A cute piece of succubus art this time on the Tale and it’s one that offers a tease, a suggestion, and something cute in how everything comes together…
Lovely smile and her overall look is a nice mixture of cute and sexy that I think works really well. The contracts in her hand, at least they look like that to me, are a neat little touch too. It’s not so much that she’s overtly sexy, it’s more the hint of that she’s giving that makes everything work together so well.
We've seen Adult Groot in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Baby Groot in the sequel, and Teen Groot in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. What stage will Groot be in for the third Guardians film? It's supposed to take place a few years after Endgame (and Thor: Love and Thunder, in which we may get a Teen Groot appearance). It will be interesting to see the personality tweaks that he will be given.
The pause in Regina’s story continues this week, for which I am sorry. Due mainly to me not feeling well, it’s hard to put into words the thoughts which I’d like to. Still, I am rather stubborn, as is my Queen of the Realm self, and so, eventually, we will …
Find A Way
By TeraS
Perhaps the starting point is my grandmother.
I never knew her, though the stories of her wisdom whisper tales from the past. There are small scraps of paper upon which her ever-so precise writing can be found, the words written there speaking of her times, her place in what is now our history.
There are trials and tribulations noted there, clearly expressing her opinion, the reasons for doing or not doing something. Her stubbornness, certainly a family trait by far, can be seen in her diagramming, planning and, to some, plotting.
What seems to be forgotten in the passage of time is that she was searching for a way, a means to a goal that couldn’t be expressed openly. There was a vision of something better she wanted to be, if not for herself, then, in time, for the family who would follow in her footsteps.
Which brings me to my mother. I’m not sure of what they’d spoken of in the past, what thoughts they’d shared. One thing was clear: they were both stubborn, set towards their goals and the future they wanted. I look, from time to time, at her journals. Bound in red leather, because of course they would be. Precise blue lines marking where words should be placed and be regimented thereon. She preferred cursive; printing didn’t really hold onto the emotions she wished the words to convey. I can tell when she was angry: the words crushed together, bumping into each other, letters missing bits in the rush to get the words on paper. It’s also clear when she’s being pensive, considering: the words draw out, the letters more spaced, considered, seeking time to allow her thoughts to come before being set to paper.
Regardless of the placement of the ink, she was trying to figure things out. The Realm wasn’t quite what she wanted, but she’d made the start. I can trace a finger over the words she wrote when the path had been set. It’s kind of a stutter in her writing, a putting away of a thought and taking up another, until they were finally settled, the path she’d walked being set forward.
So where does that leave me? My own handwriting is a mess, not having the perfection or the elegance it might have been given from the past. Being left-handed makes such things somewhat more difficult. My penmanship is awful, the writing falls short of being legible, and printing isn’t that much better.* My mind races forward three or four steps ahead of my hand trying to keep up, thoughts placed on the page being somewhat muddled much of the time.
My typewriter was a blessing for those that had to read my words. I still recall the crashing of the arms, my fingers moving faster than the mechanism could keep up with, having to stop and pry them apart. Now, with keyboard, the words appear on the screen, but the thoughts don’t always make it to the screen as they might otherwise do. But in time they do, for they matter, and my heart and soul have things to say, after all.
There are stacks of notebooks within which reside my thoughts, hopes, and wishes. Turning the pages, I can see my past self wondering, considering, asking questions that I look back on and smile. Not everything has come as I thought it would, many dreams having come to be in ways that are so much better than the past could have hoped to be.
Which brings me to my daughters. What will their words say, how will they be recorded, I wonder. Is paper and pen too archaic for them? Will their thoughts be held in some technology unimagined and still to be? How will they express themselves so they might be able to look back and see where things came from and why they are? Will it all be remembered somehow? These questions were, perhaps, pondered in the time before and will be once more.
They do remind me however, that other things are more important. The notes left pinned to the fridge by magnet, the lazy cursive having i’s dotted with hearts written by one hand, the slightly more precise printing by another hand having its own i’s dotted with hearts once more.
The words make me smile, a reminder of the love felt from words written so long ago, but with no less passion. Simple words to be cherished, gathered together, and held. Grandmother would have adored them both. Mom would have spoiled the two of them silly. I remember the words written in their handwriting, the same in my own.
