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Long time no post

This is because every time I logged into tumblr via my phone, I would get banned and my blog would disappear.  No idea why.  It takes them anywhere from several weeks to several several weeks to get my blog back.  Anyway, it discouraged me from using this for a good while.  I might try posting pics and such here again, I’ve taken kind of a long, long hiatus while I fix my health stuff. But if I disappear again, it’s because tumblr keeps making boo boos and it just really kills my motivation.  But I tend to get it back, both my blog and motivation.

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A sad announcement.

Dani Russo, @snarksonomy , known on FFXIV as Milloux Allard/ @aethersmoke-and-ash, Violetta Fierlane/ @violetcuriosity, T'Many Allowe/ @tams-catte, and others, has passed away. Dani was the former leader of the Ashen Enclave FC and the head and founder of the Tangled Boughs. She organized many public events over the years, founded Crystal’s first Duskcord, and was also a well-known moderator of the Balmung RP Network. She will be remembered as an amazing artist, leader, organizer, and most importantly, a wonderful friend.

I am devastated, as I’m sure many of you are. Dani has been one of my closest friends for the better part of 5 years, and nothing I can think to say feels adequate to express my grief. When I think of the hard work she has put into her FC and the FFXIV community in general, I am overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to share this news with all of the people she has touched. Her warmth, humor, and eye for beauty will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life. I can’t believe she’s gone.

I have left a private note to Dani’s family about how beloved she was by her online community and extended an offer to help memorialize her, however, I do not expect to hear back quickly, if at all. It is important to give her family space in this time of loss, as the handling of her online presence and online friends are probably the last thing on their minds right now. I will give updates if I get any news on this front. That being said, while I’ve found and confirmed her obituary, it did not contain details and I do not have further information on her passing. While those who were close to her knew that Dani struggled with her health for the last few years, this loss is still very much unexpected, and her family may choose not to disclose more. Let us focus instead on being here for one another and sharing all our good memories of Dani.

Dani has touched so many lives. She always took time to get to know people and their characters, remember their interests and jokes, and made them feel special and included. As her frequent collaborator and close friend, I know how much it meant to her to make connections and run events for this community. She worked endlessly to make sure others were having fun.

Her reach and impact on the Balmung community are farther than I realized.  I’ve been overwhelmed with all of the love and stories I’ve heard so far, and I know I’ll hear more. Because of this, I do intend to eventually put together something more public-facing in her honor so that we can share our stories and memories of her - probably during The Rising. The summer fireworks were always a time of reflection for her character Milloux, and that seems like an appropriate time. For now, though, I am heartbroken and sorry to be the one to share this news.

Look after yourselves and your health. Enjoy goofy, weird jokes and strange beauty, embrace your unique tastes and interests, and be strong and firm in your convictions. These are the things Dani always helped me to do.

Thank you.

- Etienne “Eti” Clairemont

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Balmung Goblet W9, P36 Finished making the downstairs more suitably Ul’dahn for the alchemical & enchantment shop but kept the cozy in place.

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Balmung Goblet W9, P36 Finished making the downstairs more suitably Ul’dahn for the alchemical & enchantment shop but kept the cozy in place.

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Old Herb Names

Raven and Crone

Adders Tongue: Dogstooth, Violet, Plantain Ass Foot or Bulls Foot: Coltsfoot

Bats Wings: Holly Leaf Bats wool: Moss Bears Foot: Ladys Mantle Birds Eye: Germander Speedwell Black Sampson: Echinacea Blood: Elder sap or another tree sap Blood of Hephaistos: Wormwood Blood from a Head: Lupine   Blood of Ares: Purslane Blood of a Goose: A Mulberry Trees Milk Blood of Hestia: Chamomile Blood of an Eye: Tamarisk Gall Blood from a Shoulder: Bears Breach Bloody fingers: Foxglove Bloodwort: Yarrow Bodily Fluids: Houseleek Bone of an Ibis: Buckthorn Brains: Congealed gum from a cherry tree Bread and Cheese Tree: Hawthorne Bulls Blood or Seed of Horus: Horehound Burning Bush: White Dittany

Calfs Snout: Snapdragon Candelmas Maiden: Snowdrop. Capons Tail: Valerian Cats Foot: Canada Snake Root and or Ground Ivy Cheeses: Marsh Mallow Chocolate Flower: Wild Geranium Christs Ladder: Centaury Christs Eye: Vervain, Sage Clear-eye: Clary Sage Click: Goosegrass Clot: Great Mullein Corpse candles: Mullein Corpse Plant: Indian Pipe. Crocodile dung: Black earth Crowdy Kit: Figwort Crows Foot: Cranesbill, Wild Geranium Cuckoos Bread: Common Plantain Cucumber Tree: Magnolia Cuddys Lungs: Great Mullein

