#I can't explain the way they make me feeeeel they are SO

[uroborosymphony]

               @ptternminds sent:

"There are eternal flames in Australia," Sarang twirls the wilted roses between her fingers. She'd picked them up somewhere hours ago, found an odd fascination with a bouquet thrown out for reaching what Sarang would describe only as another stage of another kind of beauty. "They say it's thousands of years old. I would have named it after you, had I discovered it first," the wilted roses, of course, are no match for the ancient beauty walking by her side. It's odd, how tranquil Sarang's soul becomes, when next to Calista, someone she met as enemy, as only equal opponent. But it's true. Her soul rests. "I suggest we visit," she introduces next, halting the Lamia in her step with a hand around her wrist. Her fingers tighten, an odd contrast in desperation, to the way she maintains her smile, trying to convince Calista, every day, to find a will to live in Sarang if nowhere else. "We could leave right now. Pretend to have never existed at all, and exist in peace there." ((😌💝))

Calista pauses her steps, feeling the warmth of Sarang's hand around her wrist. Her gaze drifts from Sarang's fingers to the wilted roses, their delicate petals curling in a final dance before they crumble to dust. There is a strong allure in Sarang's words, in the way she speaks of ancient yet eternal flames, forgotten places, and the offer of existing together forever. "You would have? Mm. I am not a thousand years old yet, Beloved," Calista speaks, her voice carrying the weight of time. Yet as the words leave her lips, she realizes... one day, she will be. This past January, she and Sarang marked her 600th year with a celebration in their cabin in the woodsd. If she does not find a way to die as she has long wished, a thousand years will come sooner than she dares imagine. Her eyes always soften when they meet Sarang's. Perhaps also, it is a way for Sarang to say she wishes Calista will reach her thousand years old, with her. "An eternal flame," she murmurs, her voice like the whisper of autumn leaves. "Now that I ponder it, after wandering the world and unraveling its secrets, it seems almost inconceivable that such a flame has escaped my notice." She gently laces her fingers with Sarang's, feeling the steady pulse of life beneath her touch. "To vanish, to dwell in peace in a foreign land... It is a dangerous temptation when speaking by you, Huntress," she says, a gentle smile playing upon her lips. "Could it truly be? To simply... exist there, unburdened by the shadows of our pasts?" Her gaze searches Sarang’s, as if seeking reassurance in those depths. "When my eyes meet yours, it is a siren’s call I find most difficult to resist." A silence falls between them, Calista’s thoughts swirling like the wind. How is it that in Sarang’s presence, the centuries seem less a burden. Never has she wished to live as she does now, standing beside this fierce, tender soul that is her lover's, hers, Sarang. Yet with that wish comes a fear—what is this yearning that stirs within her? This desire to cling to life, when for so long she simply wanted death? "If we go," she continues, her voice taking on the cadence of a time long past, each word carefully chosen, "if we forsake all that has come before, it can't be for a mere moment. It shall be for as long as the flames endure, for as long as your heart desires it." She hesitates, her gaze turning inward, questioning. "But I wonder... will I have the strength to embrace this newfound yearning? To live, truly live, when I never fully knew how to?"

[mad-c1oud]

FROM THE FOG I RISE WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH AN IMMI CHAPTER!!!

IT'S LOVELY! It's got yummy Etoiles' emotions and feeeeelings!

Your mc mechanics interpretations are top tier fr, bc holy shit waystones using emotions? subconscious feeling? intent? will? instict? of the person is SO COOL

AAAAAAAA Teleportation magic being this old abstract force of will with its sole focus on connecting people AAAAA its magical flow being natural to this world

It makes me think of all the waystones being connected through a network, or smth like mycelium

Funny question tho, how would teleporting work for some of the ADHD folk who can't for the life of them focus on a singular destination?

And how do u think the magic would deal with a person that desperately wanted to teleport somewhere familiar, but that waystone and the place was destroyed beyond repair?

Anyway, tysm for the chapter, I wish u well for any irl stuff and writing endeavors!

Starcicle prevails 😌 🌟🦠(<- lol it kinda looks like slime if you believe)

YEHAHHHHH WERE BACK. I missed the goobers terribly

I’m so happy everyone has been loving the waystone thoughts. It’s something mentioned in most fics where they teleport, but I’ve never felt like elaborating becuase at those points, the characters already knew how it worked. So this moment of introspection from someone as analytical as Étoiles has been real fun.

I’m gonna blab about it more below the cut so click for insane word rambles if you want<3

So.

