#day 6: inscribe

[wowbright]

Fic: Brotherly Duties

Fandom/pairing: Glee, Kurt/Blaine

Event: December Klaine Fanworks Challenge 2023

Words: ~700 words                                           

Rating: Mature

Summary: Kurt gets a package from Cooper in the mail.

Notes: This is part of my Mormon!Klaine universe. It takes place after Out of Eden, which I am still in the process of posting to AO3. It’s among the likely possibilities for their future.

* * *

Two months before Blaine returned from his mission, Kurt received a package in the mail. “Special delivery from Cooper Anderson,” his dad said, handing it to Kurt in the kitchen. “Easter Peeps?”

It had become a thing with them. For Kurt’s return home from his mission, for Pioneer Day, for Labor Day and Thanksgiving and Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Cooper made it a habit to regale Kurt with Peeps. Kurt’s dad had thought it was a little odd at first, but Kurt had explained it away with, “It’s sort of a thing from our mission,” followed by, “Also, he’s weird.”

Kurt’s arms buckled from the unexpected weight as he took the package from his dad. “That feels heavier than Peeps, Dad.” The package wasn’t heavy, exactly, but it was at least a couple pounds—not the scant ounces that marshmallow and thin paperboard should weigh.

His dad shrugged. “I thought so too, but I didn’t think this Cooper guy knew how to mail anything else. I mean, I know I’ve seen him on TV, but with all these packages you’ve gotten from him, I’ve kind of started to picture him in my head like a giant PEZ dispenser—which I know doesn’t exactly work, Peeps are marshmallows and PEZ are solid, but still … You swear he wasn’t a PEZ dispenser when you met him?”

“Scout’s honor, Dad.” Kurt considered the padded envelope in his hands. Through it, the contents felt stiff and rectangular.  “It’s probably a bunch of signed headshots for me to share with friends and family. That’s his idea of a generous gift.” Kurt tore open the flap, peeked in, and immediately closed the envelope back up, feeling his cheeks betray his embarrassment. “Never mind. I'll open it later.”

His father gave him an amused look. “The head shots are that bad, huh?”

“Something like that,” Kurt said, standing up from the kitchen table and heading toward his room, where he closed the door and locked it and considered putting a chair under the handle for good measure. But no, that was silly. He was a grown adult. This was nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, his parents respected his privacy.

Instead, Kurt pulled the chair up to his desk and sat down, sliding the contents of the envelope out onto the desk. A hardcover copy of The Joy of Gay Sex made a loud thumping noise as it fell on to the surface.

There was a note, too:

Bought this for my brother—I even inscribed it to him!—but then I realized there was no good way to get it to him in Germany. Too high a chance of it being intercepted by someone in his mission, and who knows, customs would probably charge him duties on it anyway. I felt vanquished and without hope. But then I realized this was all for the better. You're the one he's all hot for, and I'm pretty sure you’re going to pounce on each other as soon as you possibly can after he gets off the plane (gets off, get it?), so you really better know what you're doing. This book actually has mixed reviews from my gay friends, but it was the one most of them mentioned when I asked for recommendations, and it’s illustrated, which I think will be very helpful. I hope you don't still have Mormon hang ups about every picture of a naked body being porn. I looked through the book, and I thought the illustrations were very educational and not too raunchy at all. Of course, if you want to jerk off to them, that's your business and nobody else’s. Have fun!

Kurt's face was on fire all the way to the roots of his hair. He put the letter in the shredder and opened the book. And indeed, there was an inscription to Blaine on the title page:

Blainey— Not being knowledgeable in this area, I hand off some of my older brother sex-talk duties to this educational volume. One tip I can give you: you'll probably want to let up on the hair gel a little during times of intimacy, particularly for certain acts in which your lover is likely to want to grab your hair. Trust me on this one. —Coop

#december klaine challenge 2023 #day 6: inscribe #mormon!klaine #wowbright writes fic #klaine fic #klaine fanfic #klaine fanfiction

[ghostykapi]

Mina won’t admit it but she basically treats you like her sugar baby. See something you want? She doesn’t think twice before buying it. Whenever she invited you to galas or award shows, Mina wanted you dressed to impress. The day before the event, she always came over with a box that she personally handpicked for you to wear. The outfit nearly cost what you made in 6 months. Since the two of you can’t be together 24/7 Mina figured it was better to just get you your own card. A few days later and she presents you a black metal card with your name inscribed on it. She just can’t help spoiling you. You deserved the world

SO RIGHT mina loves treating you bc ur her bbygirl u can't take that away from mina

"mina?" you barely call her by her name. is she in trouble? oh god what if she is. did she forget an important date? did she forget to put back an important item? oh god did you find out she's been stealing your jackets and been putting tiny smiskis in them? did she-

"baby" you snap mina out before she spirals, remembering that she's in paris with you "i just wanted to ask a question"

"you don't call me by my name" she pouts even if she's the one who made your legs give out literally 10 minutes ago "you call me baby"

"just wanted your attention baby" you assure her, giving a quick peck on her lips before laying on her chest again "because i wanted to buy another replica of the dress you just casually ripped out of my body"

"oh" she blinks and cheekly smiles "sorry you just looked really good baby"

"mhm" you let her pull you up, just so she can scatter kisses across your shoulders while you comb her hair with your fingers "the event is in two days, you're helping me choose"

"m'kay" mina's mind starts to wander off, her mouth now kissing your sensitive spots on your neck "anything you want sweetness"

#asks #anon #myoui mina #twice x reader

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

U.A. High School Field Trip Around Japan: Day 1 Translations

To celebrate My Hero Academia reaching one hundred million copies worldwide, Shonen Jump is releasing special illustrations in the newspapers of Japan's 47 prefectures, calling it "U.A. High School Field Trip Around Japan." It's being rolled out daily across one-week.

The schedule is:

April 4th, Day 1: Hokkaidō & Tōhōku regions

April 5th, Day 2: Kantō region

April 6th, Day 3: Chūbu region

April 7th, Day 4: Kansai region

April 8th, Day 5: Chūgoku & Shikoku regions

April 9th, Day 6: Kyūshū & Okinawa regions

April 10th, Day 7: Nationwide release

You can see the illustrations on their website here, where they are released digitally the day after their newspaper release, so Day 1 and Day 2 are available right now.

The illustrations depict charming scenes between Class 1-A about something related to each prefecture's culture or history, so I thought it would be really fun to translate them and share a little bit about Japan.

Here we go!

Note: As I mentioned, the illustrations are available on the official site, but they are all rather small, which makes them hard to read, so in this post I have included photographs from fans which I used for my translations. Every photo was available publicly on twitter and I have credited the posters, but please be respectful and don't draw undue attention to these fans. If anyone contacts me wishing for their photo to be removed, I will do so.

Hokkaidō Region

Hokkaidō

Photo credit: twitter user URix0307

Iida: "Heroes! Be ambitious!!' Aizawa: "I'm leaving you behind."

Iida is standing in front of the statue of William S. Clark at Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill, a scenic spot in Sapporo. Clark worked with the Japanese government to found Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaidō University) in 1876; he is a very famous figure in the history of the region. The statue is inscribed with a quote attributed to him as he left Japan: "Boys, be ambitious!"

Tōhōku Region

Aomori

Photo credit: twitter user redaotkrsn

Dark Shadow: "Fumikage!! I GOT ONE!!" Tokoyami: "The allure of forbidden fruit which tastes so sweet..." Dark Shadow: "One simply cannot resist!" Asui: "Tokoyami-chan sure likes apples, huh?"

Agriculture is huge in Aomori, and specifically they are famous for their apples, contributing about 60% of Japan's entire apple production. Raw apples, jams, juices, desserts, etc., they are everywhere in Aomori, and fyi, they are all absolutely delicious. The sweetest, richest, freshest apples I've ever had in my life were the ones I had here! Dark Shadow is right, one simply cannot resist!!!

Iwate

Photo credit: twitter user bakkk_17

Todoroki: "I can have as many bowls as I want, right?" Endeavor: "SHOUTOOOOO!!!" Kouda: "Todoroki-kun!! Your dad said he wants to eat with you, too!!" Todoroki: "Check, please."

Todoroki is eating wanko soba, a specialty from Iwate where it's basically an all-you-can-eat. The soba is served in many small bowls, and you slurp them up and immediately get served more. The verb he uses, ikeru, is one people also use for "holding your liquor well," which I personally found hilarious. "Oh yeah, I can hold my noodles."

Miyagi

Photo credit: twitter user Abino_Haru_Maki

Ashido: "Teacher, what's wrong? You keep lollygagging about!" Aizawa: "Kittykittykitty..." Shouji: "Anybody suspicious around? Nothing has come up in my search for enemies." Iida: "We're leaving you behind, teacher."

Miyagi is famous for being home to Tashirojima, the so-called "Cat Island" where cats outnumber people. Iida gets revenge!!

Akita

Photo credit: twitter user kado0730

Hagakure: "Namahage faces are so scary!!" Kaminari: "Looks just like Bakugou, don't it." Bakugou: "THERE'S NO RESEMBLANCE AT ALL, I'LL SEND YOU FLYING!!" Sero: "He's a rotten kid who looks just like a Namahage!"

Namahage are frightening folkloric figures from Akita's New Year's festival. Men wear big demon masks and straw coats and wield a (fake) weapon; they march through the streets or knock on doors to scold misbehaving children, asking if there are any "warui ko," (naughty/rotten/bad kids), which is what Sero calls Bakugou.

Yamagata

Photo credit: twitter user ha_n_a_0

Yaoyorozu: "Oh, tranquility! Penetrating the very rock, a cicada’s voice." Kaminari: "Jirou! How about you put your earphones on that rock?" Jirou: "Are you stupid?"

Yaoyorozu is reciting a famous poem by Basho Matsuo written when he visited the Buddhist temple, Risshaku-ji (also called Yamadera, meaning "mountain temple"). This translation is by Helen Craig McCullough. Risshaku-ji, a National Historic site, is home to a number of beautiful buildings and statues built into the mountainside; temple history claims a lineage back to the 9th century. The trail up to the temple consists of 1,015 steps; I visited in winter, which made it quite the precarious climb!

Fukushima

Photo credit: twitter user kingyo0927

Kirishima: "This right here is what I should be aiming for!!" Aoyama: "A fateful encounter~!" Bakugou: "When I said 'just being able to keep standing through anything makes you crazy strong,' this ain't what I meant!!"

Kirishima is looking at rows of okiagari koboshi, which are traditional papier-mâché dolls popular in Fukushima's western Aizu region. They are weighted so that no matter what you do to them, they pop right back up to standing!

