#ursa major 2024

[thelettergii]

So bad news - I was laid off from my fulltime job at Ubisoft. Or well, they shut the whole studio down. My severance package is pretty good so I should be okay financially for a while, but it's been a rough few days nevertheless. Now more than ever, any support of my indie game Sugarplum Cafe is appreciated - reblog this post, join my mailing list, or join my Patreon for early access!

Good news if you're attending the EGL convention Ursa Major in SF Japantown - you can play Sugarplum Cafe this Saturday! With permission from staff, I will be in the Game Lounge (Osaka Room) from 3-8 pm, holding a playtest and wearing these bows. Come say hi + help break my game! (You will need to purchase a weekend or day pass to attend Ursa Major. See here for how to obtain one.)

For those of you who don't know, Sugarplum Cafe is a merge crafting game that I'm solo developing. It's about running a sweets cafe and serving tea parties to fashionable ladies inspired by dessert flavors!

[godbirdart]

「 marred with memory, heart bristled, you grasped bravery and revealed your hand. you are now entering the next chapter. you are ready. 」 💫🌌

[ghost-town-story]

FebruarOC Day 26: Zinnia

(Bear the human and Bear the bear have finally gotten named! Fuck yeah!)

Zinnia ran as fast as her feet could carry her, darting through the now-familiar hallways towards the door to the outside. She didn’t know what she was going to do, once she reached it. She didn’t know what she should do. All she knew was that she had to get out of here as quick as possible, with Amaranth, and without getting caught.

She skidded around a corner and found herself in the lobby facing the door. Fear shot through her, bringing with it another rush of adrenaline, but Zinnia forced herself to swallow it down as she ran for the door, darting around the unsuspecting adults.

“Zinnia!”

Zinnia didn’t recognize the voice, and the additional spike of panic spurred her to go even faster as she crashed into the door. Amaranth chittered on her shoulder, her claws digging into Zinnia’s skin, but then the door gave way and they both tumbled outside for the first time.

Zinnia took a few stumbling steps, but not even the fear was enough to keep her going now. Not when everything was too bright and too unfamiliar and too loud and—

“Zinnia!”

Zinnia shrieked as somebody grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around. Almost immediately, Pyxis let go of her and raised his hands.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you, it just seemed like you couldn’t hear me.”

Zinnia panted, staring at him with wide eyes. He seemed… normal. Almost too normal, considering the morning she’d had.

“Are you okay?” Pyxis asked. “What’s wrong?”

Zinnia shook her head, her panting turning to unsteady gasps.

“Can I touch you?” Pyxis asked softly.

Zinnia immediately darted for him and flung her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Pyxis wrapped his arms around her, and Zinnia finally felt safe, like nobody could find her hidden here.

“I know,” Pyxis murmured, keeping his mouth close to her ear so she could hear him over all the other noises around. “It’s really different out here, huh. If you told me you wanted to explore out here I woulda come with you, so it’s a bit less overwhelming.”

Zinnia shook her head again, still gasping for air.

“Do you want to go inside for a bit and sit? Then we can come back out when you’ve calmed down a bit.”

Zinnia shook her head even more emphatically, pushing herself away from Pyxis. He looked confused and a bit hurt at the action, but Zinnia didn’t give him a chance to speak. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Everything was confusing and terrifying, but Zinnia wanted to trust Pyxis so bad it hurt.

“Something—something bad happened this morning,” she admitted. “And—and somebody talked to me beforehand, warned me that—that—he told me I should get out of the building and run and I don’t understand—”

Her voice broke on a sob. Pyxis stepped forward to pull Zinnia into another hug, and she didn’t resist.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t—I don’t understand,” Zinnia gasped. “It happened and then it didn’t and I went through the vents before it could happen again.”

“Your powers again?”

“M—Maybe.”

Pyxis hummed, his entire chest vibrating with the noise. “If somebody’s trying to hurt you, then we gotta let somebody know,” he said. “I can tell my handler, if you want. I gotta go talk to her anyways, she got my hibernation schedule messed up and my door was locked this morning.”

Zinnia felt a cold flash of fear at his words. “Pyxis, what if she’s in on it too?” she asked. “They—they looked a lot of the other adults I saw yesterday, when I was getting tested, what if—”

“Hey.” Pyxis put a hand on her cheek and held her gaze, honey eyes warm and gentle. “I promise things are going to be okay. Will you let me help you?”