In any medium, love will find a way.
*Her Majesty’s editor, while acknowledging the special gift of deciphering her handwriting, notes that all the characteristics she attributes to prior generations are present in her penmanship, and that all that feeling finds its way through to the astute reader. The editor also quotes a wise philosopher who said that Goddess could only create so many perfect beings; everyone else is right-handed.
The third part of Regina’s story isn’t quite finished as yet, though it is close to being so. I hope to sort things out and continue next week. As for this week’s story on the Tale … It snowed last night, the first snow of the year for us. Perhaps that’s appropriate, considering last week’s story. Perhaps it’s a moment when the ebon-maned Monarch of the Realm finds …
Warmth
By TeraS
The first snows of winter came last night to the Realm.
The event began with a few light flakes of snow, scattered far from one another as they drifted from the skies above. They were the pathfinders for the season to come, marking the path from their beginnings among the clouds to their place of rest on the lands below. The winds tossed them about the Realm, some finding their perch on rooftops, hedgerows or similar places. Others passed land by and cast themselves onto the Lake of Fire, falling into the now-cooler waters with winter’s approach. Some very few alighted upon the eternally snowcapped mountain ranges of the domain, beginning the process of rejuvenation to maintain this landscape seen from afar.
Over time, the weather turned somewhat more present, the flakes giving way to swirling masses of powdered snow. The natural colours of the Realm began to be covered slowly by layer after layer of white blankets, serving to place the vibrant colours to rest for a time as winter’s colour took its place.
It was not long before the winds picked up once more, the heart of the first storm making itself known. The outside world faded into the new background of wind-swept plains of white. Snow piled about doorway and walkway, and roofs became covered by layer upon layer of white decoration.
And amidst winter making itself known, those in the Realm made warmth in their own ways … Within a red brick home, the walkway marked with hockey-themed topiary, a red-tailed Uncle and Auntie renewed their relationship over coffee and cake … finding the warmth in their family’s love. Inside a solitary cabin found at the end of a trail leading into the deepest woods known, a red-tailed knitter found warmth with a purple-tailed younger soul once more. On the other side of a specific fence, two soulmates enjoyed their mugs of cocoa, the warmth of being together brightly glowing. And, in a home built with love, two red-tailed Eternals curled up on their couch, watching their two young blue-tailed daughters playing board games in the glow of the fireplace, the warmth of love shared keeping the winter’s cold at bay.
Winter is but a season, with its own purpose and reason for being. Perhaps the very telling thing is the warmth of the Realm shared freely and to all …
Possibly the prettiest thing I’ve ever made! I love trying out new media for my illustrations, and this version of Iris is a holographic acrylic dream! Mounted on a delicate 20inch gold-plated trace chain, she appears to float along, pulling her rainbow behind her.
Based on the incomplete Iris statue from the Parthenon West Pediment and the Nike of Samothrace, she’s brought to life with full-on holographic rainbow sparkle on one side and a more muted effect on the other, meaning you can wear her two ways!
Achilles Chariot – Download and Build OR Pre-Printed!
Available now! – Download and print OR pre-order a colour pre-printed building kit of Achilles’ Chariot! Brand new this week (because I only thought of it a week ago and finished it last night) you can get an instant download or use the form on the page to order a pre-printed version for you to cut out and build.
This is one of the easiest builds I’ve made so far, so if the Labyrinth and Knossos Palace kits look like a challenge for later, try this one now!
This image started off as one of my #ClassicsTober prompts and has turned into one of my most popular illustrations, both as a print and as a slogan image on stickers and tees! Available in the Redbubble shop, though you’ll have to tick ‘mature content’ in your filter to see it!
The Olympian Gods in my watercolour pallette against backgrounds line up to create a watercolour scene of Mount Olympus, inspired by my own photos of sunset at Delphi. Printed using UV stable inks onto a durable heavy duty vinyl with a strong adhesive backing, each individually-designed sheet contains at least four characters:
Download, print, cut out and stick this Ancient Greek Mythological Creatures Advent Calendar and celebrate the run up to Christmas in a different way this year!
