#occult balance

[remash]

mont-blanc cabin ~ mariane gourdeau | photos © félix michaud

[darkhexenmagick]

[minotaurmerkaba]

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Well-Being (a healing magazine), magazine, n. 2, Well-Being Prod., Oct. 1975

[miavira]

Good evening everyone, been getting back into reading tarot recently, decided to find out what my birth cards were. One is The Chariot which is all well and good, but the other is um, well, thE TOWER. 🥲

[beecreeper]

Feeling more confident with her design…

[theater-of-delirium]

The Impossibility of Silence: As Above by Black Sun Productions (Massimo & Pierce / Anarcocks)

[askreistar]

and the finished bit c: this was a tooon of fun to color

[kalidesoul]

🌈✨ Chakra Talk: Blocked vs. Clear Energy Centers! ✨🌈

🚫 Blocked Chakras: 🚫

🔴 Root Chakra (Muladhara): When blocked, it's like feeling lost in the cosmic wilderness. Insecurity, financial stress, and lack of stability might dominate.

🟠 Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana)Blockages lead to creative droughts and emotional rollercoasters. The river of inspiration runs dry.

🟡 Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura): Blocked? Confidence takes a hit. Procrastination and self-doubt may rule your cosmic domain.

💚 0Heart Chakra (Anahata): Blockages can make you feel guarded. Love and compassion become distant stars in your universe.

🔵 Throat Chakra (Vishuddha):*lWhen blocked, expressing yourself feels like whispering in a cosmic vacuum. Communication issues may arise.

🟣 **Third-Eye Chakra (Ajna):** Lack of clarity, foggy intuition, and indecision cloud your path. It's like navigating through cosmic mist.

👑 **Crown Chakra (Sahasrara):** Blockages disconnect you from higher consciousness. It's like a cosmic Wi-Fi glitch, leaving you feeling spiritually adrift.

🌟 *Clear Chakras:* 🌟

🔴 **Root Chakra:** Grounded and secure, you're the cosmic oak rooted deep in Earth's wisdom. Stability and confidence flow like a river.

🟠 **Sacral Chakra:** Your creative spark ignites galaxies of inspiration. Emotions are a river of cosmic energy, flowing freely.

🟡 **Solar Plexus Chakra:** Self-assured and motivated, you shine like a cosmic sun. Confidence fuels your cosmic journey.

💚 **Heart Chakra:** Love radiates like a cosmic beacon. You're a compassionate universe, nurturing connections with every heartbeat.

🔵 **Throat Chakra:** Your voice echoes through the cosmos, clear and truthful. Expressing yourself is a cosmic symphony.

🟣 **Third-Eye Chakra:** Intuition guides you through the cosmic maze. Clarity and insight shine like celestial stars.

👑 **Crown Chakra:** Connected to higher realms, you're in cosmic harmony. The universe's wisdom flows through you like a cosmic river.

Which chakra vibes with you today? 🌈✨ #ChakraClearing #CosmicBalance #EnergyFlow

[orion-sage]

Harmonizing Life's Symphony: The Power of Balancing and Healing Chakras

In the kaleidoscope of our existence, the chakras play a vital role as the energetic centers within our body. These spinning wheels of energy, each with its unique essence and purpose, collectively form the chakra system. Balancing and healing these chakras can have a profound positive impact on our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, akin to tuning an instrument in a symphony to produce harmonious music.

I offer FREE ENERGY CHECK to everyone in need!

1. Physical Vitality and Health:

When the chakras are in balance, the life force energy, or prana, flows smoothly through our body. This balanced energy flow nourishes our cells, organs, and systems, promoting optimal physical health. Each chakra is associated with specific organs and glands, and by harmonizing them, we enhance the functions of these bodily components.

2. Emotional Stability and Well-being:

Balanced chakras lead to emotional stability and balance. They influence our emotional responses and perceptions, allowing us to process and express our feelings in a healthy manner. An open and balanced heart chakra, for example, facilitates love, compassion, and empathy, fostering deeper connections and emotional well-being.

3. Mental Clarity and Focus:

A clear and balanced chakra system helps in achieving mental clarity and focus. When the mind is clutter-free and energy flows seamlessly through the chakras, concentration improves, and we can make sound decisions and solve problems effectively. The third eye chakra, in particular, is associated with intuition and insight, aiding in enhanced perception and mental acuity.

