#eternity has many Many ' children ' & these beautiful three are some of them

[asmosmainhoe]

The brothers playing UNO

I'm finally back with hq's!! I've been playing sm UNO with my family lately and it always ended up in a chaotic fight so naturally I had to write this :'D

Lucifer Mammon Leviathan Satan Asmodeus Beelzebub Belphegor

Warnings: heavy language

Gender: neutral

You introduce the brothers to this game hoping for some quality bonding time with a fun twist, but oh how wrong you are

It takes a lot of time to even get all of them on board, because the bright colors of the cards aren't to everyone's liking *cough* Lucifer *cough*

"MC, I don't have the time for a children's game."

"Noooo, it's super serious trust me!'

Oh sweet, clueless you. You have no idea how serious it will get with these demons

After gathering everyone around the table it takes another eternity to get them all to listen to you explaining the rules

"And why exactly can't I put a 2 on a +2, huh?"

"Mammon, if you ask this stupid question one more time-"

"Shut the fuck up already and listen!"

You silently thank the gods that Satan is more irritated by their bickering than your explaining, but you do slowly realize that this might be a bad idea. The image of the angry demon receiving a +2 (or God forbid a +4) is starting to haunt your mind and sends a shiver down your spine

The frown on Lucifer's face confirms that he most likely shares that worry with you which is probably a sign that you should maybe stop the game before you even start playing, but who are you to make responsible decisions, huh? Ride or die bitches!

Once the cards are dealt all hell breaks lose...not. It's going surprisingly fine. The brothers seem to understand the rules just perfectly and you begin to relax

This seems good! This seems fun! This-

"Why would you have me pull 4 cards?! How can you look at this stunning, beautiful, wonderful face and backstab me like this?"

"Calm down, Asmo. It's just a game."

"It's betrayal!"

"I want red."

"Ya son of a- ya know damn well that I don't have that color!"

From this point on it's becoming a giant mess of cursing, yelling and disowning one another

Beel is quick to calm down though since he's being promised snacks everytime the poor man has to pull more cards

Lucifer pretends he doesn't have fun, but you can see the competitiveness in his eyes. Every card he throws, every move he does is deeply calculated

"UNO!"

"When did ya get rid of all your cards?!"

"UNO my ass!"

"We can't let him win!"

After that Levi ends up with about 20 cards and 5 mental breakdowns

Lucifer is the next one to have only one card left and Satan of course prevents it by wishing for a color he knows for sure that the first born doesn't have

"But Satan, you don't have that color either.", you whisper to him

"I'd rather eat a five course meal Solomon made than watch this bastard win."

"Fair enough."

At that point no one is playing normally anymore. The brothers are pulling cards until they get a +2/+4 JUST to prevent people from winning

You've never seen Belphie this awake and concentrated

"This game is so stressful, I can literally feel it ruining my skin."

"Then give up already."

"Only over my dead cold body!"

Beel is the only one genuinely enjoying having a pile of cards in his hands, because that means he gets tons of food from the others

The only person they don't get mad at is you, but it's impossible to win in this chaos so you're stuck there

After three hours of constant fighting and everyone almost winning, Satan loses it by throwing his cards across the table. That causes an outrage and you're quickly gathering all the cards to not have the mad demons accidently rip them to shreds

No one notices you leaving the area and closing the doors behind you, sighing to yourself

So UNO definitely wasn't a good idea, but thankfully there are many other games you could introduce them to

Maybe you'll have more luck with Monopoly?

Masterlist

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me mammon #obey me lucifer #obey me asmodeus #obey me nightbringer #obey me asmo #obey me headcanons #obey me x mc #obey me beel #obey me satan #obey me leviathan #obey me belphie #obey me belphegor #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me mammon x reader #obey me leviathan x reader #obey me asmodeus x reader #obey me satan x reader #obey me beelzebub x reader #obey me belphie x reader #obey me mc

[pyreofsunflowers]

How to make the Sims 3 look its best in 2022

so simming is a long time pastime of mine, and I've - in my humble opinion - perfected the look of the game without turning it into a yassed out modeling agency. (if you've ever looked for cc you know what I'm talking about) so in this first of probably many posts - here is a complete list of all my graphics mods!

Firstly, though, I should note that I have a very strong pc with a very strong graphics card. Please please please don't overload your computer, and explore options that will work best with your specs. What looks best for me might not look best for you.

Ahem, with that out of the way let's start with my default graphic settings.

This keeps my game looking beautiful while running smoothly (hence the low reflection and edge smoothing)

Now let's get into the mods!

Lighting and Environment

Burnt Waffles' Moonrise Kingdom Lighting - Self explanatory, textures for the skybox, weather overlays, and general lighting. Make sure you pick the water that matches your world!

Simsi45's Reworked and Improved EA Lights - tones down the brightness of some lights, fixes directional lighting for covered lamps, light colors made more consistent, and other such fixes.

dDefinder's Outdoor Lighting Tweaks - removes that nasty blue hue at nighttime, adds more dynamic shadows, adds new weather types and can make nighttime darker!

Neim's Sims Blog's Default replacements for Garden Bushes and Orchard Trees - Replaces the textures for plants like tomato vines, apple trees, and onion plants - creating a much more lush looking garden.

Aminovas' Plant Retextures - softens the bright, garish colors of EA plants to be more appealing. In two parts, and available as non-defaults.

CAS + Create-a-Pet

Kurasoberina's Primer Skin + Buhudain's You are Real - my skin mod and a default replacement pack with upped realism. The skin was designed to be used with You are Real, just a heads up.

I don't use any nudey mods out of personal preference - but I hear good things about Cmar's and Geck.o's work. Here is a link to a bunch of nsfw sims stuff, if that's what your into. I also don't really use sliders outside of the hat slider, a glasses slider and a height and posture slider. this is again out of personal presence, as I am generally making an entire neighborhood's worth of sims at a time and don't have the energy to be nitpicky with sliders on every single sim. That being said, OneEuroMutt complied a really nice list of CAS sliders AND a list of animal sliders if your interested in that.

Bloom's Sexy Feet and Cyo's Cute feet for children - realistic foot retexture, the op is long gone so this is a forum post. May not work unless sim detail is set to high!

Shady's Loney Eyes - subtle eye retextures available as both a contact and a default replacement. I'm currently not using any eyelash retextures - mostly because I haven't found any that work. If anyone has suggestions, let me know!

MaryJane's, Firefox's, AND Agnelid's Hair Replacements - replaces defualt hair with much better looking CC from other creator's - I mix and match between the three. Note that these are far from complete, and I still work with pleanty of EA hair.

I like teh Sims CAS overhaul - less shine, and hides rather than deletes mostly unused items (i always have this weird paranoia that deleting them form CAS will delete them in gameplay...)

One Euro Mutt's Less Shoe Shine - self explanatory, fixes that weird shine that's on so many default shoes.

Simple Life's Lipstick, Blush, Eyeliner, Beards, Eyebrows, and Age Details - Simple Life is my go- to for facial updates, do note however the textures may look funky if your sim detail isn't set to high. (They don't have individual pages for each item, so you'll have to scroll - my apologies)

Ketheira's Freckles and Moles - self explanatory, more realistic face marks.

Eternal 2nd Kira's Insect Wing Replacements for Fairies - replaces the EA textures with high-def insect wings, I just think it looks neat mostly.

Brinwood's HD Dog Coats and Eyes - Also includes more colorable options for dog coats, such as inner ears and individual paws.

Lazy Duchess' cat and dog addons - adds whiskers, primarily, but also edits some face textures and adds more facial markings

Kale and Traelia's HD cat skin and eyes - better meshes for cats.

Dimitri Dane's and Elin Fredriksdotter's EQHD - a FULL retexture and remodel of EA horses with better textures of coats and eyes, and optional stallion junk if that's what your into (I'm not... lol). you will have to download custom saddles, bridles, tack, and poses as EA meshes will be incompatible - but I will probably make a separate post with all my horse CC... lol.

Misc. Textures

Pretty obviously, I use the No Build Sparkles and No Intro mod that everyone gets when they set up there CC folder for the first time. These little details make a big difference!

JustMiha's Clean UI reskin, which is currently still in development (hence the default graphic menu... lol)

Velocity Grass's remove stencil tool to remove any unwanted stencils from cabinets, beds, or toyboxes.

Simsi45's Tileable Items Fix - you know how you go to place a row of bookshelves and there's the lighting gets all messed up on a few of them? yeah this mod fixes that.

Jane Sambroski's Wood Grain re-textures - fixes a lot of the EA woods to have much nicer looking grains, and fixed an issue that caused the grain to become pixelated when zooming.

Plastic Box's Doorway Lighting Fix - fixes lots of the broken lighting with doors and archways, so now all glass doors will cast light through them and all arches of similar size will cast the same amount of light through them

Aminovas' Cow Textures - retextures the cow in the Milkin' It Corral store item to be more realistic. That's it.

And that's it! Yes, I know it's a lot, but I like my game GOREGOUS.

#ts3 #the sims 3 #ts3cc #s3cc #the sims #sims cc #simblr

[marsprincess889]

NAKSHATRAS AS GODDESSES

3/27

🔪KRITTIKA🔥

DISCLAIMER: This is based solely on my research and the patterns that I saw. I can't promise that I'm gonna be sure in all the coorelations, but I'm going to attribute each nakshatra a goddess that I think fits it the closest. If you're dissapointed, to make up for it, I'm going to list some other deities in the end that I think also fit the nakshatra. Don't come for me if you think I'm wrong, be respectful in the comments if you think so and have fun 🤍

This was easy and almost immidiate. The associations between this goddess and Krittika are so apparent I didn't hesitate for a second. Look out for other deities similar to her in the end.

Brigid

Pantheon: Celtic (Irish)

Name meaning: "the exalted one", "strength"

Associations: fire, spring, poetry and inspiration, healing and herbalism, smithcraft, agriculture, cattle and sheep.

Symbols: Brigid's cross, holy wells, eternal flame.

Brigid is one of the most highly- revered and widely worshipped Celtic goddesses. She'a triple goddess, representing the maiden, the mother and the crone. As a Maiden, she rules over poetry, music and ispiration. As a Mother, she's presiding over healing. As a Crone, she's the goddess of fire and smithcraft.

Frequently depicted with fiery red hair, she is no simple goddess, also ruling over waters and serenity. She's a protector of women and children, presiding over childbirth and motherhood. Also frequengly depicted with lambs and sheep (krittika's yoni animal) and swans. She's closely connected to agriculture and farm animals.

Brigid, also being connected to wells and rivers, has many landmarks in Ireland with a body of water. The most famous one is a well in Kildare, Ireland. Water from that well is said to have healing properties.

Her father was Dagda (good, great god), leader of the Irish tribe Tuatha Dé Danann ("people of goddess Danu"), which consisted of Irish deities who lived there before the ancestors of the modern Irish had arrived. Dagda was a wise man, an all-father and a Druid. Brigid married Bres, another member of that tribe and together they had three children. One of them, Ruadán, died and Brigid mourned him with profound and painful sadness. She's very devoted to protecting children and this might be a reason why.

In honor of her, there's a sacred fire lit in Kildare and is guarded by the Sisters of St. Brigid. There has been a fire in Kildare since the time Brigid was worshipped. It has been put out several times, but has been re-lit and is still burning. This suggests that the worship of Brigid has endured as she she survived and was made a Catholic saint when Christianity came to Europe.

I want to talk about why I chose her for Krittika while comparing her to very similar goddesses.

First one is the Roman Vesta. Virgins were chosen to keep the fire of vesta burning and it was said that if even one of them gave their virginity, the fire would burn out. In those instances when fire burned out by itself, the poor Vestal Virgins were to blame. Vesta is also the Roman Equivalent of the Greek Hestia, both being goddesses of the hearth, fire and home.

Krittika is the nakshatra that burns impurities through being precise and cutting away all that is not nessecary, hence a sharp object and a flame being its symbols. Bridging the signs of Aries and Taurus, it's often fiery and passionate but also feminine and nurturing.

An Indian deity ruling over Krittika is Agni_ God of fire. An Indian goddess that is coorelated to Krittika (and also Purva Phalguni) is Tripura Sundari, meaning "the most beautiful in three worlds". This three world- triple goddess coorelation is apparent to me, besides the obvious fire associations, as well as nurturing, fertility and agriculture.

In the lunar mansion of Krittika, there's a constellation called the Pleiades, often called "the seven sisters". This is another confirmation of Krittika's very feminine nature, despite also representing the birth of the cosmic man and being very fiery and passionate in general.

Some other deities that I'd coorelate with Krittika:

Hestia- another virginal goddess of fire, also associated with home and hearth

Tripura Sundari- Indian goddess, "the most beautiful in the worlds"

Vesta- Roman goddess of fire and virgins

Bel- Celtic sun and fire god, also associated with healing, thunder and purification.

That's it! I hope you enjoyed reading about Brigid. This is a very condensed post but I said pretty much everything I wanted to say. I hope you understood Brigid's energy and made the coorelation between her and Krittika. If you're Krittika, even if you're not, COMMENT, like and reblog. Love u, take care ❤🔥

#krittika #krittika nakshatra #nakshatras #vedic astrology #astrology #astrology observations #vedic astrology observations #brigid #celtic mythology #irish mythology #ireland #celtic #goddess #goddess brigid

[danceofthephilos]

Hanakotoba and the Meanings of Flowers in SK8 the Infinity

Ranging from very overt allusions in the text to single pieces of official art, almost every main character in SK8 has been associated with a flower. Hanakotoba, the Japanese language of flowers, is something that the creators were attentive to, evidenced by its mention both in the show itself and by staff in discussion about the episodes, and considering how hanakotoba might have been taken into account in the other examples of flower imagery can add an interesting layer of symbolism to speculate on.

The hanakotoba columns on GreenSnap were my primary source for this post, but I've crosschecked the meanings on multiple websites as much as possible to ensure the factual information here is accurate to the best of my ability. This is quite a long post, so bear with me.

🌹 Roses 🌹

Naturally, the first flower to start with is the one that is directly mentioned in the show itself:

As Adam says, red roses do mean "passionate love", though his particular wording (jounetsu no ai) is slightly paraphrased from how that meaning is typically worded. (If you look up the meaning of roses in hanakotoba, you may see netsuretsu na koi (熱烈な恋) instead.) They can also simply mean "love" and "passion" (ai and jounetsu, as Adam uses in this line), as well as "beauty" and "I'm in love with you."

