#saltier than the dead sea

[ahomeganeyatsu]

I still feel robbed that we didn't get any Seondeok and Declan interactions in TDT.

And sure we only got seonsaengnim from that brief chaper back in TRC, but fuuuuuuccccckkk does the idea of Declan speaking in Korean do things to me.

Also, knowing Declan and Henry's mom are connected, the potential chaos of Henry and Declan interactions is sending me.

[spring-books]

god, manic-pixie-dreamgirl wei ying who can't sit still for a second is really gonna be my villain origin story. I hate him more than i hate chief cultivator lan wangji who can't talk, and i hate that lwj a LOT. fandom has wholeheartedly embraced these two characterisations to the degree that 9 out of ten fics use them and it's literally impossible to filter that shit out!

[heretherebedork]

The hardest part about that episode of Last Twilight was that we'd just had the big speech at Aon's wedding about relying on each other and how couples have to give to each other and share their love and then just... Mhok experiences pain and needs support and love and reassurance? Nope! Day doesn't emotional labor. He lets everyone around him do that and the instant he's asked for care about someone outside of how they matter to him or how they help him? That's it. Done. Break right up and leave him out to dry. Because how dare Mhok have his own issues at any point. How dare he have his own struggles that aren't just about Day. Nope. Instead, he throw him out into the darkness and tell him to stay away and say that if he doesn't just accept his fate than he's being even worse. My entire heart broke and for what? What can possibly happen now that would make up for this? How can Mhok ever truly rely on Day or share his pain when he knows that Day sees his pain not as an aspect of himself but rather as a reflection of Mhok's views of him no matter what Mhok does?

[daybreakrising]

8. Name any three things about the rpc that bother you. & 9.What is your opinion on exclusivity? Do you practice it? Why / why not?

the be honest meme

8. Name any three things about the rpc that bother you.

okay i'm gonna keep these short if possible but:

1) first one has to be the absolute utter lack of communication. not even just for anything negative, either - people just simply... don't talk to each other about anything. for example: want to explore a potential ship with someone? don't wait for a person to pick up hints or vibes, because many of us simply won't pick up on them. just approach someone with the idea. the worst that's gonna happen is they'll turn you down (hopefully politely) and then you can seek out someone else who might be down for it. simple. easy. just talk to people about things. "but i'm anxious" we're all fckn anxious that's why we're here.

and to tack onto this bc i was gonna make it its own thing but it's down to communication still: the fact you can be blocked forever just bc you briefly interacted with someone a person has an issue with. and yes, i'm adding this bc it's happened to me - is still happening to me. doesn't matter that i don't talk to that person at all anymore, doesn't matter that i haven't been in their circle for months, doesn't even matter that i wasn't even that close with them in the first place - i'm forever blocked bc of a brief association and it's ridiculous, frankly. and i understand wanting to curate your space a certain way if you want to avoid a specific person appearing in your vicinity in any way (and i'll come back to this topic for the second question, bc i stand by someone's right to choose how they curate their own space), but it again comes down to communication. blocking someone forever removes that chance to communicate. it's like you've sentenced them - but even prisoners get parole hearings. and yes, sometimes you block someone for something and then never think about them again, but when you are an instant block on any blog someone then makes? when you haven't even done anything to this person directly or weren't even aware of them? when you haven't even done anything wrong? that feels real shit, guys. don't do it to people.

2) this is a big one for me but: the way some people in the rpc treat villainous characters, or characters who have otherwise done Terrible Things. now, listen, i get wanting to explore "what ifs" and even potential redemptions, and that's fine, but unless you are going completely au (which i don't always agree with, especially if the Terrible Thing or them being a bad person is intrinsically tied to their story, but for the sake of this-) then you cannot, cannot, act like they weren't a horrible person or did terrible things, or that those things don't matter anymore. you cannot expect characters - especially anyone they might have wronged - to just change their opinions for nothing. & i detest villain apologists with my entire soul. you cannot excuse their behaviour (though you can explain it - two very different things). you cannot "redeem" them by going: hey, it doesn't matter that they did all these terrible things, because they're chill now! look at these nice things they've done! no, if you want your character to be redeemed, you've gotta fckn work for it, and you've gotta accept that it might not be possible - or that, at least, there will be characters who will never accept they've changed even if they have.

if you can't handle a villain being a villain, then don't write one.

