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[ginaraemitchell]

Borderland: Poetry and Words from the Intersection of Masculinity, Race, Bisexuality and Grief  by Ross Victory | Spotlight ~ $25 Gift Card | #LGBTQ Poetry #IndieAuthor @GoddessFish @rossvvictorius @rossvictoryofficial 

Borderland: Poetry and Words from the Intersection of Race, Masculinity, Bisexuality and Grief is a poetry collection by award-winning author, music artist Ross Victory. Borderland explores themes of masculinity, race, bisexuality, and grief. Through narrative prose and free verse, Victory portrays himself as a son, student, teacher, and lover, showcasing joy, agony, identity, enhanced with sprinkles of visceral desire. He challenges societal conformity, reimagining divine love and resilience at the crossroads of hetero- and homonormativity. Borderland: Poetry and Words from the Intersection of Masculinity, Race, Bisexuality and Grief  by Ross Victory | Spotlight ~ $25 Gift Card | #LGBTQ Poetry #IndieAuthor @GoddessFish @rossvvictorius @rossvictoryofficial 

Borderland: Poetry and Words from the Intersection of Masculinity, Race, Bisexuality and Grief  by Ross Victory | Spotlight ~ $25 Gift Card | #LGBTQ Poetry #IndieAuthor @GoddessFish @rossvvictorius @rossvictoryofficial  Borderland: Poetry and Words from the Intersection of Race, Masculinity, Bisexuality, and Grief is a poetry collection by award-winning author and music artist Ross Victory. It…

[thegirlwiththelantern]

The Legendary Mo Seto

Title: The Legendary Mo SetoAuthor: A.Y. ChanPublisher: Aladdin (Simon & Schuster)Demographic: MGGenre: Martial Arts, Action, Adventure Synopsis: Mo Seto, martial arts movie star! Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? Too bad there’s a heightrestriction to audition. But 12-year-old Modesty (Mo) Seto has never let her height get in the waybefore, not when she became a black belt, or when she fought…

[reads2love]

The Nick Before Christmasby K.L. Brady

  The Nick Before Christmas by K.L. Brady ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GENRE: Romance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLURB: Will an angel’s dire warning, a quest to discover a second act by Christmas Eve, and a touch of Christmas Magic lead Nickie Wright back to the one that got away? Nickie Wright is ready to celebrate the big 5-0 for Christmas in July, but a hot flash leads her to a sobering revelation: her life has hit rock…

[aubreywynne51]

The Nick Before Christmasby K.L. Brady

  The Nick Before Christmas by K.L. Brady ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GENRE: Romance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLURB: Will an angel’s dire warning, a quest to discover a second act by Christmas Eve, and a touch of Christmas Magic lead Nickie Wright back to the one that got away? Nickie Wright is ready to celebrate the big 5-0 for Christmas in July, but a hot flash leads her to a sobering revelation: her life has hit rock…

[dreamauri]

♪ — 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗢, 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 sebastian vetteln x fem! reader ( fluff ) fic summary . . . In which a bus stop acts as a way-point for two idiots who are madly in love.

( master list | more of sebastian vettel ) ( requests )

put my blood and sweat into this, took me so long to write, enjoy

tagging my #1 sebastian fan @forza55

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2006

rain was always so calming. A constant in your life. The raindrops would follow one another and make a pitter patter noise as they landed on the earth, weather on the ground, leaves, or in water again.

You could hear it loud and clear despite your headphones and icecap covering your ears. You weren't listening to music, but rather had the music instrument to divert anyone from talking to you. The bus stop was not too crowded, and the same people every Wednesday huddled under the stop's shelter like fish in a bucket.

Your face, of course, was buried in your book. What else would you be doing? Flipping the page as you glanced at your watch. 2 more minutes, you sighed.

"Excuse me." You snapped your head up, looking at the drenched blond that stepped under the ran protective roof. "Did bus, 38 leave yet?" He was panting, one hand on his knee as he looked up at you. You?

You were taken aback by his eyes, looking around to see if he he was taking to anyone else, but no, his blue eyes were on you. "I um -" You took a headphone off to be polite. "No, it should be, oh yeah, turn around." Just in time, you bit the inside of your lip as the blond gave you a thankful smile.

The people from the bus top filed in, taking a seat and resuming their activities. You decided to stand. Someone else could need your seat more than you do. And apparently, someone also thought the same thing, but he wasn't used to the bus's immediate halts.

Standing a few feet behind you was a bad idea because with the wet floor and sudden red traffic light, you found yourself catching Sebastian Vettel from slipping down on the floor and taking him with you.

Those blue eyes were too big for his head, scratch that. They were perfect. The amount of time the two of you spent with your arm hooked around his waist and him holding onto the handle above to catch his balance, was enough for you sketch the beauty he was in your head.

"Sorry." "It's okay." You dismissed, with a polite smile, helping him stand up straight. "Maybe you should sit down." "Eh, someone else might need it more than me." He said hesitantly, shrugging. The smile on your face widened, and features softened. His did too, seeing the elegant moon in your eyes shine on him with what he could describe as a gentle goddess giving a flower to a loyal worshipper.

"I'm Sebastian." "Y/N."

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2007

No one ever sits on the chair beside you. When the seats were vacant and you sat down, it'd be just you. But today, a familiar face returned. After only appearing for two weeks, you finally get to see the blue eyes and fluff after a year.

"Whatcha reading?" He asks, looking down at your book. A smile shined on your face as you closed the pages to show him the title. "Just light reading." You hummed quietly, glancing up as the bus arrived.

You stood together on the bus, catching up on recent events. Which included him getting a "promotion" at his job. You kind of got into that topic more, you learned that his job took him to travel the world, and that included being here in Canada for a week every year, Thursday to Sunday.

Only, today was Monday. And last year when he visited he stayed for three Thursdays: three weeks, triple the time he should. You didn't ask about that, maybe it was just personal, or he had family here. You didn't ask what his job was either since he didn't disclose it on his own. You sure it was just a big fancy company that was related to computers and cyber tech since they were big things at this time.

When you got off with Seb at your stop, the both of you decided to stop at a café before plopping down on the couch in a corner in the grand library. Your hands were too busy holding the warm paper cup you didn't realize that Sebastian was leading the way. His hand on the small off your back, pulling you from your shirt to stop you at a cross walk ( red goers dead goers ) or walking on the outside of the street so it was safter for you to sip on your hot chocolate in peace.

The noon was spent peacefully, sitting beside each other, noses in books. Sebastian had such a calming presence, you even laid your head on his shoulder and watched him go through books about motors and cars ( which you found terribly cute ).

The week continued like usual, with seb having to leave early from Thursday to Saturday. On Monday he stayed long enough to take you out to lunch. The two of you sat at a nice dinner overlooking St. Lawrence river, and later you had a nice walk along the water body, linking arms together.

You spent the rest of the day with him, all the way back to the bus stop long after the sun had set. "Are you staying far from here?" You asked, brushing some hair from his eyes gently. He shrugged looking out at the illuminated streets. "I'm German, a walk is a walk." You couldn't help but chuckle as he pointed at his inflated chest proudly.

"I'll . . . see you tomorrow morning?" He asked hesitantly as he started walking away backwards slowly, looking at you. You nodded, a wide sile on your face as you walked in the opposite direction, backwards as well. "Get hoe safe." "You too."

But for whatever reason. He wasn't there in the morning. He usually makes it just two minutes before the bus. But today, you had to ride all alone. You had to sit all alone in the library too, and buy hot chocolate on your own too. Wednesday was like that as well, and Thursday as follows. And on Sunday, as you sat at the cafe, blowing hot air in your palms to warm yourself up when your ear caught a familiar name on the television.

"And eighth on his debut, the nineteen year old Sebastian Vettel standing in for the injured Robert Kubica scores one point for BMW."

