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writingwithcolor · 5 months

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Characters reconnecting with their ancestral cultures in an interplanetary setting

@pixiedustandpetrichor asked:

Hi! I am writing a novel with three main female characters in an interplanetary setting. They grow up as orphans in an Irish-coded country and as children are mostly exposed to solely that culture, but they leave after becoming adults. Character A is Tuareg-coded, B Mongolian-coded, and C is Germanic-coded. It isn’t central to the story, but I would like them to get in touch with/learn more about their ancestral cultures, especially in terms of religion. A does this by actually visiting the planet her parents came from, but B and C do not. What can I do to depict their relationships with said cultures and their journey to reconnect with them? Would it be realistic for each of them to have different mixed feelings about participating in these cultures and for them to retain some sense of belonging to the culture they grew up in as well? Thank you for your time.

Hello, asker! WWC doesn’t have Tuareg or Mongol mods at the moment, so we're not able to speak to the specifics of cultural and religious reconnection for these particular groups. Still, I want to take this opportunity to provide some general context and elements to consider when writing Tuareg-coded characters, or other characters from groups that have experienced colonization in the real world. My fellow mods will then share thoughts about cultural reconnection in general and with respect to Germanic heritage in particular.

Drawing inspiration from groups that have experienced colonization

As you’re probably aware, the Tuareg are an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa. As with many indigenous groups, they have experienced colonization multiple times over the course of their history. Colonization often leads to the loss or erasure of certain aspects of culture as the colonized people are pressured to conform to the culture of the dominant group. In many cases, it’s near impossible to say what the ancestral culture of a colonized group was prior to colonization.

When coding a fictional culture based on a group that was colonized in the real world, it's important to ask questions about:

Which aspects of culture you're portraying

Where these aspects come from

Whether you're ready to tackle their implications for the world you're building

It’s not necessarily wrong to use elements of coding that draw from cultural aspects influenced by colonization. As I said, it can be very difficult, even impossible, to portray a “pure” culture as it would have been had colonization not occurred–because we simply can’t know what that alternate history would look like, and because so much has been lost or intentionally suppressed that the gaps in our knowledge are too wide to breach. But it’s important to be aware of where these cultural elements are coming from.

Where is your coding coming from and what are the implications?

For example, while the Tuareg today are majoritarily Muslim, this was not the case prior to the Arab conquest of North Africa. Some elements of Tuareg culture today, such as tea ceremonies, are derived from the influence of Arab and Muslim culture and likely did not exist prior to the 20th century. As you’re developing the culture of the Tuareg-coded group in your fictional setting, you have to decide whether to include these elements. There is no right answer–it will depend on what you’re trying to do and why.

Is your setting in our far future, in which case we can assume your Tuareg-coded group is distantly related to today’s Tuareg?

In that case, they will probably have kept many cultural aspects their ancestors acquired through their interactions with other cultures around them–including cultural groups that colonized them. They may–let’s build hopeful worlds!–have reclaimed aspects of their ancestral culture they’d been forced to abandon due to colonization. They may also have acquired new aspects of culture over time. This can be very fun to explore if you have the time and space to do so.

I would recommend speaking with Tuareg people to get a better grasp of how they see their culture evolving over the next however many centuries or millennia, what they wish to see and what seems realistic to them.

Alternatively, maybe your setting is a secondary world unrelated to ours and you only want to draw inspiration from the real-world Tuareg, not represent them exactly. In that case, you need to decide which period of history you’re drawing from, as Tuareg culture is different today from what it was 50 years ago, and different still from 200 years ago or 1000 years ago. You’ll need to research the historical period you’re choosing in order to figure out what was happening at that time and what the cultural influences were. If it’s pre-colonial, you’ll probably want to avoid including cultural elements influenced by colonization from groups that arrived later on.

Finally, if the time period you’re drawing from is post-colonial:

Are you planning to account for the effects of colonization on Tuareg culture?

Will you have an in-world equivalent for the colonization that occurred in real life?

For example, will the Tuareg-coded characters in your world be from a nomadic culture that was forced to become sedentary over the years and lost much of their traditions due to colonial pressure to conform?

Where did this pressure come from in your world–is it different from what happened in ours? If so, how different? And what are the consequences?

Writing about colonization can be quite the baggage to bring into a fictional setting. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it will certainly require sensitivity and care in portraying it.

In summary: think it through

I’m not saying all this to discourage you, but to point out some of the considerations at play when drawing inspiration from a real-life culture that has experienced colonization. Similar challenges arise for coding based on any other indigenous group in the world.

My advice to you, then, is to first sit down and decide where and when in history your coding is coming from, and what you’re trying to achieve with it. This will help you figure out:

which elements of contemporary Tuareg culture are pertinent to include

How much your coding will be influenced by the Tuareg’s real-life history

To what extent that will inform the rest of the world you’re creating

This, in turn, may help in deciding how to portray your character’s reconnection journey.

Again, I am not Tuareg and this is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list of considerations for writing Tuareg-coded characters, only a few places to start.

If any Tuareg or Amazigh readers would like to chime in with suggestions of their own, please do. As always, please make sure your comments adhere to the WWC code of conduct.

- Niki

Pulling from diaspora and TRA narratives of cultural reconnection

Marika here: This ask plotline could also pull directly from diaspora and TRA narratives of cultural reconnection. Many diaspora and TRA cultural reconnection stories are, in effect, about navigating the difficult process of resuscitating, or renewing ties to culture using limited resources in environments that often lack necessary cultural infrastructure or scaffolding.

See this question here to the Japanese team for suggestions of how to handle such a storyline in a similar sci-fi setting.

More reading: Japanese-coded girl from future

-Marika

Reconnecting with German heritage

Hi, it’s Shira. I’m not sure whether German-Jewish counts as Germanic for the purposes of your post but since German Jews were more assimilated than other Ashkies, Germanness does feel real and relevant to my life (especially because my father worked there for approximately the last decade of his life.) NOTE: when I see “Germanic” vs German I think of cultures from 1500 years ago, not 100-200 years ago, so I can’t help you there, but I’d be surprised as a reader if a character focused on that for reconnection to the exclusion of the 19th century etc.

People in the United States specifically, reconnecting with German heritage, often lean into Bayerischer/Bavarian kitsch, I’ve noticed. Personally, though, what I find most relevant is:

1. The food (although I’ve come to learn that what I grew up eating was closer to veal/chicken scallopini than actual schnitzel because it was drenched in lemon, but I do like the other foods like the potato salad and sweet and sour red cabbage etc.) Your character could try making one of these “ancestral” foods as a way to reconnect?

2. The classical music, because I’m a second generation professional musician – if character C plays an instrument, leaning into that might be meaningful (Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann and her husband Robert, etc.)

3. The nature, especially specifics that I enjoyed during my time there – personally, I loved the bright pink flowers all over the chestnut trees, but there are a lot of choices especially because of the Alps. If C is an artist maybe they can sketch something Germany-related from old photographs they found on the Space Internet?

I think it is VERY realistic for the characters to remain connected to the culture in which they were raised, by the way, whether or not they have positive feelings about it. Culture isn’t an inherited trait. Sure, if they want to completely walk away, they can, but I bet there are still ways it will creep back in without them realizing it simply because it’s really hard to have universal knowledge of the origins of all our quirks. Plus, not everyone feels alienated from their raised-culture just because they’re genetically something else.

P.S. There is also Oktoberfest, which I don’t really get into but is a thing, and beer, which is another point of German cultural pride.

German gentiles, weigh in – y’all have your own stuff, I know! OH YEAH so for German Christians, Christmas “markets” are a whole thing. That’s worth looking up.

–S

What do you mean by Germanic?

Hello it’s Sci! I had to study German history for my historical fantasy novel set in the late 18th century Holy Roman Empire. I am not sure what is meant by Germanic as that can encompass a variety of things.

Germanic people: from the Classical Period of Roman Empire and early Middle Ages. Similar to Mod Shira, I unfortunately can’t help very much here.

The Germanosphere: regions that spoke German, which includes modern day Germany, Austria/Hungary, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Belgium, and Luxembourg. I generally define this as the regions captured in the Hapsburg Empire along with Switzerland usually encompassing “Central Europe.”

Modern German national identity (i.e. German): post Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna (> 1815) only including the territory of modern day Germany.*

I ask this because modern German national identity is surprisingly recent since Germany only popped up in 1871 under Otto von Bismarck. Previously, Germany was divided into smaller states and city states as a very decentralized region under the German Confederation and before that, the Holy Roman Empire. Depending on the era, you can see different conflicts and divides. During the early days of the Protestant Reformation started by Martin Luther, the northern and southern German territories generally split along Protestant-Catholic lines. The 18th century saw Austria and Prussia as the foci of global power who warred against each other even though both were part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Other states and city-states like Baden-Wurttemberg or Saxony sometimes had power but it was typically more localized compared to Austria. Post-WW2, you saw the split of Germany into West Germany run under capitalism and East Germany run under communism as a satellite Soviet state leading to more modern cultural divides. Due to heavy decentralization historically, each region had its own character with religious and cultural divides.

Assuming that the Germanic character is not from the classical period or early Middle Ages but not from the 19th century either, you can include your character reconnecting to classical folklore like that of Krampus (if they’re Christian), German literature and music like the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe or Mozart, or German philosophy like Immanuel Kant.

*A major wrinkle: German royals and nobility married into other states and nations frequently with Britain and Russia being notable examples. In Britain, the House of Hanover took over after the Stuart House died without clear direct heirs. When Queen Victoria married the German prince Albert, they celebrated Christmas with a tree and brought the German tradition of a Christmas tree to Britain and the British Empire. Only during World War I did the royal family’s house of Hanover name change from House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the more “English-sounding” Windsor. As a result, the German cultural influence may be even more widespread than we think.

However, without more specific descriptors of what Germanic means in the context of your story, it can be difficult to determine which aspects of German culture your character could reconnect to.

-Mod Sci

#culture #cultural disconnect #cultural reconnect #race coding #ethnic coding #German #Mongol #Tuareg #setting #science fiction #Jewish #Colonialism #History #North Africa #Arab #Muslim #history

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balioc · 3 months

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Oh, boy! It's Education Theory o'Clock again!

...I have a lot of thoughts on this topic. At some point, when I'm less busy and tired, I should probably try to write them up. Natively, I'm one of the school-is-a-nightmare-prison people, like so many others in this little discourse-sphere -- but I'm married to a middle school teacher, so I regularly encounter both the good arguments from the other side and the facts on the ground, and those things have altered my perspective somewhat.

But I am, in fact, busy and tired. So for now I'll just content myself with saying:

School is an institution that serves many, many, many purposes at the same time. A lot of those purposes are load-bearingly important. (A couple of years ago, I wrote this about college, and...it's double-plus true for primary and secondary schools.) If you don't try to account for all of that stuff in your theory of What School Is and How School Works, you will generate incoherent garbage thoughts. If you have a New Concept for school entailing top-down design that is optimized for a single function (like "increasing test scores" or "causing kids to love learning" or whatever), you'd better have a plan for how you're going to do all the other important things that schools do. And even if you think that some of those things aren't actually important or necessary, you'd better have a plan for dealing with all the people who disagree. Because...

-----

...school, as it exists today, is an inherently political institution. Both in the "soft" sense that everyone has strong opinions about what it's supposed to do and how it's supposed to work, and in the "hard" sense that it is actually controlled by democratically-accountable governments. (This is double-plus true in the US, where it is controlled by local governments, and therefore doesn't even have the protective insulation of a massive bureaucracy.) Everything about the way schools work is a compromise brokered amongst ideologues and self-dealers. Everything about the way schools work involves a lot of decision-makers trying not to get yelled at by the yelliest people around. If you're looking for elegant purpose-driven top-down design, you won't find it. You could probably make a case that any elegant purpose-driven top-down design would be better than the thing we actually have, but getting there would require finding a way to remove the political element.

-----

Most importantly: public schools are (1) compulsory, (2) universal, and (3) for children. [People who are legally children, anyway, whether or not they are actual children in whatever sense matters to you.]

This means that they cannot let students leave, and they have to keep control of all the students that they aren't allowing to leave.

In the most literal not-a-judgment-but-a-fact sense, they are indeed prisons. They are coercively keeping people inside. They have to do that thing, as per their most fundamental mandate within the current system. The alternatives involve letting kids run around unsupervised, and/or failing to give some kids even the most cursory kind of education, and those things are absolute non-starters under present conditions.

All the normal institutions-for-adults operate on the principle of -- If you really don't want to be here, you can leave, and deal with whatever consequences there may be for leaving. This is not an option for schools, and that fact accounts for...everything.

Classroom structure is built around the necessity of keeping the most-hostile, least-engaged student in the class present and supervised, and then trying to prevent him from disrupting things for everyone else. Because the obvious solution that any other institution would use -- "just cut him loose, he doesn't want to be here and we don't want him here" -- isn't available.

(I once talked to my wife about the rationed bathroom access thing, which is one of the most flagrant nightmare-prison aspects of the school experience. Her response was, "If you let kids use the bathroom whenever they want, as much as they want, then you don't have mandatory universal education anymore. Some of them will never return to the classroom, because they don't want to be there." Which is...obviously true.)

So you have something that replicates many of the features of prison, because it has to accomplish the same basic tasks that prison accomplishes. Yay, Foucault.

#education

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norraexploradora · 8 days

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The Tragedy of the CX Troopers and the Missed Opportunity to Teach Us All an Important Lesson

A deeper look into how the CX-Troopers were handled in the Bad Batch and the narrative surrounding them that unfortunately got dropped in season 3

I want to start off by applauding the Bad Batch for the brave attempt to tackle dark topics throughout the series and presenting them in a way that is appropriate for families to watch and discuss with their children. Most of series is successful in being just dark enough to raise tension but to also keep things suitable for a child’s first glimpse into the harsh realities of life. However there still a few places that missed the mark.

The one I wish to cover today is the inconsistent narrative surrounding the CX-Troopers. I’m not here to say it was bad writing per se, but if a dark topic is discussed in a family oriented tv series, it is best to commit adequate time to truly flesh it out so the messaging is clear. Subjective is great in a mature series like Andor, but kids lack the life experience required to read between the lines.

And yes, exposition does make dialogue sound clunky at times, but there is a reason why most cartoons in the 80s had the kind of “The more you know” lesson after each episode. The Bad Batch was no different. Tech’s speech in the Crossing and his encouragement to Omega at the end of Retrieval are perfect examples of this.

In my opinion, there was an opportunity for an important lesson to be learned from the CX Troopers that was brought up but left unfinished. These shadow operatives could have been a way to show the viewer how anyone can be “brainwashed” either by force or by clever manipulation.

