#decking Adare

[solastimber]

Enhance your outdoor oasis in Adare with Solas Timbers' expert decking solutions. From intimate gatherings to grand celebrations, our meticulously crafted decks provide the perfect backdrop for every occasion. 

[themalhambird]

so I made this post, @celebrimbor-apologist made these fantastic tags:

#Just#I could imagine Sauron as a khan-esque guy#He's angry at the federation#He hides in plain sight#Manipulates mansplains manslaughters his way through it#While he's on the ship#Adar sees right through him because#Hes been with the capitalist assholes who fucked up his uruks#But by that time Adar is still kinda new on the ship so he isn't as trusted#That's what makes it all the more tragic that sauron gets along well with Celebrimbor#Because Adar and him got along well#Please no Tyelpe dying here please#But dramatic “we were all fooled” scene in sickbay pls#ALSO#Navigations Officer Camnir#Vorohil at the weapons console

and, well. My hand slipped...

Without any discussion amongst themselves, the other senior officers have fallen into pattern, keeping vigil at Celebrimbor’s side in the medbay in shifts. It feels important that somebody is there when he wakes up, and well. The Lindon has spent the better part of a month in enemy control, dead in space, with engineering and the bridge both sealed off, life support functions cutting in and out and explosions buffeting the ship at random moments. The medical officers have their hands full. 

“Ga…lad..riel?”

It’s been three days. It’s early- or late, depending on perspective- and it’s Galadriel’s turn on Celebrimbor-Watch. She had been just about half way to sleep herself. Now, she snaps awake– a bright smile splitting her face at the sight of Celebrimbor’s sharp, bright eyes.  “Hello you.”

“Did…it work..? The transporter?” 

“It worked.” 

Celebrimbor exhales with relief, eyes shutting for a moment. The grief and distress on his face eases briefly, and then his eyes fly wide open once more. He sits up, moving as though he intends to swing out of the bed and start running. “The warp drive. The core, it’s going- the system wasn’t made to handle- she’s going to blow-”

“No, no- Celebrimbor, you fixed it.” Galadriel grabs his arms and holds him steady, noting in the back of her mind how he flinches and whimpers at the contact but not wanting to let go until she’s sure he’s not going to do himself further injury by trying to get up. “Remember,” she says, fixing her steady eyes on his. “Remember? You rigged up a transporter beam and blasted Sauron off the ship. You got control back to the bridge and dropped the shields cutting engineering off. Adar came down– just him, in case the air was too toxic, the deck too unstable or dark for anybody else. Adar found you, and you told him about the transporter, and the threat to the warp drive. You fixed it together, and then you collapsed. Adar carried you from engineering to the medbay, and you’ve been here for three days.”

“Three days?” Celebrimbor repeats. Slowly, he lets Galadriel sink him back down against the pillows. The first officer nods. 

“Three days,” she confirms. “You’re doing well, and the Lindon-” she pauses. Frankly, the Lindon is a mess. Whatever Sauron was trying to achieve, the engine deck has been well and truly cannibalised. So bad is it that the engineers- having secured life support, and repaired any immediately threatening damage, are reluctant to touch anything else until Celebrimbor is able to take a look first. Gil-galad has sent distress signals not only on Star Fleet channels, but on Vulcan, Klingon- even Ferengi frequencies. In an uncharacteristic display of temper and bloodlust Elrond has declared that if they ever manage to figure out what random coordinates Celebrimbor sent Sauron to, he’s going to pull the Maia’s guts out and rearrange them and see how he likes it. “The Lindon is stable,” she says, “and in no immediate danger.”

“Oh. That is…that is good.” Celebrimbor’s eyes drift closed again. Federation medicine had vanquished whatever burns, cuts, and bruises naturally rapid Feonorian healing hadn’t already taken care of (and it worries everyone that Celebrimbor both had wounds old enough that they should have already healed themselves- and that the true extent of how badly hurt their friend has been injured in the last month is, as of yet, unclear). Nevertheless,  the Engineer’s captivity- and, Galadriel supposes, his ordeal in the run up to it, the period where there had been a growing concern that he was experiencing a psychological breakdown- has left him gaunt- visibly ashen and exhausted. He swallows, and seems to be steeling himself for something. When he speaks again, he doesn’t open his eyes, and though he seems to be doing his best to lie very, very still, there’s a faint tremor in his fingers. 

“Galadriel?”

“Yes?”

“Will you…will you please tell Captain Gil-galad that I…am ready to be escorted to the brig at…his pleasure? I will…co-operate fully. With a court martial. Whatever charges he wishes to bring, I’ll not contest them.” he turns his face toward her and when his eyes open again, they are brimming with tears. “If he will see me, I should like to apologize. I neither expect nor deserve forgiveness, but even so, I am sorry. For my foolishness. For not..being strong enough…” A tear spills down , dripping onto the bridge of his nose. Galadriel’s own eyes prickle. 

“Celebrimbor.” She moves her hand to just above his, and when he doesn’t draw away, gently takes it. His fingers are colder than they should be. “Of course Gil-galad will see you- but because you are his friend and he is concerned, not because he is angry. There is no question of a Court Martial- you saved the ship-”

“After I endangered it in the first place-”

“After your attempts at warning of the danger were ignored-”

“The danger that was all my fault-”

“Control of the ship was seized by a hostile alien force who manipulated and coerced you into doing its’ bidding,” Galadriel says. “Celebrimbor, we all thought Annatar was who he claimed to be. That you saw through it at all…well. You remember when he was with us as Halbrand. And I nearly punched Gil-galad in the face?”

Celebrimbor frowns. “...You did punch Gil-galad in the face. And then Gil-galad punched you back. You both ended up rolling around on the floor, pulling each other’s hair.”

“Not according to any of the official logs,” Galadriel says archly “According to the official logs, we only nearly came to blows.  Only you, Gil-galad, and I know different-”

“Elrond knows.”

“Elrond knows everything, Elrond doesn’t count.”