3) nothing is "canon" unless it is actually canon. is it stated clearly in whatever media it is? is it explicitly said? no? then it's not canon. i don't care how implied it is or how "-coded" something is, it's not canon (also, hate the word 'coded' bc of how it's used, but that's another salt for another day). and someone not adhereing to what you believe is "canon" does not mean they are hating on it. we are all allowed our opinions, our own headcanons. unless something is directly harmful or problematic then let people have their hcs even if they disagree with yours. and yes, i understand that for some things, canon cannot explicitly state that a character is a certain way, for example, but that's unfortunately how the world is. even so, that doesn't give you the right to dictate someone's hcs or spew hate because they don't accept your canon.

& this applies heavily to ships. your ship is not canon unless it actually is canon. and please, please, acknowledge and understand that language means different things in different cultures. language has different meanings across the same culture, sometimes. your understanding of a word isn't necessarily the understanding that was meant and it certainly doesn't give you the right to look down on or outright hate upon anyone or anything that doesn't align with your views.

9. What is your opinion on exclusivity? Do you practice it? Why / why not?

i do practice it, and here's why:

sometimes, it just makes sense. i typically only do this with ships, and only really with ships that i simply cannot see me seeking out with another person for whatever reason that is. sometimes you'll just click with someone and build a dynamic together that meets every need you've ever had for that particular combination of muses. sometimes it's a combination of muses you never expected to write. sometimes the dynamic only works with that one specific portrayal. and, sometimes, it's a dynamic you have very specific thoughts on that you can only trust this one person with.

and i get it, it does suck if you love a person's portrayal and want to pursue a particular dynamic, only to discover they're exclusive with someone. it's a bummer. but that's their right and you can't get salty over it. they've chosen to be exclusive for whatever reason and you just have to accept it, even if it sucks.

what i don't understand is the hate towards exclusivity. why shouldn't a person curate their space how they want? why is that such a terrible thing? "oh but it excludes people-" so what ???? you're not obligated to interact with anyone. if you're getting angry or upset over someone choosing to run their blog a certain way, maybe you shouldn't be here.

and to add on at the end bc i just know there's a chance someone will go "but you complained about people blocking you earlier. that's not respecting how they've chosen to curate their space" if i don't say this: please understand that is a very specific situation and is not the same thing at all. i already said that i understand why they did it and i take no issue with that at all. my issue is solely with the fact that it's still happening even though i no longer have any association with that particular person, because there's no opportunity to communicate. that's my problem with it.

[attibar]

Reginald’s character development in the Rapidly Promoted Executive route.

[magical-regical]

IT'S A DUPE FUCK ME.

Angry rant below the cut

Y'all this was some next level gaslighting. I planned to do just a single ten pull, just to build pity, because I'm not an idiot who spends their entire 20 (maybe 30) pulls on the small chance I might get the card and for a second when I saw gold, I was like 'oh shit'. When I saw snowflakes on my screen, for a few seconds I had some smidgen of hope.

'Maybe I'm lucky for once.' I thought, 'Maybe the game is apologizing for making me do 140 pulls for a single valentines card.'

I even thought 'well even if it's not a the rate up card, all of Zayne's five-stars serve so I'll get a new story to read (maybe business trip? Give business trip card yes?).

But no. Once again. This game spits in my face. My pity is at 69 again fuck me. I need to spend the extra 10 pulls just to get my pity back to where it was.

Ugh fine. Whatever. I lost the 50/50. Again. At least I lost it early. At least I get a power boost on the myth card so maybe I can clear more DS trials or the hunter contest. At least whichever banner I pull on next gets me a guaranteed event card. I might sit on it until the next limited Zayne banner because knowing my luck the devs will spit on me again by giving me a Xavier card (sorry Xavier enjoyers but I really find your man kinda boring and I'm too ticked off to be nice rn).

[panda-escapades]

Gotta survive till the end of the week, but so angry.

[adelarsims]

I checked the posts you linked and now i'm curious about the inept of spellcasting, even though i'm pretty sure you don't really have anything more on the guy ahah

But yeah, the guy must have been saltier than the dead sea when he learnt Morgyn was the new headmaster. Did he quit spellcasting altogether? Because I wonder how Morgyn would react if they ever see him again, maybe after a few decades (and maybe the guy doesn't look as young anymore because he's less talented than Morgyn)

Anyway I'll stop bothering you about some guy you mentioned only once lol

you're not bothering at all, i love talking about characters. and you'd be surprised to find out that the guy actually exists! his name is Gaspard.

