#like the rain and water cycle references

[empyreanmirror]

Consciousness is alluring. The truth and the core self are like a lover undressed; you know only you will see them this way, and that when the world looks on they will see creases in fabric and face, a friend, an option. But you, when you trace your hands upon that true reflection, will know the rawness of skin and the taste of flesh that will linger through every moment you are away, and your internal eyes will forever be imprinted with their sweet perfume that only you know they wear in bed.

[arjwrites]

Times You Threatened to Kill Dean Winchester- Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: A brief account of all the times you wanted to kill a certain hunter.

Warnings: Language, character death, thoughts of suicide, references to sex, threats... A good mix of fluff and angst! Word Count: 2.3k A/N: This one was a labor of love! I have a few other fics in the works as per a few requests I have received, but this one was speaking to me tonight, so I sat down to write it! Please enjoy- in the meantime, your requests are coming soon! <3

-

“Dean Winchester, I could just KILL you!” 

You were extremely familiar with the Winchester boys’ prank wars by now. You had been witness to a few different cycles of this behavior over the many years you had known them- in fact, if someone were to dig through the old cardboard box you kept hidden in the spare room at Bobby’s, they’d probably find a few faded teenage pictures of a bald Sam after Dean snuck Nair into his shampoo, or a sleeping Dean with some sharpie-d enhancements adorning his face. But up until now, you had always kept to the sidelines. Time and time again, you claimed Switzerland to avoid their shenanigans, because it always got way too out of hand.

But today, when you climbed out of bed, still groggy with sleep, stepping into the bathroom of your shared motel room, an entire bucket’s worth of ice water that had been balanced atop the door came crashing down on you. The sensation sent a shockwave through your whole body, and from the noise that escaped your lips, you would’ve thought you had been shot. And to add insult to injury, the bucket itself smacked against your head on its way down. 

So to start your day, you were soaking wet, freezing, pissed off, and nursing a swelling bump atop your head. A blind rage filled your body. You knew it had to have been Dean, it was his turn to retaliate after Sam had messed with the stereo in the Impala so that it only played Barbie Girl. It had been a long, silent ride home after last night’s hunt. 

“Dean Winchester, you are a dead man!” The words came bursting out of you as you stormed your way out of the bathroom.

“What did I- Oh my GOD. That wasn’t for you.” Dean’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head. He knew he had fucked up. 

The first thing to go flying across the room was the bucket, which nailed Dean in the chest with an anticlimactic thud. You followed close behind it. At full speed, you sprinted into Dean, knocking him back onto the bed behind him.

“Get off me! You’re soaking wet!” Dean protested, throwing his arms between you two in an effort to shield himself. 

“Yeah, how do you like it?” You weren’t going to back down. 

So that is how you ended up wrestling with Dean. You put up a surprisingly good fight for a lot longer than you expected, able to overpower him via sheer force of will. Once Dean got his bearings, though, he flipped you over, hovering on top of you and pinning you to the bed by your wrists. You held an intense eye contact for a brief moment while you each caught your breath. In doing so, you came to the mutual realization that this was ridiculous. You didn’t know who cracked the smile first, but as Dean’s grew, so did yours, until you were grinning like idiots and erupting into laughter.

“You know, this isn’t what I meant when I said I wanted you wet and in my bed,” Dean raised his eyebrows and tossed you a sly wink.

“Yup, I’m doing it. I am killing you.” 

-

“Dean I swear to God, if you keep me cooped up in this motel room for one more minute I am going to lose my mind.” 

“Would you relax? Sam and I are almost back at the witch’s house. We’ll gank her, it’ll reverse the spell, you’ll be right as rain.”

“God I hope so. This is driving me up the wall. I will never watch another second of daytime TV after this.” With the press of a button, you hung up the phone and tossed it across the room onto the bed. This was getting seriously old.

While taking on a vengeful spirit case, you and the Winchesters had run into a particularly pesky witch. Long story short, she cast a spell at you, and none of you could figure out what it was. It was driving you crazy, and what was driving you crazier was that the boys had locked you in the motel room for two days while they tracked the witch back down. All around town, all over the area, until they finally caught her trail heading back to her own house. Where they had started.

The problem was, you felt fine. You really didn’t think there was anything wrong with you. You wanted to get out there and help them, do some research, go to the damn grocery store, literally anything. But Sam and Dean had insisted that the safest thing for you to do was to stay behind. We don’t know what she did to you, Y/N. It could be dangerous for you to leave. It’s better if you stay here and do absolutely nothing. It made sense, to an extent, you just weren’t very happy about it. 

After a few hours and several more episodes of the most mind-numbing daytime talk shows you could imagine, you heard the sound of keys jingling and the motel door creeping open. In came Dean, wearing a strange expression on his face. If you hadn’t known any better, you would’ve thought it was fear.

“So? Ding dong, the witch is dead, I don’t have to blow my brains out?” You asked, more than ready to be done with the whole fiasco.

“Um.” Dean was avoiding eye contact. His hands slipped into his pocket and he sucked in a long, sharp breath.

“Dean.” 

“So, uh, maybe…” He slipped a hand across his mouth, stalling his words. “Look, you might have to stick around here for one more day. We uh, think she might be in the town over, but we kind of lost her trail.”

On the car ride back to the motel, Dean had prepared for you to react by yelling, screaming, hitting, anything to unleash the anger he knew was coming. In fact, that was why Sam had waited in the car- to give him a little time to break the news. But in front of Dean was something much, much scarier. Your jaw was clenched, your gaze was distant, and your eyes narrowed. You were just… sitting there. The silence lasted for what felt like ages. It was enough to send the man spiraling. Finally, you looked up.

“Dean?” 

“... Yes?”

“You better kill that witch tomorrow before I kill you.”

“Duly noted.”

- 

Losing Sam had been just about the worst thing that could have ever happened to any of you. Watching him fall to his knees after Jake backstabbed him, Dean cradling him as the life finally slipped from his body… It brought you to tears just thinking about it. You had loved Sam like a little brother. But as much as it tore you up inside, his death had happened. So goes the life of a hunter. It was time to let Sam rest. 

Dean, however, had still refused to make peace with the loss of his brother. It had been several days and Sam’s lifeless body was still laying out on a mattress. Dean just couldn’t let go. You and Bobby had begged him to let you lay Sam to rest, but he simply wasn’t having it. Dean was angry, defensive, and hurt, far deeper than you had ever seen. After conferring privately with each other, you and Bobby figured maybe it would be best to give him a little time alone with Sam, for closure’s sake. 

So a day later when Sam Winchester, live and in the flesh, waltzed into the room to thank you and Bobby for patching up his wound without so much as a second thought, your heart dropped like a rock. The feeling that washed over you was worse than any grief you had felt this past week. Of course, it was amazing to have Sam back- it felt like a miracle. But miracles don’t just happen, especially not to Winchesters. And when you looked to Dean, he refused to meet your eyes.

Not wanting to alert Sam of the situation, you made an excuse to get Dean to follow you outside. You trudged as far as you could in silence, you not daring to look in his direction, until you knew you were out of earshot from the house. 

“What did you do, Dean?” Your back was still turned, and your voice was hardly a whisper. You were surprised Dean could hear you at all.

“Y/N-”

“What did you DO? How long did they give you?” The question ripped from your chest, but you weren’t sure you were ready to hear the answer. 

“A year.” 

One year. You dropped to the ground. The gravel dug into your skin, but all your senses were numbed with hurt. You wanted to ask what made him think he could do this- to Bobby, to Sammy, to you? But when you opened your mouth to speak, the ache that resonated through your chest stifled the words.

Dean slid down next to you in silence. He wrapped a single arm around you, and you leaned your head into him. All you could do was cry silent, heavy tears. For what felt like hours, there was nothing you could say. The pit in your stomach swirled back and forth from anger to despair to fear, culminating in a blinding nausea. You looked up at Dean, who simply stared straight ahead. There was a staggering coldness in his eyes that drove the knife further into your core.  

“God damn it Dean Winchester, I could just kill you myself, right now.” 

“You’ll have to get in line, sweetheart.” 

-

If you thought a few days without Sam had been bad, four whole months without Dean was your own personal hell. After Dean’s time was up, you couldn’t bear to be around anyone who reminded you of him. You hadn't spoken to Bobby or Sam or any other hunters- any other people, for that matter. You had practically dug yourself a grave, isolated from the world around you, lost and in the dark. 

This was the worst hurt you had ever felt in your life. Four months later and the wound in your heart was just as fresh as the day it arrived there. Every time it began to heal, one wrong move and it started aching, throbbing, bleeding again. But at this point, the pain was all you had left of Dean. So you let it bleed. 

The knock on the motel room door did nothing to stir you from your place in bed. It had been days, maybe a week, since you had risen for anything but your basic needs. You had called the front desk to extend your stay multiple times, running up a scammed credit card Dean had probably given to you at some point. There was nowhere else for you to go, so you laid down weary roots right here. 

The knock persisted but you remained still. It could’ve been the police, the president, or the pope and you couldn’t have cared any less. Go away. There was a clanging noise followed by the shifting of the lock’s mechanisms. Whoever it was, they were breaking into your room. A few months ago, you would’ve jumped into action, but all of your hunter self-preservation instincts were long gone. Whoever it was could come in and take whatever they wanted and shoot you dead in the process. Maybe they’d be doing you a favor. 

You rolled over in bed as the door creaked open, prepared to lay eyes on whoever was here to bring your demise. However, you were met with the one face that could have coaxed you out of the bed. The face you hadn’t seen in four months. The look in his eyes teemed with love and longing, which made your stomach churn. 

“This is a real sick joke.”

“No, Y/N, it’s-” 

For the first time since before Dean’s death, you snapped into hunter-mode, rising to your feet and snatching holy water and a knife from the bag under your bed in the process. It was a little slow, a little clumsy, and clearly a bit out of practice.

“You know, I was about to let whoever you were come right in and kill me. What reason do I have to stick around anymore? But this- this is just sick.” You laughed- your first laugh in months, and yet nothing was funny. 

“It’s me, Y/N, I-”

“No. I’m going to kill you now.” And you lunged, splashing holy water with one hand and thrusting the knife with the other. 

When Dean caught your hand before the knife could strike him, twisting your arm to defend himself from your lackluster attack, it took you longer than it should have to realize that the holy water hadn’t fazed him. Before it registered, you struggled against his grasp, but months of malnutrition and stagnant muscles had left you weak. You cried out as you fought, before fully dissolving into tears and dropping the knife in a mix of defeat and acceptance. Dean placed two heavy hands on your shoulders as if to ground you back in the moment.

“It’s me. I swear.” The beads of holy water that rolled off his face paralleled the tears that rolled off yours. Your hand reached up to wipe a droplet away- partially out of habit, partially to test that he was real, that he wouldn’t disappear at your touch. He didn’t. Instead, both his hands planted on your face, matching your movement. 

“Oh, Dean.” That was the only way you could express it. Dean. Here, real, standing in front of you, and not a demon. Just pure Dean. 

“Hi sweetheart,” he whispered, and it felt like home. He pulled you into a gentle hug, as if he harbored the same fear as you- that you may disappear beneath his very touch. But you were real, and so was he. You wouldn’t disappear, and neither would he. Dean was back, and because of that, you were back too.

“Good thing you didn’t kill me, right?” 

