#crocus city all

[ivovynckier]

Which gun do you prefer: ISIS' green camouflage Kalashnikovs or Donald Trump Jr.'s customized assault weapon?

[spirit-of-the-hollow]

I want it to be on this blog somewhere

TW: death, terrorism

Moscow is mourning today. This night, more than 60 lives were taken by camouflaged men in Crocus City Hall. 3 of them are children. There are more than 120 people hospitalised. More can die. All of them were innocent civillians.

Moscow is mourning today. All public events are cancelled, if not in mourning, then for safety reasons. Universities and schools have cancelled classes.

Sources differ, but it is generally accepted that about 20 armed men in camouflage went into the building, killed all security, and started firing towards people. There was also a concert going on, which meant there were more people around than usual. The terrorists later set fire to the mall.

The top floor has collapsed due to fire.

Moscow is mourning today, and I am too.

[sovamurka]

I need to say one more thing. During the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack a 15 year old named Islam saved over 100 people by guiding them towards emergency and staff exits. No wonder he's already considered a hero among people. Because he is!

[consistencynevermether]

Spring Flowers (Vere x gn!reader) (Touchstarved)

content: this is technically a sequel to this post, but it can be read as a stand alone. Vere x reader, gender neutral reader, tried to write this so any origin will work, Jealous Vere, SFW, cannon typical swearing, violence, etc

(optional) part one: Winter Nights, here

summary: Vere wants to go watch the flowers bloom, and you help him out (its lightly implied Leander has a crush on MC)

word count: 3.7k

A/N: i've decided to make a series out of my first fic, each one coordinating with a different season. this is technically part 2, works as a standalone. i've also been considering maybe some Kuras writings, if anyone is interested in that, lmk! enjoy :)

The winter in Eridia was especially long this season. That's what Mhin had told you at least. Not that they minded apparently. They had no strong dislike towards the colder months, unlike Vere. You didn’t go a single day without him complaining about the weather. But finally spring had begun to take over the city. While you were walking back to your lodgings in the Wet Wick sometime earlier this month, you had even seen crocus flowers popping up early, with a light dusting of snow on their purple petals. You imagined the melting ice and sunny days would put Vere in a better mood. And they did, for a time.

One lovely day he came to the Wick in a foul mood, and as he walked past your table he oh so very rudely shut the book you were reading while he walked past. You let out an offended cry but he didn’t even stop to look at you, he simply stomped right past and sat down at the bar, ordering something strong

Rude. More rude than normal. Usually when Vere did something like that, it was to tease or get your attention. But this time he just wanted to spread his sour mood. And it was working. The book you were reading was a tome of very basic yet interesting spells, something “almost anyone could master” according to Leander, the person who lent you the book. And now your place was lost because Vere made his attitude everyone’s problem.

Luckily, you were more mature than him. And deep down you also knew better. Vere was a fickle beast, but usually his reasons for being genuinely upset were pretty valid. 

You sighed, tucked your book away in your bag, and headed over to the bar where he was sitting. Without a word you sat in the seat next to his and turned towards him, arms crossed.

Vere was already slouched over the bar, scowling into his drink. 

“Oh for the love of- what do you want?” He groaned. 

“That wasn’t very nice.” You counter dryly. 

Vere scoffed, throwing his hands over his head. 

“It’s a damn book! It is not that big of a deal. You're really upset over that? What, do you have to spend two seconds of your day looking at something other than Leander’s book? Oh what a terrible fate.” He spat, his mocking tone rising in pitch at his clear annoyance. 

Bad mood indeed.

“I’m not really upset, no.” Your even tone only makes Veres' little rant sound even more immature. “But that was rude, and it’s not my job to put up with your pettiness when you're upset. It makes me not want to be around you.”

You watched as Veres' eyes narrowed and his ears slightly flatten against his head in response.

Usually you wouldn’t let anyone get away with half the shit Vere got away with, but you were basically his only friend besides Ace. And that relationship was all kinds of complicated. Vere was great at charming people, making them fall for him, manipulating them, the whole nine yards. But he wasn’t great at keeping actual friends. It was a bit of a new concept to him, and because of that you gave him some leeway. 

Of course part of the reason you gave him that grace was because he puts up with a fair amount of your shit too. And you enjoy being friends with him of course, but you’d never tell him that. 

You continued to stare him down and he continued to glare at his drink until finally he mumbled something under his breath at you.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” You questioned.

“I SAID I’m sorry I touched your precious book ok?!” Vere snapped back. 

Vere was no longer hunched over the bar but instead had laid his head down on the counter and was glaring up at you through strands of his scarlet hair.

You smirked and laid your head down on the bar as well, now eye level with him. He rolled his eyes, but there was a slight smile behind the snark. You could tell.

“So, why are you actually upset?” you question. 

Vere let out a long suffering sigh.

“Ugh. It’s something entirely stupid. I don’t even really care.” He responded. 

“Well that’s clearly not true, you obviously care.” You countered. “But that’s fine. It’s alright to be upset over shit that doesn’t really matter. Just yesterday I dropped my slice of cheesecake and declared the Gods hated me personally. Well, even more than they clearly already do.” As you state that last part you hold up your bandaged hands, accentuating your point. 

Vere let out a quiet chuckle. Then a few moments later he sighed and began to speak. 

“There’s this festival happening that the sinobium is hosting. A viewing of some flowering trees that’ll be in full bloom. I don’t even care about the damn things, but it’s a huge social event, and you know how I thrive on those.”

It was true. Vere was like a flame to moths. People swarmed towards his charismatic personality and sharp wit. Not to mention he was probably the most beautiful person to exist. (Not that you were biased in this opinion at all).

“So why aren’t you going?” You questioned, urging him to continue. 

Vere shrugged. “No monsters allowed.” 

You were disappointed, but not surprised. This type of event definitely sounded like a gathering for the people of high town, and people like that don’t enjoy rubbing shoulders with monsters. Only the richest people in the largest city still standing had the luxury of creating a whole event out of watching flowering trees bloom. You could definitely see how this event would be right up Veres' alley. You couldn't help but feel sorry for the fox devil sitting next to you, it wasn't fair he had to miss out on some boring stupid garden party because he was a monster. He should miss out on the boring stupid garden party because he's a menace and a psychopath. 

Still, he was your menace, and you wanted to make him feel better about missing out on the stupid fruffy party. 

Then a thought came to you.

You didn’t need to comfort him for missing the party if he didn’t miss the party. 

Vere stared at you in tired amusement. He knew you well enough to know you were going to do or say something stupid, by the look on your face. He just didn’t know what yet. 

“I have a plan.” You declare. 

“Of course you do.” He took another sip of his drink, waiting for you to continue.

“Well-“ you reopen your tome as you speak. “I just happened to be reading a disguise spell before you so rudely interrupted.”

“Mhm. And can you cast said spell?” He questioned lazily. 

“Well-

-We can certainly try right? I’m sure I’ll pick it up naturally.”

“If you turn my hair green, I will kill you. I hope you know this.” Vere responded, sounding very serious.

You knew he wouldn’t, he lost interest in killing you after the first month.

Probably.

Well, you wouldn't know unless you tried. Plus you actually needed some practice to get this right. Not that you would ever use any of your friends as test subjects (or at least ever admit to it).

You didnt turn Vere’s hair green. You did however turn it purple twice by accident. You two had spent the rest of the day trying to make vere look human. It was admittedly a lot less trial and error and more just-

Error. 

It was a lot more frustrating for you than you'd assumed it would be. Which meant Vere had a lot more fun than he expected. But by the time sunset had come around, you had done it.

His scarlet hair was now a deep brown, and his magenta eyes were now a light chestnut color. The markings on his face were gone, as were his claws. The most shocking change of course was the lack of his fox ears and tail. They were still actually there of course, just invisible. After all it was a simple illusion spell, not the kind of magic that could actually change a person. 

It was…strange. You had never really thought of what Vere would ever look like as a human. His face was the same, but something about him felt like it was missing. Or incomplete. It was hard to describe the slight uncanny feeling you felt looking at this version of him.

A snap brought you out of your thoughts. 

“Hello? Still in there? You've been staring for like two minutes” Vere questioned.

“It's weird.” you defended.

“What? Why? What did you do to me?” Vere snapped as he grabbed a small silver mirror out of his pocket.

You watched as Veres eyebrows shot up at the sight of himself. He examined his reflection for a few more seconds, gingerly feeling where his ears were, and looking at the illusionary human ears that now graced the side of his head.

“That's….impressive” he finally stated. “I really look human.”  

“Which means you can go to the boring flower party!” You exclaimed, clearly delighted with your work. Oh yea, you were an incredible friend. 

“Well,-“ Vere pursed his lips. “-what if something happens to disturb the illusion? This kind of magic is easy to break. If only someone would come with me and make sure to be there so if the illusion breaks, they could recast it.” 

You felt yourself deflate slightly. A whole day of sitting around watching flowers bloom? When you could be working and making money? You hadn’t wasted time like that since before you moved to Eridia. 

But it was Vere. If he wanted you to go, you would go. And he already knew it, judging by the smirk on his face. 

You sighed, defeated.

“Fine, let’s go to the party where we all sit around and look at trees. How fun. When is it?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Fuck.”

Vere simply chuckled before looking back down at the mirror, examining his new human appearance. You could also feel him occasionally glance over at you. 

Hmph. Probably shocked you could pull off the spell. Oh he of little faith. 

Just as you were about to flick a peanut at Vere just to be annoying, a drink slid right in front of you, prompting you to look up.

You were greeted with a pair of green eyes and a wide smile. Leander. 

“You looked like you needed a drink. Make a new friend?” He questioned, eyes narrowing. 

“Huh?” You questioned. What new friend was he talking about?

Leander gestured to the now brown haired Vere, who was still looking down at his reflection.

At that moment Vere decided to stop preening and instead hopped off his own barstool, moving behind yours and resting his chin on your shoulder.

“Awe, can the great mage really be fooled so easily? Either they're better at this than I thought, or just as dense as I suspected.”

Leander’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Vere?!?”

Leander’s look of bewilderment quickly turned into realization as he looked back at you. 

“Hey, you figured out that illusion spell from the book! Aren’t you a little prodigy?” He beamed. 

“Hmm. Yes, they are.” Vere smiled, putting his hands around your shoulders.

 Though his fangs were hidden behind your illusion, it was clear he didn’t need them. There was something dangerous about that smile, like the edge of a knife. You had no idea why he had gotten so hostile all of the sudden, and how Leander was keeping such a carefree look on his face.

“Now, they're taking me to the flower festival tomorrow with this lovely disguise, and I refuse to be seen with someone who smells this bad. So how about you head up to your room and hit the showers?”

As soon as Vere finished his sentence you saw a slight twitch in Leanders eye. But you were too busy with the smell comment from Vere to really care. 

To make his point Vere twirled a lock of your hair in his fingers and lightly sniffed it. 

Fucking rude. You didn’t smell that bad! Right? Maybe you should use more shampoo though… after all you don’t need to be so conservative with your products after Vere had gifted you quite a few of his own. Or maybe this was a bit of revenge for that time you had said he smelt like a wild animal? It had been a while since that night, but you did know Vere was one to hold a grudge. 

You lightly shoved him off you and headed upstairs (yes, to take a bath). 

Leaving the boys to glare at each other or whatever they were doing, you headed up and headed to bed. 

The next day, you were up bright and early to accompany Vere to his little party.

And unfortunately, as much as you loathe to admit it, the flowers took away your breath the moment you walked in.

The tiny pink blossoms softly shed their petals, coating the ground in a pale pink haze and leaving a sweet scent in the air.

Speaking of scent, you had made 100% sure you smelt incredible for this damn event. Suck it Fox boy. 

