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divine-crows · 2 months ago

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Witches Compass, the Barebones Basic Guide:

What is it, Why would I use it, Is it for me?

Introduction

This is an aspect of my path that I'm currently exploring more deeply, and as I learn to navigate it and reveal more ways it's useful to me I've noticed an increasing passion towards the subject. I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but I hope I can provide a post that helps explain the concept to those who are curious.

Reccomended Sources

The Crooked Path: An Introduction to Traditional Witchcraft by Kelden

Besom, Stang, and Sword: A Guide to Traditional Witchcraft, the Six Fold Path & the Hidden Landscape by Christopher Orapello and Tara-Love Maguire

Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways by Gemma Gary

The Witch Compass by Ian Chambers

I'd like to note that of the books I don't have copies of the first three listed sources, but when I was initially on my journey I had access to them digitally and they opened my eyes to the concepts I'll be speaking on. All of my written information will be paraphrase from my grimoire as a result.

What Is The Witches Compass?

I honestly would divide it into two different answers, there's a long answer and a short answer.

Generally I'd say: The Witches Compass is a means similar to casting a circle that allows you to traverse the Hedge (perform astral work), work with spirits to perform spells, and to harness the powers of the directions to tap into your abilities.

The more 'esoteric', long answer I'd give: The Witches Compass is both a tool and a method comprised of symbolism, story telling, and allegory. These three elements allow the user to tap into their "unconcious mind" so they can better perceive the spirits and world around them. To put it short, the Compass is an inherent part of us-- seeing as it's a part of our perception --and it's up to us to use the tool as we see fit-- whatever symbols and stories we attribute to it is up to us.

How does the Compass differ from casting a Circle?

I have some Key Ideas based on observation and what I've read:

A circle intends to keep out Spirits, the Witches' Compass generally does not

A circle is intended to raise energy, The Compass generally is about focusing and maintaining energy

A circle is usually ritualistic in intent; focused on consecrating a space, a Witches' Compass isn't nessicarily ritual focused.

Similarly, a Circle usually is opened with specific steps and must be closed with a specific set of steps, the Compass (while having steps from others you may want to follow) doesn't always have to follow specific rules and has a lot less to do when closing it.

This one is a little more personal, but I generally relate the Circle to tapping into Higher Powers, and I likewise attribute the Witches' Compass to tapping into Earthly Powers (though it's not mutually exclusive).

I highly reccomend you explore both methods and try them out, Circle Casting is definitely still a very useful skill that you can use.

Why Would I Use It?

I'd highly reccomend giving it a try if you fit into the following categories:

You Like/Want to explore. . .

Hedge Work

Spirit Work

Forms of Folk Magic

Animist forms of Spirituality

Challenging yourself with differing or new concepts

Visual based workings

There's a lot of ways for you to learn to incorporate it into your beliefs. If you're concerned about wanting to adapt it into your practice and you have a baseline understanding on the subject, I highly reccomend looking at the last book in the reccomended list because it gives you a lot of exercises that will help you broaden your understanding of the Witches' Compass.

How Do I Tap Into the Compass?

These are some baseline ideas on how you might begin your journey to tapping into the Compass. These are exercises I do to help me better understand it.

Meditating on each direction was one of the first steps I ever took. I focused on sounds (both imagined and literal), visuals, and feelings as I faced each cardinal direction. I then wrote them down so I could further investigate what it means to me.

Finding out what I correspond with each direction helped me out a lot too. That can include elements, tarot card courts, colors basically anything that you place high importance on. It should be noted that in the reccomended sources they do give ideas on correspondences, but I reccomend you explore your own ideas so you can better understand it.

Creating a story for each direction is an idea I've been planning for a while. I want to basically tap into each element in a meditative state and create a short story inspired by my deities, my practice, etc. as a means to better explore how the Compass fits into my faith. You can also attribute stories already known to the Compass as well.

Tying into the previous idea, you can use stories to apply deities, archetypal figures, etc. to each cardinal direction for guidance. Be careful and mindful if you do so, that way you can be respectful with whatever you work with. As a celtic pagan, I've been finding ways that the deities I worship can represent each direction as a means to better interpret and I've found its helped me develop a better understanding and relationship with the deities I worship as a result. Of course, you don't have to incorproate deities, you can even use nameless beings if you want. What matters is you have a representation of each facet.

Practicing laying the Compass is self explanatory. I will say, there are differing methods out there and as you become comfortable you may build your own method to do it. Generally, I'd reccomend a trying a more well known method first so you can get an understanding of the symbolism, general vibe, etc. After the first couple of times if it really doesn't mesh well with you, then I'd say you can definitely explore more into what you'd like to do. You don't even have to do anything too significant either if you don't want to. Try it for simple spellwork, try it for meditative purposes, whatever you feel will ease you into it.

Try to interact with spirits of the land (if they're willing), especially since a part of the Compass is forming working relationships with the landscape around you I'd recommend it heavily. If you're like me and you can't freely or safely explore at random I recommend going places you know you're safe (even if it's as simple as your backyard!) and find a way to covertly do so. For example: instead of visibly laying a Compass and going into a clear trance-like state you can draw one out in a notebook and pretend to be writing in it while connecting with spirits.

Overall. . .

I covered some basic definitions, differences between casting a circle and using The Compass, and some ideas on how you can start your work. Now it's time for you to do some research given that you have an idea on what the Witches Compass is!

This post is merely skimming the surface and there is much more for you to uncover.

#witchblr #witchcraft #witch #witch community #witchy #traditional witchcraft #folk witchcraft #witchcraft 101 #witchy sources #witch source

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incognitopolls · 7 months ago

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Received a question "Any tips for starting up a poll blog?". The question was off anon, but for reasons related to my final point, I've chosen not to include the asker's identity.

Keep it as simple for yourself as you can. Some general things…

If you want lots of traction, avoid putting yourself in too small of a niche. If you don't care about reach and just want to post some fun polls, go as niche as you like. There just won't be as much buy-in for a blog with an extremely narrow focus like "Do you like this food from the 1870s?", but that's fine if that's what you're passionate about.

Tags are your friends and will be one of the primary ways your polls reach people until you have a large following. Tag appropriately (don't spam tags that aren't relevant), but tag liberally.

I use xkit rewritten to add all the basic tags that get added to every poll, so I only have to add content-related tags to each one as needed.

Keep extra media, links, etc to a minimum. I don't think it's generally necessary for every post to include a photo banner* or links to submit questions, etc; the more things you add to your "template," the more work you have to do for each poll, and it adds up! Also– there was a time where posts with links wouldn't show up in searches. I don't believe that's still the case, but I tend to avoid including links anyway unless they're necessary support for the topic.

*Re: photo banners/photos in general, it is a good rule of thumb to add descriptions to all images. Accessibility is important in and of itself; it also broadens your blog's reach by enabling more people to engage with your posts. To repeat the last point, the fewer images and banners you include, the less work you have to do specifically on adding descriptions.