In Japanese as in English, red roses are a very classically romantic gift, so in the finale and the Blu-ray box art, it seems Adam's passionate love hasn't waned.

There are also specific meanings for certain numbers of flowers in a bouquet of roses, and while it's never stated how many roses are in the first bouquet Adam brings Langa, extrapolating from how many flowers are visible in the shots and how many are hidden, as well as the bouquet at Adam's birthday display at the 2022 NAMJATOWN collaboration containing 50 flowers (as I was able to confirm from some fans' photos from better angles, that I won't be reposting here as they were personal photos on Twitter) I believe that the bouquet in the show also contains 50, which means "eternity."

Adam's bouquets to Langa are also not the only times roses appear in relation to him, nor is red the only color they appear in. Several flashback shots of Ainosuke and Tadashi as children feature red roses, which has quite clear subtextual implications, especially alongside the comparison between Tadashi and Langa made in the show itself.

But one prominent flashback also includes pink roses, meaning "deep impression."

In Ainosuke and Tadashi's last scene together in the finale, there's a vase of purple roses behind them, meaning "pride" or "respect."

And his graffiti tag from the 2022 Infinity Week art features blue roses, which, along with being in Langa's image color, mean "dream come true", "impossible" or "miracle."

Roses also have a lengthy history of associations with gay men, both in real-life Japanese gay culture and in the boys' love genre, and how this relates to the use of rose imagery in SK8 could (and likely eventually will) be its own post, but it's an extra aspect to take into consideration with Adam especially.

As a bonus, the mangaka for the official manga adaptation also drew Langa and Reki with red and blue roses (respectively) to celebrate the season finale:

And while Reki is never associated with roses in any more official capacity, Langa does have red roses in his house that are visible in a few scenes:

~

🌷 Tulips 🌷

This is another one that's directly confirmed, this time regarding Shadow's bouquet in the ending montage.

For love bouquets, Adam uses roses, so Hiromi-chan's was tulips and white baby's breath. In hanakotoba, red tulips mean "confession of love." Pink means "sincere love." Orange means "shyness", so we went with these three. Plus, white tulips are "new love" or "unrequited love" so we stopped there… (lol) By the way, in hanakotoba, baby's breath means "innocent love" and "gratitude."

(Episode 12 Director Masatoyo Takada, Skater's Backstage)

Tulips in general mean "charity" and "thoughtfulness", and Shadow is frequently associated with them outside of just this scene, whether on his clothes or in official merchandise. "Tulip" is also the name of the flower shop where he works!

He's holding another bouquet of tulips on the Blu-ray box art, as well, with the same colors as in the finale - but with the addition of the mentioned white tulips for "unrequited love", and yellow tulips, which can mean "honesty", but can mean "unrequited love" (or "hopeless love") too... Sorry, Shadow.

~

🌺 Hibiscus 🌺

Moving away from directly stated connections into slightly more obscure ones, Reki is nevertheless visually associated with hibiscus in several places, both in shots in the show and in his 2021 birthday art.

Hibiscus flowers generally can mean "new love", "trust" and "I believe in you" (a meaning thought to originate from Hinduism), while red hibiscus specifically (as Reki is depicted with) mean "bravery."

Hibiscus flowers are also considered as symbol of Okinawa as a whole, making them an especially fitting flower for Reki, who's implied to be of indigenous Ryukyuan descent and is the character who could be considered the most representative of Okinawa (and Langa's new life there) in the show,

~

🌸 Cherry Blossoms 🌸

This one is fairly self-explanatory; Kaoru's surname is Sakurayashiki (sakura being the Japanese word for cherry blossoms), his S name is Cherry Blossom, cherry blossoms feature on his costume and heavily in the decor in his calligraphy studio, et cetera. As one of the most well-known and famously Japanese flowers, they're well suited to Cherry's traditional Japanese image, and the whole aesthetic of his character is themed around them. Even his birthday is on March 27th, Sakura Day in Japan.

In hanakotoba, cherry blossoms' most well-known meaning is "moral beauty", a phrase referring to the beauty of someone's personality or character. They can also mean "graceful woman" or "pure-blooded", and the specific species of cherry blossom that the ones in Cherry's design resemble (somei-yoshino cherry blossoms) can additionally mean "noble" or "innocent." The fact that the same flower with such elegant meanings is related to both his public and S personas adds to the characteristic duality between his outward appearance and private personality.

While not specifically hanakotoba, the French meaning of cherry blossoms also appears to be well-known in Japan - "ne m'oubliez pas", or "don't forget me", associated with ending relationships.

~

💮 Chrysanthemums 💮

Another flower associated with a character through their surname, chrysanthemums are the "kiku" (菊) in Kikuchi. A chrysanthemum also features prominently in the design on Adam's skateboard.

Chrysanthemums also appear on both Adam and Tadashi's clothes in a few pieces of official art.

Chrysanthemums' meanings in hanakotoba are all variations of "nobility" and "purity." They're a flower with great cultural significance in Japan, being the crest of the Imperial family, and often appear as a symbol of Japanese society itself - including on the badges worn by both Diet members such as Ainosuke and even certain ones worn by their secretaries, making this flower one that's representative of a very important aspect of both their lives.

While there's no particular history to this meaning, due to the romantic color, red chrysanthemums such as the one on Adam's board can also mean "I love you."

According to director Utsumi in the 2022 Infinity Week livestream, the chrysanthemum on Adam's board was a happy accident, as Thomas Romain, the artist who designed the board, didn't know Tadashi's name or anything about his history with Adam when creating it. The double layer of symbolism is an incredible coincidence!

~

🌻 Sunflowers 🌻

Joe doesn't have any particular connection with flowers in the show himself, but there is one piece of official art featuring him with sunflowers, which complement the strong association he does have with the sun.

In hanakotoba, sunflowers mean "admiration", "longing" or "I'm only looking at you" - originating from the way sunflowers will always turn to face the sun. As this particular piece of official art was for a magazine feature for White Day (a Japanese holiday where men receive gifts from women they gave gifts to on Valentine's Day), perhaps they're meant to be a gift to him. As Joe's stronger association is with the sun itself (his tattoo is of the sun, his board has the word "sole" - sun in Italian - written on it and a sun incorporated into the design, his restaurant's name (Sia la Luce) translates to "let there be light") he could be seen as the sun that the sunflowers (his admirers) would look towards.

Along with the hibiscus in the image, Reki's birthday event in 2021 also featured sunflowers as part of the display, fitting his yellow image color.

~

❄️ Snowdrops ❄️

And finally, one more case with only a single piece of official art - but one with a very interesting history behind its meanings. In Langa's 2022 birthday art, he's shown holding snowdrops - a natural association with his S name and the fact that he's a former snowboarder.

In hanakotoba, snowdrops mean "hope" and "comfort." These meanings are said, as you will find on any Japanese hanakotoba site, to originate from a story about Adam and Eve dating back to at least 1925, if not earlier (with 1925 being the earliest version of the story the Japanese Wikipedia page on snowdrops is able to cite.) As the story goes, after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, an angel took pity on them suffering in the winter cold and turned the falling snowflakes into snowdrops, to console them and give them courage. In that 1925 version of the story, the first snowdrop was specifically a gift to Eve:

The Snowdrop Legend When the first winter lay white upon the earth, Eve sorely missed the beautiful things of the field. An angel who pitied her seized a snowflake and, breathing upon it, bade it live, for her delight. It fell to the earth a flower, which Eve caught to her breast with gladness, for not only did it break the spell of winter, but it carried assurance of divine mercy. Hence the flower means consolation and promise.

With both the superficial connections of being winter flowers named after snow and their connection to SK8's intentional biblical themes (as producer Mari Suzuki described the show as a whole as "the story of Adam searching for Eve" in Animedia March 2021), these have some of the deepest meanings of any of the flowers depicted, despite only appearing in a single piece of art.

The flower imagery SK8 uses is fascinating and surprisingly layered, especially knowing the deliberate attention to hanakotoba that was paid in certain cases, and it'll be interesting to see how it might continue to feature in the future.

#sk8 #sk8 the infinity #meta #sk8 meta #adam sk8 #ainosuke shindo #hiromi higa #reki kyan #kaoru sakurayashiki #kojiro nanjo #tadashi kikuchi #langa hasegawa

[tswaney17]

I Do Bad Things with You - Part 41

Happy 3rd Anniversary, IDBTWY!! 🎉 I can't believe we're celebrating three years of this fic. This journey has been incredible and I'm so excited (and a little sad) to say that we are close to finishing this story. I'm very close to getting this on a regular publishing schedule. But in the meantime, please check out the art I had commissioned by the incredible SnCinder here. 💙💚💜

My fanfic account: @tswaney17fics​​​

My ao3 account: tswaney17

Please let me know what you think about this update. I love getting your feedback. Constructive criticism is always welcome. 💕

Catch up here.

Credit to @featherymalignancy for Cassian’s nickname, Cash. 😘

Trigger warnings: violence, sexual assault , language, NSFW

Word Count: 12,145

It was three days before their wedding and the only thing Azriel felt was utter bliss. He couldn’t believe that in just a short time, he would have Elain as his wife. Even though they were eloping to the Summer District, they’d been head down in wedding plans over the last month.

Elain and her sisters went shopping for her dress a few weeks ago, finding—according to El—the perfect dress that didn’t require any alterations. She refused to let him see it, claiming that even though they were eloping, the rules of bad luck still applied. He had to snort at the notion, but Az would admit that not knowing what she was wearing had him curiously wondering what it would look like. He pictured many different styles in his head, all of which Elain was absolutely stunning in.

He had been in charge of the rings, Elain claiming that if he could pick out the most perfect engagement ring, then she trusted him fully to select her wedding band. His jeweler managed to match the style of her ring, adding a few extra smaller diamonds to the set. He selected a titanium, black band for himself, having Elain’s name engraved on the inside of it. Az thought the black and rose-gold colors would compliment each other well, and when he put them together, he knew he was right.

Now they were sitting on the jet, waiting for the rest of their family to arrive. Rhys and Feyre were not far behind them in getting to the airstrip. Nuala and Cerridwen—as he and Elain had decided were family—were also joining them. The Moonbeam twins picked them up from the penthouse and were also coming along, both as security and because Elain considered them like family as well. All that was left was Cassian, Nesta, and Sutton.

The new parents decided that since they could travel by private jet, they felt comfortable bringing their new baby on board—since neither of them wanted to miss their siblings getting married. When they boarded, looking slightly disheveled, they apologized for the delay, claiming Sutton was fussing and they struggled to get her to calm down.

Elain moved towards her sister, taking her niece from Nesta’s arms. “Hello, beautiful girl,” she cooed, snuggling into the baby.

Azriel watched as his fiancée’s maternal instinct took over, soothing the child when she started to fidget.

Cassian approached his side, taking in the scene between his sister and daughter. “She’s a natural mother. You’ll be eternally grateful for that instinct deeply rooted in her when you two have kids.”

He didn’t bother responding, not even knowing if Elain wanted kids. Az had been waiting for her to bring it up, but when she hadn’t even after they got engaged, he started to believe that perhaps she was happy just being an aunt. She had put so much work into her career, he wouldn’t blame her for not wanting to take away from that. Even though he had some deep desire to get Elain pregnant, to watch her grow with life inside of her, their children, he didn’t want to put that pressure on her if it wasn’t something she wanted.

So, he didn’t say anything at all, content to just live with her.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked his brother instead.

Cash saw the change in the subject for what it was, shaking his head with a sigh, but let it go. “Sure.”

Azriel popped a bottle of champagne, serving everyone a glass aside from Nesta who declined because she was still breastfeeding and took the flute of sparkling cider in replacement.

“To the bride and groom,” Rhys announced, raising a glass.

