ink that dances on the surface of it. The curls with drops of water that drip along his pretty collarbone. You can see his erection pressing against the gray towel he has slung around his hips.

“Come here, pretty boy. I want you to sit on my face.”

[shirecorn]

Have you ever read/watched The Last Unicorn?

I watched that religiously as a young child! Later on I read it and the epilogue/sequel, Two Hearts, which is in a shorts anthology The Line Between by the author, Peter S. Beagle. It was worth reading, but the other shorts were actually much better, especially Salt Wine. The last unicorn is sososososo important to me and who I became.

The Last Unicorn taught me and my siblings how to peel potatoes. It's very important

I've researched documentaries, interviews, and articles about the last unicorn, I wrote essays about it for school, and I ended up obsessing over all things unicorns for several years. I got really into medieval tapestries from The Hunt of the Unicorn, and then jumped around from series to series consuming all the unicorn media I could find. Of course I read The unicorns of Balinor, though I always had a problem with black unicorns with red eyes being evil. they sounded cool and goth to me. Red eyed black unicorn for president.

There was another series that I can't find for the life of me, but it had the most beautiful illustrations. I remember unicorns could go between our world and theirs, but when they came here they would remove their horn and could play it like a flute. The problem in the unicorn world was crystals growing over all the unicorn eyes, rendering them blind, but they were healed in the end by rubbing melted gold in their eyes. It might have been The Unicorn Chronicles but I can't find anything about the parts I remember, nor the illustrations.

Thanks to people in the replies, it was The Unicorn Sonata, also by peter s beagle. My man can write!

There was this one book I read over and over again that was an anthology of unicorn stories and book excerpts, including the last book of Narnia, which got me hyped up but in the end Jewel's screentime was disappointing. One of the stories had unicorn horns ground up to create medicine, another dancing among glowing flowers at night. The illustrations for that book were so important.

I dearly love unicorns, always have. I even convinced my "unicorns are magic and magic is evil" mom to stop cutting the horns off our unicorn toys by telling her that ancient tapestries and medieval bestiaries created unicorns as a representation of Jesus (how true that is is up for debate) which I learned from walking to the library and spending all day there in a pile of unicorn books.

It's been so many years since I have seen The Last Unicorn. It feels sacred, like I don't dare look at it. Not because I could break it, but because it might break me. Watching Molly Grue from the comfort of childhood shields you from "Where were you when I was new?"

When I am this.

I don't know about you but I think my heart would break

[magickkate]

Hey, fellow witches and magical souls! Today, let's delve into the nurturing embrace of the element of Earth and uncover its profound significance in the practice of witchcraft. 🌿✨

🌱 Elemental Correspondences: Earth is associated with the North direction, the season of winter, and the midnight hour. Its energy is stable, grounding, and deeply rooted in the physical realm. In the magical circle, Earth represents the manifestation of our intentions, abundance, and fertility.

🌿 Magical Properties: The element of Earth is rich with magical properties that enhance our spells and rituals. Here are some correspondences to incorporate into your practice:

Direction: North

Rules: Stability, foundation, manifestation

Time: Midnight

Season: Winter

Planets: Earth, Saturn

Zodiac: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Crystals: Crystals such as green aventurine, moss agate, and hematite resonate with the energy of Earth, grounding and stabilizing our energy while promoting growth and abundance.

Herbs: Herbs like patchouli, sage, and cedar embody the essence of Earth, offering protection, purification, and grounding properties in our magical workings. [remember: white sage is endangered! and be mindful of other practices :D]

Symbols: Symbols associated with Earth include the pentacle and the Tree of Life, representing fertility, growth, and the interconnectedness of all living beings.

Colors: Earthy tones such as green, brown, and earthy reds symbolize the element of Earth and can be used in candles, altar decorations, and ritual attire to amplify its energy.

Ritual Tools: Tools such as the pentacle, salt, and stones are commonly used in Earth magic to ground and center our energy, create sacred space, and connect with the natural world.

🌎 Incorporating Earth Energy: To harness the power of Earth in your practice, spend time connecting with nature, whether it's through gardening, hiking, or simply taking a walk in the woods. Practice grounding exercises, such as visualizing roots extending from your body into the earth, to anchor yourself in the present moment and draw upon the stabilizing energy of the Earth element.

Some of the rituals and practices associated with the element are:

Grounding and Centering: Many earth magic rituals begin with grounding and centering techniques to connect with the Earth's energy and find stability.

Sacred Space Creation: Creating a sacred space, often through rituals like casting a circle, is common in earth magic to establish a connection with the natural world and create a protective boundary.

Offerings and Prayer: Offerings of herbs, grains, or other natural materials are made to the Earth or nature spirits as a way of giving thanks and seeking blessings.

Divination: Some practitioners of earth magic use divination methods such as scrying with natural materials like stones, water, or soil to gain insights and guidance

🌿 Manifesting Abundance: Earth magic is particularly potent for manifesting abundance and prosperity in our lives. Work with Earth correspondences in spells and rituals focused on financial abundance, career success, and material wealth, aligning your intentions with the fertile energy of the Earth to support your manifestations.

Related recipes with Earth are:

Root Vegetable Stew: A hearty stew made with root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and turnips. Add onions, garlic, and herbs like thyme and rosemary for flavor. This dish symbolizes grounding and stability, as it features ingredients that grow beneath the earth's surface.

Whole Grain Pilaf: A pilaf made with a variety of whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, barley, or farro. Cook the grains with broth, vegetables, and herbs like sage or parsley for added flavor. Whole grains are associated with fertility and abundance, making this dish a fitting representation of the Earth element.

Herb-infused Bread: Bake a loaf of homemade bread using whole grain flour and infuse it with earthy herbs like rosemary, oregano, or thyme. The process of kneading and shaping the dough can be a meditative practice, connecting you with the Earth's energy as you work with the ingredients.

Roasted Vegetable Medley: Toss a variety of seasonal vegetables such as squash, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and bell peppers with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Roast them in the oven until tender and caramelized. This dish celebrates the abundance of the harvest season and the earthy flavors of freshly harvested produce.

Herbal Tea Blend: Create a custom herbal tea blend using dried herbs such as chamomile, nettle, ginger, and licorice root. These herbs are associated with grounding, healing, and nourishment. Steep them in hot water to create a comforting and aromatic beverage that can be enjoyed throughout the day.

Harvest Salad: Combine mixed greens with roasted beets, carrots, walnuts, and goat cheese. Drizzle with a vinaigrette made from olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard. This salad showcases the vibrant colors and flavors of the harvest season, while also incorporating ingredients that are deeply connected to the Earth.

Ethics and Guidelines:

Respect for Nature: Earth magic emphasizes respect for the Earth and all its inhabitants. Practitioners are encouraged to work in harmony with nature and avoid practices that harm the environment.