Zinnia was tired and scared, her chest hurt from too much running and crying, and Amaranth was abnormally silent on her shoulder, only the occasional twitch of her tail indicating she was still listening. But where she was small, scared, and helpless, Pyxis was tall and strong and brave, warm and gentle and sweet.

Zinnia sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “Okay,” she whispered.

Pyxis nuzzled the side of her head. “I’ll take care of you,” he murmured, and despite her worries, Zinnia knew he meant it. “Come on,” he said, pulling away and taking her hand. “Let’s go inside, okay?”

“But…” Zinnia hesitated.

“You don’t have to go back to your room,” Pyxis said. “In fact, you probably shouldn’t for a while. But there’s places for you to hide inside, where it’s familiar and not quite so scary and overwhelming. And I’ll come find you as soon as I’ve talked to my handler.”

“Okay,” Zinnia agreed, and she let Pyxis pull her back towards the door she’d burst out of.

[deterioratingpisces]

“What? What?!” “It’s morning!” “I lost time. Things got a little heated.” “With a boy! Things got heated with a boy. I was at home picking lint off the sofa!” “I said to join us.” “The night’s gone, the room’s soiled and once again, I’m here with mop and mindlessness to clean it up.” “So the room got dirty, so what? I’ll clean it up.” “No, I clean it up! You make the mess and I clean it up! Mark it on the calendar, align it with Ursa Major. Louis’ tri-annual fuck off and find me with apologies to follow.” “I’m sorry.” “You seek comfort in the arms of lowlifes and unfortunates, and broken children, fine.” “Oh, fine! The fine that doesn’t sound like fine.” “But revealing our nature to a reporter you met in a bar ten hours ago? What if it was published?” “I was having some fun!-“ “-You don’t have enough to fear from Paris?-” “-I was in the middle of ending things, when you-“ “-No you’d have been passed out on the floor next to him, Louis! Out on the feet from the drugs you stuffed him with!” “Oh this is boring! You’re boring! You are so boring!” “And here come the drugs.” “Colorless.-” “-Up the fangs, down this road.-” “-Flavorless.-“ “-Into the heart and off with the fingers, feet.-“ “-Dull! Dull! Dull!-“ “-And wallowing brain.-“ “-Dull nights, dull weeks! Dull months, dull as fuck! Suffocation by the world’s softest, beigest pillow. The ten hours I spent with that boy were more exciting, more fascinating, than decades with you! Oh there it is!The half-blank, half-apocalyptic look! But what does it mean tonight, huh? Does he want to lick my boots or chop my hands off? Is it the gremlin or the good nurse tonight? Huh?“ “Okay. Okay, perhaps. But am I as boring as the blather committed onto the ferric tapes of your fascinating boy? ‘Oh, it’s so, so hard to be me.’-” “-Picking lint off the sofa?!-“ “-‘It’s so hard to kill humans. I can feel their feelings as I drain them.’-“ “-You sat on your hands and put your ear to the wind.-” “-‘Everyone I know wrongs me.’” “Okay. Okay, let’s wake the boy up and let’s try you. ‘I’m the vampire Armand and my daddy vampire groomed me into a little bitch.’-“ “-‘My brother tossed himself off a roof!’-“ “-‘the vampires who murdered my daddy‘-“ “-‘my sister buried me alive.’-“ “-‘made me pretend I didn’t have a dick for 240 years.’-“ “-‘My daughter was my sister was my throw pillow. When he wouldn’t look at me kindly. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat. Lestat.’-“ “I talked shit about him the whole time! So what?!” “The name!! The name! Unuttered in our home for 23 years, said over and over again until it was pounding in my brain like a hammer.” “Our problems aren’t about him.” “And you threw her name around just for cover, but it always circled back to him.” “I loved her.” “But she didn’t love you. Not like he did, not like I have.”

Dialogue excerpt from Interview with the Vampire Season 2, Episode 5. © 2024 AMC Networks.

[ariseur]

“do you think we get a star out there when we die?”

he hummed in thought for a second or two, “maybe.”

“would you look for mine if i died?”

suguru stayed silent as his grip slightly faltered, eyes still fixated on the dark sky above you, littered with stars. your head turned back to mimic his actions, your ears echoing the shuffling in your head from the rough grass rustling under you.

“sorry,” you muttered.

