#dist collective

[alcrego]

Glad and grateful for having the opportunity to showcase this work inside the Dome of @ZeroSpaceNYC 

 Thanks a lot for the trust @prooofofpeople & @RefractionDAO 

 I won't be in NY but if I was, I would be watching this work lying on the floor.

[xylospongium]

[lilimaginebean]

jjk men in howgarts universe (fem!reader)

characters: geto, gojo, nanami, toji, sukuna, choso, itadori, megumi, yuta disclaimer: i know there exist a magic school in Japan but since we know shit about it, it's going to be based in Hogwarts

suguru geto, a half-blood wizard from Ravenclaw, is known for excelling academically, since he was the only student of his year to score all O's (outstanding) in O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. his closest friend is gojo satoru, whom he met on his dist day at Hogwarts.

at 15, he met you in Hogmeade while enjoying butterbeer with gojo. you were having it too with your friend group and he was drawn to your laughter. eavesdropping, he learned you were from Gryffindor and the same age as him

from that moment, geto started looking for you in Hogwarts and admired you from afar. he discovered you shared some classes, and decided to have small talks with you.

your interactions began only after both of you became professors at Hogwarts. as the youngest professors, you developed an academic rivalry, competing to be the students' favorite.

despite that rivalry, you spent every Friday together in Hogmeade, enjoying butterbeer and each other's company. one night he confessed that the first time he encountered you was there. you told him both of you met earlier, in the first broom flight class, where you hit him and made him fell to the ground.

due to your hangouts with suguru in Hogmeade, students suspected you were a couple. while you denied it out of embarrasment, geto confirmed those rumors. when you confronted him about it, he finally confessed his deelings. the conversation ended with a date planned for Friday, this time at his house.

you got married after three years of dating and are known as the cutest couple in Hogwarts, despite being professors. how couldn't they rank you in first place if suguru gave you flowers every morning at breakfast?

satoru gojo, a Slytherin and a descendant of the influential Gojo family, made history by winning the Triwizard Tournament twice, first at 14 and again at 19. although only students over 17 could enter, 13-year-old geto used a spell and convinced 13-year-old gojo to write his name in the Globet Fire. thanks to that achievement, he earned widespread recognition in the wizarding world.

he met you on his first day in Hogwarts, after being ssorted into Slytherin, sitting beside you at the welcoming banquet. as a year older, you freeted him with a sweet smile. he experienced love at first sight.

from that day on, he publicly confessed his feelings for you, giving you presents every time he could and using every Hogwarts event as an opportunity to ask you out. you always rejected him since you hardly knew him. at 14, frustrated by his persistence, you told him you'd date him if he completed ten nearly impossible tasks.

although gojo were initially attracted to your looks, spending time with you made him admired your personality too. on the other side, his determination and chivalrous actions to you won you over.

by the time he turned 16, gojo had only one task left: to collect a tear from a phoenix known for its elusiveness. unbeknownst to him, that phoenix was your pet, who only obeyed you. you instructed your phoenix to let gojo obtain one of her tears, so he could finally be your boyfriend.

the two of you became a couple when he was 17 and you were 18. after him winning again the Triwizard Tournament again at 19, he proposed to you. you gave him five more tasks to complete if he wanted to be your husband.

you both got engaged when he was 21 and you were 22. however, you wouldn't celebrate the wedding until both of you reach your own personal goals. four years later, you were happily married to gojo.

kento nanami, a half-blood wizard from ravenclaw, is a dedicated student who excels in every single task. recognizing his potential, geto took him under his wing, helping him becaome one of Hogwarts' most promising wizards. kento dreamed of working as an auror in the Ministry of Magic and leading a peaceful life.

struggling with herbology, you desperately sought help from your best friends, gojo and geto. gojo teased you, despite being in the same situatino, while geto suggested you ask his pupil, nanami, to tutor you.

the next day, geto introduced you to nanami, revealing he was a year younger and from Ravenclaw. he knew you were older and from Slytherin since he often saw you with gojo. you pleaded with him to be your tutor, he kindly agreed.

thanks to your study sessions with nanami, your herbology grades imrpoved, but you found yourself distracted by his good looks and demeanor. you wanted to keep your feelings a secret, knowing gojo and geto would tease you mercilessly if they found out. when they eventually did discover your new crush, gojo relentlessly called you a "craddle robber", to which you retorted by calling gim "grave robber"

geto upon learning, went to the top of the Ravenclaw Tower to encourage nanami, believing the blonde guy had a chance with you. in truth, nanami had developed a crush on you last year, after witnessing your talent in Charms, especially when you defeated Professor Flitwick in a duel. however, even if geto already told him his feelings were reciprocated, he was shy enough to even ask you out and found impossible someone like you would repair in him.

once you passed "herbology" with an E (exceeds expectations), you rushed to find Nanami to share the news. his joyful smile encouraged you to confess your feelings. he got embarrased, since he wanted to be the first one in confessing his feelings.

ten years later, you were married to Nanami, who turned into a curse-breaker. surprisingly, his classes were that good that you decided to turn into a Professor of herbology in Hogwarts

toji zenin, a Slytherin and descendant of the ingluential Zenin family, was known for his lack of academic motivation, earning only A (acceptable) grades. despite his poor reputation in academics, he excelled at Quidditch as a beater, attracting the attention of professional teams even before graduating from Hogwarts.

you met toji during a quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, where you were supporting your Hogwart's house, Hufflepuff.

while Toji aimed to hit with a bludger, he was accidentally stuck by a teammate, causing the ball to veer toward you. he managed to save you just in time. after the match, you approached him to thank him, but he initially dismissed you, thinking you were just another fan. when he noticed you left without insisting on staying, his ego was bruised, why weren't you begging for more of his time?

out of boredom he decided you would be the new girl with who he would play with. however your naiveness and sweetness made him realize he wanted more than just a casual fling. he didn't want to play longer with you.

he confessed his initial intentions, seeking for forgiveness and a fresh start. of course, your heart shattered when you discovered he was playing with you, since you were really starting to fall for him. you appreciated his honesty and forgive him.

however, you told him you couldn't be in a relationship with someone whose intentions were that cruel. hence, you asked him to give you space and told him most closest thing you could be with him is just classmates (at least, until he matured and decided to change that traits). he accepted your rejection.

in the future, toji turned into a quidditch profesional player. you ran into him accidentally when he was returning to his house and you were closing your sweet shop. he apologized again for his actions when he was a teenager, you smiled and invited next day to a coffee.

ryomen sukuna a pureblood Slythering, was raised to believe that only purebloods were true wizards. rumors at hogwarts claimed he was a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin and practiced dark arts, which led others to avoid him. as a result, he often spent time in the Forbidden Forest or the library.

you met him in the Forbidden Forest, where he was practicing dark arts while you were there on a dare from friends to stay for at least 15 minutes. to his surprise, instead of running away when you saw gim casting the Cruciatus Curse on an acromantula, you sat on a rock and watched him calmly.

he recognized you from the common room as a fellow Slytherin, albeit a half-blood, which he considered inferiors. while you saw him as the lonely dude who everyone was scared of. after some time, you stood up to leave but told him that his spells would be useless against a real wizard like you.

to prove it, you dared him to cast one on you, and without hesitation, he complied. you easily deflected it with the Salvio Hexia spell, leavinf a strong impression on him. the next evening you returned to sukuna's usual spot, where this time he was reading. sukuna didn't mind your presence.

as days went by, he grew accustomed to your presence, eventually asking why you chose to stay with him. you confessed that being by his side would help dispel rumors about your friendhsip and that it might stop the purebloods from picking on you for being half-blood.