If it ever becomes not-fun, you don't have to keep doing it.

I would only ever recommend running a poll blog to people who plan to run it from desktop. The poll editor on desktop is much, much easier to use than the mobile one.

And finally– it may not be every poll blogger's preference, but I highly recommend maintaining some level of anonymity. You don't owe anyone any details about who you are, and it helps give you some space at the end of the day to disconnect from public perception and pressure.

#not polls

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sssammich · 7 months ago

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For supercorp 💗 🥹🥹

💗 slow kiss / gentle kiss / inevitable / soft

thanks for your patience, anon! alas, i have gone overboard once more because i cannot help myself.

ask meme

---

she's been given a mandatory month off from supergirl duties. she's not sick, she hasn't solar flared, and she's not hurting for any freelance work that requires her attention. she had simply been told that she needed to take the time off and to avoid any caped hero work unless absolutely necessary.

so that's why she's here now, without superhero work for the next thirty days. free to do whatever she wants.

after the initial shock washes over her, she places her hands on her hips and nods towards alex and j'onn. she knows exactly what she wants to do with her freedom.

"okay."

"look, before you fight th--okay?" alex stares at her, wide eyes mirroring kara's. "really?"

she shrugs, already heading towards the elevator. no need to fight the inevitable. "really."

as the elevator doors close in front of her, she can't help smirking in amusement at the identical confused expressions on both of their faces.

she has one destination in mind.

she knocks on the massive wooden door, though she knows she doesn't need to. it's a formality at this point considering the unrestricted access that she's been granted to enter the top floor of this condominium highrise.

still, she waits, because the anticipation is half the fun.

her face splits into an easy smile when lena opens the door to her with her own toothy grin.

"heya," she greets, stepping foot into what she calls home: within lena's arms.

"hello to you, too," lena says, swift yet careful in wrapping kara in her arms. her hands are open as they rub circles on kara's back. kara sinks further into lena's embrace, pulling lena further into her. "how are you?"

"i'm great."

lena stares into her eyes. "yeah?"

"oh yeah. i'm on vacation." she emphatically nods.

lena beams at that. "funny you say that. me too."

she quirks a brow at that, though she shouldn't be surprised. a month vacation doesn't just fall into people's laps without explanation. "yeah?"

"oh yeah," lena mimics her.

kara, still holding lena in her arms, pulls the other woman back in, the two of them swinging in place. "what a coincidence, right?"

lena throws her head back in laughter.

they arrive in a private villa off the coast of naples.

it's a modest hillside two bedroom house that overlooks the gulf below. when the local guide roll their suitcases for them, he unknowingly wheels lena's to one room and hers to the other. she smirks and lena tips him handsomely--enough that his olive skin tinges in embarrassment at just how much is in his hands. when their eyes meet after he leaves, they break into a giggle.

because they know the truth, despite not uttering a word of it: why bother taking up more room when right by each other's side is all the space they'll want to take.

despite the destination of her luggage, her body follows after lena to the other room, the one with the better view of the water. just as well, lena's body follows after her when they busy themselves in the kitchen to make themselves a quick dinner. when they finish, they share the hammock sitting out on the back deck, lena's head on her chest and her arms around her waist, while kara's arms wind their way in holding lena against her, their limbs tangled.

when lena yawns a few too many times, they call it a night. lena leads, their hands entwined, and they end up on lena's bed, drawing back the thin covers enough to stave off the inevitable cool night air.

they walk everywhere, always touching. a hand on the arm the elbow the bicep the small of her back. an arm slung over a shoulder or hooked together.

it's when they reach a destination that kara's courage grows, that lena's bravery broadens.

when they travel to the town square market as they shop for groceries that lips find their way on one another's skin; the temple the cheek the forehead.

when they treat themselves to a picnic right by a vineyard and lena is leaning back on her between her legs, lips chance on a bare and pale shoulder.

when they lounge in the hammock and lena is resting on her chest, lips chance on collarbones and behind the ears.

when they tire themselves out from full days, fuller stomachs, and fullest hearts that they are in bed and lena is facing her and their legs are tangled with one another, lips chance on entwined hands and fingers.

each one given freely, each one received gracefully.

soon, kara thinks, this will all change. especially when they cross the final threshold between them. though that's a formality at this point, all things considered.

still, she will wait until that happens, more than happy to be exactly where she is.

thirty days is long and short and is plenty and is not enough.

on their last day while they wait for their local guide to collect them, they stand on the corner edge of the back deck, lena in her arms as they overlook the gulf for the last time.

"i don't want to go back to work," she murmurs into lena's ear. lena twists in kara's arms until they're facing one another.

"you don't have to, if you really don't want to."

"we can move into this villa. i'll learn to fish. you can sell them at the market."

lena laughs in her arms and kara holds her tighter, like trying to capture lightning in a bottle.

"you're no good as a fisherman, sweetheart."

kara pouts because it's probably true. but she'll learn for lena.

"well, next time we're on vacation, we ought to come back."

"anything you want," lena says, her eyes dipping down to where kara's lips are.

"anything?"

lena nods, assuring, her eyes darkening. kara's smile widens and she leans forward just enough, their noses brushing.

kara is ready for what's to come. she's ready for lena.

still, she waits, because the anticipation is half the fun.

#supercorp #replies #fic ask meme #lmao sorry i have more of these to go through i realize yall might be sick of them hahah #considering the last one i did i lulled you all into a false sense of security please accept this as a peace offering #even if it's mm idk it's fine #but i did try #samficlet

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talenlee · 1 month ago

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Decemberween 2024 — Youtube Academia

Hey, I’m in academia, here are some people I look to for ‘how to communicate and make a point in academia and what you can use it to do.’

First up, hand over heart, this is going to have a real sampling bias. I’m going to point to three diferent academics who make stuff in spaces I can participate in and all three of them are dudes, and white enough that my dad would mostly consider them white. He’d probably be on the fence about Daniel Immerwahr. This is a problem in academia in general and it’s a problem with me in the specific: The stuff that I’ve gotten attention to, even the stuff that is explicitly about broadening my access to and understanding of nonwhite cultures and the nonwhite parts of the world is coming to me through white guys from academia. I’m not wild about it but it’s better in my mind to acknowledge it and present the sources then pretend this isn’t where I’m coming from.

Anyway, hey, here’s an essay titled Why Hip-Hop is the Most Important Artistic Movement In Human History.

Why Hip-Hop is the Most Important Artistic Movement in Human History: A Professor Skye Video Essay

Watch this video on YouTube

I think this is a good starting point for Professor Skye’s work.

Professor Skye presents three kinds of work. One is album reviews, where he breaks down and analyses components in how albums work and what they present in their messages, in a way that explicitly is not seeking to centre his interpretation but rather academically recognise a useful generalised language bridge for people like me who use the term ‘generalised language bridge.’