He wrapped an arm around Elain’s waist, tucking her into his side while she held their niece in one arm and her champagne in the other. It was hard not to picture them as a little family, but he gripped that dream in a fist until it was a fleeting thought. He wanted nothing more than to marry the love of his life and wouldn’t let anything ruin it.

~~~~~

As soon as their flight landed and they arrived at the house—their entire family in disbelief at what they had purchased—everyone was tasked with something for the wedding. Meeting with the caterer, getting the arch and chairs they rented for the ceremony delivered, confirming the photographer, checking in with the florist on Elain’s bouquet, the petals that Nesta would help Sutton toss along the beach, and arrangements for the tables they were setting up on their courtyard.

There was one other thing Elain still had to do, pulling Cash aside before the rehearsal dinner.

“What’s up, Ellie?” he asked, a look of concern on his face.

Pink touched her cheeks, the only hint of her nervousness. “So, I know you’re Az’s best man, but you have been such an important part of my life. You’ve always protected me and taken care of me, especially when I felt utterly alone in the world. I was wondering—or hoping—you would walk me down the aisle tomorrow before you stand next to Azriel?”

Shock rippled across Cassian’s face. It was obvious that he had not been expecting her to ask him that. “Elain,” he said, emotion clogging his voice. “It would be my absolute honor to walk you down the aisle.” Tears lined his eyes as he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

“Thank you, Cash,” she murmured, trying and failing to hold back her tears.

That night, Azriel and the other men stayed in the guest house, giving the main one to the girls.

“No strippers, boys,” she said as they tugged Az away from her.

“The same could be said for you,” Rhys called out, giving her a wink.

Her fiancé growled, slapping his brother up the side of his head.

Elain laughed. “Believe me, the only man I want to see stripping is staying with you.”

“I’m happily taken, Ellie!” Cash called out flashing the cheekiest of grins.

She could only shake her head at their antics, returning to the main house where the girls were waiting for her with drinks, games, and a bride-sash.

“Since we didn’t have time to host a bridal shower and bachelorette party beforehand, we’re improvising,” Feyre announced, throwing the sash over her head and guiding her to the living room where they had decorated for their little party.

The whole night was perfect, celebrating her final night as an unmarried woman.

The next day was filled with a flurry of commotion, everyone getting ready for the wedding. Feyre had stuck Elain in a chair and was painting magic on her face while Nuala and Cerridwen worked on her hair, curling it into gorgeous beach waves and tying half it up into a knot at the crown of her head. They wove flowers into the knot atop her head and behind her ear.

When she looked in the mirror, Elain gasped. It was beyond stunning the work they had done on her. “Thank you,” she whispered, trying to hold back her tears so she didn’t ruin her makeup. “All of you. I’m so grateful to have you all here with me.”

“There’s nowhere else we’d rather be, Ellie,” Nesta told her, hugging her from the back. “Come on, let’s get your dress on.” Her sister walked over to the garment bag and unzipped it.

Untying her white robe, Elain slipped on the dress behind the partition, coming out only to have help buttoning up the back. The dress was simply gorgeous. The bodice was made up of floral lace, plunging to just above her belly button while keeping her modestly covered. Delicate, thin straps of the same floral pattern went over her shoulders to the scooped back. The tulle skirt gathered at her waist, adding a layer over the lace skirt that sucked into her legs. It gave her this gorgeous silhouette under the gown.

Elain would go barefoot for the ceremony on the beach, wearing jeweled barefoot sandals that hooked over her middle toe and around her ankle. She had a pair of white heels she’d put on for the reception in the courtyard, once she was back on solid ground.

She slipped on the halo sapphire and diamond earrings that Azriel had gifted to her for her birthday—the only jewelry she wore aside from her engagement ring. They were one of her something blue, the other a cobalt garter in testament to Az’s favorite color. Grabbing the perfume she bought specifically for the wedding, Elain gave herself a few sprits, letting the delicate jasmine scent wash over her before making her way downstairs to the living area where Feyre, Nesta carrying Sutton, and Cash were waiting for her.

“Elain,” Cassian said her name with such reverence that she almost broke down right there. “You look so beautiful.”

Her pink lips pulled up into a joyous smile. “Thank you, Cash.” She hugged him, careful not to smudge her makeup on his suit jacket.

“Ready?” Feyre asked, handing her the blush-colored bouquet of peonies. The florist had done a stellar job with the bridal bouquets and centerpieces for the table.

“I’ve never been more ready for anything,” she said. Elain had waited for a decade to marry Azriel. Her excitement to finally get the chance left her breathless.

Though Feyre was Elain’s maid of honor, she walked down the aisle first since Nesta was carrying the flower girl.

Elain watched her sisters walk through the courtyard, out to the beach where they had set up the arch, decorated with more flowers. Where Azriel awaited her.

Cassian helped her out the door, holding a bit of her dress for her so it didn’t drag too much until they reached the edge of the courtyard and waited for the queue with the change of the music.

Elain and Azriel had picked strictly piano pieces to use for their ceremony and reception. It was fitting to them since that was how he proposed and they spent countless hours listening and him playing it.

Her brother fixed her dress one last time before offering her his arm. “Thank you for choosing him,” he said so quietly she almost missed it.

She furrowed her brow looking up at him, waiting for him to continue.

“I always worried that Azriel would never find happiness after high school. I watched my brother enter this cruel world intending to own it, even if it destroyed him in the very process. I thought I was going to lose him for a while…He’d been so depressed, I worried for his life.” Those pain-filled eyes looked down at her.

She knew Az had some internal struggles, but she didn’t know how bad it was. It broke her heart to hear that Cassian had feared for Az’s life.

“The one thing he never lost was his love for you,” he continued, likely noticing her inner sorrow, but needing to tell her this anyways. “And I’m so thankful that you forgave him for his past mistakes. The only time I ever saw Azriel happy was when he was with you, Elain. You are the world in which he revolves around. His entire being is to keep you safe and to love you, unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.

“Thank you for loving him in the way he deserves but never letting himself have.” Cassian’s eyes misted over by the time he finished and she struggled to not let herself cry at the confession.

“He is worth loving,” she admitted, looking out towards the beach like she could see him from where she stood.

“That he is,” Cassian murmured as the music changed, indicating it was time.

The few steps to the beach seemed like a lifetime until she turned the corner and saw him standing at the altar, waiting for her.

Even this far away, she could hear his choked sound at the sight of her. His face crumpled in elation as he wiped tears from under his eyes.

Elain’s hold on her damn broke and she let out a sob, face splitting in the most adoring grin. Only Cassian’s firm grip on her arm prevented her from running down the aisle and leaping into his arms.

After what felt like an eternity, Cassian was leaning over to kiss her cheek, and offering her hand to Azriel before taking his place at his side.

She handed off her bouquet to Feyre so she could take his hands.

Unable to help himself, Az leaned forward to brush his lips on her cheek before he gently pulled her forward until she was facing him. “You look…” he paused, silver-lined eyes scanning her from head to toe. “I have no words to describe how exquisite you look, El. You’re radiant.”

She choked on her laugh, her face morphing into actual rays of sunshine. “Thank you, Az. You look beautiful, too.” And she meant it. He had on a brand-new suit, cut to every defined muscle. He wore a crisp, white button-up underneath the jacket with a blush-colored tie around his neck. Even the peony boutonnière contrasted perfectly with his tanned complexion.

Rhys cleared his throat, recapturing their attention. He gave them a knowing smile. “It brings me great joy to officiate the wedding between Azriel Knight and Elain Archeron. Azriel, my brother, you have been a part of my family since we were kids. Though our relationship started rocky—”

“You beat the snot out of me that first night,” Az muttered making everyone laugh.

Their brother waved a hand. “Semantics. It didn’t take us long to warm up to each other, finding that brotherly bond we both needed. I’m grateful every day that we took you in—that we became family.”

Those violet eyes turned to her. “Elain, my darling Elain. You have always been like a little sister to me. Even before Feyre and I started dating and later got married, you’ve held this special place in my heart to love, to protect. When you and Azriel began dating in high school, I was ecstatic because I always hoped you would one day become a part of my family. And you’re now a part of it in more ways than one.”

She released one of Az’s hands to grip Rhys’s forearm, squeezing it once before returning it to her fiancé. 

“I’ve never met two people more perfect for each other. Where one hides in the shadows, the other shines. You two lift each other up in the best of ways and I have no doubt in my mind you will build the most perfect life together. I believe you both wrote your vows. Elain, if you would please go ahead.”

Her brown eyes, reflecting pools of gold in the setting sunlight looked at her husband-to-be. “Azriel, you are the strongest, most considerate man I have ever known. Our love has definitely been tested to limits that most couples never experience, but I know that makes us more solid in the foundations of our marriage.” He chuckled at how true it was. “I know that when in moments of hopelessness, you will lend me your strength. In times of sorrow, you will give me your love. When the world around me becomes too loud, you will hold me close and protect me.

“You are so many things that it sometimes makes my head spin because how could you possibly be every dream I wished for myself to find in a lover? You have broken down every fear; every mark on my life and filled it with joy. I will love you with my entire being because you deserve that from me. You deserve to feel my elation in the life we have created together. I love you more than words could ever express. My life partner. My friend. My soulmate. My husband.” Tears rolled down her cheek and he reached out, swiping them away, ignoring how his face was also wet from waterworks.

Rhys turned to his brother. “Azriel, would you please say your vows?”

He took a steadying breath. “Fuck, I should’ve gone first,” he said quietly to her.

She couldn’t help but tip her head back and laugh.

“Elain Archeron.” Her name curled on his tongue. “You are, without a doubt, the light of my life. A decade ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life by letting you go and the gods know I didn’t deserve your forgiveness for it, but you gave it to me anyways. I sometimes have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. To verify you’re actually here with me.” She squeezed his hands in reassurance. “You have the most generous heart I have ever seen; have ever had the pleasure of being held within.

“You claim that I am strong, but my strength comes from you. Your resilience is unparallel. You have made me a better man, one who will love you faithfully even after we are but dust in the wind. I promise to share my life with you. To hold you in times of need and when you require a sturdy presence. I promise to help you pursue your dreams. To take you on adventures and everything else your heart desires. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to get to call you mine. My light. My heart. My love. My wife.”

Rhys had to wipe a tear from his eye, clearing his throat to rein in the emotion he was feeling. “May I have the rings?”

Cassian slipped behind Azriel to hand his other brother the two rings.

Rhys handed them each one. “Elain, do you take Azriel to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold? In sickness and in health? From now and forever?”

“I do,” she said, sliding the black band onto his scarred ring finger.

“And do you, Azriel, take Elain to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? In sickness and in health? From now and forever?”

Az’s dazzling smile lit up the world around them. “I do.” He slipped the beautiful rose gold band onto her delicate finger.

Rhys clapped his hands together. “Well, thank god for that!” he teased. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

The powerful male in front of her stepped forward, slinking one hand around her waist, the other cradling her head, and pressed his lips on hers.

Elain felt her back arch as he leaned them over, gently prying her mouth open so his tongue could slip inside. The kiss was languid like they took the time to learn about each other as husband and wife. Her fingers went to his nape, ruffling the hair there.

Time slowed as if even the world paused for that kiss. The kiss that certified them as one. A unit. And when they finally broke apart, when the sounds of their family’s cheers entered their ears, neither could look away from the other. An unbreakable chain linked between their souls, connecting them in the most intrinsic of ways.

He was hers and she was his. Now and forever.

“I love you, Elain,” he whispered, bringing her back in for another kiss, arms going around her lithe body to lift her off the ground.

She erupted into a fit of giggles, eyes shining with more tears, with love, with devotion for the man in front of her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Azriel and Elain Archeron-Knight!”

Grabbing her bouquet, she took Azriel’s hand as they walked back down the aisle toward the house. But about halfway back, he leaned down and lifted her over his shoulder, making her squeal. “Azriel!” she shouted, laughter echoing around them. “Put me down!”

He hauled her over his body until he was carrying her bridal style. “No,” he grinned, leaning forward to kiss her as he made the trek back into the courtyard.

Elain welcomed the kiss, wrapping her arms and the bouquet around the backside of his head and holding him there for a few extra seconds. The flash of the photographer lit up their bodies, but they didn’t care as they just held each other’s stare. She traced her index finger over his cheek. “Hi husband,” she whispered shyly.

His smile was too infectious to not beam back at him. It made him look so young, boyish. “My wife,” he murmured, nudging his nose into hers. Azriel set her back on her feet, pulling her close and never letting go.

~~~

Azriel was her husband. Elain couldn’t believe that after everything they’d been through—waiting a decade for this moment—it was finally here. Everything about this moment was completely different from anything she ever shared with Graysen.

Graysen’s priority had always been himself. She didn’t even think she was in his top five important things in his life. Their entire relationship had been based on their fathers’ friendship and a setup—and she had just let it go on, not really living, but simply existing.

It was nothing like the life, the love, she’d built with Azriel. This had been wholly hers. Her decision, her choices, her life.

They’d only been married for a few hours and she couldn’t help but think of how well it suited him. He couldn’t keep his hands off her (more than he normally couldn’t). Taking her hand in his large one, setting one on her thigh while they ate, tugging her onto the makeshift dance floor by the edge of the pool. Whatever they were doing, he couldn’t seem to let her go.

And she had no desire for him to stop. Currently, she was tucked into his arms under the twinkling lights as they swayed to the soft piano music. Her hand was curled in his, head resting on his chest as she listened to his thundering heartbeat.

Every once in a while, she’d let out a contented sigh and found herself somehow melting further into his embrace. He tucked her under his chin, giving him ample opportunities to lean down and press his lips to the crown of her head.

Elain had wrapped her arm around his waist, sliding it under his suit jacket so her palm laid on the backside of his button-up. Her fingers would flex, pressing the pads of them into the strong muscles of his back.

It was late evening. Nesta retired to the house earlier, taking a sleeping Sutton to lay her down, and never returned. Cassian followed shortly after, looking for his wife, and if Elain had to guess, found her asleep still in her dress.

Fenrys and Connall had sat with Cerridwen and Nuala on the porch patio and were chatting. Had been nearly all evening, but not before each of them took her and Azriel for a round on the dancefloor.

Her other sister and husband were twirling next to them, enjoying the soft sounds of the night around them.

Azriel pressed his lips to the top of her head again. “Would you like to head in now?” he asked her quietly.

Elain tipped her face up, a beautiful smile painted on her pink lips. “Sure.”

He gave her a soft kiss before leading her not to the main house, but to the adjacent one. She looked at him with confusion when he glanced over his shoulder at her. “I thought we could take the guest house tonight, so we don’t have to worry about anyone overhearing us.”

A cheeky smile threatened to turn up her mouth. “Azriel Archeron-Knight, are you trying to get into my skirt?” she teased, giggling.

He flashed her a heated look. “Always.” And then swung open the door.

Elain couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her, taking a single step forward. But before she could even get to the doorway, she was scooped up into his arms and carried over the threshold. She squealed in delight, wrapping her arms around his neck as he carried her in, kicking the door shut behind him.

The whole place was lit up with candles. Rose petals littered the floor, leading up the stairs and, what she assumed would be into a bedroom.

“Az,” she cried, eyes wide in astonishment. “Did you do this?” she asked as he set her back on her feet.

His hands came down onto her shoulders, thumbs swooping over the bare skin. “I had some help,” he admitted. “After our poker game last night, the guys helped me set up the candles. Nuala and Cer came in during the reception to sprinkle the rose petals and light everything.”

“It’s beautiful,” she told him. And it was, completely and totally romantic. Turning to face him, she kissed him hard. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, stroking his.

Azriel gripped her rear end, molding the flesh to his scarred palms and making her whimper. He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth, the sensation pulling a heeding sound from her throat. Breaking off the kiss, Az took her hand and led her up the stairs toward the bedroom.

The bed wasn’t their usual size, but Elain had no doubt he could worship her like how she imagined he would.

Taking his phone from his pocket, Az turned on the same music they had playing all evening.

Her lips quirked up in the corner. “Setting the mood?”

He chuckled. “Something like that.” Azriel flicked his wrist in a circular motion. “Turn around.”

She did as requested, turning to give him access to her back.

His fingers slid into her thick, soft hair, plucking the loose flowers from her locks. He pulled the pin from her knot, letting the rest of her hair drape down her back. Gently, those scarred fingers grazed over her scalp, massaging.

Elain hummed in pleasure.

Azriel swept her hair over her shoulder, giving him access to the line of buttons that ran down her spine. He took his time opening each one, kissing at the patch of creamy skin it revealed as he went until he reached the final one just above the swell of her ass. “May I?” he asked her, fingering the delicate straps.

