#and using owl imagery

[another-goblin]

After 2.2, many people noticed that the first part of Ratio's "Doctor's Advice" isn't just a vague encouragement (to think about it, that would have been a bit out of character for him); it actually foreshadows certain revelations about the Dreamworld we only discover in 2.2.

It can't be a coincedence that the words "Death" and "Dormancy", capitalized and placed in quotation marks, are the exact words used to refer to that "Death "meme when we discover the truth about it.

It's safe to assume that he knows more about the Dreamworld than he lets on, and that note is partly a hint to Aventurine about what's going on. And it probably helped, judging by the fact that Aventurine somehow ended up in Dreamflux Reef after that.

So first, that really reminded me of what he did on Herta station. He basically slips into his teacher mode: "I'll make sure nobody dies. I won't disrespect your cognitive abilities by just telling you what's going on. I'll just direct you towards the truth because I know you are smart enough to ultimately get there by yourself"

And secondly, if that's true, if he really knows a lot about the Dreamworld, that would finally explain why the IPC sent him as a technical consultant.

The question is, what's in it for him.

At first glance, he doesn't have a horse in that race. I don't think he gives a damn about the IPC's claim on Penacony. He doesn't strike me as a fan of the IPC in general (his philosophy is "people should have access to education," and money never factors into it).

And they can't directly order him to go; the IPC bosses are not his bosses. The Intelligentsia Guild is affiliated with the IPC and probably sponsored by it, but they are not the same. (I had a little theory about the IPC financing his educational projects. So theoretically, they could use it as leverage. But it's an unsopported speculation on my part)

One of his goals could have been to study the Dreamworld, but I don't think that's the case because he could have just visited it as a tourist for that purpose at any time.

So, why would he agree to go on that mission, taking his valuable time away from teaching and potentially risking his life and reputation (by getting involved with the IPC's shady affairs)?

He's only there to help Aventurine. Currently, that's the only explanation.

[eelshrimp]

old doodle 4 fun 🦉💜💚💋💋💋🦚

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

I never thought Belos was going to be able to possess a grimwalker for the final act even before this episode tbh. Like I know they were setting up Belos collecting grimwalker ingredients all season 2 so there was going to be something that happened with a grimwalker. Maybe in a full season 3 Belos would have possessed a freshly made grimwalker and then after they defeated Belos the grimwalker would have been left alive and Hunter would have gotten a new brother. Gatherer, if you will. Or maybe Belos would have made a new grimwalker to replace Hunter leading up to the day of unity and the same thing happens.

But with a shortened season 3, the problem with this premise is that the grimwalker Belos possessed would have been his own person. That’s the whole point of the grimwalkers in general. Belos used them as his tools/replacements for his brother, but Hunter had his own thoughts and feelings. It wasn’t fair for Belos to project his brother onto an innocent child, and the extent that he did shows how monstrous he had become in his hatred and grief towards his brother. The same goes for the rest of the grimwalkers.

If Belos were to make a new grimwalker and go through the final act while possessing him, then the crew would have to establish that, yes, this grimwalker is also an innocent child who Belos took advantage of. Like the Collector, Hunter, Lilith, and everyone else manipulated by Belos, he deserves to be free of Belos and live a happy life where he could choose his own future. If they establish this, the crew would have two options:

1. Have the gang defeat Belos but have the grimwalker survive that, and have him be taken in by whatever characters are appropriate to live happily ever after.

2. Have the gang defeat Belos but have the grimwalker die during that. Then, everyone would lament how evil Belos was for causing the death of yet another kid.

The second option obviously wouldn’t be allowed in a TV-Y7 rated Disney show. I guess they do a version of that in For the Future? Where the grimwalker in Belos’s lab was already dead and Belos couldn’t possess it. But in here, the rest of the characters don’t know it happened. They can’t reflect on the humanity of the grimwalker or the tragedy of its creation/death, so the more horrifying implications aren’t explored onscreen.

As for the first option, I doubt it would have gone over well in a full season 3, much less in a shortened season. To introduce a new character to the cast, especially one with such an important connection to Hunter, another main character, would require giving him a lot of characterization for the audience to have an emotional attachment to him. Otherwise, while the audience may recognize the grimwalker is important to Hunter and the rest of the gang, it wouldn’t tie in well with the rest of the story.

The emphasis on the humanity of grimwalkers in general throughout the show would also come across as hypocritical if the only focus on this grimwalker is what he represents to other characters, not who he is as a person. This plot point should be a midpoint of a story normally, so more time is available to characterize the grimwalker. But if you make it something Belos does in the final battle, especially in a shortened season 3, we don’t get anything out of the new grimwalker character that we wouldn’t get out of Hunter. Him possessing Hunter in Thanks to Them already had most of the emotional impact that this scenario would have had. Even more, since we actually know Hunter. Doing it again would just be redundant.

