#now im getting excited over buying houses and furniture and plants!!!

[bbnibini]

My RL thing is finally settling down. I still have a few things around the house I need to tend to before the renovations are complete, then I have to shop for furniture...god...I'm so tired. But I'm really hopeful this will be over soon.

[beyondspaceandstars]

Halloween Decorations

Relationship: Natasha Romanoff x Reader Warnings: N/A, just fluff! Summary: After you and Natasha buy your first house, you go a little crazy decorating it for Halloween but your girlfriend is a bit hesitant about it. A/N: early Halloween one shot?! I’m sorry I can’t help myself! I love autumn and this is just a short and sweet thing :) and i love domestic WLW fics im sorry djfalkdjfs

Masterlist

You nearly couldn’t believe it when you and Natasha had finally closed on a house. It was something so monumental that had felt light-years away. You two had been through so much with her Avengers work and your job as a nurse, something as peaceful and quaint as a home seemed ridiculous.

But apparently it wasn’t. The home was your reality. Life in the suburbs was your reality. And you were absolutely obsessed.

You and Natasha hadn’t had many items when it came to actually moving in. Natasha was naturally a minimalist having been on the move constantly in her life while you were coming from a studio apartment. You had practically been forced to downsize upon leaving your parents’ home but that all could change.

You could shop and decorate to your heart’s content — and Natasha’s as well, even though she didn’t seem very interested. It had taken you days to convince her to go couch shopping with you and when that task alone proved to be annoying you didn’t inquire much from her about the rest of the furniture. She just accepted it all, never complaining or batting much of an eye. It had annoyed you a bit that your girlfriend didn’t appear to be interested in the making of the home but you slowly realized this was just out of her wheelhouse. She wasn’t uninterested as so much as she didn’t know how to respond. A milestone like this was probably something she never thought about and you accepted that, taking it step-by-step.

So, for that obvious reason, you took on the rest of the decorating. From plants to bins to throw pillows, the shell of a house was slowly becoming a home. A real place for you and Nat to start a life.

One of the things you had been most looking forward to upon having a home was the holidays. Not only were you excited to host Thanksgiving or Christmas, but you were also excited to decorate for it all. Your decoration needs hadn’t been fulfilled with just some hand towels and motivational quotes. You wanted to dive into the holidays, really get the whole house in the mood.

When you had brought this up with Natasha, as expected, she didn’t match your enthusiasm.

"Halloween? You’re making a list for Halloween decorations?"

You had nodded, jotting down a reminder to get some fake skeletons and spider rings.

"We have to decorate for Halloween," you had explained. "If we don’t we won’t get any trick-or-treaters."

Natasha had sighed, sitting across from you at the kitchen table. "It’s just… Haven’t you already spent the past few months decorating this place? Don’t you want a break? We could skip one Halloween."

You had gasped, waving your hand in dismissal. "That’s insane. Of course, we have to decorate. It’s one of the coolest holidays to decorate for!"

Despite your attempt at persuasion, Natasha hadn’t been convinced, just shaking her head as she sipped her coffee, eyeing you over the mug. You had gotten quite used to your girlfriend’s pessimism towards little things here and there. She was a guarded person, one night to enjoy something and who knew what could happen? But you felt she’d come around at some point. She couldn’t sit in a house full of hanging fake ghosts and tiny pumpkins and not be a little pleased.

You spent nearly your entire Saturday shopping for decorations. You lugged in the bags carefully, surprising Natasha who was sitting at the kitchen counter doing some paperwork.

She eyed the items are you placed them on the counter beside her laptop. "Did you buy up the entire store?"

You chuckled. "Just about! And this is only the indoor stuff. I have outdoor decorations in the garage already."

Natasha’s eyes grew wide at that. "Really, honey? Don’t you think maybe it’s a bit…much?"

You waved a hand in dismissal. "Absolutely not. It’s going to make our home all festive and cozy."

"Okay," your girlfriend shrugged as she turned back to her work. You took that chance to get started on the decorating. You began pulling out some window clings you had found. You had quite the variety: blood splatters, ghosts, witches, everything to slap up on your windows for anyone passing by to see.

Once the windows were done, you moved onto the lights. You had found some cute little skeleton hanging lights to decorate with around the windows. Then there were the orange and purple ones you began stringing up around the living room. You could feel Natasha eyeing you curiously as you went but you ignored her, happily humming away decorating the space.

After the lights came the nick-knacks and wall decor. You had found the cutest little arrangement of ghosts to put around on random shelves in the home. They would peek out from behind little photos and vases. You thought one would look really nice on the big bookshelf you had bought for the place but as you began putting it up there you realized you were slightly too short. You frowned and went to go hunt for a chair when you saw Natasha standing in the doorway, holding out a stool for you.

You shuffled over to her, looking at the little stool she brought.

"Need some help?" She asked, a bit shyly. You grinned.

"Are you asking if you can put up Halloween decorations?"

Natasha scoffed as if that wasn't exactly what she was asking. "N-No," she insisted. "I was just seeing if you need some help with that one. And-And maybe you'll need a stool for hanging those signs you brought." She tried to casually motion over to the bag of decorative wall signs you had bought. The one staring at you two said: "Broom Parking" which you just thought was the funniest. You couldn't help the smile forming on your face now.

"It's okay if you'd like to help decorate for Halloween, Natasha," you said, taking the stool from her and made your back to the bookshelf. Your girlfriend let out a sigh and followed you. She became your little spotter as you climbed up to put the last of the ceramic ghosts up.

"I was just watching you put everything up and... and you shouldn't have to do it alone," Natasha said. She held out her hand to help you down. You accepted. "This is our home and it should be decorated. Especially for Halloween."

Your heart swelled with such pride hearing her say that. You just about started crying which you knew was going to make Natasha scoff at so you hid it by throwing your arms around her. She jumped a bit at the action but eventually, her arms made their way around your waist.

"Thank you," you mumbled into her neck.

Natasha chuckled. "I didn't do anything."

You pulled away and brought one hand up to her face. Your girlfriend looked quite confused but you ignored it and said, "You're trying. You're trying to get comfortable here and let down your guard. It's okay, you know. You can do it. We can have this home, we deserve it."

Natasha gave a small smile. "Okay, babe." That was all she said but it was enough. You hadn't expected more and you knew she probably was not feeling this sappy moment so you pressed a light kiss to her cheek then headed back towards the Halloween decorations. You pulled out the faux-wood sign declaring a spot for witches to park their brooms.

"Now," you turned towards your girlfriend, "do we hang this in the living room?"

She shook her head. "We should hang it by the shoe rack."

You let out a loud laugh. "I knew you had a knack for decorating."

Your girlfriend blushed as she began pulling out some of the temporary hooks you had bought to hang the signs. "Just don't tell anyone."

"I make no promises," you smirked. "I'm gonna tell the team you want to redecorate the compound."

Natasha opened her mouth to protest but then abruptly stopped. She seemed to be considering it for a second. "Actually, do it. I think I have a few ideas." She wore a devious smirk that made you not even want to ask what was going through that big brain of hers.

You shook your head. "You're such trouble."

"Hmm," Natasha hummed as she stuck the little plastic hook to the wall. "But you love me."

