#Withershins

[dez78]

Bandit Chief: For the love of Talos, here. Just take him back, you don't even need to pay his ransom! Rumarin: I'm offended. Dragonborn: He played Withershins didn't he. Taliesin smirking: You can keep him an extra night, if you like. Gives us a break. Bandit Chief: No way, screw that. Keep him away from me! *Hurries away.* Rumarin: It's not that bad, is it? Taliesin and Dragonborn: *In sync* Oh gods, no, it's awful. Horrible. Annoying.

[tondw0o]

Was really inspired by that super cute scene from this fic ❤️

[queersatanic]

The Satanic Temple and its Eternal Nobodies

TST members and local groups begin another mass departure as Lucien Greaves clarifies once again that the “freedom to offend” does not include him as a target

"What the hell is going on with The Satanic Temple right now?" a lot of TSTers are asking right now as multiple local groups break off (Colorado the latest).

You can come to your own conclusions, but here's the public conversation that's happened so far:

Jump to

Inciting incident (Archive.org)

Lucien Greaves “Invitation To Leave” email

Canadian TST Minister responds

Lucien Greaves “fires” Canadian Minister

Memes mocking Lucien Greaves

“Internal Nobodies” rebel publicly

Lucien Greaves posts “An Apology” on Substack

Canadian TST member responds

Lucien Greaves goes on a sycophant podcast

A wave of individual departures (Archive.org)

Greg Stevens (Head of TST Ministry)

Lanzifer Longinus

Dex Desjardins

Chalice Blythe

Tertia Withershins

Karl Kasarda (“InRange TV”)

Richard Proctor (“The Neurodivergent Satanist”)

Local Groups leave (Archive.org)

The Satanic Temple Minnesota

The Satanic Temple of Florida

The Satanic Temple of Australia

The Satanic Temple of Colorado

Coalition of Satanic Congregations

The Satanic Temple of Alabama

The Satanic Temple of North Carolina

Friends of The Satanic Temple France

The Satanic Temple Nevada

The Satanic Temple South Carolina

Other group defections

“Hail Lucien Greaves“

On Schisms

[kaiasky]

People always say like, "sunwise (clockwise) is called that because it's how the sun moves (and withershins is opposite that motion)" and it's like. ????? the sun moves clockwise if you're facing south and counterclockwise if ur facing north. in what sense does the sun rotate clockwise. if you're on the artic circle sure, because it's always going to be near the horizon. but if you're in like, anywhere that isn't super far north it seems totally arbitrary

[alchemisland]

Leaving society for love

Take me to manless leys whose lengths no other paced

No other sandal’s tattoo grace’d

Make my love as an explorer’s ship’s prow, proud and seeing out

Drinking unknown waves in ages ignorant to longitude.

.

No matter where I sail, boreas withershins me

Arriving to rare Ophir

Where rivers of clear, unsettling orpiment roar forth

Jewelfruited trees abound

Gold in great store adorns lonely, footless shores

No one is sure where.

.

Some say mind pens those lands, no antecedent without

Others sure Solomon visited, thin veil liminal world conveyed

Diamond mines abutting

Fluttering thereby lepidoptera immensly size’d; speckled pied anpiels

On busy boughs, bursting in a beholder’s spying orbs

Birds in glory more storied with towering plumes

Than the couple-coloured denizens of Mount Abora, which opium lures closer

Nothing rattles me, I pin to doublet my king’s brooch.

[xovvo]

Character Concept:

an Artificer who works Artifact Technical Support. Sending Stone headset (likely ugly earrings), two ScryShare mirrors (so you only have to keep the customer busy for 5 minutes between scyings) a magical ledger that can automagically pull relevant account information if you search an account code, user ID, artifact asset ID, etc.

They are on call 24/7 because of a bargain they struck, trading 24/7 on-call employment for 6 months (with a small chance at FTE status, which includes crushing responsibilities, but a small raise in pay, BUT subsidized cleric visits! (up to 10% of gold cost for prayers over 100g in cost, no more than 20 gold on all other services).

