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#trees of asphodel
addsalwayssick · 4 months
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i love the metaphor about the trees of asphodel. it’s basically saying that you’re rooted to your regrets. your regrets are apart of you if you don’t let them go. they will consume you if you’re not able to keep it from that. it’s about how when you regret something and aren’t able to keep it from going to deep, it’ll be in every move, everything you say, do. i love this.
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From the womb the law was laid to go, but to be certain things,
There is nothing to perpetuate under the sun from the latter path that was gradually born under him
Death is an insidious figure seeking to ensnare us.
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How could they not include the funniest part of the book in this episode?
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starcatboy · 2 years
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This took literally forever to draw wow! She doesn’t have a name yet but she does have a bit of a story. They don’t know how long they’ve been alive, or how long they will stay that way. It has been many centuries though, and they think they may be immortal. She lives on her own in the forest, she’s not shy but she enjoys the quiet. She’s not lonely, she has the animals and the trees as her friends. He wasn’t born magical but the other creatures of the forest taught him how to use herbs and other materials for magic. he usually just uses it for his own comfort and entertainment, but he’s willing to help someone out if they need some magical intervention. As you probably guessed, they use any pronouns, (including neopronouns but I don’t know how to use any particular ones very well, so I just stuck to they/she/he here) as they simply don’t care about human things such as gender, personally.
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themodernwitchsguide · 6 months
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altars for greek gods
this post includes hades, persephone, artemis, apollo, aphrodite, hermes, and hekate. for part 2 including zeus, hera, poseidon, hestia, hephaestus, dionysus, ares, demeter, and athena click here.
keep in mind that typical offerings to any god includes meat, wine, grain (specifically barley), honey, and incense (myrrh and frankincense would be period appropriate), but i'm listing some specific offerings that can be given if you'd like
colors can be used for candles, banners, decor, whatever you want
HADES
Colors: black, red, and white for association with death. purple and metallics for association with riches/wealth
Offerings: mint, asphodel, white poplar, pomegranate, coffee, cinnamon, elm, money, chocolate
Crystals: gemstones, black crystals (obsidian, black tourmaline, smokey quartz, etc.), pyrite, hematite, labradorite
Animals: black ram, owl, serpent, Cerberus
PERSEPHONE
Colors: purple, pink, yellow, green for association with springtime. black and metallics for association with Hades. white for purity.
Offerings: pomegranate, flowers, grains, asphodel, lavender, rosemary
Crystals: amethyst, gemstones, moss/tree agate, milk quartz, jade, lepidolite
Animals: deer, ram, bat, talking birds (including parrots)
APHRODITE
Colors: red and pink for love/sexuality. white and blue for association with the ocean. gold for association with, well, gold.
Offerings: roses, chocolate, shells, myrrh, gold
Crystals: rose quartz, pearl, emerald, opal, aquamarine, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, ocean jasper, morganite
Animals: swan, dove, hare
ARTEMIS
Colors: white, blue, black, and grey for association with the heavens. brown and green for association with nature/the hunt.
Offerings: moon shaped foods, frankincense, cypress, mugwort, amaranth
Crystals: morganite, moonstone, aventurine, selenite, celestite, moss/tree agate, amethyst, quartz (specific dendritic), labradorite
Animals: deer, wolf, wild boar
APOLLO
Colors: yellow, white, and blue for association with the heavens. red, orange, and pink for healing. purple and green for the Oracle
Offerings: sun shaped foods, bay leaves, laurel, cypress, playing music, poetry
Crystals: sunstone, amber, calcite (specifically honey and yellow), quartz (specifically rutilated or clear), rose quartz
Animals: cow, snake, hawk, crow/raven, cicada, swan
HERMES
Colors: green and gold for money/luck. white and brown for travels.
Offerings: money, crocus/saffron, strawberries
Crystals: jade, malachite, fluorite, pyrite, lapis lazuli, citrine, alexandrite
Animals: tortoise, ram
HEKATE
Colors: purple, blue, and green for magic. red and black for association with underworld
Offerings: garlic, saffron, crossroad dirt, black salt, ashes, sage, cedar, yew
Crystals: labradorite, obsidian, hematite, black tourmaline, amethyst, bloodstone, serpentine, lepidolite
Animals: wolf, boar, serpent, lion, horse, cow
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mellkellyismyhero · 4 months
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i know the popular consensus is that the reason annabeth got stuck in asphodel was because she regretted leaving her dad, but tbh i saw it as her regretting letting thalia die.
because let's be real, when annabeth and grover see people turning into trees, their first thought is probably going to be of thalia. personally i saw that scene as annabeth sees people turning into trees, she thinks about thalia, she wishes that she could have done something to save her... and bam, tree roots.
(i realize annabeth was only 7 at the time and there really wasn't anything she could've done to save thalia, but her fatal flaw is hubris- it's not so big of a leap to think annabeth blames herself for thalia's death.)
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our-lord-satanas · 2 months
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HECATE / HEKATE
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WHO IS SHE?
Hecate is a Goddess of magic and witchcraft, as well as the guardian of boundaries and crossings. She is often depicted as a triple-headed woman, representing her role as a gatekeeper between realms. Hecate is a powerful and mysterious Goddess, and she is often associated with the moon, the night, and the Underworld. She is also known for her connection to the spirits of the dead, and she is revered as a protector of orphans and wayfarers. As the Goddess of magic and witchcraft, she is also an expert in magic, astrology, and other arcane arts.
BASIC INFO:
Appearance: Hecate is traditionally depicted as a tall and powerful woman with a distinctive appearance. She is often portrayed as having three heads, each with different facial features, such as eyes of different colours or expressions. She is also described as having black hair and wearing a dark cloak, which further lends to her mysterious and dark appearance. In some depictions, she was said to carry a torch, a crescent moon, and a key, which is a symbol of her power over the boundaries between life and death.
Personality: Hecate is a complex and multi-faceted deity, representing the trinity of magic, knowledge and wisdom, as well as the boundaries between life and death. Her personality reflects that complexity and is a combination of contradictory traits, embodying both dark and mysterious aspects, as reflected by her position as Goddess of the Underworld, while also being a bright and benevolent figure, representing light and wisdom. She is often depicted as a three-headed woman, symbolizing her association with the crossroads and the triad of magic that she encapsulates.
Symbols: paired torches, keys, crossroads, dark/triple moon, wheel, daggers, rope, dogs, serpents, knives, and Strophalos
Goddess of: Witchcraft, necromancy, ghosts, the night, boundaries, and crossroads
Culture: Greek
Plants and trees: asphodel, mugwort, lavender, rue, garlic, yew, cypress, aconite (also called hecateis), belladonna, dittany, mandrake, mint, sage, laurel, cedar, and overall poisonous plants
Crystals: schorl, blue alexandrite, smoky topaz, anorthosite, morion quartz, blue john, larvikite, chevron, jet, spessartite garnet, Dalmatian jasper, indicolite, smoky quartz, labradorite, and super seven
Animals: dog, mare, serpent, cat, bats, and polecat
Incense: frankincense, rosemary, myrrh, and patchouli
Colours: black, grey, silver, gold, violet, green, red, and white
Tarot: The High Priestess, The Hermit, The Moon, and Queen of Pentacles
Planets: Mercury, Moon, and Mars
Days: Thursday, Wednesday evenings (new moon celebrations are typically held on Wednesday evenings), Tuesday, the full moon, Samhain (Oct 31st), and the new moon
Parents: Perses and Asteria
Siblings: none known
Partner: Apollo and Mormo
Children: Empusa and Scylla
MISC:
• The triple moon: which represents the phases of the moon and balance between the material and the spiritual, as well as the duality of light and darkness.
