#Wind Effect Popular Series

[thedalatribune]

© Paolo Dala

[L] Wind Effect, Popular Series Claude Monet (1891) Louvre (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)

[R] Charing Cross Bridge Claude Monet (1926) Louvre (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)

Impressionism

When Impressionist paintings are presented in museums today and sold for millions at auction, no one questions their legitimacy as works of art worthy of attention and esteem. But when they were first exhibited in Paris in 1874, they were regarded as unfinished, slapdash, lowbrow, and renegade. With the way art history has since evolved, or in the view of some, devolved, how do we understand these pictures whose original power lay in their ability to shock, especially when to contemporary eyes they look old, and totally unradical? What remains of their power? Why should we look and them, and what do we see? This is the case for Impressionism.

This new style didn’t arrive out of the clear blue sky, but the paintings were often created under one. A hallmark of the art that would come to be known as Impressionist was that many were painted outside of the studio and in the world, or as the French say “en plein air”. Unlike the slow, studio-based approach that held sway at the annual salons of the French Royal Academy, whereby tonal gradations were gradually built up with layer upon layer of glazes, Impressionist works were frequently begun if not completed entirely out of doors. These artists used smaller canvases that were easy to transport and finish quickly before the light or weather changed. Artists had been painting in the landscape for some time, like Dutch artists of the 17th Century, and even more recently in England, where the likes of John Constable won admirers for his pictures of villages and countrysides, and J. M. W. Turner wowed with his own highly dramatic and abstracted scenes from nature. In France, where Impressionism was brewing, painting in the landscape was an established practice, artists escaping Paris and political instability to observe nature and render it in a relatively lifelike manner. These artists also experimented with style and technique, trying out looser brushwork and brighter colors. But landscapes were considered to be genre painting and less important in the eyes of the Academy that, more than nature, valued the study of ancient Greek and Roman art. Figures were to be strongly defined, and set amid ordered and harmonious compositions. This was the kind of subject matter favored by the Academy, pulling from history, mythology, and religion. They didn’t want to see regular people doing regular stuff. The so-called Reaslists had already challenged the academy’s values by painting scenes from contemporary life, sometimes admitted to the salon and sometimes denied. Gustave Courbet built his own pavilion during the 1855 Paris World’s Fair, circumventing the official juried exhibition, and showing this painting where, it’s worth noting, the focus is on a landscape painter. In 1863, the state organized a special exhibition to feature works rejected by the Salon, including challengers to the status quo who wanted to paint their own way and show the here and now. Like Édouard Manet, who would not go on to show with the Impressionists, but was close friends with them, endorsed their work, and shared numerous interests and techniques. The artists who participated in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 had shown their art within the Salon and also grown tired of having work rejected from it. So they put together their own show in the former studio of the photographer Nadar, calling themselves the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc. There was no state involvement, no jury, no hierarchy of subject matter. They were each exploring their own concerns, not working toward any shared mission or manifesto. If there had been a manifesto it could have only read something like: “Not the Salon” or “I want to do my own thing, thanks.”

But IN GENERAL we could say this group was mostly painting from modern life,  from modern life, cityscapes and landscapes, using a brighter palette of colors, broken brushstrokes, and loosely defined forms, that gave the works an air of spontaneity. So much so that art critic Louis Leroy commented on the accuracy of the title of one of Claude Monet’s paintings on display, Impression: Sunrise. To Leroy, it was merely an impression, a sloppy and unfinished sketch, unsuitable for display or sale. He dubbed the show “Exhibition of the Impressionists” as an insult, but another critic recast the name in a positive light, saying of the new work: “It’s lively, brisk, light - captivating. What a rapid grasp of the object and what an amusing facture. It’s summary, agreed, but how spot on the marks are!” As you know the name stuck, and the artists came around, too. Impressionist landscapes, unlike those that came before, often betrayed their place in time, showing city folk in the latest fashions or enjoying leisure activities in the Paris suburbs. New railway lines had made travel out of the city easier than ever, and the Impressionists were unafraid to show signs of this new way of life, and also of the increased industrialization around them. Life was getting faster, and it followed that art should, too… Paris had changed enormously in the preceding decades, having undergone wholesale renovation beginning in the 1850s. A crowded, medieval city had been replaced with one that was much more open, cleaner, and safer, with wide boulevards, public gardens, and lots and lots of light. And the Impressionists did love their light, trying again and again to arrest its ephemeral effects. They liked to show it broken by clouds, dappled and filtering through the trees, oh and especially as it reflects on water. Even when painting interiors, which they did indeed do, they loved to include a window, often with sheer drapes through which light could filter. Because they were often capturing atmospheric effects that would change with the passing minutes, the paintings have the feel of improvisation, even if they took a while to get just right.

Monet often worked on several canvases at once, shuffling to different works as the light changed, or returning to the same spot daily to patiently await the return of the desired conditions. New and brighter pigments had recently become available, which the Impressionists put to good use, juxtaposing vivid colors in ways that were startling to audiences at the time. Even shadows, it turned out, didn’t have to be just black or brown or gray… The arrival of photography had also revealed new ways of framing images, suggesting the possibility of unbalanced, snapshot-like compositions, long before cameras would reach snapshot size and speed.

Some have theorized that now that photography could capture reality so well, painting was then freed from the shackles of realism and could do what paint does best, which is being colorful and tactile, and you know, painty. This new kind of art also involved more women and represented them in new ways. Berthe Morisot participated in all but one of the Impressionist exhibitions, and gave us remarkable views into the domestic sphere and lives of well-to-do women. Mary Cassatt joined the ranks as well, and became known for depicting women and children as well as her own family. Women of a variety of classes were subjects for the Impressionists, and not just nude and lying on a bed anymore, but shown doing the things they actually do, in the home as well as out in the world, enjoying. Paris’s nightlife, and also being it. A population boom following the Franco-Prussian war had brought about a new mixing of genders and social classes, which we see unfolding in Impressionist depictions of street life, cafe culture, and various forms of entertainment. The membership of this motley crew of artists fluctuated with each exhibition, including names you’ve definitely heard of as well as ones you probably haven’t. By their last exhibition in 1886, few of the artists were working in style you’d likely identify as “Impressionist.” Core members had evolved their own styles and were exhibiting independently. And the artists we now consider Neo-Impressionist had arrived, like Georges Seurat and Paul. Signac, who were interested in the more scientific aspects of color and how our eyes process it…

Impressionism was one of the first of a string of avant-garde art movements, each rejecting tradition and embracing the modern, promoting new ideas about what art could be and what it could do. Whether or not you’re familiar with the succession of “isms” that followed, you already know the narrative: students learn from their teachers, but then repudiate their lessons and push on to forge their own paths. Novel methods over time lose their ability to shock, new ideas replace old, and the cycle continues. And now it’s gotten ever faster. An 1874 review of the first Impressionist exhibition posed the question, “Is the absence of rules a good thing? Only the future will enlighten us…” And enlighten us it has, demonstrating the breadth of what the pursuit of singular vision can bring forth.

But the best case for Impressionism is the art itself. In a museum filled with the dark and dramatic art that preceded it, and the often confounding art that follows, Impressionism is really… pleasant. It’s not violent or distressing or sentimental or moralistic. It’s recognizable subject matter rendered in an interesting but not overtly challenging - by contemporary standards - kind of way. It’s an optical delight, giving us windows into a fascinating historical moment, created by supremely talented artists who pushed art in new directions to better represent that moment and their own view of it. And that is enough.

Sarah Urist Green The Case for Impressionism

[astarioffsimpmain]

Cozy Up with: Gale

[Autumn photography by: coldoctober]

[Gale photography by: unknown - if it's you, please let me know so that I can tag you!]

Author's Note:

Okay so....... maybe it's become a series that I like to call "Cozy Up". LOL I'll probably do another one with Astarion since the first was pretty short, and I'm hoping to do more bg3 characters as well! Here's our beautiful, wonderful rizzard in some post-game domestic bliss: autumn-themed! Hope you enjoy.

You smiled as your eyes followed the colorful leaves in their path from the trees to the ground, carried on the wind like dancers performing a routine. The weather had turned crisp in Waterdeep, the night air boasting an even colder chill on the balcony of Gale's tower, where the breeze from the sea swept up to rustle the wind chimes that were a gift from your fiancé once you moved in. 

A shiver ran through you and you curled further under the massive blanket Gale had on the settee. It was your idea to sit outside. You didn't mind the fact that your ears and nose were numb. This was your first autumn in Waterdeep; your first autumn as a fiancé(e). Autumn was always your favorite season: the sweeping changes in the colors of the landscape, the crackling energy of something new and wonderful in the air, and the eerie glow of the large harvest moons in the evenings. You wanted nothing more than to experience this shift with your soon to be husband, who was currently fixing hot cocoa for the both of you in the kitchen downstairs, and probably supplementing Tara with some warm milk before he returned. 

You rubbed your feet together and admired the two pumpkins that sat on the balcony across from you, faces carved in them by you and Gale, glowing brightly with the spell the wizard had used on them. "It's a tradition in Waterdeep!" Gale had exclaimed with excitement while urging you to find a pumpkin you liked from the stall. 

You'd heard of the practice, of course - carving a face into a gourd and lighting it to keep the evil away - but in Baldur's Gate, there wasn't a guarantee your warding gourd would be left alone for very long if left outside where they were meant to be, so most people lit candles in their windows and drew faces on their doors with coal instead to ward off the evil. So many firsts for you this year, and so far, you were enjoying them all.

The clank of cups on a tray brought you back to the present and you turned your eyes to the patio door, where Gale had appeared with two steaming mugs and a dazzling smile on his handsome face. "Here we are! My mother's famous recipe." He said, carefully handing you one of the mugs by the rim. You sighed in audible relief as your cold fingers wrapped around the warm ceramic, the effect taking hold immediately. A single sip had a  satisfying chill running up and down your spine before your entire body began to warm from the inside out. 

"Mmm Gale, it's perfect, thank you." You hummed happily, your mug held close to your face to allow your nose to defrost as well. He chuckled in response and sat down next to you with his own cup, pulling some of the blanket over his legs as he settled in. Your pull to him was immediate, and you were nuzzling into his side the moment he was in reach. He opened his arm to you just as quickly and pulled you closer by your shoulders. 

The scent of weathered book pages and amber flitted across your senses, enveloping you in a sense of safety and belonging as you rested your head in your usual place under Gale’s arm. You looked out over Waterdeep over the balcony railing, and the city was littered with tiny flickers of candlelight as people ducked in and out of shops, restaurants, and taverns far below. Motion in your peripheral caught your eye and you smiled to yourself. 

Gale had conjured a mage hand to open the volume he was reading on the latest popular recipes for Waterdhavian weddings. He was insistent on making your meal for you on the day you wed, and would hear nothing against it. He was making something new everyday, bringing plates of his new dishes to you. "My love," he would say every time. "Try this one. How is it compared to the last? Should I keep looking? I'll keep looking, I haven't tried this other one yet.." and he would trail back off to the kitchen to start again. At first, you'd tried to dissuade him from trying every dish in the book, but your fiancé was nothing if not hard-headed, and you found yourself going along with it, content enough to try new food every night until the wedding. Each dish was better than the last, and that you certainly didn't mind. 

You chuckled quietly and allowed your eyes to fall closed, listening to the rhythmic sound of Gale’s heart beating beneath your ear. The wind was chilly, but your hearts were warm, as long as they beat together. 

