#Hope this was good

[the-whispers-of-death]

anyways. red string soulmate au :) wink wink nudge nudge :)

something something the damn fucking imagery of stone staring at the string as it leads into the ocean, horrified at the implications of where it leads.

or maybe in a different timeline, he's with kali there, one of his soulmates he had already found, and both of them come to the conclusion that their 3rd halves are across the pond and them unanimously deciding that *yes* theyre *getting* over the fucking oversized puddle no matter what. they already have each other, yes, but they cant leave their soulmates hanging either.

idk i am a huge sucker for the red string au, but i think ive made it clear with how much my brain rots over it.

take this either as a request or just a general idea. idk, its been a while since ive sent in fic reqs (like. over 2 years at LEAST lmao)

Red String AU, Red String AU!

Chose to have Kali and Stone also be soulmates in this AU, because it's fun like that.

This is just the start, so they might not even meet Sylvester and Butcher (I'm assuming we're adding Butcher into this AU).

A little lore tidbit because it's only kinda explained near the end: Red strings are invisible, but people can feel them around their wrists and can feel the distance between soulmates.

Wordcount: 1,281 words

Vikram stood on his porch, his hands resting on the railing as he looked up at the stars. The stars looked so beautiful and so far away, and he wanted to know what knowledge lay in the stars, how many aeons they had seen over the course of their life, knowing that most of the stars he saw in the night sky were either planets or stars that were so many lightyears away that they were already dead.

"Have I ever told you how breathtaking you look when you gaze up at the stars, baby?" Vikram's boyfriend, Ashok, whispered into his ear as he wrapped his arms around Vikram's burly waist. Ashok leaned down slightly, hunching his shoulders so he could comfortably rest his chin on Vikram's shoulder.

"You have indeed, but you can say it again," Vikram replied, his lips twitching until they eventually pulled into a small smile.

A rumble expressing his satisfaction spread throughout Vikram's chest, melting against Ashok as his soulmate held him. As he kept his hands on the railing of the porch, he could feel the red string on his left hand that connected him to Ashok, and he could feel the other red string on his right hand which spanned across the ocean, his other soulmate being so far away.

Both Ashok and Vikram had two soulmates, one of whom was obviously each other, and both of their other soulmates' red strings went across the ocean. They wanted so desperately to go and find their soulmates, but the only times they were across the ocean were when they were on deployments and had no time to go find their soulmates because they were on duty. They tried to find time to go when they were both not on deployments, but deployments came suddenly sometimes and as soon as they started thinking about booking flights to try and find their soulmates, they'd get deployed.

Like how last week, Vikram and Ashok were talking about trying to find their soulmates and then they both got orders that they were going on deployment this week. It was like the universe knew it wasn't their time to find their other soulmates.

Ashok brought Vikram back to the present, pressing a gentle kiss to the taller man's neck. "What are you thinking about, my sun?" he asked, gently rubbed circles on Vikram's waist. "You've been so silent ever since you got your orders."

"I'm usually silent," Vikram grumbled, turning his head to the side to nuzzle his cheek against Ashok's. He sighed at the touch, his soul feeling less empty than it would be if he hadn't found Ashok, but his soul still wasn't complete. "Thinking about how our plans to find our other soulmates keep getting delayed. It's so frustrating."

"I know, baby. I feel the same way, but it's the way it is right now. That's not a comforting thought, I know. But you believe in fate, so believe that fate is waiting until the right moment to bring our soulmates to us."

Vikram took in those words, not really liking them but he knew Ashok was just doing his best. He rested his hands on Ashok's hands that were still on his waist, intertwining their fingers. "When did you get so wise?" he murmured, leaning down slightly to kiss Ashok's lips.

Their kiss was short, but sweet, the two of them letting the kiss calm their frustrations down. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together despite the uncomfortableness in the position they had twisted themself in.

"I'm not wise, as people love to tell me," Ashok said, chuckling. He squeezed Vikram's hands in his, loving the way his boyfriend's larger hands engulfed his. "But I know you well enough to calm you down, even if it had taken twelve years just to break down your walls and learn all of your quirks. I wouldn't change a single second for the world, though, my sun. And I know I'll feel the same way once we meet our soulmates, it's only a matter of time."

Their conversation died down after that, the two enjoying looking up at the stars. After a while, Ashok pulled back and tugged Vikram inside, murmuring about how they should go to sleep.

Vikram looked back up at the starry night sky before he went inside, as if he could use the stars to decipher the coordinates to where his other soulmate was.

He hoped Ashok was right, that they'd meet their other soulmates soon. He didn't know how long he could wait.

Besides, he'd be on deployment soon, which would keep his mind off the search for his other soulmate.

*************************************************************

Vikram sighed as he drove into base, having been on deployment for a week already and he was missing Ashok big time. As he drove to a parking spot and parked his car, he hoped his soulmate was having a better time at his own deployment.