They lapse into silence for a while. It’s not uncomfortable. “The point is,” Galadriel says at last. “If he hadn’t left us when he did, the first time, I don’t know that he wouldn’t have persuaded me to mutiny. And it took us weeks of going back over everything when we found out he wasn’t who he had claimed, piercing it all together, that we even realised he had been manipulating us. And then, when we were explicitly watching for him…he did it all over again. We were all fooled. Alright, Adar was suspicious,” she acknowledges, a little begrudgingly. “But all that meant was that Annatar- Sauron- persuaded me to lock out his access to the bridge. To be fair, I’m still not sure how he had access in the first place-”

The tips of Celebrimbor’s ears turn pink. “That- ah. That may have been me. A flux coil blew in one of the helm’s navigation controls during the party for Disa and Durin’s anniversary. It was a downshift, no one was on the bridge, and everyone else was having such fun, I didn’t want to drag them away to spend half an hour standing about watching me in case I somehow managed to give myself a plasma–shock doing repairs so routine I could manage in the dark standing backward and with one hand tied behind my back. And, well, I got distracted by- that doesn’t matter- and I forgot to revoke it, and no one seemed to mind his coming and going as he pleased until…well. Until Annatar.”

“The point is- and maybe don’t tell anyone else you gave a non-Federation civilian you met when he abducted you the security clearance to get onto the bridge,” Galdriel interjects into her own sentence, the image of an external investigation into this whole mess suddenly flashing before her eyes. “The point is, we were all fooled, Celebrimbor. Twice over.” she squeezes his hand. “You have nothing to blame yourself for, no apologies you need to make.”

“Nevertheless,” Celebrimbor says. He gives her hand a hesitant squeeze in return. “I will make them. Will you tell the Captain I wish to see him, when it’s convenient?”

“I’ll tell him you’re awake, and he’ll come straight down.” Galadriel stands, leaning forward to drop a gentle kiss on his forehead on her way up. “I’d better fetch you a doctor, to, just to give you another look over now you’re awake.” She lets go of his hand, but lingers long enough to give him a last smile. “It’s good to see you, my friend. It is so very good to see you.”

[thesummerestsolstice]

How Silm characters would react to meeting their Rings of Power counterparts:

Gil-Galad:

Oh they do not like each other

"I'm sorry, you said what to Elrond?"

RoP!Gil thinks Silm!Gil isn't detached and regal enough

Silm!Gil is trying to figure out the political consequences of decking him

"I'm sorry, you sent Galadriel where??"

At some point RoP!Gil, who can't believe this is another version of him, asks Silm!Gil what his royal lineage is

Silm!Gil gets real quiet after that lmao

If they ended up physically fighting Silm!Gil would win RoP!Gil fights like a normal elf and Silm!Gil bites

I think the Elronds have to pull them apart eventually

Elrond:

The Elronds get along very well I think

Silm!Elrond teaches RoP!Elrond some eldritchry

RoP!Elrond tells Silm!Elrond all about his speech craft

I think Silm!Elrond would be very into animal-carcass-related metaphors, he's a weird little guy

I feel like Silm!Elrond would feel bad for RoP!Elrond, who clearly deals with a lot of disrespect in Lindon, and would try to teach him how to be a bit more assertive

They bond over having to deal with everyone else's bullshit

Galadriel:

See this is bad for Middle-Earth

Silm!Galadriel is less openly angry but just as much of a force of nature as RoP!Galadriel

And Silm!Galadriel is also a lot better at the more subtle conniving stuff so between them they do, in fact, possess all the skills needed to take over Middle-Earth

They're busy scheming up plans to wipe Sauron off the face of the planet and frankly good for them

Celebrimbor:

They also get along very well

They talk for 15 straight hours about forge stuff

Silm!Cel talks about Annatar and RoP!Cel is like "lovely! no red flags here!"

RoP!Cel talks about how the idea for the rings came from some random, very suspicious "human" and Silm!Cel is like "haha yeah inspiration comes from the strangest places sometimes'

They're a little bit stupid but they're also beefy and kind so we can forgive them

Sauron:

Halbrand and Annatar immediatly start viciously insulting each other

They both accuse each other of having terrible taste (in Finweans and incarnate forms)

"Useless sparkly twink!" "Filthy mortal!" "I can't believe you tried to seduce Celebrimbor!" "At least I didn't try and fail to seduce Galadriel!"

Annatar finds out about the situation with Adar and the orcs and bullys Halbrand relentlessly about it

Sauron's ego can't take there being more than one version of him

Hopefully they keep each other busy until the Galadriels smite them

[sillymarillly]

Just finished TROP and am very much losing my mind thanks!!!!

CELEBRIMBOR MY LOVE THEY DID YOU SO DIRTY (yes it was close enough to canon but STILL. HE WAS LITERALLY CELEBRIMBANNERED ON SCREEN)

Charles Edwards the actor that you are!!!!

DISA. My love for her cannot be put into words.

And then the Balrog. Nuh-uhhhhh.

Also Imladris??? Next season perchance???

Honestly I prefer this season's Gil-galad to last season's!!!!

And Adar. I did honestly like his character, his death hurt a good amount.

ANNATAR

I have never wanted to deck my TV screen so hard!! Like Charlie Vickers seems like such a nice person how did he fit all that malice on screen???

[baddybaddyadardaddy]

THE MERCURY HAS YET AGAIN RISEN, MY FRIENDS

AS EXPECTED, THIS WEEK JUST ABOUT BROKE THE BADDYDADDY BAROMETER

pretty sure at this point Adar is Doomed By The Narrative, but damn is he gonna go down swinging. Using Gal like that was a Bad Move. He's gonna blow it with the boys by inviting Damrod to the party, and it seems like he's now going to be targeting Elrond specifically since he is carrying Nenya and that is DEFINITELY not gonna end well for anyone. I WILL actively claw the walls if we we don't get his full backstory before he snuffs it though. WE DESERVE IT.

Bless the all-female directing corps for the ABSOLUTELY SLUTTASTIC CAMERA TREATMENT OF ADAR IN THIS EPISODE. Long lingering shots. Heavy breathing. Weird underlying sexual tension. I swear to god there were MULTIPLE times that i thought those two were in clear and present danger of SUCKING GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF FACE.

We also got a JUICY Black Speech moment; once again, Sam slays in the tongues of Middle Earth.