One operative in season 2 called himself a “Believer” which seems to evoke he was forcibly submerged into a cult-like indoctrination. It’s also why I prefer to use the phrase “coercive persuasion” or “forced persuasion” instead of brainwashing as they are a more accurate description of the process that has been historically implemented by governments, cults, and captors in order to make good people believe in or do horrible things.

Dr. Hemlock’s use of forced persuasion on select clones to turn them into CX-Troopers is a interesting look into the real world and well-documented cases of brainwashing within fascist regimes; especially in wartime settings. It is common and disturbing tactic implemented in moments of great despair and something that deserves more focus within the narrative if it is to be brought up as a major plot point.

Most of the brainwashing aspects in the Bad Batch were rapidly glossed over probably due to time and budget constraints, and not so much by the dark and disturbing imagery. One can easily get the “idea across” without showing it explicitly. (Like Crosshair having his hand chopped off. We didn’t see it but yeah, we get the gist).

I will say however, that despite the mystery surrounding brainwashing in the CX-Program, one of the more poignant moments was Captain Rex telling a caught CX Trooper that he was still their brother and that they would help him. It was a beautiful show of compassion and introduced new plot element; that the soldiers who undergo forced persuasion could possibly be reached or even saved.

It’s not a stretch to believe that the Bad Batch would take this route given the series had built up “we don’t leave our own behind” as one of the main themes. It would also be safe to say that saving fictional heroes from brainwashing gives us hope that real life survivors can recover from such trauma.

It was one of the many reasons fans were led to believe that the mysterious CX-2 operative could have been Tech or Cody. The focus on this particular shadow operative gave rise to speculation that he was different, that there was something coming to shed light or hope that a lost soldier could be found and rescued; something that would make sense of it were a character we already cared greatly about.

Alas, CX-2 was kept a mystery box that gave no insight to the tragic nature of his existence nor gave us a reason to mourn his death. That is why the battle between the Bad Batch and Hemlock’s Batch of secret operatives felt rushed and incomplete to some viewers. There wasn’t proper time for the story to breathe beyond “One Batch is good, the other Batch is bad.”

There were simply too many dropped narratives throughout the final season that reduced the whole CX Trooper plot to a video game-esque final boss battle. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing fight, beautifully animated, terrifying, and intense; but nevertheless, it felt hollow because the build-up went nowhere.

At that’s exactly where the narrative around the tragic nature of brainwashing got lost.

It’s important for you to know that I’m not saying the Bad Batch killing these operatives in the final fight was wrong. I’m also not saying that they should have tried to reach out to save these Shadow Operatives in the middle of of a life and death situation. It’s just unfortunate that we were never given a reason to feel anything other than relief that the CX-Troopers were killed.

And yes, this is a show about the Bad Batch and not brainwashed mystery troopers, but I stress, the writing set up these characters and introduced a very dark and disturbing concept to young viewers. With more time and effort spent on the narrative, it could have been an important lesson that applies to real life.

Coercive Persuasion is not a fantasy concept. It is very very real. Sleep deprivation, isolation, abuse, constant interrogation, drugging, shame, and humiliation, are all various means to break down a person’s will and forcibly persuade them into believing anything.

One can simply look to how many people get forced into false confessions by unethical police practices, or those who end up committing atrocities due to cult leader manipulation. A more common and less obvious example is social media outlets designed to spin conspiracy theories; coercing people into believing anything they want, like like the Earth is flat and microchips were put in Covid vaccines. By preying upon people’s anger and fear, these sites cultivate distrust and can lead one to extremist thinking.

This is real world, dark and scary stuff that needs to be handled with serious care and consideration of bringing it into an animated Star Wars series.

So given more time and budget, how could this lesson be shown through the story of the Bad Batch? How could these brainwashed operatives been presented in a way to that is scary but still gives younger audiences a way to sympathize with them?

Shedding more light on a terrifying process would remind us the CX-Troopers are victims and despite their terrifying nature, they still deserve our compassion and empathy. So giving the operatives more of a backstory is a good start.

For Example:

Showing the transformation of at least one of these operatives before the final battle would provide more emotional impact after their demise. Having kids clearly, and not subjectively, understand that under those cool costumes there used to be good men is such an important lesson. It reinforces the narrative that the real villains aren’t these soldiers but the regime that warped their minds and forced them into mindless monsters.

To be clear, this a a family series and I am in no way implying that a clear visual of lengthy torture would be acceptable. There are already hints through Crosshair’s PTSD and that is enough to get the idea across.

My suggestion would have been to place the sniper clone who eventually became CX-2 in the cell next to Crosshair while on Tantis. The viewer gradually sees these two men go back and forth to their cells after these conditioning sessions and the witness bond that forms between them. Crosshair is forced to see CX-2’s identity slip more and more away after each session until he is no longer the person he once was. The sadness and loss of seeing this man lose his identity not only leaves a mark on Crosshair, but by the viewer as well.

The scene of the shadow operative watching Crosshair on Tantiss and the one shadow operative calling him “brother” would have made more sense in retrospect. In addition, having an emotional and clear connection between Crosshair and the man who became CX-2, would have given their epic fight on top of the waterfall more emotional weight. CX-2’s line “You could have been one of us. You made the wrong choice” would be more resonant to the viewer. CX-2 would literally be a sniper shadow operative that Crosshair could have become verses a subjective mystery box.

To further this narrative and Crosshair’s character arc, making the above change to the story could have also opened the door to Crosshair eventually saving this lost brother. Omega’s determination to never give up on Crosshair could have resulted in Crosshair reaching out to CX-2 and eventually getting through to him before the final battle. It would have been so emotional and fulfilling.

And yet…as lovely as that would have been, I realize the above scenario would require at least one additional episode; which the animation team probably didn’t have the luxury or the budget to do. So I’ll offer another solution:

Adding a few minutes here and there during season 2 and the beginning of season 3 dedicated to Hemlock’s treatment to the CX-Troopers and other Clone prisoners would give the viewer a clearer picture into the nature of the CX Program. The result would be that the feeling of triumph wouldn’t be seeing the shadow operatives lying dead on the floor but knowing that the experimentation on the clones at Tantiss by Dr. Hemlock was finally over.

So in conclusion:

It’s a shame that the shadow operatives were left a mystery and simply became foils and metaphors. The fight at the end was nothing more than the Batch having to kill or be killed and it failed to showcase a serious topic with less black and white thinking.

With more time, the writers could have explored the tragedy of forced coercion. Discussing a difficult subject in a manner fit for young audiences could leave them with awareness when they are faced with a similar real world scenario.

The CX-Trooper plot could have also been a good way for a parent to discuss what coercive persuasion does to people; especially in today’s world where social media is rife with bad people luring in youth and manipulating their anger and fear into extremist thinking.

Think about it.

How does someone get so isolated that they fall prey to extremism and they end up committing acts of terrorism? How does one get indoctrinated into a cult and become so brainwashed that they take their own lives or the lives of others at the behest of a cult leader? How would an innocent person sign a confession of a crime they didn’t commit?

These are all good questions that people often ask after horrendous real life events and can regularly be seen on the daily news and social media. Having a fictional metaphor for scary real world issues that children could easily understand would be exactly the kind of thing Star Wars was created for. It was also created to give children and all of us hope.

So in the end, the lesson should have been that people who fall victim to brainwashing aren’t weak or gullible. They have been put through extreme duress and put through unethical means of isolation and manipulation.

And if there is hope for even one of the CX-Troopers to be saved, we as a society should have empathy and try to reach out to those in our own lives who have been a victim of coercive persuasion before writing them off.

Disclaimer:

One thing I’ve learned in life is that platforms like Twitter are not places for deep discussions and good faith arguments. You have a set number of letters to get your ideas across and interpreting the meaning or tone always leads to misunderstandings.

That is why I’m coming to to Tumblr to discuss my deep dives into season 3 of the Bad Batch. I am the type of person who doesn’t like angry, confrontational sparring over ideas.

My goal is to shed light on a different perspective; not to make anyone agree with me, but just to understand that we can all watch the same show and interpret things differently due to our own life experiences. By explaining my viewpoints, I’m showing you into my thought process. You are certainly free to disagree but I’m not trying to change your feelings on the matter, nor do I wish for anyone to forcibly change mine.

We can all exist in the same space and I encourage anyone who has a different view to write an analysis of their own instead of arguing in anyone’s comment section. Be kind and respectful and most of all, remember this is fiction and subjective interpretation. There are so many things to be really angry about in the world and Star Wars is the least of our worries.

Cheers and as always, May the Force be with you!

#tbb #tbb crosshair #the bad batch #tbb tech #the bad batch crosshair #bad batch spoilers #bad batch season 3 #badbatch #clone force 99 #bad batch tech #cx 2 #cx troopers

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torialefay · 3 months

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Moon in Sagittarius 🚩🚩

toxic-ish!minho x fem!reader angst; (based on astrology) 🔞

�� synopsis: your boyfriend minho doesn’t do well with being told no. he is objectively toxic, but eventually becomes less terrible.

✨ word count: ~2k

✨ 2nd part in my Minho as Your Boyfriend Astrology Series (check my masterlist for full series)! together, let’s take a look into minho’s natal chart to see what type of boyfriend he would be!

✨ i will give a brief synopsis of what each chart placement means throughout the series (for all my non-astrology friends out there <3) and how that would affect lee know in a relationship

✨ author’s notes:

(1) i do brief compatibility readings w/ skz members! if interested, send your natal chart to my inbox, as well as which member you’d like me to read for OR if i think there is one member best suited to you <3 (i am verrrrry much behind on these, but feel free to send them. may take a few weeks)

(2) the aspects in this reading are based solely on my opinions and interpretations! nothing about a person is set in stone simply because of astrology. please don’t use anything i say as canon :)

✨warnings: toxic minho, slightly suggestive at the end

Moon in Sagittarius:

• The Moon is the ruler of emotions. It is also who you could feel yourself to be, if all was stripped from you. Many people relate it to the “psyche” or the unconscious. It represents the parts of ourselves that are most fundamental, that we may not even understand. It also reflects our “baseline” energy that we radiate while sitting quietly, being content with our own company. It is the part of ourselves that we really want to be SEEN and understood, even if we do not see or understand it ourselves.

• Sagittarius is the mutable fire sign. They are passionate people who are deeply intrigued by the world around them. They are known for needing a sense of freedom and individuality. They do not like to be tied down. In the same regard, they value exploration, adventure, and meeting new people. They see others as unique individuals and can likely meet them wherever they are at emotionally. Sagittarius people are quick thinkers, witty, and fun-loving.

• Long story short: Moon in Sagittarius people can often have light-hearted, often shifting emotions. They do not like to feel like they are pinned down to any one place. They do not like being told what to do. They will, however, bring a fun element to any time of relationship- platonic or romantic. They are fiercely loyal and passionate about those they love. They do not always feel comfortable with their emotions, so they tend to be flighty and try to run away from this. This is not a great coping mechanism and can lead to a lot of problems in expressing themselves emotionally and what they need from someone else.

As your boyfriend:

• Minho takes you on the most fun, most elaborate dates ever. He’d always find cool new things to do. And of course, he’d want to take his favorite person with him.

• He loves going home with you to meet your parents and learn more about where you grew up. He may have a nature that doesn’t come across this way, but he would inherently love getting to understand you better and see new places.

• He wants to travel with you!!! He will take you literally anywhere you want to go. And when you do, it’s just your own little world. Just the two of you.

• You have the most intellectual conversations ever. He has a lot of abstract ideas about life, and he isn’t afraid to talk to you about them. He likes to know the way you think about it too.

• You have a core group of friends that you hang out with as a couple. It’s not too big of a group, but getting together with them and having a night to cut loose is super important to him. And he loves the fact that he gets to do it with you.

• Friday night, you started to get excited as you heard the keys jingle in the lock of your shared apartment with Minho.

• Today had been a really tough week at work, and all you wanted to do was have a nice relaxing weekend with your boyfriend to decompress.

• Well, if we’re being honest, you felt like you’d crumble away to nothing if you didn’t get it. The stress was that bad.

• “Hi jagi,” Minho greeted you as he came through the hallway to the living room where you were sitting.

• “Hey honey! Please come sit with me. I need to rant about my day,” you pouted.

• He pulled a wide smirk across his face. “Well now you sound like me,” he teased.

• He walked over to the couch and plopped down next to you, letting his hand rest on your thigh.

• “Okay, what’s going on?” he asked.

• “So you know how I told you about the girl I went to high school with who just started at work? The one that’s a bitch?”

• Minho laughed. “You think everyone you work with is a bitch.”

• “You do too,” you stared at him.

• “I do not! Jisung is alright,” he smirked again, knowing that one would get an eye roll out of you… And it did.

• “Anywayssss, that girl. I’m already overwhelmed with stuff I have to get done to meet my deadline at the end of this month, and then she strolls up asking if I can help her with all of her shit too. Knowing damn well how busy I am. I see her over there laughing her ass off on the phone all day long. If she’d stop, then maybe she’d get something done. And THEN, after I told her I couldn’t because I had a bunch to work through as well, apparently she went to one of the main managers and complained that I wasn’t a good co-worker. Saying that apparently I should ‘give her a hand since she’s new’… I mean who goes to a manager with that shit and doesn’t even do a damn thing all day? All she does is gossip and talk shit. So NOW, I have a meeting with our manager Monday morning to talk about it, AND she’s spreading this all around that ‘I’m so horrible to her.’ Like genuinely, the only thing keeping me sane right now was knowing that I was coming home to you.”

• “Aww honey, I’m sorry.” Minho took your hand in his and brought it up to his mouth to plant a kiss on the back of it. “I can cook or we can order some food in and have a good night together. Whatever you want to do tonight. Just let me know what you want.”

• “I don’t want you to have to cook. I really just want you here with me. Maybe we could order some take out and then do a movie? I’m just super drained. Maybe tomorrow we could do something more fun.”

• “Tomorrow? I have plans with the boys. Felix, Jeongin, and I planned a camping trip for the weekend. It sounded like fun. But whatever you want to do tonight, we’ll do.”

• You shot up off the back of the seat. Surely you heard him wrong.

• “You’re doing what tomorrow?”

• “Going camping with Felix and I.N…”

• “Well, it would have been nice if you’d talked to me about that sooner… Or, I don’t know, maybe have just asked?”

• “Asked what? Asked if it was okay?” Minho scoffed.

• “Well, yeah?” you replied, furrowing your brows in confusion and frustration. The fuck is he being like this?

• “Sorry, I didn’t know I needed to ask for your permission to hang out with my friends,” he said sarcastically.

• “It’s not ‘asking for my permission.’ I’m just asking you to check in with me first- to talk about it...- is that so awful?”

• “I mean I would say that telling me that I either am allowed or aren’t allowed to see my friends is pretty awful. I’m an adult, y/n. You’re not my fucking parent.”