[gothic-aesthetic-gal]

Old Scars (Part 8)

Ledger!joker x reader

Fem!reader is kidnapped by the joker and his henchmen while just trying to get a moment's reprieve from her boring, soul-destroying job ✨️

Tw: I mean, we all saw TDK, right? I'd say this is on the same level/rating. Kidnapping, violence, mentions of minor characters (not J) being misogynist/threatening SA, reference to past traumatic injury. Some slightly blurred lines in this one re:touching without consent and threat of violence. Beyond this i'm not sure, i'll update these when I write more.

Part 8 -

I began to open the drums and inspect their contents. One of the dryers had recently finished its cycle and quickly looking around, seeing no cameras, I dragged the clothes out. Rifling through them I pulled out a gray gym sweater. Looking down at the dishevelled wreck of the man before me, I felt a strange mixture of emotion. I didn't know exactly why I was doing anything to help him. It made no logical sense. Soon I stopped trying to unpick the threads.

"You should put this on... if we don't clean you up, even in this neighbourhood, you'll stop traffic," I muttered, handing him the warm sweater.

I slipped out of his coat and inspected my own t-shirt. It was covered in his blood and dirt from the alleyway, and soaking wet from the rain. I found something clean to replace it with and hurriedly peeled it off.

"What's the hold up?" I asked getting rapidly to the end of my rope.

I caught his gaze fixed on my body for a moment out of the corner of my eye but ignored it, stuffing the baggy black sabbath t-shirt over my head. Once that was done, I turned back to him.

"My shoulder..."

I frowned in confusion.

"It's dislocated, you need to put it back," he clarified.

"I can't do that! Do I look like a nurse?" I scoffed.

"You have to," he said flatly grabbing onto me with his usable arm.

I wondered what would have happened if I had grabbed the injured one back in the alley...

"I'll try," I conceded.

He placed one of my hands on the top of his shoulder, and the other at his wrist.

I felt sick as I slowly increased the downward pressure via my grip on his wrist. Just as I was about to give up, I felt his whole arm shift. His face twisted and then relaxed as it popped back into the socket and he let out a strange kind of groan. After a moment's pause he tentatively started to move it around, testing it out. Then he began trying to undo his shirt but was evidently still struggling with his injured arm and we didn't have time to waste, so I moved his hands out of the way and frantically undid all the buttons myself. The familiar smirk returned to his face as I did it and began to tug the shirt away from his body.

"Push down here, and pull... gently," he grimaced.

"If you're that desperate to get my clothes off, you could have just asked me, doll," he grinned.

I rolled my eyes disdainfully and helped him slip his suspenders off both shoulders to hang loose. Trying not to hurt him more than necessary, I helped him get a t-shirt and the sweater on, before pulling the suspenders back up over the top of it all.

One of his eyes was rapidly swelling shut, and his face was a total mess. The rain, blood, and facepaint had turned his features into even more garish nightmare fuel than usual. I sighed, trying to think what the next move should be as I put his coat back on myself.

"We can't stay here, the store owner will be back soon..." I said, matter-of-factly, as I approached the empty desk.

I found a roll of blue paper towel and brought it back to our temporary hiding spot, using it to dab at his face.

I guessed from his silent complicity that he was in a lot of pain, even if he was determined not to show it. The rain water in our hair helped as I continued to frantically wipe away our makeup and his blood. I couldn't get all of the black greasepaint off around his bad eye, and his nose was still bleeding, though much more slowly now.

"That will have to do, people will probably just assume we're junkies and cross the street anyhow," I said tossing all the paper in the trash can and the clothes back into the dryer.

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of the heavy coat as we slipped back out into the shadowy street. The rain had thankfully eased off to a fine drizzle as we continued down the street to the corner store. It felt incredibly surreal to be not only wearing the joker's coat but be carrying a stolen police officer's handgun as I entered the store. I had asked my strange companion to stay hidden around the corner, and was a little suspicious when he seemed to agree to this without any argument.

Wasting no time, I dug out the wad of cash i'd found in the right inner pocket, wound up with a rubbed band. I didn't know how much was there, but I could be fairly sure it was mob money. There was something funny about spending what little of their cash reserves remained since J had started to steal from them and destroy the dirty cash. I grabbed a bottle of whisky, a bag of frozen peas, a roll of electrical tape, a pair of cheap plastic sunglasses, and pack of cigarettes.

The guy behind the cash register looked me up and down suspiciously until I slapped a hundred dollar bill on the counter.

"Don't ask questions, Raj," I said firmly.

His eyes widened a little as he hurriedly rang me up.

I grabbed a couple of packets of chewing gum and a candy bar from the boxes next to us for good measure.

"Keep the change," I said finally, gathering up my spoils, tossing them into a stray carboard box nearby and calmly exiting the store.

Next, I slapped the bag of frozen peas into his hand.

Finding J leaning against the brick wall at the side of the building, I unscrewed the whisky bottle, taking a swig myself and then handing it over so that he could do the same before I put it back into the box. The burning heat of the alcohol was oddly pleasant in the cold night air and I knew for now it would help a little with the pain.

"Hold that on your eye".

Slowly, he did what I told him to, looking at me with an unreadable expression.

"You know, I've always hated peas," he muttered.

I laughed a little.

"Well i'm not telling you to eat them, am I?"

The faintest hint of a smile flashed across his face.

I pulled out the cigarettes and placed one in his mouth for him, since his good arm was occupied. Withdrawing the lighter I lit it up and he took a long drag. After a while I took it back.

"You don't smoke?" He asked, watching as I held the lit cigarette for him but didn't put it to my own lips.

"No," I shook my head.

"An expensive habit," he said flatly.

I nodded, but my mind was elsewhere.

"As much as I hate their guts, I hope the cops made it out of there... I'm sorry about your apartment though," I sighed, the events of the day finally starting to catch up to me.

"Don't be sorry about that, that'd be a wasted emotion. I have other bolt-holes scattered around," he said, blowing smoke into the cold air.

"I know but I did just literally set fire to your apartment," I said, slightly disbelieving of the words as they left my own mouth.

He chuckled.

"I always did like fireworks."

I said nothing, feeling again like I was in some kind of strange dream that I kept expecting to wake up from at any moment.

"You're turning out to be a little pyromaniac - and a sharpshooter. In fact... you make an excellent criminal,"

He grinned, before bending down to take the cigarette into his mouth again.

"Don't get too excited, I'm not about to go and blow up city hall. It was just to get us out of there." I said, refusing to rise to his obvious bait.

"And here, I thought you hated me, but it's not eveyday you find a girl who will set fire to a bunch of cops for you," he said with a grin.

"Alright, well, now I wish i'd just set fire to the whole lot of you," I snapped, deliberately slapping his sore arm.

He flinched and laughed at me as I took the cigarette back and stubbed it out.

I sighed, not knowing myself why i'd done what I had. Sometimes it was better not to try and perform a post-mortem on all my feelings, it was an exhausting thing to do instinctually all the time.

We continued on down the next few streets, me with the box under one arm, him stumbling along with the peas still clutched to one side of his face. Suddenly we came across a dingy looking doorway, with two guys leaving. They were carrying a large cage between them with a piece of carpet thrown over the top, disguising the animal that was inside. Behind them was a third man, with a particularly vicious looking pitbull on a metal chain. The dog was muzzled and had all kinds of old injuries.

I realised that it must have been put through the underground dog fights and gestured for J to stop walking for a moment until they passed by. Retracing our last few steps I caught the closing door before it latched and peered into the hallway they'd come out of. There was a faded sign by the intercom panel outside that read:

V. Green

Vetrinary Surgeon

I beckoned J over and slipped in through the unlatched door. As we made our way down the dark hallway, stepping over piles of old mail which had never been redirected, we reached a small green painted room. It had three chairs in it and one of the panels of the drop ceiling was missing. There was some kind of air conditioning unit rattling away and the vinyl floor was peeling up in the corner. There was also a little podium, or sort of desk area, which I guessed was in place of a reception set-up. I dinged the little brass bell a couple of times and waited for a response.

I heard the door unlatch and a short, balding, middle aged man with large round glasses poked his head out into the waiting room.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a tone which really communicated more that he expected us to get lost as soon as possible.

"Uh, yes. I have, er, a dog that needs urgent medical attention," I said hurriedly.

"No, no. No walk-ins. Appointments only," he said, emerging to try and walk us out.

J looked at me as if to say 'really?' But I ignored his obvious disdain for my plan, darting between Mr Green and the exit to the hall.

"Ah yes, well, I know it's inconvenient us dropping in here without ringing ahead but you see, it's really an emergency," I lifted my sweater to flash the handgun I had stashed in my waistband.

His eyes widened as he understood my meaning.

"I'll pay you well, but I really could use your help right away," I added, withdrawing the gun and motioning for him to lead us into his surgery.

He backed in slowly, looking very apprehensive and once we were all inside, J closed the door behind us.

"Now, I know you deal with dogs that have been in some terrible fights," I began pointedly, letting him know I'd worked out that he was used to shady, off-record interactions.

"You're part of... the families, I deal with?" He asked hopefully.

I shook my head.

"No. No relation."

"Okay," he said, looking very uncomfortable, "then what kind of dog is it?"

"Oh," I said, turning to look J up and down, "a dangerous one".

"Does it bite?" Asked the Vet, pointing towards a muzzle hanging on the wall.

I failed not to laugh a little.

"Oh, I wouldn't put it past him but I don't think you'll need that."

Mr Green looked confused.

I used the gun to motion for J to take a seat on the metal exam table. He looked extremely unamused but did it anyway. Mr Green's eyes got even wider.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, losing patience.

"Well, I'm not... I haven't dealt with this breed before," he stammered.

"I'm sure you'll have some transferable skills," I pushed back.

J was staring directly at me as though he was imagining flaying me alive in vivid detail. I tried not to let it get to me.

"His shoulder got dislocated, I think it's back in place but can you check?"

Mr Green shakily gestured for him to remove his sweater and t-shirt and tested the range of motion of his arms, squeezing the joints. I found myself strangely fixated on J's shirtless form, spotting more than one scar from much older wounds. I wondered for a moment if he'd got them at the same time as the ones on his face, but resigned myself to never asking. He was fairly lean but with a surprisingly athletic frame. I watched closely as his arm and shoulder muscles moved and flexed with the vet's guided movements of them.

"It's back in but I think it needs a sling, it will be sore for a while yet" he said, bringing out the necessary bandages to make one.

Before he could focus on that though, he noticed something else on his exposed back.

"This will need dealing with first though, it's is pretty bad."

"What is?"

I moved round to see.

There was a fairly deep cut over one of his shoulder blades and a series of smaller cuts and grazes all over his back.

"Jesus, did you go through a window?" Muttered the vet.

"Glass coffee table," I answered flatly, knowing J was not going to.

He set to cleansing the wounds and even had to pull some remaining shards of glass from the biggest one. In addition to all the cuts his body was rapidly turning black and blue all over. I felt vindicated for bringing him here even if he hated me for it - it wasn't exactly like he could walk in to a hospital.

Once they were cleaned up, the vet injected a local anasthetic and began to stitch him back together. As he tied it off and cut the thread, he nervously addressed us.

"It's hardly my neatest work, and I'm not trained how to make it neater than is functionally necessary for animals..."

"What do you mean?" I asked frowning.

"I mean, it's definitely going to leave a noticeable scar, I'm sorry," he looked terrified as he broke the news.