Responsibility: Practitioners of earth magic often adhere to the Wiccan Rede or similar ethical principles, which emphasize the importance of acting responsibly and avoiding harm to others.

Personal Empowerment: Earth magic is often seen as a path of personal empowerment, encouraging practitioners to connect with their inner wisdom and intuition while respecting the interconnectedness of all things.

🌿 Embrace the grounding energy of the Earth element, dear witches, and let its nurturing embrace guide you on your magical journey. May you find strength, stability, and abundance in the fertile soil of the Earth's embrace. 🌿🌎✨

Learn more:

Earth Magic by Dodie Graham McKay This book explores various aspects of earth-based spirituality and magic, providing practical guidance for individuals interested in deepening their connection with the Earth. The book covers topics such as:

-> Foundations of Earth Magic: McKay lays the groundwork by discussing the significance of the Earth as a source of spiritual power and wisdom. She emphasizes the importance of cultivating a relationship with nature and honoring its cycles. -> Elements and Correspondences: The book explores the elemental energies of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, highlighting their correspondences and symbolic meanings in magical practice. McKay offers insights into how these elements can be invoked and utilized in rituals and spells. -> Rituals and Practices: Earth Magic provides a variety of rituals, meditations, and exercises designed to deepen one's connection with the Earth and tap into its energies. These practices range from simple grounding techniques to elaborate ceremonies for honoring the seasons and natural cycles. -> Herbalism and Plant Magic: McKay discusses the magical properties of herbs and plants, offering guidance on how to work with them in spellcraft, healing, and spiritual growth. She shares recipes for herbal remedies, incense, and potions, along with tips for cultivating a magical garden. -> Divination and Earth Wisdom: The book explores divinatory practices such as scrying, rune casting, and earth-based tarot readings, showing how these methods can be used to gain insights and guidance from the natural world. -> Ethics and Responsibility: Throughout the book, McKay emphasizes the importance of ethical conduct and responsible stewardship of the Earth. She encourages readers to approach magic with respect, integrity, and a commitment to environmental sustainability.

[headspace-hotel]

I think I'm addition to the lack of curiosity about nature you write about, there's something more insidious than just lack of interest. I think a lot about like, food politics and the sourcing of things we use in everyday life, and the fact that we've entered a state of society where we have to accept the fact that most goods we acquire come at some, environmental or human cost (the two are not the same but i think they're close!) The chicken you buy came from a factory farm where it spent all of its life in agony. The shirt you buy was made of fabrics produced with toxic runoff and sewn by people exploited for their labor. The potato you eat came from a monoculture farm which renders the soil barren due to use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. And it's not like our individual choices can affect this directly - but it still fucking sucks!! And the system works because we don't think about it. Because most of us are removed from it. And it's easier to not have that curiosity: where did my cotton/rayon/wool/polyester come from? How was the soap i use made? Who grew my broccoli and how? Who suffers and who profits? And i know this was a roundabout way, but the curiosity that makes you uncomfortable with these hard facts starts right on the local level. It starts with looking at your lawn and asking what's in the fertilizer. It starts with trying to grow food and realizing how hard it can be. It starts with looking at the goldenrod that grows in the cracks of the highway median and asking "why are you there? What are you up to?" (This path can vary depending on your lifestyle but that's how it went for me) And no amount of "just switch to linen/buy reusable bags/get a farm share/make your own bread idk" hot tips is going to replace that essential need for asking and wondering and learning which starts by just looking at your immediate outside world and asking questions about it

Yes. I certainly agree.

In that post talking about curiosity, I am putting forward curiosity as a way to resist a systemic problem.

The alienation from nature was created by a capitalist system. This system didn't set out to alienate us from nature on purpose, but it set out to make us into consumers, and alienation from nature was the result. People who have access to the natural world are generally happier and more content (this has been studied extensively). They have access to beauty and mental stimulation, slowness, uncontrolled space without expectations, solace, peaceful chaos. Nature shows you an "Is" without "Should Be." Nature shows you to a pawpaw grove and says, here. Take and eat. It is a gift.

Our world says "Everything is owned by someone who has the right to it by virtue of having money, and this ownership of space, time, water, food, and even beauty is the most sacred rule of all. Since you own nothing, you must give yourself, pouring yourself out so you may deserve life in exchange."

But there is a deeper magic. Stand among the plants and trees and listen.

What have you done to earn or deserve this stillness? This softness, this quiet, this mercy? The nourishing food and warming fiber and sturdy shelter that is offered to you? The time here is not measured. There is no authority to command your behavior. Nothing is being asked of you. You will not be punished.

What can you offer to justify resting and partaking of pleasure?

Explore this question until all is quiet, except your own quiet reverence and your own breathing.

Do you see the answer?

[halfbakedspuds]

OC in fifteen

Thanks for the tag @illarian-rambling! This'll be fun to do.

Rules: pick fifteen or less quotes that ideally capture the essence of a character. Add a little beat of action or context if required

For this, I'm going to use Maire Aitkin from Echoes of Shadows because that WIP needs more love, and she's my favourite character to write.

If A' couldnae see shite, 'twould still be brigh'er than this fecking tunnel.

Johan. A' thought ye knew tha' blood belongs inside of th'body?

Holy Bozhe, lord o' heav'n and ward'n o' the nine hells, what th'fuck is tha'!? (First time seeing a demon)

With ye lot 'tis always, "Oh Maire, A' done screwed it, aye? Be a dearie an' heal me up, would'ya?" Well what if A' need healin' an' A'm tae burnt out tae patch m'self up? Already lost an eye an' a leg tae tha', thankya kindly. If ye ain't already dyin' or a hinderance in your current state, wrap it up an' walk it off.

Well A'm so bloody sorry tha' ye blitherin' fecks bleed out faster than A' can plug th'holes.

Oh, so terrifyin', A'm a-quakin' in my wee boots! Oh wha'ever shall A' - have fun breathin', jackass (Said while collapsing a cultists lungs with magic)

People forget tha' us bioworkers are incredibly aware o' ev'ry wee movement people 'round us make. Ev'ry time Johan sees ye, his muscles relax, an' he feels more comfortable - in all fairness, he feels more comfortable 'round all o' us - but A' find it curious that his heartrate also picks up a wee bit only when it's you he sees. And e'en more curious that yours does th'exact same thing when ye see him.

Wow, right fascinatin' story, mate. Hey, A've heard tha' th'Green Rooves are wonderful this time o' year. (Said the first time she hears Johan and Anastasia discussing demons. 'Green Rooves' is Ost-Rietland slang for a mental institution)

Ha! Ye think this is cold? Go spend a month in Northern Rostov. Nae, e'en better, go spend a month in th'Angeheim wilderness. Then ye can talk 'bout the cold.