Ex:

"Arcane Artifact Support, this is Kluunngoxt, could I get you to please confirm your account ID?...221398? One moment while I pull up some of your account information...wonderful, may I ask whom I have the pleasure of speaking to today?...and what seems to be your issue today, Eireien?...I see. So you're using one of our spell-crystals in a crop-fertility ritual and the spell crystal doesn't successfully discharge when the acorn is crushed after the dance is complete?...ok, what are the dancers holding?...ok, and are they all holding jade eggs, or is each one holding an egg of a different gemstone?...Ok, that sounds correct. Listen, I think I'll best be able to trouble shoot the ritual if we set up a ScyShare---what brand of warding do you use?...you're sure it's Bigby's Obfuscating Hands?

"Alright, first you'll need to add an exception for our ScryShare in the ward, so I'll need you to fallow my instructions closely---do you have a twig of yew?...yes, it needs to be yew, a sprig of rowan will not work. Yes, I can hold...

"...yes I'm still here, sir. Ok, now with the twig of yew in your left hand, turn sunwise until you are facing North-by-Northeast. Once you are facing that direction, rotate the twig withershins in an upright circle, thrice, turn sunwise until you 're facing West, then raise the twig two fists above your horizon and rotate the twig of yew twice withershins and thrice sunwise in an upright circle. Ok, do you have all that?....ok, why don't you tell it back to me, step by step...

"...Ok, good it sounds like you have the step, so for the Nor' by nor'east rotations, you need to focus on the image of our logo and 'Excellence in Customer Service'. Now, that's the *concept* of 'Excellence in Customer Service', _not_ the phrase. Now, on the westward rotations, you'll need to think of the code, which is the concept of remembering a mother's lullaby while watching a Spring sunset...

"...no a sunset in the spring-time...ok! I can see your ritual space now. Hm...I can see the center of the ritual markings, but I'm not seeing the spell-crystal?...No, sir, the spell Crystal needs to be in the center of the ritual area. Yes, the spell does indeed need to be discharged into the cropfield---this whole ritual needs to be set up in the center of the fallow field....then in that case you'll need a ritual for each field.

"No, I understand, sir, but there's nothing I can do about that. The spell's range is limited, you either need to order a custom-loaded crystal, or purchase as many standard crystals as you need to cover all of your fields. Would you like me to transfer you to Sales? Do you know who your Sales Rep is? yes, give me one moment and I'll transfer you."

"Hello, this is Kluunngoxt from Artifact Support? I have Eireien on the like for you, AID 221398. Of course, I'll transfer him now."

[call ends]

[old-antecedent]

if anyone else asks me for a copy of The Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball I am going to strangle them to death. You don't even know what 'withershin' means, shut the hell up about it

[hballegro]

i love playing one-sided withershins til my sibling gets mad at me

[tradetobest]

hrpf recs? 🙏

OH BOY OK. so. this list definitely leaves out some of my faves, but thats just because there are some things that i Will Not rec... like 300 of my bookmarks are private its CRAZY. anyway.

in the interest of length i will probably only be reccing 1-3 fics per ship, so this is my ao3 recs section shortened from the 78 eligible items to whatever i thought fit this list best. so. with that out of the way lets get started

sidgeno

More Things In Heaven And Earth by CloudCover (Unrated, 23.8k)

The hydrophones have been picking up nonsense for the past three days and Zhenya has had it up to here, honestly.

i must have babbled about this fic for a full fucking week to anyone who would listen after i finished it. MERMAIDS. the way their relationship develops over time. the way. the way EVERYTHING. i love this fic with my whole heart

Just What Was Rumpelstiltskin Expecting to Do with a Baby, Anyway? by withershins (T, 24.7k)

Turning to a witch to save a loved one's life is one of the riskier gambles a person can take, but it's one that's arguably noble and brave. Falling in love with the witch, though—now that's just foolish.

now if theres any sidgeno fic i have recced more than the first one its this one because OH MY GOD i love this fic so much. like .... the tumblr post its based off of is one of my favourite little blurb posts EVER and withershins captured it PERFECTLY this fic is PERFECT to me..... please read this

Clear Blue Morning by CloudCover (Unrated, 10.4k)

Zhenya is re-looping the hair elastic around Alina's braid when he becomes aware there’s someone standing in the doorway. He glances up, and his hands freeze in place. Sidney fucking Crosby is standing there, looking hesitant, with a half-empty water bottle dangling from one hand.

not only am i a sucker for kid fics i am an absolute SUCKER for single parent/hockey player fics, and this encapsulates my love for that. plus, geno's daughter is adorable in this. i ADORE this fic ive read it like 8 times.

the full version of this list is here and i would REALLY recommend checking it out because all of the fics on it are really good and i literally got a headache trying to cut it down bcs of how good these fics are ok

1634 (marnsthews)

Pull a Tavares by nationalhorribleleague (Series link, T, full series wordcount 42.2k)

Mitch Marner signs as a UFA with the Toronto Maple Leafs after seven years as an Arizona Coyote. How Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner deal with it (and fall in love).