J looked back over his shoulder to the vet, as did I. Then our eyes met each others' and we couldn't help but laugh at the stupidity of what he'd said.

Mr Green looked deepy unnerved by both of us erupting into fits of giggles, so I felt the need to explain, since he was clearly missing the obvious.

"I think we're already screwed in that department doc, so I wouldn't worry yourself," I said, gesturing to my face.

He suddenly looked mortified as it dawned on him but I quickly shrugged it off and we helped put the t-shirt and sweater back on J's torso.

Mr Green hurriedly strung his arm up in the sling as J casually hummed some unintelligible tune to himself as though he wasn't in major pain.

"Is that everything you needed me to look over?"

I glanced down at J's fingers, recalling how hard the tall cop had stomped on them.

"Has he got any broken fingers on the bad side?"

One X-ray later and it became clear that there was a clean break in his pinky finger, and another hairline fracture in the ring finger. He taped them with a splint in so that they could heal properly. Anxious to be done with the whole interaction, Mr Green suggested he didn't require payment if we just left without any trouble, but I still laid down 300 dollars on the table as we made our way back out into the hall.

As soon as we were back out in the street I heard the door close and the click of several locks from inside.

There we stood, just the two of us in an empty street. It felt as though this neighbourhood was the last stop at the end of the world - with so few signs of life. There were only the handful of flickering neon signs, surrounded by so much decay. I took the sunglasses out of my box and put them on.

"What now?" I asked, finally cutting through the heavy silence.

He looked down at me with a hum of indecision.

"We can go to one of the other places I use to lay low, but soon I will have some social calls to make."

His face was possibly the darkest I'd ever seen it look, even without his makeup, and suddenly I realised what he really meant by that. At least one of his men had tried to sell him down the river. There was something so - final - about his expression, unwavering conviction and rage bubbling up, just boiling away like the brewing of an oncoming storm. He looked gravely serious. The one, or ones, who had betrayed him were dead men walking; there was no doubt about it. I shuddered a little, and wondered if I had made the wrong choice by running with him. None of this could end well...

It was as though I was beginning to break out of the strange fever dream I had been locked in. I began to think that I should run. Now was my best chance, why go to a new location with him? He was already sucking me down into his bloodstained world of criminality. I could get off at this stop and save myself. The thinness of this little reprieve struck me to my core; it was now or never. Time to jump ship.

"You're suddenly awfully quiet," he said, slowly and deliberately accentuating the final 't' sound.

My eyes darted around as though there might be someone to intervene. How could I have been so stupid as to help him?

He grasped my upper arm with his uninjured one and backed me into the rusty shutter of an abandoned storefront which was covered in a riot of faded graffiti. I began to panic.

"You weren't thinking of running away somewhere, were you?"

I shook my head pleadingly, struggling to find any convincing words. He pulled the sunglasses away from my face, folding them up and stuffing them into the box, which he also pulled out of my grasp, setting it on the windowsill beside us. I was still trapped against the shutter.

"Espescially not in my coat," he continued, grasping my arm painfully tightly again, the dark fire finding its way back into his eyes.

Even without the makeup, the look he gave me still ran a chill through my body.

"No, I mean, I thought about it - but I won't!" I said desperately, hoping that a shred of honesty was better than an obvious lie.

He was silent for a moment, leaning in agonisingly close. So close, I could feel his damp hair and his cheek brush against mine as he whispered in my ear.

"Good, because after everything you've done for me, I'd hate to have to kill you."

As terrified as I was, some tiny part of me felt... excited to have him so very close to me. Some deeper, darker part of me wanted him closer still, crushingly close.

It was as though he sensed this, despite my shame and inner struggle to bury the feeling, refusing to admit it even to myself if I could help it. He drew back and his eyes roamed over my face, falling to my neckline. He tugged the neck of the t-shirt down to expose the bruises his hand had left. I looked up at the dark sky above us, unable to look him in the eye.

He pressed his body up against mine and my breath caught in my throat as I felt his lips brush against my ear again. His breath was burning hot against my ice cold skin.

"I left quite a mark on you," he said with an air of sadistic satisfaction.

"And I nearly broke your nose for it, do you really want to start down that road again?" I shot back, suddenly finding my lost voice.

"There's that fire, I like that," he purred, sliding his hand from my neck, down my sternum, all the way down to the waistband of my pants. I felt dizzy at his touch but my brain was screaming at me to stop this car crash.

Before I could move to push him off me, he withdrew suddenly.

"I'll keep hold of this," he announced, holding up the handgun that he'd just taken from me.

I glared at him in anger as he grinned back at me. It seemed we were going to be locked in this insane tango for a while longer. It felt like I was dancing with the devil himself.

Link below for the other chapters:

Dividers by @strangergraphics

[talonabraxas]

Ehecatl : God of Winds

Ehecatl: Ignite your Passion

Ehecatl-Quetzalcoal (Ehecat) is the Aztec God of invisibility and intangibility who oversees the mysteries of passion and love.

In order to fully understand adult love one must experience loss in a personal manner. This takes place at all levels in our life. Last week the day Winds of Spirit arrived by UPS, I experienced a few losses as well: the front gates which house my former Healing Arts Center were stolen; my boss who provided the space to write the book took a new job at another company; and a tenant is leaving. Winds seek balance, and intensity will always swing towards disappointment or lethargy, then back again.

Seeds of passion sometimes grow in the ashes of disappointment, and later blossom into fragrant spring lilies. Like the wind, love, passion and relationships are also mysterious forces.

Aztec cosmology is built on the framework that there are five suns. Each sun represents a creation story in which humans are born, sustained and destroyed by the elements of nature; earth, wind, fire, water, and earthquake respectively. Ehecatl is one of the many faces of the Quetzalcoatl, the famed feathered serpent deity. In Nahuatl, Ehecatl means four winds, referring to the four cardinal directions.

Ehecatl presided over the second sun of creation that was called, “4 Wind.” During this period, human beings fell from the grace of the Gods and were destroyed by a hurricane. As Ehecatl blew, it swept away the debris, and those who survived were transformed into monkeys. Ehecatl reappeared in the Fifth Sun after the world was destroyed by fire.

Ehecatl traveled deep into the underworld and persuaded Mictlantecuhtili, the God of Death, to give back some ashes and bone. Ehectal mixed the bone with blood from the Gods and created humanity.

According to Aztec legend, Ehecatl snuck into the lower world, abducted the maiden Mayahuel, and brought her to the middle world. Their passion was so great that they became one and merged into a tree. Upon awaking from sleep Tzetzimutl journeyed to the middle world, pulled the lovers apart, shredded her grand daughter Mayahuel into pulp, and then returned Ehecatl to his rightful place in the wind.

”Whenever the wind blows, the Aztec believes it is an expression of Ehecatl’s desire.”

If Ehecatl appears as a longing East wind, it is time to listen closely to your heart.

East

If Ehecatl appears as a longing East wind, it is time to listen closely to your heart. New projects, new lovers, art and/or music will ignite your passion.

As a contrary wind, Ehecatl can remove worn-out love stories and soured memories that are preventing you from experiencing a new cosmic order in your life. It is time to examine your beliefs regarding love.

South

Ehecatl is fanning the flames of your innermost feelings and hidden desires. A willingness to love again will arise from the ashes. You are worthy of love and passion. Allow the mysterious thread of the universe to carry you into the next cycle.

Unlike Ehecatl, who was molded from a stone knife, you are an emotional being who thrives on love. In the contrary position, a howling Ehecatl is prompting you to open your heart to love. There is a wind-stirring deep within asking you to soften your heart in order to forgive those who have harmed you. Now is the time to heal the emotional scars left behind by abuse, loss, or abandonment.

West

Ehecatl brings the rains to nourish your crops, signaling the end of the dry season. Wash away your inhibitions, and rejuvenate your body with physical activity. Celebrate by dancing, hiking, gardening, swimming or sex.

When Ehecatl appears in the reverse position you are being offered forbidden fruit, so be alert and cautious. The sun may set on your goals if you merge with the wrong energies, as in the tale of Ehectal and Mayahuel.

Misguided passion and intrigue might pull you from your true path if you do not establish clear boundaries. Ask Ehecatl to help you to sweep away any blocks that stand between you and a bountiful harvest.

North

When Ehecatl blows in from the North, it is a sign that invisible forces are at work in your life. A soul mate isn’t necessarily your lover; it might be someone who has your back, no matter what troubles you may be facing. Enrich your life by connecting deeply with the people you love, and with those who have your best interests at heart.

In the contrary position Ehecatl points out that you are neglecting certain daily rituals which prevent you from keeping your spiritual life in order. Ask Ehecatl to help you understand the deeper aspects of your true self. It might be something as simple as rearranging your altar, planning a vacation or going on a spiritual retreat. Ehecatl : God of Winds ART: Corazon Mexica @MiCorazonMexica

The creation of bats. This is a new painting, which is part of a cycle of paintings that tell the story of the birth of flowers. It begins with Quetzalcoatl, who is the wind and creation, pleasuring himself on the banks of a river. His seed falls upon a stone, and from the stone is born the first bat. When the bat emerges from the stone, he asks it to go to Tamoanchan, the 12th heaven, and bring him back the “flower” of Xochiquetzal, who is love and flowers. The bat is thus the child of the wind and of the earth, and the story goes on to describe this theft, and describe the origin of flowers and menstruation.

[yearningaces]

I bet you thought this blog was gonna be about asexuality only... Heh

But the only barriers are the ones I've placed for myself and thematic gore falls into the category of 'allowed' and I've been thinking about Eldritch monsters falling in love with a fragile little human and expressing it in a very different way also this is unedited and I haven't read through it so have fun

Do you know how twisted the concept of love is per species? For humans it can be soft and warm and comforting, like a hearth in the home, warming your bones.

For a creature like Acherus, it's different.

Because Acherus doesn't even have a name produced by the human tongue. The creature simply heard themselves referred to as such one day and decided it was good enough.

But when they saw you creeping through their domain? They watched you from every shadow of every tree. Every animals eyes followed you with a glossy haze in their eye as if something was wrong. And it was one of the first signs of many that went unnoticed.

You fascinated the creature, now you must deal with the consequences.

For starters you were allowed to traverse their domain safely. Predators would either never reach you or drop dead the moment you were at risk. Trees and bushes would move out of your way as you went deeper into the heart of this domain. But they would try to block your way on the way out, as if not wanting you to leave.

When you would leave and return home, you brought with you famine. Wherever you went the entire area would die but only what was around you would prosper. The life draining from the land only to regrow wherever you were and only there as if to ensure only you had a steady supply of food.

The food from these events tasted like nothing. You'd take a bite and there wasn't even a texture, it would simply dissolve away in moments and leave you feeling full.

Animals began to avoid you. As if sensing something just a breath behind you at all times, they'd run. Even the trickiest fox and the smartest raven knew it was safer this way.

Except...

Deer.

Deer adored you, they would flock to you as if called for. When they followed you, they could be killed for a meal but the others would continue to stand there, walk past their deceased herd member, and follow you like happy children. Whitetail, fallow, originally just deer. But then you noticed a pattern. If you traveled to where the deer cannot go, or if they perished on the way, a group of elk would arrive when the weather was frozen. Otherwise moose, otherwise caribou. Then deer once more. They followed you without care of what would happen to them as if drawn in by some power and lure.