He knew he shouldn't complain, he was fortunate to be placed as the Corpsman of a really friendly squad who didn't care that Vikram refused to tell them any truly personal information, not even his actual name.

Most squads hated how cagey he was, hated the way he relied on his stoicism to protect himself from allowing himself to get attached to any of them. But this squad only cared if he was a good Corpsman, which he was.

He had gotten lucky at that, and he had also gotten lucky at Ashok being deployed nearby.

Ashok was at another base, but at least they were placed in the same housing base, able to see each other regularly if they weren't away on missions. It made long, stressful days better when he could go over to the house the military had set up for Ashok and to be in the presence of his soulmate.

The thought of his soulmate made him look down at his wrists, feeling the invisible red strings that connected him to his soulmates. The right red string felt shorter, since he had gone overseas for the deployment, but still farther than where Ashok was.

His other soulmate was in the city, but he couldn't tell where. And he had no time to go searching still. But at least he was closer than he had ever been.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, locking it once he was out. He made his way to the main building, needing to sign in before he could go to the training center to find his squamates.

Vikram merely grunted in response when the receptionist greeted him, simply picking up the pen to sign in. He was about to leave when the receptionist called out for him.

"Stone!" she called out, using his callsign since that's what most people only knew him by. When he turned back around to face her, she continued, "Captain Karev told me that when I saw you, I should tell you that the entire squad is being debriefed soon. They're in Conference Room 220."

Vikram nodded to signify that he heard her, turning slightly to go down the long hallways until he reached where the conference room. Thankfully, they hadn't started until he got there, so he sat down and waited for the captain to tell everyone what their new mission was.

He tried to listen, he really did, but all of a sudden, the red string on his right wrist gave a little tug. He would've sat up straight if he wasn't already doing so, his excitement giving way and flooding his brain.

A tug meant his other soulmate was here. On base.

Finally, they'd meet.

*********************************************

Hehe, and I'm going to end it there. Just Stone's luck that he'd feel Sylvester in the same base just as he was about to go on a mission.

[koobiie]

shoutout to everyone who wants to infodump but cant string together coherent thoughts to form sentences and instead just look at you like this

[robyn-i-guess]

liking someone platonically is so embarrassing like. yeah i admire you. yeah i think about you all the time. yeah i look forward to every time i see you even if it's only for a minute. yeah it's all platonic and yeah i couldn't explain this because it'd sound romantic. fucking hell

[happyheidi]

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

License to Kitty.

[reallybadblackoutpoems]

imagination (1963) - harold ordway rugg

"chekhovs cat / schrödingers razor / occams gun"

[liquidstar]

If my mom sees a significant amount of blood she gets lightheaded, and has fainted on some occasions. Once it happened when we were kids, I wasn't there to witness it but I heard the story from my dad. Basically my brothers, around 7 or 8 at the time, were playing outside while my mom was making their lunch, and she accidentally cut her finger. It wasn't anything serious, but it drew a fair bit of blood and she passed out. My dad saw this and rushed over, but he didn't really know what to do so he just sort of started slapping her to wake her up (not recommended, but he had no idea and panicked)

At that exact moment my brothers both came in from playing, and all they saw was our mom unconscious on the floor and our dad slapping her. So, like, without even saying a word to each other they both just INSTANTLY start whaling on him, like, full blown attack mode to defend our mom. Which obviously didn't help the situation, but she did wake up and everything was fine.

Now our dad says that he's actually really glad they attacked him over what they thought was going on, because it means he raised good boys. And I still think that's true, they're very good boys.

[hansoeii]

look at you, you're gorgeous!

[kotse]

@hg-aneh your honor they’re silly

edit: i am NOT aneh!! i love and have borrowed their character designs, no affiliation!!

[hinamie]

to moving forward

[cozylittleartblog]

cant tell you how bad it feels to constantly tell other artists to come to tumblr, because its the last good website that isn't fucked up by spoonfeeding algorithms and AI bullshit and isn't based around meaningless likes

just to watch that all fall apart in the last year or so and especially the last two weeks

there's nowhere good to go anymore for artists.

edit - a lot of people are saying the tags are important so actually, you'll look at my tags.

#please dont delete your accounts because of the AI crap. your art deserves more than being lost like that #if you have a good PC please glaze or nightshade it. if you dont or it doesnt work with your style (like mine) please start watermarking #use a plain-ish font. make it your username. if people can't google what your watermark says and find ur account its not a good watermark #it needs to be central in the image - NOT on the canvas edges - and put it in multiple places if you are compelled #please dont stop posting your art because of this shit. we just have to hope regulations will come slamming down on these shitheads#in the next year or two and you want to have accounts to come back to. the world Needs real art #if we all leave that just makes more room for these scam artists to fill in with their soulless recycled garbage #improvise adapt overcome. it sucks but it is what it is for the moment. safeguard yourself as best you can without making #years of art from thousands of artists lost media. the digital world and art is too temporary to hastily click a Delete button out of spite

[reasonsforhope]

"During an archaeological dig in a desert area north of Jerusalem 40 years ago, a seed was discovered which was determined to be in pristine condition but had obviously seen many a year.