he didn't quit spellcasting because of that, of course, he just doesn't visit this particular magic hq - but this is not the only place in the magic world where the spellcaster can be. no one is forced to live in magic world at all, most "commonborn" people (those who were born human and only later were granted the gift of spellcasting) just keep living in their normal homes and teleport to magic world for learning and buying magic neccessities that they can't get anywhere else, and many pureblood spellcasters live in magic places, but not there.

the magic world that we see in the game is just a little part of actual magic world (more about it here), it only has Academia and the guild of crafters (jewelers that make amulets and rings, carpenters that make brooms and wands, enchanters that enchant all that, and herbalists that grow herbs for potions). only crafters, teachers and students really live there, others just visit. Morgyn lives there because they're the headmaster, and because this place is one of the five cornerstones that protect magic world. sorry for that tangent, what i meant to say is that just because Gaspard doesn't come here anymore, doesn't mean he quit being a spellcaster, it just means he prefers to go somewhere else for his magical shopping and stuff.

right now Gaspard lives in a small town in magic world and serves as its local spellcaster, blessing crops, setting wards, healing children. technically he's less talented than Morgyn, but that doesn't mean he's not talented, it was just Morgyn's sharp tongue. he just chose the quiet life for himself, also it's nigh impossible to be more talented than Morgyn. they were a magical prodigy, they're a Grand Sage for a reason, and their ancestry makes them very powerfull... more powerful than they can control, in fact.

i went on a tangent again, didn't i. well, Gaspard indeed doesn't look as young, but that's not a matter of talent, anyone can drink the potion of youth. he's just not as terrified of not looking young as Morgyn is (mentioned here why), and he's perfectly comfortable with his wrinkles, he could drink a youth potion more and look like he's 20, but he thinks some age makes him look more reliable in townsfolk's eyes.

if Morgyn saw him again, they'd find him alone and apologize for making his life harder and admit that they probably were insufferable.

[deiaiko]

Day 2: Sea / Prison

Khun lifts up a taller piece, fins flicking to maintain balance. He’s always a little envious of how easily Bam can pick up the pieces, as a shark far larger than Khun. If Khun were to face him head on, he would be dead in an instant. But ironically, his size is more advantageous here. He can swim out and leave this cave. Bam…Bam is trapped, a shark cooped in a fishtank. Perhaps the cruelest part is that besides the size, this tank is the perfect condition for a shark. Most of the crevices in the cave must open into the ocean, because the water here is saltier than the water above. Even Khun can’t stay in it for too long. Minnows aren’t saltwater fish.

[darklydeliciousdesires]

of your drabble requests, I can imagine them all with Hap, but,

number 3. “Maybe if you’d been paying attention, you’d have seen it, how much I love you.” with Happy Lowman please xx

Of course, you can!

You didn't really know how it was going to go, when you first revealed to Happy how you felt about him. Perhaps something inside whispered to you that how it did go was how it always would, though. Especially with a man like him.

“Maybe if you’d been paying attention, you’d have seen it, how much I love you.”

His frown dented the spot between his eyebrows, Happy cocking his head to the side slightly, his jaw muscles twitching. "So, I'm the one who isn't paying attention, hmm?"

"Yes!" you charge, raising your arms, letting them fall by your sides, wishing you'd never said anything at all.

He snorts softly, looking at the floor for a moment. "If you can't see how much I love you, you need a fucking eye test. God damned broads, chatting on about love when they can't even see it for themselves. Just been standing here in love with you for years, but nope, I'm the one who isn't paying attention."

His muttering, which is only half aimed at you has the corners of your mouth twitching, his grumpy little tirade beautiful to your ears. Because it's Happy. This was never going to be some Romeo and Juliet moment. It was never going to be a chick flick declaration of adoration. It was always going to be this. He loves you, but damn, he'll berate you for not noticing sooner.

You approach him, his arms folded, his face a picture of taciturn stillness. "Are you done being saltier than the dead sea now?"

He nods. "I am."

"Alright. Will you kiss me now?"

He ponders for a few seconds. "I will."

And lord. What a kiss it is.

[telecommunikate]

saltier than the Dead Sea rn don’t mind me

[pinkprimrose05]

So I've been having random thoughts and ideas (as one normally does, except most of those get scrapped 5 minutes later), and I think I finally found a concept that I can share here.

Now hear me out: A YGO college AU, but with a twist. It's a funny little game club- however, instead of starring the protagonists...

...it's all about the main antagonists.

History major Bakura, who founded the club just to play Capsule Monsters, and ended up with a group of weirdos after several Duels and DnD campaigns and nights of wailing about assignment deadlines. His sharp and creepy demeanor tends to be offputting, but it belies a lonely nerd who only knows how to communicate his feelings through a round of games.