It only progressed. You could be in the middle of a harsh storm that should sweep you and your endless herd away. But the rain and the wind always avoided you, as if there was a shield that couldn't be seen or felt always right there around you. Not even a stray drop landed on your skin.

You could go to the water, dive into it and you could feel your very body morphing to accommodate. The feeling of your neck being split open multiple times and connecting those slots to your lungs where salt water could pour in was horrific. But you could breathe underwater with a new pair of gills.

The moment you were dry they were gone.

You could go to the coldest mountaintop, watch your fingers and toes rot off one by one in the freezing temperatures, feel the flesh decay and fall off of your bones, and it would simply regrow.

You could throw yourself into fire and feel the flames eating you alive but as quickly as you burned away your parts grew back as if replaced and the continuous cycle of flesh and viscera turning to ash and new growth taking its place endlessly would continue.

By this point the worst began to occur. The fact that sealed the fates of all. Your own kind began to reject you. After seeing these horrifying feats one village after another would cast you out, some trying to kill you in the process but every time their own weapons would horrifically turn against them. The hunter who's arrow was hit by a burst of wind and was turned around to land through his soft eye and into his brain. The group of soldiers moments away from striking you dead who went mad, screaming in fear and tearing each other apart. It never ended well.

And one day, you sat down in an empty field. Sitting with your herd of listless deer and one elk from the last group, and you cried.

It was a justifiable response, of course. You had been through so much unexplained heartache that even if it aided you, horrified your fellow man and led to you being shunned.

But you should have paid attention to what happened as you cried. The deer grew anxious. Pacing back and fourth in a way they've never reacted before.

There is a low hum in the air and mother nature holds her breath as you cry softly and quietly. Quiet enough you can hear a voice call out and look up.

One of the Deer is staring at you. It steps closer. It's mouth moving in an unnatural way, leaving the creatures jaw trembling. "Why do you cry?" It ask in a voice that sounds like what falling mountains sounds like. The deers eyes are milky white.

You stare at the deer for a good time before realizing it's unblinking stare remains and you have to respond. "I feel alone and abandoned by my own kind. I am afraid of these things that have been happening around me, I don't know what to do."

The deer stagnates. Its heart races faster and faster as if taking a great strain and effort while the voice returns from the deers trembling mouth. "You are unhappy with your gifts? You are alone?" The deer stops talking, its head dropping lower as if exhausted but it's eyes remain lifeless and you wonder if it was ever alive at all. It speaks again. "Your kind slander you. They hurt you. I will ensure they never do so again." *With that final word the deer drops to the ground, cold and stiff. You look to the rest of the listless herd wondering if they're the same way. Moments from death if not living corpses at this point.

You try to ignore the horrific sight and find camp for the night. Sleep is fitful and difficult but it does find you eventually.

And your dreams are the dreams of a madman. Trees of pulsating flesh surround you in a forest as the ground beneath you beats like a heart, featherless birds fly with listless and lifeless eyes, humans that pass by pass by on all fours and just look... Exaggerated in limbs. Then the scene speeds up. The creatures around you run away quicker and quicker darkness has arrived it fills your vision as a wall of shadow taller than mountains approaches you should run you should run before it's too late-

But it's been too late for a long time now.

The darkness consumes you and it is silent.

And you wake.

And the sky is red. You look to where the sun is to see it flickering like a candle flame about to be blown out.

You see something next to it in the sky, reveal itself. It looks like the moon. Then it moves. It looks down at you. And blinks.

And the sun goes out.

Darkness consumes everything instantly. Your world is doomed but you can see distant lights of villages making fires to panic and try to do something.

You approach wondering why they're so scared of the dark when we must all grow accustomed to it now. But then you see it.

One person's torch extinguished and they didn't have time to let out a cry for help before the darkness enveloped them, consuming them and leaving nothing but a burnt torch behind.

But then why could you traverse the dark?

You didn't think it safe to try again and you remained with the light of the villages.

This only made things escalate. For your sake, it was every other village first, consumed by madness and darkness until it was your small group left. And someone slipped up. They dropped their lantern onto a dried pile of hay, the fire caught quickly and spread, forcing everyone from the barn into the dark of the outside again. Your deer nowhere to be found but you still felt watched the moment you were outside.

And a bright red like appeared in the sky.

And an impossible amount of hands reached through it to force it open. What came out would be remembered as the devourer of worlds. It's eye the size of the moon, it's taloned hands the size of countries. But it still saw you.

It moved closer, the fang filled muzzle lowering through the clouds of the dark endless night sky and directly over you. It's maw was large enough to bite your entire village as if it were a crumb. But it found you still.

One by one those around you began screaming, foaming at the mouth, running in circles until their hearts gave out, bashing their heads against the ground until their brains splattered against the dirt.

But you were safe?

The bodies absorbed into the ground as if water. And a massive paw reached out, grasping the earth you were standing on. Lifting the entire forest in it's hand with you in the center of a ruined village but it had you now.

You couldn't take in this beings appearance entirely but the antlers were definitive. Everything else seemed to morph endlessly. The being lifted you up through your planets atmosphere and you felt like your lungs were shriveling. The being let out a low sound that made your head hurt but it seemed saddened. You gripped your throat, watching it raise it's other hand and dig it's claws into its form without blinking. You watched the blood of this creature spill as it tore open it's chest, flinging viscera out of the way before gingerly lifting you from its palm and placing you inside. As soon as you were in the creatures form you didn't need to breathe and as such relief was palpable. You could only watch as the creatures body sewed itself back together... Much like how your body did recently.

For now exaustion gripped you and dragged you to lay in the soft sinewy flesh of the creature and to rest. It was warm, it was as safe as you could be as your planet was now dead and you had no where to go.

One of these days you'd find your words and scold this being for all it's worth. But until then you listen to a strange thumping rhythm deciding it must be the beings heart and unwillingly you fall asleep.

For who knows how long.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

Does it make any sense to have a world that is entirely vegan because other animals are actually all extinct. You might think with no other animals, this be a world where cannibalistic practices occur more. Well, I never really thought of it because it's that's just nasty. But what would be realistic here? Sure, it may occur as an extreme survival method. But it shouldn't be a normal practice and condemned in every other way. But does make actually make sense in this world with animals going extinct? They do have excellent crops and plenty of ways of getting food. There is no issue with having adequate food supply except for impoverished places. And just like impoverished places in real life, people aren't just resorting to cannibalism as normal. Alright so... for a world with no more animals in its ecosystem... well, how is that even like?? Actually, why is this world even restricted to a planet? There would probably be a lot of people living on moons with no native life and space stations.

Addy: I'm in the middle of finals right now (is it okay to include that? Idk), so you're getting some straight-from-the-tap unpolished thoughts.

Are there insects? 'Cause if this is a post-extinction event, then you've got a whole issue of like... plants that used to be pollinated by insects (beetles, bees, moths, butterflies, ants, etc), birds, etc but now have to be pollinated by wind (which is way less efficient, so you'd probably get stuff that's like cedars or oak trees, where there's just pollen *everywhere*, and other stuff would at least have more difficulty surviving). And then there's... everything. The balance between plants, insects, etc, *everything* is very nuanced. This feels like it'd become the lawn garden equivalent of an ecosystem - alive, but not thriving. Like a garden laden with pesticides, you just... wouldn't get good growth, and that'd spur on its own set of issues.

Plus like. Grazing. Grazing is a huuuuge influence on grasslands, etc, so the removal of all herbivores would... man. That'd do a lot. I don't know if you could even *have* a grassland under this system. Like without grazing, the accumulation of plant matter + wildfire ecology (lightning strikes and all that) would mean huge blazes that would sterilize the soil. Instead of grassland growing back, you'd get like saplings driven on the wind or whatever. Probably.

(Something something Yellowstone when they brought the wolves back, every piece has a role to play)

If there *are* insects, then that'd have its own set of massive issues. Great Famine of China/Great Leap Forward kinds of issues. Like wow. Also insect predation on trees, that'd spur another wave of problems.... everything would be effected. Everything.

If you're on a space station, it's generally assumed that plants are being grown in a tightly controlled artificial environment. Humidity, "rain," light, nutrients, all of that under human (or at least sentient/sophont) control. It isn't expected to be a natural, thriving environment, and it's fairly small-scale. If you have some sort of space garden, it's generally either only plants or plants + some insects + small wildlife. A whole planet... man. Honestly a terrifying thought.

(You thought Silent Spring was bad)

(This is so much worse)

Also, what about fish? Is the whole ocean totally sterile? Are there even krill (or local equivalent)? Phytoplankton, I assume, would be around (also there's a scary thought about like the whole oxygen cycle wow), but... this is just a terrifying prospect for a world.

Oh, and coral! That's an animal, technically. Not really an edible one, but an animal nonetheless. Snails? Jellyfish? Detritivores? Anything to filter the water?

We have no reference for what this would look like. If they want to make a world like this, I'd say the best bet would be to imagine a world sanitized by fire and war and death and ecological omnicide and who-knows-what. Then, on the barren remains of the world-that-was, put a sentient/sophont species with a seed bank. Fern spores. Pollen and sprouts. Some great record of a sliver of the majesty that once was.

In the dust-filled deathworld, this remnant husk of what was once an emerald jewel, there is a structure, and in that structure, there is a person. They have a plot, they have nitrates, they have ammonium, they have potassium, they have phosphorus. They may have mycorrhize, if they're lucky. In that plot, they have a plant. Maybe a few. They save it all for replanting and propagation, and subsist off of freeze-dried rations made before the Happening. They are lucky to be alive.

The world outside is barren. There is nothing to hold together the topsoil. Anything that once was there has rotted and blown away (yay bacteria)(unless those are dead too). The Dust Bowl, on a scale of a world. The Sahara, in comparison, would be a fertile haven of life.

Recovery is slow. Plants, as they grow under the sheltered eye of humanity, decompose once again, cycling through generations as they build up organic matter, thick and lush and *whole*(it can never be whole, too much has been lost, the world will never, ever be the same). The structure expands. Nothing built before the Happening is sealed tightly enough to keep out the dust, microscopic in size as it is.

Coastal regions get some amount of moisture, from the fetid winds that blow off the heaving corpse-lungs of the ocean. Without zooplankton and other organisms to manage the growth of phytoplankton and algae, it is trapped in a cycle of explosion and eutrophication. Life survives in the deepest depths of the oceans, some think, though it, too, may be dead, suffocated by lack of oxygen. Without mollusks or corals or jellyfish or anything to filter the water, the upper layers are thick with rotting plant matter. Some of it sinks, some of it floats. It becomes nutritional matter for the next growth explosion, and that, too, will rot.

A garden is made, sheltered to the extent that it can be. Carefully-selected plants take root in the mulch of their ancestors. Rain is strange and violent, heaved against mountains by wind currents, which themselves are driven by the vast temperature differences of the unevenly-heated planet. There is no friction upon the ground to slow it down, excepting the husks of once-grand cities and their slowly-falling towers. Floods are frequent, in the places that do get rain. Drought prevails elsewhere. Even when rain falls, there is nothing to receive it but silt and clay and stone (and a few spare bacteria). Murky streams of water wind their way to the ocean. Inch by inch, plants come back. Nature will not return for a hundred million years. Until then, until some random quirk of genetics pushes organisms from microbial to sizable, who knows what will happen? If we are lucky, lichens and mosses remain in the great vault of humanity. If we are unlucky, every inch of un-desertification will take holes and effort and windbreaks and labor.

