#life is a gift but so are resources to sustain it

[fuwaprince]

I'm going to start a sanctuary. If strays come up, we feed them and figure out what they need to get them a home. If they're pregnant and close to giving birth, we help them and their babies. I need a sanctuary for all animals. Including people. I need it to be a thing. No papers necessary. I just care that you have a pulse

[headspace-hotel]

How to begin a sustainable way of life

This is a draft of something I've been writing for a couple months. It is mainly focused on the culture of the USA. Feel free to repost or otherwise share, with or without credit.

Do not tell people what to do—help them do it! 

Give the gift of relief from being forced to engage in society’s unsustainable ways of life. 

“People need to eat more plant-based foods.” ->Talk about your favorite recipes, give others recipes, cook for them, and grow vegetables and plants in your garden and give them away as gifts. 

“People need to repair their clothes.” -> Offer to repair others’ clothes, and teach people how to repair their clothes. 

“People need to buy less clothes.” -> Give them old clothes that you don’t want, help them repair their clothes

“People need to buy less plastic stuff.” -> Learn to make things that can serve the same purpose, such as baskets, and give them as gifts. Let people borrow things you own so they don’t have to buy their own. 

“People need to stop using leafblowers and other gas-guzzling machinery.” -> Offer to rake the leaves. You can use them as compost in your own garden. 

“People need to be more educated about nature.”-> Learn about nature yourself. Tell people about nature. Be open about your love of creatures such as snakes, spiders, and frogs. Do not show awareness that this could be strange. You are not obligated to quiet down your enthusiasm for creepy crawlies to demonstrate awareness that it is weird. Point out at every opportunity how these animals are beneficial. 

“People need to use cars less.” -> Offer rides to others whenever you must go somewhere. Whenever you are about to go to the store, ask your neighbor or your friend who lives along the way, “Is there anything you need from the store?” 

You cannot control others’ behaviors, but you can free them from being controlled. 

If you think to yourself, “But this would be so difficult to do!” ask yourself WHY? Why does your society coerce you into less sustainable ways of living, forcing you to consume excessively? After thinking about this, consider that it is less simple and easy than you thought to make more sustainable choices, so why would you judge others for not doing it? 

Do not act alone—act with others! 

Environmentally friendly behaviors that can be done alone, without collaborating with or consulting another person, are the least powerful of all. Whenever an “environmentally friendly” behavior is suggested, figure out “How can I give this as a gift?” or “How can I make this possible on the level of a whole community?” 

“Personal choices” do not work because every single person has to make them individually. If you are focused on making your own personal choice, you are not focused on others. If you are not focused on others, you are not helping them. If nobody is helping each other, most people won’t be able to make the “personal choice.”

You inherently share an ecosystem with your neighbors  

            Start with your neighbors, the people physically close to you. You live on the same patch of land, containing roots from the same plants and trees. You can speak to them face to face without traveling, which means you can easily bring them physical things without using resources to travel. 

            Always talk to your neighbors and be friendly with them. Offer them favors unprompted and tell them about how your garden is doing. Do not be afraid to be annoying—a slightly annoying neighbor who is helpful, kind, and can be relied upon for a variety of favors or in times of need is a necessary and inevitable part of a good community. If you make the effort to be present in somebody’s life, they will have to put up with you on some occasions, but that is just life. We cannot rely on each other if we do not put up with each other. 

Simply spending time with someone influences them for good 

Every hour you spend outside with your neighbor is an hour your neighbor doesn’t spend watching Fox News. Every hour you spend talking with someone and interacting with them in the real world, eating real food and enjoying your real surroundings, is an hour you don’t spend only hearing a curated picture of what reality is like from social media. 

            Isolation makes it easy for people to become indoctrinated into extremist beliefs. When someone spends more time alone, watching TV, Youtube, or scrolling social media, than they do with others, their concept of what other people are like and what the world is like comes more from social media than real life. TV and online media are meant to influence you in a specific way. Simply restricting the access these influences have to yourself and others is helpful. 

A garden is the source of many gifts 

If you grow a garden, you can give your neighbors and friends the gift of food, plants, and crafted objects. This is one of the foundational ways to form community. When you give food, you provide support to others. When you give plants, you are encouraging and teaching about gardening. It is even better when you give recipes cooked from things you grew, or items crafted from things you grew. You can also give the gift of knowledge of how to grow these plants, cook these recipes, or craft these objects. 

More on gift-giving

            Some people are uncomfortable with receiving items or services as gifts. They want to feel like they are giving something back, instead of having obligation to return the favor hanging over them. 

            It can help to ask a simple favor that can be easily fulfilled. People generally like the feeling of helping someone else. 

When you give someone a gift, it can help to say something like “Oh, I have too many of this thing to take care of/store/eat myself! Do you think you could take some?” This makes your neighbor feel like they are helping you. 

When allowing others to borrow items, you might not get them back. Don’t worry about that. It just means the item found a place where it was needed the most. You can ask about the item if you think it might have been forgotten, and this can create an opportunity for a second meeting. But don’t press. 

If the person you give to insists upon some form of payment, this is a good opportunity to negotiate a trade. 

Ask to be given compostable or recyclable things 

Ask your neighbor to save compostable scraps, biodegradable cardboard and paper products, and any other items that might be put to use. Use them in your own compost pile. Or, start a compost pile at the edge of the yard where you both can add to it. Remember that “wet” compost like vegetable and fruit bits needs to be mixed with twice as much of “dry” and “woody” compost like cardboard, leaves, small twigs, paper and wood bits. 

Use the front yard for gardening

Overcome the cultural norm that the front yard is only decorative. Use the front yard for gardening so you can be seen by others enjoying your garden, and others can witness the demonstration of the possibilities of land. In the front yard, anything you do intentionally with your land can be witnessed. It also makes you a visible presence in your community. 

Grow staple foods 

Don’t just grow vegetables that cannot be the core component of a meal themselves. Grow potatoes, dry beans, black eyed peas and other nourishing, calorie-dense foods. Grow the ingredients of meals. You could even build a garden around a recipe.

Invite neighbors and friends over to eat food made from things you grew 

Be sure to send them home with leftovers.  

Grow plants for baskets 

Containers are one of the fundamental human needs. If we had more containers, we wouldn’t need plastic so much. You can learn to make baskets, and to grow plants that provide the raw materials for baskets. 

If someone rakes their leaves, ask to have the leaves  

If you see someone putting leaves in bags, don’t be afraid to ask if you can have the leaves. More likely than not they will be happy to agree. 

Collaborate with neighbors to plant things in the no-man’s-land of the property line 

In the border land between your neighbor’s yard and your yard, it is almost always just mowed grass because no one can plant anything without it affecting their neighbor. But these border lands add up to a lot of space. It would be much better if you talked to your neighbor about what would be nice to plant there, and together created a plan for that space. 

Give others the freedom to wander 

Make it clear that you will not get mad if the neighbor’s kids play in your yard or run across it. Invite the neighbors onto your land as much as possible. Tell them they are allowed to spend time in a favored spot whenever they would like.  

The power of the hand-made sign 

If there is a yard sale, you always know about it because of the hand-drawn signs placed around. Therefore, a cookout or unwanted item exchange can be announced the same way. In rural areas I have seen hand-made signs that say: FIREWOOD or WE BUY GOATS or EGGS. This is one of the few technologies of community that remain in the USA. If someone who looks to buy and sell can put up a hand-made sign, why shouldn’t you?  

Religious people or people with strong political opinions like to put signs everywhere. If they have the confidence and courage to do so, why shouldn’t you? 

So if there is a message you would like everyone to see, use the simple power of the hand-made sign. Proclaim “BEE FRIENDLY ZONE!” above your pollinator garden with all the confidence of a religious fundamentalist billboard. Announce to the world, “VEGETABLES FREE TO ALL—JUST ASK!” “WE TAKE LEAVES—NO PESTICIDES.” Instead of YARD SALE, or perhaps in conjunction with YARD SALE, you can write, PLANT EXCHANGE or SEED SWAP or CLOTHING SWAP. Who can stop you? 

Someone has to do it for society to change  

Some of these ideas might be eccentric, strange, or even socially unacceptable, but there is no way to change what is normal except to move against it. Someone has to be weird. It might as well be you. 

[wordsbyhisheart]

Ya Rabb, please cleanse my heart of envy, greed, and impatience. Grant me the clarity to see the beauty and wisdom in each moment and the strength to embrace my circumstances with gratitude. Teach me to cherish the people, opportunities, and resources You have lovingly placed in my life, recognising each as a piece of Your divine mercy.

Ya Rabb, make my heart humble, so I seek Your guidance in all that I do. Let me remember that every breath, every heartbeat, is a gift from You, and that I am sustained not by my own strength, but by Your will. Let me not grow heedless of Your favours, both the seen and the unseen, those I understand and those beyond my comprehension.

Grant me a spirit that rises in patience during times of hardship and humility during moments of ease. Help me to be content, to find peace in whatever You have decreed for me, and to trust in Your wisdom when things do not go according to my plans. Fill my heart with love and remembrance of You, so that my gratitude is genuine, profound, and ever-growing.

Ya Rabb, let my life be a testimony to Your blessings. Make me a person who finds joy in simplicity, who sees wealth in faith, and whose heart is anchored in the knowledge that with You, I have all that I need. Let my actions reflect my gratitude, so that I may be a source of comfort and ease for others, a reminder of Your mercy, and a servant who brings no harm, only benefit, to this world.

And when my journey in this world comes to an end, let me leave with a heart full of gratitude, a soul content, and a spirit that is at peace with returning to You اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم — wordsbyhisheart

[sepublic]

Palismen as Mutualism

For Hunter, abandoning his magitech staff in favor of Flapjack isn’t just about finding agency outside of Belos, and it’s not just about having an actual friend. Likewise, training wands do exist, but for Luz in Adventures in the Elements it’s emphasized that she needs to figure out the glyphs anyway, and eventually she can get her staff.

There’s practical Ups and Downs to the glyphs, such as being able to draw them even if you’re missing a staff, likewise staffs can cast magic with far less prep time. But I think the emphasis on Palismen is about cultivating a relationship with the land and people around you; Luz and Hunter can’t have magic without maintaining a relationship with someone else.

Magic is a gift from the Titan, that’s what Luz understands in Adventures in the Elements when she figures out glyphs, it’s what Eda’s trying to understand by shoving moss up her nose, because of what wild witches wrote. Even when Glyphs can be learned from others, witches still commune at the Knee to understand this. And with Palismen, we see that they’re highly intelligent beings, smarter than any animal in real life, if not sapient beings themselves; Owlbert can hold a conversation with Eda, lie on the spot to cover for Luz, gamble with her, etc. Then we have the Bat Queen as further evidence.

Palismen have autonomy, they choose whether to stay or not; Escape of the Palisman goes into these and the aforementioned details, many Palismen leave their witches if they feel mistreated. In Really Small Problems Owlbert is able to go off and have fun for himself, and is allowed to be distracted even when Eda needs him; There is no punishment towards Owlbert for exercising autonomy, and what Eda does should be the standard based on the Bat Queen’s trust.

Perhaps more ‘modern’ witches don’t lend the same freedom, but this is undoubtedly influenced by the culture of the coven regime and its insistence on ‘taming’ wildness. Palismen also don’t respond or awaken, even if carved, until a witch can perform some level of self-examination for them.

Glyphs come from understanding the Titan, and being able to do everything a witch can involves having a Palisman, and those come from the Titan via Palistrom trees that naturally grow. There are Animistic ideas about aspects of the environment having a life of their own, thus they deserve a respect of their own. For Luz, she’s a human coming after Belos, who’s committed colonization and genocide on this world; Hunter is his nephew and human-adjacent enough, struggling with a colonial heritage.

So to truly idealize as witches, they need to cultivate a mutual relationship with the Boiling Isles and its life, that’s why glyphs and Palismen are relevant, that’s why Eda doesn’t settle with a training wand for Luz; She wants Luz to really understand and appreciate the wild nature of magic, or else she could become like Lilith or many who joined the coven, esp in contrast to Belos.

Belos’ magitech staffs demonstrate his industrialism and refusal to cultivate a sustainable relationship with the land, as does his Palismen consumption. Him devouring Palismen is horrific because they’re sapient innocents, and because they’re all taken from loving witches who were either murdered or assimilated, it’s systemic genocide.

And we learn how Palistrom trees are being depleted, and when Hunter suggests a sustainable way to grow Palistrom wood, Belos is furious at the idea. He has no respect for this world and wants it dead, while wanting it to serve him in his entitlement and colonial fantasy.

In particular, Belos’ Palismen consumption leads directly to his curse, which worsens to a point that he needs to possess hosts and devour them from the inside to survive. His parasitic relationship with a natural resource causes him to become a literal parasite. He chooses to devour wantonly and after centuries is finally doomed to only being able to do that, centuries after he should’ve been dead and lacking any choices anyway.

Why must other lives be cut short to extend his life beyond reason, a life that continues to only be destructive? The protagonists could never keep Belos alive if it meant sacrificing innocents, and he gets to a point where he still deteriorates even while using hosts, emerging from Raine in a worse state than he started off in.