She nodded. “Please.”

Azriel slowly dragged her dress down her body, offering his shoulder to help her step out of it. His eyes dragged over every inch of the white lingerie she wore, all the way down to the cobalt-colored garter that adorned her luscious thigh. “Fuck me, Elain,” he groaned, moving to hang her dress up before turning to look back at her.

She appreciated he took extra care to hang her dress so it wouldn’t get ruined. Flashing him with a mirthful smile, she said, “I plan to.”

His long, powerful legs swallowed the space between them in two single strides as he crashed their lips together, nudging her toward the bed and carefully laying her down on top of it. He kissed her deeply, with long, sensual strokes from his tongue until their mouths were bruised and swollen. His hands swept over her body, feeling the texture of the lace. “I believe I was supposed to take this off with my teeth,” he mumbled against her lips, thumbing the garter.

He kissed down her body, in the valley between her breasts, over the soft swell of her tummy, across her hip, and down her thigh to where the garter sat, leaving little marks as he went. She squirmed under his machinations, but he didn’t let up, taking his time with each place he sucked a bruise onto. His teeth clamped down on the frilly fabric, slowly dragging it down her knee, her calf, and off her foot, tossing it over his shoulder.

She laughed at the audacity of it.

Gripping her hips, he made his way back up her body, only stopping at her neck to lick and suck at her delicate skin.

Elain’s fingers got to work, shoving his jacket off his shoulders, followed by his tie from around his neck, but he stopped her from tossing it on the floor.

Taking the silk fabric, he smirked, telling her, “We’ll save this for later,” and set it aside on the bed.

Heat pooled between her legs at the promise. As of now, he had yet to tie her up, but Elain wouldn’t lie and say the idea hadn’t crossed her mind. To be immobilized by him and only him made her blood heat.

Sensing her growing need, he rolled his hips into hers, giving her just a taste of what was to come.

Azriel didn’t seem to know where to touch her first, so he kept his hands moving in possessive little touches across her body. Pinching her nipples, gripping her hips, spreading her lush thighs apart so he could settle more firmly into their cradle. No matter what he did, it just made her ache for him.

She needed to feel him. Feel his skin on hers, sliding against the lace of her lingerie. “Az,” she whined. “Take it off, please. I want to feel you.” Elain pushed at his shirt, trying to unbutton it.

He obliged her, rising to shed his button-up, and then flicked open his belt to strip out of his pants. Az seemed to care much less about his expensive suit than her dress, tossing the garments onto the floor. In his boxers only, he crawled over her.

Her hands scratched at his skin, sliding up his sides to hook around his shoulders. Elain prided herself in knowing his body thoroughly. She knew every scar, every ridge, every whorl of ink. So, when he lay back on top of her, she immediately noticed something new on his chest.

“You look so fucking beautiful, Elain,” he groaned into her neck, sucking on her pulse point.

But her hands were on his shoulders, pushing him up to get a better look at whatever he had added to his chest. Her eyes went wide in shock, finger tracing the new whorl of ink on his pectoral, right over his heart. Because, holy fuck, that was her name he added. “When did you get this?” she asked, her eyes flicking up to his in wonderment.

A smile curved up the corner of his mouth. “A few days ago.” Which, kind of explained why she hadn’t seen it since they agreed to hold off on sex the past week to make tonight more special. And why he wore a T-shirt to bed the last few nights.

“It’s my handwriting,” she deadpanned. How did he have this perfectly done?

A blush heated his cheeks as he looked down at her with such love and devotion, she felt it in the very marrow of her bones. “I took a photo of your signature on our marriage license and sent it to the artist to create a stencil. I wanted your essence imprinted on me forever. Your handwriting, your name, permanently marked over my heart where you belong.”

Elain was desperately trying to swallow the emotion that had choked her. This man. This wonderful, incredible, selfless man tattooed her name on his body to always keep her close to his heart. She didn’t think she could love him any more than she already did, but he continuously proved her wrong.

Leaning her head forward, she kissed him right over that ink, then cupped his face in her palms; let her thumbs trace lightly over the apples of his cheeks. “Make love to me, Azriel.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, taking her hands from his face and lacing their fingers together by the side of her head. He sucked and licked the soft swells of her breasts, plumped up from the lingerie she was still wearing. His mouth attached to her nipple through the lacy fabric, pulling the point deep into his mouth until her back arched.

She raised her hips, rubbing them together. The wet spot on her panties would’ve told him just how desperate she was for him. It matched the one on his boxer briefs.

Az released her hands to work on the straps of her lingerie, pulling the white lace off her until she was completely bare before him. His thumb gently stroked her slit, grazing her clit just so, sending bolts of pleasure through her body.

Elain’s fingers slid into his dark locks, mussing them as she tugged him closer to where she needed him.

“Tell me what you want me to do, El,” he groaned, sliding his nose into the crease of her thigh.

A hot, needy sound tumbled from her throat, but she said the words that she knew would elicit actions. “Feast, husband.”

He growled, lapping at her entrance before plunging his tongue inside of her. He licked and slurped at her like she was the last thing he’d ever eat. It felt so good, she was nearly delirious with pleasure. Sliding two fingers into her, he pumped slowly, stretching her. “You’re so fucking close already, I can feel you quivering around my hand.”

Elain threw her head back, eyes squeezed shut as she focused on the pull, deep in her gut. Her hips undulated into him and she tugged his head down to where she needed him. Wanted him. “Please, Az,” she cried.

Knowing exactly what she was asking for, he sucked her clit between his teeth, finally drawing her to the brink, and pushing her off.

Elain shattered on his tongue, screaming out his name and tightening her grip on his hair hard enough that he groaned against her, the vibrations sending her spiraling.

He didn’t stop until she went limp, licking every drop she gave him. Azriel looked up at her from between her legs, her release dripping off his lips, and fuck, did the sight have her body trembling for more.

Using his hair as leverage, she pulled him up her body until she could kiss him. Elain moaned at the taste of herself on his tongue.

Brushing hair off her forehead, he smiled down at her. “Hi, wife.”

Those words made butterflies erupt in her stomach, her heart pounding against her ribcage. Azriel could’ve made his vow to her from that look alone, with so much love and longing, Elain knew he was feeling the same emotions as she was.

She reached down, cupping him in her small palm and earning a hiss as he pumped into her hand.

“Still need more from me?” he teased.

“I need everything from you.”

Heat flashed in his eyes. Crawling off her, he stripped out of his boxers, that last piece of clothing between them, then resituated himself between her legs. Azriel rubbed himself over her drenched slit, coating him in her release and adding friction to her clit.

Elain’s head tipped back as a moan crested from her lips.

He took advantage of the exposed skin, attaching his mouth to her neck and sucking a bruising mark into her skin. She loved his love bites, loved when he covered her in his marks like he was staking a claim.

Blindly reaching, Az grabbed the tie from the other side of the bed and held it between them. “Do you trust me?”

The corner of Elain’s lips quirked up. “A little late asking me that since I just married you.”

He pinched her butt cheek in reprimand making her squeal.

“Yes, of course, I trust you.”

“Give me your hands.” It was a soft command, but she listened, bringing her palms forward and presenting them to him. Azriel wrapped the small end of his tie around her, binding her arms together at her wrists with the soft silk. “Is that too tight?” he asked, sliding a finger under the fabric.

She shook her head. “No.”

He kissed her fingers. “If you become uncomfortable at all, tell me.” And then he pushed her arms above her head. “Don’t move these.”

Elain felt herself shudder, stretching out her body as he leaned over her again, mouth going straight for her neck. Her husband’s neck kink was out in full force that night and she loved every bite, every swipe of his tongue on the sensitive skin.

His hips rutted into her, sliding himself through her lower lips and coating his cock with her arousal.

It was heavenly. From the sensual tug of his teeth and the friction he applied between her legs, Elain felt herself slicken even further. “Azriel,” she groaned, arms aching to go around his neck but remaining still above her head. “Please. I need you inside me.”

Grabbing her plump thigh, he hefted it onto his shoulder, splitting her open. The head of his cock nudged at her entrance before he rolled his hips, sliding into her with ease.

Her back arched as he entered her, his grunts of pleasure from her clenching around him only enticed her further.

“El, fucking hell. If you keep doing that, I’m going to come before I’m even seated,” he complained, lips pulling her pert nipple into his mouth and sucking.

She couldn’t stop the cry from escaping her as he filled her to the brim. His cock sheathed in her warm heat was better than any feeling. She couldn’t explain how the fullness made her whimper from pleasure but also feel at home at the same time. Elain wrapped her other leg around his hips, urging him to move.

And move he did. Long, slow thrusts had her seeing stars when he hit that spot deep inside her. Everything he gave her was measured, from how far he pulled out, to how fast he pushed himself into her.

She needed him harder. Deeper. “Fuck me, Azriel. Like you mean it,” she growled.

His teeth bit down on her nipple in reprimand and, fuck, did she feel it everywhere. Pain mixed with pleasure. But he did as she demanded, snapping his hips into hers and building her up, up, up until she teetered on the edge of her pleasure.

He released her nipple, lips traveling up her jaw to find her own as he thrust into her again. Az grabbed the large end of his tie, wrapped it around his hand, and pinned it to the wall as he fucked her harder, the headboard slamming into the plaster with enough force to leave a dent.

But she didn’t care. She didn’t care about the goddamn wall, or how her arms ached, or that their family might hear them if they were still outside. All she cared about was the wonderful, delicious feeling that grew low in her belly.

Azriel’s tongue licked up her neck, sucking her delicate skin. He angled his hips up to catch her clit with every thrust. It was what she needed to send her shattering into a million little pieces.

Elain’s cries were smothered by his mouth like he wanted to swallow every sound she made.

It only took a few more thrusts before he careened into his orgasm, spilling himself deep inside her, her body milking him.

Azriel collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily into her neck as she fought to catch her own. He brought his arm down, pulling her hands until he could slip his head between her arms. She carded her fingers through his damp hair, scratching at his scalp. He hummed in contentment.

They lay there for a while, snuggled into each other’s embrace, Elain brushing her lips on the top of his head.

After a few moments, he was tugging himself out of her sensitive center, kissing the wince away before sliding out of her arms and sitting up. Az carefully untied her silk from her wrists, dropping, even more, kisses to where they had been bound. “How was that?”

She hummed, a soft smile painted on her lips as she circled her free wrists. “That was better than amazing.”

“Better than amazing, hmm?” he murmured, nudging his nose into her cheek.

Affectionate Azriel was one of her favorites—his need for physical touch after they had sex always led to some cuddling. So, she was quite surprised when he began climbing off her. “Where are you going?” she complained, reaching out for him, but her weary arm fell to the mattress with a thud.

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her lips once more. “I’ll be right back.” Azriel walked over to his suitcase, sitting in the corner of the room.

Elain rolled onto her side, propping her head on her fist, and watched him stoop down. “Nice ass, husband.”

Her comment had him laughing, deep and full-bellied. He glanced over his shoulder at her, humor dancing in those dark eyes. Grabbing whatever he needed from his bag, he walked back over to her with a mischievous grin. “Since this is our wedding night, I thought we could make it traditional in that we take your last virginity.”

She raised a brow. “Virginity? Az, what are you talking—” Elain paused, taking in the items he presented to her in his palms. The pink vibrator, a tube of lube, and a plug were cradled in his hands. “You want to take my ass?” she asked in disbelief.

“You make it sound so dirty,” he snickered, kneeling on the bed. “And only if you want to. I know we’ve discussed it lightly before, but I brought everything we’d need if you want to explore it.”

Pink rushed to her cheeks, dripping down her chest. She’d be lying if she said the idea hadn’t prickled her curious mind. Whenever he touched her there, her pleasure always intensified. It felt so forbidden, but so right at the same time. Her eyes traveled from the items still in his palms back to his face. “Okay,” she breathed.

Setting everything on the bed, he kissed her belly, smiling into her skin. “My good girl,” he murmured, the words igniting something inside her. “On your knees.”

Elain rolled over, rising onto all fours. Her stomach clenched in anticipation.

Az placed another kiss at the bottom of her spine, kneading her behind. “You have less give back here, so we’re going to take this nice and slow. But I need you to tell me when it’s getting close to being too much to handle, and when you’ve reached your limit. We don’t go past anything that you’re uncomfortable with. Okay?”

She nodded, flipping her hair over her shoulder to look back at him. “I understand.”

“Good girl. We’ll start with my fingers to get you stretched, then I’m going to try and insert this plug.” He leaned over her to show her the plug again. Elain ran a finger over the cool metal. “First off,” he started, setting the plug back on the bed, “we need to get you stimulated.” Azriel slid two fingers inside of her, wetting them with their combined releases.

Elain moaned as he thrust into her, filling her, stretching her. Pulling his digits from her cunt, her body clenching around nothing, he then slowly inserted the toy. They had only played with it a few times, but it had become one of her favorite things to pull out when they got hot and heavy. She waited in baited silence for that first vibration, jolting at the first flick from his fingers on his phone. Hips stuttering, she bowed her head, moaning.

“Easy, love,” he murmured, stroking up to her rosebud. Az worked her opening with his two fingers. The squeeze was tight, but then she felt him add a generous amount of lube, slickening her hole and allowing him to slip in both digits to his knuckle.

She whimpered, rocking back onto his hand. The sensation of his fingers pumping in and out of her, the vibrations from the toy in her pussy had her sprinting towards her next orgasm.

But as soon as he felt her crest, Az pulled out of her behind.

Elain was close to crying out when she felt the plug being pushed into her gaping back hole. Holy fuck, the plug was larger than his two fingers. She whimpered as her body stretched to accommodate the toy, bordering on painful.

“You’re doing so well, my good girl. Breathe, love.”

She took shallow breaths, eyes screwing shut. “Az,” Elain cried out his name. “It hurts.” Her fingers tightened on the sheets beneath her palms.

Immediately he pulled back slightly, giving her body some relief. “Do you want to stop, Elain?”

Did she want to stop? No—she didn’t. Elain wanted this. “No,” she breathed, head bowing. “Just give me a second.”

He kissed her sweaty back, reaching between her legs her to lazily rub at her clit.

“How much further until the plug is seated?” she panted, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Azriel’s burning gaze was already on her face, the hunger she saw nearly made her quiver. “About a half inch until you reach the jewel. Once it’s in, it shouldn’t hurt anymore.”

