#give me tourmaline or give me death

[beingsimplyme]

imagine gatekeeping an article of clothing that's been used since like... the 1800s I wanna say

it was chaps. she was trying to gatekeep chaps.

[im-not-a-ghost]

Mirror, mirror on the wall

What does this connection reflect back to you ? What do you see in each other that either uplifts you or drags you down ?

To find out, select one of the following groups. You can either choose based on the imagery or the number. This reading’s content might be triggering. Read only if you are okay with it. Keep in mind that this is a general reading.

Group 1

5 of swords, knight of cups, Self love, Death rx, Sugilite - Stretch the limits of your imagination - You are not your emotions, Memories comfort us "I seek out happy people who inspire me to be great."

This reading feels very personal. I felt a pang in my chest as I was shuffling your cards. And the more I saw the picture that was being depicted, the more I felt like crying. I feel like a lot of you have spent most of your life repressing your emotions and feelings for the sake of others within connections, whether those were platonic or romantic. Specifically, I picked up on wounds surrounding a masculine parental figure. When interacting with this person, the truth reflected back to you is that you shouldn't have to fight for someone's attention or love. This connection helps you heal a feeling of unworthiness that stems from your childhood. It also reflects the fact that a relationship shouldn't be thriving at the expense of your own well being and happiness. That a connection should be a safe space where you can feel free to be yourself and expand in a way that feels good for you. That you shouldn't have to pretend to be someone else to be accepted.

What you see in this person is that a partner is supposed to uplift you, not hinder you. You see that going after your dreams and doing the things that make you happy isn't a crime. You learn that your emotions are valuable and are nothing to be ashamed of. In this person, you find a shelter. A place where you can lower your mask and shield to be your unapologetical self without fearing retribution. In this person, you see a friend. Someone that is willing to listen to what you have to say and help you see things from a brighter perspective instead of finding every reason why this could go wrong. You learn that your opinion matters. That your interests aren't useless. That it is safe to cry, to be sad or angry, to feel unmotivated or scared or uncertain. That you shouldn't have to apologize for how you feel or for who you are. In them, you find a confidant.

The reality that this connection reflects back to you is that your friends, your family, the people you admire and give your attention to may not be having your best interest at heart. Nor do they provide for you the safe space you need. That they take more than they give and never say sorry. This connection teaches you the importance of your own love and perception of yourself. The importance of re evaluating your boundaries, of being authentic and surrounding yourself with the people that are going to value your true essence instead of trying to dim your light and shape you into something you are not.

Extra - What do they see in you? | Page of cups, The Sage, Black Tourmaline - Protect your light, Relieve the pressure, "I am ready to go big rise up and step into my power."

They see a person with a kind and pure heart, who yearns to love and be loved equally. Someone with big dreams and goals that they never dared to achieve. A soft hearted individual whose potential goes beyond anything they could ever imagine and is afraid to share it with the world. They see a lot of sadness too. Fear even. But more than that, they see a lot of wisdom and grace. A level of maturity that cannot be rivaled. They see someone that has been holding back for far too long and deserves to be able to let go of everything that has been hurting them. Someone that needs protection because of all the pain they've been through. Someone that's tired of fighting and screaming for peace. They see someone who's afraid of opening their heart to love again, who would rather guard their heart strongly even if it meant being alone forever rather than risking getting hurt again. But at the same time, they see how much you crave to put an end to all of that because at the end of the day, you're just like any human. You want that fairytale ending.

Group 2

"I celebrate all the grateness in my life." 3 of wands, 7 of wands, Sunstone - Take back your shine, The Weaver rx, Love rx, Stand up for yourself, Yes!

I get a lot of root and sacral chakra energy from this group, which to me may relate to fears surrounding stability, material possessions, intimacy and the body. In past connections, you or your person may have dealt with a lot of people that abused them either for their possessions, their status or their body. You may also have dealt with people who cheated on you or people who did not accept your differences but still took advantage of you. I don't know why, but I kept wanting to mention the other person instead of focusing on your energy. So maybe you and your person have dealt with very similar wounds and situations in your life. The truth that is being reflected back to you is that being different isn't always a struggle. That in a connection, your boundaries should always be respected. That not wanting the same things as your partner doesn't make you a bad person. That you have the right to say no. You are also learning that you cannot control every aspect of the connection. That sometimes, in order for things to be working, you'll have to let your ego aside and find a common ground that is comfortable for both parties. You're also learning that needing space or going after your goals are things that can be beneficial both to you and your partner, that you shouldn't have to choose between both. You're learning that being on your guards all the time isn't in your best interest and that in order to receive you must be able to give as well. The truth reflected back to you is also that not everyone is out to get you.

In this person, you see a call for the unknown that challenges you but also motivates you. You see an opportunity for change and wisdom. You see an invitation to appreciate life at the fullest and an encouragement to open your heart to the present moment. This connection teaches you to take a leap of faith and walk forward with confidence, even if you do not know what the future holds. It teaches you to see all the little things in life that are worth rejoicing about and fighting for. It pushes you to embrace all your quirks and faults, even those you think your partner wouldn't like. To look at the future with hope in your eyes and disregard any person that might stand in your way or try to get you to doubt yourself. This connection inspires you to stand tall and proud and cultivate optimism. It helps you feel safe in your body and comfortable in your shoes. For some of you, it has opened your eyes about your sexual preferences and your identity. Some of you may have realized that you were queer thanks to this connection. For others, you are healing wounds regarding physical intimacy : you may be learning to embrace the fact that being physical with someone is something that isn't your cup of tea and that there's nothing wrong with it. Some may be discovering and exploring new aspects of their sexuality that they didn't get to try before because they were taught to be ashamed of their body, of their desires. This connection leads you to uproot any belief system that was hindering your light and drive. Also, you are learning to love your body more and cultivate your creativity.

Extra - What do they see in you? | Treat yourself eat whatever you want, 4 of wands, Reflect, Cavansite - Expand your consciousness, "My high vibe thoughts create health in my body peace in my mind and love in my heart."

They see someone with such energy and love for life that they can't help but smile. They also can't help but to recognize your strength and limitless potential. This person sees you as their equal. They see in you someone that has all the qualities in life to be successful but also all the qualities that they look for in a partner. They see your trustworthiness, your ambition, your optimism and creativity and they love it. They admire your wit and communication skills. They see your strength and your ability to persevere though the road is difficult. They see a person that will never give up no matter what people throw at them. And because of that, you have all their respect and support. They see how hard you try to make a name for yourself and embody the best version of you. They see your charisma, your curiosity. Every aspect of you that makes you you, in simple words. They just love all of you and they want that for themselves.

Group 3

"I breathe calmly and easily. I am safe in this moment." Page of wands, The Star, Versatility, Speak Truth, I can only count on myself, Stand up for yourself, Hiddenite - Claim your happy place

Through this connection, you're slowly realizing that you were made to believe that in order to make it through and thrive, you should hide your light and pretend like you didn't exist. Especially for those of you who were assigned female at birth. The truth that this connection reflects back to you is that it is safe for you to exist, make noise and take room. In this case, I am picking up on rejection wounds. You are also learning that you don't have to carry your load all alone. That asking for help is more than fine but more importantly that you don't need others to be told who you should or should not be. For a lot of you, I feel like a parental figure was very controlling around you and didn't let you make your own decisions. They always tried to make you feel less than or lead you to believe that you couldn't succeed without them. You are healing those wounds through this connection. It also reflects back at you your own creative power and wisdom. It shows you that the truth of your destiny lies within you and not outside of you. It encourages you to speak louder and find your voice in life's chatter. To write your own story.

It reflects back to you how people around you trigger your foundations and create a space for you that is unstable, unsafe. How their own lack of discernment and self confidence is affecting you, your dynamics with the world and your power to manifest your desired reality. It shows you that you don't have to abide by the rules to be respected and recognized. Actually, you don't even need to be recognized by anyone except yourself. This connection shows you the value of your own beliefs and desires, and gives you the strength and determination to fight for them.

Extra - What do they see in you? | Ace of cups rx, The Explorer, Turn your tongue 7 times in your mouth before speaking, Sodalite - Deepen your intuition, "I seek out happy people who inspire me to be great."

They see a lot of curiosity and drive to become a better version of yourself. They also see your fighting spirit and rebellious tendencies. They see that you want to surround yourself with things and people that make you feel good. That you are constantly seeking to improve. That you have gathered a lot of wisdom through experience and you're able to use it whenever trouble arises. However, they also see that you've put up walls around your heart that a hard to see through. They are aware that those walls, built to protect yourself, also prevent you from finding true happiness. They see that you are not emotionally available right now and that is a fact they cannot ignore. This person understands your need to protect yourself and admires this aspect of you. But they are also worried that this defense mechanism will stand in the way of your connection. They see that they should have to be very careful around you if they want to be able to earn your trust.

[ssplague]

Benighted Beloved

Prologue

Dragon King Bakugou x Reader

Haven’t decided on the title yet, didn’t want to take even more time to get this out.

Warnings ⚠️ BRIEF Mentions of attempted assault, sex trafficking, & murder.

As the last of the moon’s ethereal, silver light disappears from the skies, a harsh wind begins to blow. This kingdom’s inhabitants are hidden away within the confines of their homes. The silence is daunting as the wind begins to howl through the previously bustling capital streets.

Within the dimly lit castle a woman stares through the her window before shutting the drapes tight.

The atmosphere within the fortress is riddled with tension; Murmurings of prayers can be heard from various servants pausing their duties as they move about. Her bosom heaves rapidly from panting breaths, she fights in vain. Stubborn to prevent the vision attempting to shine through, ignoring the now blurry edges of her eye sight. Ebony hair is sticking to her sweaty face, she’s only standing on shaky legs from leaning against the edge of her vanity table.The door of her bedroom swings open and immediately slams shut. A man has come to see her, he’s briskly crossing the room, before coming to a stop at her side.