[beware-the-owlman]

Dark Nights: Death Metal: Multiverse’s End #1

[drawbudd]

flower boy

[khaire-traveler]

💀 Subtle Haides Worship 🐕‍🦺

If you have a dog (or any pet), play with them

Volunteer at an animal shelter

Donate dog supplies to animal shelters and places who help families in need

Feed neighborhood dogs, cats, or birds

Start a coin collection with the intention of souls who need payment at the Underworld's gates can use those coins

Keep a picture of him in your wallet

Have a candle that reminds you of him (no altars needed)

Wear jewelry that reminds you of him

Have a stuffed animal owl, dog, or black ram

Have imagery of a bident, Cerberus, or ancient Greek helmets around

Drink coffee or a soothing tea to start your day

Honor your ancestors/souls that have passed; learn about your family history

Hold onto any family heirlooms; keep items from people who have passed in your life

Eat pomegranate seeds; drink pomegranate juice

Support suicide prevention or funeral funding organizations

Visit cemeteries; if allowed (get permission first please), leave flowers at graves; visit loved ones' or family members' graves

Collect animal bones (please thank the animal's spirit after doing so; I just think it's respectful to do so)

Learn about death; acquaint yourself with the idea of death; figure out what you believe happens after death

Take care of yourself physically and emotionally

Work on learning to let go of the past; forgive yourself for past mistakes, and release past regrets

Start a garden or tend to plants

Save your money, if able; work on spending it wisely

Practice patience, understanding, and gratitude

Be a good host to all who enter your space; Haides is the ultimate host, the Ruler of All

Take a walk during a new moon (if it is safe to do so in your area)

Bury a time capsule

Honor old family traditions; dig into your heritage and find pride in it

Learn to find simple joys in life; make a list of things that bring you joy in your day to day

Meditate in nature; ground yourself often; practice mindfulness

Visit/explore caves (please do so safely!!!)

Visit ancient ruins, ghost towns, and any place where people used to be but are no longer

-

Hope this helps someone! I may add more later on. For now, this is my list of discreet ways to worship Haides. Take care, everyone! 🩵

Link to Subtle Worship Master list

[dol--blathanna]

Thinking a lot about Orym choosing a rabbit when asked what animal he would pick if cursed with lycanthropy.

Because, it makes sense. Orym is small, quick, agile, jumps well, and is highly perceptive. That definitely evokes rabbit imagery. But a lot of Orym’s identity is also tied up with being a protector – giving people AC bumps, the shield being as much a part of his fighting style as his sword, even his title: Saviour Blade of the Tempest. He wants to be a “Shield that protects Exandria”; his priorities about saving the gods are less about the gods themselves, and more about protecting the people of Exandria from the unintended consequences and bloodshed of releasing Predathos. And it would’ve been very easy to pick a large, strong predator to try and evoke the sense of a protector – a wolf, for example, an animal associated with loyalty and protecting its pack. Yet Orym chose a rabbit.

And I think that’s interesting, because rabbits are often seen as ‘cute’ animals – but they’re also a prey animal. In fact, they’re a common food source for many animals across several ecosystems: foxes, wolves, wild cats, dogs, birds of prey like eagles or owls, coyotes, stoats, and humans (and that’s just off the top of my head). Rabbits are skittish, easily frightened; to be rabbit-hearted is to be timid or cowardly. They are not generally associated with fierceness or prowess in fighting. Mice and rats are prey animals too, but typically seen as vermin (rabbits are sometimes seen as vermin too, but a farmer could eat a rabbit – they wouldn’t eat a rat). Deer are prey, but they have hooves and antlers that bring a danger to hunting them, for any animal – the difficulties of hunting rabbits are more related to their evasiveness, speed and good hearing than any life-threatening danger they might pose. Rabbits are, first and foremost, prey animals. They are killed and eaten, so that another animal might live.

Which made me think a lot about one of Orym’s other key traits: self-sacrifice. Bait and switch doesn’t just bump up his ally’s ACs, it specifically switches their place to put him directly in harm’s way. Goading attack is meant to encourage enemies to attack him instead of his friends. He literally made a deal with a hag, essentially exchanging his own life for power to protect his friends. How many times has he gone down in a fight? He’s not the only tank – but unlike Ashton (and Chetney, who also uses ‘self-sacrifice’ in his fighting style with his blood curses) he has no abilities to reduce the damage from the hits he takes (barbarian rage and the werewolf form).

(Side note: I think it’s pretty interesting that Chetney, the wolf, has attacked Orym, the rabbit, more than anyone else when losing control. That Orym’s facial scar was given to him by a friend, not a foe).

Of course, Orym isn’t the only character with self-sacrificial tendencies (FCG wins by a landslide), but I just can’t stop thinking about how weirdly perfect it is that he chose a rabbit for his animal. Rabbits are prey animals. They are eaten, so that other animals may live. Orym takes the hits, he goads and switches with his team mates to put himself in danger, he makes a deal with a hag at the cost of his own life. He’s a soldier, throwing his life away for a cause over and over again because Ludinus must be stopped, because Keyleth has put her trust in him, because it’s the only way to protect his friends, to protect everyone, because it’s the right thing to do. Orym is a rabbit. He’s always been a rabbit. That day in Zephrah, it could have easily been Orym who died instead of Will and Derrig – “unfortunate but necessary sacrifices”, as Ludinus viewed the attack. It’s unfortunate they had to die, but it was for the greater good, according to Ludinus. It’s unfortunate that a rabbit has to die, but it will feed a family of foxes, or stoats, or even a hungry human, so it’s acceptable, right?

Orym is a rabbit. He is giving himself to a greater cause that could very easily kill him – he already willingly signed his life away to Nana Morri. Because that’s what rabbits do. They die to feed others.