Your Sebastian Vettel just scared a point in the pinnacle of motorsport?

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2008

Your smile is wide as you watch the blond arrive. You scootch over in your seat since the other one was taken and immediately Seb takes a seat beside you. "Mr. Vettel, would you be so kind to sign my shirt?" You joke, and when he looks as the top you're wearing he almost burst into laughter, putting his face in his hands.

"There's this store that sells merch, I thought it looked good." You shrug, nudging him. "Oh my god." He wipes his eyes looking at it. "Who's that?" He points to the shirt you were wearing, new Torro rosso merch with the new driver. "You don't know Sebastian Vettel?" You gasp, putting your hand on your chest in fake and dramatic offence. "He's the next World Champion." "Really?" "Oh yea, for sure. Maybe not this year or the next. But he'll do great one day."

"I was hoping to know, do you think Sebastian would be able to invite this friend of his to the race on Sunday." "I don't know, I'll have to check. I'm sure he'll be intent on bringing her to all of the races if she says yes." "She says yes."

university can wait.

It can wait till after Seb's first home grand prix, hugging him tightly after the race. Till after you go out with him that after party to dance all night. It can wait till the two of you cakesmash each other the next morning then laugh your asses off as you struggle to clean up.

university can defiantly wait till after a trip to Italy. Sitting at a very expensive restaurant and eating pasta despite dietary restrictions. It can wait sightseeing and museums. And most defiantly wait till after Sebastian's first win. After he kisses you post celebration and post podium, sharing the bottle of champagne

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2009

"That was beautiful, amour." [love] you smiled as Sebastian finally reached you. This year round, both of you were wearing red bull branded clothes, while seb wore the race suit, you wore the kit.

"I'm pretty sure you should look in a mirror because you're much more beautiful." The German joked, sharing a quick kiss with you. Christian could see the look of pride and admiration on your face as Sebastian hopped on the top pedestal for the Chinese grand prix. And of curse, as anyone in your places would, you blew kisses to each other.

"Its a pretty trophy." You hummed once you got a hold of it after the podium ceremony. The garage was still hype from the win, and you couldn't deny that your heart was hammering in your chest still. "It is." Adrian newey, your boss nodded looking between you and sebastian who was chasing his mechanics with the bottle of champagne.

"This is going to be a nice year. A very nice year." You hummed to yourself, feeling yourself smile watching your lover laugh. He looked at you with his eyebrows raised. And before you knew it, he was chasing you up and down the pitlane. Safe to say the skirt you were wearing was not helping you and you were eventually sticky and sweet.

"Let me taste." Seb held your waste, leaning in for a kiss. You managed to pull away, blushing and pushing on his chest playfully. "The whole world will see us." You scolded, folding your arms shyly. You were, after all, in the pitlane, any fan or journalist or camera could see and forever etch the moment into the internet.

"Let them see, let the world know that you're mine and I'm yours."

"You cheeky bastard."

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2010

"Shhhh." "Let me seeee!" "Shhhh!" You shushed him even harder, pushing him away from his face. "I'm working." You scolded, slightly smacking his chest.

Pre season was almost here, and you were finishing up the design to the RB6. Moving from Montreal to London for the job was a big change. Although you weren't able to graduate university with your planned engineering degree, you were talented and gifted enough to score a designer position with Red bull racing.

Adrian Newey supervised over you and saw you as a skilled individual. You were able to preform well, abiding within the rules of F1 to create extraordinary work. Well, you work fine when Sebastian is not at your neck trying to look at the blueprints for the RB6.

"Oh come on, Let me see what you're going to be putting me in. I'm going to drive it anyways." You shook you head to yourself. As soon as you stopped holding Seb away from his chest, he had immediately put his nose in all your work and notes asking questions and making pointers even though the man never learned anything in university about any of this.

"Make it super fast." He tells you. You couldn't help but chuckle at his antics. "I don't make the car fast. The driver does." You joke getting up. "besides, I can already tell, we've bagged this season." You breath out happily kissing his cheek as you pass him to go to the kitchen.

"I like the way you think." He smirked following you, leaning his forearms on the kitchen counter, watching you as you skimmed through the fridge for something. "You hungry? We can go out." He offered, pushing himself up and coming up from behind you, hugging your waist and searching with his eyes through the content of the fridge same way you did.

"I don't know . . . I'm craving gâteau, tiramisu maybe? I don't know. Sugar, something sweet." [cake] You sighed in thought. "Do you wat something sweet?" you looked back at him only to see his cute smile and his blue gorgeous eyes on you.

"I have my infinite share of sweetness." You raised a brow confused at his words, only to be answered by his lips pressing on yours. "Why would I want anything cake or gâteau," he mocked, "when I have you?" "verry funny, seb." you chuckled, playfully rolling your eyes only to be met with another kiss.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You were stressed, very stressed. after the car had preformed well and met your expectations during testing, it did not deliver well enough not in the first race with Alonso had won nor the second race in which Sebastian had to retire. mark in the other seat wasn't doing any better with 8th and 9th, which were yes in the points, but not in the championship.

Sebastian had taken pole during both weekends, the first race in Bahrain where his car lost power in the last few laps and the second race in Australia where the brakes failed due to mechanical issues. And it all felt like it was your fault. Like you didn't put enough effort in the car at the beginning in the season, like you costed a beloved new family and team money and a championship.

The stress and nerves wouldn't leave you, sitting on the pit wall as you watched the lights turn red one by one. Webber is on pole this time with seb in the second row with p3. chewing your pencil, you counted down till the lights went out, eyes on the screens in front of you displaying important specs that would help you with possible outcomes and opportunities for strategies.

Your heart almost jumped out of your chest as the drivers pressed on the throttle for the Malaysian grand prix. with your note book in hand and pen between your fingers, you began scribbling and planning and thinking.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your heart hammers in your chest as Sebastian crosses the finish line first. You hardly register the cheers around you as you push through the crowd, your feet carrying you to parc fermé on pure instinct. There he is—Sebastian, climbing out of his car, arms raised in triumph, the kind of smile that could light up the entire paddock plastered across his face.

“Seb!” you call out, your voice cracking with emotion. His head whips around, and the moment his eyes land on you, he opens his arms without hesitation.

You throw yourself into him, gripping him so tightly you're not sure where he ends and you begin. The smell of sweat and champagne clings to him, but you don’t care. All that matters is the way he holds you back, his joy infectious.

“You did it,” you whisper, your voice shaky. “You actually did it.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he replies, his words soft but weighty, his voice muffled against your hair. And for a fleeting moment, it feels like the world belongs to the two of you.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The words echo in your ears, muffled yet unmistakable: “Du bist Weltmeister!” It feels surreal, like you’ve stepped into a dream. The grand prix is over, and yet your heart races faster than it ever did during the race.

Sebastian’s disbelief mirrors your own as he clambers out of his car, shaking his head in wonder before he sees you. You barely have time to brace yourself before he’s pulling you into another bone-crushing hug, his breath coming out in a stuttering laugh against your shoulder.

“We did it!” he exclaims, his voice thick with emotion.

“No,” you correct him, though your voice cracks from the tears threatening to spill. “You did it, Seb. You’re the world champion.”

Later, on the podium, Sebastian lifts the constructor’s trophy beside you, his smile splitting his face as the crowd roars. When the champagne sprays, you barely have time to duck before he turns the bottle on you, his laughter blending with yours in the chaos. It’s a moment frozen in time, one you’ll replay over and over in your mind.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2011

Moving into the Milton Keynes apartment had been his idea. Despite his Monaco residence, Sebastian had insisted that being close to you—and the team—mattered more. The apartment wasn’t much, but it became home.

You’d cook dinner together, sometimes burning the pasta because you were too busy teasing each other. When you weren’t at the factory or the track, you were exploring cities together, summer and winter breaks filled with spontaneous vacations. Hiking in the Alps, sipping espresso on cobbled streets in Rome, or lying on the beaches of Ibiza—it was always the two of you against the world.