Vere scoped out a spot and called you over, motioning you to set down the outdoor blanket you had brought under one of the trees. 

“I’ll be right back, I’m going to buy some flower oils.” Vere beamed, clearly very pleased that his human disguise was holding up so well, and he had successfully fooled the sinobium. 

You signed and waved him off, plopping down on the blanket you had just laid out. 

As Veres' form receded into the crowd of people, a tall white silhouette appeared to your left.

You gave an easy smile. It was always nice to see Kuras. 

He gave you his own small smile, and you gestured for him to sit.

Vere may have issues with Kuras, but the two of you were perfectly cordial, and you’d even consider the two of you friends.

“So, you decided to go with Vere and not Leander. That’s certainly interesting.” He stated.

You tilted your head to the side in confusion. Why would you be here with Leander?

Kuras seemed to see your confusion, and you watched a familiar mischievous glint appear in his eyes.

“Oh, maybe he didn’t get the chance to ask. How peculiar. Leander was planning to ask you to see this blossom viewing with him.” Kuras stated, calm as ever.

You knew what you wanted to ask. And clearly Kuras also knew what you wanted to ask. But he was being mischievous. And you were being stubborn.

“Well I best be going. I only stopped by for a second, but I need to get back to my clinic.” Kuras stated as he stood up and lightly brushed himself off, looking immaculate as ever. 

He took a step to leave, then looked back at you.

“Yes. Vere knew.” 

And with that, he strode off into the crowd, sparing you from the embarrassment of him seeing your reddening cheeks. 

You were so focused on figuring out if that meant anything, you hadn’t even noticed that for some reason, Kuras had immediately recognized Vere, regardless of the illusion over him. 

You were so absorbed in your own thoughts, you didn’t even notice Vere had returned until he plopped his head right in your lap.

He gave a sniff and his eyes darkened.

“You smell like the doctor.” He spat.

You just shrugged.

“He stopped by for two seconds to say hi.” 

Vere snarled in response, and you couldn’t help but snort at his unfiltered displeasure. 

You began to gently stroke his ears, his real ears, invisible to sight currently, but you knew where they were without sight. 

Ever since he allowed you to touch his fluffy ears, it was one of your favorite things to do whenever he crashed at your place. 

He huffed in displeasure, but almost immediately leaned into your touch, his eyes fluttering closed in contentment as you gently traced your fingers along the back of his ears. He burrowed his head more into your thigh, and wrapped one of his arms around your back. 

“What did he say?” Vere questioned, his eyes still mostly closed. 

Clearly he was trying very hard not to drift off. 

“He just said hi.” You fibbed.

You didn’t know how to bring up what Kuras had told you about, doing so would imply you thought Vere didn’t want you to come here with Leander. Which opens a whole new can of worms.

Seeing that that was all you were going to tell him, he pushed himself up off your lap and leaned back against the tree, scowling. He knew that wasn’t the truth. But it seemed like he didn’t feel like prying either. 

Before you could say anything to cheer him up, he grabbed a bottle from his sack of purchases and took a long swig. It was strong alcohol, you could smell it from here. 

“Do me a favor,” he seethed, glaring at you through his bangs. “Don’t talk to me. I don’t want my flower viewing ruined by you.” 

You could only sigh. If you were going to be friends with Vere, you needed thick skin. Luckily, you had dealt with him enough to expect this. He knew you were omitting some information, and was pouting.

You did feel a little guilty, he wouldn’t be moody if you didn’t hide things from him. But at the end of the day, you were entitled to private conversation with whomever you choose. Vere knew this, which was probably why he resorted to pouting instead of interrogating you for information.

You simply gave him a smile and made the motion of locking your lips shut with a key. 

Vere rolled his eyes and took another heavy swig. Though you could see the sulky look on his face after just a few more sips. He always wore his emotions more plainly when drunk. 

The two of you sat in silence, both enjoying the flowers. It was around sunset when Vere finally seemed to be over being upset with you.

Or he was too drunk to remember. 

He leaned against you, clearly unsteady from all the alcohol.

“Hey.” He slurred.

“Hey.” You responded. 

“Do-

-Do you like me like this?” He questioned. 

“What, absolutely wasted? I mean it is a little funny.” You smirked, and moved so that he could lean against your chest more fully. 

“Ugh. No. I mean human. Still beautiful, obviously, but with brown hair. Like Leanders. No fangs. No claws.”

His voice was slightly muffled as he spoke. 

“Can I be honest with you?” You asked.

“One second.” He responded.

He grabbed one of the bottles of alcohol and chugged the remains. That makes 3 bottles in under one day of some strong drink. Impressive and concerning. 

“Alright, shoot.” He grinned wildly, chuckling low to himself, Gesturing at you to continue. 

“Fuck no.” 

“What?” 

He removed his head from your chest, and leaned back on his arms, looking at you intently, the bewilderment clear on his face.

“You asked if I liked you better looking like this, the answer is fuck no I don’t. If I’m being honest it's a little unnerving. When you walked over earlier I didn’t even subconsciously realize it was you till you laid down on my leg.” You shrugged. 

“Even though my eyes are scary?” He asked.

You let out a bark of laughter.

“Your eyes are not scary.” 

“Even though my hair is blood red?”

“Why would that be a bad thing? It’s beautiful.” 

“Even though I've scratched before?”

“It didn’t even draw blood. And that was my fault. I forgot you had claws and basically rammed my shoulder into them.” 

“Even though I’ve got markings all over my face?” 

“It feels weird if you don’t have them on your face.”

Vere lapsed into silence, pointedly avoiding your gaze.

“I didn’t expect you to be the type to have insecurities.” You cautioned.

Now it was Veres' turn to laugh.

“Oh I assure you, I don’t. I find myself to be the most beautiful creature to exist. I just… wanted to know what you thought.” 

You sighed.

“I really hope you're too drunk to remember this tomorrow, but I think you're the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. Please don’t be insufferable about this.” 

Veres' face split into a lopsided wicked grin.

“Oh darling, I’m going to be so insufferable about this.” 

You just smiled and stood up, gently grabbing Veres arm and helping him stand as well.

“Alright. I need to get home before dark so I don’t get nearly eaten by a soulless. Again.” You say, worry slightly bleeding into your tone.

The sun was already starting to disappear completely from the sky, you needed to get back before the last rays faded. 

“You won’t make it in time. I’ll walk you home and crash at your place.” Vere stated, in a tone of finality.

“Sorry, no. You're far too wasted to fight anything.” You countered.

Vere let out a bitter laugh and tugged in the chain running down his chest. 

“Even with this damn thing limiting me, and 5 more bottles of that drink, I’d still be able to kill any of the pathetic soulless in eridia with one hand tied behind my back. I’m walking you back. That is final.” He declared, then looked at you as if to dare you to argue. 

Vere did a lot of shocking things, but that one motion affected you more than anything he had ever done before. He hated acknowledging the chains around his neck. No matter how much you had come to consider him a friend, you weren’t stupid enough to ever push too hard on that topic. 

You could only nod in agreement. 

“Let’s get out of here then.”

As the two of you walked out of the gates of the sinobium where the grove of flowering trees laid, you let out a sharp snap of your fingers, and the illusion surrounding Vere dropped instantly. 

“That's better.” You remarked.

“Agreed.” Vere smirked back.

The two of you walked back the wet wick in comfortable silence, arriving back well past when darkness had fallen. After all, there was no need to rush.

[maddieplum]

Floral Legacy Challenge

So a while back my computer died and I lost all of my saves and screenshots and because of that I haven't wanted to play in a while. However, recently to get myself back into the game I wrote a legacy challenge for myself based upon flower meanings. I have started playing it and really been enjoying it, so wanted to share with anyone who might be interested as well!

This is more of a story based legacy than a challenge one, with goals written more as guidelines for what story to tell in a given generation than objectives or challenges to complete. Each generation I have chosen 1-3 aspects of a flower's meaning to focus this story around and I've compiled them in a way where I think it makes sense how one generation leads to the next.

If you are interested, more is under the cut!

Sims 4 Floral Legacy Challenge:

Some housekeeping: As far as general rules go, make this your own! Traditional legacy rules need not apply unless you want them to. This is for my personal gameplay and if you want to do it, choose what rules you want to hold yourself to that will make the gameplay fun for you. I tend to use cheats in ways that make sense from a storytelling perspective (e.g. for the iris gen I will likely cheat to give a coworker the genius trait). You can also opt not to follow any of my generation guidelines if you don't want - just take what interests you!

The only required packs are Horse Ranch, Spa Day, and City Living, but I added optional and recommended goals incorporating packs I either already have or hope to buy. If you don't have the required packs you can still definitely play this by either skipping those gens or modifying them to fit what you can do. I would recommend using the generation theme written under the flower name to help guide you in your choices as well (these are the aspects of the flower meanings that I have chosen to focus on for each given generation).

And without further ado:

Gen 1: Bluebell -humble beginnings and everlasting love- Choose one of more of these traits: generous, good, loyal Career: something that means humility to you - ideas: education, gardener, barista/babysitter/other part time careers, self employed by selling collectibles Aspiration: Soulmate Style: any, but live whole life in a small home (not necessarily by the game's standard but no more than 3 bedrooms), blue should be a main color, stay away from pricey furniture as well

You are a simple sort of sim. All you ever wanted is a place to call home and someone to love. Moving to a new place was scary, but you think you are starting to figure it out. However, things get a little more complicated when a choice you make on a lonely night results in a surprise pregnancy. Even though you aren't sure you're ready for single parenthood, you are going to give it your best shot, you already love the kid to bits after all. Luckily, your kind neighbor is there to help out. Wait, they're kind of cute…

-Start on an empty lot or in an unfurnished house with 0 simoleons -Recommended: live in willow creek -Make money to build/furnish your house through your career -Have a child from a one night stand with someone you meet at a public lot before your house is fully finished (this is the next gen heir). -Never date your child's other parent but optionally remain good friends. -Err on the side of leniency as a parent (e.g. if you have parenthood, hug it out to discipline your kid, use the permissive family dynamic from growing together). -Fall and love and get married to one of your neighbors, completing the soulmate aspiration. Stay together in a happy marriage until death. -Optional: have 1-2 more kids with your spouse -Until you switch to the next gen, go on at least one date every week with your spouse.

Gen 2: Crocus -playful childishness- Recommended Traits: lazy, goofball, outgoing, family oriented, childish, cheerful Career: any except entertainer - do not reach level 10 in your career, continually neglect work tasks and goof off/socialize at work to lower work performance if need be - optional (or if laid off): switch careers several times Aspiration: Big happy family - optional: if you have high school years you can complete the live fast aspiration as a teen Style: any as long as its casual, shouldn't look too put together, t-shirts would be good

As a kid you were loved and admittedly somewhat spoiled by your doting parent. At times you neglected your responsibilities and your homework preferring to goof off with your many friends. Growing up… well, you never really did that did you? You did eventually get a job (even though you aren't the best employee) and you gave dating the old college try as well. Unfortunately, just like working, being in a relationship doesn't seem to come easily to you… Luckily though there is something you're good at: parenting. Being part kid yourself, you find it easy to connect to your many kids and you're always ready to cheer them up with a laugh when they are feeling down. That, at least, is something worth devoting your time too.