“What ails you?” The tired man asks, helping the woman stand upright by allowing her to hold his arm. Continuing to assist, despite her uncoordinated shuffling to sit on her bed. “If you are to be given a prophetic message, why fight it? Her majesty wishes to know what you have seen”. The woman wraps her arms around her middle, sharp nails nicking at her flesh as she draws in a shaking breath, “This night is tainted by darkness, the goddess is unable to grant us her full protection while her light is repressed…if my body will hold out until the darkness recedes, perhaps tragedy will be prevented from falling upon our kingdom once again”. Light from the single lit candle casted half of her face in shadow. The oracle was ashen faced, her black bangs plastered against her forehead, droplets of sweat leaked down her face onto the floor as she rested her elbows on her knees, shaking hands massage her temples.

“You cannot alter fate Midnight, you are destroying yourself all for the sake of delaying a message you were chosen to deliver” Aizawa says with a heavy sigh, rubbing at his eyes “I know you continue to blame yourself for the death of King Masaru but even the queen herself told you that you were not at fault, you relayed the message, and it was something that simply couldnt be remedied..”.

A shuddering breath racks the oracle’s body and she begins falling forward, only for the exhausted man to catch her,

“Stop this! You are going to die!”.

Midnight knew she was on deaths door, her body would give out soon, unless she relents…

Once again the bedroom door opens silently, the snap of it shutting alerts the two occupants of a new comer entering the room.

“Do it for the sake of the child, if you wish to atone for the death of its father then guide it as it grows, inform the future leader on how to avoid whatever negativity may come beforehand, so that it can be properly dealt with” the stern but soft voice of Jeanist seems to have been able to break through the oracle’s stubbornness.

“Normally only one of you would need to be the scribe for this session…but I would prefer it if there were two perspectives on whatever I report, considering the situation…” requests Midnight as Aizawa allows Jeanist to help the frail woman sit up. Making one more request as the blonde man fluffs and rearranges the pillows behind her:

“Please light the ceremonial pouperie and hand me both selenite and tourmaline towers”.

At the beginning of her life Midnight had been gifted with the ability to predict small things such as who would win a foot race or what she would receive for her birthday. As a teen her visions changed into predicting who would find love and eventually how relationships would end. Life was not always kind to her, and once she reached her late teens she had been enslaved and forced into prostitution.

Luck had been on her side as an adult; One night as the ebony haired beauty made her way through town. She had come across a drunken man attempting to asssault a young woman. Her amethyst eyes catch the glint of an intact bottle neck laying discarded on the alleyway’s grime crusted cobblestones. Those muffled cries of the female being violated brought her back to when she herself had first been enslaved. Slinking up through the shadows in silence, the angry woman would later on be compared to a panther as she came flying out of the darkness. The brute didnt have a chance to fight back as loose shards of glass were shoved into his eyes, the jagged spikes of the bottle were repeatedly slashed and thrusted into his neck, face, and chest until the pig was unrecognizable.

The woman she had saved turned out to be the daughter of a duke, visiting from a completely different kingdom. “Please accompany me for my journey home, your bravery will bring you great favor with my family, im offering you a new life, a fresh start”. Once the dutches and duke had learned about the gift of sight their daughter’s savior possessed, it was only a matter of time before Midnight was called to advise the current king and queen of her new home.

The darker haired man uses the candle to light to light the bundle of herbs, the scents of sage, lavender, and jasmine fill the room quickly.

Both polished stone towers are pressed into her shaking hands, Each man stood at the oracle’s bed side with quills poised and ready. Only then does the ritual begin;

She always hated lowering the walls of protection that had been built around her psyche. It made her feel as though she were stripped naked, vunerable, about to have her dignity snatched away, and soul crushed. Of course those feeling were always what prelude a tainted and unfortunate vision. Her eyes buldge in their sockets as they widen, her plump lips fall open and an amplified emotionless version of her voice spews out the sacred information from her gaping maw.

In this realm,

a blessing descends,

a child of fate,

Whose power immense,

destined to determine

earth’s fate

Born beneath the moon's shadow,

a tale quite bizarre,

A beast hides within,

a spirit touched by mar.

Not at the outset,

but time's relentless flow,

Unveils a name in

history's annals to grow.

Victories numerous,

A heart encased in sin

With a chance encounter,

love's dance shall begin.

Strings of fate weave

a love, pure and oh so divine,

The dragon king seeking

a mate with whom his

Soul shall intertwine.

This love is true,

by impurity shunned,

Great Darkness out shone

by Celestial radiance

Who’s light could

Outshine the sun

Blessings abound

if the moon's grace prevails,

However her failure

unveils hate

as darkness assails.

The Earth shall quake in fright

silence descends in despair,

The dragon king ruthless,

his mate to ensnare.

Land soaked in blood,

tainted with gore

at that moment

T’will be decided

peace within this kingdom

will become a distant lore

Decay befalls living souls,

cursed evermore.

Oh how can one’s feelings

spin a tale so profound?

For only true love shall

Determine whether darkness

Or light shall abound?

In a wing located on the complete opposite side of the castle, a feminine shriek is permeated by the sharp wails of an infant.

“It’s a boy your majesty!” Exclaims a mid-wife who held the freshly delivered baby.

She is quick to clean off the continuously shrieking child, immediately swaddling him in a soft blanket. Queen Mitsuki held out her trembling hands to receive the bundle of joy. “He’s beautiful my lady, I’m sure the king is looking down from heaven with pride” stated one of the other servants as she took away the soiled linens. “Yes he is…my beautiful little boy…my precious Katsuki” the queen whispered, kissing the boy’s head. His tiny whisps of blonde hair tickled her face as she holds him close. A little fist slips out from the blankets, waving about as his wails grow louder. Another servant enters the room, her arms laden with fresh blankets and sheets, “The moonlight has returned!” She happily reports, setting down the bedding and drawing back the curtains some.

Soon as those first rays of the shining silver light landed on the baby, his shrieks cease instantly. Finally opening his small crimson eyes to stare up at his mother, a goofy smile appearing and soft cooing replaced his cries. Everyone in the castle seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the dreaded eclipse had come to an end.

“My Katsuki, you’re going to grow into a strong, dependable man, eventually you’ll become the greatest king the world has ever seen…isn’t that right Masaru?” Mitsuki snuggled the baby, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wasn’t able to see the man standing beside the two of them, but Katsuki could. The spirit of his father placed its hand on his little head, and the baby began to giggle happily. “I cant do much in this form, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you make the right choice when the time comes…take care of your mother for me…I love you both so much”.

A/N: We’re starting a NEW series!

What did you think? Pay attention to that prophecy, any ideas on what it’s talking about?

[silenced-judgement]

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ ⋯ 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜; 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚜

  ・．⸻⸻˖⁺‧̟⭒₊☠︎︎🦋☠︎︎₊ ˖⁺‧̟⭒⸻⸻．・

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ ⋯ 𝙰𝚜𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

┊┊✧

┊✦

✧ .

Identified with Mors (Roman), and Letum (Roman)

Greek God/Personification of Non-Violent Death and mortality

Known Symbols: Inverted Torch, Sword, Theta (θ), Wreath, Wings

Plants and Trees: Poppy and Cypress

Animals: Butterflies

Stones/Crystals: Onyx, Obsidian, Black Tourmaline, Amethyst

Incense: Frankincense, Myrrh, Cypress

Colors: Black, Silver, White, Purple

Death 13 Tarot card

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ ⋯ 𝙴𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚜

┊┊✧

┊✦

✧ .

Paean "Healer"

Makar "Blessed one"

Leukokhrotos "White-skinned"

Acherontis "Woeful"

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ ⋯ 𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢

┊┊✧

┊✦

✧ .

Son of Nyx, Night Incarnate

Grandson of Primordial Chaos

Twin Brother of Hypnos, Sleep Incarnate

Brother of The Moirai (Fates), Charon, The Keres, Nemesis

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ ⋯ 𝙾𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜

┊┊✧

┊✦

✧ .

Common offerings include: Red wine, olive oil, water, honey, milk, fruit, poppy seeds, black tea, dark chocolate

Other than that, play around a bit with different types of offerings and figure out what he likes, I've only offered him dark chocolate which was also torture to myself since I enjoy it as well, but thankfully he was understanding that I mean no disrespect if I ended up eating it (which I did), though now I have two bags of dark chocolate I got for Easter just sitting in my room unopened.

  ・．⸻⸻˖⁺‧̟⭒₊☠︎︎🦋☠︎︎₊ ˖⁺‧̟⭒⸻⸻．・

The rest of this will be of my own personal experiences with interacting with Thanatos, everyone has their own experiences so yours is likely not going to be the same. I will also include some things I personally associate with him.

  ・．⸻⸻˖⁺‧̟⭒₊☠︎︎🦋☠︎︎₊ ˖⁺‧̟⭒⸻⸻．・

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ ⋯ 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚜

┊┊✧

┊✦

✧ .

As soon as I had reached out to Thanatos through my Tarot he answered almost immediately, however as someone who had only done a reading once and correctly translated Hestia's message to a friend who was confused on what she was trying to say I am not good with any other Tarot spread as the friend had used a custom spread that was similar in layout to a Yes/No spread. The type of spread I use is the Yes/No spread, where you lay out five (5) cards with Major Arcana and even number Minor Arcana being for "yes" and the Suits and odd numbered Minor Arcana being "no". Personally I prefer this as it's easier for me to understand with my silly little Autistic brain.

The first thing I did after connecting with him through Tarot was actually ask him how he was doing, I don't know why I chose to ask him that, but I said "yes is for if you're doing good, and no is for if you aren't" and then placed out my cards. His answer to me was "No" with a hidden message within the cards in order to explain to me that something didn't go well that day and he was upset, to which I replied with an apology for the fact he was feeling upset and then I asked him if he'd like to just hangout and sit with me the rest of the day, his answer was a yes and as soon as he answered I began crying. I'm naturally sensitive to the presences of beings that aren't exactly within our plane of existence; such as ghosts, spirits, demons, and deities, it's just with everything else besides deities I get a shortness of breath but all presences give me that same sort of tingly feeling one might get when they look down from somewhere up high or are in an elevator and it's going up/down.

From that single interaction alone I've learned that Thanatos is a rather kind individual and enjoys interacting with others. I always thought he was more of a reserved and quiet individual as one may think Death to be, and while he is rather quiet he's far from reserved. The best way to explain him is someone who wants to be around others but can easily become a bit anxious if he feels as if he's making the person uncomfortable and depending on his mood he can become rather introverted. If you feel like he's possibly becoming anxious over something the first time interacting with you, especially if you're as sensitive as I am to the presence of other beings, the best thing to do is reassure him that it's alright and he doesn't have to limit his interactions with you. I had told him near the end of the day that from now on he can come and hangout whenever he wants without me getting his attention first, but he instantly became unsure and worried that he'd overwhelm me due to my sensitivity. Thankfully he calmed down after I explained to him that I'm not overwhelmed and explained my sensitivity to him.