Always wanted tae go sightseein' in Genesh. A' probly wouldnae survive a day in th'desert but A' always wanted tae go. Maybe Neureich would be a good place tae visit, too, but wha's really over there anyways? Thirteen bombed out cities 'long th'coastal forest followed by Bozhe knows how many miles o' e'en more desert? Nae, thanks, A'll stick tae ma books.

Righ' then, hands up an' arses on the ground, this is a robbery! We're nae here tae rob any o' you's tho', so dinnae try bein' no hero 'till we have wha' we came for.

A' sometimes hate that A' can feel everything yer body does. A' can feel yer desire tae throttle me an' now A' have tae ask m'self wha' A' said that could've warranted it. Why d'ya force me tae introspect an' grow as a person? How dare ye? (Said with the express purpose of annoying the hell out of an already livid Hans)

Pffff-fucken, sacred hells, when last did anyone clean this place up a bit, 'tis rank! Hey ghosts! Open a window from time tae time, a wee breeze is good for th'soul. Or... souls, in this case.

Rostovan is such an easy language, though. Just get drunk, shove half a potato down yer throat an' make whatever noises come tae mind. Bob's yer uncle!

Shut it, or next time A' put ye back tae-gether, A'll leave an earing in yer colon.

Open tag for whomever wants it

[sroloc--elbisivni]

Sorrow is an Autumn Heart bibliography

October 16, 2022 is the day I put up the first chapter of what I still refer to as the spookyfic, and I'm overwhelmed and delighted that people are still finding it enjoyable. @letsgetempirical asked about the bibliography, and because I still have a lot of the info and wanted to do something for the ficiversary, here we go!

some notes: this is in two sections. The first section is the officially-formatted version (Chicago style) of stuff I knew I would need to refer back to or would definitely be using something from and remembered to put in Zotero while I was looking at it. The second section is...all of the links I zipped away into onetab when the fic was done. It's much less coherent. Not everything in here showed up in the fic, either--some stuff was just me following rabbit holes that looked interesting, or finding out that whatever I was looking at wouldn't fit for whatever reason.

Some of the jstor links are very ugly and I apologize for that. I also apologize that not all of the sources are going to be publicly available, as I was using university library access through work. The gun stuff in particular was maddeningly hard to get Anglophone sources on. I also just gave up on food at some point which is why the only visible meals in this story are the two from Usagi's recovery, and which I still managed to fuck up by forgetting the difference between yams (native to Japan) and sweet potatoes (from south america via pourtugese traders, not at all widespread). c'est la vie.

I WOULD like to shout out three of my absolute favorite open-access sources I found while researching this: Sengoku Daimyo, an SCA site that consistently had specific terminology or details I needed and whose 'Calendar and Time' page was probably my single most frequently consulted website; Shinsen On-Hiinagata: A New selection of Respected Patterns, which is a genuine Early Edo period book of kimono patterns and where I got the chrysanthemums kosode Leo wears in chapter 3; and The Rice Harvest, an online game where you play through a rice growing season in the Edo Period as resource manager. Yeah. I never managed to get all the way through because it was more time than I had to invest when I wanted to get back to writing, but its existence delights me and it DID teach me what tea orchards were.

Part 1:

Aoki, Reiko. “Innovation and Incentives in Japan Focus on Pre-Meiji,” n.d., 24.

Armstrong, Katie. “History of Kimono: The Edo Period.” Owlcation. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://owlcation.com/humanities/History-of-Kimono-Part-4-The-Early-Modern-Period-Edo-Period.

Breen, John. "Resurrecting the Sacred Land of Japan: The State of Shinto in the Twenty-First Century." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 37, Issue 2, (2010): 294-315

Brown, Delmer M. “The Impact of Firearms on Japanese Warfare, 1543–98.” The Journal of Asian Studies 7, no. 3 (May 1948): 236–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/2048846.

“Danka System.” In Wikipedia, October 16, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danka_system&oldid=1116488468.

Docslib. “Talismans and Amulets in the Japanese Collection1.” Accessed October 14, 2022. https://docslib.org/doc/1588708/talismans-and-amulets-in-the-japanese-collection1.

“Fudai Daimyo - in The Edo Period.” Accessed November 6, 2022. https://www.liquisearch.com/fudai_daimyo/in_the_edo_period.

Greve, Gabi. “Edo - the EDOPEDIA -: Teppo Guns.” Edo - the EDOPEDIA - (blog), April 30, 2016. https://edoflourishing.blogspot.com/2016/04/teppo-guns.html.

“Ofuda.” In Wikipedia, October 4, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ofuda&oldid=1114105231.

Sengoku Daimyo. “Etiquette.” Accessed October 14, 2022. https://sengokudaimyo.com/etiquette.

“Shinsen On-Hiinagata (A New Selection of Respected Patterns).” Accessed November 5, 2022. https://collections.mfa.org/objects/316014/shinsen-onhiinagata-a-new-selection-of-respected-patterns;jsessionid=B2C387B7B543B9D56C2759D94A3A8755.

"Special Exhibition: The Introduction of Guns in Japanese Warfare," National Museum of Japanese History, Oct. 3 to Nov. 26, 2006, 9.

Walthall, Anne. “Do Guns Have Gender?,” 24–47, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520267374.003.0002.

Yu, A. C. “Chigyo - Japanese Wiki Corpus.” Accessed October 14, 2022. https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/history/Chigyo.html.

———. “Kamishimo - Japanese Wiki Corpus.” Accessed November 5, 2022. https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/culture/Kamishimo.html.

———. “Kokushu - Japanese Wiki Corpus.” Accessed October 14, 2022. https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/title/Kokushu.html.

国友鉄砲ミュージアム. “STORY,” March 16, 2020. https://kunitomo-teppo.jp/ikkansai_en/story_en/.

Part 2:

https://www.justonecookbook.com/tsukimi-japanese-mid-autumn-festival/ | Celebrating Tsukimi: Japanese Autumn Festival • Just One Cookbook

https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Role-of-Shintoism-in-Art-During-Edo-Period-Japan | The Role of Shintoism in Art During Edo Period Japan - Owlcation

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45744 | Autumn Grasses | Japan | Edo period (1615–1868) | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

http://dwl.gov-online.go.jp/video/cao/dl/public_html/gov/pdf/hlj/20151101/06-07.pdf | 06-07.pdf

https://metimejp.com/lucky-charms3/ | Looking for Good Health in Ancient Japanese Culture - Me Time Japan

