#Lower Cathedral Rock

[sweetsaladpainterranch]

Challenges of Raising a 6 Month Old Demon

Lost Pacifier = Bad Time 😑

(Sorry that this isn't up to my regular standard, but hope you get a laugh out of it)

...

It was approximately 11:23 am at the Hazbin Hotel and the entirety of the building's demons were currently investigating every nook and cranny of their home. Among them included a very flustered Radio Demon, who sported a newly bloodied cheek with tiny fang indentions. He searched through the library, where he usually enjoyed reading horror stories to his daughter, and he sunk his shoulders in defeat when he came up empty. The sought treasure was no where to be seen and he could both feel and hear Evangeline's tantrum upstairs.

The morning had gone like any other; teasing the princess, trying to get a rise out of Luci, and mercilessly psychologically torturing the hotel's tenants. Normally his fawn, being a daddy's girl, clung close to him and merely kicked out her hooves from his arms or shadow portaled around him (and his victims). However, she kept her favorite cat pacifier even closer as she constantly munched on it to soothe her newest budding fangs.

And somewhere along the way, Alastor hadn't noticed that it had dropped somewhere before the irritated fawn began getting aggressive towards everyone in her path. At first he found it adorable when she tried to hunt Fat Nuggets and shred husk's hat, but quickly found her behavior becoming troubling. Your daughter had gotten a hold of his favorite cathedral radio in the library and tried to use it as a chew toy. The tall deer demon immediately picked her up to face his lecture, but, instead, was met with a wide maw of small sharp teeth closing in on his face before he could phase away.

His sharp hiss of surprised pain drew you into the room only to find your bleeding husband holding your daughter out as far as his arms would let him while the tiny deerling snapped her jaws at him. Her usual cherub face was twisted into an angry red sneer of black eyes and gleaming sharp teeth.

She let out a shrill cry and shook her little fists when you took her into your arms in an attempt to rock her into calmness. You looked at your husband questioningly and he shakily informed you that she had been fed and changed and he didn't know why Evangeline was so disturbed. You looked around (while once again using your aura to cancel out the baby's shadow portals) and noticed your child's missing accessory.

As soon as you pointed out the pacifier's absence, the Radio Demon's eyes immediately widened in understanding, and he promised to return with Evie's beloved pacifier. Before you could stop him, Alastor had already turned and left with a purposeful stride while you decided to return to the nursery with the fussy fawn.

The room was protected from Evangeline's portal magic so you could put her down without worrying about her portalling off to take another bite out of her father. You could feel the static rising from the lower floors as your husband searched the hotel, and you felt terrible that he most likely also threatened the guests to help him look.

With a tired sigh, you dodged the stuffed animals your child threw randomly in her growing frustration and opened the tall emergency cabinet. Within, there were different tools for various situations, like angelic weapons, holy water, rolls of mammon bills, and various magic tomes. All very useful, but you needed what was located in the small glass box at the top shelf, which was maybe the most important. With cautious reverence, you broke the glass seal and removed the precious device hidden within.

Several hours later, your poor, disheveled Alastor returned from the search with a triumphant smirk as he strutted towards where you sat, typing up a logistics report for Charlie. He held the found pacifier over your keyboard and awaited your praise for his exhaustive efforts.

"Great job, love! I'm very proud of you." you offered him with a pleased smile noticing the dust and blood that were smeared across his jacket. You could only imagine where he had found that damn pacifier.

"But...you see-", you were cut off by how Alastor's eyes shone with pride.

He smiled even bigger and began to walk himself to the nursery's quiet door, "I've no idea how you managed to endure Evagenline's tantrum for so long, but I shall fix everything!"

"Listen dear-" you tried to halt him, but he had already walked through the door and came to an immediate stop as he took in the room he believed his daughter was rioting in. There sat Evangeline, serenely coloring on the floor and cooing sweetly when she noticed her father staring at her in disbelief as she waved her pacifier in the air. Alastor could only cock his head a full 180 degrees in your direction as you slowly slumped in your chair.

"I... had Rosey prepare a spare in case Evie lost her main pacifier.", you said while getting up and wearily approaching the incredulous deer demon. "I tried to tell you before you ran off, Al, but you had already gone in a flash and I needed to see to the baby."

By the end of your sentence, Alastor had simply fallen over on his face in frustrated defeat and you bent to gently stroke his hair and ears. Evangeline had also seen to comforting her exhausted father by jumping on his back and also playing with his fluffy ears as she had seen you do.

He said nothing but you could swear you heard a soft purr emanating from your deflated husband.

***

Hey everyone, I know it's been a minute, but I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing every day, and what better than a recent happening within my own home. Somehow, I managed to lose my daughter's favorite pacifier and she threw the biggest fit, so I spent all that afternoon looking for it EVERYWHERE (even my mom's house). But my partner, the wonderful mother that she is, simply pulled a spare out of a cabinet as soon as I told her...I just went to take a nap.

😂😂

Get a partner that's always prepared for you to lose shit lol

-S.S.P.R.

[nyxyxx]

Godly Desires - Part 2 -

So yeah here's the second part. A little rough but the next few should get more interesting. I. II. III. IV.

As usual this story will contain yandere themes and religious themes so please proceed with caution.

"For you"

-

An apple? You blinked twice, confused. You hesitantly reached up towards the mitachurl's hand and took the apple in both of yours. After gazing at it for a while, as if looking for permission - you took a bite of the apple. It was delicious. It tasted so real it almost entirely discarded your belief that this was a dream.

You sat in the hilichurl camp there for a while, as they kept gifting you with seemingly random food and materials, but they seemed overjoyed with it regardless. It was an odd feeling. Despite the fact that they were known as dangerous monsters, they showed such kindness to you. You were almost compelled to just live among them for as long as they'd allow you to stay - but you knew you had to keep going.