I've only seen him twice in some dreams, the first time he had gotten lost in it (as my dreams are chaotic and I can't control them if they choose to shift to something else) after like 10-20 minutes into the dream, but from that first appearance, he chose to appear as a mix of how he really looks like and the design of the character Thanatos from the game Hades. Turns out, after asking him about it the next day, he had chosen to appear that way just to mess with me and to be funny. Second dream I remember nothing about other than the fact he was there looking normal. Third dream he wasn't there but at the end of it he did send some butterflies in order to say hello.

Normally, Thanatos doesn't need to try and reach out to me, he's done so once through a butterfly, a few days after our dog had passed away but that was just to say hi and for no other reason. I had also drawn the Death Tarot, which was reversed but there was no hidden message. He seems content enough to come and sit with me without me knowing or to watch over me, plus most the time I'm the one suddenly getting his attention by talking to him at random and he's fully aware that due to my Autism and ADHD I wont exactly go and grab my Tarot to talk to him and is content with just listening, dealing with me being extremely random, or, something he did yesterday (28th) and yesterday night (27th) was sit directly next to me on my bed and lean in extremely close just to stare at my laptop screen. I'm unsure if he was trying to comfort me after Hecate scared the fuck out of me with a spider because I was paranoid and refused to sleep at all even after coming to an agreement that no more spiders will be sent into my bedroom with Hecate.

Based on that interaction, I feel as if Thanatos can become rather protective over people he's taken a liking to, his presence itself being rather warm, comforting, sometimes it's enough to make me feel like crying because suddenly all my anxieties, everything is just gone and I feel as if I don't have to worry about anything. Sometimes I'm unsure if I'm smelling lavender or some other floral scent, or even chamomile, which sometimes makes me think he's literally gone and gotten into my teas. I believe at times he's also gone and woken up Hypnos some nights just in order to get me to sleep. While writing this, I've felt warmth against my ear, cheek, felt peaceful, I smell a familiar scent that smells floral of some sort, so another thing is that Thanatos also seems to be rather curious once he's gotten used to someone. Although, as I don't find many people talking about their interactions with him, and based on how he told me that no one had ever really offered to let him just hangout whenever he wants with them before, I have a feeling that a lot of this is actually Thanatos feeling as if he is free to just be himself and that he's in a safe place because when I interact with him I don't see him as Death itself or as a literal Greek God/Deity, instead I treat him as if he's just like anyone else, I don't reach out to him for advice or help, I reach out to him because I genuinely enjoy interacting with him and I'm one of those few people who aren't afraid of death or dying, at least, not the concept of dying, as I would never do anything that actually puts me at a risk of death out of fear of being forgotten and also because I want to enjoy life as much as I can before it comes naturally.

I've also had a natural affinity towards death and the concept of an afterlife and Gods of Death, so to me, Death is a friend and is my friend, which I believe is why Thanatos interacts differently with me.

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ ⋯ 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

┊┊✧

┊✦

✧ .

Blue colored butterflies, specifically the Blue Morpho (for those who play Animal Crossing, it's the Emperor Butterfly, literally just learned it's actually called a Blue Morpho. Although the Ulysses Butterfly is also called an Emperor Butterfly or the Blue Emperor and is a swallowtail butterfly)

Red Spider Lilies (Japanese flowers associated with death)

That silly "guh-dong" sound that happens when you get a "Death Approaches" area in the game Hades.

White roses

  ・．⸻⸻˖⁺‧̟⭒₊☠︎︎🦋☠︎︎₊ ˖⁺‧̟⭒⸻⸻．・

[doktorblitz]

Creature commandos AU: reincarnated lovers ala Dracula

also on ao3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62724025

What if after the team settles into some sense of normality, with Bride as the leader, and back at ARGUS, someone unexpected comes into the Bride's radar. Basically I took the idea of Bram Stoker's Dracula with Oldman and thought, what if Victor or someone oddly similar, just gender flipped.

So this is the first AU I ever dreamed up for the fandom after seeing the second episode, The Tourmaline necklace, and it's the least developed as a result.

The idea struck me because Bride would likely fall for someone as similar to her old flame as possible, and what if a random scientist dude working for Argus just happens to be quite similar.

Mostly chronological, I don't have the energy to write a full actual fic for now, but the main ideas and head canons for it are here.

- One day sometime after Nina's death and Bride getting that new prison wing, Waller comes in about an opportunity for her. Says a particular scientist was curious about studying her and her status as kinda undead. Of course initially B is like, why would I do that.

- While I could just have Waller send the Bride in person directly, I could see Amanda getting an advantage by watching the Bride's reaction to showing her the dude's file, because lo and behold, he looks so much like Vic. Amanda wouldn't even say it outright, she'd just keep an eye on B to see how much that affects her.

- Turns out the dude is very similar to Victor, from the very pretty grey eyes to the always shaved face to the brown-red ish slightly foppish hair and lean tall build. In other words he's a twinky snack, but more to the point he may as well be a carbon copy in some ways, which gives the Bride some invariably mixed feelings.

- B doesn't show all of those emotions outright, makes some kinda semi sarcastic comment "may as well see what he wants", but it's clear she's at least somewhat intrigued.

- For convenience let's call him Edward. Ed is very interested in her for 2 reasons. He wants to figure out how reanimation works, and he is interested in researching the mental states of consciousness between life and death (wink wink), such as comas, reanimation, coming back from being clinically dead several minutes etc, and what that does to the brain.

- She goes to see him and when she enters he's not facing her, cue her entering with a semi sarcastic "let's get this over with" comment, and him turning around and being instantly struck by the sheer presence of muscle mommy Bride in full jaded asshole mode. He definitely approves of her tall strong intimidating person, but tries to play it cool and professional. None the less I'd imagine he has an initial "huh damn" moment of adjusting his glasses reaction. 

- Turns out introducing them was a good idea, because he's as gentle as Victor ever was, as clear on always telling her what he's gonna do and giving her the space to say if anything bothers her. And he does research on her endurance, her brain functions, various other things of the sort, all the while marveling at how damn durable she is.

- For her part she finds him oddly comforting and might even end up talking to him outside of his little tests. I'd imagine initially he has to go through Waller to get her into his lab for every meeting, but then he starts being so pedantically techno-babble on why he's summoning her, that Waller's like "whatever fine go get her when you need her".

- Of course there is the elephant in the room, Bride falls for him hard, first physically and then emotionally, because he looks so much like her old lover, and he is not even aware at the time of this. And even once he does become involved with her, she never says it outright.

- In fact he might find out from checking her file and following the historical connections to the ol' Victor Frankenstein, where upon seeing a picture of the fella he's struck by the fact that they look so much alike. He puts 2 and 2 together eventually, that her initial crush is because he looks like Vic, but it never truly stops him from pursuing the relationship (hence my complicated relationships tag).

- There is of course a big physical attraction part of it at first, and it helps that he's not the usual typical cold blooded scientist in how he behaves and thinks, he's more of a renegade in some ways as she ruefully described Victor in the original show.

- Waller is of course aware at some point they were getting intimate, just as she was aware Flagg slept with the Princess, but just like in that situation she never actually says anything about it until it becomes either a problem or a weapon she can use.

- I would guess there might be some changes from how she was with Vic back in the 1800's, namely at the time he was the more experienced and more in charge, and now by contrast with Ed she is more in charge he's more the sub, if anything. He has no objections to that and if anything is quite fascinated by the tall muscle mommy that could crush him with a single hand. And she just finds that absolute blind trust fascinating.

- The rest probably notice she's a little less annoyed and angry at everything and Phosphorus might even be the one to needle her about it, "what's got you so satisfied all of a sudden", which she does not appreciate. Then again they are rather vitriolic best buds, so she'll probably give him some kinda asshole reply.

That's about as far as that AU went in my head, basically Bride finds herself for all intents and purposes another Victor, and how that would work out (probably poorly once Waller considers it a weapon).

Same as the other Bride/Vic ideas, don't hate and don't go all moralistic crusade on me, I've seen worse more weird power dynamics in tv shows/movies.

Feel free to use the idea if anyone likes it, just notify me.

This is only a small AU I thought of after I watched the series, I have some minor ideas for it but not nearly as developed as another couple bigger AU's that I'm cooking up. But I figure Bride deserves some love, and if it happens to be someone quite similar to her first, why not.

[khaire-traveler]

what are ways to connect with hermes as a psychopomp/chthonic deity? aside from like when an actual death occurs. im realizing i never really have, but id like to!

Hey, Nonny, great question! I don't often see interest in this topic.

A big part of honoring Hermes' Chthonic aspects, from what I have seen, has actually been honoring the dead themselves. During the celebration of the last day of Anthesteria, for example, offerings were given to both Hermes and the souls of the dead, honoring them alongside each other. A specific food offering, called koliva, was given on that day.

With this knowledge, a good way to honor Hermes Chthonios/Psychopompos would be honoring the dead. Doing such things as visiting a loved one's grave, leaving flowers at graves (with permission, of course), and even interacting with ancestors can be ways of connecting with him more. I think another great way of devoting to him is showing kindness and respect to your fellow human. While this can be for Ouranic Hermes as well, I think having compassion to others (not at the expense of yourself) is still a great devotional act to Chthonic Hermes. As a Psychopomp, I'd have to imagine he has to be pretty compassionate towards the souls of the dead to effectively do his job. I'm sure he's helped terrified souls, furious souls, and confused souls cross the threshold into the afterlife, so practicing that same kindness towards others in your life is a great devotional act. Help life be easier and more enjoyable for one another. :) Simply working to enjoy your life can also be good. Trying things you've always wanted to try, engaging in activities that make you happy, volunteering for causes you care about - such activities could all be dedicated to him. Enjoying the life you currently have is an underrated form of devotion, in my opinion, and it's something I've found Hermes likes a lot (he's even actively helping me with it).