~

fin

[lonefloric]

To warm the soul ✿

An installment of the intertwined souls mini series

Sanemi x female!reader

sanemi was used to feeling icy cold, it was a normal feeling ever since he was a child. Now he has to deal with being scorching hot after saving a mere village girl.

There's still 10 hours on the poll but Mr. Nemi is winning and I just had to finalize this before posting it so I'll post the second most popular vote next. This is also the first time I've written only sanemi by himself so be easy on me 😭🙏

Sanemi was used to being deathly cold since he was a child. It started one morning after he woke up, he went from being cozy and warm to ice cold and freezing.

Fearing he might be sick he went to tell his mother, who only smiled and patted his head. "My dear, that is your soulmate connection. The closer you are to them the warmer you will feel, but the farther you go the colder you will be."

The comfort didn't last long before it turned into a nuisance. As he aged he cared less and less about finding his soulmate, more focused on eradicating demons. Winter quickly began his least favorite time of year, the cold of the snow and the cold of his body hindered him slightly which pissed him off to no end.

/

Sanemi's feet pounded on the snow as he ran through the thick forest. The demon he had been chasing somehow kept evading him everytime he got close. The snow flurries caused by the wind and the thick layers of snow building up did not help the situation at all, instead angering him even more.

A scream in the distance caught his attention. God dammit. He turned in the direction of the scream and pushed himself to run faster, the possibility of the demon attacking a civilian fueled his rage as he tightened his grip on his sword. Breaking through the tree line he now was in a large clearing.

A few feet ahead of him the demon he had been tracking had a young woman pinned in the snow. You tried kicking and shoving the demon off of you but the immense strength of it you were able to move at all. Sanemi readied his blade in his hand and lunged. The demon above you was flung away by the sheer strength of the blow. You hadn't even realized someone else was there.

Sanemi glared at the body of the demon as it disintegrated, it's hands wildly waving at where it's head once was. Once the body was entirely gone he turned his gaze to you, who he now was looming over. You still laid in the snow shocked and looking at the man. He was beautiful in a unique way, you though. You had never seen someone with so many scars.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" his low voice broke you out of your thoughts. "Why are you in a forest in the middle of a snow storm?"

you glared back at him. "Why are you in a forest in the middle of a snow storm?"

"I have a reason to be."

"So do I!"

"Playing in the snow like a child is not a reason." you gasped taking a handful of snow and throwing it at him.

"I am not a child! And I'm not playing in the snow!" you both glared at each other for a few moments before he sighed and his shoulders dropped.

"Give me your hand."

"What?" he glared at you with a I'm not repeating myself look.

"I know you can feel it too," he held out his hand, "now give me your hand." now that you thought about it, you did feel boiling hot. Neither of you had felt it in the heat of the moment but now that it was all done, your skin felt like it was boiling off, the snow actually felt nice.

"And if I don't want to?" you crossed your arms.

"Then I'll leave you here."

"No you won't." his eyes narrowed, turning on his heel he began to walk away.

"Wha- wait-! Don't leave me here!" you sprung up from the snow attempting to chase after him but your foot got lodged in the snow tripping you. Arms looped your wait effectively catching you, but now you were chest to chest with Sanemi. Your face warmed at the proximity.

"You live in the village near by, don't you?" you shyly nodded at his question. "Then let's go. I'll take you home."

"Will you tell me your name?" you asked.

"Only if you earn it, so be good."

[kittenintheden]

No Thoughts, Just Vibes

Oh, you know, just a little Solstice/Midwinter treat for you. Enjoy!

Rating: E Pairing: Astarion/Tav (descriptionless) (BG3) Content warnings: PWP, PIV sex, oral sex, sex toys, tooth-rotting fluff

---

Their adventures by night in Faerún take them all over, from the Underdark to check up on Astarion’s siblings and their new spawn charges to Waterdeep in search of potential arcane solutions for certain undead individuals with sun sensitivity.

In fact, they find themselves entering Waterdeep just in time for Midwinter. The magicked streetlamps of the place glow golden and are festooned with all manner of wintery decorations, which feel oddly out of place in the seaside city but have a magic all their own nonetheless.

It’s just past dark when they approach a wizard’s tower, having spent the daylight hours getting to know the tavern and inn down the way while the sun still sparkled off the water. Now that it’s safe once again, Astarion and Tav ring the bell near the tower door and are greeted with a series of chiming meows in the style of a popular carol.

“He really doesn’t have to try so hard,” Astarion says, smirking despite himself. “And yet.”

“Let him be the dork of his dreams,” Tav chides playfully. “He deserves it. We all do.”

On cue, the large door of cypress wood before them swings open and their wizard friend holds out his hands in the foyer of his tower, arms wide.

“You made it!” Gale says, beaming. “Come, come inside. Please mind Tara, she’s been quite taken with the mistleberry and has made herself sick more than once despite my gentle reminders .” He yells the last words toward the spiraling staircase and from a nook nestled high in the wall, he receives a hiss in response.

“Relateable,” Astarion mutters as he comes inside, but he accepts an embrace from Gale nonetheless, giving him a stilted pat on the back.

Truly, the lot of them are glad their adventuring brought them to Gale’s doorstep. It’s nice to be off the road and surrounded by modern luxury again, and the wizard’s gone out of his way to ensure their modest celebration is full of delights. He’s even procured a top-vintage sanguine refreshment for Astarion.

“Did you imbue this with clove?” he asks, swirling it in his goblet and giving it another sniff.

“Not exactly,” Gale says, cheeks rosy from his own imbibed glass of wine. “Were you aware certain herbal and spiced components cross the blood barrier when inhaled or consumed? Give the resulting blood a bit of an essence for a certain frame of time. Garlic is the most common offender, but I thought I’d skip it, in this case. This donation came from a dear friend in the spice trade. One who doesn’t ask many questions and frequently dabbles in certain other trades.”

Astarion blinks against the verbal onslaught, then turns to Tav and says, “Hold on. Is that why I break out in hives after you’ve put too much garlic in your food?”

Tav’s also delightfully tipsy and she raises her glass to him. “I love you, dearest, but I’m not giving up garlic for you. Some prices are simply too steep.”

The night winds on and on like that until eventually Tav nods a sleepy head onto Astarion’s shoulder and he guides her off to bed in the spare room at the base of the tower. He returns to Gale, who’s ragaling Tara with his own rendition of “Marvelous Midwinter” to her great disdain.

“So, Gale,” Astarion says, interrupting to give Tara an appropriately respectful scritch on her head. “I have a bit of a favor to ask, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all, my friend,” Gale says, swaying. “How can I help?”

Astarion reaches into his pocket and procures a folded bit of something. He hands it to Gale, who unfolds it and examines it with some curiosity before cocking a brow at him.

“Any possibility of, erm. Recreating something to this effect?” Astarion asks. “One tied to a command word, perhaps?”

“Oh, certainly,” Gale says, going into tinkering mode as he examines the object. “I would need a few components, but luckily I have them in stock, thanks once again to my spice merchant friend. A little bit of articifer ingenuity to craft an arcane battery, some relatively complex enchantment, and a… wait.”

Gale gives Astarion another look and the vampire tilts his head and smirks.

“Right, I’m not asking,” Gale says, eyes back on his new puzzle. “Give me a day.”

“Lucky we’ll be here for three,” Astarion says with a light laugh.

The morning of Waterdeep’s official Midwinter celebration dawns bright and mild, the sea breeze rustling through the thick curtains they keep drawn in the guest room to ensure Astarion doesn’t wake up with burns or worse. They doze in the double bed in their underthings, Tav draped across Astarion’s chest and breathing softly as she wavers in and out of sleep. He’d actually fallen asleep last night, pressed up safe against her, and now he smiles into her hair, tracing his fingers up and down her arm.

Eventually she stretches along the length of her body and yawns against his skin, resting her chin on him and looking up into his face. She blinks lazily and runs a finger over the length of his nose with a delicate touch.

“Morning, dear,” she says, voice still rusty with sleep.

“Happy Midwinter, my love,” he murmurs in return. “I got you a little something.”

“Oh?” Tav purrs, sitting up a bit. “Is it fun?”

He arches a brow. “I certainly hope so.”

Astarion tangles his fingers in her sleep-mussed hair and draws her to his mouth, kissing her deeply as she relaxes into his body, letting her tongue stroke against his. He rolls them both to their sides and hooks his leg over hers, taking his time as he lights up her skin in all the ways he knows she loves. She laughs, tilting her head back to expose her throat to him, and he licks along the column of it, though he doesn’t bite. He wants her fully aware this morning.

With one hand, he deftly undoes the clasps of her brassiere and tosses it aside. Her smallclothes follow quickly after. She hums, pleased, lazing onto her back as he kisses down her breastbone, palming one of her breasts and rolling his thumb over her nipple until it peaks. His mouth works at the other, teasing and swirling until she’s arching up into him and rubbing her thighs together.

“Is this my gift?” she sighs. “I like it.”

Astarion chuckles against the space below her breasts as he continues working his way down. “In part, I suppose. But not quite.”

He runs his tongue underneath her breast and then leaves her a moment to fetch something from the side table. She whines at his absence, but he doesn’t leave her waiting long. He rolls back over, slipping a ring snugly down onto the second knuckle of his middle finger.

She giggles. “Are you proposing to yourself? Fitting, honestly.”

“You’re cute when you’re lust drunk,” he says before he puts the weight of his body on top of hers, kissing her deep.

He hauls her leg up by the thigh, wrapping it around his waist so he has better access as he runs his hands down the length of her, gripping her arse tight before moving around to the front and teasing his clever touch between her legs. She’s already going wet, her arousal making for a smooth draw over her skin and she settles into it, a wide smile on her face, knowing she’s in a master’s hands.

Astarion grins. She has no idea.

He places his hand flat against her slit, cupping her and resting the ring against her in just the right place.

“ Deliciae ,” he whispers.

The ring sends a brief, rapid vibration through her core, just beside her clit, and Tav cries out in surprise, bucking her hips and gripping his biceps, her breath going erratic. She’s fully awake now, staring up into his face, wide-eyed.

“What in the hells,” she gasps.

Astarion gives her a light kiss. “I’d hoped you’d like it,” he says. Then, again, “ Deliciae .”

“Oh,” she says, her thighs shaking on either side of him as another vibration pulses through her. “Oh, dearest . Again.”

He's happy to comply, kissing her between her gasps and mewls, repeating the command word in a sultry whisper while he works her with his fingers in the meantime. His own arousal aches where it’s pressed against her hip and he gently grinds it against her for relief, just enough to keep his own head as he watches her break to pieces beneath him.

Tav rolls her head back and opens her mouth in a silent scream as her legs shake, incapable of holding back their shudders as a shivering, powerful peak comes over her under the little toy. It’s familiar but sweeter; her hips rise off the mattress and then slam down as she tips over the other side. Astarion feels her clenching and pulsing, strong and slick, and the entire ordeal is instantly worth it to bear witness to the unraveling. There is no pleasure, no greater high, than knowing he’s the one who brings her to this state. The one who has the privilege. The one she chose.

She blinks back to herself, a moan low in her throat as she tries to clear the spots in her vision. When she meets his eyes again, he’s panting himself, still rolling his hips to get some relief against her side. Her gaze clears as she breaks the surface of her pleasure and she growls, grabbing his face and bringing him down to her mouth, nipping his lower lip between her teeth until he whines from it.

“You liked my gift?” he whispers, breath quickened.

“Oh, yes,” she sighs. “Now let me give you yours.”