Likewise, we don’t know much of the training wand, but it is wielded by Amity, who is the daughter of Blight Industries and its arms manufacturing; It ends up siding with Belos and playing a factor into his genocide, esp during the Day of Unity. Odalia is CEO and her capitalist tendencies are not a coincidence, given the criticism of capitalism as being unsustainable in its pursuit of infinite growth, without questioning where all that growth will somehow keep coming from when the laws of equivalent exchange still exist.

This ‘independent’ form of magic via machines is flawed, because it doesn’t hearken back to the literal and figurative roots of magic itself, or the natural resources it inevitably still pulls from. It’s not anymore ‘advanced’ if not beholden to working with the culture or the land so every party can thrive. It’s not beholden to the people and animals, it’s just destructive in the long run without respect.

But technology isn’t inherently bad or unsustainable either; Alador is the true inventor of Blight Industries and uses his machines to help undo the damage of the coven bindings, and heal the isles alongside his fellow wild witches as a newly-anointed one. He decides he cares about the harm being done by Blight Industries and can still practice his inventions.

Caleb started off as a settler, but his story shows how white people are just as capable —and thus responsible— as the locals in coexisting with a new place, after learning from said local and choosing her over colonial teachings; Celtic pagans exist and seem to be an inspiration for TOH, and the Celts were often white because you guessed it!

White people have also been indigenous, at least at one point in time, they can also have the same relationship with land that PoC do, and it’s not some innate trait exclusive to brown people (which is a racist trope). It’s learned, not “in the DNA.” There’s no excuse not to, you just have to want to learn and open your mind.

Caleb and Evelyn have a mutual relationship that results in a child, who results in the Clawthornes and their own relationship with the isles, esp Dell and Eda. Caleb dies in the pose of the Titan, indicating he understood; At worst he’d only be a little confused, but still have the spirit, because Caleb clearly came from a place of good faith and would always keep improving because of that.

Hunter is a settler’s child and didn’t choose to come here or serve his uncle, but he decides when he’s free and with agency that he wants to continue engaging with this world; So Hunter can choose to give back to this world what his forebearer took. And he works with Dell to do this, who is Caleb’s descendant. Caleb’s woodcarving may have contributed to the Clawthorne tradition of Palisman carving after Flapjack liberated both him and Hunter, they gave back to this world and it comes full circle.

Hunter works with Dell and the Bat Queen to regrow Palistrom and then carve Palismen; He loves a witch who can help grow Palistrom, make the land itself teem with life; Perhaps not coincidentally, Willow’s magic is deemed worthless by the aforementioned Odalia, and the coven system finds Abominations more profitable, likely in the service of how Blight Industries (and later Belos) uses them; By contrast, Amity and Darius wield a more fluid technique and reject this, with Amity having thrived around Willow more and making amends.

For Luz, it’s not enough whether she can practically perform magic via the wand, she needs to understand and respect her host culture. When Eda says Luz needs to earn her staff, it’s less about work for its sake, and more about proving she can respect the rituals and ways of a culture that Luz wants to become a part of, by doing what the locals also do.

Luz needs to prove she can be accepted by her hosts as one of their own, like how she proves to the Titan she is someone he can trust to wield his magic. Luz has to be her own kind of witch against what the coven deems, and because there are some parts of the process she simply can’t do; But she also has to be true to the spirit of the practice… And this culminated in literally embodying the spirit of the Titan.

Palismen as a practice require reflection, and then constantly maintaining that respect and relationship to another being in order to keep using magic. It’s a way of accountability to the Boiling Isles they’re born from and represent, a way to continue repaying the gift of magic that one keeps using. It’s a mutual relationship, it’s sustainability, it’s remembering to give back to the environment so it can keep growing.

Hence, Luz learning to respect Palismen via Owlbert, learning to speak to the Titan like the witches before her. Glyphs are learned from the Titan, and witches can then pass down that magic to others themselves if they choose to, after being convinced to. Some may be insincere and abuse that trust, but this is outweighed by the many friends of Luz’s who benefit and use it for good; Luz still has the right to distribute this knowledge and it’s why the Titan gave it to her then, and affirms it later with his spirit. And even after the Titan’s death and the loss of glyphs, they’re continued anyway via his son King, who shows them to Luz and Eda, witches that learned to respect him and his father.

The fascination in a world goes both ways; The Demon Realm does not exist for human consumption, its people are also very interested in humanity themselves. Eda’s business, Gus founding the HAS, Vee finding her home; Witches and demons have a lot to learn from us, just as we have a lot to learn from them. Luz got her time in the isles, so Thanks to Them was about her friends getting the same with her home after hosting Luz. Camila repays their hospitality to her daughter with her own, and Gus leaves deeply satisfied from the experience.

There’s now a Boiling Isles exchange program, so humans visit the demon realm but vice-versa occurs. So it’s not so simple as humans being settlers again, they give something back to the natives who get to enjoy their world too. Maybe even take each other’s places, as Vee and Luz inadvertently did! With Vee becoming a Noceda.

Sustainability is a theme in The Owl House, with the endangerment of species such as the Selkidomus, the Galdorstones becoming rare artifacts, the depletion of Palistrom, and the extinction of Glyph magic are all things that are combatted; Luz and Eda save the Selkidomus that thrives in the epilogue, Gus and Mattholomule work with the guardian of the Looking Glass Ruins, Dell helps plant more Palistrom with the Bat Queen, and King gifts a new generation of glyphs.

The Archivists and Titan Trappers committed genocide, with the Archivists having the gall to claim to want to keep mortals alive, yet it’s a faux-sustainability where they destroy those who refuse, and their archived existence is hardly a life in and of itself; Instead, it’s a passive existence where mortals exist for the Archivists’ purpose with nothing real in return. King remains as the last of his kind to bring back his people one Titan at a time, and it’s a wild witch like Eda, with her fondness for learning from nature and respecting Palismen, who is entrusted to raise him.

All of this ties into the themes of indigeneity, of sustainability, of appreciating the nature and world around you, of getting your head out of the clouds of fantasy to appreciate the people around you and their practical needs, and work with them too. Working with people, working with the environment, it’s the same idea of mutualism, supporting each other, etc. Be yourself AND be kind to others, they’re mutual not mutually exclusive.

Magic is life, magic is given and shared, it comes from the world around you to pay attention to, and give back to. It’s life and goes on even after death, like relationships and their impact on you. This is what TOH’s magic is, it represents the themes of its story.

[msmk11]

Wrapped Up In a Bow

Lucy Gray Baird x gn!reader

WC: 1.6k

CW: Very brief allusion to the covey struggling with money; mentions of food; but otherwise PURE FLUFF

Summary: While in town, you decide to buy Lucy Gray a thank you present. And it certainly has nothing to do with the fact that you have feelings for her.

(This was meant to be a blurb but 100% got away from me.)

Day 5 of mk’s mad dash

Being covey, you preferred to make a life out of the natural resources surrounding your home. You knew how to look for edible plants and differentiate them from poisonous ones, you could set simple snares and traps, and you drew your water from the streams nearby. It was a simple life, but not always sustainable with so many mouths to feed. Making a small amount of income from your performances at the Hob, you all had agreed to set some of it aside each week for going into town and buying the absolutely necessities from the market. And, on the rare occasion, if your week’s income had been a little more generous, you’d splurge on an indulgence.

All of the covey took turns going into town to shop, and this week it was yours. You’d gotten up extra early this morning because though the market was open until around one, you truly believed that the early bird always got the worm. You woke with the sun and set out shortly after, your old knapsack slung over your shoulder. The walk to town was about twenty minutes and you enjoyed how peaceful these early mornings were. The brooks babbled to life around you, bunnies and squirrels skittered across the forest floor, and the birds harmonized with your simple tunes. The town square was still fairly quiet at this time of the day, and only a few people milled about to the different vendors.

Though your list wasn’t long, you always joined chatting with the locals you’d slowly made friends with over the years. You playfully bargained over milk and cheese prices with Rhonda, you asked after old Joe’s kids while you sifted through his freshly baked bread, and you restocked on a few herbs while you talked with Lily about the covey’s most recent performance. Your knapsack was full in no time, but you still had a few coins jingling in your pocket. You decided to allow yourself the pleasure of visiting your favorite vendor- an older woman named Susan who sold the most beautiful trinkets. While you enjoyed the woman’s company, her goods were not ones you could often afford, so you’d only look on at them longingly as you made more responsible purchases. But with the little extra money on hand today, you figured it wouldn’t hurt to look.

Susan instantly greeted you with a warm smile, “Hello dear, it’s been a moment since I’ve seen you or your family.”

You returned her smile, “Yes, well, money’s been a little more tight recently, and we can’t bear to tempt ourselves with your beautiful things.”

You fingered the pretty ribbons, necklaces, and brooches with such a gentleness you’d think they were made of glass.

“Well you’re here today, so that gives me hope that things have been better for you,” she answered knowingly.

You smiled and nodded at her, “Yes, we’ve had a pretty good week or two. Might be ‘cos of Lucy Gray’s new songs. Quite popular with the young folk.”

“That girl sure can carry a tune, can hear it all the way from my house.”

You chuckled fondly and hoped your face didn’t betray the feelings you harbored for the songbird.

“It’s certainly a gift,” you agreed, “Think I wanna thank her for it too. Wouldn’t have this money if it weren’t for her.”

“Well I’ve got lots of pretty things for a pretty girl like her. Anything strike your interest?”

You eyed everything carefully. You wanted to find something that you truly felt embodied Lucy Gray. While she liked her floral patterns and pretty things, she was a humble girl at heart and you didn’t want to embarrass her with a gift that was too flashy.

While many may have overlooked it, a baby blue bow in the corner caught your eye.

You nodded toward it, “May I?”

With shaking hands Susan handed it to you. The bow was made of soft, smooth satin and was attached to a simple silver clip. You could already picture it resting prettily in Lucy Gray’s raven hair, pulling some of her front strands away from her face while she sang and danced on stage at The Hob. You knew it’d go just fine with that one long, blue skirt she favored that was decorated with tiny little flowers.

“I’ll take this, please.”

*****

When you arrived back home, the covey house was alive and bustlin’.

“Mornin’ all,” you greeted in a singsong tone.

Maude Ivory strayed from setting the table to run over and give you a hug.

“What’d you get in town today?” she asked excitedly.

“Well only the best for you, of course,” you answered sweetly.

You laid your knapsack out on the table and allowed her to dig through it, pulling out the bread, milk, and the likes. She held the loaf up to her nose and inhaled deeply, “Mhmm smells so fresh.”

“That’ll be real good for dinner later,” you told her, “so you best put it away so it doesn’t tempt you.”

The blonde grinned at you sheepishly and set it back on one of the counters. You walked over to Billy Taupe who was cooking at the skillet and leaned over his shoulder, “smells real good. Got my stomach grumbling already.”

“Breakfast should be ready here soon’s Tam Amber gets back from the creek.”

You nodded at him, “Thank you.”

Then, you hesitated, “Where’s Lucy Gray.”

He turned and looked at you with a knowing smirk, “Why’d you wanna know?”

You tried to act nonchalant, “‘Cos I have a present for ‘er.’”

Billy Taupe wiggled his eyebrows at you, “Whoo-whee? A present? Someone’s whipped.”

“Quit it, Billy Taupe,” you replied, slapping his arm, “Just wanted to say thanks for her songs bringing in a little extra money this week.”

“And you’re not hoping to get anything out of it in return?” A new voice added. You turned to find Barb Azure walking into the kitchen, a basket full of berries resting on her arm.

“No,” you groaned, crossing your arms, “Just wanted to be nice!”

The two only gave you more teasing looks and you huffed, “Would someone just tell me where she is, please?”

Finally, Barb Azure relented, “Out back, tending to the garden.”

You headed out to the back porch and spotted Lucy Gray in the distance instantly, crouched over some flower of hers. You traipsed down the hill with a pep in your step, excitement bubbling in your stomach. When you grew nearer, you could hear the girl humming a tune quietly.

“What’cha singing?” You asked her.

She startled a little, holding her hand to her chest, “You scared me, darling. Thought everyone was inside by now. But to answer your question, nothing in particular. Just been thinking about a melody recently.”

“Got any words yet?”

She shook her head and you swore she blushed a little, “Nah, just the tune.”

You nodded, “Well, I uh, got something for you at the market today.”

She looked up at you from her crouched position, big brown eyes shining with excitement, “For me? Whatever for?”

You looked down at your feet timidly, “Just felt like saying thank you for sharing your songs with the world. Did us some real good this week.”

Lucy Gray stood and wiped her hands on her dark brown skirt, “Well you know I’m glad people enjoyed ‘em, but I write ‘em for myself.”

“‘Course. But either way…” you hesitated and then reached into your pocket, pulling out the bow, “Here, for you.”

You thrust the pretty blue bow into her hands and she gasped softly.

“Sweetheart, this is just, beautiful. You get it from Susan’s?”

“Mhmm, the one and only. Reminded me of that pretty skirt you own. That blue one with the flowers?”

The raven-haired girl looked up at you with a beaming smile and whispered, “That’s my favorite skirt.”

You tried to hide your blush from her intense gaze, “I know. Thought this’d go nicely when you wear it.”

Her thumb swept gently over the soft fabric of the ribbon as she looked down at it, “Well thank you very much. I already love it dearly.”

You smiled happily at her and your heart fluttered in your chest.

Lucy Gray then looked at you sweetly, “Will you…put it in my hair?”