All in all, this ep turned in an indisputable reading of DADDY

Tl;dr: Someone on that production team is horndogging HARD for baddydaddy and we are reaping the benefits. (That said, Sam is on deck for Inside ROP next week and I BADLY hope that's not going to be a sendoff... but it might be :/)

anyway, when it is not 4am i will have Additional Thoughts, but that's all for now.

[whenimaunicorn]

Mr. Unicorn and Lil Unicorn are getting into Commander so I requested this deck. Saruman is the other commander in it but I'm going to change that card into Adar 🖤🖤🖤 his main ability is to spawn more Orcs so it's perfect!!

[i-believe-in-melinda-may]

This is called: Adar Fracking with Laura's life even after his death

(Also my first time writing angst Bill/Laura)

While her kids are talking about her in the ready room Laura is in the CIC, watching Bill, trying to determine if he heard what was being discussed on the wireless.

“Commander?” Gaeta asks, approaching Bill, feeling nervous after the way Bill has been acting all morning. “Here’s Doctor Baltar’s report,” Gaeta says, handing it over. “And the president is waiting for you in the core,” Gaeta says.

“Thank you,” Bill says as he glances up to where Laura is, getting a smile a wave in response so he, despite the betrayal and anger he is feeling, smiles back and gestures with the report before walking up to join Laura on the upper level. “Clear the deck,” Bill says to the people at their desks, and once they leave Bill turns to Laura, who unknown to Bill is waiting for him to talk first so she can get some idea of his mood. “Madam President, we are the proud owners of the universe’s first bona fide Cylon detector,” Bill informs Laura, and from his overly professional tone Laura knows that not only did he hear the report, but he was hurt by it.

“Well, that is great news,” Laura comments, trying to force a smile but it falls flat.

“Yeah,” Bill confirms, as he avoids looking at Laura.

“So, when do we begin?” Laura asks.

“Doctor Baltar would like to star widespread testing as soon as possible, but there are some serious limitations,” Bill admits. “He can only do one person at a time and verification takes hours,” Bill explains.

“So, who’s going to go first?” Laura asks curious, trying to engage Bill in more of a conversation.

“That’s the question,” Bill admits. “We should start with people in sensitive situations, people who are required to make ethical decisions for a lot of people,” Bill suggest, and because of the words Bill choose to use Laura feels like she has been punched as she knows exactly what he is implying.

“Well considering the Cylons have already tried to convince me that you’re a Cylon I think you should go first,” Laura says, trying to hide just how much Bill’s words hurt, and instead focus on the decision they need to make. “That way if a Cylon tried to tell someone who doesn’t trust you as much as I do that, you’re a Cylon we have the proof we will need to prove them wrong,” Laura tells Bill.

“Trust right,” Bill mutters bitterly.

“Is there something you’d like to say to me, Bill?” Laura asks, taking a step towards Bill, looking less than happy.

“Not at all, Madam President,” Bill responds, even though there are more than few things he would like to say to Laura.

“It certainly seems like you do,” Laura comments, as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Whatever you want to say you might as well say it before you choke on it,” Laura says angrily, as she is sure that it would be best if they just had the fight that is bubbling under the surface.

“No, I’m not going to do that, we’re not going to do that here,” Bill tells Laura, as he won’t get into a fight with his ex wife in front of his crew.

“Why not?” Laura asks. “Since when do you hold back?” Laura asks, as she has never known Bill to hold back.

“Since I have work to do, and unlike you I can keep things professional,” Bill says, his words once again hurting Laura, but this time he realises it. “Now, if you excuse me Madam President, I have a test to take,” Bill says before walking away, deciding that given everything it is the best thing he can do.

After Bill walks away Laura turns away, so that no one can see, and takes several deep breaths. While she understands that Bill only knows pieces of the story, and she can understand his hurt as she certainly wouldn’t be acting at her best if she out Bill was in a relationship, she would also have liked to believe that Bill would talk to her rather than jumping to conclusions; the fact that he didn’t hurts more than Laura would like to admit.

[bohcards]

The Symurgist's Journal

Feather-Decked Journal

In Caer Adar I heard the secret gods speak one to another. I thought that would be the end of my journey, but the more I heard, the more I knew must be missing. I am the Librarian of Hush House, and I will find what has been lost. [The Symurgist came to Hush House to find a History with the songs that have fallen to silence; but you can complete the game by recording any History. You might wish to begin your studies with the Birdsong Wisdom.]

Sky Wind, storm, echo, song; the intricacies of mathematics and the principles of flight. Law's touch is lighter than we sometimes think. [Matters of balance, harmony and necessity.]

Mystery: Winter Greater challenges require stronger skills.

Memories: the Symurgist 'I eavesdropped on the songs of the Aviform Hours. I'd heard the warnings; I'd lose my mind, my soul, my skin. All those things are true, but no-one ever warns you what happens if you get away with it… which is to say, after that, there just doesn't seem to be anything else worth hearing'

Readable There are worse things to put in your eyes than this.

Thing 'The gentleman makes things his servants. The petty man is servant to things.' - Master Xun

Journal I began before this book, but it'll end when I do.

Grants Chor when studied

The Roots of Memory

Here I began my climb. [As you learn Skills, you can decide where in the Tree of Wisdoms they belong - enriching your Soul as you catalogue the invisible world.

Grants Trist

[greenleaf4stuff]

Live reaction to Adar decking Annatar, artistic representation:

(loved the black and silver getup. For reasons. Picture is a free stock image from pexels.com)

Doodle Request!

You asked so I delivered! @gauntletgirlie

Modern setting at a bar while the Adar and Brimby are trying to pickup a Dom to share.🖤

Kitty is not pleased with that snake going after his Mousey!!!

Adar 🐈‍⬛: 💢💢💢💢

Brimby🐀: ⁉️⁉️⁉️

Adar: *Scolds Brimby later about being too trusting*

[sweetteaanddragons]

Rings of Power: Episode Six Review

Many, many spoilers ahead.

Southlands

- Post-volcano visuals were stunning; I want to steal them for Dagor Bragollach gifsets.

- If, you know, I ever make a gifset. 

- I thought the scene in the healing tent was highly moving, but I have to say, this is the third time I thought we’d find out Bronwyn was dead, and it’s not that I want her to die, it’s just that there’s only so many fakeouts I can care about.