And the theme of being disposable is present across the entire group, not just in Orym – Bell’s Hells has been called a “party of NPCs” before. Aside from FCG’s death, I’d say Laudna perhaps fits this theme the best: she was literally murdered and hung from a tree simply because she looked similar to Vex, acting as a warning to adventurers she had never met before. But FCG’s death was – rightfully – viewed as a terrible tragedy by the group. Laudna’s decision to remove Delilah, finally freeing herself from her abuser and emphasising she is more, and deserves to be more, than just some disposable puppet – this was rightfully viewed as a very good thing! But Orym seems to be embracing this identity of self-sacrifice instead, rather than this mindset being properly challenged or acknowledged as a bad thing. After all, there’s no time. There’s too much at stake. Keyleth, Bell’s Hells, all the memories of those who have died in this fight, all the people who might die if Predathos is released and kickstarts a second Calamity – they’re all relying on him, right? A rabbit feeding so many animals with his sacrifice. And it’s not malicious compared to the way that, say, Delilah killing Laudna was an incredibly evil, fucked up and unnecessary thing to do. If Orym died to save everyone else, well, at least everyone else would be saved, right? Saving lives is good, isn't it? How could he complain?

Because rabbits are prey animals, and Orym is a rabbit too. Destined to die so that another animal may feed.

Except, that’s not true. Rabbits are more than just prey. They’re highly social, and thrive best living with others. They’re playful, they enjoy running around and kicking their legs just to show their enjoyment. They’re inquisitive and mischievous, even being associated with tricksters in some folklore and stories. They’re also associated with innocence, playfulness, spring, youth – all manner of things, depending on the story or culture. And they’re not helpless, either, even if they might be thought of as such. They can bite and scratch and draw blood quite easily if they want to! In fact, freezing up isn’t their only response when being attacked by a predator, they are known to fight back if cornered. They can sprint quickly, they have excellent hearing and senses of smell, they know how to evade predators.

Rabbits are prey, and they are also survivors. They have their own social dynamics, their own habits and dislikes and preferences. They are more than just a wolf’s meal. And Orym is more than a soldier, too. He’s more than a “necessary sacrifice”, he’s more than just a shield and sword. He deserves more than to die for a cause. He deserves a happy ending, just like everyone else. I hope he remembers that.

Orym is a rabbit. And the message isn’t that he shouldn’t be a rabbit. It’s that rabbits are worthy of surviving, too.

[warblogs17282]

So, other than the full moon part of the arrangement, I find it really interesting that Blitz is represented by the moon, since owls are nocturnal, using the moon as some sort of a guiding light. Which considering that Blitz has had a positive impact on Stolas' life (giving him to courage to stand up to Stella and divorce her, ending the arranged marriage for example), I think it shows that Stolas sees Blitz as some sort of a guiding light, it really speaks to how good the imagery was in this song, plus it fits in with Stolas' powers and such quite nicely as well.

I will admit that we have seen Stolas be awake during the early hours of the day, including the clock showing 7am in s2 e8, but I think the point I'm making here still stands.

[sage-nebula]

When The Owl House first came out, there was a lot of discussion surrounding how King could potentially be Bill, with the most common theory being that Bill had somehow been reincarnated into King by the Axolotl. After all, not only does Alex Hirsch voice both of them, but the voice he uses for King is very similar to the voice he uses for Bill. (Very similar, but not the exact same; apart from not having the voice distortion, King's voice is higher pitched. King's voice is basically Bill's voice before Bill hit puberty, lmao.) Apart from that, both King and Bill are demons; King had an obsession with ruling, power, and conquest; King has yellow sclera; and, well, people were desperate for connections between Gravity Falls and The Owl House, to the point where I actually did end up pretty annoyed for awhile that people weren't letting The Owl House stand on its own two feet and were instead treating it like a sequel show. (Though there are actual, canonical connections between them now, the most notable being that Eda married Stan for less than 24 hours in Vegas so that she could rob him blind, lmao. He still thinks fondly of her to this day, as he should.)

I bring this up because I never really subscribed to this theory, or thought very much of it . . . until now. It's not that I think the theory is more plausible now, but more that I think that the idea holds a sort of poetic beauty to it now, if it was true. (Which again, I don't think it necessarily is, but more that it's a nice "what if" to think about.) And the reason for that comes from information that we gained from The Book of Bill, along with additional information that we've now gained from the website, along with how King's story arc developed and played out in The Owl House. (So, spoilers for that show, the new book, and the website if you haven't kept up with any of that.)

Essentially:

It's been heavily implied for years now (to the point where, in my personal opinion, it was known, but to be safe I'm saying heavily implied) that Bill destroyed his home dimension. In the show, Bill says that he "liberated" his home dimension, and when he brings it up, there is fiery imagery around him that is similar to the rift that opens in the sky to link Gravity Falls to the Nightmare Realm during Weirdmageddon. Then, in one of the spinoff books, when Dipper asks the Axolotl about Bill, the Axolotl says, "Saw his own dimension burn [. . .] blame the arson for the fire." Considering that Bill said that he "liberated" his dimension with fire imagery, and the Axolotl says that he saw his dimension burn (and blames the arson, rather than the arsonist for the fire) . . . the conclusion can easily be drawn that Bill's "liberation" was actually "destruction." Which makes sense, when you remember what he wanted to do to Earth during Weirdmageddon.

Nonetheless, we have had that confirmed now thanks to The Book of Bill and the website. We know that when Bill tries to recant what happened to his dimension, there is a loud ringing in his ears and he blacks out; we know that he looks "more distant than [Ford] had ever seen him" when he tries to recount the story to Ford (implying dissociation; we know that he told his henchmaniacs the "liberation" story and that he freaks out when Time Baby tries to speak openly about what actually happened and who actually caused it; and we know that, during his therapy sessions in the Theraprism, when the therapist tries to turn the discussion to his parents, he shuts down discussion altogether. (And also only draws red and blue triangles during his art sessions, implying that may be what his parents looked like.)