OUGHHHH..... WHAT CAN I EVEN SAYYYY,.,,, yotes mitch to toronto and him and auston fall in love is like My Perfect Fanfic. literally my dreams come true. if you have never read this PLEASE READ BOTH FICS theyre both so fucking good

Three Loves by MycroftexMachina (T, 20.8k)

Mitch Marner: secret genius.

i used to joke about hrpf fics being super minimalist in their tagging and descriptions but holy fuck does this fic's outside understate whats on the inside. i have never felt the way i felt while reading this fic its literally insane. if you read nothing else on this list read this because the sheer emotion it evokes and the subject matter and everything to its core spoke to me on an insane level. i love this fic so much.

mceichel

LITERALLY ANY MCEICHEL FIC BY IDDAY IS GOOD. ALL OF THEM ARE GOOD READ ALL OF THEM. THIS LIST WOULD BE ALL IDDAY IF I RECCED ANY OF THEM JUST READ THEM ALL (but particularly you can make me a drink, take it offline, camera flashes make it look like a dream, with abandon, no other shade of blue but you, and out of the blue) READ ALL OF THOSE TRUST

Part of Me (Pours out of You) by crankyrage (M, 14.2k)

“I don’t know if you’ve heard but Edmonton Oilers’ Captain Connor McDavid is using your last single as his goal song this year,” the interviewer tells him lightly. “I’ve seen,” Eichel smiles at him charmingly. “I write songs for people to cry to at 1AM, so I’m not really sure if he understands what that song’s about.” (Or, Jack's an international, grammy-winning pop star, and Connor's, well, Connor.)

once again i fall victim to my own nonhockey/hockey tendencies, but this fic is worth all of it and more. i AM crazy about popstar jack and the entire plot of this fic. please read this

Some People Watch Golf on TV (and Neither of Those Things Make Sense to Me) by crankyrage (T, 40.4k)

His relationship with golf is probably one of the most complicated in his life. He loves it. Breathes it. Lives it. Gives everything to it, and the only thing he gets in return sometimes is rejection and this pain to carry around to remind himself that he’s a failure – that he’ll never be what they say he could be. And yet, no matter how much golf rejects him, makes him hate himself, makes him hate the world, hell golf even took his best friend from him, he always comes back. It’s almost like an addiction. So, Connor loves golf. Would die without it, probably. But, at the same time, sometimes not only is it not rewarding, it isn’t fun in the slightest. (Or a PGA Tour AU that no one, truly no one, asked for)

I ASKED FOR IT. I DIDNT KNOW I ASKED FOR IT IT BUT I DID AND IT IS AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND OHH. THIS FIC LITERALLY ALMOST MADE ME WATCH GOLF. in all seriousness, i have blabbed about this fic so much anyone who knows me irl would probably roll their eyes but its just so good, such a good exploration of learning to love and just. god. read this

the ghost you're dressed up as by brockachu (E, 36.7k)

Jack thinks he made his own dream boy. Jack thinks he made his own nightmare. "The whole house creaks, long, drawn out, groaning, like some sort of creature calling in the night. Maybe old houses just can’t help being old. Connor leans into Jack’s left side, runs soft lips up the curve of Jack’s ear, whispers not-words that Jack can’t process. The hum cuts out. The groaning snaps off. There is no sound. No Connor."

a MASTERFUL exploration in how writing can be used. literally one of the best pieces of literature i have read PERIOD. i have never been a big fan of horror OR non-linear narrative but this fic does both AMAZINGLY and in such a way that i can and will talk about it all the time. READ THIS FIC.

mcstrome (plus)