Basically the world kinda needs animals, at least through our understanding of it. Continents are big, and life as we know it has evolved in a web of give and take, push and pull, supply and demand. Without one half of that equation, it is a fundamentally different setup. Maybe algaes can be stable. Maybe they can't. I don't really know. I'd recommend looking into the hows-and-whys-and-whats of various extinction periods in Earth's history to get a better idea of how things happen. It won't capture a picture of what life without animals could look like, but hey, it's something.

Also, cannibalism (at least in humans) is generally only seen as a desperate measure for survival. Prion diseases are a genuine risk, along with whatever else may have killed the person. With how many plagues (and other afflictions) humans can carry, eating a dead person generally isn't worth the risk. Also also, human brains take a lot of protein. That can be obtained through non-animal needs, but it's less efficient (in terms of digestibility and protein density, not in terms of overall energy transformation efficiency of sunshine -> meal). If famine ever hits, a plant-only diet is far more vulnerable to starvation (in times of famine, fish have saved lives).

[sepublic]

So Jay was a pirate at one point and Skybound leaned into Pirates of the Caribbean references, plus Jaya being a pivotal plot point for that season. And Nya literally became the sea.

Imagine some PotC-adjacent AU where Jaya is like Davy Jones and Calypso; Nya became the sea, Jay grieved and became a pirate to be closer to her. Maybe seized command of the Sky Pirates so he would be in his element as well, the stormy skies intertwined with the ocean below through rain. He figured out a way to restore Nya's human form, at the cost of her powers, so he could see her again; But Nya was unhappy because as the ocean, she was so free and released from all burdens. She hoped Jay would love her as the sea and not just her human form. Maybe Jay already saw Nya's decision to become one with the sea as a betrayal.

They split apart, both broken-hearted. Jay and his crew roamed the skies, watching the sea from afar but not quite making contact. Being surrounded by his element also caused his body to change; A storm cloud with lightning bolts resembling an octopus' tentacles, a familiar image to some...

Nya resigned herself to a new life, living as a witch dabbling in potions and magic. Always yearning for the sea and to return to it, but never quite able to achieve that freedom. Mourning her love. Yet she cannot help but be appalled by the monster her lover has become. She has become more estranged from her true self than she has ever been, and it has been agony for Nya in many ways.

Or maybe they’re gods of the sky and sea who can never touch one another, save for when the sea sends water up to come back down as rain. The water cycle is their little gift to one another… The lighthouse in middle of the ocean is the one place they can sometimes meet, or have met.

[farisjax]

One lesser-known aspect of the Quran is its emphasis on knowledge and scientific inquiry. The Quran encourages the pursuit of knowledge and reflection on the natural world, which is evident in several verses. Here are some points highlighting this aspect:

1. **Encouragement of Knowledge and Learning**: The Quran repeatedly emphasizes the importance of knowledge. For instance, the first word revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was "Iqra," which means "Read" or "Recite." This is found in Surah Al-Alaq (96:1-5), which starts with, "Read in the name of your Lord who created."

2. **Reflection on Nature**: The Quran contains numerous verses that urge believers to observe and reflect on the natural world. Surah Al-Imran (3:190) states, "Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding."

3. **Scientific Phenomena**: The Quran mentions various natural phenomena and encourages contemplation of these signs. For instance:

- **Astronomy**: Surah Al-Anbiya (21:30) mentions, "Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass, then We opened them out?" This is often interpreted as a reference to the Big Bang theory.( Allah knows if big bang theory is true and legit)

- **Embryology**: Surah Al-Mu’minun (23:12-14) describes the development of the human embryo in stages, which has been found to align with modern embryological knowledge.

4. **Oceans and Deep Seas**: Surah An-Nur (24:40) describes the depths of the oceans, mentioning the darkness found there, a phenomenon that was unknown to people at the time. It states, "Or [they are] like layers of darkness within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds."

5. **Water Cycle**: The Quran also describes aspects of the water cycle. Surah Az-Zumar (39:21) says, "Have you not seen that Allah sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs in the earth?"

The Quran is full of wisdom but we must understand it by doing justice with the Quran by reading it everyday with the intention to please Allah

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

It actually drives me a little insane that Vi went “Topside and Bottom; oil and water, wasn’t meant to be” to Caitlyn before leaving her in the rain after EVERYTHING they’ve been through and giving up on the council before going to a COUNCIL MEMBER to raid a shimmer factory with some enforcers⁉️⁉️⁉️ AND HER JUSTIFICATION WAS “Caitlyn trusts you out of everyone” ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️ THATS THE FINAL STRAW TO ME

Like for REAL, what was the logic there for Vi??? I’ll leave the girl I trust enough to refer to me to some random councillor to hang with him instead??? Hello????

I think it just goes to show that leaving Cait wasn’t just about the council’s inaction, especially (and quite obviously) when it comes to the “what about us?” part. It was about Vi’s realization she cannot be who she was groomed to be, who she believes she’s meant to be, with Caitlyn. It’s her subconscious pushing away the possibility of something different, something unexpected.

Jayce is naive enough to go out and raid a shimmer factory with an iron fist, but Caitlyn? At this point? No.

The council’s lack of any solution at all is one thing while Vi’s quite unsustainable solution is another.

Dare I say that… Caitlyn is too good for Vi and she just can’t handle it?

Of course we see the way Caitlyn and Vi’s reactions and values contrast while also mirroring too, but this scene is just so… UGH about Vi just not being ready to be or have better.

Caitlyn, on the other hand, is well on her way to being radicalized compared to Vi. Her past of being a victim to oppression and subsequent violence makes her feel stuck… probably even comfortable and safe when factoring in the fact that this is her childhood too.

If anything, if no one minds me rambling some more, I don’t know how they’re gonna show Vi becoming an enforcer… actually, considering both Vi’s and the Enforcers’ unhealthy relationship with and dependence on violence… I’m seeing it pan out interestingly enough.

The way I’ve been viewing the Enforcer arc was all about reform but maybe Vi’s becoming an Enforcer will be the opposite. Instead of it just being a happy ending, it’ll be a wake up call of who she is and why that is.

I will NOT say that Vi and the Enforcers are one in the same, but the cycle of violence really be cycling…

[spotsupstuff]

where should i start reading your Rain World stuff about your OCs and such?

i don't really have any order in it so just jumpin into the oc tag n readin thru it would do, i guess?? though yeah,, tumblr isn't nice with the tags i won't lie, so i'mma compile some stuff for ya

there Are something of intro posts for the characters, though they've evolved a lot over time (originally the Anemoi Iterators were just not a thing, the only one i was meant to have was Fish with Zephyr serving only as a little neat backstory for one of the scugs connected to Fish. so Zeph especially has had a lot of evolution done to her character)

here are the posts: • Intro for Fish Inside a Birdcage, the Seafarer, the Tinkerer and the rest of their little family (x) (out of this Fish and Tinktink are most important n developed, with Seafarer bein a char i wanna work on a bit at some point) • Intro for Murder of Crows (she's a bg character for Moon's group, I rarely actually do stuff with her), Abet Zephyr, the Pan Wielder and few of the Scavs living in Fish's facilities (x) (this is also where The Children of Eo group is first mentioned) • Intro for the rest of Anemoi Iterators of The Children of Eo group, voice claims (Zephyr's is outdated) and the first look at world map, which i'm updating for myself as i'm workin on this stuff and will repost at some point so y'all can see the updates too (x) • List of Iterator City names (x) • Voice claim for Three Sparrows and updated one for Zephyr (x) • Spotto™ Ancients design reference post (x) • -sigh- "Who's Beppi?" (x) (here's him as a baby) • quick off the string in Ancient times AU designs for Euros 'n Boreas (x) • Sparrows' quickly put together art ref (proper one pending) (x)

Three Sparrows' lore is scattered basically all over over the place n she doesn't have a proper intro post yet

Some direct links for the convenience: • How the Great Cycle works in the Serotonin Take (a little add-on to it)

• Iterator anatomy lesson (mostly about the puppets) • Iterator anatomy lesson: detailing of the Hivemind that makes them up • Iterator anatomy lesson: personality development • Rambling about worldbuilding, mostly the Folk Gods (quite disorganized, explains The Saint though) • Ancients' hand mutilation in the name of the Global Religion • Ancients' mask culture • Ancients and their feeding face tentacles • Ancients' "hair" • Ancients and water habitats • Ancients, their venom and Also The Cleaning Slugs • Ancients' gills and some stuff with breathing • Three Sparrows character notes • Little drabble thing for Three Sparrows, though some things might not hold up • "Has Sparrows made any connections while in school?" • Three Sparrows and her slugcat reincarnation (lil continuations of it x, x) • "The Eo Iterators get off the string, who dies who thrives?" (not canon, except the Haboob comic at the beginning) • Zephyr and Moon swap as a characterization exercise that got a lil outta hand (not canon, but neat either way) • A continuation of the above, with Looks to the Moon in the Eo group + some talking about Abet Zephyr as a person • Fooling around with the concept of Zephyr knowing Pebbles, but then big explanation of Mission Self-preservation aka the biggest thing happening in the OC lore • "Can Euros run Doom?" • How did Caper of Euros and Three Sparrows get together romantically • Caper of Euros' priorities the lil comic • "What is Euros like during a Hivemind unsync?" + Three Sparrows the treasured component • Euros and Sparrows married?? • Caper of Euros' first case of the Rot • post 1st Rot reconcilation between the lovebirds • "Did Euros' entire Lab have to be rebuilt after the eradication of the 1st Rot?" • Sparrows' deathbed • Sparrows' Memory Crypt beef (x)• "Who's older? Notos or Haboob?" + Euros 'n Haboob's relationship • Gushing about the ending of the playlist for the group (link to the playlist itself here) • some Tinkerer and the Scavs fooling around content • tiny Seafarer post • what happened between Seafarer and Artificer? why were they separated?

(new text block cuz apparently tumblr has a character limit for that) • Iterator anatomy lesson: the antennas • Iterator anatomy lesson: sexuality and desire for pleasure • Ancients' blood • Ancients' skin texture • "How are Ancient's born?" • "Did Ancients' ancestors have even bigger teeth?" • Farmer Ancients weaponry and tools + Sparrows' encounter with a Red Centipede • "How'd Zephyr end up like that?" • "What are some of Zephyr's happiest memories?" • "Did any other continent have a bootleg Iterator situation like Zephyr?" • What was young Boreas like • Boreas, his batflies and what Desaevio was like • "Very beautiful, very powerful." Boreas animatic made by me sister • Angry Boreas? Let's try to fix him with a controlled shock • Filler Iterators stuff, especially introduction of Orion's Pathway • designing filler stuff a lil: NAE, Gem, high circle Sparrows outfit, first look at the Preacher, Expiation and Spore • Orion's helmet and RW constellations • some lore stuff for Orion • Orion's General • more on the Polar War • Fish and Pigeon Drones • Fish Inside a Birdcage Daycare for scav kits • "What is stored on Caper of Euros' puppet chamber pearls?" • How Boreas and Zephyr took Euros' romantic relationship with Sparrows the comic • Sparrows' daily routine • "Has Sparrows ever seen Euros without his faceplate?" • Iterator baby photos and first appearance of Sparrows' mom, Inkling of an Inbound Daybreak • "Does Sparrows hide her tail in her high circle outfit?" • Movement within an Iterator • "How does it feel like to respawn?"/Sparrows' first death described a little • How did that wedding of Euros n Sparrows' looked • "Does the Rot smell bad?" • "How did Boreas bail Sparrows out of getting fired after the 1st Rot case?" • Grandmama Sparrows • some stuff on Euros' 3rd Mechanic • Euros and his relationship to his memories of Sparrows • "Why do Biting Notos' colony worships teeth and the mouth?" • "Did Notos know something was wrong with its puppet?" • "What does Orion think about Notos' puppet design?" • Biting Notos' sins against its own kind • Inhale in Haboob colony (and herself) notes and ideas • some things on the relationship between Euros 'n Haboob • the Anemoi + Fish as slugcats • Fate of Boreas' Blessing in Saint Time • Ascending Biting Notos comic

[anitabighug]

❥ A Perfect Experiment : Wally x Reader (She/Her Pronouns, Named) ✿

Chapter Masterpost: [  ♡   ♡    ♡ ] [Content Warning: Loss of Agency]

Chapter Thirteen; Do you?