You had to continue down the path, to find out how exactly you got here, and why. So, after a long time of playing with the hilichurls, you said your goodbyes, and they said goodbye too - or at least you think they were saying goodbye. You weren't exactly the most knowledgable on hilichurlian.

You walked down along the beach, trying to figure out where in Teyvat you could be. It didn't take very long for you to notice the tip of a very recognizable cathedral. So you were in Mondstadt. That made sense, you supposed. It was where the traveler first woke up, so it would make sense that you would appear here too - except you were on the opposite side of Monstadt.

It would take a while for you to reach Mondstadt just by walking, and you weren't even sure what you should do when you got there, but you might as well start now. You turned back towards the hills and kept walking, resting by trees when it got too dark, or hanging out in more hilichurl camps - where they always seemed to welcome your presence.

It was safe to say that you did not go hungry. Though, you could really use a change of clothes. They were starting to feel all gross. You luckily were by a lake, and well - you might as well take this opportunity to bathe and wash those clothes.

You were a little worried about being spotted, but figured you were in a quiet enough area that it was unlikely. Or if it were monsters, you had little fear of being attacked by them. So you carefully stripped down and submerged yourself in the lake, trying to adjust to the cold temperature of the water.

When you were finished washing yourself - you reached back up to the rocks to grab your clothes to wash them as well, only to find that they were gone. Wait...gone??? Panic began to set in as you realized that you were currently naked and stuck in some lake in the middle of nowhere. What were you going to do...?

You stared at the water for a while, tucking yourself as closely to the edge of the water as possible, as you just thought mindlessly over what you were going to do next. That is, until you heard a voice.

"Excuse me, by any chance do these clothes belong to you?" A voice called out, and you instinctively hid yourself lower into the water. "My bad, I don't mean to invade your privacy. I'll just leave these here." The man said, before you listened to his footsteps get more distant. You slowly lifted your head up to look, only to find the man in the distance standing behind a tree, facing the other way, waiting for you.

You looked back to the ground and found your clothes returned, though in a slightly worse condition, but regardless, you hastily threw it all on no matter how wet they were going to get. Once you were done, you ran over to the man in the distance, who slowly turned his head.

"An animal must have stolen them," he began, "I was out for a walk and saw them on the ground by the grape vines. The animal must've left them there after it realized there was no food in them." He smiled.

You were sure you knew who the man was, but that suspicion was only confirmed when you glanced down, and saw the pyro vision hanging from his belt. "...Diluc?"

"Ah right, yes I'm Diluc Ragvindr, at your service." He seemed a little surprised that you knew his name, but internally, his mind was on fire. You, of all people, knew his name. He could barely contain his joy, although it was nearly impossible to tell from the outside.

"Oh. Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping me there." You said, a little taken aback. at your service? what did he mean by that? Regardless, you felt like you might as well thank him for helping you.

"Please do not mind it, I am only doing what should be done." He said, only showing as slight smile. "If you would like to thank me properly, how about I invite you for a drink?" He asked. He hoped you'd say yes.

"Oh sure. Lead the way then." You failed to notice just how exuberant he actually was that you agreed. It has been a while since you've last talked to - or even seen - someone, so you were a little bit lonely. You also figured that you could get some helpful information from him, so you might as well take this opportunity.

-

soon we're actually gonna get into the more entertaining parts but that's it for now. The next part is gonna have a lot more Diluc which is nice but also terrifies me I'm so not prepared to write him. Taglist @mmeatt; @iamapotatoe; @clavichordcleffa

[charmwitch]

wrote something about Samantha (knight) and Nirinel (witch)

N, "Oh hey, you're awake."

The world was dark, but there was only a small pause before the voice continued.

N, "I was worried you were seriously hurt. I can't fix you up if that were the case."

She knew that voice.

S, "Ugh…" N, "Hey, how you feelin'?"

The light was blinding, or so she thought. It took her a few moments to adjust her vision before she looked over at the direction of the voice.

S, "Uhm… kind of bad." N, "Yeah, if you're not expecting it, it's not great. But we made it out in one piece." S, "Nirinel?" N, "Yeah?" S, "Where… how? We were in the cathedral when…" N, "Oh yeah." N, "I'll tell you in a bit. You should take a breather first. It does come with some motion sickness sometimes." S, "…'It'?"

Samantha looked around, her surroundings quite unfamiliar to her. They were sitting under a rock, shaded from the red sun. Samantha had heard of this occurrence before, but had never witnessed it herself until today. Areas thick with memories, battlefields often come to mind in these situations, often caused such a phenomena. There was such an occurrence near the border of Belacuna and St. Helena, from previous land disputes before the countries had stabilized.

She turned to look at Nirinel, who seemed bored- if tired.

S, "We're not in danger?" N, "Nah. … Not that I know of."

Nirinel looked up, shielding her vision with her hand. Her wide-brim hat was on the ground next to her, it had been charred slightly in the monstrous encounter they had only just narrowly avoided. How did they avoid it, Samantha was still unsure. Her eyes scanned the flats. There were high walls off in the distance. She recognized exactly where they were- after all, it was she who brought them here down to the decimal.

N, "Water levels are lower than normal, though. See that? You can see the mariners."

She pointed off into the distance, Samantha rubbed her eyes to get a better look, but was confused. The flats had pockets of water, some with strangely shaped rocks peering out from the mud. Strangely shaped was perhaps an understatement, they were long and cylindrical, but rough and dull looking from far.

S, "Are those… tubes?" N, "Mariners. They're relics from the forty-year war. They're underwater boats." S, "… Why are they here?" N, "This area's usually underwater. Well, most of it. I used to come here to train my magic when my teacher wasn't around. He was never around, so that was quite often. He's so busy, so I would take it out on some of the rocks in this area. Got pretty spooked the first time I saw one of them, but they're harmless. In fact, they're pretty immobile at this state. Look, see?" N, "Anyway, it's the dry season. Sometimes they appear from the mud."