Something I like to do to as well is engage with media that discusses death. Two movies I recommend watching with Hermes Chthonios would be Puss in Boots & The Last Wish and Coco (I know Coco is a different culture, but the way it approaches the topic of death is very nice, I think). Also, media like Ask A Mortician on YouTube works because it engages your curiosity - a trait Hermes seems to value - and helps resolve any fears you may have towards death/educates you on the topic.

As for offerings to give to that aspect of Hermes, I would say incense that reminds you of his specific energy is a good option. You can give him classic scents he normally likes as well, such as frankincense, lavender, and myrrh. Black gemstones or rocks make a good offering as well; I'm personally a big fan of black tourmaline to represent Chthonic deities. Dedicating the tarot card Death to him from one of your decks (if any) could be good. Speaking of, any art you make of him works perfectly. In ancient Greece, butterflies were thought to be the souls of the dead, so butterfly imagery would be great, too. Giving him drink offerings such as black coffee, warm milk with honey and cinnamon, and lavender tea would work. Maybe also dedicating water placed under a new moon (I would specifically give it to him at night). A reminder that these are mostly based on UPG (some are historical)!

If anyone else has more suggestions, please feel free to share!

I hope this helps a bit. I hope you enjoy connecting with Hermes on that Chthonic level. Good luck to you, and have a good day/night. <3

[oxensun]

Lunar Energetic Reset 🌑♏ days 1-3

I have good new; the first day is so fucking easy. First, here's the spell. You can do it once, you can do it every day if you want, altering your materials and name to fit your lunar phase and intention. Don't laugh at me for liking rhymes, they're easier to remember that way.

Dark moon in Scorpio, destroy my illusions. Steep me in mystery, erase my confusion. My attachments succumb to your cold, hard depths. Cleanse me now of my fear, escort me through this death. All beginnings must have ends, I rise from this darkness, to begin again.

I'm not usually in the business of telling other people what their spells should or shouldn't look like, but how mine might look will be below. I usually try to keep mine streamlined and to the point. Follow your intention to suit your circumstance. A newer practitioner might be terrified of working with moldavite but if you feel your life needs a good hard shake, by all means full send.

I like a circle for big spells and rituals such as this. I think it helps me keep focus, and it feels like a layer of protection? To me, casting a circle is the opening of the gates, if that makes sense. You are telling the universe, "Look at me! Pay attention! I'm giving you instructions, so listen up!"

I do a lot of cleansing for this one too. That's the whole point of the ritual! To get rid of old, stagnant energy doesn't serve you. Sometimes these things can be stuck on there good, like old habits.

A single black or purple candle would do perfectly, nothing wrong with a white one either. Another candle option is four points around you, white or black, symbolizing the four cardinal directions and your elemental powers.

Herbs and oils with banishing, cleansing, or protection properties such as olive oil, rosemary, oregano, vervain, mugwort, frankincense, or you could also tilt a little baneful and go foxglove, wormwood, rust ash, charcoal powder, or even graveyard dirt if there's something really icky clinging to you.

I believe I remember bringing in a hematite and a rainbow obsidian to meditate with during this part, too. Selenite, clear or smoky quartz, moldavite, onyx, black tourmaline or kyanite would be powerful helpers also.

Write the spell out, and everything you are releasing and banishing on the back. Submerge it in a bowl or cup of storm or rain blessed water to charge it. Bury the paper in the yard to charge it with earth.

The best time to do this spell might be at dusk or at night.

Since the goal of this rite is to totally clean and reset your energy, its going to have ripple effects in your life where your energy is concerned (hint: that's everywhere). I like to combine my magic with physical or "mundane," actions to get the most out of my handiwork and minimize aftershocks. Obviously these actions are optional, and will not be accessible to everyone. Your main intention is to meditate on what you are releasing and seeing that it's fully released.

Day one makes me so happy because it is literally cleaning your house but a little chaotic. We're getting rid of the freeloaders. I am giving you permission to make a mess. Obviously this gets trickier with roommates or family, but then you can just rope them in to helping. Pull things off of shelves, out of cabinets and dust as you go. Don't overwhelm yourself too fast, so work maybe on one corner of a room at a time, but don't be afraid to get dirty.

Organize things into keep, donate, and throw away groups. If a pile of ??? grows, that's okay. Leave it for now; you get to address them later. You kind of want to have to be making eye contact with your masterpiece. Put obvious keep things back where they belong as you move through the space, but keep the undecided pile in your periphery.

The second part of stage one is that when you get tired? Just stop. Leave all your crap there if you're able to. Of course, communicate with your housemates and again, you are making an oath to return to it in due time. Stop what you're doing and rest. Attend to your needs. Eat when you're hungry and sit if you get stressed or emotional and take a moment to feel your feelings as they arise. Even contemplating parting with certain treasures is enough to cause waterworks in me. This is also a practice in listening to your body and becoming attuned to your own spirit nature. It will tell you everything it needs if you listen closely enough.

The end goal is to have a clean house with a pile of leftovers you might want to get rid of but idk I really like them and I've already had it for so long. I can't just throw it away! We're not making hard decisions yet. You'll know when you're ready to move to the next phase, or you can ask the moon. You're doing amazing.

Home | Next -> 🌘♐

[milosometimeswrites]

Writeblr - ReIntroduction

Howdy howdy! I figured I'd type one of these out again because I'm trying to be more active on here, and also pushing myself to indulge in my passion for writing again... this helped last time, so I may as well give it another shot.

My name is Milo (he/xe) and I'm an aspiring author. I've always loved writing, and there's never been a point in my life where I didn't want to write in some capacity. It's easy for me to succumb to writer's block, but writing makes me happy and I want to be able to share what I create.

About Me

I'm a 22 year old (very gay) transman from Canada, and I want so badly to be able to travel to other parts of the world one day.

I'm a D&D nerd. When I struggle with a writing project, I often fall back on expanding my D&D worlds/characters. It's my safety net.

My career is in film. I work in the Art Department, mainly in props, and am working towards maybe becoming a Production Designer one day. I also dabble in Special Effects. Film work is a competing passion of mine, and you'll definitely find posts of me talking about work.

Like most other authors, I love weird shit, and you'll find a lot of weird stuff in my writing. Weird Fantasy is my favourite kind of genre.

In my writing you'll find themes of 2SLGTBQIA+, found family, fighting destiny, struggling under mega-corps/capitalism, nature vs nurture, self-discovery, different kinds of love, slightly unsettling surroundings, and weird lil monsters/freaky dudes.

My Current Projects

I have two writing projects going on right now. One I had to put on the backburner because I had written myself into a corner. The story wasn't progressing or flowing the way I had envisioned/planned, and I ended up getting more stressed than excited to write it. The other is one more laid-back for me to write. (Keep in mind, these short descriptions may be subject to change in the future)

The Strings of Willis Manor: Thistle Willis is sick. Her condition leaves her confined to the property of Willis Manor; a sprawling estate with lush gardens, dusty corridors, and horrifying secrets. At her attendance is Clementine (an automaton handmaid), Andromeda Marrow (Thistle's best friend) and her ever-energetic little sister Tourmaline. When Father doesn't return from a business trip to the South, Thistle begins to fear the worst. Mama – the Mistress of the manor – hires an unknown Healer from an unknown land to find a cure for Thistle. But this cloaked Healer isn't who they say they are, and Thistle begins to uncover what really may be going on in the house she thought she could call home.

(Backburner) - Beneath Tattered Flesh: In the hissing, polluted, Magic, and bronze city of Ritec, Caesar Dampton is trying to move forward. He's trying to get over a bad break-up, make ends meet, and help his best friend - Emersyn Riley - find her place in the world. Between running away from his ex, and trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, Caesar is stuck in a downward spiral. Newt Gourdeau got the chance of a lifetime; a full scholarship to Verne Cobb University. Leaving their small town behind, they carved out a life for themself in the city of opportunities. They're trying to bury their problems in mystery novels, university studies, and attempting to find a scientific reason as to why some people in this world have Magic, while others don't. Their obsessions leave them in solitude for days. But when the unlikely pair see similar tragic events happen at the same time, but in different parts of the city, they stumble into each other's lives. Manipulation and death follow the two at every step, but they're both determined to get to the bottom of a gruesome mystery unfolding in the city... or die trying.

What I'm Looking For

As you could probably already tell, I'm not awesome at keeping myself "on schedule", which is code for "I sometimes let my life/anxiety/career/whatever eat away at my passion for writing and I'll abandon it for several months a time". Having a place to post updates, or even just little rambles, really helps me out.

So in all honesty, if you're interested in what you see, then feel free to stick around! I'd love to chat, do fun word tags, and just be in a community of like-minded people.

Thanks for reading!

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (30 Mar - 5 Apr 2025)

Ludwig is absolutely delightful!

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 Reflections (Indexing #2) (Seanan McGuire, author; Mary Robinette Kowal, narrator) - Henry & her team once again stop fairy tales from destroying reality. I love this series so much. I so wish we had gotten more but grateful we got these two!

🥰 Too Like The Lightning (Travis Beaudoin) - very delicious summer fling/age gap romance that ends up being more

😍 Stellate (ZenaidaMacroura) - absolute banger fic, just wonderful. Medical stucky AU where they're both doctors. Starts with a meet ugly but is warm & wonderful. Fantastic, well-developed supporting characters. 5 star read.

😍 A Passel of Backhoes (ZenaidaMacroura) - marvelous follow up to the incredible Backhoe - a series of vignettes of the Barnes sisters in adulthood. Just wonderful.