The sign was placed perfectly on the wall, right above where you threw your shoes next to the door. You turned to your girlfriend and threw an arm around her. She leaned into you, letting out a content sigh.

"That I do," you mumbled. "I really do."

[dogboytits]

2 and 7 between Miasma, Cajja, and Seabury! Also Dandai and Church if I'm not asking way too much chdnfjdvdj

HEEHOO OK... YES... these are two REALLY fun questions and im v excited abt them!! ok lets go

2) What is the OC’s house like? Lots of plants, spacious/cozy, built for comfort/built for function, etc.

My oc world isnt too crazy in terms of fantasy stuff and honestly my ideal home is "a humble house or apartment" so most of my ocs dont have terribly interesting houses, as a warning lmao but

Miasma- hmmm.. I think Miamsa lives near a river. Kaprosuchus are thought to have mostly been land predators instead of aquatic ones, but I think Miasma still likes to soak in the water now and then. As for the house itself… I’m honestly pretty unsure. Miasma’s whole deal is pretty up in the air so I’m not totally sure what kind of house she would like, but something medium sized, with cushiony couches and chairs. Lots of natural lighting, and a number of house plants. A cozy and not super fancy house.

Cajja- Cajja and Balthasar have a medium sized home together. It's pretty basic and humble, but they are both very happy with it. They're both pretty tall (Cajja is 6'3 and Balthasar is 6'5) and they both take up a lot of room- Cajja with his snail shell and tail, and Balthasar with his shark tail, so they've had to make some adjustments and renovations to their house to deal with this. Like larger doorways, a bigger bathroom, and, for Balthasar, a large outdoor bath tub enclosed by wooden walls. The outdoor bath also features shelves for products, and a couple of benches for sitting. They also have their pet cat which they adore, and they both spoil the hell out of their cat. so they have numerous cat trees, beds, scratching pads, and toys around for their kitty :) (who i still need to draw!! I want to draw kitty cat)

Seabury- Seabury currently lives in a dorm room, which is on the smaller side. He does, however, have a personal bathroom inside his dorm, which he very much appreciates. He lives here with one other person- maybe Alioth?? I'm honestly not sure. But they have a bunk bed, and two desks- one for each person. Seabury's childhood home and where their parents live however, is a lot more interesting. Seabury's home town is a fishing town inhabited mostly by sea dragons. Most of the houses of the town are smaller wooden homes that are out over the water, standing up on poles to keep them dry. But since sea dragons obviously enjoy swimming, they also have a downstairs / basement section of their homes, which are actually underwater. These parts of the homes are much more natural looking, with furniture mostly being like rocks covered with moss and things like that. I'm not TOTALLY sure how it all works, but. hopefully thats a good enough answer lol

Dandai- Dandai lives in a pretty small and rinky dink apartment near where they work, (like biking distance) but more outside of town. The like economy and whatever in my oc world is better than it is irl, but even so the kind of apartments one can afford with a job working at McDonald’s are not exactly high class lmao. Dandai doesn’t mind it though, and they keep their living space very clean and tidy. They also have a number of house plants- about 4 or 5. They would like to get more, but fear that they wouldn’t be able to take care of them all. Dandai really treasures their plants, and taking care of the plants reminds Dandai to take care of themself, too :]

Church- Church also has a pretty small apartment, although its a bit bigger and nicer than Dandai’s. They also live relatively close to where they work (Church and Dandai work down the street from each other). Church doesn’t really care a whole lot about their living space- they’re content with it the way it is, and they don’t really long for a bigger one or anything like that. Their apartment is very very messy. It’s not like disgusting, there isn’t rotting food lying around and they wash the dishes and do laundry and stuff, but there is very little order to where they store all their things, and there have certainly been times where the dishes got… a bit behind. Church would like house plants, but every time they buy them, Church forgets to take care of them and they die. The one exception, however, is a small jade plant which is a present from Dandai. Church hasn’t had the jade plant for long so its yet to be seen if they will kill this one too, but for now, Church takes very good care of it.

7) What are the OC’s favorite smells? Scents of incense, foods, candles, plants, etc.

Miasma- I think Miasma really likes vanilla and other smells similar to it… I guess vanilla is technically floral, but in general I don’t think they like floral scents. More like, baked bread. Like… homey smells? You know?

Cajja- I was literally so stuck on this one and I’m still not really happy with my answer here but I’m gonna say rain. Rain and like, roses, esp beach roses.

Seabury- No surprise here, but saltwater. Saltwater and like seafood- they absolutely love the smell of like Marlin steak or smoked parrotfish- a staple of their home region.

Dandai- Dandai is a big fan of the smell of pine, and like… dirt. Like, really rich soil. However, they also really like the smell of baked goods. They aren’t very good at cooking nor baking, however, so they prefer to get scented candles. Things like vanilla cupcake, cinnamon sticks, maple sugar, milk and honey, etc etc. They have a fairly sensitive sense of smell, however, so they’re pretty conservative with their scented candle usage. Oh, and they like the smell of freshly cleaned linens.

Church- Church really likes the smell of pine as well, and they also like the smell of moss. They prefer natural, earthy scents, things you would smell on a walk through the forest. While this isn’t technically a smell, I guess, they also really enjoy like a cool breeze at night. Maybe it’s just me, but that kinda has a distinct smell. Like how water has different “flavors” depending on the temperature? Church also really likes the smells of some of their favorite foods- steak, hamburger, and kielbasa.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

Sanctuary-III: Demo Analysis

Hi again! I’m here to do my full Sanctuary-III analysis. (im back on my bullshit of actually structuring posts like a functioning human. holy mother of g-)

Tl;Dr: So from what I’ve gathered so far, Sanctuary-III looks like a Maliwan-inspired ship, but was actually built by a company named <SUPAMAX MFG>. I do think the ship we go on in the demo is taken from another part of the game, probably the time period when we’ve reached the Maliwan/Monastery planet of which I don’t know the name (the one we see Maya on). I understand that we can see Pandora in the demo, but it’d be easy to travel back there and simply remove the option for the monastery planet when we go to Promethea. I have a couple reasons for thinking this, so I’ll go over it when we get there.

For now, let’s get started :D

So, even though we’re going to be doing a full analysis of the demo, I did want to start with our previous sightings of the ship.

Ellie hanging onto a smaller version of the ship.

Lorelei resting her foot on a larger model

one hiding behind Zane near the car

better view below:

and a ship as we see it on the cover art:

notice I say A ship because there are definitely differences between this one and the Sanctuary-III we meet in the demo.

Most notably the colors/design, but also the back engines are missing from below the spoiler and the fins on the front are different shapes. Additionally, the one in the cover has windows that are significantly different from the demo and the engines in demo have fins coming off the tops that we don’t see here. I’ve been yelled at before that this isn’t a noticeable enough difference to think about, that the developers just decided to roll with it, but honestly I believe if the designers put that much time into ensuring the cover art has a dozen easter eggs to solve, why would they look at the ship and decide “eh, that’s good enough”? I wanna believe they’re not that laidback about this.