Elain swallowed, nodding. “Okay, go ahead.”

“Are you sure, El? We don’t have to do this.”

She reached back, grabbed his knee—the only thing she could grasp—and squeezed it. “I’m okay. I want to continue.”

Adding more lube to her back entrance, he continued, twisting the plug back and forth to add to the pleasurable sensation.

The break was exactly what her body needed, because, after another moment or two, Elain felt the plug settle into her ass. She moaned, toes curling at feeling so full.

“Good fucking girl,” Az groaned, circling her clit with his fingers. “You did so well, my love. Let’s get you to come, shall we?” Kicking up the vibrator, he gently tugged on the plug, not pulling it out but giving her a sensation of a thrust.

Her body shook, teetering on the edge of her orgasm. “Az, I’m so close. Please, please.” Tears rolled down her cheeks from the pleasure she felt. That deep pull in her backside, the vibrations. Everything inside her was pulled taut and ready to snap. So, when he twisted the plug, Elain shattered in a way she had never done before.

She screamed, her body quaking around everything. Wetness poured out from around the vibrator, coating her thighs. Unable to hold herself up anymore, she collapsed, face first, into her pillow, forcing Azriel to let go of the plug lest he accidentally pull it out of her.

Elain shook, and shook, and shook, the aftershocks of her orgasm running up and down her spine like ocean waves crashing along the shore.

His body sidled up behind her, tugging her limp form into his arms to whisper words of comfort into her hair.

“Turn it off,” she panted, the stimulation overwhelming enough that it was too much.

He moved quickly, releasing her to sit up and grab his phone.

Elain whimpered when the toy was switched off, her sensitive center aching. She was gathered back into his arms, her back pressed into his chest. His hard cock was digging into her backside, thankfully not adding any pressure to the plug.

She panted heavily, her entire body unnaturally boneless. It almost felt like she was hovering just outside of her physical form, not quite drifting back down from her high.

Azriel ran his scarred hands over her curves, soothing her to finally come back to him. he planted kisses on her shoulder, her neck, wherever he could reach with his mouth while keeping her secure in his embrace. “I’m here, El. Just breathe,” he murmured into her hair, making sure she could feel his presence.

It could’ve been minutes or hours before she finally collected enough pieces of herself to twist her neck and look at him over her shoulder.

A dopey smile was on his face at her blissed-out state. “Hello, love,” he whispered, gently kissing her lips.

“How long have we been laying here?” she asked, genuinely curious if she passed out.

He kissed her cheek. “About fifteen minutes.”

That had her blinking. She’d been out of it for fifteen minutes? Holy fuck.

His low chuckle had her eyes snapping back to his. “That was a rather intense orgasm for you. It’ll take a while for you to come down from it,” Az explained, reaching over her to cup the side of her cheek. His thumb swooped over her skin and she couldn’t help but lean into his touch. “How are you feeling?”

How did she feel? Elain wasn’t quite sure she could explain it, to be honest, but she tried anyways. “I feel—” she weighed her words, trying to find the best ones, “light, I suppose is a good way to put it. Like I drifted out of my body.”

“Did you enjoy it?” Of course, he would ask her that.

“It was overwhelming, but yes, I enjoyed it. A lot. I’ve never felt anything like that before.” Elain reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Just give me a couple more minutes and then we can continue.”

He squeezed her palm. “Baby, we don’t need to go any further tonight. You’ve already been through a lot and I don’t want you pushing it—”

“I’m not, Az,” she interrupted him. “I want to try it with you. I’ve got one more in me tonight, but that’s it. And I want to share it with you.”

It was obvious he wanted to protest, but she didn’t let him. “You’ve only come once tonight. I want to be the reason you do it again. Please, Az. Just try. I’ll tell you if I can’t handle it.”

Scarred fingers brushed her hair behind her ear. “Okay, let me go get a towel before we attempt to pull the plug out.” He dropped another kiss on her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.” Sliding off the bed, Azriel padded to the bathroom, bringing back two bath towels.

She watched him place one at the end of the bed, and then unfolded the other, sliding it partially under her hips.

At her questioning look, he told her, “It might get a little messy and I’d rather not have to change the sheets tonight when we’re finished.”

“You’re not going to put me on my knees again?”

He resumed his position behind her. “No, I don’t think you have the energy for that right now. So, I’ll take you like this.” Propping her knee up, he traced the pads of his fingers over her hip, sliding until her could toy with her clit, lightly circling it. “Tell me when you’re ready. I’ll put the vibrator back on but will keep it low.”

Elain took a steadying breath. He was right, she didn’t have the energy to keep herself upright and she was incredibly thankful that Az could read her body better than she could. “I’m ready,” she said with conviction.

His thick arm slid under her waist, coming up to cup her breast, pinching her nipple just enough to send bolts of pleasure through her body.

She whimpered, pressing herself further into the cradle of his hips.

“Touch yourself for me,” he ordered, taking her hand when she brought it between her legs and showing her just how much pressure to apply. “Good girl. Just like that.” Releasing her, he reached back for his phone, kicking on the vibrator to a low setting.

Elain sucked in a breath, her body still slick with her arousal. When she felt the twisting on the plug, she couldn’t stop the low moan from escaping her throat.

“You’re doing so well, love. Just breathe for me. Nice and slow.”

Doing as he told her, she inhaled slowly, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth as he carefully pulled the plug from her ass. As soon as it was gone, Elain whined, her body clenching around the open air.

Azriel cursed into her shoulder, applying lube to his hard cock. “Your body is begging for me, love,” he groaned, nudging the head at her back hole. He grabbed her thigh, hauling her bent leg into the air and exposing her to the cool air. “Tell me when you need me to stop.”

She didn’t. Elain relaxed her body as best as she could, taking him inch by glorious inch as he rocked himself into her. She reached back, gripping his hair at the scalp and holding him into her neck while he sunk deeper and deeper until she felt her rear end pressed into the cradle of his hips.

“Fuck, El,” he moaned. “You’re so fucking tight.”

Elain couldn’t form words. She was delirious with pleasure, edged with pain, and everything in between. It was life-altering, how full she felt with his cock buried into her ass. Nothing could compare to how good it felt to have him like this.

When he started to move, the only sounds she could form were heavy breaths and low moans. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of color as he thrust into her, his fingers digging into the back of her knee, holding her open for him.

His strokes were measured and deep, sliding nearly all the way out, and pushing in until he hit a spot inside her that had her gasping every time.

She needed more. She needed it faster. She needed to come. “Harder, Az,” she cried out, her face burying into her shoulder.

He picked up the pace, snapping his hips into her, his mouth latching itself onto her the back of her shoulder.

Oh, gods. Oh, gods, it was so good. Her hand left her clit to clutch the edge of her pillow, but he quickly replaced it, releasing her breast to slide his fingers down between her legs, tightening his circles on her.

Elain sobbed in pleasure, climbing higher and higher. It was too much. It wasn’t enough. She couldn’t think straight. Her name…what was it? Oh, fuck, he felt so good. She had no idea it could feel like this. “So good,” she moaned pathetically. Her body had turned to putty beneath his careful hands and his hard cock. Another whimper passed between her parted lips as she climbed up to the top of her orgasms, teetering on the edge of something she’d never felt before.

Azriel brushed his mouth to the shell of her ear. “I’ve got you, baby. Let go for me.”

His gruff words were her undoing as Elain dove headfirst into the largest orgasm she’d ever experienced. She squeezed the hair between her fingers, hard enough that he grunted into her neck, but she didn’t let go—couldn’t let go as she fell, fell, fell, all while he fucked her ass harder and faster, prolonging her pleasure.

Her face was soaked with tears, body pulsing around his cock.

It only took another thrust or so before Azriel came with a shout, pushing himself as deep into her as he could go to spill inside of her, claiming her ass as his. Her body convulsed around him, taking everything he offered her and more.

The sweat between their bodies rolled over her skin, but she didn’t care. She was too far lost in her mind to worry about anything but how incredible she felt.

His hot breath panted over her shoulder as he gently laid her leg over her body, keeping her knee still bent. Grabbing his phone, he switched off the vibrator. Az gave her a while to catch her breath, before he murmured into her ear, “I’m going to pull everything out. Slow breaths, love.” The words rattled in her skull but didn’t fully register. She was too lost in the sensations.

Bringing her leg back up, he reached between her thighs and gently tugged out the toy. It didn’t stop the whimper from escaping her lips.

“Easy, baby. We’re almost finished,” he whispered, his voice velvety soft and covering her like a warm blanket.

Removing himself from her behind was another story. Her body clamped onto him, causing her to cry out from her sensitive hole.

He slowed his movements, stroking her hips soothingly. “Relax, El. I need you to relax.” His hands gently swept over her body, helping her body come down.

She did, inhaling deeply until he managed to pull himself free. Elain felt incredibly empty without him in her, missing it already, but was too exhausted for anything else tonight.

Azriel pulled himself from behind her, leaning over her body to kiss her cheek. “Don’t fall asleep. We need to clean up first. I’m going to start the bath.” Gripping her chin, he turned her head and dropped a kiss on her swollen lips, smiling down at her before padding into the bathroom.

Elain heard the water turn on and then him rummaging through the drawers, looking for something if she had to guess. Frankly, she didn’t care. She just wanted to sleep. But as soon as she started to drift off, Az was hauling her into his chest, her arms sliding around his neck.

The scalding water made her flinch when it touched her overly sensitive butt. She whimpered again, tightening her hold on him.

Az hushed her, murmuring sweet nothings into her ear as he slowly sank into the tub.

Fuck she was so sore, but the heat of the water felt so good too. She nuzzled into his neck before allowing him to twist her on his lap so she sat between his legs. Elain rested her head on his shoulder while he washed her down.

“You did so well tonight, love. I’m proud of you,” he told her, kissing her temple. “Are you feeling all right?”

Elain hummed in contentment. “Fine, just tired.”

His chuckle reverberated through her spine. “We’ll get to bed soon. I need to clean up the mess first and blow out all the candles. Do you think you can manage sitting in the tub a bit longer while I take care of that?”  

“Mhmm.” She had no energy for anything else.

His soft laughter chased her in her dreams. Elain felt him climb out from behind her, carefully laying her back against the edge. “Don’t fall asleep, El.”

Good luck with that, she wanted to say but couldn’t. Her eyes had already drifted shut, but she could hear him opening the slider to the small balcony, letting in the fresh air, and then collecting all the items from their bed. She peaked an eye open, seeing him drop the toys in the sink to clean them.

Az didn’t bother to dress, standing nude at the counter as he took care of everything.

Gods, she loved him. He always did everything for her so she never had to worry about anything after sex.

Turning to face her, he grabbed a towel and knelt by the edge of the tub. “All right, love. Can you stand for me so I can dry you off?” He popped the drain, gripping her under the elbow to help her to her feet.

Elain swayed dangerously, making him lurch to hold her under her arm so she didn’t slip.

Az dried her off as best as he could, tossing the wet towel over to the sink before lifting her back into his arms and carrying her into bed, sliding them both under the covers he had pulled down.

She snuggled into his chest, lips pressing over his heart where her name was permanently tattooed. “I love you, Azriel.”

He held her close kissing the top of her head. “Sleep, my beautiful wife.”