Daphne: Laurel/Bay Dead Man: Ash or Mandrake root carved in a crude human shape or poppet Devils Dung: Asafoetida   Devils Plaything: Yarrow Dew of the Sea: Rosemary Dogs Mouth: Snap Dragon Doves Foot: Wild Geranium Dragons Blood: Calamus Dragons Scales: Bistort Leaves Dragon Wort: Bistort

Eagle: Wild Garlic Ear of an Ass: Comfrey Ear of a Goat: St. Johns Wort Earth Smoke: Fumitory Elfs Wort: Elecampane Enchanters Plant: Vervain Englishmans Foot: Common Plantain Erba Santa Maria: Spearmint Everlasting Friendship: Goosegrass Eye of Christ: Germander Speedwell Eye of the Day: Common Daisy Eye of the Star: Horehound Eye Root: Goldenseal Eyes: Aster, Daisy, Eyebright

Fairy Smoke: Indian Pipe Fat from a Head: Spurge Felon Herb: Mugwort Fingers: Cinquefoil Five Fingers: Cinquefoil Foxs Clote: Burdock Frogs Foot: Bulbous Buttercup From the Belly: Earth-apple From the Foot: Houseleek From the Loins: Chamomile

Goats Foot: Ash Weed Gods Hair: Hart’s Tongue Fern Golden Star: Avens Gosling Wing: Goosegrass Graveyard Dust: Mullein Great Ox-eye: Ox-eye Daisy

Hags Taper: Great Mullein Hagthorn: Hawthorn Hair: Maidenhair fern Hairs of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Seed Hair of Venus: Maidenhair Fern Hand: The expanded frond from a male fern used to make the true hand of glory, which is nothing more than a candle made of wax mixed with fern Hares Beard: Great Mullein Hawks Heart: Heart of Wormwood Heart: Walnut Herb of Grace: Vervain Hinds Tongue: Hart’s Tongue Fern Holy Herb: Yerba Santa Holy Rope: Hemp Agrimony Hook and Arn: Yerba Santa Horse Hoof: Coltsfoot Horse Tongue: Hart’s Tongue Fern Hundred Eyes: Periwinkle

Innocense: Bluets

Jacobs Staff: Great Mullein Joy of the Mountain: Marjoram Jupiters Staff: Great Mullein

Kings Crown: Black Haw Knight’s Milfoil: Yarrow Kronos’ Blood: of Cedar

Lads Love: Southernwood Ladys Glove: Foxglove aka Witches’ Gloves Lambs Ears: Betony Lions Hairs: Tongue of a Turnip [i.e., the leaves of the taproot] Lions Tooth: Dandelion aka Priest’s Crown Little Dragon: Tarragon Love in Idleness: Pansy Love Leaves: Burdock Love Lies Bleeding: Amaranth or Anemone Love Man: Goosegrass Love Parsley: Lovage Love Root: Orris Root

Maidens Ruin: Southernwood Mans Bile: Turnip Sap Mans Health: Ginseng Master of the Woods: Woodruff May: Black Haw May Lily: Lily of the Valley May Rose: Black Haw Maypops: Passion Flower Mistress of the Night: Tuberose Mutton Chops: Goosegrass

Nose Bleed: Yarrow

Old-Maids-Nightcap: Wild Geranium Old Mans Flannel: Great Mullein Old Mans Pepper: Yarrow Oliver: Olive

Password: Primrose Peters Staff: Great Mullein Pigs Tail: Leopard’s Bane Poor Man’s Treacle: Garlic Priests Crown: Dandelion leaves Pucha-Pat: Patchouli

Queen of the Meadow: Meadowsweet Queen of the Meadow Root: Gravelroot Queen of the Night: Vanilla Cactus

Rams Head: American Valerian Red Cockscomb: Amaranth Ring-o-Bells: Bluebells Robin-Run-in-the-Grass: Goosegrass

Scaldhead: Blackberry See Bright: Clary Sage Seed of Horus: Horehound Semen of Ammon: Houseleek Semen of Ares: Clover Semen of Helios: White Hellebore Semen of Hephaistos: This is Fleabane Semen of Hermes: Dill Semen of Herakles: Mustard-rocket Seven Year’s Love: Yarrow Shameface: Wild Geranium   Shepherds Heart: Shepherds Purse Silver Bells: Black Haw Skin of a Man: Fern Skull: Skullcap Snake: Bistort Snakes Blood: Hematite stone Soapwort: Comfrey or Daisy Sorcerer’s Violet: Periwinkle   Sparrows Tongue: Knotweed St. Johns Herb: Hemp Agrimony.(this is not St. John’s Wort) St. Johns Plant: Mugwort Star of the Earth: Avens Star Flower: Borage Starweed: Chickweed Sweethearts: Goosegrass Swines Snout: Dandelion leaves