So we know that: Bill destroyed his own dimension, that he's the sole survivor of the massacre, that he was severely traumatized by this (because he didn't intend to massacre his entire people, he honestly was trying to help them see what he could see -- the third dimension) and that he just handled his trauma in the worst possible way, particularly since he did not have anyone left to give him a support system. A billion years without a proper support system or any form of healing, sinking further and further into denial, rationalization, and detachment (outlined on Bill's page on morality as his tools of the trade), lying until his lies were no longer lies to himself, made Bill into the monster he is today.

But then the Pines family defeated him (thanks to Stan), he invoked the name of the Axolotl, and got sent to the Theraprism. He hates it there, and he is so deeply entrenched in the lies-he-no-longer-recognizes-as-lies that he is not making any progress. As Alex said at one of the Barnes & Noble Q&As, what Bill really needs is to actually be honest with himself, but it's unknown if he will ever be able to do that. Until he can do that, the hope of him actually making progress at the Theraprism is nil.

But here is the thing about the Theraprism. Well, here are the two things about the Theraprism:

The first is that we are told that the Theraprism is a place specifically devoted to reincarnation. The reason why the "King is reincarnated Bill" theory was popular before was mostly due to the reasons I mentioned above, but also because of another line in the Axolotl's poem: "A different form, a different time." People understood this to mean reincarnation, and it's easy to see why. But for me personally, I always found it a bit strange that the Axolotl would simply let Bill reincarnate simply by calling out for help. Would that really be all it took for the Axolotl? True, the Axolotl is the god of this universe, and Jesus (from how I understand it) is all about "accept me as your savior and you're immediately absolved of all sins," but I also felt that was just too easy of a Get Out of Death Free card for Bill. It was a very clean getaway, considering everything.

But The Book of Bill makes it evident that isn't the case. As it is described by the Theraprism employee in the book:

"Here at the Theraprism, we believe death can be the beginning of a new life. With good behavior, former wizards, world-eating titans, and even Mr. Cipher have many exciting options for reincarnation -- perhaps as a newt, shrimp, or a cloud of fungal spores!"

The Axolotl also made this clear to Bill (though Bill misunderstood entirely:

"You cannot regrow through denial. You'll have to face my hardest trial. See my program to the end, then you may yet live again. You're getting what you need the most; one way to absolve your crimes, to change your form will take some time."

Now, many of you are probably thinking: a baby titan from the Boiling Isles is a huge leap from newts, shrimp, and fungal spores. I would agree with you; it seems that the Theraprism does tend to pick very lowly life forms for the big bads they rehabilitate to reincarnate into. But here are the reasons why I think it would be poetic if it were King, and therefore why I like to think that it would be nice if this were the case:

Like Bill, King is the last of his kind. Unlike Bill, this is through no fault of King's own; the other titans were wiped out before King even hatched, and King's father had to hastily inscribe runes to protect him from the titan hunters (or archivists?) so that they couldn't find and kill him as well by destroying his egg. Nonetheless, King is the sole survivor of a genocide and this is something that weighs heavily on him and influences his character arc in a big way in the second half of the show. The fact that he doesn't know what he is lends struggle to him trying to discover who he is. Yes, he's in a family of misfits, but Eda and Luz know what they are and who they come from. King doesn't have that. King has no basis for what he is, or why he was abandoned -- none of it. And then when he does finally start to get answers, it's to learn that his people were massacred in a genocide; that there are people still out there who want to kill him; that he is going to grow to be a deity-like figure, that he'll outlive those he loves . . . King is a child of about eight-years-old, but he has so, so much weighing on him already.

But where Bill accidentally destroyed his dimension and killed everyone in it, and then was crushed under the weight of that trauma because he was left alone and covered in blood, King did have that family of misfits to support and love him through it all. He was still burdened by the fact that he didn't know what he was or where he came from, but Eda, Hooty, Luz, and eventually Lilith gave him unconditional love and a home and support to figure all of that out, to the point where it was King's idea to be formally adopted by Eda and change his name to King Clawthorne. And while he will eventually outlive them all, he made a friend in The Collector who is also immortal, so he'll never be truly alone.

Essentially, what I'm getting at here is: there are parallels in Bill's and King's story, now that we know Bill's backstory. They aren't the exact same, especially since King was not responsible for what happened to the other titans. But there are still parallels that can be made. But whereas things ended as badly as they could possibly end up for Bill, King's story had a much better ending. So if we imagine that Bill was reincarnated as King, then it is almost like he got a do-over. Like he was put in a similar situation, but this time he was found by a new adoptive mother who raised him with love and care, and got an adoptive big sister, and owl tube house mate, and aunt, as well as a ton of friends. He suffered trauma, but this time he didn't have to suffer it alone, and was able to handle it in a much better, much healthier way. Yes, he's an all-powerful demon (or at least, he will be someday, when he grows into an adult). But this time he isn't going to be causing any apocalypses, or delighting in any mortal suffering. This time, things are going to be different for him, because his soul completed the Axolotl's program in the Theraprism and he was able to reincarnate for that second chance.

(And if you're thinking, "But The Owl House doesn't take place that long after Gravity Falls, so how is that possible?" Well, the Theraprism exists outside of time and space, so it doesn't matter how many millennia it takes for Bill to complete the program. He literally has all the time in the multiverse.)

So I'm on board with this theory now. Again, I do not think it's canon. But it's a nice idea, and one that I think has a poetic sweetness to it. No one has to agree, of course, but that's just my take on it.