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Morishio&atb=v229-1&ia=web | Morishio at DuckDuckGo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzu_(bell) | Suzu (bell) - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Japanese_musical_instruments | Traditional Japanese musical instruments - Wikipedia

https://japanobjects.com/features/furin-wind-chimes | Furin: All You Need to Know About Japanese Wind Chimes

https://sengokudaimyo.com/calendar-and-time | Calendar and Time — Sengoku Daimyo

https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/building/Yamajiro%20(mountain%20castles).html | Yamajiro (mountain castles) - Japanese Wiki Corpus

https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/The-Tokugawa-status-system | Japan - The Tokugawa status system | Britannica https://www.pin1.harvard.edu/cas/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fkey-

https://nbthkebscandinavia.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/e6968-pettersson_16th_century_matchlocks.pdf | The evolution of the Japanese matchlock during the 16th century - e6968-pettersson_16th_century_matchlocks.pdf

https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/history/Joshu%20Daimyo%20(governors%20of%20castles).html | Joshu Daimyo (governors of castles) - Japanese Wiki Corpus

https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/culture/Jinya.html | Jinya - Japanese Wiki Corpus

https://www.kikkoman.co.jp/kiifc/foodculture/pdf_12/e_002_006.pdf | e_002_006.pdf https://wattention.com/traditional-rice-harvesting-in-japan/ | Traditional Rice Harvesting in Japan - WAttention.com

http://www.thericeharvest.com/info/game-basics-and-tips/growing-tea.html | Growing Tea | Game Basics & Tips | The Rice Harvest

http://www.thericeharvest.com/game.html?difficulty=easy&villageType=mountain | The Rice Harvest

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44674 | Farmers' Lives in the Twelve Months | Japan | Edo period (1615–1868) | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2022/01/in-old-japan-rice-luxury/ | In Old Japan, Rice Used to Be a Luxury | Tokyo Weekender https://sake-museum.jp/en/saketalk/1010/ | The History of Rice Polishing in the Edo Period - Sake Museum (Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake)

https://www.japanpowered.com/japan-culture/understanding-japanese-good-luck-charms | Understanding Japanese Good Luck Charms

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11776994/ | [Camphor in the Edo era fireworks] - PubMed

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv176ktd4?searchText=mountain%20castles%20edo%20period&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dmountain%2Bcastles%2Bedo%2Bperiod&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A335be2b0edac87a2794e24ced0c184ea | Technical Knowledge in Early Modern Japan on JSTOR

ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A335be2b0edac87a2794e24ced0c184ea | The castle town of Hikone and its future on JSTOR

https://www.jcastle.com/view/Daimyo | Daimyo - JCastle, the guide to Japanese Castles

https://www.jcastle.info/view/Edo_Period | Edo Period - Jcastle.info

https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/building/Yamajiro%20(mountain%20castles).html | Yamajiro (mountain castles) - Japanese Wiki Corpus

https://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?452907-Food-during-the-Sengoku-Era | Food during the Sengoku Era

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/81d8gf/what_was_japanese_cuisine_like_during_sengoku/ | What was Japanese cuisine like during Sengoku Jidai era Japan? How was it different to modern Japanese cuisine? : AskHistorians

https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/Samurai-groups-and-farming-villages | Japan - Samurai groups and farming villages | Britannica

https://kokorocares.com/blogs/blog/life-in-edo-a-prominent-era-of-establishing-japanese-food-culture | Life in Edo: A Prominent Era of Establishing Japanese Food Culture - Kokoro Care Packages

https://www.kikkoman.co.jp/kiifc/foodculture/pdf_12/e_002_006.pdf | e_002_006.pdf

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.Z480GtLLhOvuc1zsHfsakQAAAA%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=17bd9f98803761c2300bdae496a0afb2a793b5ba6a5c3fb55316692806ed8087&ipo=images | th-1957266066 (JPEG Image, 129 × 180 pixels)

https://www.liquisearch.com/fudai_daimyo/in_the_edo_period | Fudai Daimyo - in The Edo Period

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fudai_daimy%C5%8D | Fudai daimyō - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fief | Fief - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimyo | Daimyo - Wikipedia

https://www.adfontes.uzh.ch/en/tutorium/old-japanese-maps/edo-period-maps | Ad fontes: Tutorial / Old Japanese Maps / Edo-period maps

https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/das/image-l/M1000000000000000309 | 和州郡山城絵図 https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1286203?_lang=en | 〔日本図〕 - NDL Digital Collections

https://www.nakasendoway.com/castle-towns-2/ | Castle Towns

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=topographical+map+japan&t=ffab&atb=v229-1&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fexternal-preview.redd.it%2FGNBAmxXsj_ebIW6pZj0pV6ZYu--m3oHxwgpYveuCgo.png%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D8b008a3a286a814e1e7cf96b79a33dfe5b070883 | topographical map japan at DuckDuckGo

[niuniente]

I noticed you mentioned in another post that in Finland you celebrate a holiday called Kekri. I was wondering what kind of celebration that is (I’m American, I apologize😅).

Kekri is original Finnish New Year. This is what Taivaannaula organization, which tries to keep old traditions alive, tells about Kekri (translation by me):

Kekri (also known as köyri, köyry, keyri ja keuri) was the biggest celebration of the year. It names comes from Finn-Ugric word kekraj meaning a wheel or a cycle. Kekri was the last day of the harvest season and the first day of the new year. Field work has been completed bt Kekri and cattle had returned in their winter shelters from outdoors. It was time to enjoy the harvest, prepare the good luck and fertility for the nest year, and remember the passed loved ones and ancestors. Many Kekri traditions have moved to Christmas celebrations in modern day Finland.

Kekri was celebrated on 1st of November. Magic was strongly present in form of spells in Kekri. The spells were used to secure good harvest for next year, to protect cattle, sheep and horses. Main part of Kekri celebration was a sacrificial sheep because meat was available very rarely. The sheep was sacrificed at night for the many Guardians of Animals, and the sheep's bones were taken for example to sheep's shed for good luck. On Kekri, all animals were fed with the best possible food and the master of each household fed his own horses instead of servants.

Everyone aimed to finish their daily tasks as early as possible on Kekri day. The household needed to wake up really early to warm up the house which promised that the next year would be lively. The person who woke up the last was called "köyri". In the early morning women prepared flat bread, meat, fish, viili sour thick yogurt, milk and talkkuna (finely milled flour mixture). Later on the day a stew was made from potatoes, meat and sausage. During the day people took small taste sips from booze and beer made just for Kekri. All Kekri food was first taken to haltijas (haltija: a residing spirit of a certain place), to the sacred tree and to the sacred stone. Only after this were people allowed to eat.

During Kekri everyone should be offered food, no matter where they your own family, neighbors or strangers. In some areas, Kekri was a celebration meant only for the household and no outsiders were welcomed. However, being generous blessed the house with good luck. The food has to be eaten 9 times during the day and it had to be left on the table. To make sure the crops would grow well next year, the master of the house had to slowly get drunk during the day. However, the person who would sow the crops was not allowed to get drunk, otherwise the crops wouldn't grow next year because of the bad luck.