Nirinel looked over at Samantha, scanning her face for her mood. Her thoughts. She seemed curious, but still a little frightened.

N, "I guess I should tell you. You'd find out anyway. They're graves." S, "What? Wait, really?" N, "Yeah. They're not supposed to be. But if they're here, that means their crews are still in there." S, "Uhm…" N, "I'll probably inform The Society after we get back. I'm not skilled enough for that. I think Auntie Clem can take care of it pretty easily though." S, "… W-we're in a battlefield…" N, "Yeah." S, "…" N, "… Sorry. I, I didn't know where else to go. I panicked." S, "You brought us here? How? We're no where near St. Helena, are we?" N, "No, sorry." N, "Ah… this is hard to explain. I teleported us… here?" S, "…You can do that?!" N, "Hmn? I'm not supposed to. It's not magic. That's why you're also here. I was worried we might die, so I…"

S, "It's… forbidden, right? I've heard… mom talk about it." N, "Yeah, no one knows how it actually works. But if you're able to calculate a location fast enough and can access a terminal, you can do an instant teleportation. It's a bit more complicated with two people, but I was able to successfully find a point under the adrenaline. Accessing a terminal takes a lot of magic, I don't think that's the intended form, but if I can hack it I can handle it somewhat."

S, "That's-" N, "Mn?" S, "That's amazing! You did all that by yourself? It's because you're a math wiz, right?" N, "Aah, I wouldn't- I wouldn't call myself that." N, "Hehe." N, "You need to give coordinates pretty quickly and accurately. If you mess up, you can just get yourself killed or who knows what happens. No one knows. I figured it'd be fine, we were probably going to die anyway."

She pauses and looks away.

N, "Sorry I didn't ask you first." Samantha takes her hand. S, "You're incredible! Thank you for keeping us alive." N, "Haah. you can't just say that so casually." S, "I-I mean it.. I'm… thank you…" N, "…" N, "Come on, we should head back. It'll take a few hours though." She looks up. N, "-by broom. I mean. If I teleport again, I could screw it up. It's always a risk. … Sorry."

Samantha nodded, smoothing out her dress as she stands up, her balance a little off.

S, "I mean it. You're really amazing! Thank you for taking care of me, Nirinel."

Nirinel could only look at her for a moment before smiling.

N, "Stop that. You can thank me when we get back to town." S, "Oh, um." N, "What is it?" S, "Should, should we offer a prayer…" N, "Ah, for the soldiers?" S, "Y-Yeah… I… don't feel right knowing… they're just there…" N, "Yeah alright. We shouldn't stay long, they'll keep you here. They're still working, after all." S, "Still working?" N, "It's a military notion- Oh, right. You're a foot soldier. I guess you wouldn't know. Those lost at sea are considered still on patrol. Still working. They'll always be working until they're found. I heard about it on the radio. I couldn't sleep for days afterwards. Ghosts aren't a big deal for us, but it's still spooky, right? Imagine that. Being lost at sea for hundreds of years? No thanks. I'd haunt everyone."

Samantha could only nod before offering a small prayer and following behind Nirinel.

[msdarkwoodsworld]

The Subscribers of Madness

By Ms Darkwood

“What’s up, freaks and seekers!” Jake grinned into the lens, raising a clawed, seaweed-wrapped hand. Behind him, the jagged coastal cliffs of Daggerreach loomed like teeth, the waves crashing violently below. “This is Jake the Snake coming at you live from the abandoned town of Innsmouth’s twisted cousin—Thornhaven. We’re about to do something nobody’s done before: reenact an authentic Cthulhu ritual from real artifacts and tomes we found in the old lighthouse. Stick around. Sh*t’s about to get weird!”

The camera panned out, revealing the rest of the crew.

Amber, the ever-skeptical skeptic in thick eyeliner and Doc Martens, rolled her eyes. “And by ‘found,’ he means stole from the boarded-up museum that said ‘Do Not Enter – Under Investigation.’”

Beside her, Marcus adjusted his mic and grinned. “Relax. We’re resurrecting content, not gods.”

Eli, the quiet one who handled editing and had a morbid fascination with lost civilizations, said nothing. He clutched the tattered, foul-smelling book they’d recovered—Codex Visceris Noctem. Its leather was oddly warm, and its cover bore a sigil that seemed to shimmer under the pale moonlight.

“Alright, people,” Jake said, throwing on the heavy black robe with a stitched tentacle symbol. “Cameras rolling. Ritual site’s lit. Let’s go viral.”

The town of Thornhaven had died sometime in the early 1900s, buried under rumors of occult worship, disappearances, and whispers of inhuman shapes seen along the shore. Its remaining structures—the stone ruins near the cliff, a rotting church, and the barnacle-covered lighthouse—were left to rot beneath centuries of ocean spray.

The group set up the ritual atop a stone dais covered in moss and lichen, candles flickering against the growing wind. They arranged rusted relics—shell-shaped idols, bone flutes, chalices carved from coral—and placed them around the bloodstained sigil etched into the rock.

“Ready?” Jake asked, his voice lowering. “Amber, light that censer. Marcus, get a good angle. Eli... uh, start chanting whatever the hell that thing says.”

Eli hesitated. His voice cracked. “This is... some of it’s in Aklo or R’lyehian. I’m not sure we should—”

“Dude, we need a hook,” Jake snapped. “You saw the numbers on that demon TikTok video. This’ll blow it out of the water.”

The wind picked up. Thunder grumbled in the distance.

Amber sneered. “Fine. Let’s wake the squid-faced bastard.”

Eli took a breath and began to read:

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn…

The words bled from his tongue like oil, coating the air with a sickly weight. The candles dimmed, then flared with green flame.