The inspiration came from the fact that if given the choice of what superpower I would choose, I would go with teleportation. Always been that way. I would always think about how it would work too becuase I was obsessed with MHA for a few years and they’re take on powers and quirks was just too much fun. So I thought about how teleporting would work, if it was sight based or maybe you had to have physically been somewhere to teleport there, etc. i liked the idea of needing to be familiar with a place before you could teleport there, or having some connection to it. Intent, knowing.

When I saw the waystones in the qsmp, and actually used them myself in minecraft, I just started automatically pushing those general teleportation thoughts onto the mechanic. They naturally generate in the world, these old pillars with ancient scribble on them (lke the enchantment tables). In order to use a waystone, you have to “activate” or click it. I just… went with it.

I didn’t realize I was using the idea until a few chapters into twaho and starting fingers. When. I did, I developed it a little more but still, I like to be vague about it. I like magic you don’t fully understand, especially when it’s ancient. Also I feel like over explaining it ruins it in some cases and while Étoiles is the po to over explain mechanics, I like shoving him at something he can’t fully pick apart.

Gah sorry you asked for none of that but I like talk sorry. On to your queries…

Warping for those with ADHD or just overall scattered thoughts— tricky. Since I like to think of these waystones as almost alive (at least the magic), they’re interrupting the “information” from the person touching the stone. Like Étoiles on the beach of Eggxile right after upsetting Charlie, trying to warp to his base but all he could think about was his mistake. All he could think about was Charlie. So the waystone kept him there, where he clearly needed to be, until Étoiles could focus and put more intent into his warp. It’s real easy for people to end up at the wrong waystone simply because they’re distracted or panicking, their minds a jumbled mess. A funny irl example would be anyone wanting to go to one waystone but out of habit they clicked the wrong one, muscle memory. Silly stuff like that. I could talk about it all day tbh

And for the other q… ouch. While I don’t want to over explain the warpstones, but I will say this: the magic is contained in the stone pillars or the warpstones, so when they are moved, it moves the magic. However— the longer a pillar is left somewhere, the more attachment the magic has to an area. Magically and literally. Same for waystones that are frequently used by several people.

Think of the warpstone hub near spawn. That area is like… it’s almost like a beating heart, veins branching out to other communal places like the Favela or France or Phil’s. The traffic and the thought going into those waystones… the magic loves to share the world and loves when people share with it.

I haven’t put too much thought into what would happen if someone tries warping somewhere a stone has been destroyed or removed, but I think it boils down to a few things: how strong those feelings/memories are, and how desperate someone is to return. It’s going to vary from person to person depending on their own connections. I think it will also not be pleasant. You are trying to use magic that is no longer contained, that might not even be present in the location you are going, relying on a signal warpstone or waystone to get you there. Think like a cut wire: it’s contiained until the metal becomes exposed, with no grounding after. Chances of you actually getting there are slim, but maybe the right spark with find it’s way. I don’t know, my metaphors are awful. The idea ties into the share stones. Someone going to a warpstone without having ever been there is impossible unless they have someone else on the other end, connecting those points. Providing the memories and feelings and thoughts for others

Spawn point and beds and shit are al whole other thing that I have yet to chew on, but I think they are separate for the most part.

Okay I’ll stop talking i could go on for everrrrrr about this stuff and what it means for different hybrids, different situations, restrictions, hiccups… I love over explaining minecraft mechanics. It’s so much fun.

Come yell at me with questions or ideas on anything!! Now you guys can go back and reread some of my fics with a little extra context haha.

[jeanmoreaux]

Gaaaaahhh Poets, I'm like halfway through The Starless Sea and I have so many questions !! Also I feeeeel that Fate and Time and Fate's heart are really important to what's going on, but I can't explain what makes me think that, it just seems that all the stories circle back to them somehow. Also I want to have my own copy of Sweet Sorrows. Also I want all of Zachary Ezra Rawlins' sweaters. I hope you're having a swell day and that your current read is not causing you this much distress ✨

i get it (from the slight confusion and distress to the copy of sweet sorrows and the sweaters) !!! i think the starless sea is one of these novels that you have to reread to really get a grip of??? (i need to reread it sometime in the near future too bc i am sure i didn't *completely* get it my first time around either.) i think it's also a novel for people vibe readers like me who don't always have to know what is going on as long as i am enjoying the atmosphere of the story. so yeah, i hope you're okay with a little uncertainty and having room for interpretation :)

i am actually preparing to sit down and read the last 80 pages of jade war by fonda lee (the second book in the green bone saga), which has had me on the edge of my seat so far (it's so, so good). i am in love with the characters and SO emotionally invested. i am sure these last few chapters will bring some twists and turns that will either fuck me up or drive me insane (in the best way). i honestly can't wait to just devour jade legacy over the weekend—i think this series is going to become a new all-time favourite for me!