following that confession, sukuna began to acompany you throughout the day, walking you to and from classes. how could anyone mock you, the only wizard to best him? if they laughed at you, they'd also be laughing at him for losing to a half-blood. at first, he excused his actions were aimed to protect his reputation. he deeply knew it was not for his reputation, but yours.

a year later, your relationship with him shocked everyone at Hogwarts; but neither of you even cared. it was just he and you, sukuna who was a master in Dark Arts and you who were the expert in Defence against Dark Arts.

choso, a half-blood from Hufflepuff, loves caring for his siblings, though it was challenging since some are in different Hogwarts houses. to spend equal time with each, he often visited their common rooms. while he is an avarage student overall, he excels in Transfiguration, earning a reputation as the best in the school.

you didn't expect to find a Hufflepuff boy lounging on the sofa in the Slytherin common room, engrossed in a book. when he noticed you, he introduced himself clumsly as Choso, a year older, who was waiting for his younger brother.

the next day, you learned that Choso was the only student able to access all four common rooms, a feat no one dared question due to his impressive spell mistery, which included turning several students into birds. intrigued, you decided to ask him about how he was able to access all common rooms. he explained that his siblings helped him access their common rooms to spend time with him. the conversation ended when his little brother arrived.

further investigation revealed that Choso had never had a girlfriend, which made you smile widely, you had a chance with him. from that day on, you flirted with him whenever you saw him, leaving Choso blushing and your heart racing. you worried he might feel uncomfortable, but he casually confessed one day how much he enhoyed your flirting.

when he finally admitted his feelings and confessed to you thanks to his brothers help, you decided to take a step foward and kissed him. he became the happiest student alive, and followed your kiss.

choso had always cherised having his siblings around, but now that he had a girlfriend, he found it harder to spend time alone without running into one of them, leading him to reconsider his earlier sentiments.

he proposed you marriage only three months after dating, you were so shocked about this action you needed to explain him you were not prepared for it yet, but that doesn't mean the end of the relationshiop. you asked him to ask you once again in 5 years, he took that literally and even had a countdown to don't forget it. that time you accepted it.

yuji itadori, a pureblood from Gryffindor, was the captain and seeker of the Quidditch team. yuji often was surrended by many students who wanted to hang out wit him, he as the sweetheart he was always accepted them. however, the only one who considered as friend was megumi.

you met yuji during your first school year on the train. nervous, he was thrilled when you sat next to him and offered a chocolate frog that your mother gave you before departing. both of you were elated when the sorting hat placed you in Gryffindor, and quicklu became inseperable friends

as time passed, you both drifted apart. yuji transfromed into a bright, outgoing student, always ready to help other with a noble personality; while you preferred the company of a close-knigt group and valued moments of solitude, mantaining a mysterious and introvert personality.

you reconnected when you both became prefects. yuji's heart skipped a beat upon realizing he would talk to you again after years apart. initial interactions felt awkwards, as you both had changed. however, both of you still wanted to revive your old friendship.

within a month, you had an important conversation where you expressed that in order to be friends again, you needed to let go of your childhood bond and start anew. yuji surprised you by confessing he didn't want just a friendship; he wanted to be something more than just friends or bestfriends.

on the day he professed his love to you, he did so with a chocolate frog. instead of findinf a famous wizard card inside the box, you discovered a note asking you to officially be his girlfriend.

you ended up getting married to him when you both turned 25, he being an auror and you being a wandmaker

megumi fushigiro, a purblood from Slytherin and the son of a famous Quidditch player. although he is skill in Quidditch playing the role of seeker, he didn't feel the blood rushing and enjoyement his father told him he felt. instead, megumi prefered to do strategies to Ravenclaw Quidditch team, being part of the technical team.

attending a quidditch match, megumi had devised strategies for his team, anticipating a tough game against gryffindor. he felt confident about countering yuji, but he soon learned you were the new seeker. megumi recognized you as yuji's younfer sister, whom he often saw yuji protect. the pink haired boy adored you and frequently boasted about you.

megumi was unaware of your talent for Quidditch, until he witnessed your skills firsthand. he was surprise by your tactical abilites too, ordering and controlling all the plays of Gryffindor while playing.

as you both began attending Quidditch matches together, discussing strategies and player performances, you both started to get close. even yuji noticed this closeness, leaving you two more time alone. he was already thinking how cool it would be to have megumi as his brother-in-law.

megumi regularly attended your practices, using the excuse of wanting to help you improve, claiming it wouldnt be fun to easily crush your team. you answered him telling him he didn't have the right of saying that since he still lose to your tactics.

relationship getting that serious he invited all your family to spend Christmas with his family in his house. you agreed, without knowing how it was even possible to get all your family in his house, until you arrived in his house. that wasn't a house, that was a mansion. if you were taken aback you almost got a heart attack when you realized megumi's father was the most famous beater. megumi confessed he didn't like to brag out his father, hence he got his mom's surname, to avoid attracting the wrong people

megumi asked for your hand the day after the Quidditch champion, which your team won. he decided to do it in your house, a private place. in that way, the news would be known when both of you were ready and to not overshadow your win

yuta okkutso, a Hufflepuff half-bloof, requested to be placed in that house during sorting, wanting to honor his mother's legacy. since the sorting hat was indecesive, and the Hatstall happened, the sorting hat decided to respect yuta's will.

one day, he wasn't ready to find an unknown cat in the prefect's toilet. how did a cat sneak there? yuta decided to follow the cat. he discovered a wand in one of the toilets, took it with a tissue and cleand it. once it was clean, he turned around expecting to see the cat. however, he saw you in your human form, with a mischievous smile. you thanked him for retrieving your wand and left wondering how it ended up there.

later that day, yuta spotted you again in your cat form, wandering the corridorss. he followed you to the girls' bathroom but, respecting your privacy, waited outside. when you didn't come aout and he had class soon, he left. for the rest of the week, yuta would always followed you to try to talk to you. however you were so much in your world, you didn't realize that.

after nine days, you finally appeared in your human form in front of him. you presented yourself, you were from ravenclaw and were an unregistered animagus. you also apologized him for not repairing he was looking for you. he got embarrased and told you it was nothing.

to his surprise, you asked him out for butterbeer, wanting to thank him for his help. he accepted and that Saturday you shared the unbelievable story of how your wand ended up there. ater the date, he asled you at to show his appreciation of you inviting him. this dynamic continued throughout the year, where you or yuta asked the other out by using any excuse, just to spend time together

eventually, you married him. you turned into a Diviner and he turned into an Auror

[ghminerals]

Rhodochrosite polished slice, complete edge. Old collection Capillitas Mining Dist., Andalgala Dept., Catamarca, Argentina. 3.25 inch across. https://goldenhourminerals.etsy.com/listing/1765972890

[detroitlib]

View of the Elk Rapids Cinema in Elk Rapids, Michigan. Marquee reads: "Elk Rapids Cinema, world's largest blacklight mural." Printed on back: "Spacious, comfortable seating, perfect sound and picture projection of worth while pictures from all over the world. Plus the world's largest blacklight ceiling mural assure you a delightful experience in movie going. No vacation in Northern Michigan is complete with a visit to the Elk Rapids Cinema. Color by Rogers. Dist. by the Camera Chop, Traverse City, Mich. Dexter Press, Inc. West Nyack, New York."

Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library

[todaysdocument]

Opinion of U.S. District Court Judge Wendell Arthur Garrity

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United StatesSeries: Tallulah Morgan et al v. James W. Hennigan et al Civil Action Case File # 72-0911

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

TALLULAH MORGAN ET AL., )

Plaintiffs, )

) CIVIL ACTION

v. ) NO. 72-911-G

)

JAMES W. HENNIGAN ET AL., )

Defendants. )

OPINION

June 21, 1974

GARRITY, J. This is a school desegregation case brought by black parents and their children who attend the Boston

public schools. Plaintiffs seek for themselves and on behalf of their class declaratory and injunctive releif against the

defendants for a myriad of acts that allegedly violate the constitutional rights of the plaintiff class. Defendants are the Boston School Committee, its individual members, and the Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools (hereinafter

collectively "the city defendants"), and the Board of Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its individual

members, and the Commissioner of Education (hereinafter collectively 'the state defendants.").