- Speaking of: their treatment of Elendil’s grief for Isildur was fantastic. However.

- We all know Isildur isn’t actually dead.

- We are all very sure of this.

- And it’s not that I wanted anyone in particular to die from the volcano, it’s just that I feel strongly that if you are going to have a volcano erupt and you have an ensemble cast, someone central to the plot SHOULD die of it.

- Instead, even the creepy villager guy made it.

- Speaking of that side of things, the synopsis definitely pulled a fast one on me with Adar; I assumed he’d be coming up with a new name for himself, not the Southlands.

- . . . honestly, I think that reveal would have hit harder if they’d waited. The book fans already knew where this was going, but letting it be called Mordor by the narration really nails home that they’re not getting the land back, and I think they should have waited to nail this particular coffin closed. It’s inevitable, sure, but timing is everything.

- Oh, yeah.

- There’s also Celeborn.

- I literally shouted WHAT at my screen.

- Several times.

- Don’t get me wrong, I support him existing in the narrative, I just -

- This was such a bewildering direction to take with him.

- Him going out to fight in the war instead of staying in Doriath. Him being missing, presumed dead, when we all know he’s going to have to turn up again later.

- Why would you make this narrative choice? What is the plan?

- I have so many questions, and I’m not sure I want the answers.

Harfoots

- It’s a little thing, but I like that they say “hair of her foot” instead of “hair of her head.”

- I liked Poppy’s song about snails.

- In general, I like the slow dread of the smaller horrors the Harfoots had to face in this episode.

- I have mixed feelings about Poppy’s decision to go after the Stranger (can we just go ahead and call him Gandalf now? I feel really sure he’s Gandalf now). On the one hand, warning him is a noble goal; on the other hand, the Harfoots really need all hands on deck right now.

- Sadoc continues to be a standout character; I love how he clings to his traditions, but stills tries so desperately to be kind about it, like when he’s sending the Stranger away.

- I also love his final lines in the episode - the grumpy resignation of ‘we might as well do this’ that’s behind “Why not? We’re all going to die anyway,” and how he then throws himself into doing it, and the humor of, “How could we miss him? He’s a GIANT.”

- Very curious about the creepy people following the Stranger.

Dwarves

- I loved just about every scene that Durin was in.

- Love the references to Khuzdul and to dwarves’ secret names, though I don’t quite like the dwarf lords using it in front of Elrond, even quietly.

- So Durin has a brother! Who we haven’t heard from until now. Some kind of rift?

- Durin the elder disinheriting his son over the argument seems extreme.

- Disa’s reaction is . . . interesting. Up until now, she’s been a very positively focused character; her final scene with Durin here was giving me definite Lady Macbeth vibes. Our friend Disa is ambitious.

- I kind of like it.

- Like. It definitely puts a more morally gray vibe out there for her. But I think it could be fun.

- Not sure of the feasibility of that two man mining operation they had going, but I really liked the vibe between the two characters.

- And we have our balrog! Earlier than I was expecting him.

[vivalaezra]

Agent of Eorzea:Recruit

Chapter 8

Ezra skidded to a stop besides Wyatt, pausing to conjure a healing spell the moment he connected his accelerator to his sword and adopted that familiar stance those who practiced the red arts took on while casting. The Roe was trying to wave him off as he did so however, pushing to spur the red mage on. “Can’t waste time on me!” He argued.

“Still have time left... If it’s on a timer she had to leave herself enough time to escape.” Ezra reasoned.

“Kind of cocky to  think you can find it that easy.” Wyatt countered.

“A bomb which uses gas, needs a large enough room to circulate... Open windows perhaps... Below deck somewhere so it rises up and clears space... And it has to look inconspicuous so it would go unnoticed up until now.... Did I miss anything?” Ezra said unable to hide his smirk as Wyatt was was bathed in a warm bright light and the wounds he endured began to shrink back.

“... Smart ass... Go, I’ll secure our traitor here.” Wyatt said with a chuckle as he rushed over to Sumi. Ezra wasted little time, racing to the stairwell and opting to leap downward to the deck below as to not waste any more time. Landing with a thud, he looked around to ensure there were no more surprises for me him. All the while he hoped he wasn’t just being cocky like Wyatt said and knew what the hell he was talking about. Maybe there was no timer at all and it would go off any second. He shook his head in disagreement though. No, She needed to stay alive to set the scene afterwards. Ezra looked about the ship, frozen in place as he tried to reason where Sumi would store the bomb. Somewhere it would go unnoticed. Curious eyes would notice anything odd around her footlocker as a ship hand as herself wouldn’t have private quarters. Any good spy wouldn’t keep anything condemning around their person while under cover as well. It needed to be something she had access too but could store out of sight. He then thought to the first time he saw her. She had been playing cards and moving to get refills for her drinking partners. However when Ezra told her who he had been there to meet, she headed off in the other direction, forgetting about the drinks in question.. Which meant... Ezra raced off to where she had moved towards and ran right into a store room. Pausing at the entry, he frantically looked about and saw nothing out of the norm. Just crates. He was beginning to feel nervous and prayed he didn’t choose wrong again but then his gaze shifted to a grate that was out of place. Not as large as the others, it stood by itself, not stacked along with the other crates.  This has to be it!

Kneeling behind the crate he brought one had up to it and was about to lift the lid when he paused. Was it a trap? Did she set something up in place in case someone found it?

Think! Think! Think! He chastised himself then paused. Think, think, think... His thoughts followed a pattern, a repeating tone.

Pressing his ear to the box he found he wasn’t crazy.

Tick, tick, tick.

A clock was inside, perhaps something used to count down. Now convinced this was the box he looked around the room frantically. Could he risk moving it? If he was afraid to open the lid out of fear of it going off could he even risk trying to lift the damned thing? He was running out of options fast and he knew it. Could he managed to get everyone one off the ship in time? What about the supposed sharks which were out there?

“.... This better work...” He said to himself before he whistled long and hard.

Ezra heard the fluttering of wings upon the window and didn’t need to look to know his mount was just outside. “Fly high Addy...” He ordered his mount who responded with a squawk and took off.

