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pomegranates in still life (details)

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“how to prepare and eat a pomegranate” - @/billypotts (x) // unknown // azra t. @/5000letters // luciano ventrone // “eat the music” - kate bush // sara ghedina on flickr // “oom sha la la” - hayley heynderickx // pinterest // louise glück // victor hugot

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A trope that gets to me: 'guard dog' character and their partner who are both fully aware of it and honestly don't care/kind of like it. Someone says "call your guard dog off" and their partner does call them off. That person, their 'guard dog', is someone who is unreservedly, irrefutably loyal to them. Someone undoubtedly dangerous who is willing to kill, to maim, to obey, simply because of their love for one another. There's no manipulation involved— it is loyalty, brutal, dogged loyalty. And it goes both ways.

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collection of posts for a very specific dynamic

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Cute!

Pomegranate Rings // Ar Mat Silver on Etsy

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[image ID: a reply by user @urbanism reading "yeah winter doesnt love anyone but itself"]

What is love if not an all-consuming, desperate starvation? What is love if not shaking hands and hazy thoughts? What is love if not wanting your lover to lie with you forever?

Winter loves with a vastness like the sky, and man stands within it like a sparrow frozen solid.

it’s still hot out. time to romanticize the bleak mid-winter

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Breathtaking. I will have to get one of these made.

Beaded necklace by Colleen Toland.

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do you have a favored instrument, vessel sundew?

I must confess, I cannot play an instrument for the life of me, no matter how many times I have tried to learn. If I am listening to music however, I have to say the harp or the fiddle, depending on my mood; there is nothing like dancing to a harp and nothing like drinking to a fiddle.

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Pretty. Perhaps if I had to dress in Winter colors I might wear something like this.

“This Belle Epoque opal and diamond choker was made at the turn of the century, in 1900. Four incredible rows of glimmering, pastel-hued opals alternate with three rows of sparkling diamond-set flowers, each centered with a lustrous natural seed pearl. These are bordered at top and bottom by a row of pearls. The flowers are set in platinum, the opals in 18 karat yellow gold.”

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Vessel, what is your favorite animal motif?

Animal motif... well, I can't say that I've put much thought into it before! My first impulse is to answer 'snakes,' but after considering it a bit longer, I think perhaps a hare or a stag. Graceful creatures often hunted, but capable of immense ferocity when the time calls for it.

Although I think I use the motif of a serpent the most often, personally.

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Have you ever eaten cherries, Vessel? They're a distinctly summer fruit, but they're very good!

I have, in fact. I attended a particular Revel hosted by the Summer Crown of the day and tried them there, although I did not like them. With pomegranates, you can simply eat the seeds with the arils; the cherries have an inedible stone in the middle and the annoyance of having to eat around it marred the occasion for me.

I suppose I could have asked someone to cut the pits out for me, or even done it myself, but it seemed too petulant-- it is unbecoming of a Vessel to be a fussy eater.

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What do accessories usually look like among the courts, Vessel Sundew?

First and foremost, only slaves and sometimes servants wear earrings. Having pierced earlobes means that someone is or once was a slave. They will wear jewelry related to their master. Other people may wear piercings in the cartilage, but often it is still looked down on.

Otherwise, accessories of all types are worn. The exact material used depends on your Court. The Winter Court favors clear or blue jewels, warm ice, and silver. Bone is also sometimes used. The Autumn Court also uses bone, as well as gold, orange or yellow stones, leaves, and vines in Autumn colors.

Spring prefers gold, green leaves, flowers of all sorts, furs, and insect wings. Summer also uses silver, albeit less often than the Winter Court, and likes to use cicada shells, seeds of various trees, green leaves, and whole animal skulls (especially those of birds).

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You say the last Autumn Princess was quite drab, what kind of fashion would you describe as exciting? If you don't mind telling, of course, Vessel Sundew.

I am quite fond of bright colors. Oranges, yellows, reds-- blues, purples, and pinks are also nice, although I prefer to avoid large amounts of green. Fine fabrics with lots of layers are always nice. I am also partial to jewelry, especially if it matches well with one's outfit. I usually wear longer, more flowing clothes. I also prefer longer styles of hair.

In the Winter Court it is popular to wear jewelry made out of a material called warm ice or jeweler's ice. It is made by the Winter King's magic, and is exactly what it sounds like! It is beautiful, although it can be quite heavy. I usually prefer to wear flowers instead, although sometimes I will break from the norm and wear typical Winter styles of dress, especially if I am representing my King in His absence.

The Autumn Princess dressed like a lady black redstart. Brown is a... mundane color. It's boring; nobody really likes it, except her I suppose.

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What was the last generation of seasonal royalty like? Aside from His Majesty, obviously.

This is an interesting question indeed, and gives me the opportunity to explain Succession as a concept.

I already discussed the previous Autumn Monarch a few times; the late Autumn Princess, as you will know, attempted to assassinate the Winter King. Before that, however, she was always quite cunning. We knew that she was scheming for something, and we expected it would eventually be for the Crown, but the Winter King had believed that she was more intelligent than to actually attempt an assassination. She was also not especially creative; her clothes were quite drab and she gave all of her Vessels the same name. She got her second Vessel killed, actually.

The previous Summer Queen was hedonistic. She had originally been appointed Spring Princess and then assassinated the Summer Monarch before her, becoming the Summer Queen. She was interested mostly in parties, throwing massive Revels frequently enough that the members of her Court always looked exhausted. A Revel is fun a few times a year-- not once a month. Her Vessel was great fun to speak to, though. She left the position of Spring Princess open, which allowed for Succession to take place.

If a Monarch's role is not filled when the solstice of their respective season arrives, then one will simply... form. This process is known as Succession. The Winter King always selects Autumn Monarchs personally so that he will already know their character, but it happens occasionally in the Seelie Court. The previous Summer Queen wanted to groom her successor into a loyal servant, only to be murdered by her.