“Yes, yeah. Course.”

You took the bow from her hand gently, “Turn around.”

She obliged and you reached out, running your hands through her thick, raven hair. You’d dreamed of doing this countless times and it was even better than you imagined- even if it was only for the sake of putting the bow in her hair.

You pulled strands of hair from either side of her head and brought them together in the back. You popped the silver clip open and slid it amongst the strands, clasping them into place. Once it clicked shut, you took a second to admire how lovely it looked amongst her dark tresses.

“Well, how’s it look?” She asked you.

You paused, lost in a trance.

“Does it look bad?”

Lucy Gray turned around, and because you’d been close behind her to clip on her bow, her face came within inches of yours.

You shook yourself out of your trance, “No, no! It doesn’t look bad at all. You look like a real pretty package, all wrapped up in a bow.”

This time, Lucy Gray certainly blushed, “You think so?”

“I know so,” you told her confidently.

“Sweetheart, could I ask you something?” she asked quietly.

You nodded mutely.

“How would you feel if I kissed you right now?”

All of the air rushed out of your lungs.

“I’d be happy as a hummingbird singin’ a new tune.”

Then, before you’ve even processed what happened, Lucy Gray closed the gap between you, kissing you softly. You reciprocated quickly and placed your hands gently on her waist.

When she pulled away you’re breathless, and you rested your forehead on hers, “I need to get you gifts more often.”

[quitealotofsodapop]

Was thinking of FFM, specifically the bit about the island being effectively isolated from the outside world. That means it's entirely possible for different strands of plant life that otherwise went extinct or had evolved different characteristics remain in suspension, only affected by the things Wukong himself brings onto the island.

Pigsy is a food connoisseur. He only uses the freshest ingredients. In Century Egg Au and Slow Boiled, he effectively becomes a parental figure to Wukong. One, who would very much likely make many a trip to FFM to check up on Wukong. Same for TMKATI except Wukong doesn't live in the mountain in that one and therefore there's less reason to visit. Imagine how he'll react when he realizes the mythical island not only has the freshest ingredients but the rarest as well!

Pigsy seeing an isolated island with some very tasty looking rare tree fruits from the view of Sandy's ship, only to learn that it has a impassable magical barrier:

He's ok to let the matter slide... for now. He reasons with himself that whatever is on that island is better off without his mitts on it.

Until he's shaken awake by a very excitable Tang, holding a book on island isolation and evolution, rambling at a mile a minute about how the plant and animal life on the sheltered island has likely evolved completely separate from the outside world, and if this island is part of the fabled lost country of Alolai - then it likely is teeming with wildlife that evolved after the mythical Floods and Burning.

Pigsy, groggy: "Tang... how'd you get in my room???" Tang, highly-caffienated: "I haven't slept in two days!" Sandy, texting: "Is he at your place now?"

Eventually after forcing the scholar to calm down and take a rest before his heart gives out, Pigsy is told something that really tickles his inner connoisseur.

Tang: "Before it was introduced and selectively bred, potatoes could only be encountered in remote areas of the Andes mountains." Pigsy: "And?" Tang: "Imagine if you discovered the next potato." Pigsy: *squeal of intrigue!*

Needless to say, Pigsy has his own Nerd Moment™ the first time he actually touches down on the island and recognises a bunch of rare species.

Pigsy, side-tracked by a tree: "Sweet Chang'e! This is looks like a button mangosteen! I've never heard of them growing this far north! The skin is more red-orange though, maybe it's a branched variety back when the islands were connected to the mainland? Button Mangosteens taste closer to tangerines than their purple cousins, I wonder if that intesifies based on colouration." Sandy, delighted for his friend: "You seem to be having lots of fun!" Pigsy: *nodding happily*

He's equally delighted in the TMKATI au to have "Such a resourceful employee!" when Wukong comes back from his visits to the island bearing gifts. It caught him off guard the first time though.

Wukong: "Hey boss, I got you something." Pigsy, opening a box: "Wu... are these fresh truffles?!" Wukong, wondering if he did something wrong: "Yeah, why? Did I mess up? I overheard you talking about wanting to have enough to experiment with and-" Pigsy: "No no! I'm... I'm so grateful, I don't even know what to say... How did you even afford these?" Wukong, genuine confusion: "Afford? I just gathered a bunch from the lime orchard at home. There's hundreds of these things - I don't like 'em personally cus they taste like dirt to me. I normally just toss them in the hotpot when I run out of the chicken-tasting ones." Pigsy: "Excuse me."

I hc that in the direct aftermath in returning to FFM during the White Bone Spirit chapter of JTTW; Sun Wukong did a lot of gardening and farming in order to ensure that his people would have a sustainable source of food. Probably convinced Zhu Bajie to "show off his super-cool 9-Toothed Rake" to start the farmers off.

He also plants a bunch of super-rare and super-divine plants on the island that he picks up in his travels.

Wukong, chilling on a tree clearly not native to the island: "What? I like using the leaves as nesting material."

And lets not mention the super rare species of animals that managed to survive/escape the Burning.

FFM probably has an undiscovered wild cat or two that Sandy accidentally befriends.

[yuriskies]

Fishing Yuri vs Reproductive Fascism

Issui Ogawa's Twinstar Cyclone Runaway novel series caught my attention the moment I learned about it. A gay marriage allegory in a weird sci-fi setting? Sign me right the fuck up. I've always found explicitly political sci-fi interesting, and well, Ogawa is not exactly a small name in Japanese sci-fi. However, a Japanese hard sci-fi novel is not going to have an easy time finding a good translation to English, much less a fanbase. So I was really excited to see that it was getting a manga adaptation, and from what it has adapted so far (~half of the first of three novels in an ongoing series), it's really living up to my feeling of hype.

There is a general setting summary after the break, and then a section where I talk a bit about the most recent chapter (8), and how it really makes a cogent argument extractive economic systems are reinforced by patriarchal norms.

The plot centers around Terra Intercontinental Endeavor, a woman who has inherited her family's fishing boat. The fishing boat requires two people to operate, a job which is performed by straight couples as a form of marriage contract. The use of married couples is understandable, given that the fishing boat transformable rocket plane that descends from orbit to operate in the skies of a gas giant, an operating environment which requires almost preternatural communication skills between the pilot and the person transforming the ship. The fish that swim around in the gas giant's skies are special: they're made of a kind of clay that can be molded by thought. The catch forms the backbone of the planetary economy; otherwise, the planetary system is so resource-starved that humanity cannot sustain itself without something to offer through galactic trade networks. Terra is highly gifted at producing complex transformations of the ship, but cannot communicate well with the male pilots she is interviewing for marriage. Part of this is because her way of describing things is a little kooky, but the majority is because the patriarchal culture she lives in has produced a lot of condescending, sexist guys who Obviously Know Better.

Fresh off a round of failed marriage interviews, Terra is desperate to find anyone who can pilot the boat. In steps a mysterious girl named Diode, who proves herself to be an exceptionally talented pilot whose skills mesh well with Terra's. So far, the story has alternated between Terra's experiences within the stifling cultural life of her home, and the moments of dizzying freedom and connection that Terra and Diode find when they're out fishing.

(Spoilers from here on out, so stop here if you would prefer to read more on your own. )

As far as the broader world of Twinstar Cyclone Runaway is concerned, the first seven manga chapters have largely focused on how badly Terra fits in with the surrounding culture. She has a reputation around the port, mostly as a person who creates absurdly complicated fishing gear and makes up weird stories. Her aunt and uncle both want to see her happily married so she can fulfill her dream of fishing, but tend to push their preferences onto her. She works as a video distributor in the clan's dilapidated cultural archives, and appears to be one of the few people interested in the world of her clan's space station. In part, this is due to the conservatism of the culture - most people are strictly utilitarian and seem happy to accept the world as it is. There's also sexism. Woo boy is there sexism.

The first few chapters alternate between life on the station, where Terra is exposed to a constant stream of sexism. The chapters dealing with station culture are almost an exercise in masochism, but provided the set dressing for a chapter which does a really decent job at describing the organizing thought processes behind anti-LGBTQ lawmaking. In it, Terra and Diode's activities have drawn the attention of the authorities, who are none too happy that they're fishing together (and effectively presenting themselves as common law wives in the process).

They're both summoned to the clan council, where the clan chief immediately begins lecturing Terra (and belittling her with backhanded complements) before ordering her to surrender her family's fishing boat to someone else. During his lecture, he highlights the 'freedom' enjoyed by their clan compared to the even more stifling culture of the clan Diode hails from. He attributes that freedom to the strong sense of "culture and tradition" of the clan, and the work of those with "superior bloodlines" who support and perpetuate it by passing that sense of identity on to the next generation while countering the clan's slowly shrinking population. Under this logic, allowing Terra to participate in a same-sex marriage is considered tantamount to enabling a cultural collapse.

It is, from just about any perspective, a fascist perspective on gender roles. Women are valued not for their ability to contribute to the culture but for their service as reproductive cogs in the economic machine. Culture and tradition are interpreted as something transmitted through blood, not community. Terra's work in maintaining the cultural archives are viewed as useless make-work, as to the leadership, a woman who does not reproduce is preventing the transmission of culture. The stability and economic productivity of the clan is the organizing principle of society, highlighted by the fact that the roles of clan chief (political leader) and head fisherman (economic leader) are held by the same person. In this framework, the backbone of society is understood to be its captains of industry, those working in economically-prestigious jobs, and their social role is to maintain the economic prestige and exclusivity of the fishing class.

The chapter ends with Diode (having initially been begrudgingly convinced to allow Terra to do the talking) exploding at how the clan chief has been talking down to the both of them. She points out the hollowness of the underlying rhetoric - although it portrays culture as something shaped by struggle and ability to assert one's will, it systematically denies most people from the attempt. While pointing this out, she also mocks the clan chief's skills, clearly relying on the offense to his masculinity to provide the opening for herself and Terra to prove themselves. While the gambit works, the clan chief is clearly setting the terms of a challenge to make them prove themselves exceptional, a task which carries a high likelihood of death.

By the way, the art does a lot of the heavy lifting here. Despite Ahiru Tanaka's slightly cartoony style, he is incredibly skilled at getting the point across through composition. Terra's workplace in the cultural archives is dingy, cramped, and literally disintegrating, and Tanaka's line work reflects this - dense, imprecise, and messy. It really sells the apparent lack of maintenance since the archives were constructed. By contrast, the clan council's chambers is airy, bright, and characterized by cleaner, more precise line work. The difference is night and day, and I think it really helps sell the Endeavor Clan's underlying thinking of exactly where "culture and tradition" are transmitted.

Anyway, I just had to gush a little bit about this chapter, in what is quickly becoming one of the manga releases I most anticipate reading every month.

[cyllres]

Devil | JJK x Makima! Reader

Chapter 38

Once, there was a god—a god of endless power, of cosmic mastery. With a single flick of his finger, life could burst forth in an instant. Stars sprang from his breath, blazing to life across the dark canvas of the heavens; planets flowered beneath his touch. This god, boundless and ancient, was a force of brilliance, stretching beyond one's understanding, a wellspring of wisdom and light whose every word called forth harmony across the cosmos. His voice, gentle yet unyielding, resonated in the vastness—a hymn of balance and serenity.

Yet, despite the majesty, the god was lonely. This god longed for a companion, one who could endure eternally, who could see and understand him. For what worth is glory when it echoes only into emptiness?

First, he created warriors—beings of radiant strength, loyal angels fierce and pure. They were magnificent, but were they truly the companions he sought? Perhaps.

Then, he shaped the animals, creatures to wander the earth. For what would the earth be without life to roam its beautiful wilds? What meaning would lush greenery hold if it remained untouched, unseen? In their vulnerability, he found a quiet grace; in their trust, a simplicity that brought him joy. But who would care for these creatures?

The angels were too divine, too removed. He needed someone like himself, someone who would mirror his essence.

An idea formed. God gathered the finest ashes, and from them, like clay, he shaped humanity. They did not possess the grandeur of angels with their eyes like stars and wings like fire, nor the innocent wildness of animals. No, humans bore a resemblance of him alone.

Humanity was fragile yet strong, intelligent yet forever seeking, wise yet often lost. And so he would be there to guide them, with the angels to protect them and animals to comfort and sustain them, gifts to fulfill his creation’s every need.

Life flourished for a time, peace reigning across his handiwork. But with goodness must also come trial.

As humanity’s journey unfolded, four siblings emerged. They bore echoes of the angels’ splendor yet lacked their divinity, carried the spirit of humanity but not its gentleness. These four struggled, grappling with existence, fumbling to comprehend their roles. But god was patient; he would take centuries if needed, guiding them, nurturing their spirits.

He knew that within these four lay the seeds of challenge and growth, a balance of light and shadow essential for creation. His love transcended mere nurturing—it encompassed fostering resilience, wisdom, and purpose, even through hardship. The four siblings would not be mere harbingers of ruin but agents of transformation, pushing humanity and all life to confront their own limitations and rise above them.

Conquest symbolized humanity’s drive to explore, to seek beyond their reach. In the face of Conquest, humans would confront their desires for control, learning the weight of ambition and the cost of wielding power responsibly.

War embodied conflict, the crucible where ideals clashed and societies reshaped. Through War, humans would reckon with division, learning the worth of unity and the peace that lies beyond struggle.