Hand placed on the box, Ezra took a deep breath and began to pour his aether into the accelerator. For about two years now he had been studying aetheric currents. He studied with Master Matoya, read his grand fathers journals, and even came up with his own theories regarding the use of teleportation magics. So he was fairly certain that he would be able to port the small distance from the ship to his mount high above with the bomb in toll.... Or he would somehow fuse with the crate and explode..  “Well... Here goes...” He said as he focused on his mount, creating the mental image in his head as the store room was flooded with blinding light. The light continued to building, bathing everything with it’s luminous glow until Ezra was forced to close his eyes and then just like that, he was swallowed by darkness... Black inky darkness that stretched on for all eternity.

Meanwhile, Adar continued to rise higher and higher, his master no where in sight...

[malkaleh]

Aragorn, just praying to Manwe that he can get the twins to Not. He is kind of an anchor for them, because little brother. But yes, hissed rapid Sindarin, not giving a fuck about the stares they are getting (“He was talking about Adar.”) - now I have a POV from a very very angry towns person! (Aragorn. “Get out before I let go and believe me, I wish to”)

The master and his supporters say something to Thorin about oh, how unfortunate that his ancestor had to associate with one of Saurons pets and listen, Thorin doesn’t know this story but suddenly he was inexplicably seized with the desire to fucking deck someone.

Bard had heard the master and his cronies make crude jokes but he’d never put any of it together and anyway, WHEN HE DOES.

Auriel may not have known (although she might, depending but I kind of want to read that fic so much! See Aragorn and the twins!)

OH MY G-D IT IS SO MUCH (like Frodo asking Aragorn about it!) I am so working on @nocompromise-noregrets

Like Elrond - when Frodo awakens he hears an angry whisper, almost - an image of fire and shadow at the gates of Rivendell that he does not understand - a picture of fair hands in dark curls.

And Celebrimbor - Frodo feels he knows him, somehow - but it is a possessive jealousy, an anger.

OH FUCK WORMTONGUE INSULTING HE IS SO DEAD.

No I need to physically meet up with @nocompromise-noregrets and possibly talk her ear off about my thoughts on Gold Cages: LOTR events among other things but like in lieu.

The time the twins nearly killed a guy in some tiny village and bb!Aragorn was like WHAT IN THE FUCK. And then he was like HOLD MY BEER.

How to get banned from Dale Forever.

Thorin is not holding onto the braincells at this point (he regrets it)

Frodo and the incredibly disturbing monologues

Actually The Hobbit in this verse!

[jannaphia]

Can you tell us more about Ronan? Like some info about all the kingdoms and places? Your worldbuilding seems so fascinating I’d love to know literally everything *heart eyes*

Anon, you have no idea what a can of worms you opened up here :DSorry in advance, this will be long!

Empire of Asturia

The empire used to be a small state simply called Asturia, until its then King grew a bit too ambitious, decided to expand his realm and declare himself emperor. After centuries of warring, marrying the right people, annexing and bullying smaller states into submission, the empire has become the largest nation in the history of the continent.The empire itself is split into smaller counties, duchies & land- and margravines, loosely resembling the shapes of their initial sovereign nations.Right beneath the emperor in status are the Princes or Fürsten. None of them own land per se, but those are the people controlling the fate of the empire. The senate made up of ‘ambassadors’ from the various territories now contained in the empire has very little power, and is more often than not a farce to make them feel like they have a voice in the capital.Even though the emperor rules alone, there is one person whose words may weigh even more: a True Immortal called Salain de Avennes, who has made Karisan his patron city.

Bregón

Once the counterweight to an ever hungry empire, Bregón lost much in the last war. Among those things were control of the Harrow (the main pass accross the Wilds), two regiments of finely trained soldiers (they walked too far into the Wilds and never returned) and their reigning King (assassinated by what many believed to be an old lady - nobody knows because they never got caught). The twins who inherited the throne were too young and inept to say the least. Now the crown is struggling while the merchants’ power grows with every passing day. The trade with Koshar is lining their pockets with gold, gold which they increasingly refuse to pass on to the reign - even though the king has tried to better himself after his sister’s ‘hunting accident’ (what a classic).

Dornhan

Not much to say about Dornhan, as it mostly consist of salt marsh, normal marsh, a few windy islands off the coast, hungry peasants and at least two to three kings at a time. Generally nobody knows what’s going on up there and nobody cares. They say a Bregón king tried to overthrow Dornhan once and returned home after walking 10 feet into the country.

Altarath

In Altarath the sun is blotted out every midday by an obstruction in the sky they call ‘Okirin’. Basically, there is a small eclipse every day.It’s a dark, mostly barren and harsh land, ruled by a True Immortal called Ashishkaia Anaetta Kladia, Queen of Altarath, The Eye of Okirin, who is almost worshipped as a goddess by some. The Altheli are a reclusive people, they are rarely found on the continent, but they are easily discern-able by their white pupils.

Norotvoi Islands

South of Altarath, the storm tossed Norotvoi Islands are also under the shadow of Okirin. The Norotvoi are excellent seafarers and explorers and the only people who somehow made something like a democracy work. A new leader is chosen every 6 years at a special gathering and every citizen over the age of 20 is allowed to vote (unless they stand on the deck of a ship).

Fervir

Fervir borders on eastern Asturia, and is a rather rough and archaic land. Early attempts by the empire to overthrow the state were thwarted immediately and so a peace treaty was installed, which both countries have kept to this day. It might be, because Fervir is mostly mountainous, with little means to grow resources, and their most notorious export is a steady stream of fearless warriors (getting a Fervir body guard has become somewhat ‘chique’ in Karisan). The country is divided between Arls, who rule their lands in family clans. The High Arl is seated in Falkanger, and is a chosen member of one of the many Arl families. 

Lattvhila

Desperately cold and frozen, especially in winter. Nomadic families roam its tundra, who sometimes make the bothersome journey to Fervir, to sell furs, silver and whatever strange things they found under the ice.

Zaferya

‘The Bridge to the East’ is covered by steppe and desert, but that hasn’t stopped its people from building tall, tower-cities all over the planes. They always sit on top of a well, and the water is distributed evenly through a system that outsiders would describe as ‘this shouldn’t even work’.