“i would,” he mumbled, loud enough for you to hear as his fingers tightened around yours again, feeling the way your pulse would thump a little quicker in your fingertips whenever he’d speak.

looking at him, you realized that you and suguru geto were like roadkill, two dogs playing fetch on the highway as you chased your visible breaths in the cold — you’d throw a bone and he’d bring back his heart, bloody and throbbing. that was your routine, and he never got sick of it. even when the car would come, he’d lay limp under the wheels in hopes of making it quick, at least glad that your face would be the last thing he saw.

your lips twitched into a soft smile, bittersweet and warm — something geto always understood without words. thumbing his knuckle on his first finger, your eyes trailed down to where you were connected. at times, it often felt that sex would rarely surpass these small, intimate moments the two of you would share. you’d heed his calls for comfort in the middle of the night, using your time of quietude as an excuse to sway under the stars, the bright shimmering lights providing you a sensation of serenity as only the crickets and suguru’s soft breathing was heard.

your hands would find each other even in a dark spot where nobody could see; that was the beauty of the dark, you could hide from anything in there.

“i hope you know that i really am grateful for you,” he mumbled, eyes trained on what lay above you, trying to search for certain constellations he remembered reading about ( or more so being forced to read about ) back in school, virgo and ursa major and such. he struggled the urge to hold back a smile as he felt your gaze on him once more, instead letting the feeling of content manifest itself upon his lips, only a corner of his lip quirking up.

“me too, sugu,” you closed your eyes, letting your head relax on the gross, occasionally shaking it if you felt even the slightest crawl near you on the ground. “me too.”

a small huff of air left geto’s nose in amusement, his eyes closing along with yours only for a bit, letting this calming feeling wash over him — peace, it almost felt like. suguru would do anything for you and your love, even willing to lie on the floor merely a few feet away, just to have you nearby. his hand felt warm, comforted from the abrasive cold that had enveloped him many years ago; slowly, he could feel himself melting into you, yearning for more of you.

“i would look for yours, too, by the way,” you said, causing suguru to open his eyes and shift his head towards you again. your lashes fluttered, peeking one eye open to look at the stars once more.

he felt your hand grip his snugly before you turned your head to look at him. you beamed, “your star, i’d look for it forever if i had to,” you failed to miss the way his eyes widened ever so slightly, dark pupils on display even in the dim moonlight. you would do anything for each other, you both thought, that was common knowledge in itself even non-verbally; for what is love if not offering to bring back grief, only a little bit smaller.

you watched as his tired eyes crinkled at the corners again, relaxing themselves — and for what seemed like the first time in forever, suguru smiled.

𐙚 join my taglist !! ; @sad-darksoul @kasumitenbaz ( where all my geto baddies at 💔 )

𐙚 requests are open — july seventeenth, 2024 ( 11:36 am )

[the-californicationist]

This week has fucking sucked! But, a brief update for the couple of people who actually check in on me here:

🐻 Ursa Major chapter is coming out this weekend! Maybe even tonight if I can drag my poor broken body over to my laptop. (I’m physically fine, I’m just exhausted)

🎃 My 2024 Kinktober list is getting finalized and posted soon too! I’m really proud of my cutesy little headers so I hope you like them. Nasty kinks though. lol i was in a mood when I made that list.

Gonna be a rough week next week too but hopefully things will smooth out after that.

It feels like we’re going through a shift. A change in the winds. An odd sort of awakening. Maybe it’s just me. If someone wants to read my tarot to figure my shit out, that’d be great.

🩷 Do something nice for yourself. That’s an order.

Love, Cali Cat

[seams-witch]

Ursa Major 2024 outfits! :D

[apod]

2024 August 1

Comet Olbers over Kunetice Castle Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava

Explanation: A visitor to the inner solar system every 70 years or so Comet 13P/Olbers reached its most recent perihelion, or closest approach to the Sun, on June 30 2024. Now on a return voyage to the distant Oort cloud the Halley-type comet is recorded here sweeping through northern summer night skies over historic Kunetice Castle, Czech Republic. Along with a broad dust tail, and brighter coma, this comet's long ion tail buffeted by storms and winds from the Sun, is revealed in the composite of tracked exposures for comet and sky, and fixed exposures for foreground landscape recorded on July 28. The comet is about 16 light-minutes beyond the castle and seen against faint background stars below the northern constellation Ursa Major. The hilltop castle dates to the 15th century, while Heinrich Olbers discovered the comet in 1815. Captured here low in northwestern skies just after sunset Comet Olbers, for now, offers skywatchers on planet Earth rewarding telescopic and binocular views. Comet 13P/Olbers next perihelion passage will be in 2094.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240801.html