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn!

The ocean responded. The waves crashed louder. The ground trembled.

“Whoa,” Marcus whispered, lowering the camera. “Is that... part of the show?”

Behind them, the sea roared—and something answered. A groan, deep and ancient, rolled from the abyss.

“Did you plan that?” Amber asked, spinning on Jake.

Jake went pale. “No. That wasn’t me.”

Eli dropped the book. His nose bled.

They turned toward the cliffs.

Where once there had only been sea and stone, a column of water twisted upward, writhing as though alive. Lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating something massive rising from the ocean depths. Wings like cathedral vaults spread outward, eclipsing the moonlight. Tentacles uncoiled like serpents.

It had no name they could comprehend—but they knew it.

Cthulhu.

It had heard them.

And it remembered.

“RUN!” screamed Amber.

They fled, robes flapping behind them, but the air itself had grown thick—like syrup laced with screams. Each breath became a labor. Each step, a struggle against the dread pressing into their minds.

Eli fell to his knees, clutching his head. “It’s inside... It’s in my head!”

Marcus grabbed him, dragging him toward the lighthouse. “Come on! Inside—now!”

The door splintered under their weight, slamming shut behind them. The lighthouse groaned under the pressure of a storm that hadn’t existed moments ago. The sea was boiling. Thunder danced.

“Is it following us?” Jake whispered.

Amber peered through a cracked window.

The cliffs were no longer cliffs. They had shifted, warped into stone faces—screaming, wailing, fossilized in agony.

And in the water, He stood.

Cthulhu’s eyes glowed like twin emerald stars. His face, if it could be called that, pulsed with unspoken madness. Each tentacle writhed independently, brushing the veil between dimensions.

Amber turned from the window, her face drained of all color. “This isn’t content. This is a mistake.”

Jake pulled his hood off. “We didn’t mean it!”

Eli laughed. It was cracked, dry, and unnatural.

“Oh, but we did. You read the words. You offered the rites. You made the call.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Marcus snapped.

“I’m saying,” Eli whispered, “that Cthulhu is awake. And he knows us.”

The lighthouse shook violently. Saltwater burst through the floorboards, rising like a tide from below. The sea was inside the land now, leaking through dimensions like a hemorrhage.

“Basement—GO!” Jake barked.

They descended the spiral stairs, each step slick with water. At the bottom, the room was filled with crates and seaweed-choked relics. And in the center—another altar. This one pulsed with a greenish hue, like a heartbeat.

“What the hell is this place?” Amber muttered.

“A temple,” Eli said, eyes wide. ��The lighthouse was built on it.”

The book had followed them. Somehow, impossibly, it was already on the altar.

“Maybe we can undo it,” Marcus panted. “Read it backward or... I don’t know. Close the door!”

Jake snatched the book, flipping frantically. “It’s gibberish. It’s all—”

He stopped.

The pages were changing. Ink spreading like mold across parchment. Words rearranging.

The price is paid. The door is open. The watchers return.

“No, no, no...” he whispered.

From the floorboards, tentacles slithered up.

Marcus screamed, grabbing a rusted axe and hacking at them. “Keep reading!”

Eli spoke again, this time in another voice. A voice that didn’t belong in this world. A tone older than language. More were coming through him.

He rises. He rises. The dreamer is awake. The stars burn out one by one.

Amber slapped him. “Shut up! That’s not you!”

But Eli just smiled—and his eyes were glowing green.

From above, the roof caved in. Water gushed in like a broken artery. Through the hole, the monstrous face of the Great Old One loomed—indescribable, grotesque, but undeniably aware.

Jake sobbed, clutching the book like a child. “We just wanted views. Just a few million clicks.”

Amber backed into a corner. “We were pretending! This wasn’t supposed to be real!”

But the cosmos did not care.

Cthulhu’s thoughts flooded their minds. Images of cities that defied geometry. Of skies aflame with dead stars. Of civilizations swallowed by the sea before time was time.

Madness... sweet, endless madness...

Jake was the first to burst. His mind cracked like porcelain. Laughing, he climbed the stairs and opened the door to the sea.

And was taken.

The others watched as the storm swallowed the land. The town of Thornhaven vanished beneath a wave not made of water, but nightmare. The lighthouse trembled, then crumbled into the black ocean.

Amber held Marcus’s hand, her voice soft. “Do you hear it?”

He nodded, tears streaming down his face. “It’s singing.”

Eli turned to them. “The ritual was never to summon him. It was to remind him.”

He walked into the rising water, the green glow in his eyes now burning.

“Let’s get that final shot,” he said, lifting the camera one last time. “This’ll be the only upload the world needs.”

The footage was never found.

But sometimes, deep in certain forums, you’ll hear about a corrupted video that crashes systems. It starts as a vlog. Four friends in robes. Candles. Laughing.

Then screaming.

Then... silence.

A green light lingers on the screen.

And if you stare too long into it—

You dream of the sea.

And the sea dreams of you.

Ia. Ia. Cthulhu fhtagn.

[aziraphales-library]

Do you have any fics where either aziraphale or Crowley (or both) are dancers?

We have a #dancing tag that you can check out. Here are some where one or both are dancers...

Taking flight by Sani86 (T)

Aziraphale is a first-year fine arts student with an eye for beautiful people. Crowley is a professional ballet dancer with the most perfect body he'd ever seen. A story about art, self-expression and friendship through thick and thin.