So I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now and provide a handful of theories as to what this cover art ship could be:

1. Sanctuary-II or an earlier model of Sanc-III (or both)

2. A shuttle used to move people to-and-from places Sanctuary-III is too large to access and the drop pods are too violent to hit (I’m thinking meteors/asteroids here) annnd hopefully we get to putz around space in one

3. A fully separate ship from Sanctuary-III that we’ll have to use later on in the game, either due to Sanctuary-III being destroyed, or other weird circumstances that would render it unavailable. Could possibly be used to reach Elpis?

Anyway, enough of that. Let’s get right into the thick of things with the actual ship from the demo!

This hit me right in the heart. I love that u can see Pandora in the background, too.

The actual ship! Do you see what I mean by those minor differences to the cover art ship? Moving on.

The reason I thought this ship was mainly because of the huge swaths of orange and the blue engines/bridge. I had thought it was Atlas as well at one point, but retracted both those statements when I saw the name of the manufacturer printed everywhere inside lol

It is possible it was made specifically for either of those companies. I am leaning towards Maliwan, so I’ll point out my reasons why as we move through this.

Also, check out the docking bay on the bottom there. That door leads to the large room we see Ellie in. I think the fins on the front of the ship are to hold it up when it’s landed so we can drive vehicles out the bottom. I am hoping for a scene near endgame where the ship is shielding us from huge attacks from above as we drive out of the bottom and, right as we escape, it collapses behind us. Fingers crossed.

the back of the ship. And the engines I mention you can’t see protruding out the back on the cover art.

Oh, and say hi to the CoV!

that’s where Troy’s sword gets launched from orbit

as we zoom in, we can see a whole bunch of things

to start, looks like Hyperion got some nice rebranding. I hope Blake took over tbh

a poster of moxxxi’s. I love the feather in her hat; I wonder if that means her a mordy got back together...

also im going to take the time to point out

how much I love that each Vault Hunter gets something that glows. Amara has her tattoos (and she can customize the color!), Fl4k has their eye, Moze has Iron Bear’s digistruct pack, and Zane has a cool jacket. Rock on my babies, you’re all beautiful. Oh, and the whole teleporting animation for this, I don’t know if its like a “first time” only thing or what, but I love it, I love it so much. I’m so glad we’re going to be able to see our Vault Hunters in the third person.

okay moving on

so right away you notice the guide telling you where places are, with arrows point in different directions. It’s quite hard to read at the moment, but we do see it again later. 

We all know about the quick change station and the lost-and-found, so I don’t think I ought to go over those right now. 

claptrap seems to have his own little cereal or something, not sure if that’s been sighted anywhere else, but im afraid for anyone who eats it

player quarters! holy balls im so excited for these

We can see the display cases everywhere, but there’s also a vault (not that kind) in the back left. I imagine that’s the bank. Hoooopefully we get a larger storage capacity or my mule characters are gonna have a ton of new buddies to talk to lol

better look at the cereals.

also apparently that water bottle we see in the Game of Thrones joke the twitter posted is an actual asset in the game.

While we have singular display cases for guns, it looks like items get their own display cases

it can show off rarity color and on the bottom left, you get to see exactly what you’re looking at. no more confusing grenade mods for shields in this house

a non-holographic poster for the Typhon Deleon movie. I think this is the first we’ve seen outside of Promethea. I guess Amara’s a fan.

A vault symbol rug, and the symbol spray painted onto her punching bag. I think that poster in the back is a Monty Python reference? I didn’t get quite a good look at it, we might see another one later on.

Amara has a window seat, I’m actually hoping we’ll be able to hang out in our rooms and look out the window at space. I would honestly spend so much time here. Also, regarding the bed (not pictured, that’s the window seat), I’m wondering if that will have any gameplay effects or if it's just aesthetics. I hope it’s at least bouncy...

she does have some jakobs crates holding up the plants. Don’t know if that has anything to do with her backstory or if its just to fit the aesthetic of her room.

we’re also told “again, you can modify your player quarters to how you want to play” which... I don’t know if I’m looking too deeply into that, but it seems like we’ll be able to pick and choose things like furniture or overall layout. I wonder if they’d let us cycle between the other VH’s rooms. Not sure exactly what it’s supposed to imply, but it is something to point out.

Our first look at the SUPAMAX MFG logo. “Ships made Quick”

We also get our first look at Ellie’s cargo bay. More on this later

behind the curtains to the left of here

a poster of Jack and some lootable washing machines. We’ve seen the poster before, from what I’ve heard it's a movie poster starring timothy doppleman. Which... What a legend. 

Now, I do want to point out we see this logo next to the cargo bay

this is one of the reasons I thought the ship was Atlas at first, however you can tell there’s no gap on the right of the triangle and the bottom edges don’t match. I definitely think the new Atlas logo is a delta to signify change, though, cause Rhys is a big ol nerd.

some blueprints of the ship and a bunch of reused posters from BL2 thrown in for decor purposes. There’s another poster of Typhon to the left of that, but since we’ve already seen it, fuck ‘em

We also see a buttload of Maliwan crates hanging around the ship, matching the color design of the one we saw floating around space 

here’s one of them!

a better look at the blueprints as a standalone poster. It looks like ‘Sanctuary’ was written over with something, but I can’t make out what. also checkout how the paint on top doesn’t match the paint on the cover art’s ship. Nor does the cover art have the fins coming off the engines like we see here. I actually just noticed that even the spoilers are different shapes.

Moving on before I go off on another tangent

a poster for Marcus’s shop

the new golden chest as Randy called it. I believe we’ve seen the animation already, where the guns splay upwards like a peacock or smth

a cowgirl hangin out on more Maliwan chests

Marcus’s new sign. Honestly? He’s rocking the bun.

this dude we find walking out of the store. Don’t know what his deal is, but I’m digging it.

this Amara already has 5/8 Pistol SDUs unlocked! (Also, there are 8 max SDUs) Makes me think she’s a high level character. That’ll come into play later lol

5/8 Backpack SDUS. I didn’t show it but she also had 1/8 Shotgun SDUs. Also only +3 to backpack space each. Considering Amara already has 5 unlocked, that means we get the regular 12 backpack space to start. D:

bank space only gets +2. Amara already has 2, meaning the bank can only hold 8 items without upgrades. F in chat for the big bank dreams. Max amount the bank can hold is 24. Somebody comfort me... hopefully these SDUs increase exponentially 😭

the mystery SDU. It looks like a box with a question mark on it, giving out guns and grenades. Makes me worry this is some form of loot box, but considering it can be bought with cash in-game, that’s probably a good sign. Maybe you can buy golden keys in game to open the gold chest now? Randy said no microtransactions and, while he is Randy, I want to believe him (disregarding the skins fiasco because we all knew that was coming).

since i’ve also seen speculation that it’s the upgrade for the capacity of the Lost-And-Found, I think that’s probably what this actually is.

the shooting range we can see from here. Doesn’t appear to have any targets yet, but it may be like the one in BL2 where they only appear when we enter.

more Maliwan boxes to the left of the shooting range.

Crew Quarters sign!

some very big (tm) Maliwan crates

tannis’s sign!

this NPC actually seems important, I’m wondering if she’ll give us a side quest or something

what i’m guessing is the power core to the ship. It’s in such a great place to get shot... i wonder if perhaps... we’re going to have to do that at some point...