Famine would remind them of scarcity, of the delicate thread by which survival hangs. Famine would inspire empathy, humility, and the stewardship of resources, grounding humanity in gratitude and sustainable living.

Death, feared by many, was not an end but the completion of a cycle. Death’s presence would deepen the value of life, urging humanity to cherish moments, form meaningful bonds, and find beauty in the transience of existence.

Each Horseman served as a lesson, a trial, guiding humanity to discover strength, courage, empathy, and the wisdom born from struggle. For god, to truly love the earth meant empowering his creation to grow, to evolve, to awaken resilience from within.

But, like god’s beloved first angel, the siblings began to desire more. Each grew hungry for power, seeking to surpass the others, no longer content to share their burdens equally. And so, god made a painful decision.

With a heavy heart, he confined them—not from hatred, for god knew no hatred, nor regret, but from a wish to protect. He would not annihilate them, for they, too, were his beloved creations, his children. Instead, he sealed them away in a realm forged for them alone—a realm filled with the rarest riches, abundant power, a kingdom meant to cradle their ambitions without endangering humankind.

Though imprisoned, he allowed them still to touch the universe, to impart their lessons to humanity. God knows that someday, they will find a way out, might walk among mortals, perhaps even lead them—or even surpass him.

Yet he was certain of one truth: while humans might mirror his image, it was these four who most truly reflected his spirit. Someday, he believed, they would learn to love, just as he had loved them all along.

-

The world around you once again came into focus slowly, blurred edges sharpening as a pulsing headache plagues you, stabbing behind your eyes like needles. Every beat of your heart echoes in your skull, rattling memories loose. Names and faces flash behind your eyelids—Huxley, Camila, Ezekiel, Aurelia, Makima—all swirling in a dissonant symphony. Thoughts collide with fragments of other countless lives, each clawing for recognition, gnawing at your mind like parasites desperate to be known.

Memories—yes, they’re your memories, spilling over one another in a kaleidoscope of chaos, reminding you of who you were, yet leaving you adrift in who you are.

“Dominus meus!” a voice calls, soft and reverent, with a tremor of urgency. You turn, feeling the weight of your head as though it holds the universe itself, and squint into the dim light. A girl kneels beside you, her form delicate and childlike, draped in a shimmering gown that catches the faint glow of your surroundings. She cannot be more than eleven, yet her gaze holds an unsettling intensity, bright e/c eyes fixed upon you with the loyalty of a disciple. In her hands, she extends a chalice—a golden vessel that seems to hum with ancient power. You reach for it instinctively, the cool metal grounding you as you lift it to your lips. Liquid cascades down your throat, crisp and cold, easing the fog clouding your mind.

“I’m glad you’re here, my Lord,” she continues, relief softening her expression as she watches you intently. “I was worried I wouldn’t get the chance to talk to you.” Her voice is a careful whisper, her eyes locked with yours, wide and brimming with something close to reverence. She resembles you, like a distorted mirror image. Your glare sharpens, red eyes narrowing as you examine her, your mind struggling to piece together the past, the present, the truth.

“Who are you?” you ask, suspicion lacing your tone.

The girl smiles, a practiced expression of humility and devotion, bowing her head but never letting her gaze waver from yours. “It may take a while for memories to flood in, especially since you are… mortal.” She pauses, as if the word itself is foreign on her tongue. “But I’m F/n. I—I'm your most faithful servant. Am I… am I allowed to talk, my Lord?”

A subtle nod is your only answer, a signal to continue.

“Centuries ago, you saved me, my Lord!” she says, her voice quivering with emotion. “You offered me a deal, a contract, binding our lives… our existence to each other. You—you make deals, my Lord, and we stay here with you, for eternity.” Her eyes gleam as she speaks, her devotion palpable. “You return as a human, or like your last life, as a devil—Makima, you were in your longest life, spanning centuries.”

“Where did I come from?” you ask, leaning back against the throne. Its contours wrap around you like an old friend, familiar and regal, as though it was shaped to fit only you.

“You—you're a god!” she breathes, voice trembling. “You were crafted by the hands of God Himself, my Lord. B-but He cast you down, alongside your siblings, because He is evil!” Her voice rises with a fervent tremor. “You said it yourself, my Lord! Your father cast you down because He could no longer control you, nor your siblings. He's so selfish.”

A chuckle escapes your lips, low and dark. “I remember now. My father cursed us, confined each of us to our own domains to ensure we would not reincarnate, yet here I am.”

“What was my name again? Conquest? Deception?” you muse, allowing fragments of memories to float just within reach, tauntingly close but blurred. “I always loved being a god… And I miss my siblings—War, Famine, Death.” A warmth stirs within you at the thought, a flicker of twisted affection. “We tried to kill each other countless times, and yet… look at us. Bound but unbroken. They’ll be furious when they learn I’ve found a way to walk among mortals.”

Your fingers traced the armrest of your throne thoughtfully. “But, yes... there are flaws,” you sighed. “These memories, they fade, as each mortal life dims the divine. One time, I was so close, so close to having what I wanted... if it hadn’t been for that boy.”

A flicker of resentment rose as you recalled the obstinate, maddening figure of Denji—the mortal who had thwarted you in your life as Makima

The girl, F/n, leans forward, her gaze softening in sympathy. “My Lord, you can still obtain what you desire… if you fulfill your promise.”

“My promise?” Your eyes narrow, focusing on her with renewed interest.

She nods eagerly. “Yes! You promised to help my brother, Ryo. You swore he would become the strongest. While you were away, I managed to send signs to the living world, hints to guide him centuries ago and even now to his loyal servant. Because—perhaps… perhaps the limitations of your mortality have made it difficult to make you fulfill your promise.”

You frown. “I needed assistance? The bullet was your doing?”

She nods again, vigorously. “Yes, my Lord! The bullets were made out of meminisse. A rare fruit that exists in God's land, it takes centuries to grow but Ryo's servant managed to acquire it.” She explained. “I helped him help you remember.”

“And… Ryo was meant to be your true kin, your family… not that mortal,” she says with a disdainful curl of her lip at the mention of Yuuji.

Your expression hardens, a storm brewing in your gaze. “That mortal?” you echo, your voice laced with venom.

“Yes, that mortal!” she retorts, her gaze emboldened. “Compared to him, you are destined for greatness, my Lord! He’s beneath you, unworthy of your power.”

Her words echo through your mind, and a conflicting surge rises within you. Greatness, dominion… but there is also a lingering loyalty to Yuuji, tangled and messy. You glance back at the girl, her fervent gaze shining with hope as she waits for your response.

“You’re suggesting that greatness would lie in Sukuna?” you ask, your tone unreadable.

You possibly can't love what you want to control. That was a fact. Ryo, or more commonly known as Sukuna, was a product of a promise—a promise born of ambition, not affection.

Perhaps his sister—F/n—had wished for him to get stronger, to be the strongest because she loved him so much. But for you? What is love, when the moment you forged the deal, you saw him not as a family, not as an equal, not as someone to cherish, but as a product of your power? Of a deal?

And it isn't like you could just simply replace F/n. It leaves a bitter taste in your tongue.

Sukuna is fashioned from your power, carefully crafted to be the strongest—a twisted creation shaped by your control. Control? There was no warmth in this bond, only a proud sense of accomplishment that you, Conquest incarnate, had created something so powerful it commanded fear as the ‘King of Curses.’ But that was never enough, was it?

Power was hollow without connection. And what you wanted was something untouchable by control, something sincere—a connection pure enough that the mere thought of manipulating it felt almost blasphemous.

This kind of connection couldn’t be found among your divine siblings: War, Famine, and Death. Between all of you, love was swallowed whole by the hunger for dominance, twisted by the need to conquer. There was no space for tenderness in the endless field of greed. Yet here you were, seeking something wholly different.

You had grown soft, hadn’t you? Soft enough to understand, soft enough to seek the humanity in bonds, to stand by Yuuji’s side not as a conqueror but as a sibling. You laughed at the irony, at those who would call Yuuji your weakness, because the truth was that he was your strength. His kindness grounded you, his innocence tempered your cruelty. He was not a flaw in your armor but the shield against the emptiness in your heart.

To love was to willingly surrender control, to lay yourself bare and unguarded. And perhaps, in the vulnerability of embracing your role as Yuuji’s sibling, you had discovered a softness that wasn’t weakness but strength in its own right.

Maybe, just maybe, leaving things uncontrolled, allowing love to flourish wild and unrestrained, could be beautiful.

She nods eagerly, her eyes alight with excitement. “You desired a family—someone who could understand you as an equal. My brother is the ideal choice. Fulfill your promise, my Lord, and together you would reign over the mortal world!”

The taste of her words leaves a bitter tang in your mouth. “I remember now,” you murmur, casting your gaze around your grand throne room. Its walls are adorned with shimmering gold and glinting jewels, a tribute to your divinity, yet beyond its walls— beyond your kingdom that houses your ‘followers’ lies a decayed wasteland, outside your kingdom—a barren, rotting desert. Here, souls you brought as companions decay slowly, trapped in endless torment, suffering in bodies that will never truly die. It is the curse your father placed upon you, an existence befitting only you.

Your gaze drops to F/n, and a flicker of disdain curls your lip. “I remember commanding my servants to never set foot on my throne’s platform unless summoned.”

She flinches, eyes wide with fear. “B-but I offered you water, my Lord!”

You raise the empty chalice. “And now that it’s done, why are you still here?”

She lowers her head, her voice barely a whisper as she steps down. “Forgive me, my Lord…”

“It’s infuriating.” Your voice is cold, the words slicing through the air.

“My Lord, please, I beg for your forgiveness,” she pleads, bowing.

“Are you the only one here who is still… functional?” you ask, a sneer in your tone.

She shakes her head, voice trembling. “Others from your past lives linger, but they are not yet… worthy to meet you. While the older ones are useless.”

You glare down at her. “I’ve decided,” you announce, your voice final. “I refuse to fulfill my promise.”

F/n’s head snaps up, eyes wide with shock. “What? T-that’s not fair!”

You arch a brow. “Are you questioning me? And did you forget I despise it when the undeserving meet my gaze?”

“B-but, my Lord—”

“Oh, be silent!” you snap, cutting her off. “I do as I please. Your opinions mean nothing.”

Her face contorts, panic etched in every line. “But… that would be betraying me…”

You scoff, your voice dripping with derision. “As if I care. It wouldn’t be my first broken promise. Or do you need reminding that I am also Deception incarnate? The false god?” The words slice through the air, heavy with disdain, and you can feel the weight of your past hanging over both of you like a dark cloud.

Tears spill down her cheeks, glistening like tiny crystals against her skin, as she wails, “It’s not fair! It’s all that useless mortal’s fault!” Her voice trembles with raw emotion, but before she can continue her tirade, you hurl the golden chalice at her with a swift, contemptuous flick of your wrist. The cool metal glints ominously in the ambient light as it sails through the air, striking her face with a resounding clang. The impact leaves a cruel bruise blooming against her delicate skin, darkening rapidly like a storm cloud gathering above.

She gasps, stumbling back, her expression one of shock and pain. The breath is knocked from her lungs, and you relish the moment, the satisfaction curling your lips into a cruel smile.

“Choose your words carefully,” you warn, your voice frigid and laced with an icy calm as you remain seated on your throne, a figure of dominance. You observe her with cold amusement, relishing her distress, the way her small frame quivers beneath the weight of your gaze. The grand throne room, filled with opulence and dark grandeur, seems to echo your authority. Shadows flicker across the gold and jewel-adorned walls, dancing as if they too are afraid of your wrath.

Before you can continue your scolding, a familiar sensation pricks at the edges of your consciousness. You sense your form beginning to fade, the pull back to the mortal realm strengthening, a force you cannot resist. The throne room, with its sumptuous details—the ornate tapestries depicting tales of past glory, the polished marble floors reflecting the muted light—begins to blur around the edges, losing its clarity like a dream slipping away at dawn.

“Wait, my Lord, please! Forgive me!” F/n’s tear-streaked face is the last thing you see, her bright eyes wide with desperation, the innocence of her unwavering faith contrasting sharply with the reality of her situation. You can almost feel the weight of her pleas tugging at your frayed sense of obligation, but it isn’t enough to sway you.

“I suggest you fix yourself before I return. Or, better yet… end your own misery. I have no place for incompetence in my kingdom.” Your parting words hang in the air, sharp and merciless, a final, devastating blow that resonates like the tolling of a bell. The throne room, once vibrant with life, now seems to pulse with an eerie silence, as if the very walls are holding their breath, awaiting your departure.

With that, you vanish, leaving F/n in a shattered silence, her desperate, broken sobs echoing in the darkness, mingling with the remnants of your disdain. The last vestiges of your presence linger like a bitter aftertaste, a haunting reminder of the power you wield and the price of failure in your domain.

“Y-you’ve gone soft my Lord.” F/n whispered. “I have to do something about it.”