Welcome to Burlesque by PrincessDianaArtemis (T)

Starry-eyed Aziraphale - just call me Azi - follows her dreams to California where she finds her spot amongst the dancers at Tracy's Burlesque Club. Along the way she finds more than just an outlet for her talent including the battling attractions for the bartender, Crowley, the threat of the club being sold, and the jealousy of the headlining dancer, Bee. Becoming a star doesn't mean losing yourself and Azi finds a way to have her cake and eat it too. Or the Burlesque/Ineffable Wives crossover we all need.

what a lovely way to burn by john1513, underthelinden (M)

Aziraphale and Crowley are two opposites in their respective worlds; Aziraphale is a well-known traditional dancer whose waltz can hypnotize, and Crowley is an up-and-comer in the lindy-hop rock-n-roll arena whose flips and jumps absolutely dazzle. They’re acquaintances, then rivals, but is there a chance they might actually get along once fate brings them together? Maybe they could learn a thing or two from each other, after all. Just maybe they’re not as different as they seem.

The Accompanist by MostDismalFeldsparkle (E)

Crowley is a principal dancer for a ballet company, approaching retirement. Aziraphale is the new pianist hired to play for the rehearsals and the academy.

I've Had No Love Like Your Love by Slow_Burn_Sally (E)

Crowley is an exotic dancer and a massage therapist Aziraphale... well, he owns a bookshop

Sanctuary by LeilaKalomi (E)

Aziraphale, raised by the Archangel Gabriel in Lower Tadfield's cathedral, meets a beautiful dancer on his first foray out of the church. When Aziraphale's furtive adventure ends in disaster, he gives up on ever venturing out (or seeing the dancer) again. He doesn't expect the dancer to need his help, and he definitely doesn't expect to fall in love—or anything that comes after. Based on Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

- Mod D

[charlesandmartine]

Wednesday 7th May 2025

Zamora, I think you can safely say, scrubs up well. It was originally, Semure, a Roman settlement on what was known as the Silver Route; a Roman road that ran north to south through the Liberian peninsular, pretty much, funnily enough, the way we are following. Originally, a trade route including precious metals. Later, subject to many incursions by Muslim forces, but eventually stabilised and by the 10th century became a strategic outpost of the Kingdom of León. They built the city walls that can be seen intact today as well as 24 churches in the Romanesque style; the greatest number anywhere. So it was that we started our day with a stroll around the Cathedral, which began its life as a pile of rocks in 1151. Quite a beautiful, peaceful place with some amazing silverware behind the main alter. Our venture into Romanesque then took us to the other 23 churches, which is a lot, especially when they look extremely similar. A common feature, however, on many of the towers were nesting storks, high up on the spires and encouraged because they are thought lucky. A walk across the wide Douro along the old Stone bridge dating back to the start of the 13th century. From there, we could see stretching across the flow of the mighty river, Mills designed to grind flour and olives and were likely to have been operated by the estates of the Cathedral.

So, I do, on reflection, feel a bit disappointed at the attitude of our hero LL. We have spent a day being amazed at the beauty of this lovely old town, and all he could find to do was drink a lot of beer, dance to some Viennese music and then be on his way again the very next day!

Having had a small siesta midafternoon back in our little apartment, we set off to pop into the Inglesia de Santa Maria Magdalena around the corner on route to the supermarket. Jolly nice little church of late 12th century specification and was used as a council church until the 1835 Spanish Confiscation. €1 entry, no concessions. It's interesting that as the sun lowers in the sky, people here immerge on the streets to promenade; the little bar by the park fills, children play on the grass, and the place comes alive.

We continue to only achieve high teens in temperatures, but it has once again been sunshine and blue skies.

Tomorrow, we take to the road again following Laurie's route, the next stop being Valladolid via Toro. We just hope that he has much to report.

[waldos-writing]

Just A Dog Pulling at the End of a Long, Long Leash

Rating: Mature Word Count: currently 9,7k (ongoing) Tags: Graphic Depictions of Violence, nightmares, Post-Canon Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Drugging

Summary:

Mickey Barnes. That's it, it's just Mickey Barnes now. Just him. Singular.

After the end of the Marshalls and the expendable program, Mickey's trying to figure out his place in all of...this. On Niflheim. In life. Thing is, he's just got this weird feeling that maybe...well, no. That'd be crazy. But maybe it's not just him. Maybe there was a miracle.

Or maybe he just doesn't know how to deal with the guilt of losing 18. Maybe if he just gets to live? If that's enough?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6 (excerpt)

Mickey put his hand out and brushed the crystal wall beside him as he followed the tunnel deeper into the cave. It ran like water under his gloves. He wondered about taking those off, letting the cold bite his fingertips, if the wall would feel like glass. If it would burn. If pushed the button light on his chest to see if the walls would go dark and he’d see himself swimming in there? Or somebody else.

But it wasn’t that dark far long.

Damn, but it really was pretty inside.

Mickey walked into the center of the big geode room again. The place had been big, yeah, but he didn’t realize just how huge it really was. Didn’t let himself take the time to just…be. With himself. He breathed deep as soon as he stepped through, out of the tunnel, and the star-fractures glittered as though they were waving to him. He tilted his head up, scanning the ceiling that was brighter than the bottom, thinner in places, until he found the punched out scar where he’d been lowered through before.

“So weird,” he said slowly, thinking back on it. What a wild surprise idea. Timo’s fault. And Mickey smiled to himself when he put all the blame on his friend. Trust Timo to talk them into this because of course he could. “Jerk.”

Without everybody else, without even the creepers like Loto and Akka burbling around, his voice echoed. It wasn’t overwhelming or anything; it was pretty quiet, in fact. The echo was so far away it didn’t even sound like him. Like human speech, really. He looked down at the mossy patterns on the ground and maybe that was muting it a bit. Mickey made sure to step around each little growth, taking his time to pick the safest, cleanest rocks, until he was standing directly in the center again, under the opening. He put his hand in his pocket and squeezed the little glass vial Arkady had given him, his heart just pounding.