• Keys: which represents power and knowledge and can be used to unlock doors and paths to knowledge and power that are hidden or restricted.
• Torches: which represents guidance and illumination in dark times or when clarity is needed.
• Wolves: Hecate is sometimes depicted with three heads, which is one reason she is often associated with wolves. Wolves also symbolize strength, loyalty, and protection and can be a natural source of inspiration for your prayers or rituals.
• Black cats: commonly associated with Hecate, mostly due to her connection to the Underworld. Black cats represent protection and wisdom, and they can be an excellent source of inspiration for your prayers or rituals.
• The triune Goddess: which represents the trio of maiden, mother, and crone and the power of the feminine.
• Crossroads: where people would often seek wisdom from Hecate when they faced difficulties or had questions.
• Magic, occultism, and witchcraft: as Hecate is the Goddess of magic and spells, and she is often invoked during rituals and magickal practices.
FACTS ABOUT HECATE:
• Name: the name Hecate comes from the Greek word "ekatid," which means "the one who has power over the road."
• Relationships: Hecate is associated with the night, the Underworld, the moon, and the spirit world. She is also connected to Demeter and Persephone, both of whom are associated with the fertility of the cycle of life and death.
• Symbols: the symbols of Hecate include a three-headed dog, a key, and a torch.
• Role: Hecate is a mysterious and powerful Goddess associated with sorcery and magic, often depicted as a triple-headed or triple-bodied figure.
• Associations: Hecate is often associated with crossroads, magic, prophecy, mystery, spirits, night, ghosts, and the Underworld, serving as a protector and guide for those who have died. She is also the patron deity of witches and magic-users, and is also associated with the night.
• History: Hecate is a minor deity in Greek mythology, but she has become a prevalent figure in modern times. Hecate's origins are linked to the Greek Underworld and the female deity Selene, and she is also connected to the Roman goddesses Artemis and Diana.
• Role in Witchcraft: Hecate is widely associated with magic and witchcraft, and many witches and Wiccans revere her as a source of power and knowledge. Some witch traditions worship Hecate as a three-way Goddess who represents the past, present, and future.
HOW TO WORSHIP HECATE:
To worship Hecate respectfully, you should approach her with a sense of reverence and respect. She is a powerful Goddess and should be treated as such. You can offer prayers, libations, and offerings to her, and it's important to speak to her in a respectful manner, as you would to any other person of authority. Hecate has a strong connection to magic and the Underworld, so you can also use magic or other rituals to communicate with her. It's important to have an open mind and a respectful attitude when approaching Hecate and seeking her guidance.
HOW TO PRAY TO HECATE:
To begin, you could address her by name and say something along the lines of:
"Oh Great Goddess Hecate, I come to you seeking your guidance and wisdom. I offer myself to you, my heart and my spirit, and I ask for your blessing in this prayer."
"I thank you, great Goddess Hecate, for listening to my words and for your guidance and protection. May you walk by my side always. Hail Hecate.”
CAN I CONTACT HECATE AT A CROSSROAD?
Yes, it is possible to contact Hecate at a crossroads. This is a traditional method of invoking the Goddess that has been used for centuries. To do this, you should prepare a offering (bread, honey, and herbs, or any other items that you feel would be suitable for her) and then go to a crossroads during the witching hour between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. Place your offering under the crossroads sign and say a prayer to invoke Hecate. Speak with sincerity and humility, and ask for guidance and aid in whatever aspect of your life you feel most in need of support. Remember to listen for signs and messages that Hecate may bring you.
WHAT ARE SIGNS THAT HECATE WANTS ME TO WORK WITH HER?
If your request to work with Hecate has been accepted, you may notice the following signs:
• Feeling drawn toward witchcraft, magic, or spiritual practices
• Seeing her symbols, such as the moon, keys, dogs, etc.
• Feeling a connection to animals, nature, or the Underworld
• Feeling a pull towards the crossroads or areas with a strong sense of the occult
• Having vivid dreams or visions in which she appears or speaks directly to you.
• Seeing or feeling her energies in your environment
• The number 13 keeps popping up everywhere
• You hear dogs howling at night from nowhere
• Hecate’s symbols are repeating: the key, crossroads, torch, dagger, Hecate’s wheel
• You’re drawn to graveyards and cemeteries
• You’ve had a spiritual experience (either positive or terrifying) at a crossroads in the woods
• You’re new to the craft and need guidance but don’t know who to turn to
• Hecate comes into witches’ lives who are pregnant and dying (during major transitions in life)
• You’re seeing a white dog(s) everywhere you go (in real life or on TV, etc.)
• Hecate’s name keeps showing up in your daily life (in random conversations, books, TV shows, online, etc.)
• You love working with animals, in particular dogs
• Stray dogs tend to find you and want you to take them in
• You were born under a Dark Moon or on Hecate Night
• Spirits communicate with you and have your entire life
If your request to work with Hecate has not been accepted, you may notice the following signs:
• Getting a strong impression or intuition that she is not interested in working with you.
• Getting a reading or divination that indicates Hecate is not willing to work with you at this time.
• Feeling a strong resistance or dissonance when you attempt to connect with her or her energies.

Overall you need to be respectful of deities denying your request.
OFFERINGS:
• Fire
• Three-headed candles
• Bones or skulls
• Poetry
• Chanting
• Herbs and flowers
• Food and drinks: such as grapes, almonds, garlic, red meat, water, milk, eggs, fruit, dishes with garlic, sweets that are crescent-shaped, pomegranates, dark chocolate, red wine, bread, and honey
• Painting
• Dancing
• Incense
• Olive oil
• Wands
• Keys
• A cauldron
• Crow feathers
DEVOTIONAL ACTS FOR HECATE:
• Respect the boundaries of others and yourself
• Practice self-love and self-compassion
• Take care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually
• Cultivate an open mind and open heart
• Follow your instincts and trust in your guidance
• Nurture friendships and relationships that are healthy and beneficial
• Learn to balance pleasure and work
• Live each day with purpose and intention.
• Doings Things in 13’s: offer thirteen flowers to her, give elaborate offerings or do ritual on the thirteenth of each month in her name, say your prayers thirteen times, etc
• Take care of our canine friends, do so in Hecate’s name. She will bless you AND your dogs or any dogs you care for. If you can’t have a dog, donate your time OR old blankets, dog food, etc. to a local animal shelter. And tell Hecate you’re doing it in her name. This doesn’t just go for dogs, but for any kind of canine species.
• Doing spirit work in the cemetery
IS IT SAFE TO EAT OR DRINK AN OFFERING I GIVE TO HER?
An offering given to her is thus infused with the energies of the Underworld and may have a powerful impact on the consumer, if eaten. To avoid any potential discomfort, confusion, or negative effects, it is generally recommended that you avoid consuming offerings dedicated to Hecate and instead pour or bury the edible offerings into the earth.