“ain’t no place like space” I love this place.

also looks like there’s a shortcut here. You can see the planks across the pipes, the balcony, and the railing here that’s gonna be easy to get over. Excitement!

looks like a control panel right in front of the core. Yeah, there’s definitely going to be something related to it. Maybe we’ll get attacked and we have to go stabilize it. Maybe our ship will get hijacked and we’ll have to blow it up from the inside. I can’t be the only one who thinks this place is wayyy too grand to not get destroyed...

better look at that bad boy

the opening to moxxi’s bar

actual bar

i have no idea what this is, but i dig it. Also the zer0 for the O is making me go  🤔 i don’t THINK Zer0 would get involved, but then again, they are doing missions for Moxxi in Tales, so maybe the two got together to make something

this door seems different enough and detailed enough (red glowing light) to make me think we’re going to be unlocking this and going through it at some point. Then it shall glow green and make me happy instead of frustrated. the minimap, unfortunately, does not agree with me, but I want to believe. or that’s gonna bother me to no end. Maybe some sort of “we just escaped control core angel” situation, idk.

some slot machines. Ca$hTrap! and Tinx’s Hijinx. Looks like an NPC is using the latter though so idk if it will be available to use. 

scoring system. Looks like the ??x row will give us a new character skin!! hype.

the uhhh... Lava Lamp column... will give us...? ???

A devil fruit?? A grenade? wtf is that???

3 bananas gives us new colors! Crowns = head

the... Eridium...? That seems way too pink to be Eridium tbqh. It reminds me more of Seraph crystals, but maybe its a reference to the ‘Eridium’ growing out of the ground on Promethea? ...... Maybe that’s growing because Atlas/Typhon actually DID open the Vault on Promethea

uh anyway

The last column is about more crystals and then cash and then the last one... I assume the icons are Claptrap’s eye (considering the game), but the reward? i think that’s the grenade the demo player gets in the demo 

we’ve also got Loot Boxer (also taken by an NPC) and Vault Line. I’m wondering if the NPCs using the machines are just a gameplay mechanic and they’ll disappear after a certain level/event. Maybe those ones give us better loot. idk.

for Vault Line, i think that says “Knockout Prizes” but I could be wrong. More importantly, it looks like we can get legendaries from this one! First column shows a green/purple/yellow (legendary?) gun. I can’t tell what the other icons are meant to be, though. i think the next 3 are shields, then maybe class mods? or... grenade mods? i don’t know. The last one is a total blob for me, no ideas on that. Also wondering if that machine costs Eridium to play or something, 1) because of its design and 2) because the rewards seem sooo much better than Claptrap’s.

outside we see the Crew Quarters sign for the first time and, interestingly enough, a TV broadcasting the same symbol we see being broadcasted all across the CoV camps. What’s up with that?

infirmary and crew quarters signs on the wall this time

more Maliwan crap. even says it right on the tin. Why is there a pokeball on there?

a map of the ship. We see this on a bunch of monitors, even ones on Promethea, for some reason. This one is mirrored. dunno why.

more signs. Left top to bottom: “Cargo Bay” “Armory” “Infirmary”

Right top to bottom: “Engine Room” (OwO) “Crew Quarters” “Cargo Bay” “Armory” annnd nothing on the last line this bend around. when they turn the corner, you can see that it, too, says “infirmary”

Also, the Heatant and Coolant Pipes lmao

“LAB/SICK BAY” pointing to the left towards Tannis’s corner

so, here’s where we get our first glance at something very very interesting

now, the crew makes us think this is our first time visiting Promethea in the demo. But if it is, why are there Promethea civilians wandering around the ship? I believe i go over this some in an older post, but I’ll recap:

1) It could be that Sanctuary III was already in the air before the game starts and had already visited Promethea to take some Civilians off Rhys’s hands so he had less to worry about. That would mean that we’d need a shuttle or something to reach the ship in order to activate the fast travel station, which is (possibly) where the ship on the cover art could come in. Because in the borderlands universe, you need to reach a Fast Travel station first before you’re able to teleport to it and if Sanc III is flying and Lilith doesn’t have her powers, we’re stranded on Pandora. (Alternatively, the ship could come down from space, but... I kinda doubt it can without not being able to take off again. Maybe borderlands just has cooler spaceships... idk. They were able to make a caravan space capable). Unfortunately, this would mean those screencaps from the new trailer that looks like Sanctuary III being infested with wildlife would not take place on early-game Pandora/that we wouldn’t rescue the ship and claim it as our own. (We could possibly get Sanctuary III in the air in the new BL2 DLC if this is the case.) The ship getting infested then could take place above the Maliwan planet or Promethea or soon after we join the crew and we’re sent down there to clean it up as a side quest. Or there’s a time skip and the ship gets overrun and we have to fix it. Now that’d be rad... 

2) gearbox is being sneaky beaky about the demo time. We do see Maya later on, which leads me to believe this takes place after we meet her. Where does it look like she’ll be? On the Maliwan/Monastery planet. It could be possible that the devs took the ship back to Pandora and simply removed the Maliwan planet from the list of places to take our ship. That would leave Promethea as an option while also explaining why there are both Promethean citizens and Maya on board. Could also explain Lilith having her tattoos back, since we don’t know the events of the story that lead to us going to find Maya. Though, I think I have an idea... I’ll leave that for my Maya masterpost though. Lilith also says “We arrived in one piece... that’s a first” when we travel to Promethea, leading me to believe either that’s where Sanctuary-II warped and got destroyed (maybe explaining why there are Promethea Civilians with us now), possibly in the asteroid fields, also maybe due to a mechanical failure, or Sanctuary-III, when it first went to Promethea with us, got a bit damaged by the rocks floating around Promethea or some other thing like the CoV attacking, idk. What are those rocks for, anyway? ....... I gotta make a post on that, don’t I? oi oi oi...

Moving on

the front of the Infirmary

....

this kinda looks like a baby T-Rex. There are T-Rexes on the swamp planet, which we now are assuming is Promethea, aren’t there? Oh hell yeah. If the swamp planet ISN’T Promethea I’m gonna be all like [shocked pikachu face]. that outskirts area was really making me believe. 

anyway, see above lol

we also get another glimpse at the SUPAMAX logo

some lootables in the back

not sure if these are Maliwan or not.

Zed also has a machine in the back here. We haven’t seen him around yet, but odds are he’s still kicking because of this. And hopefully still friendly with the crimson raiders. Maybe Tannis locked him in a closet or something, idk.

oooo i haven’t seen this screen before

i want to know what it isssss

this also looks eerily familiar. brb, gonna go find what this reminds me of

okay, so

not sure if its exactly the same material/type of symbol, but this location, what i have dubbed the “temple” cuz i got no better name for it, does have square emblems across the floor with borders.

so, interestingly, this one has what looks like an eye with beams shooting out of it. if that description sounds familiar to you, it should, because

EYEBALL

now i got no idea if these are related aside from being in the same game, but it does interest me that they’ve both got eyeballs and streaky beams.