4. Enhanced Creativity and Expression:

Expressing creativity and authentic self-expression are closely linked to a balanced throat chakra. When this chakra is balanced, we can articulate our thoughts, ideas, and feelings with clarity and confidence. It paves the way for better communication, creativity, and the ability to express ourselves in a truthful and constructive manner.

5. Spiritual Connection and Enlightenment:

The crown chakra, located at the top of the head, is associated with spiritual connection and consciousness. Balancing and aligning this chakra allows us to experience a deeper connection to the universe, attain spiritual insight, and embrace a sense of purpose and oneness with all. It is the gateway to higher states of consciousness and spiritual enlightenment.

6. Harmonious Relationships:

When our chakras are in harmony, our interactions with others become more genuine and meaningful. Balanced chakras allow us to radiate positive energy and compassion, attracting harmonious relationships into our lives. As we align our chakras, we become more attuned to the needs and emotions of others, fostering stronger and more fulfilling connections.

Conclusion:

Balancing and healing our chakras is like fine-tuning the strings of a musical instrument; it creates a melodious and harmonious life symphony. By nurturing our chakras, we pave the way for holistic well-being—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. As we embrace this journey of balance and alignment, we embrace a life infused with vitality, clarity, creativity, and a deeper connection to ourselves and the universe.

I offer FREE ENERGY CHECK for all people in need!

[popculturealchemy]

king tut , a decoration

a toy]

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played with by giants.

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uspeakable joy.

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worshipping him.

their friend.

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distorting nature.

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killing instead.

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bombs going off.

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protect the last of its kind..

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some knowledge remains

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remains

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bodily remains

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chemical remains

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It toys remain.

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things it played with.

.

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joy

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happy ending.

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not an ending

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.',

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people surviving to discover people surving.

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time lapse movie.

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500 years long.

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.

..

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spinning earth faster

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bpms.

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breathing to restore balance to the earth.

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neednig this pixel.

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people

dogs

depending on this pixel.

sand needing to return to its point of origin someday.

.

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Its puzzle home.

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restoring 2.D.

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3D too hard.

to balance.

variables.

changing.

never balance.

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4D not real.

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breathing

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losing track of my place.

staking marks in the quicksand.

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helping my pixel everyday.

,

loving it now.

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holding it now.

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.

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Janet E. Morris - The Carnelian Throne - Bantam - 1979 (cover art by Bob Larkin)

[ahb-writes]

Comics Review: 'GRIM' TPB #1

GRIM TPB #1 by Stephanie Phillips, Flaviano, Rico Renzi, Tom Napolitano

action

fantasy

grim reaper

mythology

occult

secret society

violence

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

The life of a reaper is not a charmed one. Death is an eternal business, with no beginning and no end, and with no rest for the wearisome minds who snare and ferry the dead to the afterworld. Also, it sure doesn't help that human souls are petty, disconsolate, and prone to bitter violence that bleeds them dry. In GRIM v1, a proficient reaper by the name of Jessica Harrow breaks the invisible tripwire safeguarding the breathing and the departed. By accident, of course. And in doing so invokes myriad entropic mayhem and supernatural occultic misgivings. Again, the life of a reaper is not a charmed one.

Jess isn't immune to the problems associated with her duty. When she ferries the dead, they bombard her annoying questions about the afterworld (which, as it turns out, is a labyrinthine bureaucracy). When she smacks an unwilling soul on the side of the head, they complain they never got a fair shot at life (which is obvious, since nobody does). But it's more complicated than that: Jess is the only reaper who doesn't know how she died; Jess traverses the realms of life and death like no one else should; and Jess has a sinking feeling that the sly demoness in charge of the afterworld, Adira, is hiding something from her.

GRIM v1 is the perfect comic book for readers who adore dark mythos with a twist, and who adore authors who rely on character agency to propel a story forward. It's also the perfect comic book for readers allured by the precariousness of uncertainty, a book that never falls into the trap of promising more than it is capable of delivering. This is not a book about killing random people, invoking an eternal war for its own sake, and reveling in the gore in between. GRIM v1 is about Jess's insecurity, her search for her past, and how she relies on her close friends to help her define her future.

The concept and designs for this book are exquisite. Skull motifs are used sparingly but effectively (e.g., when Jess is pissed, her face contorts into a skull). Assorted demonology and demon iconography is localized (e.g., the afterworld is rife with rivers and lakes of lost souls; scythes are stylized but not to the point of excess). And the setting design is clever and fun (e.g., the afterworld's filing system ranges from old bank-style pneumatic tubes to a digital messaging board).