It was simple. It was perfect. Until it wasn’t.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2014

The tension had been building for weeks. Every race felt like a battlefield, but not just for Sebastian on the track—it had seeped into the small apartment you shared, turning it into a minefield neither of you seemed able to navigate. The car wasn’t competitive, the championship slipping further out of reach with every race weekend. It gnawed at him, at both of you, but Sebastian wasn’t used to losing.

That night, it all came to a head.

“I’m giving everything I have!” he snapped, pacing across the narrow living room, his hands tugging at his hair. His voice was sharp, louder than you’d ever heard it before, echoing against the walls. “Do you think I want to be stuck fighting for fifth?”

You flinched, his frustration rolling off him in waves, but you stood your ground. Crossing your arms, you swallowed the lump forming in your throat. “I never said that, Seb. But you’re shutting me out! How am I supposed to help you if you won’t even let me in?”

He stopped mid-stride, turning to face you with a look that made your stomach twist. His lips parted, and for a moment, you thought he might say something to ease the blow, to let you in the way you were begging him to. But then, the words came out like a slap:

“Maybe you can’t help!”

The air in the room went heavy, suffocating. Your breath hitched as the weight of his words settled in your chest, sharp and cutting. You stared at him, waiting for him to take it back, to soften the edges of what he’d just said. But he didn’t. He just stood there, his chest rising and falling, his eyes darting away from yours.

“Okay,” you said finally, your voice quiet, strained. It was all you could manage.

Sebastian exhaled sharply, dragging his hand down his face, but he didn’t say anything. No apology, no explanation. And somehow, that was worse.

The rest of the night passed in silence. He retreated to the bedroom, the door clicking shut behind him, while you sat alone in the dimly lit living room, staring blankly at the coffee table. The tension was still there, like an invisible wall between you, and you knew—knew—that this wasn’t just about the car. It was about everything.

By mid-season, you couldn’t take it anymore. The team’s focus was shifting, Sebastian’s frustration was mounting, and your own heartbreak was becoming unbearable. You handed in your resignation at Red Bull with trembling hands, the words barely audible as you told Christian you were leaving.

Porsche’s hypercar program was a lifeline. It wasn’t just about stepping away from the team—it was about stepping away from Sebastian, from the version of him you didn’t recognize anymore. You threw yourself into your work, finishing your master’s degree with a kind of single-minded determination that bordered on obsession. A PhD followed, and so did your work alongside Mark Webber.

But even as the years passed, the sting of that night, of those words—Maybe you can’t help!—never truly faded. They echoed in your mind at the most unexpected times, in the quiet moments when you let your guard down. You told yourself you’d moved on, but deep down, you knew part of you was still in that small apartment in Milton Keynes, staring at the man you once thought you’d never lose.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2024

The Porsche garage hummed with activity—mechanics adjusting tools, engineers poring over screens, the air filled with the familiar scents of fuel and rubber. It was a controlled chaos you thrived in, but when Sebastian walked in, the rhythm faltered, like someone had pressed pause on the world.

You looked up, drawn by an instinct you couldn’t explain. He stood just inside the doorway, his gaze scanning the room until it landed on you.

Time seemed to collapse, the years between you vanishing in an instant. He looked... different. His features had sharpened with age, a faint streak of silver glinting in his hair, but his eyes—those striking, unyielding eyes—remained the same.

For a moment, neither of you moved. The noise of the garage dulled to a murmur, replaced by the pounding of your heartbeat in your ears.

Finally, you smiled, forcing yourself to break the spell. “Good seeing you again, Seb.”

Your voice was steady, but your extended hand trembled slightly. He stepped forward, taking it in his. His grip was firm, grounding, and the touch lingered longer than it should have.

“Yn,” he said, your name a quiet acknowledgment, a memory resurrected.

The handshake ended, and with it, the fragile bubble of familiarity. You withdrew, your professionalism snapping into place like armor, but the warmth of his palm against yours stayed, a phantom sensation.

Later, you stood at the pit wall, your headset snug over your ears as you stared at the monitors in front of you. Rows of data scrolled across the screens—lap times, tire degradation, telemetry—all of it meant to hold your focus. But no amount of numbers could drown out the echo of Sebastian’s voice when he’d said your name.

Out on the track, the Porsche glided through the apex of a turn, sleek and powerful under Sebastian’s control. His voice crackled through your headset, cutting through your scattered thoughts. “Car feels good.”

It was measured, professional, but you caught it—that faint hesitation, the undertone of something unresolved.

“Copy that,” you replied, gripping the edge of the console until your knuckles whitened. Your voice was clipped, businesslike, but it felt like a mask too thin to hold. “Let’s push for one more flying lap.”

Sebastian’s car roared down the straight, his hands tightening around the wheel. He leaned into the motion of the car, each turn precise, his instincts still razor-sharp. But beneath the surface, his mind was a storm. Every shift of the gears felt weighted, every flick of the wheel a reminder of how much had changed—and how much had stayed the same.

Inside the garage, the silence between radio updates was deafening. You clenched your jaw, willing yourself to focus on the present. But every beep of the telemetry felt like a heartbeat, syncing with the one pounding in your chest.

When Sebastian finally returned to the pit lane, you stepped back, giving him space as he climbed out of the car. For a moment, his eyes found yours again, a flash of something unspoken passing between you.

The handshake earlier had been a bridge—a brief moment of connection—but now, standing apart, the gap between you felt impossibly vast. Neither of you moved to close it.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The bus stop was dimly lit, the flickering streetlamp above casting fleeting shadows on the damp pavement. A cold breeze tugged at your coat, sneaking past the fabric to nip at your skin. You tucked your hands deeper into your pockets, rocking on your heels to stay warm.

The sound of an engine broke through the quiet, low and familiar. Headlights curved around the corner, slowing as they approached. You turned, squinting into the glow, and recognition struck before the car even stopped.

Sebastian’s car.

He rolled down the window, leaning over with an easy grace that looked so natural, like no time had passed. His gaze found yours, soft and warm, but carrying something you couldn’t quite place.

“Need a lift?” he asked, voice steady but tinged with something almost hesitant.

A smirk tugged at your lips as you stepped closer, the teasing retort slipping out effortlessly. “Are you my 39 North today?”

His chuckle was low, the kind that felt like the rumble of a car engine in your chest. “Only because you’re my favorite passenger.”

Without hesitation, you opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, the faint scent of leather and something distinctly Sebastian enveloping you. As you buckled up, you glanced at him, taking in the way his fingers rested on the steering wheel, tapping lightly in an unconscious rhythm.

“Still driving like you’re on the autobahn?” you teased, adjusting the seatbelt.

He cast a sidelong glance at you, a small smile playing at his lips. “I could say the same about you. You were always terrible at staying in the slow lane.”

You laughed, the sound breaking through the quiet tension that had settled between you both. As the car pulled away, the city lights painted streaks across the windshield, and for the first time in years, the silence felt comfortable. 

Like maybe, just maybe.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

hi! for starters, i adore your blog! all of the tips are actually helpful, and your research is really well done! would you mind making a post about ritual sacrifice? thanks in advance!

Writing Notes: Ritual Sacrifice

Sacrifice - a religious rite in which an object is offered to a divinity in order to establish, maintain, or restore a right relationship of a human being to the sacred order. It is a complex phenomenon that has been found in the earliest known forms of worship and in all parts of the world.

A wide variety of animals have served as sacrificial offerings.

Example: In ancient Greece and India, oblations included a number of important domestic animals, such as the goat, ram, bull, ox, and horse.

In Greek religion, all edible birds, wild animals of the hunt, and fish were used.

In ancient Judaism, the kind and number of animals for the various sacrifices was carefully stipulated so that the offering might be acceptable and thus fully effective.

