#thread; red string

[crowsalvation]

Red String

@flappervcmp

The air inside of the speakeasy was thick with smoke, the scent of whiskey and forbidden indulgence clinging to every surface. The dim lighting cast long, flickering shadows over the crowded room, illuminating the reckless grins of those who had slipped past Prohibition’s grasp for a night of jazz and vice.

Damon hadn’t seen his brother in some time—not that he was keeping track. Their paths had diverged, as they always seemed to, but through whispers in the underground, he knew Stefan had been frequenting speakeasies like this one. Damon wasn’t entirely sure what he expected to find here tonight—perhaps some trail of his ever-guilt ridden brother, drowning himself in yet another self-imposed torment. Or maybe he was just bored and looking for a night of fun himself. After all, why should he care what Stefan was up to.

Leaning against the polished mahogany bar, the usual glass of bourbon in hand, Damon was scanning the crowd for Stefan just out of habit.  His expression was unreadable, a lazy smirk playing at his lips as he half-listened to the pianist playing a sultry melody from the keys. The world had changed in the past few decades, yet humans remained predictable—always chasing pleasure, always so unaware of the monsters lurking in the dark. Not one person that looked in his direction knew what he was, knew how quick and effortless it would be to feed on them in their intoxicated haze. 

‘Refill?’ The bartender behind him asked in Damon’s direction, who then looked over his shoulder back at the bartender as if he had to think on it for a moment.

“Yeah, what the hell.” He flashed his cocky little grin at the tender, a shrug popping his shoulders up as he turned around to face the bar and waited for the refill.

He didn’t realize it then, his back turned toward the door, that his fate was about to become forever intertwined with the girl who had just stepped inside. Fate was a cheeky thing—that thin red string, quietly weaving two souls together at the most unexpected moments, looping itself around their pinky fingers while they remained blissfully unaware.

It was the sound of someone’s laugh that made him turn, a casual flicker of curiosity pulling his attention to the crowd. And that’s when he saw her—just a glimpse before she was swallowed by the sea of bodies, vanishing as quickly as she had appeared. But that split-second sight of her sent a sharp jolt through him, something ancient and buried twisting deep in his chest. His face felt cold, like the blood had drained from it entirely. Was it a ghost? A trick of the dim, smoke-filled room? Had he already drunk too much? For a moment, it was as if time bent and snapped backward. Damon could almost hear the echo of a name whispered in the corridors of his past.

“Katherine.” His voice barely a whisper in disbelief. He stood there, frozen, like a deer caught in headlights. His drink hung forgotten in his hand, the noise of the speakeasy dulling to a distant hum as his sharp eyes tracked her through the crowd. She moved effortlessly, slipping between conversations, flashing an easy, knowing smile at whoever held her attention. The way she carried herself, the tilt of her chin, the glint of mischief in her eyes—it was maddening.

It was familiar.

It was her.

[qo-promise-me]

A beautiful piece of art made by the incredible @ins0mnia-dreams

Along with one of my favorite tropes of all time, the red thread of fate. Because I fully believe that despite their initial hardships their bond grew stronger overtime and their care and love for each other, glows like the light side of Force itself.

Thank you so much!

[lunameimei]

Red String of Fate

[akkivee]

au where ichiro's always been able to see the red string of fate and was kinda in denial about being connected to kuukou, except the glitch in fate occurs and it adds another layer to ichiro's heartbreak lol

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

"Stitched." - Poem

This work contains: mention of skin being sewn, needles

(I wrote this on a whim on the back of my calculus review sheet.)

Please read at your own discretion!

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The "red string of fate" is such an interesting concept... as is the concept of threaded skin. I could embroider my image of "fate" on the one I love, my soulmate...

That is, if I loved someone.

I don't believe in soulmates.

[feralkwe]

Our once barren world now brims with life That we may fall in love Every time we open up our eyes I guess space and time Takes violent things, angry things And makes them kind

@t0talfail-1 generously helped me fix Elidibus' eyes, so naturally I had to re-do this set again. Thank you so much!

[chronicskillness]

[nerdylizj]

“Some choices aren’t ours to make,” Katara whispers so quietly that he isn’t sure if she’s speaking to herself or to him. “Sometimes fate chooses for you.” Or, Katara and Zuko dream of what could have been.

Prologue: green-

[a-tired-human-draws-junk]

"Are you a lifeforce?"

[raywhitfield92]

Fixing the red string of fate.

[jennyfromthebes]

no okay so in Jenny From Thebes, the song Only One Way references Distant Stations off All Hail West Texas, which is a song about a person missing someone who was in a way a mentor figure to them and someone they loved in some way who symbolised safety, and we know that people who have needed help are the most likely to then later offer help to others; thus I believe that rather than Distant Stations being someone else talking about Jenny, it's Jenny talking about someone who was that for her, before she was the person we know and love in JfT. and in Cleaning Crew, Jenny references Portland as a place that's significant to her/that she has some tie to, maybe as a place that she used to live and/or where someone who's important to her lives? the album Transcendental Youth is also directly tied both to Portland and to Jenny, an album about people who "madly, stupidly, blessedly, won't stop surviving", an album that's very dark and depressing but bookended by songs about how you have to stay alive. the album opener, Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1, has the line "people might laugh at your tattoos/when they do, get new ones in completely garish hues" which can be seen as a parallel to Fresh Tattoo, and "make up magic spells/we wear them like protective shells" which can be seen as a parallel to Murder at the 18th Street Garage. I don't actually think that either of those (or really any of this) means anything but they're a fun connection. circling back to Portland, Jenny knows someone there, yeah? I think that the person she knows in Portland is the person who helped her when she needed it and that person is Amy. no wait why are you walking away I have more to say about this

[dmitriyuriev]

Real is so passive and obedient that she seems more like a doll Daedalus is using to delude himself rather than a living being, so I wanted to portray her literally as a doll. It's like he's clinging to the concept of Re-l rather than what she was actually like.

[orangesyellow]

@userdramas event 10: emotions "On this day, this very moment you spent with me. Do not ever forget it."

[margina1ia]

Idk where it was, but I think I saw a post about how Cassandra couldn't finish saying the word "fair" without being consumed by the rage shard. Going back and watching the moment when it starts to go wrong in the wizard synod, Cassandra says "it's not fair" immediately before the shard rips through her and she begins bleeding out.

Thinking about this with the Bad Kids' convo with Lydia Barkrock and how the pit fiend in her chest couldn't say the name of the dead fallen god he served or he could only say it in certain contexts... I wonder if Cassandra had another sibling aside from Galicaea and Sol (or maybe it is Sol?? Or Helio???) that she was a right hand to or had a contract with (now I'm thinking about rules and relationships re: figs warlock classes????), and maybe what Lydia's party invoked is what happened to Cassandra. I wonder if, when the Bad Kids find out more about the ritual, they will recognize elements of what happened at the wizard synod.

Anywayyyyys, maybe I'm just drowning in red strings lol

[taruolentow]

the thread of fate between us is flowing red

[chronicskillness]