[felixbit]

my sun

pairing: felix x gn!reader w. 1.6k genre: fluff summary: it's felix's birthday, and you decide to spend the day reminding him all of the brightness he brings to your life. from sunrise to sunset, you show him how much he means to you. a/n: happiest birthday to my boy :DDD

Getting up early is hard.

Waking up your night owl boyfriend early on his birthday is harder.

But, there you were, dragging Felix out of bed just past six in the morning. You'd scolded him for staying up past midnight on his birthday, letting him know you planned an early morning.

So, a sleepy Felix was resistant to the idea of getting out of bed so early. You tugged on his arm, trying to physically pull him out. His gravitational pull to the bed seemed to increase in the mornings, so it wasn't working out.

"Felix, honey, it'll only be for a few minutes," You pleaded, "You'll be able to go back to sleep right after."

Your boyfriend made a low grumble sound as he finally budged, waving your hand away as he rolled out of bed on his own. "Fine."

Trying to ignore how enamored you were by his morning voice, you took Felix by the hand and walked towards the balcony. The timing was pretty much perfect, the sun just starting to peek above the horizon and the sky spilling out into beautiful colors.

Felix seemed to wake up a little more at the sight, rubbing his eyes as he looked out onto the view. You wrapped your arms around his waist, smiling. "You see that? That's how I feel when I first see you in the morning."

You heard him snicker softly, trying to turn and look at you. "Is this what you woke me up for? A pretty view and a cheesy one-liner?"

Kissing his cheek, you shrugged. "No, I just wanted to show you how much you're like the sunrise in my life. You're my sun, Felix."

Felix made an over-exaggerated groan and turned away from the sunrise so he could hug you back. He buried his face deep into the t-shirt you had stolen from him to use as pajamas. "Thank you," He mumbled into the fabric.

"Of course, sunshine boy," You rubbed his back softly as he held the hug, but then started moving you back towards the door inside.

"Can we please go back to bed now?"

It was unfortunate that you had to get back up only two hours later, but you had other plans in store. Felix slept heavy, so you didn't have to worry too much about getting out of bed without waking him up.

You threw together a presentable look before you left the house. The first destination was a flower shop nearby, exchanging small pleasantries with the employees as you picked out a beautiful assortment of short sunflowers.

It was then that you walked over to the cafe that you had placed a custom order a few days back. They had pastries and cookies that the staff would decorate, given a theme. You had placed a rather large order, telling them to go all out with the sun and sunflower imagery.

You picked it up in a big bag, your hands now full as you traveled back to the apartment. Getting into the apartment itself was a struggle, but you made it with time to spare and set up the pretty display of flowers and breakfast.

With the pastries, you made some pancakes. It wasn't a planned thing, but Felix was taking longer than expected to wake up. So, next to the pastries sat a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. The waiting continued.

Eventually, you heard a yawn as the bedroom door opened. Out stepped Felix, with his blonde hair in a bird's nest on his head. His eyes were hardly open, so it took him halfway to you to stop and look at everything you had set out.

"Good morning, birthday boy," You said with a smile, sitting conveniently next to all of the food set out for him. The flowers were on the other side of the display. His eyes seemed to look over everything, you included, a few times before it all registered in his sleepy brain.

Rubbing his eyes again, he looked like he had finally pieced it together. "Is all this.. for me?"

Standing up and walking over to him, you gave him a quick kiss before nodding. "That it is, sunshine. I got up a little early and picked this up. Thought you deserved to eat some sweet sunny treats and the pancakes I made when I was bored."

Felix circled an arm around your waist and began to walk over to the assortment of pastries with you in tow. "How did you even.. I won't ask. This is perfect, baby. Thank you."

"You don't have to keep thanking me, Felix," You leaned into his shoulder, "I'm just showing you how much you matter to me today."

Felix detached himself from you, walking over to the plate of pastries and picking up a croissant with a little sun shape on it. He bit into it and looked as if he could melt into the floor, turning around and looking at you dumbfounded.

"You like it?" You couldn't hold back laughter as he stared at you like you were crazy, crumbs still on his lips.

"Are you kidding me?" Felix walked over to you and handed you the croissant. "Try it."

You took a bite, tasting the chocolate filling. Maybe it was the hefty tip you left on the order, but it was perfect. The flaky pastry was buttery and delicious, and the chocolate was rich and smooth. After swallowing your bite, you nodded in agreement. "Yeah. That's actually amazing."

"Where did you get these, anyways?" Felix snatched the croissant back from you and took a bite as he awaited your answer.

"Oh, there's this cafe-bakery spot nearby I've been meaning to show you. When I figured out they would do custom decorating orders, this whole plan came together in my head and I decided to hold off on telling you until I did this."

"How could you hide something like this from me?!" Felix feigned exasperation and betrayal, "I'm heartbroken. On my birthday."

"Oh, you drama queen. Eat your pastry."

The day as a whole went great. You had far too many sunflower-themed things throughout the day that Felix was bewildered. Coming up with all of it wasn't easy, but it was turning out better than originally anticipated.

During the day, you took him to a flowery lunch with Hyunjin and Seungmin tagging along. Things went according to plan when both of your friends showed up in their sunflower outfits, much to the shock of your boyfriend. This was going on longer than he expected.

Things seemed to chill out after lunch, spending a few hours in bed watching shows and putting on a movie as you got a chance to nap after the hectic morning. It was nice to wake up on your Felix's chest as you were so used to doing in the mornings, seeing him smile down at you.