This sort of regulation is generally found in sacrificial cults; the offering must be appropriate either to the deity to whom or to the intention for which it is to be presented.

Very often the sacrificial species (animal or vegetable) was closely associated with the deity to whom it was offered as the deity’s symbolic representation or even its incarnation.

Thus, in the Vedic ritual the goddesses of night and morning received the milk of a black cow having a white calf;

the “bull of heaven,” Indra, was offered a bull, and

Surya, the sun god, was offered a white male goat.

Similarly, the ancient Greeks sacrificed black animals to the deities of the dark underworld;

swift horses to the sun god Helios;

pregnant sows to the earth mother Demeter; and

the dog, guardian of the dead, to Hecate, goddess of darkness.

The Syrians sacrificed fish, regarded as the lord of the sea and guardian of the realm of the dead, to the goddess Atargatis and ate the consecrated offering in a communion meal with the deity, sharing in the divine power.

An especially prominent sacrificial animal was the bull (or its counterparts, the boar and the ram), which, as the representation and embodiment of the cosmic powers of fertility, was sacrificed to numerous fertility gods (e.g., the Norse god Freyr; the Greek “bull of the earth,” Zeus Chthonios; and the Indian “bull of heaven,” Indra).

The occurrence of human sacrifice appears to have been widespread and its intentions various, ranging from communion with a god and participation in his divine life to expiation and the promotion of the earth’s fertility.

It seems to have been adopted by agricultural rather than by hunting or pastoral peoples.

Of all the worldly manifestations of the life-force, the human undoubtedly impressed men as the most valuable and thus the most potent and efficacious as an oblation.

Example: In Mexico, the belief that the sun needed human nourishment led to sacrifices in which as many as 20,000 victims perished annually in the Aztec and Nahua calendrical maize ritual in the 14th century CE.

Bloodless human sacrifices also developed and assumed greatly different forms:

a Celtic ritual involved the sacrifice of a woman by immersion, and

among the Maya in Mexico young maidens were drowned in sacred wells;

in Peru women were strangled;

in ancient China the king’s retinue was commonly buried with him, and such internments continued intermittently until the 17th century.

Bloodless Offerings. Among the many life-giving substances that have been used as libations are:

milk,

honey,

vegetable and animal oils,

beer,

wine, and

water.

Of these, the last two have been especially prominent.

Wine is the “blood of the grape” and thus the “blood of the earth,” a spiritual beverage that invigorates gods and men.

Water is always the sacred “water of life,” the primordial source of existence and the bearer of the life of plants, animals, human beings, and even the gods.

Because of its great potency, water, like blood, has been widely used in purificatory and expiatory rites to wash away defilements and restore spiritual life. It has also, along with wine, been an important offering to the dead as a revivifying force.

Divine Offerings. One further conception must be briefly mentioned:

a god himself may be sacrificed.

This notion was elaborated in many mythologies; it is fundamental in some sacrificial rituals.

In early sacrifice, the victim has something of the god in itself, but in the sacrifice of a god, the victim is identified with the god.

Examples:

At the festival of the ancient Mexican sun god Huitzilopochtli, the statue of the god, which was made from beetroot paste and kneaded in human blood and which was identified with the god, was divided into pieces, shared out among the devotees, and eaten.

In the Hindu soma ritual (related to the haoma ritual of ancient Persia), the soma plant, which is identified with the god Soma, is pressed for its intoxicating juice, which is then ritually consumed.

The Eucharist, as understood in many of the Christian churches, contains similar elements. In short, Jesus is really present in the bread and wine that are ritually offered and then consumed. According to the traditional eucharistic doctrine of Roman Catholicism, the elements of bread and wine are “transubstantiated” into the body and blood of Christ; i.e., their whole substance is converted into the whole substance of the body and blood, although the outward appearances of the elements, their “accidents,” remain.

Sir James George Frazer, a British anthropologist and folklorist, author of The Golden Bough, saw sacrifice as originating from magical practices in which the ritual slaying of a god was performed as a means of rejuvenating the god.

The king or chief of a tribe was held to be sacred because he possessed mana, or sacred power, which assured the tribe’s well-being. When he became old and weak, his mana weakened, and the tribe was in danger of decline.

The king was thus slain and replaced with a vigorous successor.

In this way the god was slain to save him from decay and to facilitate his rejuvenation.

The old god appeared to carry away with him various weaknesses and fulfilled the role of an expiatory victim and scapegoat.

Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss, French sociologists, concentrated their investigations on Hindu and Hebrew sacrifice, arriving at the conclusion that:

“sacrifice is a religious act which, through the consecration of a victim, modifies the condition of the moral person who accomplishes it or that of certain objects with which he is concerned.”

Like Smith, they believed that a sacrifice establishes a relationship between the realms of the sacred and the profane.

This occurs through the mediation of the ritually slain victim, which acts as a buffer between the two realms, and through participation in a sacred meal.

The rituals chosen by Hubert and Mauss for analysis, however, are not those of preliterate societies.

Another study by Mauss helped to broaden the notion of sacrifice as gift.

It was an old idea that man makes a gift to the god but expects a gift in return.

The Latin formula do ut des (“I give that you may give”) was formulated in Classical times.

In the Vedic religion, the oldest stratum of religion known to have existed in India, one of the Brahmanas (commentaries on the Vedas, or sacred hymns, that were used in ritual sacrifices) expressed the same principle: “Here is the butter; where are your gifts?”

But, according to Mauss, in giving it is not merely an object that is passed on but a part of the giver, so that a firm bond is forged.

The owner’s mana is conveyed to the object, and, when the object is given away, the new owner shares in this mana and is in the power of the giver.

The gift thus creates a bond.

Even more, however, it makes power flow both ways to connect the giver and the receiver; it invites a gift in return.

German anthropologists have emphasized the idea of culture history, in which the entire history of mankind is seen as a system of coherent and articulated phases and strata, with certain cultural phenomena appearing at specific levels of culture.

Leo Frobenius, the originator of the theory that later became known as the Kulturkreislehre, distinguished the creative or expressive phase of a culture, in which a new insight assumes its specific form, and the phase of application, in which the original significance of the new insight degenerates.

Working within this context, Adolf E. Jensen attempted to explain why men have resorted to the incomprehensible act of killing other men or animals and eating them for the glorification of a god or many gods.

Blood Sacrifice is linked not with the cultures of the hunter–gatherers but with those of the cultivators; its origin is in the ritual killing of the archaic cultivator cultures, which, in turn, is grounded in myth.

For Jensen, the early cultivators all knew the idea of a mythic primal past in which not men but Dema lived on the earth and prominent among them were the Dema-deities. The central element of the myth is the slaying of a Dema-deity, an event that inaugurated human history and gave shape to the human lot.

The Dema became men, subject to birth and death, whose self-preservation depends upon the destruction of life.

The deity became in some way associated with the realm of the dead, and, from the body of the slain deity, crop plants originated, so that the eating of the plants is an eating of the deity.

Ritual Killing, whether of animals or men, is a cultic reenactment of the mythological event.

Strictly speaking, the action is not a sacrifice because there is no offering to a god; rather, it is a way to keep alive the memory of primeval events.

Blood sacrifice as found in the later higher cultures is a persistence of the ritual killing in a degenerated form.

Because the victim is identified with the deity, later expiatory sacrifices also become intelligible: sin is an offense against the moral order established at the beginning of human history; the killing of the victim is an intensified act restoring that order.

Another interpretation of some historical interest is that of Sigmund Freud in his work Totem und Tabu (1913; Eng. trans. Totem and Taboo).

Freud’s theory was based on the assumption that the Oedipus complex is innate and universal: It is normal for a child to wish to have a sexual relationship with its mother and to will the death of its father; this is often achieved symbolically.