Tav’s hand snakes down their bodies to find his fingers and she takes them, slipping the ring off. He’s so dazed with lust that he lets her without thinking about it too much and gladly moves as she rolls them both until he’s the one on his back. Her mouth is so hot on his cooled skin as she places open mouthed kisses everywhere he likes – the space behind his ear, the place where shoulder meets neck, every rib on the way down. She spreads a hand in the center of his chest, over where his heart resides, and presses him into place as she licks down the line between his abdominal muscles.

Astarion’s cock twitches, throbbing against the weight of her body as she continues her path, and she uses her free hand to give him a rewarding squeeze and stroke, running the pad of her thumb over the split underneath the head. She gives his foreskin a little swirl, helping make sure it’s properly drawn down, and he thrusts up into her hand with a pleased murmur.

It’s taken time and significant gentle coaxing to get him to a place where he simply lets go and allows her to lavish him with attention. A lesson he’s forever learning, rewriting centuries of conditioning with care, with passion, with love. He closes his eyes and focuses on her touch, allowing himself the pleasures she’s happy to share with him.

With a slight jolt, he twitches when he feels her warm tongue follow the path of her fingers, rolling circles around the head of him and applying long licks down his length. Her fingers move to his sack, gently rolling his balls in her palm, warming them. She places a knuckle against the spot beneath them, kneading deep but gentle, finding the place that drives him wild.

“You are so good to me,” he sighs as she moves her mouth over his head again. “That’s so good.”

He senses her smile just before she swallows him down, taking his length halfway into her mouth and working him a few times before she pulls off and says, “ Deliciae .”

Astarion’s vision whites out as the knuckle pressing into his perineum sends a hard vibrating pulse through him at the same time she takes his cock in her mouth again. He gives a sharp cry.

“Bleeding hells,” he manages. “I… I…”

She pulls off of him, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, and says it again.

Pleasure upon pleasure crashes over him, lighting up his entire body as he writhes under her touch. She goes slow enough to make it delightfully tortuous, though it would be incredibly easy to push him over the edge in short order. She moves the enchanted ring, experimenting in different places – the base of his cock, the rim of his arse, the crease of his thighs – and each spot brings new sensations.

He’s an absolute mess by the time she draws back and crawls up his body, his hands weakly grasping at her hips as she sits up on her knees, gingerly reaching between her legs to hold his cock in place as she slides down onto it, both of them near sobbing at the sensation.

“I love you,” he manages with what little breath he can hold. “Gods, I love you, I love you.”

“Love you,” she breathes back as she rolls her hips hard against him over and again. “Love this. All of this.”

Tav rides him slowly, firmly, with intention. When they get to a point where they can’t help but pick up speed, grinding one another into oblivion, Tav lifts his shaking hand in hers and takes the ring from her finger so she can slip it back onto his, the movement reverent.

Astarion looks her in the face as he reaches down between them with his fingers spread over the base of his cock where they meet, resting the ring right alongside her oversensitive clit. 

“ Deliciae ,” they say together.

They shatter in the same moment, eyes rolling back, crying out to the morning light. The waves of delight roll like the tide outdoors, rising up the shore and receding back to the great unknown.

Tav collapses onto Astarion’s chest and his arms are so very heavy as he lifts them to wrap around her back. They breathe, and pulse, and live. Eventually, he begins tracing soothing patterns along her skin.

He clears his throat. “I take it that’s the inaugural positive review for Gale’s potential toy venture?” he says.

“Oh gods, that’s where…” Tav covers her face with her hands. “Oh gods, I have to go out there and see him.”

Astarion laughs and she laughs with him.

[belle-keys]

My 2024 bookish predictions:

The Dragon Renaissance - With more Fourth Wing sequels in the works and season 2 of HOTD coming out in the summer, I think there's a good chance dragons and dragon-shifters could become the next big thing. Maybe they'll replace the fae as the "big" fictional creature?

The Percy Jackson Renaissance - It will be in full swing, accompanied by a noticeable Greek Mythology Renaissance among locals on Twitter whose knowledge of Greek Mythology is limited to... Percy Jackson. The Hunger Games renaissance will see its last days in January/February or so.

(Poorly written) military fantasy will become popular. Again, I think this will be an unwanted side effect of Fourth Wing's popularity. But I think the Gaza Genocide and institutions endorsing Zionism will play into this as well. I thinks we're about to see a lot of military propaganda in the book world and military-themed books trending.

Dark academia will enter into the beginning stages of its flop era. I say this as someone whose blog is largely dedicated to dark academia, but with Kuang not publishing anything in 2024, with Olivie Blake's Atlas trilogy coming to an end, and ST Gibson's An Education In Malice being... not that good, I can see people moving away from dark academia by the end of the year.

Colleen Hoover will release something. I don't particularly care for this, but I can easily see it happening. She didn't release anything this year so it makes sense she may have a 2024 release (and maybe one designed to improve her reputation).

The ACOTAR series adaptation will get chopped (officially, that is).

People will become less open about enjoying smut and dark romance with all the Twitter radfem discourse and backlash against poor quality romance ruling publishing. There will also be more "discreet" book covers. There will be a lot of anti-erotica discourse.

The Nobel Prize winner will be a POC.

Rivals-to-Lovers will replace Enemies-to-Lovers as the top trope. Less hate and more competition. More academic rivals, magic rivals, popularity rivals, etc. I can see people vibing with this in 2024 instead of the "I hate you but I wanna make out with you" vibes of full-on Enemies-to-Lovers.

JK Rowling will accidentally get herself arrested and/or indicted and she'll be all White Woman about it.

George RR Martin will announce that he "intends" to publish The Winds of Winter before the end of 2025.

A former Disney/Nickelodeon/child star/boyband member will write a memoir describing their trauma and they'll thank Jeannette McCurdy for giving them the courage to do it. The revelations will be insane and unprecedented.

[farleighlover]

— “death of you.”

| farleigh x fem!reader

disclaimers: mentions of alcohol, rival!farleigh, fluff(?), no smut (whoops sorry), really bad fic, literally no disclaimers lowk …

w.c.: 1.1k

— a/n: sorry for changing the name of the fic .. super shitty , not my best work at all .. sorry for how long it took & how short it is , i haven’t wrote in FORVER (not exaggerating) , i might turn this into a series if y’all are kind enough .. anyhoo , PLEASE send fic / bot scenarios !!

parties weren’t really your thing. what was though, is alcohol.

every story ends the same, you go to a party, try to be and behave sober, fail miserably, drink too much, then do whatever comes to mind because there’s nothing stopping you.

it was a sob story. every time you tried to tell yourself no, it failed. and it brought you to now.

you sat along the stairs outside the party. the wind blew around you as you felt ruined. the effects were coming to play, and it probably could show. a broken heel, makeup blurred on your face, and the aroma of alcohol floated around you. the good effects of alcohol was for a little, before things just became too uncomfortable. the room felt too crowded, the music got too loud, the dress suddenly too tight… you just had to take a break.

as you sat and thought, a low chuckle could be heard behind you. farleigh start. you and him didn’t have an “amazing” relationship, in fact everybody knows you two as “the rivals” over how you two fight over everything and anything. grades, who was the teachers’ favorite… you two couldn’t stand each other.

you groaned and rolled your eyes when farleigh becomes in view and takes in your appearance, eyeing you up and down. you suddenly felt highly insecure when farleigh let out a laugh.

“you, look like a mess.” farleigh says when he finally looks at your face. you glare at him and huff under your breath, although you feel your cheeks flare up. you hope that farleigh doesn’t notice.

“that’s so sweet of you.” you say flatly. “you know i have awareness of myself, right?” he takes another glimpse of yourself before answering. “..are you sure?” you roll your eyes as he smirks.

there is a favor you needed to ask farleigh, and it was for a ride or at least be able to help you walk back to your dorm. it was a horrible thing already to ask him, but all your friends ditched you and you weren’t popular enough to know people on that level to ask. the only one you had, was farleigh.

“i need a favor..” you slightly slurred over your words, already regretting asking. he let out a chuckle as he raised a brow.

you looked down to avoid eye contact, fidgeting with the skirt you wore. you mumble out, “i need a ride..” as soon as you say that, he laughs. an immediate wave of embarrassment went through you, regretting everything that has came to this moment. asking the farleigh start for a ride and actually expecting one? you might as well buy a lottery ticket. once he calms down, he looks at you, always with that stupid fucking smug grin on his face.

“you… a ride? from me?” he points to himself. he loved to piss you off. you glared. “no, the guy behind you— yes a ride from you!” you blurt out, irritated. “just forget it—“ you try to stand up, totally forgetting about your broken heel, and fall.

thankfully, farleigh catches you. he snickered, “maybe you do need a ride..” as he holds onto your hips to steady you. before you get to say something, you feel yourself get lifted up and farleigh carrying you. “farleigh, what the fuck?!” you exclaimed, immediately wrapping your arms around farleigh’s neck as your mind stirred a little from the sudden movement. “what? you needed to go back to your dorm, right?” he smirked as he started to walk. he was going to be the death of you.

“keys.” farleigh says. you looked over and saw your dorm. you let out a laugh. “you remembered my dorm?” he rolled his eyes, “again, your keys.” you let your head fall back, smirking a little. you had something to tease him with.

“purse.” you answered. he hummed and soon later, he placed you on your bed gently, which is surprising. you learned that farleigh’s capable of being a bit sweet. he sighed. “listen, i’m going to go get you some water. don’t.. don’t move.” you nod with the remaining strength, but as soon as he leaves, you pass out.

god knows for how long you fell asleep like that, but when you woke up, you feel a small sinking in your bed. you turn and see farleigh, passed out right next to you. your head buzzes with confusion, mixing with your hangover. he looks at peace, somehow blissful. the only time his expression isn’t turned in some cocky grin. you couldn’t help but keep your eyes on him, analyzing and searching every inch of his face.

eventually, you slip out of bed as quietly as you can to not disturb him. when you arrive to the bathroom, there were only traces of your makeup on your face, but tons of small wipes of makeup and makeup remover. you laugh quietly, thinking how sweet the thought was. right then, you hear your front door open and quickly close.

“farleigh?” you call out, but only silence answered.

later in classes, you can tell farleigh is trying to avoid you. after classes, he immediately leaves rather than teasing and picking on you on everything and anything, he makes eye contact once when you enter the library and he decides it’s time to leave, you don’t understand how one small piece of affection he’s done for you makes him run wild.

after 2 weeks of him acting like an imbecile in your presence, you go up to him in the hall.“farleigh, what’s your problem?”

he looks shocked but quickly tries to cover it, acting coolly as he replies, “i have no idea what you’re talking about.” classic farleigh. you roll your eyes, “you know exactly what i’m talking about. you run around and away when i’m around. why?” you cross your arms, trying to look more intimidating, but with farleigh being 6’5, it obviously doesn’t have the same effect.

“still have no idea what you’re talking about..” he singsonged. he was starting to piss you off. “the way you immediately leave when i’m in any room with you? the way you haven’t picked or teased on me?”he raised a brow. “did you want me to?” he teased, a small smirk appearing. you groaned. “no! i’m not—“ “because it sounds like that.” he grinned. you were going to snap his neck off. “oh my gosh, just forget it.” you grumbled. he smiled. “okaayy..” he singsonged. “see you later.” he placed a kiss on your head before walking away.

he was going to be the death of you.