"Hi there," You said with a yawn, leaning up and giving him a kiss.

"Hey, you," Felix ran a hand through your hair, his voice warm and sweet, "You said to wake you up at six so we can get ready for dinner."

Catching up to speed on your own plans, you nodded. "Yep, I did. There's an outfit that I hid in the walk-in closet for you on my dresser, can you go put that on? I'll get mine on out here."

Felix looked at you a little surprised before grinning and nodding. "I shouldn't have expected any less after today. Alright, I'll go see what you picked out."

As he stood up and walked over to the walk-in closet, closing the door behind him, you reached under the bed. Pulling out the clothes you hid to change into, you put on your second flowery, warm-toned outfit of the day.

It only took a few minutes for Felix to join you back in the bedroom. "How do I look?" He asked, walking close and looking your outfit up and down.

You smiled and took his hand in your own. "Amazing. Just how I pictured it," You checked to make sure everything you needed was in your pockets, "Alright, you good to go?"

Felix had to grab a few belongings but you set off to the next adventure. Once getting to the parking lot, you climbed in the car. In the back was a cooler and basket with food and drinks and a picnic blanket.

You drove him out to a desolate hilltop spot with ten minutes to spare, setting up your little outdoors dinner on the blanket and Felix happily joining you. He looked out at the view, "So, what's this place for?"

"We have to watch the sunset," You answered, "So you can understand how I feel when I see you at night and before bed."

Felix was a smiling mess as he tried to eat his food, but you were entranced with the sun starting to set. The colors were like something out of a painting, vivid and clear.

Your fingers locked with his as your head rested on his shoulder. The view was stunning as the sun began to dip below the horizon, the beautiful colors being encased by the darkening sky. "I hope you get how I feel by now, Felix. You keep me going throughout the day. You're my sun."

Felix wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a tight hug. "I think I get it. And next time, I promise I'll do the same and show you how you make me feel, okay?"

"Okay," You hugged him back, basking in his warmth as the cold nighttime air settled on your skin, "Happy birthday, my love."

[mortispoxi]

I’ve always wondered why Supergiant Games made Hypnos sound like he huffs helium for fun when his twin brother doesn’t sound remotely similar. I had chalked it up as them doing it for comedic effect until recently when I began reading the Iliad and may have finally connected the dots as to why the devs did what they did.

In Book 14 when Hypnos waits for Hera to give him the signal to put Zeus to sleep, it states that he perches inside the tallest tree on Mount Ida hidden in the branches like a screeching owl— a creature that is notorious for being nocturnal and possessing a high pitched call.

Now, I have the Emily Wilson translation so I know the scene differs between translations about whether he turns into a bird, just resembles a bird while hiding, or what type of bird he’s imitating. What is clear is that in multiple translations of the Homeric text, allusions/imagery of nocturnal birds are used to describe Hypnos in this context. So my argument as to why Supergiant gave Hypnos such a distinctively shrill voice is because it could be a call back to the bird-like qualities he takes on the only time he is given a physical description in the Iliad.

Yes, this is a bit of a Pepe Silva way of justifying why Supergiant did everything in their power to make Hypnos a joke character when there’s so much untapped potential in his background, but if I really am on the right track with this line of thinking hats off to the devs because that is a very clever nod to his mythological counterpart.

[thewolvesof1998]

untitled by me (thewolvesof1998)

I wrote this years ago but I still like the imagery so hope you enjoy.

Alt text:

The first photo contains the poem in grey text on a white background:

Hands connect. Fingers thread together like a needle through two different fabrics that seem to disconnect. But we know as we sow that the mismatched patchwork quilt will keep us warm tonight. Hands disconnect. fingers untwine like fraying threads on your favourite pair of jeans. Distance stretching out across skin yearning to reconnect. But we know that by tomorrow that our quilt will not keep us warm when daylight and frostbite gnaw at our fingers.

The second photo is of a draft of the first two stanzas of the poem above, handwritten in a notebook:

Hands connect fingers thread together like a needle through two different fabrics that seem to, disconnect clash, jar but we know as we sow that the mismatch patchwork quilt will keep us warm at night

With edits that include:

move the word 'disconnect' to the line below

tricolon needs work in reference to 'disconnect, clash and jar'

an arrow to move a line up to the one above in reference to 'patchwork quilt' moving to be along side 'that the mismatch'

circled the words 'At night' with the suggested change to tonight or full stop.

At the bottom of the page is two basic drawings of hands holding and a write note that says: "I was never good at drawing hands."

tagging some people who might be interested (feel free to ignore):

@wikiangela @wildlife4life @eddiebabygirldiaz @spotsandsocks @try-set-me-on-fire @jesuisici33 @loserdiaz @bekkachaos @buddierights @malewifediaz @911-on-abc @hippolotamus @evanito @chaoticgremlinwholikescheese @spagheddiediaz @your-catfish-friend @exhuastedpigeon @911onabc @shitouttabuck @daffi-990 @disasterbuckdiaz @bigsistersyndrome @fortheloveofbuddie @steadfastsaturnsrings @mangacat201 @theotherbuckley  @hoodie-buck @eowon @rainbow-nerdss @ladydorian05 @watchyourbuck @king-buckley @buckleyobsessed @pirrusstuff @evanbegins @smilingbuckley @giddyupbuck @nmcggg @carrierofthepaperclips @jeeyuns @thosetwofirefighters @monsterrae1 @singlethread @devirnis @puppyboybuckley @diazsdimples @shortsighted-owl @ronordmann @princehattric @spaceprincessem

[chaifootsteps]

Someone pointed out that Blitzø and fizz use the exact same people pleasing mindset and even the same self deprecating phrases when talking about stolas/mammon and that is incredible to me.