Second to that there are kind of larger, high-concept comparisons, where he provides a meaningful explanation to people outside of hiphop interest as to what’s going on. This led to him going extremely viral thanks to explaining the Kendrick/Drake beef this year which, god that was a thing, wasn’t it. The third thing that Professor Skye does is historical and academic contextualisation of music media. That can be things like ‘here’s iconic stuff from the 1980s,’ and it can be ‘behold as I use Proust to discuss this album.’

In each case I think there’s a sort of meaningful value to ‘doing the readings.’ Listening to the albums he talks about or the songs he talks about as and when he starts to talk about them means that each video is a sort of expository piece to accompany the text. I watch media analysis all the time of stuff I have not and never will watch, like Victorious, but in that case, the analysis is explicitly trying to present the text so you don’t need it. That’s not what Professor Skye is doing. This is not a channel trying to convince you to enjoy a thing or to enjoy the thing without the thing. It is a textual engagement with the album, and that is a really cool thing to do. You might not even have the mental muscles practiced for that at this point.

I'm What the Culture Feeling

Watch this video on YouTube

By the way, if you listen to Skye and go ‘oh hey, this is interesting and I’d like to know more,’ here’s a video essay from FD Signifier which is long, yes, but also extraordinarily good, about the same kind of topic and coming from inside the culture. If Skye makes you think ‘hey, I could be interested in this,’ then you should probably then check out FD Signifier.

Your Grammar Is Basic Compared to Black English

Watch this video on YouTube

But hey while I’m talking about language bridges (I was, honest), what about a language expert to talk about distinct grammatical differences between English (as I am used to calling it) and Black English. Language Jones is an interesting guy with a specific skillset, which is expertise in linguistics at an academic level, specifically the way your brain picks up and relates to linguistics. When you do that, you stop having to focus on formal and proper structures and instead get a lot more inclined to seeing the way language slops into the grooves in human brains and social spaces. Sometimes that means explaining to you and me what a wug is, and that’s interesting, but I find it much more interesting when he does dives like this one.

In this video, what Jones is doing is picking apart Black English into the toolkit I have in my head for understanding proper English, with terms like subjunctive and participle, and then demonstrate that the way Black English works is entirely a coherent grammatical structure, it’s not vibes or habits or attenuating with a specific person, it’s a whole other form of English and it’s really fucking nuanced. There’s a degree of fineness in Black English that is simple absent from Proper, Formal English. Formal English that I was taught is structured such that there are a host of unintuitive, hard to maintain stiff forms for completely correct conveyance of intent (“can I” vs “may I”), while Black English instead has a coherent grammatical structure that gives more fine control for intention, tense and position and the listener is there to interpret it rather than to enforce it.

This is not totally surprising, and if you talk to uh, any Black people, you probably already know this. What this gave me is a useful toolkit for reconstructing the grammar form. Really interesting stuff!

Daniel Immerwahr How to Hide an Empire

Watch this video on YouTube

Look, I’m sure I’ve talked about Daniel Immerwahr’s work in the past. I share this video from him every time I want to get people to think about American colonialism in the ways that make them uncomfortable. It’s a good talk, it uses its time well, and it also highlights a topic and the relationship of ourselves to the way things communicate their identity through their names and symbols of themselves.

Oh and if you don’t like that, check out Daniel Immerwarh’s podcast talking about the real world histories of Dune. Talks during the pandemic were restricted, but dang some of them were on wonderfully untypical topics.

There’s more. There’s always more. Dr Kipp Davis shows up when I look for academics I follow, but his interest is in Biblical studies. He’s part of the Diablocritics, which means Dr Jennifer Bird is on there, and it’s a way I can check out her work in a way that I find very accessible and interesting, and the other members of the Diablocritics are there, too.

Still, sometimes something academic is just something interesting. I don’t think Josh Worth is a doctor or professor or something. I think technically, he’s just a designer, as in a User Experience designer, that kind of specific discipline of having a clear, meaningful purpose for a visual expression. I share to you this graph Josh Worth made of the solar system if the moon, our moon, was a single pixel.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Academia #Media

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mariacallous · 1 month ago

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The glow of the tech bros’ halo is dimming and, in 2025, the computing industry’s sheen of glamor will continue to fade too. While other STEM fields are making strides in broadening participation in their workforces, year after year, computing, a supposedly innovative field, fails to recruit, retain, and respect women and nonbinary workers. For example, precision questioning, abstraction, aggression, sexism, and a disdain for altruism—serving the social good—are a few of the core values driving culture in computing worksites. These values and the ways they are policed via bias, discrimination, and harassment in high-tech companies form the “Bro Code.”

The Bro Code perpetuates high tolerance of sexual harassment. It also contributes to the field’s failure to rectify its stark segregation. Only 21 percent of computer programming positions are held by women. Of that 21 percent, only 2 percent are African American, and only 1 percent are Latina. While sorely underrepresented in the field overall, women are disproportionately affected during industry’s downsizing. For example, nearly 70 percent of those laid off in the 2022 tech layoffs were women. This tracks with my experience in Big Tech. As soon as the company went public, stockholders demanded annual layoffs. For the first two years, the only people terminated in my department were women.

Further, due to their massive wealth and masterful branding, Bro Code bosses believe themselves to be wizards or priests. They lean into authoritarianism, prompted to repress complaints and resistance. Some programmers imitate this behavior. For example, in 2023, tech bros mobbed the Grace Hopper Celebration, the world’s largest conference for women and nonbinary tech workers. Women attendees I spoke with described men at the career expo simply barging in front of them in lines, and some said they were verbally harassed and assaulted.

In 2025, the march toward a future dictated by algorithmic lords will falter. Coalitions between feminist movements and labor activism will increase public scrutiny of tech culture. These efforts will start to crack the Bro Code. Bro Code bosses talk a big game about its socially revolutionary impact, but participants in my research felt thwarted when trying to use their technical skills to serve others. For instance, Lynn reported that the eye-tracking device she developed to help people with disabilities was repurposed for marketing analysis; Shauna’s lab mates nicknamed her “accessibility bitch” when she worked on projects to help those disenfranchised in computing.

As Big Tech continues to deliver empty promises instead of solutions to social ills—while dodging taxes, quashing regulations and fueling a yawning pay inequality gap—the public will continue to grow disenchanted with the industry. In 2025, thwarted altruistic efforts like Shauna’s and Lynn’s will accelerate growing skepticism about computing’s service to humanity.

Disenfranchised tech workers will continue to help us hold Bro Code bosses accountable for not only failing to live up to its widely publicized altruism, but also for their efforts to conceal the social harms of their products. As recent organizing activities by tech workers show, strong coalitions across workers are what scare these reigning elites the most. For example, in 2018, more than 20,000 Google employees across the globe staged a walkout against sexual harassment and systemic racism in the company. In 2025, activism against the militarization, racism, sexism and economic exploitation in the tech industry will skyrocket higher than Bro Code bosses' space jets.

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gatheredfates · 6 months ago

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Hello everyone! This is going to be a bit of a big update this weekend, and probably not the only one you'll see over the course of a few days, but it's twelve thirty in the morning and I need to sleep. I have gone insane again. ✨This is nothing new.