That's all for Day 1! I'm still translating Day 2 and collecting Day 3's as they roll in, so please look forward to those. :D

#translations #ua high school field trip around japan #mha one hundred million copies tour

[cinnamon-girl-writes]

clingy!higuruma headcanons

by @cinnamon-girl-writes

higuruma x reader, fluff, see also: higuruma with a clingy s/o

i know this isn't related to the request but i need to let y'all know because it's been floating around in my brain for weeks now. 

hiromi is extremely inept when it comes to technology. he types on the computer with one finger and doesn't even have a cell phone

he owns a sparkly pink flip phone, it's true he told me himself

jk he owns an iphone 6 with the same generic black case he's had since he bought it

anyways back on topic, if he's the one that's clingy, oh boy

this man works a 9-5 job but he's texting you every hour of the day

his texts are sweet and domestic: 'what are you having for lunch?' 'what are you wearing today?' most of them at least..... [1 image attached]

on my last higuruma headcanons post i said he's an excellent cook and that's still true btw

if you have an office job, best believe he's bringing you homemade meals during your lunch break whenerv he can

speaking of lunch breaks, he tries to schedule his to be at the same time as yours so he can visit you or vice versa

his office is basically tailored to you at this point: pictures of you framed and hung up on the walls, your favorite foods heavily stocked in his desk drawers, your coziest blanket folded neatly in the corner (a gift from him for your birthday last year)

if you can't take lunch breaks together for whatever reason due to your job, Hiromi will pack your lunches ahead of time at the beginning of the week like he's so obsessed with you (in his housewife era)

even if you went shopping for yourself, he always carries in the groceries for you

obsessed with giving jewelry as gifts, espacially for important days like anniversaries

in his eyes, it's a token to how much he loves you and your devotion to him (and he loves to take it off also)

a copper chain necklace with a diamond pendant for your 4th anniversary, a silver bracelet with his initials inscribed on the inside for only you to see

luckily this man has a high paying job or he'd be broke asf

of course, his favorite part of the day is coming home to you. (he's the little spoon btw)

he takes dinners with you as an opportunity to cook you new dishes and experiment a little himself

if you're not japanese, he'd try to learn dishes from your culture to make (!!!!!!!!)

bonus points when he surprises you with them after you've had a long hard day

he's an expert cook but i can just imagine him severely fucking up biscuits and gravy or something (cue "I THOUGHT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THAT????")

#higuruma x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen higuruma #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #higuruma hiromi #jjk higuruma

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Chapter 3 (Dancing On Glass)|| Chapter 4 (Merry-Go-Round)|| Backstage (1) || Backstage (2) || Chapter 5 (Danger)|| Backstage (3) || Chapter 6A (Love Walked In) || Chapter 6B (Without You) || Backstage (4) || Chapter 7 (Stick To Your Guns) || Chapter 8 (Time For Change) || Backstage (5) || Chapter 9 (Take Me To The Top) || Backstage (6) || Chapter 10 (Home Sweet Home) || Backstage (7) || Chapter 11a (Nightrain) || Chapter 11b (Nothing Else Matters) || Chapter 12a (Handle With Care) || Chapter 12b (I’m So Tired of Being Lonely) || Chapter 13a (Angel) || Chapter 13b (She’s My Addiction) || Chapter 13c (Patience) Chapter 14a (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14b (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14c (Where Do We Go Now?) ||| Also posted at AO3

Chapter 15A: Dreams

Wilmington, North Carolina

Labor Day Weekend, 1988

I'm hung up on dreams I'll never see Help me baby, or this will surely be the end of me…

 - Dreams, The Allman Brothers Band (1969) [click here to listen]

“I’ll be upstairs in just a few minutes. Did you finish your reading?”

Ten-year-old William MacKenzie shook his head. “I was going to, but that’s when Daddy arrived with Jamie and Claire – I mean, Mr. and Mrs. Fraser. And then it was time for dinner, and then - ”

Gillian Duncan MacKenzie bent to kiss her son’s forehead. “All right then. Why don’t you get yourself all caught up?”

William’s eyes darted over to Claire, seated across from his mother at the kitchen table, sipping sweet tea.

“Jamie and I will be here all weekend,” she smiled. “You’ll have plenty of time to talk with him about music tomorrow.”

His face brightened. “OK! See you in the morning!”

Claire couldn’t help but smile as William darted out of the room, footsteps quickly thudding on the stairs.

Gillian turned to face her guest. “He’s so excited. It’s not every day that a bona fide rock star is here in sleepy Wilmington.”

“Thank you for asking him to not tell his friends at school. I’m used to the attention now – ”

Gillian raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Are you?”

Claire shrugged. “Well – no. I don’t know if I ever will be. But one thing that won’t change is how much we value our privacy. So – thank you.”

“Of course, Claire. Privacy and discretion are what I do professionally – how could I not extend the same courtesy to you, when you’re a guest in my home?”

“Still. Thank you.”

A beat. Claire sipped the sweet tea Gillian had made – the same recipe she’d grown to love, those months at The Ridge. Gillian gently pulled Claire’s left hand across the table, studying her rings.

“You said this was his grandmother’s engagement ring?”

Claire nodded. “He inherited it when she died. His sister Jenny kept it for him, until he asked her for it. Called her the day he got home from The Ridge, and went to see her the next day. He gave it to me a few weeks later.”

“A man who knows what he wants.”

Claire smiled. “And I’m a woman who knows what she wants.”

Gillian returned the smile, then focused on the wide band next to the engagement ring.

“I love how solid and simple your ring is. Silver?”

“Platinum. His is the same. Wide enough for an inscription on the inside.”

“I do,” she had whispered. Smiling through the tears. Thinking he looked just a bit ridiculous in his suit. Sliding the band inscribed “Forever My Love” across his knuckle.

“I do,” he had whispered. Eyes burning, full of awe. Agape at the simple gray dress she had chosen, his mother’s pearls around her throat. Sliding the band inscribed “Forever My Heart” onto her finger.

“I am so pleased to…” Professor Quentin Lambert Beauchamp loudly blew his nose into a polka-dotted handkerchief. “Excuse me. I am so pleased to pronounce you husband and wife. Jamie, you may kiss your bride.”

He did. To the applause of the ten dear friends gathered in Joe and Gail Abernathy’s Boston backyard.

“That’s beautiful.” Gillian lay her own left hand on the table, adorned only by a thin gold ring. “Dougal never gave me an engagement ring, and he insisted I have the gold band for our marriage. His is silver. He had just sunk all of his money into building The Ridge, and we couldn’t even afford flowers at the reception.”

“That’s beautiful, too, Gillian. And I understand why you wouldn’t want to upgrade. Because what you have now, is that much more meaningful.”

“I was sitting here, when Joe and Gail staged the intervention.” Jamie looked over at his wife – his wife!! – gazing up into the arbor behind the house. “The vines were heavy with grapes. I remember thinking, how appropriate that I’m looking at what could be wine.”

He pulled her closer against his side, and kissed the top of her head. Careful of the tortoiseshell combs that Jenny had so lovingly placed in Claire’s hair as she got ready this afternoon.

“Ian confronted me in a hotel room in…Sacramento, I think. I had been so wasted on stage the night before, slurring through half the songs. Jenny had come to see Ian, and she was so scared for me. She had already done the research, made a few phone calls. I puked the whole flight across country to North Carolina.”

“It’s always the ones we love who we hurt the most,” she murmured.

“I’m never going to hurt you, Claire. You know that, right?”

She turned to face her husband – her husband!! – and smiled. Reassuring.

“I do. And you know I’m never going to hurt you, Jamie. Right?”

He nodded. Couldn’t help but kiss her.

“Ah!”

Dougal MacKenzie and Alec MacMahon turned the corner, and cheered. “Here you are! Come on – don’t let us have all the fun without you. Can’t miss your own wedding reception!”

Gillian nodded. “I don’t need it. I have the life we’ve built together, and our son, and a man who somehow thinks the sun rises and sets with me. I’ll never understand it.”

Claire swallowed.

Of course Gillian noticed.

“Don’t ever doubt how much he loves you, Claire. I’ve seen you two together – you’re so natural with each other. That’s never going to change.”

She clenched her hand into a fist. Centering herself.

“It’s…it’s just so…intense, with him,” she whispered.

“We don’t have to tonight, Jamie. We have forever, now.”

His hands shook as his thumb softly, softly traced down her neck, across the pearls, and settled into the cleft between her breasts.

“I want to, Claire. I want you so much I can scarcely breathe. I just…”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Gillian asked gently. “I can be your therapist, or I can be your friend. But I will listen.”

Claire took a deep, calming breath. “Being on tour – I see now how he developed the addictions. Every aspect of it is so stressful. He feels so much pressure to lead his band, to write music, to live up to the fans’ expectations. And he has to deal with the label and the tour manager and the production guys, and do media, and somehow find time to eat and shower and sleep on top of all of that.” Her thumb twisted her wedding ring. “He’d use the drugs to come up, and the alcohol to come down. And the women to just forget about everything for a while.”

“Are those groupies?”

Colum had organized a small gathering for the band and crew to celebrate the first show of the acoustic tour. No alcohol or drugs in the room – though Claire quickly learned that the rules by no means extended to hallways and bathrooms and storage rooms at the venue.

Jamie squeezed her hand, standing side by side in the corner, both of them holding a can of Tab.

“Yeah. I can ask them to leave, if you’re feeling uncomfortable.”

“No need.” She dropped his hand and quietly approached the four women giggling on the other side of the room.

“Ladies. I’m Claire Beauchamp. I’m with him.”

She turned slightly, looked at Jamie over her shoulder, and then turned back to her audience.

“So?” A girl wearing a strategically ripped Def Leppard t-shirt popped her gum. “That’s not what I heard about the last time he was here.”

Claire’s eyes narrowed. “That was then. This is now. I will say this only one time. If you even think about flashing a boob, or smiling at him, or trying to get him alone? I will end you.”

The girls gaped.

“Tell all your friends here in Albuquerque, please. Are we clear?”

“And now, that you’re there with him?”

Claire smiled. “He’s eating and sleeping a lot better. Has a lot more energy. He so desperately wants to do everything right. And I’m not going to lie, Gillian – seeing him perform the songs he wrote for me at The Ridge, and then being there when he comes off stage, all keyed up from singing and playing the guitar…”

“It sounds like in many respects he’s replaced his additions with you.”

Claire looked up, meeting Gillian’ gaze. “Of course he has. The album and lead single will be called She’s My Addiction. Doesn’t get any more obvious than that.”

“And how do you feel about that, Claire?”

She lay her hands flat on the table. “I’ve never felt more…loved, and cherished, than when I’m with Jamie.”

She frowned and opened her eyes when he stopped brushing her hair, one morning in Minneapolis.

“What – ”

The pads of his fingers swept the left side of her neck, still a bit tender from his kisses after last night’s show. “I bruised you. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm. I’m not.”

She swallowed. “But it’s so, so hard sometimes. He loves me for who I am, but I don’t want to do anything to fuck it up. And he stresses over so much that he doesn’t have to. Gillian, he’s been having panic attacks all tour.”

“My God. Is he seeing anyone to help with that?”

Claire sighed. “You’re looking at her. Thank God I did that psych rotation when I was in med school. I’ve helped him recognize the signs, and he knows enough to tell me when it’s happening so that we can get away and I can help him through it. But I’m not a psychiatrist. I can’t be everything he needs. He has to do a lot of work to explore what’s triggering him, so that he can manage that. Because after we take the break at the end of the year, we’ll be on the road for most of ’89. The label has booked more than a hundred shows.”

“And you’ll be with him?”

“Of course. He’s the air I breathe. I know this sounds insane, but we want to try for a baby next year. That way he can be off the road, off touring, to be with me if the timing lines up.” She sighed. “So I’ve talked to him about bringing a therapist with us on tour. He needs to have that kind of support from someone other than me. Especially when we’re in Europe and he’s playing soccer stadiums and dealing with a next level of bullshit.”