Fizz doesn’t want to be discarded and wants to show that he is still good enough to be a mascot “I just need to be better” / Blitzø says ‘am I not [censor] you good enough? “I can do better!”

Fizz says “I’m fine” all the time even when he’s not /Blitzø is the exact same. “We’re fine.” But he’s not

Fizz worries about his financial security because he’s indebted to mammon and needs to keep him pleased with constant new ideas / need i say more about Blitzø and what he’s worried about? And it’s almost worse for him he has a whole family to provide for. Stolas doesn’t even say a thing about the fucking pile of gifts blitzø bought for him like a kinky Santa Claus.

Mammon turns fizz into a toy he can play with and man handle / stolas calls him a plaything and thinks he can paw at him all the time.

Both of them get panicked at the sight of their abusers temper and cling to their friends for support, both mammon and the owl use their demonic form to intimidate them when angry.

The “are you alright?” scenes from truth seekers and 0207 being very much the same in their gentle and suddenly threatening shift (saw this in a tweet way back in December)

They both make them ‘perform’ to renew their contracts either every month or every year.

The scene of blitzø shadows fanning stolas on a throne while the real Blitzø is on his knees, and the scene of fizz robots fanning mammon on his ‘throne’/web while real fizz is on his knees

The chains imagery specifically the cuffs.

Constant unwanted phone calls they have to answer

Guilt trip and luring compliments: ‘just do this one thing for me and don’t let down your poor fans! They love you!’ ‘You’re like a son to me! So talented!’ / ‘I have wanted you for so long’ ‘you were my first ever friend! Your performances on stage and in bed are breathtaking’

So that’s why it breaks my heart that fizz has an Asmodeus to help him, Blitzøs friends/family plant the seed that he’s disposable and worthless. Fuck you Loona. Why can’t we have one scene where fizz says “I was wrong, that guy is a dick and he’s using you for everything”

This, this, this, and this. If the jar looks, smells, and tastes exactly like the poison on the left, and has the same exact words on the bottle, it's probably poison.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

more limited cards for book 7??

Ortho has his Cerberus Gear card, Lilia has his Right General card, now Sebek is getting his Eternal Knight card… I’M SENSING A PATTERN HERE 🫣 Dropping every so often with book 7 updates… Plus, these appear to be linked to the player titles you can earn by owning 10 of a particular character’s cards. Ortho’s is Guardian of the Underworld (Cerberus is the guard dog of the Underworld and Lilia’s is Seeker of Cradles (referring to how he found Silver all those years back). The composition of Sebek’s Knight of Lightning invokes imagery of his UM (which we learned last update), and he appears to be wearing the armor of the night fae soldiers and is using a polearm (?), which makes me think he's going to participate in an important battle in the next update. A high definition version of the artwork shows that he seems to be wet from rain, as it’s all over his skin and weapon. You know what else???? We see half of his face... and the other half obscured by a mask... his hair is down (which is only ever down in the mornings when he has just woken up and is still in a more vulnerable kind of state). Is this symbolism for Sebek finally coming to terms with his mixed heritage 😭

Y’all think… Idia, Malleus, and Silver are also going to get limited time cards in relation to future book 7 updates and those player titles??? Ain’t no way they’d only do it for half of the relevant characters in book 7 and leave it unfinished… (Maybe TWST will even get to doing them for the full cast eventually?? Though I don’t know when they’d find the time to squeeze in releases for the rest of the boys 💦) fbdjvwjsnzkww I wonder what they’ll be???

Just to quickly speculate on Malleus, Silver, and/or Idia’s potential cards:

King of the Underworld (Idia) — Idia finally wakes tf up and gets off his ass to contribute to the rescue 😂 Perhaps he reconnects with his family to figure out the situation and goes full mad scientist/hacker mode?? Not sure what the outfit would be but I’m picturing he’s looking deranged and dressed mad cyberpunk-y.

Knight of Dreams (Silver) — This one, I think, is the most easily predicted. Many Silver cards mirror Sebek’s, and since Sebek’s card seems to feature him in the armor of the night fae, Silver’s may feature him in the armor of the Silver Owls. (Maybe Silver will even magically get his blonde hair back for the brief shot of the initial card art www) This may be tied with Silver fully accepting his royal lineage (ie his old family) while also embracing those he has sworn to protect now (his new family). It may or may not also be associated with Silver “waking” Lilia and/or the spell on him finally breaking thanks to Lilia’s true love. I would genuinely be shocked if this guess was wrong or not close—

Ruler of the Abyss (Malleus) — Two thoughts: either this kicks off the series of OB boy cards people have been speculating about for years OR this will kick off the start of the OB boys “fully realized” series, since the other OB boys have similar titles. However, it should be noted that these same titles are also very close to, if not the same as, the book titles (1-7), which may not be as triumphant in context given that they serve as the main antagonists for their respective books. So either we’re getting Malleus Full Crazy Mode or Malleus maturing a bit and finally learning to let his loved ones go. In both cases, I see him dressed up like the prince he is, looking regal and yet lonely.

