#souldanced

[colmeh]

How beautiful~ The weaving of fate... Of how two hearts met and became part of each other's beat. Of how two gazes met, and their soul started to flirt.

[ofhope]

Sleep clung to him like an overbearing coat. Such didn't touch his eyes, his pinpoint gaze zeroed into the occupant of his couch: the answer? Obvious, if the click of his smartphone laying facedown wasn't too ginormous an indication. Restlessness painted itself a distracting portrait upon his muse, eyes wide, not flickering or lowered. There's a tsk in the air, less toward Aventurine, more toward his predicament.

“It was hardly noticeable until moments ago,” not a lie, but a cold truth - Veritas was so submerged in his own sleep, he hadn't felt the tug of the sheets as Aventurine made to his feet, to paddle along to the living room. “I rolled over. You weren't there.”

Dismay was poignant in his tone. Veritas wasn't always forthright with his affections, but the implication was there: once I noticed, I couldn't return to sleep. Then Aventurine opened wide his embrace, and with a puff of air, Veritas wordlessly accepted the peace-offering. More-so on the couch than on Aventurine, chest-to-chest, knee on either hip, Veritas breathed a breath he hadn't been aware of holding.

“In venturing for the opposite, you achieved your feared result. Most times, stasis is better than running out into the battlefield. Given the sheer amount of blankets scattered about, this area isn't far off from such a scene. As you know, I've grown rather used to your presence... that, and it seems you need a reminder: I wear a sleep-mask to bed.”

Bringing his arm to snake around Aventurine's waist, he squished his cheek against the plane of his collarbone contently.

“Perhaps it would do you well to pick out the next living room arrangement. Of course, it won't be without my critiques.”

@souldanced, <3

[intothewildsea]

@souldanced continued from X.

Revali's wing kept her upper half mostly dry, though her shoes and the the bottom of her skirt are soaked. He wasn't so lucky. He looks absolutely miserable. She sits down beside him and takes off her boots, then peels off her wet socks, setting both of them aside to dry while they wait.

Then she takes off her shawl, turning to him. "We can dry your feathers off with my shawl. It's only a little damp." Considering he kept her mostly dry, she feels it's only fair to try and return the favor.

The cave is chilly from the rain and she wishes they had some wood to make a fire. Maybe she'll poke around and see if any other travelers left a stash of wood behind.

[galeleads]

@souldanced HAS ENTERED. ❛ we can order pizza, watch a movie, whatever you want. ❜ — from jean

"There's a new picture in the cinema this week. A real heartstopper from what the reviews say-" she thinks for a moment. The singer HAS been out all week, night after night with work. Perhaps a break was in order, "But a night in does sound like fantastic. Let's order the pizza. Aurora won't be home until later anyway."

[venstm]

where’s your sense of adventure ? — from sampo to gepard

It’s  it  the  blithe  way  he  says  it  that  abrades  upon  Gepard’s  nerves,  has  the  vergals  blue  of  his  eyes  narrowing  upon  his  visage  with  slithers  of  exasperation.  of  all  trials  and  tribulations  he  could  endure  was  relying  on  Sampo  Koski  so  wholly  not  something  he  could  have  ever  anticipated.  Their  chase  was  a  recital  so  familiar  that  easing  into  came  like  breathing,  his  gloved  fingers  snaring  around  the  cuffs  hanging  pendulous  from  his  belt  and  the  ever  elusive  criminal  just  a  hair  beyond  his  reach.  The  Captain  also  wasn’t  a  stranger  to  the  snow,  the  endless  white  that  encompassed  much  of  jarilo  vi,  turbulent  storms  that  whipped  across  his  vision  and  tore  at  his  skin.  What  he  had  not  anticipated  was  being  effectively  immured  in  any  way  alongside  him,  his  baritone  grating  when  scoured  against  his  mind,  trying  desperately  to  determine  what  course  of  action  was  best  to  take. 