“Do you want some recommendations? Between Dougal and I, we can definitely help you find someone.”

Claire smiled thinly. “That would be wonderful. It has to be someone we both trust. Who can deal with all the craziness.”

Gillian nodded. “Consider it our wedding gift to you. I – we – really want to help you. You know this, Claire – getting sober is hard, but staying sober is so, so much harder. It does and doesn’t get easier with time. Dougal would say the same thing.”

“Do you ever miss it?”

She settled her chin into his shoulder, nestled securely in his lap. Together they watched the cornfields of Iowa glide by, thousands of feet below.

“No. Not really. The pills helped me deaden the pain. And my life doesn’t have that kind of pain at all, now.”

The private plane had four clusters of four seats, two seats on each side facing each other with a table in between. Jamie and Claire always had a cluster to themselves. Ian, his bass tech, Jamie’s guitar tech Arch, and Angus’ drum tech always sat together. Colum kept to himself. Leaving Angus in the final cluster – which he shared with the two groupies he’d been surprisingly faithful to since Albuquerque. He hated flying, but the girls certainly made it easier for him – plying him with snacks, rubbing his back, squeezing him between them in the big seat.

Claire turned slightly, and inhaled at his temple. Kissed his earlobe as he shivered. “I know you miss it, Jamie. And it’s OK.”

His grip tightened on her hip. “You taste so much better,” he whispered. Eyes far away.

Claire wiped the corners of her eyes. “I just love him, Gillian. So fucking much.” She took a deep breath. “I’m so proud of him, for everything he’s done, and for the man he’s worked so hard to become. I’m not going to lie – sometimes it’s so damn hard to deal with everything. With all of his past shit, and how he still lets it mess with his head. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve told him that none of it bothers me. Not the drugs, or the alcohol, or the destroyed hotel rooms, or what is probably hundreds of women. I can’t let any of that bother me, because that’s not the Jamie I know. But Gillian…”

Gillian reached across the table and took Claire’s hand.

“He makes everything so fucking hard sometimes. He starts to spiral, and he worries that I’ll have had enough and walk away. But then we just take a deep breath, and we look at each other, and all the bullshit is gone, and it’s just so easy again.”

“You need a day off!”

Jamie rubbed his hands over his face, exasperated. “I do have a day off tomorrow, Claire. You know as well as I do that there isn’t a show.”

She huffed, hands on her hips. “Not the point, Jamie. I saw the call sheet for tomorrow. You’re meeting with the label, and then with Colum to talk to the merch guy, and then the lighting team, and then you’re doing some local radio spots. That’s NOT a day off!”

He shrugged. “At least we can get dinner together and it won’t be shitty venue food.”

She pursed her lips, trying so hard not to scream. “Do you not remember the panic attack last night? You were sobbing in my arms, Jamie. It was really, really bad. And then you were so exhausted, but you wanted to be a hero and do the show anyway, and then you tripped over your fucking amp when you went on stage and could have broken your arm. Where would that leave us, hmm?”

He reached out to her – and she stepped back.

Not done with him yet. 

“You need rest, Jamie. Your body is going to shut down. And that won’t be good for anybody.”

“Is that your medical opinion, Dr. Beauchamp?”

A hint of a smile. Good.

“Yes. I’m your personal physician. I’m prescribing a day in bed, sleeping.”

He smirked. “OK. But only if you’re in it, too.”

She shrugged. “I’m not making any sense.”

“Yes you are,” Gillian smiled. “You said it’s intense between you – there’s no way it couldn’t be. Set aside his being a musician, and being in just about the biggest band in the world right now. Think about how and when you met. What had happened to both of you beforehand. All the changes you’ve made in both of your lives, in a relatively short timeframe. It’s overwhelming. And being on the road with him this summer had to have just upped that intensity.”

“We’re together non-stop. Which has been great, because we have so much time. We have what nobody else has, and I treasure that, I really do. But it’s also exhausting sometimes.” Claire paused, considering. “Nobody else knows what I’m about to tell you, but it’s another factor. We…we didn’t…” She closed her eyes. “We waited until our wedding night.”

Gillian’s silence was a gift.

“We were both so scared. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I think we were worried that…that it wouldn’t be good, for some reason. And it was good, Gillian. So fucking good. We both cried.”

“You’re everything.” He kissed her nose and cheeks and forehead and mouth over and over and over again, his tears mixing with hers. “My heart is going to burst.”

She hugged him tighter, nails digging into the flames tattooed on his shoulders. “Love you,” she whispered, breathless. “Love you love you love you love you…”

“I don’t need to tell you this, Claire, but I will anyway. It’s been a really good decision to spend so much time together, to really get to know each other, before you were married. Both of you deliberately wanted your relationship to be different from anything you’d known or done before. And now that last barrier is gone between you. So everything has changed, am I right?”

Indianapolis. Married one week. He couldn’t stop smiling at her, standing side stage during the show. She couldn’t stop giggling when he found her after the encore, threw her over his shoulder, and ran to his dressing room. His breath hot against her lips, breathlessly pleading for her to stay quiet, as they loved each other on the sofa and the techs and roadies and catering people and production staff bustled by the locked door.

“It has, Gillian. But in many ways it hasn’t. It feels like yesterday, and it feels like forever.”

New Haven. Married two weeks. The morning after a powerhouse show at the Coliseum. A penthouse suite overlooking the water. She had slipped out of bed in the dark, opened the curtains wide. Watched him watch her as she returned to bed. Held his gaze as they loved each other, dawn breaking over their faces.

“I get that. You’ve introduced another layer to your relationship. Probably the most complex layer that there is.”

Providence. Married two weeks and two days. Holding each other in a bath, Jamie’s hand splayed across her belly, Claire’s nose buried in the curtain of his hair.

“So, be patient with yourself, Claire. Cut yourself a break.” Gillian reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “And just enjoy yourself! My God – what an incredible life you have.”

Claire’s smile was the widest Gillian had ever seen.

“Holy shit. I married a rock star.”

“I heard that!”

And then Jamie was there, smiling, and kissing Claire’s smile.

Dougal hung back in the doorway. Exchanging smiles with his own wife.

“Come on, rock star. You said you’d help me hook up the new CD player.”

Jamie pulled back. Rubbed his nose against Claire’s.

“Hey, Dougal?”

Dougal crossed his arms. “What?”

Jamie stood. Squeezed Claire’s hands. Kissed her wedding ring.

“Love is a much better high than any drug.”

Dougal rolled his eyes. “I’ll put that on the new pamphlets we’re printing up for The Ridge. But the stereo won’t install itself. Help out, and I’ll even let you play that new stuff you brought.”

#outlander #outlander fanfic #little bit better than i used to be #jamie and claire

[recklessfiction]

The Many Goings-on in the Local Parish

New vestments were ordered for Father Lawrence and Father Claudio. Bloody handprints run up and down the stole and alb and they smell like lemons, citrus and strong. Father Lawrence has tried to get in touch with the seller but has had no luck, and Father Claudio has been seen wearing them through the Church. When he does, his eyes…look wrong.

A young deacon came to visit our church from the abbey. Father Claudio forgot to warn him not to use the chalice and paten set donated by Monsignor Nicholson after the church fire. The deacon has already been sent to the hospital, and Father Claudio says he will most likely make a full recovery.

Twelve people cried blood during Benediction last Wednesday evening. Each of them said they saw something moving in the monstrance where the Eucharist sits. Father Lawrence noticed no such thing, but has stressed that each person who was afflicted should make an appointment with their doctors. He seemed…ill at ease to say the least.

The sun shone through the stained glass windows yesterday at 8:00 mass and set Moira Clark on fire. There was nothing left, except for her bones which Father Lawrence found to be inscribed with the Lord’s prayer.

A new couple joined the church and came to Sunday Mass. They stayed for the following mass as well and the one after that. It has been 2 days and they have not left the pew. Father Lawrence wants to call the police. Father Claudio has already called the Archbishop.

Ms. Sandra found a strange box when she was cleaning the Sacristy on Saturday. Inside, she said, she found smoke which lingered within the boundaries of the box. She said it spoke to her and entered into her eyes, she said it was an angel. In any case, Father Claudio has been speaking to her for five days and when he comes out to say Mass, he looks afraid.

Youth Night was a huge success! Honestly, we weren’t sure how it would go, with the Hasbro Ouija fiasco 6 months ago, but it looked like the roof stayed stable throughout the Volleyball tournament and only the normal amount of flies were found in the kitchens. Next week is the Senior’s Potluck, so we’ll see how it goes!

#religion #catholicism #christianity #horror #unreality #religious gothic #my writing #no religious people can get mad at me for writing this because I'm catholic and i know more than you and i can beat you up in a fight

[happy-beeeps]

Day 6/7: Gifts and Stars

Summary: After educating Din on the holidays of your home system, you realize you forgot to get him a gift for one of the most important.

WC: 3.4k oops

Warnings: 18+ CONTENT NSFW MINORS DNI!!!!! Massage, fingering, handjob, p-in-v sex, reader is afab. Unprotected sex, wrap it before you tap it! Soft smut!!!

A/N: okok so I've alreaady lost the plot but my goal is to get 8 AND 9 out tomorrow so I'm back on track. As an apology, please expect 3.5k words of gratituots Din smut and feelings.

18+ Only Below the Cut

Din had been incredibly receptive the first time you told him about the holidays of your home system. He had celebrated your family and home together during the festival of the hearth, had cooked local foods during the independence celebration. Now, it was time for your favorite holiday, and the one you were most anxious about.

Amordi wasn’t, like, entirely a holiday built around sex. It wasn’t not that but, like any good holiday, there was a fable behind it.

Of course, no one really knew the fable anymore but, there was a point—at some point.

What Amordi was now was an excuse to be in love, or to celebrate being in love. Little kids would pick each other flowers, or shower their parents in handmade gifts. Friends would spend the day together, gushing over one another with platonic love and declarations of a friendly devotion.

Couples… did a number of things.

The hip, young people were taking spice, claiming that the drug made them connect with their partners and made getting physical all the more sensational. Older couples spent the day holding hands, looking at holovids of their weddings, pampering each other with the kind of devotion only decades can bring.

You hadn’t really thought about you and Din—didn’t even tell him about it. How do you tell your partner, “Hey, there’s a holiday coming up, and it’s expected you’re going to give me a shit ton of gifts and also the fucking of a lifetime?” You just decided to avoid it altogether.

That is, until the early evening of Amordi, when Din placed a small, wooden box on the table in front of you, while you were busy trying to spoon feed an incredibly angry 50-year-old baby.

“Happy Amordi.” He said, sitting down beside you and tapping his thumb on your chin. “I hope you like it.”

You nearly dropped the spoon in shock. Fuckkriffdankferrik how had he found out? How had he known-

“I can use the holonet too, you know?” Was his response to what must have been a look of sheer terror, and he laughed at the blush that now painted your face.

“Figured you were too old for that.”

He placed a hand on his chest and rocked back in a gesture of fake wounding. “Just open the present.”