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vagabond-umlaut · 2 months
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hey, where is the pomegranate tree?
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unstoppable force, aka kore, aka gojo, meets immovable object, aka hades, aka you— nothing can ever go wrong from this collision, trust me— n-o-t-h-i-n-g.
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▸ gojo satoru x fem!reader; hades and persephone retelling [with a twist ;))]; 1.2k wc; stubbornly persuasive gojo; the reader is js so tired and annoyed [and tired]; enemies to lovers vibes[??]; talks of marriage and children; gojo thinks you are a fool, he is the real clown here
▸ pls don't glare at me if there is more than one inaccuracy here, haha. anyways, the header is from pinterest, the divider is by @benkeibear and the characters used ain't mine. pls don't plagiarize, translate or repost this. enjoy reading! ❤️
▸ update: this fic is now part of a series!!! wreaths of asphodel 😊😊
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"you shall spend the rest of your days in tears."
you're foolish; woefully so, gojo thinks, carefully observing you from his place on the chaise lounge, smiling while you continue seething, "and there will be no one who can save you. neither a hero nor a god. neither demeter nor zeus. no. one."
"but why do you think i will need saving, my rose?" the endearment rolls off his tongue like honey, the taste sweetening at the way your pretty lips dip into a deeper frown, "you're not a monster, are you?"
"no!" the defensive reply comes in less than a beat. though the words following it sound a tad less bold; it seems as if you're trying to make yourself believe and not scare him.
"i'm someone far fiercer— hades. the goddess of the dead. the queen of the underworld— and the cause for your misery should you choose to vex me any further."
"aw, no," gojo cries, decidedly making a show by slapping a hand over his eyes and faking a sniffle, "why must the only woman i want as my wife see me as an annoyance?"
then lets his hand drop down to the cushion, willing his eyes to well over with pitiful moisture. "as the god of life, i've only ever given and given– be it grains or fruits or vegetables or flowers– without asking anything in return— yet the first and only time i ask..."
he doesn't bother finishing his sentence, choosing to sob to add to the tragic atmosphere— though that doesn't mean he doesn't note the war of emotions on your face:
pity, confusion, anger, again confusion— you're so easy to read, to steer. very foolish, really.
"you'll not like living here," you eventually break the silence hanging within the room. your voice is much softer now; the god wonders if you sing. if you do, the muses will certainly be put to shame... "your days will be spent in utter boredom and gloom and tears–"
"– and no one can come to my aid then: yes, thank you," he interrupts you, more than a little tired, "you've driven the points too well into my head– so much so that i'm surprised there isn't a gaping hole in there, oozing blood and my brains. but why must you think i'll need rescue, huh??"
if a smidge of force escapes into his words, gojo decides not to pay it any mind— though only until he notices the small flinch you give– his insides twist and torment, quite inexplicably, thereafter.
"okay, look," he says, getting up from his slouch to move near you, but stops on catching the warning glint in your eyes.
"first of all, i'm not some damsel in distress being whisked away in a chariot here– i came here by own volition. and i'm offering my mind, body, heart, soul– the special package that i am, in fewer words– to you, by my own volition. why shall i want anyone to rescue me then?"
"besides," he proceeds to add, allowing an easy smirk to form on his face, "you're just the cute little goddess of the dead– not at all scary like your brother used to be; though i guess you try to imitate him in your glares, don't you? sukuna was quite notori—"
"don't you dare utter my brother's name, foul olympian," a quiet growl slashes gojo's comment, sending it plummetting to the ground— and making him understand why you, the inconspicuous, sheltered sister of the vicious former holder of the name 'hades', was given the crown, in the aftermath of your brother's banishment– instead of the several more well-known candidates...
"i apologise," gojo offers in the very next instant, making it as genuine as he can, "i never meant to upset or offend you. i'm sorry if i did."
you just stare at him for a beat, gojo watches, before your shoulders lift then fall in a sigh. the fire burning in your aura abates by a pinch.
sighing once more, you finally break your silence, "It's okay, and um– suppose i too should apologise. you might be an olympian but you're not as foul as them, no. please forgive me for calling you so."
"no problem, my rose," the god is quick to accept your words with a wave of his hand and a beam, further widening when he notices the sliver of smile on your countenance, "but does this mean i appeal to your tastes? i mean, you called me 'not as foul as them', didn't you?? did you just accept my hand in marriage, then???"
"no, i didn't..." your subtle smile disappears swifter than it appeared. a half of gojo's floral crown, quite inexplicably, wilts on the table before. he watches your eyes fall to it, then snap up to meet his.
"do you love me?"
not yet, but he thinks he can. you might be an idiot but you certainly aren't an unlovable idiot— and one voice in his mind murmurs, those precious, innocent looks of yours aren't even the main reasons why...
the god shoots back a languid smile. "if you want to see me in love with you, so be it."
"that's neither 'yes' nor 'no'," you point out, frowning, before vaulting your second query of the evening, "if we get married, do you want to have children?"
it won't be very unfavourable, if you both do... with the vivid colour of your eyes, or the adorable shape of your nose, or the radiance of your skin, or the— "if you want, i shall be happy to assist," he ekes out with a meaningful wink, albeit he doubts how much of it reaches you.
you're very foolish, after all... and no– it's not because of the awkward way he says it– no! not in the slightest! he wasn't fumbling at all!
you wrap the shawl tighter around your shoulders but don't move any further away, gojo notes. the same way he does the slight tint in your cheeks when you roll your eyes with a scoff.
"you're unbelievable, kore. truly, terribly unbelievable." you press the pads of your thumbs over your forehead before releasing it, gaze an unprecedented mark of sharp when it settles on his face.
"is there nothing you want from our union, eh? i refuse to believe you wish to marry me without any demands, as if on a mere whim– but if it is so, i ought to warn you, kore: my answer is and will always be one firm 'no'."
your words mustn't ignite this odd restlessness in him. they certainly mustn't— still, gojo finds his chest tight and the air heavy as he grins back and says, "i only want to be your husband, your majesty... but if that is too much for you right now–"
the stretch on his lips simmers down to something smaller. yet truer.
"i want you to call me by my name. my real name. can you do that, my rose?"
you don't say anything in response for a long while. so long, in fact, it makes the god wonder if you are ever going to reply to his request.
perhaps not, he thinks quite a bit down-spirited when you suddenly turn on your heel and with a swish of your long shawl, stride out the rooms– o-oh.
you stop just as abruptly at the threshold. a complicated grin shining on your face as you twist to look at him over your shoulder then say:
"good night, gojo satoru. pray the ghosts prowling these halls don't eat you up ere dawn."
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you're gone not even few feet away from the door, before gojo falls face-first into the bed, the entire room suddenly erupting into thousands of roses in all colors ever seen. [lolol, he is such a loser for you! xD]
▸ masterlist
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annamaryllis · 4 months
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it's amazing how everything is simultaneously overexplained and underexplained. like why didn't they describe the underworld afterlife system? they just namedrop "asphodel" with some vague explanation (and why are they bald trees I'm sorry I could not take that seriously). no jury deciding where you go when you die...they don't introduce the fields of punishment...elysium...isles of the blest...THE RIVER OF STYX...yknow things that are referenced constantly throughout the series. and a fun aspect of the books is the way these elements of greek mythology are written into the modern world/using modern systems (like souls waiting in an EZ line). I always thought the merging of real world/mythological elements was pretty clever in pjo. like where's the fun where's the whimsy
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cecelovegood · 3 months
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Okay, but thinking of asphodel as a forest.