• Your blood was boiling at this point. The last thing you wanted to do was to “parent” him. But goddamn, wouldn’t it be nice for him to just see if maybe you needed him for the weekend? Or maybe if there was something he forgot was going on? Or to just let you KNOW about it? Jesus fucking Christ, here we go again.

• “I’m not trying to ‘parent’ you. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just asking that you COMMUNICATE with me what you want to do so that I know in advance… And to be honest, I really don’t want you going.”

• “Here it is,” Minho rolled his eyes with an annoyed smile. “You always do this. The second I mention wanting to spend time with the boys, you’re suddenly all disapproving,” he let out a strained, sarcastic chuckle before clearing his throat. “I’m sorry if you ‘don’t want me going’, but you don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do.”

• Minho let out a deep breath before putting his hands on his knees and using the pressure to pull himself to standing. “I’m going tomorrow. Let me know I guess if you want to spend time with me tonight.” He looked down at you before walking away to the bedroom.

• And then, the house went quiet. For a long time.

• At that point, you’d decided to just give up. Your boyfriend was a conceited asshole and there was nothing you could do about it. You were upset, but you knew that crying wouldn’t help. After all of this shit, you just wanted to sleep.

• Problem: Minho was in the bedroom. You were too exhausted to fight anymore, now not even hungry to think about dinner. Instead, you just balled yourself up on the couch and went to sleep with a resentful heart.

• An hour later, Minho came creeping out of the bedroom to find you lying peacefully on the couch. He bent down next to you.

• “Jagi,” he whispered, brushing his hand along your shoulder.

• “Jagi,” he said again, a bit louder this time. You stirred a little bit.

• “Honey, please wake up. I need to talk to you,” he said as he saw your eyes slowly open, a confused look coming over your face.

• You took your time to sit upright. Another conversation about his little "boy’s trip" was the last thing you wanted right now.

• “What is it?” you mumbled grumpily.

• “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did earlier.”

• You didn’t say anything back. I mean, what could you say? It was the truth.

• “And I’m going to work on that. To work on talking to you about things better, I mean. Maybe I can have a hard time doing that sometimes.” He never would admit when he was wrong. But this was a start.

• You just looked at him, trying to give him a facial expression for him to go on. You weren’t satisfied yet.

• “And I decided I’m going to stay home with you instead. You need me more than the boys do.”

• “Okay, you don’t have to do that, Min. You can still go, but I just needed you to understand where I was coming from.”

• “And I do understand now. That’s why I’m staying with you. I made up my mind. That’s what I want to do,” he said with a proud smile.

• You let out a soft chuckle. “You’re always gonna do whatever you wanna do, huh?” you joked. You finally flashed him a smile. The first smile you’d had all night.

• He just looked at you with a grin, giving a little bit of side eye. “If that’s true, then what if I wanna do you?”

• You tried to tease him by pushing him away, giggling a little in the process.

• “You better cut it out,” he said, pulling himself back to you until he was hovering right in front of your face. “I get to do whatever I want, remember?” He smiled as he inched his lips closer, but stopped himself right before letting them touch yours. “I made my mind up. I’m gonna do you. Whatever I say goes, Jagi.”

———————————————————————

✨ author’s note: moon in sag has a lot of wonderful aspects as well, i just chose to write on the more angsty side of things :)

✨ if you enjoyed, please consider liking, commenting, and/or re-blogging <3

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dyemelikeasunset · 4 months

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Hello sorry to bother but today I went through the mor and dom tag and I can’t help but notice how good you are at designing tattoos! Both for Dylan and Mor, there’s just so much detail there!

I was wondering if you have any tips on your process for designing them? I have a lot of ocs I think would look good with some but just don’t know how to go abt it. Love your art and again sorry for bothering and have a good day!! :]

Oh thank you so much!!

I've had experience designing tattoos for friends and commissioners before, so I think that helps me a lot. But here's some advice off the top of my head:

Research tattoo styles! There are so many types out there, from blackout tats, to classic nautical styles, watercolor, quotes and number tattoos etc. the world of tattoos is HUGE and there are constantly new styles being created by artists. Finding the specific style that fits your character is really helpful

Understand the tattooing process. This is important if you want your ocs' tats to look more realistic. Everything from pain threshold and placement, to how much certain colors or styles need upkeep, to how realistic specific details would be on specific areas of the body-- these can help a lot with choosing design elements as well as learning where to put the tattoos on the character's body. (My biggest advice for this on the drawing/design side: always prioritize the black ink first! Figure out areas where you can have the negative space/underlying skin be part of the design)

Placement, then design! I think of tattoos for OCs in two steps: 1) where and 2) what. I usually figure out placement first, and draw blocks of color on the body parts I want tattooed. Then I'll isolate the shapes and work on each design until I'm satisfied. As you've seen in my characters, I often make a tattoo sheet for them (which I'll copy and paste onto them as needed)

Personality! For characters, it really comes down to what the tattoos say about them. This doesn't necessarily mean all the tats need to be loaded with meaning, bc there are definitely people who get things for fun or for cheap. It's all about reflecting what your character is all about: are they the type to get really meaningful tattoos and only have a couple that are very symbolic for them? Are they the type to wanna be covered head to toe? Maybe to a character like that, each tattoo meaning isn't as important as filling in the space! Maybe it's a character with one really important tattoo but a lot of other random ones. Does one character have to have them in discreet areas for work? Tats that do mean something to your OC will probably say something important about them, while the visual style of the casual tattoos will say a lot about their style or fashion sense

#text heavy /#long post /#art help

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jurakan · 28 days

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I am well acquainted with BIONICLE Cthulhu, but please enlighten your other followers on his grotesqueness grandeur

Alright, both you and @edgar-allan-possum asked for this so here we go! Ladies, Gentlemen, Tohunga, and other random people (I stole this joke from a BZPer), Today You Learned about Tren Krom, BIONICLE's very own Cthulhu!

[]

...No picture? Okay, yeah, it makes sense that we don't have a picture.

So starting in 2007, BIONICLE starting having web serials, which gave out stories in a serialized format to fans who wanted more of the characters they loved, and introduce new ones. See, because LEGO had to keep putting out new sets, the main storyline for each year had to focus on the characters depicted in the sets, and often people would get left behind. Lead writer Greg Farshtey did these serials to help fix this problem.

In the serial "Federation of Fear" (which I want to emphasize was definitely a BIONICLE take on the Suicide Squad; I only realized this a couple of years ago), the team goes to an island to pick up some weapons from a cache and run into...Tren Krom, an insanely powerful, hideous, and insane thing bound to the island. He disintegrates one of the team members, and reads the others' minds.

Basically, what we're told is that when the Great Beings (basically, the gods of the BIONICLE world) started working on "the universe"*, they created Tren Krom to stabilize and run the system while it was being built. When they finished, they declared they didn't need him anymore, and put Mata Nuin in charge of the universe to keep it running. Tren Krom was bound to an island and stuck there.

This, as you can imagine, did not make him very happy.

When he reads the mind of the crooks in Federation of Fear, he realizes that the evil plan of the main villain is in effect, and decides that's far worse than any evil plan he'd come up with as revenge on the world that scorned him. So he lets them go.

Except for then later Tren Krom very clearly does care about getting out of there. In another web serial, after the main villain took over the universe (spoiler alert), the heroes send one of their own to Tren Krom to see if he'll help. He switches bodies with said hero, and actually helps out in the fight against evil! Until he gets beaten by the main villain, and the good brother of the BIONICLE Devil makes him switch bodies back.

There is one more serial that's important, I guess? There's one where one of the villains goes to check on him, and the knowledge he gets from Tren Krom inspires him to go talk to his boss and tell him how to take over the universe. Which, uh, is Plot relevant, but you would think Tren Krom would know better than to just hand out that info.

And then another web serial, written after the main line was canceled, kills him off for a cheap murder mystery.

LAME.

Alright, so what to make of this character? GregF admitted that Tren Krom was created as a shoutout to H.P. Lovecraft's work, so the Cthulhu comparisons were intentional (this also might have been how I was introduced to Cthulhu as a character). There are no official illustrations, as he was never a set, and unlike most BIONICLE characters, he had a horrifying appearance with no bionic elements (his face was a giant gooey skull or something that drove people insane). That hasn't stopped many fan artists from giving it a shot.

Also, one of the BZPower comedies, "Day in the Life of GregF", had a hilarious version of Tren Krom that spoke in ALL CAPS.

Tren Krom was wild, man. In some ways, it was a fantastic addition to the mythos, because it developed the world in a completely new way that fans hadn't seen before. I feel like he was ultimately wasted, though, because there was so much to do with this character, and it really didn't get very far. But that's the case with a lot of the serial characters, I think.

Yeah, so, we've got a BIONICLE Cthulhu.

*It's worth noting that in BIONICLE, "the universe" tends to refer to the Matoran known world, and there was plenty outside of that.

#Tren Krom #BIONICLE #Fun Fact Friday #Today You Learned #Cthulhu #Greg Farshtey

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ladyiristheenchantress · 2 months

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Working with Water

Welcome to the first part of my elemental series! Today we will explore some aspects of working with water like offerings, devotional activities, common lessons, aspects, and more! With all that said lets get started!

To preface: I am a devotee to water itself, I am a west witch practioner which means I work within the domain of water, the past, divination, and psyche! I also am a general elemental practioner and have experience working with all of the elements and their aspects!

What is working with water like?

The verified gnosis depends on what pantheon or historical significance we are looking at, however some things are constant! Water is fluid, represents motion and an unbridled force, but people can work with aspects of water! Water doesnt have a gender (neither do any of the elements) so asking during a working relationship is a great way to bond! Some people use she, he, they, and anything inbetween mainly because there are a lot of dynamics world wide!

In general, Water is primordial, being one of the first elements on the planet to house life as the primordial soup. In general her energy carries this! It has many aspects, from ocean, abyss, stream, river, and more, and spirits/traditions change depending on where you are looking! It mainly has to do with formations on the earth and how water presents to you!

Some people who work with more general bodies like streams, rivers, and lakes have a more relaxed time, learning more about how to go with the flow, tackle divination, and working with aspects of transcendence as many bodies of waters were considered to be portals. When it comes to larger and deeper bodies of water like ocean, abyss, and the primordial soup you will learn lessons more about the human condition, shadow work, and taking on the past.

Some things to note, waters personality is not set in stone, however elements are not omnipotent or omnipresent because they physically exist, its best to call on the energies of the elements before attempting to interact, and this also means they wont be around you all the time. Also, do not be suprised if an element isnt kind to you from the start. In a lot of cultures, elements dislike what we are doing to our planet and in general water may mention the plastic problem and pollution and encourage you to clean up our lands! Its important to remember that to the elements we are simply animals like any other bear, bird, or deer! Remember that you can learn a lot from a distance, so dont be offended if water would rather have you observe nature rather than directly give you answers via divination. UPG: In my experience water tends to be a portal, it is stoic, never saying 'i love you' or 'im proud' simply because it doesnt follow the human system of love. It is billions of years old and interestingly enough, water does rule over the psyche and past and is extremely emotionally intelligent, but has a preference in showing someone how to love themselves rather than giving out the term itself. It humanizes the element too much. Another aspect is even as a devotee it isnt heavy ritual work, a lot of it is introspection and action based!

A good thing to note is water does have a primordial “womb” aspect because of the Primordial soup! Most of the elements will have a birth aspect. On the contrary Water also has a death aspect within Abyss (the darker element) as it relates to death and the shadows. Working with these entities follows a similar feel to working with water itself, however the primordial soup teaches more about the human condition and what it means to evolve, while abyss teaches how to accept our darker flaws and translate them into good.

What are common offerings?

Most people place altars to water in wet rooms, bathrooms, and showers! Or at least near entrances and thresholds! Water tends to enjoy hand picked items, items from your adventures, and things you find interesting in your research. It tends to really enjoy having a set space.

There is heavy emphasis on action, and usually there are types of offerings! Net Positive, Net Negative, and Neutral! Positive offerings are anything that benefits the water ways which include beach clean ups, enjoying the water with reef safe sun screen, and creating a floating fish feeder! Neutral offerings refer to offerings that neither help nor harm water ways mainly is taking things home and charging them in moon light or on an altar then bringing them back, introducing native florals or herbs to a water way, or creating a biodegradable floating offering. Practicing at home in your shower or with drinking water usually is neutral or even positive. Net Negative are any offerings that negatively impact waterways like introducing salt from an offering, floating non-native florals and herbs, adding crystals to the environment.

Its important that you are aware of the offerings you introduce into your area, research is the key, and if you cant and still want to honor water look into how to conserve water in your own home like creating moon water from potable water, creating potions and other things in a respectful manner, and practicing safely

Some common practices include visiting local water spots, clean ups, potion crafting, collecting waters like moon or rain, meditating during water moments like during rain, cleaning up your bathroom or mudroom, enjoying shower and bathing magic, using steam, and so much more!

What are some correspondences?

Crystals - aquamarine, Ethically sourced coral, turquoise, sapphire, sodalite, lapis lazuli, blue topaz, moonstone, Brass

Herbs - seaweed, seamoss, jasmine, aloe, lily, mugwort, cucumber, rose, catnip, belladonna, willow, lotus, nettle

Colors - Blue, white, navy

Energy Centers - Throat, Crown, Witches Eye

Zodiacs - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Tools - Chalices, Bells, dowsing rods, Tarot Cards

Scents - Sweet, Oceanic, citrus, Salty

Resources:

https://www.tumblr.com/a-seas-song/151886812943/sea-magic-references?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/a-seas-song/151843326843/recreationalwitchcraft-witchcrafts-for-the-sea

https://www.moodymoons.com/2020/07/01/sea-witch-harnessing-the-power-of-the-ocean-2/

https://tropical-sea-witch.tumblr.com/post/641611893093613568/charm-bags-sea-witch-style

https://a-seas-song.tumblr.com/post/171029487233/animals-in-sea-witchcraft

https://a-seas-song.tumblr.com/post/171024318373/songs-in-sea-witchcraft

https://www.tumblr.com/a-seas-song/151886878168/tips-for-landlocked-sea-witches?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/a-seas-song/151886793018/wretched-waters-working-with-the-tides-tides

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/waterwitch/

http://www.waterwitchcraft.com/about

https://www.flyingthehedge.com/2020/02/water-folklore-correspondences.html

https://www.flyingthehedge.com/2020/04/tools-of-water.html

https://healing-sun-witch.tumblr.com/post/183508828289/sea-witch-cleansing-use-sea-salt-and-salt-water

https://www.moodymoons.com/2018/03/06/sea-witch-jar-spell/

https://northernlightswicca.com/2020/08/31/methods-of-divination-water-gazing/

https://www.lenntech.com/water-mythology.htm

Tip Jar

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ceo-draiochta · 8 months

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A review of:

The Origins of Ireland's Holy Wells by Celeste Ray

Celeste Ray, a professor of anthropology for the University of the South, USA wrote this book after extensive research, both desk and foot into Irelands Holy Wells. I would honestly recommend anyone with any interest in Irish religious practices, culture, paganism, or mythology to pick it up. An amazing book. I'll be giving my thoughts and what I liked and didn't like about it here.