💖💖 +78K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

take a little more (addandsubtract, gigantic) - hockey RPF: dylan strome/multiple, 15K - a very hot gangbang fic

back seat drive (silentwalrus) - MCU: stucky, 9K - ridin' #1 - "Bucky wants a car. Bucky gets a car. Now Bucky wants to blow Steve while he’s driving the car. It’s awful, how Steve just keeps giving him what he wants."

under the hood (silentwalrus) - MCU: stucky, 17K - ridin' #2 - "Steve continues his terrible campaign of giving Bucky things. Bucky continues various terrible campaigns of his own." (feat Daisypuff the chow. iykyk)

Draw Closer (rainbow_nerds) - 9-1-1: buddie, 8K - cute alt meeting

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Doctor Odyssey - s1, e12

Ghosts (US) - s4, e17

Home Town Takeover - s3, e4

Death In Paradise - s14, e7

Happy Sad Confused - Nathan Lane talks MID-CENTURY MODERN, THE BIRDCAGE, THE LION KING, theater work

What Is The Future of Creativity & Empathy? | Jacob Collier Asks Hank Anything

QI - series P, e8-10, 12, 15-16; series Q, e1

Mid-Century Modern - s1, e1-2

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

D20: The Ravening War - "The Light and the Shadow" (s17, e4)

D20: Adventuring Party - "The Mystic River Episode" (s12, e4)

Ludwig - s1, e1-4

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

What Next: TBD - This Is Your Brain On Ketamine

Rebel Ever After - How readers react when authors talk politics, with Joanna Shupe

Pop Culture Happy Hour - The Studio

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The 6-Day Race

It's Been a Minute - Am I a god?! Why "manifesting" your reality is easier than ever

The Sporkful - All Aboard The Pizza Bus!

Vibe Check - Hey, Sis: featuring Tourmaline

Science Vs - Ghosts: The Science of Spooky Encounters

Short Wave - The Iguanas That Rafted To Fiji

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Cave Below Minneapolis

Switched on Pop - Chappell Roan is giving country… and hair metal?

Shedunnit Book Club - Raffles (Green Penguin Book Club 8)

Welcome to Night Vale #265 - Labyrinth HQ

99% Invisible - The Great American Pyramid

Vibe Check - Horns Are Made to Be Tooted

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Daredevil: Born Again

Today, Explained - Why young people are getting cancer

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - A Glass Palace in the Arizona Desert

Wild Card - John Green likes being alone and Elizabeth Olsen owns her mistakes

Ologies - Medieval Codicology (WEIRD MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT ART & MEMES & SNAILS)

One Song - The Clash's "London Calling" with Fred Armisen

It's Been a Minute - Oaklee, Cohen, & Mateo: why are these Gen-Alpha's hottest names?

Handsome - Pretty Little Episode #33

Today, Explained - Pray for Hooters

Strong Songs - The Music of the Muppets

You're Dead to Me - History of Coffee: from devil’s brew to our favourite beverage

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - Sterling K. Brown

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Mamma Mia: Original London Cast {1999}

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) {2018}

Käärijä

Dancing Queen [Cher] {2018}

Take a Chance - a Metal Tribute to ABBA [Amberian Dawn] {2022}

Def Leppard

Ricky Nelson

The Clash

[shatteredvioletnuzlocke]

Chapter 20: Rumors Spread Like Wings (Venture)

“Did you die?” Arturo continuously pestered, “If you died did you see any ghosts?” 

Venture groaned, wanting to bite down on the Shroodle’s tiny bones. I might as well be dead!

“I.. did…not… die!” he grumbled in a hazy voice, “A human…. Threw smoke at me!” He struggled to form a full sentence. 

Arturo just oggled him with bulgy eyes, “If you die can you tell my grandma I almost killed a bug?” 

What’s with this kid? Venture thought to himself, He’s too young to know about death, and he’s so casual about it! He loathed how pathetic he looked to the rodent. If it weren’t for that human named Arven, he would have been breathing okay.

“I don’t believe you, Kombucha,” Venture overheard Flumpfy speaking with Tamarind and Kombucha, “You defeated a titan… all by yourself?”

“Well Kapheria assisted me a little bit,” the Lechonk shrugged, “But I did everything else!” 

Oh great he’s gloating about it now! Even though Venture was unable to fight earlier, he still saw what went down. Yes, Kombucha fought the titan, that much was true. But just because he thought won didn’t give him the right to retell the battle in his favor.

“You did…not!” Venture aggressively gasped, “The… ava-lanche… took her out!” He didn’t care how foolish he could have looked if it meant putting the proud boar in his place. 

Tamarind and Flumpy gazed at him concerned for his well-being and looked back at Kombucha.

But then brazen Lechonk only laughed, “If it weren’t for me the avalanche, wouldn’t happened! Sit down before you hurt yourself, Wolf!” 

Kombucha was very aware of the tail he was stepping on and what nerves to pick at. He thought he could read the Rockruff’s pain, and Venture was terrible at hiding it. 

It should’ve been him, Venture had every reason to fight a titan after what had happened back at the mountains. His titan starved his pack after they hunted for her! When it came time to hunt for themselves there was barely any prey to fill their bellies.

He remembered the harsh, winter gust breathing through his cave. How he had to huddle with his siblings to keep warm.

 His mother finally came back with his sister, Tourmaline, with only one yungoos. It was a moon before the Titan’s Muster would return from their migration, and the pack had the entire mountain’s prey for themselves, or at least what was left of it.

“Granite, please eat this fast,” Mother instructed, “I need your help with one last patrol before sunset!”

Although he and his siblings were young, they had to hunt early. They had no choice. 

Granite stood over the dead yungoos with contemplation. Then he noticed his younger brother.

“You have it, Stretch,” Granite offered quietly, “You only had half of a meal today.”

He always thought he got the worst of the names his mother chose for her pups. 

He came out from behind the stalagmite, “Mom made me give the rest of my food to Howlite.”

Stretch knew had hatched at a very unlucky time. He wasn’t as strong as his older siblings or as helpless as the younger pups in his litter. Mother noticed him because of his troublemaking or because he needed to think of his younger sibs. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong, she just wants to make sure the younger ones are fed,” Granite explained warmly, “I think you should have this yungoos instead. Mom might want to take you hunting tomorrow, and I’ve seen you run before you’re pretty fast! You’ll need the protein.”

Stretch wondered why his eldest brother had his best interests in mind when his mother overlooked him. Maybe there was something more to him that was worth noticing after all. 

“You’re cool, Stretch,” Granite said his last words to him, “Never forget that.” 

The next morning Granite’s body was as cold as ice. His mother had to go through the trouble of burying one of her pups and she didn’t bother to even look at Stretch. The only attention he got was teasing and glares from his sibs. 

It wasn’t his fault, there would be more prey on the mountains if they didn’t have to hunt for the titan every other season.

Still, if his brother was willing to starve for him, Stretch had some worth to him. He just had to make other people see that and what better way to kill the very Titan that started it all?

“Venture!” Patch approached them in his reminiscence, “I want you to eat every last bit of this, it'll make you feel better!” They placed a sandwich stuffed with Rawst berries before him.

Since his brother’s passing, Stretch wondered how his true potential would be realized. When he was out hunting he would often see traveling humans with fully evolved Pokemon as their pets. Sure, no one wanted to be a human pet. But if Stretch was caught by one it meant they saw something in him.

After spent weeks demonstrating his ability to every human trainer passing by, he was finally caught. Stretch was now a worthy Pokemon now called Venture.

Patch made for a lovely trainer, but he still had to compete with five other teammates for their attention.

“So these Titans are a pretty big deal huh?” Tamarind asked. 

Kombucha nodded “Worse than humans!”

“I heard at least four more of them are scattered around the region,” Flumpfy shivered.

Don’t you dare steal my ideas, Pig! He scowled at the Lechonk, the rest are mine, especially her!

“So, they could be anywhere?” the Crocalor frowned.

“I’m sure if we land on Titan territory, we’ll know immediately,” Flumpfy reassured him. 

Venture took a bit into his sandwich, chewing into the tender flesh of Rawst berries with a very seedy texture. The mild bitter flavor was irritating, but it was the only way he would be relieved of his smokey lungs.

After most of the team was fed, Patch sprayed a potion into his throat for good measure. He it could tell that it was a more significant cure once he could breathe clearly. 

That’s more like it, he thought with freeing breath. With a feeling of relief, he romped around the campsite at high speed. 

“Woo-hoo!” Venture howled happily! 

“Glad to see you’re doing better!” Tamarind called out to him as he ran about.

By the thirteenth lap, Venture’s tongue began to sag with drool. His brown paws started aching as he slowed down.

“Are you dying now?” Arturo asked the Rockruff again noticing his panting.

The Crocalor “He’s not dying, he’s just tired!” 

Tamarind was surprisingly nurturing given how intimidating he appeared at first glance. Venture figured that all fire Pokemon had an affectionate warmth for others, that most seemed to lack. It reminded him of Granite.

…

As the bonfire faded out, the entire sky became tinted in pinks, purples, and blues without the golden glow of the setting sun. Venture stayed far away from the flowing gray smoke emerging from the firewood. Just the scent of charcoal made him apprehensive.  

But then he smelt something, usually floral. Something sweet and filled with nectar, but Venture swore he noticed any wildflowers growing. 

“Excuse me?” a familiar voice called out from above. 

He spotted a Skiddo hopping down the ragged slope with ease.

 Once he saw too smaller ones following her, Venture finally recognized her as the same Skiddo they met the night before. 

“Oh, it’s you!” He greeted her. 

The younger Skiddo kept their distance, wary of the carnivore even though Venture established himself as an ally. Their mother was brave enough to go a bit closer but didn’t bother to stand with him at his level.

“Is your Mareep friend still around?” She asked.

Oh, that's right, Venture jogged his memory, Flumpfy offered her to join the team. He thought about the prospects of traveling with a grass type, well aware of how strong they could be compared to rock type. 

“Asphodel!” Flumpfy stumbled over, still accustomed with his new legs, “You’re okay!” 

“Flumpfy!” Asphodel marvelled at the Flaaffy, “You evolved!” 

“Yeah I know, I didn’t think it would happen so soon!” He walked awkwardly, “Where were you all this time?”

The wild goat rolled her eyes, “I had no choice but to flee with my children. After I rebelled against Crag, I knew I would’ve been hunted by the scuttle.” She said showing concern for her young.

That makes sense, Venture empathized, I was punished to hunt near the rivers for a week, all because I pounced at one of the Titan’s daughters. 

“I didn’t have to hide for very long,” Asphodel continued, “The other Pokemon have been gossiping about Crag being killed by Carnelian. Then the next thing I heard Carnelian was killed by a human pet!”

Yeesh, they’re already talking about it, The Rockruff thought, get over it was only a few hours ago.

“Oh, you mean Kombucha!” Flumpfy beamed.

Dude, don't credit him! He didn’t do anything!