Imagine 12 year old Hazel, wandering through that forest for 80 years. All alone, watching as the souls around her turn into trees.
Think about when she meets Nico, a person who doesn’t just look right through her. And she has hope.
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edenemy-art · 3 months
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Hazel in Asphodel
do u guys think she would be rooted to the ground but still have her memories & be able to talk or do u think that because she's a child of Pluto she's exempt from that and just wanders through the trees? because honestly either is absolutely horrifying. this girl was there for DECADES
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eurydia · 4 months
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rest for the wicked
still version and details below
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inspired by him appearing at the Grove: (gifset)
the flowers are asphodels. they're apparently fatal to mice
I pictured him sitting under a hanging tree
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del-thetiredwriter · 2 months
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Pomegranates
— So here’s a one shot. Beware my English. Not exactly like greek mythology.
Toga: the loose outer garment worn in public by citizens of Ancient Rome.
Warnings: mentions of death, Ancient Greek timeline, God of dead Idia , gn reader , mythological theme…
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First he turned right, then left around the corner... A groan came from the blue-haired boy, who was looking for the exit from the walls formed by blue rose bushes.
“Ahh, I think I'm lost!” he groaned.
They say curiosity killed the cat, and Ortho succumbed to his curiosity.
His brother used to come to this garden regularly every day, but no one was allowed to enter the garden except his brother. No matter how much Ortho asked his brother, no matter how much he insisted, his brother would still not let him enter the garden and would not tell him what he was doing in the garden.
Ortho took the opportunity of his brother going to Olympos and secretly entered the garden and got lost.
He had come to a crossroads again. While he was nervously thinking which one he should choose, a voice distracted him.
"Who are you?"
Ortho turned around in panic. He didn't expect to see a soul staring at him with a dull expression.
“Oh, hello.” said Ortho timidly.
He was frightened by the piercing gaze of the person in front of him.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?”
The spirit approached him.
“Well, I'm Ortho… and I'm actually lost.”
The soul raised an eyebrow.
“Don't you know that you should not enter this labyrinth, child? You're lucky, come with me and let's get you out of here."
The sprit took his hand and they wandered back and forth through the maze of trees and bushes.
The sprit did not speak. So there was an awkward silence. There was only the rustle of the grass they were stepping on.
“Um I guess you know the maze pretty well?”
Ortho asked to lighten the mood. But the spirit did not answer.
“Do you live in this labyrinth? What is your name? How long have you been here? Who are you?.."
He started asking questions repeatedly.
The spirit finally spoke.
“But you turned out to be talkative. Unlike you, he can't even put two words together properly." They said in a whisper.
Finally the spirit stopped. They reached a door. To the entrance of the labyrinth.
"We came. Don't even think about coming here again. You were lucky this time that I found you, but you may not be so lucky next time."
They let go of Ortho's hand. The blue haired boy started walking towards the door. When he reached the doorway, he stopped and turned around.
“Can you at least tell me your name?”
The spirit looked at him expressionlessly.
“What will you do if you know? After all, we won't see each other again. Anyway, my name is Y/n and don't ever come here again.”
This was the first encounter between Ortho and the spirit named Y/n.
“Y/N! Where are you !"
Ortho had entered the garden again. He wanted to talk again to the spirit that showed him the way when he got lost during his first entry.
That spirit was different. Normally souls come to the underworld after death. Depending on their life on Earth, they would be sent to Elysium, the Fields of Asphodel, or the Fields of Punishment. However, this soul was in his brother's garden...
He was going around random turns, screaming your name. And in the end, he arrived at a place like a garden, without even knowing how he did it.
“Y/n!”
As soon as he saw you, he ran to you with excitement.
You were lying on a sofa with lots of cushions and pillows. There was a flowing river right next to it, and many flowers and trees around it...This place looked just like the riverside in the forest where the protagonists of Ortho's favorite fairy tale met.
You opened your eyes slightly.
"You again? Didn't I tell you not to come here again?" You scolded Ortho.
“But look, I found you. And this place is beautiful.” Ortho said as he approached you.
"Beautiful? Phew! Is this place beautiful? “You said curtly.
“Yes, look, it's very nice. There are roses, magnolias, grapes… and oh, pomegranates too! I love pomegranates, how about you? “ said the child while plucking the pomegranate from its branch.
“I used to love…” said the soul bitterly.
“Umm, shall I tell you a story?” said Ortho to digress.
The spirit did not answer, but Ortho accepted it as a yes and sat down on the sofa next to the spirit.
Once upon a time, there was a lonely king. This king was smart and strong, but he was also lonely. He had no friends or family... Anyway, one day, the king disguised himself and mingled with people, and a person caught his attention. This person was not very beautiful, very smart or perfect, but something attracted the king to this person. After that, the king started to watch this person constantly. Their daily routine, what they eats, what they likes, what they does...
One day the king could not stand it and went to the forest where that person lived. He wanted to see them closer.
You went down to the stream to get water. As you started filling the buckets with water, you felt a pair of eyes watching you. When you looked around, you saw someone with blue hair and a black toga watching you from afar.
“Hey young master, are you lost?” You called out.
The man looked around, frightened and not knowing what to do.
You moved towards him.
“Young master, are you lost?” You asked again.
“Oh um…I-“
You smiled.
“You seem to be a high-ranking person, what is someone like you doing in this forest?” You said.
The blue-haired man was mumbling something, but nothing could be understood.
“I'm Y/n, I live in this forest. Would you like to come to my house? “ You suggested. You haven't had any guests in a long time, in fact you never had.
"O-okey.” The young man said in panic.
"How nice. By the way, what was your name?”
“Idia”
From that day on, the king started to visit that person, always hiding his true identity. The king was happy, but his happiness did not last long. One day, a seer came to visit the king.
“You are not in that person's destiny, God of the Dead Idia. They have different life cycles in their thread of destiny. However, if you want, I can give you the thread. If you cut the thread, their fate will be like an unclear water. You can shape it the way you want and even be completely you in their destiny. ” said the god of prophecy. And he handed the thread to Idia.
Idia hesitantly took the thread. Could he really cut this thread, which symbolizes the happy future of his beloved, because of his own greed? But if he cut it, he would be the fate of his beloved.
Idia would visit the mortal you every day but that week he didn’t.He locked himself in his room and just thought about what he should do with the thread.
And the king finally gave in to his greed and cut the thread.
“Oh Idia, where have you been? I was very scared that something bad had happened.” You said while hugging him.
You were very worried when you didn't hear from him for a week.
“I brought pomegranates. From my own garden.” Idia said as he handed you a basket full of pomegranates.
“You are forgiven. I like pomegranates.”
After that, Idia started bringing you pomegranates every time he came. The pomegranate was Delicious, juicy, sweet... but slowly your health began to deteriorate. Headaches, coughing blood, nightmares... You only felt good when you were with Idia.