What I liked:

A very well researched book that shows the authors dedication not just to anthropology but to the living practices she is documenting

The passion of the author is clear and they Mince no words when discussing other researchers and their work, pointing out the flaws, misconceptions and biases (some of which were wild I can't believe some of these people are taken as authorities on the subject when their conclusion was that wells are a toilet metaphor?)

Uses a wider pre roman European context for the evidence. As we are so often reminded, to treat Ireland as some how separate from Western Europe is ridiculous and is a disservice to the interconnection of the people of old.

The reframing of this idea, which is normally used as a strong force against nativist views into a supportive one was quite interesting.

Examines roman writings in a very balanced way that acknowledges the inherent propaganda but does not dismiss it outright.

There's a whole section of people including academics who seems desperate for a roman invasion of ireland, despite there being basically no evidence of it. Like people are fully making things up to try and force one, the author gives these people a sound dismissal in their restating of the evidence of raiding and trade over large-scale roman conquest. (Genuine question can someone explain why people are so mad for Romans in ireland?)

I thus learned more about pre roman Western European practices and archeology than I ever really had the desire to. I am now much more educated on the subject.

The framing of sites as important locations adopted and readopted based on shifting circumstances of the time rather than a "secret unbroken line" which is much more realistic.

The explanation of Holy Wells as archaeologically challenging sites was well explained.

Using etymology in the connection of wells to supernatural beings. Love etymology so this was amazing

The use of early irish literature to support existing claims. Which I know claiming that there are pagan elements in the literature basically gets you spat and jeered at but nevertheless is really compelling.

While this blog has been thoroughly against the lumping together of celtic cultures, this book makes a great case as to when it is appropriate to use the term celtic and that the rush to replace this term has very much resulted in the baby being thrown out with the bath water.

Actually engages with living culture and treats folklore and living sources/practices as evidence to be considered rather than "silly little irish peasants" but also does not take every tale as completely accurate literal history.

Plenty of examples and pictures of well in practice today.

Supports a general pre Christian, pre roman use of wells and springs as sacred sites but also acknowledges the influence of both (especially Christian) on the practice.

Acknowledges the diverse origins of holy wells, from one's that have have votive offerings since the bronze age to ones that were made sacred in the modern age.

Does not buy into any sort of "Christians are thieves" narrative.

Honestly this seems like the definitive book on irish holy wells.

What I didn't like:

While I loved the book there was definitely things I took issue with.

The assertive nature of the tone was entertaining, it did sort of feel like the author was this close to calling other researchers "fucking idiots", though humanities papers seem to have a much more aggressive tone than I am used to from my field of study.

The author makes many an interesting and compelling hypothesis in the book, but they are just that. These theories are then presented as the fact of the matter when really they are no more or less substantiated than the other theories.

Could have done without some of the "identity politics" on the celtic question section. Like I get that's a huge part of this authors work but I didn't feel it was all necessary to include.

Some of the mythological comparisons seem like a little bit of a stretch Low-key.

Either way this is a fantastic work and I urge everyone even remotely interested to buy it, it's a little pricey but well worth it. It can be purchased online on Google books(link). Now obviously this is all from my lay perspective, if anyone with actual qualifications wants to correct or argue feel free. This is just my perspective.

#irish mythology #celtic mythology #irish paganism #gaelic paganism #holy wells #celtic Christianity #ireland #resources #review #mine #anthropology #irish catholic #magic #féile #lúnasa #holy well

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empressofthesunwriter · 2 months

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Yin and Yang

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.03: The Southern Air Temple

Water.

Earth.

Fire.

Air.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony.

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished.

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua.

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone.

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

A few days had passed since Aang and Hua were broken free from the iceberg, which had been their prison for 100 of years.

Together with the water tribe siblings Katara and Sokka the Avatar and Daimon had begun their journey to master all four elements to end the long war the Fire Nation had started.

The first main goal was to reach the North Pole to find a waterbend master.

However, it didn’t mean they couldn’t make some stops.

Aang and Hua had been gone from the world for so long, anything had changed, they needed to see and learn how to move in this new world.

Also, they had important things to check.

So their first stop was the Southern Air Temple, Aang's birthplace, to look for other airbenders and maybe find out what had happened.

The quartetett one flying bison and a Kyuubi had camped yesterday on this tiny piece of island and were making anything ready for their journey to their destination for today.

Hua had a bad feeling in her stomach, as she helped Katara put their luggage in Appa's saddle.

She remembered with clarity how Gran-Gran, Katara and Sokka's grandma, had told them how no one had seen airbenders for 100 years.

She knew it was nearly impossible to meet up again with old friends and mentors, like Monk Gyatso, they were for sure dead, but Kanna's information and its implication, worried Hua.

Deep down she had a feeling if airbenders were still around, they wouldn’t be open about it and the other possibility…how Aang and her (even if she was only a quarter airbender) were the only airbenders left gave her a bitter taste in her mouth.

Other than Aang who was so sure to find his old home full of living airbenders, Hua had a strong feeling they would only find one thing there.

Death.

The black-haired girl shuddered.

It felt like yesterday as Monk Gyatso explained to her some only Daimon-related quirks.

Her Daimon spirit was born out of chaos and darkness, it meant she had a kind of radar for darker things more than Aang as Avatar, who flourished in order and light.

Destruction, pain, and even death gave her a thrill but also made her feel sick.

When she heard how no airbender had been seen for 100 years, a voice inside her said: they are dead.

Call it instinct or her weird Daimon Darkness-Radar, she knew it was true.

Hua had tried to warn Aang, to not get his hopes up, but sadly he didn’t listen to her.

He was too optimistic.

Typical Avatar.

“Wait 'til you see it, Katara!”, Hua heard Aang talk, returning her from her dark thoughts. “The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world!”

“Aang, I know you're excited, but it's been a hundred years since you've been home.”, reminds him Katara cautiously.

The waterbender looked at Hua, who gave her a tiny nod.

Other than her counterpart, Hua didn't get her hopes up.

"That's why I'm so excited!", told Aang giddy.

"It's just that ... a lot can change in all that time."

"Katara is right Aang.", agreed Hua. "I have a really bad feeling about this. You shouldn't get your hopes up."

This made Aang roll his eyes and jump down from Appa's head.

"You and your bad feelings. You need to be more optimistic.", tutted Aang, which angered the Daimon.

She was not a little child!

"It would help you to be more realistic, Mr. Avatar. You can't live with your head in the clouds all the time!"

"I'm an airbender, it's in my nature."

"Yeah, that's your excuse for anything!"

"Children!", got Katara between them.

She had a tired and annoyed look on her face.

No wonder, since she and Sokka joined them, she had to stop the Avatar and Daimon regular from arguing.

"Not this early in the morning, please."

"Sorry, Katara.", they chorused together.

How synchronic they could be, when they didn't want to smash heads with each other, would astonish Katara forever.

Since neither Aang nor Hua wanted to give Katara any grief, they decided to drop the matter, for now.

Hua called for Jaiyi, who had been playing with the waves.

While her Kyuubi joined her and Katara on the saddle, Aang got Sokka out of his sleeping back, pretending there was a prickle snake in it.

They were ready now!

***

Serenly Appa was flying through the Patola Mountain range.

It's a great day for flying, musses Hua, as she sits beside Sokka and Katara on Appa's saddle, having Jaiyi in her lap.

Her nine-tails currently getting pats from her and Katara, as Sokka's stomach growls loudly.

The three females look at him in a deadpan.

Really?

He was hungry again?

They had breakfast about an hour and a half ago.

How was this possible?

"Hey, stomach? Be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food.", grips Sokka with one hand his growling stomach and with the other reaches for their food bag.

His tongue out of his mouth full of anticipation, as he starts to go through it.

He looks surprised for a moment, but quickly turns the bag upside down to pour the contents into his hand.

Only a few crumbs land on his glove.

"Hey!", the water tribe warrior shouts, pointing an accusing finger in the direction of his companions. " Who ate all of my blubbered seal jerky?!"

"Oh. That was food? I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry.", tells him Aang happily.

Hua makes a facepalm, Jaiyi just deadpans more and Katara can only shake her head.

Meanwhile Sokka nearly cries and whines about why the flames smelled so good last night.

"The Patola Mountain range! We're almost there!", announces Aang with excitement.

Katara and Hua look at each other, silently agreeing and they crawl towards Aang.

"Aang, we need to talk.", begins Hua.

"About what?"

"About the airbenders."

"What about 'em?"

"Well, we just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless.", tells him Katara. Sadly her hand goes to her chocker. "They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people."

In compassion the earthbender wraps an arm around Katara's shoulder, giving her a squeeze.

The older girl had told her this a few days ago, when they had bathed in a hot spring together, enjoying some time away from the males. Both had cried together for their dead family and comforted the other.

Still, Hua would always comfort Katara when she needed to, like Katara did with her.

However, this does not have the wished effect on Aang, because he just cheerfully says how the airbender probably escaped and how you can reach only one of the temples with a flying bison and he doubts the Fire Nation had.

So no worries.

For that Hua flicks the back of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

"You are an unsensible brat, you know that?", hisses Hua. "Katara tells you her mother was killed and not even some condolences from you! What a great friend you are."

This makes Aang blush in embarrassment.

"Katara I-"

"Aang, Hua, it's okay, don't start to argue again, alright?"

"But-?"

Suddenly Jaiyi lets out a warning yip, as Appa starts to climb higher and higher the mountain. The only one who isn't screaming in surprise and tightly holding onto the saddle is Aang since he sits on Appa's head and holds the reins tightly.

After a few seconds, they break the cloud and there is it...the Southern Air Temple in its glory.

"Aang, it's amazing!", shouts Katara.

"Ha, I forgot the bumpy ride, but for this visual it's all worth it!", musses Hua, still holding Jaiyi tightly to her chest, as the nine-tails make an agreening sound.

"We're home, buddy! We're home.", says Aang with happy tears in his eyes to Appa.

A while later Appa lands them on one of the landing platforms of the temple and the humans with Jaiyi make their way towards it.

Of course, Aang was in the lead, Hua and Jaiyi behind him, making Katara and Sokka take up the rear.

With only a half ear Hua hears how Sokka wants food and Katara scolds him for it, reminding him how they are the first outsiders at the temple.

Since they touched down, the Daimon feels sick to the stomach.

It's like she can taste the decay in the air.

Hearing screams of pain and plaids of mercy.

This is a graveyard and nothing more.

How she feels bad to think this about the temple.

Her point is only proven when Aang tells the others where he played airball with his friends, where the bison slept and trails off to admit how everything changed and only weed is remaining.

They quickly approach Aang.

To lift his spirits Sokka plays with him airball and gets absulty demolished.

At least the Avatar is again in a good mood.

But poor Sokka who landed hard in the snow.

Hua has Jaiyi in her arms, looking at how Aang lets the airball twirl in his hands, wondering when she will be apply to do this, as Katara calls for them.

The younger ones walk towards them, only to see how Katara buries Sokka with snow.

"What's up?", ask Hua confused.

"Uh ... Just a new waterbending move I learned."

"Nice one! But enough practising.", exclaims Aang. "We have a whole temple to see!"

The airbender walks away and Hua follows after a second.

She has a feeling about what Katara and Sokka found and wants them to see, Hua tastes and feels it in the air, but maybe, just for a few minutes more, she can lie to herself.

Even if it was for a short time, the Southern Air Temple had been her home, it's already breaking her heart to see it so empty.

Hah, she is such a hypocrite!

Telling Aang he needs to face the truth when she is here trying to ignore it.

Jaiyi licks her cheek, trying to lift her spirits. In thanks, she gives her a kiss on the head.

For a few more minutes she will be just a girl, who returns home, then she will face the truth, she promises herself.

They reach the courtyard where Monk Gyatso statue stands.

"Hey guys!", Aang calls back to the water tribe siblings. "I want you to meet somebody!"

"Who's that?", asked Sokka.

"Monk Gyatso.", answers Hua, a tear slipping down her eye. "When I was brought to the Southern Air Temple he became my guardian. He was already Aang teacher and mentor, so I was his charge also."

"He was also the greatest airbender in the world and taught me anything I know.", adds Aang.

Together Aang and Hua bow before the monk both loved like a father/grandfather, remembering times long ago…

***

Hua is swinging all alone on a swing in a beautiful courtyard of the Southern Air Temple. She can see some bison calves eating grass and a few flying lemurs are sitting on the tree, where the swing is tied.

Her heart is heavy, but she refuses to cry.

“Of course, you are here.”, she hears the gentle voice of Monk Gyatso behind. “You want to tell what happened, Hua?”

She turns her head to the monk, stopping her swinging.

“Aang is an idiot and nothing more. I can’t believe he is supposed to be my other half.”, she grumbles.

Monk Gyatso frowns, stepping beside her.

He pats her gently on the head.

It helps a little to feel better.

“Talk with me Hua, what happened?”

“I don't even remember anymore, we always are at each other throats for stupid things.", she admits quietly. "The Avatar and the Daimon are supposed to be a team, but Aang and I hate each other guts. It makes me feel like a failure. I'm more and more sure that the monks and the earth priests were wrong about us."

"Now, Hua, the only thing that they did wrong was telling you both your destiny and making you meet now and not at sixteen. But we can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is.", Gyatso tells her calmy.

"I try, but I'm not really good at this. Will I be ever ready? Can Aang and I become friends or are we doomed to hate each other?"

"Your questions will be answered when you're old enough to enter the air temple sanctuary. Inside, you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey. Normally you would be brought to an Earth Temple Sanctuary, but the elders and our priests had to mix up anything.", was the last thing the monk huffed irritated.

A little smile forms on Hua's lips.

"I hope you are right because if not, I will bury Aang alive."

This makes both of them laugh.

"Give it time, little flower.", reassured her Gyatso. "You both were always friends in any of your lifetimes. You will find a common ground."

"Well, if you say so."

"Now, how about a hug? I can see that you need one.", smiles Gyatso grandfatherly at her.

The young girl grins and falls in the comforting embrace of the monk, who was more like a grandfather, than a teacher to her.

***

Aang and Hua are still bowing before the statue of their shared guardian, as Katara puts a hand on each of their shoulder. On the floor between them is Jaiyi, who snuggles the Avatar and Daimon to her best abilities.

"You must miss him.", says Katara in understanding to her two friends.

They confirm and start walking.

"Where are you going?"

"The air temple sanctuary.", begins Aang and Hua ends the sentence with: "There's someone we are ready to meet."

Aang and Hua enter the hallway, Jaiyi following after them.