The wide-eyed Skiddo stepped closer, “Is he your teammate? I can’t believe it! I… I…” She began to cry, “You have no idea how much he’s done for this Canyon! He saved us all!” 

OH COME ON! Sure Carnelian wasn’t his Titan, but if she enslaved other Pokemon into feeding her, Venture would’ve been the liberator!

“Kombucha, over here!” Flumpfy waved him over.

Venture took some time to process the information, If other Pokemon really believe Kombucha defeated the Titan, then maybe… No! I need to get a hold of myself! The next time I see I titan I’ll stab a rock right through their chest. That would be proof! 

He glared sourly at Kombucha, What’s your proof? 

“It was nothing!” The Lechonk boasted, “I just did what needed to be done.”

“How can you say that?” Asphodel bleated, “You did everything! You saved hundreds of Pokemon from Carnelian’s tyranny.” Venture couldn’t help but think the Skiddo was a little too enamored with the ugly-looking pig, “When she was alive she caused countless sandstorms, we couldn’t see sunlight for days. Her Scuttle sacrificed us for their protection. Some would consider themselves indebted to you…” 

She can do way better! Their titan must’ve ruled for so long they’ll thank anyone who “saves” them. 

“Now that the Titan’s gone, you can come with us!” Flumpfy invited her, “You’ll love our trainer! I’m sure they’ll let your children come as well!”

But goat only laughed, “Become a human pet?!”

“Why not?” the sheep jested. 

“I’m finally free from Carnelian, I’m not going to give that up!” Asphodel stood her ground.

Flumpfy’s tail drooped, “I don’t understand… If Carnelian isn’t going to protect you anymore…”

“You’re adorable Flumpfy…” She smiled, “Thank you for all you’ve and your trainer done. I appreciate the offer but I want to make my own choices.” She leaped back up the slope, “Good luck to you all.”  

Just like that, the Skiddo disappeared up the ravine with her children in toe. Venture couldn’t blame her for not wanting to join. After all, she was a mother.

It made him think, I wonder if Mother even notices if I’m gone. She was heartbroken when Granite died… there is no way she would miss me the same. 

…

The moon for the night was waning, a shape not worth the effort of howling under. It gentle, pale light shined over the entire camp. Everyone was asleep, but Venture stood awake just case of a wild carnivore wanted a late night snack.

Secretly, he wished for a Titan to arrive. If people saw Kombucha fight Carnelian, does that mean they saw me too. Weak and helpless? He desperately wanted to keep that part of the story from reaching the western mountains. Then his siblings actually would have something to tease him for.

It’s not fair, he looked over at Kombucha snoring. How can a Pokemon as insignificant as him defeat a Titan?!

Just as he when to admire the barley full moon, he saw a strikingly familiar silhouette fly by. The wingspan of the Pokémon was especially eyecatching.

No way, the Rockruff’s heartbeat quickened, it can’t be!

As the shadow glided off into the night, Venture ran after it. A Bombirdier… here? Are they in kahoots with Carnelian?

All Bombirdier’s looked the same from above. But he knew a bird that slender with unusually long tail feathers wasn’t just any other species. 

At that point, Venture was straying far from the campsite. He was so fixated on hunting down the bird that he didn’t care how far it was going.

It’s pretty high up… my Rock Throw wouldn’t reach that far, he calculated to himself, If they just landed somewhere low I might be able to ambush! 

After chasing the Bombirder for miles he came to a path with slopes of sandstone structured like a maze. The ground had very little sand, more so powdery dust that soiled his paws. The foul stench of feathers was stronger than ever. 

The stork swooped down next to an odd locking spire atop a plateau. Too high… he crouched into the shadows. It would be foolish for him to challenge the bird outright and lose his stealthy upper hand.

Suddenly the spire stretched out to the sky, the moonlight highlighting a white, silvery color. It was unlike the 

“So what happened?” The rock spoke in an eerily penetrating voice that rang all too familiar.  

Cierzo, Venture recognized the giant Bombirdier. Seeing his Titan outside her domain made him tremble, almost like she was following him. The small pup pushed back the urge to whimper. 

Is she here for me? Of course she is, I attacked two of her Bombirders before I left the mountain! She’s going to scoop me up and take me back! 

The thought of ambushing a Bombirdier now seemed like suicide. No one attacked Cierzo, if they did they were swiftly disposed of. Although Venture feared her, he didn’t forget why. 

Mom hunted for you! We hunted for you! We gave you all the prey you could ever want! his claws dug into the ground. Granite would’ve slaved himself to please you… it should’ve been you who died! 

The other Bombirdier hissed, “Everything went according to plan, Mother,” his voice sounding masculine, “Carnelian is dead, her scuttle is devouring what remains of her! Who knew The Stony Cliff Titan would succumb to an avalanche!”

“Carnelian always had a soft shell,” Cierzo said without any humor.

So she anticipated Carnelian’s death, what’s this about a plan?

“With that pest out of the way, we should be making arrangements for our new territory,” The smaller Bombirdier squawked gratifyingly, “I can send out a Musker as soon as we return to The Peak.”

“No! Not yet, Tailwind!” She turned away from her son, “It’s too soon!”

Tailwind frantically flapped his wings, “Too soon?! We have an entire canyon of vulnerable Poke-”

“With the Titan gone the members of her scuttle will think they have a right to inherit Carnelian’s status! And there can only be one titan!” She swiftly interrupted with a blood-churning tone, “We allow the Klawf to fight about it until they kill each other, then we make arrangements!”

“Okay… I believe you,” he drooped his neck apologetically “Your plan did get us this far.”

But what’s the plan?

Cierzo raised her neck toward the moon, “You’re certain no one saw you?!” 

“Oh I’m more than certain,” He said confidently, “While I was gathering the stones, some humans and their pets fought with Carnelian. Of course, nobody would believe that a Lechonk of all things could defeat a Titan, but it made for a good cover. Besides the Pokemon here are gullible enough to believe anything.”

Just as he suspected, Kombucha wasn’t that strong when he terastallized. It took more than one loud voice to set off a rock slide that grand. It was a setup! Wait until the team here’s this!

Then another thought sliced through his veneer, If Kombucha didn’t defeat a titan, what chance do I have against Cierzo?

“Let them believe whatever they want,” The Titan brushed off, “Let’s be on our way.”

She spread her wings out and revealed her long, spindly legs. Cierzo had a wingspan the size of a crescent moon, one flap could push back an entire forest of trees. She took to the sky, her body so large she eclipsed the moon. Tailwind flapped behind them, too small to fly beside his mother. 

Venture's grudge began to flare up once she was farther away from the ground. She’s taking other Titans’ territory and subjugating more Pokemon! He wouldn’t expect less from a Titan. I’ll do what Kombucha couldn’t, I’ll kill her!

[emmy-dekarios-bg3]

Heart of the Weave - chapter 31 - Emmy’s Point of View

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Time is dragging as I wait impatiently for Gale to make it back home safely. I wonder if they’ve managed to destroy the cult of the Bhaalists, or at least kill off the source of them. I can’t imagine how many of those brainwashed charlatans there were and how many might be left even after destroying a good portion of them. Quit worrying, Emmy. Gale and Astarion are immortals. It’s fine. Waking up without my husband by my side has been hard to say the least, and I continue to wonder if everyone else on the journey is safe.

“Okay, breakfast is finished!” Shadowheart exclaims, placing our plates on the table. I didn’t even realize she was making breakfast, I was too absorbed in my own thoughts. “Is everything alright?”

“Hm? Oh, yes! I’m fine. I’m just –”

“Missing Gale, I totally get it.” It’s been five days without him, which I know could have been much worse, but one gets so accustomed to being with their special someone when they’re together every single day. As we sit here at the table, we watch our babies interact as they lie on their bellies on the rug just a few feet away from the table. I smile as I watch my daughter coo and smile at Asher, though neither of them can fully lift their head up. “I miss Astarion too. He…asked me to marry him.”

She holds out her hand that’s occupied with a beautiful black tourmaline ring, which doesn’t surprise me at all, Astarion would pick out a ring like this. I gasp and smile, admiring the exquisite piece of jewelry on her finger.

“Shadowheart, this is incredible news. I’m so happy for you!” We exchanged hugs following the news I needed to hear. After all the adventuring that occurred together, we became close and I’d now consider her a sister I never had. Hearing this news after all she had been through just makes me ecstatic for both her and Astarion

“Thank you. I didn’t think he would be the man for me. I never entertained the thought of marriage, let-alone a long-term relationship, but life has other plans I suppose. I asked him if, after we’re married, he’d be okay with me…erm…becoming immortal. Like you and Gale! Not Asher though, not until he’s much older. No shade at you, I know you all didn’t exactly have a choice.” Whoa, hold on a minute. She wants immortality too? But why? “It’s a long story I’ll dive into later, but in short, I don’t want to imagine a world where Astarion is still alive hundreds of years from now and Asher and I are – well, OLD.”

“There’s a long version of that story?”

“Like I said, I’ll dive into it later. I just want to know if you think it sounds ridiculous.”

“No, no, not at all. You do what you need to do. If I were in your shoes, I probably would have done the same. I’m just glad Asher will be able to have a choice.” I think deep down she’s afraid of facing death and Shar will be there to give her more trouble in the afterlife. I could be wrong; it has been a couple years since she’s had any trouble from that sadist.

“Thank you, Emmy. I knew you’d support me.” At that very moment in time, Tara jolts into the room, flying around in vicious speeds; the equivalent of having the zoomies, if you will. Jenevelle is giggling as she observes Tara zoom around the entire dining area with intense energy.

“Whoa, whoa! Tara, if you move any faster, I might get motion sickness. And you might throw up a hairball. What’s going on?” I question, laughing as she begins to slow down and land on her feet.

“HE’S HOME! They all made it back safe!! I see them just a few feet away… Okay, whew. Should not have flown around as much as I did. I feel a little lightheaded.” Shadowheart and I exchange a glance full of eagerness, our jaws dropping as we try to process the good news. Our friends are alright. Thank the Gods.

“WHAT?!” Shadowheart and I exclaim simultaneously, bolting from our chairs at the table to grab our babies and rush out the door to wait for our significant others. The very moment Tara mentioned they made it home safe, I could almost feel my heartstrings burst into flames from the amount of excitement. We open the door and the luminous sun is blinding, yet refreshing on the flesh as we notice our friends trotting along the trail, though it appears they’re roughly a mile away. I do want to call Tara out for saying they’re only a few feet away, but I’ll let it slide. Oh, how I missed that wizard.