During Kekri, children dressed up in Köyrimörkö monsters and went from house to house. The scarier version of this was Köyripukki monsters, grown up men dressed up in animal hides turned upside down. They demanded food and booze from households. If they were denied their requests, the Köyripukki would start to break the house's oven. The peace was usually always found and the visitors would entertain the household with games and dances.

Ancestors were on the move in Kekri. Sauna with warm water, vasta birch branches, soap and towels was warmed and prepared for the spirits (including the spirits living in forests and houses). When the spirit had bathed, the people were allowed to bathe. As the people bathed, a table full of food was left for the spirits so that they could eat in peace while the people were in sauna.

Here are people from Taivaannaula organization enjoying this year's Kekri dinner, a bit early. There's an altar for ancestors with sacrifices for them, too.

[alias-aida]

Lost Cause

Today, Tonight I lost a friend. She called me her best friend. This is a lost cause. I'm a lost cause.

Faiza Osman, your home. Your roof has always helped me in the hardest stages of my life. I'll always be thankful to God for that.

My Bunny Boi, rolypoly, Rolypoly#7, rolypoly, 2u14n25, the password to all my important accounts and passwords in general. You came into my life when I had hit my adulthood prime. I got my first very own apartment and you were there, so i had made you a nickname: rolypoly— because you liked to roll so much on the floor lol. You eventually became the serotonin for me and i ended up capturing your nickname as my very first apartment password. Just like that— i came up with a better official nickname for you sunce you didnt like rolypoly— if was Bunny. And my Bunny boi, YOU have always been the ray of happiness in my ocean of sadness. A cute little younger brother bear of mine♡ I'll always be thankful for coming to the moments where I needed emotional support and help the most. For staying on call with me when I cried so much. Staying up on call with me. Staying there for me for the time I needed someone. For telling me I'll survive and live. And that something inside me is what I want to kill, not myself. I can't look at you while i am here for the last remaining few days. You have told me about yourself more than you would to other people and it made me feel special to have known you. And how innocent you are truly. There are things that most don't know between us but if i look at you i would probably cry a lot more than i need to. So i am going to avoid looking at you. At your eyes, and at the innocent presence of you. I don't think i can take it, if i look at you. You've been super kind to me since day 1. From your smoothies, mashed potatoes, mattress forts, to your time and envolvment with me during this year from February 15th, to the times that i needed someone the most you wete there for me. There is so much to say about you but I will not mention it or else I might just never be able to move on. But I am glad to have met such a kind cute kid. I hope you find a beautiful person to be with in the future. And you eventually grown into a good islamic man♡ in Sha Allah

Lo Sheng, you'll always be the gurl who made me feel like I wasn't years older than you. You talked to me like I was your classmate. The inside jokes we had made. You're a good gurl. Reliable teenager. It's odd to say that but truly, you're ahead of your years in some emotional cases. You'll be a great woman in the future. I'll never forget the moment when you massaged my head while I was down with the most heaviest fever. You kept on massaging until fever went down. Even faiza had left me alone, but you didn't. You stayed and massaged my head for sooooo long. It really touched me. And I'll never forget it. I felt like, that is how it must feel like to have a little sister. You'll achieve whatever you want in life, I pray for the best my love, In Sha Allah♡♡♡

Asma, the cutest sassiest kiddo ever. You're so little right now. I remember when I was your age. I was a quiet kid. Gloomy, sad, heartbroken kid. Looking at you made me realize that that's how little kids should be. Carefree and expressive. Unlike how I grew up. Sacred and surviving. Your love for putties, cats, art, bracelet making. And purses and chocolate Hahaha. I wore your bracelet when you gave it to me. But I don't think I can keep wearing it so I took it off. Or else I would be more heartbroken than I am right now. So I'll just keep your bracelet with me. But not wear it ever. I can presevr things very well. I hope you'll grow into a beautiful person in life. In Sha Allah ♡♡♡

And finally,

Siham Rose Osman. My OG main, default mode girl. You're the one I started this whole journey with— the Osman family and you're the one I am ending this journey with. In the middle of our friendship Faiza had become my right hand but at the end, she threw me away like a crumpled paper into the trash can. And in the end you understood my mind and heart. You asked me about my life and you cried with me. You cried for me. No one ever shed tears with me. Or for me. You tried to tell me that there is someone who will understand me out there. I appreciate you so much. I didn't think you would understand me this much. You even stood up trying to talk to faiza about why she didn't block her. You were so passionate ashen you asked her, it made me feel like you truly believed me and whatever I had to say to you. When we stood near thar window, with the beautiful breeze and sunset was in the sky, we stood there and talked about my pain. My childhood. You asked me. And the azan went on. I shared a moment of my pain with a person who truly cared for me there. I wish I could stay friends with you forever. But you'll never be able to truly take me as a friend because of how faiza is. She's the one who decided that I needed to be taken down. Thrown away. And if she's not going to take me I'm as her friend anymore then you can't ether consider me your friend properly. It's just how life works.

[afieldinengland]

it’s always alright to make fun of christianity. it’s always funny

[cower-before-power]

Piety

Summary: Gojo has sinned, and he will repent at the altar of his beloved

Pairing: Gojo Satoru x F!Reader

TW: swearing, implied sexual content, idolatry

Link to A03 here

A/N: First time writing for everyone’s favourite sensei, hope I did him justice. This man can step on me. Enjoy, sweet potatoes!

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

“You’re late.”

He laughs softly from the doorway. “I told you I would be.”

“I know,” you say, your eyes focused on the rising moon out the window. “But you’ve always said I was the exception.”

“You are,” you can hear walk over to the closet; next, the rustling of clothes as he sheds his uniform. “But Yuuji-kun is doing so well I got overexcited and just had to stay a bit longer. When I was finished with him, I was planning on rushing straight home to you, but then I ran into my other darling first years. They wanted me to watch them fight. Their training for the exchange is coming along nicely too.”

“Hmmmmm,” you hum, rocking on your heels, “good reasons to be late, I suppose.”

You can’t help but let a little irritation creep into your voice. You’re not angry with him, not truly, but you can’t help be a little annoyed. Your lives were so busy it was often hard to find time to actually act like a couple. The two of you had set aside tonight to finally go out together, a real date. You’d made reservations at a fancy restaurant and even got dressed up for once. Not that you didn’t love your late night routine of takeout, Netflix and sex, but it was nice every once and a while to get out.

To pretend everything was normal. To pretend you were normal.

So when he texted you that he was sorry but things came up, could you please cancel the reservation-you couldn’t help but feel....cast aside.

You loved Gojo’s dedication to his students and his passion for his cause. You were proud of his strength, his powers. But sometimes it felt like you were a planet orbiting around his brilliant sun, competing with all the others for his warmth and light. He was the best, and was always needed by someone somewhere. You knew it was what you were in for when you put your heart in his hands, but it was still sometimes a bitter pill to swallow.