I think the first and most important thing I want to iterate in this update is that I have broadened the scope of who can submit and what Communities I will be accepting for the Compendium going forward. Though consent and owner-approval is still at the forefront of my mind, I have to be conscientious of my own work-load and the health of the project (but mostly the former) when it comes to sourcing Communities. To that end, I want to note the following update on the Compendium itself.

UPDATE 7/26/24: After a bit of introspection regarding my own time commitments, limitations around submissions and the Compendium in general, I have changed my stance around server/community-owner requirements in regards to categorisation and consent. While owner/moderation-approval is still at the forefront of my considerations, it is far better for my limited time (and the Compendium’s health) to operate under the assumption that a publicly accessible site/discord/carrd etc. indicates endorsement for it to feature here. To that end, I am broadening the scope of who can submit and what I include. If you know of a community, regardless of if you are the owner or moderator, I encourage you to submit it.

Or, putting it even more succinctly:

You can always submit via the attached google form, via dms or on The SEAFLOOR Discord. I've made some other changes to the Compendium, but I'll note them further down.

I'm hoping this change, while creating a larger workload for me now, will assist in cutting down my overall stressors later down the line.

But, without further adieu, the following communities have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives. ⛵

COMMUNITY FOCUSED / EVENT SPACES

Aethercon — An in-game convention for Final Fantasy XIV! Created by fans, for fans.

Where the Sun Guides — A new community of writers, artists and roleplayers interested in open-world RP in the region of Shaaloani!

Tuliyollal Community Server — A community focused on facilitating RP in the new world, with an emphasis on the cultures found there!

Xaela Community Discord — Do you like roleplaying? Do you like lizards? Do you like the Azim Steppe? Do you like roleplaying lizards on the Azim Steppe? Then look no further! ᕙ XAELA ᕗ is a Steppe RP community based in Crystal & Dynamis that has been around since Shadowbringers.

Far Eastern Festivals — A Community created around Far Eastern Festivals; events with a focus on Doma, Kugane, Yanxia and more!

Kugane Night Market — A spiritual market where the supernatural and mortal may meet for trade.

Leynode Nine — A community focused around stories and roleplay within Solution Nine.

The Fury's Hallow — Within the High House districts of Ishgard lies a respite for weary adventurers, as well as those who wish to test each other in combat. Regardless of your endeavour, may the Fury bless your every step.

Honey Bee Venues — A nightclub. A lounge. A cafe. A cabaret. Honey Bee is all of those things and more but most of all, we're roleplayers looking to meet people as much as our guests are! We pride ourselves on interaction with a policy of never letting anyone be ignored, regardless of who they are or the character they play.

The Tipping Scales — An immersive role-playing fight club on FFXIV that welcomes all levels of experience. Kick ass, take names, make allies.

Mun-Tuy Beans — A hub for Shroud RP! What began quite a while ago as a Duskwight-focused community has grown to encompass any and all creative souls who love the Shroud — for its juicy lore and picturesque settings. Our members (and others!) regularly meet at Buscarron's Druthers every Tuesday evening, and sporadically during the week!

FFXIV Writers — A place for FFXIV fanfiction writers to share their work.

Steppe Ramen — Located on Mateus in Shirogane, Ward 6, Plot 7, Steppe Ramen serves up ramen dishes that fuse Hingan and Steppe flavors.

The New Morgue — Tavern & Fight Night RP venue.

I have tried to isolate communities and events I can see are active, but I have not personally vetted each and every one. Please let me know if you run into any issues.

MISC

Aetheryte Avoidance — Are you determined to never use an aetheryte a day in your life? Are you asking yourself “No, I like my aetherytes, but how would that work?” @snow-system-wol's guide will show you how!

Halcyonalkimos' Gpose Tutorial — Written by @halcyonalkimos, this guide shows you how you can use a friend or a minion to enhance your vanilla gposing!

Teleport Fee Chart — Compiled by DocTabasco on Reddit, this spreadsheet documents all the teleportation fees in the game up to Dawntrail. (Will contain zone spoilers)

CHANGELOG

To facilitate the change with events / community servers, I have placed Free Company servers into the same category as Friends/Casual. My reasoning behind this is that Free Companies have the capacity to be much smaller / intimate than events and communities, and likely will still require consent from their owners before being displayed on the Compendium. This may change if I find something that works better.

Added clarification around personal / single-character ads; namely, while they won't be shown on the Compendium, they are likely to be posted either on the Tumblr Community or Discord.

More information has been added re. the changes to submission and acceptance. Namely that resource / server / community owners can contact me for amendments or removal. Also clarification around some public communities requiring application processes.

The submission guidelines have been changed to reflect the above updates.

The google form has been updated.

SEAFLOOR has the addition of #community-drop to allow members to submit communities as well.

Removed disclaimers around Tumblr Communities due to updates with the beta. It is now up to community leaders to ensure their join links are correct.

SEAFLOOR

We're a Tumblr Community now! For people unfamiliar with the concept of Communities, I encourage you to check out the tumblr post by staff made about them here. However, copy/pasting what I have written in the Compendium, the Community functions as so:

SEAFLOOR (A FFXIV Community) is a Tumblr community whose duel-purpose focuses on my projects — the Compendium, question drives and screenshot events — whilst also reblogging member created works, resources (including events, commissions and looking for content/roleplay/free company posts), affirmations and other xiv-related content. If you are interested in supporting my projects without the social aspect of a Discord, I highly encourage you to join the Community. Everything hosted on the Discord will be cross-posted there; you will not miss out on anything. You can find the link to join the community here.

I'm hoping the Community will function as a member-curated dash, resource hub and visual diary for my projects and member created works. There are no hard feelings if you want to leave the Discord and only join the Community. Please do what makes you comfortable!

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here or send me an ask with the relevant information!

Still To Do:

Update Compendium suitability read more (will be done by the next changelog)

Create a new advertisement / submission drive.

Think about my life (and my choices).

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #ffxiv community #final fantasy xiv roleplay #ffxiv roleplay #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea speaks #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea's community compendium

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jharu-thalren · 1 month ago

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Me:

can you list me arguments, for the validity of this conserns for Trans activism?

Chatgpt:

Here’s a list of arguments that support the validity of concerns some biological women have regarding certain aspects of trans activism. These arguments aim to articulate why these concerns might be viewed as legitimate by those raising them:

### **1. Access to Women-Only Spaces**

- **Privacy and Safety:** Women’s shelters, bathrooms, and locker rooms were established to protect biological women from male violence and provide spaces free from male presence. Allowing access based solely on gender identity may increase risks, especially if policies are exploited by bad actors.

- **Trauma Considerations:** Women who are survivors of sexual violence may feel unsafe or retraumatized by sharing intimate spaces with anyone they perceive as male-bodied, regardless of that person's gender identity.

---

### **2. Fairness in Sports**

- **Biological Advantages:** Scientific studies suggest that trans women who have gone through male puberty retain physical advantages, such as increased muscle mass, lung capacity, and bone density, even after hormone therapy. These advantages can create unfair competition in women’s sports.