You did as you were told, opening the small wooden box to reveal a beautiful, thin bangle of shiny metal. Along the side was a carefully inscribed mudhorn surrounded by a collection of small stars, and the realization hit you.

“Din, this is beskar.”

“I know.”

“This must have cost you a fortune,”

“It didn’t, she owed me a favor.” He picked up the delicate bracelet, how it sent a flutter down your stomach to see how delicate things looked in his hands, and showed you how to open and close it; a small clasp on the side. “It would’ve been worth it anyways.”

The she was not lost on you, and the implications of the armorer standing over her forge, making you a bracelet? It was enough to bring tears to your eyes. “Din, really, this is too much.”

“But look how well you wear our crest.”

It’s the softness in his voice when he says “our” that gets you, and you place a hand on the cheek of his helmet, kicking yourself for not shutting the windows already. “It’s beautiful, Din. I can’t thank you enough.”

An hour later, and you’re trying to find a way to thank him enough. You don’t have time to go into town, it’s at least a half hour each way on the speeder, and you are not an efficient shopper. His birthday isn’t for a few months, so you haven’t gotten his gift yet. In fact, the two of you decided to forgo Life Day gifts, choosing instead to deck out Grogu’s nursery with all the bits and bobs he could ever need. Now, as Din settles the baby to sleep in the other room, you’re panicking.

Your closet is a nightmare, and you don’t even know how you acquired so much shit. Like, truly, there is so much shit in here. And none of it is helpful. At the very bottom of a pile of your things, you find a small, black wrapped package you remember picking up the one time Din took you on to a quarry on Canto Bight. An idea pops into your head. It’s a little tacky, and admittedly a cop out, but you’ll make it up to him tomorrow with a nice breakfast and something from town. For now, this will have to do.

When Din walks into the room, you’re smitten by the way the soft candlelight reflects off of his armor. You’re perched on the edge of the bed in a short, satin robe, a deep blue with shimmering stars sprayed across it. Next to you is a bottle of oil, something fancy he had gotten you on Naboo once, and you gesture to your bed. “It’s time for your gift.”

If you could see his eyebrows, you know they’d be cocked. One hand falls to his hip as the other lifts his helmet off his head, freeing his face to you at last. His expression is skeptical, but he’s grinning. “Are you the gift?”

“Please,” you scoff, motioning him to sit down and guiding him by the shoulders. The house Karga had gifted you was the perfect size for your family but, you and Din being the selfless parents you were, had chosen the smaller room. There was something so domestic about his form, large and demanding, in the small space, made even smaller by the fact that you refused to compromise on the size of the bed. “I’m giving you a massage.”

Din doesn’t say anything at first, but he does move to help you with all the buckles and clasps of his armor. Soon enough, he’s clad in just his underlayers, and you’re quick to help him out of his shirt, exposing his tanned, scarred skin to you.

“Stop oogling me,” he says, but there’s no venom in his words. Instead, his barb lands exactly where it should, and you gently push him backwards onto your bed, and poke at his hips.

“Move, flip over.”

“This is so romantic,” he says, deadpan, “I love when you prod me like a bluurg.” He listens, of course, and moves to lay tummy down on the bed.

Now it’s your turn to roll your eyes, and you hoist yourself up and perch yourself on the squishy part of his ass. You reach off too the side (earning a grunt from Din) and drip some of the oil onto your hands, rubbing them together to warm it up. Once you feel it’s been adequately warmed, you drag your hands from his lower back up to his shoulders and press. 

The groan Din lets out is genuinely orgasmic. You’re not sure he’s ever made a sound like that before, and to hear it at the result of your hands is… a little enticing. You work the tense muscles there, pushing your knuckles and the pads of your fingers into the knots so tense they feel like they’re made of duracrete.

“Kriff, what do you do all day, carry around bricks?”

“No, just you and the kid.” 

You send a poke to his side and his laugh rumbles through the mattress. You work him slowly, hands coming up his neck to rub at the tender spots you know his helmet digs. They drag down, along his lower back and the base of his underwear, rubbing the sore expanse of skin there. Din says little, save for “that feels good,” or “kriff, there’s a spot.” His voice is muffled into your bed, and you don’t miss the way he slowly melts like butter beneath your hands.

You figured when it was all said and done, you’d make out, fuck, and go to sleep. You know, like adults. It’s Din, it takes very little for you to want to jump his bones, and today wasn’t an exception. What you don’t expect is for the heat in your belly to grow with every tender press of your hand, or the way his groans sound deeper, more guttural with each push. You relish in the sweet joy of caring for a man who has made it his soul purpose to care for you, to protect you.

You often forget this is a man who has killed, killed for you before. You often forget how little you’ve grown to mind it.

You treat him so softly it makes your heart throb. Din deserves every good thing in this world, every buttery breakfast pastry from the cafe that just opened in town to the freshest pot of caf in the morning. You’re almost at the brink of moving beyond turned on and into pure, uncorrupted adoration when Din groans and unexpectedly pushes backwards against you, causing you to fall off of his back and onto the other side of the bed.

He sits up, then moves off the bed, standing at its foot. You simply stare up at him, his tall form, completely armorless in front of you, heart fluttering at the way his eyes rake the rest of your body.

He reaches to grab you, his hands fitting under the crooks of your arms and hoists you towards him, pulling you up off the bed and standing in front of him. His fingers fall to the soft silk of your robe, and drip down to the thin tie, dangling limply in front of your now aching core.

“Wanna give you another gift.”

“Din, I’ve hardly even given you a gift.”

“You’ve given me plenty, cyar’ika.”

His hand is tugging at the tie in an instant, and the traitorous bow falls loose almost immediately. You stand before him in the rest of the set, the lacy little thing you’d bought when you were waiting around for him in Canto Bight. It matches the robe, and his eyes water at the sight.

“The stars match my bracelet.” Is all you can offer him, feeling suddenly so exposed and so incredibly turned on. You need him now, and need him bad, more than you think you’ve needed him since the day you two got married.

“Sweet–I can’t even say the things I want to say to you now when you act so sweet.” His voice is flustered, deep. His eyes are darkened with lust and he snakes one hand around your waist, the other playing with a piece of hair that dangles dangerously close to your breast. “Want to do so much for you, mesh’la. Want to make the rest of your life so easy.”

“I don’t need easy, I just need you.” You whisper, and the sound he makes in response sends a shockwave to your core.

He’s on you in an instant, lips crashing onto yours in a kiss equal parts passionate and longing, like he’s been waiting to devour you for a lifetime. You can taste the wine you shared at dinner on his breath, and it shoots a spark in your brain. You will love this man for the rest of time and even then you’d find a way to come back to him.

His lips move to your neck as his arms guide you softly to the bed, your back flush with the mattress. It’s warm from where he was laying earlier, and he moves his body on top of yours, caging you in. You’re completely surrounded by Din–his scent, his body. You’re completely in bliss.

He kisses you further, dropping his lips from your neck, to your collarbone, to the soft curve of your breast, his hand snaking underneath you to shimmy your bra open. He breaks for a moment when he does to give you a moment to shimmy the garment off, and runs a hand through his hair.

“I will never get enough of you.” He says, thumb rubbing a soft circle against your peaked nipple. He launches back down to you a moment later, his tongue replacing his hand. He sucks at the tender flesh of your breast, nipping at the soft bud, and his hands begin to snake down your hips, hooking under your panties and you shimmy a bit so he can pull them clean off. One hand presses your hip firmly into the mattress, while the other makes soft, circular motions along your inner thigh. You try to buck into his touch but his hand presses harder, and you can feel him laugh against your breast.

“Din, please,” you beg, and he breaks away for a moment, his hand sending a soft, teasing touch against your slit. When he finds it nearly completely soaked, he groans, his head burying itself in your neck. 

“You are so good to me, so soft and perfect.”

He sucks at your neck then moves back to kiss you, a finger moving to make slow languid circles against your clit.

The sensation makes you cry out into his mouth, and he quickens his pace just slightly before pushing a digit inside of you. The sensation of being filled at all has you near begging him to do something, anything, for how bad you need him. 

“Din, please, need you,”

“I haven’t given you your gift yet,” is all he says when he breaks your kiss, smirking at you slightly. Din is quiet, never too chatty, and you’re always surprised by the sudden bold streak he gets in bed. 

He slips another finger in and hooks justright, and quickens his pace along your clit, his movements eager. He knows how to work your body, knows each spot to press, each motion to do. It’s one of the blissful things about him, how easily the two of you can read each other.

It also means he can read that the coil in your belly has tightened rather dramatically, and you’re just about to snap.

“Come on baby, let me feel you,” he murmurs as presses at just the right spot on your clit, hooks just the right spot inside that you swear only he can reach. You’re cumming around his fingers near instantly, your orgasm sending tingles down your spine, through your fingers. 

Instead of breaking away and immediately moving to remove his pants, as you’d hoped, he shifts down, moving himself so his face is right in front of your core, pressing slow, sloppy kisses to your thigh.

No, no no. You wanted to treat him this was supposed to be his gift. You’re already one orgasm in the whole, and you won’t last long with his mouth on you.

“No, Din, wait,” you start, and he backs up immediately.

“What’s wrong, do you want to stop?”

“Yes, but it’s because I need you in my mouth,” you start, moving towards him as he backs up onto his knees, and you push the waistband of both his pants and boxers down. You see the slight panic in his eyes calm at this, and he helps you remove his clothes, but he pauses when you reach for his cock, throbbing and already leaking precum.

“But what if I need you on my mouth?” He replies, and you groan, trying again to reach for him. He’s soclose and looks so good from here, you can’t resist him. 

“Din, seriously, this is your gift,”

“I feel like we’re past that, let me,”

“How about,” you pause, finally catching him and begin slowly pumping his cock in your hand. You can see him fight the groan that threatens to come out of his mouth, “We call it even and you just fuck me?”

He takes no time in considering your offer, replying with a short “deal.” Before picking you up and flipping you on your stomach.

Oh fuck, you’re in for it, you’ve taunted him and now you’re in for it. You had him facedown on this bed earlier, you should’ve know he’d be waiting for it. One of his calloused hands moves itself under your hips and brings you up, and you can feel his tip pressing against your soaked entrance as you rise.

“Are you ready for me, gorgeous girl?” He murmurs, taking a moment to press a kiss between your shoulder blades and bring your hair out from your face.

It’s cute, it’s romantic, but you need to be fucked immediately. You try and respond in a way that seems sultry, but you swear it comes out more like a yelp when you respond, “Fuck yes oh my gods.”

He pushes into you slowly, cursing the entire way. You try to fight the moan that comes on but you relent as he pushes deeper, his length once again finding every single spot inside you that threatens to have you undone after one push.

He starts his strokes slowly, hands grabbing tenderly at the flesh of your ass. He feels so good like this, pressed against you fully to the hilt, and you quite literally cannot even fathom the concept of ever feeling this good ever again, even though you know each time is better than the last.

He begins to quicken his thrusts, moving at a fast, hard speed that has you being pushed forward into the mattress with every motion. His grip on your ass tightens, and you relish in the small pinpricks of pain and the knowledge that you know there’ll be a bruise there tomorrow.

You’re getting wetter by the second, and one of his hands moves itself downwards to make a sloppy, but phenomenal, move to your clit.