The Next Next One by yourblues (M, 71.2k)

No, Dylan has not picked up a copy of the book, nor does he plan to anytime soon. No, he has not talked to Connor about it. He hasn’t talked to Connor about anything in a long time, but the media does not need to know that.

oh my god. this fic got recced to me and i didnt read it and shoved it in my marked for later and it kept like, popping up to haunt me and finally i said fuck it and read it and OH MY GOD ITS SO FUCKING GOOD!! nevermind that im insane abt the 2015 draft class this fic is just SO GOOD its insane. read this because op did SUCH a good job i cant even describe it

nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy by orphan_account (T, 14.4k)

The thing is, Dylan and Mitch and Connor used to be in a band, in high school. They were a fucking trio, like Blink-182: Mitch on drums, Dylan on bass, and Connor on guitar. They called themselves Ten Minute Misconduct, and they fucking ruled. They sold an unprecedented 40,000 copies of their first album, which was out before they’d even graduated high school, and they went on legit tours and had legit fans. Brothers for life. They were gonna conquer the world together. And then, two years ago, Connor abandoned them. (Or, sometimes you just have to bury the hatchet. The Pop Punk AU.)

the second in a series that has a benneguin prequel that is also very good!! i LOVE bands . and my bandom history made me read this and NO REGRETS i loved this fic so fucking much. if you love bands and warped tour and like. that sort of Vibe please read both fics in this series

Heart Duplex by jamesiee, solarperigee (T, 15.6k)

“Oh, shit,” Dylan laughs, pointing at the screen. “What about this guy?” The description is objectively bad and Dylan has to bite his lip to keep a straight face while Connor reads it. What up I'm Mitch I'm 19 and my best friend fuckin ditched me to get a place with his hot swedish boyfriend so I need someone cool to make him jealous Must be chill w hockey (leafs 4 lyfe) gays (dick 4 lyfe) and video games (fortnite 4 lyfe) NO LIZARDS THEY SCARE ME “Oh my god,” Connor whispers in the flattest voice possible.

this is the plus in mcstrome plus because this is mitch/connor/dylan!! it is FUCKING HILARIOUS and amazing and beautiful and just. the vibe is excellent. i have reread this fic so much and it gets better literally every time because its just that good. insane.

mattdrai

liebe geht durch den magen by lighthousetowers (T, 6.2k)

All Leon wanted were some easy recipes, and instead he got this guy, this – Matthew Tkachuk, alias tkachukycheese, YouTube channel owner by bi-weekly afternoon and dietician who works a lot with school classes by normal profession. Matthew holds up a potato peel broken in two pieces. “And just remember, if it doesn’t work out perfectly, that’s fine. It’s all about practice and trying and enjoying the process. Perfection isn’t a prerequisite for being liked. Just look at the Oilers."

this fic unironically singlehandedly got me into mattdrai. literally SO good i have read it so many times. and another nonhockey/hockey au. you know me.

ambigous middle area between mattdrai and mcdrai. mcmattdrai

(Get a Torch and a Flame and) Burn the Path You Want by Linsky (E, 80.2k)

If there’s one thing Leon knows, from the very beginning, it’s that Connor McDavid isn’t for him. If there’s a second thing he knows, it’s that Matthew Tkachuk is a grade-A asshole.

common linsky banger. i LOVE the wolfverse and these three in this fic are jus SOOOOO,..... GAWD. like i ate it up like fucking . pasta with butter. and i LOVE pasta with butter.

mcdrai

if we make it through december (we'll be fine) by softnoirr

“Are you uh,” Connor takes a breath, “Are you doing anything for Christmas?” Leon pauses. Or: Connor and Leon go home for the holidays, break up, and come back together, just not precisely in that order.