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・● Time marched on, and your life marched with it. Exciting summer days gave way to quiet autumn afternoons, and every day you got closer to your neighbours. You felt like you’d always been there at this point; slipping into a comfortable niche in their daily lives. You were getting more work done nowadays with the past spring’s worries of loneliness off of the table. Someone seemed to stop by every day now, even if they weren’t looking for easily digestible answers. On this particular cloudy afternoon, you had almost a whole class. Julie had organised a game of dodgeball; Herself, Sally and You on one side, and Wally, Barnaby and Frank on the other. You were failing miserably, your throws easy to dodge and easier to just stand there and watch them miss. Julie was seemingly taking this as an opportunity to torment Frank. Wally wasn’t doing much of anything at all; simply observing, and launching a ball fast and true when he noticed anyone was slacking. You idly wonder if apples are as good for eyesight as carrots. Perhaps another experiment for later. A ball bounces off your head, knocking you back into reality. Why was your cheek wet? You turn back to your friends, only to see Wally already booking it to the nearest house; yours. Thunder rumbles in the distance, and Julie lets out a groan, “What gives?? Why does it have to rain? Why can’t we just have sunny days every day???” “Oh! That's actually an excellent question,” You tell her, and she lights up, “I’d be happy to explain it, if you’d like to join me in the lab!” The interested parties, which is all of them, follow you back to your home. Wally is already inside, staring out the window at the clouds with wide, panicked eyes. You clear your throat to get his attention, then motion towards your lab, grabbing your coat along the way. As the months went on, you continued to stock it even further. The shelves were lined with fermenting samples, or half finished notebooks on whatever your current obsession was that week. Life continued to bless you with the time and freedom to explore whatever your heart desired. You pulled up a few extra chairs to your lecture area, watching Barnaby forgo one to sit on the floor. He was probably going to sleep through this one, too, but you didn’t terribly mind it. You finally hear rain starting to hit your windows. This might’ve just been the perfect day for this lesson. You grab one of your notebooks, and start to reference diagrams from within onto the board. Wally watches you with great interest; he seemed to like the diagrams more than the lessons sometimes. It was easier to focus on the lesson than let yourself get swept up in nerves from his gaze. ●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・● You went rather in-depth on this one. Partly because you’d wanted to wait for the rain to finish, but mostly because you’d told Julie you’d explain this better ages ago. You’re explaining plants in depth now, about how they need sunlight and water in balance to survive, and so do we! You explain the water cycle; how we fit into it. “... So if it didn’t rain… The grass would all dry up, and we wouldn’t have anything to drink… We’d all have to move away from the neighbourhood, wouldn’t we?” Julie asks. Her tone is saddened, and Sally reaches over, putting a hand on top of hers. “But we don’t have to! Its still raining, even now! Groovy, isn’t it?” She grins at her girlfriend, who grins back, “You’re right!!! We should be enjoying the rain just as much as the sun!!” Julie stands with a start, frightening everyone in the room. Before anyone can protest, she’s out the door, already off to find a puddle to splash in. The group starts to laugh, and get up to follow her out of the lab now that the lesson was done. You offer your umbrella to Frank and Sally, who venture out into the pouring rain to collect their silly friend. Barnaby peeks around you eagerly, watching as Julie does a cartwheel directly into some mud. His eyes light up. His tail is wagging. You step out of the way, and watch as he dashes out the door to get just as dirty. You would’ve stopped him, but really this was between him and the rain at this point. Wally fidgets behind you, staring out at the rain, eyes narrowed. “... You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to,” You tell him with a smile. He visibly relaxes, and you giggle under your breath. You close the door, and wander back to your kitchen, deciding to calm Wally’s nerves with some chamomile. He graciously accepts when you hold the mug in front of him, and the two of you stand in your living room, watching the mess unfold outside. Sally has switched to the dark side, her and Julie now flopped over on the ground making mud pies. Frank is chasing after Barnaby, who has gathered mud all over his tail and is threatening to paint Frank’s house with it. Wally sets his mug down on your entryway table, and you wonder again how he manages to drink so fast without you noticing. You take another sip of the warm, sweet liquid. Wally moves to hold you from behind, head on your shoulder as he stares out at the rain. You wonder if this has been going on for too long. You’d gotten so used to these tender embraces, and the kisses he peppered across your cheeks on occasion. The guilt plays with your heartstrings. He hadn’t even known what a kiss was before you. He probably didn’t even know what kinds of feelings he was stirring within you. You needed to talk with him, but even now, you couldn’t find the words. Your mouth felt so dry… You take another sip, hoping that maybe the chamomile would give you courage in addition to rest. Would he be mad? When he realised what you’d let him do for so long? You finally pull yourself out of his grasp, and he makes a soft questioning noise, turning his gaze to you. “... Wally, I… I need to… You see…” You fumble. What if this wasn’t the right time? What if you made a fool of yourself? The mug is trembling in your hands. [♫] If you love me - Melody Gardot

No. The music starts, slow and soft, and your grip on the mug is gone. You can hear it shatter, but it sounds miles away. You can already feel something terrible rising in your throat. A pair of hands cover your eyes, and you hear a slow, quiet voice, “Don’t fight it.” He pleads. You can’t, not like this, not with him… “Breathe. Please.” … Fine. If he wanted to hear it; let him. You promised him, anyways, and you weren’t about to go back on a promise, no matter how much your heart ached at the prospect in front of you… “If you love me, let me know…” You feel his hands tense up. “Tell my heart which way to go… Come in close– but come in slowly, now,” Your hands move on their own, reaching up to cup his cheeks. “If you love me, let me know.”

His hands move from your eyes, and they slowly flutter open. Your gaze is distant, and his is wide, unwavering. “Other hearts may fly away… But my hope is that you'll stay,” Your hands slide down, across his collarbone, “We're two weary hearts aglow now– If you love me, let me know,” “Once the moon should take her bow, maybe you'll find the words to say.” Your hands are on his chest now, thumbs fiddling with the collar of his shirt. You wonder if he’s ever going to release his breath. “Still I've often thought that words would only get into your way…” “So, if you love me… Let me know…” You grip, and tug, and the distance is crossed. You close your eyes, too afraid to look at what his expression is as you’re compelled into a kiss. The music starts to die, and you can feel control being given back to you. Your hands shift, and press on his chest so you can pull away; put this mess behind the both of you, and you can finally move on with your life. It will hurt– but you’ll pull yourself together. Eventually. Wally is staring at you. Tears burn at your eyes. He crosses the distance once again. Every coherent thought you’d ever had is catapulted out of your head when his lips hit yours. You can feel his arms wrapping around you once again… Was this real? Was this actually happening? Your hands return to where they had been, gripping desperately at his shirt. You can feel a million sensations, but the only one you can focus on is him and his lips and his kiss. “... Gosh,” Is all you can manage to say when he finally pulls away from you. He doesn’t do so fully, pressing his forehead against yours and staring past your eyes and right into your head. “... I do.” You hear his voice, but you can’t believe it. You can’t even manage a reply. Your cheeks are burning hot, and your brain is swimming away on the current of emotions. He laughs his same dry laugh, and presses another kiss onto your lips. Then another. Your knees felt so weak… He must’ve read your mind, as he tugs you over to your conversation pit, sitting you down and checking over you quickly, making sure the number hadn’t taken too much out of you. Once he’s satisfied, he pulls you close onto his lap once more. The rain continues to drum loudly against your window, but it’s warm and safe inside, and you wouldn’t trade this opportunity for any other in your life. ●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・● @elegantkidfansoul @itsyoboysparkel

[radical-revolution]

“People normally cut reality into compartments, and so are unable to see the interdependence of all phenomena. To see one in all and all in one is to break through the great barrier which narrows one's perception of reality. We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

"The basic laws of the universe are simple, but because our senses are limited, we can't grasp them. There is a pattern in creation." ~Albert Einstein

Every “thing” in the Universe is a system. These systems are connected to surrounding systems and made of smaller systems. All these systems are self-organizing and work together as unified wholes. Many of these systems are extremely creative, new structures and creations “emerging” from their interactions.

Our Universe is a creative system, as is Nature. Most systems exhibit certain shared characteristics, such as self-organization, wholeness, balance, connectedness, creativity, cycles (of change and stability) and what the Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh referred to as “inter-being.”

Inter-being refers to how all systems are connected and flow into one another in ecological relationships, sharing energy and elements. A tree for example is made up of water that existed as rain and clouds, sunlight, carbon that came from the air and other elements. Your body is the same, made up of trillions of atoms that are billions of years old and have been moving from place to place on our planet (and before that in the Universe) for a long long time.

Wholeness refers to how self-organizing systems form dynamic wholes, that regenerate their patterns across time and maintain harmonic functioning. Balance is really essential in a system, whether its your body, an ecosystem, a family, a community or solar systems.

Cycles of change are what allow for creativity and evolution, but also what maintain the wholeness and health of systems. The term “regeneration” refers to the processes that allow living systems to heal and sustain themselves across time. Your body, a forest, the ocean, a family, maintain stability by sustaining balance in relationships, regenerating connections and self-organizing wholeness.

Change is also a constant. Every system is constantly changing inwardly or outwardly, either in regenerative “virtuous” cycles of circulation that maintain order and stability, or degenerative “vicious” cycles which can create chaos, eventually leading to the collapse or death of that system. We seem to be living in an age now where many patterns are becoming unstable. Change (whether creative, regenerative or destructive) is imminent.

Sometimes the chaos of a vicious degenerative cycle can be transcended, and a new pattern of relationships is born. When people talk about spiritual growth, or psychological healing, this is often what happens. The “death” of the old pattern allows a new way of living and being to be born. Nature actually requires death in order to regenerate new life.

It’s one of the mysteries of our Universe, that even the total collapse of a system is never the end of it’s story. Most of the atoms in your body, for example, were created in the center of former stars which “died” in super nova explosions. If those stars had not seeded our region of the galaxy with these atoms, we would not be here.

Understanding how systems grow, change, evolve and transform like this is sometimes called “systems thinking” or “ecological consciousness.” I think it’s what many culture’s down through history have called “wisdom.” It’s an understanding all of us in this each deeply need.