Katara looks questioningly at Sokka, who just shrugs.

They both start walking after the Avatar and Diamon.

The round symbol of intertwined air currents, the national symbol of the Air Nomads is largely embedded in the floor, surrounded by two square shapes that form some sort of sun together.

The quartet and nine-tailed fox have reached the entrance of the air temple sanctuary.

The door supports a combination of metal-coloured pipes and three, blue, rolled-up, pipes that are similar looking and arranged like the symbol for airbending.

The large wooden door is framed by the branches of an old tree standing on the left of it and the hallway is illuminated by sunlight that falls through little, round windows.

"But Aang, Hua no one could have survived in there for a hundred years.", protested Katara sceptically.

"It's not impossible. We survived in the iceberg for that long.", reminds Aang.

"Good point."

"Whoever is in there, will help us to become a fully realized Daimon and Avatar.", explains Hua.

Eagerly Sokka steps forward, with a hungry look in his eyes.

"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats!"

Full of anticipation and longing, Sokka charges at the door, but it will not budge and he simply smacks into it, head first.

Hua, Katara and Jaiyi try not to laugh, but tiny giggles escape them.

The water tribe warrior quickly turns around and puts his back on it, trying to push the giant door open.

When the door does not move, he sighs, slides down to the floor, disappointed, and rests against it.

"I don't suppose you have a key?", he ask towards Aang and Hua.

"The key, Sokka, is airbending.", simply states Aang.

Aang gets in position as he takes a deep breath.

He spreads his arms and thrusts them forward, sending an air current into both of the tubes on the door.

The air follows the path of the right air current as it travels through the pipe. The wind makes one of the blue curled tubes turn around.

When it does, the tube changes colors to purple and the wind blows out like a horn.

The process is repeated for the other two blue tubes as well.

When the three blue tubes have turned and become purple, the door unlocks and it slowly starts to open.

Light penetrates the dark room.

The doors sway open.

"Hello?", calls Aang into the room. Slowly stepping in. "Anyone home?"

The others follow behind him.

Inside the room there are a large amount of statues of people, lined up in a circular pattern.

It's always two statues beside each other, nearly every one of them holds hands, but there are a few who just stand beside each other.

"Statues? That's it? Where's the meat?", groans Sokka in disappointment.

"Who are all these people?", wonders Katara.

Aang and Hua look pensive at the statues around them.

"I'm not sure. But it feels like I know them somehow. ", states Aang.

The Dsimon nods.

"I have the same feeling, hey look!", she points at a female statue. "This one is an earthbender."

"That one's beside the earthbender is an airbender.", says Aang.

"And this one's a waterbender, who holds hands with a firebender. Never thought I would see that.", musses Katara before she realizes. "They're lined up in a pattern: air and earth, water and fire, earth and air, and fire and water!"

"These are the Avatar and Daimon Cycles!", shout Aang and Hua together.

"Of course. They're Avatars and Daimons. All these people are your past lives, Aang and Hua."

"Wow! There are so many!", exclaims Aang.

"They go till the highest point of the room!", notes Hua. "I wonder why some hold hands and others not."

Katara lets out a hum, then snaps her fingers.

"I bet the ones who are holding hands were couples and the ones who don't were friends."

"Huh...makes sense.", mumbled Aang, looking like he bite into a lemon.

He feels deep down that Katara is right.

He so does not like this!

Hua is right behind him making a yucky sound, stating: "I can't believe we were that often a couple! I can see maybe ten or so who were only friends."

However, both start to follow along the circle, looking at the statues.

Meanwhile Sokka of course doesn't believe this reincarnation bullshit and Katara has to make clear how every Avatar and Daimon after they die gets reincarnation in the next nation in their cycle.

Transfixed the Avatar and Diamon stand before the last two statues in the room.

A male Fire Nation Avatar holding hands with a female Water Tribe Daimon.

It's strange, but Hua has a feeling the beautiful aged elderly lady statue is calling for her.

Like she had met an old, dear friend, the presence is calm and comforting.

She hears the whisper of crashing waves, the soft and cold touch of snow ...

"Aang! Hua! Snap out of it!"

Abruptly Hua and Aang get shaken from their daze by a worried Katara.

"Huh?", both chorused intelligently.

"Who are they?", wants Katara to know.

"That's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me."

"And she is Daimon Lixue, my predecessor."

Sokka joins them jokily stating: "Aang was a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."

"I think I heard about Lixue.", mubles Katara. "Just I can't remember all about her."

"She was from the Southern Water Tribe, no wonder you heard about her.", explains Hua.

"You were one of our tribesmen? Really?", say Sokka in disbelief. "Way to return back home and lead firebenders to us."

"Sokka!"

"What Katara?!"

"You know what I mean! Don't play dumb!"

Her brother just gave Katara a big grin.

The waterbender huffs, before she notices something.

"There's no writing. How do you know their names?"

Automatically the current Avatar and Daimon look at each other and shrug their shoulders.

"We just know.", they chorus.

"You two just couldn't get any weirder.", bemoans Sokka with crossed arms.

All this Avatar/Daimon mumbo-jumbo was so not his thing.

He liked a scientific explanation for the world.

The quartet and Jaiyi startle and stare with big eyes in front of them when they hear something.

They turn around.

A blue light on the floor comes in through the door. A long-eared shadow of another being that is approaching moves over it.

Hua hides with Jaiyi behind the statue of Lixue, as the others scatter to a hiding place.

She sees Sokka, who is holding his club ready for everything

The shadow is creeping closer.

"Firebender.", whisper Sokka. "Nobody makes a sound."

"You're making a sound!", grumbles Katara irritated.

For that, all shush her, even Jaiyi!

The shadow has reached the bases of the statues and reveals a small figure standing in the doorway; it chitters.

Eh, what?

Confused Hua and Jaiyi look around their statue, like Aang and Katara, while Sokka has still his club raised, but doesn't use it.

Before them sits a flying lemur.

The animal moves his large ear and blinks at them.

"Lemur!", shouts Aang excitedly.

"Dinner!", shouts Sokka hungrily.

"Don't listen to him. You're going to be my new pet."

"Not if I get him first!"

Sokka stretches his hand while he excitedly lunges himself at the animal from behind the statue.

Aang runs up at the lemur as well.

The lemur arcs his back in fright, his ears, hair and tail standing upright as the snatching hands of the boys draw closer. It startles, quickly turns around and makes a break for it.

The water tribe boy misses the animal and falls down, while Aang nimbly avoids tripping as well by using Sokka's head as a stepping stone. Quickly Sokka gets up and runs behind Aang and the lemur as they exit the sanctuary.

Now only the girls and the kyuubi remain.

Katara and Hua find each other eyes.

"Boys.", they both exclaim tired, as Jaiyi makes an agreeing sound.

"I'm not running after them.", makes Katara clear and steps to Hua and Jaiyi.

"Me neither. Shall we look around more, maybe we find something interesting."

"Sure."

So the girls and Jaiyi look around the room and the statues.

Only a few minutes pass, and as the girls and Jaiyi stand again before Avatar Roku and Daimon Lixue Roku's eyes begin to shine!

"What the?!", shouts Hua surprised.

They look around the room and see how all Avatar statues light up.

"Spirits, this isn't good!"

"Hua, we need to find Aang!"

Immediately Hua lets Jaiyi down and the floor and commands: "Girl, find Aang, fast!"

The kyuubi doesn't need to be told and follow Aang's smell.

Behind her Hua and Katara follow her through the whole temple, as they see a large tornado.

"That must be Aang!", yells the Daimon.

Soon they reach the tornado that Aang has become and Sokka who is holding on to a rock.

"What happened?", yells Katra over the wind, trying to not get blown away.

"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso!", explains Sokka.

"Oh no! It's his Avatar Spirit. He must have triggered it! I'm going to try and calm him down!"

However, she can't even make a step forward as Hua's hand stops her.

"Hua, what?!"

Whatever Katara wants to say, she forgets it the moment she looks back at Hua.

The Daimon's eyes are shining in a burning orange as she speaks with a thousand voices: "Stay down. It's too dangerous. I will calm my other half."

So Hua has entered Daimon State, it was maybe better if she talked to Aang.

Sokka thinks the same and grips his sister and Jaiyi, holding them protective to his side.

"Well, do it! Before he blows us off the mountain!"

From the Daimon comes only a nod, as she makes her way over to the enraged Avatar.

With ease, she bends away the currents and flying debris.

When she reaches finally Aang she takes his hands in hers.

The Avatar looks full of anger and pain to the Daimon.

"My Yin, don't lose yourself in the pain. I know how you feel. I loved Gyatso and the other airbenders too. They became my family far from home. Your pain is mine. You are not alone. You have me, I will always be by your side!"

"Always, my Yang?", asks the Avatar also with a thousand voices in one.

"Till the last star in the universe dies out. This is our eternal promise."

"I remember."

"We have a family. Katara and Sokka are our family. The loved ones we lost, get reborn in new loved ones."

Finally, the winds calm down and the Avatar descends back to Earth. The two half embrace each other tight and kneel down on the ground.

Slowly their eyes return back to normal, however, they don't let go of each other.

Right now, only their other half can understand their pain and anguish.

The water tribe siblings and Jaiyi join them.

Katara embraces the two young children like a loving mother, while Jaiyi licks their cheeks and Sokka puts each a hand on their shoulder.

"You both are not alone, me and Sokka are your family now.", reassured Katara.

"Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you two. Promise.", swerves Sokka.

"I'm sorry.", sniffles Aang.

"It's okay. Don't worry.", mumbles Hua back, rubbing his back in comfort.

"It wasn't your fault.", adds Katara.

"But you girls were right. And if the firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last airbender."

"Don't forget me.", reminds him Hua gently. "I'm just a quarter airbender, but it still counts."

A little wet laugh escapes Aang and he buries his head deeper into the Daimon shoulder.

For now, the storm was over.

***

They, Aang and Hua, are back again in the sanctuary, looking one last time at Avatar Roku and Daimon Lixue.

Katara joins them, saying: "Everything's packed. Are you two ready to go?"

"How are Roku and Lixue supposed to help us if we can't talk to them?", wonders Aang.

"No idea.", admins Hua, picking up Jaiyi, and cuddling her to her chest.

"Maybe you'll find a way.", stays Katara optimistic.

They glance at each other when they hear something behind them.

Turning around they see the flying lemur standing on its back legs in the middle of the doorway.

The animal reaches Sokka's feet and drops the load he is carrying: a variety of fruits.

The lemur quickly dashes away as Sokka sits down and starts to stuff his face with the fruit, taking large bites of two different pieces of fruit.

Amused Hua, Jaiyi, Aang and Katara smile at Sokka.

"Looks like you made a new friend Sokka!", tell him Aang smiling.

"Can't talk! Must eat!"

The flying lemur climbs onto Aang and hides behind his head, his tail curled around Aang's neck.

Seems like someone wants to go with them.

The group makes their way back to Appa, with their new lemur friend.

Aang has a hand on Appa, while the lemur is sitting on his arm, as they look back at the Southern Air Temple in the distance.

"You, me and Appa; we're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together.", tells them Aang, before he turns to the others. "Katara, Sokka, Hua and Jaiyi say hello to the newest member of our family."

"What are you going to name him?", asked Katara curious.

Sokka is about to take another bite of the peach he is eating when the lemur jumps to him, stealing the fruit and returning to Aang.

He starts to nibble it with gusto.

Well, this gives Aang an idea for a name.

"Momo!"

Sokka still stands there, mouth open and hand in front of his mouth, ready to take a bite, however, he has no peach anymore.

The others start to laugh upon seeing Sokka's expression.

After that, they mount Appa and fly away from the Southern Air Temple.

Dusk is settling as Aang looks with Momo at how his old home become tinier and tinier.

In silence, Hua with Jaiyi joins them.

The girl pats his shoulder, giving him a little smile, which he returns.

And so the Avatar and Daimon look together at how the Southern Air Temple vanishes behind clouds.

A silent sentinel of a chapter in their lives.

#own character #ocs #ao3 writer #fanfic writing #avatar the last airbender #aang #sokka #katara #toph beifong #zuko #suki #zutara #sukki #aang x oc

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a-queer-seminarian · 6 months

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Hey Avery, I love this blog and the binary-breakers blog. They’ve both been a great help to me as I reconstruct my faith. But I’m struggling with something: my fiancé and I are scheduled to light an advent candle during the Sunday morning service at his church. Initially I was really looking forward to it, but by chance I was curious about how old Mary was when she bore Jesus, and when I looked it up I learned she could have been anywhere from 13-16. Moreover, some traditions put Joseph as being much, much older. It’s just hard not to think in a very . . . sinister direction when considering that context, especially as far as God’s role in this is concerned. What did you learn about this topic in seminary, if anything? Is there any hope that my “problematic” interpretation is unnecessary/invalid?

Hi there! I think it's lovely y'all are going to light an advent candle tomorrow, and I hope it's a meaningful experience! I also totally get your dismay about Mary's age at Jesus's birth.

To start with the facts: yes, Mary was almost certainly a teenager when betrothed to Joseph. The Bible doesn't give any confirmation of her age, but in both ancient Jewish culture and Roman culture, girls were usually married off not too many years after they started menstruating.

When it comes to Joseph's age, I do have some slightly relieving news — he's unlikely to have been the old man he's often depicted as in medieval art. (I actually had a fascinating conversation on this topic with queer Catholic art historian Amy Neville on my podcast that you can read or listen to here!) He almost certainly would have been older than Mary, but it's uncertain how much older.

In ancient Jewish culture, the "ideal" marriage was actually one between a man and a woman who were both in their teens, with an expectation that a man marry by age 20. Being able to support a wife & kids was a key indicator of manhood, so men were expected to get married as young as they could. But in practice, it was more common for men to marry in their late 20s / by age 30, which does mean that their wives would often be a good ten or fifteen years younger than they were.

The Bible doesn't tell us what age Joseph was when he and Mary were betrothed, but it's unlikely he was older than 30, just as it's unlikely she was older than 18.

So maybe that's not quite as discomfiting as the image of a much older Joseph, but by our modern standards, it's still pedophilia. So what do we make of that? And what did God think of that??

I believe it is an act of faith to be troubled by elements of scripture that should be troubling, rather than shrugging them off as being "God's will" just because they're in the Bible. I highly recommend Rachel Held Evans' book Inspired on this topic, which has a whole chapter on grappling with difficult biblical texts (you can read a long passage from it here).

While exploring our emotions and giving them holy space, it is also important to accept that biblical cultures are two thousand or more years old — the ancient world had completely different understandings of morality from us. That doesn't mean we shrug off displays of sexism or xenophobia in scripture — bigotry is bigotry, whether an ancient iteration or what we have today — but learning about biblical cultures enriches our understanding of why certain things, like slavery or women having little say in whom they marry, are present in the Bible (and often completely taken for granted by its human authors). It can help us distinguish between what is truly God-ordained, versus what the humans writing down their experience of God presume is God-ordained.