-Neglect homework as a child (optional: age up with the irresponsible trait if you have parenthood) but have several friends at school -Perform poorly in a career of your choice (NOT entertainer) - do not reach level 10 in any career (if you get close, lower job performance or quit and start a new job) -Live in childhood home until parents die or until you have too many kids for everyone to fit -Get divorced from / break up with every partner you have (your choice how many people to date, but must die single) -Have 3-6 kids - at least one should be adopted and one should be biologically yours but the exact ratio is up to you -Be best friends level with all kids -max out comedy skill -Complete happy family aspiration (may require temporarily returning to this gen after some kids are adults) -Optional: whenever someone leaves the household, get a pet so the household is continually at 8 members (the idea of this gen is cheerful chaos after all)

Gen 3: Dahlia -creativity and true love- Required traits: non commital, Recommended: creative, maker, art lover, green fiend Career: Something creative - recommended: making money through painting or fabrication or photography Aspiration: Any in the creativity category (or the jewelry one, which is IMO creative but not in that category) Style: Colorful and eclectic, feature warm colors and travel Knick knacks, bohemian

You grew up in a chaotic but joyful home surrounded by your siblings and raised by a parent who loved and accepted you as you were. Your creativity was able to bloom and flourish in this environment and you learned the value and power of familial love. However, you never quite understood romance in the same way as you watched your parent struggle to maintain a loving relationship. In high school you found someone special, but your relationship was too important to put through the trials of romance. You maintained your friendship into adulthood as you followed your passions into a career and your heart into several (failed) relationships, all the while standing by each other. Then one day you realized, what if this elusive goal of romantic love had been right besides you all along?

-Complete the creatively gifted aspiration as a kid -Briefly (briefly) date your best friend in high school, then decide to be just friends (option in social menu). Maintain friendship (remaining just friends) into your young adulthood and adulthood, spending lots of time together. -Have a creative job and max out your career / chosen creative skill -Get married and divorced at least once and date and break up with at least 3 people total -Have at least one kid -After a midlife crisis start a relationship with your best friend and get married - this time stay together until death do us part (optional: at this point swap out the non committal trait with the loyal trait via cheats or self discovery moment) -Go on vacation at least twice with your family and your best friend/best friend's family

Gen 4: (white) Lily -beauty, mourning, and rebirth- Recommended traits: gloomy, romantic Career: something you associate with beauty - ideas: actor/actress, style influencer, social media Aspiration: any - ideas: soulmate, world famous celebrity, master actor/actress Style: classic, somewhat minimalistic, elegant (think Kennedys)

Growing up in an artistic household, you quickly developed a keen eye and a strong aesthetic and sense of style. Unlike your parent however, you were very interested in what was popular. You built your knowledge of trends and used it to cultivate your own look until it became your passion, and ultimately your career. You were becoming quite successful, loving your job more and more every day, when you met… them. The love of your life. You remembered watching your parent dance around their love all their life, and had seen how much time they wasted because of it. You weren't going to make the same mistake. You had a whirlwind romance, engagement, and marriage that grew into a stable, enduring love. You had everything, a great career, a wonderful relationship, and you and your spouse had just welcomed a child when tragedy struck. And now, without your love, you don't know what to do. How will you go on?

-Enter and max out a career that is associated with beauty -Optional: if you have get famous, become a celebrity with a good reputation -Meet your spouse through your career -Date, get engaged to, and marry your spouse quickly (within 1-2 sim weeks) -Have a relationship with your spouse at the soulmate level -Have exactly one kid with your spouse -Before your kid is a teen, your spouse dies -Mourn your spouse for the rest of your life (at least 3 times weekly visit grave/urn) and never get into another romantic relationship -Optional: after spouse's death, change outfits to be all black for mourning colors (or what ever mourning colors are in your culture) -Neglect child emotionally because of your sadness (less than good friends level friendship) -Repair relationship with child after they move out and your grandchildren are born (they return the spark to your life)

Gen 5: Dandelion -resilience and recovery- Required trait: horse lover Optional: active, loves the outdoors, adventurous Career: Rancher/self employed Required aspiration: championship rider Style: western, rustic farmhouse decor, country

You grew up in the midst of a tragedy. All you remember is the dark cloud that seemed to surround your parent everywhere they went and the loneliness that came from all but raising yourself. As soon as you could, you got away, following your heart to the countryside. In the picturesque small town of chestnut ridge you built your own life, learning to ride the horses you had grown up loving, and making a living by building a ranch. The solitude of nature was like a balm to your wounded soul. Eventually, you fell for one of the locals and got hitched. They moved in to help grow your ranch and before long you were building a family as well. As you discovered the joys of parenthood, it brought your mind back to your own parent, and you started to wonder if those bonds could be reformed…

-move out to Chestnut Ridge as soon as you become a young adult -Complete the championship rider aspiration and max out the riding skill -Fall in love with an marry a sim you meet in Chestnut ridge with the rancher trait -Have 2-4 kids with your spouse -Optional: name one of your kids after your deceased parent -After your first kid is a toddler, start to reconcile with your parent (inviting them over to meet grandkids) -build back your friendship with your parent before they pass (good friends level or higher) -run a thriving ranch

Gen 6: (red) Carnation -justice- Recommended traits: good, hot headed, self assured Career: Politics, charity organizer branch Aspiration: any - ideas: neighborhood confident, city native Style: any - alt fashion would work well, esp. punk, dark colors with red accents also good

Life as a child in the countryside was idyllic, but you always had bigger dreams. Bright eyed and with a zest for life you moved to the city as soon as you could. But once there, your idealistic nature quickly shattered. The world wasn't as nice outside of your small town bubble. Rather than fall into despair over it however, you decided to rise to the occasion. You would dedicate your life to fighting for change and making the world a better place. Even if it was just a drop in the bucket, you would do everything you could to make a difference. After all, what better way to spend your time than speaking truth to power?

-move to San Myshuno as a young adult -Join and max out the charity organizer career -meet your spouse at a protest -fall in love and move in together, but don't get married -have at least one kid -join or start a protest at least once a week -have at least one wealthy enemy (bonus points if they are in the politician career or a landlord) -Optionally: have a midlife crisis / burnout (via growing together mechanics or imaginative storytelling) during adulthood and change your life around (stay in same career, but protest less and pick up a hobby, spend more time with family)

Gen 7: Iris -intelligence and prestige- Required trait: genius Optional traits: perfectionist, ambitious, neat, overachiever, loner, hates children, bookworm Career: something you associate with intelligence - ideas: doctor, scientist, law, engineer, astronaut Recommended aspiration: any in the knowledge group or bestselling author Optional: complete the goal oriented aspiration as a teen and the academic aspiration as a young adult Style: academia (dark or light), traditional, have at least one library / study in the home

Your parents were smart people, you'll give them that, but they didn't care enough to do anything with it! They could have been something great, but instead they decided to waste their time fighting for 'justice' without making any real change. You wouldn't be making that mistake. From an early age you dedicated yourself to your studies, determined to learn everything you possibly could and become someone important. Learning fascinated you, and you loved using your intelligence to figure out solutions to hard problems. This was what was important, not love, or family, or doing good, or whatever other nonsense your parents and grandparents believed. This was how you really changed the world, intelligently. Now just to get that one coworker of yours to stop pestering you at work and challenging your ideas. Wait, why do they want to meet you for coffee?

-Complete the mental aspiration as a child -Enter and max out a career related to intelligence - optionally: then switch careers and max out a second -max out at least four skills of your choice, writing and publishing skill books related to them as you do so (this may require you to max out the writing skill, if so this counts towards your four skills) -Date and marry one of your coworkers who also has the genius trait (bonus points if this is a former workplace rival) -Have exactly one child with your spouse via the science baby option -Be a strict parent (maintain this family dynamic if you have growing together) and be emotionally distant from your kid (less than good friends friendship level ideally) -If you have discover university, attend university and complete the academic aspiration before beginning a career

Gen 8: Lotus -rebirth and self-love- Required trait: high maintenance Recommended: perfectionist Career: start in something you see as a high stress job - ideas: salary person, business, anything that uses the logic skill - then switch to making money via spa day activities Aspiration: any or all in the wellness category Style: minimalist, biophilic (plant parent), 'zen'

To say your parents had high expectations growing up would be putting it lightly. Nothing you ever did seemed good enough for them. Even so, you continued to try, pushing yourself towards excellent grades and into a career (and relationship) they would approve of. It was hard but you were managing it, and you kept pushing and pushing until… One day you just couldn't do it anymore! You quit your job, ended your relationship and changed trajectories. Now you are focused on healing and self-love, and on helping others on their self love journey as well. It might take some time, but you are learning to be happy with yourself. Next, to start building a new family, one you'll be happy to be a part of.

-maintain an "A" level grade throughout your education -Enter a high stress career as a young adult -Start a relationship with someone in a 'respectable' career as a young adult (you decide what counts as 'respectable') - if you have growing together you should have bad compatibility with this person -sometime during young adulthood (bonus if after in game burnout) while your sim is feeling badly (tense, angry, uncomfortable, or sad), quit your job and end your relationship -Optional: before this switch dress and decorate in your parents style, afterwards, change to your own style -Switch to a wellness career - continue this until retirement -max out wellness skill -complete at least one of the wellness aspirations -marry someone you meet at the spa -have 1-3 children with them

Gen 9: Lavender -family and home- Required trait - at least one of three: loner, paranoid, socially awkward Recommended traits: family oriented, foodie, loves the outdoors, animal enthusiast Career: make money through cooking and/or baking - this can involve running a bakery, the culinary career, or using the food stall from home chef hustle OR be a stay at home parent and partner makes money Choose one or more of the following aspirations: Appliance whiz, master chef, country caretaker, super parent Style: French country, cottage core, pastels

You grew up in a peaceful and tranquil home with caring and kind parents. Lucky for you because as it turns out - the rest of the world? Not so peaceful. Being outside your home and surrounded by strangers was always stressful for you, and as you grew up you learned to retreat towards the things you knew: your family, your pets, and the delicious things you loved to cook. Another support for you was always your best friend turned love; you've promised to stay by each other's side through thick and thin and you can’t wait to build a home together. Will these supports help you get through the stresses of adulthood? Will be able to find and build a home that's peaceful and safe for your new family? Only time will tell…

-From teenagehood to death have at least one pet at all times (including non household animals like cows) -Marry your childhood best friend / high school sweetheart and stay together until death do us part -max out the cooking skill (and baking if you have get to work) -have 3-5 kids with your spouse -maintain best friends level friendship with all kids, spouse, and any cats or dogs you have -don't maintain friendships with anyone outside the household (this can change when you switch to playing sunflower gen if need be) -make sacked lunches for all family members at least twice a week -Make money through food (chef career, bakery, or food stall) OR be a stay at home parent -Recommended: live in Henford-on-Bagley -Max out one or more of the following aspirations: Appliance whiz, master chef, country caretaker, super parent

Gen 10: Sunflower -friendship and loyalty- Required trait: loyal and choose at least one of: cheerful, outgoing, generous Career: any Aspiration: one or more in the social category Optional: Additionally complete successful lineage or big happy family and continue gameplay Style: any - home with lots of space for hosting gatherings, yellow as a focus color would be a good choice

You had a pretty perfect childhood - supportive parents, siblings to play with, space to roam, the whole nine yards. Only… it was still a little lonely. There's a whole world out there, and as much as you love your parents, they didn't really expose you to it, preferring to stay home. Well, you're grown up now, and you are going to bring the world to your family and your family out into the world. There's so many cool people out there and you are going to be friends with them all.

-Complete the social aspiration as a child -Maintain a group of friends (use club system if you have get together) your whole life, adding members as you age and make more friends -maintain good friends level friendship with all club members -Fall in love with and marry someone with the family oriented trait -have at least two kids -take at least one family vacation -maintain friendship levels with all family members (siblings, parents, spouse, kids) at at least the good friend level -host family and friend gatherings frequently - if you have growing together: have a family reunion at least every 4 sim weeks - if you have seasons: host gatherings for every relevant holiday (e.g. no gathering needed for lottery day or love day, but harvestfest yes) -Optional: have one parent die as an elder and move the other in to live with you and your family, take care of them until they die -Optional: have a pet dog all your adulthood -Recommended: complete an aspiration in the family category as well (successful lineage or big happy family) - this will require continuing to play a bit beyond the 10th generation

[isolaradiale]

Please note that this does not begin until Friday, December 20th at 12:00:01am EST. No starters, info posts, or ads can be made before that point. This is just an information post for preparation's sake!