Oh and Tannis’s Vault symbol doesn’t have the writing (?) across the edges, but I will say, it does kinda look like cuneiform and eridian writing had a baby. Like, if you super heavily pixelate the Watcher’s name on her title card...

tbh I’ve theorized a lot about this place, but haven’t found anything I particularly like. From the place where the first Vault Atlas ever opened is (meaning its on Promethea and could explain why Tannis has that slab), the Great Vault’s holding place (where the skeleton on the ground is Typhon and his final journal) (perhaps the Great Vault is the entryway to the Eridian homeworld... that could explain why the CoV are trying to find it... might be a reason why they’re being manipulated by new aliens to find it. god please let them be the Seraphs...) uh, anyway, I also had an idea that it was someplace on the Maliwan planet, and maybe that it was in the archives area that was taken over by Maliwan and that the skeleton was of a Siren. That would explain why Maya is shown handing the book to Little Blue in the MoM. I go over that in an old post though, so moving on.

 oh, there’s also a frame of Tannis’s animation where the dinosaur she was inside stands up and clips through the table:

there’s a small room over here we don’t get to see, and I’m wondering if there’s another NPC joining us on Sanctuary-III that isn’t showcased. god I hope if its pickle he got more bearable as he got older because dear god i hated him in tps. I can’t see Athena nor Janey with a desk like that. Maybe Vaughn? Though would he really want to go back to being an accountant after everything...?

more maliwan boxes btw. looks like someone scribbled on this one lol

now we head to the bridge!!!

looks like an arcade game lol

but possibly a control mechanism for shuttles coming in???  👀 👀 👀

Crew Quarters and the SUPAMAX logo

oh yeah, and in case you were doubtful that this was a borderlands game:

“Caution: Excessive Farts Detected”

the Bridge!!!

We’ve got a holo-projector thing up front like we’ve seen Rhys use, as well as a mini one used as a digistructer during Lorelei’s hamburger quest. Most interesting, Lily has her tattoos! Definitely wondering if this takes place later on in the story or if they swapped her early game model in. either way, they’re definitely there. 

some cool art of Sanctuary III zooming away

just have to say

i love this so much

its great

okay moving on

I wish they’d be more specific. do ruins = vault? Typhon says he discovers the Vault and the Key in one fell swoop. if Typhon DID give atlas the Vault key and the location to the Vault (and we’re not just listening to an ARG for the movie or smth) then why didn’t Atlas open it immediately?! I mean, in TFTBL Cassius says Gortys is their last ditch attempt at opening a Vault! So what the heck?? I can’t believe that it would be less than 200 years from the first Vault being discovered to the Eridians abandoning everything. like vault keys take 200 years to naturally charge so there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be already charged and available (Unless its more of a cycle thing where it charges and then discharges after a while for safety’s sake??). 

And another thing, if that IS Eridium growing out of the ground on Promethea, then they totally DID open the first Vault. Or at least Typhon did. Unless there was something stopping them... like... Maybe in the temple those demon-looking-things stopped them from getting through and that’s why we find a bunch of skeletons around the place? Or maybe the Guardians got to them, or some other Eridian protection scheme. i don’t know... im so confused... brain hurt...

anyway

why the fuck does Elpis look like this

is that the light side of the moon? dear god im blind.

hhhh at least we can still see the crackening

lowkey wondering if the ship is based off of Eridian tech. I could totally see a slip-space drive being based off Lilith’s phasewalking

when we finish travelling, Lily says “We’ve arrived in one piece. that’s a first” and yeeah, i can see whyyy

rocks. rocks everywhere. tbh i think these rocks are 1) why lilith says that (we’ve either been to Promethea before in Sanc-III or Sanc-II got decimated slip jumping here) and 2) why the VH’s entry into Promethea is apparently so awful Lilith needs to ask if they’re actually still alive. also, we get to see just how much of Promethea is cities and goddamn. that’s a lot for a borderworld.

sorry for the youtube bar. 

Deck A: Hammerlock - Infirmary/Tannis - Deck B: Marcus - Moxxi Deck C: Cargo Bay

I am honestly so curious how they got this ship with that lettering on it. I guess they could’ve made it themselves, but... you gotta wonder... maybe we get the ship built on Pandora by Ellie. Or she helps us fix it up after we remove all gross rat things from it.

MAYAAAAA

better look at the Monty poster plus some other stuff, like a clock, dartboard, and a gas mask. Also if anyone knows what that says up top there, please let me know, im super curious!

Hammerlock’s quarters!

this guy has the same facial hair as Zane. I swear to god if I hear “Oh, that’s me fourth brother” im gonna lose my absolute shit

something to the far left outside of Hammerlock’s quarters we’re not allowed to see yet :(

there’s also graffiti of “Charge port here” around the ship and i think that’s hilarious. It’s like an airport

put your ports in, damn it!

Ellie!!!

More maliwan boxes to her left, btw

the actual cargo bay. remember how i said to look at the bottom of sanctuary III to find the door? I’m like 90% sure that’s it right there. Randy also says “down here we can check out the vehicles we’ve collected AND this is how/where we get access to the planets while we’re in orbit”.

Crazy Earl’s black market! dunno how he’s actually, like, connected to the black market from here, but, hey, who knows what he’s got in there.

veteran rewards, apparently drawn over one of Marcus’s machines lol

“Inter-Galactic” a little drawing of Sanc-III and another Maliwan box (you can see why I think this ship is Maliwan, right?)

Clappy and his GF... yeah...

one very big digistruct pad. listen... im praying for a space shuttle. i really am.

finally:

the drop pod

god this looks awesome. I bet we’re gonna have many a fun time in there lol

I finally get to live out my dream of being an ODST in borderlands. what badasses they are.

[br0adwa5]

deh apartment hcs

so i was just scrolling thru Tumblr Dot Com™ and I saw a post that said “does anyone else ever daydream of decorating their first apartment?” (if anyone knows who made that lmk) but anyway i saw that and was like omg if that ain’t alana and then i was like wAIT WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THEM so here’s this. fyi this is like a college au type thing ish??

(im sotired this is kinda shitty lol)

(also thank u so much for the luv on my last two hcs? i cr ied? les get to the point sorry)

alana:

ok so this girl would obviously have the neatest apartment ever

it would probably be like a medium size ya know

white walls.

lots of white walls.

and there would be like really pretty marble countertops 

her beadspread (or whateverthefuck u call it) would probably be like grey with white little lines on it

in a pattern tho

like a cute pottery barn one

OH

she would so freaking use evan’s discount at pottery barn are u kidding me

like her entire house would look like a pottery barn catalog

anyway

idk if all apartments have this so excuse me if i sound mega stupif 

but she would use the little intercom-buzzer thing to get into the apartment to her full advantage

like if u wanted to even go up there she would legit do a full on background check

(except for zoe)

(zoe would be like “hey alana it’s-” and alana would be like “yOU CAN COME RIGHT UP”

but it would be like 

“hello who is this?”

“alana you know it’s jared. i just texted you.”

“… ok then what’s your middle name”

“aLANA”

but anyway back to what inspired this in the first place

so alana would SO plan her apartment out from when she was like young enough to understand it ya get it

like she would pick out furniture at age six

(her taste would obviously change as she got older but u get it)

and she would literally have it down to the p a i n t color

like she would walk into home depot or whatever and the worker would expect her to look around for like 40 minutes but she’d be like

“hi hello i’ll take seashell grey in the gloss finish please. make it quick.”