In the primal horde, although the sons did slay their father, they never consummated a sexual union with their mother; in fact, they set up specific taboos against such sexual relations.

According to Freud, the ritual slaughter of an animal was instituted to reenact the primeval act of parricide.

The rite, however, reflected an ambivalent attitude.

After the primal father had been slain, the sons felt some remorse for their act, and, thus, the sacrificial ritual expressed the desire not only for the death of the father but also for reconciliation and communion with him through the substitute victim.

Freud claimed that his reconstruction of the rise of sacrifice was historical, but this hardly seems probable.

Sacrificer. In general, it may be said that the one who makes sacrifices is man, either an individual or a collective group—a family, a clan, a tribe, a nation, a secret society.

Frequently, special acts must be performed by the sacrificer before and sometimes also after the sacrifice.

In the Vedic cult, the sacrificer and his wife were required to undergo an initiation (diksha) involving:

ritual bathing,

seclusion,

fasting, and

prayer,

the purpose of which was to remove them from the profane world and to purify them for contact with the sacred world.

At the termination of the sacrifice came a rite of “desacralization” (avabhrita) in which they bathed in order to remove any sacred potencies that might have attached themselves during the sacrifice.

There are sacrifices in which there are no participants other than the individual or collective sacrificer.

Usually, however, one does not venture to approach sacred things directly and alone; they are too lofty and serious a matter.

An intermediary—certain persons or groups who fulfill particular requirements or qualifications—is necessary.

In many cases, sacrificing by unauthorized persons is expressly forbidden and may be severely punished:

Example: In the book of Leviticus, Korah and his followers, who revolted against Moses and his brother Aaron and arrogated the priestly office of offering incense, were consumed by fire.

The qualified person—whether the head of a household, the old man of a tribe, the king, or the priest—acts as the appointed representative on behalf of a community.

Serious illness, drought, pestilence, epidemic, famine, and other misfortune and calamity have universally been regarded as the workings of supernatural forces.

Often they have been understood as the effects of offenses against the sacred order committed by individuals or communities, deliberately or unintentionally.

Such offenses break the relationship with the sacred order or impede the flow of divine life.

Thus, it has been considered necessary in times of crisis, individual or communal, to offer sacrifices to propitiate sacred powers and to wipe out offenses (or at least neutralize their effects) and restore the relationship.

Example: Among the Yoruba of West Africa, blood sacrifice must be made to the gods, especially the earth deities, who, as elsewhere in Africa, are regarded as the divine punishers of sin.

For the individual, the oblation may be a fowl or a goat;

for an entire community, it may be hundreds of animals (in former days, the principal oblation was human).

Once consecrated and ritually slain, the oblations are buried, burnt, or left exposed but never shared by the sacrificer.

There are sacrifices in which the victim does serve as a substitute for the guilty.

In some West African cults a person believed to be under death penalty by the gods offers an animal substitute to which he transfers his sins.

The animal, which is then ritually killed, is buried with complete funeral rites as though it were the human person.

Thus the guilty person is dead, and it is an innocent man who is free to begin a new life.

Fertility. Another distinctive feature of the first-fruits offering is that it serves to replenish the sacred potencies of the earth depleted by the harvest and to ensure thereby the continued regeneration of the crop.

Thus, it is one of many sacrificial rites that have as their intention the seasonal renewal and reactivation of the fertility of the earth.

Fertility rites usually involve some form of blood sacrifice—in former days especially human sacrifice.

In some human sacrifices, the victim represented a deity who “in the beginning” allowed himself to be killed so that from his body edible vegetation might grow.

The ritual slaying of the human victim amounted to a repetition of the primordial act of creation and thus a renewal of vegetational life.

In other human sacrifices the victim was regarded as representing a vegetation spirit that annually died at harvest time so that it might be reborn in a new crop.

In still other sacrifices at planting time or in time of famine, the blood of the victim—animal or human—was let upon the ground and its flesh buried in the soil to fertilize the earth and recharge its potencies.

Building Sacrifices. Numerous instances are known of animal and human sacrifices made in the course of:

the construction of houses, shrines, and other buildings, and

in the laying out of villages and towns.

Their purpose has been to consecrate the ground by establishing the beneficent presence of the sacred order and by repelling or rendering harmless the demonical powers of the place. Example:

In some West African cults, before the central pole of a shrine or a house is installed, an animal is ritually slain, its blood being poured around the foundations and its body being put into the posthole.

On the one hand, this sacrifice is made to the earth deities and the supernatural powers of the place—the real owners—so that the human owner may take possession and be ensured against malevolent interferences with the construction of the building and its later occupation and use.

On the other hand, the sacrifice is offered to the cult deity to establish its benevolent presence in the building.

The organization of sacrificial rites in the different cultures and religions has undoubtedly been influenced by a number of factors.

Example. Economic considerations certainly have had some impact upon primitive peoples in the:

selection of the victim and

the time of sacrifice and

in the determination of whether the victim is consumed or totally destroyed and

whether the sacrificer is an individual or a collective group.

The importance of such factors is an aspect of sacrifice that deserves increased investigation.

Nevertheless, sacrifice is not a phenomenon that can be reduced to rational terms; it is fundamentally a religious act that has been of profound significance to individuals and social groups throughout history, a symbolic act that establishes a relationship between man and the sacred order.

For many peoples of the world, throughout time, sacrifice has been the very heart of their religious life.

Accusations of human sacrifice in ancient and modern times have been far more widespread than the ritual practice ever was.

The ancient Greeks told many myths that involved human sacrifice, which has led some researchers to posit that rites among the Greeks and Romans which involved the killing of animals may have originally involved human victims.

At the end of the 20th century, however, archaeological evidence did not support this claim.

Some early Christians were falsely accused of cannibalism, consuming sacrificial victims at nocturnal feasts, a misunderstanding probably due to the secrecy surrounding the Eucharistic rite and the use of the words body and blood.

From the Middle Ages until quite recently, Jews were often maliciously accused of having sacrificed Christian children at Passover, an accusation which has been termed the blood libel.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

You're too lovely, thanks so much! Hope this helps with your writing. Found all of this really interesting as well.

[citrineandrosmarin]

🦉Athena Masterpost🦉

This masterpost will cover very basic information with links to further posts or resources (otherwise it’s super long) and may be updated in the future. Basic bibliography at the end. I welcome you to share your UPG and resources in the comments - I won’t differentiate between mine and others’ UPG.

UPG = Unverified Personal Gnosis, SPG = Shared Personal Gnosis, H = Historically Inspired association

Last updates: 5 Feb 2025, added my ko-fi / 4 March 2025, added a link to Additional Info Posts - Athena & Minerva / 23 March, minor appearance edits

Love this post? Consider thanking me with a small donation to my ko-fi!

🦉Overview🦉

Athena is the Hellenic goddess associated most commonly with wisdom, war, weaving, and in modern times, education and knowledge. She was a goddess who occupied both masculine and feminine roles in a highly patriarchal society, standing outside the societal binary. She is a fascinatingly variable and nuanced deity who has adapted and persisted in the mind of western society until this day. This masterpost is in dedication to her.

“Through our investigation of [Athena’s] role within the pantheon, she has emerged as a power of technology and creativity who promotes creativity and order, but with another side to her power, that of the storm bringer and warmonger.” -Susan Deacy

🦉Domains🦉

Metis (Cunning, Practical Wisdom)

Skills

Crafts

Invention

War

Civilization & Civic Institutions

Hero Mentorship

Education and Knowledge [Modern SPG]

IT and Engineering [UPG]

🐍Find out More!🐍

🦉Symbols, Colors & Tarot Cards🦉

Traditional:

Owls (Specifically the Little Owl, Athene noctua)

Snakes

Horses

Olive trees

The Aegis (Fringed goat skin sometimes depicted as a shield)

The Gorgoneion (Protective symbol depicting a gorgon head)

Spindle

Spear

Helmet (Particularly with gryphons and/or sphinxes on it).