Goth guitarist Yubel, the one nobody knows anything about other than their banger heavy metal music and penchant for weird humor. Rumor has it they've been held back for several years now, but given their oddly low profile, nobody can say anything for sure. Pretty chill player for the most part... but lord help you if you destroy anything on their field by card effect in a Duel.

Engineering alumnus Z-ONE, who has never ever said his real name in the club, and acts very much like a grandpa despite only being 29 (which earned him the affectionate title of Peepaw). You'd think someone of his occupation would be well-studied in their interests and hobbies, but the poor man loses 8/10 Duels simply because he refuses to change his Deck out of sentimentality. Power of promises made to late friends, or something like that.

Security officer Don Thousand, real name Adonis, father of seven and saltier than the dead sea can ever be. This man holds so much spite it's actually impressive, and his only proper vent for it is playing card games with weird teens when his shift ends. He tends to wear a perpetual scowl when out and about -that would explain his generally unapproachable vibe- and yet, for some inexplicable reason, he seems to be a lot less gloomy when it's time to visit the club. Quite curious, indeed.

Fine arts major Zarc, the one theatre kid of all time. Don't let the sweet smile fool you; the guy has an uncanny affinity for villain impressions, and he puts it to good use in all games- with a dash of dramatic flair, of course. That said, this is the same kid who goes all sparkly-eyed if one mentions even a peep of card lore in his vicinity, and melts into an excited little puddle whenever a new set or lore book is released. Thus is the duality of the Supreme King, apparently.

Computer science major Ai, the shiny new freshman on the block, who works at the college cafeteria and already has a (secret) fan club. His natural charisma is just about enough to cover for his crippling lack of social intelligence, and so it comes as a surprise to most that he's a huge tabletop game nerd, despite not looking the part one bit. Please don't tell him that Master Rule 4 was a mistake, though. He literally Will Not Shut Up until he proves you squarely wrong.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

you ever vent your fandom frustrations into a post saltier than the dead sea only to just delete the whole thing rather than post it because you absolutely know you do not have the bandwidth to manage the inevitable backlash

yeah me neither

[glitteratti]

tell me abt the salton sea 👀 I've actually been there and it smells RANCID but idk much abt it

the thing about the salton sea is that it is just such an insane case study on climate change in so many different ways. it was created in 1905 by the flooding of an irrigation canal meant to bring water from the colorado river to the imperial valley in california for farming. it was a disaster, but it was still met with shrugs because they assumed it would evaporate because it flowed into such a hot and flat area. EXCEPT, the runoff of farm water fed it and refilled it as the water evaporated

there's a couple background factors here

it's located in the salton basin of the salton trough. this is one of the lowest points in the continent, and the salton sea is the lowest lake in the continent at a whopping elevation of -236ft or -71.9m. this shit is EXTREMELY below the sea level. if there's any excess water in the area, it just flows downhill to the salton basin

the colorado river used to run through this region. key word is used, because it would alternate where it flowed over the course of thousands of years. the course diverted around 1580, and the lake (lake cahuilla) dried up

because of this, the imperial valley had a lot of good farming soil but not enough water. this is why the canal was built

additionally, because this was the first half of the 20th century, water conservation wasn't really taken into concern. farmers used a lot of excess water, which continually fed the lake. this water carried fertilizer and pesticides, which leeched into the lake bed and pulled the ancient salt deposits up to the surface

but who cares about all of that! it's the 1950s, the war and great depression are over, and there's a bigass lake in the middle of an extremely dry area. fish had been introduced to the lake in the 1930s, so it's a great spot for inland saltwater fishing. the area gets developed and turned into a beach resort. there's yacht clubs and hotels, which the beach boys, frank sinatra, and bing crosby regularly stay at. there's even lots developed for people to purchase and build homes on, as well as schools built in the area. it's thriving and looking like it won't just be a tourist destination, but an area with robust communities that live there year round

this would be all good and fine, if it weren't an isolated lake fed by farm water runoff with no outlets for water to flow as it's being replenished. in the 70s, scientists start pointing out that this is a ticking time bomb as concerns over water conservation and climate change gain more attention. even in the 60s it was known that there were problems waiting to happen, but it was fixable! and very expensive, so of course nothing had been done