WHO BRINGS THEIR EX TO THEIR PARENTS PLACE FOR CHIRSTMAS. connor mcdavid, thats who. and it makes for some EXCELLENT FIC. i lovelovelove this one so much

j,. jamie and trevor?? ship name. 611???? what are they called

There's Gold in Them There Hills, or Alchemy for Dummies by CitrineDaydream (E, 43.2k)

Jamie Drysdale is a witch. Well, a witch-in-training, out on his final journey to prove himself-- a pilgrimage to put himself through the seven steps of Alchemical Process. His contentious spirit guides have sent him across the continent from Ontario to California to find something that they refuse to reveal to him. Trevor Zegras is a rookie ranch hand, leaving New York for the freedom of the West. Far from home, he's still kept up with his families traditions and the ways they work with nature for prosperity and protection. He is absolutely, definitely not a witch. Jamie is at least intuitive enough to know the gold he seeks isn't literal metal, but that's about as far as he trusts his instincts, and that's the majority of the problem. When his spirit guides freeze him out in an attempt to foster his intuition, the goofy cowboy seems to be the best bet he's got to unlock his path to growth that he can't seem to find to on his own.

this started my cowboy kick literally this fics fault its CRAZY. i dont even. know how to describe how much i fucking loved this fic its so good PELASE read it if you love cowboys or witches OR if you have eyes. 10/10

AAND THERE WE GO!! or at least. i have to stop because i ran out of open ao3 tags and the site has stopped working. please enjoy when you can anon!! and if you want somethign specific just lmk

but also there is this one elias pettersson/brock boeser or however you spell that fic and i literally know NOTHIGN about these guys but this fic was so good ask if interested because i am interested in introducing others to it

[redjacketficrecs]

Just What Was Rumpelstiltskin Expecting to Do with a Baby, Anyway?

withershins

Summary: Turning to a witch to save a loved one's life is one of the riskier gambles a person can take, but it's one that's arguably noble and brave. Falling in love with the witch, though—now that's just foolish.

Recommendation: I fucking love a fic where one of the boys is a witch. This isn’t even my favourite Sid/Geno one but goddamn is the world building good in this one. I love the dynamic of witches being a known entity but still shrouded in myths and superstitions and the way witches use that to navigate the world. I love Geno’s dilemma and the way his outlook (and Kris’ and Flower’s and the team’s) changes over the story. I love Sid’s longing and the ways he’s different as a witch but still so Sid. And the magic and world building in this is just great, well thought out and well written.

[p1tstop]

[from my bookmarks] some sidgeno options for you that i think might fit the criteria:

Gone Soft and Blue With Stories - secretsidgenowriter - archiveofourown . org/works/15866976

We Grew Up Together Here - romantic_drift - archiveofourown . org/works/24515242

All Of My Stars - secretsidgenowriter - archiveofourown . org/works/27742069

The Sheriff of Consol - james - archiveofourown . org/works/466052

Just What Was Rumpelstiltskin Expecting to Do with a Baby, Anyway? - withershins - archiveofourown . org/works/7323769

You and Me in the Wreckage - hkafterdark - archiveofourown . org/works/603734

hope you find one that you enjoy!

wah what a joy tysm for sharing !!!!! already love some of these but excited to start new ones rn !

[tlaquetzqui]

Well first off I would never list them counterclockwise from north, because I’m not a fucking skinwalker. The Scottish term for “counterclockwise”, withershins, means something like “opposed to sense” for a reason, and north is the unlucky direction in most of the Northern Hemisphere in both Old and New World.

It’s East, South, West, North.

feel free to put location/area in the tags

[myinternetcorner]

Withershins

Zaki put down his mug of mead and just stared at his wife for a few seconds. Finally, grudgingly: "Because everything I have a conversation, darling, it flows in alphabetical order. Just like I told you. I think the only way to stop it is not to talk at all."

"Couldn't you just be imagining this?" said Kazagha patiently. "It wouldn't be the first time you had an insane paranoid delusion. Remember when you thought the royal battlemage of Black Marsh was hiding behind every tree with lewd intent, intent on making you -- a middle-aged, fat, balding tailor -- into his personal sex slave? You don't need to be ashamed, but it's Sheogorath's way to make us all a little crazy sometimes. If you go to the healer--"

"Damn it, Kazagha!" snarled Zaki and stomped out, slamming the door behind him. He nearly collided with Siyasat, his neighbor.

"Excuse me," she said to Zaki's back. He clamped his hands over his ears as he stormed down the street, turning the corner to his tailor shop. His first customer was waiting out front, smiling widely. Zaki tried to keep his temper under control and took out his keys, returning the customer's smile.

"Fine day," said the young man.

"Gods!" hollered Zaki, sending the young man flying with a well-placed punch, and dashing away.