The character designs are slick, diverse, and carry just the right amount of familiarity to goad readers into wishing they had more to consume than they do. Jess's friends include Eddie, an 80s hair-band rocker, and Marcel, a handsome 19th Century Frenchman. Other characters include Annabel, a fit rockabilly gal, and Vincenzo, Adira's right-hand man, whose Elizabethan-style garb is truly delightful.

And the coloring is fantastic. With each passing fight, Jess encounters a sinewy mixture of muddled maroons and bawdy dark reds. With each lurid gaze into the past, readers encounter a seductive cascade of blues, light and dark, paired with a hungry and fathomless spectrum of purple that leaves little room for error.

GRIM v1 boasts impressionable characters, great visual design, and a story that deepens the intrigue with each issue. Jess's past is essential to understanding her future. But the demoness Adira has other plans. More problematic? Those plans may well include a cryptic entity-smothering creature called The End that can smash or devour anything in its path. Is it worth suffering so much destruction just to restore an outdated concept of cosmic balance?

❯ ��� Comics Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads

[ochibrochi]

spontaneous magic manifestation was NOT mentioned in the parenting handbook 😬

I know this isn’t how magic in dc works, but the fact that Damian’s ancestry includes some pretty powerful magic users is… INTERESTING 🤔? Drabble under the cut!

I wanna preface that I'M NOT SAYIN' that Damian should/does have magic powers, but there’s still so much unexplored potential with Damian's character, and the thought that he has a dormant adeptness in magic is somewhat compelling to me. Most importantly it would FREAK! BRUCE! OUT!!!!! What is this, magic puberty 😭??

By DC laws, anyone has the ability to learn magic, but it is also possible to be an innate ability. The Al Ghuls are no strangers to the occult-- Ra's has had increasingly been portrayed as a magic user, and the recent establishment of his mother being a sorceress/witch?? Even Talia dabbled in a bit of magic, I think. There is a catch that their power is suggested to be due to Lazarus exposure, but for arguments sake let's say the Al Ghul lineage is inherently proficient in magic (and Lazarus exposure simply enhances it).

I can't recall "magic" being a part of Damian's training/upbringing (I'm still slowly catching-up on Damian comics so apologies if I miss any canon examples of magic use). Not sure why Talia wouldn't want her little "heir to an ancient assassin empire baby" to learn magic, but it would at least give reason to Damian not knowing about his magic potential, or lack of interest in it.

Through the power of pseudo storytelling, what if Damian's encounter with Mother Soul could have triggered a manifestation of magic that was once dormant; like a pressure cooker waiting to explode with energy when it hasn't been given a safe outlet.

I've yet to read a satisfying arc where Damian truly gets to contemplate his Al Ghul roots outside of "dad is good guy, mum is bad guy". Damian's initial character growth stems from him running away from, and renouncing his association with the League (i.e. "I'm nothing like you, mother and grandfather!").

The most recent thing I've read was Robin (2021), and whilst Damian is much more cordial with his mother, there's still an emotional distance and sense of distrust/resentment (for good reason, even if the context was some cartoonishly evil writing). But there is a silver-lining that they still appear to be fond of each other, in a melancholy kind of way.

Realizing he's "genetically" primed for magic would be especially confronting to Damian. There's no denying his Al Ghul blood, forcing him to confront a facet of himself he can no longer ignore or reject. A family that he likely has to approach for help/guidance.

Damian is put in a position of acknowledging this power could be used for good, to be stronger, to fight crime, balancing it with the implication that what he possesses could be rooted in dark magic (Lazarus enchantment).

If he decides to embrace it, would that be too much of an endorsement of the Al Ghul's dark occultism? Can he separate the two ideas? What if he can't control it? What if he accidentally hurts someone? What if has the ability to save someone where his other skills fall short?

Ideally, I'd love for this hypothetical story to lead into Damian exploring his Al Ghul heritage more intimately, historically, and spiritually (à la RSoB: Year of Redemption adventures). Another little coming-of-age self discovery journey.

I have my own little personal thoughts on what Damian decides to do with his magic powers, but I'd like to leave that open to interpretation... By the end of it I hope that he will at least find some forgiveness over resentment, and a balance between accepting that side of his family a little easier. It is finally a sense of inner peace :)

Any thoughts? Did I get any characterisation wrong? Let's talk over on my DC blog @arkhamochi! I'm currently trying to read all Damian-centric comics until I catch up with the current run. I'm hungry for discussion and analysis!!!!!!