I appreciate how womanist theologian Wil Gafney explores the complexity of appreciating the Bible as an ancient human text while looking for Divine truth "between the lines":

“There is liberation in the gospel even though it is sometimes obscured by the structures of power that benefit from holding people captive. There is also a story in and between the lines of and behind the text we hold so dear that points to a liberation that not even the authors and editors of scripture were able to see clearly or, see their way to record.

Jesus was a rabbi, he would have never wanted us to cling to the letters and syntax of these texts as though they were his very body and blood but rather, his spirit and the Spirit of God, blow through them, ruffling and disturbing them and permitting us to read new truths in and out of them and, not lose sight of the ancient stories that are also part of our shared heritage."

___

When it comes to Mary's young age when betrothed to Joseph and approached by Gabriel to request her "yes" to carrying God's child, your question of God's "role" in that is a vital one to ask.

In Mary's world, a woman without a kyrios, a man to be her protector, was in a very precarious position. Mary has to be betrothed to someone in her teens. We don't know whether God "approves" of this cultural practice, but we can see how God works within this custom to ensure Mary's security throughout her life:

when Joseph plans to divorce her after she becomes pregnant with Jesus, God sends an angel to persuade him to stick by her;

when Jesus is dying on the cross, he ensures that his beloved will protect Mary after he's gone.

Throughout scripture, God largely seems to operate within a people's cultural expectations (with key exceptions, like how God insists Their people treat foreigners the same as members of the group, or when God warns against giving the people a king just because that's what all the other nations have). That's what I see here. Mary must have a husband to be secure in her culture, and I imagine God ensuring that that husband will be one who will treat her well.

Then there's the question of God espousing Mary — of the Holy Spirit "overshadowing" her so that she conceives Jesus. What exactly is this "overshadowing" act? Why is God getting a teen girl pregnant?

Again, Rev. Wil Gafney provides words that wrestle out the good news with this complexity. When reading Luke 1, she urges us to sit with our distress at the image of a powerful "male" figure (Gabriel) approaching a teen girl to tell her what's going to happen to her body:

"Sit with me in this moment, this uncomfortable moment, before rushing to find proof of her consent, or argue that contemporary notions of consent do not apply to ancient texts, or God knew she’d say yes so it was prophetic, or contend that (human) gender does not apply to divine beings, Gabriel or God, and the Holy Spirit is feminine anyway. Hold those thoughts and just sit in the moment with this young woman."

Our distress is holy; it shows our connection to a fellow human being, our thirst for justice. Honor what you feel, don't discard your emotions, even while you join them to sociohistorical understanding.

I highly recommend you read Gafney's whole article, but here's a little more from it that balances ancient culture with modern ethics:

"Yet in a world which did not necessarily recognize her sole ownership of her body and did not understand our notions of consent and rape, this very young woman had the dignity, courage, and temerity to question a messenger of the Living God about what would happen to her body before giving her consent. That is important. That gets lost when we rush to her capitulation. Before Mary said, “yes,” she said, “wait a minute, explain this to me.” ... Did the Ever-Blessed Virgin Mary say, “me too?” Perhaps not. A close reading shows her presumably powerless in every way but sufficiently empowered to talk back to the emissary of God, determine for herself, and grant what consent she could no matter the power of the One asking. And yet in that moment after being told by someone else what would happen to her body, she became not just the Mother of God, but the holy sister to those of us who do say, “Me too.” "

Because Mary was a teen girl, an impoverished Palestinian Jew living under empire, she can extend solidarity to people across all time who experience similar oppression, whose bodily autonomy is equally precarious. Just as her son, God in human flesh, extends solidarity to all who have ever been arrested or executed under an unjust state through his crucifixion. Divine power is expressed in and through those whom the world denigrates and discards — that's why God chose Mary, and why Mary in turn chose God.

Sorry this got so long and has a lot of complex stuff to wrestle with. I honor your courage to ask the hard questions, and I hope you are able to take time throughout Advent to keep pondering! There are no easy answers, but wrestling can yield a blessing.

#mary tag #advent #annunciation #reading and studying the Bible

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nayialovecat · 9 months

Text

The Ink Demonth 2023 - Day 12. Angel

Day 12. Angel Crossover: W.I.T.C.H. (comics) This could be true, if it weren't for the fact that Joey is probably canonically gay (but I'm not sure if it's a fact).

And now a bit of history. Comics W.I.T.C.H. in Poland were published for about ten years from 2002 and were extremely important to me. I bought this newspaper from the first to the last issue - I skipped maybe 3-4 issues when I was on vacation and couldn't find a shop that had the current press (I'll fill these holes someday). For me, this series was extremely important and played a big role for many reasons - firstly, it was how I learned to draw human figures and my style still somewhat resembles the style of W.I.T.C.H. Secondly - reading this comic coincided with the moment when I first started to suffer from depression and reading about magic, about friendship that works and that friends don't stab you in the back - made it easier for me to cope with reality. Finally, thirdly - I was then very into magic and I was looking for it in a more interesting form than the one presented in Harry Potter (where magic, by the way, is very boring and monothematic). In each issue, apart from the next part of the comics, there were interesting horoscopes from different parts of the world, methods of fortune telling and interesting facts about various magical things. This was the beginning of my collection of myths, spells, creatures and magical plants. But then the comic stopped being published, and then that nasty French series came out, which is one big abomination - and I completely forgot about W.I.T.C.H. for many, many years... But then, some time ago, my dad, who was cleaning out my old room (where he has his "office"), found a huge pile of my magazines and decided to bring them to me - among them were all my issues of W.I.T.C.H. magazine. When my daughter saw it, she was immediately delighted and asked if I could read it to her. Reading comics is difficult and unattractive to the listener, so I thought she would get boring quickly - but no... we're halfway through the first saga (about Merdian) and Ursa keeps asking for more. And when I read it to her, I take a sentimental journey back to my childhood, I'm moved again by the stories, I laugh at the jokes, I discover that I look at the characters differently, but like them the same, although for completely different things.

That's why I decided to include such an important element that made me who I am now in this year's Ink Demonth - and the slogan Angel seemed more than appropriate. Interestingly, the previous entry also fit here, and in order to include the Phantom of the Opera, I had to find another place for it, because - yes - it lost to W.I.T.C.H. However, this inconspicuous comic book for teenagers had a greater impact on me, my character, interests and who I am today - than the musical I saw several years ago or the book I read only this year. Sad but true.

I must admit that I had fun drawing and colouring this. And if someone asks: my favourite character is Will - not only because she is redhead and is (like me) a Capricorn, but many threads from her story were similar to mine. This hasn't changed. However, today I look more kindly at Cornelia, whom I once disliked, and a little less favorably at Irma, whom I once liked very much (the way she treats Martin at the beginning is terrible). While drawing them, I realized how unfairly Hay Lin is treated - her guardian outfit is the worst and least highlights her charms. However, after upgrading the outfits, she gains the most, while Cornelia's and Will's outfits are terrible. By the way, Taranee, what did they do to your hair, tell me? By the way, it was even fun to do something similar to the SATIM comic - was this comic always so electric yellow? It was very difficult for me to adapt to this...

Bendy and the Ink Machine (c) Joey Drew Studios Inc. W.I.T.C.H. (c) Disney Italy Sammy and the Ink Machine (c) Nayia Lovecat

#The Ink Demonth #Bendy and the Ink Machine #Sammy and the Ink Machine #BATIM #SATIM #WITCH #Will Vandom #Irma Lair #Taranee Cook #Cornelia Hale #Hay Lin #Bendy #Ink Bendy #Ink Demon #Sammy #The Ink Demonth 2023 #crossover

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sotcwcrp · 5 months

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SECRETS OF THE CLANS, JANUARY OPENING!

In celebration of our January 14th - January 28th opening, we're going to be highlighting each of the clans, to give you a better idea of what they're like / how different they are from the books!

Starting today, we have;

Shadowclan

ART CREDITS: carnationcarnivore on discord!

Stay low. Stay quiet. It’s the first thing our kits learn, cradled by thorn bushes and nursed by our whole Clan. Prick your ears, lower your stance until your belly-fur brushes the peaty soil, let the only movement be your tail-tip as you stalk your prey through grasping brambles. This is not the forest of your elders’ tales, little one.

To be your eyes into Shadowclan Territory, Seabreeze a Shadowclan Dayguard is here to interview some of her clanmates! Take it away Seabreeze!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“Alrighty, let’s get started then! How about you tell me a bit about ShadowClan’s territory? An overview would surely do, but feel free to go in detail!”

“It's quite the place! Very wet, full of plants, a textbook marsh you could say. A place you could really get lost in! There are other areas of course, the orchard and the glade, and a most definitely NOT haunted cabin!“ - Punchbuggy

From the lush sundew dotted fens to the shadowed highlands, Shadowclan’s territory is thick with plant life that creeps and ensnares those who pay no heed to the land. Flowers bloom within the gloom, thriving in spades along the shores of ponds, pools, and streams, which criss-cross the land and leave little fully dry. Tangled canopies and towering pines blot out the sky in quite a few places, creating the perfect conditions for a Nighhunter to track their prey in, shrouded by darkness (though one must account for any pools of water or muck, which the apprentices learn to traverse early). As for the Dayguards, who take a less furtive and more rough and tumble approach, the shining sun casts spaces such as the carrs and the abandoned Flood Camp in a golden glow. Aside from nature, Twoleg structures which have been long left to rot and be reclaimed by the ever crawling passage of time dot the landscape, providing both cover as well as intriguing spaces to explore. And hidden within one thicket, veiled by the dark on one half and dappled with light on the other, is Shadowclan’s camp. While it’s never quite as busy as the other Clans’, given opposing schedules of many Warriors, it’s still oft bustling with movement, music and dance, decorated with the art their Campminders create (both permanent and performance).

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“Let’s dig a bit deeper, what do you think? How about your favourite spot in the territory? It could be because of an important life event or just because of its scenery, I just wanna know why!”

"Stargazer glade is my favorite place! The starlight dappling the clearing is breath-taking to witness. I feel closer to the stars there, too, and my patron. Even if I'm not a nighthunter anymore, I still enjoy staying up late to trace constellations and count the stars there." - Plovertumble

Once lost to time and to myth, the site of Stargazer Glade was rediscovered two cycles ago in the midst of a four Clan wide epidemic. Or rather, the purpose of it was rediscovered. The glade itself seems ordinary enough, an open clearing hidden away by thick shrubbery and pines with intermingled branches, walling the space away. The sky, however, remains unobscured above. The yawning abyss of sky can be intimidating during the day, particularly for those used to having their back to cover, but during the night the entire glade comes alive. It almost seems to glow, wildflowers and vines edged in silver, the grass soaked in light. The monument which stands at the far end of the field, alone and imposing, reflects it back into the center of the space. This is why it was named Stargazer Glade, by ancestors whose names have been reclaimed by the elements, but whose pawsteps the modern day Shadowclan walk into when they travel to this once nigh holy space. Cats often bring gifts of flowers or trinkets, words or performance, to offer to their patron or pantheon when they feel the need to commune with Starclan. It’s often a private thing, praying, though families typically share their preference in who to revere before Starclan as a whole.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“In line with my last comment about memories, any favorites of those on the territory? Memories I mean!”

“I'm afraid this one's a bit trickier, I've got many good and bad ones, but a favorite? Oh dear... Maybe when I gave Chanterellefall his name? Most of my best memories take place with him, or Mimiclull, so it's a constant shifting battle over which is the favorite.” - Oleandersnare

The relationship between mentor and apprentice is one that is viewed as particularly important in both of their lives in Shadowclan, and one that will often last into adulthood once the apprentice graduates. This is in part due to the close-knit culture of the Clan; not only does the mentor impart new skills, but their own experiences. For those who join the Clan young rather than being born into it (which is certainly preferred, as those who join later in life are expected to prove themselves and their new loyalties), their mentors become a touchstone, and many even find themselves falling into a parental role. It's become a trend to cement this bond when an apprentice and mentor are first paired at a kit's graduation ceremony. Together, and typically with little planning, the pair will come up with an alternative to the nose-to-forehead gesture that is unique to them. This new gesture will go with them as they journey through life together, being performed in significant moments such as ceremonies as well as for comfort, if the need arises. Shadowclan's proclivity for theatrics has also lent a paw to this spur of the moment idea which has become ingrained into their culture.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“I’m sure we both can say that we’re pretty misunderstood as a Clan. Anything you wanna say about ShadowClan’s culture that might not be known otherwise?”

“You've got us wrong. Whatever you think of us— you’re way off, guaranteed. We aren't cunning and sly as foxes who only come out at night. We aren't aggressive carrioneaters. We have law; we have culture. We have cats who patrol day and night, a sense of morality, festivities and drama brought on by our campminders. Most importantly, we're as tough as ever and work as one to get things done; we're like a family.” - Chanterellefall

Like a family is quite the apt description. ShadowClan, while frequently misconstrued as deceptive cats who prowl at night and nip the tails of passerby cats, are actually quite the vibrant band. From singing and dancing to plays and art, any form of creativity you can imagine is celebrated and appreciated. During the brightest hours of day and the darkest hours of night, the territory is silent, punctuated only by hushed murmurs and the soft snores of sleeping cats. Within ShadowClan, the song of nature takes the form of a lullaby. When the sun rises and falls, only then does the Clan come alive, every mealtime a festivity to remember. Each member is one part of the whole, loved like blood no matter the cat, with strength enough to move mountains.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“Alrighty, here’s a question that might be more interesting. Everybody’s got different views, but I’m looking for your views on the council. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!”

“Ahh, how forward of you - oh, it was only a joke. I've seen my team through times so dark that it seemed dawn would never come, and we've come out unscathed from it with a deeper understanding of one another, I believe, and of what it means to serve our Clan. In fact, most of us have continued on a tradition that goes back a few generations, of taking on the naming style of the Forgotten after Noctule's Wing's joining which has continued since he stepped down. Our Leader and Deputy? Ah, Russetstar and Warblercall, they've a passion for keeping Shadowclan safe and their heads held high. I can assure you of that.” - Vivid Skies

The council of ShadowClan wake during dawn and dusk, contrary to your standard Dayguard and Nighthunter. They oversee the Clan during its busiest times, taking on many the responsibility. ShadowClan healers are tasked with the health and safety of their clanmates, taking good care of the sick and injured. Rest assured, in the paws of even the apprentices, you will be tended to diligently. While there has been much hardship in recent moons, the protection of the council has kept the whole of ShadowClan safe. Warblercall, though strict and proud with a traditional view of the code, is a powerful and reliable figure among the ShadowClan higher ups, having recently brought forth a new rank, dubbed Gloamwatchers. Similarly traditional, Russetstar has proven her dedication through moons of leadership. Together, the council works like a well oiled machine, regardless of whatever trials and tribulations the Clan has faced— and will continue to do so through whatever is to come.