(i totally just made that up what the hell is a gloss finish never heard of her)

i also picture her having lots of house plants? like most of them would be fake bc she’s too busy to keep them alive but they wouldn’t look fake

yeah alana’s apartmetnt would be so put together and like clean cut and nice

zoe:

her apartment would be rad okay

i feel like it would be v hipster and cool

not like Hipster™ but like… hipster?

what am i even saying

okay

so she would definetley have a room with yellow walls

like her rooms would be painted cool colors and stuff

but yellow specifically

she just seems like a yellow person

she would have a big wall that’s all chalkboard paint

wait now im really excited about this wall oh my god

like when everyone would go over her house they would all take a chalkboard marker (real chalk makes too much of a mess) and write and draw on it

evan would do little doodles of trees and write sweet and encouraging stuff

connor would either draw a hecking masterpiece or write really small in the corner “fuk u”

there’s no in between

alana would just doodle hearts and stuff

or when she’d be over doing homework w zoe she’d try to teach her math and science and stuff on it

a w 

jared would just draw memes 

i think we can all agree on that one

but annyyywwayy

she would refuse to get anything like store bought mainstream

like she would go to little shops in the middle of nowhere

or garage sales

and get the cutest stuff 

her house would be so homey but at the same time like “wtf why is this so perfect”

l o t s of tapestries

don’t fight me on this

it wouldn’t be the regular mendala ones that a lot of people get

(but she would for sure have a few of those too)

it would be like really cool unique stuff

lots of maps of the world

tie dye

ya kniw

they would mostly be taking up all of the celing space and some wall space in her room

she would so have a polaroid camera i KNOW IT

and she would put them all on pieces of string w clothespins and string them up around her room 

all pics of her frands and stuff

awwww zoe

she’d also probably have a room just for her dog

(btw if u didn’t see my other hc i see her as having a golden retriever named kiwi)

(but anyway)

like it was supposed to be a closet sbut she just didn’t use it

so she was like “well… okay let’s do this”

and evan will spend h o u r s at a time in that room

ugh she would just have the cutest apartment v colorful and stuff

evan:

evan’s apartment would be v small

he llved with his mom the first two years of college but decided to move out because he was feeling like he made a lot of progress and was ready to live on his own (btw is it canon tht he lives w his mom first year of college? i forget lmk)

(but he wasn’t really living on his own bc connor was always over or he was at connor’s place) 

he would have a v little sitting area w a really old tv and a worn out couch that was probably free on the side of the road or cheap from a garage sale

he would have a fridge and oven and stuff but he’d mostly just use the microwave

(ho;ly shit “some people say just use a microwave…”)

(i h8 myself why why why ok moving on)

his diet would mainly consist of ramen noodles

bc he doesn’t want to leave and have to socalize with people at fast food places or the grocery store

but every once and a while zoe would come over like “evan wtf” and make him food to hold him over for a while

(uh hc that zoe’s a really good cook??/)

he would have a little bedroom with a big window in it

and his comforter would be blue with navy stripes (similar to The Shirt™ but not completley the same)

he would have lots of sticky notes everywhere

like ranging from “don’t forget to feed the dog” to “don’t worry about it, it’s probably not a big deal”

and when he was in a really good mental state he would write them and stick them in places he know he’d see when he wasn’t in the best shape

and it would encourage him to keep going

wow that’s equally heartbreaking and adorable

ok don’t fight me on this we all know it’s a thing

he would have plants. eve ry wh ere

like there wouldn’t be a single fake plant in there

but he loved them bc he felt like it made the air fresher??? like it supplied more oxygen in the room which made it easier to breathe when he was feeling anxious??

(idk i can’t really explain it but that’s how i feel when i get anxious so i feel like it would help him too)

but it would range from huge ass borderline trees to succlents the size of his thumb nail

he would have s o many succulents

he would name them all

aaaaaaaAaAAAA

and each of his friends would have a plant named after them

even though it was small he really loved his apartment

bc he worked really hard to be able to pay for it and buy the furniture and stuff

so it was like his baby

yeah that’s my boy evan handsoap!

connor:

connor’s apartment would actually be pretty big

like everything would be super super high quality and nice 

he would so have a recliner chair

you know the one i’m talking about okay

and he would spend most of his time in there

even though he def has a huge nice sectional

(btw most of his furniture is black)

when evan would come over he wouldn’t want to get up out of it

but even always wanted to cuddle

so the first time evan was like “con come over hereee”

connor just scooched over

and evan was like “??”

but just went over to him

and they were kinda squished but they loved it 

bc they were so close to eachother

AW IM SCREECHING

but yeah they would love to cuddle on the recliner

his kitchen would be p nice too

like he would have a weirdly high tech fridge and a really nice oven and stuff

but if u opened the fridge there would just be like a half dranken (that is nOT a word) bottle of mountain dew, a cheese stick, and maybe on a good day some random leftovers

(btw idk why but i see his parents buying him most of the stuff in his apartment,, this doesn’t really make sense when i think about it but i can’t not do it what am i saing now awioehfdlsnk)

his room would be nice

he would have a big bed with a black and white plaid duvet cover

omg evan would l o v e his bed

like evan of course loves his own bed but connor’s is just so comfy

(plus connor’s bed also has connor)

(anywho)

his walls would be like a greyish blue color

but his furniture would still be all black

he would have a big desk and he always kept sticky notes around for evan to doodle on if he ever got anxious

and he has an entire drawer in his dresser just for his hair ties because he has an unhealthy amount of them

at all times

partly because he wants to keep his hair up sometimes

but partly because he always wears one around his wrist to snap when he gets mad or can’t control his emotions

and he always ends up loosing them

oh also his shower in his bathroom would be BOMB like im talking it has one of those little ledge chair thingies 

and the water pressure is a plus

and evan’s shower at his apartment is like sucky so he always just showers at connors

(i mean this in the least innapropriate way possible btw jus clearing that up)

but connor would spend SO much time there

so would evan tbh

so yeh

jared:

ok guys

hear me out on this one

but i feel like jared would have a surprisingly nice apartment??

like,,, actually very nice

they would all love hanging out there when they were all together

the first time he asked them over they were like “… u sure”

they were expecting to walk into something that looked like a super crappy hotel room with garbage all over

but they walked in and were like “jared what the fuk”

because this place was nice

like,, , he would always have the most food out of all of them

(which wasn’t saying much but still)

he would have a big nice couch with lots of extra like beanbags all over

they would all have their own that they used

and his tv would be poppin okay

he would have his old wii hooked up to it

and they would constantly have mario kart tournaments

jared always insisted on being wario

for the Memes™

he would be the only one out of all of them with an amazon fire stick so they would always watch movies all together at his house

and sometimes they would just randomly take it without telling him

(i’m looking at u connor)

and he wouldn’t notice for a few days but when he did he went cRAZY

but anyway

his room would b supa cool

he would have a really nice bed

omg he would have like video game and other nerd stuff posters e v e r y w  h e r e

like everywhere

little to no wall space for anything elsee

every once in a while he would go through his camera roll and print the pictures that he liked the best to hang up on his wall

hear me out bc this is gonna sound weird

he would probably have a dead meme shrine in one of the corners of the wall on the bottom

that he started as a joke with connor and zoe once but it jst spiraled out of control until every dead meme was recognized as soon as it went out

he would have a tv in his room

not as good as his one in the living room but still

he has two tvs what even jared

that’s where he would put his xbox

and he would game all night man

ah i love jared sm

ok that’s it hope u enjoyed ahhahah

[kaysaris]