Koshar

Koshar’s climate is rather subtropical, bordering on a desert farther inland. Its coast, however displays a much more temperate, mediterranean climate. Koshar is essentially a monarchy, lead by a man they call Adar-Malik. The Kosh are gifted artisans and craftsmen, and their pigments are in such a high demand that merchants travel as far as Norotvoi and Altarath to sell them.

Other important places..

The Wilds

The Wilds are a vast expanse of mountains and forest smack in the middle of the continent. They could almost be described as another realm, as nobody has been mad enough yet to claim ownership of them. That is why there is practically no border between Bregón and the Empire, except for a few mountain passes where the two nations meet.The Southern Wilds are a lot tamer, and not completely infested with everything straight out of your worst nightmare.

Norik

Norik, or formerly the sovereign confederacy of Norik, is now a province of the Asturian Empire, located in the north and bordering to Fervir. Its governmental system used to be similar to that of Fervir, only that it was ruled by Lords, who only chose a High Lord in times of crises. Such a crisis arose when the Empire came knocking on their door. Before the decisive battle, however, a treaty was strung up and the High Lord blackmailed into signing it, which turned out later to enable the Empire to take over the whole confederacy without compromise.

Naturally the entire population felt betrayed in such a way, that the first rebellion formed a mere week after the annexation. Ever since the Empire has been trying its hardest to gain control over its most unruly province, which continues to revolt.

Cara Reka

For some ungodly reason Cara Reka escaped the Empire’s notice when it was looking for new conquests. Maybe because the little kingdom was too small, or maybe because it lies even behind Norik and the generals just couldn’t be bothered anymore, or maybe because their cavalry is deadly and made up of Rivenhorses.

Kirchenfal

Kirchenfal used to be an independent, theocratic country, west of the Southern Wilds. They believed only priests are permitted to study and learn magic (it’s called the Pulse but that’s a whole other thing so I’ll just call it magic here), which put not only the role of leadership, but also their military and guard into the hands of their church. Back then the land used to be rich with Hakkon Silver - a mineral that shortly enhances one’s magical abilities - and when the Empire started expanding its eyes soon fell upon them.Led by greed, a general named Alos de Brevi raided the country, overthrew the trifecta church, ordered every priest and monk executed and mined the silver until there was none left to be found. Despite the Karisan court being in uproar over the cruelty of the undertaking, the money and power the silver brought soon quieted most critics and Kirchenfal has reluctantly been absorbed into the empire as county palatine, ruled by the de Brevis. Robbed of not only their main source of income, but also of their ruling class and any way to learn magic, the Falese soon surrendered to their fate, although sparsely uprisings occur and many young people flee west into Bregón or south into Koshar.

Taifa of Inezra

The little mass of land at the very western tip of the continent had been gifted to a Kosh general called Inezra al Yanin, who aided the King of Brégon in a battle against southern raiders. It was subsiquentially named after her, and when she retired from the army she set up residence in a small port she re-named Abderral. Under her patronage the small seaside town soon grew into a bustling harbour city and a haven for artists and scholars. Its library surpasses even the Karisan Archives in size and its five universities are renowned, not only on the continent, but also overseas.After al Yanin’s death, her son took over ruling the taifa, holding up his mother’s values.

...I think I’m gonna stop here lmaoYOU SAID YOU WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHINGThanks for asking haha ♥ 

[blossom--of--snow]

95 "come cuddle" spaceparents (I know I requested more before... But I'm greedy... I'm sorry.... Hope u have time for it)

It only took me about 87 years, but here you go! What I learned from this is that I’m incapable of writing Spaceparents without angst. So sorry about that. 

Laura’s trail of belongings betrayed the type of day she’d had. On days when her students behaved, abstained from SparkNotes, and wrote like AP English students, everything had a place. Her tote bag hung on the olive green wall next to the door, her heels hid primly under the key table, and her blazer lay over the back of the couch. However, more often than not, only half her students behaved, too many didn’t quite finish their assigned reading, and even more write like accelerated English students. Those days called for toppled heels just inside the door, blazer still on her shoulders, tote bag tossed next to her desk, and Laura hunched over a pile of ungraded papers. On the remaining Bad Days, her blazer hung where the tote bag should be, the bag was stuffed under the key table, and at least one shoe was near the wine cabinet.

Today, Bill tripped over the tote, shoes, and blazer before he’d taken two steps into their condo.

���Laura?”

“In bed.” Laura’s voice barely carried down the hall. As he moseyed toward their bedroom, he noticed the closed door, with no light seeping through the cracks. He refused to give paranoia about the cancer’s resurgence any credence, but his fortitude wavered when he saw Laura.

It took him a moment to find her under the blanket of golden fur that was their dog, Prima. Curled on what remained of her side of the bed, Laura had discarded all her clothes in favor of Bill’s old Air Force hoodie.

She lifted her head so that he could see her face over the massive fluff of golden retriever. “Sorry Prima wasn’t there to greet you. I never understood the concept of emotional support animals before we got him. You’re welcome to come cuddle with us.”

Bill dropped the armload of her belongings onto the bench in front of their bed. “I suppose cuddling will make up for almost killing me with the obstacle course you left at the front door.”

Her laughter permeated the darkness. “I’m sorry about that. Come to bed, and I’ll explain everything.”

Usually, Bill would have made a show of putting his shoes in the closet where they belonged and tossing his clothes in the hamper like an adult, but today, he shucked everything but his dog tags, boxers, and uniform tank to the floor and climbed into bed on the other side of Prima. Either too lazy or too comfortable to move, Prima merely craned his neck to cover half of Bill’s face with his tongue.

Bill’s hands vanished in the fur behind Prima’s ears. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s been a lifetime since you last saw me. Good boy.” Propped on one elbow this close to Laura, he could see her puffy eyes and pink cheeks, and suddenly the problem wasn’t as important as finding a solution. “Bad day?”

Laura studied Prima rather than meet Bill’s gaze. “Not particularly. In fact, I had a pretty great day. Karl Agathon turned in his literary analysis, and from what little I read, he’s improved exponentially since we started in September. He’s a smart kid, but you know he always struggled to organize his thoughts coherently. I got a list of potential freshman from Tory over at the intermediate school, and it’s a small group, just the way I like. Principal Adar canceled our meeting today, so I actually got to be productive during my planning period.”