Plaintiffs have alleged that the city defendants have intentionally brought about and maintained racial segregation

in the Boston public schools by various actions, including

_______________________

The court certified the named plaintiffs as proper representatives of a class of "all black children enrolled in the Boston Public School System and their parents." Thereafter Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, 1973, 413 U.S. 18, 195-198, held that "petitioners are entitled to have schools with a combined predominance of Negroes and Hispanos included in the

category of 'segregated' schools." At the trial, the parties did not frame any issues as to discrimination against non-black minority students, who comprise approximately 7% of Boston's public school population; and in this opinion the term "racial segregation" when unqualified will refer to blacks only. However, at future hearings concerning equitable remedies required to convert the Boston schools from a dual to a unitary system, the Keyes holding will of course be observed and consideration given to the treatment of non-whites other than blacks. [full document and transcription at link]

[nardo-headcanons]

Writing Scientist Characters

this post is mainly an excuse to post a certain list of lab supplies I've made for a friend and infodump about lab work. but feel free to use this as a little resource when writing characters who are scientists and/or lab nerds. who knows, maybe it'll be of use.

General thoughts

Many people think it's a stereotype that scientist or nerd characters talk using complex technical jargon. While that is true to an extent, there actually is some kind of lab jargon. It varies across different labs and fields, but one thing they have in common is that it seeks to simplify, not the other way around.

gelelectrophoresis becomes elpho

microbiology becomes mibi

deioninized water becomes aqua dist

biochemistry becomes BC

sodium hydroxide becomes NaOH

They will probably not call a glass of water "silicon dioxide and h2o".

...and more. feel free to get creative. If you're writing in any other language than English, you can throw in one or two anglicisms as well. Also, most scientists will never gatekeep their work, and in an opposite fashion, will not shut up about it unless you make them. And no, most chemists do not know the entire periodic table by heart, only the most relevant elements. (main groups and a few commonly used metals of the subgroups) When it comes to characters doing the lab work, keep in mind that there are a lot more people involved than the scientist themself. Most scientists are more occupied with paperwork and data analysis, it is the laboratory technicians and assistants that do most of the practical work. They often have more lab experience than the scientists themselves.

Things you can have your lab nerd character do instead of making random chemicals explode

writing a lab report (and losing their mind over excel)

degreasing the glass bevel stoppers

removing the permanent marker from beakers (labeling is important)

complaining about the lack of funding of [their field] research

cleaning glassware

preparing specimen for examination

googling the most basic equations for their report

checking if the glassware and utensil collections are complete

steal single use plastic pipettes from their lab

pirating expensive textbooks

A list of laboratory supplies and utensils you can have them work with

Laboratory general (chem + bio)

Erlenmayer flasks, beakers, precision scales (3 digits), glass rods, metal spoons/spatulas, screw on glass flasks (autoclave compatible) test tubes, stopcock grease, dispensers with sanitizer and hand cream, gas burners, heating plates, eppendorf pipettes, pipette tips, Peleus pipetting aids, squirting bottles, liquid and powder funnels, incubator/drying chamber, round watch glasses, magnet stirring plates.

Microbiology Autoclave, petri dishes, agar plates, innoculation loops (reusable and metal), clean bench, microscope slides, microscope, drigalski-spatula, test tubes with clamping lids

Histology

Paraffin bath, water bath, scalpels, scissors, razor blades, microtomes (rotating microtome, slide microtome and freezing microtome), histocinette, tweezers (various kinds), ocular

Biochemistry

Sequencing robots, eppendorf tubes, gelelectrophoresis chambers, centrifuge

Analytical Chemistry

Photometer, kuvettes, burettes, mass spectro meters, UV bank (for chromatogrophies), pyknometers, melting point meter, porcelain mortars, pH paper, analytical scales (4 or more digits)

Prep Chemistry

Tripod/standing material, miniature lifting platforms, spiral condenser, colon condenser, round bottom flask (three necked and y- necked), filtration material, Separating funnel

Electrical engineering

Electric generators, Soldering iron, Clamp connectors, plugin connectors, ohm’s resistors, plug in lamps, condensers, transistors, PCBs, amperemeters, voltmeters, multimeters

Mechanics

Tripod/standing material, metal hooks, metal rods, mechanical stop watches, marbles, metal springs, Newton meters, laser motion detectors

Optics

Prisma (various kinds), various glass lenses (concave, convex, biconcave, biconvex), laser pointers, optical bench, mechanical iris diaphragm, looking glasses, monochrome lamps, lamp filters

Most used chemicals

Deionized water, ethanol, NaOH, HCl, H3PO4, NaCl (+ physiological NaCl solution 0.9)

Useful websites for writing science stuff

DNA sequence generator (simple): http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~mmaduro/random.htm

DNA, RNA and protein sequence generator: https://molbiotools.com/randomsequencegenerator.php Annealing temperature calculator: https://tmcalculator.neb.com/#!/main

Medicine name generator: https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/medicine-names.php Anything chemistry related: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=chemistry

Commonly used software:

MS Excel

Yenka

CASSY Lab

LabView

SpectraLab

LIMS

LaTex

Slack

Scientist friends, feel free to add onto this.

Have fun writing!

[right-hand-of-the-black-sand]

Can you write headcanons for a first date with Mozenrath

First date with Mozenrath (Headcanons and ideas)

SFW first. Some slight NSFW headcanons will be featured at the bottom and tagged as such.

Headcanons after the cut due to the long post.

General headcanons:

First of all, how'd you land a date with this guy?! You're either really lucky or really valuable if you get him to agree to an actual date. ...Or it's blackmail on your part.

Mozenrath's interactions are built entirely off of getting something from someone. If you're dating him, you must want something from him, whether it be sex, arm-candy, riches, to steal his collection of magical artifacts… he can't comprehend why else you'd choose to physically stay around him. He figures that once you get what you want, then you'll leave, just as he hopes to leave once he gets what he wants.

When Mozenrath feels that things are going according to his plan, he keeps his signature smirk on and keeps himself very close to you. You've fallen into his trap! His trap of getting you to have feelings for him! Now he just needs to play his cards right…

He prefers to stick to areas that he knows very well. No one around to interfere, nowhere for someone to ambush him… No one to distract you from him…

Expect the date to feature meals made by him or his mamluks (good luck) or the opportunity to look out on the… scenery (literally just black sand).

He gets physically close to you no matter what. You've seen how close he gets to his enemies! There's, like, 12” between his face and yours 90% of the time. It's his way of showing dominance over his enemies, but it ended up being a habit for people he genuinely likes too.

Mozenrath gets very handsy right away. Not in a sensual way or anything, but just about anywhere around your body that isn't sensual is fair game to him. He'll feel at your face, your head, your shoulders and arms, hips… Legs are less common, but don't put it past him. Touching is another way that he shows dominance over something, so it makes him feel in control.

He's quicker to grab your wrist than he is your hand. Once he feels more of a connection towards you, he'll start grabbing at your hand.

Kissing is something that he expects, but doesn't necessarily look forward to unless he has genuine feelings towards you. At that point, he may even surprise you with it by pressing his lips to yours without waiting for you to act first. He'll kiss without asking on the first date, but as he grows more comfortable with you and starts respecting you as a person, then he'll start asking if he could kiss you. …Or maybe (gasp) if you could kiss him?!??!