“I’m so glad we got to spend nearly a week with you. Thank you, truly. I’m sure being alone would have been tragic for both of us if we didn’t have one another,” Shadowheart confides. She’s right. We’ve helped one another as parents, discussed our past and told stories we never knew about each other that helped build our friendship even stronger than it was before.

“No, I should be thanking you. You kept me sane. Our talks were so fun and enlightening. Just having you around kept the stress levels to a minimum. We’ve been through so much and I’m thankful for a friend like you. A sister.” Yeah, what I said might be a little cringe, but it’s how I truly feel. I never had a friend like her growing up. Hell, my life was so dedicated to honing my cleric skills, I never really had friendship.

Gale spots us hanging outside the tower and he decides to beat everyone to the punch by using Misty Step to appear next to me immediately. My heart feels it’s about to burst as his presence comes into sight, his smile making me want to melt to the floor.

“Damn it, Gale. Not fair,” Shadowheart mumbles, but gives him a smirk of deceit. “Just kidding. Welcome back, friend.” Without saying a word, and while holding Jenevelle in my arms, I lean my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me. I feel his icy breath as he places his lips on my forehead, and even a little teardrop falls from his eyes onto my face.

“I missed you so much,” Gale murmurs into my ear as we’re still wrapped in a neverending embrace. The comfort of his body next to mine is one I never want to go without again.

“I missed you too. How did it go?”

“Well…” As he’s about to speak, Astarion approaches, dashing up to Shadowheart with a smile on his face, one he’s not afraid to hide. The genuine happiness on his face is one I love to see, for I haven’t seen him like this the entire time I’ve known him. Shadowheart and Astarion embrace each other as they hold their baby between them. “I’ll tell you tonight. We did it though.”

“I never had any doubt,” I responded, smiling up at him.

Apparently, Halsin had to leave and attend to his children while Wyll and Karlach went home to rest, which is fair. With them not being immortal, I imagine they get easily exhausted, especially after a draining and horrible trip like that. I’m looking forward to finding out the gruesome details of their endeavors.

“Emmy, I want to thank you for keeping Shadowheart and our little spawn safe. Oh, and keeping them company while we were away. You, once again, have not failed to provide your good deeds,” Astarion mentions, holding Asher in his arms. I’m still not used to seeing him as a father, but it is a delightful sight to see. If he had ascended as a vampire lord, this entire ordeal would be a much different situation, and not in a good way I imagine. No family. Taking over the world. And who knows, if it came to it, we probably would have had to kill him like we did Cazador. I’m glad it never came to that.

“We helped each other, and I’d do it all over again if I could.”

[shell-book-and-candle]

Altar Items needed: pictures of your Beloved Dead, items that belonged to them, image of Hecate (Goddess of the Dead), food and/or drink that they liked, myrrh incense, black tourmaline, smoky quartz, candles, Ancestor book

All Hallows Eve is a great time to create an ancestor altar. This is the time of year when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. It is a time when we can connect more easily with the spirits of our Beloved Dead. I usually put mine up about 3 days prior to the 31st of October and leave it up until approximately November 7. I place pictures of my family and friends that have passed and a good incense to use is Myrrh. You may also place any items that had belonged to them and anything that they liked to eat or drink. These don’t need to be full size portions just a bit of each. I also place orange candles but you can use any colour that you like. It is a time to reflect on them and what they meant to you in life. Many cultures call on ancestors to guide and protect them. This is a wonderful time to speak to them and ask them for their assistance (although you can do this at any time of the year as they are always a part of us). Here is a prayer/invocation to help you connect with your ancestors:

On this night, where the veil is thin

I hear the echos of your soul

My Beloved Dead, be with me

Dear Ancestors fill my heart and

Guide my soul with your love

For without you, I would not be

Lend me your strength and power

Handed down through the ages

May our bonds be my protection

As I move through this world

Be Welcome and Blessed Be!

It is all about giving a place of honour for without them, you would not be here. I have recently created an Ancestor book where I have recorded birth/death dates and stories about my ancestors. I will read their names aloud and any stories that pertain to them. I find that for me, this helps me to understand my place in the world and how I got here. I am in awe when I read or think about their stories and everything that had to happen for me to be here in this place and time. Many people leave their ancestor altar up all year long. You are welcome to do so if you wish.

[enchantedbeingscircle]

September

September is here and I know this post is late, but I had to take a slight social media detox! I swear once September hits I am all Fall, y’all!! I’m about all things apple, pumpkin, fall leaves, sunflowers, soup, etc! Did you know that apples (and apple trees) are associated with love, health, divination, rebirth and renewal, life, learning, and so many other things? The original bobbing for apples game was a form of slight divination, even! It was said that marriage would come to the first person to bite into the apple while bobbing. Also, if you cut into an apple, you’ll find a pentacle type star!

Correspondences of September are sapphire and sardonyx for crystals, the bear and owl for animals, flowers are morning glory and aster, and the zodiac sign is Virgo.

Let’s talk about some days in September:

Not only is Labor Day the 2nd, but also the Celtic Tree Month of Vine begins…happiness and wrath are both symbolized with the vine, garden magic, magic for joy and happiness but also wrath, rage, anger.

Magical influences for this are empowerment, inner growth, introspection, and prophecy.

Sept 4th is bring your manners to work day (I liked this one, cause I’m constantly reminding myself to have manners in moments where people are pissing me off lol.)

Sept 7th national salami day and world beard day (I liked these two because we used to call our younger sister “salami” to piss her off when we were all younger and we still sort of joke about it to this day… and my boyfriend has a beard that I just love. I love feeling it, smelling it, looking at it…lol!)

Sept 8th grandparents day

9/11… a tragic day that affected so many lives in one way or another! On this day remember all those who lost their lives due to this tragic event and the war it caused!

Friday the 13th

FULL MOON in Pisces on Sept 17, Harvest moon aka the nut moon, barley moon, or wine moon (love that!), the color for this full moon is brown and crystals are carnelian, cat’s eye, iolite, lapis lazuli, peridot, sapphire, blue spinel, blue tourmaline, and zircon

Magickal influences from this moon are confidence, the home, manifestation, protection.

This is a Moon of wisdom, take this time to reflect back on lessons learned this past year, darker days are coming which is good for shadow work.

September 18th NATIONAL CHEESEBURGER DAYYYY

September 21st International Day of Peace

Sept 22 is Mabon, also known as the autumn (or Fall) equinox – this is a time where night and day or light and dark are balanced. This is a sort of mid-harvest festival, we are celebrating the second of 3 harvest festivals. I’ve read that there is a slight connection to Mabon for how Oktoberfest was created, by the Bavarians. They start celebrating this in the last week of September.

Celebrate Mabon and give thanks to the Earth for abundant crops, practice gratitude, give blessings, share with the less fortunate. When canning, infuse your recipes with magickal influences and charm your jars.

Mabon is also one of those “liminal times” or an in-between time. These are powerful times for spell-work, rituals, and magick in general.

Colors for Mabon are blue, brown, gold, maroon, orange, violet, and yellow

Plants, herbs, etc: aster, marigolds, sage, ivy, grape, fern, blackberry/bramble, chrysanthemum, grains, thistle, and trees are cedar, hazel, aspen, maple, oak, myrtle, and locust

gems: amethyst, topaz

animals: hawk, swans, swallows, geese, dogs, wolves

Element: water

Magickal influences: accomplishment, agriculture, balance, goals, gratitude, grounding

Deities are: Epona, Inanna, Ishtar, Kore, Modron (Celtic Great Earth Mother Goddess), the Morrigan, Persephone, Bacchus, Dionysus, Dumuzi, the Green Man, Hermes, Thoth, Mabon (translates to the divine son) is the son of Modron and he is associated with the element of water, grapes, ivy, dogs, horses, salmon and his magical influences are hunting, darkness, death, freedom, harmony, innocence, justice, the otherworld or underworld, quests, contacting spirits, strength, truth, and youth.

Ways you can celebrate Mabon:

Make a simmer pot with apples, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg, vanilla, star anise, orange slices.

Host a harvest dinner and include apples, squash, corn, grains, root vegetables like carrots potatoes and onions, grapes and wine, nuts, pomegranates, mead, spiced teas.

Make a hearty stew with fresh baked bread, apple pie, mashed squash, mulled wine

Make a cornucopia, go to a pumpkin patch and farmer’s market, go for a fall nature walk, donate food, focus on balance in your life, write a gratitude list, decorate your altar for Mabon with apples, candles that are brown, orange, and gold, marigold and sunflowers, leaves, acorns, grape vines, a deity statue. Celebrate by giving thanks for the abundance and good in your life, and meditate on the things on the things from this past year you'd like to let go of!

Sept 30th Celtic tree month of Ivy begins which symbolizes life, death, and rebirth, spell work during this time would be great for self-work, healing, banishing toxicity, protection, binding spells

Magical influences during this time: decisions and introspection, growth, learning, developing skills.

September in general is a good time to work on magick and intentions for the home.

I feel like 2 of the biggest intentions you can work on in September however, are balance and change, so I’m going to share a spell for this month that I created!

Things you’re going to need: leaves, something to write with, sage, basil, apple, orange candle, oil, sunflowers.

Dress your orange (for balance and change) candle with oil of your choosing and sage for a clear mind, basil for opening yourself to receive messages, and sunflowers for overcoming obstacles.

Core your apple (for peace, rebirth and renewal, self-work) and place your candle inside. You’re basically using this apple as your candle holder!

Light your candle and meditate on the areas in your life that need balance and/or change. When you are done, write your setbacks and obstacles that you want to overcome (to make these changes and bring this balance) onto the leaves. Hold the leaves into your hands and let the wind take them away!

[greenmansgrove]

Part of me wonders if the experience I had in January was the Washer at the Ford and/or the Banshee and/or Badb. My cats passed in fairly quick succession thereafter, Nellie two months later, and Blue Jean two months after that. Pulling “the Cycles” out of my Morrigan oracle deck (with Blue Jean passing only days later) makes that feel all the more possible, given Badb’s influence over the cycles of death and the passing of spirits to the Otherworld and rebirth. Maybe finding the tourmaline that same day was a gift of reassurance and comfort for the events to come. Everything I read says that Badb, the Banshee, or the Washer aren’t particularly gentle or kind aspects of the Morrigan, and yet to others she is a source of comfort in times of loss.