the late 70s is when things start to fall apart. as the lake becomes increasingly saline, it becomes less hospitable to the wildlife that once thrived there. fish begin dying en mass, which is part of why it smells so awful there. you've got nasty fertilizer and pesticide salt water, plus so many dead fish. on top of that, tropical storms raised the water level of the salton sea past it's banks and flooded the surrounding communities. and that was before hurricane kathleen put bombay beach, one of the communities, completely underwater

in the 90s, algal blooms that killed off the fish became regular occurrences. there was also a botulism outbreak, which meant migratory birds that passed over the lake would stop for water and food, and then contract botulism and die. so now you have not only so many dead fish, but a ridiculous amount of dead birds. incinerators had to be run 24/7 for WEEKS to burn all the birds

as time goes on, the salton sea is evaporating rapidly, becoming so saline that it's now saltier than ocean water. the evaporation also exposes the lake bed, which has absorbed the fertilizer and pesticide from the agricultural runoff and become toxic. since the area is so dry, winds often blow this toxic dust toward the coachella valley. the area has higher rates of asthma, most likely because of this

if you've been there, you've probably seen at least some of it, but local artists turned the area into a public art installation. the mix of these art installations and abandoned buildings makes the area look alien and surreal. bombay beach is definitely the most notorious of these, considering the salt encrusted abandoned buildings. there's also several other notable places nearby, like salvation mountain and slab city. salvation mountain is a bigass "mountain" that was originally built by one man, who felt called out by god to build it*. quite frankly, it is sick as FUCK. that said, there are concerns about the toxicity of the paints used :( slab city, on the other hand, is an off the grid squatter commune. the temperatures get so high in the summer, that most of the people who stay there just come for the winter months. there's a lot of unique art installations here, too

overall. the salton sea is an absolute ecological disaster of disregard for the environment, human greed, and negligence. but there's something so compelling about the communities nearby, their histories and the way that some people have managed to cling on. it's an older documentary, but plagues and pleasures on the salton sea is free on youtube and gives a really good look into what the communities were like at the time. miracle in the desert is also a really good one that covers the history of the salton sea and the modern community efforts to save the environment there. both are free on youtube and i highly recommend them!

tl;dr: salton sea crazy and so so fascinating and i feel so incomprehensibly insane about it. maybe because i got into all of that right after turning 23 and was like wow...just like mitski i guess i must retire there

[a-narcissists-warren]

sounds like someone's saltier than the dead sea

~ 🛹✌

Oouhh.. I like this fight.

[honourablejester]

Numenera Setting Notes: Points of Interest Part III

Finishing up the Beyond, down in the salty weirdness near the Divided Seas and the Cold Desert of Maltheunis. There is a general theme of salt and blood and strangeness down here, which I am definitely vibing with.

Part III: The Beyond Part II (Numenera: Discovery)

Errid Kaloum, near the Divided Seas, because it’s a huge weird salt flat with fertile ‘islands’ sticking up through it due to geothermal activity. These islands have fresh water and natural desalinisation from the extrusive mineral structures. Among its weird features are the Floating Circle, which is a 300ft diameter circle in the middle of the salt flats that lets anything that weighs less than 300lbs to hover while within it (and anything that weighs less than 3lbs goes zooming off into space). It’s an ancient skydiver training platform or something similar, and it’s fantastic. There’s also a castle made of light on one of the islands which may or may not be trans-dimensional, as it’s full of abykos, which appear to be transdimensional ghost creatures.

Our Order of the Lady of the Salt Way, in the Sere Marica, the saltier of the two Divided Seas. And by salty, I mean extremely salty. Possibly Dead Sea levels? And this holy order worships that salt, on the word of a woman named Saint Eseld four generations ago. They have an unnamed monastery island in the Salted Marshes that produces a lot of salt byproducts for sale, and whose devotees crust themselves in salt, both in their hair and on their skin. There’s rumours that something is done with salt and their bodies after death, too. The current leader of the order is an ex-aeon priest who stabbed her own eyes out when she first saw a vision of a woman in the salt, years ago, believing it a test of her faith, and came around to her new faith when they took care of her. I just. I really really like spooky maritime things, salt and bones and visions and blood. I like it.