If he's trying to impress you, he'll give you some valuable items as gifts. He may start out with things that only look costly so that he can give the actually valuable stuff to people of status to impress them. You'll graduate to receiving nice things over time, but that's not what actually shows his affection. The ultimate goal is to start receiving items that were made or purchased for you personally.

Mozenrath may not care for people much, but he is very good at figuring out what's important to you. Most of the time. He's still bitter about his partnership with Khartoum…

Anyway, he doesn't give you what he believes is important to you right away. He'll tease you with it or try to tempt you if he needs you to move forward with something during the date, but he does give it to you once he's gotten all that he wants from you. Once he starts trusting that you won't leave him after getting what you want, he'll give you these personalized items as casual gifts.

Mozenrath's love-language is gift giving. He's very quick to talk and very quick to touch, he'll offer up quality time to keep you around and, if you get far enough, he may actually start helping you with stuff. Casually giving you personal items, though, is how you know you've been occupying his thoughts.

Xerxes is supposed to only watch from a distance. He does not watch from a distance.

Mozenrath spends most of the date telling Xerxes to get back to his post. Xerxes does go back a few times, but he's curious how the date's going. …Also, are you going to finish that meal, or…?

On the other hand, if you, against all odds, manage to get him to go out somewhere public, a bunch of his plans go out the window.

There's so many witnesses. So many people who may try to steal his fancy clothes or jewelry or may recognize him from his past exploits.

He doesn't mind being recognized too much since that means that he’s at least feared, but having someone point out a murderous sorcerer in the middle of a crowded area would bring about more ruckus than he wants to deal with. More likely than not, he'd have to teleport away. May leave you behind if he's not too attached.

Types of dates:

Art museums? Eh, he'd go along with it, but he prefers the grizzly stories behind the art rather than just looking at the physical surface of a piece. (“Perhaps you wish for me to make you into a work of art, my dearest?” -Said while passing a more gruesome sculpture)

Get a drink together? Ehh… It's likely that Mozenrath had it made himself. Just be careful that the drink isn't laced with something. Wouldn't put it past him to try and end the date early just to get a new undead minion or hostage. (“Oh, what's the matter? Too sophisticated for a drink, my love?”)

Libraries or bookstores? Eh, it's a good idea for a later date, but not the first. There wouldn't be much focus on you while he's scouting out what information to... research later. Shame that the collection he was looking at happened to disappear a few days later (“... … … …Oh, you're still here?”)

Taking Mozenrath out to a marketplace wouldn't be something he'd look forward to, as he'd expect you to try and coerce him into buying you a gift. Expect a lot of sarcastic remarks from him about the goods on display and the people selling them. If you catch him staring at something, though, maybe you could ask him about it. It may legitimately impress him if you purchase something for his sake. (“...A gift? Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.”)

Taking him out to eat somewhere also wouldn't be the first thing that he would prefer, as he's rather suspicious about anyone he doesn't know preparing his food for him. He may even suspect you of knowing the people working in the area and for this all being a trick to drug or poison him. Expect for him to make casual remarks about himself while he's testing his food and drink for poison and eyeing the workers suspiciously. (“Hmm? Ah… No, I am simply checking the quality. Best to be certain before whetting my appetite.”)

I honestly think an aquarium date or something of the like would work out great if you played your cards right. Point out things that he may find interesting, offer up interesting facts, listen to his lectures about biology… He’s a bit uncertain how he feels about the eels. Why should he be impressed when he has something similar but so much better?! …All the same, he still finds himself watching them. ("...I am well aware that eels can traverse many obstacles. It makes it quite a pain to catch Xerxes at times.")

He wouldn't be focusing on you much during a museum date. What? Where did those fossilized remains go? Eh, you were probably seeing things. Time to go before the guards show up. ("It was to be removed the next day! It shall see far better use in my collections.")

Good luck getting him on a hike. The most time Mozenrath spends outdoors is when he's shopping at the marketplace or scouting out other kingdoms for his future invasions. The idea of sweating and dragging his feet out in the hot sun while ruining his nice clothes is not something appealing to him, especially if it's an area outside of his kingdom where he feels open to be ambushed. (“...Are you… quite done… with trying to torture me?! Do you wish for me to leave you stranded out here?!”)

Going out to a nice garden or the like isn't the best idea, but it isn't the worst one. Mozenrath would look rather bored most of the time, focusing more on talking about himself or getting information out of you. Maybe a plant or two does catch his attention. …No, he wouldn't steal it. Why would you think that? Besides, he has a better plant to show you back in his growroom… (“You have a green thumb, do you? …Perhaps you would be interested in seeing something green and carnivorous, my love?”)

Watching the sunset honestly is probably the best idea of the bunch. Mozenrath doesn't get a lot of sun in his own kingdom, so taking him up to a high place (given that he's allowed to teleport or fly) may give him the opportunity to see something that he doesn't often get to. Watching the sunset actually holds some nostalgic and very positive memories for Mozenrath, so as long as you allow him to scan for potential ambushes or the like, then he'd be rather happy with this experience. (“...Hmm? I'm… pondering. …The sun's light does make you appear rather... exquisite, my love.”)

Similarly, Mozenrath has rather fond memories of stargazing. He would prefer to do it by himself at first, but having the opportunity to show off his knowledge of astronomy would be very nice for him. (“The moon does appear round to the naked eye, my dear, but it is, in fact, a Scalene ellipsoid, or what is referred to as an imperfect sphere. Think of it as an egg, or perhaps the shape of a lemon. If we deform the sphere by means of an affine transformation…”)

Date ideas that were too funny not to include:

Goat yoga. Could you even imagine?! Mozenrath eyeing you suspiciously while he's being encouraged to stretch or bend over, wondering just what part of him you're looking at, if any. He's never been the most flexible, so it takes a bit of time to get him in a comfortable position, but the moment he gets down and a freakin’ goat jumps on top of him?! Expect him to be twisting around like a cat while trying to toss off the ungulate. He gets kicked out fairly quickly. (“YOU'RE LAUGHING?! Your plan was to get my clothes between the teeth of an ungulate?! So you could laugh?!”)

Surprisingly, Mozenrath doesn't hate axe throwing. He's never been the most physically apt, as it's the gauntlet that keeps his energy up most of the time, so he believes such an offer is another opportunity to laugh at or ambush him. With weapons! He's a bit surprised to see that you're having fun, though, and that you're excited to let him try. …Honestly, the axe feels nice in his hands. Gives him a sense of power that he normally wouldn't feel without the gauntlet. If you're not afraid of giving Mozenrath a weapon and you don't laugh at him if he falls short of the competition, then he would be alright with the experience. …What, no, he didn't use magic to get the axe in the target! Why would you think that?! (“I am rather impressed that you're trusting me with a weapon, my dear. …Perhaps you're aware of what power I have when I'm empty-handed!”)

If you could get him into an escape room, oh boy… Just be prepared to flee or pay for damages if he runs out of time. Mozenrath may not always be the best with puzzles (see 'The Lost City of the Sun'), but he gets such a high when he gets his brain going. Only issue is that he's not the best with teamwork, so you may end up standing to the side for most of the time while he works his magic, pun intended. Even if you didn't participate too much, he would still see this as a positive experience and be happy that you got to see his intelligence at work. Whether you both finish the puzzles or not, treat him to something nice afterward to keep that positive mood going. He would love you for that. ("Our captor seems to be interested in steganography, though he hasn't gotten far in his studies. How unfortunate for him that I have!")

Haunted house attractions… I think you can tell why this would be a terrible idea for a first date or a date with Moze in general. If Mozenrath isn’t insulting the cheap props, makeup, effects, and the like, he's punching out or detonating anything that happens to startle him. (“I AM THE GREATEST SORCERER OF OUR AGE! YOU DARE TRY TO PROVOKE ME?!?!”)