We previously teased that we'd be doing something different for the December event, and this is it! Because everyone is busy with the holidays and there are likely event reruns some members would like to do but can't since they never win the polls, we decided to try a period where you can choose whichever event you'd like to write during the three week event period. We're posting this in advance so you can think about what you'd like to pick!

There are, of course, some rules and caveats for this:

Most events are available to be chosen but not all of them. This is because some of the staff who wrote those events are no longer with us. You can find a list of eligible events at the bottom of this post!

You must choose a single event to receive event participation with on any single blog. You're more than welcome to thread with others doing other events so that they have people to write with, but you can only claim participation for a single event during this period!

There is a flat reward of a free unlock for everyone who participates regardless of whether or not the event you pick gives an unlock. This is so everyone receives an unlock regardless of the event chosen. Picking one that gives an unlock will not give you two, you will still only receive the single unlock. You must write at least 300 IC words for your chosen event to be eligible to claim the unlock.

The usual rules on the EVENT RERUN GUIDE still apply! Your character will see the city in the state that it was in during that event, and will believe everyone is going through the same thing.

A more complete post will be made on Friday with any questions that have been asked in the interim. So if you have any questions about how things work, please send them to the masterlist (not the Discord server) before Friday!

Below you can find a list of eligible events along with links to their information posts:

COVET

SUBVERSION (PT1 + PT2)

THE FANTASIA WAR (PT1 + PT2)

DREAMSCAPE

EMPATHEOREM

CUPID SHUFFLE

SECURITY BREACH (PT1 + PT2)

SHORE

MASKERADE FESTIVAL

SHINE BRIGHT

OPTIMIZATION

CANVAS (PT1 + PT2)

LATESUMMER NIGHT'S SOIREE

MISTIFIED

CREW CALL

SUBSISTENCE (PT1 + PT2)

A CROCUS AMONG US

DOWN YOU GO

FRAGMEMORIA (PT1 + PT2)

THE CHALLENGER'S PATH

DATA CORRUPT (PT1 + PT2)

HOMECOMING (PT1 + PT2)

SPIRALE GAMES

ENDLESS AURORA

PHANTASM AMALGAM (PT1 + PT2)

COLOUR THEORY (MID-EVENT UPDATE)

ALTERNATIVE ALLEGORY

[whencyclopedia]

Thessalonike of Macedon

Thessalonike of Macedon (c. 345-295 BCE) was the daughter of Philip II of Macedon (r. 359-336 BCE) and one of his several consorts, Nikesipolis of Pherae (also spelt Nicesipolis). Born to the Argead family of Macedonian rulers like her half-brother Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE), Thessalonike married Cassander (r. 305-297 BCE), and after his death, she probably acted as regent for their sons.

In contrast with such a high profile, historical details about Thessalonike's life are relatively rare. And yet, her character still casts resounding echoes in both myths and history, in her legendary personification as a mermaid and as the eponym of Greek's second largest, emporium city, Thessaloniki.

Birth & Family

The uncertainties around Thessalonike's historical background start with her date of birth. In the absence of direct hints in ancient writings, scholars have tried to use the meaning of her name as a clue. Stephanus of Byzantium, a 6th-century grammarian, in his geographical encyclopedia, Ethnica, notes that 'Thessalian Victory' was an expression to celebrate Philip II's victory (nike) in Thessaly (Ethnica, v. 'Thessalonike'). Philip’s first grand victory in Thessaly, at the Battle of Crocus Field, effectively awarded the king of Macedon with the life-long archonship of this major Greek city-state right at the south of his kingdom. The title was granted to him by the Thessalians themselves, who had initially called for his help to fend off the Phocians. Philip has been openly applauded by both ancient and modern historians for his numerous political and military achievements in Greece. And yet, this enormous boost of his power as the ruler of Thessaly – and, in effect, of all city-state members of the Amphictyonic League – was nothing less than the dawn of Macedonian glory in the Hellenic world, where the Macedonians were always regarded with contempt.

Philip's victory over the Phocians and their allies, a formidable and ferocious force fighting against the Amphictyonic League in the Third Sacred War (354-346 BCE), scored the first auspicious, game-changing point for the League after a series of inconclusive battles. Philip could also reduce the Phocians' capability by securing an alliance with their main supporter in Thessaly, the city of Pherae, by taking Nikesipolis, a young lady from the family of Jason of Pherae – an ex-ruler of Thessaly – most likely as his second wife (marriage is not verbally mentioned to have taken place, although it is hardly doubtful given the context and later events). Therefore, many scholars connect the birth of Philip's new princess - purportedly an immediate outcome of her mother’s union with him - with the Battle of Crocus Field in 353/2 BCE.

This dating, however, may not match comfortably with the other turning points of Thessalonike's life. Philip II was assassinated in 336 BCE at the wedding of his elder daughter, Cleopatra, with her maternal uncle, Alexander I of Epirus (r. 343/2-331 BCE). The marriage was arranged by Philip himself – a common practice in the ancient Greek world, and many other nations' upper classes throughout history, to secure treaties, mitigate hostilities, pay tributes, or forge alliances. However, by the time of his death, Philip had not revealed any plans for Thessalonike's marital future, presumably because she was still very young. She was believed to be only a child when his half-brother, Alexander the Great, succeeded their father and took the lead in Philip's intended crushing campaign against the Persian Empire. Historians have established that royal women of the Argead court became marriageable in their mid-teens. Thessalonike's half-sisters, Cynane and Cleopatra, were given to the men chosen by their father in their late teens. Therefore, it is unlikely that Philip II in 336 BCE had not already introduced a potential son-in-law for a 17-year-old daughter.

A second date that may question 353/2 BCE for Thessalonike's birth is her marriage in 317 BCE or shortly after to Cassander (Kassandros, c. 355-297 BCE), a commander of Alexander the Great and one of the ferocious belligerents in the Wars of the Diadochi, the succession struggle after the death of Alexander the Great. Cassander secured his claim on the Macedonian throne by turning out to be the ultimate winner of the Second War of the Diadochi when he took the strategically important harbour city of Pydna and put the chief claimants of Alexander's crown, his mother Olympias, his Persian wife Roxana (Roxanne) and their son Alexander IV, to death. Still, like the other Diadochi, Cassander also wished for a familial link with the Argeads to justify his succession of Alexander. And Thessalonike, one of the two surviving daughters of Philip II, was ideally close at hand. She was in Pydna with Olympias, who had raised her ever since Nikesipolis' death only 20 days after childbirth.

Cassander

The Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright)

Apart from obtaining justification, scholars believe that Cassander must have hoped to father a new branch of the Argead dynasty with Thessalonike. This could raise at least a few comments from ancient writers had he been marrying a 36-year-old woman. Moreover, in the heat of the Diadochi wars, it would have been even less likely for Olympias to leave her stepdaughter unmarried for such a long time without trying to use her in the fabrication of an empowering alliance with a king and/or commander. Again, relying on her name to figure out a terminus post quem, a date after which she must have been born, scholars now generally agree that Thessalonike was most likely born around 346/5 BCE, after her father's decisive victory that uprooted the Phocian power once and for all and thus terminated the Third Sacred War. Based on this date, she would be around 9 years old on Philip's assassination and in her late twenties at the time of her marriage to Cassander.

Continue reading...

[genericpuff]

Hello, I am a huge fan of your work and I’ve been following you for a while! I am a gay Greek student at the History & Mythology department from Aristotle University. I had to do a lot of research and homework regarding certain subjects and one of them was Κρόκος (Krokos/Crocus). Crocus was in fact in love with a nymph named Smilax, but was never, in any valid story, involved with Hermes romantically. Contrary to popular belief, homosexuality was something that was condemned in the majority of most city-states of ancient Greece, especially Athens. In fact, they even had the derogatory term for gay people “kinaidos” (κίναιδος) and they were banned from participating in politics, banned from the Olympics, banned from participating in the war, banned from being priests and in worse cases, they were sentenced to death. :( “Αν τις Αθηναίος εταιρήση, με έξεστω αυτω των εννέα αρχόντων γενέσθαι, μηδέ ιερωσύνην ιερώσασθαι, μηδέ συνδικήσαι τω δήμω, μηδέ αρχήν αρχέτω μηδεμιάν, μήτε ενδημον, μήτε υπερόριον, μήτε κληρωτήν, μήτε χειροτονητήν, μηδέ επικυρήκειαν αποστελλέσθω, μηδέ γνώμην λεγέτω, μηδέ εις τα δημοτελή ιερά εισίτω, μηδέ εν ταις κοιναίς σταφονοφορίες σταφανούσθω, μηδέ εντός των της αγοράς περιρραντηριων πορευέσθω.

Εάν δε ταύτα τις ποιή,καταγνωσθέντως αυτού εταιρείν, θανάτω ζημιούσθω.” Translation: “If an Athenean performs this, he will not be allowed to become member of the 9 lords, he will not be able to become a priest, he will not be able to become an advocate of the people, he will have no authority inside or outside of Athens, he cannot become a war preacher, he will not be able to express his opinion, he will not be allowed to enter the sacred public temples, he will not be able to take walks happening in Agora. If he ignores any of these laws he will be sentenced to death.” - Solon Laws in book 5, chapter 5

Also, the term “Pederastry” actually meant “Mentoship” and it had nothing to do with sexual relationship between a male teacher and a male student. Many of the homosexual depictions regarding historical and mythological figures are created in modern times without any evidence to back it up. For instance, Achilles and Patroclus are often assumed to be lovers in modern media when in all actuality they were just cousins. Patroclus’ father Μενοίτιος (Menoetius) and Achilles’ father Πηλέας (Peleus) were brothers.

Alexander the Great was never in a relationship with his best friend Hephaestion as there’s no evidence to back it up besides him telling him his secrets and mourning his death.

The only historical figure that could be a legit bisexual was Sappho from the island Lesbos (which is why Greece now calls the island “Mytelene” to avoid any association with lesbians, despite it being the name of one of the cities there). She was accused of being a promiscuous woman who was sleeping with many men and that she was a woman-lover due to her poems, but this is still up to debate to this day.

The worst of all is that most pictures involving homosexual activity used as evidence to prove queerness have been modern remakes of an ancient artifacts depicting heterosexuality (or even the rape of women). Eros Kalos is responsible for many of these “queer copies”.

This deeply saddens me as I am a homosexual myself, but I don’t think Ancient Greece deserves credit for being “open-minded” on the subject knowing that they would treat me badly if I was born in my country in that era. I don’t feel comfortable with people trying to prove that it was gay when that’s not true at all. Anyway, I am very happy that artists like you exist and make their own fictional versions of the characters in ways that feel comfortable for us to look at. Stay amazing. <3

Wow, this was a super interesting read !!! Thanks for all the helpful info :3 It's sometimes difficult to discern what "love" between gods and mortals means in the translated texts, as sometimes it can mean romantic/sexual love, and other times it just means godly love, i.e. mortals who were "chosen" by gods to be their patrons (so just having a very strong spiritual connection in the same way the Christian God "loves his children") and I feel like sometimes those two things become conflated a lot in discussion around those stories, but that's why it's always important to listen to other interpretations and translations to try and get the most accurate recounting possible.