But how could you know that the pomegranates are from the underworld’s garden? If a god or a spirit eats it, nothing will happen, but if a human eats it... they start to die slowly. First headaches and nightmares, then they begin to see spirits that humans cannot see, and eventually they die.
-
“Agh!” You screamed in pain. Your heart was tightening and it hurt like crazy, like you were being stabbed.
Idia came running to you.He had a dark liquid in his hand. Pomegranate juice.
“Y/n, are you okay, are you having an attack again?” He helped you get up. He placed you on your bed.
“Oh gods,” you groaned.
“Here, drink some. It will make you feel better..” Idia said and handed you pomegranate juice.
“No… no I don't want to.” You said.
“Come on, for your health.” insisted Idia.
“Just one sip.”
Idia helped you drink. It was sour. Then you couldn't breathe and you closed your eyes. You dropped the glass full of pomegranate juice. It was spilled on you.It looked just like blood.
You were dead.
"I am sorry…I'm sorry for loving you. But I had to. I’m sorry, Y/n.” Idia said with a shaky voice and hugged your dead body.
“Then they lived happily ever after .” said Ortho and finished the story.
"How was it? It’s good isn’t it? This is my favorite fairy tale. My brother told me.” Said Ortho
But Y/n didn't answer.
“Come on, it's late, let's take you back.” Said the Spirit.
“So early?” The boy whined. He took the spirit's hand and they moved towards the exit under the soul’s leadership.
“Um Y/n I was going to ask you something. Will you come to us tomorrow? I don't know if I'll find you next time.” said Ortho innocently.
“No…I'm sorry Ortho, but I can't leave this garden, but if you want to come again, come with your brother.” Said the Spirit sadly, as if something tying them to this garden.
And they said goodbye again.
-
“So? How was your day?" Idia asked his little brother.
“Good, as I said before, I made a new friend. There I was with them and I told them my favorite story." Ortho explained with excitement.
“Is that so…by the way, what was your friend's name?”
Idia asked.
“It’s Y/n.”
305 notes · View notes
ceilidho · 8 months
Text
in the cauldron boil and bake
prompt: pretty little witch who lives in a cottage in the forest who sometimes eats wayward travellers but Ghost has some kind of magic repulsion aura that doesn’t allow her to use her powers on him. (ON AO3) tags: very nsfw, implied/lightly described violence, dubcon/noncon, noncon spanking, implied cannibalism (just in general, not with the pairing lol); 5.5k
-
He moves at a pace too slow for you to make out with the naked eye, but you feel it creeping through you.
The vision of him appears in a dream first, a premonition. A hulking figure trekking through the woods. You snuggle deeper under the covers and scrunch up your nose in your sleep. In the morning, you go outside to harvest the holly leaves and buttercup and return home dreaming of tender, slow cooked meat. It’s been awhile since you last had a proper meal. When you hang up the laundry to dry, you chew on peppermint cuttings and try not to salivate. 
In the centuries you’ve lived in these woods, travellers have come and gone. You don’t eat every single one that happens to pass by��that would be a surefire way to get your forest branded as bedevilled and a longer route established circumnavigating your grove. You might be hungry, but you’re prudent, careful. Not like some other witches these days, greedy for any morsel that happens to pass in front of them. 
No; you take care of your woods. You have to, if you plan on remaining here for the centuries to come. If a few travellers happen to disappear here and there, that’s simply life. Not everyone can make treacherous journeys. 
You always have a sense of when a traveller is nearby. It’s as though your being is embedded within the forest itself, privy to those who dwell within it. You feel him along the outer regions of the forest, a lone traveller hauling not more than himself and a rucksack filled with the bare essentials. He appears to you in flashes in your dreams, not the full image of him but piecemeal, a shadow obscuring his full face from you. You see only tendons and meat on his bones, a rough hewn strength to his limbs, touch muscle and fat wrapped around his middle.
It makes you giddy to think of him circling ever closer to your spider’s web at the centre of the forest. After him, you won’t be hungry for years. 
Your restless leg acts up the day you know that he’s close enough to approach. All morning, you sit at the little table in your kitchen and rip lavender buds from the stems, black shoes tap-tapping away at the floor. The broom sweeps by itself in the corner, sweeping the dust into a neat pile. When you snap your fingers, it’s brusque, impatient. The broom halts in midair and then clatters against the floorboards. The chair scrapes against the floor as you rise to your feet. 
“Come, come, Asphodel,” you whisper to the black cat curled up on the windowsill, which barely lifts her head enough to blink at you. “No more dallying. Mommy’s hungry.”
In a show of great defiance and disrespect, Asphodel merely meows at you and lays her head back down. Insipid little familiar. 
You go off on your own then, keen to see the travellers with your own eyes. Jowls growing tighter. Robe cinched tight around you and hair pinned back by a thin strand of velvet. The days have just begun to shorten, just begun to exhale frost and rot. The leaves however, by agreement, do not crunch under your feet and give you away. You are a phantom amidst the trees as you flank the lone traveller, following the breadth of him as he traverses past your homestead. 
It’s fortunate that you are not beholden to physics because he is formidable. Broad as a man might be, no less sizable than in your dreams, but much more menacing in the flesh. He too moves quietly in the brush, with a care and precision that you have not seen many humans employ. 
He conceals the lower half of his face with a black piece of fabric, which you had mistaken for shadows. Not so. It is a deliberate concealment, meant to unnerve. Without magic, you might not have approached. 
His size alone isn’t enough to frighten you though. You are two hundred years old and you have eaten men twice his size when you were naught but a babe. 
You step out into the clearing just a few paces from him, halting the man in his tracks. 
“Hello,” you call out tentatively, raising a hand to shield your eyes. “C-can you help me? I think I’ve lost my way.”
At this point in your career, it takes a bit to hide the smile that threatens to break. You are like the spider posing as a fly. The show is half the fun though. 
The man doesn’t respond. He doesn’t even seem shocked at your presence, arms loose by his sides. It makes your stomach clench, the script flipped a bit. It should be you, loose and limber, and the wayward traveller tense and nonplussed, then eager to help the lost girl. You wait a moment longer for him to respond, but he remains silent, blue eyes unblinking. 
“Can you help me?” you repeat, taking a step closer. The tendrils of your magic slither out of you, snaking across the forest floor towards him. “I’m lost. Can you help me find my way out?” 
Your magic finds his boots in the dirt like mycelium threads, the pulse of him rich and earthen. It makes the saliva pool in your mouth, hunger gnawing at your guts. He will taste so good. Meaty and huge, enough to last you the winter. You take another step closer despite his continued silence, a tad too eager. You only need a moment though, long enough for your magic to take root, to render him febrile and inert. When he collapses to the ground, you will float his body back and rend him limb from limb by your hearth. 
Another step brings you closer to him when your magic suddenly recoils, unwinds from him. You frown. You try sending it back, but your magic shrinks away, an atavistic fear blooming up in you. It does not want near this man. 
A cold sweat breaks out on your neck. The hairs on your neck and arms stand on end. 
The masked man staring back at you tilts his head, the skin under his eyes crinkling with a smile that you cannot see. Suddenly eldritch, blood-curdling. 