- **Loss of Opportunities:** Biological women may lose scholarships, titles, or careers in sports if they compete against trans women with physical advantages.

---

### **3. Erosion of Sex-Based Language**

- **Impact on Advocacy:** Redefining terms like "woman" to include trans women may dilute the ability to address sex-specific issues, such as reproductive rights, female genital mutilation, or pay inequity, which affect biological women specifically.

- **Loss of Visibility:** Language changes, such as using “pregnant people” instead of “pregnant women,” might make biological women feel erased in discussions about their unique health and social challenges.

---

### **4. Risks of Suppressing Dissent**

- **Chilling Effect on Free Speech:** Women who raise concerns about the impact of trans activism on sex-based rights often face social ostracism, harassment, or job loss, discouraging open discussion.

- **Alienation from Feminism:** Many feminists who prioritize sex-based rights feel excluded or vilified within feminist spaces dominated by gender-identity-focused activism.

---

### **5. Safety in Shelters and Prisons**

- **Increased Vulnerability:** Cases have been documented where biological women in shelters or prisons were assaulted by trans women, especially individuals with intact male anatomy.

- **Policy Exploitation:** Open-access policies might be abused by non-trans individuals claiming a gender identity to gain access to these spaces.

---

### **6. Concerns About Medicalization**

- **Impact on Young Girls:** Some fear that gender self-identification policies may lead to young girls exploring their identity through medical transition without adequate safeguards or understanding of long-term consequences.

- **Focus on Social Factors:** Critics argue that societal pressures or trauma (e.g., discomfort with puberty or misogyny) influencing girls to identify as trans are not adequately addressed, leading to potentially irreversible medical interventions.

---

### **7. Resource Allocation**

- **Stretching Limited Resources:** In some contexts, resources originally designated for biological women, such as shelters or scholarships, are reallocated to include trans women, potentially disadvantaging biological women in need.

- **Healthcare Prioritization:** Critics worry that medical resources (e.g., funding, research) could shift focus from women’s health issues, like breast cancer or maternal mortality, to gender-related treatments.

---

### **8. Misalignment with Sex-Based Oppression**

- **Neglect of Biological Realities:** Sex-based oppression, such as violence, reproductive exploitation, or societal restrictions, is rooted in biological differences. Broadening the definition of "woman" might dilute efforts to address these specific issues.

- **Conflict of Interests:** Policies based on gender identity may unintentionally undermine protections built to combat sex-based discrimination.

---

### Supporting Examples and Evidence

1. **Documented Cases of Misuse:**

- Reports of individuals abusing gender identity policies to access women-only spaces for harmful purposes.

2. **Sports Disparities:**

- Examples of trans women outperforming cisgender women in sports due to retained physical advantages.

3. **Language Impact:**

- Controversies over terms like “pregnant people” leading to backlash from women who feel excluded from discourse.

---

### The Argument for Careful Consideration

These concerns don’t imply opposition to trans rights but highlight areas where competing interests between sex-based rights and gender identity rights arise. Validating these concerns doesn’t negate the struggles of trans individuals but instead calls for nuanced policies and discussions that respect both groups.

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gayamulet · 3 months ago

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The little candle shop down the street created a community workshop space to host literally whatever people want to offer. And I’m thinking…what if I did a figure drawing night.

Like no thoughts beyond that, I’m writing up a thing to them now, but I think first week is speed gestural drawing (30 second, 1 min, 5 min poses), if it expands beyond that then a week focused more on weight distribution/hands/feet. Not nude, underwear or clothed because I think clothed silhouettes have way more practical application and help broaden body type awareness (I think to help guide ppl away from samebody)

Regardless of figures or not I am leaning into structural drawing…my ideal would be a gestural/technical still life/object workshop. A corny draw-someone’s-dog night. Or even scene/landscape, but figure is probably the most accessible/interesting to people to start??

#Tumblr sounding board #And yeah I would just love to host a drawing night #pers

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literatureloverx · 4 months ago

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I'm not sure if you've been asked this before but why did you choose Snow White as your display name? (assuming is just a nickname like most people do in fandom spaces) Was it because of the princess or for some other reason?

Yes, dear. ♥️ I did discuss this HERE, but let me clarify it further so it’s fully settled. I’ll add this to my pinned post so anyone curious can read it. ♥️

Why Snow White? ❄️🍎

There are three main reasons, and it will be long. Enjoy.

I. Fairytales

In my early childhood, I grew up in circumstances that didn’t really allow me to explore different types of books. We lived far from any such places, and my parents weren’t particularly aware of their importance.

The only books around were my mom’s horror novels, which never interested me (understandably, as a 6-year-old, parents wouldn’t allow their children to read such material anyway, and I’m still not interested in the horror genre to this day).

The closest books that reflected my current interests in classic literature, philosophy, and psychology were the fairy tales I had access to at that time. I loved all kinds of fairy tales.

Despite some people criticizing them, I found them very helpful in teaching lessons about life—what to do and what not to do in various situations—since they often led to poor or dangerous outcomes. It was the “why’s and but’s” that intrigued me. So, I wasn’t a stranger to fairy tales from the start.

As I got older and social media began to develop (like eBooks, for example), I was able to broaden my horizons.

When I was about 11 or 12, I really got into Shakespeare.

Of course, at a certain age, I also read some cliché romance books, but they never truly satisfied me. In fact, fairy tales were far more interesting to me than those romances.

II. Disney Movies

I also grew up watching old Disney movies and other classic girls’ films like Barbie and similar, though those aren’t really worth mentioning in this context.

In my childhood, I mostly associated with Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.

I connected with Belle because she loved reading, and even though she was kind, she didn’t quite fit into the social circle she was part of. This was a struggle for me as well, since I had different interests from most other children and teenagers (literally no one read Shakespeare, and I had no idea why celebrities were supposed to be interesting).

It was frustrating until I got older and learned to blend in (I could have easily been mistaken for an INTP in the earlier stages of my childhood, to be precise).

Aurora, on the other hand, embodied my love for animals and represented femininity and gracefulness. I’ve always been a very girly girl, so she was a fitting representation of how I saw myself.

I admired how she seemed shy, introverted, and dreamy, rather than outgoing. Also, I can totally relate to the idea of sleeping through the entire plot, as I’ve always been a very sleepy person. And honestly, who wouldn’t love the idea of a man fighting a dragon for them? I know I would.

III. The Nickname

Even though I have brown hair instead of black, and rather pale skin, I’ve often been referred to as Snow White by the people around me. (I suppose it’s because of my light skin, dark hair, and the fact that I usually wear a cherry-colored lip tint?) So, it’s actually an established nickname in my private life.