Salachia, also in the Sere Marica. Specifically, 1500ft down in the Sere Marica. A domed, wheel-shaped underwater city covered by a porous membrane that allows gases but not water or solids to pass through. The buildings appear to be huge nautilus shells in a ring around one vast nautilus shell that forms the city centre, with markets, schools, civic buildings, etc. The outer surface of the city is covered in tiny crystalline creatures called chiffons that make the whole thing seem to shimmer and writhe, and they feed on carbon dioxide. They’re what’s providing the oxygen exchange here in lieu of plants. They also can operate as symbiotic breaking masks. The city is hooked up to the surface by a bubble tube. But the population is currently dwindling, and this has more knock-on effects that you’d think, because it needs to maintain a certain population level to generate enough CO2 to keep the chiffon population up as well, or the whole city might cross a failure line and lose atmosphere. So they’re currently trying to get people to enter and stay in the city by, possibly, any means necessary. That’s a fascinating little moral and biological conundrum there. Also, you can never go wrong with a domed underwater shell city.

The Weal of Baz, on the shores of the freshwater Navae Marica, the other of the two Divided Seas. It’s a town hidden by holograms in a cliff face that was built by an ancient AI called Baz to provide a safe harbour for intelligent machines. Baz might be dead now, but some of the machines sheltering in his town are over a million years old. And they’re all cranky. They hate and/or are petrified of organic beings, and really don’t want them around, although occasionally they’ll trust one enough to give them a pass into the Weal. The town has a massive solar generator called the dragon that helps keep everyone powered, and it’s sometimes worshipped as a god. And, again, you can’t go wrong with a machine refuge, I’ll always take that!

The Amorphous Fields, to the south of the Divided Seas. Because it’s 200 miles of vast heaving morphing landscape that may or may not be the semi-solid crust over a vast subterranean organic soup that also may or may not be alive. Because, again, joy to the weird landscapes. It’s primarily inhabited by floating predatory soup jellyfish called ligoshi, and a few villages worth of absolute nutters of stubborn humans. There’s an organic green tower in the middle, a 1000ft spire of organic tissue, with a metal ‘halo’ floating around it (an observation platform?) full of numenera. It’s weird, and I love that it exists. (There’s also a fantastically dry little note in the ‘Weird of the Amorphous Fields’ sidebar, which just acknowledges that ‘Arguably, the whole place is pretty weird’. Fantastic!)

Vebar, near the Amorphous Fields, because it’s a hanging subterranean city that clings to the roof of a cavern. Its buildings hang downwards from the ceiling, and the streets are either above it, as tunnels, or between the buildings, as bridges and walkways. It’s lit by hanging artificial lights, and it’s people farm fungi down on the floor of the cavern, which is also lit artificially, so the farms and the city act sort of as each other’s ‘night sky’, the constellations above and below. And. Everyone knows me and functional subterranean cities/cultures. I ADORE this place.

Seshar, as a semi-collapsed kingdom built around an ancient prior-world canal system. It looks so cool on the map:

I know, I know, the whole Martian canal thing, but you can’t go wrong with mysterious 50ft deep ancient storm drains/canal systems that allow civilisation, agriculture and trade to bloom in what is actually an extension of the nearby cold desert. Also the capital city of Nebalich is run by a king and queen who are explicitly described as ‘short, stout and unattractive by conventional standards’, but are ‘two of the most loved rulers in the Beyond’. Which is a nice touch. Love our short stout kings and queens.

The Fields of Frozen Flowers, in Maltheunis, the Cold Desert. Three salty lakes down near the massive glacial formation of the Southern Wall, they form ‘frozen flowers’ of ice and bacteria when conditions on the surface of the lakes are exactly right. And there’s a whole mythology that’s built up around these ‘flowers’ as symbols of love, each unique and perfect and so delicate that the touch of a warm hand lifting them from the water will destroy them. Also getting to them across the thin ice of the briny lakes (full of lethal bitey fish, because of course) is a quest in itself, and the lakes are full of the bodies of suitors that sought to prove their devotion by fetching a frozen flower for their love. Also dark stories of loves who sent them to get one so that they’d become a frozen corpse. But there’s this bit: “So many young lovers are lost to love’s watery garden that there is a myth of bodies building up below the surface, creating a bridge to walk on. There are other myths, too, of the dead men rising from beneath the surface, their hands now frozen enough to carry the flowers all the way to their beloveds.” It’s romantic and ghoulish and I adore it. This icy garden lake in the ass crack of the frozen beyond that is a mecca to betrayed and beautiful and extreme love. And, of course, there’s a cottage tourism industry in the area because of it. Because of course there is. Humans, you know?

The southern end of the map does seem to be generally just a little bit ghoulish, and that is perfectly fine by me! Let’s wander these strange lands of salt and ice and weird shifting bio-soup, I’m down with that! Heh.

Next time we’ll move over to the Ninth World Guidebook and head out beyond the core region of the Steadfast and the Beyond, into the Frozen South and some other areas.