[uncontrolledfission]

Comet Olbers over Kunetice Castle, 2024-08-01

A visitor to the inner solar system every 70 years or so Comet 13P/Olbers reached its most recent perihelion, or closest approach to the Sun, on June 30 2024. Now on a return voyage to the distant Oort cloud the Halley-type comet is recorded here sweeping through northern summer night skies over historic Kunetice Castle, Czech Republic. Along with a broad dust tail, and brighter coma, this comet's long ion tail buffeted by storms and winds from the Sun, is revealed in the composite of tracked exposures for comet and sky, and fixed exposures for foreground landscape recorded on July 28. The comet is about 16 light-minutes beyond the castle and seen against faint background stars below the northern constellation Ursa Major. The hilltop castle dates to the 15th century, while Heinrich Olbers discovered the comet in 1815. Captured here low in northwestern skies just after sunset Comet Olbers, for now, offers skywatchers on planet Earth rewarding telescopic and binocular views. Comet 13P/Olbers next perihelion passage will be in 2094.

Credits: NASA's 'Astronomy Picture Of The Day.'

[thelettergii]

Thank you to everyone who showed up to play my game or even just said hi at Ursa Major 2024! If we interacted at all this weekend I wanna follow you back, so if I missed you, comment or DM me! 

I’m so glad that Sugarplum Cafe vibed with so much of the EGL community. It’s been a rough week tbh, but Ursa Major helped end things on a sweeter note.

I just wanted to doodle my coord real quick because I’m exhausted af and don’t have the energy to start the character intros today like I originally planned, sorry! Check back in like two days for more Sugarplum Cafe stuff!

And for those of you wondering if I’m into lolita fashion now…it depends on whether I can find more dresses I like as much as this one. But everyone I’ve met has been so nice, I wanna help the community as much as I can!!

Btw the dress is Magic Girl by Your Princess, but I made extra bows to accessorize the beret + boots - my first successful sewing project ever!!

[legofanguy]

Nalu week 2024 stars

A Fairy Tail fanfiction that is a entry for @allaboutnalu event Nalu week 2024 day 6 stargazing.

On a cool summer night, Natsu and his family of his wife Lucy and their daughter Nasha look at the stars in the night sky and Lucy point to a constellation, "See those stars, Nasha. If you follow those stars, you get the constellation Ursa Minor. Then, look left from Ursa Minor and you find its mama Ursa Major." Natsu smile at the two girls in his life enjoying the night sky as Lucy continue on until she noticed Natsu looking at her and ask him, "Natsu, is something wrong?" and Natsu quickly said, "I was just looking for the lady constellation." Lucy said to Natsu, "Unless you are talking about the Virgo or Aquarius constellations, there is not lady constellation, Natsu." and he reply with his face red, "Well, there is one here." Lucy figure out what Natsu means and smile before the couple kiss and their daughter keep looking at the night sky for any new constellations she can find.

[womblegrinch]

Carl Brenders (b.1937) - Ursa major

Mixed media on board. Painted in 2023.

28 x 37 inches, 71.1 x 94 cm. Estimate: US$40,000-60,000.

Sold Jackson Hole Art Auction, Jackson, Wyoming, 14 Sept 2024 for US$35,000 + B.P.

[jacqulinetan]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged!!!! thank you @ursae-minoris-world, you're truly so so kind to think of me.

I'll be real honest, I'm only on tumblr very intermittently and I don't really know how to use the platform at all. I'm scared that my formatting will be really messy and make people angry if I put a wall of text on their feed. So hopefully I figure out how to do the jump cut. But I just finished a fic so it's very fun to do one of these and talk about my writing. And I always like to see other people too, so I thought, hey I will give it a shot. Here's the questions:

How many works do you have on ao3? Right now I just finished my 74th work on ao3! Fifty four of those are vld, twenty four are sheith proper

2. What's your total word count on ao3? 993,716 words. I'm set to hit a million this year, I think!

3. What fandoms do you write for? LOL can you believe it? We're still loving Mr. Keith Voltron in the glorious year of our lord 2024

4. What are your top five fic by kudos? Oh well, my sk friends aren't going to be impressed--- my kl fics always take top spots for kudos and bookmarks. I attribute this not to talent or popularity but just because that side of the fandom has a much wider reach. For the sake of the questionnaire, I'll answer properly, in order: 'it's you that's haunting me' takes the top spot by a wide margin at 2,591 kudos to date. 'that mullet, etc' is currently at 1,788 kudos, and after that it's 'cross my heart,' 'swapping out silence,' and 'things that go bump in the night.'