~Christopher Chase

Fukuoka, Japan

"You are something that the Whole Universe is doing, in the same way that a wave is something that the Whole Ocean is doing..." ~Alan Watts

“I think the difficulty is this fragmentation. All thought is broken up into bits. Like this nation, this country, this industry, this profession and so on… And they can’t meet. Wholeness is a kind of attitude or approach to the whole of life. If we can have a coherent approach to reality then reality will respond coherently to us.” ~David Bohm, physicist

***

[staytinyville]

Seungmin

PLEASE REFER TO MASTERLIST TO GET FULL TAROT READING EXPERIENCE

↣ Summary: Everyone knows the story of Hades and Persephone. This is the story you made up. The one that you felt deep in your heart to be true. 

↣ Characters/Pairing: Kim Seungmin x gn!reader

↣ Genre: romance

↣ AU/Trope info: Hades/Persephone!au , réincarnation!au , idol!au

↣ Word Count: 1.5k

↣ Warnings: none

↣ A/N: BRO I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH. And Hongjoong’s. Because of this I was inspired to write an Eros and Psyche one but that’s a stand alone. I might get to it later. 

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Good Luck, Karma, Life Cycles, Destiny, A Turning Point

The Wheel of Fortune is a card that is always spinning and will always come back around. Anything can come and go as they please, and because of this you have to live in the moment and watch where the wheel will land next.

The wheel also signifies karma. What goes around comes around. If you wish to see the good in your life come to fruition, you have to understand it is a two way street. You can manifest all that you want but if you are not returning back what you want things will follow.

You are at a point in your life where things will come forward that might just shock you. However it goes hand in hand with the fact that you need to enjoy those pleasures and let the universe guide you along.

X WHEEL OF FORTUNE

There was a calming wind that brought the smell of the wild flowers in the meadow to go through your nose. You sat braiding some flowers together to make a crown, the giggles of the forest nymphs going through your ears as you sat close to the forest edge. 

There was movement behind the treeline catching your attention. You saw his figure which peaked your interest. He didn’t do anything that made you scared, in fact he just calmly stood there watching you with slow blinking eyes. 

“I know you're there. I can see you through the trees.” You called out after finishing the crown. “Won't you come out?” You asked him. 

There was a pause as he seemed to shuffle “You won't like what you see.” He told you. 

“What makes you say that?” You got onto your knees, turning your body to face him fully. 

Suengmin allowed a smile to fall on his lips as he watched you look so beautiful in the sun. There was no painting that could ever capture your innocent essence. Nothing could ever compare to having you speak to him directly. 

He had waited for years, just watching as you went about your days in the meadows. And now that the day had arrived he had no idea what to do with himself. He felt like a mortal who had fallen in love and was waiting for them to acknowledge them. 

“I don't say it.” He answered you. “But other people do.” He looked to the ground, sighing to himself. “They fear me because I am part of the wheel of fortune that turns with the life of others.”

You suddenly understood who it was you were speaking to. The god of the underworld, the harbinger of death. He was the one who was given the last of the rules. 

“Isn't that only your job?” You questioned him. 

“It was what was left to me. And now I must honor it.” The way he spoke made you smile. 

His voice was soothing, you could only imagine what it would be like to hear him sing you a lullaby. It calms you down, and you don't want him to ever stop talking to you. You fell in love with the way he talked, even if you didn’t know what he looked like you knew he was someone honest. 

“Will you turn my wheel?” You asked him softly, coming to a stand. 

“You are much too precious to be damned to a life like mine.” He answered. “You are a peony who deserves the sun and the water the heavens rain.”

“They say the wheel spins a circle.” You took a step closer to him but he seemed to go deeper into the shadows. You paused for a moment, scared he would leave you completely. “One day it will return to you as a gift from your generosity.”

There was a pause, making you worried he had left. But when you heard him speak one more time, you almost wanted to cry. “I shall try, if only for you.”

You attended a gala with your parents, seeing as you wanted to be able to go out and mingle with people. You were getting sad staying at home all day having nothing to do. All your hobbies had started to become dull and you seemed to be lacking in the enjoyments of interacting with people. Because of this your depression was coming back and you wanted to find a way to break out of it. 

There were a lot of people of high standard who had also decided to be in attendance. Lots of idols too. The gala was meant for all the big time companies to celebrate a successful year. You parents were top shareholders for most of them, helping to supply the companies with whatever it was they needed as well. So they had been invited and you had asked to tag along. 

When you had walked in, your parents went to mingle around and greet the CEO’s of companies. You on the other hand took the time to look around at the decor. There were some art pieces hanging here and there for the people to chatter over. A few had caught your eye but none of them did the way one had. 

“Hello Mr. (L/N).” You turned your head just a bit to see who it was that had found your parents. 

“Mr. Park!” Your father bowed, greeting the man with a kind smile. 

The founder of JYP had been excitedly talking with your parents but you didn’t care for what they had to say. You were too in trance with the painting to think of anything else. 

You sighed to yourself as you watched the woman in the painting struggle to get away from the grasp of her kidnapper. He was facing one way, covered by shadows of the forest while she was still in the sun and on the outskirts of the open meadow. 

She was dressed in a white tunic, her feet bare and digging into the ground almost. He was dressed in all black, a blood red robe that billowed in the wind. Your shoulders dropped as you pictured her scared face and his cruel one. It hurt you to think anyone could ever picture the couple in such a way. 

Someone came up by your side, examining the painting alongside you. You felt a warm feeling blooming in your chest at their close proximity, shoulders almost brushing together. You turned your head just the slightest, watching his side profile. 

He was easily distinguishable with how popular his group had been becoming in the past years. Stray kids were rising on the charts and you were more than happy to be considered one of their fans. However, standing next to one of them–the one you automatically choose as your bias without so much as figuring out his name–made you feel a bit happy.

Kim Seungmin had caught your eye the moment you had learned about Stray Kids when they debuted. For whatever reason that was, you had felt it deep within your heart that you had known him forever. As though in your past life he was the love of your life. And now being so close to him, it only deepened.  

“I know you’re looking at me.” He spoke to you first. “Aren’t you going to say hello?” 

You could see his smile, a blush over taking your face at having been caught. “Hi, Seungmin.” You told him.

“Hi, (Y/N).” 

None of you bothered to ask how you knew each other’s names. He knew how you had gotten his–obviously–but you didn’t bother to question how he knew yours. There was just something deeper that was telling you everything was right about this chance meeting. 

“Are those peonies?” He asked, looking up at the natural flower crown you wore. 

“Yes, my mother told me it would look pretty.” You said, touching them subconsciously. 

“They suit you.” He said before turning around to look at the painting again. “I really like this painting. I really like the story, honestly.”

“I do too.” You smiled. “I've always loved the story of Persephone and Hades.”

“Have you?” He pondered, turning back to you. 

“There are a lot of different versions to them but I like to think he loved her so much that he didn't take her down to the underworld.” You spoke softly, tilting your head to the side as the picture suddenly began to change in your eyes. 

Suengmin licked his lips as he watched over you. His heart started to beat fast in his chest, causing him to breathe shallowly. But it wasn’t something to be worried about–it was more of a feeling like love. At least that was what his head was telling him. 

“How do you explain the seasons then?” Seungmin asked.

The story popped up in your head suddenly. You couldn’t remember where it was you had read it before nor where it had come from. As far as you knew, you were the only one who knew this version. At least the only one who knew it to be true.

“Rather than the winter months being barren because Demeter was sad her daughter was not with her. I think it was because she was with Persephone so much that she forgot to keep the crops bountiful.”

“Why was she with Persephone so much?” He continued, wanting to ask you more to make sure you were thinking the same thing he was. 

“Because she was always upset that her love could not come to see her. Deaths tend to happen more in the winter months which means Hades is super busy. Because of that he wasn't able to come up to see Persephone.” You turned to face him, your breath getting caught in your throat at how close he seemed to be.

“So why didn't he take her?” He whispered.

“Because the wheel of fortune pays you back for all you have done.” You told him, turning back to the painting. This time, your shoulders were touching one another, your fingertips brushing against each other. “One day he'll be with her as he wishes.”

Seungmin moved his pinkie to wrap around yours. “One day.”

Tags : @cultofdionysusnet , @sandsofire , @k-vanity

[nrd-answers]

The local group, in the words of Seven Rules, Four Undone

“Needled Rains Descending hmm.. my first design, when I was first sponsored for such a massive project. I had attempted to locate it somewhere as close as possible to its work to minimize retrieval time.

Its name means Death. Imminent, swift, and inescapable. I programmed it to be cooperative, respectful, and hardworking.

…being called beloved parent grates at my nerves. I cannot seem to find the data and remove it.”

“Ah yes, Longing Within Reason. My second design. Quite close to the NRD model, though I had attempted to improve upon what I manufactured

In the end however, I had to rebuild it from scratch, which seems to have left a bit of a structural toll on the iterator. Oh well.

Its name comes from the rationality of thought. Of satisfying desires to a normal amount, instead of constantly destroying yourself for unattainable goals. I may have been.. emotionally compromised when building it.”

“Branching Endless Timelines, my largest design. I placed it on the peak of a mountain to stave off excess heat. This was an.. attempt at an unconventional cooling agent. I believe it’s structurally sound.

Its name comes from the lesser known cycle theory that when we die, we join a timeline where we didn’t die, branching out into a new timeline so to speak. It was another attempt at something new, yet efficient.”

“Without Lungs and Breathing. An experiment in more organic integrations to the iterator. It required much more water and ventilation because of the extra heat from the flesh and body configurations.

However, I got it to work. A more risky decision on my part, almost as risky as my first model.

The name I gave this model was to accentuate how, despite our deaths, we always end up living once more. Persisting beyond logic.”

“Circles in Cycles of Circles. One of my proudest works. Water pressure is an entirely different hurdle to cross, after all. So many changes to a traditional iterator’s blueprint! I’ll admit I had a bit of fun.

Because of the difficulties building under water causes, I had to scale the model down to a more traditional size. I personally like larger puppet designs, but it was necessary.

Its name represents the loops of cycles, the parallels in sameness, moving onward in one motion.”

“Wings Unflown. An iterator I had attempted to divide into three towers in the hopes to cut down on heat and condensed workings. One of my most expensive projects. Other than the extended broadcast range, the model isn’t that special

Its name stems from the lost opportunities we may have in life, simply by holding onto things we do not need, thereby ‘letting our wings stay unflown.’”

“Horns of Four. My most recent iterator that I built upon an island with a dead volcano. It made for a very simple building plan, though transporting the materials was quite a difficult endeavor. In hindsight I should’ve just stayed a more simpler and easier location, such as BET. It handles heat in the most efficient way, however. More traditional.

The model’s name refers to the first four sins: violence, lust, attachment, and gluttony.”

“I have no intention of building more. Maintaining seven by myself is more than enough to keep myself occupied.”

[cosmicangsts]

✩ — 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒.

▸ is your muse tall / short / average? : the fifth doctor is six - foot, so he's fairly tall. ▸ are they okay with their height? : the doctor tends to be an average height when he regenerates ( aside from two, who honestly isn't even as short as he seems. troughton was five - eight lol & for reference i am five - four ) ; four was six - three, so five is pretty used to being up there. it annoys tegan when she has to look up to address him, though, so he's been conditioned to lean down or have a seat when speaking to those shorter to him . . . maybe tegan just likes to assert dominance? that, & feeling tall. she likes to feel tall. ▸ what's their hair like? : wheat blonde, blinding in direct sunlight. soft & luscious, he often flips it out of his face. ▸ do they spend a lot of time on their hair / grooming? : considering he makes his own shampoos & soaps in an effort to be as eco - friendly as possible, he inadvertently does. ▸ does your muse care about their appearance / what others think? : of course. cleanliness is next to godliness. if you feel good & look good, the day is already off to a good start yes?