Mind you, I am not Greek so take ALL of my opinions on this topic with OLYMPUS-SIZED-MOUNTAINS OF SALT LOL

I actually had no idea about the Alexander the Great x Hephaestion thing, and upon searching it up, it brought up articles about a Netflix production? Would I be wrong in assuming that's what motivated you to clarify on that ? 😆 (or is it just a common sentiment these days? genuinely asking haha I'm not so sharp on my Alexander the Great lore these days 😔🤡)

I absolutely agree that Greece itself isn't exactly a pillar of LGBTQ+ representation or rights (it is, after all, predominantly Orthodox Christian and they just legalized gay marriage in this, the year of our suffering 2024) and it's important not to put on blinders or use our connection to the gods and myths to erase what's going on historically. It's certainly not a magical imperfect wonderland - no culture or country is - and the more people are aware of that, the more they can become aware of ongoing issues and fight for things like equal rights (as they should!) so they can move towards positive change.

I think there's definitely lots to be said about the fandomification of Greek myth as well, where a lot of people take fun in the cute / funny / easy-to-headcanon parts of the myths without recognizing where they come from, why they were written, and who they were written for. It's easy to be a non-Greek person consuming and engaging with all the fun parts of the myths, because we get the privilege of being outsiders looking in who can interpret the myths in our own way free of consequences or the reality of the culture these myths are from. And I say that as someone who's not Greek and absolutely falls into that camp! Some of us use that privilege responsibly, others... not so much. And again, that's something that can happen with any culture (though I can definitely name a handful that have become notorious for how fandomified they've become through pop culture cough Japan cough Korea cough Canada, yes I fucking said Canada-)

That said, as with any culture that becomes more popularized with people outside of it, as much as that can lead to harm and misrepresentation in many ways, it can also lead to a lot of joy and appreciation. I'm glad that so many people have found themselves in the myths and find their hope through them and reclaim their power through them even if they've had a messy history. I see this sort of reclamation thriving in Christian mythology as well, through those who want to reclaim the beauty of many of its stories and messages and express the joy and love and compassion in them, rather than using them for hate and discrimination as they're so commonly and systematically used. In that way I think you can easily have adaptions that aren't historically accurate, but are more reflective of the culture and hopes and dreams of the people who are retelling them in the modern day. I think it's important to keep both in mind.

IMO it's one of those "if we don't find joy in it and use it to spread love to others, that means the bigots get to use it for harm" type things, if that makes sense :'0 But that doesn't mean we should pretend like history never happened, because in doing so, we're doomed to repeat it. We should always do our best to respect where these stories came from, and do more to learn about them when we get the opportunity to do so, because not doing so is how we end up with adaptions and "retellings" that are so far removed from the source material - but still ingrain themselves so seriously without a shred of transparency - that they almost become erasure in and of themselves. As I say a lot here, balance is key, and we should always be making efforts to learn ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

[amorficzna]

hiiii a prompt for you: galeheart + reaching out with their hand without saying anything, wanting the other one to grab it

yayay thank you for this one rowan, it really got me writing, and I ended up folding the prompt I haven't yet (completely) filled for @kvella into it as a shorter, completed story. I hope ya both like it <3

(alternatively, read on ao3)

The first time she is downed - too busy making sure Lae’zel can handle the goblin charging after her - she reaches out; for what or who, she doesn’t know, and assumes her body remembers the rites the way her mind can’t. She is no doubt reaching out for Shar, as penance, as the blood slips past her ribs and into the ground below, into the dark of the dirt.

The morningstar slips through her fingers, and it could be nothing more than her body crumpling beneath the heavy swing of the bugbear, but there’s more to it than that: her fingers stretch, and wait, and she feels the distinct prickle of something missing, though it isn’t her armament. 

There are muffled cries around her, and she blinks at the bleary image of a purple mass coming towards her; beneath the numbness of her skin she feels the warmth of a hand in hers. 

She doesn’t remember much after that, doesn’t bother to, until she awakes in camp. The hem of Gale’s robe is torn and there is a purple rag soaked with brown blood that lies at the edge of her tent. 

Her fingers flit across her palm. 

—

There are years of memories between that moment and this one, yet of all their time spent together - years and years and years of a life she can claim to remember now, with no uncertainty to it - seems condensed into that one moment; one that she cannot remember more than half-fully. 

Her Gale is old now; truly wizened, with his soul to match. He is grumpy, though in a light-hearted way that usually doesn’t match her on some of her best days. His face is alight with scars and wrinkles that she caresses in the evenings, when he snores and the winds of Waterdeep are too cold for her to wander onto the roof and look at the stars; to contemplate those celestially long lives, and remember an old friend. 

She is old now too, but not old enough.

Tonight the winds die down as she makes her way to the rooftop, Gale’s form sagging harshly against their mattress. The clouds are clear and she knows what omens are, how they manifest, like the way they did before Morena passed. The night sky was clear then, too, and the snow falling across city was so gentle it kissed her skin where it landed. 

She looks down upon her garden from her perch on the roof, for it really is hers. Her trees are ripe with blossoms and early spring fruits. The moon casts shade upon a sprinkling of every kind of flower and bush she could find, once upon a time; anything that would grow lies scattered haphazardly in the small thicket Gale once gifted her. 

In the middle of the lush of nightshades and crocus and night orchids peeks through the stone grave of Morena Dekarios. And beside her, the dirt still clinging to her nailbeds, lies another empty plot. 

She draws her knees up close to her chest, and looks upon the stars. 

Gale told her once of a tradition among Waterdhavians, or so he claimed. He less told and more performed, his hands whisking the Weave around them as an empty bottle of wine rolled haphazardly towards the edge of the roof, their lips stained plum, his smile bright. It was about wishes and falling stars, and how the Gods, who looked so fondly on those doomed celestial bodies, found it within themselves to grant wishes for even the lowliest of mortals. 

Now, as she looks at the sky, a piercing blue streak crosses past, just below the heavy full moon. 

The ache in her chest tightens anew as she wonders on it - if she should test her luck with some erratic half-formed tale from a night of drinking. But her children and the last of their friends will be here tomorrow, and her Gale is old, and she has spent many years with him, on this roof, in their bed, out in the garden; it will have to be enough. 

As the night turns golden with the rising sun she slips back inside. He is already awake, his eyes bright and warm as he sees her come in, his hand equally so as he wipes the dried tears from her cheeks. 

“My love,” he says, “My dear heart.”

“It’s been a good life.” 

“And it will be.” 

She runs her hand against his chest and the thin skin there; where his skin indents like an old scar, or a burn that never healed quite right. She spent many nights rubbing oils and balms into the skin there, out of sheer spite or blind stubbornness she isn’t sure, but the mark stayed, and they learned to grow around it instead. 

She wonders, in this last morning together, if she should bring up this half-formed memory of a life long ago. 

Instead she reaches for him, and he meets her halfway, their fingers entwining, his knuckled and swollen, hers a bit spotted and soft but still much the same, and that is answer enough. 

—

The sun is barely cresting over Deep Harbor when the first of their children appear - Marino and Arianell, their own families in tow. Shadowheart sends a mage hand to greet them, their light steps creaking against the old staircase as they make their way towards their parent’s bedroom. She runs her fingers softly against Gale’s forehead, his hair long and wispy and starkly white. 

His smile deepens the wrinkles and lines of his face, and he welcomes his twins with open arms. 

“Father -” Marino cries, but that is all the boy can say before the three of them are swept up in sobs and cathartic laughter.

Shadowheart rubs her hand against her daughter’s back, and sees so much of Gale in the both of them. Below her children’s partners and her grandchildren await, and she knows she will need to see to them soon as the day becomes long and the night will be upon them, but for now she feels the warmth of her son’s arms around her, and the hot trail of her husband’s tears, and she allows herself this indulgence.

—

Ama arrives before noon, her youngest daughter holding herself together with stark calmness as she wobbles up the stairs to see her father, always closer to him than Shadowheart. 

Shadowheart will speak with her later, and they will share their grief in their own ways, but now she holds one of her granddaughter’s close, and looks at her garden and the way its snaking vines slip through the open kitchen window and into the small cracks of the wizard’s tower.

—

The sun is casting orange and purple streaks across the walls of their bedroom once Astarion and Halsin arrive. They are quiet as they make their way to the bedroom, where the rest of the Dekarios clan sit upon the bed, sharing in stories and laughter, Gale’s presence the center of their small orbit. 

Halsin is like her, and she knows she will make a pilgrimage to Reithwin once her husband’s bones are settled into the ground; she will have to speak with him on this grief that is slowly twining around her heart like the mark upon her hand once did, though this one is not born of any malice. But it will still hurt, and it will hurt long, and hard, and she knows Halsin will share the wisdom of hundreds of years to guide her through it. 

But for now Gale is here, and he is so lovely, with his hair as white as her own, and his smile still so wide and warm, and his laugh coming out in soft, rumbling huffs. 

The night is coming faster than she thought, and there is the sharp slice of panic that rips through her as the sun continues its gentle decline into night; the moon is near, and between them lies her three children, and Astarion, and Halsin too. 

They all stay like that, long into the night, all of them crowded onto their bed. Even with so many of them, it doesn’t feel cramped, as if by some magic it stretches to accommodate all of Gale Dekarios’s loved ones.

Even with so many years and so many memories between them, he feels so far away in this moment, as if she will never be beside him again, her body never pressed against his, their hands never fumbling to pull the other close. She doesn’t mean to cry, and she doesn’t, but as they continue to swap tales - each more outlandish than the last that Shadowheart wonders if they are weaving the legend of the Great Wizard of Waterdeep as he still yet lives - she feels it; it is the gentlest of pulls that guides her hand open, palm up, reaching out towards the infinite space of night. And in response there is the turn of her husband’s head to meet her eyes, and across that infinite space she feels his hand in hers, like a gentle tickle against her palm, and she weeps.

—

Her children and friends stay for another tenday to help her with the funeral rites, to help her carve the stone and set the grave, to put his body to rest and to celebrate his life with rich wine and well-spiced foods. 

Her children hold her close, and she promises to visit them - and she will, in her own time. 

But once her house is empty once more, and her bed is missing its best half, and the hallways are too silent, and the mage hands have died away, she slowly makes her way to the roof. She wonders, as the wind whips against her face and hair, which of the stars her celestial husband has become to watch over her. 

“I miss you,” she whispers, “I already miss you. Wait for me,” she pleads.

A bright streak of blue answers her.

[saytrrose]

Rose’s Mafia AU

Rose (Rose) - The Boss. They run the entire gang and everyone answers to them. Has a final say in all decisions.

@a-fucking-nerd (Sunflower) - The Advisor/Right Hand Man. Their purpose is to act as a step in for the boss when needed, and grant any advice when wished for.

@gummy-axolotl Gummy (Cosmo) - The Thief. Their purpose is to steal items and sell them for illegal auctions.

@oogaboogaspookyman (Orchid) - The Dirty Cop. The man on the inside helping sabotage evidence and keep everyone out of jail.

@laurenashleysparks (Daisy) - The Doctor. Their purpose is quite simple. They patch up the gunshot wounds from fights and tend to the wellbeing of the group.

@sweetlittletangerine (Dahlia) - The Double Agent/Spy. They serve to help gather information on other gangs and targets.

@starryyskies (Aster) - The Sniper/Assassin. They act as the gang’s assassin taking out people of interest from afar.

@bunny-j3st3r (Hyacinth) - The Bodyguard. They stick close to the Boss at all times and protect them.

@frost-can-bite (Crocus) - The Weapons Expert. Their job ranges anything from making weapons to bomb diffusing. Anything that has to do with something going boom, this is your guy.

@sm-babie (Lotus) - The Business Man/Lawyer. They keep the clubs and real estate the mob owns in order and also works to keep the gang out of jail.

@butchwaifu (Oleander) - The Money launder. Their job is to make sure all money from the gang seems 100% legal.

@superchillingman (Borage) - The Scientist. They are important for finding people using technology such as fingerprints and DNA.