The current Summer Queen didn't know anyone in the Court since she was so newly formed, so she also allowed for a Succession. This means that both of our Seelie Monarchs are currently very young.

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Would you elaborate on what you meant by "It's quite a bit more complicated than "gender""?

Ah. Well. That requires me to explain the genders common to the fairer folk.

[image description: a triangle with three points labeled with the made-up words "casar," "halyu," and "eyri." there are variously colored dots and lines all over the diagram. the orange dot is in the middle of the triangle. the purple dot is outside the triangle but nearby. the light blue dot is very far away from the triangle. three lines made of two colors each mark the middle-points between each of the three points. End ID.]

I am using the triangle to simplify this concept considerably.

An individual's gender is made up of their relationship to four different axes: the three "points" and whether they are "inside" or "outside" the triangle, with a secret fifth axis for how far away you are.

Gender is quite personal and two individuals will rarely have exactly the same gender, but it is worthwhile to have terms for them. A Monarch who aligns most closely with "casar" will use terms like Princess or Queen and might be assigned she/her pronouns in English; a Monarch who aligns most closely with "halyu" might use terms like Prince or King and might be assigned he/him pronouns in English; a Monarch who aligns most closely with "eyri" will be called Princex or Crown and use they/them pronouns. A Monarch who does not align closely to any of the three axes will likely also be called Princex or Crown, but will usually be assigned pronouns like xe/xem in English.

Traditionally, your Vessel should match your values of casar, halyu, and eyri fairly closely. Humans tend to associate some of the traits of casar (being nurturing and highly social, preferring to engage with storytelling, being calmer and more peaceful) with feminine genders, some of the traits of halyu with masculine genders (a tendency towards violence and warfare, a habit of causing mischief on purpose, etc), and... well, humans do not have strong cultural associations with genders other than masculine or feminine, but eyri genders are generally associated with wisdom, good judgement, and wit.

Obviously humans do not always or even regularly fit into these categories, and some of them even approach harmful in their associations, but nonetheless-- if a Monarch is high in casar, it is traditional (although not required) to find a Vessel who is also high in casar. This usually means they will use the same pronouns in English.

You will notice that there are other places one could be, however.

If you are exactly between casar and halyu with no inclination towards eyri, you would say you are "falyyr." If you are exactly between halyu and eyri with no inclination towards casar, you are "yllamil." If you are exactly between eyri and casar with no inclination towards halyu, you are "mixyli." A gender equidistant from all of them (ie, perfectly in the center) is called arghara.

A gender alignment that would be placed inside the triangle is also called "arghara," technically. So for example you might be "arghara casar" or "arghara yllamil," but the word "arghara" is usually only used by itself to refer to a gender perfectly in the center of the triangle. If you are outside the triangle, however, you are "ssyle." A ssyle gender is still defined by its relationship to casar, halyu, and eyri, but it is defined much differently. Ssyle genders are more... "outward." Whereas an arghara gender tends to internalize their identity and consider it introspectively, a ssyle gender cares more about how they are perceived by those around them.

Ssyle is rarer and is therefore used more as a qualifier, and never on its own. You are always "ssyle haylu" or "ssyle mixyli," never just "ssyle." However, if your gender is very far outside this "triangle," far enough that it would be inappropriate to use the same word, then that is a unique word altogether: fghurym. A fghurym gender is most similar to the human idea of being "genderqueer," although it is often still defined by its relationship to casar, halyu, and eyri-- perhaps more so than genders like arghara ever could be. There is no ssyle equivalent of arghara, which has left many of my fairer friends for want of a word.

Despite the expansive gender system found among the hill people, genderqueer individuals who fit nowhere comfortably still exist-- and they always will.

...

To get ahead of the inevitable question, my own gender identity does not fit so comfortably on the chart; I am high in halyu, casar, and eyri, and there is no word to describe that. Still, I lean the most closely into halyu, as does the Winter King.

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Vessel Sundew, would you mind talking about the other vessels?

Not at all.

In the Autumn Court there is Vessel Fox. He is a bit older than me and quite handsome, if I do say so myself! We get along reasonably well, but we do not have much in common and I am not in the business of making friends with a servant of another Monarch. Nonetheless, as far as I am aware he performs his responsibilities adequately; he and the Autumn Prince are both quite reserved, but they are apparently capable of dealing with threats. There was an assassination attempt last year that Vessel Fox thwarted, I believe.

In the Summer Court there is Vessel Daylily. I must pardon myself for saying it (and pray that no wayward members of the Seelie Court stumble past this), but she is quite out of her depth. She is a lovely young woman with a good heart, and it is going to get her mauled. I will be deeply amused to see it.

In Spring Court is Vessel Primrose. He is the only Vessel at present who does not match the "gender" of his Monarch (it is quite a bit more complicated than "gender," but that can be reserved for another ask). I think he feels a bit left out sometimes. His Monarch is very young, the youngest in fact, and they are figuring out what it means to rule together. Vessel Primrose and the Spring Princess rely on each other very heavily, as far as I am aware.

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vessel i really am curious how come you can say the f word (NOT the one about gay people!!!) and not get in trouble :(

Of course, of course. I couldn't resist the opportunity to make the joke. At any rate, the answer is mostly to do with the status I have and the respect I am given. I normally avoid it so that the habit does not catch on (and to be polite), but I could very well call someone a dog to their face and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. If they were of sufficiently low status they might even be expected to agree with me!

A Monarch could, of course, choose to punish a wayward Vessel for being rude to guests. I avoid putting the Winter King in such positions to the best of my ability, but even when I have been disrespectful He has not felt that I have gone far enough to warrant punishment.