❝ can  you  ━   be  quiet  ? ❞   was  that  Gepard  Landau  asking  something  of  the  criminal  ?  not  out  right  stating  the  real  question  that  lurked  behind  his  molars,  is  that  even  possible  ?  for  someone  with  a  proclivity  for  using  words  to  their  advantage  he  must  derive  some  sort  of  amusement  from  vexing  him.  ❝ i’m  trying  to  determine  how  we  get  out  of  here,  some  help  would  be  appreciated  if  you’re  not  preoccupied  being  a  nuisance. ❞

[evervita]

It's strange, Magnolia wasn't expecting a visitor today. Normally she would get at least a day's notice, usually more given her criminal status, so she could prepare accordingly. So when the Cloud Knights were suddenly in a tizzy over a visitor, the woman was on edge.

Seeing who it was, she was still on edge, but not from danger.

"Ah, Master Diviner!" Magnolia greets Fu Xuan, tone light despite her lingering wariness. "My apologies for my disheveled home... I wasn't expecting any visitors today... Forgive me if it looks untidy."

She says that, but she takes almost meticulous care on keeping her spaces clean. A healer should always stress the importance of cleanliness, after all! "May I get you some refreshments? I haven't shopped for food yet this week, but I'm certain I can find some good tea."

@souldanced

[grislyintentions]

“ there’s a strange hole in my chest. ” navia to clorinde

Meme || Accepting || @souldanced

Whatever she could have said dies in her throat the moment she registers Navia's words. Of course- with so much loss surrounding her as of late, how could she not feel this way?

A heavy knot forms; a curious heartache born from a mix of guilt and care.

Clorinde was never someone who considered herself good with words. So it was all she could do but rest her hand upon Navia's shoulder and squeeze lightly. I'm sorry.

"Do....you want to talk about it?"

[escaronarts]

Final set of photos of the lady Soul Dancer before she dissapear again, to continue her task, the purpose of her existence; to find and give shelter to lost and broken souls, healing them so that they can reincarnate once more.

[madcat-world]

Brizea the Souldancer - Ondřej Hrdina

[ofhope]

@souldanced sent in...

❝  Five hours without you was excruciating. Let’s never part ways for that long again. How I’ve missed your warmth, your softness, your comfort… ❞ Face nestled on a certain someone’s chest, he lovingly traces circles on skin. Suddenly Aventurine startles, glancing upward, visibly surprised. ❝  Veritas! There you are! How long have you been there? Don’t you know it’s rude to eavesdrop? ❞ He jests. Sort of.

Aventurine illustrated affection in a myriad of ways. Drowning one in gifts (response triggered by trauma; an intense fear of abandonment and thus urge to make one's self appear useful... even if Veritas didn't hurt for cash), actions (another trauma response: less detail needed), and lastly: selfcare. Not in regards to Veritas himself, however Aventurine oft ran him a bath, cozied his bed prior to nighttime, or allowed him serenity to complete a highly anticipated page in his book (in terms of discovering more holes for Veritas to poke in theories, anyway).

This was one of the ways not brought about by unfortunate circumstances, or littered here and there in a history of pain. This one was unique to Aventurine, and frankly, he was no stranger to perversion around ... this specific area. Veritas was thankful he forwent his usual robe for dressing in a hurried manner, for reasons he could only believe the Aeons gifted him foresight on. Had he not, his wish of another book accomplished would've been dashed long before it took off.

“Excuse me?”

Referring to his chest as a separate entity was a new one, though.

“My apologies; it's difficult not to eavesdrop when it's your ear being bent to listen.”

For all his tenacity, a shiver rippled down his spine.

“Damned gambler. Couldn't you warm up your hands before thrusting them upon me?”

Still inclined to finish his book however aware that, once set in place, Aventurine's seal was unbreakable... thus, thrusting his book into Aventurine's unsuspecting chest (a mirrored image Veritas believed amusing), Veritas bent, braced his forearms 'round the crooks of Aventurine's knees, and lifted up, up, up.

“If you're so intent on busying yourself, might I suggest a place to sit instead? Where we both can focus on what's truly important to one another.”

On this day, Veritas Ratio learned he wasn't number one in Aventurine's heart. Rather, what's in front of his heart was.

[intothewildsea]

@souldanced like for a starter (for revali).

It wasn't often that Niamh visited the Rito village. She tended to stick to the coastlines, near the sea, but it was nice to travel inland sometimes. She'd bundled up, a scarf wrapped around her neck, to try and ward off the cold. The mountains certainly weren't the warm beaches she was used to.

She saw a familiar face as she was making her way up towards the village. She grinned, waving to catch his attention. "Revali!"

[galeleads]

@souldanced has entered. “I feel like that shouldn’t even be a problem.” — from Jean!

"You're not the only one," Of course, she can hear some of the murmurs. That was the one consistent in her life in this horrid city; rumors and judgment. (Even when nepotism through her father has never been at play!) She promised herself she wouldn't let it get her, but today wasn't a strong day. So, she's just staring into her coffee cup in the mess hall, "But men will be men, I suppose. Sorry, lonely jealous men will be lonely jealous men."

[venstm]

do you ever stop talking ? — from gepard to sampo

Ah,  trust  Captain  Gepard  Landau’s  admonishments  to  be  condensed  into  one,  all  encompassing  directive;  cease  all  unlawful  activity.  It  wasn’t  as  if  this  was  an  uncommon  series  of  events,  Sampo  Koski  seeing  to  it  that  business  as  usual  was  auspicious  &  the  ever  diligent  &  obstinate  Captain  putting  in  the  utmost  effort  to  intercept  him.  It  all  falls  well  within  the  realm  of  expected  outcomes  &  thus  his  fluidity  was  hardly  impeded.  The  main  issue  was  ─  people  like  him  were  entirely  uncompromising  !  Even  if  he  offered  an  immaculately  forged  permit  he  suspects  he  would  still  be  wholly  unsatisfied.  Talk  about  a  hard-to-please-return-customer.

In  an  act  of  placating  he  raises  his  hands,  the  vulpine  smile  that  curls  at  his  mouth  feigns  an  apology,  only  beneath  that  blithe  -  cheerful  act  lay  something  impish.  ❝  ━ now,  now  captain,  Sampo  Koski  knows  you’re  working  tirelessly  to  uphold  the  law. ❞  the  verbose,  performative  way  he  operated  to  exploit  ━  no,  make  certain  his  clients  were  satisfied  each  &  every  time  !  had  no  impact  on  that  reticent,  cold  exterior,  all  but  ricocheting  off  &  burying  itself  within  him  alongside  Gepard’s  stern  glare.   ❝  but  Sampo  Koski  is  here  on  business,  approved  business  mind  you. ❞  the  real  answer  was  no,  he  was  never  one  to  allow  the  immensity  of  silence  to  take  root.  ❝  so,  no  need  to  be  so  hostile. ❞   he  hasn’t  relented  in  his  act  of  compliance,  all  the  while  keeping  his  hands  raised  &  his  expression  genial,  as  innocuous  as  any  guy  pinned  beneath  Gepard  Landau’s  glower  could  be  ! 

[as8bakwthesage]

I gave Tem Souldancer a proper reference for their civilian self and their Magical Boy/Enbie transformation!

So a couple of notes:

Tem Souldancer is 16 years old when they meet the Turtles. They use they/them pronouns. They are also a self-insert who I ship with Donnie.*

Tem is short for Artemisia, a name that they adopted after moving to NYC. Their "real" name is Crow, but they did keep their surname out of respect for their family's culture and history. So they went from Crow Souldancer to Artemisia Souldancer, but everyone calls them Tem for short.

Tem is Two-Spirit, and is on Testosterone. Their gender is "your worst nightmare." They are also ace-spec.

Tem was diagnosed with ASD as a child. Their special interests lie in the complexities of magic and systems of the mystic arts. They study magic almost like it's a science. And also crows. They have a huge thing for crows. Duh no shit

They are very silly

Tem's Backstory and Powers...

Tem's Backstory:

Headcanon time! The magic in ROTTMNT stems from two sources - from the Spirits of the Earth or from the Krang/Onni. The magic that comes from the Earth and its Spirits acts like veins, and ties all living creatures together. The veins are in all kinds of colours, depending on the life force of the person a single vein is connected to. For obvious reasons, Raph's is red, Leo's is blue, Donnie's is purple, Mikey's is orange, April's is yellow, etc. However, most people cannot see the Veins, including the Hamatos.

Tem, and by extension their family, can see these Veins, alongside some other stuff. This is because many centuries ago, a young woman was given these abilities by one of the more powerful Spirits in order to protect the Earth from the Demons who would try to destroy it (the Krang.) This woman adopted the title Souldancer because it felt like she was dancing among the souls of the living. This would become the surname for Tem's family.

Souldancer children are born with a small crystal on their body, varying in shape, colour, and location. These are called Soul Crystals, and they help the Souldancers use their powers. However, they only appear on firstborn children. Any other children born after do not get a crystal. The secondborn are taught how to do magic for reasons that will become apparent in the next paragraph.

The firstborn child would be trained in the mystic arts and in the ability to see and manipulate the Veins. The secondborn child would be responsible for producing the next generation of firstborn and secondborn children, so that the Souldancer line never died out. The firstborns are not allowed to have relationships or develop attachments to others. (Kind of like the Jedi Order in the Star Wars prequels, and the reasons why are the exact same.) The firstborn are called Guardians, and the secondborn are called Carriers.

Tem is a very weird case because they and their brother Rook are the firstborn together. They are twins, and they both have crystals. Rook's is green while Tem's fluctuates between white, shades of grey, and black (I'll come back to why that's weird later!) But Souldancer twins have never been born before this, so Tem's parents had to figure out what to do. Because Tem was born a few minutes after Rook, their parents decided that Rook would be the next Guardian because he was older. Tem would be the next Carrier. They were supposed to marry a man who was nine years older than them when they turned 16.

They tried to smile and continue living. But they've always loved using their magic and protecting and helping others, and they don't want to give up that part of themselves. So when they turned 15, they ran away from home and moved out to NYC, where they knew an entrance to the Hidden City was. They figured that being closer to the Hidden City would mask their Soul Crystal from their parents' detection.

Tem set up shop and began working as a waiter, while also doing VTubing on the side (which they are slowly but surely getting more views and money from.) They also use the nights to their advantage to not only fight crime and help out injured people using their powers, but also to fight any and all remnants of the Demons' armies. Tem is also trying to destroy any and all remaining Krang weapons (one of which being the Dark Armor.)

Tem meets the Turtles in season 1 of ROTTMNT. They get very insecure about having to share a spotlight with any other heroes. Tem has lived in their brother's shadow for years and wants to escape it and make something of themselves independent from their family. They project hard on the Turtle brothers as a result. However, they soon become friends with the brothers, and develop a rivalry/friendship with Donnie (which eventually turns into a romance, but that's a very slow burn.)

Tem's Powers:

Remember how I mentioned above that Tem's Soul Crystal being greyscale is weird? Well, here's why! All Souldancer firstborns are born with a Crystal, and they all come in different shapes and colours. However, no child has ever been born with a Crystal like Tem's before.

The scale of White to Black shades in magic is reserved for those with a LOT of power, typically Spirits. White magic was typically more focused and could allow a person to utilise any kind of magic they wanted to. Black magic, on the other hand, was harder to control and was more prone to instability. However, it was also the culmination of all colours, so it could also do crazy powerful stuff. The shades of Greys in magic are a combination of both of these aspects. The darker the shade, the more magical energy a person had, but that magic was unstable and difficult to control.

Tem's Crystal changes colour depending on how upset they are. If they feel a very strong emotion such as hatred or terror or even love, their Crystal gets darker. However, Tem's appearance while transformed is a mix of different shades of greys mostly because it is a reflection of their experiences with their magic and emotions. The colour of their Crystal only changes whenever Tem overexerts themselves.

Tem's powers are more specific however. They can see the Veins, but they can also interact with them. If they spend enough time, Tem could find anybody in the world using the Veins. They can even siphon magical energy from a large network of sources to heal others. Think of it like the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Typically, minor injuries like cuts or bruises or even sprains don't take too much magic or effort. Wounds, stabs, broken bones are trickier but also not too difficult to heal. Near-death injuries are harder, but not impossible. However, when someone dies, it is basically impossible to heal from that.

Tem also can drain the life force and magical energy from others. Very similar deal to the Healing magic. Draining magic is easier when it's in smaller quantities. Typically draining small amounts of magic from someone will make them tired or weaker. In larger quantities, it could bring someone to near death or even kill someone. However, removing so much magic from someone as to practically take their soul would absolutely be way too much Black magic for one person to handle and it could possibly kill them.

Alongside that, Tem can also mimic the powers of the Turtles, mostly whenever they are in close proximity to them. So the closer Tem is to a brother, the easier it is for Tem to mimic their powers. Their crystal and clothes even have the colour of the corresponding brother added to them, which disappears when Tem is no longer using their powers. It's also important to note that the more Tem uses one of the Turtles' magical abilities, they also tend to feel whatever it is the brother in question is feeling. They can only use one power at a time, and if they try to do multiple at once, it is too much.

In their Corvid form (as they like to call their transformed black and white self), they can glide, jump farther, run faster than any ordinary human. They also have a significantly higher pain tolerance and much faster reflexes.

/

*I have been a TMNT fan since 2012, and I was 16/17 when Rise was announced/released. Tem is an abridged version of myself in 2017/2018, which is when the events of the first season start. I'm adult now, so any and all content from me about teen Tem and teen Donnie will be strictly SFW. This is kind of a grey zone for me in terms of self-shipping because it's retroactive and Tem's experiences differ from my own drastically.

Why I'm retroactively self-shipping is very personal to me, but it boils down to healing my inner child/teenager. I grew up with these characters and I'd like to pay homage to my younger self and give them some love and support from healthy places. This is very much a love letter to teenage Aso.

[grislyintentions]

“ the soothing breeze only made it worse. ” lyney to freminet

Meme || Accepting || @souldanced

"...Because it made it easier to pretend that everything's fine, right?" The words were out before Freminet could stop himself and the boy finds himself stiffening in preparation for reproach.

"Ah I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to presume I know anything about what you and Lynette went through. I just..." He takes a quiet breath. "I just think I can see why it's sometimes less painful that way. That's all."

[escaronarts]

The Soul Dancer

The Soul Dancer, my 4th time making her, (2:nd time as an ardoll) and my fave result to date. Every time she become a little more grand, (in my opinion at least 😁), wich is fun cause that mean I improve. She is fully handmade and stand 23.6" tall. I took this pic 3 weeks ago, actually the last time I saw the sun. I miss it! ☀️ More pics will come, but until then, have a lovely weekend!

------------------

Soul Dancers, keepers and protectors of life, carrier of souls. Invisible to the human eye they are spirits from a realm very close to our physical reality. Moving like wind and shadows they dance under the moon and stars, leap over the lands as the sun rise, one with nature, happy and free. Sometime you can catch a glimps of them, like a sudden shudder over a still lake, a flicker of light in the dark of the forest, a warm breeze in the middle of winter. They are always there, watching, waiting - for seasons to change, years to pass and souls to depart. When a living being in much pain and/or distress leaves our world a Soul Dancer is there to welcome the soul and gather it up in its cage of energy. There the soul go to slumber in a cocoon of light, safe and protected, healing as time pass by. And when the time is right it hatch into a beautiful butterfly - ready to fly off to get reborn once more. And so the never ending circle of life continues, now as always, for all of eternity.