@helljuice (Gladiolus) - The Messenger/Ambassador. They are the one who delivers messages around the city to other mobs, representing the gang.

@torchiiko (Magnolia) - The House Keeper. They keep the base clean and tidy, also working as the personal chef. In offering their services for the mob, they receive secure protection.

@cconcerned (Zinnia) - Bartender/Bouncer. They work up in the actual nightclub, and are in charge of the entrance to the underground base. They are in charge of the codes used to identify who is allowed and not allowed downstairs.

[superkooku]

Dionysus' iceberg (part 2)

Here's part 1 :

Yes, I know, I took my time with this one 😅. But part 2 is finally here on Tumblr !

And, since there's a lot to say about Dionysus, I'll probably need to do a third one... yes he's that interesting.

In this part, I'll talk about Dionysus' connections to theater, nature and vegetation.

Despite Apollo being the god of the arts, theater is one of Dionysus' domains.

1. Theater 🎭

In fact, his theatre (in Athens) is considered the first in the world! Dionysus is like an entertainer, not only through parties, but also through a performance on the stage.

Okay, more seriously: one of his festivals, the Dionysia, even had five days dedicated to drama. In fact, theater plays are said to be set in competitions honoring Dionysus himself.

This festival in and of itself is quite complex, as it's divided in two categories (rural and city festivals) and has quite a history. So, I'd highly recommend reading more about it.

Even the idea of theater masks come from there ! They were parts of disguises actors (always men) wore to play the roles of women or gods.

I'm gonna stop a bit with the informations to talk about two interesting things :

It's actually really cool that the god of theater is a good actor.

I say that because he managed to fool Pentheus and a WHOLE pirate crew into thinking he's some inoffensive boy. And then, dramatic plot twist : he's not.

Another cool thing : he appeared both in a comedy and tragedy. Probably in other lost plays too. It's part of his duality, which I'll talk about more in part 3.

Anyways, ancient Greek theater, the ancestor of our modern plays, is very closely tied to Dionysus.

2. His link to satyrs

This bearded man is Silenus, son of Hermes and one of the satyrs. The baby he's holding is an infant Dionysus, who was forced to go in hiding because of Hera's wrath.

Edit : forgot to complete this part. So, Silenus is considered Dionysus' tutor, kinda like Chiron and Asclepius, but wilder.

Like Dionysus, he appears to be a funny drunkard, but in reality, he can be very wise too. Heck, he even has some prophecy powers when intoxicated. How cool is that ? I like this little duality.

He notably appears in Midas' myth. Silenus was found by peasants and given to the king. Since Midas took good care of him and showed a lot of hospitality, Dionysus decided to reward him. And we all know how the story goes at that point.

Another important satyr (in the Dionysiaca, for example) is Ampelos/Ampelus. He was a young satyr who could very well be Dionysus' first love. What's so interesting about him is that, after his death (R.I.P), Dionysus transformed him into the first grape vine 🍇 !

(this time, not a flower, unlike Hyacinthus and Crocus).

Yes, if you drink wine, you're technically drinking Ampelos' blood.

In general, the satyrs, along with the maenads, are Dionysus' companions. We all know what satyrs are, but it's not surprising to see two symbols of sexuality, drunkenness and wilderness so closely tied.

Also, coming back to theater, there was something called "satyr plays", a mix between tragedy and comedy that were played during the Dionysian festival.

3. A god of nature and vegetation

There are many other nature gods. They each show their connection to nature in their own unique way.

Of course, there's wine and grapes (and Ampelos), but also a lot more stuff.

Dionysus was said to live his youth on Mount Nysa, in the nature, among nymphs and other satyrs. So those ties would come from very early on in his life.

He's not only the god of grapes, but fruits and plant life in general. It's interesting to see the same domains shared by multiple gods (here with Demeter).

The multiple water and wind gods are another proof of that.

And yes, he can grow vines as much as he pleases, like when he punished the thyranean pirates.

4. A fertility god

Yeah, don't listen to LO, male fertility gods exist too 😂.

He's not even the only one, since there's Priapus as well. And he's often (not always) considered his son, with Aphrodite as the mother.

It's honestly not surprising to see a god of nature and fruits, but also one known for his orgies, being associated with fertility.

So...

There aren't many myths about it, so I'll just include that one because it's interesting.

I went through these informations pretty quickly, in order to keep this post at a normal length. I'd love to see you complete on these particular aspects.

In part 3, I'll talk about Dionysus' duality, but also his link to madness, mortals (like Semele and Ariadne), and other gods.

Part 3 will be the longest, since I'll include a lot more references (to myths like the war against India, the Bacchae and more infos about his cult and stories)

[boricuabrujita]

Female Blood Rites in Ancient Times

A sneak peek of a brief segment I’ll be going over in one of my upcoming classes for November. I’m currently doing research for my upcoming class “Mythos Astrology: The Underworld Descent with The Goddess Persephone”. For more info visit my Instagram @priestessofmoonlight.

The Blood Mysteries of Womanhood have unfortunately lost their importance in appreciation, celebration and even proper education. In my own experience with menarche; it was overlooked, painful, scary, and lacked meaning. It was as simple as “here is a pad. It’s normal. An unfortunate circumstance with womanhood”. Which couldn’t be further from the truth! With this lack of a rite of passage, many women go on to depreciate their bodies, fear the inevitable changes and receive ridicule along with disgust from their ignorant male counterparts (and fellow females). Ancient Minoans would perhaps look in horror at how we’ve neglected our gratitude to the natural cycles and world.

As pictured in photos 2 and 3 are sketches of frescoes found in Santorini, Greece at the archaeological site Akrotiri, Thera. In photo 2, you’ll see three girls all in different age groups. The far right being the youngest with a shaved head with scalp locks, no breasts and veil which covers her completely. Looking in shock at the shrine with horns which bloods draws down from; a formidable reminder of blood and womanhood via menstruation and birthing.

While the woman in the middle has fully grown hair, sits down and is experiencing pain and blood directly from her foot. You can see her breasts and her hair is adorned with olive branch and an Iris pin. Since she’s sitting on a rock as well surrounded by crocus, she is the only one who is part of the landscape in a sense. Apparently, Minoan art also uses inverted landscapes to suggest depth. The bleeding of her foot while she is foraging for crocus/saffron might allude to the female rite of passage; that is the pain/blood of entering womanhood. For the festival of the goddess girls coming of age were tasked with journeying the hills to gather saffron as an offering. Oftentimes, leaving the city or venturing outside of the mundane and the seclusion alludes to a rite of passage taking place. Doing the trek barefoot is bound to make for bloody feet. Again, a pain-causing venture to teach the young women endurance for pain and awareness of one’s blood.

The third girl to the left is the oldest and is fully initiated. Her breasts are full, she doesn’t have the forelock of youth, long hair, and is carrying a necklace. Most likely, an offering to be deposited inside of the innermost sanctuary of this temple.

In photo 3, pictured is a crocus/saffron gatherer aka priestess giving her plant offerings to a throned goddess. A monkey to the left and griffin to the right are the Goddess’s attendants.

Source: “Minoan Religion: Ritual, Image and Symbol”, Nanno Marinatos (1993).

[ducktoonsfanart]

Donald Duck and his family mourn the dead in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack and bombing - Donald Duck and his family in Moscow (Russia) and Belgrade (Serbia) - Duck comics - Duckverse

Unfortunately, sorry for the long wait, because I was sick for a few weeks, and I'm recovering a bit now, so I haven't had a chance to draw and post new drawings. Yes, I'm back and will post follow-up drawings related to the previous holidays that were marked as well as the following holidays in the coming period.

Unfortunately, due to the recent events, I am publishing my sad drawings where Donald Duck and his family mourn the deceased. The first drawing shows Donald Duck with Daisy Duck, along with his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck who went to Moscow (the capital of Russia) and where they are mourning the dead and honoring the departed since a week ago (22.3. 2024) a terrorist attack took place in Moscow, in the Crocus City Hall, where over 140 people were killed and over 360 wounded. More could have been killed, if not for a few young men (Muslims and Russians) who saved the other people and took them out of the concert hall, because a concert by a Russian music group was about to take place. Among the dead were not only Russians, but also members of other nationalities who wanted to see that concert. The perpetrators are alleged Muslim terrorists from the Islamic State, and all of them were later caught. I don't want to go further into the discussion about the main principal who financed these terrorists, nor do I want to go into the discussion about the current war in Ukraine, because my blog is not about politics and please don't ask me those questions. This just shows my respect for the deceased not only the victims of that terrorist attack but also all the victims who died in terrorist attacks in the last more than 24 years. It is certainly a terrible event, which is why two days of mourning were declared after that, and I drew the Russian flag at half-mast, because on the day of mourning, the flag is only flown at half-mast, and Daisy in that drawing is wearing a coat and a black bow as a sign of mourning and black clothes are usually worn at funerals. Behind them, you can see the Basilica of St. Basil as well as the Spasskaya Tower, which is located within the Kremlin. Rest in peace to those victims.

Покойтесь с миром жертвы теракта! Слава им! Аминь.

The second drawing shows Donald with his family who are in Belgrade (the capital of Serbia) where they are mourning those who died and died during the bombing by NATO in 1999, as well as the victims in Kosovo and Metohija in 2004. I said that I come from Serbia and what happened 25 years ago was something that many residents of my country cannot forget. I was two years old when it started, so I don't remember it, except from the story of my parents. I don't want to go further into the discussion about the beginning of the war because the topic is too painful, and I doubt that many would understand what I would say. All in all, civilians did not deserve such a thing and it is very difficult to get over such wounds. Because among the dead there were also children who suffered from NATO bombing. There was also the courage of the soldiers who defended the country from the attackers and died bravely defending their country, so they are also honored. In addition to Donald, there are also Daisy Duck, Grandma Duck (Elvira Coot), Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck (Donald's nephews), April, May and June Duck (Daisy's nieces) where they pay tribute to those who died in that war as well as in the violence in Kosovo and Metohija that occurred in 2004, when there was also a mass exodus of Serbs, Roma, Bosniaks and other non-Albanian people from Kosovo and Metohija and the demolition of numerous Orthodox monasteries and churches by Albanian fanatics. Behind them is the Church of St. Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, as well as the Beogradanka building, where one of Belgrade's television stations is located. On that grave is written the dedication to those victims as well as the flowers brought to that grave.

Rest in peace to those victims! Amen.

Вечна слава настрадалима и нека почи��ају у миру! Амин.

Also, since tomorrow is Good Friday, the day of the martyrdom of Jesus Christ, which is a sad day for Christians.

These are my tribute to those victims as well as those who suffered, and that the victims should not be forgotten and history should not be forgotten, because if it is forgotten, it will repeat itself again. Feel free to share this, but please do not use this for other people's purposes and please do not complicate it with political issues, because this blog is not dedicated to that. May God welcome the victims into the Kingdom of God and may they receive eternal glory! Rest in peace! Amen.

[shirohige-pirates]

A Truly Mythological Christmas

Cisfem!Reader x Marco the Phoenix

Also on Wattpad // Ao3

18+ - this story is going to get steamy in ways not allowed for your holiday Lifetime specials. Swearing, cheating, assassins, intrigue - you know, all that simple small town stuff.

Chapter 5: Chill

“You don’t seem to be stocking up for any proper feasts,” you admit, sitting out on the porch was Dadan the next day. “I expected we’d be making another run today to get ahead of the last-minute shoppers.”

You were dressed warmly enough, you more than Dadan, who was a bit of a human space heater on her own. Drinking coffee after breakfast was enough to keep you warm with little more than some jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a flannel. The wool-lined boots weren’t hurting anything, but your favorite thing about them was being able to wiggle your toes because the insulation was so thick and squishy.

It was like having nice thick socks with tread.