“Happy birthday,” Mickey said quietly, his voice croaky and weak. He screwed his mouth to the side, everything starting to climb up, too much, behind his teeth. That wasn’t truth drugs making him narrate, that was the shitty day piling up. He was alive. This place felt alive. This cathedral, this dome, this big fucking bubble in the ground or whatever, got to celebrate him. And nobody, nobody celebrated 18. Cause he didn’t….

Continue here on Ao3!

[themuseumwithoutwalls]

MWW Artwork of the Day (6/24/23) Umayyad Spain (Moorish, 8th-15th c.) Interior view: Great Mosque-Cathedral (8th c. CE) Córdoba, Spain

The building is most notable for its giant arches, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings. The double arches, pictured above, were a new introduction to architecture, and helped support the tremendous weight of the higher ceilings. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch and an upper semi-circular arch. The famous alternating black and white voussoirs of the arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock. They resemble those of Aachen Cathedral, which were built almost at the same time.

[wisteriaovermyhightops]

Holy (‘til you let me go) / Taylor Swift: same themes different outcomes. Rina is out but when Taylor sings about the same things it is a reach to label them as 🌈 themes.

Thesis lyric comparison:

But I left taking all the shame / what if I roll the stone away, they’re gonna crucify me anyway

I’m holy til you let me go / what if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy

✨

Heavenly, that was me / its hell on earth to be heavenly

A vision at 17 / the kind of radiance you only have at 17

Loves to read, loves to dream / I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child, I dream of cracking locks

You saw a light starting to shine / people throw rocks at things that shine

Wanted it only for your eyes / don’t put me in the basement, a diamonds gotta shine

Older and wise, God on your side / I sit and listen, I polish plates until they gleam and glisten, you’re so much older and wiser

(I paid for your life) / Bloods thick but nothing like a payroll

I was innocent when you said I was evil / I swept in at the rescue, the devil that you know, now looks more like an angel

But I took your stones and I built a cathedral / I could build a castle out of all the bricks your threw at me

Found my peace when I lost my religion / religions in your lips, even if it’s a false god

All these years I wished I was different / please, I’ve been on my knees, change the prophecy

Tried to pray the pain away / I keep these longings locked in lower case inside a vault

Just like you told me (but something has changed) / undo the destiny, you ain’t gotta pray for me, something different bloomed writing in my room

Came to shelter from the blame / I learned these people try to save you, cause they hate you

[belle--ofthebrawl]

30, 36, 56? <3

30. places that you find sacred?

There is a small beach (barely that, a strip of sand a few footsteps wide) I often go to by my river. Trees knocked down years ago are there, weathered smooth over time. You can't tell root from branch with some. I walk onto a half-sunken trunk and feel it bob under my weight. I watch a spider weave it's web, I watch geese float by.

Up a hill on my trail, under a bridge. It brings you to the top of the foundational pillars and I press my hand against the cement, hearing dozens of cars go by just a few feet above me. They do not know I am there. And below, people walk on the paved segment. They do not know I watch them.

My cemetery. The graves of three men. He died before my great grandma was born but he was the first grave I ever cleaned, him and two nameless soldier boys who died at age 20 and 21. I sit on the bench nearby and they're with me, curious. The man feels older, more tired. My continued presence isn't something he's really sure about. But he never tells me to leave and I don't think he minds the attention.

An old staircase said to be haunted by the devil himself. Lovely rock formations to look at. Nothing musical on the wind. Still, I go there.

A chapel, 120 years old. Fifteen steps to cross the whole thing. Two rusting kneelers on either side of a concrete slab. The priest died the same time it was built and he was...gently surprised when I accidentally broke in? But I wanted to see the way the stained glass shone through from the other side and it wasn't locked so might as well. The faith and I have a tumultuous relationship. But the silence of stone and the presence of the dead transcend any anger I have. I visited Chartres Cathedral once, as a teenager. (Not notre dame, the one with a well in the lower floors.) I want to go back. Old stones and old bones lift away the hatred in my heart. If that's not sacred I don't know what is.

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

Ha! I can haz cheezburger. How far we've come.

56. favorite tradition?

I'm sad over Christmas lately, so anything do to with that. The botanical garden does a light display and for the past two years, I've been going with my godfather and his family. Sipping hot cocoa, crunching through the snow. When I was a child, my favorite thing to do was pile in the car with my own family and go look at light displays. There used to be a farmer who rigged up a whole helicopter with lights. Goodness, anything around winter holidays. Warm lighting, rich food, fragrant decorations.

[miirshroom]

Mushroom Vision

I am going to attempt explaining how there is an entire vast segment of environmental storytelling in Elden Ring that is going unremarked upon. It isn't just about mushrooms. But that's where I first took notice, so that's where I will start in this post.

The above is the view from a mushroom on the entry ramp to Raya Lucaria, just above where the merchant is sitting. This was maybe my 3rd or 4th random stop back when I decided to appreciate the scenery from the point of view of the mushroom (for fun!). It is an example of perfect framing for elements in the far distance:

The North Liurnia Minor Erdtree

The Church of Vows

The Erdtree

But really, it's "perfect" framing of only the Erdtrees - the Church of Vows is blocked from view and hidden by a stone pillar with a quatrefoil symbol on it. This is a noticeable trend at many mushroom spots - it would be a great view...except there is a nearby tree or a piece of stone exactly in front of one element in the far distance. The perspectives seen from these mushrooms are missing the full picture. Rotating to the left on top of the same mushroom, there is also a perfectly clear view of the Bellum Gate in front of Mt. Gelmir.

Setting the scene a bit more, the ramp is heavily forested, populated by 4 packs of wolves (numbering 3, 3, 3, and 5 including the white wolf in the group lowest down the ramp), then the Isolated Merchant, a Trina's Lily, a corpse with 2 strips of white flesh, and right inside the impassible gate is a Bloodhound Knight guarding a corpse holding Celestial Dew. The sealed entry to the ramp is looking directly towards the Cathedral of Manus Celes.