Since becoming an Acolyte to the Morrigan, I often worry about my ability to forge relationships with her more violent or blood-hungry aspects, especially Badb or Nemain, considering the RDNA’s rejection of blood sacrifices. For how new the RDNA is in relation to other spiritual movements, it feels like I might have to do extra work to impress a war and death goddess like the Morrigan without such offerings. And with my oaths to her Order taken in the tradition of Reformed Druidry, I cannot in good conscience give her such offerings even privately. Thus, it is reassuring to know that maybe one of these aspects has chosen to make herself known to me in these ways. I have made a small shrine to Badb in my bedroom and placed my cats’ favorite toys with it. I offer Badb nightly prayers and return regularly to the shores of the Mississippi where she seemed to have called me that day. Though not under the best of circumstances (is there any such thing with Badb?), I am grateful for her presence.

[darabbitholes]

ocs infopost (last updated 8/15/24)

ok hi my name is spade and you can find my main at @spadefriend. this is my oc blog and even if my main is 15+ i'm putting a 16+ limit here. please do not follow if you are under 16. below the cut you'll find a summary of most of the ocs i'll be posting about here and anything else you need to know.

this also includes a full list of the content warnings for this blog. i'll be tagging all my posts so if the subject matter of any one ocverse is too much for you to handle you can mute those specific tags. i will also be supplying tws for the heavy stuff however; i will be tagging these as "#tw [subject]", or "#tw [subject] mention" if the subject is mentioned but not discussed in depth.

feel free 2 send me asks about any of these guys i love questions :3333333333333333

also read more about these guys on my toyhou.se!

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the graveyard shift

set in 2011 in the usa's hidden magical underbelly, mostly the town of sonderwood, north dakota. focuses on a massive necromancy-based criminal organization known as the graveyard and the characters who end up wrapped in its decade-old conspiracies in their attempts to either escape it or go further in. current fav <333333 but also heavily in development

main characters:

daniella (she/her): forensic analyst who starts independently investigating the graveyard after a corpse gets stolen from her workplace

vanya (she/her): 10 year old girl & graveyard trainee (THERE ARE GOOD IN-UNIVERSE REASONS FOR THIS) who starts going to a therapist in hopes she can magically fix her anger issues

galen (he/him): the therapist in question & an aspiring poet. absolutely mediocre at his job. has a bunch of other Normal Stuff going on don't even worry about it. current #1 fav <33333333

pyrite (she/her): high-ranking member of the sonderwood branch looking to climb higher in the ranks, has a deal with daniella to give her information on the graveyard

blythe (aka tourmaline) (she/they): member of the sonderwood branch and sibling to its regent/boss, lucian (aka vivianite) (they/them). extremely strained relationship with their sibling.

rattenkönig (he/him): late governor's son and boss of the milstone branch. kindly sad old man :) totally not responsible for half the fucking content warnings [eye twitch] also the tag for this guy is gonna be just rattenkonig without the accent bc i am not copy pasting every single time i write his name sorry chat

donnie (they/them): head of a semi-organization focused on sheltering criminals. decades-long beef with rattenkönig for reasons unknown.

jackrabbit (???, referred to with they/them for the time being): lol

content warnings:

non-sexual/romantic grooming (specifically grooming into criminal activity, eg murder) (occurs to both adult and child parties) (though sexual abuse is not covered in the graveyard shift, and this form of grooming is explicitly non-sexual and non-romantic, grooming utilizes very similar tactics no matter what form it is in. depictions/discussion may still be triggering to people who have undergone sexual or romantic grooming (or any other form). please proceed with caution.)

emotional abuse & manipulation

organizational abuse

familial abuse

child abuse, neglect, abandonment, etc.

victim-blaming (including by wider public audiences. it takes a long time for some victims to get happy endings and others don't get that at all.)

cover-ups of abuse and other violent crimes. there are abusers who get away with their actions for a very very long time and potentially instances of some who never get outed at all.

transphobia (not a running theme but there is at least one instance of this and characters are frequently affected by internalized transphobia)

graphic violence, death, murder, physical assault, etc. (par for the course for a story focused on the mafia)

kidnapping & hostage situations

suicide & suicidal ideation, possibly self-harm (undecided)

unhealthy coping mechanisms

toxic relationships

adoption-related trauma

in-depth depictions of PTSD & other traumagenic disorders

body horror (in relation to re-animated corpses)

additionally, as this story is heavily centric around abuse & cycles of abuse/violence, there will be heavy examination of abusive characters. abusers are not one-dimensional villains and will not be treated as such. depictions of abusers as being complex or having positive traits, or hell even bettering themselves, do not excuse or absolve them from their actions even slightly. some characters who do horrendous things (while, again, not absolved of their actions) will be getting "redemption arcs" as self-improvement & rehabilitation is one of the story's major themes.

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the death spiral

set after a magical apocalypse that wiped out society, creating a supercontinent where creatures with anomalous abilities called harbingers run amok. the capitalist country at the center of the continent, muezihia, is haunted by an ancient prophecy that speaks of a prophecy hero who will save society by bringing some form of mass collapse or upheaval and, later, rebirth. the only problem: the prophecy keeps repeating no matter how many times it's supposedly fulfilled.

main characters:

kit (she/her): suspiciously early prophecy hero candidate who's spent her life concealing that candidacy in hopes of leading a normal life for a while. i'm sure you can guess how that goes

foxtrot (she/her): another prophecy hero candidate, the first known half-human half-harbinger and raised to be a celebrity from birth

dr. blake (he/him (act I), he/they (act II), he/she/they (act III)): disgruntled scientist at symbiosa, the Definitely Ethical megacorp that studies harbingers & the prophecy

jaidre (he/him): former hero and ceo/overseer of symbiosa cursed to become a huge spider a century ago now hes moping in a cave in an alternate dimension LMFAOOOOO

gwyneth (she/her): most recent hero before kit. ex-symbiosa scientist who supposedly created foxtrot in her awesome hidden lab and mysteriously disappeared

content warnings:

workplace abuse/exploitation (psychological & physical if we're counting murder)

animal abuse/experimentation

body horror/transformation

medical horror

violence, death, murder, etc.

queerphobia (specifically against non-binary & aromantic/asexual characters) (internalized & systemic)

insects & heavy bug theming

child abandonment & mistreatment (possibly emotional abuse; unsure but keep in mind)

imagery around decomposition, rotting, anything in a similar vein

elements of cosmic horror

apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic setting

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nemesis antivirus

this one i am not going to discuss in detail bc the subject matter isnt something id like to cover here 👍 know it's about a 13-year-old girl who downloads a half-cybersecurity edutainment game half-antivirus and realizes her game avatar has become sentient and is up to some shenanigans like being her cool new friend and also murder

main characters:

liz (she/her (during the entire story at least bc there is no way she's not an egg)): the 13-year-old girl in question. horrifically isolated irl and going thru some shit online (aka the place she considers her only safe haven); downloads nemesis antivirus out of desparation

nellie (she/they/it): liz's sentient game avatar who is strangely fine-tuned to be a perfect friend for her. fiercely protective and takes her job as an eliminator of online threats extremely seriously.

content warnings:

again i'm not going to go super in-depth on this bc the subject matter is too heavy but know it's generally about online abuse and contains a lot of deconstruction of revenge fantasies/the idea of revenge and the responsibility that abuse victims may have towards preventing abuse and protecting people like them 👍

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the consumption of lotus institute

super wip but it's about a silly facility full of animal people, the staff who manage the facility and the ai who runs the whole show. again hopefully this is gonna end up a larger universe so not much of an overarching plot yet but the current main story branch is about the aftermath of an incident where adult humans are kidnapped from the surface by rogue staff and fed to the ai to be experimented on.

main characters (for the current story branch):

minerva madigan (she/they): "lead caretaker" of the facility, aka she's the head of the department managing the animal people & their wellbeing. prioritizes keeping the peace & keeping people happy at any cost. she's trying her best but ooooh god girl........

conan (she/her): survivor of the adult experiments; half-grey wolf. reluctantly took the facility's offer to live a life of luxury with them as an apology though she's got a bunch of weird feelings about the handling of the situation that she's pretending aren't there.

pallas (she/her): only other survivor of the adult experiments and minerva's ex before all that shit happened. EXTREMELY pissed at the staff for their poor handling of the whole experiment situation. disappeared into the depths of the facility where the ai inhabits.

the ai (temporary name) (it/its): sentient but non-sapient. this thing is an animals. driven solely by its own curiosities. has to be constantly babysat by the staff

content warnings:

human experimentation (including major complications such as death or being locked in a comatose state)

medical horror

body horror

kidnapping

violence, death, murder, etc etc

mass cover-ups of situations involving the above

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ok i think that's mostly all of them but i also have some ocs for fandoms and such (mainly warrior cats) that i am going to put here later probably <333

will be updated as time goes on ofc

[oflucius]

closed for @aurcralux

"is narcissa home?" it was a bold move, but lucius believed cygnus and druella were fond of him enough to let him crash family dinner so late without any major complaints -- at least, not to his face. he'd returned from his month long mission in france yesterday and still, even back home, he was so busy -- death eater business more so than his actual job. being one of voldemort's most trusted soldiers came with a price. it gave lucius very little time to spend with his wife to be, but he was serious when it came to his duties. any free time he had, the malfoy had to make sure he could give some of it to narcissa. she deserved it, lucius thought. she seemed nice, proper and hardworking yet he found it hard to truly get to know her or open up. truth to be told, the thought of becoming a husband and a father terrified him, being anything like his father and grandfather. but what did being a good husband, and eventually father look like? the malfoy quickly brushed those thoughts away when cygnus and druella gave him some privacy with their youngest daughter. "it's good to see you again." lucius said, the corners of his lips tugging upwards into a smile. his hand dug into his pocket, taking out a small box. "i got you something. it reminded me of you." inside the box was a silver necklace with a dark blue paraiba tourmaline gemstone. it was his way for apologizing for spending so much time away.