One day, @yonseibananamilk approached me and asked what she should call me. I gave her two options: Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. She chose Snow White, and I accepted. ♥️

#disney #snow white #snow white and the seven dwarfs #aurora #sleeping beauty #fairytale #shakespeare

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nerditudes · 5 months ago

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PHANTOM FALLS

An AU cooked up by @sonxflight / @plxsmius and I cooked up. This post is for reference and I guess if folks want to join in they can? We don't own this concept, but here are some fun headcanons/canons for this AU. Ours has a scooch of Samurai Jack tied into it.

Stanford, Jack, Maddie, and Vlad all went to college together. Ford goes to the University of Wisconsin on a scholarship and rooms with Vlad and Jack. They're the nerds of the school, and often play Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons [with Vlad and Ford swapping DM roles].

A transfer student Ryou [aka 'Jack'] takes the last space as their roommate and joins them in being well known nerds on campus. Ryou majors in medicine while Jack, Vlad, Maddie and Ford all major in paranormal studies. Ford eventually broadens his horizon, obtaining two additional PhD degrees. He'd eventually add nine more to fill out the full twelve he'll have in his 60s.

The portal incident happens-- but Ford is inspired by the Jacks to sneak into the hospital that Vlad is being kept in-- to liberate him. He also spells out how horribly that their botched experiment could've scarred him-- making it clear to Jack that he fucked up.

In order to break in, Ford contacts his brother-- an expert at getting into places where he's not wanted. The two are extremely abrasive with each other, but Stan agrees to help out of the challenge to break into the hospital.

The group gears up, and with Stan taking the lead-- they go and break Vlad out from under government watch. Vlad was holed up by well suited agents, and told none of his friends had came to visit. He's still struggling with his identity-- and confides in Ford about his half-ghost status.

Ford agrees to help him find a cure while he goes to work on his PhD-- moving to Gravity Falls to study the paranomal and strange. He pioneers the field of cryptozoology and weirdology. Ryou moves in as his partner and he eventually brings on Fiddleford as his assistant for his experiments.

Ryou spends a lot of time away-- though Ford doesn't mind. He's met a being from another dimension-- his Muse.

Jack and Maddie settle down, but keep in contact with Vlad, Ford, and Ryou. Eventually Ford goes silent, resulting in his friends becoming concerned. When they finally manage to get to Gravity Falls, they find Stan living in Ford's place.

He claims there had been an accident, that he'd lost two fingers and a lot of his memories. Ryou recognizes Stan. But he helps the man cover for the sake of helping. He figured Stan had a good reason to pretend to be his brother-- and learns the truth of the accident.

The two of them work tirelessly for the next twenty years. During which time Jack and Maddie had children, who were teenagers by the time Mabel and Dipper came to visit their Grunkle for the summer.

Eventually Stan and Ryou-- funded by Vlad [as a silent partner] fix the portal. Thirty years have passed for Ford-- and he's not keen on seeing his brother stole his life. But it seems they have bigger worries.

Bill has spent time trying to gain access to the Ghost Zone, and thus-- the real world. His Weirdmageddon poses a far larger threat.

#;;V: PHANTOM FALLS #;;HC: ford #danny phantom crossover go brr

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chronicangel · 22 days ago

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lavender moon: Act 1 Chapter 4

Link to this fic on AO3. Words: 4038 Date posted: December 17, 2024 Summary:

The Dersite royal family are famed for their powerful magic, but Prince Dave does not have any. Prospit is an insular nation who believes magic to be inherently corrupting and wicked, and yet Princess Jade has magic flowing through her veins. When their marriage is arranged to end a centuries-long war, they have a lot to figure out.

Oops, I forgot to cross-post yesterday. Although I've been thinking about delaying cross-posting to Wednesdays anyway?

As the weeks stretch into months, Dave settles more into the castle, and the fondness its occupants have for him only grows. She’s caught him and John walking the halls together and chatting late in the evening after dinner more than once. She’s not sure she’s ever seen her brother bond with anyone like this. She allows herself to imagine what their lives would be like if instead of going to Derse after they were married, they simply stayed here. Maybe he could convince John to let her see Prospit as a whole under his protection.

It’s a pipe dream, though. The longer Dave is here, the more evident it is that they’re going to be leaving soon. He pushes to see her less and less, spending more and more time with the knights and soldiers that live on the castle grounds for training. Derse’s soldiers have magic to rely on, which she imagines must require stricter training regimens. Combine that with the fact that the majority of Prospit’s military is housed in Skaia, the capital city, half a country away where Dave does not have access to them, and it’s clear that Dave isn’t only trying to train them to his standards, but trying to get them to a level where they can train others to his standards. She supposes this in and of itself must be a compromise, staying here with her rather than riding off to Skaia to broaden his impact.

She is in the gardens with Kanaya, her fingers buried once more in the dirt, pulling the latest summer weeds away from the plants they cling to the most stubbornly. She grows several plants that serve as natural pesticides, so they don’t deal with the grubs and other insects that her books talk about watching for signs of, but she hasn’t yet found any way to keep the plants trying to encroach on her garden’s abundant space and resources away. It’s frustrating because it eats up the time that she could be spending poring over medical textbooks to find what’s ailing her father. The physicians have been visiting less frequently since Dave has been staying with them, most likely part of the conspiracy to conceal the illness from him, but it means that she has even less information to work with than she already did.

She wipes at sweat starting to bead on her forehead and feels dirt smudge from her fingers to her skin. It’s the peak of summer now, and though it’s not as hot this far north as it is in the rest of the country, Prospit’s climate borders on subtropical. There’s a dampness in the air that practically clings to her skin, only wicked away by the cool fabric of her preferred gardening clothes. With Dave staying in the castle, she’s been stuffed into nicer dresses most days, but those dresses are hot. The outfit that she wears now is simple, leaving her in only three layers counting her chemise, all of them made of breezier cotton and linen fabrics that give her skin more room to breathe and cool off. She thinks again that anyone who looked at her like this would be forgiven for not immediately recognizing her as the princess.

A shout echoes off the stone walls of the castle, less words and more like a loud grunt of pain. Jade can’t help but look up, and she notices Kanaya pause where she’s standing a few feet away watering big, bright flowers to look toward the noise, too. There’s another sound, like two objects clanking together, and then the quiet, serene atmosphere of the garden is gone, occupied instead with yells, grunts, and clacking. She supposes the knights must have started training for the day, most likely on the grounds past the little stone wall surrounding the garden. “What do you suppose it is they do all day?” she asks, and Kanaya shrugs.

“Training, I guess,” she says eventually, and Jade can’t help but roll her eyes. Yes, obviously they’re training, but training what? What could they possibly need to drill day in and day out when they’re supposed to be ending the war?

Jade shores up her resolve and straightens, wiping her hands on her skirt. It’s brown anyway, so she doesn’t think the dirt smudges show as much on this compared to her green ones. “I’m going to go see what they’re up to,” she declares, and Kanaya watches her for a moment like she’s debating whether or not she should intervene before she shrugs again and returns to watering the plants. Kanaya is nosy at the best of times, but Jade guesses that her avoidance of Dave, which has outlasted any of the castle’s other occupants, must outweigh that. She makes a mental note to ask her about it later.