Do you guys have any ideas??? (They don’t necessarily have to he for Idia, Silver, and/or Malleus! One of my friends suggested merform Jade and Floyd for potential Undersea Advisor and Undersea Marauder cards—) If you do, feel free to share them ^^

[taylor-titmouse]

Lucky Little Lunatics, R/L Monroe @petitemortality's latest erotica release, is out! Another one for the sapphics, particularly the monsterfucker sapphics. If you're into Chimera Falin, or any sort of TF, you'll be into this one! You can check out a three page sample and a full list of its contents over on the shop page.

but this is the post where i talk about the process of designing the cover. i had a lot of fun with this one (i mean, i ALWAYS do, but this one had the most ideas generated)

so let's talk about THUMBNAILS!

like i said: there were a lot! these were the notes i was given:

"moon imagery important

monster girl is a chimera incorporating wolf / stag / owl parts, big monster jaws and sharp teeth are important but otherwise the actual form she takes is open to exploration. she is Large, regardless

it's not an outright vore book but there's definitely a fairy tale style threat of gobble you up

I can give you direction on the three witches she's hunting if you want or need it, but as usual I'm not expecting anything super figurative so it's probably not That important"

so my big takeaways are: moon, obviously. A Monster, fairy tale vibe, and the three witches. already we're cooking with iconography, and the style so far with the covers has been largely silhouette. so obviously we have to do something with a big prominent moon, and obviously the title is going to go there. like that's a no brainer. if you need to have a big prominent circle, you put the title there.

i presented the first six to lee and he liked 2, 5, and 6 the most. we moved forward with 6 because the others were ultimately a little Too storybook, and it is after all a book about turning into a monster and chasing down some women you've been hanging out with, for the purpose of fucking them. taking his feedback about making the monster less specified and more oppressive, we ended up with the 8th thumbnail, which ended up being the final!

and then we went through some color variations. i work pretty much Exclusively with gradient maps these days, which make it really easy to iterate on a palette with very little additional work. lee chose the bottom left, so that's what i moved forward with!

FONTS

we tend to go through a lot when picking these. my first pass was based on the fantasy fairy tale vibe i was still operating under, which we ultimately dismissed. lee wanted something Like the first, simple, font, so i tried a bit more. the crit there was that they ended up looking too much like a bestseller, when what we wanted was something a little less top shelf and more pulpy. we ended up using the top right option, which coincidentally is the font i use for the cover of You're A Mage on Monsterfuck Mountain. apparently that font is just for monsterfuckers

and that's more or less it! there wasn't a whole lot of process between thumbnails and thumbs, just plan and execution. i think my favorite part of the cover is the little witches holding hands and running away. they charm me.

anyway you should go read the book! it's very good. it has big monster tongue stuff AND tail stuff. truly a monsterfucker's paradise

get a copy today!

[khaire-traveler]

🌠 Subtle Nyx Worship 🌌

Go star-gazing, especially out in nature where you can see the stars more clearly

Learn about the different constellations as well as any Greek myths associated with them

Pay attention to the phases of the moon; learn what their meanings are

Try veiling

Get a candle that reminds you of her (no altar needed)

Wear jewelry that reminds you of her

Wear silver jewelry

Keep a picture of her in your wallet

Have a stuffed animal horse or owl; have a stuffed animal of any nocturnal animal

Have imagery of the night sky, stars, space, horses (especially in a chariot), owls, nocturnal animals, or foggy nights around

Meditate at night; try to relax at night; sit in darkness silently for a bit

Get a telescope; use it to observe the stars

Leave a glass of water/salt water on your windowsill at night

Take a bath/shower with only the light of candles/dim lighting (SAFELY!!!!)

Support space-related organizations such as NASA

Learn more about space, stars, planets, etc.

Engage in relaxing activities or ones that you're passionate about

Have a bedtime/nighttime routine

Keep a dream journal; write down your dreams; try to interpret them

Drink black tea or coffee (or anything that relaxes you); add honey if you want

Drink red wine or red sparkling grape juice; raise a glass to her

Pick and save flowers still wet with evening dew; dry or press them; great if the colors are ones you personally associate with her

Feed neighborhood cats, dogs, birds, etc., especially at night (please make sure it's safe to leave food out in your area; do not attract predators!!!!)

Burn a relaxing incense at night; lavender, jasmine, patchouli, etc.

Write poetry about the night, stars, space, etc.; it doesn't have to explicitly name her

Try to practice meditation; practice mindfulness

Ground yourself regularly, especially at night

Make your space comfortable and relaxing for yourself; sleep with cozy blankets, decorate with dim fairy lights for nighttime, sleep with stuffed animals, etc.

Learn getting comfortable with change; go outside your comfort zone, do something spontaneous, cope with stress during an unpredictable situation, etc.

Let go of things that no longer serve you

Dance or sing at night; enjoy yourself at the end of your day

Play with pets before bed to tire them out so that they can sleep better c:

Watch movies or shows at night with loved ones; something you'd all enjoy

Light a bonfire or small fire at night; enjoy the peace of the night around you

Go camping; sleep under the stars

Keep a personal diary; write down positives and negatives; make it your own

Make a list of things you enjoyed and disliked about your day at the end of your day

Feel your feelings; cry if you need to, etc.

Practice listening and observing your surroundings/people around you; don't make yourself paranoid, just passively observe

Practice patience and compassion, especially towards yourself

Spend your evenings decompressing, whatever you need to do to unwind; drink a warm drink, eat something comforting for dinner, read a book, etc.

Try to cut down your screentime before bed

-

I'll likely add more later, but for now, this is my list of discreet ways to worship Nyx. I hope it's helpful, and take care! 💜

Link to Subtle Worship Master list