But she was already gone, pulled by exhaustion into a dreamless slumber.

~~~~~

Azriel woke to sunlight streaming in from the white curtains across the balcony slider. The rays reflected in Elain’s golden-brown hair, strewn across her pillow. His beautiful, naked wife was curled up on her side, her back pressed into his chest. He was pretty sure his left arm was completely dead, but he didn’t care. Not when he woke up to her every goddamn morning of every day.

She was his wife.

Fuck, she was his wife.

He couldn’t believe he got to call her that forever now. Az didn’t know who he should be thanking for it, but he sent up his prayers to anybody who would listen. His arms were banded around her, one across her chest, the other slung over her waist. He tightened his hold on her, nuzzling deeper into her jasmine and honey scent. She always smelled so good.

The faint laughter of their family told him that they should probably get up soon—join them for breakfast before the jet flew everyone home. He and Elain were going to stay here for a few days before starting on their three-week honeymoon. They were flying to the Winter District first, staying in this dome-like cabin under the northern lights. From there, they would travel to the Spring District to go through its impressive rose gardens. Elain had always wanted to see them and he was obliged to give that to her.

Three whole weeks to themselves. Three weeks of traveling across the country, taking in different sights, sounds, and tastes.

Speaking of tastes, Azriel was greedy for the delicate taste of his wife. Breakfast before breakfast, he told himself, leaning in to kiss her bare shoulder. When she didn’t stir, he moved further into the junction of her neck. He swept his hands over her body, the black band on his fourth finger catching the morning rays.

Elain shifted then, murmuring something in her sleep. Still, she didn’t fully wake.

So, he moved his lips to her nape, kissing her there and nudging his nose into her.

She sighed softly, rolling back into his chest to look up at him. Elain flashed him a sleepy smile. “Good morning, husband.” Her voice was a whisper on the morning breeze.

Gods, when she called him that…he had never felt happiness like this. “Good morning, wife,” he told her, tone husky as he leaned down to claim her lips.

Elain responded to his ministrations eagerly, allowing him to roll on top of her. Her fingers wove into his mussed hair. “What time is it?” she asked as he kissed down her throat to the center of her chest.

Az looked up at her, her brown eyes already dark with lust. “Mid to late morning if I had to take a guess. Everyone else is up. I can hear them.” His tongue darted out to lap at her nipple, sucking the point deep into his mouth.

She sucked in a breath, arching into him and pushing her breast further between his teeth. “Az,” she moaned.

He slipped further down her body, settling between her thighs. His thumb stroked her slit, feeling the wetness that had gathered there already. “Hush, love. You have to be quiet or our family is going to hear you while I enjoy my breakfast.”

At the first swipe of his tongue, Elain clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes screwing shut.

Azriel chuckled against her, throwing her legs over his shoulders and setting a brutal pace. He licked her entrance, plunging his tongue in and out of her, then slid up her slit to suck her clit.

Elain grabbed a handful of his hair, moaning against her palm as she writhed against his mouth, fucking herself on his tongue.

He loved when she took her pleasure from him, rode him to her heart’s content like she was doing now.

With her grip on him, Elain undulated her hips into him, positioning his mouth where she wanted him—needed him. When she tugged him to her clit, he sucked it hard, careening her into her orgasm.

She came with a muffled cry, body going limp into the mattress.

Swiping his tongue up her slit one more time, Azriel kissed his way back up her body, bringing his mouth to hers and letting her taste herself.

Elain hummed, hooking an ankle over his hip and flipping them over. Straddling his waist, she kissed him again. “My turn.” Following a similar path he took, Elain made her way down to his aching cock, at attention and eagerly waiting for his wife’s delectable mouth.

“Fuck, Elain,” he groaned at the first lick.

She smirked at him from between his legs. “Quiet now. You don’t want our family to hear you while I eat my breakfast,” Elain teased, repeating his words back to him.

“Let them,” he growled, sucking in a breath when she swallowed him whole. Fuck, he brushed the back of her throat in her bobbing. Azriel grabbed her hair, holding it at the back of her head and off his thighs. He wanted to watch her suck him.

And suck him she did. Elain’s cheeks hallowed, taking him deep into her mouth and swirling her tongue around his shaft. The warmth was fucking heavenly. “Baby, I’m going to come,” he warned her, feeling the pull low in his belly.

It should be embarrassing how quickly he’d orgasm when she put her mouth on him, but frankly, he didn’t care about staving off when she fucked him with her mouth. It felt too good to stop. “El…”

Feeling him at the precipice of his orgasm, she took him as deep as her throat would allow, finishing him off with a final draw from her mouth.

Az came with a groan, spilling down her throat.

Elain pulled off him with an audible pop, swallowing everything he gave her.

Fuck he loved her. He said as much, grabbing her under his arms and hauling her up his body to kiss her roughly. “You have no idea how much I want to be buried inside of you right now, but we should probably get down there to see the family off. I have housekeepers coming today to clean this place.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “We should definitely put away the toys from last night before they get here.”

He laughed, alerting the others to their woken state because a few minutes later, Cash was banging on the front door, shouting, “Lovebirds, get up! I’ve got breakfast ready.”

“We’re coming!” he growled back, making Elain giggle into his chest. “Come on wife, let’s get dressed.”

Half an hour later, they were cleaned up, dressed, and making their way across the yard to the back patio where his brother had served up a ton of food. Bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, fruit, and every breakfast drink you could imagine.

Azriel pulled out a chair at the table for Elain, pushing her in before taking a seat next to her. He grabbed platters of food, piling various things onto her plate before his own.

“Elain, you look incredibly well-rested,” Cassian said.

He froze in the middle of scooping fruit, eying his brother in suspicion.

El blinked at his brother. “I am Cash. Thank you.”

He knew it wasn’t a compliment based on the tone of voice. “Cash, if you ever want to have children again, I suggest you not voice whatever is sitting on the tip of your tongue,” he warned.

His wife glanced at him, brows furrowed. “What?”

But Cassian just threw an arm around Nesta’s shoulders, smirking. “I’m just saying, if she’s well-rested, then you must’ve not done your job last night well enough.”

Elain’s cheeks turned pink at the comment, but before he could throw the platter at his ass of a brother, she said, “Cash, perhaps you shouldn’t be so boastful. You should know that women tell each other everything.” Elain propped her cheek on her fist, staring his brother down. “And I mean, everything.”

He glanced at her, unsure of whatever it was she had on his brother, but he was curious. And the look that Cash shot her was not one of pride, but rather one of caution.

“You don’t know anything,” he dared.

His wife’s smile was nothing short of chilling.

“Oh, really? I wouldn’t be so quick, to assume.”

Cassian’s face went pale and he whipped his head to Nesta who was trying not to smile, patting her daughter’s back. “You told her?!” he accused.

Nesta buried her face into the side of Sutton’s head, trying to hold back her laugh.

Feyre raised a glass across the table. “I can back, Elain.” The younger Archeron winked at his wife, sipping from her mimosa.

Cash gaped at the three women. “I can’t believe you told them,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant child.

Nesta patted his thigh. “It was years ago, babe. Who cares?”

“I care,” he muttered, looking put out.

Azriel reached under the table to grip Elain’s thigh, pouring her a mimosa from the pitcher on the table.

She slid her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. Picking up her glass, she clinked it on his, her smile brighter than pure sunshine.

He couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to kiss her, oblivious to the whoops and hollers from their family. Az ignored all of that and just let himself enjoy the moment with his gorgeous wife.

~~~

A few hours later, the newly married couple was lying on the beach, soaking up the sun’s warmth. He had dragged out two lounge chairs, sitting them side by side in the sand. Elain looked ridiculously good in her high-waisted bikini.

He had thoroughly ravished her body last night, her creamy skin plastered with his claiming marks. A few were covered by the swimsuit, but the ones on her neck, her ribcage, between the swells of her breasts remained visible.

Fuck she looked sexy covered in his bites.

And Elain didn’t seem to mind them showing, walking out of the house with the confidence of a queen.

Az had groaned at the sight of her. “I did a number on your body,” he’d told her.

She simply smirked, stating, “Perhaps you can add another one later.” Then she handed him the bottle of sunscreen and asked him to lather her back up.

He definitely did more than just her back, kneeling to cover her gorgeous legs, her toned arms, her ample chest, and her lithe waist. She laughed when his fingers slipped into her bikini top, asking him what he was doing. “Making sure my wife doesn’t get burned.”

Elain could only shake her head at his antics.

Laying out, she had tipped her floppy hat down, shading her face as she napped, the book she’d been reading discarded in the sand underneath her chair.

Noticing the pinkening on her stomach, Azriel got up, grabbing the bottle of sunscreen to rub more on her.

She jolted slightly at the contact.

“You’re getting pink,” he explained, spreading the white cream over her body. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Elain hummed, running her hand up his arm. Quick as a flash, she pulled his Ray Bans off his face.

He gave her an exasperated look. “What are you doing?” Az laughed.

“Here, you can wear mine,” she said, holding out her pink aviators to him and pushing his onto her nose.

Huffing, he grabbed hers from her outstretched hand and slid them onto his face. “How do I look?”

“Fabulous,” she said, grinning.

He grabbed her waist, hauling her over his shoulder and making her squeal.

“Azriel! What are you doing?” she laughed.

“Taking my wife swimming, that’s what.”

She smacked him on the butt. “Put me down!”

“No,” he said, popping her on the ass. “And believe me, baby, if you want to start the ass-smacking, I will win.”

Azriel should’ve known that her silence wasn’t her conceding, but that wicked little mind coming up with something truly devious. He hadn’t anticipated her grabbing his hips and biting him on the cheek.

A shout sounded from his throat, and he whipped her back over his shoulder to carry her bridal style. “You little minx. Did you just bite my ass?” He stared down at her in disbelief.

“I told you to put me down. It’s your fault,” she told him, smiling sweetly.

The heated look he shot her had her squirming in his arms. “Oh, I will get even for that later tonight.” His sensual promise had blood rushing to her cheeks. Despite his desire to turn around and carry her right up to the house and fuck her senseless, he continued into the cool water, setting her on her feet about thigh deep.

Elain bent at the waist, dragging her fingers in the waves. Giving him a feline smirk, she splashed him and took off running.