“You’re upset with me,” he says, and you finally turn to face him. He’s out of his uniform and only in a pair of dark sweatpants; your favourite look. You have a strong urge to run to him and bury yourself in his chest. You stay put.

“No not at you, per say,” you run your hands through your hair, taking out the style you’d coaxed it into earlier. “Just at life, I guess. Things are always crazy around here, but they seem to be getting even wilder and it just makes it even harder for us to spend quality time together.”

“You’ve never complained before.”

You sigh, tugging at the straps of your dress. “I know, I know. I’m just in a mood today, I guess. I was really looking forward to going out, and when you texted me, I just felt, I don’t know, shuffled aside.”

He stays quiet, face unreadable. It’s unusual and quite frankly rather unsettling. You feel guilt suddenly bubble hotly in your stomach.

“I mean, it’s fine! What you were doing was very important! Yuuji needs all the training he can get, poor boy. Plus, Megumi and Nobara miss you, they’ve noticed you haven’t been around a lot and they probably just wanted to see you be proud of them, even if they’ll never admit it. I’m being silly, I mean, who cares if we missed the reservation, the students and their training is definitely more important than going out with me-“

Your words die on your lips as you find yourself suddenly pressed flush against the chest you were just admiring moments earlier. You blink and gasp-bright blue eyes are staring intently down into yours. It always stuns you momentarily to see them. They are like sapphires; not only beautiful in shine and hue, but rare and precious. They only show up when he’s feeling particularly loving and mushy, or the very limited occasions when he gets serious.

You have a feeling it’s the latter.

“What have I told you about being too kind, angel?” He scolds you, shaking his head as he cups your face in his large, warm hands. “Just come out and say I’m the asshole here.”

“But-“

“Hush now,” his voice grows stern, the tone he uses when he’s got you at his mercy. You obey on instinct, snapping your lips shut. “I shouldn’t have stayed so long at school, and I definitely shouldn’t have assumed that cancelling would be okay without asking. I’ve never, ever wanted you to feel like you’re playing second string, and I’ve gone and done just that.”

You frown. “I don’t feel like that all the time, please don’t think I-“

“Once is one time too many,” he interrupts. His fingers smooth over your skin, stroking the frown from your face. “I clearly fucked up. I let my angel, my reason to live, my sweet darling thief who stole my heart, down.”

(You feel warm. So he is feeling mushy as well as serious.)

He replaces his fingers with his lips, featherlight brushes over your skin that make your knees begin to wobble. “It’s okay,” you breathe, eyes slipping shut so he can kiss your eyelids gently. “You didn’t mean to.”

He laughs. “Sweetness, you are shit at being mad at someone. This is the part where you call me a prick and make me grovel for forgiveness.”

“You’ve never groveled in your life,” you hum. The irritation you’d been feeling earlier is melting away under his gentle ministrations. He hadn’t meant to hurt you. He sometimes forgets the two of you didn’t always operate on the same wavelength. He sometimes forgets that everyone didn’t operate on his wavelength.

“Another exception I’d make for you,” he nibbles at your bottom lip, and you can’t help but chase him, trying to catch him in a proper kiss. He just laughs and sweeps a thumb over where he’s just nipped. “I’ll even get on my knees.”

The image of the worlds most powerful shaman on his knees before you sends a shiver up your spine. And the perceptive bastard doesn’t miss it. He pulls away, peeling himself from your body with a sticky slowness that causes the air around you to heat and thicken. He sinks to his knees before you, palms upturned in perfect piety.

“Oh goddess divine, please accept my humble apologies,” the words drip from his lips like a sacred prayer. “I have displeased you, and I seek to make amends.”

“Only you could apologize and make fun of someone at the same time,” you murmer, feeling your cheeks begin to flush. “You’re an idiot.”

“An idiot who only wishes to repent for his sins,” he grins lazily up at you, and his upturned hands are suddenly on your legs, beneath your dress. His thumbs begin to rub circles on your inner thighs. Time stops; your next breath lodges in your throat.

“Tell me what I must do,” his voice is smooth like the silk of his blindfold, slipping over you. He leans in and presses a kiss just above your right knee. His mouth is hot against your skin.

“Ummmm....” you try to speak, but nothing comes out but a choked whimper.

“I’m waiting very patiently,” another kiss, this time slightly higher. Your brain begins to malfunction. You open and close your mouth, trying to get the words out, but there’s nothing. Nothing but his warm breath and deft hands. Nothing but crystalline blue darkened with hunger. Nothing but need beginning to boil in your blood.

“I’ll just have to decide the form of atonement myself,” he murmurs, skimming his nose along your inner thigh. His hands slowly slide up your legs, your dress is coming up with them....

And then you both hear it.

The loud grumbling of your very empty belly.

He pulls back and blinks up at you. You stare back, mouth open. And then you both burst into raucous laughter.

“What a mood killer,” he grins, sitting back on his heels. “I’ve never been cockblocked by your stomach before.”

“Sorry!” You rub the offending area, still giggling. “I guess in all my stewing I forgot I was hungry.”

He’s on his feet in a flash. “Well we can’t have you starve on me, can we, sweetness? I know, how about I cook for us?”

Your eyes light up. Gojo is an excellent cook, but he rarely does it due to his busy and exhausting schedule. And his bad habit of filling up on sweets. “Really?”

“Sure,” he’s already across the room, throwing on a shirt and his blindfold. “Tell you what, you go have a nice hot soak in the tub while I cook. I’ll bring you a glass of wine and something from my extra secret sweets stash to tide you over till I’m done.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Something from the secret stash? I’m honoured.”

He grins. “Another exception for my angel.” He suddenly claps his hands together. “Oh, and tomorrow we’ll play hookey! Go to Tokyo for the whole day, and I’ll spoil the absolute shit out of you. The kids can survive a day without us.”

“You already spoil me,” you laugh, shaking your head. “I’ll just be happy to spend a whole day just us.”

“No arguments!” He wags his finger. “I will drop mad cash on you and you will enjoy it.”

“Ugh you are such a dork,” you roll your eyes, but your heart fills with love for this silly man. You know he really is sorry and is trying to make it up to you. He’s an idiot on occasions, but he’s your idiot, and you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

You make to move towards the bathroom, but the lingering feel of his touch on your skin reminds you.

“Hey, what happens after the bath and food?”

Before you can blink, he’s back in front of you, gathering you against him. His smile is absolutely feral, and you can feel his smouldering gaze even through the black fabric now covering his eyes.

And his lips are descending on yours, hot and hungry. He licks into your mouth, swallowing the moan that’s threatening to escape. There’s nothing left but him. His touch, his taste, his scent. He is everywhere, in every sweep and valley of your body, in every corner of your pounding heart. He consumes you like fire consumes a forest, and you are happy to burn, burn, burn.