Also, there is a second mushroom on the bridge which has a view of the Church of Vows restored, but instead this one is blocked from viewing Mt. Gelmir. The Church of Vows is directly aligned with Morgott/Mohg's Divine Tower. This mushroom is between the 2nd and 3rd wolf pack.

Paying attention to the mushrooms also calls attention to something else interesting. There are 4 stone viewing spots built into the ramp face - the two middle ones occurring at those two mushroom spots, one at the top of the ramp just before the 1st wolf pack, and one at the bottom of the ramp between the merchant and the bloodhound knight.

The lowest of these viewing points has a clear view at the Erdtree (nearest to the gate). Also from this vantage point the Liurnia North Minor Erdtree is in alignment with the withered Minor Erdtree in the Altus Plateau:

The highest viewing point near the top of the ramp has views of Mt. Gelmir, Bellum highway Gate, and the Wandering Mausoleums:

In the photos of the first mushroom (lower ramp) I placed more emphasis on the Erdtrees, as this is the view obtained by looking directly at the minor Erdtree. See below as rotated to face the pillar directly, which corrects for peripheral vision picking up certain distant objects that do not actually have direct sightline to the mushroom.

And like at the upper ramp mushroom, the transparency of the Erdtree is accounted for in what is visible from this vantage point. From the corrected viewpoint Rykard's Divine Tower is also completely obscured by the pillar and Morgott/Mohg's Divine Tower is not only behind the Erdtree, but also behind a conveniently placed rock spear. Rotating to the right, a clear view of Liurnia Divine Tower and just the top of the Isolated Divine Tower. Caelid Divine Tower is obscured by the Carian Study Hall, and Limgrave Divine Tower is exactly behind the steeple of a pillar.

So what does it matter exactly, that landmarks are blocked from certain locations? Good question! I am trying to understand this! It seems to me quite obvious from the framing of this one small corner of the map that care is being taken to craft these vistas in a certain way. Perhaps travelling up the ramp is telling a story in sequence. Perhaps there is one story told from the balcony spots while a second lens is placed on the story from the mushroom spots.

Overall, what I see are pieces of an environmental puzzle deliberately crafted at hundreds of locations. Just from mushrooms alone. But there is no reason to stop at mushrooms - I know that some people are already taking interest in the locations of Trina's Lilies and Miquella's Lilies, but has any attempt been made to really consider what is visible (or not visible) from their locations? The things that NPC's can see from their vantage points, the directions that corpses are looking and the items they hold, the view of the divine towers from rebirth monuments (previously discussed in a different post) all seem to be carefully planned. Rowa bushes are very frequently found in pairs, and at almost every location I've checked so far across Limgrave there will be something clearly visible from one bush that is just barely out of sight from the other.

For anyone wondering whether Elden Ring actually innovated on anything compared to Dark Souls? It's this. Literally - it's the depth of environmental storytelling.

[mikimeiko]

Day 15 - Brno (Czechia)

I do manage to wake up earlier than yesterday! I decide to go check out the (formerly) industrial part of the city, starting with a walk alongside the Svitava river: there's a footpath/bike lane that goes along an old rail track that used to serve the factories (mostly textile mills) built on the riverside.

It's very pretty but even with no direct sun the weather is still pretty hot (and humid today), and even in the shade of the trees of a small park on the way it's not pleasant enough to just stop for a while and read.

So I decide to make the most of my 24h ticket that will expire in a couple of hours and go to Stránská Skála, a rock formation just out of the city (there's a tram that goes there. I LOVE taking trams to places outside cities). I wasn't sure what to expect, but I end up hiking to the top following a gentle enough path through trees and fields full of flowers.

I'm sure the view would be better if it wasn't overcast, but on the other hand most of the path is out of the trees and it would have been very hard to walk in the scorching sun. For the entire time I'm there I only see a couple of people, but I guess if you live here you just don't chose a day like today to go on the rock.

(I love places like these, gentle hikes that most people can enjoy. I live in a superflat valley right next to the Alps, the hikes that are usually available to me are INTENSE. But I don't want intense! I want gentle, calm and beautiful. That's why I particularly enjoyed walking the coast paths in the UK, I discovered a love of hiking there that I never thought I would have).

In the afternoon the sky clears up, the humidity lowers and the breeze comes back: it's nice enough that I decide to check out the bit of old town I haven't seen yet (there are still parts to be seen! This city is big!) and the park that surrounds Spilberk fortress.

It's a beautiful park but it's literally all up hill, and most of the paths are quite steep. I sit on a bench reading for a bit, enjoying the atmosphere. Then I climb up a little more, and I'm rewarded with this beautiful view of the cathedral (I could very likely get better views from higher up but HAVE I MENTIONED HOW STEEP THE PATHS ARE?).

I pass through the old town hall and I'm reminded that I haven't shared with you the most beautiful dragon in the world!

When I took this picture there was a Spanish family there with a tiny kid, and the kid was like "a crocodile! No... a dragon!"

I go back for the last time to the beer festival, and have halušky with sauerkraut and smoked bacon. And a radler. And yes, SUMMER OF THE RADLER. I still haven't find one as good as the watermelon one from Vienna, but radler beats both beer and lemonade right now. (I tried lemonade yesterday, it was good but definitely too sweet).

I keep thinking this is my last night in Czechia but it's not! I'll be in Plzen tomorrow night! Still sad to say goodbye to Brno, though, I think it might be my favourite city in this trip.