5. Do you respond to comments? I do! for me, one of the best parts of fic is the community between authors and their audience. For the majority of my fandom life I've considered myself more of a reader than a writer, so I really treasure it when I leave a comment and an author responds. It's so special. As an author, I do respond to every comment, though sometimes it takes me a long time. I'm always so impressed that people are not only reading my words but digesting them and thinking on them too. It's wild to me. A very precious gift.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh, my friend, that fic is yet to come. the wip I've got on my closest back burner has a real humdinger of an angsty ending. I'm excited about it. hmmmm if I had to answer now.....I'm not sure! usually I'm a happy ending kind of girl

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? well well well, now I have to answer this one properly don't I? Are we thinking happiest like 'biggest emotional pay off for the reader'? Or happiest like 'Keith is wildly happy' by the end? I think 'heart nailed open' has a very good emotional pay off (though I wrote it so perhaps I can't judge too well on behalf of the reader). If I am really thinking, in which fic is Keith truly the happiest he could ever be by the end...well, I try always to make Keith happy but, in 'the whole story' he has everything he could ever want AND a very nice couch.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not routinely. I did, actually, get a very nasty comment on a fic in 2023 and it legitimately hurt my feelings. Made me feel like I should not be writing at all, actually. But, can you believe it? Friends came out of the woodwork-- people I rarely talk to, even-- and jumped in my comments section and really defended me. like, I really had all kinds of people on my side, defending me! So that meant a lot to me, and I was honestly so surprised, and I'd like to give every one of those friends the kindest hand press because I really did feel very taken care of in the aftermath.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Oh, I don't know! I have plenty of E rated fics but I don't know if I will ever master a true PWP. to me, the sex scenes I write are not so original or exciting, nothing to really write home about lol. I'm not a fan of publicly being negative about my stuff, so I will simply say that I wish I could write some really off beat toe curling wild kink, but it's probably just not my personality to do so LOL

Is this getting really long?? should I be embarrassed ? should I close the tab and never think on this again? hmmm no

10. Do you write cross overs? Cross overs with what, my dear? There's only one Keith

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Oh I think 'it's you that's haunting me' strolled on over to wattpad or some such site without my permission back in the day, but I've never really looked into it. What I don't know cannot hurt me, right? I highly doubt that there's been some crazy highway robbery for perfchan words.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I don't think I have! But I did have someone ask to record a podfic for one of my stories, and I was so flattered and thrilled!!!!!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope! I don't have much interest in this, I am very shy about my writing and I fear I would be too cagey to be a very good collaborator.

14. what's your all time favorite ship? Keith x Being Loved and Cherished the Way He Ought to Be

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? (covers face) I don't have any unfinished WIPs.... it's not in my Type A personality to leave things undone.....

16. What are your writing strengths? This is something to really ponder!!! What /are/ my strengths!!! huh!!! well. I figured out early on that my favorite things to write are atmospheric and setting heavy -- both my most popular fic (it's you that's haunting me) and my most personally beloved fic (heart nailed open) have this in common: they have a lot of detail about the setting, and a lot of effort put into ~vibes~ of the story. so I think, if I could be self indulgent and chose which writing bits I'm good at, it's that type of thing. I really like crafting a scene you can settle into with all of your senses

17. what are your writing weaknesses? too many to list!!! I very often read my own writing and I always enjoy it (I wrote it for myself afterall) but sometimes I wonder....why did I spend so long on this particular bit? I think I am not very good at making a story tight. I wish I could master the art of being able to 'trim the fat' so to speak, really be precise with the story, but I simply don't have the chops! I can never understand how to make it better than I already have! perhaps if I keep writing long enough, I will get better at this

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? this question would really open up a can of worms on the kl side of the fandom LOL. I will admit it, I've had Lance speak spanish a time or two. I don't speak spanish myself so in those rare instances I have been VERY careful to keep things straightforward and try really really hard to not be cringe worthy to native speakers

19. First fandom you wrote for? the first thing I posted online was a USUK fic in a hetalia LJ comm. I can distinctly remember the first time I ever read a fic with *there was only one bed* (it was usuk) and WHEN I TELL YOU MY EYES WERE OPENED. I was forever changed on that day. of course I wanted to try my hand at writing after that

20. Favorite fic you've written? You would ask me to chose a favorite of my children!!! Oh! I simply could not!!! No, seriously, it's 'heart nailed open.' I love that fic

This got so long !!!!!! I can't imagine anyone reading all this !!!!!!!! but omg if you did thank you!!!!!! I'm shy about tagging people in the best of times, and like I said at the very beginning, I am very very shaky on tumblr etiquette, so I had better not tag anyone. but if my friends enemytosleep or grem or kacy or monday happen to see this, I would be very excited to read your responses!!! okay bye!!