[chingyu1023vick]

Patch 1.108

🧡 I finished checking my mods for the patch and the new Lovestruck pack. Today comes with many mod updates so please check my Google spreadsheet to ensure you get all necessary updates.

~

🧡In case you missed it, a new mod has already been available to the public this month! 😊

NEW: Activity Lot Challenges

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July 28, 2024:

📌First Round of Mod Updates for patch 1.108:

Balanced Life {Merged Edition} V20

Updated for patch 1.108

Blue Fear V5

Updated to add Fears from EP16 Lovestruck Pack

Bye Bye Eye Ring (Better CAS Randomization) V3

Updated for patch 1.108

Custom Traits in Club Filter V25

Updated to include traits and turn on/ offs from EP16 Lovestruck Pack

Updated to include more traits from llazyneiph's Royalty mod

Higher CAS Story Skills V3

Updated to include Romance Skill from EP16 Lovestruck Pack

Introduction Hider / No Autonomy V6

Updated all introductions for patch 1.108

Added Romantic Introduction from EP16 Lovestruck Pack

Lot Traits Turned Challenges V2

Updated to include Singles Hangout from EP16 Lovestruck Pack

Massage Socials Fix V3

Updated for patch 1.108

More / Less Skill Boost from Moods V4

Updated for patch 1.108

Occult Fanatic Trait V4

Updated OccultInteractionsForFanaticOnly packages for patch 1.108

Walk Normally V5

Updated !chingyu_SleepyWalk and !chingyu_SleepyWalk_Dazed for patch 1.108

~

🔨All my Custom Preferences Sets now require Zerbu's The Custom Preferences Mod to work!!! 🚨Get this required mod by @zerbu or else you will stuck with the loading screen and can't see my custom preferences in the game!!!🚨

FYI: Preferences with custom categories after patch 1.108 must be added to a common list shared with modders just like the venue list. Therefore, chingyu_ExtraCharacteristics from Sim Characteristics Overhaul and chingyu_addon_HolidayPreferences from Holiday Tradition Override are unaffected by the patch because they are not in a custom category.

~

🔽 List of my Custom Preferences with this new mod requirement:

Age Group Custom Preferences

Character Value Custom Preferences

Instant CAS Story Preferences

Lunar Custom Preferences

Mood Custom Preferences

Motive Custom Preferences

Sims Qualities

Strength and Weakness Preferences

~

❌Broken Mods Not Yet Updated for Patch 1.108:

Less Obsession

Smarter Self-Care

I'm going to update them as soon as possible. 💪 So many of the tunings in these two mods were edited so I have to re-do the mods.

I tagged some mods as required updates for adding compatibilities to traits/ skills/ minor features of the new pack on my spreadsheet but they are safe to be used in the game. My other mods and traits are compatible with the current patch. 

After fixing the rest of the broken mods, I will playtest with the pack more to see what extra features I can add to my mods with the new attraction system.

You may view the full changelog and patch note on my Mod Status on Google spreadsheet.

🔆 Changelog in July 2024 HERE

🔹 Links to ALL My Traits, Game Mods, and CCs

🔹List of IDs for creators who want to refer my traits to their own mods 

🔹 List of Chingyu’s CC Traits Name and Descriptions for mod users

🔹 Check Mod Status after a patch & Compatibilities

👁‍🗨 Learn how to install a mod & FAQs

👁‍🗨 Terms of Use

👁‍🗨 Ask Questions/ Suggestions/ Bug Reports on Discord

▶ I need to see a screenshot or LE report to help you figure out what’s wrong!

👁‍🗨 Download on my Patreon

👁‍🗨 Follow me on Twitter

[yandere-sins]

I don't know if you write something like this, but what about reader being Hades lover instead of Persephone like it's supposed to be? I imagine reader is some normal human on our world learning about Greeks Gods but suddenly got isekai'd into the Mythology haha. Imagine the confusion and flabbergasted reader felt by all of this.

Reader try to find a way back to human world but ended up in the forest where all of this started. Trying to avoid Persephone fate of being Hades's lover that eating the underworld food, but of course, Hades wants the reader to eat the food. After all Hades got all the time and reader is starving.

I would love the tension, back and forth of Hades temptation and reader insistent. Thanks!

Okay but what if I take your idea, and I give it a tiny plot twist? Make it just a little bit more horrifying? Okay, okay hear me out, look...

»»———————— ♡ ————————««

Being a human had never been so frustrating.