Now, despite falling from its parent 1,000 years ago, it has grown into a mature tree, and botanists examining it believe it may be an extinct species that was used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years—even receiving a nod in the Bible.

Neither Israeli botanists, nor Dr. Sarah Sallon, a physician who founded the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, could determine what species it was from simply from the seed covering. So they did what nature intended—they planted it.

Using a well-documented technique that saw 2,000-year-old date palm fruit pits germinate, Dr. Sallon soaked the seed in hormones, liquid fertilizer, and water, and then planted it in a pot of sterile seed; then waited.

Despite its genetic code being exposed to environmental stressors for over 1,000 years, the seed sprouted after 5 weeks. The shoot was protected by a caplike feature called an operculum. As the shoot grew, the operculum was shed—leaving something for the team to radiocarbon date. It narrowed down the age of the almost 10-centuries-old seed to between the years 993 an 1202.

Fast forward 14 years and the plant has become a 10-foot-tall tree. Dr. Sallon shared images of the tree, its bark, and its leaves with botanists around the world. One expert suggested it belonged to the genus Commiphora, found across the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Africa. A genetic analysis subsequently revealed this was the case, but a perfect match was lacking.

Pictured: The tree, now 14 years old.

Dr. Sallon and her team thought it was an extinct species known from history as Judean Balsam, but the best way to confirm that suspicion would be to have some aromatic traces similar to the resins of the myrrh tree to which it is related. However, no such fragrant compounds were detected.

Instead, the chemical analysis of the leaves identified a group of phytochemicals known as guggulterols which have been observed in a related species called Commiphora wightii that’s known to possess certain cancer-fighting properties in its resin.

A medicinal balm, the origin of which is not known, is mentioned in multiple historical texts including the Bible as ‘tsori,’ and rather than the fragrant Judean Balsam, it’s this tsori that Dr. Sallon and her team believe they have found.

They must wait until the tree, now 14 years old, produces flower or fruit to know for sure if it’s an extinct species, and if so, how to perhaps keep it alive.

Dr. Louise Colville, senior research leader in seed and stress biology at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London who wasn’t involved in the research, told CNN that it was a major accomplishment to grow a seed that old and possibly lead to a resurrection of this Biblical botanical.

“What’s surprising in this story is it was just a single seed and to be able to have one chance for that to germinate is extremely lucky,” she said.

“Working in a seed bank, seeing the potential for that extreme longevity gives us hope that banking and storing seeds that some at least will survive for very long periods of time.”"

-via Good News Network, October 8, 2024

--

Note: This is such a good demonstration of why seed banks are so important!! They give us such real and massive hope for deextinction and the revival of endangered species.

[cicerosfavouritelistener]

3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 for Farcille for the shippy questions?

Warning: I have been obsessin over Disco Elysium so I know like. Not A Lot about Falin or Marcille beyond like. Basics.

3. What about their dynamic appeals to you? Dragon Cleric Girl in love with Elf Wizard Girl. Mostly the former. Really love Dragon.

4. What are their favourite things about one another? MMmmmmmmmmm........... Had to Phone A Friend (Sibling) for this one Falin's favourite thing about Marcille is that Marcille makes her feel like, A normal part of society as she is. Marcille likes how open minded Falin is at their school, how Falin makes her (and those around her) see things in a different perspective about how something can be used.

5. How do you envision them getting together? Mmmmm. I unno my brain's just kinda like, They don't 'get together' in a proper sense, it just kinda is. They are together, they're incredibly dear to one another, always have been. Falin adores Marcille (And Liaos) more than anyone, and Marcille reciprocates it. The idea of them being together feels like they don't really word it until someone asks how long they've been in a relationship and their friendship to dating just kinda blurred because they're best friends and in love.

6. What would their dream home look like? As much as I would LOVE to answer this. I am not someone who knows how Houses work and shit. Idk I kinda like imaginin post canon that Falin likes travellin around a lot cause of Dragon Remnants n shit. I'll jus say the Castle where Liaos rules cause that's where Falin's favourite people are.

7. How do they split up housework and other chores? I really like imagining Falin likes cooking especially since she can learn from Senshi how to incorporate monsters and stuff.

[theoldaeroplane]

worried that thing you put in your art or writing or game or music is too self-indulgent, too self-referential, too niche for anyone but yourself? fear not! you can do whatever you want forever. and you should.

[otselotus]

о/