The air inside of the castle as she walks through the corridors to get to the other side of the grounds is cool, and by the time she gets back outside, she doesn’t feel hot at all anymore. It’s inconvenient, because she would love an excuse for the flush to her cheeks as she finds a dozen soldiers all divided into pairs, shirtless in the broad daylight and covered in sweat as they seem to spar with each other with wooden swords like children might use.

Her eyes scan over the crowd, knights, squires, and pages, until they land on Dave sparring with Karkat. His body is covered in scars of varying sizes and colors alongside some fresh bruises on his chest and arms. His skin is glistening with sweat, but more than that, he’s so pale that he almost seems to be glowing under the Prospitian sun. Jade can see a tinge of red on his shoulders and back that paints a clear picture of him out here like this for hours each day. The thought brings a flush to her cheeks, but she can’t bring herself to tear her eyes away from him, transfixed by the serious expression on his face. She sees what the servants were saying about the complete shift in personality.

“Sir, I’d like to request a break,” one of the pages says. She recognizes him as Tavros Nitram, the newest recruit sponsored by the Serket family.

“Do you think there are going to be breaks at war, Nitram?” Dave says, not necessarily scolding but certainly stern. “It hasn’t even been an hour yet. Remember, next week we’re doing all of this in armor.”

Karkat seems to spot her at this point, and he gestures to catch Dave’s attention before nodding in her direction. Dave looks at her, and he doesn’t smile at her, but she swears she can see some sort of softening in his features. She holds her head up high to mask her embarrassment at the whole scene as she approaches them, and it has the side benefit of meaning she isn’t completely eye level with his chest when she finally reaches him. “You’re very impressive. It seems that Sir Vantas got a few hits on you, though,” she says, and she grins at the face Karkat makes at the formal title.

He’d been brought to the castle when they were both children, and Kanaya’s mother advocated for him to be a page. She had spun some story about finding him at the border of Beforus, which was under revolution at the time. He couldn’t have been older than five or six. Jade wasn’t supposed to be listening in, but her grandfather, who usually occupied her time, had only died a few months before. Her father didn’t seem keen on letting such a small child train to join the military, and Jade, desperate for a friend, had burst into the room to advocate for him. With an amused smile, the king said that someone should really keep a better eye on her, and Karkat was assigned as her personal guard and attendant. He worked diligently to rise through the ranks and become a proper knight, and as much as it hurt to watch someone so important to her grow so far away as he became more important, she can’t help but support him anyway. The only thing he’s ever wanted to be was a leader. He’s pointedly clung to his role since the day he got it, all but forcing everyone to call him by his proper title—everyone except for Jade.

She wonders what the story behind Dave’s knighthood is. She knows that it is common for princes to fight alongside their armies, to train with the knights and the soldiers so they can ride into battle, but she doesn’t think it is necessarily common practice for them to truly become knights. Was this his consolation prize for being removed from the line of succession, or is this simply the only use his family could find for him? Distaste swirls in her gut.

“He’s a good soldier,” Dave replies, snapping her out of her thoughts. Karkat scowls for reasons Jade can’t possibly determine and walks away from the both of them. He joins the rest of the knights with a sword still in hand, apparently ready to start another spar.

“One of the best. He’s been my personal guard for as long as I can remember. I’m going to miss him when we leave. I wish we could bring him.”

Dave’s lips quirk at the corner, which makes her heart flutter nearly as much as his bare chest did. He is never very expressive, which means that her eyes catch on every small change to his face. He only ever seems to smile like this, as much as it can be called a smile, for her. “Vantas is a good soldier,” he repeats, and his voice almost sounds like he’s bargaining. “I’m sure he would be a strong addition to Derse’s army. I’ll make a case for him to come with us.”

It strikes her suddenly how much she would like to kiss him. She even finds herself staring at his mouth for a moment before she internally berates herself for it and almost misses when he half-turns to face the rest of the soldiers and holds his wooden sword up. Everyone drops their swords to their sides obediently and turns to look at him for orders, and her cheeks flush again. He commands so much respect.

“Nitram, you’ve got your break,” he says. “Everyone go cool off. Drink some water, get out of the sun. Be back here in ten minutes.” As the knights shuffle inside, he turns back to her, taking her hands in his and sending her heart into her throat. She should have washed them. He doesn’t seem to notice the dirt. “I don’t have much time to talk. Was there something that you needed?”

She doesn’t want to admit that she had just missed him and gotten curious about what he was doing. Instead, she says, “Kanaya and I were in the gardens when we heard the training start up. I figure if I’m going to be married to the commander of an army then I should know what it is he gets up to all day.”

He chuckles and brings one of his hands up to rub his thumb against the dirt smudge on her forehead, just like he had weeks ago. “I see that.” Her cheeks flush.

“Will you have time this evening?” she asks before she can stop herself. “If you’re not exhausted from training,” she adds, trying to offer him an out.

He seems to consider this for a moment, and then pulls his hands back to himself, one coming up to rub against the back of his neck. “I could probably end training a little early to see you before dinner. I’ll need to wash up first, so we might not have very long. Could I meet you in the gardens around sunset?”

The thought of Dave bathing makes her cheeks flush and she can only hope that the tinge doesn’t show enough through her brown skin for him to see it. Thoughts of bare skin and dirty water flash through her mind before she can banish them. She nods rather than answering him verbally, and after only a moment of hesitation, practically peels herself away from him.

Kanaya has finished up everything in the gardens before she gets back, so Jade takes the opportunity to sink into her own bath and scrub the dirt and sweat off of her skin and out of her hair. She doesn’t ask the servants to help her with this, though it increases the amount of time she has to spend washing her hair at least threefold. Flower petals drift along the surface of the bath water as she lathers soap infused with lavender and sage from her garden into her scalp. It takes two hours to fully lather soap into all of her curls, carefully wash it out, and brush them until they’re neatly separated with no tangles in sight, and another for them to dry.

She spends the rest of the hours before Dave will be free in the library, devouring one of the medical textbooks they had acquired in the village. The section she’s in is about pregnancy, and she cannot help but think of the future of their marriage. What will they do if their child is a mage? She wonders if she should tell Dave. She knows that he does not carry the same prejudices that the people she’s been surrounded by her whole life do, but the idea of anyone finding out has such an ingrained panic response conditioned into her that even considering telling him makes her stomach twist into knots. She turns past the chapter into the next section, which is about cancers.

When the peek of sky visible through the windows is more orange than blue, she strolls out to the gardens to find Dave already sitting there. He’s dressed in casual clothes rather than the formal attire or armor she’s used to seeing him wearing around the castle, and his hair is still dripping wet. She wants to reach out and touch it, but keeps her fingers firmly locked together in front of her, instead just smiling warmly to greet him. “Good evening, princess,” he says, and there’s that familiar twist in the pit of her stomach again.