It was one thing to manage the daily challenges of adulthood, of living on your own and taking care of yourself. Things got tough, and they got fun again; sunrises made you smile, and losing a beloved restaurant to a global issue made your heart somber. For the longest time, you believed having a shitty day at work and then having to go home in the rain because you forgot your umbrella was the worst your life would ever get.

But you were wrong. Very wrong.

Because where there was no life, that's where things became messed up.

"One bite," he pleaded. With the pomegranate juices running down his spindly fingers, the red was almost disturbingly blood-like against the faded color of his skin. "Please. I know you are so hungry."

Pouting your lips, you shook your head, turning and marching onwards through the dark forest of lush yet colorless greenery. It was just a park, Hades had explained, but every time you thought you'd break through the thicket, it expanded further, endlessly like a maze of trees and bushes.

You two had kept up this dance of rejection and chase for a while now, days to be exact. And you were unsure if he knew, but you were hanging on to the last threads of sanity. You felt your knees buckle with resistance every time you rejected yet another offer of fresh food and sweet nectar, your stomach screaming in aghast horror as you kept denying freshly picked fruits and beautifully arranged plates that could sate your hunger. And your head had become so dizzy from the stress and anxiety that you began feeling as if your life was being drained right out of you to feed this place instead.  

The Underworld. Resting place of souls.

Occasionally, you had heard about occult stuff like fairy rings or portals to another world. You never thought that accidentally falling into a river would end with you being transported right into the realm of the afterlife! You had cursed at your feet for being so clumsy and easily losing their balance, but at this point, you had no strength left other than to be thankful they still carried you around. You weren't dead yet, but you didn't think you were very much alive either.

"I need to find a way out..." you mumbled to yourself, your mouth feeling dry and your head buzzing with incoherent thoughts. Only determination had gotten you up after passing out so many times. Only knowing you came here somehow, so you must have been able to get back somehow, kept you going. Things were tough, but you were tougher, right?

"There is none," the god of the Underworld mumbled, a tinge of regret breaking through his voice. "You've been here too long. There is no way back from here."

You breathed out, coming to a halt, as did his ghostly appearance behind you. It was colder in his proximity, yet he stayed close as if to comfort you. His body was cloaked in black swivels, yet his face was almost too handsome to look at directly. His hands were visibly gnarly like those of skeletons, yet you knew his touch was soft and his palms big and reliable, able to catch you before you hit your head on the floor from fainting. His hair fell in waves of ebony beauty, and his crown was so intricately woven into it that it made him look humble and whimsical rather than fearsome and ruthless like the stories made him out to be.

There was nothing about him to hate or make you truly distrustful of him. Yet, you still wished he would leave you, just like in the beginning, when he could only stay for a limited time to watch you struggle before returning to his duties. But his time by your side had gradually increased, and perhaps that was the feeling of dread you've been experiencing for a while now.

"Don't you have anywhere else to be?" you asked, too exhausted to sound snarky.

"I cannot leave you like this. It's not your time yet."

"Then let me go! Lead me out of here!"

In a spurt of a moment, you regained enough strength to spin around, yelling at him angrily. You regretted raising your voice as you looked into the flash of hurt crossing his features before the beautiful grimace turned serious again.

"I can't," he said firmly, holding out the pomegranate again. Its fragrance enticed your nose, saliva collecting in your mouth as it promised to be an especially juicy one. "There is nowhere I could lead you but back to the palace. But you wouldn't make the journey unless you eat and drink. You're just human, after all."

It must have been easy for a god to point out your biggest flaw of them all: you were just human.

"Can I go home if I go back to the palace?" you asked, eyeing the pomegranate with disdain even though your teeth demanded to sink into its flesh, chew apart the seeds, and satiate your hunger.

"No," Hades shook his head. "But you could find peace there. Stop the endless roaming of the gardens for an exit that doesn't exist at this point in time."

"You're lying," you concluded finally. "You want me to eat the pomegranate so you can claim my soul for the Underworld. You're telling me there is no exit, but there is, you just don't want me to find it."

Your accusations left a mark on Hades, the brilliance of his eyes dulling as he heaved a deep sigh, letting his head hang before shaking it slowly. "I'm not lying. I'd never lie to you. I have enough souls waiting for me to give them a place here. I don't need to kidnap humans that Thanatos doesn't have on his list. It was an accident. A fatal one at that, but your stubbornness made it irreversible."

"So it's my fault, eh?" you tried to argue, but there was no bite left in your voice. Raising your hand, you dug your finger into the soft flesh of the pomegranate, felt the fruit yielding to your touch without resistance. Hades closed in, eager for you to finally accept his offering.