“You’re, so good to me.” You pant out in response, and he groans. You can see his head dipped back over your shoulder, his adams apple bobbing.

“You’re so good to me. Wanna marry you over and over again, too perfect, too good.”

His words have that all too familiar rush of pleasure start to surge through you, and you gasp as his thrusts become deeper, harder. He starts back up again. “Won’t ever leave, can’t ever leave. There’s nowhere in this galaxy I’d rather be than right here, love you, love you so much.”

Those words enough, mixed with his quickening and brutal pace, having you clamping down on his cock, cumming harder than you think you ever have. Din’s romantic, passionate, and dare you say emotional. That being said, you can count on maybe two hands the amount of times he’s ever said the words “I love you.” A few more in mando’a, but the words “I love you,” have struggled to be said. You’ve never not felt them, he says it in ways so specific to him, but the raw emotion in his voice, the way it cracks a bit at the words “so much,” has you cumming hard.

He responds immediately, and you feel him quicken and then falter, as he cums deep inside you. There’s a moment, a breath, where the two of you bask in one another, in the heat of the moment, before he pulls away and out of you.

You’re happy to flop down onto the bed, and a look over your shoulder shows you Din in the tiny fresher attached to the bedroom, running a towel under the warm water of the sink and returning to run it along your folds. He presses a kiss to your shoulder blade before tossing the towel in the laundry and climbing in bed, moving to sit on top of you.

“You’re gonna suffocate me,” you grumble, trapped beneath his weight.

“Are you calling me heavy?”

“Yes.”

He laughs, uninhibitedly, and you wonder what he’s doing before you smell the familiar, floral aroma of your body oil, and feel his hands rub along your back. You happily melt into him, mumbling, “this was a pretty good gift, right?”

He says nothing, but runs a ticklish touch across your ribs, so you know he agrees. You lay there, happy to be molded by him, and bask in the warm silence of the room. After a moment, he speaks up, quietly but assuredly.

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.”

Your breath catches from his words and the well timed push on your ribs, but you do your best to shift beneath him, and catch a glimpse of his brown eyes, illuminated in the warm candle light.

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.”

#the mandalorian #din djarin #star wars #din djarin imagine #din djarin x reader #din x reader #din djaren #dincember 2023 #din djarin smut

[dungeonmalcontent]

As a level 13 wizard, prepare for a fight in the following way. Step 1) Have a portable hole. Step 2) learn the glyph of warding spell. Step 3) cast glyph of warding onto the walls of the portable hole with spell storing. Store the following spells (requires multiple days): Tenser's Transformation, Tasha's Otherworldly Guise, Mirror Image, Blur, Haste, Mage Armor, Enlarge/Reduce. The glyph trigger is a special command word or phrase that you choose, such as "it clobbering time."

Glyph of warding allows spells with concentration to linger for their full duration without conflicting with other concentration spells. These spells are active until they end and the concentration cannot be broken.

Portable holes do not end glyphs of warding because the extradimensional space within a portable hole specifically has continuity (used as an inventory and can contain creatures while closed) and does not move when the opening to the hole moves after being folded up. It's a 6 foot wide by 10 foot deep cylinder that exists on a different plane that can be accessed from anywhere you put the door to it. For flavor, even if it's orientation changes relative to where you put it down (wall, floor, ceiling) the space itself hasn't moved though the shift in gravity might cause some objects within it to move when you open it. Even if you specify that the cylinder itself can't have a glyph inscribed on it, be ause it doesn't exactly have walls so much as spatial dimensions, objects within the hole can have glyphs and would be hard pressed to move beyond the glyph's 10 foot spell end limit in a space that is only 10 feet long.

Stacking Tenser's Transformation, Tasha's Otherworldly Guise, and Haste allows you to Make two attack actions on your turn, and each attack actions makes four strikes--each one with advantage when done with a simple or martial weapon, also dealing an additional 2d12 force damage. Also you make them using your spellcasting modifier. Transformation and Otherworldly Guise stack because the additional strikes per attack are are "benefits" not features or abilities; having written and edited homebrew for years now, there 100% is a difference and it does matter in the way you phrase things.

Combine this with all the ac buffs, blur and mirror image, plus damage resistances and temporary hit points; you virtually cannot be killed and you make 8 attacks per turn plus bonus actions and any reaction you make. This is also assuming you aren't wearing any magical items such as enchanted weapons and armor.

All you have to do is, before you fight, complete step 4) put down the portable hole and activate all of your glyphs at once.

The only balance to this is that setting up a portable hole this way requires multiple days with many hours of spellcasting, including using a 6th and 7th level spell slot every time you prep Transformation and Otherworldly Guise.

To be clear, this is not something I would ever do (perhaps not more than once) and not something I would let a player spring on me. And even if I did let a player get away with this, I would cripple them with exhaustion after the spells ended. This is a rules based thought experiment.

Edit: I hereby dub this strategy "the magical girl transformation chamber"

#d&d #dnd #dungeons and dragons #5e #ttrpg #i dare anyone to come up with a better way to break 5e

[genshin-impact-updates]

"Shared Sight" Event: Animal Seeking Challenges

〓Event Duration〓

2023/08/03 10:00:00 – 2023/08/14 03:59:59

〓Event Rewards〓

〓Eligibility〓

Adventure Rank 20 or above

〓Event Details〓

● There are a total of 6 stages and a new stage will be unlocked each day for the first 6 days of the event.

● During the event, use the Inscribed Mirror around the signs and the devices linked to the Inscribed Mirror will show you what the small animals that have connected to the item are seeing.

● After using the Inscribed Mirror, you can adjust your camera angle to observe your surroundings and improve the accuracy of your search.

● Use that information to find and retrieve all the small animals. Complete the stage objectives to obtain the corresponding rewards.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact news #official #events #y'know what event they should make? geoguessr. i would be sooo good at that #i'm gonna go play the online one now i'm in a mood

[grangermonarque]

EPITHET WEEK!! (Mostly) All art I did✨

I forgot to post it here individually on tumblr so here's the whole thing

Day 1 — Prison of Plastic!! Have a friendly purple man :)

Day 2 & 3 — Mundie and Inscribed!! They are being besties ur honor

Day 4 — Favorite S1 Arc!! The scene that made me love Sylvie more for some reason!

Day 5 — Banzai Blasters!! I wanted to do Bliss Ocean as well but Darkstar and Flame has my heart 💜

Day 6 — OC TIME!! I had to go all out for my bastard child Vincenzo... Excited to use them on my campaign soon!

Day 7 — AU!! Yeah I'm still considering on the mod with some awesome ppl :)c

Day 8 — REDESIGN CHALLENGE!! Drew two of my favorites because fuck it, sibling time

Day 9 — NEO TRIO!! Which is sadly a repost because I've been mentally drained lately... But who knows! I may redraw this soon >:)

(also happy bday Mr. Jello Apocalypse)

#epithet erased #epithet erased fanart #epithet week #epithet oc #jelloapocalypse #rick shades #howie honeyglow #percival king #sylvester ashling #giovanni potage #ee crusher #ee spike #ee flamethrower #ee darkstar #ee ben #ee carcrash #fred donaldson #vincenzo moncourt #molly blyndeff #phoenica fleecity #trixie roughouse #au #digital art #my art #fnf #fnf mod #idk i felt like i should tag that

[lauranceofmeteli]

aphtober day 6 - dearly departed

vylad moment

[image ID: digital drawing of vylad ro'meave from minecraft diaries in a graveyard. he is crouching done in front of one of the graves and making a v sign with his left hand. the grave he's in front of is inscribed "VYLADIMIR RO'MEAVE beloved brother and son.". end ID]

#aphmau #minecraft diaries #vylad romeave #vylad ro'meave #aphtober #aphtober2022 #aphtober in december??? more likely than u think #also im a vylads full name is vyladimir truther sorry if u had to find out like this

[evilios]

There has been, indeed, a prominent cult of Apollo in Sparta - especially in the town of Amykles (Αμύκλες) with its Amyklaion, a cult center of Apollo’s worship. Around 6 kilometers to the South from the main Spartan settlement, described by Thucydides as a conglomerate of villages, there stood Throne of Apollo with a high wooden cult statue, now unfortunately lost.

Most of the imagery of its reconstructed glory comes from the descriptions by Pausanias who speaks on its alleged appearance and its creator, Bathykles (Βαθυκλής) of Magnesia.

Artistic depiction by Ludwig Ruhl.

Artistic depiction by Theodor Pyl.

Thankfully, some of the Ancient coins have preserved the approximate image of the cult statue at the site.

Depictions of the statue on Roman-era Spartan coins.

As the statue was said to have been set over the grave of Hyacinth, it thus served as both the pedestal for offerings and the altar of Apollo’s lover, celebrated during the festival of Hyacinthia (Ὑακίνθια). It lasted for three days, with the first day being devoted to the veneration of Hyacinth’s death; the second was spent feasting over his joyful rebirth, and the third one was the day of mysteries we have little record of. Xenophon, Athenaeus, Didymus, and others, such as Ovid (who calls it “the procession of Hyacinthia”), have noted the importance of the celebration to Spartans.

Here’s a quote about how vital the festival was to Spartans:

It was the unvaried custom of the men of Amyclae to return home at the Hyacinthia, to join in the sacred paean, a custom not to be interrupted by active service or absence from home or for any other reason.

— Xenophon, Hellenica (trans. by H. G. Dakyns)

Here’s description of the celebration: Day one:

<…> Spartans observe the ritual of the Hyacinthia for a period of three days, and because of the mourning which takes place for the death of Hyacinthus they neither wear crowns at the meals nor introduce wheat bread, nor do they dispense any cakes, with their accompaniments, and they abstain from singing the paean to the god, and do not introduce anything else of the sort that they do at other festivals. On the contrary, they eat with great restraint, and then depart.

Day two:

<…> in the middle of the three-day period there is held a spectacle with many features, and a remarkable concourse gathers which is largely attended. Boys with tunics girded high play the lyre or sing to flute accompaniment while they run the entire gamut of the strings with the plectrum; they sing the praises of the god in anapestic rhythm and in a high pitch. Others march through the theatre mounted on gaily adorned horses; full choirs of young men enter and sing some of their national songs, and dancers mingling among them go through the figures in the ancient style, accompanied by the flute and the voice of the singers. As for the girls, some are carried in wicker carts which are sumptuously ornamented, others parade in chariots yoked to two horses, which they race, and the entire city is given over to the bustle and joy of the festival. On that day they sacrifice very many victims, and the citizens entertain at dinner all their acquaintances and their own servants as well. Not one misses the festival; on the contrary, it so happens that the city is emptied to see the spectacle.

— Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae (trans. by C. B. Gulick)

The Amyklaion was not, of course, only “alive” during the celebration of Hyacinth’s death and rebirth. Offerings were given on other occasions too and included spearheads, swords, javelin heads, arrowheads, weapons, and inscribed armor and weapons for the God. The God Apollo of Amyklai was a war Deity, seeing that He was depicted armed and armored - an image of might of the state. It is possible that the Spartan processions were processions of armed men, in their full battle glory. Apollo had multiple other warrior cults across Laconia, and at the very least a few more major celebrations, aside from Hyacinthia, are recorded: Karneia (Κάρνεα), Maleateia (Μαλεάτεια), Gymnopaidia (Γυμνοπαιδίες).