.. taglist: @fuckshitslover @themoonchildwhofell @khxna @flipsconhelado

[dallasgallant]

Time period post: Movies and television

I don’t know how many more of these I’ll do, they’re mainly for people like me who are particular when it comes to time period in their writing or just curious on the 60s. There’s not too many in the fandom and this is a little different from my usual meta. Though, I think this one like the hangout spots might speak to more people because it’s referential?

This is not exactly movies and tv shows the boys would like exactly just some stuff that existed, was popular etc!

—

This was before streaming, DVD’s or even VHS so the way they watched movies and tv is a much different experience than ours today. Much more emphasis on live tv or actually being around for when an episode would premiere as you couldn’t tape it yet. (VHS and VCR come in the 70s)

Watching a tv series meant either catching new episodes as they premiered or watching re-runs whenever they happened to be on.

Movies, if popular enough would be brought back to theaters regularly or even on Tv as an event. Big movies like Gone with the wind or The Wizard of oz were a huge deal! Sometimes there’d be once a year events for showing this kind of popular movie on tv.

You knew what would be on each channel and when with a physical TV guide book, catch that movie event or new episodes etc. I believe you had to pay for a subscription for them to come— eventually down the line TV schedules are just sort of a built in to regular television now days with a button on the remote.

Another thing to keep in mind is color television is still relatively new and expensive! It’s a pretty big deal. Theres also few channels generally, though by 1965 there was 3 major stations and a maybe you’d have some local ones.

The news, Sitcoms, soap operas, talk shows (start during this time), actor sketch shows, variety shows + music/dance showcase (think like the movie Hairspray)

While not the point of this post it cannot be understated the effect of Drive ins and movie theaters on teen culture.

—

Popular shows 1965-

Bonanza

Bewitched

Dick van dyke show

Wonderful world of Disney (color)

Popular shows 1967-

(Previous still apply)

The Andy Griffith show

Gunsmoke

Ed Sullivan show

Lassie

[scifigeneration]

Carl Sagan’s scientific legacy extends far beyond ‘Cosmos’

by Jean-Luc Margot, Professor of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles

On Nov. 9, 2024, the world will mark Carl Sagan’s 90th birthday – but sadly without Sagan, who died in 1996 at the age of 62.

Most people remember him as the co-creator and host of the 1980 “Cosmos” television series, watched worldwide by hundreds of millions of people. Others read “Contact,” his best-selling science fiction novel, or “The Dragons of Eden,” his Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book. Millions more saw him popularize astronomy on “The Tonight Show.”

What most people don’t know about Sagan, and what has been somewhat obscured by his fame, is the far-reaching impact of his science, which resonates to this day. Sagan was an unequaled science communicator, astute advocate and prolific writer. But he was also an outstanding scientist.

Sagan propelled science forward in at least three important ways. He produced notable results and insights described in over 600 scientific papers. He enabled new scientific disciplines to flourish. And he inspired multiple generations of scientists. As a planetary astronomer, I believe such a combination of talents and accomplishments is rare and may occur only once in my lifetime.

Scientific accomplishments

Very little was known in the 1960s about Venus. Sagan investigated how the greenhouse effect in its carbon dioxide atmosphere might explain the unbearably high temperature on Venus – approximately 870 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius). His research remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of fossil fuel emissions here on Earth.

Sagan proposed a compelling explanation for seasonal changes in the brightness of Mars, which had been incorrectly attributed to vegetation or volcanic activity. Wind-blown dust was responsible for the mysterious variations, he explained.

Sagan and his students studied how changes to the reflectivity of Earth’s surface and atmosphere affect our climate. They considered how the detonation of nuclear bombs could inject so much soot into the atmosphere that it would lead to a yearslong period of substantial cooling, a phenomenon known as nuclear winter.

With unusual breadth in astronomy, physics, chemistry and biology, Sagan pushed forward the nascent discipline of astrobiology – the study of life in the universe. Together with the research scientist Bishun Khare at Cornell University, Sagan conducted pioneering laboratory experiments and showed that certain ingredients of prebiotic chemistry, called tholins, and certain building blocks of life, known as amino acids, form naturally in laboratory environments that mimic planetary settings.

He also modeled the delivery of prebiotic molecules to the early Earth by asteroids and comets, and he was deeply engaged in the biological experiments onboard the Mars Viking landers. Sagan also speculated about the possibility of balloon-shaped organisms floating in the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter.

His passion for finding life elsewhere extended far beyond the solar system. He was a champion of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, also known as SETI. He helped fund and participated in a systematic search for extraterrestrial radio beacons by scanning 70% of the sky with the physicist and electrical engineer Paul Horowitz.

He proposed and co-designed the plaques and the “Golden Records” now affixed to humanity’s most distant ambassadors, the Pioneer and Voyager spacecrafts. It is unlikely that extraterrestrials will ever find these artifacts, but Sagan wanted people to contemplate the possibility of communication with other civilizations.

Carl Sagan, offering his unique commentary in a scene from ‘Cosmos.’

Advocacy

Sagan’s scientific output repeatedly led him to become an eloquent advocate on issues of societal and scientific significance. He testified before Congress about the dangers of climate change. He was an antinuclear activist and spoke out against the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as “Star Wars.” He urged collaborations and a joint space mission with the Soviet Union, in an attempt to improve U.S.-Soviet relations. He spoke directly with members of Congress about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and organized a petition signed by dozens of prominent scientists urging support for the search.

Carl Sagan, speaking out against the use of nuclear weapons, at the Great Peace March in 1986. Visions of America LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

But perhaps his most important gift to society was his promotion of truth-seeking and critical thinking. He encouraged people to muster the humility and discipline to confront their most cherished beliefs – and to rely on evidence to obtain a more accurate view of the world. His most cited book, “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark,” is a precious resource for anyone trying to navigate this age of disinformation.

Impact

A scientist’s impact can sometimes be gauged by the number of times their scholarly work is cited by other scientists. According to Sagan’s Google Scholar page, his work continues to accumulate more than 1,000 citations per year.

Indeed, his current citation rate exceeds that of many members of the National Academy of Sciences, who are “elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research,” according to the academy’s website, and is “one of the highest honors a scientist can receive.”

Sagan was nominated for election into the academy during the 1991-1992 cycle, but his nomination was challenged at the annual meeting; more than one-third of the members voted to keep him out, which doomed his admission. An observer at that meeting wrote to Sagan, “It is the worst of human frailties that keeps you out: jealousy.” This belief was affirmed by others in attendance. In my opinion, the academy’s failure to admit Sagan remains an enduring stain on the organization.

No amount of jealousy can diminish Sagan’s profound and wide-ranging legacy. In addition to his scientific accomplishments, Sagan has inspired generations of scientists and brought an appreciation of science to countless nonscientists. He has demonstrated what is possible in the realms of science, communication and advocacy. Those accomplishments required truth-seeking, hard work and self-improvement. On the 90th anniversary of Sagan’s birth, a renewed commitment to these values would honor his memory.

[tymime]

Public Domain cartoon characters from Golden Age comic books

Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit going (mostly) into the public domain is a pretty big deal. In the next ten years a lot of animation from the 1930s will wind up in the hands of all artists who want to use them. But did you know there's a huge amount of cartoon characters from the 1940s that are totally free to use? It isn't just cartoons that starred on the silver screen that have fallen out of copyright. (Of course, I'm using the word "cartoon" somewhat loosely...)

See, when US copyright law was revised in 1976 and went into effect in 1978, works created before 1964 were required to have their copyright renewed before the end of 1980, or else they would become public domain. Hundreds if not thousands of Hollywood movies and other types of media had been made by studios and publishing companies that went bankrupt and were completely dissolved decades prior to this new law. This included the cartoons made by studios such as Bray, Van Beuren, and many others- but it also included comic books.

If you weren't a big comic book company like DC or Marvel, chances are you shuttered your doors sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s. And during the 1940s, with the rise in popularity of Looney Tunes, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry, and Droopy, comic book publishers were printing tons and tons of comic books starring wacky, slapstick-oriented animal characters. Most of these titles went out of copyright, and there are lots of fun and interesting characters to be found in them.

One of the most historically notable is Supermouse. When the first Mighty Mouse cartoon premiered, he was called Supermouse, but what they didn't know was that Pines comics had already taken the name, and successfully sued for copyright infringement even though they were both parodies of Superman.

One of the most interesting titles I've come across is Funny Films. The conceit of the series is that these are actually cartoons you can watch in a movie theater, except it's a comic book. A bit confusing, I know.

The end result is a series of fourth wall breaks so absolutely thorough in their scope that the fourth wall really doesn't exist anymore, barring actually jumping out of the page (or your computer screen) and blowing up your living room. They talk to the audience, jump out of the screen, and even show up late for the cartoon to start. This is of course the bookends to a whole bunch of slapstick gags and goofy dialogue.

Another interesting series, especially if you're a fan of Archie, is Hi-Jinx. They basically took the premise of teeny-boppers in high school and made them into funny animals. Most of the stories have something to do with swing music and dancing.

And although they're crudely drawn, one of the more unique character concepts is Pussy Katnip, found in various titles scattered across the mid-1940s, usually buried amongst a bunch of more normal stories with ordinary human characters. Pussy Katnip looks like one of your classic film noir glamorous beauties, except she's an anthropomorphic cat. Think Minerva Mink but feline. She may appear to be a femme fatale at first, but she's actually a crimefighter. To do this she chugs a mysterious beverage that gives her enhanced strength and intelligence. She's sort of a mystery-solving superhero.

Her appearances are random and kind of hard to find. Here are the titles of the ones currently circulating online: All Your Comics (1944 issue) All Top Comics (one-shot) All Good Comics Everybody’s Comics (1944 issue) Green Mask v1 #11 Ribtickler v1 #1 All Great Comics (1945 issue) Book of All-Comics Green Mask v2 #2 Rocket Kelly #2 Zoot Comics #1

Often these comics, especially in the early '40s, remind me of the artwork of underground comics of the '70s- not quite rubberhose, not quite Looney Tunes. The kind of thing you might find on a punkabilly album cover.

And ocassionally you'll come across characters with a suspiciously familiar name:

One thing to watch out for is the occasional Donald Duck knock-off, some more obvious than others.

Now you may be asking: Where can I read these comics? Simple: https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/ Just be sure you have the right software to read them. I use cooViewer. Another incredibly useful resource is www.comics.org.

So if you're like me and you're too impatient to wait for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to fall out of copyright, and you want to do something more unusual and unexpected, there are dozens and dozens of comic books with silly, wacky characters that can be utilized in your own original stories, cartoons, and what have you- and you can monetize them too!

[themanicnami]

Invisibility In Witchcraft

Invisibility is something we see in all different types of media for a very long time - superhero comics and movies, Harry Potter book and movie series, fairy tales and lore from several countries. It is one of those powers that even in modern science they have been trying to create true invisible cloaks and armor for military use. Though invisibility in literature and movies is not the same as when we refer to it in witchcraft. So let us talk about this aspect of magic today, a brief history and even some modern day spells.

What is Invisibility Magic?

Invisibility magic is magic of concealing oneself, others, places and objects from detection. As stated above it is not in the literal sense of you vanishing from sight however think of it like a cloaking device - it helps you go unnoticed or makes you less likely to be observed. Of course take this with a grain of salt - magic has its limits. However, an invisibility spell can help you as an additional buffer of protection. Often times, invisibility spells are to ensure special items you have hidden away go undetected such as your grimoire on a bookshelf or sigils of protection scattered about your home, it can also be used for oneself or others to help them travel in safety.