All too soon he pulls away, and you are left empty. Bereft. Lost. But he leans back in, his lips brushing your ear, his voice dark with reverent desire.

“I’ll worship at the altar of my divine goddess until my penance is paid a hundred fold.”

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Hiya! I really adore your blog and I don't think(?) you've been asked this, but sorry if you have addressed it! I've been watching documentaries/researching things and I'm curious if you have any thoughts/opinions about NWT/Agna Qel'a and its sustainability? Esp during the 100 year war when they're isolated, is it feasible to feed the whole city without imports? What sort of agriculture could work in an arctic climate?

So funny thing about cities:

For a civilization to build a city, the first thing they need is a surplus of food. This is what allows people to fulfil the city requirements (things like job specialization, which leads to some specializing in planning or building infrastructure, or a big population which allows for plenty of people to fill all these little niches in these specialized jobs). There's a little cultural problem here and I'm not sure how well it's been established or explained, or even if it's been acknowledged at all.

The Inuit, Inupiat, Yup'ik, and even some of the other groups, Native or otherwise, that have inspired the aesthetic of the Water Tribes 1) tended to be more nomadic than sedentary (so setting roots in a city in the first place makes little sense) and 2) don't believe in taking the amount of food from nature that would be needed for such a surplus. Speaking as an Inupiaq, it's seen as disgustingly greedy. If you have more food than you need, you don't hoard it, you give it to people who need it without expecting anything in return. You never take with the intention of getting more than you need so you can sell the extra. If you still have more to spare, you save it for a day where you might otherwise starve, not for some guy who says a canal system will improve things and wants to work on that instead of getting his own food.

So it's really strange to me when people treat the Northern Water Tribe like it's this sort of untouched safe place where they still follow the culture that's been forgotten in the Southern Tribe. They have what are essentially roads, they have grand architecture, they have a class system, and the concept of a princess. None of these are accurate to the people indigenous to the tundra. If you're anywhere near as much of a stickler for this cultural aspect of the Water Tribe and the irl cutures it's supposed to be based on (and I can't say I recommend it because it does make being mad about the franchise much easier), then the only explanation is that they're way more culturally influenced by the other nations, namely the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, than the Southern Water Tribe is.

As for agriculture, in the same way that snooty vegans are technically correct when the say "you don't need meat" you technically don't need that many vegetables. Rather than the meat we tend to think of when we go to the butcher or meat and seafood counter at the store, where it's only certain cuts of flesh from animals specifically bred for centuries to produce this kind of meat or that, the Inupiaq diet specifically incorporated as many parts of the animals that adapted to the needs of surviving the arctic as possible. It's not possible to live on a diet of 90% steak and get all the nutrients you need, but when it includes fish eyes and whale skin, the tongue, the heart, the liver, fats of all kinds, and supplement the rest of your needs with things like fireweed, sourdock, wild celery, and berries, it will sustain you and get you through the winter.

Below, I've attached a video showing what subsitance hunting and gathering looks like in northwest Alaska. It's thoroughly informative but be warned that it does include footage of irl hunting and butchering. You will see guns and knives and dead animals in this video.

I suppose you could grow things like eskimo potato/masru or berry bushes the way people would grow, say, tomatoes or beans. You could apply selective breeding to get nutient rich crops and build greenhouses out of sheets of clear ice, double walled with folks keeping the moisture in the dirt from freezing so it stays warm enough for things to grow for as long as the sun stays in the sky. They have an oasis full of magic spirit water so maybe there's something sacred that could be keeping crops alive.

The question is, how do you take the land required to do that from social herbivores? Are you going to treat them like pests to be exterminated when you need their meat and skins to survive? That land is their home as much as it's yours.

I think personal gardens or even just bushes and such kept in pots in or around the home would be much likelier than full scale intensive farms. Grouse or ptarmigans or similar fowl (Sokka does mention "arctic hen") could be kept domestically for their eggs or occasionally meat the way chickens might be kept in the other nations. Grains and flour may be traded with stealthy Earth Kingdom merchants in exchange for pelts or ivory or even ice blocks for food storage.

And on the other hand, it could just be a densely populated village made fancy with enough signs of civilization for outsiders to respect while everyone is still otherwise living a hunter gatherer lifestyle to feed their families. There isn't really a "wrong" answer in any sense until canon gets its shit together (and maybe actually hires an eskimo writer so it makes sense) and gives an actual explanation.

[tiffanyfaye]

Lughnasadh - The First Harvest - What is it and how can you celebrate it?

By Tiffany Faye, 7/26/2021

Lughnasadh, or Lammas, is one of the eight Witches Sabbats and is the First Harvest of the season. It occurs on August 1st, directly in between the Summer Solstice and Autumnal Equinox. We are celebrating the abundance created from the union of the Earth and the Sun, of the Goddess and the God. It is a time to give thanks for what we have but is also a grim reminder that nothing lasts forever. Also called the Grain Harvest, this is when corn and grains of all kind are harvested. Lammas translates to "loaf-mass" because the first loaf made from the first harvest of the season is sacred. As well as seeing the decline in the Sun, we are reminded of hope with the seeds that are being returned to the ground to sprout the next spring.

The God is in his aspect of John Barleycorn and He is begnning to loose his strength, for his power has been transferred to the crops that are being cut down. He has become the God of Sacrifice for he is eaten with the harvests of the season, while also being returned to the Earth to grow anew next spring. The Goddess is in her aspect of the Harvest Queen, or Earth Mother, whom is heavily pregnant with the next year's Sun God. She watches the God die in sorrow but also joy for She knows He lives on within Her.

Ways to Celebrate Lughnasadh:

Make a bonfire

Have a harvest feast

Making a Grain Mother, or corn dolly - Gather stalks of wheat, rye, oats, or another type of grain. Soak it in water to make it easier to bend, and bend it in the shape a woman. Use ribbon or twine to hold the stalks in place, and dress it with homemade clothes from craps of cloth. While making putting your corn dolly together, give thanks for the abundance you have received. You can place it on your altar or as decoration for any festivities.

Make a Wicker Man - Put all of the bad habits you don't like and want to get rid of inside of him. You can write it on a piece of paper or bay leaf, and then throw him into a bonfire.

Baking bread, especially cornbread, Is sacred to this Sabbat. Here is a recipe I found on a website call the Goddess and the Greenman. I will link it in the sources below:

Buttermilk Bread Charm for Lammas

You will need:

3 mugs of strong white flour

500 ml of Buttermilk (available from the supermarket)

I teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda

Lammas ribbon in your choice of color – gold, orange, yellow

Sprouted seeds – these represent regeneration. Can even be bought in the supermarket now. Frequently found in wholefood shops – or sprout your own.