Thucydides reports that upon signing a treaty called Peace of Nikias, the treaty that ended the first part of the Peloponnesian War, two stelas were to be established: one in Athens, and one near the statue of Apollo Amyclaeus. With that in mind, it’s important to remember that the festival of Hyacinthia bore political significance, too.

Sources:

🏺 Amyklaion: Amykles Research Project 🏺 Hellenica by Xenophon (trans. by Dakyns) 🏺 Deipnosophistae by Athenaeus (trans. by C. B. Gulick) 🏺 Sanctuaries and traditions in Ancient Sparta 🏺 The Peace of Nicias

#APOLLO 🌞 #HISTORIA 📔 #This is a repost of something I impulsively deleted before. #ancient greece #ancient laconia #ancient sparta #apollo worship #amyklaion #greek gods

[forabeatofadrum]

Ljubili se (6/21)

Notes: Well folks, the December Fanworks Challenge has come to an end, officially. This fic still has a long time to go. Like its predecessor, the fic will be finished, but it's just taking some time since I am super duper busy!

But I really wanted to publish a chapter today, to at least acknowledge the work that the people from the @klaineadvent have put into it and to thank them, so hooray, here I am! I am glad that the Advent lives on in whatever way. I'm really happy that this (smaller) fandom is still kicking.

Thanks for reading! Time for Kurt and Blaine to reunite!

AO3 | S&C

–

INSCRIBE

Kurt’s waiting at the airport. It’s the third time in a short while that he’s here: he landed here from Ljubljana, he sent off his dad and Carole, and now he’s picking up Blaine. God, he’s so excited. He went all out. He even brought one of those boards with Blaine’s name on it, so that he can wave it around like all the others who are picking someone up. Kurt even went the extra mile and inscribed it in a piece of wood.

And it pays off, because when Blaine arrives in the lobby and Kurt waves it around, Blaine’s entire face lights up.

“Kurt!”

“Blaine!”

They run towards each other and hug each other tightly. Kurt buries his face in the crook of Blaine’s neck and Blaine tightens his grip.

“You’re here,” Kurt says against Blaine’s skin.

“I am, love.”

“Welcome to New York!”

They stand there for a few more seconds, but then it’s time to go. Kurt’s eager to show Blaine around. They’re first going to drop Blaine’s suitcase off at Kurt’s apartment, and then they’re going into town. New York has a lot to offer.

--

“This place is insane,” Blaine says as he looks around Times Square. Kurt knows Blaine’s been to New York before, but he gets it. New York also takes his breath away. You get used to it when you live here, but it’s nice to be reminded. When Kurt came back from Ljubljana, he had to take it in as well.

He’ll miss it when he goes to LA.

If he goes to LA.

Classes start next week, so then Kurt can really sink his teeth into this. But now, he doesn’t need to think about being with Blaine in LA, since Blaine is here.

Blaine makes some photos of the billboards.

“Ljubljana was never this flashy.”

“True.”

“But I wouldn’t want it to be.”

“Same.”

When Blaine’s done taking photos, Kurt takes his hand and they make the trek to Central Park. Kurt had prepared a little picnic. He even bought a second hand picnic basket at a bargain store!

It’s a nice August day as well. It’s perfect. They roll out a picnic blanket and feed each other food. It’s too cute for words and Kurt loves it. He loves seeing Blaine smile.

“We’ll take the train back to your place next?” Blaine asks after a while.

Kurt nods.

“Do you already want to go home?”

Blaine shakes his head.

“No. Not necessarily, but just checking.”

“Why?”

“Because of your roommates.”

“Ah.”

Yes, they’re going to tell Rachel and Santana. They won’t be home until the evening, which is fine, because then Kurt will have Blaine for himself for a bit longer, but they will be home and they will notice that someone else is there.

“Could you tell me about them?” Blaine asks.

“Oh. Well. They’re cool, albeit busy,” Kurt starts, “They come from the same school and decided to live together. I joined the household later. Santana is a professional dancer. She works at this dance studio and she has a girlfriend named Dani. Rachel is driven and passionate. She landed an agent while I was in Ljubljana, so she spends most of her time auditioning and what not. Not going to lie, she almost makes me feel bad about it.”

Blaine frowns, so Kurt elaborates.

“It’s just… she’s advancing in her career. I fucked off to another country and she’s actually going somewhere.”

“But you also did it for your career!” Blaine argues, “It looks amazing on your resume. And career aside, it was also a lot of fun.”

Kurt sighs. He knows that. And he met Blaine, which is arguably the best part of his semester abroad. Rachel unfortunately tends to make remarks about how much better she’s doing. She’s not even doing it to hurt him, more to show off, but it’s noticeable.

“Besides, multiple ways lead to Rome, and with Rome I mean a theatre career,” Blaine continues, “Your degree is important and you’ll do an internship this year too, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you already started thinking about that? You can show that off to Rachel!”

“I haven’t,” Kurt lies.

He needs to change the subject. He can’t dwell on the internship thing and accidentally spill the beans.

“But yeah, that’s Rachel!” he quickly says, “And Santana. My roommates.”

“And you like them, right?”

Kurt nods.

“I do. They’re my friends. I actually miss them.”

He does. Kurt, Rachel and Santana are roommates first, friends second. It’s the truth, but they’re still friends and Kurt cares for them and he knows they care for him too. Rachel and Santana truly haven’t had time to just relax and catch up. Well, maybe Santana has had, but she prefers spending her free time with Dani.

“I can’t wait to meet them, then,” Blaine says.

They finish their picnic and then they take the train back to Kurt’s place. Kurt’s desperate to have some time with Blaine in private and judging by the way Blaine keeps reaching out, the feeling is mutual.

It’s almost as if the train ride is endless.

But once they’re inside and Blaine’s pushed Kurt against the door to kiss him, it all goes so fast. Kurt doesn’t mind. They take off their shoes and dump the picnic basket before heading to the bedroom.

-

Kurt and Blaine decide to make themselves presentable before greeting Rachel and Santana. They have a quick shower and then get dressed.

Then they wait.

They’re lying in Kurt’s bed, holding each other. Kurt has his head rested on Blaine’s chest and he can hear Blaine’s heartbeat go fast.

“It’ll be fine,” Kurt reassures him. Santana is a lesbian and Rachel has two dads, so they luckily don’t have to worry about homophobia.

“Yeah,” Blaine sighs.

Then, after a few more minutes, they hear the front door open.

“Anyone in here?” Santana screeches out. The walls of this apartment are relatively thin, so Kurt can hear her crystal clear.

“Santana, Kurt’s shoes are here!” Rachel says back.

“… together with another pair of shoes,” Santana notices.

“Kurt?” Rachel also calls out.

Kurt looks over to Blaine. Blaine nods. It’s time.

Kurt rolls of Blaine and Blaine slides out of the bed and walks towards Kurt’s mirror to check his appearance. What a ridiculous man, Kurt thinks fondly, He wants to look at his best when he meets my roommates.

“Ready?” Kurt whispers, so that Rachel and Santana will not overhear.

“Yeah,” Blaine says under his breath.

Kurt also gets out of bed and walks towards the door to open it. He does and pokes his head out of the doorway.

“Hey,” he says lamely to Rachel and Santana.

“Hey,” Santana says back in the same tone.

Rachel’s already moved to the kitchen to probably make tea with honey for her voice, but she also says a quick hello.

“So?” Santana says with a knowing smile, “Something you wanna tell us, Hummel?”

“Yes, actually,” Kurt says and he looks back over his shoulder. Blaine gives him a thumbs up. “Ladies, I have a boyfriend.”

Rachel lets out a delighted shriek.

Santana just yells: “Called it!”

“And he’s here. Ladies, please meet my boyfriend,” Kurt opens the door even wider. It feels so formal. Blaine appears in the doorway, next to Kurt, and he opens his mouth to speak, but then his eyes widen.

Santana has a similar look on her face.

“Blaine Anderson?” she asks in disbelief.

“Santana Lopez?”

#klaine #glee #december klaine challenge 2023 #inscribe #multichaptered #2023 #holy fuck I wrote #i'll prolly mention it more prominently in next chapter's author's note #but santana and quinn were friends in high school #that is revealed in the quinn companion piece

[bridgertonbabe]

Bridgerton Drabble - Harry Potter AU Edition #6

As quietly as possible Sophie descended down Aubrey Hollow's winding staircase until she reached the ground floor and padded her way into the moonlit kitchen. She stopped by the window above the sink that looked out onto the garden that Colin and his siblings had shown her around earlier, observing a movement in the hedge from which a gnome emerged as he snuck his way back towards the turnip patch Eloise had proudly informed her she had planted with her father. Turning away from watching the garden pest, Sophie went to fetch a glass only to come to a hesitant halt.

Despite Colin's parents telling her to make herself at home and insisting she helped herself to any food or drink without needing to ask their permission first, she was still plagued with the apprehension that had been caused from years of having to share a house with Araminta. Sophie was so accustomed to being scolded for merely existing that it felt almost unnatural to roam about the Bridgertons' humble abode and exercise basic actions like getting something to eat or drink, or to even use the bathroom without anxiously having to ask permission to do so. She knew she had to shake off the hang-ups caused by her wicked stepmother and accept the warmth and kindness that the Bridgertons had welcomed her with, knowing that Araminta's cruelty wasn't the way in which most people treated others.

Once she consciously shook off her anxiety-induced apprehension, Sophie opened a cupboard to grab a glass and then proceeded to pour herself some water from the tap (and purposefully ignored the irrational scenario that played out in her mind of Edmund Bridgerton storming into the kitchen with a face of thunder and hexing her for daring to quench her thirst without asking). While she sipped her drink, she looked around the homely kitchen to study it's smaller details that she had yet to notice, not having had time during her first day at Aubrey Hollow as Colin and his siblings eagerly coveted her attention.

There were well-used cauldrons laying on the draining board in lieu of cooking pots, a small blackboard hanging on the wall with a scheduled menu of the week's dinners (as well as some doodles which varied in skill), and carvings around the edge of the table courtesy of Colin and his siblings marking their territory from the seats they always sat in. Littered on one of the kitchen walls was a sea of framed photos of the Bridgertons and their extended family throughout the years, all perpetually moving as people waved and beamed for the camera. The lone hanging that wasn't of a framed photo on this particular wall was what Sophie had initially thought to be a clock at a quick passing glance, but on closer inspection there were eight additional hands in contrast to a timepiece's typical two, and each of the hands was inscribed with a family member's name. Instead of numbers, there were various phrases such as "home", "school", "work", "hospital", "travelling", "lost", and "mortal peril"; and Sophie realised the clock functioned as a means to indicate the status of each of the family members, seeing as all ten hands were currently pointing at "home".

Sophie smiled as she admired the Bridgertons' kitchen and how starkly it contrasted to the one back home because even though the room was empty of people except her, it was so clearly filled with love and warmth by just how lived-in it evidently was. She just felt so inherently comfortable and at peace even though it wasn't her own homestead, and it was all down to the abundance of affection that radiated through the walls of Aubrey Hollow from all those who inhabited it.