Tanners Bark: Common Oak Tarragon: Mugwort Tartar Root: Ginseng Tears of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Juice Thousand Weed: Yarrow Thunder Plant: House Leek Titans Blood: Wild Lettuce Toad: Toadflax Tongue of dog: hounds tongue Tooth or Teeth: Pinecones Torches: Great Mullein

Unicorns Horn: False Unicorn:Helonias Dioica Unicorn Horn: True Unicorn Root Unicorn Root: Ague Root

Wax Dolls: Fumitory Weasel Snout: Yellow Archangel Weazel Snout: Yellow Dead Nettles/Yellow Archangel Weed: Ox-Eye Daisy White: Ox-eye Daisy White Mans Foot: Common Plantain White Wood: White Cinnamon Witch’s Asprin: White Willow/Willow Bark Witch’s Brier: Brier Hips Wolf Claw: Club Moss Wolf Foot: Bugle Weed   Wolfs Milk: Euphorbia Worms: Gnarled, thin roots of a local tree

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Familiars and enchanted brooms, pointy hats and the scent of old parchment and fresh ink.  An inviting nook, filled with tomes and treasures.

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Whoever came over from the EU server to leave a kind note in my guestbook - thank you.  It meant so much.  I honestly get so happy whenever I log in to see my guestbook have notes from others who went out of their way to leave a nice message.  No matter how my day goes, that always gives me a pick-me-up.

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𝙸𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

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Making a post to remind myself to clean up this blog and maybe shake off the rust and do those writing prompts and screenshots. I want to find a way to like what I create again after a rough year.

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Anahita

Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of “the Waters” and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom.

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Does anyone know of any good resource for writing in Urianger's and Midgarsormr's English? 🥺🙏

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Vogue Paris Sept 2008 - Anna Selezneva by Mert & Marcus

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BAJIRAO MASTANI dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Nazar jo teri laagi main deewani ho gayi Deewani haan deewani, deewani ho gayi Mash’hoor mere ishq ki kahaani ho gayi

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Hi all! I’m opening up sketch commissions for the summer here. :) All prices are in USD. I handle payment via PayPal invoicing, which is why email is my preferred method of contact as I’ll need an email to send the invoice to. Invoices are sent when I’m ready to get started on your piece, so if you change your mind on what you’d like done while you wait no worries!

I have a Trello Board set up in case you’re curious how the queue is coming along. I send email updates with each phase completed in case tweaks need to be made.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions! Excited to get back into the art swing of things for a bit. <3

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teal + purple aesthetic (water and stars)

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Gpose locations!

To go along with my screenshot tutorial, here’s a collection of areas I really like going to for screenshots. It’s not an exhaustive list, but these are some of my favourites.

OVERWORLD ZONES

La Noscea

Lets start with Costa Del Sol. There are some rocks out in the water you can stand on if you want a nice, uninterrupted view of the ocean.

The areas around Camp Bronze Lake in Upper La Noscea are super pretty. This was taken early in the morning, but when it’s all lit up on a sunny day, the water is really beautiful.

Black Shroud

The Carline Canopy in Gridania has these beautiful windows that make a pretty backdrop.

How much have you explored the Sylphlands? There’s some really weird and interesting spots out there.

It also has this spooky blue lighting.

Mor Dhona

There’s this neat crystal tree at Rathefrost in Mor Dhona. The zone can also get the unique Gloom Weather which I caught here.

HEAVENSWARD

I didnt manage to get screenshots of these because I’m not bothered waiting out in the zones for them. Rather than specific locations, the Sea of Clouds and Churning Mists both get unique Wind and Lightning weathers. The sea of clouds sky turns green and looks like an aurora. If you manage to catch these weathers, they can make for really cool backdrops.

OTHARD

I took these at night…during the rain…trust me, they look a lot nicer normally. Anyway, there’s this isolated little spot in Yanxia with these pretty trees.

The Doman Enclave has some great spots too, unfortunately you would need to progress through the weekly restoration questline to see the zone in all it’s glory.

GYR ABANIA

This is actually one of my favourite spots for screenshots. While it may not look like anything special here, it has all these nice flower bushes. I’ve taken a number of screenshots zoomed in close using these flowers as a backdrop. Speaking of flowers..

The Menagerie of course has to make an appearance. I must be really unlucky though, because near every time I’ve gone out there to try to take screenshots, people have been up there and start photobombing me.