[ancientgoddessofegypt]

Hey Queen 💕what do you think the lesson to be learned is of a 2nd house stellium involving Sun in Aquarius, Mercury in Aquarius, Venus in Pisces, and Uranus in Aquarius. Also bonus, my south node is 2nd house aquarius 🙄

2nd house stelliums is a focus on money matters, material status, talents you can profit off of and limited resources, so the stellium in aquarius/pisces highlights it from a space that can go unseen pisces) and through lens pass the present (uranus/aquarius).

mercury in aquarius/2nd house: keen insight on things on the behalf of your resources and things you love/add value in your life. You could have gifts in writing and can be used as a way to create money. Skills related to the hands, or something that gets you going on your feet, could be something related to technology, or even something quirky that makes you stand out.

sun in aquarius/2nd house: this is the area you shine in. the more you focus on creating wealth and a stronger income the higher you will in businesses related to your personal interests. You shine when your values are in placed and knowing what you want for yourself. with the aquarius sun in this house, you have an interesting outlook on life but in a way it reflects back to the things you have control over, which is through the material realm.

Your idealistic personality helps shape you in ways that helps you form a different connection with material security, especially since aquarians can be up in the air a lot. With the stellium it helps this placement gather some more endurance.

venus in 2nd house/pisces : your ethereal beauty shines through this house and can usually show in the voice (taurus naturally rules this house and rules the throat). Creative ability and sensuality shines through this house. Using your money on things related to what makes you feel good is a must, and helps you relax and acquaint yourself to pleasurable experiences. With a 2nd house pisces, things beyond your imagination can present itself into physical form if you allow yourself to think outside of the box in order to receive what it is you wish. This placement gives a strong approach to matters of the heart.

uranus in aquarius/2nd house: a desire to express your freedom and intellect outside of ordinary experiences. alot of 'eureka' moments here and how to sustain security in financial endeavors. Skills could be different, or could possibly challenge you to think deeper, thus leading yourself outside of the box into something totally different from the plan. Uranus in a house that yearns from practicality with its freedom loving nature makes for a pretty interesting house.

i hope this helps :)

[rainbowsky]

GG Esquire Cover Story

A lot of people have written me about the cover story GG did for Esquire magazine. There have been some interesting responses in my inbox, many of which have baffled me a bit, to be honest.

People have asked me for my thoughts on it all, so here they are! 😊

I've been picking away at this for ages, sorry it's coming so far after publication of the article. I have a few things like this in my drafts that are taking me a while to finish writing. I don't have the sustained resources to work on things for very long at a stretch these days.

Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an OPINION piece - my take on the article. I have no special insight, and everyone is free to form their own perspectives and responses. Don't take what I say as fact. It's just one opinion among many.

The photos

I have to start out by talking about the photos, because they truly set the tone for (and perfectly illustrate) the article.

These are not the typical magazine spread photos that a lot of fans are used to seeing. Here GG is practically unstyled. The GG you would see in his downtime. His hair is tousled, his clothing is very casual. His poses are also very casual. He looks like he could be just hanging around his hotel room scrolling through his phone.

These photos are such a gift. They feel so fresh and candid and relaxed. Total Boy Next Door. I absolutely love them.

What a relief to see these photos. Nothing ostentatious or overstyled, nothing aggressively brand-forward (some of what he is wearing is his own personal clothing). Just GG. I nearly fainted. 😅

The article

The original article can be found here, and there is a fan translation here.

My relief in seeing these sweet, casual photos of GG was matched only by my relief in reading the article.

To be honest I'm rarely very excited about the sorts of interviews or stories that accompany these types of magazine covers. They are generally fan servicey puff pieces that cater to a certain type of reader - the kind of people who want to become more invested in an idol fantasy.

They tend to be fairly overtly PR pieces, aimed at positioning the idol in an appealing and often romantic, personable way that makes them more accessible to their fans.

I have often been dismissive of interview statements that other fans have taken to heart, which has caused some friction at times, but what can I say? I think a lot of what's typically covered is awkward, fake and fan servicey. I talk a little bit about that in this post.

I didn't go into reading this article with any particular expectation, except that my expectations were low and I wasn't expecting any surprises. But, much to my surprise, I found a smart, interesting, poetic, uncompromising look at a side of GG that we've rarely seen.

My biggest takeaway from this article was that GG wanted to dampen, rather than fan the flames of, fan fantasies about him; to give people a more realistic sense of who he is and what he's about.

I have rarely been prouder of him than when reading this article. It feels like with this interview he is setting boundaries and putting his honest self forward despite expectations and even demands about who he should be and what he should represent.

Sidebar Rant About Fan Culture

Sometimes I see GG's life as being like an episode of Black Mirror. He is a protagonist who has been strangled by his own fame, in some ways held hostage by people who believe that they made him who he is and put him where he is (despite the role they've frequently played in holding him back).

The situation for stars at his level is pretty crazy. Fans genuinely believe that they know better than their idols what is best for them and their careers, and they will - totally unironically and with a straight face - deliver lists of demands and conditions to their idol and their idol's management team that they expect to be met if the star hopes to maintain their love and support.

These demands can be quite detailed. How they want the management team to be structured, the types of projects they want the artist to take, the types of statements they want their idol to make, etc. It's insane.

And GG's fans have been especially difficult, because they are very deeply invested in old school ideas about fan culture that are no longer viable in the current climate. Pushing traffic, 'comment control' and 'clarification' (aka fan wars), attacking anyone they perceive to be a rival or opportunist or anyone they believe isn't treating GG how they think he should be treated (despite having no access whatsoever to verified information about how he's being treated - i.e. it's all based on their assumptions). Using dirty - even dangerous - tactics to try to harm rival fandoms, regardless of how much that puts GG at risk.

Despite the fact that their behavior has caused problems for him in the past. Despite the fact that he has repeatedly begged them to stop behaving the way they do. Despite the fact that his career has nearly been killed by this type of behavior. Despite the fact that there has been a seismic shift in how fan culture is being treated in China, and despite the policies that have been put in place to curtail some of that behavior. They just don't seem to have gotten the memo.

They have learned absolutely nothing from their past mistakes.

Increasingly, they do not seem to have his deeper interests at heart. At times they appear to be supporting him for their own vanity, clout and sense of accomplishment rather than genuinely loving him for who he is. They seem to take more pride in their ability to bring traffic, out-vote other fandoms and move brand merchandise than in who this sweet, smart man is and what he does.

They actively push some of the most toxic, hateful ideas you can find in fandom. They are some of the key drivers behind the whole 'desperate illiterate' hate campaign against DD, and in so doing put both GG and DD's careers at risk. They are constantly spreading hate and lies about DD and trying to bring scandal upon him. Any time an anti-DD campaign surfaces online, they jump on it and fuel it to the best of their ability.

These are people who have had so many opportunities to grow and change, and emulate GG's kindness and maturity, but have repeatedly failed the assignment.

Being a star can't be easy

I often wonder how GG really feels about his fans. How much of the fan culture mayhem he's fed up with, and how much of it he's taken in stride as part of the job. I know it drives me crazy, but he's obviously got a better perspective on it all and would be a lot more accustomed to it all.

As I said in a previous post, I think we need to treat the idea that he absolutely adores his fans with some degree of skepticism. There's a very real noose around his neck, and that can't feel great. I personally believe he wants to loosen that hold a bit.

With this article GG seems to be saying, "Here I am. Support me or move on, but this is the real me."

He seems to be setting some boundaries and giving fans a glimpse behind the curtain at the real him. He is challenging them to accept him for who he really is, or move on.

I feel like he is taking cautious steps toward loosening some of the stranglehold fans have over his career.

GG is a smart, savvy person. I have no doubt that he is well aware of the assumptions about him. I don't think it was an accident that this interview broke down some of those assumptions.

I love him so much. He continually blows me away with how sharp and tough he is.

Disillusionment and growth

Of course, that's not the entire story of the article. There is some alienation and loneliness here. Frustration and struggle with identity.

One of the most powerful lines in the entire article was when he said that he works for this Xiao Zhan guy as well. When he talks about not knowing anymore which GG is real and which is the persona.

"There are two Xiao Zhans, one of them is here, that’s me. There is another Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Zhan in quotes, but he is probably not me anymore. We are all working for him, including myself."

I admit I was surprised by how fractured he sounded. Not surprised that some of this has happening - that is totally to be expected given his fame - but surprised that he'd talk so openly about it. He's not normally so candid about his personal experience of fame, or about its emotional/psychological impacts on him. In his post-2/27 interviews he brushed off any notion of the emotional burden it was placing on him, for example, even though it would have been understandable had he admitted it.

What stands out to me in all of this is how powerfully he is distancing himself from his idol image and showing a mature, serious, in many ways ordinary person. How boldly he is reminding the audience that there is more to him than meets the eye.

Some might read that as cynical and jaded - the star who is playing the game by performing a role that's separate from himself. I read it as the opposite. I read it as self-actualizing and self-preserving. He doesn't believe his own hype. He is just doing a job, working for this persona, while maintaining his own integrity and independence despite all the pressure to perform and be perfect.

The mountain was such a powerful image. Climbing the mountain as a child and seeing it as this nearly insurmountable ordeal, and then later as an adult feeling like he can take a couple of long strides and be at the top. It is such a metaphor for his career and his success. And that speaks of a certain amount of demystification and disillusionment surrounding his dreams.

It was reminiscent of the line, "Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true" from The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell.

Certain jobs, when taken on, become something completely different from what we thought we signed up for.

I have often been asked why I don't open a restaurant. I always jokingly give them this very earnest and serious answer, "Because I like to cook."

If I were to open a restaurant, food would be among the least of my concerns every day. I would have to deal with marketing, I would have to deal with staff and the day-to-day running of the facility, supplies, vendor relationships, finances and management. Food would be very low on the list of things I'd have time to concern myself with.

I feel like the same has happened for GG. He thought he was becoming a singer or an actor, when it turns out he was becoming a celebrity instead. Those are totally different jobs, with totally different demands, activities and limitations.

He enjoys taking on new roles and learning new things and expanding on his skills and working on interesting projects. I doubt very much that he enjoys managing a persona, or navigating fan expectations, or addressing yet another fan-created scandal. I doubt very much he enjoys being held to the standards the top traffic star position puts him under. I doubt he enjoys the restrictions it places on his career or on his personal life.

I doubt he enjoys the limitations on what he is able to show of himself in that job.

Having the kind of job where you have to hang up your personality at the door like an overcoat every day when you walk in - that's a lonely, lonely world to be in. Soul-destroying.

I have long felt that this situation isn't sustainable for GG over the long term. I have wondered what he will do to shift things into a more comfortable, more stable existence for himself. I feel like this article gives me some ideas about that. And it is a relief to read because I get the sense that he is fully aware of that problem, and working to address it for himself so that he can continue doing what he most enjoys - acting and performing.

We have all had these theories - I'm sure most of us have, anyway - that he is trying to shed the idol image, the 'traffic star' image at least to some degree so that he can be accepted as a serious actor with a serious career.

This is a common career path for idols who want to stay in the industry past their idol shelf life. But it's one thing to believe GG might be working on that, and another to feel like I can see him taking brave steps in that direction.

Some surprises, some not

There were some things that surprise me from this interview, and some things that I was not surprised by.

One thing that really stood out to me is how much his real personality shines through. The smart, witty, intense GG we've all seen in The Untamed BTS and in some of his XNINE activities. It was a surprise. I guess I was expecting to see the persona GG - not the real GG. It was so good to see him that I nearly got choked up.

This is the GG that is very no bullshit; blunt and honest. This was the GG who outed DD for using his own meme pictures or for sending him too many selfies. This is the GG who firmly stated he wanted the het scenes deleted. The GG who was very forthright, clever and affectionately prickly with his XNINE brothers.

GG has said in the past that he is not as sweet and sentimental as his fans think he is, that behind the scenes he can actually be ruthless and demanding. This is the GG we've caught glimpses of and that he is talking about in that statement. The real, unvarnished GG.

I didn't dare hope that he would be so candid. He is usually so image-conscious. Not 'fake' by any means, but conscious of how he is coming across and careful not to offend. But in this article he has brought himself unapologetically to the forefront and for that I love and applaud him.

Another surprise for me was when he was talking about how he handles his inner struggles. I was surprised when he said that he doesn't like to talk through his problems. I had always assumed that - as a very authentic, emotionally intelligent, compassionate, personable person - he would be the kind of guy who would reach out to others during times of need.

Instead he said that he doesn't like to talk about his issues. He had such clear and rational explanations for why that even though I can't relate to his approach, I can understand it. This approach can be interpreted as self-contained, self-sufficient and pragmatic. 'If it can be fixed, fix it. If it can't, set it aside. No point talking about it.'

There's something very Zen about letting go of what you can't immediately change, rather than dwelling on it or digging into ruminations about it.

I also found his rationale for avoiding other people's confidences interesting. He 'doesn't want to be a suspect', he 'doesn't want to be burdened by other people's secrets'. I can definitely see how his approach could prevent people from getting caught up in each other's drama, and his mindset reflects healthy boundaries that can help preserve friendships.

I can see GG's characteristic cautious self-protectiveness in this approach. He's smart, strategic and - based on many things he's said in this interview - quite introverted. This approach serves all those aspects of his personality.

There's that old saying, "loose lips sink ships" and that is especially true for someone so much in the public eye. It's good that he has the sense to keep his mouth shut about personal things.

There is wisdom to that approach. It reminds me of the old nursery rhyme about the owl:

A wise old owl sat in an oak, The more he heard, the less he spoke; The less he spoke, the more he heard; Why can't we be more like that wise old bird?