She then noticed how one of the hands on the clock suddenly moved; Eloise's hand had just switched to "no good" at the same time as Sophie heard a door creak open from upstairs. She could have sworn she heard a distant ribbit before another door was creaked open. A few seconds later she heard a squeal, followed by a naughty giggle and the running of footsteps before a door slammed shut, and Eloise's hand clocked back to "home".

"Those hands strike "no good" more often than you'd think living here."

Sophie let out a gasp and jumped, managing to keep a firm hold of her glass of water as she whirled around to see Benedict Bridgerton.

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologised in a hushed tone and immediately held up a reassuring hand to her. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh no, I'm sorry." she responded instantly. "I didn't hear you come in, is all." she cringed, feeling momentarily stupid for somehow missing any sound of him moving about the house.

"Don't be sorry." he scoffed and waved off her returned apology. "I just know how to move about without making any noise - unlike some of my siblings." he remarked and pointed upwards just as a door creaked open.

"Eloise!" they heard who Sophie was sure was Daphne hiss indignantly (as the hand bearing her name ticked to "no good") and a door slam after her before muffled squeals started up a couple of floors above them.

"I hope their antics didn't wake you up."

"Oh not at all." Sophie replied.

"Ah, so Colin's snoring woke you up?" Benedict smirked.

"He doesn't snore!" she gently giggled.

"Soph, I know you're an incredibly nice person but there's no need to lie for Colin's benefit. He's fallen asleep on the sofa enough times to prove the fact that he does snore."

"Be that as it may, it didn't disturb me." she said truthfully; her best friend's snoring was gentle enough that it hadn't kept her awake - in fact she found it comforting, knowing she wasn't alone and she had actually fallen asleep quicker as a result. "I was just thirsty."

Benedict nodded in acknowledgement with an easy smile aimed at her. Sophie was just grateful that the dim source of light was able to hide the blush that spread across her face as a result of his smile (not to mention just being in his presence in general).

"Were you grabbing a bite a to eat too?"

"Oh, no!" Sophie shook her head quickly. "No, no; just water."

"Soph; you are allowed to help yourself if you did want something to eat." he said, his gaze softening at her. "You know that right?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." she nodded agreeably. "I'm just not hungry, is all."

"Ah. So you wouldn't be interested in joining me for a midnight chocolate feast?" he asked, cocking an amused brow.

The mention of chocolate instantaneously piqued Sophie's attention, which got a laugh out of Benedict from the way in which her eyes lit up and rounded with curiosity.

"Well... if you're offering." a small smile played on Sophie's lips.

Glancing back and forth from the two empty doorways that led out of the kitchen to assure the coast was clear, Benedict then took a couple of steps forwards until he was practically toe to toe with Sophie (which caused her to worry that he was now close enough to hear the sound of her heart racing due to their narrowed proximity).

"Can you keep a secret?" he whispered.

Sophie successfully managed to restrain the gulp she wanted to swallow as she answered with a nod - after all, she had successfully been keeping her crush on the boy stood in front of her a secret since she had met him.

With an approving grin he then stepped over to the brick wall covered with photos and took off a frame containing a picture of a younger Violet Bridgerton with a baby boy in her arms.

"Oh my goodness, is that you?" Sophie gasped as she noticed the finger paint dirtying the little boy's hands that he used to grab a hold of his mother's face and plant a kiss on her cheek, much to Violet's heart-filled amusement as she laughed.

"Yeah." he confirmed, exhaling affectionately as he glanced at his infant self nuzzling into his mother's face.

"Aw, you're adorable!" she cooed, taking the frame from him and fondly watching the moving photo as baby Benedict pulled himself away from embracing his mum long enough to give his trademark lopsided grin to camera.

"Eh, my parents say Colin was the cutest baby." Benedict shrugged off and nodded to a nearby solo photo of Colin at six months. "The chubbier the baby, and all that."

Sophie glanced at the baby photo of her best friend, who indeed was undeniably adorable with his chubby little limbs and giggle-filled smile; but then all of the baby photos hanging on the wall proved that that the Bridgertons simply produced exceedingly adorable babies. But as ridiculously cute as chubby baby Colin was, Sophie couldn't help but be drawn back to the photo in her hands of baby Benedict, the sight of which melted her heart as she watched him kiss Violet's cheek again. The image only fuelled her the various fantasy scenarios she harboured, the ones she came up with in bed at night that she had been nurturing for the last year, fantasies that primarily involved Benedict reciprocating his love for her, marrying him and starting a family with; and the visual image of having a baby identical to Benedict to be bestowed adorable kisses from with paint-stained hands only made her heart flutter and her feelings for Benedict deepen.

"Okay?" Benedict uttered to regain Sophie's attention.

She nodded, holding onto the frame but watching intently as Benedict touched a brick that had been hidden by the photo that had previously been hanging there. He then touched a few more bricks in a specific order and touched the first brick again, and then much to Sophie's amazement the series of bricks he had touched momentarily glowed before moving away to reveal a hole in the wall. She watched as Benedict reached in and then casually extracted a box of Honeydukes chocolates.

He turned back to her and smirked at the awed expression on Sophie's face. "Mum magicked it up for me." he explained. "Since Colin has a tendency to swipe snacks regardless if they don't belong to him, mum decided to create a hidey hole for me to stash my sweets in."

Sophie peered into the newly formed hole in the wall and cast her eyes across the stash of snacks Benedict had stored away from Colin's greedy prying eyes, captivated by the use of magic Violet had used to create the pocket in the first place.

"So only you and your mum know about this?"

"And now you."

Sophie looked to him, her heart skipping a beat as he caught her gaze and winked at her.

"Honeycomb truffle?" he said, offering out the chocolate tray he had just opened.

Together they indulged in the array of chocolates Honeydukes had to offer, with Sophie trying her best to restrain herself from making any sound effects as she savoured the delectable flavours she tasted, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her crush.

"I hope my siblings didn't overwhelm you too much today." Benedict remarked as he sized up which chocolate to have next.

"Oh, not at all."

After resting for a few hours following her dramatic escape from her bedroom-turned-prison, and once Violet had ensured she had eaten a full breakfast, the younger five Bridgerton siblings were all keen to garner Sophie's attention. For the entire day, despite Colin's best efforts to hog his friend all to himself, his sisters and little brother refused to leave Sophie alone and trailed after the pair from room to room, indoors and outdoors.

"It's fair enough if they did; they overwhelm me at the best of times." he snorted.

"I mean, it was a lot all at once, but it made for a nice change." Sophie replied in earnest.

She was so accustomed to a home where she felt an innate sense of loneliness that it was nothing short of welcome relief to be surrounded by so many people chatting away incessantly and tugging on her arm to get her attention. Especially after ten days locked away in a bedroom with only Posy briefly talking to her from the other side of the door when Araminta wasn't around to yell at her.

"I should warn you, after today you're now Hyacinth's new favourite person."

Sophie grinned as she reflected on how the youngest member of the family had instantly taken to her when Edmund brought her down to the breakfast table. The two year old had spent the best part of the meal staring wide-eyed at the new person, utterly intrigued by everything Sophie said and did. Then as soon as Colin announced he was going to give Sophie a tour of Aubrey Hollow, a tiny hand had slipped into Sophie's and she had looked down to find Hyacinth smiling coyly up at her. The toddler had been attached to her since then, never letting go of her hand for the entirety of the tour, and when Sophie sat down Hyacinth proceeded to sit on her lap and babble away nonsensically to her. The little girl had even thrown a tantrum when at dinner Colin insisted his friend sat in between him and Benedict, only calming down when Edmund sat her down in the chair directly across from Sophie. And finally when it was time for bed, Hyacinth had marched over to Sophie and handed her the bedtime story she wanted to be read to her, and Sophie happily obliged, sitting by the little girl's bedside and reading to her until she had fallen asleep.

"I'm sure she'll have lost interest by tomorrow." Sophie shrugged off modestly.

"Oh, no." Benedict shook his head and chuckled. "That's not how Hy operates. When you're her favourite person, she's obsessed. She pretty much imprints on you and refuse to leave your side."

"Who was her favourite person before?"

"She goes through cycles. She's definitely a daddy's girl but whenever Anthony's home for the holidays she's permanently attached to him. She goes through phases with Daphne, she's on and off with Greg, and whenever El's friend Penelope comes to visit she refuses to leave her alone no matter how much El shouts at her." Benedict elaborated. "But I can tell you now, until we go back to Hogwarts, she's going to be your little shadow. Don't worry though, we'll all try to rein her in,"

"Oh, that's not necessary." Sophie assured him. "I'd be more than happy to spend time with her. I always wanted a baby sister." she said sincerely, having wished for so long for a younger playmate when it was just her and her dad.

"You're really sweet, you know that?" Benedict smiled at her (oblivious to how his words directly caused the rosying of his companion's cheeks). "Probably the sweetest person to ever grace Aubrey Hollow, actually. I can't remember the last time someone walked into my room and actually apologised for disturbing me."

"I am really sorry if I did." Sophie added immediately.

"Don't be silly." he waved off. "It wasn't even you who barged in."

During Colin's tour as he led Sophie and the gaggle of younger siblings through the house, she had been shown everyone's bedroom with the younger siblings eager to show her every last toy and poster and miscellany possible. She hadn't expected Colin to then march right into Anthony's bedroom, who had immediately barked at them all to get out and stay out (though the eldest brother had then stuck his head out the door and told Sophie he wasn't aiming any of his anger at her), only for Colin to then barge right into Benedict's bedroom as well. Unlike Anthony, Benedict hadn't chastised the uninvited guests to his room and had happily sat back as Colin and the rest of his younger siblings showed Sophie around the bedroom which was situated the highest in the house. She had tried her best to play it cool the most during the tour of his bedroom; her eyes perusing intently over his artwork, scanning over his desk cluttered with sketchbooks and paints and ornaments, and giving Clement a stroke as he dozed in his cage by the window overlooking the countryside that stretched out around Aubrey Hollow.

"And besides, you think I'm not used to my family barging into my room at any given moment?"

"I know. I just wouldn't want to bother you and disturb your peace."

"Soph; you could never disturb my peace." he told her in earnest and nudged his shoulder against hers. "In fact, I exclusively give you permission to disturb me as and when you feel like."

Sophie giggled and even though she was sure Benedict was joking, it still made her giddy that he was being so kind and welcoming to her.

"And after saving me from my stepmum, I give you permission to disturb me too. If you so choose to." she returned in kind while trying to ensure she didn't cross any line which he might interpret to be flirting (as she would be mortified if she ever gave any suggestion to the true depth of her feelings for him).

There was a beat of silence where Sophie chewed on a particularly sticky toffee chocolate and she assumed Benedict was similarly munching on an equally tough bite of toffee to explain the silence between them.

"Has she always been like that?"

Sophie turned to him, mildly confused by Benedict's line of questioning that had soured his light jovial tone into a more serious one to match the newly drawn frown on his face.

"Who?"

"Your stepmum."

"Oh." Sophie uttered as she realised Benedict's question was referring to the way Araminta had gone to strike her before he had inadvertently intervened. "Well... she never liked me. She always argued with my dad about it."

"About what?" Benedict's frown deepened.