As much as he hated to admit that Kazagha was right, it was evidently time, once again, for one of the healer's herbal cocktails. Tarsu's temple to health, mental and physical, was several streets north, an impressive obelisk. Halqa, the chief herbalist, met him before he came in the hall.

"How are you today, Sa'Zaki Saf?"

"I need to make an appointment with Tarsu," said Zaki in his calmest voice.

"Just one moment, let me see how his schedule looks." Halqa said, looking over a scroll. "Is this an emergency?"

Kind of," said Zaki, and slapped his head. Why couldn't he say yes, or absolutely, or sure?

"Let's see," said Halqa, frowning. "The best I can do is next Middas. Would that work for you?"

"Middas!" cried Zaki. "I'll be a complete psychotic by Middas. Isn't there anything earlier?"

He knew what the answer would be before she said it. There was no alternative. In a way, he had forced the response. If only he had kept the conversation going until "Y."

"No," said Halqa. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to make the appointment--?"

Zaki walked away, gritting his teeth. He wandered the streets, his head down to avoid all conversations, until he looked up and discovered that he had walked all the way to the wharf. A sweet breeze was blowing along the water and he took several deep breaths until he felt almost normal. When his temper cooled, he could think again. What if this alphabetical conversation wasn't a delusion at all? What if what he felt wasn't paranoia, but acute awareness? He knew it was the classic dilemma: am I crazy or is there really something weird going on?

Across the road was a shop called ParaDocks, featuring a display of herbs, crystals, and vapors trapped in orbs . The sign in the window read "Mystical Consultation sunrise to noon." It was worth a shot, though Zaki was dubious. The only people who generally came down the wharf for healing were stupid adventurers who didn't know any better.

Incense burned in copious billows of pink and gold, obscuring and then revealing the clutter within. Jijjic death masks glowered down from the walls, smoking censors hung by chains from the ceiling, and the floor was a maze of bookshelves. At a wellworn table in the back a small man wearing a headress was tabulating a young lady's purchases.

"Okay," said the man. "Your total comes to fifty-seven gold pieces. I threw in the restorative scale conditioner for free. Just remember, the candle should be lit only after you invoke Goroflox The Unholy, and mandrake root does best in partial shade."

The customer gave a quick, shy smile to Zaki and left the store.

"Please help me," said Zaki. "Every conversation I hear or get involved in seems to be arranged alphabetically. I don't know if I'm going insane or if there are some kind of bizarre forces at work. To be honest with you, I'm normally a skeptic when it comes to your type of business, but I'm at the end of my rope. Can you do anything to make this madness end?"

"Quite a common problem, actually," said the man, patting Zaki on the arm. "When you get to the end of the alphabet, do conversations then go to reverse alphabetical order or start at the beginning of the alphabet?"

"Reverse alphabetical order," said Zaki, and then corrected himself. "Damn it! I mean, it starts from the beginning, all over again. I'm in agony. Can you call on the spirits and tell me, am I insane?"

"Sauriki," said the man with a reassuring smile. "I don't have to. You're quite sane."

"Thank you," said Zaki, frowning. "By the way, my name's Zaki, not Sauriki."

"Unusually close, eh?" said the man, patting Zaki on the back. "My name's Octoplasm. Follow me, please. I think I have just what you need."

Octoplasm lead Zaki down the narrow corridor behind the desk. The two men pushed past dusty cabinets filled with strange creatures in liquids, past heaps of neolithic stones, past stack after stack of moldering leather-bound books, into the dank heart of the store. There he picked up a small, squat cylindrical drum and a book, and handed them to Zaki.

"'Vampirism, Daedric Possession, and Withershin Therapy,'" said Zaki, squinting his eyes to read the book in the gloom. "What in Oblivion does this have to do with me? I'm not a vampire, look at this tan. And what's Withershin Therapy, and how much will it cost me?"

"Withershins, from the Old Cyrodilic withersynes, which means backwards," said Octoplasm in a serious tone. "It's the art of reversing the direction of things in order to gain access to the spirit world, and break curses, cure vampirism, and trigger all manners of apotropaic healing. You know the story about the guy who was told that slaughterfish live in hot water, so he said, 'Well, let's boil them in cold water'?"