Crows (In Messenia and Boeotia, though elsewhere she was not fond of them)

Gulls

Other symbols: Spiders [Roman & SPG], Books and Scrolls [SPG], Pens or Quills [UPG], Pallas symbol [SPG], Snow Leopards [UPG], Bees [UPG]

Colors: Saffron/Yellow/Orange/Gold [H], Murex Purple [H], Hyacinth Blue [H], Red [H?], Bronze [H], Green [UPG]

🐍Find out More!🐍

Tarot Cards (All UPG/SPG of course): The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Chariot, Strength, Justice, The World, Knight of Pentacles, Queen & King of Swords, Queen & King of Wands

🦉Name & Epithets🦉

Athena has some variations in name. The Attic form was “Athenaia”, which was contracted to “Athena,” the Ionian form was “Athenaie,” the Doric form “Athana,” in Aeolic, “Athanaa,” and in epic she was “Athenaie,” shortened to “Athene.”

A few common epithets:

Areia - Warlike

Ergane - The Worker

Glaukôpis - Bright/owl-eyed.

Pallas - Refers either to the myth of Athena’s childhood friend Pallas, or of the giant named Pallas whom she slayed.

Parthenos - Maiden

Polias - Of the City

Polymetis - Cunning in many ways

🐍Find out More!🐍

🦉Offerings and Devotional Acts🦉

This section was super long! Only including a few here but check out the link!

Gemstones & Metals - Gold, Lapis Lazuli, Onyx, Iolite

Plants - Olive, Ivy, Thyme, Rosemary, Cypress, Peppermint, Orange

Incense and Fragrances - Frankincense, Thyme, Bay Laurel, Amber, Myrrh, Dragon’s Blood, Orange, Citrus, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Cypress, Bergamot & Sage

Food & Drink - Olives and Olive Oil, Honey, Milk, Cheese, Cereal Grains, Diluted Wine, Bread, Baked Goods, Fish, Meat, Fruit/Fruit Juice, Water

🐍Find out More!🐍

🦉Athenian Festivals🦉

Athena’s main festivals were the Panathenaia, Khalkeia, Kallynteria and Plynteria. It is up to individuals to decide if and how to include these celebrations in their practice. 

Panathenaia: The biggest festival for Athena taking place annually, but with a bigger version every fourth year. Mainly a festival with athletic, poetry and musical competitions.

Kallynteria and Plynteria: Sacred days centered around cleaning.

Arrephoria: A mysterious festival that took place at night and is theorized to have been a fertility rite.

Khalkeia: The festival of artisans, which celebrated Athena and Hephaestus.

🐍Find out More!🐍

🦉Family & Connections🦉

Parents: Athena’s father was Zeus (Except in Libya, where she was known as Poseidon’s daughter) and her mother was the personification of wisdom, Metis. In some sources she was raised by Triton alongside his daughter, Pallas.

Children: Athena had no children as a virgin goddess but she did adopt and raise Erichthonius, who later became king of Athens.

Retinue: Athena was often associated closely with Nike (Victory), an example being the famed statue Athena Parthenos, which held Nike in its hand. The aegis which Athena wore also contained the personifications Phobos (Fear), Eris (Strife), Alke (Strength) and Ikoe (Panic) as noted in the Iliad.

Companions: Pallas is perhaps the most famous of Athene’s companions, as the two girls grew up together until Athena accidentally killed Pallas and afterwards took on her name as an epithet. However, in the Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter it is shown that Athena, Artemis and Persephone spent time together and were playing and collecting flowers before Persephone was abducted. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus claims they were also raised together.

Heroes: Athena was a mentor of Heroes and had a hand in assisting heroes such as Herakles, Odysseus and Diomedes, but also Achilles, Bellerophon, Perseus, Theseus, Kadmos and Tydeus.

🐍More of my Info Posts!🐍

Athena and Childbirth

Athena Hippia / Khalinitis

On The Nature of Metis - Excerpts from “Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society”

On the comparison of Athena and Ares

Athena and Herakles: Excerpt from Susan Deacy’s book

Myth of Athena's Birth

Comparing Athena and Minerva

🐍Extra Links🐍

Prayers, Hymns and Poems

Homeric Hymn to Athena 11 [Tumblr - Mine]

Homeric Hymn to Athena 28 [Tumblr - Mine]

Poem for Athena [Tumblr - Mine]

Adaptation of the Orphic Hymn [Tumblr - wisdomweaver]

Ode to Athena: A Birth of Wisdom [Tumblr - panjackdaw]

Prayer to Athena [Tumblr - rue-with-the-tarot]

Hymn to Athena [Tumblr - entricacies]

Praise to Athena [Tumblr - piristephes]

Prayer for Clarity and Sound Intuition [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]

Prayer for Athena [Tumblr - hisfleur]

Prayer for Athena [Tumblr - evilios]

Prayer to Athena [Tumblr - ranger5000]

Chin Up - A Message From Athena [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]

Assortment of Prayers [Website - greekpagan.com]

Battle Armor Poem [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]

A Prayer to the Wise Short Poem [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]

Learning Short Poem [Tumblr - Mine]

Additional Links

Theoi.com [Website]

Iliad - Athena dons the Aegis [Tumblr - Mine]

Reconstruction of Athena Parthenos statue’s colors [Youtube - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]

Bathing of Athena in Argos [Tumblr - verdantlyviolet]

Subtle Athena Worship [Tumblr - khaire-traveler]

A response to the “Athena is a victim blamer and hates women” crowd [Tumblr - rightwheretheyleftme]

khaire-traveler on their snow leopard UPG [Tumblr]

Parthenon 3D Reconstruction [Youtube - Ancient Athens 3D]

Parthenon in AC: Odyssey [Youtube - Invicta]

🦉Bibliography🦉

Barber, E.J.W. - The peplos of Athena

Burkert, Walter - Greek Religion

Deacy, Susan - Athena

Deacy, Susan & Villing, Alexandra - Athena in the Classical World

Deacy, Susan & Villing, Alexandra - What was the colour of Athena's Aegis?

Detienne, Marcel & Vernant, Jean-Pierre - Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society

Drees, Ludwig - Olympia

Larson, Jennifer - Ancient Greek Cults

Mansfield, John Magruder - The Robe Of Athena And The Panathenaic "Peplos"

Maurizio, Lisa - Classical Mythology in Context

Mikalson, Jon D. - Ancient Greek Religion

Ogden, Daniel - A Companion to Greek Religion

Theoi.com

[blindedowl]

Genesis

tw: nsfw themes, fem reader, dom reader, stalking, yandere

Sunday, August 4, 2024

You’ve been quite stressed lately. What that promotion of yours offered in profit has been quickly chipping away at your sanity, and that new apartment, while spacious, still leaves much to be desired in location. However, tonight was different. These lonely, late-night commutes have brought you a unique sense of comfort. And though your phone’s light still accompanied you through the night, you were glowing even brighter yourself. 

Monday, August 5, 2024

This night was no different. You carried that air from before, or rather, it carried you as you glided across the sidewalk. Your feet, as feathers upon clouds, skipped and danced as if you were performing for an audience. Your stress evaporated, and your load lightened.

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Tonight, you marched with confidence. The trees to your sides guarded you like cherubim to the throne; The rustling of their leaves as your drumline. Truly, nothing had changed. Your job the same and your apartment still littered with empty boxes, but perhaps the night, had finally come to respect you. 

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

What a sight to be seen. You had came down from your high, and yet you seemed to merge with the heavens. Nay, you had found your way back into them. The moon and stars now shining brightly as celebration at their creator’s return.