“You can call me Jade.” She tries not to sound too hopeful, and he seems taken aback for a moment before he smiles and offers her his arm. She laces hers through it and follows him as he starts to lead her through her own gardens. He smells like soap, without any of the fancy infusions hers has.

“In a month we’ll be married. I’ve been thinking about it,” he says suddenly, and her heart lurches in her chest as she’s struck by anxiety that he’s going to tell her that he’s decided to call the whole thing off. He seems to sense her swelling panic, because he stops them and turns to her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Relax.” She lets out a breath. “I’ve enjoyed what little time we’ve been able to spend together,” he starts, and she ignores the little thrill that runs through her before he adds, “I won’t be able to spend so much time with you when we’re living in Derse.”

This makes logical sense to her. Even the past couple of weeks she’s barely seen him, and he’s not even responsible for the Prospitian army. There are perhaps a dozen men answering to him here, and if he trains a small group that he holds so little responsibility for so strictly, it must be even worse at home. She should be thrilled. She’ll have more time to devote to her studies, won’t have a husband pressuring her for children. So why does it feel like such a heavy weight has just been placed around her neck?

“My father sends me away often,” he says, and he tilts his head up to look at something in the space above her head. Maybe he’s just trying not to look at her. She furrows her brows as he continues, “There’s nearly always some sort of conflict somewhere, and sending in the army either sends the message to de-escalate or stops the situation before it has the chance to evolve into a problem.”

Her mind is spinning at this information. She’s familiar with Derse’s military demonstrations at the border, but she’d figured it was a part of their extended conflict. With the war between Prospit and Derse coming to an end with their marriage, won’t he have more free time than ever? She asks him as much, and the smile he sends her is different from his usual smiles. It makes something cold ball up in the pit of her stomach.

“Prospit is hardly Derse’s only enemy,” he says. Then, with a speculative tone, he adds, “If anything, my father might view this as an opportunity to move the soldiers stationed at the border to make moves against some of our other enemies.” Her chest tightens, and it’s not helped by him bringing a hand up to cup her cheek, a touch she can’t stop herself from leaning into. “I’m rarely home at the palace. I just don’t want you to be lonely.”

“I’m used to it,” she dismisses immediately. She sees his eyebrows knit together and explains, “My father and John think they can lock me in a tower like a damsel in a fairytale and keep me safe from all harm.”

“I’ve noticed that,” he says, and she tries to ignore the bitter feeling that rises up in her gut. Her father and brother have spent her entire life treating her like a damsel in distress, and now they’re going to corrupt the one person who can finally get her away from that pressure. “Why do they think you need so much protecting in the first place?”

She hesitates a moment and pulls away from him, turning to look at a nearby bush of white roses so she doesn’t have to look at him. “Our mother got sick when she was pregnant with me. They thought it was just a difficult pregnancy, but she was so small, and then I was born so early and mother…” she trails off, shuddering, as she thinks about it. As much as Grandpa always assured her it wasn’t her fault, she can’t help but blame herself for her mother’s death. “The isolation started as a matter of safety. I was small and sickly. I struggled to breathe. If I was ever exposed to anyone who had even been near someone who was sick, I’d catch something, and then I’d be stuck in bed for weeks. I almost died several times. I suppose that they just didn’t trust it when I finally started to get better.”

She can feel herself shaking. The air in the garden has cooled off since high noon when she’d first been outside, but it’s still warm and damp. The temperature is no excuse. “You seem cold,” Dave says anyway, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t we go inside?”

She nods wordlessly, and when she grabs one of his hands, he doesn’t make any move to pull away from her. She wants to retreat to her bedroom and hide in there for the rest of the night until all of the guilt and shame and bitterness goes away. It would be improper to bring him there with her, though, and she doesn’t want to leave his side yet. She leads him to the library instead, the large wing being perhaps as far away from anyone else in the castle as she can get sans the privacy of her bedroom. They sit on a long couch at the back of the room, leaving an empty seat between them.

They’re silent for a long time, and her mind races as she tries to think of something to say, something that she can ask him so he’ll just talk to her.

“My mother is still alive, but sometimes it feels like a part of her has died, in a way,” he confesses somewhat abruptly before she comes up with anything, and she stares at him. “Our parents weren’t especially close even when Rose and I were kids. It always kinda seemed like they were… friends, maybe? But they just kept growing apart. He barely even looks at her anymore, and she just drinks and wanders mindlessly around the halls in the palace.”

She moves a hand to rest on his knee while she tries to think of something to say, and he gives her a sad smile. Maybe mother-related trauma isn’t the most appropriate thing for them to bond over, but she hates the thought that he might feel how she feels about her mother for even a moment when his is still alive. She hates that his family seems so cold. The way that his father had looked at him during that meeting made her want to run away and hide, and she can’t imagine how it must have felt for him. She wants to kiss him again.

“I’m sure that she must love you very much.” She had hoped it would be comforting, but his face visibly tightens. Swallowing, she tears her eyes away from him and stares at the portrait of her mother hanging over the doors. “I think she must hate me, wherever she is.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she thinks she sees his eyes widen a bit. Then his face settles back into something more neutral and he looks over at the painting, too. “Was that her?” Jade nods once, her grip on his knee tightening a little bit. “You look just like her,” he says, voice so soft she almost wonders if she was meant to hear it.

“People tell me that a lot.” She can’t keep looking at the portrait, so she stares down at her hands folded together in her lap. She takes in a shaky breath and then says, “I wish I had gotten the opportunity to know her. I wish the stories people told me meant anything to me. I wish… I wish I hadn’t killed her.”

There’s a dragging moment of silence. Then, he murmurs, “There was a rumor in Derse, once.” When she looks up at him he’s still staring at the painting. “Nobody had ever seen the Prospitian princess before. People started to whisper to each other that she was dead, that Prospit was lying about there being a princess at all. It was all a ruse to move into that castle, so close to the border. They wanted to keep an eye on us, that was all.”

She feels sick again. “Did you believe it?”

When he looks at her, his smile is sad. “No. Not for a moment. I know what it’s like to be hidden by your family.”

She wants to ask him whether people still believe the rumor. It seems like the sort of thing that could be important, if they’re supposed to be marrying each other and people think she’s a fake. Then again, what difference would it make? The war would still be over, and she would still be Dave’s wife, and he would still never be king. Then, she wants to kiss him. This moment feels so intimate. It would be the perfect time. Maybe their only opportunity.

Instead, she reaches over to pull his head down into her lap and buries her fingers in his hair. It’s something her grandfather used to do when she was little, hold her head in his lap and brush his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. It’s not a kiss, but she hopes that it’s comforting. She hopes that he can hear her thanking him for listening to her without her saying it out loud, that he can feel how grateful she is that he was vulnerable with her. Eventually, she thinks he must fall asleep like that, and when Kanaya comes to tell them it’s time for dinner, she sends her away without a word.

#Darla writes #Homestuck #Jade Harley #Dave Strider #DaveJade #Karkat Vantas #Tavros Nitram #Kingdomstuck #Fantasy #Arranged Marriage #Slow Burn #lavender moon

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