History

Old manuscripts and grimoires dating back to the 1600s have been found describing spells for invisibility. These such spells include chanting, potions and rituals said to help the caster ‘vanish’ from people’s views or travel unseen. One of these manuscripts has been archived if you wish to see it here and another here please keep in mind these are old scripts and may not be safely done today - do your research on ingredients and if they are safe to use modernly.

Though invisibility in witchcraft is a bit harder to dig up, invisibility has a long and rich history in religion, folklore and tales. Many creatures, spirits and persons of lore, legend and story through the centuries are said to vanish without a trace or go unseen by normal people. 

In the cases of witchcraft though it is harder to find information on it, as listed above some old manuscripts were found listing methods of invisibility. Some other methods listed have been carrying the heart of a bat or a toad or frog under one’s garments (or their right arm) can render you harder to detect. Others speak about how black hens and chickens may be related to invisibility by using their feathers as charms. Mercury historically was used as a method to be deemed invisible, with using it to make jewelry or charms a popular method - however perhaps not safe in modern day terms. Another grimoire called “The Second Book of the Secrets of Albertus Magnus” states that wrapping an Ophethalminus stone in a Laurel leaf will render the wielder invisible. What is an Ophethalminus stone? It is commonly accepted and believed he was referring to a Lapis Lazuli stone. 

Correspondences

Of course modern day invisibility calls for more modern day correspondences - to help insure the user and caster are using ingredients that relate to what they seek. Below is a brief list of some correspondences - please research before ingesting or applying anything to the skin. Research possible allergic reactions, side effects and complications of medicinal herbs and plants. Research all stones you use before subjecting them to heat, water or oil.

Plants and Herbs:

Amaranth

Black Hellebore (toxic)

Cherry/Cherry Bark

Chicory

Devil’s Shoestring/Black Haw

Edelweiss

Fern

Heliotrope (toxic)

Henbane (toxic)

Laurel 

Mistletoe

Monkshood

Poppy

Sow’s Thistle

Tansy

Wolf’s Bane (toxic)

Colors:

Black

White

Gray

Lavender

Elements:

Air

Water

Spirit

Crystals and Stones:

Amethyst

Calcite

Lapis Lazuli

Moonstone

Obsidian

Peacock Ore

Silver Topaz

Smokey Quartz

Metals:

Mercury

Silver

Tools and Other Items:

Mirrors (Black Mirrors)

Sigils

Smoke

Black Ink

Toads/Frogs (symbolism)

Bats (symbolism)

Mist and Fog

Wind

Chicken Feathers

Moonlight

Black Candles

Gray Candles

Modern Spells (note some are not mine, they will be sourced and linked to their original posters)

Invisibility Enchantment- Wishful- Seeker

Some Spellcraft for an Invisibility Ring - smoke-weed-and-hail-thor

Air cloaking glamour - thegildedraven

Invisibility Spell to be Forgotten - breelandwalker

Night walking invisibility and protection glamour - magicianmew

(cheap) Invisibility Spells for Anxious Witches - becomingwitchy

Invisibility - Pathfinder inspired Sachet Spell - Mine!

Shadow Usul’s Night Invisibility Glamour Sachet - Mine!

Chameleon Eye Shadow - Totally Spies Spell - Mine!

Like what I post? Want to support me or buy me a delicious coffee? Feel free to check out my Ko-Fi Page!

[physalian]

"Objectively terrible" you say?

I saw this Buzzfeed list about popular movies that the people on this list can’t stand, and while I did agree with some of them (hate Elf), it reminds me of back when Last Jedi came out and you had people (me among them) calling it “objectively terrible”. My argument at the time had boiled down to “take ‘Star Wars’ out of the title for a second, take off your rose-tinted glasses, and convince me this movie has excellent pacing” and the movie’s fiercest defenders to me were always desperate Star Wars fans who basically said “it’s Star Wars, thus it can’t be bad” which… led to some irreconcilable unrelated differences underneath the tip of this iceberg.

I am older now. Still don’t like the story of that movie, still will proudly defend my hill of “8 movies into this franchise and 2 movies into this sequel series and you have a responsibility as a writer to at the very least communicate with the people who write the movies before and after yours so it fits cohesively”. But, the effects were cool I guess. I liked the cinematography.

Anyway, on this Buzzfeed list is one of my favorite movies, Inception, and the comments for every movie nominated were incredibly cynical to begin with, but some lovely person had this to say: “Inception was boring AF, and the whole ‘it doesn’t matter if stuff in a movie is anachronistic because movies are fake anyway’ is absolute anathema to me” an argument I have never heard for this movie anyway.

Also on this list are Ferris Bueller’s Day off, Brokeback Mountain, Grease, Gone With the Wind, and a couple others.

And as somebody who can happily accept and discuss the flaws of my absolute favorite films, “I hate this and I don’t understand it” and “This movie is terrible because I don’t understand it” do not mean the same thing.

Is Inception confusing? Absolutely. Should you be required to invest your full attention and then some for multiple rewatches to understand a story? If that’s not your thing, no. But “I don’t like it, thus it is bad” arguments are… kind of funny? And weirdly insecure?

I hate Elf. I don’t like most comedies, especially 'manchild' comedies, and can only handle Will Ferrell in very small doses. I don’t think he’s all that funny and I only really liked him in Lego Movie, when he wasn’t “Will Ferrell”. I also hate Elf because it’s unfortunately associated with a truly awful Christmas spent with family in the hospital and this movie was the only movie on and it was an Elf marathon.

But do I think Elf is a bad movie?

No.

It’s a lighthearted comedy. It knows exactly what it is and it’s not trying to be anything else. It successfully told the story it set out to tell and it makes people laugh and I do like this one line from it: “You sit on a throne of lies!”

Sorry I guess I’m of the opinion that movies can be made and stories can be told that aren’t watered down and oversimplified to appeal to mass audiences. Sorry this angry Redditor hates one of my favorite sci-fi movies. But that they didn’t understand it does not make it an incomprehensible mess. Some of us like examining movies over and over again and catching all the tiny details.

Also not here trying to say "you didn't understand it thus your opinion is invalid". Rather "you're trying to assert your opinion as a universal truth, which is invalid".

"I don't think Will Ferrell is funny" - opinion.

"Will Ferrell is not funny" - (incorrect) assertation.

We can argue semantics all day long but the point I'm trying to make is that attempting to frame the success of a work of art as objectively or universally anything based solely on your opinion of it is wrong.

It wasn’t just Inception, though. I don’t love Brokeback Mountain and boy is it uh… a product of its time and its characters reflect that, but it’s not a bad movie. It’s slow, it’s sad, it’s frustrating, but… it’s supposed to be these things.

Ferris Bueller is supposed to be a little ridiculous. Scarlett O’Hara is supposed to be insufferable. These all told the stories they wanted to with perfect execution. They’re not confusing, they’re not filled with logic-shattering plot holes, the characters are consistent, the continuity is maintained, they cinematography is solid. To call any movie “objectively terrible” wanders into the territory of physically unwatchable and incomprehensible on accident.

It’s art. I have absolutely sat through movies that are 100% pretentious bullshit that could easily be 30-45 minutes shorter but they spent so much time on lingering shots of absolutely nothing pretending to be profound. I’d call that bullshit, they’d call it Avant Gard, I’d call it Avant Gard bullshit. But those weren’t made for me.

And while I get this was a list of popular movies that some people can’t stand so they were venting and being nasty more than usual, the entire list was just one long parade of insecure comments.

I don’t like Nightmare Before Christmas. I think the romance isn’t given enough time to develop and it’s one of those “they love each other because they’re the main characters and they shared a longing glance” romances. I definitely don’t like when people make the movie their whole personality and I hate how it takes over two whole holidays for 3 months of the year.

But it’s not a bad movie.

I like the songs, I love the animation, I love the creativity and the vision that everyone who worked on it had.

If every movie was made on assembly line to be perfectly generic and understandable and digestible to everyone who could possibly wander into the theater to see it, that would be a pretty sad world.

“I don’t like it and I didn’t understand it” is perfectly valid, whether it's movies or music or books or TV shows.

“I don’t like it and I didn’t understand it and this makes it objectively terrible” is not valid.

[accio-victuuri]

wang yibo - war of faith broadcast rating

According to data from Maoyan Professional Edition @UNIQ-王一博 @李恲 @王阳0313, the TV series "War of Faith" starring in the TV series "Wind Chaser" ended today, Maoyan drama real-time popularity list, It topped the real-time ratings list of the entire network! So far, the cumulative effective broadcast volume across the entire network has exceeded 1.155 billion.

[that-ari-blogger]

Slow Down For A Bit

There is context that needs to be added here.

Season Two of The Owl House was the last season. That’s something that needs to be understood not just because of what will happen in later episodes, but in the context of events leading up to them. Oh Titan Where Art Thou is things winding up to the end of the series.

Even then, the final season of the show is three episodes total. So we don’t have much time for anything new.

To make this even clearer, I am writing these posts a month in advance and if things go to plan, I will have finished my series on The Owl House in its entirety before you read this. We are marching towards the end.

So, I want to slow down for a moment and just talk about this episode as two conversations. We’ll put aside the overarching plot for the most part and focus on two groups of people talking to each other.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (The Owl House, Undertale, Oh Brother Where Art Thou)

“Loose your way little guy?” “Actually, I got to where I was going. But now I…” (Shrugs)

A big theme in this series has been identity. Specifically, in how it relates to time. Luz struggles with the question of who she wants to be and whether she wants to go back home, for example.

Now, the show is getting philosophical with itself. It is making the audience aware that the ending is closing in, and it’s asking where we want to go from here. What will you do when the series finishes. There will be a last episode.

It’s a question that takes a morbid tone with the Titan and King. These two standing by a sign that says “Dead End” while looking at the corpse of King’s predecessor. This is what King will end up as, eventually. Just like there will be a final episode, there will be a final moment when King is King before he becomes another Titan for life to spring up off of.

But there’s a grey area isn’t there. Because that is a way off. The series itself isn’t dying, it just knows it will end. So, what do? What does the series want to be with its final episodes? What does King want to be before he dies.

At this point, I have to talk about Steve, because there is a reason he gained so much traction.

Steve was a popular-ish character before this episode dropped, and he hadn’t been given many lines beyond getting beaned by the Emerald Entrails and being at a party. This man had no personality to get attached to.

Except for one thing. Matt Chapman’s delivery.

How is this not a meme format yet. This is golden.

There is a distinct sense of weariness to this man. Like he eternally has an hour left on a night shift, close enough to see the freedom but just far enough away that you can’t touch it. And that’s exactly what is going on here. Luz joined the story while it was winding up to the day of unity, and so everyone is looking forwards to how the end of the nonsense.

That is what Bellos has promised everyone after all, piece. He offered the powerful security, sure, but the common folk were just told not to worry. He was offering them an end to the shift. He just didn’t mention that they wouldn’t be going home afterwards.

Also, whichever genius decided to put that little guitar riff over Steve’s reveal needs to be promoted to sound effect designer of the world. That one riff probably sold this character almost as well as the voice acting.

“Growing up, all I wanted was to be an emperor’s coven scout. To be considered one of the best. I got what I wanted, but it’s not what I thought it was.”

Steve is a parallel and an opposite to King. He’s the older figure looking back at a life he is unhappy with, but he’s also at about the same point. King wanted to be admired; Steve wanted to be a coven scout. They got exactly what they asked for, to the letter. But they are unhappy.