Slight NSFW

Mozenrath would personally prefer that there's no sex on the first date. He saves such intimacy for when he's trying to get something from someone. If he feels that he won't be able to get you back after this date or you still have something that he wants, he'll offer sex in order to keep you around. He'll be genuinely impressed if you refuse ('How could you refuse me?! I'm ravishing!' ~ Mozey's brain), but that wouldn't compare to how he'd feel if you refused for his sake. He genuinely didn't think you cared about what he wanted.

Taking Mozenrath out anywhere that features something more seductive definitely gets his mind going, but maybe not in the way you figured. He'd spend most of the time watching you with raised brows, seeing how you reacted to the performances of the people before you. Perhaps he could use this information for some blackmail… ("I wasn't aware that you were so keen on seeing skin, my dear. ...Perhaps I could show you skin that has been removed from its host?")

Conclusion

The first date is definitely an attempt to control you. He didn't expect to actually grow fond of you. …Why is he still thinking of you?! Did you curse him?! Was this all some kind of trick?!

Mozenrath rants his anger and woes away to Xerxes. Xerxes is very confused.

[alexsoenomel]

Kiss The Girl (Joel Miller x Reader fluff)

Summary: A Friday night brought something sweet and unexpected. 

Warnings: reader is a smoker (because same), wine consumption, no use of (Y/N)

Word count: 1.7k

Note: I was indulging in my own scenarios and this happened. It is literally a self-insert fanfic about my favorite dilf because I needed comfort. Enjoy!

It would be a lie if you told yourself you didn't wish that he was your man. It would be a lie if you told your friends you didn't like anyone. There was someone – and that someone was living right across the street from you. That someone had a name – Joel. Joel Miller. His name would roll down your tongue like honey and would make your head turn every time someone would say it. His tall frame, broad shoulders, messy dark hair, and soft puppy-like eyes would make your eyes fixed on him and only him. There was something so captivating and hypnotizing about Joel getting into his truck every morning for work, you couldn't look away. You would sit on your porch, having your first cup of coffee in one hand, book in another, and with a cigarette between your lips, watching him between reading. Your roommates would usually sleep in, or be already on their way to the campus so mornings were perfect for processing your existence while also doing some reading in the morning sunlight.

The view was also nice; the view being soon to be a 35-year-old man with seemingly soft and kissable lips.

You would occasionally tutor his daughter, Sarah, mainly helping her with essays and assignments in English. Your heart would always beat a little bit faster whenever he would text you or call you to ask if you were available. Of course, even if you weren't available, you would clear your schedule because those few minutes of interaction with Joel were more important than whatever you planned to do that day. You knew you were desperate, but since no one knew how much, it was fine. His soft brown eyes scanning your delicate features and making your cheeks red were moments you would replay over and over again like a broken camera in your mind every night before bed, wondering if you had a chance with him. He didn't seem bothered by your presence like you were by his. He seemed to like chatting with you, listening to your every word but that wouldn't last long since he was always busy with something or had to go to work.

On a rainy Friday evening, your roommates decided to get completely smashed in the local club since finals week was over and you were finally free to breathe, but you were too tired and drained to join them. You were too tired to dance, too tired for small talk with random dudes who were desperate for sex, and too tired to be a designated driver, since your two friends liked to pretend to be Lords and chug alcohol like water.

You weren't tired of a cheap bottle of wine though, and a new book you bought a few months ago that has been collecting dust on the shelf above your bed. Also listening to the sound of rain pouring under the blanket in your favorite spot in the house that wasn't your bedroom

– the porch – was your way of having fun on that particular Friday night.

Since it was almost 10 pm, and your dimmed porch lights weren't enough, your little book lamp finally came in handy. You put a cigarette between your wine-stained lips, since cheap wine without nicotine wasn't wine, and lit it up. You inhaled the smoke, feeling the sour taste of alcohol slowly turn into an expensive Italian liquid gold – or so your taste buds thought it did. You were about to turn the page of your book when you heard the familiar sound of someone's truck. Joel Miller came back from work. You glanced at him across the street just as he was closing the door, inhaling another smoke, already feeling yourself getting nervous. Instead of staring and being a creep, you decided to focus on your book – if only you knew what happened in the previous line.

"Enjoying your Friday night?", you heard his voice from a distance.

You lifted your head to see your favorite dad approaching you. You swallowed nervously, taking a big sip from the wine bottle.

"Oh yeah," you said, wanting to sound proud. "How's work?"

"Same ol' same ol'," he answered you.

"Care to join?" You asked giving him the wine bottle. "Finals week is over and I'm celebrating."

You noticed through dimmed lights a small half smile on Joel's tired face. He took a bottle and sat on the chair next to you. "Was it successful?"

"Yeah, passed everything with overall good grades."

"Good girl."

Good girl.

You could feel your palms and legs under the blanket getting cold as your heart started running a damn marathon. His husky voice was smooth like a fine glass of old whiskey, and you were getting intoxicated. You took another smoke, before putting out the cigarette on the ashtray.

"Y'know that ain't healthy?" His eyes glanced at the ashtray before looking back at you.

You were in the process of lighting another cigarette. When nervous, you would become a chain smoker.

"My vice, I guess."

Joel took another sip of wine as you inhaled the smoke into the air. "What's yours, Joel?"

"My vice? I would rather not."

You knew he didn't like to share personal information so you let him be. It would be strange if he did.  

"What are you readin'?" He asked, looking at your book.

"Kiss the Girls by James Patterson."

"One of those romance books?"

"Not really," you chucked. "Thriller, someone is inducting beautiful talented girls all over the country."

Joel's eyebrows went up, not expecting that to come out of your mouth. "Interesting taste, darlin'," he said.

Darlin'

That one you heard before and it still made your body stiff as a statue from nervousness. You struggled to look him in the eyes; to try and see what was behind those beautiful brown orbs; to try and read him; even though that was almost impossible since Joel Miller was an old book full of dead metaphors. You desperately wanted to know if he would kiss you back if you dared to drunkenly place your lips on his. You wondered if he would cup your face while doing so…you wondered if he would lay in bed with you if you told him to stay.

"How's Sarah?" You asked, wanting to shake off the shyness that was slowly creeping in.

"Good, she got an A on her English essay, thanks to you."

You smirked remembering the deal you had made with Sarah. She noticed (kids always do), something was up with you since you would blush every time Joel would call you darlin'. She noticed you acting too friendly around her dad so naturally she decided to confront you about it.

"So, you like my dad, huh?" She asked you on a Wednesday while doing homework.

Your heart went in your throat when your ears registered her question.

"No, I don't." You lied.

"Yeah, darlin' you do. You're too obvious."

"Fuck!" Left your lips. You instantly regretted it.

"HA!"

"Please don't tell him!"

"I won't, but you have to write me this essay."

"Sarah!"

"I'm too lazy! Plus you don't want me to get an F and disappoint my dad, right?" She winked. Cheeky stunt she pulled.

"Fine!"

****

"I'm glad!" You told him. "She's a smart kid!" Yeah, she was alright…

The thing with Joel was certain parts of him were sealed shut, but only certain. He liked talking to you especially because you both shared the same love for music. He liked talking to you about your favorite songs, bands, historical music events, guitars… You knew he played guitar and you asked him numerous times if he wanted to play you a song; he would always decline. After a couple of tries, you stopped asking.

"You know, – you started, taking a sip of wine followed by cutting your life short by 7 minutes with a smoke – "I've always wanted to learn how to play guitar."

"Is that so?" You could see a half smile forming on his face before he took a sip.

"Yeah, but I never did. It was always something, school, homework, too broke to afford guitar lessons…too broke to afford a guitar."