[ad-caelestia]

Constellation Correspondences

[updated 12.13.24]

A

Andromeda - power, removing barriers, release, letting go

Aquarius - new beginnings, luck, wishes

Aquila - guidance, psychic work, astral travel

Ara - hearth, home, devotion, refuge, protection 

Aries - fertility, abundance, protection, banishing 

Auriga - wisdom, knowledge, storm warding 

B

Boötes - inspiration, nature, storm warding 

C

Cancer - astral travel, dreamwork, psychic abilities, imagination, creativity, subconscious desire 

Canes Venatici - companionship, faithfulness, protection, healing 

Canis Major & Canis Minor - death, renewal, new beginnings, protection, purification

Capricornus - harvest, energy, abundance

Cassiopeia & Cepheus - balance, relationships, love, union, healing, maternal conflict (Cassiopeia), and familial/home conflict (Cepheus) 

Centaurus - balance, duality, healing, wisdom

Cetus - power, intelligence, communication, change, growth, happiness

Columba - peace, relaxation, fidelity, devotion, marriage, union

Corona Australis - emotions, love, spirituality, success, manifestation of goals 

Corona Borealis - guidance, protection, knowledge, divination, success, manifestation of goals

Corvus - wisdom, secrets, duality, prophecy, divination

Crater - life, emotions, abundance

Crux - elemental energy, crossroads, decision-making 

Cygnus - light, death, transformation, prophecy, self-esteem 

D

Delphinus - intelligence, wisdom, truth, releasing negativity, fertility, safe travels 

Draco - wisdom, power, knowledge, prosperity, luck, protection 

E

Eridanus - life, health, abundance, power, wisdom, transformation, meditation 

G

Gemini - balance, change, transition, increased power, banishing

Grus - death, rebirth, mysticism, truth, divination  

H

Hercules - wisdom, creativity, strength, energy

Hydra/Hydrus - life, reproduction, forces of nature, power, healing, transformation

L

Leo - power, protection, courage, strength 

Lepus - abundance, swiftness, wisdom, divination, hidden knowledge, transformation, lunar magic 

Libra - balance, healing, legal matters 

Lupus - power, purpose, loyalty, protection

Lynx - isolation, purification, cleansing, illumination, insight, hidden knowledge, swiftness

Lyra - underworld, enchantment, immortality of the soul, music 

M

Monoceros - beauty, freedom, love, luck, spirituality, transformation, wisdom, creativity 

O

Ophiuchus & Serpens - healing, balance, the flow of energy 

Orion - self-confidence, strength, victory, winter storms 

P

Pegasus & Equuleus - travel between realms, contacting the dead, astral travel, divination, psychic abilities 

Perseus - hope, desire, wishes, manifestation, power 

Phoenix - change, cycles, transformation, rebirth, renewal, personal growth 

Pisces - creation, fertility, union, creativity 

Piscis Austrinus - prophecy, divination, inspiration, astral travel, wisdom, otherworldly knowledge 

Pleiades, the - mysticism, power, higher consciousness, wisdom, awareness

S

Sagittarius - mental stimulation, virility, sexuality, physical energy, power, skill, manifestation of goals

Scorpius - protection, the underworld, creativity, transformation, psychic abilities 

T

Taurus - abundance, regeneration, power, strength, potency 

Triangulum - balance, change, transformation

U

Ursa Major - protection, strength, survival, exile, familial love

Ursa Minor - renewal, rebirth, awakening, strength

V

Virgo - rebirth, harvest, regeneration, prosperity 

source

© 2024 ad-caelestia

[artsof]