Having said all that, I don't personally share the same view or the same approach in my own life. I am very much someone who likes to talk things through, and who likes to be a listening ear and a support to others as well.

I think there is a lot to be said for the way this type of communication can deepen relationships, help people better understand each other and become more bonded. Sharing burdens, sharing feelings, sharing confidences. It's riskier but the rewards can be significant.

A lot of the biggest problems in the world come from lack of communication or from crossed wires. Talking with others face to face is a great way to clear up confusion and help people stay connected and bonded.

Being the sort of person people can confide in and who talks about things that are on my mind - this really enriches my life. Although I feel like GG has done a great job of making his approach make sense to me, and even seem appealing in ways.

I want to caution people from over-interpreting these statements from him to assuming GG is uncommunicative with DD. As someone who lives with a partner who is exactly like GG when it comes to 'talking about things', I think it's highly likely that GG has a different approach with those few people who are closest to him. There's a pretty big difference between being emotionally and socially open with friends and colleagues, and being emotional and intimate with a partner.

An ordinary boy

The article focuses a lot on his childhood and some of the nostalgia and memories of his past. It's so interesting and illuminating to read about where he came from, and about the parts of that ordinary boy that survived through to adulthood. The geography of the city and the buildings are used as a metaphor for the changes in his life.

He started out in the factory district, in low grey concrete buildings full of vibrancy and activity, passed through a rainy uphill commute and ended up among shining glass skyscrapers. What a journey he has been on, and he's only 31 years old!

The fact that he's been able to maintain his integrity and authenticity and avoid being devoured by the persona - that's such a testament to his character. He really is the whole package. Smart, strong, determined, sweet, compassionate, ruthless, creative, introspective, pragmatic, down-to-earth, cautious. I have always appreciated his breadth as a person. He is very multi-dimensional.

I've talked about that a bit in the past. It's part of why I feel so frustrated sometimes when fans have really shallow, superficial, fan-fictiony takes on his personality. The sweet, soft-hearted aesthete. The tragic beleaguered victim. The playful, cute, dorky romantic. The sexy, saucy, light-hearted, effeminate artist.

None of these takes can even scratch the surface of who he really is. The more I know about him the less I think I know, but I at least know one thing: he's so much more than fans give him credit for.

Florist GG AU

I wasn't remotely surprised to hear that he sometimes thinks of quitting. Even fans sometimes daydream about him quitting. Getting his life back, getting his freedom back. Living a quieter life. Surely there are many times when he is reminded of everything he is sacrificing to do what he does. Times when it feels like too high a price to pay.

But reading this article, I can honestly say that I feel he is up to the task he's taken on. He really does know who he is and what he wants, and he has all of the integrity, emotional and psychological strength to make the most of this career.

My hope that he will start to shed some of the toxic traffic fans and build a stronger, more enduring, more rational fanbase. That he will begin to break free of the shackles of stratospheric popularity and settle into a more stable, satisfying career as a respected actor.

AND SINGER. PLEASE GG! 🥹

It was such a great article, and I feel like I got a glimpse of something new about him that I did not know, which is so rare. I feel like I've been gifted more insight into him, and I have so much gratitude for his willingness to share that with us all.

Regarding candy

A few people wrote me in a big panic over 'what this article meant' for GG and DD's relationship. They had worked themselves up into a state where they felt that if GG and DD were in a relationship, GG wouldn't have said or felt the things he did in the article.

Glass-hearted turtles will need to transform themselves into tortoise-shelled turtles, or they will not survive this fandom. And frankly, those kinds of takes on things sometimes reflect a lack of life experience or realistic understanding of GG and DD as ordinary humans in a relationship.

Some turtles seem to view everything from or about GG and DD as either proof that they're a couple, or proof they are not, with no neutral content and no in betweens. In short, they look at everything GG and DD-related to see what kind of candy it is. And the thing they need to get through their heads is

👉🏻 almost nothing from or about GG or DD will actually be a candy. 👈🏻

Anyone who has ever been in a serious long term relationship knows, there's actually very little about our day-to-day lives that revolves around our partner. My interests and hobbies, most of my social interactions, certainly everything about my work has absolutely nothing to do with my partner. He almost never comes up as a topic or factor in any of it.

And yet we are happily married, and have been for a long time.

As I am frequently saying, GG and DD are individuals first, a couple second. We need to love and respect them in that same order.

This article is about GG and his career. It's an important article about his inner life experience as a celebrity. It has absolutely nothing to do with DD. I find it baffling why anyone would expect it to.

If you are looking for candy, most of the time you will find no candy. If that causes you pain, you are in the wrong fandom. GG and DD aren't here to give us candy. They aren't here to prove anything. Nor should we be. They don't owe us anything. Certainly not 'proof of life' in their relationship.

If you read that article and didn't get that message, then you missed the entire point of the article. GG was saying to everyone, "I'm not just what people think they see, I'm not just what people expect or what they want me to be, underneath I'm a real human being."

Turtles who remember that, and who are able to love GG and DD as individuals, will be longer-lived and happier.

GG and DD's relationship is for and about them. It exists for each other, not for us. I've no doubt they appreciate the love and support turtles give them, but it's not their job to feed us. It's not their job to be trained ponies prancing around for our amusement. They don't owe us anything. Certainly not any candy about their relationship.

More on fan expectations and black-and-white thinking here.

[snoonz]

نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ

Verses like this نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ is mentioned many times in the Quran. Showing us how Allah is the ultimate provider, alleviating our fears of poverty and needs.

In Surah Al-An'am (6:151), Allah tells us “We provide for you and for them.” This assures us that Allah cares for us and our loved ones, even in our upmost times of fear.

Surah Al-Hijr (15:20) Allah says: “And We made in it means of sustenance for you and others, who you do not provide for.” The world’s resources are gifts from Allah to support our lives.

Surah Al-Isra (17:31) comforts us with: “We provide for them and for you.” Here, Allah calms our worries about provision for our children.

In Surah Ta-Ha (20:132), Allah advises: “We ask you not for provision; We provide for you. and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness” This teaches us to rely solely on Him for all our needs while focusing on worship and prayer to guide us to righteousness.

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:60) reflects: “How many are the creatures that cannot secure their provisions! ˹It is˺ Allah ˹Who˺ provides for them and you ˹as well˺. He is indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing” This reminds us that Allah sustains all creatures, great and small.

Surah Ar-Rum (30:40) states: “It is Allah Who created you, then bestowed upon you your sustenance, and He will cause you to die and then bring you back to life.” It highlights Allah’s care from creation through all stages of life.

In Surah Az-Zumar (39:52), we read: “Do they not know that Allah gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills? Surely in this are signs for people who believe.” This tells us that Allah is in control of wealth according to His wisdom.

Surah Adh-Dhariyat (51:57) reassures: “I seek no provision from them, nor do I need them to feed Me.” Allah provides for everyone without needing anything from His creation. We need Allah. He does not need us.

Surah Al-Mulk (67:15) invites us: “He is the One Who smoothed out the earth for you, so move about in its regions and eat from His provisions. And to Him is the resurrection ˹of all˺.” It encourages exploring the earth and enjoying its fruits as a sign of His provision. His blessings.

These beautiful verses collectively remind us that Allah provides for all of our needs, guiding us to trust in His eternal care because, نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ it is He who will provide for us…

[pearlprincess02]

justin and hailey biebers' composite chart houses

7th house: in the composite chart, the composite 7th house governs how you are as a couple, how much you’re focused on the relationship, how you move together as one, and the other people that you interact with together.

gemini 7th house : with the composite 7th house in gemini, you may be a pairing that interacts with others with logic and intellect, analyzing people’s behaviors and reasoning. you can be intellectually stimulating for other people, and may do a lot of analyzing of your own relationship too. it may be difficult for you to see together when you’re being scattered and unfocused, but you may be around others who are. 

7th house ruler in 2nd house: meeting: likely to meet in a hedonistic or indulgent sort of place. the mall, the spa, restaurants. can meet an a luxurious or upscale place. meeting in a way where you exchange money or goods. meeting at the bank or a financial related place. person: the kind of person who is sensuous, indulgent or materialistic. someone who is wealthy or has money. someone who is grounded, loyal, possessive, supportive. someone “taurean” or “venusian” in nature. relationship: a relationship involving material exchange. someone who supports you financially. a person who give you gifts and sustains your basic needs. having assets together. being indulgent together. through this relationship you create and experience stability.

lilith in 7th: you bring rebellious and intense energy to this relationship. your need for freedom and independence is so great that you may enjoy a long-distance relationship with each other. even as a couple, you both follow your own passions and pursue your own interests. you’re connected around a shared appreciation for each other’s power, creativity and unique traits. yet you are also both easily able to give each other the space you both need. you may become rebellious or resentful if either partner tries to be too smothering or controlling. you may help each other express your ideas and passions openly without judgment of each other’s unique vision and desires.

8th house: in the composite chart, the composite 8th house shows how we use what we have together and share with one another. this house also governs intimacy and sex, so it can also show how we connect on a physical level in romantic partnerships (in a way that may be different from individually in the natal chart).

cancer 8th house : with the composite 8th house in cancer, you may use the resources you have together to create a solid foundation for your relationship and lives together, and to build solid emotional security. you may focus your resources more on your families, and think more about your legacies. you each may bring something important into the pairing from your families. in a romantic relationship, physical intimacy may need to come after emotional intimacy.

8th house ruler in 8th house: you often desire death in your commitment to be blunt. you want every moment to feel heavy, to feel overwhelming, authentic to the bone. as a rule you never get attached until you know it’s the one, you’ve always weeded out the weak and we’re a serial dater-looking for the right match. these natives view commitment as something intense, a holy cleanse. to them giving our heart and soul to someone is one thing but giving them that private aspect, that what is hidden is earned not “given.” years after they commit they’ll still seem like a mystery and they never ever dive in all at once only in pieces and fragments. these natives can often shy away their lovers with their extremes but they’ll likely adore the intense yet prolific passion that exist in every moment. they are intensely possessive and protective once committed not wanting anyone or anything to share in the love they have for you! for them it’s all or nothing, life or death as every cell rushes. sex for them once a commitment is made is all about meeting god and the devil in the same setting.

moon in 8th house: with the composite moon in the 8th house, this can make the emotions of the relationship run much deeper. you may feel like you each bring out the deepest, darkest emotions and issues you have, and it can cause the relationship to feel unsettling and cause more emotional extremes. there is great potential for the relationship to help each of you grow and transform, but you have to deal with the stuff the relationship dredges up for you. this can be a very serious relationship, no matter how casual you want it to be. with the 8th house ruling shared resources and other people’s money, this can be an easier position for a professional relationship.

9th house: in the composite chart, the composite 9th house can show how we expand, explore, and experience life together. The composite 9th house can show how we share our wisdom as a pairing with the world, and how we find meaning.

leo 9th house: with the composite 9th house in leo, you may enjoy expanding and exploring together, and this can be a hobby together. you can travel for fun, learn for fun, and teach for fun together. if you have children together, you can focus on imparting as much wisdom as you can to them. you may want to expand or explore in ways that will be a little splashy or that can get you attention together.

9th house ruler in the 2nd house: great placement for finances except it comes with hard work and stress. you tend to stress over finances and family, even if you have enough you may think it's not. you may feel animosity or harsh feelings from family or have resentment towards them due to some things that happen in your child's if afflicted. you are great at self learning and may even teach others around you, especially co workers. you may have religious and or spiritual conflicts within family over beliefs, faith and morals. religion and spirituality may have a great influence in your family. you may live with your grandparents when young. may have traveled or changed locations when young. people may be jealous over your self taught skills and even family. father may help out financially over bestow their inheritance on you, you could gain well sufficient due to inheritance from family. family may be lucky for you or you can help them out financially if unafflicted. it could be possible that after your birth family started earning a fortune or things got better for them. you may wear spiritual or religious symbols /significations. you may learn a lot from the wisdom of your family, or look up to someone in your family. you could be home taught. you may study subjects like culinary related, finance, banking in higher education. you can do part time higher education with a job. you can earn from religion, spirituality, and occult. you can earn from traveling, languages and foreigners. can work in a multinational company or with foreign entities. there may be animosity with people over wealth. you could stress over education expenses. you may be skeptical of your upbringing. your faith may affect your family life and work life. you could be money minded. competition over family wealth. self disciplined and wise, self righteous. could feel morally, religiously, spiritually superior. religion and spirituality may affect self esteem. father, education type may affect self esteem, opinion of teachers, authority figures, grandparents, gurus may impact your self esteem. you could get argumentative and protective over your beliefs, there could be unwillingness to accept others view if afflicted. 

pholus in 9th house: you are both drawn to each other because of shared vision yet your sense of purpose and mission is likely to face major disruptions. you are both likely to find a balance between focusing on small details and the bigger picture at the same time. you can sense each other’s purpose and mission yet may also have to help each other find clarity in the midst of unprecedented changes. this relationship can be a source of hope and insight as you both face major disruptions. unprecedented changes can interfere with your higher education or interrupt your spiritual beliefs or morals, yet you both help each other to work through confusion and dramatic changes that initially made you both feel unsettled.