[hermitcraftkinfessions]

kicks rocks... i miss my friends... both as in i miss them now and wish i could find em, and missed them back then..

ya see, in season 1 of empires i was already a deity, but my creator sent me off to live with mortals when i was a kid and never knew who they were.. but by the finale when i die i ascended to "true godhood" and met up with my creator, big fuck you to that guy.

after Afterlife smp came season 2, where everyone well. didnt really. keep their memories as they reincarnated in new bodies.. althrough oddly similar to the last ones, some changes tho, ofc. But like. I retained all my memories, cause I was still me, I died as a "mortal", sure, I ascended, but still had the same memories of my mortal life. Still remembered my friends, my lover, my family. And none of them remembered me :( But fear not, dear readers /silly

For I did not give up, and like any good god, I could shapeshift, so I used that to my advantage! Shapeshifting as animals, old people, children, even appearing momentarily as an actual god, similar to my s1 looks but taller and with more gold accessories, but I only pulled that last one in moments they were very out of it so they thought they just had a fever dream. Like right before bed or for a fraction of a second around holy places (the cathedral, etc) Oh yes I looked over them, interacted briefly, they were different people but they were also in a way still my friends. They were still in there, I swear.

I also- I remember when I met Scott for the first time I threw away the "small interactions", i straight up shapeshifted into a mortal farmer (pretty similar to my s1 me but less fancy) and introduced myself to him, in a natural way, ofc- we started talking and yknow yeah we mightve fallen in love, and eventually i mightve told him the truth and he mightve been upset and thought i just loved his past self and not him... which at first was true, but i did love him by that point! he wasnt the SAME Scott i used to know but he was just as lovely in his own way! and eventually im p sure he regained some memories, was still himself, but then he could rember. and yeah we made up and stuff but we had a bit of a fall out when he found out the truth at first.. oops...

also gods (of a ""lower"" ranking like myself-) maaay have had a rule set by older ones/higher ups abt not interfering much with mortals... which i kinda rlly broke just there... and eventually w others too.. oopsiessss... twirls my hair w guilty big ol eyes

also pix was. somehow. a human yet immortal?? so he dissapeared in season 1 before the finale but by season 2 was the same guy who had been a historian/archeologist for years and had seen a bunch of shit happen *himself*, so yeaaah when we met it was also super emotional cause he remembered me. What I shifted as when we first met? call me stupid, but for some reason it was a child(11-14), I could control it but also not- at times it just kinda came out. I stayed like that even after he told me he knew who I was and I told him abt ascending and allat... yeah.... does that count as god-age regression /silly

another empires mems ramble!

-🌙Pearlie (He/She)

interesting, i really don't know what to put here, mod ex is more versed in things of this caliber but they're asleep so its just me

-Mod hels

[houseofbrat]

Both matches will be happening at 9 pm (21:00) local time in France.

That's 8 pm (20:00) in the UK.

Far too late to fly home (even on a private jet) and eat dinner with the kiddies when the match is over.

No, instead the environmental activist known as William, The Prince of Wales, will be flying on a private jet back and forth to the match because there are not enough commercial flights from London to Bordeaux without staying overnight. (I didn't see any red-eyes from Bordeaux to London when I looked online.)

Same with Kate going to Marseille.

Gee, if the environment and lowering fossil fuel emissions were so important, then why couldn't both just fly to Marseille first on a commercial plane, stay overnight in Marseille, travel to Bordeaux, stay overnight in Bordeaux, and then fly back to London on another commercial plane? Even if only one person attended each match?

Is that plan too economical and environmentally friendly?

Yet, as I said before, it seems that Will and Kate want to keep one parent at home with the kiddos at all times. Somehow, that wasn't an issue nine and a half months ago.

Can't wait to see Kate rock her two-week-plus, post-partum body on Friday and Saturday. Will she be wearing a tight dress to St. David's Cathedral to show it off, and make sure everyone sees she's carrying more weight around her middle?

[ca-highway49]

Some of the trail design in Yosemite it really good well obviouslybut I think Lower Falls is very funny. Oh I can't post pictures on this computer, okay, so Upper Falls you can see as often as Half Dome, becasue it's the higher elevation part of the tallest waterfall in whevever, it's bascially like whatever mountains you can always see on your horizon. You kind of get so used to seeing it that you might forget Lower Falls is there. But the idea of the Lower Falls trail is it highlights the Falls by giving nice views including a bridge near the base of the falls (Lower Falls that is, the one that is on the ground therefore base) and also there's scrambling rocks but you're not supposed to go on there. At the bridge and rocks you can feel the mist of the waterfall etc. But also if you look at Lower Falls you still have to tilt your head up right? It's the tallest fall. But Upper Falls is NOT visible it's so funny. Like where do they hide mountains?! This happens with all of Yosemite from the Western Sierras, you drive, you drive up 2000 feet, you turn around, and you are in the mountains goving past a vista off the side of a mountain but you never see this mountain on approach how do they do it. I'm a Yosemite truther it doesn't. Exist.

Bridelveil trail from the Valley Looop (ei not just the big paarking lot, the trail between Cathedral and El Cap Meadows) is nice too... M shaped (like the McDonald's royal golden archs) so the elevation is easy, very beautiful with ivy. It shows you a lot of El Cap you are sort of walking around El Cap. It shows you this other little waterfall first. It puts you out on a trailhead with forking trails that all lead to the one trail to Bridelveil (this is for parking reasons) just like how there's 3 bridges ovr the creeks that all leads from Bridelveil. Ylou still haven't seen the waterfall yet, not even a hint of it through the trees. I think it wouldn't come out looking that good if you got hints.

You know what I mean? Some of this must have been purposeful choices, about what angles the approach is on and which trees don't get removed.

[thorsenmark]

One Day in Yosemite National Park Just Isn’t Enough! (HDR) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east-northeast while taking in views across the forested Yosemite Valley at Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park. I chose to work with Aurora HDR Pro to bring that complete setting in the image. I later exported a TIFF image to DxO PhotoLab 5 where I did some final adjustments with contrast, saturation and brightness for the final image.