“Now, what are you?” he asks with a rumbling voice, rough from disuse, and takes a step towards you.
You trip over your feet scrambling back. Branches from a nearby tree scoop towards you, catching you before you tumble down into the soft dirt. He advances quickly on you, big hand finding now the hatchet strapped to his side and pulling it out, the thing dwarfed in his massive paw. 
“Stay back—stay back—” you hiss, the branches listening to your fear and dragging you away from the man. “Leave—I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“Do what?” he asks, taunting. Just a twinge of it, as if he can’t help that he has a predilection to mock.
He catches up to you fast enough, the strides of his long legs enough to eat up the distance. When you whip the branches towards him, they stop mere inches from him, giving him ample time to bat them away. The ones that get close enough meet his hatchet, a single cleave enough to sever them from the tree. You don’t feel the tree’s pain, but where his blade meets your magic—a thin coating along the branches, like extended, ghost limbs of your own—it stings. 
“Stay back!” you shriek, heart pumping away ferociously. Your voice comes out like a caterwaul. He’s too close now though, towering over you, the bitter smell of old sweat and musk. Up close, he does not smell like anything you know. He smells sun bleached, the rust of old blood like the blades in your shed after a long season’s hunt. 
“What sort of girl—” he starts, hand fisting in your hair and wrenching your head back, “—ambushes strange men in forests? Do you have a death wish?”
To have him touch you is singularly terrifying. You haven’t been touched in a hundred years, certainly not by a human. His touch sends you skittering back, but he has you trapped in place. Your shoes dig into the dirt when you try to push yourself away, hands pressed against his chest much to your distress. 
“Men can’t kill me,” you hiss, fingers clawing at the hand holding you in place, scratching at him with the little nails that you never bothered to grow out. 
You can’t see the whole of his face, but his expression is undoubtedly unimpressed. “I could kill you easily, girl.”
“I’m not a girl—I’m a witch.”
“A witch is a girl.”
“I eat girls,” you snap, so angry now that spittle drips from your mouth. You shrink back when he wipes it away with a gloved hand. “I eat men like you too. If you are a man.” 
You say that because the way your magic curls away from him has you on edge. Humans may not scare you, but eldritch, ancient monsters do and they hunt little witches like you. Usually not in your own woods, but stranger things have happened. 
“‘Course I’m a man. Look at me.”
He presses the whole length of his body against yours, dragging you so close to him by your hair that you almost rise up onto your toes. He’s solid all the way through, only a bit of give around his middle. There’s something distinctly hard pressing against your low belly. It leaves you flustered, hot under your collar. An unfamiliar heat in your core, legs clenching on nothing. You give in to the instinctive urge to look down, but pressed so close to him, there’s little to see beyond the wideness of his chest, covered by a brown tunic laced up the front. 
“Means nothing. Plenty of things look like other things. I look like a girl but I am not,” you stutter. 
“Were you trying to eat me then, witch girl?” he breathes, amused. You yelp when he gives you a little shake by the hair. 
You flash your teeth at that, hoping he takes that as a threat. You have chewed off flesh far tougher than his. “Still might, human. If you don’t let me go.” 
He stares down at you, eyes giving nothing away. “It’s not every day that a little girl threatens to eat me. Not very nice, you know. I’ve cut down men twice your size for less.”
“You like bloodshed?”
“I trade in bounties; it’s part of the job. But, yes, girl. I like bloodshed.”
It’s not reassuring to hear that when his hands are fast on you. You wish now you hadn’t dreamed of this strange man immune to your magic and left him to his wandering. There are bears in these woods that could have dealt with him for you. 
“I’m—I’m not going to anymore,” you say, quieter now, hands falling back to his chest, trying to shove yourself just the slightest bit away. You don’t move an inch. “I’ll…I can find something else to eat. Just let me go.”
The man widens his stance, feet bracketing yours. In two hundred years, you haven’t felt small. You’ve felt tremendous, expansive, big as the whole forest; monstrous some days even. The most ferocious predator in the woods, the haunting lurching her way through the trees, belly hungry for iron blood and the ripe taste of fear. 
You feel that fear now in your mouth for the first time, sour.
He smiles behind the mask again. “Maybe later. Need to teach you a lesson.”
“A lesson?” Maybe the fear hasn’t sunk in all the way because you ask that when he lets go of his hold on your hair and drops his hands to your waist, getting a tight hold there. Twisting you around while he walks you back. 
“You all alone in the forest?” he asks instead of answering you. “Is there a house that I missed? Been here for months and haven’t seen one.”
“Of course, I—I live here.” You don’t want to say more than though, lest you reveal too much about yourself. You’re still wondering whether surviving this ordeal will be as simple as getting away. There’s something savage in his gaze now, the mealy taste in your mouth translating that look like the hunter looking upon the hunted. 
There’s a tree stump that he guides you to, shaded under the canopy. When he tips you over the stump, the breath rushes out of you. The edge is rough against your stomach. You don’t even notice him pulling up the back of your dress until a few seconds later. 
“Wait, hold on—that’s my indoor dress!” you cry out, the front of your dress scraping against the stump and sure to tear. “Let me go—stop it!”
Your drawers are next, slid down your hips while you squirm and wail, feet kicking out behind you. 
“Behave.” It’s punctuated by the sudden sting on your cheek, bottom flaming red by his hand. Pain is such a foreign concept to you that it initially leaves you speechless. 
He props you against the stump with little care for how your knees drag in the dirt and whether your underwear gets dirt on them. He keeps you pinned there with a big hand on the centre of your back. Your shimmying gets you nowhere, only planted farther into the dirt; it only scuffs up your knees and pulls wretched little noises from your throat. 
The terror comes when you’re bare to him and he draws his hand back. You gasp at the first smack, shocked; it’s a broken, stupid sound. At the next smack, you react properly, going into a frenzy, twisting left and right to get away, but helpless under just a fraction of his strength. Your magic does no good for once in your long life either. You feel it sit on the periphery, unsure of what to do because it cannot come close to this strange man for some reason. 
You yelp every time his hand comes down on your bottom. Red fills your vision. Tears do as well. 
“I am going to—” you break off on a yowl, back arching, “—I am going to eat the flesh off your bones for this! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”
His chuckle is bone-chilling, ices you right over. “You oughta at least know the name of the man you’re going to eat. They call me Ghost.”
“I’ll call you—” The caustic name you were about to call him is ripped from your lips by another well-placed smack on your ass. 
You shriek so loud that the birds flee from their perches within the trees. 
The worst part is the way your thighs flex together with every smack. Belly clenching. You can feel slick gathering where it shouldn’t, a high blush splotched across your cheeks as you pray that he doesn’t notice. It doesn’t happen often, only in the week following your cycle when you feel ravenous and flushed, skin prickly and raw until you go outdoors and roll around in the dirt under the moonlight. Always by yourself, of course, naturally. 
Little panting breaths hiccup out of you, your cheeks overflowing with frustrated tears. After the first minute, you simply go limp. There’s nothing else you can do. Even trying to levitate does you no good, it only props your butt up higher into the air since Ghost’s hand on your upper back keeps your chest pressed to the stump. It only seems to amuse him, judging by the hoarse chuckle he lets out. 