"Xenophus," said Zaki instinctively, his brother having taken a rather esoteric upper level course in Cyrodilic philosophy as an elective in at the Imperial College thirty-one years before, and immediately wishing he hadn't. "And what do you do with the cylindrical thingy?"

Octoplasm lit a candle and held the object over it so Zaki could see more clearly. All along the cylinder were narrow slits and when Zaki peered within them, he saw a succession of old black and white drawings of a naked man leaping over boxes, one frame after the next.

"You spin it like so," said Octoplasm, slowly whirling the device clockwise so the man within leapt over the boxes over and over again. "It's called a zoetrope. Pretty neat, eh? Now, you take it and start spinning it counterclockwise, and while you're doing it, read this incantation I've marked in the book.

Seer's Stone"Found it, have you? Silenced the hands that betrayed, and took what was mine? Then let me have the stone, so that the voices can be shut out. Ah, child. I thank you for helping me. With the voices quieted for now, the words you seek have come to me. You shall have my... recommendation. Though I must warn you. I have seen things in your future. Things which may be, and things which will be. It will be up to you to decide the fate of many. Life and death are strange things, easily manipulated, and both will be altered by your hands."

If you speak to Dagail once you have obtained all recommendations she will say:Recommendation"Your time has come. The Arcane University needs you, child. Raminus Polus waits for you even now. Great things will befall you. There will be trials, but you will prevail. You must, for the good of the guild."

Mysticism Training

If you have started the training quest for Mysticism, she will tell you that will need to close more Oblivion Gates if you have not yet closed at least three gates:Training"Training, child? You would know more about the mystic energies of the world around us? The barriers between planes are weak. Do more to strengthen them; seal the portals to Oblivion.

[sebthebees]

wish I knew which of you is withershins on AO3 so I could get your address and send a gift basket over bc talk about an all time great wtf banger after banger after banger!!!!

[alchemisland]

Indecisive Patriarchs (Yesah Noah)

Standing at the gates, a Lamassu

Second rate your llama zoo

Te llamo who?

The ark the ark upon the waves, below the graveless dead unsaved and unsavoury

Doubt is a slavery, that God didn’t make me, doubt daily rapes me

The voice guiding this vessel perilous, this violent earth; the sons of Pelias

Dripping, Noah upon the deck whose nakedness is as a gorgon’s mock

Waves knock her clinkered sides, withershins the many miles out here are noughts

The troubled lineage is severed from the healthy seed as if by glaive heaven wielded and welded

The saved, he says, will erect a shrine where the lance of the first new sun shines

Below deck the children of nations, the nations of children, the notions of children, casting coloured stones to divine

The Will of one who is this Will in mind, this Will of mine, will mine

Amount to anything or sink like the rest, bubbles at other end despite trying level best.

First frost the glass loud grass of term’s final class, stripped trees crass 

First frost no sign of Nixon; Nick busy with nixers, his son’s new Nikon acquired

Footfalls the Christmas Father’s arrival; sliding slates that Nick’s on

Tinsel from a Cornish mine guarding branches like an aggravated serpent

Money lent is money spent, bidden guided arghoslent

All lights and dazzle and illusion of overeffulgence, angel topped the baubles on

Babylong ting the cold cuts still years away from serving time

My vengeance a henge’s patience strengthening below the lights 

How he makes bank – growsmaryJ and grime, alchemy infinite dimes

The drank distilled the field is tilled the low stone chair where Corn Kings are killed

Brine in great store the abating storm the form of land from denseclouds born

Hark hark the height of land, hard by here the Isle of Sharks.

Couch of cudchew NPCs, clapping festive idents on BBC

Could you fill an empty seat with all the things they do not see

With plastic guns I BB see but the Old Bill seek APB

John Lewis advert is your year’s emotional highpoint

Stand the one named Spartacus but only I point

Mystical blood thrilling from a wound, the legionnaire’s enchanted spearpoint

Waves at seapoint inviting gooseflesh on Christmas morning, homefires warming

Cold bird in cooling vat, eating bird in nearby flat, bold cloud hues warning

Unmask wolves before counting sheep, wolf wakes when farmer sleeps.

[actualdraccus]

There’s a Skyrim book like this and it’s one of my favorites.

I recommend taking a moment to read it: