#summer SAS

[allthingsscented]

Semi Annual Sale Haul!

Here are my first impressions/reviews:

Fresh Amalfi Lemon 🍋

I love this, it's a sweet lemon and I love the herbal notes the spearmint brings.

Fruity Sherbet Scoop 🍧

I had this in the body wash last year and loved it so much I had to get the whole line. It's fruity (obviously) but the sweet treat vibe of it is nostalgic to me somehow!

Wild Madagascar Vanilla 🍨

This one is somewhat of a scooby doo mystery (a la Queen of the Girl Geeks, thank you Bonnie for the perfect phrasing) to me. My mom had this in the fine fragrance mist years ago and I hated it! But the cream is amazing!? I love how creamy it smells and the floral and pear round it out well.

Main Street Bakery 🍌

Ok, I walked in to SAS saying I would buy 1 candle. I am running out of storage space in my current apartment and wanted to hold off until moving on acquiring any more. But when I picked this one up I knew I was breaking my own rule! It smells like an amazing banana pudding confectionary bakery blend. SO GOOD!

Apple 🍏

See prior reviews, I decided I needed back up FFM and a shower gel.

Vacation Vibe ⛵️

One of the few I bought that weren't on sale: I love this! It's a wonderful pistachio and amber coming through for me. Perfect for summer!

Love Always Wins: Vibrant Citrus & Sage 🌈

I think this is the best pride scent yet. It's deep and woodsy yet brightened by the citrus!

Water Lily Springs 🪷

This scent is an aquatic fresh floral. I loved it so much in the shower gel I wanted to pick up a FFM.

Very Berry Crisp 🫐

I put this straight out to use once I bought it. Smells just like berry cobbler!

Springtime in Paris 🍑

I love this scent. The light floral and peach makes it perfect for spring. What really sold me was the birds on the jar. They remind me of something my grandma would've loved 🦜

Wallflowers

I don't have many reviews yet for these but I can say the Almond Croissant is 1) AMAZING 2) STRONG!! and 3) true to its name!

[lecialucille]

˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖ ˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖ ˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖ ˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖

☀️🎀🐬(｡◕‿◕｡) U*SA*HA*NA☀️🎀🐬

˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖ ˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖ ˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖ ˚ . ♡ . ݁ ˖

[sweetygirlm]

Lost in the beauty of the endless sea and sky

🩵💛🧡💙.

[sesamenom]

@general-illyrin @tar-thelien @who-needs-words I think you all mentioned being interested in the reverse gondolin au - is anyone interested in helping with wrangling the timelines, especially the second age stuff? Here's the current outline:

(Edit: anyone feel free to help out if you're interested!)

YT 14365 - Birth of Lomion

YT 14373/FA 1 - Death of Argon

FA

2 - Aredhel adopts Lomion

300 - Birth of Idril

316 - Turgon & Idril kidnapped by Eol

400 - Turgon & Idril rescued. Death of Eol

465 - Finrod more-peacefully passes throne to orodreth while on Quest. Everyone except beren still dies

472 - Nirnaeth. Turgon named High King of the Noldor.

476 - Turgon abdicates official title. Aredhel named High King of the Noldor.

496 - Tuor comes to Gondolin

502 - Wedding of Idril and Tuor

503 - Births of Earendil and Elwing. Idril begins to have foresight dreams about the Fall.

506 - Second Kinslaying. C^3 dead, celebrimbor stays in gondolin. Aredhel denounces the oath/kinslaying and disowns C^3

Elwing survives & is found by Oropher & Thranduil // Galadriel & Celeborn. oropher, thranduil, oropher's wife, and thranduil's then-gf // galadriel & celeborn take Elwing to Gondolin as refugees. The Silmaril is left hidden in the woods of melian's domain.

507 - Elwing comes to Gondolin.

509 - Idril captured by Morgoth. Idril reveals the location of Gondolin in exchange for an Oath to not harm her family (Turgon, Tuor, and Earendil). Idril rescued.

510 - Gondolin prepares for war with Morgoth.

513-522 - Siege of Gondolin. Deaths of Duilin and Rog. Gothmog slain by Aredhel the Huntress. First use of the Three Rings by Lomion and Celebrimbor in defense of Gondolin. House of the Hammer of Wrath destroyed.

523 - Maedhros believes a Silmaril is with Elwing at Gondolin.

525 - Earendil weds Elwing. Lomion weds ???. Adoption of Gil-Galad

532 - Births of Elrond and Elros.

538 - Third Kinslaying at Gondolin. Death of Amras. Elrond and Elros kidnapped by Maglor. Deaths of Elwing and Turgon. Second use of the Three Rings by Lomion and Celebrimbor. Deaths of Maedhros and Aredhel. Lomion named King of Gondolin and High King of the Noldor. Deaths of Salgant, Penlod, and Tuor. Earendil named Lord of the House of the Wing.

540-549 - War declared between Gondolin and the Feanorians of Himring over the Third Kinslaying and kidnapping of Princes Elrond and Elros.

549 - Elrond and Elros recovered. Feanorians and Gondolin severely weakened. Celebrimbor // Gil-Galad declared heir to the High Kingship.

552-554 - Second Siege & Fall of Gondolin. Third use of the Three Rings by Lomion and Celebrimbor. Deaths of Ecthelion, Glorfindel, Egalmoth, and Turgon. Idril and Celebrimbor lead survivors through the Secret Way.

555 - Gondolithlim refugees arrive at Sirion.

556 - Idril departs for Valinor.

558 - Earendil searches for Valinor.

560 - Havens of Sirion destroyed by Morgoth. Gondolithlim/Doriathrim survivors scattered. Elrond and Elros rescued (as adults) by Maglor.

572 - Morgoth controls Beleriand. Earendil and reembodied Elwing come to Valinor and rally the Host.

575-617 - War of Wrath

618 - Maglor claims the Silmaril from Eonwe's camp and casts himself into the Sea. Death of Maglor.

620 - End of the First Age.

SA

1 - Founding of the Grey Havens and Lindon under High King Lomion

2 - Elros becomes the first King of Numenor

c. 500 - Sauron returns to Middle-Earth in the East.

650 - Eregion is founded

1000 - Galadriel is given Vilya; Lomion wields Nenya

1170 - Annatar comes to Lindon and Lomion turns him away. Lomion warns Celebrimbor of Eregion of his suspicions.

1200 - Annatar comes to Eregion. Celebrimbor takes him in to monitor.

1250 - Celebrimbor creates the Seven; Lomion creates the Nine.

1410 - Annatar is kicked out of Eregion.

1600 - The One Ring is forged. Sauron remains in hiding.

1610 - Sauron begins to gather and prepare armies in the East.

1673 - War of the Elves and Sauron begins.

1675 - Sauron invades Eriador.

1677 - Fall of Ost-in-Edhil. Celebrimbor and Lomion remain at the House of the Mirdain. Death of Celebrimbor in battle // Fourth use of the Three in battle. Sauron does not learn of the Seven. Founding of Imladris.

1678 - Sauron defeated by the Numenoreans and the Elves of Lindon.

1679 - Sauron flees to Mordor. First White Council held.

3147 - Civil war in Numenor.

3225 - Ar-Pharazon seizes the Sceptre.

3228 - Elrond claims the Sceptre. Ar-Pharazon disowned. Tar-Miriel named Ruling Queen.

3232 - Sauron taken to Numenor as a prisoner.

3274 - Elrond kicks Sauron out of Numenor and outlaws the morgoth cult.

3310 - Morgoth cult publicly reappears.

3319 - Downfall of Numenor. Tar-Miriel leads a greater force of the Faithful away.

(green // blue means two main options, red means i need to think about it more)

The main details I'm figuring out right now are

does Celebrimbor still die at Eregion - I don't think he's getting captured/tortured, but he could still die in the battle. On the other hand, he could probably survive by using Narya & Lomion using Nenya, but that would definitely have repercussions further down the line

how does Idril's deal work - I'm currently thinking of Idril exchanging the location of Gondolin for her family's guaranteed safety, because it seems in character for Reverse Idril? But on the other hand, even if I limit it to immediate family at the time of the oath (tuor, turgon, earendil) then idk where turgon dies? Maybe Maglor can kill him but that seems kind of random

where and how does Turgon die

how does Prince Elrond's character even work

how does Numenor still fall when factoring in Prince Elrond - I'm thinking that the morgoth death cult gained enough traction during the time sauron was there that even after Elrond kicks him out, the cult still sticks around and reemerges later? The Fall still happens, but they never go to attack valinor and there's a good deal more Faithful (maybe 40-60%?)

[thequeenofsarcaasm]

I love BL manga/webtoons that ain’t solely focused on romance and I think we deserve more stories like that.

[gt-icons]

Summer icons

‒ like or reblog if you save

[amethystsoda]

Usahana - Yumemiru Ballerina

[shes-some-other-where]

June of Doom Day 6

“We’re out of time.” | Collapse

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Contains: magic/fantasy whump, restraints, psychological whump, taunting, magic side effects (exhaustion, nosebleed), death wish, verbal threat toward a loved one (not present) vaguely alluding to noncon/SA

WC: 940

Deadness where there had before been life

The door to the seer’s room burst open.

“You’re going to find someone for me.” It was the prince, of course. He slammed the door behind him. “And I’m not feeling especially patient this morning, so you’d better make it quick. I’m not in the mood to have my time wasted.”

The seer rose warily from the pitiful palette they expected him to believe was a bed, watching the prince stride toward him. His foe certainly seemed different: angrier than usual, agitated. What, precisely, was the hurry? He acted like he was running out of time for . . . something. But why?

It seemed . . . wrong. Ominous.

“The northerner you saw before.” The prince flung a gold chain at the seer, forcing him to fumble to catch it. “He severed the magic on this. Find him for me. Now.”

Severed the magic . . .

The seer stared down at the bracelet which had, until recently, adorned his sister’s wrist. So, its curse had been broken.

The northerner you saw before . . .

A cursebreaker?

Frowning, the seer dared a curious glance between the broken bracelet and the prince’s face.

“I’m waiting.”

Hot, pulsing anger, tinged with apprehension, flooded through the seer. His visions had been unreliable of late, and more taxing, and they were only getting worse. Five years of practice should have honed his skills. Instead, the passage of time—and all the anguish it had wrought—seemed now to be taking its toll.

Even so, the seer knew he was powerless to refuse. No matter how much he wanted to fling the useless bracelet into the prince’s face. No matter how much he wanted to demand news of his sister. To know if there had been retribution for this broken curse. If that retribution had fallen disproportionately on her.

He closed his eyes, fingers clutched around the frail gold chain. The other hand, the one missing two digits, unconsciously curled into a tight, malformed fist.

He hated his gift still. After all this time, the dizzying foray into the lives of others, the sickening voyeurism into their memories, their dreams, their most private moments . . .

It tore at his soul.

No matter how many times he put himself through it, he remained convinced that constantly splitting himself into a million shapeless fragments and then stitching himself back together piece by piece would bring about his end.

The vision rushed over him, indistinct and watery at first, then growing clearer. A party. A ball. There’s to be a festival, she’d said during her weekly visit. He recalled, as if from another lifetime, the extravagance and frivolity of the vernal equinox, and the celebration that came with it. But his sister was there—dressed in brilliant, sanguine red. Why? What was this? A dream of hers, or a memory?

Shouldn’t be here.

Wracked with guilt, he flinched, sweat beading on his brow.

Find him. Not her. Him. The one who severed the magic.

There—there. A man approaching, tanned, smiling uncertainly. An awkward, loping gait, a nervous bow. Who? Why? The man. That man. Familiar. Older. Here. Dancing, stumbling, laughing.

The seer’s corporeal body twitched uncomfortably. His sister, she laughed, too. Quietly, gently, but earnestly. Lips brushed against fingers held aloft. Balcony. Stars. Flowers. Alarm. Fear. A kiss. A kiss? The seer balked, but he couldn’t escape, not while lost in the thrall of his vision. He watched, his heart bleeding, as his sister fled with tears in her eyes and the stranger gaped down at a broken piece of metal in his palm.

Find him.

Find him.

Pain surged through him, digging into his body with white-hot spikes, as he forced the vision to shift. Find. Follow. Raised voices and worry. A bitter, metallic taste at the back of his throat. I have to find her. Find her. Find him. The words mingled, nauseating, too loud. Pain in his skull, poison on his tongue. Find her.

A lonesome sunrise. A gold charm. Deadness where there had before been life. Find her. A setting sun, blood-red. A wrought-iron gate, barred. Find him.

“I’m going to find her!”

The seer’s eyes flew open, the vision fading. It felt like dying, like inconsolable loss, like bleeding out with nothing to staunch the flow of blood.

His legs gave out beneath him.

“He’s not far,” he rasped. “He’s looking for a way in. Looking for . . .”

I have to find her.

“Tonight,” he said. “He’ll be outside. South gate. Sunset.”

The prince’s face was pitiless as he stared down at the shaking form on the floor, then wrested the gold bracelet from his grasp. “You’re certain?”

The seer nodded, still trying to catch his breath. A hot trickle down his face told him his nose was bleeding. 

“You grow more pathetic by the day,” the prince said. “The day your usefulness runs out, you know I’ll have you killed, right?”

The seer knew.

If only that day would come a little more swiftly.

“Still,” said the prince, “you’ve turned out to be more valuable than your worthless whore of a sister.”

The seer lurched forward, but the chain on his ankle snapped taut. He opened his mouth to hurl obscenities instead.

His voice was gone.

“Then again, I knew that from the start,” said the prince. “That cursebreaker better be in my possession by tonight, or I’ll give your sister to someone who will find a use for her.”

No voice, no strength, no weapon, no way to launch an attack.

The seer spat at the prince’s feet.

The prince scoffed as he opened the door and made to leave, pausing only to say one thing more before he vanished.

“Oh. That’s right. I already did.”

June of Doom Masterlist

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@juneofdoom

All my writing is original. Feel welcome to interact/comment/reblog. Pls don’t steal or repost.

[greensaplinggrace]

Who else besides Spike has committed SA on Buffy? youre grasping at straws to excuse your pathetic white boy again..

literally the entire main cast except buffy. and technically giles. although i count him amongst those who have engaged in grievous nonconsent, considering what he did during the tento di cruciamentum.

angel against buffy: statutory rape and grooming. plus stalking. not to mention the line he toes by having her memory erased.

angel against drusilla: everything he did to her. enough said.

xander against buffy: attempted rape while possessed by the hyena spirit, which i will count for a number of reasons - key of which is that if i wasn't counting xander i would have to discount spike. and i very much do count spike.

xander against the women of sunndyale: do you remember that love spell he did that erased their consent and forced them to fall madly in love with him and almost caused more than one murder? because i do! that's sexual assault!

willow against tara: mind-rape as well as rape, because when you erase someone's memory of a fight so they can continue sleeping with you when they would otherwise say no, that's rape.

willow against buffy and spike: not as serious, but if spike and buffy had slept together during thy-will-be-done spell, she would have been in some serious trouble. as is, her spell erased their consent and forced them into romantic and borderline sexual situations together anyway. so that's sexual assault right there.

willow against everyone in the bronze: forcing people to strip dance against their consent is sexual assault. and also a basic violation of bodily autonomy.

willow against the scoobies: not technically sa, but she still violated bodily autonomy and consent through her tabula rasa spell, which was an attempt to mind-rape buffy.

faith against xander: they initiated sex and then he revoked consent. she kept going. that's rape.

faith against buffy and riley: she had sex with riley while in buffy's body, against both of their consent, which is rape. also stealing buffy's body is just straight up hinky to begin with.

anya against xander: technically this is toeing the line of grooming/predatory behavior, but the way she pursues him at first isn't exactly above board.

anya against countless others: almost everything she did as a vengeance demon was sexual assault.

so you know what i'm beginning to think this is your typical 90s tv show where cases of sa and rape are handled with very little care, and to make matters worse it's written by joss whedon. so honestly, i condemn spike just as i condemn every other character, but i'm not going to hate him for something that i consider the very peak of bad writing when i dont hate them for it either. and i don't even consider it bad because it happened, but because it was handled so fucking poorly and cheaply in the narrative. just like every other instance of sa and rape in the show. sorry, but i have more awareness of writer bias than that.

and if you really want to delve into it, i think it's fascinating how spike's attempt in seeing red is atypical of your usual sexual assault. i think the fact that he stops and is actively horrified is interesting, considering that most attempts in real life and in the show are defined by a certain mindset that drives the assaulter to keep going. it's not an excuse, by the way, it's an analysis. put side by side with even other characters in the show and their own similar crimes, it's downright indicative of quite a lot of things.

[allthingsscented]

SEMI-ANNUAL SALE HAUL #1

This is what i got in store, i’ll post my first impressions/reviews here:

Dream Bright Bubble Bath- i can’t wait to use this. Dream Bright is a wonderful sophisticated scent that makes me feel so fancy. it’s perfect for a night out (or in the bath with a glass of wine!). i don’t currently have a bathtub in my apartment but i’m hoping i can borrow my partner’s after he moves to try this out ✨

Sparkling Orange Spritz- this is AMAZING! i’ve been obsessed with Orange soda lately and this smells just like it! i love that they captured the bubbliness in the scent 🧡🍊

Vanilla Mocha Martini- i had this scent in a body lotion when it was vanilla mocha cafe. i kind of forgot about it for a while, but decided to pick it up in the mist on sale. it’s such a nice creamy scent with some coffee in there as well. i love it for fall and winter because it reminds me of drinking hot coffee in a cozy sweater ☕️

Sun Soul Radiating- i love this scent sooo much so i had to grab another cream on sale! it smells the way the sun feels on your skin in the summer and i’m not sure how they captured that in scent but it’s fantastic! 🌞

Mango Mai Tai Lip Gloss- amazing! the lip gloss formula in the skinny tubes is so great. i have the candy corn one for fall and needed a more summery scent. this has a nice bright fruity scent to it. 🥭

Cinnamon Spiced Vanilla Candle- so i have the candle that blended this with paris cafe and i love it! my partner liked this one so i picked it up for him since i have it in a blend. it’s a wonderful sugary cinnamon that smells like baking dessert! 🍨

Patchouli & Rosewood- i love patchouli so when i saw this on sale i had to grab it! it’s true to its name. i think patchouli is such a cozy scent and i’m hoping to light this one up today. 💓

Watermelon Mojito- i liked this when i smelled it but didn’t want a full size. i saw the mini on sale and decided to grab it. this scent is amazing, it mixes the sweetness of watermelon with a bubbly drink scent and fresh mint. 🍉

Coco Paradise Hand Cream- this scent is great! it smells like a salty creamy coconut. i also love coconut hand creams as it feels they moisturize my hands more for some reason! 🥥

[thepunkmuppet]

UGH I decided to rewatch That Scene in seeing red and all the spike stuff in the episode leading up to it, and just… it was so good. his and buffy’s characterisation, their performances, the writing, all SO GOOD. and then That happens and it’s all out the window for me.

not just because I personally hate seeing my favourite character (since I was 10) attempt to sexually attack my other favourite character, though yeah that might be a fucking factor jesus christ. but because it just doesn’t make sense. with spike, and specifically with spike and buffy, he can talk the talk and do nasty stuff in the bedroom all he wants but when it comes down to actually, genuinely hurting her, the end of season 5 onwards shows that he could NEVER. we actually had a tamer version of this in crush, when he ties her up. I’m sorry, but that taught him. there was a change from then on out.

yeah he has that mentality of “she loves me, she wants it”, and yeah that makes sense considering both his personality and the way buffy has acted within their relationship. and NO I’m not saying “she asked for it”, what I’m saying is she has on many occasions said no when she meant yes, and that has become pretty much the foundation and the appeal of their relationship for both of them. it doesn’t justify anything, it just means that it technically makes sense why a soulless and therefore selfish character like spike would take her actions in this way and push it to an extreme. but yeah personally it just doesn’t sit with me. it’s horrible.

if it had stopped before the bit where he pins her down, it would have got the point across. still nasty and horrible, still condemnable, but honestly just him trying to kiss her and her ending up falling on the bath and hurting herself would get the point across to spike, buffy and the audience in exactly the same way. it’s so unnecessarily brutal, and yeah, I know he’s a soulless monster, so I do sound like a bit of a knob, but genuinely he wouldn’t do that. after all that tenderness, all the genuine care he expresses for her with both words and actions from season 5-6… with her screaming and crying, there is NO WAY he would go that far, not at that point in his arc.

but that’s just my take I guess FUCK I literally HATE this scene what the hell

[sweetygirlm]

The sky speaks in a thousand colors, and every sunset tells a different story. 🧡🤍🩵

[dixt]

tergniet, south africa ⋅ ph. herman.strydom 

[girlivealwaysbean]

i think growing up is just life repeatedly sucker punching you and saying bitch you thought things were gonna better lmao no you're so naive and stupid for having hope in 20 years the world will be flaming bag of garbage and no matter how hard you work you'll get eliminated at some point

[gay-impressionist]

my day was : eating delicious strawberries, reading in the sun on our balcony, taking a walk with @pia-writes-things and eating ice creams (it's 26°C lol), going to the fair with my sister and buying more strawberries.

bliss.

[samsdei]

Jacob McCarthy