THE FIRST

While there are a lot of nice spots in Lakeland, I find this cliff edge to be a great location if you want the crystal tower in the background. It’s maybe better than Mor Dhona (if you can angle out the crystarium below) because you don’t have a dragon corpse and gloomy weather in the way.

All of Il Mheg is amazing. The flowering fields by the shore are great though, and the fountain right outside the castle doors has a lot of big, beautiful flowers in it (Do you notice I really like flowers?)

This one spot in Rak’tika is nice for a wild forest backdrop.

Amaurot…oh Amaurot. There’s no specific spot here, this whole cityscape is amazing.

HOUSING AREAS

I’m not going to look for all the cool spots, but each housing area has a lot of really nice locations, some are kind of hidden away (like the little hotspring seacave in Shirogane there). Not to mention all the yards people decorate.

DUNGEONS

I’m only showing the ShB dungeons in explorer mode here, but you can also go into the lvl 70 dungeons. Any dungeons before that aren’t available for explorer mode, but you can easily solo your way through them at max level, you just wont have access to a striking dummy if you want combat poses.

Chances are, when you go running through dungeons focusing on killing things, you aren’t noticing a lot of the cool places in them.

This is one of my favourite locations in the whole game. The forest path leading up to the first boss in Holminster Switch looks like a magical forest, and the light shafts coming through the trees make it even better.

The final boss area of Mt Gulg makes a really magestic, holy looking background.

You want an apocalyptic hellscape? Amaurot has you covered.

And of course, the final boss platform in the same dungeon has this amazing backdrop.

Extra little tidbit to think about for Endwalker, notice how there’s no moon in the sky in Amaurot ;)

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Tasseography

•Tea leaf reading•

You might be wondering where this unusual form of divination came from, so here’s a short history on tasseography. Shortly after tea was introduced to Europe, tea leaf reading, as it’s now recognized, was born. Similar divination tools had been used with an assortment of other materials. The art of tea leaf reading spread through Europe, and is now practiced throughout the world.

Doing a tea leaf reading involves you indulging in a delicious cup of tea and putting your sharp intuitive skills to work. After you enjoy your warm cup of loose leaf tea, you’ll leave the loose tea leaves at the bottom, where some of these leaves will form symbols, each having their own meaning. That’s where your keen intuitive abilities come in! Anyone can see a triangle at the bottom of a teacup, but your job is to intuit what it means for you or the person you’re reading for.

WHAT YOU NEED FOR A TEA LEAF READING

Tea cup with a wide brim that’s light enough to easily see your tea leaves.

Saucer

Loose leaf green or black tea, preferably organic.

Napkins

Pen and paper

Water

HOW TO PERFORM A TEA LEAF READING

1. BREW YOUR TEA

Gather all of your materials. Boil your water. Place about a teaspoon of loose tea in your cup. Pour your water in and steep tea to your preference.

For the next 3 steps, if you’re doing a reading for someone else, have them do the following steps.

2. SIP & SWIRL

Before you take your first sip, gently swirl tea counter clockwise three times. Sip and enjoy your tea, but don’t drink it all! When there’s about 1 tablespoon of tea left in your cup, swirl it again 3 times counter clockwise and think about or speak your query aloud.

3. CREATE YOUR TEA READING CANVAS

Turn your cup upside down onto your saucer to remove the remaining water, allow it a minute or so to drain, then turn it back up right.

4. LOOK FOR SYMBOLS

Look over your loose leaf tea pieces and see if any symbols or shapes jump out to you immediately. Don’t fret if you don’t see anything immediately, similar to scrying with a crystal ball, it can take some time for imagery to form for you. Try looking at the inside of the cup from different directions to see shapes. Keep in mind the images formed are formed from tea leaves, so you will really need to use your imagination.

5. RECORD & DECIPHER YOUR FINDINGS

If you do start to see some shapes, begin writing them down on your piece of paper so you can decipher them later, note where in the cup they are too. Now you’re ready to decipher your findings! Here’s a guide for the most common symbols found during tea leaf readings:

6. UNDERSTAND THE TIMELINE

Where your tea leaves are situated in your cup relate to when they will happen. This is why some of the tea leaf reading cups you find have circles inside of them. Timing is broken into thirds as follows:

Bottom third: farthest away from happening, think 3-5 years out.

Top third: will be happening in the near future, think within the next few weeks.

Middle third: will happen in about a year from now.

7. FORM YOUR READING

Like most divination tools, a honed intuition is key for success, so be sure to lean on any gut instincts as you form the story for your reading. Once you understand the meaning behind the symbols it’s time to put all of the information into a story that makes sense for you or the person you’re doing a reading for.

🌙