"I can teach you if you want."

"That means you have to play in front of me, and you always say no to that."

"I can make an exception." His gaze was fixed on you and yours was on him. A pleasant science was lingering in the air as you both enjoyed each other's company. You were feeling tipsy while Joel was sober as a judge.

"That would be awesome." Alcohol in your system was giving you a warm hug, telling you to go for it, to say the unsaid, to do the forbidden. Your body was finally relaxed enough, but your mind was in a haze. You had a feeling you were going to do something stupid and you liked the idea of doing something stupid at that particular moment.

The undying need to know, to find out – it was simmering and about to explode.

You put out the cigarette, taking a deep breath, before leaning in and placing a kiss on his cheek. Joel froze for a second, not understanding what happened for a few seconds before his brain caught on. He gave you a soft look, admiring your courage before he returned the favor and kissed your drunken lips. It was a soft, gentle kiss just to make you wonder what it would be like to devour him whole. You wanted this little innocent pack to turn into something sinful – but it didn’t.

“A little bird told me your secret, honey.” He confessed.

“Of course she did,” You chuckled.

Joel’s fingers went in your hair, tucking one strand behind your ear. He found your red cheeks cute.

“You know, you’re obvious when you stare.”

“Stop lookin’ like that, and I won’t.”

Joel laughed. It had been a while since he did.

“DAD!” A voice yelled across the street. It was Sarah, standing in front of the front door of their house. “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“COMIN’, BABY GIRL!” Joel yelled back and looked back at you.

“Go,” –You said – “And tell her I said thank you.”

“Will do!” Joel gave you a wink and left.

[mordenheim]

You always have a plan

Theo grinned as he peered through the slats of the air vent. The feline had a mask over his muzzle to keep dist out of his mouth and nose as he carefully used a specialized rubber tool to unscrew the vent cover from the inside. Quietly, he pushed it free, sliding it off to one side as he crept into the empty hallway.

The singapura cat grinned as he lets his eyes slide from one end of the hall to the next. This would be the easiest heist ever. The old bank had been abandoned for years, but he had a tip that a large stash of money, possibly old enough to be collectible bills and coins was still hidden deep in the bowels of the building.

He reaches into his backpack and pulled out the building plans, holding a pen sized flashlight in his teeth to go over the area. He chuckled to himself.

“You always have a plan.”

Clicking the light off, he tucked the plans the plans back into his pack and makes his way down the hall, relying on his night vision to guide him through the gloom. He pressed two fingers to this throat to stifle an excited purr, just in case someone was still guarding the place as he made his way down the hall on silent paws.

The longer he was in the bank, the more unnerved he felt. His ears twitched as he kept thinking he heard sounds in the distance. Things moving or footsteps. He lowered his hand as the purr died in his throat.

He could see a dull bluish glow coming from up ahead, just around the corner. He gulped as he wondered if someone was down there looking for him right now? Had he not been as clever as he thought?

He suddenly snapped his head around, fur standing on end as he heard the sound of booted footsteps rushing down the hall straight towards him. He wanted to run, but he was so frightened that he just froze. He heard the steps rapidly getting closer, then a rush of cold wind as they passed him and continued down the hall.

“What the...”

He turned back towards the glow to see the end of a pale blue flashlight. It looked less like it was lit, and more like the entire thing was just glowing. His heart hammered in his chest as a similarly glowing hand moved into view. Finally, the spectral figure of a security guard moved into view. It slowly turned its head in his direction and he could see that half of its head was just missing. Ragged and torn, wisps flowing off of it like smoke. It let out an unearthly wail and started rushing in his direction.

“I ain't got a plan for this!!”

The tiny cat raced back to the air vent, dropping his pack and diving into the duct work. He banged his way loudly through the building, not caring who heard him before he smashed through a grate that headed outside. Tumbling through the air, he crashed down into a dumpster piled full of garbage.

He wrinkled his nose, picking a rotted banana peel off of his shirt. “Yeah, right about where I belong at the moment.. ugh...”

[reasoningdaily]

GREENWOOD, Dist. – On the 102nd anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition honors unknown victims with a solemn soil collection ceremony at Standpipe Hill in the Historic Greenwood District. The gathered soil, collected from both Standpipe Hill and Oaklawn Cemetery, honors those whose lives were tragically lost during this dark and painful moment in history.

The exact number of victims who perished in the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 remains unknown. However, estimations range from 300 to upwards of 500. The event, which took place over a two-day period from May 31 to June 1, resulted in widespread destruction and loss of life in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as “Black Wall Street.” However, due to the chaotic nature of the massacre, the destruction of records, and a lack of comprehensive investigations, an accurate and final count of the victims has never been determined.

Recent efforts to uncover the full extent of the tragedy continue, including through forensic investigations and testimonies from survivors and their descendants.

Greg Robinson, a member of the Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition, emphasized the significance of gathering at Standpipe Hill. “It is amazing that we honor those unknown who were lost in the Tulsa Race Massacre. That we do it here on truly sacred ground – that actually represents the greatness of what Black Wall Street was, is and will be into the future,” Robinson shared. He then honored the American World War I veterans who lost their lives. “It is not lost on us that we honor veterans on this day as well,” Robinson added. 

During the ceremony, Kristi Williams, a member of the Tulsa Remembrance Coalition and a descendant of the massacre, delivered a poignant reading. Through her words, she reminded everyone in attendance of the historical significance of the Tulsa Race Massacre and shed light on the countless victims whose identities have been lost to time, emphasizing the need to remember and honor them.

“Less than two dozen victims have been documented by name, but research has estimated that hundreds of Black men, women and children died in the massacre,” Williams sternly explained. 

During Williams’ address, she shared an intriguing detail about the majestic hackberry tree standing tall on Standpipe Hill. She then revealed that this remarkable tree possesses a special ability to grow thick bark over the areas that were once damaged by fire, creating a protective shield against future harm, explaining that its resilient characteristic serves as a metaphor for the community’s ability to heal and endure in the face of adversity.

Williams proceeded to recount the heroic tale of Horace ‘Peg leg’ Taylor, a World War I veteran. She described how Taylor courageously positioned himself atop Standpipe Hill, wielding a gatling gun, and valiantly defended the hill for hours, providing a vital shield for the residents of Greenwood as they sought to escape from the violent White mob.

US Veteran Kenneth ‘K.Roc’ Brant, who works for the Terence Crutcher Foundation, shared a deeply personal reflection on the mental struggle he faced during the Centennial of the Massacre back in 2021. 

He recounted the challenge of honoring both the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the veterans during the centennial commemoration, which coincided with Memorial Day weekend. 

“That weekend weighed heavily on me. [I was] torn as a Black military veteran and a Black man living in Tulsa,” Brant shared. At the ceremony, Brant recited a poem he wrote called “Holding Space” to express the thoughts and feelings he experienced. “This weekend, we remembered that some gave all. Here in Tulsa, we remembered that some took all. How do I hold space for both?” Brant said.

Brant’s individual story sheds light on the emotional and psychological battle he endured during his time in service and while navigating the complexities of what Black soldiers experienced during the Massacre upon their return to Tulsa after WWI.