Having your heart broken really fuckin hurts. There are no words to describe it. You hear people talk about it, you read about it, you watch movies about it…but there’s nothing compared to actually feeling it. And I mean really fuckin feeling it. I’ve had my heart broken a few times and each one of them hurt a bit differently…. It hurts your whole body, your bones, you feel it in the pit of your stomach…this emptiness that’s eating you up inside and crushing your soul every single day. You feel like it’s never going to end. This safeness you once felt with this person is no longer there and it’s such a scary feeling. You feel it in your throat, when you speak…it’s like your voice is going away and your words are straining and it takes every bit of you just to get a few words out…just to have a simple conversation with someone. you can’t sleep…you toss and turn just about every night…missing the body of a person that once laid next to you every night. Missing their scent, touch. When you look in the mirror it’s as if you’re seeing a ghost. All you see are the eyes of the other person you once saw every single day. Your own eyes are not even yours anymore. I’ve gotten to a point where I started reading books on “how to get over a breakup.” 🙄🙄 I know I know…sounds ridiculous. But in a way its been helping me. There are days where I feel ok, and happy. This whole week I felt good. I felt okay being alone. For once in my life- I enjoyed being by myself and I accepted it. I felt like I was on my way to starting fresh…starting new again. I feel grateful for being alive and having my own place. I love my job. I distract myself with new hobbies. I look forward to fixing up my house, buying plants and furniture to fill it up. I spend my time reading and watching shows. Distractions. I’ve felt okay but there are days like today where I will relapse. I haven’t cried in weeks and today as I was laying down I just broke into tears. And not those kinda tears where you try to hold it in when you’re in front of people…im talking about those uncontrollable tears. Sobs. And I ended my period last week so I can’t blame it on that. It fuckin hurts. Really bad. The person who I used to run home to is no longer there. Now when I go home, it’s just my empty bed. I don’t hear any records playing or the sound of typing on a laptop or one of my favorite shows on tv. There’s silence. The person who I would share every little detail about my day is no longer there to hear it…or make fun of how dramatic I am. When I have exciting news or just a stupid story to tell, I can no longer share it with this person. There are countless times where I read a story or hear something funny and my initial reaction would be to share it with this person. Making breakfast/dinner for yourself…and eating by yourself is hard. Not being able to do this anymore for my ex has been really hard to accept. Not being able to do anything nice and sweet for them has been unbearable. When you see a new trailer to a movie or think about a new place to visit…you now have to keep it to yourself. Little things like talking to them on the phone, saying good morning/goodnight/how was your day...all of this ends. It all disappears and you can’t get it back and it puts you in a state of panic. There is no more sharing ANYTHING and that fuxkin hurts like no other. Dating has also been a distraction of mine. Falling in like/a Lil bit in love with new people has only complicated things. I stopped all that because deep down I knew I had this huge hole I was just trying to cover up. Multiple holes. Covering them up with someone new. Ignoring what the real issues were. I’ve had these holes for soo long. Even before my ex. And I’ve just been plugging it and plugging it with people. Plugging it with their attention. Plugging it with my obsessions for them. And when these people disappear- these holes open up again and that’s when the pain comes back… that’s when you realize you need people to be sane. That’s why it’s so hard to lose someone… That’s when you realize you’re not ok being alone. Being alone has so far- been my own worst enemy, yet a “blessing in disguise.” Up until recently have I started to embrace loneliness with open arms. It’s taken a while for me to understand this and learn how to “fix” or “change” my behaviors and way of thinking. I still don’t have the answers but at least I know I’m on my way to getting there. Or at least on my way to having a healthier mind. And maybe there are no “answers.” Maybe it’s just this realization of trying to understand yourself. They always say “whenever you think about your ex, remember how bad it was. Remember how hard it was being with them. Think about how much pain you brought upon eachother. Think of all the arguments and horrible things to remind you why it didn’t work.” And believe me- I do. Whenever I get weak- I think about these things. I know deep down that we aren’t right for each other…and I know that I need this time to reflect and be on my own…and I know someday I’ll look back at this moment in my life with new knowledge/experience/a better understanding…and possibly as a better/healthier human… But it doesn’t change the fact that my heart still aches.

[soulshapeslifestyleinteriors]

HOW TO INCREASE THE ZEN + POSITIVE ENERGY IN A SPACE

 Saturday, Saturday, Saturday whoo yeaaaaaaa. 

Oh I love it! It just has the best feel don't you think! Everyone is in a good mood on a Saturday! There's just so much possibility, whether you're at home with the fam or your loved one, or even if you have to work, Saturdays are the best!! Today, on my favourite day of the week, I thought I would give you the tools to create a quick refresh in your home. So grab a cuppa and have a read and make today's activity, giving your space a little energy facelift!

#selfiesaturday

So let's talk about energy! What do I mean by lift the energy? Well, I'm not talking about increasing your electricity bill, if you're like most of us, you don't need help with that ;). What I actually mean is the energetic vibration that surrounds you, in your space. Think about when you have walked into a space and it just feels wrong! There is a heavy, depressing feeling and you really just want to get out asap! That feeling can happen on a large scale or even just a small scale. Sometimes the energy in space can become flat and although you may not be able to see a physical reason why it feels horrible, you will just feel it and naturally want to get out. When that space is our home, it can be quite depressing! These energies can affect your mood, motivation, happiness levels and just your overall quality of life. Who would think the space you live in could have so much effect over you? Well, it does make sense as pretty much everything in the universe, including ourselves, our furniture and our home is all on some level, a connected force of energy. Now I say connected and I want to emphasise this part as it really is important to recognise nothing is separate, and everything has an energetic influence + effect. I hope you're getting what I mean by this, I know it's a little e=m2, but this really is science expressed creatively through design. Your home is supposed to rise up to meet you when you come through the door and if your space is smacking you in the face with a  wet fish then it's time to admit you need to sort it out your home's soul vibes.

Soul Shapes actually specialises in this area and I offer both online and in person 'Energy Shift' design solutions. So if this is all resonating with you, check out the i design energy shift package or get in touch to organise an onsite consultation or a free information phone call.

Now for those of you who just can't wait any longer and need to get your space feeling right asap, then lets get into these beautiful, affordable ways to increase the zen + energy in your space!