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Tonight, you brought a man an ANIMAL into your home. With a sultry look on your face no less. Your apartment now reeked of rotten fish. Spattered with dirt and crumbs. TAINTED with the presence of a COMMON HOUSE SPARROW. Why? My beautiful dove, why would you let this filth befoul you this way? And he left so soon. Is this what had made you so happy? So at peace? I watched over you throughout the night. Your soft skin glistening in the moonlight. I would never let you be alone; This would not happen again. 

Friday, August 9, 2024

Today, I followed you oh so closely. Closer than ever before. Your scent cleansed my nose of the trash the night before; Your voice a harmonious choir upon my ears. Through none other than a miracle, I had been able to breathe the same air as you. And so, I continued to follow you, delighted in your presence, all the way back to your nightly walk home. Where suddenly, you stopped and turned to look directly at me, a cruel smile adorning your face. 

“You’re so much cuter when you’re jealous.”

I fell to my knees as you walked up to me. Frozen you placed a hand gently on my chin, tilting my head up to meet my eyes; Yours blending in with the stars in the night sky. You let out a sigh as your smile quickly melted into a disappointed frown. Then, you promptly removed your hand and gave me a firm slap.

“You’ve been getting lazy recently. Don’t disappoint me again. My seraph.”

I remained there far longer after you left. My hand resting on my reddened cheek. I had been born anew. My Goddess having given me a second chance.

Saturday, August 10, 2024

And on the seventh day, you rested.

thank you for reading til the end, big experiment here, feedback appreciated <3

[maleyanderecafe]

My Yandere Neighbor (Manga)

Created by:  杏蜜

Genre: Comedy/Slice of Life

So this is a translation that we picked up, and while we have five chapters of raws currently, only one of them has been translated and typeset, so we'll be going off of that. The story so far has some yandere action between Kishi and Okada but is overall pretty light, with Okada mostly just being confused and slightly offput by Kishi as of now.

The story starts out with Okada working with Kishi and her being offput by him as he seems to be following and noticing very minute details about how many inches of hair she's cut off of her bangs and that she's sighing more than usual. We learn that Okada has recently been promoted to Art Director and is currently very busy. Kishi can be helpful towards Okada which she appreciates but is still a bit weirded out by her reaction. We get a backstory about how the two meet with Kishi grumbling outside and Okada concerned and bringing him in so they can talk. We find out that Kishi has been mistreated by his boss, as he's made a mistake which caused his boss to severely berate him and forcing him to apologize to everyone. Okada feels sympathetic towards Kishi and his situation and decides to help by talking to her boss about it to get the situation resolved. This leads to Kishi being transferred to her department, allowing him to get a better job and to be closer to Okada, which leads to him just becoming a stalker. We get to Kishi hanging out with coworkers after hours, with them eventually rooting for Okada to look after him after hearing his story. Kishi then goes on an entire thing where he talks about how much he worships her and even ends up following her to the bathroom just to tell her that they were all going to sing karaoke. When it's Okada's turn to sing, Kishi brings an entire boom mic just to record her, though Okada promptly shuts it down. After singing and drinking, Kishi brings her home and he's pretty drunk and she's shocked to find that the two are now neighbors as he's moved in next door.

So already starting out, we can kind of see how the comedy of Kishi and Okada has unfolded, though it doesn't seem like it'll be a very drastic in terms of yandere actions are more of a light comedy type of thing, at least so far considering Okada's attitude. She doesn't seem really scared of Kishi only weirded out by the things that he does and Kishi is at least kind enough respond to Okada when she tells him not to do something like go into the girl's bathroom as well as try to actually help her during her job. This seems like a quirky love that might bloom between them then, along with a lot more comedic moments, though it's hard to judge from the first chapter alone.

Kishi himself seems to be the worshipping type as noted by his own words (and his own imaginations of him), which makes a lot of sense considering Okada basically was able to fish him out of an abusive boss and eventually land him a much better and healthier job. Most of his actions are strange, but relatively harmless, from trying to record Okada's voice while singing karaoke, to knowing what kind of tea she likes, to I guess following her to the bathroom. I imagine as the series continues, these actions will just get more and more bizarre but ultimately harmless and only really affecting Okada's suspension of disbelief. If they wanted to go a more serious route, they could also probably run in the direction of Kishi slowly realizing that Okada isn't as much of a goddess as he thinks she is, treating her more as person as the story goes on, or maybe just continuing the hijinks as they are.

Anyways, I'm curious to see where this series will go after all of this time. Since we're translating it, I would be very happy if you all read it so I can see your reactions.

[ginaraemitchell]

A reader who enjoys dark, emotionally charged romantic adventures with magical conflicts and complex love triangles set in richly woven historical-fantasy realms would find "Stone of Doubt" perfect for their TBR. Stone of Doubt by Margaret Izard (Stones of Iona Series 5) ~ #Paranormal #Romance #Giveaway #StonesOfIona @mizardauthor @GoddessFish @WildRosePress https://ginaraemitchell.com/stone-of-doubt/

[talonabraxas]

Dharma Eye by Talon Abraxas

Meaning of Symbols Common to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism

1.The Dharma Wheel is the main Buddhist symbol, but it also appears in Hinduism and Jainism. It represents Dharmic views on morality and cosmic law. With eight spokes, it denotes the moral virtues on the Buddhist Eightfold Path.

2.The Swastika is an ancient symbol. Clockwise, it represents the motion of the Sun in Hinduism. Counterclockwise, it is the night and the Hindu goddess Kali. In Buddhism, it symbolizes Buddha's footprints and the cycle of life. In Jainism, the arms denote the four types of rebirth for the soul.

3.The Lotus flower symbolizes divinity, perfection, immortality, and various Hindu deities. In Buddhism, it expresses purity of the body and mind. In Jainism, semi-divine prophets are represented by or seated upon them.

4.The Endless Knot or "Srivatsa" and Pair of Fish appear in Ashtamangala: a set of eight symbols (most are pictograms of sacred objects) that differ between traditions. The knot represents unity, the cycle of rebirth, and wisdom entwined with compassion. The fish symbolize happiness, freedom, and fearlessness.

5.Symbols may be combined into Yantra, which usually have T-shapes on their borders to symbolize inner enlightenment. They may be associated with deities, luck, protection, or used as meditative aids.

Meaning of Other Hindu Symbols

1.The Om appears in all Dharmic traditions (variously translated), although it is technically a written symbol. It is included here because it has become the main symbol of Hinduism. It represents the supreme, divine consciousness.

2.The Ouroboros appears in several religious traditions (the oldest may be Ancient Egypt; see below). In Hindu mythology, it is one of the animals that holds up the world.

3.The Conch shell or "Shankha" represents Vishnu, water, female fertility, longevity, and prosperity.

Meaning of Other Buddhist Symbols

1.The Conch shell also appears in Buddhism. It can be used as a trumpet and thus represents the awakening influence of Buddhist teachings.

2.The Triratna represents the three jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha (enlightened one), Dharma (teachings), and Sangha (clergy).

3.A Bodhi tree is where Buddha achieved awakening, and its symbol thus represents liberation and nirvana.

4.Buddha footprints represent Buddha as a man, and as following a path that all humans can therefore follow.

5.Buddha eyes symbolize his all-seeing nature. Their display may promote moral behavior in a society.

Meaning of Other Jain Symbols

1.The Nandavarta symbolizes teaching, enlightenment, joy, and prosperity.

2.The Ahimsa represents the principle of non-violence (beginning with non-violence against oneself).

Meaning of Sikh Symbols

1.The Khanda is the primary Sikh symbol. It stands for the provision of charity and protection to those who need it.

2.The Harr Nishan is a symbol of the Ravidassia branch of Sikhism. It represents the goal of enlightenment through worship, meditation, and singing.