#wcrp #sotcwcrp #discord wcrp #warrior cats #shadowclan #warrior cats rp #discord #server opening

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honeysmokedham · 2 months

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!!!!!!!! || Declan & Hamstring

Who: Declan & Hamstring When: Recent Where: At the waterfall near Saol Eile What: Hamstring and Declan share another day bonding at the waterfall. Content Warnings: Domestic abuse, self harm

The waterfall became an unofficial meeting place. Words had never been used to confirm or deny if she should be there, but each time Declan found her sitting under the path, or she found him walking barefoot down the river, he never looked disappointed. A smile would light up his features, a hand would reach into the air, drawing her over and welcoming her into his space. Sometimes when Hamstring caught him by surprise, she’d watch him for a moment, staring into space, an expression that looked like he held the weight of the world on his shoulders. Always she wondered what etched those worry lines into his face, always she forgot to when he smiled.

Today she beat him. Her boots, pants and jacket had been abandoned on the path as she was under the rushing water. She should have packed a swimsuit, but Regan hadn’t told her their trip would consist of a lot of time around water. The slice down her arm was still sore, but the cool water soothed the angry flesh. Hamstring did her best to condense what she had learned about being a banshee, but it was hard. Nothing could be said straightforwardly. It must have been a fae thing. To hide behind promises and to talk in delicate circles. Each time Hamstring tried to dissect one of those circles, she could feel its loose threads falling apart. There was something she was missing, she knew that, but she had no idea what it could be.

Don’t hang out with Declan, or if you do, don’t show it. Regan knew Hamstring as the monster she was. Hamstring had long suspected that no one could love a monster like her. Was that what Regan was warning her? Banshees must not show emotion, even the slightest movement would give her pain away. Okay. Not a problem. Hamstring didn’t like to show emotion. It was one of her favorite pastimes to maintain a bland and visibly monotone appearance to go with her monotone voice, but why? Why was this important to banshees? Why was Cliodhna always asking if her flesh was ready and if the bond was complete? Why would no one tell her explicitly what was expected of her and why? Hamstring let out a huff of a sigh, submerging herself into the water, willing the current to drown her confusion before it ate away at her.

—--

Declan had enjoyed the interjection of monotony that Hamstring had brought. Even Regan had been welcome company, even if every moment he caught sight of her, it was a reminder of his own demise nipping at his heels. The habit of wandering to the falls in the hopes that either he’d catch a glimpse of Hamstring, or she’d stumble upon him had been a means for normalcy. At least, as normal as he could get when it came to venturing out with the girl who worked fate around his pinky like a red thread. His mother had very little to say about his early morning departures, as she knew he would be sidled against Hamstring’s side, guiding her around the aos sí, introducing her to her new home. It was all a part of the plan. How else would Hamstring clash with the fates should she not have him engrained in her memory?

Guilt trickled out of him in the form of night terrors, sweeping ideas of grandeur; some, where they got away, where they would find his sister and visit all of the places he knew he’d never get to see. Others, where his throat was slit while Hamstring held the dagger. His conversation with Regan had brought on a plethora of feelings, none of which did any good to bring up to Hamstring. Surely she knew his fate. If she didn’t, then what kind of fae would she be?

Declan ventured down to the falls, the sound of wind causing the old trees to ache and groan as they twisted to meet the element. As he grew near, he could hear nothing but the sound of running water. It wasn’t until he met the pile of Hamstring’s clothes did he realize she had worn this time around. He considered calling out to her once she came into view, but instead, he stood and stared at her back as she dipped her arm beneath the running water, flesh raised and red from the wounds of training she had endured. With a sharp inhale, he kicked off his own shoes and took off his shirt, wading into the water after her.

“You’re early.” His smile stayed intact as he moved further into the water, the sound of the falls drowning out anything he might have been able to hear from her. In order to make sure he was not missing anything she said, he moved closer, dropping down into a squat beneath the water, chin hovering slightly above the water, five o’clock shadow now dotted with droplets from the falls as it sprayed back on them. “How did you sleep?” Declan was careful not to let his gaze wander over her injury, as he remembered the way his own sister had hid her own, how she had pressed her palm against it at his inquiry. It’s none of your concern. He moved around Hamstring, floating slightly so that he was beneath the smaller of the falls. It beat down onto his shoulders, providing relief from the tense feeling beneath his skin.

—--

His words sounded distant under the running water, his scent practically erased by the environment, but Hamstring swore she would know he was there if she was blindfolded in a sense deprivation chamber, unable to see, smell, hear, or touch. It was the way that her skin rose into goosebumps when he was around. Goosebumps, those were supposed to be fear? That’s the whole reason for the children’s novels, but it was exciting for Hamstring. The unfamiliarity of wanting to be around someone so vehemently. Perhaps that was the fear behind the goosebumps, the want to be near someone. Hadn’t Hamstring spent her whole life as a loner? Always on the outskirts, okay with not having people. Don’t get her wrong, she loved her friends. She loved the family she found in Wicked’s Rest, but a part of her always suspected that if she disappeared again nothing would change. One day she would be there, the next she would be gone. Replacements would be found, like her little sister, and life would move on.

Would it be different with Declan? When she left with Regan would he say something? Would he want to come with them? “I had trouble sleeping,” Hamstring admitted, her chin jutted forward towards the cut on the arm. “It hurt so, you know. Thought I would just come out here instead of wait for sleep or something.” Her eyes moved to him, pausing as she realized his shirt was off. The water glistened off of him, sparking an unfamiliar feeling deep inside her. Hamstring looked away, up at the sky, the foliage around them, anything to be normal. The cool girl she knew herself to be. “What are you doing out here so early?” The water’s current knocked against her. This was paradise. The appeal of vacations to unknown lands was becoming clearer. Or was it just this waterfall with this person? “Don’t you have work or chores or whatever people do around here?”

—--

“They’ve got tea for that, though I reckon a trip to the falls is better than medicine.” Declan watched her carefully, searching for any signs that she’d been told what would happen to him. Shouldn’t she have already known? He should’ve felt guilty, but instead when he looked at the girl ahead of him, he felt as though he’d been born from the sun instead of the moon. “It makes sense. No need to rationalize with me. ‘M happy to see you, of course.” It showed in his expression every moment they were together, he was almost positive. Hamstring had been hard to get a read on in the beginning, but over time it became easier.

“Who’s to say this isn’t what I do for work or chaos?” He raised a brow before floating forwards, out from beneath the battering falls. It would be easier to hear her without the water surrounding his head, anyway. “But you’re right, in a way.” The only instructions he’d been given were to keep Hamstring company. His worth had been tied to whatever fate had in mind, as well as the purpose he’d been given. He was allowed to do anything but leave. “Are you asking me to leave?” He tilted his head to the side, reaching up to rub some of the water away from his chin. The smile he wore stayed intact as he floated closer to Hamstring. “I figured I could teach you better aim on your rock skipping, it needs work.”

—--

Happy to see her. The words sounded like a landscape painting. Oils spread delicately on days against a canvas, coming together to make a picturesque scene. A place where the viewer would want to go, a snapshot into a beautiful landscape. Declan should be afraid to see her. Any sane person would be. Or angry like Regan and Emilio. Relieved but worried like Wynne. Happy to see her was a fairytale; painted on her new favorite canvas and leaving her staring breathless at a museum. Was this fairytale before the evil queen thwarted them? Or could this be happily ever after? The goal Hamstring had been unknowingly walking towards this whole time.

Hamstring glanced casually, cool-girl like, at Declan. He wore his happiness on his sleeve, relaxed and smiled. Open about his emotions in a way Hamstring would spend nights cursing herself for if she dared. For a fleeting moment, any longer to consider would have been improper, Hamstring realized that he would be in her happiness landscape. His underpainting of pink and blue, the beige of his skin, the gold highlights she would work into his brown hair and eyes. The shades of blue she’d paint around him as he smiled at her from under the waterfall. It was an image she could stare at forever, and if she painted it then everyone could see what she saw. Everyone could be as lucky as her to know what happy to see her looked like.

“I’ll try the tea sometime.” The beat of her heart could use calming, she thought. It had taken a tempo that was against her liking. She always ignored it. That was getting harder each time they met out here. “I didn’t realize waterfall dweller was a job.” Not that Hamstring was the foremost knowledge holder on all things job and money-related. “No.” The no slipped out a little bit too quick for her cool-girl liking. A little bit too honest at the idea that she didn’t want him to leave. “I mean, this is your place. It’d be rude to chase you out.” Hamstring followed him out of the falls, closer to the shore. “You mean my aim isn’t good?” The first few times Hamstring had tried to skip a rock, she’d treated it like throwing knives. The aggressive movement did nothing but sink rocks into the river’s depths instantly. “If you think you can improve my aim, let's see.”

—--

“Let me know and I can get it for ya.” Declan watched Hamstring for a moment longer– an attempt to decipher what might be running through her mind. “Oh, but it is. It’s a very important one in fact.” He gestured around them, sweeping a hand through the water. As he brought it up, light trickled between the beads of water that fell between his fingers. “I’d reckon it’s a better job than any.” In the grand scheme of things, maybe he’d gotten lucky– neither a slave to corporate greed and capitalism alike, but a dweller to the purpose that’d been written above his brow the moment he’d taken his first breath. You win some, you lose some.

The grin he wore only widened at her question. She didn’t seem too hurt by his words, and he made sure to keep his tone playful. “I bet you could. You might even surpass me with a little work.” Raising a challenging brow, he got to his feet, the heat of the sun (for once), warming his shoulders. He ran a hand through his hair and gestured for Hamstring to follow him to the shore. “We’ll need to find you the right stone.” The ones they’d used previously had been just fine, but now he was carrying on this joke. “Ah, what about this one?” He bent down to pick up a flattened stone that was curved around the edges. He displayed it for her to see in the palm of his hand. “Go on, take it.”

—--

Banter. This was banter. This was something she’d heard her friends knock back and forth between each other, a game of fetch that Hamstring watched from the side lines. Van and Cass were quick with it, Thea always had something interesting to say. Words stuck in Hamstring’s throat, sticky and heavy. They didn’t want to shape themselves into light banter. When those sludge-like words slid up her throat and crawled their way out of her mouth, it was because they had something serious they wanted to say. Banter not included. But she would try. Maybe Hamstring was good at banter. “Yeah. It’s much more important than a,” A pause as her mind raced for literally any made up job, “Worm dweller. There are a lot of worms here, why are there a lot of worms here?” It was true, every week there were worm races, and a worm statue, and there were probably fifty worms watching them right now.”

“Better than the best rock skipper around the parts? Wouldn’t that be a threat to your claim? What if I out skip your rocks, and I become the waterfall dweller?” But Hamstring was moving towards him, pain in her arm forgotten as she was drawn into the narrative. “That looks like it could be an okay rock.” And she did reach for his hand, his rock, without any hesitation. Her hand lingering against his warm one, a mix of soft skin and calluses. She removed her hand. “Okay Declan, show me how it’s done.”

—--

Declan chuckled, shoulders brought to his ears in a shrug as they sunk back down. Maybe she’d think it was comical, maybe it would make her laugh. He wanted to make her laugh. “Worms represent a cycle that they love.” He should have loved it too, shouldn’t he have? Instead, he could be found peeling the worms off the sidewalk after a light rain, depositing them into the grass so they could evade the circle of life. His sister had done so, too, by his side. Now, it was him left to peel the worms off the sidewalk. He looked at Hamstring as if she were one of them, but maybe instead, he was the worm and she were the one peeling him off the sidewalk. Yeah, that made a lot more sense.

“I think you’d take care of her well.” He cast a glance over to the falls, watching as the mist from the way the water hit the surface. He could feel it still, even from where he stood next to Hamstring. Declan shrugged. “Fate’ll decide, anyway, won’t it?” He looked down at the stone in his hand and nodded. “Flat enough, curved enough. It’ll do.” He caught a glimpse of her arm, the wound puckered and raw. He wished he could have tended to it, but knew that was against the rules of her training. Perhaps this was, too. He was meant to be giving her attention in the way that mattered– in the way that she would succumb to her scream when he’d meet his end… so why did this feel like something different? “Alright, then.” He walked to stand behind her, one hand on her shoulder as he leaned close. She smelled like peppermint, and he forced his mind to not wander. He outstretched his own hand, an echo of Hamstring’s as he indicated how she needed to hold the stone. “You need to position your fingers like this, and your wrist like…” Declan maneuvered her hand slightly, fingers delicately dragging across her skin until she was in the right position. “There. Now, you need to flick your wrist and let the stone slide from between your fingers. Don’t chuck it, flick it.”

—--

“I’ve never seen anyone like worms as much as they do here. Is that a banshee thing? Like I become a banshee and suddenly I like worms?” There were many questions in Hamstring’s mind about how she became a banshee. The process still hadn’t been described to her. Sometimes Cliodhna would ask poorly worded questions, but Hamstring couldn’t find any connection between her time with Declan and her start of bansheeism. Maybe it was a spiderman situation, too bad she’d promised Regan she wouldn’t tell anyone about her training. If getting bit by a radioactive banshee made her a banshee, Cass was going to want to know that. Wait, how did she not see it sooner? A radioactive worm that lives in a radioactive bone. It was obvious. The signs were everywhere.

This wasn’t the first time Declan had mentioned fate in their conversations. He seemed to place a lot on it. “I’m against fate.” Hamstring admitted. “If you want something, you fight for it. You choose yourself.” The history of who she’d been in all her past lives laid weaved into that statement. Was that normal? To be twenty-one years old and with two lives already ran away from? In the water with Declan, this had been worth running for. She’d come here to save Regan, but instead she could imagine a future where they all stayed there. Maybe Wynne and Elias would stay too, they could find their happiness here. Well, Wynne. Elias could find use as Hamstring’s continual food source.

Hamstring hadn’t been smart enough to realize what was going to happen, until Declan was already behind her. Again, this was the place where she should conjure each monstrous creation from her imagination to scare him. To break the insecurity of the situation with her, go to the one that kept her aloof and in control of the situation. Instead, her heart started to beat in little pitter patters, a traitor to her calm. His breath was warm against her, a piece of her hair caught in its breeze, tickling her neck. Every inch of her felt more alive with him being this close, goosebumps rising against her arms, quelled by his soft fingers making their way down her arm. He was gentle with her, unafraid, calm. Was that right? She could feel his heart pounding against his chest like he was a scared rabbit, but her nose didn’t lie. There was no fear. “Right, a flick.” She let his hand guide her wrist and watched as the stone skipped across the river.

Yes. This more than the picturesque happy to see her. This was happy to be here. Maybe also, let’s stay like this forever.