Bill reached over Prima and brushed Laura’s red curls behind her ears. “You don’t sound too happy about those things.”

Two tears stained Laura’s blue, satin pillowcase. “Don’t you hate it when you have a perfectly good day, but all you can focus on is the two minutes that frakked you?”

He thought of all the times he’d seen someone who looked like Zak on the hanger deck, or watched Lee’s son playing with one of Zak’s old toys, or had been walking down the street when he remembered that when he was five, Zak’s favorite color was purple.

“I do.” As much as he wanted to wipe her tears away, she preferred to feel her pain before moving on from it.

“We were discussing symbolism. And don’t ask me why I didn’t pick an example from the text, because I have no frakking idea. The kids we’re bored with the text…just one of those days, I guess, so I…” Laura huffed and rolled onto her back. “When I glanced down at my notes, I saw my bracelet, and the kids had already noticed the look on my face. I told them about the accident, about finding the bracelet in my baby sister’s personal effects. Did I ever tell you it was the only thing in all three bags without any blood on it?”

She had not.

“Of course, to avoid breaking down in front of my entire class, I dissociated, used the experience as an teaching moment. The bracelet remaining untainted by the tragedy was symbolic of three lives full of memories that can stand apart from their deaths, or some such bullshit. And you know, Bill, I was fine until I finished, and the kids didn’t say a word. This…reverent silence took over, and these teenagers respected me enough to absorb this calamity I forced on them.”

“No, Laura. You’ve known those kids since they were freshmen. They love you. You didn’t force anything on them. They’re old enough to understand.”  

Swiping angrily at her tears, Laura sat up in bed, as if she was too restless to stay still but too exhausted to walk. “Old enough to understand my hypocrisy. Thirty years of life and happiness, and I can’t think about them without crying.”

“That’s not true.” Expelling an embarrassing amount of effort, Bill sat up. “I don’t have to tell you that some days are worse than others.”

Her gaze focused on the drawn blackout curtains, Laura snickered. “I’m focusing on the negative today, remember?”

Bill thought that with her hunched shoulders and bedhead, she couldn’t look any more dejected. Then Laura flopped back onto the bed and flung one arm over her eyes.

“I hate feeling like this and knowing all I can do is sleep it off and hope everything is better in the morning. But when I close my eyes…”

The steadiness of her voice indicated the resignation and emptiness that on even the most excruciating days of treatment, she could always suppress. Bill’s intimate knowledge of those feelings did not make them any less unsettling to see in her.

As usual, Prima jerked them out of the moment’s solemnity. Muffled barking sent him leaping off the bed toward the living room, where his view of the “intruder” would be unencumbered. Bill cursed under his breath before rolling closer to Laura, who had propped herself up on her elbows. Her eyes, puffy but dry, reflected her musings, and Bill couldn’t stop looking for a solution, in the face of her acceptance that there was none.

“I’m sorry.”

His apology startled Laura out of her trance. Shifting her weight to one elbow, she stroked Bill’s cheek, and he saw light flicker in the bleakness in her eyes. “Just because you can’t always pull me out of my morbid introspection doesn’t mean you have to apologize.” Bill tried to protest, but she covered his lips with her fingers. “Never doubt that you make it easier to be grateful for every day.”

Then he was back at that night under the stars, only a month after the cancer had vaporized like an unsettling dream. With her wind-blown hair tickling his nose and her arm over his middle, the future was irrelevant in the face of the perfect present.

Maybe we should embrace it—the life that we’ve got while we’ve got it.

The memory of her words whispered in his ear, and he embraced her, needing to feel her breath—real, present life—on his cheek.

[lindoig5]

Days 10 and 11   Sunday and Monday - Antarctica at last!!!

Sunday

Sunday dawned dismal and foggy, with sub-zero temperatures and thick snow laying around from overnight falls. A good day to stay inside, but it is amazing how quickly the weather changes down here.  One minute it is bleak and miserable, within 5 minutes the sun is shining brightly with not a cloud in the sky - and 10 minutes later, it is snowing again.  The snow we have had has generally been in fine flakes, but some of the flurries have been quite dense and sting quite sharply if you are out on deck at the time.

We had two more lectures that day – one on interpreting ice charts (fascinating) and another on polar photography.  It would have been great to capture that one on video and audio – it was really useful from the technical camera perspective although I don’t think I learned anything about the artistic side of the subject.  Dan was the presenter and he is a great photographer but there was so much information in his lecture that most of it got forgotten before he got to the end.

It amazes me that people don’t get the message – at least some of the most important messages.  We have been told repeatedly that the vacuum-operated toilets are very sensitive and ’if it doesn’t come out of your body, it doesn’t go in the toilet’.  There is a bin for toilet paper that is cleared regularly by the Russian staff, but people continue to put it in the toilets.  They have become blocked at least 10 times so far and nobody can then use the toilets, take a shower of wash their hands in the sink for an hour or two until the crew cleans and resets the system.  I few times it has just been a single deck, but most times, the whole waste disposal system goes down and that inconveniences everyone – sometimes quite seriously and for quite some time.  If only people would heed the warnings……

During the morning, we encountered 3 humpback whales and spent a wonderful hour or so in their company. They were obviously inquisitive and followed us around (when we weren’t following them) and everyone got some wonderful photos.  A truly unique experience and quite a few of us were somewhat overcome by the emotion of the encounter.  Such magnificent gentle giants and everyone was touched by the experience.  At times they seemed to be showing off for us, rolling over and diving – they were probably just enjoying their lunch, but it really did seem that they were consciously interacting with us – at least with the ship, even if not the humans aboard, but I really do think they were playing with us too.

By now, we were getting closer to Cape Adare, our first Antarctic destination and we had a series of briefings before dinner in preparation for the big moment around 3am on Monday.

Just for fun - a Southern Fulmar - one of zillions.

Monday

We got our wake-up call at about 3.45am, but quite a few people were already on deck by then.  As we approached Cape Adare, the sun started to rise and the brilliant white of the icebergs leapt out at us.  Seeing the retina-burning gleam of the bergs against the inky black clouds and orange-pink band of the dawn along the horizon was most spectacular.