Without your broom, the little bit of levitation is more of a party trick than anything—and you haven’t even been to a party in fifty years, not since your coven’s last autumnal gathering. Not that it matters at a time like this. His hand comes down on your butt again and you wail, shoes digging into the ground and kicking up dirt. Your mind goes blank again, thoughts replaced by the looping ow, ow, ow that also falls from your lips.
“Does it hurt, lovie?” Ghost asks, hand coming to rest on your livid cheek. It makes you hiss, turning your head until your cheek is pressed to the stump’s inner rings. His voice is gentle, but mocking, like the voice you use when hacking into a screaming man, asking him if he’d like his hand back while you dangle it in front of him.
“It’s going to hurt so much worse when I dice you into little pieces,” you hiss. He gives a mocking pat to your butt, making you flinch. 
“Learned your lesson yet?”
You keep your gaze stubbornly off to the side. Somehow, it would be worse to look over your shoulder and make eye contact with the strange beast at your back. “If you leave now, I won't sever your limbs from your body and roast your organs from the inside.”
“I take it you haven’t,” he says, another chuckle rumbling out of him. 
His hand comes off your naked rear. Your ears perk up when you hear the sound of fabric over fabric, wondering if maybe he’s pulling your underwear back up, but you don’t feel anything. What you feel instead is the sudden heaviness pushed between your thighs, nestled right up against your wet core, so unfamiliar that it makes you jump. You stay put though, held down still by his hand. 
“Put that back,” you say severely. 
He holds it against your sex with his free hand and presses forward, coating himself with your slick. “You’re not in a position to make demands, girl.”
“I’m going to slice every bit of skin off your bones.” Your mouth salivates at the thought, thinking of all the thick, iron-rich blood from someone Ghost’s size. 
Those thoughts disperse again like smoke when he ruts forward, the thick length between his legs gliding through your wetness. It makes you break out into a sweat, keen catching between your teeth, just narrowly bitten back. Ghost makes no effort to suppress his groans. They’re loud, a lustful, masculine pleasure that you’ve heard far off in your woods before—unfortunate couples come to copulate before meeting their end at your hands—but never so close. Never right up in your ear.
“It’s not fair,” you sob, emotional suddenly. “You’re just going to—to do that and then kill me.”
He leans his full weight over you, the rough texture of his shirt catching on the back of your dress. You’re sweating so hard now that the lace embroidery around your collar is thoroughly soaked, clinging to your skin. 
“‘M not gonna kill you. What would I do something like that for?”
You sniff. “It’s what I would do.”
He chuckles again, the sound reverberating through you with him all pressed up against you. It would almost be pleasant if it weren’t for the cock pumping between your thighs. That brings you right back down to earth, mind torn away from the ravens perched in the branches of the tree looming over you, watching you from above. If you were able to pay them any close attention, you’d probably hear them chattering about the position their little witch has found herself in. 
“C’mon now,” Ghost grunts in your ear, hips shifting back. “Be a good little witch and say a little spell—don’t wanna knock you up on the first try.”
You open your mouth to reply and squeal when he rocks back forward, the bulbous tip pressing into you this time. Your toes flex in your shoes, thighs spreading without any prompting from him. You don’t even notice the hand on your upper back travelling to your waist, both of his big hands gripping you there now to hold you in place. There’s no thought of trying to get away, just breathing around the immense stretch from his shaft driving up into you.
“Ooh, no, no—it’s too much,” you squeak, fingers digging into the sides of the stump, the wood cutting into your soft skin. 
It is too much. It doesn’t even feel entirely possible. Even with the wetness leaking from you, his cock only manages to fit a couple inches in you before you’re too tight. 
“You’re doing fine, lovie,” he rasps into your ear, drawing his hips back and then plunging back into you, deeper than before. “See? Not so bad, is it? Gonna take a little more for me, a’right?”
“No—no more,” you slur, tongue heavy in your mouth. “Can you just—just keep it right there?”
“Yeah? That enough for you?”
Your fingers unlatch from the bark of the tree, trembling when you reach down to wipe them off on your dress before dragging the palm of your hand over your clit. It makes you jump and whine. The skin of your palm is a bit textured from gripping onto the stump, but the friction makes your brain leak right out of your ear. Especially when you push your hips back just a little bit, nervously fucking yourself on his cock.
Ghost laughs and lets go of your hip to bat your hand away, then reaches back around to fit a big hand around your jaw.
He holds your jaw in a single hand, palm supporting your chin. “You ever going to do this again, girl? Go up to strange men in the woods?”
You almost don’t hear him over the blood in your ears. A thick cock spears into you for the first time in your life and the man rutting into you expects coherence? Maybe you babble something into the palm of his hand, but it’s lost to the world when he pulls your knee out to make more room for himself and tips your ass up.
He gives your cheek a solid pat. “C’mon, focus on me, lovie. Tell me what you’re gonna do from now on.”
Your breathing picks up, heavier. When you don’t respond again, he abruptly pulls out and stands up, hauling you up to your feet with him. All of the blood rushes from your head, pooling around your pretty black shoes. Leaves crunch under your feet when he turns the two of you around and sits down on the stump where you’d just been spread over. The hands on your waist turn you to face him and that’s when an inkling of struggle works its way back into your veins. 
You hiss and snarl when he lifts you to straddle his thighs, particularly when you see the brutish, ruddy cock jutting out from his trousers. Ghost seems more amused than anything at your little attempts to escape, clutching you closer to him until your chests are pressed tight together, making it all the more intimate. All the more real. 
“Quit fussing.” You jump at the sharp slap he delivers to your ass. 
“Going to curse your whole lineage—” you grit out, wincing when he draws you back down over his length, cunt fluttering at the stretch. You can’t help dropping your forehead to his chest, shoulder hitched with a frustrated cry. 
His groan makes you seize up, a hot flash darting through you. “Don’t be like that, lovie. Might be yours too.”
A haze passes over you when firm hands lift you up off his cock and plop you back down, emptying you of any thoughts like you’d tipped your head and all the water had poured out. 
The worst is the way your body betrays you. Each time he shoves his fat cock into your cunt, a whine rattles out of you, snatched from your chest. Robbed from you. The nearby leaves rustle and swirl up into the air with an artificial wind, magic singing their edges. He reaches so much deeper inside of you like this, splayed on his lap, hands gripping onto his shoulders for dear life because it takes every bit of energy in your body to merely take his cock into you. 
Your knees scrape against the uneven wood every time he drags you back down. They’ll probably be scraped raw by the end of it; you’ll need to tearfully smooth on ointment and wrap thick bandages around them when you get back to the cottage. 
“There we go. Fuckin’ take it—come on,” Ghost grunts, dragging you down onto his length, just using your body how he likes. 
The thick head grinds up against a spot deep inside of you, spongy and sensitive. You feel it all the way up in your throat. Every time his cock rubs against that spot, your nails dig into his shoulders. A violent shudder rips through you because this position also lets him grind your clit down against the root of his cock. 
“Ghost—”
He ducks his covered mouth into the side of your neck. Even through the fabric, you can feel his lips press a firm, closed-mouth kiss there. “Bit more, bit more, love. Better than you thought it’d be, huh? Fuck. Only thing magic about you is this wet pussy. Fuck hiding this from me—gonna ride it twice a day from now on.”