172 World Religious Symbols and Their Meanings

[reads2love]

Highland Heir by Allison B. Hanson

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Allison B. Hanson will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.                                                                                     Kieran has spent his life living in the shadow of his late…

[aubreywynne51]

Highland Heir by Allison B. Hanson

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Allison B. Hanson will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.                                                                                     Kieran has spent his life living in the shadow of his late…

[fatehbaz]

Italian fascism was trying to defeat a nature [...] by declaring it a priority to civilize the marshes of the Pontine Plain. [...] The swampland was still the habitat of the anopheles mosquito and the dominion of the “Goddess of Fever.” [...] [A] flaw of a primal [...] nature, [...] unproductive [...]. The efforts to create “an idyllic rural area consonant with fascist ideals of productivity [...] within the state’s interests” included extensive electrification of the region, constructing thousands of kilometres of roads and canals and “large pumping and drainage plants called impianti idrovori (drainage pumping stations), in Italian literally ‘water-eating’ machinery plants,” founding an anti-malaria institute, having war veterans plant the region with water-absorbing [non-native] eucalyptus trees (these plants performed their job too well, which is why they were later torn out again at great expense [...]), stocking fish [...], establishing an anti-mosquito militia, and putting up children’s camps whose buildings were wrapped in ten layers of wire to protect them from mosquitoes. “The fascist emphasis on the technical and technological aspects of the land reclamation programme were also characteristic of a positivistic view of [technology and institutionalized knowledge] [...] aimed at controlling, rationalizing and ultimately creating an imperium over a previously unknown or ‘untamed’ area.”

Text by: Fahim Amir. “Cloudy Swords.” e-flux Journal Issue #115. February 2021. [Bold emphasis added by me.]

---

On 24 December 1928 Italy’s fascist regime launched [...] a fourteen-year national land reclamation programme aimed at [...] Italy’s ‘death inducing’ swamps [...]. The Pontine Marshes, a marshland spreading across 75,000 hectares south of Rome was given top priority [...]. [T]he fascist regime used an extensive propaganda machinery to promote the programme [...] as a heroic quest [...]. Newsreels documented step by step the struggle [...], with Mussolini himself often featuring, overseeing the project, or even working the land. [...] This policy [...] aimed [...] [at] improving [...] existing cities by removing “unhealthy” urban areas, through the process of sventramento (disembowelment). [...] Indeed, the project exhibits many similarities in aims and scope to a number of modernising plans that were materialised across the world at around the same time: the Tuscan maremma (1928), a large scale coastal reclamation project; the Zuiderzee dyke project in Holland (1920-1932), which produced the Ijsselmeer, an enclosed area of water that would later host urban settlements [...]; Spain’s ambitious national hydrological plan that would “correct hydrologically the national geographical problem” by introducing a system of dams [...]; Switzerland’s Linth valley hydro engineering scheme that drained marshland and provided the geographical basis for a unified [nationalist] Swiss identity [...]; Greece’s Marathon dam project, that would produce Athens as a western sanitized metropolis [...]. All of these projects shared [...] the desire to link these socially constructed techno-natures to a broader project of promoting national unity and [nationalist] identity.

Text by: Federico Caprotti and Maria Kaika. “Producing the ideal fascist landscape: nature, materiality and the cinematic representation of land reclamation in the Pontine Marshes.” Social & Cultural Geography Volume 9. 2008. [Bold emphasis added by me.]

[amuseoffyre]

I was left unsupervised and wrote an OFMD S2 and beyond version of We Didn't Start the Fire 😁

Stede dream-fighting Izzy Hands, Ed is wrecking wedding plans, The republic, Spanish Jackie, Swede is quite the snack, Roach keeps cooking, Buttons pining, Wee John warns about the stabbing, Poor old Izzy getting dizzy, Tattoo on Ed's back. Minor Prince, puzzle chest, Swede says marriage is best, Thieving planned, husband chore, treasure chest right out the door, Indigo and coins gleam, Crew's got a new queen, Zheng Yi Sao and the Red Flag, The Republic, goodbye.

[Chorus] We didn't raise the flag But we'll keep it waving For this show we're saving We didn't raise the flag But they tried to drop it We won't let them stop it

[Verse 2] Izzy shot and Blackbeard done, Frenchie gets a promotion, Wooden boy voice, blood all over, Lucius is back. Good soup, the Queen wins, Is the Revenge sinking?? Izzy shoots Ed, the crew attack. Bonnet gets on, all escape though Ed is gone, golden merman, raised from dead, come back to him, butt his head. Exiled. Magic bowl, Buttons turning to a gull, Leg kaput, make a new foot Unicorn is Izzy

[Chorus] We didn't raise the flag But we'll keep it waving For this show we're saving We didn't raise the flag But they tried to drop it We won't let them stop it

[Verse 3] Apology, cat bell, Lucius pushes Ed as well, Fang on a fishing boat, Stede's got a cursed red coat, Ed reflects, fish is his, Time for a little kiss. Hand-in-hand, going slow, Hunted down by Ned Low, Planning party, urchins, Stede's bathtub used for drinks Drag, songs and rainbows, For goddess Calypso. Low comes, torture led, Took violin to the head. Stede is shaken, grabs for Ed Fireworks as they go to bed.

[Chorus] We didn't raise the flag But we'll keep it waving For this show we're saving We didn't raise the flag But they tried to drop it We won't let them stop it

[Verse 4] Ricky Banes, Zheng's plan, Bonnet is the fucking man, Ed is leaving, The British Invasion, Leathers brought from under waves, English soldiers put in graves, Jackie, poison-trained, Pirates get away again, Crew sad, Izzy dead, Stede is in the inn with Ed Revenge crew sail away Will they see another day?

[Chorus] We didn't raise the flag But we'll keep it waving For this show we're saving We didn't raise the flag But they tried to drop it We won't let them stop it

[Verse 5] Show cancelled, Jenkins sad, Casey says numbers were bad, Press takes a look, Is Zaslav a crook? Gay twitter here to fight, BS leak on bird-site, Pirate violence is a 'shock', HBO is roundly mocked, Time Square billboard, LA plane, DJenks says they're free again, Lubewatch trend, lots of press, New network stress, S2 now on BBC, Kristian Nairn live on IG, fans are craving what's in store, I can't take it anymore

[Chorus] We didn't raise the flag But we'll keep it waving For this show we're saving We didn't raise the flag But they tried to drop it We won't let them stop it It will still wave on, and on And on, and on

[unadulteratedparadiseangel]

While visiting Penn Museum in Philadelphia I found myself exploring art of many different cultures and faiths. Upon my exploration I had noticed many similarities in belief and culture as well as the way they are represented. I began my visit by viewing the “Asian Section”, a room that is truly art all by itself. I began looking around for anything related to religion, divinity, or mythology. I was instantly surrounded by art with such rich symbolism and spiritual purpose. Something that had instantly stuck out to me was two large stone sculptures of Chinese winged lions. I simply took a mental note of this strange creature and continued observing the Asian exhibit. Later on while exploring the museum however I discovered another winged lion in the Etruscan Italy section. Once more in the new Middle East section I saw a winged lion, and while reading the description I discovered it had been used for similar purposes. The manifestation of the Buddha known as Wenshu, or the Buddha of wisdom, was depicted as riding lions, similar to the hindu god Durga who is also depicted riding a lion. Another god of Greco-Roman origin Known as Cybele is depicted riding a lion. There are even coins from northern Africa depicting a goddess known as “the bright one” depicted riding a lion. I found myself interested in the multitude of bells and noise makers that had been displayed in almost every section, and the purpose of these noise makers were all very spiritually significant. My first encounter with a noise maker was a Mokugyo from japan. A buddhist fish drum used in ritualistic chants to promote vigilance and mindfulness. Some objects were more domestic like the baby rattle I saw in the Egypt section. Made to look like Bes the Egyptian God of fertility, and believed to have the ability to scare away evil spirits that would try and steal womens babies.