People don’t crave experiences, people crave emotions, at least in my experience. That’s why people can enjoy different things. A bungy jumper seeks that thrill and adrenaline, and they get that through their sports in the same way that a professional e-sports player does without having to contend with the altitude shifts.

King and Steve didn’t want the thing in their goal, they wanted the emotions they associate with that goal. Companionship, accomplishment, happiness. And it didn’t give them anything. Their goals didn’t change anything, they were still them on the other side.

I’m going to come back to this idea.

“Bellos is supposed to know everything, but why should he know what the Titan wants. Maybe the Titan doesn’t even know what he wants. Maybe he’s just some normal guy, you know?”

Steve is being utilised as a mentour here in story, and as rushed as is feels to bring up this connection with two episodes to go, I actually like how it is framed. He’s not a wizened old guy with a beard. He’s just a friend who you can talk to and who knows some things you don’t. He’s an older sibling.

And at this point, I need to talk about the music. If anyone has a link to the specific song that backs the little montage, please please please let me know as soon as possible.

But the montage is in three parts, and I’m including it in this episode because I think it is part of the conversation and relationship between the two.

We are just showing off scenery at this point, and it is worth it. This looks incredible. Especially the sunset colours. This is a goodbye to the world of The Owl House before the bombastic finale after all.

In part one, we get a single repeated, descending riff. I’m not good enough at music to pick out a key by ear, but I can tell you it’s relaxed and grounded. It’s melancholy and doesn’t go anywhere.

Meanwhile, Steve reads a book about the emperor’s coven, and King gives his parent a hug.

Then the drums kick in and I think the key changes to something more hopeful (don’t quote me on that) as they move to doing something that they love. They are on a beach with all the time in the world. King is chasing waves like a little kid and Steve is throwing rocks while his book sits out of the way, kept safe.

But.

We see two old ladies who have found happiness in each other. Two people who have reached the latter ends of their lives and who are content.

Steve is looking back at his own life unfulfilled and breaks down. So, King consoles him, and we get a beautiful moment of connection, but also vulnerability in a symbolic sense. Steve is the mentour, but he is also just as lost as King.

Just to be abundantly clear here as to how this is going geometrically. Steve is reading this book at an almost ninety degree angle. This shot distorts itself something savage to tell you what he is reading. That means it's important.

If we turn to the book for a moment, it was called “Synergy in the Emperor’s Coven.” We got a shot to specifically show us that. It would seem Steve is looking for connection, for friendship, maybe for love, we don’t know. But he is looking for someone to spend time with.

Part three is crucial, because it’s a decision point. What do these two want to do with their lives? Help people. The two change a wheel for a parent and child and are happy to wave and smile. The two have found a connection.

King can then sink back into a puddle, content, and lie there in the exact same pose as his predecessor. The symbolism for fulfilment is obvious, and Steve makes the parallel clearer when he puts a folded page from the book on King’s head. It’s a person. King is becoming like his parent.

The book anchors this section. It is a manifestation of what the emperor offered, and it starts out being used fully, then set aside, then fully cast away and used for something else.

But there is something else that is clever in this sequence, especially about that book.

There is no blue in this sequence except for that book and one other thing.

All the colours are topsy turvy in the Boiling Isles. The rocks are green, the trees are red, the clouds are a gorgeous pink, the lake and sky are purple. Etc. Etc.

I’m specifically talking about that bright baby blue here. If you look, you can see a log that is a darker shade, but it fits with the background. That book stands out because it is the only thing coloured like that.

It is bright and cheerful, but when the pages are torn out, it loses that lustre and even the cover is cast in shadow. The book is an empty promise.

The only other thing in this entire montage that matches it in vibrance is the puddle, and that keeps its colour on impact. It would seem that the two have been looking for connection and synergy in one place but have found it somewhere else.

But that reframes Bellos' design for a moment though, doesn't it? If we associate that blue with contentment, and Bellos' eyes are that exact same blue, we have a problem. His eyes are without light, it is a dead desire, empty and vacuous, representing his own aims and goals as a bottomless pit. But also, he tries to hide them with a mask, but a single crack to it shows them off plainly. Bellos' desire for destruction is on plain view to those who look closely, but you have to get within striking distance.

Back to this episode.

“Wants can change. So can people.” “I don’t want people to see me as a big scary monster anymore.” “Me neither.”

Let’s talk about Undertale for a moment.

“It’s you!”

Undertale is a story about growing up. That’s an overly simplified way of talking about it, but it’s not wrong. It’s about learning and complexity. It’s about redemption and friendship and morality. It’s about growing up and becoming more nuanced as a person. But…

“Despite everything, it’s still you.”

You get both of the lines upon looking into two mirrors at the start and end of the game respectively. You have changed a lot as a person and the character has as well, but you haven’t changed who you are.

It’s a threat and a comfort. You are the person you can’t escape, but you are the person you can save and be saved by, you are the person you can comfort, and you are the person who will always be there to offer yourself hope. You will always be you; nothing can ever change that.

“Stop, I’m still King. King!”

King and Steve have been through some stuff, and the next few days are going to be wild for them, but they are still themselves. They want to be treated differently, but not as different people.

Steve doesn’t want to be treated as a monster, for example, but he’s still Steve.

Meanwhile, Luz and Eda are discussing their own plans for the future, and this is a thematic rehash, right? They both are trying to decide where to go from here, and Eda is looking back at her life unfulfilled and being upset about it. Right?

No. That’s not what is happening at all.

The thematic constant of past and future is there, but everything else is different. Where King and Steve looked backwards, Eda and Luz are looking at what tomorrow will bring.

I find the framing of Eda’s actions in this episode fascinating, because they are antagonistic, but not villainous.

The show doesn’t side with Eda in this debate. She obscures information from Luz and tries to prevent her from exercising free will. That’s explicitly what the show presents as “wrong.” But they are also the exact opposite of Luz.

Luz is knowledge and freedom. She is curiosity.

This is most readily demonstrated every time she acts, but I’d like to point out the occasion in this episode when she spots François from 100 metres away through a solid wooden cart.

I’m sorry. I have to make a joke about this. Luz calls out to look because she has seen the rabbit, then it cuts to a considerable distance away so it can show an extremely small rabbit being carried inside. But he was behind the cart when Luz noticed that. They moved him out from behind after she noticed him. PLOT HOLE. THIS SERIES IS RUINED.

There's even a guy between her and the cart in this shot. This rabbit hole is driving me nuts!

In all seriousness, this most likely is a gimmick in how the scene was storyboarded that doesn’t really count as a mistake, it’s just funny. But it leads into my point about Luz being thematically linked with knowledge.

Luz finds things, she learns things, she is reckless.

That last bit is crucial, because it is the core of Eda’s motivation in this episode. She is sympathetic, but not right.

I feel like the internet at the moment has mixed those two concepts up, especially around villains. A villain who is likeable isn’t in the right.

I find those compilations of “quotes from villains who were right” frustrating because a couple of them, yeah, they are agreeable. But then it cuts to someone saying “I was cast out as a kid and so now I will murder everyone” and I’m like, girl, stop.

On the other end of the spectrum, if a story presents someone as sympathetic or understandable, that doesn’t mean it agrees with them.

Case and point, Eda is explicitly treated like she is in the wrong and needs to learn from her mistakes.

That's what the thing with Raine is about. Raine had Eda's motivation, but couldn't stop her learning, so brought her into the fold.

"Is it so unbelievable that I wanted to keep you safe?"

The conversation between her and Luz takes place much more in what they don’t say than what they do. Eda lies and obfuscates the truth until she physically can’t anymore.

“Me and Lilith don't have magic and we don't have allies, we're useless. We have you and King. So, I was gonna do anything to make sure that you were safe. But now, it’s all over.”

Here’s a question for you. This episode’s title is a nod to Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a 2000 film based on The Odyssey. Why?

Every episode title has had a meaning, even if it was just a joke, but Oh Brother, Where Art Thou isn’t a film most people have watched. You can’t just namedrop it like you namedrop Narnia and expect a reaction.

I think the answer is the thematic overlap. Both the film and the episode focus on the unpredictability of life, but also the intrinsic dissonance of optimism and comedy.

Oh Brother Where Art Thou is surreal and funny. It’s a satire that hits you with some real emotions, and it features a song that I can’t get out of my head.

"You can bury me in some deep valley For many years where I may lay Then you may learn to love another While I am sleeping in my grave."

The traveller has reached the end of his life, but things keep moving anyway. It's a morbid sense of optimism and hope.

The CATs joke is a tone setter. We've had some serious drama, here's a joke. But it's also some characterisation for Darius. It makes him seem more human by undercutting him. Up until now he's been aloof, now he's a person and I love him so much.

Which is exactly what The Owl House is about. The series is satirical and real. It’s set in a horrifying wasteland, and it is funnier than anything else I have seen.

The setting is intrinsically built around this. Decay and life. These people are walking on something that would be too big to register their existence, and yet they make jokes and cast spells and create new life. Every shot of the titan has something growing in it.

That’s why the trees are red. It’s blood. Lifeblood, new blood. It’s the blood that kept the titan alive and it’s the blood that fuels the next generation.

I had a conversation with a friend recently about tone in TTRPGs. Specifically, how horror games work even with the innate hilarity of everything going spectacularly right and wrong for both sides. I haven’t really stopped thinking about that, and I think I’ve landed on why. Realism.

The real world is funny and scary. The two don’t feel like they go together, but they absolutely do. People laugh when they are scared because they can do nothing else. Death isn’t funny, but it renders everything else a punchline. Tragedy is the perfect setup for a sincere joke. Reality is complicated and doesn’t make sense sometimes, but you still have to keep going.

I've mentioned the sunset colours, but does this remind you of anything? To me, this is a very similar vibe to the moment when Luz discovered glyph magic and made her own light. She discovered hope then, and everyone is rediscovering it now. Light, do not faulter. But there's something to that sunset. The sunset is the end of today, yes, but it's a promise of tomorrow. There isn't just one day, the world will keep existing. We need to decide what to do about that.

King and Steve help some people and make themselves feel better, then they get up and keep moving to go and do it again.

Eda has given up, but she needs to come back, because the story doesn’t stop when you say it does. Your story stops when the final flag is down, no sooner.

So, Eda makes a decision and offers Luz a piece of Pallistrum wood. It’s a chance to make something new, a chance to choose creativity.

That’s why people smile and laugh even in hardship. The one thing nobody can take from you is hope. The one thing you can never escape is being yourself.

Final Thoughts

Gordon Bennet the scenery design of this episode is phenomenal. Wide open spaces and packed winding streets on the side of a mountain. This series is gorgeous, made even more so just by the choice of colour, and I will never get over how even the interior of the vault is designed.

Back to the story though, the reveal of the CATs and Raine’s true allegiance is really cool, and I love Darius’ everything, although Ebberwolf biting through solid steel feels like something that could come in handy.

Next week, however, is Clouds on the Horizon, an episode that I don’t need to introduce. Stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[littlethingwithfeathers]

I'm grumpy about Silent Hill again...