“Never doing this ever again, you beast—”
Ghost bites you through the mask, the pressure dull but real. It says, try keeping it from me.
When you come, it’s sudden and sharp, painful like a cramp in your belly and then a wave of bone-deep pleasure. Ghost wrangles it from you with a thumb on your clit, pumping up into your pussy at the same time. He wrenches it from you like it’s his, like you have no choice but to come for him because he wants it. You press your whole body against him when you come, arms wrapping around his neck like you need him close. Heat unfolding and leaving you limp. No cauldron has ever boiled as hot as your flesh does now. 
He pulls out of you before coming. You watch helplessly as he settles you close enough to keep the heat of your pussy on him and then wraps a firm hand around himself, giving it a few good tugs before a white rope of come spurts from his cock. Right onto your exposed pussy, spilling across your folds. Your mouth drops open on a soft whine as it stripes across your inner thighs and the front of your dress, painting it white. 
His harsh pants ebb into something softer as his cock goes flacid against his thigh. You feel boneless, drained of all your energy. Even your magic only gives a pathetic twitch, the tendrils of it curling back up inside of you where it’s nice and warm. 
Your cunt feels tender, puffy when you reach down and touch it. You flinch when his fingers graze against yours, also feeling around your swollen lips. Ghost knuckles your fingers out of the way and scoops up the mess he left between your thighs, pushing two fingers just past your entrance. You don’t even have the energy to yelp, only wince and mewl.
He shushes you. “Didn’t even come inside. Quit whining.”
His words are belied by the way he scoops more of his come up into you. 
You really don’t like that he follows you home. The march back to your cozy cottage nestled in the middle of the forest feels like a death march, one you might have witnessed in the hundreds of years that you’ve lived here. Worse still because your legs are still wobbly, your sex achy and raw. Still, whenever you pause for a moment or lean against a tree, he nudges you forward with a hand on your back.
“This is unfair,” you snivel, eyes tearing up. “You can’t—this is my forest.”
“The woods don’t belong to anyone, girl,” Ghost counters. 
“Yes, they do. I’ve been…it’s been mine for two hundred years.”
“Of course, lovie.” You can almost hear the roll of his eyes. It makes you grit your teeth. You can’t wait to bury him in the backyard with all the bone mandalas. 
It doesn’t take long for him to settle in, making himself nice and comfortable on your plush couch with the intricate doilies knitted by your grandmother draped along the back. Your poor couch almost collapses under his weight. 
Your cottage is far too small for someone of his size; you built it to accommodate someone of your size, not the behemoth that’s taken up residence in your house. You know that Ghost is more of a man of action than words, but he’s plenty happy to grumble about needing to redo the door to make it big enough for him to come inside without having to duck his head. 
“You aren’t going to touch a single brick of my house.”
“I’ll take apart the whole damned thing if I want.”
You keep trying to lift him up with your magic but it does nothing to him and only tires you out because using magic is exhausting. You’re sweating and panting at the end of your efforts while Ghost just stands in front of you with his arms crossed over his chest and a single eyebrow raised. It’s humiliating. You used to be a powerful witch. You still are. 
He lets you yell at him until you’re red in the face and then drags you down for a rough fuck. Arguments with Ghost often end that way—you, sore and satiated in your bed, the window opened to let some fresh air in. Him, spread out next to you and dragging you close, playing absentmindedly with a nipple until you pinch his side. That always gets you a meaner pinch, one that leaves you teary-eyed and hot all over again. 
Magic might not work on him, but he’s still mortal, so you try to work with that. Bear traps by the windows and doors. Hemlock in the soap. Poison in his stew. He’s stealthier than you anticipate though and seems to have a sixth sense for death. 
It’s demeaning and humiliating to be punished for your ‘bad behaviour’ but that’s what he calls it when he passes by the kitchen and catches the stew burping out the telltale skull shaped steam. You’re taken off kitchen duty after that, but the worst part is being trapped under him on the bed with your hands pinned over your head, bottom exposed to him yet again. He laughs a little later on when you squirm around on your hard kitchen chairs because you refuse to sit on his lap.
Sometimes when he has you trapped under him when you’re sleeping—because, of course, he commandeers your bed like it was built for someone his size when truthfully he should be in a bed twice as large—he wakes up to you gnawing at his shoulder and he has to hold you jaw in his hand and rumble out “No biting” before going back to sleep. You stare over his shoulder petulantly, not even bothering to fight the pout. The kettle whispers in the kitchen, fueled by your frustration.
Ghost only lets out a dry, husky laugh. It sends a shiver down your spine. 
Asphodel takes to him like a new favourite thing, winding around his legs while you glare from the other room. Damned familiar. 
You only start to lighten up when your senses tingle one day when you’re out picking berries in the woods and you come back to find him ruthlessly butchering a band of raiders that had been trampling through your woods. He slaughters them methodically, almost bored. Almost like he does this every day. 
You can’t help the way it makes your pussy ache. 
He catches the look in your eye. You’ve been alone for far too long in the woods; everything you feel is laid bare, open for anyone to see. Ghost is just always looking. 
He grins under the mask, blood splattered across the front of his shirt. “Go on, lovie. I’ll be inside in just a few.”
Molten slickness drips from between your thighs. You bite your lip before you slip away, blood growing feverish when you glance back down at the mangled bodies bleeding out in the red-orange leaves. There’s a severed eye that’s rolled off to the side and your stomach gurgles. 
You lick your lip and look up at him from under your eyelashes. “Save me some for supper?”
Ghost’s eyes soften, a sharp contrast from the gore and viscera piled around him. “‘Course, lovie.”
The world seems different with the arrival of him. Cranberries beneath the sycamore, the russet moon on harvest's day, the scent of soldering iron, the laughter woven between your many faces. With him, you feel like the cynosure of all eyes. 
In the twilight hours, he presses a hand to your forehead and laves your belly with his tongue like he might push something back in there. The curtains draw shut and the lights flicker off.
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jmeldog · 3 months
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@milgram-valentines-exchange art for @verity-clover!
Sorry I took one-sided MuuRei angst and ran. + some variants
Attempt at explaining the flowers under the cut
I wanted to convey a message of remorse, pining, and “what could’ve been”—still tinged with feelings of jealousy.
I’m not very good at flower language, so please excuse me if there are any mistakes, misunderstandings, or misinterpretations. I tried to use mostly Victorian sources or some that I otherwise vibed with. Some flowers have other meanings that also fit, but I didn’t list here for the sake of keeping it concise-ish. Please interpret however you enjoy most 🙏
Asphodel
“My regrets follow you to the grave”
Bramble
Lowliness, envy, remorse
China Aster
Jealousy, afterthought, wishing things had happened differently
Gardenia
“I love you in secret”
Honey Flower
Love sweet and secret (and well, how could I not use the honey flower for Mu?)
French Marigold
Jealousy
Spindle Tree
“Your charms are engraved on my heart”
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aroaceleovaldez · 1 year
Video
When Rick said that Nico’s music tastes are the howls of tormented souls through the poplar trees of asphodel and technopop, this is what he meant.
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