Stunned for a second, Azriel ran after his wife, following the sound of her joyful laugh. When he finally caught her, he kissed her like it was his last.

~~~~~

Remember, sharing is caring! Please reblog if you liked the fic. It helps spread my work and I truly appreciate it. 💕

While I have moved these fics to AO3 only, I am still going to utilize a tag list here on Tumblr. This as a permanent solution and may change in the future. For notifications, you can follow and subscribe to my fanfic account where I will be reblogging updates and snippets only. You can also find me on ao3. If you would like to be added to my tag list, please leave a comment on this post.

My fanfic account: @tswaney17fics​

My ao3 account: tswaney17

Taglist: 

@nikethestatue

@reverie-tales

@123moiaussi

@duskwhisperer

@zdenkah

@nyxreads

@shedoessoshedoes

@athena-85

@jasmineandshadows

@nightcourtseer

@nivem565

@debramclaren

@illyrianvalkyriecarynthian

@secretpuppyflower

@justreallybored

@ultadverb

@the-regal-warrior

@roseandshadows

@tcursebreaker

@kingravinger

@mis-lil-red

@eloeloeheheh

@fawnandshadows

@swankii-art-teacher

@miss-bee-cat

@bookhhrelaz

@impossiblescissorspeachpaper

@elrielbaby

@lesolehabitantdelalune

@thoughtsaboutshows

@britishwings

@aelin21galathynius

@saz-griffin

@azrielslight

@bookstaninthesoul

Some tags seem to not want to link, which could be related to your visibility settings. Sorry about that!

#i do bad things with you #idbtwy #3rd anniversary #elriel #elain #elain archeron #azriel #azriel shadowsinger #elain x azriel #elain x az #azriel x elain #elain and azriel #azriel and elain #elriel fic #elriel fanfic #elriel fanfiction #tswaney17 #tswaney17fics #tay writes #my writing #fanfic #fanfiction #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf

[karin-gespenst]

CtM CS 2023 first rewatch and further thoughts

early foreshadowing for Mr. Sharma: he says "I can find my own way." he's clearly referring to his navigator skills.

Angela's teacher promised her "house points" for making the scrap book. Can somebody tell me if "house points" is a common thing for teachers to use? I've only encountered the term in fiction books.

Fred calling Angela treacle was very sweet. Now that I think about it, Fred probably sees more of the Turner children than of his own grandchildren, or Violet's. He always organising something for the kids in the neighbourhood, from running the cubs to joining the bus ride to see the Christmas lights and sending his paper boys to the clinic for working children, and now he's the lollipop man. Good on him!

Tim passing his driving test reminded me of the giant bills I've been paying in the last few months for my kid going to driving school. And then I noticed that Shelagh still does not drive. Chummy learned and Sister Winifred and I'm sure by now Delia has taught Patsy as well. On the other hand, Patrick is always using the car, Shelagh would have to get her own vehicle if she wants to drive.

Meanwhile, Miss Higgins is aquiring new premises for the clinic, and shows her best no-nonsense attitude while the badminton match is going on behind her. It's hilarious.

Sister Monica Joan is not impressed by Apollo

her complaint about Patrick is exquisite: "Can you not remove this man? He seems to be pleading the case for eternal life."

Trixie in her hostess gown! Opinions? I like the gown better than her new hairdo.

Matthew cooking a festive dinner for them - good on him!

Geoffrey! So much to unpack there, he'll get his own post. What's his profession again? something with the expat community in Malta?

Brenda and Toni together in the maternity home, being honest but kind and sharing their fears, that is just beautiful. Having family around is lovely, but the kind of support and understanding that young mothers can give each other is really one of a kind.

Mr. Sharma in the hospital deserved more real attention instead of just well-meaning words from the staff, so they could maybe have lessened his fear and avoided his running off out through the snow without understanding why he's feeling so unwell. Without Cyril's patient kindness and the respectful trust he established this could have gone much worse.

Filming in the ambulance must have been exhausting. Birth scenes are always strenuous, but with three or four adults and several babies in the cramped space, I don't fancy being the cameraperson. The only other mother in labour who had Patrick sitting behind her as support was Shelagh, so Brenda is expertly looked after at this point.

What kind of care did the specialist give to Brenda during her pregnancy? apart from that one palpation he's just parading around and celebrating what he sees as his own achievments, when the development of fertility drugs is a joint effort of many people and the mothers are bearing most of the actual load.

I've noticed Nancy is more comfortable now reassuring mothers who share some of her experiences. Having a safe space to live together with Colette has given her calm and happiness.

I've had a two-hour-drive today in the dark and I did not like it. Phyllis driving home in pain through the snow makes me want to reach through the screen and pick up her car like a toy and place it safely in front on Nonnatus house. Glad to see her snapping many, many photos at the Christmas party.

Tim at the church organ made me smile. The entire scene is magical, brimming with detail, and everyone playing their parts proudly. Apart from maybe baby Mark, who was not quite aware of the backstory.

#call the midwife #call the midwife spoilers

[usakizades]

📍Monica Bellucci graces the cover of Vogue Arabia, photographed by Nima Benati for their March issue themed 'Beauties of the World'

Italian Actor Monica Bellucci on Continuing to Transfix Audiences Around the World at 59

An eternal muse, the beloved Italian actor continues to transfix audiences around the world. She also inspired the world’s greatest directors, most recently Tim Burton.

The most beautiful woman in Italy. The sexiest woman alive. World class bombshell. Since her first on-screen appearance in the early Nineties, Monica Bellucci has been showered with accolades related to her looks. Now, at 59, praises continue to rain down on her, showing a definitive shift in the global mindset: a woman’s beauty evolves with time; and when led by magnetic charisma and talent that speaks to people across cultures and generations, it endures.

“Things are changing because women today are talking out loud. They’re less scared to talk,” offers Bellucci. “I’m in Paris and I see all these incredible actors like Isabelle Huppert, Charlotte Rampling, Fanny Ardant…women who still have the possibility to play leading roles and they’re still amazing. It really proves how things are different compared to before, where after 40 years old, women didn’t have the chance to work anymore–even though they were still talented, it was impossible. I can’t say that everything is done–the evolution is still there and it’s really changing.”

Of course, Bellucci is far more than a beautiful woman. While her entertainment industry debuts were as a muse and model for photographers like Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton and fashion and jewelry houses like Dolce & Gabbana and Cartier, she has evolved into an artist with an expansive career spanning film and theater. A polyglot, who can act in many languages, Bellucci has worked with the likes of Sam Mendes for whom she made headlines as the oldest Bond girl in history in Spectre; with Giuseppe Tornatore in the role of a war widow in Malena, and with Gaspar Noé who directed one of her most remarkable performances in the dark art film Irréversible alongside her former husband Vincent Cassel.

“Each director gave me the possibility for me to evolve as an actor, and many of them come from different countries and different cultures,” she says. Her experiences with female directors remain sparse but special. “I like it very much because there is an intimacy between women. Sometimes we look at each other and without words, we can have the same feeling about things. There is something very spontaneous and distinctive and natural, and I like this very much,” she says.

Bellucci is also a woman in love. She made her first red carpet appearance hand-in-hand with legendary director Tim Burton at the Rome Film Festival, in October of last year. “It’s so interesting and beautiful to share the experience of work with someone that is also the person that you love,” she says of the time spent on set as an actor in Burton’s forthcoming film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. And while she shares that she is at her happiest when she is with her children, she expresses that she is equally joyful when she is in love. “When I have the possibility to feel alive as a woman,” she expresses of her current state of bliss.

The Burton movie is not the only film forthcoming for Bellucci. The actor’s warm and melodic voice rhymes off her recent work. She is presently shooting a TV series in France and has just wrapped a film with Iranian director Marjane Satrapi, the woman behind Persopolis. “When I make a movie, more than feeling nervous, I’m excited, especially in the first few days,” remarks Bellucci of her feelings on-set. She notes that cinema is a completely different experience to theater, an art she dedicated the past three years of her life to, performing across Europe in the one-woman show Maria Callas’ Letters and Memoirs. “This was really something that made me very nervous,” she says of her experience before a live audience. There is something very sincere and artisanal in the process of making a show. But at the same time, it’s very intense because you can’t really make any mistakes, and the public can really feel what you feel. This relationship is very beautiful, but also very intense.”

Bellucci describes herself as “very feminine,” but is not fixated on anything beauty-related. She practices pilates and eats well. “I’m not obsessed with anything. I like to live and to have a real life. If I want to go and buy things, I want to feel free to go.” Bellucci’s self-confidence, sophistication, and warmth emanate from her hazel eyes. It is perhaps her curiosity that is the essence of her decidedly youthful spirit. “My job, I really think that it’s a kind of job that you never stop learning,” she says. “And I’m still enjoying doing that. I’m really full of passion for my work.”

Originally published in the March 2024 issue of Vogue Arabia

Style: Barbara Baumel
Fashion director: Amine Jreissati
Hair: John Nollet for Maison de Beauté Carita
Makeup: Letizia Carnevale
Nails: Nafissa Djabi
Digital operator: Massimo Fusardi
Hair assistant: Pierrick Sellenet
Lighting assistant: Pierre Cathala
Producer: Sam Allison
Talent: Monia

#monica bellucci #bellucci #ciao monica #monica #italy #french #aestethic #cinema #france #voice #vogue arabia #theatre #italian beauty #beauty #beautiful #chanel #coco chanel #christian dior #dior #ysl #ysl beauty #dolce & gabbana #follow #vintage #cartier #90’s #80s #beautiful model

[cdragons]

Persephone!Eternal (Sephia) & Hecate!Eternal (Kaetlyn) Vaguely Sapphic Friendship Headcanons

(AKA: Just All-Powerful Immortal Gals being All-Powerful Immortal Pals/Necessary Rundown of these Besties Powers & Dynamics)

Warning(s): mad bad b*tch energy, gals being gals, neurodivergent reader/OC being neurodivergent, Kaet is her own warning honestly, Druig x Hecate!Eternal & Ikaris x Persephone!Eternal if you squint

So, let’s review these two beautiful, i n c r e d i b l e, powerhouse Eternal goddesses, shall we?

Persephone!Eternal Reader (AKA Sephia) is an INFJ Thinker Eternal who can control crops and plants, as well as make any plant in any environment thrive. However, being the smart cookie she is, she knows that plants need to fit in their surrounding environment in order for an ecosystem to properly thrive and humanity to properly evolve from there. She does this through a very unique ability of actually listening to that specific region’s terrain depending where she is on Earth. Each specific region/different terrain has their own unique personality. Sephia listens and makes the plants/crops and can control from there. And yes, this technically also makes her an earthbender. She also has some neurodivergent tendencies, and has a lot of trouble connecting with her fellow Eternals, and especially humans. Although her mind works differently, she is extremely brilliant and find connections that most of the others in the team could never consider.

Hecate!Eternal Reader (AKA Kaetlyn) is an ENFP Fighter Eternal who has umbrakinesis (the ability to generate and manipulate shadows/darkness). She can control the shadows of her surroundings whether the objects are sentient or non-sentient. She can also use her shadows to create portals as a way to teleport, or she can merge with them and shadow travel. She is also incredibly intuitive and ambitious, always wanting to know more. It was through her perserverance to gain knowledge that she attracted the attentions of Agamotto, Freja, and Dormammu as her three teachers in the mystic arts. By the time she left with Druig, she had amassed such a huge amount of power and knowledge that she was sworn to make her identity unknown unless there was absolutely no other way. She was also the Eternal who founded many medicines and surgical techniques, as well as delivered the earliest human women’s children.

If you are still here, great! Let’s move forward!

Ok first things first, these two practically INVENTED the idea of best friends. They literally love each other so much, there are no words. These two make the term “opposite attract” because they are the perfect inverse of each other.

Also, how these two act around one another is pretty much the number one reason why Druig and Kaetlyn took so damn long to get together in the first place. If you don’t include the fact that the two dumbasses are also just oblivious idiots.

Sephia is very uncomfortable with social interaction, with both her family and humans. But all that goes out the window when she is around Kaetlyn.

Kaetlyn is insanely touchy and affectionate, she will never NOT shower Sephia with praise and love when they are together.

She will also typically be the one to initiate the affectionate acts, but Sephia has moments when she first acts too.

These two at any time of the day will likely be doing any of the following: holding hands; lying on each other’s laps; take naps while lying on said laps; dancing with each other; kissing each other on the nose, cheek, back of hand, hand’s palm, forehead, hair, etc.; arms wrapped around each other’s waist while chin placed in neck crook; finding free time to go on picnics; whispering inside jokes and giggling; giving each other flowers; feeding each other; wiping each other's tears; linking pinkies; linking arms; forehead touches; tender stares; sharing soft smiles; braiding each other’s hair; going shopping with each other; sleeping in the same bed

Honestly, the list could go on forever

Why would these two lovely ladies sleep in the same bed? Well that easy to answer! See Kaet may have dissected too many deviants and preserved them in so many jars to the point her old room had been secretly converted to a mad doctor’s surgical suite. As a result, she'll just sleep over at Sephia’s room.

Sephia had ZERO problem with this arrangement, and the girls tried their very best to keep it a secret. Granted she made sure Kaet thoroughly washed herself of any blood stains and bodily fluids because Sephia refuses to cuddle Kaet smelling like rotting flesh and chemicals.

But Ajak found out when Kaet had to leave for an emergency deviant ambush, and Cerbie wandered into her room because he missed his mama’s scent and he left the door opened a crack.

The reveal wasn’t that bad, but Phastos did in fact scream and faint, and Kaet thought it would be funny for him to wake up on her metal surgical table, only for Phastos to scream even louder and faint again.

Kaet is the definition of a mad lass menace

She did end up getting a new bedroom, but she still liked to sometimes have sleepovers with Sephia.

Kaet was so happy to get her lab approved, but she thought that Sephia deserved a place to conduct her own research too.

So naturally she fills Sephia’s room with her experimental crops to convince Ajak to get Phastos to make her another room so that this old new room can be used for plant research.

This poor man is so tired y’all

He just wants to go to one week without Kaet causing him a migraine but he loves her like a sibling

A very annoying younger sibling who won’t stop attempting to give him a heart attack

Also, because Sephia is so introverted, she will not go to social engagements

And if she’s there, it was done by one of the following: 1) forced by Ajak, 2) dragged by Sersi, 3) attached by Kaet’s side for the entire night

If at any point she loses sight of Kaet, she will freeze and just dart to the nearest empty corner to plan out her escape

But sometimes she will be approached by Ikaris, and she'll stay because he makes her feel comfortable and they will converse interesting topics

Once she escapes the party she is not stopping until she reaches the Domo and under her blankets and surrounded by her animals

Oh right, I should mention that Sephia has a serious love for animals

She and Kaet indulge each other on this so much

It drives everyone insane but they also love it because they love the animal cuddles

Guys these girls love each other so much, I actually can't-

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you liked this post and its content! I am a little frazzled from my internship, but I really wanted to post these headcanons! A lot of these headcanons I came up with my actual psychic soulmate @ethereal-athalia! She's so wonderful and brilliant, and I have a lot more ideas planned out since she helped me! Of course, I want to also thank my brilliant beta @valeskafics who has always been so kind to look at my stuff despite how busy she always is! Please be sure to visit her works, your jaw will drop. I opened an ask box on my page, if you have any questions related to my fics or characters, please drop one in! Just don't be mean as Tumblr should remain a safe space for all users. Please like/comment/reblog if you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful day!

PS: If you want to be tagged for notifs of any of works/posts, please drop an ask at my ask box!

Tagging: @valeskafics, @ethereal-athalia, @vikingqueen28, @unfinished-sen, @hold-my-dragons, @themeanestlittlewitch, @beananacake

#marvel eternals #marvel x reader #eternals x reader #druig imagine #druig x reader #ikaris imagine #ikaris x reader #druig x eternal!reader #ikaris x eternal!reader #druig x female reader #druig eternals #ikaris #eternals #ikaris x female reader #ikaris x y/n

[vampirecatboy]

Hello yes tell us about cthonic gods please

ok ok so

clarification for those that need it: Cthonic deities in Greek Mythology are gods and goddesses and entities that reside in the Underworld

first off i want to say that Hades game was such a godsend for me, because to have such a popular, well-made piece of media that is all about my special interest is like the best gift an autistic person can get

i'll start with my two favorite boys: Hypnos and Thanatos

they are twins, first of all, two sons of Nyx, personification of night, and Erebus, who is darkness (i don't know if Hades game ever touched on this but Hypnos' mom was literally within shouting distance)

Thanatos hates mortals because they hate him (he is not the god of death he just is death, and not many mortals like death) and he hates the Olympians because they can't die, juries out on if he hates his own twin but there is this really cute painting that shows them asleep together, so i would guess ol Thanny is fond of his brother

now also the thing about Thanatos is that he is the personification of peaceful death, it's the furies who deal with violent death, like he's giving people a peaceful passing and they still hate him. death is death i suppose

also i know Thanatos is a love interest in Hades game, but in actual mythology he had no consorts and no children, truly aroace misanthropic king

now onto Hypnos, the personification of sleep, who did fuck, and had at least three children but i'll get to them in a sec

he lives in a grotto on the river Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, one of the five rivers of the Underworld (the others are the Styx, of course, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Acheron), he has his own court of minor gods and goddesses, including one of my personal favorites, Aergia, goddess of sloth and laziness, truly a "yes girl give us nothing!" moment honestly

there's also this story that i love, related to a mortal man who was also the lover of Selene, the moon. his name was Endymion, and in the more well known story, he was so beautiful when he slept, that Selene wanted to keep him in a state of eternal sleep, and they had 50 children, somehow, but the version of the story that i like (for reasons that will be very obvious lol) is that it was actually Hypnos who fell in love with him for the same reason as Selene, so he put Endymion into a state of eternal sleep, specifically with his eyes open, because he loved gazing into them (gay ass) no clue if their relationship was ever consummated like with Selene but one can imagine, this is Greek mythology after all