Each day of December, open a door in the calendar to reveal a colourful Ancient Greek Mythological Creature from myth and art, with its name displayed on the inside of the door!
Each Mythological Creature has been taken from Ancient Greek pottery and mosaic, then turned into a colourful depiction. Included are Skylla, Asterion (Minotaur), the Hydra, the Drakones, Pegasus, Gorgones, Kerberus, and many others!
Easy to make, just print the pieces, cut carefully with a craft knife, stick together and then open a door every day! Full instructions included.
Old things!
Saturnalia cards
Available as physical cards, a downloadable print, or (new for this year) as cards and products on Redbubble!
Dress Odysseus each day as you reach for the milk – will he be a warrior? An archer? Naked but for an olive branch or Ino’s veil? Or a beggar in the palace? Retell his story over your muesli!
Enjoy your Saturnalia, Lenaia and Christmas shopping!
My Seasonal Thanks for all your support, which allows me to keep going and maintain the free site and make more educational comics the rest of the year!
A pause this week in Regina’s story; we will return to see what plans she has cooked up for Her next week. A short story this time on the Tale in which, regardless of the time or space, sometimes that which matters is the knowledge that …
Dawn Awaits
By TeraS
The time of winter was almost, if not quite, upon the Realm.
The snows weren’t quite blanketing the lands, the leaves hadn’t quite all fallen from their perches above to be scattered about here and there. It was the moment before the turning of one season to the next and, as such, winter still had to wait.
While many of the Realm anticipated the arrival of winter and the turning of many a succubi and incubi’s thoughts towards the long evenings cuddled with those they found pleasure with, there was a moment which fell just before. The scientifically-inclined would call it the equinox, a moment in time between the seasons that came and went as the universe took the Realm on its course through the eternities. Others proclaimed it to be the point at which certain offerings to the Goddess were made to thank Her for the past bounty and the future joys to come.
For a particular ebon-maned red tail, it was a time when she waited.
There is a finger of land that casts itself into the Lake. A fragile, wind-swept and, to some, forlorn place, which offered little protection from the wind and weather to those who took the path which lay thereon. There was no shelter, no protection to be found. The only mercy given to those who took the long journey was a simple park bench facing to the horizon.
And there the dawn awaited. It was prescribed that the sun would arrive here first: the casting of light upon the waters to push the night away. There’s something magical about giving witness to that moment, something inspiring about seeing that moment between night and day appear.
Elsewhere in the Realm, others marked the passage of time. They counted the hours, then minutes, then seconds to the event itself. Others watched for light to strike a monument or some other obelisk from which their celebrations would commence. But on the spot of land where light’s warmth would arrive first, the Monarch was bundled against the cold winds from her toque covered mane to the tail cozy which professed to warm her–though the occasional moan of pleasure might call into question what sort of warming, if, indeed, there had been anyone present to hear over the howling winds.
Her eyes were fixed to the horizon, on the stars twinkling in the ebbing dark, they too waiting for the light to arrive and take centre stage. That time would come soon enough. She’d learned patience in this endeavour, though that had taken quite some time.
A flicker of reddish hue along the horizon caught her attention … and the dawn came to be. The night slowly gave way to a ribbon of dark red casting itself over the waters of the lake. Specks of red flickered in intensity for a time, competing with shades of orange, yellow, gold, and bronze, all of which spoke with the music of the universe. All was still suddenly: the winds calmed, the waters placid, the universe as if taking a breath in recognition of the moment arriving … and the dawn brought light.
She closed her eyes as the sun gathered itself, pushing out from below the horizon. The first warmth fell upon her, a fleeting kiss against her cheek before casting itself onto the world beyond. The chill in the air was lessened somewhat; the warmth which favoured her form was welcomed with a bemused smile. The dawn grew, the light taking its place for the allotted time. As the skies turned from ebony towards blue, she shielded her eyes from the glare and whispered a small thanks for what had been and would be eternally.
Across the Realm, those who had been waiting cast themselves into their own given needs, wants, and desires. As for the greeter of the dawn, she made her way back to the land, towards another source of light that awaited her. The warmth from the dawn soon gave way to the warmth of another light. One that resided in a home of love …
… where the greeter of the dawn was welcomed home by her Eternal’s light.