COLOUR INJECTION

One of the major reasons the energy in a space can be blaaaa, flat and depressing is a simply the colours used in the space. Now I'm sure most of you would be aware that colours have a psychological affect on us. This really isn't rocket science and you only need to ask yourself how certain colours make you feel to know what colours you should be surrounding yourself with. So for me I love pastel blue, it's calming, it's refreshing and it really is gentle and not too intrusive. So for me I know I want to have this colour around me and I only recently gave my master bedroom an energy shift with new linen in pastel blue. If I were to have gone, brown or red, I have to tell you those colours would not make me feel calm + refreshed. Brown to me is a sad colour (sorry brown) and I would only use sparingly with lots of other brighter fresher tones that keep the space + energy lifted. Look colours are really clever, they actually tell you what they will do by categorising themselves into light + dark tones. So light colours will make you feel literally light, fresh + new! Dark colours will make you feel moody, heavy + dark. Now I'm not saying don't use dark colours ever but you have to factor that if you do go dark, you will need to counter act these darker tones with the correct balance of light to keep it balanced. You could achieve this literally through adding lighter colours in the space or you can actually increase the lighting so that the same principle is achieved. So simply put, check your space is not too much of the heavy tones, get it balanced through adding fresher tones in new cushions, sheers/curtains/blinds rugs or even better paint! To take it next level you might want to consider changing out some heavy darker tone furniture pieces. If this is the case, when you're ready, get in touch and have Soul Shapes create completely new selection of furniture + decor to create a completely new, fresh + modern look. Clever interior design is so amazing and you would be surprised just how amazing a professional can transform a space.

AROMOTHERAPY

Do you ever smell a certain perfume and your instantly transformed back to a time or memory and the feeling is so strong that you almost feel like your back in that exact moment? This happens to me all the time and I find it so interesting. Especially if it's a memory from years and years ago, it's like another part of myself returns for that brief second. Well, this is just one quick thought that comes to mind when I think of the power of smell on the psych. There really is something magical about the effects of scent + I'm sure you will agree, whether it's the smell of yummy food or a beautiful perfume, scent, is super influential on how a space feels. 

So on that note, (pun intended) lets bring in some beautiful scents and use aromatherapy to manipulate the energy in a space.

Oil Burners - Use your essential oils to quickly enhance the energy in your space . Citrus oils are well known for their uplifting properties, however you can simply lift the energy by choosing smells that lift your mood. So obviously when picking your oils, again look to yourself. How does that scent make me feel? Is this how I want to feel? Yes, then you know thats your energy/mood enhancing oils of choice. Of course this can change depending on your mood or purpose. When Im working I love clary sage because it really stimulates my mental awareness. When Im mediating I love to use frankincense , when Im relaxing I love lavender or sandalwood.

Incense- I love incense and when my kids are at school or asleep I will throw on two sticks to remove any stale energy and get my mind feeling connected. I have my favourite incense packs and I actually might even do a little post on those at some point because I love them so much! Incense is so so powerful and I instantly feel the atmosphere change when ever I light my sticks. If you have never tried incense, I definitely suggest buying a beautiful pack and giving it a try. Avoid some brands as you need to know that their are good varieties and some really bad. A quick go to, the Mc Donald's of the incense world, Nag Champa. You will never go wrong with this popular incense! But of course experiment and find a scent that resonates with your soul!

Candles- The goddess of energy lifting, the humble candle. With their beautiful hypnotic flames, and the huge variety of scents available, you need to make sure you have at least one good quality candle in your life! Im talking spending at least $20 plus on a quality, non toxic candle that smells delicious! Dusk candles are delish, then Elume, Woodwick,..... their a literally hundred, s so go crazy but be true to your souls scent preferences.

Essential Oil Spray - This is my absolute favourite +  I'm excited to share this one with you. So I simply grab an old  spray bottle and fill it with warm water and my favourite essential oil. Make sure you use quality essential oil and avoid spraying onto white fabrics just in case it may stain. So I keep this spray on hand and when ever I need a little energy lift or have guests popping over, I spray my fabric spray lightly all over my linen, cushions, beds and even in my wardrobe. You will get an instant kick and lift and your whole house will smell Ahhhhmazing!

 PLANTS + FLOWERS

Visually plants + flowers obviously look amazing and can aesthetically they are a beautiful design focal point. Did you know that bringing plants into your space actually improves the air quality? Yes you did, cool then go grab a big fat beautiful plant or bunch of flowers and pop some next your bed, in your living room, bathroom, kitchen, everywhere!!! Go crazy and watch your mood lift and bloom like your gorgeous flowers! I know this is a popular trend and so many of you design savy peeps are all over this but it is good to know they do more than just look pretty!!

CRYSTALS

Crystals are energy expressed as matter, just like everything, however, crystals are said to be concentrated forms of powerful energy that are known for their healing and energy shifting properties. For hundreds of years, humans have used crystals in their homes and they are said to improve health through their ability to emanate into a space and our own auras. These beautiful naturally occurring stones come in so many shapes + colours and there are so many very specific healing properties. Choosing a crystal to place in your home can be as simple as asking to be led to the right crystal. Find a local market or spiritual store and let your intuition guide you to a stone or collection of stones for your home. Place them in your plants, next to your bed (depending on the stone) or research your stones properties and follow the guidelines of working with that stone. The main thing to remember that the relationship between you and your stones is very intuitive and you need to trust your gut instincts when picking them You can still purposefully choose a stone that perhaps has energy enhancing properties and many have the specific purpose of removing negative energy which would be perfect for a little energy facelift.

SALT LAMPS

Salt Lamps so hot right now and another one of my favourite ways to lift the energy in a space. Himalayan salt lamps have become really popular for many reasons. These beautiful lamps are able to purify and clean the air in a space by absorbing water in the air + trapping dust, pollen + pollutants. Not only can they cleanse the air and improve breathing capabilities but they remove odours too! Now my favourite thing that salt lamps do is they literally increase our energy levels! Yes, you heard right and don't we need it! Salt lamps are said to combat the positive ions that exist in our air. These positive ions really should be called negative ions ;) as they reduce the flow of blood around the body which drains our energy. But in actual fact, it is the beautiful salt lamp that produces the negative ions that are so super beneficial, and they also help neutralise the electromagnetic radiation produced by household appliances. Electromagnetics are known to cause fatigue and interfere with our natural healthy rhythms and cycles affecting sleep and concentration.

SAGING

Lastly, there is an energy lifting ritual known as 'saging' that has been used for hundreds of years. Saging is often used in spaces that may have residual spirit energy that one may want to remove. You may have heard many do this when they move into a new house to remove any bad vibes or energies either from the previous owners or perhaps from the other side. It really is a great way to at least make a concentrated effort to lift the space. A sage stick is a super large, chunky type of incense stick made from the herb sage (hence the name). Sage, when burnt has a very strong smell and is known for many years to have a protective qualities + move on and dissipate unwanted heavy energies. You can find them online or possibly whilst purchasing your crystals. Then perform this ancient energy lifting ritual by opening all the windows and with the lit sage, gently feather the smoke around all corners of your home. Be sure to go into dark little corners and really flurry the smoke into any damp, dark areas. Then, when done close your windows leaving only your own positive vibes in your space!

Well, thats it from me today, Im off to the Decor + Design fair in Melbourne.

Enjoy your weekend and if you have any other energy lifting ideas you want to share with the rest of the the 'Soul Circle Tribe' please do below! 

don't forget to take time to connect

 Peace Out xx

Melanie Sherwell - Interior Designer

Soul Shapes- Lifestyle Interiors