[mlleclaudine]

Visit Tamara de Lempicka’s First U.S. Retrospective in San Francisco This October

by Kate Mothes - Colossal, August 13, 2024

“Young Girl in Green (Young Girl with Gloves)” (c. 1931), oil on board, 24 1/4 x 17 7/8 inches. Digital image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York, courtesy of Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Nearly one hundred years after Tamara de Lempicka (1894-1980) first exhibited her work in San Francisco, a sweeping survey of the storied and glamorous artist opens again in the city. This October, at the de Young—part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco—the show marks the artist’s first U.S. retrospective and illuminates new details about her life.

de Lempicka’s bold, stylized figures have become synonymous with the 1920s, an era characterized by opulence, sophistication, and youthful optimism. She incorporates Art Deco design elements, like geometric facets, tonal contrasts, and city architecture framing idealized faces and flowing, fashionable garments. She sought to create recognizable paintings with a freshness and clarity that set them apart from what she called the “banality” of art she saw around her. And among other Art Deco-era painters like Diego Rivera or Rockwell Kent, who often painted large murals featuring crowds of people, de Lempicka distinguished herself by focusing predominantly on portraits.

The artist’s early life has long been a source of fascination. For years, she was thought to have been born Tamara Rozalia Gurwik-Górska in 1894—although she claimed variously that she was born in 1898, 1900, and 1902—but recent research reveals her birth name was Tamara Rosa Hurwitz. She moved to Saint Petersburg, where she married a prominent Polish lawyer named Tadeusz Łempicki, and then traveled to Paris, where she studied painting. “At the beginning of her career, de Lempicka chose to sign her works using the male declination of her surname, ‘Lempitzky,’ effectively disguising her gender and adding to the confusion surrounding her origin story,” says an exhibition statement.

By 1928, de Lempicka had become the mistress of Baron Raoul Kuffner de Dioszegh, a wealthy art collector, and she divorced from Łempicki in 1931. When Kuffner’s wife died, the artist married Kuffner, and she became known in the press as “The Baroness with a Brush.” The couple moved to the U.S. in 1939, and although her work fell out of fashion during World War II, a 1960s revival of Art Deco style ushered in a comeback. She eventually moved to Mexico in 1974, where she died in 1980.

More than 120 of de Lempicka’s works will go on view in San Francisco, including her most celebrated portraits, early experimental still lifes, rarely seen drawings, and a selection of Art Deco objects from the Fine Arts Museums’ collection. Tamara de Lempicka runs October 12, 2024, to February 9, 2025, after which it will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from March 9 to May 25. Find more on the de Young’s website.

“Brilliance (Bacchante)” (c. 1932), oil on panel, 14 1/4 x 10 5/8 inches.

“Portrait of a Man (Thadeusz Łempicki) or Unfinished Portrait of a Man,” (1928), oil on canvas, 51 x 31 7/8 inches.

“Arums” (1935), oil on canvas, 25 7/8 x 19 3/8 inches.

“Irene and Her Sister” (1925), oil on canvas, 57 1/2 x 35 1/16 inches.

“Saint-Moritz” (1929), oil on panel, 13 3/4 x 10 5/8 inches.

“Portrait of Ira P.” (1930), oil on panel, 39 3/8 x 25 9/16 inches.

Thérèse Bonney, “Tamara de Lempicka working on ‘Portrait of Tadeusz de Łempicki'” (c. 1929), gelatin silver print, 9 3/8 x 7 inches.

[steeltraptrainer]

Something feels different. Something feels so very different. More tangible. The blood-drenched air of Yharnam filling their lungs to the brim.

"Ah, you're awake. Are you two alright?" Djura is sitting on the floor of the tower, midway through taking his Stake Driver apart.

"As much as we can be, I think." Ferro breathes. "Something is different, but... Dist if I know what."

"Try to keep an eye on that. Yharnam has its way of taking its pound of flesh." Djura taps away at his knee. "If you yearn for the blood, do find Eileen."

"I don't think it's that." Giacomo frowns. "Everything feels more tangible. Less... dreamy?" That makes Djura's small motions stop.

"Less dreamy, you say?" He takes a breath. "You might be getting more tethered here, then. You'll need to hurry if you still want to go home." He puts down the weapon in his grip. "Talk to the old man. He knows more than he lets on."

---

Gehrman feels so tired. The two newest Hunters are too young for this. Far too young. And he can feel Flora's grasp on them grow tighter by the minute. Every step they take to end the cries of Mergo brings them into the dream more. He carefully wheels himself out of the Workshop, looks over the dreamscape. At the bottom of the stairs, the Doll is sitting with books in her lap, carefully sounding out the words. He can barely see the contents from where he sits, up above. The pages are very colorful, brighter than anything he has ever seen. Likely a children's book. At the Doll's feet, the Messengers collect and crowd, listening intently. It's... nice. Domestic. A hint that she is in fact more than what he likes to pretend she is. More than a sum of his failures.

"Gehrman?" He turns his head a bit, sees the two new Hunters in the back of the workshop. "We... may need help."

"Is that so?" He tilts his head a bit. "Very well then, tell me about the issue."

"This entire place, Yharnam... It feels more tangible." The elder of the two sounds chagrined as he speaks. "We need to get out. We can't get stuck here."

"... Ah." He has an idea what might be happening. "Help me back inside. One of you will need to help me get a book from the shelves. These old bones are not what they used to be." He would bring them the Sunrise again. It might be the last and least he could do for them.

---

In an abstract sense, Ferro and Giacomo know that they have to find a Great One to end it. To finish the nightmare enveloping Yharnam. They need two of them. Rom, and Mergo. The book that Gehrman has them get from the shelf can only be called a book in the most abstract sense. It's a ledger. A ledger filled with notes and papers.

"There is something you could do to end it all. You would need a siderite edge." Ferro's gaze wanders to his scythe. "Yes, exactly like the one you yourself carry. Siderite can cut dreams. There is, however, no guarantee it will work how you want it to." Tired old eyes in a sunken face. "It might send you home. It might also tear you from the Hunter's Dream, and leave you in Yharnam dreamless. In danger."

"So we are fucked." Giacomo's hands bunch into fists. "Great. Fuck. Okay. So. How do we make sure Yharnam is less... That."

"You would have to end the Healing Church's greatest shame for that."

"Then we do that. Bit by bit, until we are done." Ferro says, voice more resolute than he feels. "Step by step. What is the next thing we could do?"

"Hm... You have found a chalice, yes?" Gehrman hums in thought. "Then you have to set out for Byrgenwerth. You know the adage. Seek for Rom. She will lead the way."

"Then we do that."

"May you have a fruitful hunt, then. Take care."

---

"Hello Miss Doll." The Doll looks up from the book. At her feet, the Messengers groan in discontent. They want to hear more of the book. "What are you doing?"

"Reading to the little ones. They like to listen." Her lips tug into a smile. "It is a fun book. I hope to one day be able to see one of these Pokémon from your home. I find myself rather partial to Shuppet. They are sweet."

"Maybe you can. That'd be nice." Giacomo smiles at her. He looks tired. "I think they might flock to you."

"We'll find a way to get you over, Miss Doll."

"Then I will look forward to your efforts, you two." She tilts her head a bit. "Is there anything you want?"

"Just wanted to check in. We've got a job, so we 'll be back!" She watches them leave. And after a moment, she picks the book back up. She knows Gehrman is sitting at the edge of the workshop, listening. And so she reads just a little louder. He, too, deserves some solace and happiness.

"The little Applin wanted to have a party with her friends. But where could she hold it? After all, her friends were Water Types. And so she started thinking..."

---

"We're going to be having a fine time of it here." Ferro twirls his scythe a bit. "But we can do this. To Byrgenwerth we go?"

"Yeah, we will." Giacomo nods, cracks his knuckles. And then, at last... that familiar fuzziness.

T h e y

w a k e

u p

[the-occult-lounge]

𝓐 𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓯 𝓗𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓘𝓶𝓫𝓸𝓵𝓬

Imbolc is a Celtic tradition that marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The Celtic pagan holiday falls on February 1st-2nd and heralds the change of the seasons and the shift from the dark days to the sun filled days ahead. This celebration, from information gathered from Irish poetry, dates back to early 10th century. From informaton gleamed the holiday was originally around the veginning of spring and aligned more towards rebirth. However, we can justify this with the meanjng of the word Imbolc. The holiday's name means 'in the belly of the mother' and within the earth at this time sturs the seeds of spring.