"You know what they say about Persephone and the pomegranate. How you trapped her, how you forced her to stay here. Tales of you don't make you look so good."

Without looking up, you could only imagine the anger or frustration that must have played on Hades' expression, but he surprised you when he picked up your hand, raised it to his lips, and slipped your pomegranate-stained finger into his mouth. You watched in horrifying fascination as the god licked off the stain on your skin with relish, the brilliance returning to his eyes as you met his gaze, confident, unwavering.

"People have long made up stories about us, but my wife has never been unhappy with me. And my pomegranates are truly delicious, I only wish for you to taste it. I wouldn't lie to you about these things. I promise I will never lie to you. It's not my nature to begin with, and I'm trying to make things better for you, not harder."

You felt the tears well up in your eyes at the sincere words of such an otherworldly creature—one you only believed to be a story that people believed in religiously. You never thought the gods could be real, much less kind and compassionate. But when you popped the first pomegranate seed into your mouth, your whole body collapsing and Hades catching you with one arm, lifting you up to his height with ease, you realized he had been truthful.

The fruit tasted tart but was absolutely delectable. It had a different kind of sweetness than the ones you had eaten on earth, and tears streamed down your face as you scooped a handful of it, greedily stuffing it into your mouth with no regard for its juices. Hades didn't seem to mind either, holding you seated on one arm, with the fruit halves in his other, the pomegranate bigger than what you were used to, yet still small in his hands even when cut open.

You cried and ate, your body rejuvenating yet also releasing all the tension and fear you had clung to. Your vision was blurry with tears, your nose stuffed, and your head so pleased with the taste of pomegranate on your tongue that it didn't think of anything else. You didn't even register that Hades turned around, strutting back towards the dark, looming palace behind the forest that was the gardens stretching out before it. He was in no hurry, yet it took him barely the blink of an eye to return to where you had first woken up.

By the time he reached the palace doors, you were fast asleep with a belly full of pomegranate, and your thoughts turned into pleasant dreams. The shadows of his body were licking at you, caressing you gently and touching you much more comfortingly than his cold hands could. Even so, he never let go of you, content with you on his arm, resting against his shoulder as if he had taken any worries from you, just like he wished to.

"I see you have received my gift."

"My Queen? You are back early."

"I have not returned yet from my duties; I merely wanted to visit my husband and bring him a gift."

Stepping down a few steps to meet Hades on his way to the palace, Persephone smiled at him warmly, cupping his cheek, which he couldn't help but melt into. She ran her thumb across his cheekbone lovingly a few times before her hand slipped from him to your head, brushing back your hair gently and revealing your face to her.

"The gods above are stirring with excitement for their special humans. Apollo has just collected an extraordinary one for himself. I know you care so little for these trends, but knowing you wait down here for me, alone and so lost in your work, you don't see the seasons pass until I return—it breaks my heart. I thought it would cheer you up to have something so precious to pass the time. You can do as you please with them, treat them as you like. They are yours to own."

"You shouldn't have. They are human, Persephone. Being in the Underworld will cause them nothing but suffering."

"Well," she huffed, agitated by her husband's chiding. They have an eternity to get used to it, just like I did. They will be fine. You can teach them to like it and show them how beautiful this realm can be if they behave themselves. Besides, the pomegranate tree bloomed the moment they came here; it must have been a sign."

Passing by her husband on the way out, she winked at him, and he knew fully well that it had not been a coincidence. Neither that you fell into the Underworld years too early, nor that the tree sprouted fruits the second you arrived. Looking down at you, he watched you furrow your brows as Persephone's warm touch vanished, and you nuzzled your head further into his shadows, trying to find just a bit of the same comfort with him that she could give you.

You truly were lovely. So small, so impossibly perfect. Precious, she called you, but of course you were since his wife knew him well. The moment Hades laid eyes on you, he knew he couldn't bear letting you go and wait until you'd inevitably return to his side as the course of life took its sweet time to reunite you two. And thanks to Persephone, he never even had to lie to you to make you eat the pomegranate on your own and so wholly, he would never have to part ways with you again.

"It is a wonderful gift, thank you," Hades admitted. Persephone smiled, laughing heartily as she made her way back to the surface, passing through the park that stretched out in front of her with ease as it let her pass towards the exit. It was her garden, after all. But even as the two separated temporarily, Hades could hear her say, "I can't wait to get to know them when I return, too."

And he couldn't wait to introduce the now two most beloved parts of his existence, either.