Place the flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Sieve in the blended salt and soda and pour in the buttermilk. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough feels springy and then mix in the sprouted seeds. If it feels too sloppy just add a little more flour. Turn it onto a board and cover with a fine dusting of flour. Pat it with your hands until you have a round shape. Take a sharp knife and score lightly into eight sections, one for each festival. Our picture shows the bread cut into five sections, making a pentacle.

Place onto a greased baking tray and pop your buttermilk bread into a moderate oven for about 20-25 minutes. Keep and eye on it. When the bread is ready it will change color and it will sound hollow when you tap the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack. When it is cool, tie it with Lammas ribbon.

Take time to concentrate on the bread you have created and turn the loaf three times saying "From the fields and through the stones, into fire, Lammas Bread, as the Wheel turns may all be fed. Goddess Bless.”

Now take your bread and share it with your family and friends and pass on the generous blessings of this bright and bountiful festival. Eat it fresh, as soon as it is made if you can.

Recipe donated by the Counter Enchantress. Adapted by the Boss Lady with permission.

Correspondences of Lughnasadha

August 1st

Also called - Lammas, Lughnasa, August Eve, Feast of Bread, First Harvest, Grain Harvest, Gwyl Awst, Ceresalia

The First Harvest, the Grain Harvest. The first loaf of the harvest is sacred.

Themes of the Sabbat - Gathering with your community and family, giving thanks for the abundance you have received for the year, remember that nothing is for forever but everything goes through cycles of life, death, and rebirth, time for celebration and having fun, a time for reflection

Symbols/Altar Decoration - Sunflowers, Cornucopia, Grains, Lambs, Scythe/Sickle, Corn Dollies, Sun Wheel, Rowan Cross, Games and Competitions

Activities - Making corn dolly's, baking bread, harvest feast, bonfires, reflection

Deities - Ceres, Dagon, Dana, Demeter, Dummuzi, Hestia, Isis, Lugh, Luna, Taranis, Vesta

Animals/Nature Spirits - Buck, Calves, Crow, Eagle, Lambs, Lion, Pigs, Rooster, Salmon, Sheep

Colors - Bronze, Green, Gold, Light Brown, Orange, Yellow

Crystals/Stones - Amber, Carnelian, Citrine, Golden Topaz, Lodestone, Moss Agate, Obsidian, Peridot, Tiger's Eye, Yellow Aventurine

Trees - Apple, Hazelnut, Holly, Oak

Flowers/Herbs - Acacia, Apple Leaf, Basil, Blackthorn, Clover, Goldenrod, Heather, Ivy, Marigold, Milkweed, Mugwort, Peony, Poppy, Rose/Rose Hips, Rosemary, Sunflower, Vervain, Yarrow

Incense/Oils - Basil, Frankincense, Rose, Rosemary, Sandalwood

Foods - Apples, Berries, Breads and other foods made of grains, Cider, Garlic, Honey, Mushroom, Nuts, Pears, Pies, Potatoes, Soups

Visit us on Etsy!

Sources:

Class Notes from "Wheel of the Year: Introduction," The Magickal Circle School, www.magickalcircleschool.com

The White Goddess Editor, retrieved 7/25/2021, "Lammas," TheWhiteGoddess.co.uk, http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_wheel_of_the_year/lammas.asp

The Goddess and the Greenman Editor, retrieved 7/25/2021, "Lammas," GoddessandGreenman.co.uk, https://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/lammas/

[magickkate]

Today, let's talk about Lammas, the Sabbat of the first harvest! As the days grow shorter and the first fruits of the harvest ripen on the vine, we come to Lammas, a festival of gratitude, abundance, and celebration. This Sabbat marks the first harvest of the season and celebrates the fruits of our labor and the blessings of the earth.

Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh, is a sacred festival celebrated on July 31st - August 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere (or January 31st - February 2nd in the Southern Hemisphere). It marks the halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox and is a time to honor the first harvest of the season and give thanks for the abundance of the Earth.

🌾 History and Traditions:

Lammas has its roots in ancient agricultural societies, where it was celebrated as a festival of grain and the harvest. The name "Lammas" comes from the Old English word "hlafmaesse," meaning "loaf mass," referring to the tradition of baking bread with the newly harvested grain. In Celtic mythology, Lammas is associated with the god Lugh, who was honored with games, feasting, and rituals celebrating the harvest. It is a time of community gatherings, feasting, and giving thanks for the blessings of the Earth.

Here are a few ways to honor the magic of Lammas:

Give Thanks for the Harvest: Take this time to give thanks for the abundance of the earth and the blessings of the harvest, expressing gratitude for the nourishment and sustenance it provides.

Bake Bread and Share Food: Bake bread or other baked goods using grains harvested from the earth, and share them with loved ones as a symbol of abundance and community.

🌾 Recipes: -> Lammas Bread: Bake a loaf of bread using whole grains such as wheat or cornmeal. Add herbs like rosemary or basil for flavor and intention. -> Harvest Soup: Create a hearty soup using seasonal vegetables like corn, squash, and potatoes. Infuse it with warmth and nourishment to symbolize the abundance of the harvest.

Create a Harvest Altar: Decorate your altar with symbols of the harvest, such as grains, fruits, vegetables, and symbols of abundance, to honor the bounty of the earth and the blessings of the season.

🌾 Correspondences:

Colors: Gold, yellow, orange, green.

Symbols: Wheat, grain, corn, bread, sunflowers, sheaves of wheat.

Herbs: Meadowsweet, chamomile, sunflower, rosemary, basil.

Crystals: Citrine, amber, peridot, carnelian.

Offerings to the Land: Make offerings to the land and the spirits of nature, giving back to the earth and expressing your appreciation for its gifts.

Hold a Harvest Ritual: Gather with loved ones to hold a ritual of gratitude and celebration, giving thanks for the abundance of the earth and the blessings of the season.

🌾 Rituals and Celebrations:

Harvest Ritual: Create an altar adorned with symbols of the harvest, such as grains, fruits, and vegetables. Offer gratitude to the Earth for its abundance and blessings. Light candles in shades of gold and yellow to honor the sun's warmth and energy.

Bread Baking: Bake bread using freshly harvested grains or incorporate grains like wheat or cornmeal into your cooking. As you knead the dough, infuse it with your intentions for abundance and prosperity.

Outdoor Activities: Spend time in nature, perhaps visiting a local farm or orchard to connect with the land and observe the ripening crops. Take a nature walk and collect wildflowers or herbs to decorate your home or altar.

Feasting and Sharing: Host a feast with friends and loved ones, featuring dishes made from seasonal produce. Share stories, laughter, and gratitude for the abundance of the harvest season.

Lammas is a time of gratitude, abundance, and celebration, reminding us to honor the cycles of nature and give thanks for the blessings of the Earth. May your Lammas be filled with joy, abundance, and blessings from the harvest! 🌾🍞🌞