Brigid resides over this holiday and was originally worshipped by a class of poets and historians called the Filid. Brigid is a Celtic fire and fertility goddess, daughter of Dagda, lineage of the Tuath du Danann, and deemed one of the most powerful Celtic deities. It is also believed that she is a triple goddess due to the fact that she has two sisters with the same name but they seem to represent different aspects which is very much the summize of most triple deities. As time moved away from paganism Brigid was adopted into Christianity as St. Brigid and was still saint/goddess of dairy maids, cattle, midwives, newborns and nuns.

Per https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/imbolc:

"Brigid appears in the saga Cath Maige Tuired and the Lebor Gabála Érenn, a purported history of Ireland collected from various poems and texts in the 10th century."

"Myths about Brigid’s birth say she was born with a flame in her head and drank the milk of a mystical cow from the spirit world. Brigid is credited with the very first keening, a traditional wailing for the dead practiced at funerals by Irish and Scottish women."

𝓘𝓶𝓫𝓸𝓵𝓬 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼

❀ Animals: Firebird, Dragon, Groundhog, Deer, Hare, Rabbit, Ewe, Sheep, Lamb

❀ Birds: Robin, Swan

❀ Colors: Brown, Pink, White, Red, Orange, Pale Yellow, Silver, Lavender

❀ Customs: Lighting Candles, Seeking Omens of Spring, Storytelling, Cleaning House, Bonfires, Indoor Planting, Stone Collecting, Candle kept burning dusk till dawn; hearth Re-lighting

❀ Deities: Brigid, Virgin Goddess, Venus, Diana, Februa, Maiden, Child Goddess, Aradia, Athena, Inanna, Vesta, Gaia, Selene(Greek), Cerridwen, Demeter, Persephone, Prosperpina, Vesta, Branwen(Manx-Welsh), Cernunnos, Heme, Osiris, Pan, Cupid/Eros(Greco-Roman), Dumuzi(Sumerian)

❀ Element: Earth, Fire

❀ Flowers: Yellow Flowers, White Flowers, Marigolds, Plum Blossoms, Daffodils

❀ Foods: Dairy, Spicy Foods, Raisins, Pumpkin, Sesame & Sunflower Seeds, Poppyseed Bread/Cake, Honey Cake, Pancakes, Waffles, Herbal Tea, Cheese, Spiced Wine, White Meats, Yogurt

❀ Gender: Female

❀Herbs: Acorns, Angelica, Basil, Bay, Benzoin, Blackberry, Celandine, Chamomile, Clover, Frankensense, Heather, Lavender, Myrrh, Rosemary, Willow

❀Magick Areas: Cleansing, Purification, Renewal, Creative Inspiration, Initiation, Candle Work, House & Temple Blessings, Fertility, Awakening, Protection, Truth, Wand Cleansing

❀ Other Names: Candlemas (Christian), Brigantia (Caledonii), Oimelc, Festival of Light, Brigid’s (Brid, Bride) Day, La Fheill, An Fheille Bride, Candelaria (Mexico), Chinese New Year, Disting-tid (Feb 14th, Teutonic), DisaBlot, Anagantios, Lupercalia/Lupercus (Strega), Groundhog Day please note the celebrations are similar but are vastly different when you look at the details

❀ Scents: Jasmine, Rosemary, Frankincense, Cinnamon, Neroli, Musk, Olive, Sweet Pea, Basil, Myrrh, Wisteria, Apricot, Carnation, Chamomile, Jasmine, Lavender, Rosemary

❀ Stones: Amethyst, Garnet, Onxy, Turquoise

❀ Symbols: Brigid’s Cross, Corn Dollies, Epiphanies, Candles, Lanterns, Sun Wheels

Learn more, like rituals for this holiday, at:

[li-esonthefloor]

1400 dia and i got... 1 dist 5* (dupe) :^D

i will have to collect trophies and shove gifts down random characters' throats and do tower and (please let that be enough please let that be en-)

[somacruising]

I’ve recently started thinking about the faceless Oracle Knight mooks who we kill and so I decided to write up how I believe the soldiers view their God-Generals.

Legretta

Strict and uncompromising, but her expectations are always crystal clear so it doesn’t feel unfair. Probably one of the more popular generals to serve because she’s so close to Van and people hope that they might get to actually MEET Van, perhaps… I think she would have the third highest rate for dropouts or defecting because her standards are high and some people probably think they could walk over her bc she’s a woman. Legretta has zero patience or tolerance for that shit so they get booted out. Or transferred to Dist’s division as a punishment. She doesn’t really interact much with her troops outside of giving orders, and does her best to remain impartial. There’s a strong pride among her troops, though. Sure, all missions for the Oracle Knights are important, but they’re pretty sure that missions from the Commandant-Adjunct are slightly more important.

Largo

Intense and angry. Dear god, Largo probably pushes his troops hard. They’re ready for everything: any scenario, any environment. Where Legretta’s standards are high in the hard-to-please ways, Largo can be kind of “what do you mean you can’t carry all this through the Zao Desert, young people these days—“ But, his troops are a lot closer to each other than any other division. It’s a bonding experience, going through training from hell together. Largo’s experience as a mercenary also makes his leading style slightly different from the others in a way I have trouble articulating. Largo is probably one of the only generals who actually knows some of his troops on a personal level. When they’re setting up camp out in fuck-knows-where and some of the soldiers are chatting about their wives or kids back home, he’ll listen. And MIGHT give advice if you catch him on a good day. His troops, once they make it through basic and get comfortable, are super ride or die.

Arietta

This is sooooo short compared to the others but listen. I’m half-convinced her whole division is entirely made up of her monster friends. 3rd Division is just the polite way of saying Arietta’s scary monster friends with the really sharp teeth that sometimes they get to ride on. Anyway Arietta’s monsters love her. Most positive relationship of all the generals.

Sync

Cold and distant. Sync’s priority is keeping his identity a secret which means he keeps his interactions with people outside of the other generals infrequent, I imagine. Also Sync is busy spying on ppl a lot so a lot of his troops think he’s kind of mysterious probably. I’m sure a lot of people are outright nervous about Sync sniffing out stuff about them that they’d rather keep hidden. There’s like a million rumors about what’s under the mask and how he got promoted to chief of staff so young. The only thing everyone can agree on is you do NOT want to fuck up so bad that you get sent to see him in his office. There is a collective effort to not allow general HR complaints high enough up the chain to reach him because nobody wants a repeat of the time Sync found out some Oracle Knights were trying to start a pyramid scheme. Sync is very un-fun to be around when he has to stop what he’s doing and make time to look into something that he sees as a waste of time.

Asch

Asch is very cool but he has so many anger issues that I’m sure a lot of his troops feel like they’re walking on eggshells. Asch has unrealistically high standards for himself that he also expects all his troops to meet too and so they get pushed SO HARD but to a degree that I’d say might actually be unfair. Also Asch reportedly has a tendency to kind of wing missions and do things HIS WAY, so a kind of haggard “gee I sure do hope the general doesn’t deviate TOO much from the plan and get us killed”. Though, he’s actually pretty popular with some of them who think being a RENEGADE and doing their own thing is awesome. However, Asch’s troops tend to be one of the more well-behaved because Asch has never forgot his noble upbringing and he expects all of his troops to act respectful towards him and others. If he hears about someone misbehaving he’ll try to handle it personally.

Dist

Look. You can’t convince me that getting transferred to Dist’s division isn’t some kind of punishment. Can you imagine being a nameless mook working for Dist? Do you want to? No.