“Thatch offered for me and the boys to celebrate the holidays up at the manor.” She answers. “I made sure you were welcome.”

“I’m sure they’re making enough food to feed the town if they wanted to.” You grin.

“You did push him in the lake.” Dadan muses, giving you a sideways look.

“He deserved it.” You insist. “Besides, I bet he’d be more likely to offer an apology than bar me from the manor. At least over that incident.” Pausing a moment you take a drink of your coffee. “When I threatened to cut his pompadour that was maybe a bit much on my part.”

Dadan laughs. “Boy sure does like his hair, I’ll give him that. He’s a good lad though.”

“Mm.” You agree taking another drink. “Ah! No playing match maker while I’m here.” You point, and Dadan is pointedly not looking at you. “I want to relax. No ‘oh she’s single now’, none of that ‘I bet he’d be willing to move to the city’, either. The best I can hope for at this point is a one night stand with someone hornier than a brass orchestra.”

Dadan nearly chokes on her coffee and you laugh. “Sorry about that mom.”

“Just watch those comparisons around the boys.” She grumbles, mopping up the few drops of coffee that got away from her. “I don’t need them catching me off guard like that.”

“Not for a few more years at least.” You muse. “Ah, that reminds me, Makino told me about the halvard, and I was going to head up to the hill and pay my respects.”

“Don’t take the tunnels.” She says. “There’s a lot of memorial items in them from the townsfolk and so they haven’t been cleaning them out. Hard to say what’s decided to nest in there, best to just drive up to the overlook and hike a bit.”

“Alright.”

You and Dadan both watch as a silver car comes down the road and pulls into the driveway. You recognize Edward Newgate’s Mercedes, a 72’ 300 SEL, and aren’t surprised to see Marco behind the wheel. You just aren’t sure why he’s at Dadan’s this morning.

Getting out, he lifts a bag from the passenger seat, holding it up as he approaches the two of you on the porch.

“The stuff we were out of stock on yesterday, yoi.” He explains stepping up enough to set it on the porch. “I hope you can still make use of it. If not, I can take it back.”

“Aww, you didn’t have to go through all that,” Dadan says, picking up the bag and looking in it. “Appreciate it though, it’ll make dinner easier tonight.”

“No problem, I had a couple other deliveries to make this morning, so I was already out.”

“The Stop’s doing deliveries?” Dadan inquires and Marco shakes his head.

“Not officially, but in the winter I take stuff over to Crocus and Teach.”

“Teach?”

“Ah, yeah. He… had a rough spot for a few months there and ended up in an accident at the end of it all. He’s doing better, but he lost a leg and messed up his back.. Was a couple years before Pops and Roger died. It gets cold and he has a hard time getting around, yoi.” Marco explains. “I know you didn’t have the best-.”

“No, no, that’s… That sucks. It’s good he can lean on y’all. He’s… uh… gonna be at the holidays?” You try not to sound worried, but Marco knows the story, so it isn’t like there’s anything to really hide.

You were a junior in high school, along with Marco, Thatch and Izou, when Teach was a freshman in college. He’d grown sweet on you, and six months of increasingly frustrating behavior, a few intense arguments between you, him, and his brothers, as four of you tried to get him to understand you weren’t interested, had all culminated in a near miss.

Teach had gotten drunk worse than you’d ever seen before, and seemed intent to take what he wanted. You’d beaten him bloodier than he had you, but once he pinned you, it was over. You didn’t have the strength to over power someone so much bigger.

Fortunately, Thatch and Marco had found you before anything worse happened. They pulled Teach off of you, beat him near to death, and got you to the hospital.

He apologized, literally on his hands and knees, a couple weeks later. He probably would’ve done so sooner, but Marco and Thatch broke his jaw, two ribs and four fingers. You’d never seen either of them so angry before, or since. If Teach had followed through on the unthinkable, they might have actually killed him.

As sincere as you believed his apology was, it was still just uncomfortable to be around him.

Marco shakes his head. “He won’t. He won’t be alone for the holidays, but he’s not going to be at the manor.”

You can feel yourself relax from a tension you didn’t realize you were holding onto. “That’s good then.”

“Well, I’ll get this put up,” Dadan says, stopping a moment to look between the two of you. “If he’s not too busy maybe he can give you a lift up to the overlook. You’ll still have to hike, but it’ll save some time.”

Marco looks from Dadan to you. “The… Going up to the hill?”

You nod. “I wanted to pay my respects before things got too busy, or too cold.”

His smile is a little sad, but his tone is still cheerful. “I’m done with my deliveries, if you’re ready now I can swing by the overlook before I head back to the store. You’ll be alright walking back?”

“Yeah, I was planning on walking the whole trip, I’ll be fine coming back.”

“Take one of the snails.” Dadan says, holding the door open for you. “Just in case.”

“Yeah, yeah, mom.” You grin getting up and following her in. “I’ll be just a minute.”

“No rush, yoi.”

A snail was a short wave radio, and before cell phones, they were about the only form of hand held communication. The technology was really popular in a farming town like this one, were a couple repeaters tucked away in trees up on the surrounding hill was enough to give the snails five times their usual reach. Dadan’s only rule when you were growing up - the only fully indisputable one, really - was that you’d have a snail when you went into the backwoods or up into the hills.

She didn’t expect you’d get lost, you grew up knowing the land too well. Her concern was if you had an accident. Better for her to come to you, than for you to have to crawl back home, or be found by search and rescue the next day if you were lucky.

In this case you’re pretty sure she wanted you to have the snail in case hubris got the better of you. It had been a few years since you’d gone on a proper hike, but you walked something like 40,000 steps a day in heels for work. Still, level flooring wasn’t the same as hills and rocky paths.

Sitting in the passenger seat, soft music playing on the radio, you were glad for the lift up to the overlook at least.

“Thanks for this.”

“Certainly.” He replies. “If I had the time to wait, I’d give you a ride back.”

“I appreciate that, but it’ll be nice to walk the woods again.” You admit. “Oh, this feels like one of those, if I don’t ask for your number I’m going to need it for something, and if I do ask I won’t have to pester you while I’m here, kinds of situations.” You say, pulling your phone out of your pocket.

He laughs, and gives you his number. “I don’t think you’d be able to pester me, yoi.”

“I could take that as a challenge,” you tease, sending him a few messages back to back of pineapple emojis and pictures. You can hear his phone’s muffled chime with each message.

“Just don’t send anything too risky,” he hums. “I don’t want to risk checking my phone and giving some poor customer a shock.”

You laugh, a cackle that seems to want to do exactly that, but you shake your head. “I won’t fluster your delicate sensibilities, pineapple.”

“Is that to say I could fluster yours?” He prompts.

Pressing your lips together you look away from him and out the window, desperate to be sure your voice was steady when you spoke. “My sensibilities aren’t so delicate.”

“A challenge then.”

You can feel the shiver roll up your spine, but you manage to stay still. Turning back to look at him you do your best to give him a look that, you hoped, conveyed the idea that you were still in charge in this little conversation.

“Bring it on, minor league.”

Marco pulls into the makeshift lot by the overlook, putting the car in park. “I doubt anything will happen, but if you have cell service, call me. It’ll be easier for me to hike to you than Dadan.”

Smiling you open the car door and get out. “I doubt anything will happen too, but thanks.”

Closing the door you tap the roof of the car before walking away. You wave without looking, whether he’s looking or not, but you don’t know that you could’ve dealt with looking at him any longer. It was stupid to get attached. Some light flirting - no, teasing - was totally normal between childhood friends.

That’s all this was, and that was okay. Marco was a good guy. He wasn’t going to lead you on, into anything that couldn’t be, and you weren’t going to do anything to hurt him. It was safe.

What was a little holiday sex between two consenting adults anyway?

“Gods girl, don’t get ahead of yourself.” You mutter, shaking away thoughts that felt a bit wrong to be carrying on your way to a grave.

The walk was a little longer than you expected it to be. You thought that the distance would feel shorter now that you were older, but somehow the woods seemed even bigger than before. Bird songs filled the air, and the soft crunch of underbrush were the only sounds to speak of. You could feel the woods breathing around you.

It’s what Dadan had called it.

Knowing how the woods drew breath was knowing how to walk them. How to avoid the rabbits when you weren’t hungry, and how to find them when you were. How to avoid one-eared bears when you didn’t want to deal with them, and how to track them down when you needed to.

It reminded you of Katakuri, for some reason. Knowing the rhythm of the forest, and his ability to read people. The forest was simpler, in your opinion, but maybe it was something you could work on later. Trying to read people the way you did the trees.

Once you cleared the tree line, you saw it.

Your breath was visible in the crisp air, your own breathing a little heavier than you’d like, but the walk back would be easier. It was uphill to get here, downhill to get home. Not that you were worried about your breathing right now.

Halvards were stones of remembrance. Guardians that watched over those sent to war, or lost in disasters. Halvard Stones were large, formless white stones where people would stack smaller stones around them, usually with someone’s name carved into the smaller stones. The halvard would then watch over those lost who couldn’t be buried where they belonged.

What the town had put up for Roger and Pops wasn’t exactly a halvard, but it was a kind of formless headstone. Which made sense, because anything else would eventually be found.

It was also more likely that they cremated them and let the hills have their ashes, so you doubted anything was buried beneath the stone.

The stone was cold and smooth beneath your fingers. It was cold because it was cold outside, it was, but it felt so warm you didn’t know what to do. Warm in a comforting way, though the cold stone wasn’t hurting your fingers, but you couldn’t shake the sense of being hugged.

“H-hey, Pops… I…” Tears rushed up to your eyes, twisting your mouth and gripping your heart even as you felt comforted. “Sorry… ‘m sorry… I’m late, but.”

Sinking down to your knees, pressing your head to the stone, you sob.

You thought you had time.

He was so strong. Larger than life. A force of nature. A calamity in the eyes of those who feared him, and an enduring mountain to those who loved him. No matter how terrible the storm, no matter how cold the wind, there was nothing that could bring down the mountain.

You stayed there, knelt by the stone, sobbing and apologizing, until your tears had run their course and your apologies had warmed the stone. There was nothing you could do. There was no reason to hold onto any guilt, especially since part of coming up here had been to let go of it. You made the choices you could, knowing what you knew, there was no way to go back and correct that.

“When’s the next time you think you’ll be able to visit?”

“I wish I knew. Candy Land just absorbed another company, I might not even see much of my apartment this weekend.”

“Keep an eye out for a chance, little warrior. I want to talk to you about something.”

“I have a few minutes to spare now, Pops. Maybe a full hour Sunday?”

“Some things, child, have to be said face to face.”

“If you say so. I’ll do my best, hang in there for me.”

“Gu-rarara! Don’t make it sound like I’m death’s door!”

“Of course not. There’ll be plenty of time, but I’ll try not to make you wait.”

You thought you had time.

[isolaradiale]

We previously teased that we'd be doing something different for the December event, and this is it! Because everyone is busy with the holidays and there are likely event reruns some members would like to do but can't since they never win the polls, we decided to try a period where you can choose whichever event you'd like to write during the three week event period.

There are, of course, some rules and caveats for this:

Most events are available to be chosen but not all of them. This is because some of the staff who wrote those events are no longer with us. You can find a list of eligible events at the bottom of this post!

You must choose a single event to receive event participation with on any single blog. You're more than welcome to thread with others doing other events so that they have people to write with, but you can only claim participation for a single event during this period!

There is a flat reward of a free unlock for everyone who participates regardless of whether or not the event you pick gives an unlock. This is so everyone receives an unlock regardless of the event chosen. Picking one that gives an unlock will not give you two, you will still only receive the single unlock. You must write at least 300 IC words for your chosen event to be eligible to claim the unlock.