10th house: in the composite chart, the composite 10th house can show how you present yourselves as a pair, how you step out into the world together (your public life), and what you work toward together.

virgo 10th house: here we have a somewhat reserved couple with others, but extremely cheerful and expressive with each other. people see that they are serious about the relationship, that they see themselves being with each other for a long time, they see a future together and people trust that they are the right person for this. both stand out for being very hardworking and devoted in the relationship, people can highlight the effort, mutual support and attention they give each other. they see the relationship as something that came to put more order in both their lives and their feelings, they think that they both do well and push themselves to be the best version of themselves. people realize that you both accept each other's flaws and all, and are likely to see a quality of relief and rest in one or both of you when you're together. they give the impression of being able to count unconditionally on the other regardless of the circumstances.

10th house ruler in 2nd house: the activities of the 10th house serve the agenda of the 2nd house. building a reputation, gaining recognition for achievements and finding a vocation serve financial stability, defining personal values and accumulating possessions. you want a career that fits your values. you want a vocation that boosts your self-esteem. your career should provide you with financial security. your career should give you a feeling of physical security in the world. you want awards and recognitions that result in earning more money. you attempt to increase your social status so you can increase your earning power. gaining authority increases your self-esteem. becoming an authority increases your net worth. being considered an authority is a survival need. you become an authority on personal finance. you become an authority on self-esteem issues. relationships with authority figures impact your money making ability. relationships with authority figures impact your self-esteem. your attitude to authority influences your survival needs.

chiron in 10th house: this relationship gives the impression of being something different from any other relationship, there is a quality of delicacy that dominates the dynamics of their relationship, a healing and comforting quality that others notice that the couple experiences when they are with each other. both can help each other to see the future with better eyes, putting aside the wounds of the past that prevent them from growing and taking risks to achieve what they want and discover. although both do not openly show their wounds, people perceive that if they are totally open with the other and are able to help each other. In the same way, both will show themselves as the protector of the other.

11th house: the composite 11th house can show how we come together as friends in a relationship, the groups we interact with and causes you push for together. with the 11th house also ruling change and the future, it can show how change is approached and what future we envision.

libra 11th house: with the composite 11th house in libra, you can be the compromising, pleasant pair in your friendships or groups you participate in, and can be easy to get along with together. you may want friends or groups that you feel are pleasant and won’t throw any drama into your lives together. you may spend time with many couples/partnerships. you can focus on change when balance is achieved.

11th house ruler in 2nd house: good wealth indicator. however, there's a tendency to spend a lot. families may be wealthy. your elder sibling, if any, is likely to help you out financially. your elder sibling may play an important role in the family, could be the sole earning member. you may look up to them. again, friends are like family and have close bonds. this however is more suitable for friends that you make later in life. the 11th house belongs to social circles and friends and the 2nd house belongs to the family and the 2nd house is 4th from the 11th house. your social/political values may either be heavily influenced by your family values or they are completely different especially if rahu/mars are associated. your sibling/friends may play an important role in affecting your self worth. you may have rich friends, could possibly help you in your career and even getting a job. you may live with your friends at one point in life. you may get vehicles from your siblings. it often shows growth in life through the resources of others. if you have a sibling you may resemble each other in looks. if someone interested in singing, this placement asks for consistent practice. shows a comfortable life with good income earning potential.

north node in 11th house: you may both easily help each other stride toward your shared purpose involving dramatic breakthroughs and intense changes. you can both help each other evolve and grow to accept innovative ideas when it comes to expanding your social network and embracing unusual new ideas. through your connection to each other you may feel compelled to explore eccentric concepts that bring you both closer to fulfilling your mission. your shared purpose may relate to driving shocking breakthroughs and changes that may seem unexpected and unconventional. yet you are both likely to help others embrace quirky new ideas because you both champion these breakthroughs so easily.

12th house: in the composite chart, the composite 12th house can show what may be hidden in the relationship, what may play out subconsciously in the relationship, the karma of the relationship, and what needs to be let go of.

scorpio 12th house: with the composite 12th house in scorpio, it may be difficult at times for you to find the passion and intensity needed in the relationship. in times of crisis, you may subconsciously find the passion and intensity needed and you can be very good at finding solutions to very big, pressing problems together when your backs are against the wall, but this can be a struggle to purposefully do together. there may be karmic issues with rage, violence, or war that need to be addressed, and jealousy or hatred may need to be let go of.

12th house ruler in 12th house: somewhat secretive and a hidden, private individual, you may or may not be private about yourself but it may look that way. shows spiritual inclination and to things like occult, and metaphysical world, and the unknown. you may look for the things that are not seen or are out of this world. meditation and spirituality may help you. you tend to be an overthinker and have tendencies to be delusional. you may attract bad fame for your introversion or "different" interests. may like or channel your emotions  into art and music, showing immense talent and creativity. this placement makes great artists, the kind that their talent seems extraordinary or unusual. you may be fascinated by movies and theater. if afflicted have difficulty sleeping or having fixed goals, lack of ambition and determination, laziness, could be subject to mental health issues. intuitive since in its own house, matters of intuition and spirituality are strong. may spend a lot too, you may incur debt if afflicted. may enjoy traveling, could find life changing experiences in foreign land. may seek out spirituality with foreign elements. shows success after hard work. you may be wise related to matters of the heart, healing, travel, life experience, debt, spirituality, philosophy etc. some may take for ascetic life, literally or just so otherwise, many with this choose unconventional and different lifestyles than others, this could be not fitting into traditional life roles, taking to extreme usage of toxic substances, following or giving all into passion projects. shows lower sexual satisfaction or inability to perform if afflicted. if not strong or is afflicted, shows addiction. shows you may often shift interest or don't stick to goals for a long time for them to fructify. suppressed emotions. distress due to hidden enemies or you may feel threatened or attacked a lot. could have many fears. you may feel imprisoned in loneliness or when alone or may be in a foreign land, which is why for many you may not be able to sit in silence or even meditate. you talk to yourself or subconsciously feel trapped or chaotic. 

mars in 12th house: with composite mars in the 12th house, subconscious motivations can be more of an issue in this relationship, and you can have to work on trying to resolve those internal issues you each have before you can have a good pairing. you may feel less driven and focused together on external matters, and instead focus more on intangibles. you may feel that there is a spiritual connection between you that’s difficult to explain.

pluto in 12th house: with composite pluto in the 12th house, you may struggle over power and control in ways that aren’t obvious. it can be in a subconscious way, and you subconsciously want to have all of the power and control. this position can show one person makes all of the sacrifices and the other person takes everything selfishly, so you need to make sure you’re both giving and taking equally. you can transform in profound ways together if you can steer clear of secrets, lies, and cruelty.

celeb's masterlist / moodboard / 1H - 6H

crd:

7h + 7h ruler + composite lilith in houses

8h + 8h ruler

9h + 9h ruler + composite pholus in houses

10h + 10h ruler

11h + 11h ruler + composite north node in houses

12h + 12h ruler

[wishcamper]

The Fifty Years

Here is a short lil bonus chapter prequel to my main fic, A Court of Vice and Victors. No spoilers. And no happy endings. Enjoy!(?)

CW: suicidal ideation, alcohol abuse, sexual assault

The first several years were full of activity, devising and implementing long-term plans to sustain the city through what looked to be a long siege. It was quickly discovered that while they could not leave without disrupting the wards, the citizens of Velaris were perfectly free to come and go as they pleased. Azriel’s network was robust enough they learned the particulars of Rhys’ capture not long after he shouted that frantic message in their minds, when the pulse of magic gushed over them like hot blood. They even managed to get someone inside the mountain, to give him the strength of their love and promises of rescue. 

He sent a single word back. 

Don’t.  

Don’t come. Don’t burn the world down, like he knew they wanted to. Don’t let this sacrifice be in vain.

After that, messengers returned bearing nothing. Eventually they stopped returning altogether.

Still, there were things to do in the beginning, enough to keep the blind panic at bay, resources to inventory and ration, information streams to create. Amren wrote for days on end contacting the other courts and hunting down every lead she could. Azriel recruited and trained to expand his spy network and Cassian assigned proxies in Illyria to make sure the camps didn’t collapse into all-out war in his absence.

Mor did something helpful, she guessed, though mostly she just wandered around the empty townhouse twisting her hands and wondering what the fuck they were going to do.

Her despair set in long before everyone else’s, who seemed to think it was a temporary obstacle, victory well within reach. But Mor saw the blood-red writing on the wall - her gift, to know the depth of a thing for what it truly was.

This was going to be bad. For a long time. Maybe forever.

So it was with hollow words that Mor whispered comfort to the other two, with liar’s hands she brushed the hair from their faces where they fell asleep resting against one another on the sofa in front of the fire.

Hardship has a habit of bringing out the best and worst in folks, and Mor ricocheted from one to the other so fast her head spun. She found herself drawing from that well of golden light within her, showering a scared mother or fretful shop owner with fortitude while her hands were cold and slick with sweat. Flirting shamelessly with a male before slipping into Velaris’ most discreet pleasure hall to fall apart under the female who no longer charged her for the visit.

And the wine was just too easy, from the beginning. Cassian was coping by treating every small success with as much enthusiasm as he could, so he was always game to end up somewhere weird, the right amount of drunk and laughing a little too loud. And it was nice, having him there, his massive frame making the males give her a wide berth. She was safe with him, she always had been, so it wasn’t difficult to overindulge and need help walking home and tumble into bed like a child. To let him yank off her shoes and toss a blanket over her before heading to his room down the hall.

And though he never said it outright, she knew he liked having someone to care for, to fuss over. His natural bent toward monogamy was completely at odds with the realities of his life, especially now, so he split his need, got the emotional intimacy from Mor and the physical intimacy decidedly elsewhere.

Mor loved Cassian in a way that was incorruptible, never marred by something so idiotic as attraction, but sometimes she felt the gap it left between them, like she could never quite get close enough. The nights his eyes flashed at a female across the bar, she felt the curl of dread rise in her stomach, knowing she’d be bumped down the list, always. 

He kept a chamber of his heart closed to her that he’d one day open for someone else, someone who made him walk like that, like he was the best he’d ever be. Those nights she drank alone until the sun kissed the horizon, until she was too dizzy to stand as the world was shrouded in the watercolors of the dawn.

But they clung to each other, with the unspoken rule between the three that only one of them could fall apart at a time. And so it went, year after year.

There’s a time, in a long wait, when the hope dies. When the heart becomes too heavy and sinks into the well of darkness that lurks in all living things.

Azriel hit the wall first, about a decade in.

He shuffled into her room one night, wings backlit from the hall, and muttered He’s not coming back before continuing toward his bedroom like he said nothing at all. After that, he retreated further into himself, his shadows thick and sluggish where they draped over his body like tendrils of limp seaweed. Cassian and Mor fretted over it for months, heads bent low over a flickering candle in the library, searching for anything that could set their brothers free. Az became almost entirely nocturnal in response to their pushing.

And then the rumors began.

Traitor. Murderer. Amarantha’s whore. Nasty whisperings reached Velaris of Rhys and his new role as consort and enforcer Under the Mountain. Mor was sick the first time she heard them, doubled over on the docks of the Sidra while Cassian held back her hair. She clutched his offered handkerchief to her mouth, the wild beating of her heart telling her to run, run, run , with no idea where to go. 

But the eternal bent of all beings is adaptation, and as the years wore on Velaris settled into a new normal. Mor began to forget the world outside the city, as if the beaches of Summer or yawning halls of Day were just a story she’d heard once. In moments she’d think vaguely that her horses at Athelwood must’ve foaled several times by now, that her father was likely pushing his fundamentalist filth on a new generation of females. But none of it felt real, just a passing thought floating by on the inconstant wind. She could only block out the memories of Rhys, until he too became a symbol, frozen in time. 

The forty-nine year curse felt just as false, and she didn’t have the strength to do much more than wait for her final judgment. Guilt consumed her every time the wish for Rhys’ death crossed her mind, if only because it might set them free, and she'd drink until the sharp edges smoothed like glass tumbled in the sea.

Cassian’s fury at their resignation was not surprising but unwelcome all the same. His encouragement quickly morphed to a sense of betrayal, and he raged at her and Azriel, calling them traitors, cowards. When that didn’t work, he begged them not to give up and, while he said it was for Rhys, Mor couldn’t help but feel his knees hit the moldering carpet for his own life, too. Finding them unmoved, he disappeared into the outer edge of the Palace of Bone and Salt, dominating the underground boxing rings and fucking anything that breathed.

For twelve years, they didn’t speak to each other outside of monthly council meetings. Mor started drinking in the morning, as much to brace herself to see them as for the repulsive normalcy of their courtly tasks. All discussion of rescue plans died a quiet death long ago. Amren alone seemed somewhat content helming the city in Rhys’ stead, and at times Mor was even grateful for the female’s callousness if only because she could see the future no one else would.

As the deadline loomed her despair picked up in fervor, a buzzing under her skin that begged for release. So the night she ran into Azriel skulking in front of a pleasure hall she couldn’t help wrapping him in her arms and squeezing with all her might, as if she could hold him tightly enough to snap all their pieces back in place. Their fate would be decided in three months, and it felt wrong to be apart.

They began this time together; it was only right it should end that way, too.

Without a word, Az winnowed them to the fighting rings and pulled a dull-eyed Cassian out by the collar. After a bout of faltering conversation, they ended up on the roof of the townhouse, passing a bottle of wine between them and trading gallows humor at the wreckage of it all. Mor savored the tastes on her tongue, both the wine and the laughter, small comforts at the end of the world. 