Starry Night over the Rhone 1888 | Vincent Van Gogh | 1888 | Musee d'Orsay

"From the moment of his arrival in Arles, on 8 February 1888, Van Gogh was constantly preoccupied with the representation of "night effects". In April 1888, he wrote to his brother Theo: "I need a starry night with cypresses or maybe above a field of ripe wheat." In June, he confided to the painter Emile Bernard: "But when shall I ever paint the Starry Sky, this painting that keeps haunting me" and, in September, in a letter to his sister, he evoked the same subject: "Often it seems to me night is even more richly coloured than day". During the same month of September, he finally realised his obsessive project. He first painted a corner of nocturnal sky in Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles (Otterlo, Rijksmuseum Kröller-Muller). Next came this view of the Rhône in which he marvellously transcribed the colours he perceived in the dark. Blues prevail: Prussian blue, ultramarine and cobalt. The city gas lights glimmer an intense orange and are reflected in the water. The stars sparkle like gemstones. A few months later, just after being confined to a mental institution, Van Gogh painted another version of the same subject: Starry Night (New York, MoMA), in which the violence of his troubled psyche is fully expressed. Trees are shaped like flames while the sky and stars whirl in a cosmic vision. The Musée d'Orsay’s Starry Night is more serene, an atmosphere reinforced by the presence of a couple of lovers at the bottom of the canvas."

Description from the “Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” exhibition at London National Gallery (Autumn 2024):

"The starry sky at last, actually painted at night, under a gas-lamp" was how Van Gogh described this view of Arles from across the River Rhone. Despite painting it largely outdoors and in real time, he made compositional choices to achieve the effect he was after by positioning the constellation of Ursa Major above the scene and inventing the foreground lovers. Their presence was essential to the conception of the picture's status as a "Poetic Subject"."

[mistresskayla-blog1]

For Ursa's Benefit

Characters: Adam Price x OC Callisto

Lyn's Writing Event 2024 - Day 10 Week 2

May 10th: Week 2: Ursa Major (great bear)  “Callisto” constellation

Characters: Adam Price x OC Callisto  (Fem werebear)

Fandom: Richard Armitage – Adam Price - The Stranger

The character of Adam Price was created by Harlan Coben, and adapted for television by Danny Brocklehurst

OC Created by Kayla B Crowe – copyright protected

Location: A dense woods in the North of England  (Bleaklow – Peak District – West of Sheffield)

Warnings: werebear x known character, grief, romance, potential smut, survival tests, bisexual,

After his wife’s tragic death, Adam Price’s friends and family suggest he go on a personal retreat trip to renew himself. Both the boys were off to college, and he had mourned for 3 years now. It was time to get a life back, one where he could feel joy again. Adam packed up for the 3 days hike that the brochure had suggested. Parked in the designated parking area, and started off on the intended trail, following the geo tags his phone gave him. It felt like checkpoints in a game, and he shuddered to be thinking like his kids, then warmly to be thinking about the men they are becoming. About an hour into the hike; he heard some wood being chopped very aggressively, and smoke rose from a small wood cabin about 50 feet ahead of him on a ridge. He smiled, desperately needing some company, and a break.

As Adam got closer he saw the lone figure chopping some wood. She, which surprised him a bit was burly, tall, maybe 5’11", light brown hair, shorter, cut in a stylized mohawk across her crown, and landing in a braid down her back, that curved across her muscular shoulder. Her skin was a bit dirty, warmed by the sun, but olive and it glowed in the cascading sunlight that broke through the trees. She had some ink on her upper right arm, in scrolling lettering it read, “Stay strong”. Her tank top of grey jersey knit stretched against her pert bosom, and her thick thighs hugged the legs of her navy green cargo pants. The pockets gaping open on the sides, from use. She heaved the axe over her head and swung down again, splitting the large log in three pieces, some shavings skittering as her roar of triumph rung through the forest.

Adam’s mouth gaped a second, then he swallowed and walked a bit closer to her, before he spoke. She saw him right away, and swung the axes down again, after repositioning the larger chunk of the three, “Yeah? What can I do for you?” her voice was feminine but throaty, a mixture of high altitude and wood dust inhalation. As Adam answered, she swung down again grunting.

“Hi, I’m Adam”, paused with a smile, “I am on this hiking expedition, (he moved to show her his phone) and I was wondering if you knew about the summit part of this trail, also do you have a bathroom?” 

She stopped and wiped her brow, sort of squinting at his phone, “Yeah sure, come on in, I think I know that trail your talking about”. She started to trudge toward the house and Adam diligently followed, marking his first few steps with a “thank you”.

She shouldered her way into the cabin door, leaving it ajar as Adam entered behind her. He Set his rucksack down on the porch and walked in, feeling grateful to have a moment with the bag off.  She washed off her hands, and turned as he stopped just inside the door, having to duck a bit to clear it.   “The bathroom is over there” she said pointing towards an inward door. Adam nodded and went straight to it. In the shadowed light of the cabin, he could see her eyes, and smell her scent, a heady mixture of pine, grass and earth. It was in a word, intoxicating.