✩ — 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒.

▸ indoors or outdoors? : outdoors. that's where the flora & fauna are, it inspires poetry, fresh air is good for the mind & body, & more importantly, it's how the TARDIS compendium expands its data on the lifeforms and locations found throughout the universe. he may not be the TARDIS's favorite iteration of the doctor ( putting it lightly ) , but it's quite likely his love of the outdoors & documenting things in his journals to be later entered into her databanks ranks him the largest contributor to the encyclopedic layout of knowledge that later regenerations have access to. thanks, fivey! ▸ rain or sunshine? : both have their benefits. sunlight helps things grow & supplies energy to many different civilizations ( yes, solar power was in use by other planets & civilizations long before humanity discovered it ) , while rain means that plants don't have to be manually watered, & the doctor can work moderately undisturbed because everyone else on board is asleep. the TARDIS garden has its own internalized ecosystem & weather cycling for the benefit of the plants. & there's nothing quite like walking in a downpour to gather one's thoughts. . . . just be sure to change into dry clothes once the rain stops. ▸ forest or beach? : forest. the doctor hates the beach. sand gets in his shoes & slows him down, & playing in saltwater just isn't his steez. ▸ precious metals or gems? : metals are neat, & have many other properties aside from looking appealing. they can be utilized in repairs for various components found in the TARDIS, & are quite easy to work with. ▸ flowers or perfumes? : flowers, easily. when untampered with in nature, most have a subtle scent that is just right. the fifth doctor has an acute sense of smell, & there's nothing quite like an overwhelming perfume to give him an unbearable headache. why faff about with something that's already perfect as is? ▸ personality or appearance? : given that he isn't ever actually looking for romantic companionship ( or otherwise ) , as long as you've got a good personality & can follow instructions, you're welcome aboard the TARDIS!

✩ — 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒. ( cont'd. )

▸ being alone or being in a crowd? : this seems like an easy answer, but it's hard to say. he isn't as well - socialized as he would like ( despite being much more so than his prior selves ) , & playing cricket like a regular person on a sunday is quite fun for him! despite the frequency with which he is kidnapped, being out & about is usually a good experience & he can still see the best in people! that being said, there is a time & place for everything. he values his time alone while valuing his time with others, as well. he would never actively turn down someone's request to spend time together because he'd ' rather be alone ' . there really isn't a social battery to recharge or anything, either. ▸ order or anarchy? : he will have order. ▸ painful truths or white lies? : despite being one of the more honest iterations, he is still the doctor. a fugitive from gallifrey whose existence in the lives of others is built on misdirection & deceit, even if it's prettied up & packaged nicely. but the fifth doctor isn't the type to blatantly lie, preferring to just . . . omit. much easier to just avoid addressing things fully. ▸ science or magic? : science. witches almost ate him alive, once ( no, i'm not kidding ) . he doesn't hold a grudge against practitioners, it's quite interesting stuff, really! but science is something he understands, & magic is not. ▸ peace or conflict? : major peacekeeper. the desire for maintaining it leads to him being a bit of a pushover, with nobody who breaks terms of service facing any real consequences. it's literally why his companions tend to walk all over him & people don't tend to take him seriously. ▸ night or day? : well it's always night or day somewhere, isn't it? you truly have no concept of such things when space is your home. ▸ dusk or dawn? : dawn. it may be a bit trite, but nothing inspires poetry & rouses the spirit like sweet birdsong. ▸ warmth or cold? : no preference whatsoever, usually. time lords maintain an average body temperate of around fifty degrees fahrenheit. as long as nothing is too extreme in either direction, he is fine. but if he had to choose, he wouldn't want to be in the direct sunlight for hours & hours on end, of course. ▸ many acquaintances or a few close friends? : . . . the life of a time lord on the run means nothing but many acquaintances. he never stays in one place for a long period of time, how could anyone get to really know him? he always encourages others to forge lasting friendships with others however, & to never take them for granted. ▸ reading or playing a game? : reading. adric suggested game night in the TARDIS once upon a time, & it was a disaster.

✩ — 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄.

▸ what are some of your muse's bad habits? : quick to trust, although is conditioned to be warier later in life. is known to be somewhat moody, & can get snappy at times. can talk for extended periods of time about nothing, just to keep a conversation going, even when the other person may just want some silence. gets kidnapped A LOT, although this isn't really something he can help. ▸ has your muse lost anyone close to them? how has it affected them? : many times. however in this lifetime, adric is his biggest regret. the guilt over what happened never left him. not a day goes by where he doesn't think about him, & what he could have done different. could he have bent the laws of time a bit to save him? SHOULD he have? adric was the last person on his mind before he regenerated. ▸ what are some fond memories your muse has? : with this face? . . . teaching adric how to fly the TARDIS ( and almost dying along with everyone else, adric was NOT A GOOD PILOT ) , preparing a candlelit dinner for tegan & nyssa, having a weekly book club with turlough ( the ginger did NOT want to be there. ) , being in the TARDIS garden with peri, sitting together & talking for hours on end about anything & everything while looking at the flowers . . . comes to mind. ▸ is it easy for your muse to kill? : when the situation calls for it & there is great evil at hand— when it's between the imminent threat or his companions & the lives of the innocent . . . how could he not? remember, he's great with a gun. ▸ what's it like when your muse breaks down? : he doesn't. no time for that! too many people depend on him, he's careful to never idle, & the fifth doctor is quite good at processing & dealing with his emotions in private ( so he thinks ) . his outlets include gardening, researching flora & fauna on foreign planets to fill the TARDIS databank, playing cricket & composing poetry. he doesn't cry, either, but if he's close enough with someone, having a conversation about the things that trouble him can be quite therapeutic. ▸ is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life? : . . . yes. ( delay intended. ) ▸ what's your muse like when they're in love? : when the fifth doctor does fall in love, the person he loves is likely already his best friend, as well. he's not as guarded when it comes to love as some of his other regenerations, & if it happens, he'll accept it pretty easily. not much will change, honestly, & he'll be fine not ever confessing. if a romantic relationship happens, he'll give them poems he's written for them & rare / hard to cultivate pressed flowers, take them around the universe to show them the places he thinks are the most beautiful & amazing, hold hands, learn how to go on dates ( does he looks like He Knows ) , partake in their hobbies alongside them & spend as much time with them as possible.

tagged by: i stole it, lmao. i can't remember from who :( i just yoinked to my drafts tagging: @bleachbrainrotbro , @solarisgod , @riiese , @therapardalis , @isbrilliant , @agedrot , @tenfoldrage , @curamorte , @theresastargirl you, pizza slice

[journey-to-the-attic]

I can imagine the absolute panic that everyone felt when they found out about IK eating Solomon's cooking before they find out that she's fine and suffering no consequences from it.

Anyways, it's been a while since I looked at Rain World lore, so things are possibly gonna be brief and they might be a bit off. Plus, just a warning, the lore contains really dark stuff, although I'll try to not go into too much detail.

The creatures in Rain World are trapped within the cycle, where life leads to death, which leads to rebirth, meaning that with very few exceptions, when a creature dies, they don't stay dead. The most technologically advanced group, referred to as The Ancients, wanted to find a way to escape the cycle, and eventually, they did.

After digging deep underground, they came across the Void Sea, an area made/filled with Void Fluid, which allowed those who swam in it to escape the cycle, stopping them from coming back. Seeing as they now had a method with a 100% guarentee rate of success, a lot of the ancients began to go to the Void Sea. However, apparently, it wasn't as 100% success rate as they thought.

Some of the ancients who tried to use the Void Sea to escape the cycle were forced back in the form of echos, I think due to them being "too attached to the world." This caused a lot of panic because now the Void Sea wasn't as safe as they thought it was. So, to try and come up with solutions, they created the Iterators.

The Iterators are basically gigantic, sentient super computers with a "puppet chamber" within, used as a point where the ancients could communicate with them. The Iterators were created with one purpose, to discover the solution to the great problem, and find a way to escape the cycle. The Iterators produced a lot of heat and, to prevent them from overheating, required large quantities of water, causing them to produce large quantities of steam that eventually leads to the lethal rains that plague the land, causing the ancients to move their cities to the tops of the Iterators.

The ancients didn't want to risk the Iterators wanting to escape the cycle themselfs, so they added a "taboo" to their genetic codes to prevent them from self-destructing. Eventually, the ancients ended up disappearing, leaving the Iterators behind and forcing them to continue their one objective, to find a solution to the Great Problem.

Eventually, one did find a solution but their communications were cut before they could reveal it to the others. This led to one Iterator, Five Pebbles, believing that there truly was no solution, and with a bit of help from another Iterator known as Seven Red Suns, he attempted to re-write his genetic code to erase the taboo that stopped the Iterators from self-destructing. However, the process of his experiment required to him largely increase the amount of water he was taking it. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem on it's own, but Pebbles was a newer Iterator that was built to share a water source with an older one known as Looks to the Moon.

Because of this, Moon wasn't getting enough water intake, which was destroying her and her can. Eventually, Moon used her senior privileges to try and force Pebbles to stop, however, this caused a massive problem. Pebbles was just about to make a breakthrough when Moon interrupted him, causing his experiment to go wrong and causing him to create the rot.

The rot is, in lack of better terms, a sentient robot cancer with it's only goals being to consume and to grow/spread.

Eventually, Moon's can collapses, cutting her off from the other Iterators and leaving her shut down until a Slugcat created by a fourth iterator, No Significant Harrasment, ended up going to her remains and using a slag key to "wake her up," though she is still unable to contact the other Iterators.

Eventually, the rot eats away at Pebbles' can, causing it to collapse as well.

Then, in Saint's/the final campaign, while the rain has stopped, likely due to Pebbles collapsing since it's likely there are no other Iterators nearby, there is instead a blizzard that, while not said, is possibly caused by the Iterator's collapse, since they produced so much heat in the first place.

Then, as Saint approaches the Void Sea, the Void Fluid begins showing up much sooner than it does in the other slugcats' campaigns. While not outright said, this seems to heavily imply that the Void Sea is "leaking up" or rather, "eating away" at the world.

Anyways, sorry about the very large lore dump, I genuinely did not think I remembered this much. I would remove some to make it shorted but everything I remember feels too important to the lore for me to remove it.

gosh the game's a lot more complex than it looks initially... so hmm. does this mean that, were ik to have lived like the playable slugcats before coming to the devildom, every hypothetical death did happen, but was undone when a new cycle began?

is it like a reverse isekai situation where ik somehow was summoned out of the game and into real life? or perhaps the rain world is some other realm and the game levi plays is some kind of manifestation of it

oh it'd be cute if ik feels a natural sort of pull to the game (since it's her world), so whenever levi plays it she goes right up to the screen and starts pawing at the playable slugcat like "hi!!! hello!! you're like me!!!!!" then she hides behind levi when he gets caught by the really big monsters

levi apologises with increasing teariness every time he dies in-game and then when he figures out that OH that's literally her story and not just something with characters oddly similar to her, he just. sobs

simeon walks into the purgatory hall kitchen and sees solomon happily feeding ik... something, and he has a moment of pure unadulterated horror (and is about to swoop in like superman) before realising that what the hell she likes it??