#chatzy #chatzy: declan #!!!!!!!!

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stories-and-chaos · 3 months

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Tarnished pt 10

[Helluva Boss AU where Blitzø’s childhood theft from Stolas’ palace is discovered and major consequences ensue for everyone involved.]

[Part 10/?? Word count 2064 Cw: none]

——————

Blitzø’s jaw dropped as Loona gave a condensed version of her history. It had taken a lot of coaxing from Via and the older girl was still hesitant. But the hellcat was well and truly out of the bag now.

So over the course of an hour, Blitzø learned more about his daughter’s history than in the past year and a half since her adoption. Still, he had the feeling they were getting the sanitized version for Via’s benefit. Considering where Loona’s sister was, it was probably for the best.

And the fact that his not-so-little-girl had siblings? Blitzø had known that Hellhounds often gave birth to multiples, but neither the staff nor Loona had mentioned anything about her being part of a litter. Granted, her brothers had been gone for quite awhile. She seemed to barely count them as siblings now. But she’d spent over eighteen months studying magick to find her sister. Dina was obviously still important to her, but she hadn’t mentioned her at all.

Instead she’d kept the whole situation secret. If Via hadn’t pushed the issue, Blitzø might have never known. And if Loona had just burst into one of Pentagram City’s sex-based businesses…well, it depended on which Overlord was connected to it. From the little he knew about the Sinner leaders, they didn’t take kindly to their assets being interfered with.

Blitzø struggled not to vent his frustration on her. If she’d just told him what was going on, he would have helped her. But he reminded himself that she hadn’t had a reason to trust him at first. That trust was building and the quickest way to destroy it was to yell at her. He’d fucked up enough relationships to know that.

Stolas was also struggling to remain calm. His rank generally insulated him from the underworld of Hell. He knew things happened, but he usually didn’t even think about it. Knowing someone personally involved, it was a shock. What about Via? an internal voice prodded him. Check on your daughter, stupid bird.

Octavia looked exhausted and distressed. She already knew everything Loona had just told them, so the teen wasn’t surprised. But what she had seen in Pentagram City, that had been upsetting enough. She was just as insulated from the darker elements as her father. Stolas was just glad the girls hadn’t ventured any further into the Red Light district.

Belatedly, he buzzed for a servant. Both young women were tired. From the sound of things, they’d walked over half the city today. Food and drink was in order. He debated asking for coffee or something else stimulating, but decided against it. Loona looked like she needed to rest to think clearly again. Delaying that wouldn’t be ideal, he decided. So he requested an herbal tea blend. Something comforting and refreshing enough for mental clarity, but nothing that would keep them awake.

While they all waited, Blitzø gathered his thoughts. He looked squarely into Loona’s eyes. The hellhound was sure he was going to be furious. He’d kick her out, now that he knew she’d been keeping secrets from him. He didn’t need her specifically as a receptionist. And his life was complex enough without adding in the problem of two random hellhounds, one of whom was presumably trapped by an Overlord. She did her best to brace herself for the inevitable.

“Loonie… thank you. For trusting Via. And telling me.” Her ears, flattened back against her head, twitched in surprise. Her eyes widened in her confusion. No way was he thanking her. This had to be some sort of trick. There was a ‘but’ coming, there had to be.

There wasn’t. Just a very uncomfortable imp, looking at her with a mix of sadness and anger (for her, not at her) tinted with…pride? “I’m so proud of you, Loona. This has got to be so hard for you. Trusting anyone, after what’s happened. So thank you. And I’ll help you and Dina,” he finished resolutely.

Loona struggled against tears. Stolas interjected with: “Of course we’ll help! Although we do need to think of our next steps…” A rap on the door signaled their food had arrived. The prince had asked for platters of finger foods along with the tea. If they got distracted from eating, the charcuterie board and sliced fruit wouldn’t be hurt sitting out. And no one would feel bad only picking at a meal.

“You mean we’re not just going to go on and grab her?” Loona grabbed a handful of mini sausages to wolf down.

“I mean, that is an option. Buuuuuuut it might give us more problems in the end.” Blitzø grabbed the cheese wedge that had been included for him. “Especially if whoever owns the business wants to make trouble. Hey Floof?” Stolas looked up from the cups of tea he was handing out. “No chance she’s been bound or anything, right?”

Loona felt lightheaded as the blood drained from her face. Stolas had warned her about being bound and Blitzø was a prime example of what could happen to a demon if another was determined to have control over them.

But before she could start to panic over the idea, Stolas replied, “Highly unlikely. First, not many know the process. Second, it would take a great deal of power; if a Sinner had that much they wouldn’t be bothered to bind hellhounds. Third, if they used her sigil they’d have to discover it first. Fourth, most Sinners rely on soul contracts or deals, not bindings.”

“Wai, whaff’s ‘e diff’ens?” the imp said around his mouthful of cheese. Both Loona and Octavia looked interested in the upcoming magick lesson, but Stolas waved a hand. “Not important right now, Blitzy. Besides I’ve told you before and I’ve seen the way your eyes glaze over when I talk about these things.” He noticed both girls look disappointed and said, “We can cover that next lesson. For now let’s stay on task.”

Via picked up a mouse and swallowed it whole before adding to the discussion. “We know where Dina is but we don’t know anything about the place. Before anything else, we need information, right?” She was treating this like a problem solving exercise from one of her tutors. It helped her be a bit less emotional about everything at the moment.

Blitzø and her dad both nodded. “Did either of you make note of the establishment’s name? Or what signage was on the building?” Both young women shook their heads; Loona had been focused on her sister and Via had been pointedly looking away from any of the bright neon signs on that street. “Understandable, in the heat of the moment.” Stolas pondered the issue while nibbling a cracker. “We may need another piece of Dina’s fur. I can cast the tracking spell, then we can get the information we need.”

Loona was hesitant to use more of Dina’s fur. She had twenty-three left, plenty to use for the spell, but what if they needed more later? Not to mention they were stashed in her bedroom miles away. She had a spark of an idea and hurriedly pulled out her phone. “Hold on,” she said, unlocking it. It had 15% power left but that should be enough. Pulling up the map settings, she went to the location tracking. It had been on all day.

“Here we go!” She put the phone on the table so everyone could seem it. The route she and Via had taken was depicted as a meandering blue line. “Nice thinking Loonie!” Blitzø crowed as Via took note of their step count. “I think that’s my steps for the rest of the week.”

Loona zoomed in to where the line of their path took a sharp turn, followed by a very purposeful and direct route back to the shopping district. “There, that’s the street we saw her at. She was at a building four doors down on this side, so it should be this one.” Blitzø noted the address in his phone.

“Well, that’s one part solved. I suppose Blitzy or I will need to, what’s the term, ‘scope out’ the place?” Despite the situation, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the vernacular. “Such a silly term. But that will be tomorrow evening at the earliest. We can try to do some investigating during the day.”

Both Blitzø and Loona shot him down. “Floof, you’re an eight foot tall demon prince. You’re gonna stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Well you’re not going alone, Blitzy. We all know how you can be when someone you care about is in danger,” Stolas shot back. The binding on Blitzø flared for a second; evidently that statement counted as an order. The two men glared at each other, stalemated. Loona was ready to say she’d go alone when someone behind her cleared their throat.

She whirled around to see a female imp. She was dressed in a crisp maid uniform, her mostly black horns made tight spirals among her fluffy dark hair tied in a loose braid. She was about the size of Millie and Moxxie, and looked about Blitzø’s age. The woman seemed vaguely familiar and Loona recognized her scent, but couldn’t quite place it.

“Scarlet?! Jeebus, you’re as sneaky as ever.”

Scarlet shrugged. “It comes with the job Blitzø. In any case, you all weren’t being terribly quiet.”

“Aw fuck, does everyone know what’s going on?”

“Fortunately no, most of the staff is off duty for the evening. I’m not here about that. I want to help.” The group stared at her, none of them quite comprehending her bald declaration.

Stolas found his voice first. “Scarlet, I appreciate everything you’ve done for Blitzø and myself over the years, but we can’t ask you to put yourself in danger.”

“Why would you even help? You don’t know me,” Loona snapped.

The maid was unfazed. Of course, working in a palace that had Stella in it, one had to be used to shows of temper. “You Highness, you’re not asking; I’m offering,” she said with deliberate inflection. “As to why we want to help Miss Loona, we’ve been friends with Blitzø for ages. He loves you.” She smirked at the other imp as he blushed and scrambled over to her. He didn’t manage to reach her before she continued on. “You’re his daughter after all. Of course we want to help.”

“Oooooookay, that’s enough outta you!” Blitzø lifted her up over his head as she squeaked. He started jogging to the door, still holding her up. “Thanks anyway Scarlet, we got this- wait. Who’s ‘we?’”

“Me and Vex, obviously.” She grinned down at him, the tip of her tail poking his forehead.

“Obviously,” a deep male voice said from the door. A male imp, slightly older than Blitzø and Stolas, entered the room. He was a bit shorter than Blitzø, his bright white hair was trimmed short and his slim horns swept back over his head. Loona recognized his scent from Stolas, or more specifically Stolas’ clothes.

Vex acted as Stolas’ valet whenever Blitzø wasn’t available, which had become more common the past few years. Scarlet was the only maid that could enter Blitzø’s secure room unaided. They were the servants the prince and the imp assassin trusted most among the palace staff.

“We’ll check this place out tomorrow night, bring back any info we can.” The imp seemed very sure of himself. “We won’t do more than make sure your sis is there and get the lowdown on the joint.”

“Vex, Scarlet,” Blitzø lowered his arms so the maid could hop down. “You guys can’t-“

Vex interrupted him. “Nope, can’t stop us man. Miss Via and Miss Loona need to stay out of the area. You and the boss can’t go. Lety and I are gonna go; we’ve got a plan in case we need to be there more than once. Though we’d appreciate not paying for everything ourselves, sir.” That last line was directed at Stolas.

Via finally piped up, “It’s better than what you lot have come up with. And he’s right, we can’t stop them.” Well, her father probably could. But doing so would lose them two trusted servants, not to mention ruin those friendships.

In the end, everyone deferred to Loona’s opinion. This was for her sister after all. “Fine, let’s do it.”

——————

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#helluva boss #helluva fanfiction #helluva blitzo #helluva loona #helluva stolas #helluva octavia #hellaverse #helluva stolitz #blitzo #stolas goetia #blitzo x stolas #stolitz #helluva au

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 2 years

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There in a flash: A weird star produced the fastest nova on record Astronomers are buzzing after observing the fastest nova ever recorded. The unusual event drew scientists’ attention to an even more unusual star. As they study it, they may find answers to not only the nova’s many baffling traits, but to larger questions about the chemistry of our solar system, the death of stars and the evolution of the universe. The research team, led by Arizona State University Regents Professor Sumner Starrfield, Professor Charles Woodward from University of Minnesota and research scientist Mark Wagner from The Ohio State University, co-authored a report published today in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. A nova is a sudden explosion of bright light from a two-star system. Every nova is created by a white dwarf — the very dense leftover core of a star — and a nearby companion star. Over time, the white dwarf draws matter from its companion, which falls onto the white dwarf. The white dwarf heats this material, causing an uncontrolled reaction that releases a burst of energy. The explosion shoots the matter away at high speeds, which we observe as visible light. The bright nova usually fades over a couple of weeks or longer. On June 12, 2021, the nova V1674 Hercules burst so bright that it was visible to the naked eye — but in just over one day, it was faint once more. It was like someone flicked a flashlight on and off. Nova events at this level of speed are rare, making this nova a precious study subject. “It was only about one day, and the previous fastest nova was one we studied back in 1991, V838 Herculis, which declined in about two or three days,” says Starrfield, an astrophysicist in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration. As the astronomy world watched V1674 Hercules, other researchers found that its speed wasn’t its only unusual trait. The light and energy it sends out is also pulsing like the sound of a reverberating bell. Every 501 seconds, there’s a wobble that observers can see in both visible light waves and X-rays. A year after its explosion, the nova is still showing this wobble, and it seems it’s been going on for even longer. Starrfield and his colleagues have continued to study this quirk. “The most unusual thing is that this oscillation was seen before the outburst, but it was also evident when the nova was some 10 magnitudes brighter,” says Wagner, who is also the head of science at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory being used to observe the nova. “A mystery that people are trying to wrestle with is what’s driving this periodicity that you would see it over that range of brightness in the system.” The team also noticed something strange as they monitored the matter ejected by the nova explosion — some kind of wind, which may be dependent on the positions of the white dwarf and its companion star, is shaping the flow of material into space surrounding the system. Though the fastest nova is (literally) flashy, the reason it’s worth further study is that novae can tell us important information about our solar system and even the universe as a whole. A white dwarf collects and alters matter, then seasons the surrounding space with new material during a nova explosion. It’s an important part of the cycle of matter in space. The materials ejected by novae will eventually form new stellar systems. Such events helped form our solar system as well, ensuring that Earth is more than a lump of carbon. “We're always trying to figure out how the solar system formed, where the chemical elements in the solar system came from,” Starrfield says. “One of the things that we're going to learn from this nova is, for example, how much lithium was produced by this explosion. We're fairly sure now that a significant fraction of the lithium that we have on the Earth was produced by these kinds of explosions.” Sometimes a white dwarf star doesn’t lose all of its collected matter during a nova explosion, so with each cycle, it gains mass. This would eventually make it unstable, and the white dwarf could generate a type 1a supernova, which is one of the brightest events in the universe. Each type 1a supernova reaches the same level of brightness, so they are known as standard candles. “Standard candles are so bright that we can see them at great distances across the universe. By looking at how the brightness of light changes, we can ask questions about how the universe is accelerating or about the overall three-dimensional structure of the universe,” Woodward says. “This is one of the interesting reasons that we study some of these systems.” Additionally, novae can tell us more about how stars in binary systems evolve to their death, a process that is not well understood. They also act as living laboratories where scientists can see nuclear physics in action and test theoretical concepts. The nova took the astronomy world by surprise. It wasn’t on scientists’ radar until an amateur astronomer from Japan, Seidji Ueda, discovered and reported it. Citizen scientists play an increasingly important role in the field of astronomy, as does modern technology. Even though it is now too faint for other types of telescopes to see, the team is still able to monitor the nova, thanks to the Large Binocular Telescope’s wide aperture and its observatory’s other equipment, including its pair of multi-object double spectrographs and exceptional PEPSI high resolution spectrograph. They plan to investigate the cause of the outburst and the processes that led to it, the reason for its record-breaking decline, the forces behind the observed wind, and the cause of its pulsing brightness. IMAGE....Illustration of an intermediate polar system, a type of two-star system that the research team thinks V1674 Hercules belongs to. A flow of gas from the large companion star impacts an accretion disk before flowing along magnetic field lines onto the white dwarf. Illustration by Mark Garlick

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news

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