TW for discussions of suicide, self harm, abuse (both parent to child and amongst peers) and general spookiness. Y'know... the usual Silent Hill rigmarole of trauma and despair. Also be warned that I'm going to spoil a lot of the Silent Hill series, in particular Silent Hill 2 and the Short Message game that just came out. ***

So... one of my most popular posts out there is this one. It's about Pyramid head and the loss of subtlety in media. And I couldn't help but feel like we hadn't moved an inch from when I posted that back in... *checks date on post* hrrk. my bones... 2017. I'm going to die soon. Anyway. Today I watched Second Wind do a run of the short, free-to-play Silent Hill: Short Message. I admittedly had a good bit of trepidation going in just because of the marketing. Which, for all of you marketing majors out there, that is called "Not a good sign." Marketing should make you want to play a game... especially if you're a fan of the series already. But this... it was a bit of a wet blanket, largely due to the fact that it spoiled a lot of the focus of the game. It basically said "this is a game about how bullying and being chronically online is real bad. We're gonna be spooky about it now." And... straining to push aside how incredibly reductive that is... why give it away? Why say it out loud? Why did you tell us what you are doing? Can you imagine Silent Hill 2 if we'd known it was about James killing his wife from the jump? We didn't. We hadn't the first clue. We knew nothing other than that he was looking for her and she was maybe dead? But we didn't know how... possibly lung cancer or TB given that she had the most pointed coughing sequence since the movie Tombstone. And hey... the last game had someone looking for a loved one too. Maybe that's the deal with Silent Hill. Who knows? No one did at that point. It was still a big old mystery for the most part. And then the E3 trailer... like there's the weird pretty lady in jail? But what's she talking about? Who the fuck is Mary? Is that... his wife? Well then who the hell is Ms. Miniskirt? No wait... is that his wife in the VHS tape? What the hell is going on? Oh look gameplay! And... a little girl? And a weird guy with a gun... This soundtrack slaps. I'm gonna go see if it's up on Napster yet. (this was 2001... again... my bones etc) I remember combing over low-res copies of that video for HOURS when it came out. Why are the nurses different? It's not snowing? Who are all these people... And why do they all sound like they put ketamine in their coffee. It was like a great big puzzle to work out and we had a ball theorizing and researching so when it came out we were HYPE. And that was largely because in short... we knew SOME things at release. Fog. Nurses. Big stick. Weird people. Banger soundtrack. Dead (but probably not) wife. And we presumed or supposed more... cult activity? New beasties? Radio maybe? But we effectively knew nothing about the plot. And the best part was, while they had a solid hook (Find dead lady who we love so huggy buggy much) and instant intrigue (Angela in the cemetery being weirder than a film by David Lynch), and a very familiar setting (we may have improved draw distance on the PS2, but we don't have to use it!), we still didn't really know what was going on. The plot was essentially unfolding out of a black box. Silent Hill 2 was quite content to be a slower burn than trying to boil the Lake Superior with a signal flare. You don't even see the main "villain" Pyramid Head until a few hours in and, as I pointed out in that other post, there's no flashy cut scene to introduce him and go WOOOOOO SCARYYYYY. He's just chillin' behind some prison bars (which that totes is normal in an apartment complex) and staring at you like I stare at the inside of my fridge when I really would like some cheese to materialize.

And then... like we're not even really sure what the hell is going on for the longest time. We meet our wife's hot twin with the key to a strip club and she keeps getting killed over and over... and things keep getting increasingly rapey and lewd in a way that's just uncomfortable more than anything... But even at the end. Even with the big reveal of "You killed your wife." they still don't ever explicitly state "And you killed her because you couldn't have sex with her anymore." It wasn't until you finished the game, and talked to someone else about it, or let your brain cook on it for a bit that you went... heyyyy... he's a horndog! (In fact... if I'm going to chide SH2 for anything it's that right at the very VERY end they tried to frame James's actions as understandable because the woman who was dying and frightened and in pain was mean to him. Yes, being a caretaker is hard. But Christ... pick a topic for discussion.) But contrast all that with Short Message. The marketing and such all said out loud "THIS IS ABOUT BULLYING" so even going in... I was already like "yep. The bully is probably us, but we had reasons because we have to be complicated and you aren't allowed to make the player feel bad" And lo was I correct. There was no... intrigue. I was never curious about the character or the people around her because I knew this story. They already told me what story they were telling so I could practically sing along, especially as a millennial that had to grow up watching little videos and skits in school about the evils of bullying. And when you are going to tell a trope-ish story, and you tell the audience what the trope is, it becomes "say the line" writ large. This isn't me advocating for super twisty unexpected plot arcs (looking at you, Supernatural). Far from it. You absolutely should tell a story in such a way that the audience understands how you got from point A to point Z, even if there are some surprises along the way (See Sixth Sense for that masterclass). Rather, what I'm missing from this (and frankly a lot of the Silent Hill games and honestly... media in general these days) is a sense of restraint. A sense of trust in their audience to "get it." They can't just plonk us in the fog with a radio and a stick and say "You're here to find your best friend/dog/cousin/wife/business partner. Good luck. Here's a weirdo to prattle cryptically at you in order to unsettle you immediately. Bye!" No! They have to tell us what kind of story they're telling and what themes are important. They can't just... give us a Silent Hill Game and trust that we know what to do with it. It's... insulting frankly. Especially as a longtime fan of the franchise who remembers when they did trust us and they did have faith in their work. I will say this in compliment to Short Message. The environment design was pretty cool. Especially the sticky-note hallways... they looked like leaves... and sometimes teeth... and like tightly packed bones in an ossuary. It didn't... say anything really. But it looked cool. And you can't go wrong with Akira Yamaoka's soundtrack. But... while I'm on the subject of design. Y'all. An animate sakura tree in an oversized hoodie is not scary. But bless you for at least having the restraint to not make her Pyramid Head.

[a-d-nox]

Hi! I love your blog, i read the fall things series, do you have a 4 season planning? i would LOVE a winter or summer astro things. :)

a-z how they are represented in astrology: winter things edition

now that winter is officially underway let's do this!!! warning: i can be harsh, please don't take everything i say as predestined, astrology is possible outcomes not guaranteed ones. plus let's not forget orbs matter, dominance matters, etc. it's never just one planet or one asteroid that rule over an outcome or how things effect you. this is just a starting place for when examining singular objects in an entire galaxy. take what resonates and leave what doesn't!

angels

neptune

lucifer (1930)

why this is useful information: angels typically are put on the top of trees to ward off evil and because they are a higher power. neptune and lucifer are likely indicators of where you have to ward off evil evil and where you are guided by a higher power (even if that higher power is just your brain's ego).

ballet

venus / neptune

why this is useful information: the nutcracker is one of the most popular winter ballets and ballet tends to be popular in the winter time because of it. venus and/or neptune can showcase your grace and elegance just like ballet can.

bitterness & the cold

saturn

why this is useful information: i live in a northern region, and everyone who travels to this area is always like "how can you stand this cold", and i am like "its only going to get colder". frost, cold, and bitter winds are bound to happen in the winter, so saturn is likely to indicate where you are most vulnerable to that coldness and how it effects you.

books

read about it in the fall post

boots

read about it in the fall post

candy

read about it in the fall post

cathedrals

jupiter / saturn

lacrimosa (208)

why this is useful information: something about the winter holidays causes all of us to reconnect with our traditions. i find that those that rarely go to religious gathering places frequent churches this time of the year to likely reconnect with their family traditions / childhood memories. so by examining cathedral like planets/asteroids, you can see what are physical symbols of your traditions.

charity

jupiter

abundantia (151)

why this is useful information: this is an infamous time of the year where all the very sad commercials play about donating to animals, children, elderly, sickly, etc. jupiter and abundantia in your chart could indicate where you like to share your abundance.

cheer

venus / jupiter

why this is useful information: "the best way to spread christmas cheer is sing aloud for all to hear" haha but no. for real - these planets can indicate cheerfulness and what can provide cheer, not only at christmas, but year round.

cherubs

venus

anteros (1943) / cupido (763) / amor (1221)

why this is useful information: cherubs on trees and in our homes during the holidays are meant to act as guardians and life-bringers during the cold, treacherous winter months. cherub objects in your chart can indicate what brings you life and protects you during these harsh winter months.

chimney / fireplace

aries (1°, 13°, 25°) / leo (5°, 17°, 29°)

mars

why this is useful information: the chimney was designed to let hot toxic gases and smoke out of the home so that no one would get smothered by the air in their own house during colder months. these symbols of the chimney/fireplace in your chart can indicate what toxic and smothering things need to be released from your space during the winter, so that you can survive without internal strain/stress.

church

sagittarius (9°, 21°)

jupiter

9h

why this is useful information: "something about the winter holidays causes all of us to reconnect with our traditions. i find that those that rarely go to religious gathering places frequent churches this time of the year to likely reconnect with their family traditions / childhood memories. so by examining church like planets/asteroids, you can see what are physical symbols of your traditions."

coal

capricorn (10°, 22°)

saturn

why this is useful information: originally, coal was a heating element during the winter months that kept a home warm. later the tradition of coal in a stocking came to pass. namely the poor would put coal in their children's stocking claiming that a higher being was punishing them and made them poor, but at least they would be warm given this simple gift. ever since it has been a trend that santa would give coal to a bad child (typically a greed one) to teach them a lesson regarding the need to reexamine the world around them - such as noticing they weren't as bad off as they originally thought, they don't need as much as they previously assumed, etc. capricorn and saturn can thusly indicate where you can find warmth this season, and/or where you should be grateful for what you have and not be too greedy.

coat

read about it in the fall post

confinement

12h

why this is useful information: cabin fever is real in the winter months. this is the most popular time of the year for people to feel trapped in their own space. they often find themselves trapped and isolated from others. the 12h can help you better understand who you are when confined, how you can better cope with being isolated from others, and/or what makes you feel isolated/alone.

cooking

read about it in the fall post

gifts

venus

pandora (55) / santa (1288)

why this is useful information: gift giving is the name of the game at the end of the year - these gift objects can better help you understand the gifts you have in your life, what you like to receive, and even what you tend to gift to others.

gift giving/receiving

2h

why this is useful information: this is when we give and receive the most because it is post-harvest season. post-harvest suggests that we have reaped plenty of rewards throughout the year, and thusly we find we don't need it all so when share our goods with others. hence the season of giving and receiving. your 2h can help you better understand your tendencies of giving and receiving and you willingness to do so.

holidays

venus

why this is useful information: the holidays. it stands to reason that the holidays are plentiful at the end of the year, thus my associating them with winter. venus in your chart can tell you about how you like to spend your holidays, what your holidays are like, and/or how you can have the best holiday possible.

holly

aries (1°, 13°, 25°)

saturn

why this is useful information: holly was originally believed to promote protection and good luck. thus when decorating your home with it, holly was thought to provide those who lived within to be protected and have good luck during the harshest part of the year. it was the prickly spines on the holly leaves that were thought to snag evil spirits before they could enter a home. what symbolizes holly in a chart can indicate where you have good luck and/or are protected during hard times.

ice

capricorn (10°, 22°)

saturn

why this is useful information: the most common part of the winter. it's cold, rigid, indifferent to our cause. it can really cause you to get off track, and prevent you from getting where you need to go. but ice is also a symbol of purity and even clarity... while it can cause you to get off track, or prevent you from getting where you need to go, it can also teach you to adapt. it is ultimately your choice as to how you approach ice - do you stay off course, do you let it stay in your way and prevent you from moving forward - it is up to you. what symbolizes ice in your chart can indicate where others my find you cold, rigid, or indifferent - it can also symbolize where you get off track or feel prevented from getting where you want to go.