Sophie gave a small shrug. "My existence, I guess. I don't know. It's like the second she saw me, I instantly got under her skin. And no matter how hard I tried I could never win her round. Even though I was always good, I never misbehaved, I always tried to please her... I don't know, she just never liked me. Or even tried to like me."

Benedict shook his head sympathetically as he listened. "Did your dad know? About her... hitting you?"

"She never did it while he was alive. It was only after he died that she hit me at will. Not all the time, to be fair. Only when she was really mad at me."

"But why would she be mad with you?" Benedict asked, his jaw clenched the further Sophie expanded on the subject.

"Rosamund would make up stuff about me, like I had finished the last of the sweets or had played dress up with her clothes and spilled stuff on them when it was actually her. It didn't matter that Posy tried to back me up, she'd still hit me. And basically anything that went wrong in the house, for some reason she'd blame me and attack me for it."

"I'm so sorry you ever had to go through that." Benedict said after a beat of silence.

"It's not your fault." Sophie shrugged.

"But Sophie, you shouldn't have suffered any of it. And you're a child; even if you did anything remotely wrong it doesn't give her any right to hit you!" Benedict shook his head with frustration. "And the fact that she disliked you from the off... I just can't wrap my head around it. How anyone could not like you or even reach a point of hating you?"

"But that's just life, right? Not everyone you meet is going to like you."

"No, Sophie. You're the sweetest, kindest, loveliest person I've ever met." he told her, causing Sophie's heart to clench from the glowing perception he had of her. "It's literally impossible for anyone to meet you and instantly dislike you - and it's a reflection on how awful a person someone must be if they do."

"Well, Araminta is a pretty awful person."

"Not just awful. Nasty. Vile. Horrible. Wicked. Cruel. She's detestable."

"Can't argue with you on any of that." Sophie replied light-heartedly.

"It's just... it genuinely upsets me to know that you endured any of that, Sophie. That anyone could ever physically hurt you or make you feel bad about yourself. You don't deserve it, any of it. You're far too wonderful to have someone like her in your life. She's just a monster - and you know what, I don't even regret accidentally using magic against her."

"It's okay, Ben." she said, reaching out and squeezing his hand as she realised just how emotional he was getting. "I'm safe now. You and Colin and Anthony made sure of that, and I'll be forever grateful to you all for saving me and to your family for taking me in. It means the world to know that I have a family as caring as yours looking out for me."

She hadn't expected it when he then hugged her tight, and just like she savoured the chocolates they had been sharing, she savoured the sudden embrace for all it was worth, indulging in the feeling of his arms wrapped around her and just how safe, protected, and cared about he made her feel. She tried to squash any feelings bubbling away in her heart that tried to get her hopes up by making her believe that this was a sign he might like her just as much as she liked him; instead she focused on relishing the fact that he was clearly very fond of her, even if it was just platonic on his part.

"You're one of the family now, Soph. You always will be." he told her before pulling away. "You're stuck with us now, I'm afraid."

"Hey, so long as you're willing to share your stash of chocolate with me, I'll happily stick around." she teased back and finally the mood lifted as she managed to get a chuckle out of him.

Benedict then replaced the chocolate box back in it's hidey hole before closing the wall back up and putting the photo back where it belonged. Together they then walked up the stairs until they reached Colin's bedroom on the floor below Benedict's.

"Thanks again." Sophie whispered. "For everything."

"Don't mention it." he smiled back. "We could meet again tomorrow night, seeing as we didn't finish the box."

"Sounds like a plan." she smirked back, schooling her face to veil just how thrilled she was to plan another tête-à-tête with him for the following night.

"Goodnight, Soph."

"Goodnight, Ben."

With one last parting smile, he continued to ascend the staircase and Sophie slipped back into Colin's bedroom. Her friend had remained utterly undisturbed as his gentle snores continued while Sophie got back into her bed. She turned on her side and closed her eyes, her mind filled with the midnight meeting she had just had with the object of her affections. With a smile on her face she indulged in one of her many fantasies, one which now included an adorable baby identical to the photo of Benedict that she cuddled as she shared a box of chocolates with her husband; a fantasy which squeezed at her heart as she blissfully drifted off to sleep.

#harry potter au #bridgerton drabble #benophie drabble #sophie beckett #benedict bridgerton #benedict x sophie

[9w1ft]

9-

I was looking through old jewelry stuff and found a necklace Karlie wore for about 6 months, from about Sept 2019-April 2020. It was a gold disk that was engraved with “I can and I will” on it. As our resident jewelry expert, any theories on what that may have been about?

hello hello

thank you for your inquiry 😌

so this necklace is something that i assume was bought along with two other pieces from the same brand because they appeared around the same time and she wore them often interchangeably, and frequently together. the necklace is by Zoe Chicco.

in addition to this disc with the mantra “I Can and I Will” inscribed on it, the necklaces i associate it with are a strand of graduated gold disks and a ‘sunbeam medallion’ which she actually wore a ton on its own.

the mantra necklace was most frequently worn within the set of these three and at the time it felt very much like just, idk, a trendy layered look, and she wore them so often that honestly i did not keep track of the necklaces well. so i had to do a little bit of poking around.

so, for your perusal, here is an incomplete list of times she has worn at least one of the three pieces, based on an account that was documenting her looks at the time (link) and StarStyle (link):

~~

she starts out wearing either the graduates discs or the sunbeam necklace, from september 2019

9/5/2019 in china for the world cup

9/8/2019 to the US open

9/18/2019 papped outside in nyc

9/21/2019 papped in rome (scooter was around)

10/10/2019 on her instagram outside in nyc

10/21/2019 papped outside in nyc

10/30/2019 papped outside in nyc

then the mantra necklace appeared and there was a period where she started wearing the three as a layered look more often, sometimes two together, and sometimes just the mantra necklace:

11/1/2019 promoing adidas on her insta

11/15/2019 papped outside in nyc

11/26/2019 at the elk in nyc

12/8/2019 papped outside in nyc

12/21/2019 yachting in st. barthelemy

1/27/2020 when karlie was in LA

2/18/2020 amex valentine’s day dinner

4/23/2020 instagram live w katie couric

4/28/2020 the today show

4/30/2020 met gala bts video

5/1/2020 exercising on instagram

5/1/2020 on wes gordon’s instagram

5/5/2020 the tonight show

5/17/2020 instagram from her nyc place

5/19/2020 klossy video about how falling on the runway can help your career

from this point forward she started wearing the necklaces separately instead of all three at once (not the mantra medallion though as far as i could tell) from mid 2020 up through mid 2021. for the sake of brevity i won’t list everything up, but you can check StarStyle from the above link.

~~~

as for what the mantra means, you know, this is just a loosely formed thing but… i will offer a quick thought

in retrospect, she wore the necklace along with the other two during a very specific time period, right? a little after taylor’s masters were bought by scooter, all the way up until she headed for LA a few months into quarantine. so if you think about late 2019-early 2020 as being this time where everyone thought karlie further betrayed taylor and where karlie went to places or events where scooter was and such… and how following this period of time scooter’s infidelity was eventually exposed and he divorced and a lot of his business dealings soured, and we got songs like mad woman, vigilante shit, and karma —songs that i do believe show that karlie stuck around scooter and got dirt on him for taylor— then, within that context, i think that the mantra “i can and i will” is pretty… badass 🙈 like, if the amulette de cartier was for dark seasons of life that require courage, this mantra feels much more something suitable for… playing offense 😏

#jewelry #zoe chicco

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Judah’s Sin and Its Consequence

1 The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron stylus. It is inscribed with a diamond point on the tablet of their heart and on the horns of their altars. 2 When their sons remember, they remember their altars and their Asherah poles beside green trees on the high hills. 3 My mountain in the field, your wealth and your treasures I’ll give as spoil; along with your high places as the price of your sin throughout your territory. 4 You will let go of your inheritance which I gave you, and I’ll make you serve your enemies in a land that you don’t know. For with my anger you have started a fire that will burn forever.

Two Ways Contrasted

5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind, who makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the desert, and he won’t see when good comes. He will dwell in parched places in the wilderness, a land of salt, without inhabitants. 7 Blessed is the person who trusts in the LORD, making the LORD his trust. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by a stream. He won’t fear when the heat comes, and his leaves will be green. In a year of drought he won’t be concerned, nor will he stop producing fruit.”

The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart

9 “The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable— who can know it? 10 I am the LORD who searches the heart, who tests the inner depths to give to each person according to what he deserves, according to the fruit of his deeds. 11 As a partridge gathers together eggs that it didn’t lay, so is a person who amasses wealth unjustly. In the middle of his life it will leave him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool.

The LORD: The Hope of Israel

12 A glorious throne exalted from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn aside from you will be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.

The Prophet’s Call for Help and Justice

14 Heal me, LORD, and I’ll be healed; deliver me, and I’ll be delivered, because you are my praise. 15 Look, they’re saying to me, “Where is the message from the LORD? Let it come about!” 16 I haven’t run away from being your shepherd, and I haven’t longed for the day of sickness. You know what comes out from my lips, it’s open before you. 17 Don’t be a terror to me. You are my refuge in a day of trouble. 18 Let those who pursue me be put to shame, but don’t put me to shame. Let them be terrified, but don’t let me be terrified. Bring the day of judgment on them, and destroy them with double destruction!

A Test Case: Keeping the Sabbath

19 The LORD told me, “Go, stand in the gate of the people, where the kings of Judah come in and go out, and in the other gates of Jerusalem as well. 20 Say to them, ‘Kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem entering these gates, hear this message from the LORD. 21 This is what the LORD says: “Be careful! On the Sabbath day, don’t carry any load or bring anything through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Don’t bring any load out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor are you to do any work. You are to consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors. 23 But they didn’t listen, nor did they pay attention. They were determined not to listen and not to accept instruction. 24 If you listen to me carefully,” declares the LORD, “and don’t bring a load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and you consecrate the Sabbath day and don’t do any work on it, 25 then kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David will come through the gates of this city. They, their princes, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem will come riding in chariots and on horses, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They’ll come from the cities of Judah, from the places around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense, and bringing thanksgiving offerings to the LORD’s Temple. 27 But if you don’t listen to me, to consecrate the Sabbath day and not carry any load as you enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I’ll start a fire in its gates. It will consume the palaces of Jerusalem and won’t be extinguished.” — Jeremiah 17 | International Standard Version (ISV) The International Standard Version of the Holy Bible Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. All Rights Reserved internationally. Cross References: Exodus 15:26; Exodus 16:23; Exodus 34:13; Numbers 12:13; Deuteronomy 28:48; Deuteronomy 29:23; 2 Kings 24:13; 2 Kings 25:9; 2 Chronicles 16:12; Job 29:19; Psalm 2:12; Psalm 35:4; Psalm 49:1-2; Psalm 66:13; Psalm 88:15; Proverbs 29:1; Jeremiah 3:17; Jeremiah 7:2; Jeremiah 12:3; Matthew 6:4; Matthew 13:15; Mark 4:24; Luke 1:32; Luke 10:20; Luke 12:20; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Hebrews 12:22; 2 Peter 3:4

#sin #punishment #Judah #Jeremiah #prayer for deliverance #Sabbath renewed #Jeremiah 17 #Book of Jeremiah #Old Testament #ISV #International Standard Version Bible #ISV Foundation