Our first glimpse of Antarctica could hardly have been more dramatic.  The massive bluff at the Cape was mind-bogglingly spectacular with the 4200-metre precipice at the end of the peninsula towering over us and many giant tabular icebergs surrounding us, sometimes less than 20 metres away.  Many of the floes had Adelie Penguins saluting us as we passed and dozens of South Polar Skuas were patrolling the beach looking for a meal of some of the last remaining penguin chicks still there.  We sailed up and around the Cape looking for a possible landing site but the sea ice was tight-packed against the shore and a landing proved impossible.  We had good views of the penguins (but not as close as we had hoped) and there was a giant bull elephant seal sunning himself on the ice and a few leopard seals prowling, hunting for a careless penguin or three.  There are a couple of historic huts on the beach – the dilapidated remains of Scott’s last hut and the more substantial Borchgrevink one – plus some modern NZ scientists’ huts and equipment temporarily required while they are doing some restoration work there.  We pass the same area as we leave Antarctica and hope we will be able to land at that time.  (Borchgrevink was a German expeditioner and the first person to overwinter on the frozen continent.)

The landscape is utterly stunning – quite overwhelming – massive volcanic cliffs, hundreds of square kilometres of snow-covered peaks glistening apricot-orange to rose-pink in the early sun, eye-squinting white icebergs all around, and the massive black cloud-topped Cape Adare brooding over us all.  The emotion of the view got to quite a few people today – perhaps it’s just the fact that we are all in such a remote and awesome environment but it fired the emotions for quite a few of us.  I have already run out of adjectives so feel free to add your own – just make sure you scatter lots of superlatives in there too because whatever we jointly come up with will be a poor shadow of the real thing.

The sea ice prevented us from getting close to the shore so we sailed away and to the east, around the Cape to follow the peninsula south into the Ross Sea proper.  The coastline is stunning (or have I already said that?) with cliffs at least 300 metres high and snow-icing many hundreds of metres thick (and many hundreds of kilometres long) on top of them.  We sailed south for a few hours to the Possession Islands – again massive dramatic cliffs, giant icebergs, inaccessible vertical sea stacks and guano beaches home to a few more thousand Adelies.  We sailed around looking for possible landing places and some of the crew took a zodiac in search of a landing, but again the sea-ice defeated us and we were obliged to head further south.

The route we took paralleled the coast and it was one amazing vista after another all the way down. We passed quite a few islands, none for which we had landing permits even if we could have but the whole way has been adjacent to spectacular snow-laded mountains.  Utterly awesome and unlike anything we have seen before.

I spent a lot of the day sorting photos, identifying birds and writing my blog with occasional interruptions to view the coastline, check out some minke whales, eat a meal or two, visit the Bridge to photograph more birds and do a little reading – finished another book at last.  (I read at least six e-books while we were away: probably more than I would read in a year at home.)

Not sure what tomorrow will bring.  We have changed course at least twice more because planned landings proved unlikely or impossible due to weather, ice or wind conditions.  We got quite a bit of snow in the late afternoon so we are now heading for historic Terra Nova Bay and should reach there about noon tomorrow. It has a bad reputation for extreme winds, but hopefully, that may drive some of the snow away and allow a landing – but we will know that around lunchtime tomorrow.

[itztagninut]

nisan update / דערהײנטיג פון  ניסן

nisan (aries) 2019: april 6 - may 5

last month’s update: אדר ב׳

Nisan proved to be a really busy moon for me between school, keeping a kosher Pesach, and working lots of doubles. I’m looking forward to the end of this semester and finally getting the chance to work on some larger, more serious projects.

This moon cycle was more about internal work than anything else. The theme of the month was Key 11, The Intersection (in the Slow Holler Tarot, my deck of choice lately) or Justice in the RWS. For the last few months my work has been focused on tangible practices to ground and protect myself as my psychic sensitivity is increasingly heightened. As I get further into that, I’m beginning to focus on some more mundane internal work as well. I want to keep this blog more focused on my occult work so I’m not going to get too deep into this stuff but suffice to say that this Nisan/Aries moon brought me some time to really think about my life path and opportunities to root into myself.

My natal chart is characterized by deep Saturnine influence (which I think explains my attraction to Judaism and affinity for work with my ancestors and other spirits of the Dead). This has been overwhelming this far in my life (to say the least). I feel like I am confronting my internal darkness/Saturn in a new way, a way that is increasingly empowered and grounded, especially as I work my way to my Saturn return.

What have I been up to?

I took advantage of a choice Venus election--Venus exalted in Pisces on 19 Adar II / March 26 to build a Venus altar and consecrate a few items during her hour (for myself and a birthday gift for my best friend). I followed up with offerings and petitions on Friday during her day and hour and continued making Friday offerings until she transited out of exaltation, on Erev Pesach, Nisan 15 / April 20.

The garden received a lot of work this month, much of which has come up with nothing due to dramatic rainfall and flooding in my region. Despite this, a few of my vegetable starts survived and luckily most of my perennial magical herbs are flourishing despite the excess rainfall. 

I think I may investigate some of the gardening and plant spirits in the grimoire section of Devin Hunter’s Witch’s Book of Spirits when I have some spare time during Iyar to see if propitiating them could yield some more luck with my very finicky gardening plot.

Before the rainfall, I collected my spring harvest from my early-yielding lamiaceae and tried my hand at some glycerites (I made three: lime thyme, lemon balm + lime mint, peppermint + chocolate mint). These should be ready to go by late May.

I went all out for Pesach this year, including lots of mundane preparation. I typically give my house a thorough cleaning/cleansing and reset all of my boundaries and wards before Pesach and Rosh Hashonah.

Towards the end of the month, a friend and I engaged in a small group working seeking to banish a very chaotic and destructive person from her life. It’s not my story to tell (and its a long one), but in short, we think he (the banish-ee) may actually be an obsessed demoniac and our working may not have had the exact success we were looking for. Time will tell, I suppose.

I worked out a daily banishing practice using the format of Jason Miller’s Sphere of Hekas* and the LBRP but using traditional zmiros (Jewish liturgy) that are more authentic to me. I’ve tentatively titled this “Sphere of Ohr” in homage to Miller. I’m averaging working this around once a week.

* From Protection and Reversal Magick, Miller (2006)