              Adam used the facilities, and washed his hands, drying them on a towel hanging near the toilet. Everything seemed to have a place, and it was “homey” but not, hmm.. Adam thought. There was something, different about this place, he just couldn’t figure it out, yet.

Adam came back out of the bathroom, shutting off the light. She looked up from her glass of ale, and visibly sniffed at him, “So how long is the hike?” She asked.

“oh, sorry, sorry. I meant to ask, what is your name?” Adam put his hand out in introduction again,

She readjusted her position on the bench seat of the kitchen table, and went to shake his hand, “I’m Callisto”, she said, taking a tug on the bottle of ale, she tipped one to him, “You want one?”

Adam shook his head, “No, thanks I’m fine. So, you live up here? Year round?” 

Callisto looked at him, amused, “Yeah. I do. What of it?”

Adam was captivated, she was gritty and gorgeous and peculiar, “Oh, no reason, jus curiosity I guess, thanks for the use of your, um, bathroom. So as I was saying there is this trail, (he pulled out his phone again)”.

Callisto looked at the screen and grinned, her bare teeth has an eerie glow of white against her tattooed neck and dark eyes, “Yeah, that’s the Peak trail to Bleaklow, I mean, if your interested I could take you up myself”. Her voice warmed a bit, looking at him now.

Adam, looked at his phone to reset his mind, “Um, sure, if its not too much trouble. A guide would be great. I have to tent up here, (he pointed at a checkpoint on his map) by tonight, so any help would be appreciated”. 

Callisto nodded, “Yeah I can get you there before night fall. Its nearing a new moon tonight, so you’ll have a chance to see the stars”. She winked at him, and Adam nearly blushed.

He nervously laughed, “Great. Well, um, I should go check my gear again, when did you want to start out?” 

Callisto looked at an army style multi watch on her right wrist, “We should head out in about 20 minutes”. Adam looked at his own watch, “Ok, sure. I’ll have snack then and rehydrate too”. Callisto finished her ale and set it down, “You do that” she chuckled mildly and stood up from the bench, moving her thighs across the bench and sweeping a leg up to cross back to the bins by the stove. A clatter of glass on glass rung through the cabin. Adam stood up and walked out the front door, still agape from their entering.

Callisto wiped her face and back of her neck off with the tap water cold. She ran her fingers through the top of her mohawk and sighed. He was a nice piece, she thought. Tall, and handsome, and, she laughed, fit. He looked like he could take her on, if she let him. A wry smile crossed her lips, “or maybe I’ll take him on”, she mused to herself. Callisto moved to the back room where her bed and wardrobe trunk were and gathered a small rucksack, throwing in some rope, a trail knife, some water bottles, and a first aid kit. She grabbed a hoodie over the footboard of her wood frame bed and shoved it into the rucksack as well.

Callisto returned to the main room of the cabin and grabbed a stick of salmon jerky off the counter, tearing into it with vigor, her large fangs exposed as she masticated the dried meat and scales. Adam was grumbling on the porch, she could hear him. Callisto walked to the entrance and stood in the doorway watching him repack his own rucksack.

“Trouble, dear?” her endearment playful and surreptitious.

Adam looked up, and smiled immediately, seeing her from this angle, at his knees, “No, I just swear I packed this other set of spikes, but I guess I didn’t. I’ll just have to hope the trail doesn’t get too loose footed higher up” he chuckled.

“It won’t. I know these trails pretty well. I’ll take you up to where you need to make camp”.

Adam, “And what about you? You get back to the cabin before dark?” his look of genuine concern was gentlemanly, Callisto noted that.

She scoffed, “I live here, remember, I can get back home by scent alone”, she snorted and tipped her nose up to him, crossing her arms against her chest.

Adam stood then, showing his true height and Callisto actually watched him this time as he rose. Adam turned and put the sack onto his back, “Well we’d best be off then, ya?”

Callisto put her sack on her own back, and shut her door, “yeah let’s get started”.

---

(dear readers I have much more I want to post for these two, but alas I had a double today and could not finish the last act of chapter 1. So more parts to come, hopefully after the weekend).

Lyn's Writing Event 2024

Tag list:

Please PM me if you want to be tagged for the remainder of the challenge this month.

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