The usual rules on the EVENT RERUN GUIDE still apply! Your character will see the city in the state that it was in during that event, and will believe everyone is going through the same thing.

HOW PARTICIPATING IN MULTIPLE EVENTS WORKS

As a preliminary reminder: you can only claim participation for a single event regardless of how many you participate in. Participating in multiple events is more to help others get interactions as most members will be choosing different things.

Characters are sent to a different digital reconstruction of the city depending on which rerun you're doing. Areas unique to the event are recreated in this space too.

Characters will not remember being in multiple events at the same time during the event period. You can't have a thread in Subversion and then hop into The Maskerade Festival and have your character recall being in Subversion right before that. They will remember all of the events after this event period is over, however.

Because the event reruns take place in a digital space, there is no 1:1 timeline with the outside world. Reruns have no tangible effect on the city where business continues as usual. Just because your character feels like they spent a week in an event does not mean a week has passed in the city proper. Just keep in mind that events do canonically last two to four weeks depending on the event, so your character couldn't spend more than that amount of time (from their perspective) in a single event rerun.

Below you can find a list of eligible events along with links to their information posts:

COVET

SUBVERSION (PT1 + PT2)

THE FANTASIA WAR (PT1 + PT2)

DREAMSCAPE

EMPATHEOREM

CUPID SHUFFLE

SECURITY BREACH (PT1 + PT2)

SHORE

MASKERADE FESTIVAL

SHINE BRIGHT

OPTIMIZATION

CANVAS (PT1 + PT2)

LATESUMMER NIGHT'S SOIREE

MISTIFIED

CREW CALL

SUBSISTENCE (PT1 + PT2)

A CROCUS AMONG US

DOWN YOU GO

FRAGMEMORIA (PT1 + PT2)

THE CHALLENGER'S PATH

DATA CORRUPT (PT1 + PT2)

HOMECOMING (PT1 + PT2)

SPIRALE GAMES

ENDLESS AURORA

PHANTASM AMALGAM (PT1 + PT2)

COLOUR THEORY (MID-EVENT UPDATE)

ALTERNATIVE ALLEGORY

[misfitwashere]

Putin's paranoia (updated)

Terror, delusion, and self-destruction

Timothy Snyder

Mar 29, 2024

            A week ago, four men associated with Islamic State attacked civilians in a concert venue near Moscow known as Crocus City Hall.  Islamic State (IS-K) claimed responsibility for the horrifying mass murder, and released videos recorded the terrorists' perspective (don't watch them).  Russia has since apprehended four men, who seem to be the perpetrators. 

            Russia has been engaged with Islamic State for some time.  Russia has been bombing Syria since 2015.  Russia and Islamic State compete throughout Africa for resources.  All four of the accused are Tajiks, a people subjected to discrimination inside Russia.

            These are the facts, subject to further verification and interpretation -- and inherently unpredictable, as facts always are.  What was entirely predictable (and predicted) was that, regardless of the facts, Putin and his propagandists would place the blame for the attack on Ukraine and the United States.  On the internet (and in the Russian and Serbian press) this version is present.

            It is not hard to see why.  If Ukraine and the West are guilty, then Russian security services do not have to explain why they failed to stop Islamic terrorists from killing so many Russians, because Islamic terror vanishes from the story.  And if Ukrainians are to blame, then this would seem to justify the war that Russia is prosecuting against Ukraine.

Aftermath of Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv, 25 March

            Russian officials make a highly circumstantial argument: the terrorists' car was stopped near Bryansk, which is in western Russia, and so vaguely near Ukraine, which means that the four Tajiks in a Renault were intending to cross the Ukrainian border, which means that they had Ukrainian backers, which means that it was a Ukrainian operation, which means that the Americans were behind it.  The reasoning here leaves something to be desired.  And the series of associations rests on no factual basis.

            The suspects were in a car near the west Russian city of Bryansk.  This much seems to be true.  The first version of the story was that they were headed for Belarus, which would make more sense, given the route.  Anyone with local knowledge would make a still more telling point. Because of the special relationship between Russia and Belarus, the Russian-Belarusian border is porous.  Once inside Belarus, it is relatively easy to pass into the European Union, because the Belarusian regime enables human smuggling into Lithuania and Poland.  Four Tajiks in a Renault would have been, in this sense, welcome in Belarus.  They would have had a decent chance to pay a smuggler to get them into the Schengen zone and thereby escape.

            The idea that the suspects were headed for Ukraine seems to be entirely invented and is extremely implausible.  As of this writing, none of the suspects seem to have said anything about Ukraine, despite the fact that they have been tortured, presumably with such a confession in mind.  And the notion of a Ukrainian escape route makes no sense.  The Russian-Ukrainian border is a place where Russian security forces are concentrated.  It is a site of combat.  It is the last place terrorists would want to go.  Four Tajiks in a Renault would have needed some very, very high-level Russian protection to get anywhere near the Russian-Ukrainian border. 

            Russian propagandists have told the population that it was not Islamic State but Ukraine who is to blame.  ISIS is just a "fake."  The propagandists need not give reasons, and don't.  In the press, one finds the wildest chains of association.  Britain is to blame for the attack (goes one claim) because one of the suspects was once in Turkey and the Turkish president knows the head of British foreign intelligence.

            Only Putin is permitted to set the theoretical tone for the argument for Ukrainian involvement, and yesterday (25 March) he gave that a shot.  His version went like this: Ukrainians are Nazis; Nazis do bad things; a bad thing happened; therefore Ukraine is to blame.  One does not have to be a logician to find the holes.  They are disturbingly large.   While it is true that Nazis do bad things, it does not follow that all bad things are done by Nazis. 

            And the factual premise is empirically false. One should not have to say this at this point of the war, but the Ukrainians are not the Nazis in this conflict.  The Ukrainian far right has never done well in elections, and is far less prominent than in any European state you care to name, let alone the United States.  Ukrainians have an active civil society, a vibrant press, multiple political parties, and freedom of speech.  Ukraine's president won a free and fair election.  He is also, incidentally, Jewish.  The Ukrainian minister of defense, for that matter, is a Muslim.  The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces was born in Russia, where his parents still reside.  This kind of political and social pluralism is unusual by any standards.

A Kyivan looks out the window after the 25 March Russian missile strike.

            In Putin's version of the Russian language, of course, the word "Nazi" has no meaning beyond "what I wish for you to consider as the enemy."  If we are going to pursue the question of who the fascists in this war are, however, it is worth knowing that Russia has none of what Ukraine has.  Putin has never won anything like a plausible election to any office.  His regime has crushed civil society, political parties (except his own), and the press.  Putin runs a single-party state where the only principle of the single party is his personal status as its Leader.  He rules at home by terror and prosecutes a genocidal war abroad, in Ukraine, with the help of Russian soldiers who ever more often openly identify as fascists.  Putin himself espouses what is unmistakably a fascist ideology.

            Calling the Ukrainians the Nazis while being the Nazis is not itself a problem within this system, since being the fascists involves living within a big lie.  The challenge to such a system is that reality sometimes intervenes in a way that is hard to control -- as when Islamic State carries out an act of terror.  This brings in a whole set of political and social realities that are usually suppressed in Russian propaganda: the bombing of Syrian civilians since 2015; the bloody resource wars in Africa; the oppression of Tajiks.  

            In Russia's system, it is not simply political convenience that adds the big lie of Ukrainian jihadism to the big lie of Ukrainian Nazism.  It is the deeper need to make reality, or at least psychological reality, conform to the story told by the state.  In the psychological project, more killing is necessary.  Russians are engaged in the project of killing Ukrainians.  Russians in Ukraine torture Ukrainians for being loyal to Ukraine, deport Ukrainian children for assimilation to Russia, and persecute and execute local elites who they regard as threats.  Russians fire some combination of shells, glide bombs, drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Ukraine every single day, for no reason that communicates with reality. Yesterday, for example, multiple Ukrainian cities were struck by fifty-seven Russian missiles and drones.

            It is the killing itself that makes the lies true, in a psychological sense.  Russian soldiers who have killed Ukrainians believe they are fighting "Nazis," whatever that means.  And now Russian soldiers write "for Crocus" on he shells they fire at Ukrainians.  Yesterday (25 March) Russia fired two ballistic missiles at central Kyiv, even as Russian authorities announced that the terrorist attack means that they are permitted to kill high officials of the Ukrainian state.

Rescue workers prepare to help victims after a Russian ballistic missile hit the Kyiv Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design. Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

            Among Ukrainians, all of this generates a weary shrug.  It has been a kind of Western parlor game these last two years to ascertain the "rational" motivations behind Russia's war of atrocity in Ukraine.  Such a debate is attractive in the West, because if one can identify a Russian rationality one can then defend a policy of doing less, or doing nothing, to help Ukraine win the war.  If Russia is rational, then surely some compromise can be found.  This is a Russian leadership, however, that interprets the fact of American warnings about the attack as a reason to blame the United States for it: as the puppetmaster of Ukraine, which is itself the puppetmaster of Islamic State. 

            For Ukrainians, being identified as Islamists as well as Nazis is just one more detail in what is for them a war of self-defense and survival.  And of course, as Ukrainians will remind you, for different audiences the Kremlin also characterizes Ukraine as the center of gay civilization, as an element of the Jewish international conspiracy, and as a Satanist cult.  So (the memes are out there) Ukraine is now a gay Jewish Nazi Islamist Satanist regime.

            The Kremlin goal of identifying Ukrainians as terrorists might matter in the war.  It can be used as an excuse to continue, to mobilize, to commit new kinds of war crimes.  This is one way this will certainly go.  But it is not certain that this development will be stable. 

            It might matter to Russians that Putin's big lie about Ukraine is growing whiskers.  Once forced into gay-Nazi-Jewish-Islamist-Satanist territory, Russians just might be reminded of the late Stalinist purges directed against supposed Zionist-Trotskyite-fascist-imperialist (etc.) conspiracies.  Or, more simply, people inside the regime, backed into a corner by Putin's escalation of unreality, might just realize that the Ukrainian scenario makes no logistical sense, and lacks any evidentiary basis. 

            This can undermine Putin's authority, and the sense that his story is a useful one.  Judging by yesterday's appearance, this is no longer the nimble post-truth Putin who is capable of changing out one lie for another as necessary, with a wink to the insider along the way.  This now seems to be a Putin who actually believes what he says -- or, in the best case, lacks the creativity to react to events in the world.  His speech yesterday was grim for everyone, including to Russians who would like to think that their leader is ahead of events.

            Putin's Ukrainian theory could make Russia more vulnerable to terrorism.  The Crocus City Hall attack was more likely because Putin has chosen to use his security apparatus against Ukraine and the opposition.  It is typical of his priorities that, on the very day of the Crocus City Hall attack, the regime defined international LGBT organizations as "terrorist."  When Putin publicly ridiculed the United States on 19 March for warning of an Islamic State attack, he was signaling to the security apparatus that this was not a real danger.  In conflating Islamic State with Ukraine now, he is doing the same thing at a higher level.  That cannot be helpful in the practical work of preventing another attack.

            Nor can, surely, Putin’s idea that Islamic State takes orders from the Jewish president of a European state, and that its actors are nothing more than pawns of American masters.  I am not going to claim any expert knowledge of how Islamic State works or its leaders think, but it seems like it would not be best practice to ignore it and insult it at the same time.  Publicizing the photos of the tortured suspects, as Russia has done, almost seems like goading Islamic State. 

            And although the official Kremlin position is that Kyiv and Washington and London are to blame, Russians have reacted (to the attack, and presumably also to the photos) by treating migrants and minorities aggressively.  Because Putin denies that Islamic State is the actor, he cannot tell Russians that Islamic State is one thing and Muslims in Tajiks in general are another.  He has created the impression, instead, that Muslims and Tadjiks are the enemy because they work for the West.