icicles

saturn / neptune

why this is useful information: icicles are a sort of surrealism - they were once dripping water, because it was warm enough, but then it was suddenly cold and the dripping water froze slowly but surely. and now way above, sometimes unseen, are these sharp ice picks. my grandmother, when she little, was outside looking at icicles when one very suddenly detached and narrowly missed her eye - she does have a tiny scar on the bridge of her nose. icicle planets can show you where illustrious danger lies in your life and where the unseen can be dangerous in your life.

lumberjacks

mars

why this is useful information: TIMBER! a lumberjacks job is to harvest and transport trees. the wood of trees is what keeps us warm - no matter it's form, be it a home or a fire. mars in your chart can indicate where you facilitate warmth for yourself and others.

mittens

mercury / venus / saturn

why this is useful information: they always say to keep your hands and feet warm in the winter because if you aren't doing so, you can risk frostbite and thus permanent nerve damage. mittens are one of those hand coverings that everyone despises because your dexterity is limited because of a lack of available digits but with mittens your fingers can actually share warmth. these mitten planets can tell you about where you might feel like you lack proper mobility in life, but at least you can preserve warmth.

nutmeg

jupiter

why this is useful information: nutmeg is often considered a symbol of romance and affluence. there are a lot of stories surrounding why people use to carry it around. when going to gentlemen's clubs, in the 1800s, men would carry the whole spice gem in their pocket to promote luck both with women and with gambling. even earlier than that people would carry nutmegs in the middle ages to ward off the plague. jupiter the nutmeg in your chart can show you where you can have increased luck.

peppermint

venus / jupiter

why this is useful information: peppermint is thought to soothe and refresh - which is why i'll assume that it's popular during the winter months, where nothing is really fresh or soothing naturally. peppermint planets can indicate where you can find refreshing and comforting things when all seems bleak and monotonous.

pine tree

capricorn (10°, 22°)

mars / saturn

why this is useful information: these trees are conifers - they don't drop leaves to preserve their energy in the colder months. instead they preserve energy in their spines, which are more efficient to retaining water. what symbolizes the pine tree in your chart can help you to better understand how you can persevere during the harsh winter months, and how you can maintain your energy.

ribbon

venus

why this is useful information: the ribbon that adorn your presents are merely the garnish on your presents. no matter what research i do, it appears as though the ribbon was implemented in the 20th century and that is the extent of it. ribbon in your chart can show where your are meant to promote aestheticism.

sunset

7h

why this is useful information: the sunsets earlier in the winter where i live and an early sunset is often associated with seasonal affective disorder for the majority of those living on this side of the united states. the 7h and it's ruler can tell you how an early sunset will effect you.

wool clothing

jupiter

why this is useful information: wool is one of the best materials for promoting warmth, thus jupiter in your chart indicating where you can keep warmth in your life.

writing

mercury

3h

author asteroids

why this is useful information: it's the most wonderful time to sit down and write - often people will take up creative writing or journalism this time of the year to better cope with the hardships of the season or feeling trapped inside in general. what symbolizes writing in your chart can tell you about your writing styles and habits.

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[zalrin]

Relief (BG3 Imagine)

Title: Regrets

Pairing: Ascended Astarion x Good Dark Urge (OC!Zurge)

Warnings: Spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3

Parts: 1, 2

Word Count: 1,719

Summary: Several centuries have passed since the groups’ fight against the Absolute. After saving the world, they each went their separate ways. Some stayed in touch, but they all eventually drifted apart. Especially due to the merciless passage of time. Astarion wanted nothing more than to reunite with Zurge, but after the mistake he’s made, he can’t bring himself to interfere with her life. Now that the 700th year since their separation is approaching, he can’t help but wonder what happened to that elven mortal - the only one he has ever truly loved.

Note From Author: This fanfic is largely inspired by the popular "You came, You called" meme I'd often see on almost all social media platforms. I only recently learned it was from a series called, "The Sandman" and ended up watching an extended clip of the scene (episode 11, for those of you wondering). That's when this idea came to me, so please enjoy! The title may change (it's a work-in-progress).

Part 2 - Relief

Drip, drip.

It was the loudest sound that echoed in the darkness.

Drip, drip.

The cold stone floor. The whistling of the distant wind. And the sound of water that never seemed to end.

Drip, drip.

It was enough to drive a normal person insane. But sadly, the sole tenant of this place had already been broken, mended, then broken again. No amount of torture seemed to be enough to shatter her sanity. Not yet, anyways.

Drip, drip. Rattle.

A new sound. Metal clattering against one another as a figure twitched. The sound of chains scraping against stone. A familiar noise.

Zurge stirred from her spot on the ground. Her hands moved forward, slightly trembling from the lack of strength. They waved around, sweeping the ground, in an effort to make sense of her surroundings. She had resisted the effects, time and time again, but it seems she was effectively blinded once more for the next few seconds.

Shading her eyes, Zurge squinted at where she assumed the cause of her condition lay. The Blood of Lathander. Her once beloved weapon, now used against her for… How many years had it been? She had lost count after the first few decades.

Her body collapsed back down onto the cold, rocky ground. Some of the sharper pebbles cut into her raw flesh, but she had long since grown numb to such sensations. Instead of wiping away the blood from the cut that had already begun to heal over, she placed a shaky hand to her matted, disheveled hair. Her fingers caught in all of the tangles, painfully pulling at her scalp, but her face did not contort in pain. After so many years of torture - after all the anguish she had grown used to - her facial muscles now barely moved. Barely even twitched.

She blindly felt how long her hair had gotten. How much it had grown. Perhaps it would have been a good indicator of how much time had passed, had they not hacked it all away at one point during her imprisonment. For fun, they had sneered. Because they were bored. But their taunts fell to deaf ears. When she didn’t react how they wanted, they changed to other, crueler acts.

No part of her body was left untouched. She felt the grime that covered her. The blood that had dried and caked all over her skin and clothes. All the bruises that littered her body. All parts of her limbs. Her hips. Her…

Zurge closed her eyes, trying to suppress the memory. Her jaw clenched, but even that much proved to be painful to her weakened body. In exhaustion, she relaxed her muscles and lay silent once more. How long had it been since she had last cried? Last tranced? How long had it been since she last fed?

Perhaps it was better this way. Although the hunger was maddening, it was bearable. The first few decades of it, Zurge may have acted unhinged. Like a crazed beast, only able to think about the next meal. But now… She was used to that too. And compared to everything else she had endured, torture through starvation was like a breath of fresh air.

However, in endless silence, the mind can prove to be the worst companion.

Memories flitted back into her mind. Like a curse, all the horrors she had experienced played back in vivid detail. She curled herself up, only feeling the cold from all around her, as she tried her best to quiet her thoughts. The phantom touches that seemed to brush against her skin. The wave of nausea she felt anytime her captors did more than just physical violence against her. And the utter helplessness she felt when first being thrust into this situation.

When Zurge opened her eyes, she could see again. Her vision had returned to her as she successfully resisted against her weapon’s blinding light.

Her captors had found the light just as unpleasant as she now did, but they had decided to keep it in her cell to cause her discomfort. They knew that if she had her way, she would have used it to end her life long ago. Just her weapon. Just one spell. It was all it would take to end her miserable existence. And that was why it remained so close to her side. Placed just out of reach, to constantly show her the hopeless predicament she was in. And a never ending reminder of what she had become.

Gathering what little strength she had, Zurge pulled herself upright. The chains that still restrained her had severely rusted due to the poor conditions of the dungeon she had been imprisoned in. Her captors hadn’t appeared before her in quite some time. Perhaps they had finally grown bored of her. But she couldn’t care less about their whereabouts. Just the fact that her metal bonds were weakening from the passage of time.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Zurge violently pulled her arms away from where her chains were connected to the stone walls. The metal rattled loudly, and an unpleasant screech echoed all around her. Ignoring the sounds, the pain, the blood… Zurge pulled again. And again. And again. Until it felt as if her wrists would be sliced off before the shackles broke free. At this point, she didn’t care which came first.

Blood now pooled on the floor. She had even gone blind a few times, unable to resist against her weapon’s glow. But she still persisted. Relentlessly. Her eyes never leaving the wall that connected her shackles, regardless of whether or not she could even see them. And then… It finally happened.

Crack!

The metal broke free from the stone, clattering loudly onto the floor.

Zurge, regaining her sight, blankly stared at the broken chain. It would’ve made any person in her situation weep in joy. Perhaps even  jump around and cheer. And had it been a few years - centuries - earlier… Maybe Zurge would’ve done the same. Done something. Felt something. Anything. But she didn’t.

She just turned away, dragging along the broken metal, as she made her way towards the Blood of Lathander. Yes. Not the cell door. Not towards the exit. But towards the light that had reminded her over and over again, that she was now a spawn. A vampire spawn. And like any disobedient spawn, she was given a command. Just one, single command. To never leave her cell. Her prison. Her cage.

They didn’t even bother to lock it. That’s how much power they had. And how much she had lost.

“Finally…”

Her voice cracked from the lack of use. Or maybe her vocal cords had been so damaged from all the screams that this was now what she would sound like. But what was the use of wondering? It was all going to be over soon. So very soon.

The grip on her beloved weapon, her saving grace, tightened as she summoned up the last of her power. A wave of magic flowed into her, her eyes closing from the warmth. The spell was just within reach. She just needed to release its power. To let it all go.

Drip, drip.

Those sounds weren’t caused by the water falling continuously from the ceiling of the dungeon. They were lighter. A bit quieter. It was the reason why her cheeks were now wet, her vision blurry from something other than the light. Tears. Tears of sheer relief.

A commotion could be heard just outside the dungeon, creeping closer and closer, but nothing registered to her anymore. Not now. Not when the end was so near. So close.

Zurge opened her eyes, but it was only darkness that greeted her. She was blinded yet again, but she didn’t care. How could she? At least now, the dungeon wouldn’t have to be the last thing she sees.

Perhaps it was because her death was close at hand, but a face she had nearly forgotten flitted in her mind for a brief moment. But the impact it had on her was so severe that her heart jolted in shock. The pale elf that flaunted a confident, sideways smirk. The sound of his voice, always able to bring a smile to her face. And the look he had in his eyes whenever he looked into hers.

A genuine smile blossomed on Zurge’s face. Even with all that had happened between them, she was glad that his face was the last thing she would remember. The last thing she envisioned before the end.

With just a thought, the spell from the Blood of Lathander activated. The scorching blaze, the pain it brought on, Zurge welcomed it with open arms. In a matter of seconds, her skin cracked and crumbled to dust. In another moment, she would be reduced to nothing more than ashes. It was exactly what she wanted. What she begged and prayed for with each excruciating day. But she should have paid more attention to the commotion. To the noises that were now just outside her cell. Maybe then, she would have been able to dodge what came next.

“NO!”

A scream, filled with desperation and despair.

Before Zurge could register who it was, she felt her body being tackled to the ground. Her weapon clattered onto the floor, but the spell had already been activated, so there was no stopping the light. Still, whoever was atop her used their body to shield her from most of the damage. Just as she was about to fight back in a panic, to throw whoever it was off of her, a pair of arms engulfed her emaciated, dirt-covered self.

“Please,” a soft voice begged in her ears.

She froze, unable to move a muscle. Zurge didn’t need her sight to recognize that voice. No matter how hard she tried, she could never forget him. This was the man she swore to never forgive. The man who broke her heart. And the only man she would ever love.

Just as her sight returned to her, she finally saw those ruby eyes piercing through the light, peering into her very soul. And just like that, their surroundings seemed to fade away. All she could see was him. Here. Right in front of her. Like an impossible dream.

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