They did the same the next week. And then a few days later, and again, until every night culminated in the trio sprawled on the carpet of the townhouse in various states of impairment, sharing the stories they hadn’t let themselves remember in years because now they had nothing to lose. The idea of her own death was a comfort, wishing for it at times in her sleep, at the bottom of a glass. But she was too far gone to be afraid, to feel anything at all, and she’d always been a coward at heart.

So when Mor stumbled in from the street to find Cassian prone in front of the fire reeking of skullcap and sex, it only made sense to lie next to him and place her head on his broad chest. Feeling the erratic thump of his broken heart against her cheek, she closed her eyes and pictured jumping outside the wards, how she might dissolve into ash and float away on the breeze.

“You’re home early.” His voice was thick with intoxication, the arm he slung around her back limp and heavy.

She shifted to look at the side of his face, silhouetted by the flames. His nose had a new crook in it, and she ran a finger over the bump. “Cass?” 

“Mm.”

“Do you love me?”

She knew the answer, but it still set an ache in her chest when he said, “Of course I do.”

“Would you, if it doesn’t end.. If I don’t have the courage..”

Would you please kill me?

“Mor,” His lips brushed the top of her head, and for a moment she felt as his lovers must in the wake of their pleasure, exhausted and held. “I can’t, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can ever give up. I don’t have it in me.”

She knew he was right. It was why she could never follow through on her fantasies, and as Azriel shuffled into the parlor and threw himself on a sofa she knew she’d never give up either. Because the ghost of her hope had lingered after it died, waiting to be reborn.

The hope for hope itself is unkillable, enduring, even as it tortures the heart eternally.

Mor reached a hand above her head and Azriel took it, and she savored the feeling of the scars she so rarely got to touch. “I miss Rhys,” he murmured and the tears overtook her then, the love and despair and alcohol mixing in her blood, the smell of salt thick in the air.

Those final months they spent huddled before the fire felt longer than the fifty years before. And then Rhys appeared on the balcony, sobbing and repeating she’s my mate, she’s my mate.

For a world-stalling moment, Mor thought he meant Amarantha.

But he brought them his savior, and she stayed the course through his agony, through Feyre’s depression, held to the rule that only one of them could fall apart at a time because one day it would be her turn again. Through war, through upheaval in the family she held fast, waiting for another ending that would never come. 

It wasn’t until much later, when she stared dumbfounded as her cousin sold her out to her father, to the male who’d left her to rot, that she realized a truth even her gift couldn’t see. 

The hope only dies if someone kills it.

[sensoryloss]

a nsfw anime smut fanfiction writer followed me and it’s times like this that I’m overwhelmed with joy that these “people” are having their “artistic integrity” as writers castrated by AI.

it isn’t as simple as me not agreeing with the subject matter, but it’s far from being complex. these works are fundamentally total wastes, and the notion that there’s any level of substance or meaning interwoven between narratives is as delusional as the obsession with wanting to fuck a cartoon character to the point you will write 2000 word stories about it.

personal resources spent on its creation (time/energy/money) require additional resources for sustainability (food/water/electricity/technology/shelter) which in and of themselves require another layer of resources (notably money), in order to produce something that is nothing, a complete inverse to creation, which translates to a total waste of resources sustaining a life dedicated to non-sustainability, more than likely being drained from someone else who actually creates some form of real world value but is unfortunately tasked with the role of caretaker for the lower leveled entity it must provide for because of “neurodivergency.”

this isn’t about me not wanting people to enjoy things, this is me stating that this sort of thing is a detriment not only to the life you’ve been gifted with, but the lives of those who are in a position of stewardship to keep the former alive despite the visible squandering of a shared finite cohabitation on this plane of reality, unabashedly wasting life via a feigned pseudo-Stockholmed Munchausen by proxy vampirism.

so the next time you think about writing a short story about getting buttfucked by Naruto, consider the actual consequences of your actions and how you’re not only disappointing those closest to you but actively ruining their lives as well, then think about whether or not you deserve the amount of leniency you’re given to be able to breathe despite your transgressions against the world when you’re truly better suited as food for some remote tribe whose culmination of thousands of years of ancestral knowledge comes in the form of a perfectly sharpened rock for cutting through flesh and bone, a community soon to be wiped out by progress and industry. they’ll truly appreciate your unique mind, tastefully paired with your liver, and maybe then you’ll learn what it means to give your life to creating some sort of value while you provide a nourishing last meal to a people soon to be lost to time, exactly like you and everything you’ve ever written.

gone and immediately forgotten.

[colorblindstories]

Hello again.

It’s autumn in Latvia.

In the North, Nature willingly surrenders and prepares for colder days, for the upcoming winter. As the cold air touches the summer leaves they lose their vivid colors, producing wrinkles, shrinking and eventually surrendering to the final journey, the fall. The winds are inviting the Forests and all its inhabitants to a majestic dance, a ritual of goodbye, a true reminder for everything that needs to pass.

Even the strongest and tallest pine trees are gently bending and bowing in front of the wind as if paying their respect, and then to their positions, standing still and firm. The cracking sound released from their core becomes a song that is calming and humbling at the same time.

The soft moss provides the lushest groundcover I’ve ever seen, almost as if blooming in celebration of the abundant rainwater that’s falling from the sky. The fallen leaves are received with a soft embrace as they slowly dissolve into the fabric of this thick green carpet.

This is the environment where fungi are thriving; with generous amounts of decaying matter available all around, it’s a feast. The most exquisite show-off of colors and shapes, decorating the Forest with their royalty and shining beauty.

I admire those tall trees, outliving human beings by far and being exposed to the elements, to water and wind and to the changing of seasons.

Don’t know for how long my fragile body would resist in those harsh conditions. Being blessed with shelter and food, sitting on muritis, a heated couch I can express my gratitude for this heat that’s coming to me through fire. Another alchemizing power is transforming dead organic matter into heat that can be stored in the mass provided by clay, the earth.

All four elements are present and working together in order to sustain life.

Can I …?

May I …?

I have been hearing this question quite often lately and it makes me wonder.

What or who is this higher authority who’s approval we need to receive before we can perform an action?

I know this person who is asking the question. I understand this one very well, because this one is me.

I’ve been there, desperately seeking out approval to act and to manifest on behalf of my authentic self in the world.

Why?

Because I was afraid.

Afraid of being rejected, ridiculed, punished or excluded.

Afraid of not being good enough, or just enough.

Because I wasn’t sure I am allowed

Because I wasn’t sure I am welcomed.

Because I was waiting for validation.

Because I was living in the realm of right and wrong.

Because I was lacking courage to live in my truth.

Because I was lacking the strength to own my actions and it’s consequences.

Because I thought of others as being more capable, powerful or resourceful and therefore more suitable to take decisions on my behalf.  It took me a while to realize and become aware that by doing by this, I am taking a position of submission, surrendering my power to others.

“With responsibility comes great power” – Arno Ilgner wisely said.

Letting the rain wash off layers of dust from my rearview mirrors it slowly becomes clear how a story that once was the only reality I knew, is becoming irrelevant. It becomes clear how I was denying myself the freedom of expression and exploration by living in a limiting construct of other’s beliefs and definitions, trying to shape and sculpt my identity in order to fit into unfamiliar narratives.

Another leaf  begins its fall.

I could point fingers and easily find someone to blame maybe my upbringing, education, media or society. Yet I would still be spinning in the same circle of who’s right or wrong, surrendering to a higher authority.

Nobody ends up as a winner in that game.

The world doesn’t need more losers.

So much is already lost.

I feel inspired by Nature’s rhythm to let go of whatever needs to go. To move with the seasons, flowing into transformation. Embracing the cycles.

As GREG KIMURA beautifully puts it in his poem Cargo

“You have gifts.

The world needs your gifts.

You must deliver them.”

I find myself being more and more in awe and admiration with the creative power and the beauty that is in each and every one of us and wants to come alive through our personal truth, through our authentic expressions of life itself.

So I say thank you to all of you who create, who are sharing your gifts, who are inhabiting your own lives.

[slayingfiction]

In The Beginning…

This is the premise for the entire universe in which all my stories take place, regardless of theme or genre.

In the beginning, inside the empty universe, nine beings of pure light, cosmically gifted with immense power, flashed into existence. They would be the guardians, dutifully overseeing the natural growth in the vast expanse without interference, and each guardian took their responsibilities very gravely. 

Beings, domiciles, and astral formations began to take shape inside the universe. Slowly, solar systems formed, planets flourished with living matter, and all of existence fell into a cyclical pattern of ever-changing energies. 

As worlds formed, the task of oversight fell short with more places to monitor until it was simply too much for nine guardians to maintain themselves, even in their infinite power. When this became apparent, three thousand seven hundred and seventy nine new caretakers breathed to life. With their arrival came a message, a fact known, but never tangibly presented: none else would ever be created. From this point, energies could only be shaped, transferred and altered, but never created or destroyed. 

Within life grew minuscule flickers of light, the tiniest of flames comparable to the light sustaining the cosmic beings. These flickers, souls, wouldn’t dim or extinguish with life, but would continue past bodily death, marking a change to life, and gifting the living with three distinct selves: the body, the mind, and the soul.  

For a moment, the world held perfect harmony, a precarious balancing act created by thousands of caretakers to maintain the cycle of life and death with the ever-changing energies contained within the universe. 

But moments are fleeting. 

As with anything past, present, or future, once all fell into a homogeneous steady flowing cycle for all caretakers to maintain, someone ruined it.

One particular planet, a minuscule formation of blue and green, captured the immersive engagement of a guardian. This planet contained no advanced life, with the young habitat barely comparable to the riches of environments on other rock formations; its only unique particularity being the mildly advanced adaptability of the living. 

Still, the vast scope of animal and plant life drew the guardian’s attention, and so, for eons, they tended to their oasis till changes erupted in the solar system. A neighbouring planet, rife with a doomed population, began the final phases of life. 

Millions of years of civilizations growing and dying had wasted away their resources till the atmosphere was nearly uninhabitable, and few beings remained. Of the survivors, some managed to escape in long cylindrical metal transports. Life was desolate once the five transports left the planet, but not all arrived at their destination. 

The first two transports arrived at their galactic headquarters, intermingling themselves with the other planetary travellers. The third transport fell into orbit with a cluster of asteroid, and though their ship took some heavy damage, they safely landed on an uninhabited planet they now called home. 

One transport, filled with over two thousand souls, fell back to the surface, devastating a full island, and cratering the land. In an instant, each individual soul released from their bodies, and cycled through to the next phase of their existence. 

The final transport, the last to leave the abandoned planet, made it clear of the remaining atmosphere, but when a kinetic energy ripped through the tail of their transport, the ship narrowly escaped obliteration, and fell into the vast blue of the guardian’s haven. 

Nearly a third of the passengers survived the rough landing. Perhaps it was their desperate determination for survival, or the lucky fact they fell into a beloved environment, but all four hundred and eight beings held importance to the guardian. 

They watched the beings struggle to inhabit the new planet, and within a full moon’s rotation, the populace had halved. Desperately, the guardian wanted these beings to not only survive, but thrive in their garden oasis that’s been tended for years. This desperation, a motive never before felt by any of the light beings, ate away at the guardian until a plan flourished inside their psyche. 

A gift that was more than a gift. This is what turned the tide of the universe’s perfect balance, and changed everything.

The guardian, in their infinite wisdom, believed gifting the beings with power would help them flourish, not only in their environment, but as a species. 

To the remaining two hundred and fourteen souls, the guardian gave itself to them. They did not gift them with abilities, or knowledge, but instead gave their very essence, and let it intermingle with the flickering light of the souls till they were one and the same. 

And what the guardian desired had come to pass; the beings flourished as a species. Notably so, attracting the attention of the other guardians and caretakers. Dismayed, appalled, and thoroughly intrigued by the guardian’s hubris, the fellow beings began to do the same. 

At first, their efforts were in an attempt to balance the power differential. Fear swept through the caretakers, as these beings, with their undiluted power, could rival any caretaker were it not for the corporeal restraints. For this reason, many created their own beings, not by gifting themselves to create life, but by using their power to form and fuse substantial living matter. With time, it simply became that some caretakers wanted to try their hand at creation too. 

Within the first half of the planet’s rotation around the burning star, thousands of new beings lived on the oasis planet, and had caused irreparable damage.

The instigating guardian, fearing for the wellbeing of their beings, created hidden lands for them to live, a personalized safe-haven, while the other creations terrorized the remaining planet. 

A lone guardian, too compulsively hyper-fixated on perfecting their responsibilities to notice the lack of others, had been the only one to not create. Finally, upon noting the changes taking place, they noticed every other guardian and caretaker had done the one thing they were never to do: interfere. 

And no matter what they tried, all but the lone guardian had been tethered to the planet. Outraged, the beings unleashed their anger on the planet’s primary guardian, banishing him and his creations to remain in the secondary life cycle, while the others rested in the blissful harmony of the final cyclical stage of the solar system. 

The lone guardian had all creations sequestered to an alternate dimension, where they could safely cohabitate with each other, and leave the planet to recover in peace.

And thus began a rippling change that sent waves throughout the entire universe.

-Willow 💜