now Endymion wasn't the only lover Hypnos ever had, he also fell in love with one of Hera's graces (attendants?) whose name was Pasithea, and showing some remarkable restraint for a divine man in Greek myth, instead of abducting her or taking her by force, he asked Hera if he could marry her, and she agreed on the condition that he help turn the tide of the Trojan war (which is not my special interest so do not ask me about it, i know nothing lol)

with Pasithea, Hypnos had three sons, the most famous of which was Morpheus, god of dreams, his other two sons were Phobetor and Phantasos, but they all represent different aspects of dreaming, objects, beasts and people. Morpheus was specifically people in dreams, but he was the clear favorite and sort of took up the whole mantle from the other two Oneiroi

actually, addendum because i looked it up to check and the Oneiroi are the sons of Somnus, Hypnos' Roman equivalent, in Greek mythology they are his brothers. the rest of that is accurate though

so to summarize: Thanatos, aroace king, Hypnos, respectful if a bit weird bisexual, Aergia, just hangin' honestly

the twins have been depicted many ways, sometimes old men, sometimes babies, but i think most often they ended up being depicted as epheboi, teenagers

also it is very important that you know that Hypnos has head wings in a lot of his depictions, i forget if they depicted that in Hades but honestly who cares his design slaps either way

onto the most interesting thing for me about Hades game: Zagreus. he's obscure in Greek mythology, like all of Hades' alleged children, Macaria and Melinoe being the two i can remember. some scholars believe Zagreus to actually be Dionysus, because Dionysus also has ties to the underworld, i think in relation to his mother, like he had to rescue her from there or something? kind of a reverse of what Zagreus is trying to do in the game

i.... i think that's all the info i have to dump

i will not advocate for the accuracy of everything in this ramble (especially not the Zagreus/Dionysus bit, the stance among scholars might've changed since i acquired this information lol) but i certainly had fun thank you so much for asking me about this

#i'm sure you'll understand why this took so long to answer lol

[themuseandantarctica]

* 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏

sentence starters from christopher isherwood’s novel a single man. change however necessary.

tw: death, drugs, age gaps (between adults, no pedo.philia), some n.sfw text

i'm afraid of being rushed.

why? why? is it some cosmic entity, some arch-tyrant who tries to blind us to his very existence by setting us against our natural allies, the fellow victims of his tyranny?

such questions are hard to take seriously. they seem so academic.

intolerable old [name], always absolutely in the right, and crazy.

oh well, i expect it'll last our time.

the question "is this playacting or does he really hate us?" never occurs to them.

put them back, now! back! put them back!

i never hear the noise children make -- just as long as it's a happy noise.

do they know that they are afraid? no. but they are very afraid.

among many other kinds of monster, they are afraid of little me.

even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.

[name] wasn't a substitute for anything. and there is no substitute for [name], if you'll forgive my saying so, anywhere.

would you possibly be free tonight?

poor man, living there all alone. he has a kind face.

idiots -- fooled them again!

what is he up to?

these people are not amusing. they should never be dealt with amusingly. they understand only one language: brute force.

but does [name] want to be obeyed? doesn't he prefer to be defied so he can go on killing and killing -- since all these people are just vermin and the more of them that die the better?

no time to worry about that now.

it is a slander to say that they are identical.

the only ism i believe in is abstract expressionism.

is this some supersubtlety?

let's see if that old robot'll know the difference.

will any of them make it? oh, sure. one, at least. two or three at most.

you're always paying.

[name] wanted me to ask you, sir -- we were wondering if you could manage to get out to us again before too long?

won't this keep happening to him all through his life? won't he keep getting himself involved in the wrong kind of game, the kind of game he was never born to play, against an opponent who is quick and clever and merciless?

sorry, sir -- i lost you for a minute there.

they look as if they were ready at any minute to switch from studying to ditchdigging or gang fighting.

she has the look of a divorcee.

how can i impress, flatter or otherwise con this cantankerous old thing into giving me a good grade?

i must say, i don't see how anyone can pretend to be interested in a novel when he doesn't even stop to ask himself what its title means.

it's not much fun being beautiful for ever and ever, when you can't even wake up and look at yourself in a mirror.

well, what does [name] want them to say it's about? they'll say it's about anything he likes, anything at all.

wow! i don't dig that jazz.

what do we need eternity for, anyway?

the stupidest text in the bible is, 'they hated me without a cause.'

a minority is only thought of as a minority when it constitutes some kind of threat to the majority, real or imagined.

it's better if we admit to disliking and hating them than if we try to smear our feelings over with pseudo-liberal sentimentality.

why, you wouldn't recognize love if you met it! you'd suspect love!

well, after all, what else can you expect?

is this sheer idiocy or slyness?

i keep remembering that beautiful accent. it's like music.

i have to go down to the book shop.

you don't have any of those capsules left now, do you?

i bet, even if you had seen god, you wouldn't tell us.

someone has to ask you a question before you can answer it. but it's so seldom you find anyone who'll ask the right questions. most people aren't that much interested…

a place where the police are angels has to be an insane asylum.

the not-understanding, the readiness to remain at cross-purposes, is in itself a kind of intimacy.

isn't it some tiny satisfaction to be of use, instead of helping to turn out useless consumer goods?

just the same, it is a deadly bore and, to be frank, a wee bit distasteful.

want to go? we might ask him some awkward questions.

now we have with us a far more terrible fear, the fear of survival.

[name] stood me up. talk to me.

they're being cheated out of their childhood. they're being turned into junior consumers!

how can you talk such incredible nonsense?

that fills them with fury and loathing because they can never understand it.

essentially we're creatures of spirit. our life is all in the mind.

the nurses at the reception desk are pleasant, too. they don't fuss you with a lot of questions.

i am woman. i am bitch-mother nature. the church and the law and the state exist to support me.

i was screaming. they heard me clear down the hall.

it seems as if they can't bear to leave anything the way it used to be.

where's that fucking nurse?

if you'll just step outside for a moment. this won't take any time at all.

did she mean goodbye?

it will be a good christmas, the merchants predict.

i am alive, i am alive!

you old ass, who are you trying to seduce?

there is always an atmosphere of leisureliness in this place.

these things just kill me. man!

nobody is bitchy here, or ill-tempered, or inquisitive.

even up here, they are building dozens of new houses. this area is getting suburban.

the supermarket is still open; it won't close till midnight.

who says i have to be brave? who depends on me now? who cares?

look -- is it too late to change my mind? about tonight?

who can it be at this hour?

they might notice something queer about me, and you'd feel ashamed.

hey -- you can't die here! ain't this heaven?

the author gets slightly vague, so i've had to improvise a bit. i mean, he doesn't come right out and say so, but i have a suspicion that one's supposed to make it with human flesh. actually, i've used leftovers from a joint…

i've already made two new year's resolutions -- only they're effective immediately. the first is, i'm going to admit i loathe bourbon.

you know, i sometimes think, about you, whenever you do something really sweet, you're ashamed of it afterwards!

how many times, when [name] and i came to visit you -- sulking, avoiding each other's eyes, talking to each other only through you -- did you somehow bring us together again by the sheer power of your unawareness that anything was wrong?

he has made up his mind, really and truly. he wants a complete break.

i know you think he hasn't behaved well to me, [name]. i don't blame you for thinking that.

i betrayed you, [name]; i betrayed our life together.

i keep wondering just when it began to go wrong.

so here we are, just the two of us. just you and me.

i mean, until i've done that, i won't feel everything's really over. you have to do something to convince yourself.

i never wanted to live alone, [name].

how can you pretend you don't love it? and you miss it -- you wish you were back there -- you know you do.

i'm not sure how i should like that part of it.

whatever you say about it, darling, you always make it sound so marvelously romantic.

what's the harm? it's fun. it adds a new dimension to being drunk.

[name] not enjoying himself? he was having the ball of his life!

we were always making plans like that. we hardly ever told other people about them, even you. maybe that was because we knew in our hearts they were crazy.

no, [name], cross my heart, i am honestly not being bitchy!

feeling guilty's no reason for staying or going. the point is, do you want to go?

i think i shall go back, [name]. i dread it -- but i'm beginning to think i really shall.

i had to tell her at once, right after it happened. otherwise, i'd have been so afraid she'd find out for herself, in some uncanny way, and that would have been too shaming.

the past is just something that's over.

i can't stand anymore indecision. i've got to burn my boats, this time.

i should hate so to leave you, [name].

we could get drunk and earn money at the same time.

do women ever stop trying?

you are drunk. oh, you stupid old thing, how dare you get so drunk?

oh, the bloody battles and the sidewalk vomitings!

seashells are still less easy to find here than discarded rubbers.

it was nothing. only a poem.

but imagine your happening to pick on this particular bar!

do you really think i'd be such an idiot as to try to buy drinks for a minor?

you could invite him to stay the night at your place. tell him you'll drive him back in the morning.

you can talk about anything and change the subject as often as you like.

that's the trouble. i don't know what is important and what isn't.

the past doesn't really matter to most kids my age. when we talk like it does, we're just being polite.

maybe i will. maybe i'll get mad at you.

if you and i are no different, what do we have to give each other? how can we ever be friends?

whatever made me tell you all that? am i drunk or something?

i, personally, have gotten steadily sillier and sillier and sillier.

well, i'm not bluffing -- so what are we waiting for? you weren't bluffing, were you?

that's enough for now!

they ought not to let you out on your own, ever. you're liable to get into real trouble.

don't be an idiot. you'd get pneumonia.

you don't even have a cat or a dog or anything?

i believe you've discovered the secret of the perfect life!

getting married? no. that's out.

i don't believe you're that much interested whether i marry [name] or not. i think you want to ask me something different.

so now she's called the whole thing off?

you aren't exactly sober, if you don't mind my saying so.

and now get me another drink.

i suppose you've decided i'm a dirty old man?

don't you have a glimmering of how i must feel -- longing to speak?

the point is -- here am i and here are you -- and for once, there' s no one to disturb us.

it's the enormous tragedy of everything nowadays: flirtation. flirtation instead of fucking, if you'll pardon my coarseness.

thought maybe i'd better split, after all.

that was great, this evening. let's do it again, shall we? or don't you believe in repeating things?

quick -- we need a substitute!

yes, i am crazy. that is my secret; my strength. and i'm about to get much crazier.

what if [name] has been scared off? what if he doesn't come back?

this is where he found [name]. he believes he will find another [name] here. he doesn't know it, but he has started looking already.

but is all of [name] altogether present here?

how can such a variety of creatures coexist at all?

both will have to be carted away and disposed of, before too long.

#rp meme #rp starters #sentence meme #sentence starters #prompts #rp prompts #writing prompts

[rphelperblog]

Steve Harrington Rp Meme

inspired by @recoveringjock​ feel free to edit or change pronouns-

"I love KFC... It’s finger-lickin' good."

“She threw it with her mind. She has superpowers, keep up.”

“i’m not saying that you have no game, I’m just saying you can’t beat me in the girl department.”

“Oh, screw him. [muses’s name] is her daddy now.”

If it makes you feel any better, having those things isn’t all that great.”

Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me?”

 “I love you, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry? The hell am I sorry for?” 

“Ahoy Ladies! Didn’t see you there ”

“Well... you know... I could take him out.”

”I like boobies. You like boobies.”

“you think that I am a spy in a sailors costume?”

“Wait a second, are we even allowed to be here?”

“She sounds like a muppet giving birth.”

"How many children are you friends with?"

“if you die, I die.”

“How many times- I don’t do drugs, dad. It’s only marijuana.”

“You are not falling in love with this girl? Are you?”

”Know who pauses Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds? People who like boobies.”

"I just... I wanna help."

Your new best friend who you think is cooler than me because he plays your nerdy game?"

Then why is it called 'Back to the Future'?!”

“That kids gotta get his ego in check.”

“Always the babysitter. Always the goddamn babysitter.”

“How come this random girl is the only one helping me?”

“I’m stealthy, like a ninja.” 

“Yeah it’s me Don’t cream your pants”

“I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but turns out I’m actually a pretty damn good babysitter.” 

”The obvious things are not what people observe.’ Or…’ do…don’t observe.’ Or…Sherlock Holmes.”

Huh that's weird I don't know her."

He’s missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo.”

“How do you know it’s not just a lizard?”

“Yeah, that’s a no.”

“Is this really necessary?”

As someone who has a long history of not understanding anything. I feel confident in my ability to continue not to know what is going on.”

You're beautiful.”

"Thank you. For giving my head the biggest thump of Its life two years ago. I needed It. It's changed my life. And now I'm crawling forward. slowly."

“hello ladies...”

“Screw Company Policy. You Know That”

"Man, kids are the worst! Who needs 'em, anyway?"

"She’s only gonna break your heart, and you’re way too young for that."

"Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. you tell anyone I just told you that and your ass is grass."

“Something’s coming. Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here”

"I said does everyone understand that?!"

“Hey. Hey. Hey! This is not happening.” 

“This is crazy, That is actually… This is crazy. THIS IS CRAZY ”

” It’s Fabergé Organics. Use the shampoo and the conditioner, and when your hair’s damp—it’s not wet, okay? When it’s damp, do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray.”

"You look great, and you’re gonna slay 'em dead."

With their quickness, our game plan to start was to slow them down a little bit, play some zone. They hit some threes and at that point we just felt we had to change it up. We went man-to-man, we went with a different lineup tonight. We just went with all quick ball-handling type players.”

We’re out there where we hope to be pristine into eternity.”

#open rp #open to all #open to anyone #ask meme #open meme #open to anybody #rp meme #ask prompt #roleplay meme #memes #open starter #stranger things rp #stranger things #steve harrington #steve Harrington rp #open stranger things rp #open stranger things starter #open stranger things roleplay #supernatural rp

[west-tokyo-incidents]

Many claim to know exactly which tree the false dragon inhabits. The one by the road leading out of the city. The half dead one in the massive field no one but the most foolish kids play in. The one cherry blossom who's petals are three shades redder than all the others. Gifts and offerings are left at the base of these trees, with blasphemous prayers to the serpent for the beauty of its petals, the strength of its bark, the span of its life...

CW- gore, misogyny, manipulation, abandonment, body horror, yokai trickery at its worst

---

They're all... wrong.

None of these trees have been around so long. None of these trees have roots that entwine with the foundations of their homes. None of them are even proper tsubaki.

The gifts are often whisked away by lesser yokai, small young oni who are desperate for an offering to strengthen them. And an improperly delivered gift is one free for the taking.

Far up in the mountain, the branches of the tree stretch languidly, as if eternally stretching from a restful night's sleep. It is an evergreen, usually small but so old that it far out-grows the maples around it. It's fruits and petals litter the ground beneath it, some places among the massive roots become dens for the more wild demons that do not inhabit the ruins and buildings instead.

The ruins that the demons inhabit are that of a village that had once served the city. A village that had scorned the spirit. Not that it was active in the memory of any who lived in the city, but the tale still spooked the children in to not burning sticks too close to the trees.

The great, old tsubaki spirit prefers this solitude. It feels the incorrect offerings through its far stretching roots and can't help but chuckle. The yokai it shelters give it plenty of offerings. They fling the gore of their prizes onto its bark and entertain it when they fight, it has no need of mortal gifts.

One such night, the yokai danced in their fire wisps, celebrating with with many offerings the poor city had scraped up. Drunken spirit's that stumble and slur. The discarded silks of their meal litter the clearing, except for one that a naked yokai with a hairy ass dances around in.

It watches in amusement, slowly taking in the sake that's splashed into its soil and the blood that cakes the dusty dirt into mud and dirties the feet of the wild beasts. It's cute, how distracted they are that they don't notice the footfalls in the forest.

A single woman so clever to take advantage of their drunken state to slip by in the shadows of the trees, but not so clever to know how to hide properly. She's so obvious it makes the tree want to cackle, to alert the others, to point her out like the fool she is. But even funnier is the great lord himself missing the woman's stumbling over a root and slipping into a puddle of some light weighted idiot's vomit.

It wonders what she is after. She's not in good health, is either of low blood or trying to seem like such... and she's with child. Her eyes fall on the great tree and she pauses before her steps speed up. She manages around to the back of the tree itself, where a shumoku musume has curled up for a nap away from the festivities.

The woman, for all her clumsy approach, has an ice in her eyes. Combined withe bile and blood that stain her clothing, it makes her look pitiful, like a guard dog that's soaked in its own fear-induced piss. She tightens her jaw and her fists, "Alright, tree demon. I've come all this way to make a deal with you..."

And that is enough to make the tsubaki spirit begin to laugh. To cackle even. Interrupting the woman and drawing attention. The laughter echoes from all around, with no apparent source.

The ice in her eyes turns to slush, surely flushing her system with the fear it can taste off of her. It's even almost certain that she really has pissed herself now. The hammer girl jolts awake and turns to stare. The drunken reverie nearby turns their heads and some even jump up to see what has amused the spirit so. Those ones wave to invite others over.

The woman stares at a spot on its bark as a small crowd of yokai surround her and stare, giggling and snickering along. They taunt one another, jokingly accusing each other of letting her by. It's laughter hasn't yet stopped. Perhaps it's had too much of the leftover sake.

The smooth, grey bark of the tree begins to move, or seems to do so. As if melting out of the bark, snakeskin appears. Slowly the whole of the tree looks like one serpent, with no head and no tail. A clawed limb slides out between the coils and grasps at its own self.

It forms its head, chosing the spot on its bark she had chosen to look at to change into a gaunt, angled face. Something between serpent and human. Not the beautiful woman's face its kind usually take. Its neck tenses into a sharp s-curve, eyes of two colors staring her down and drawing closer. His head is the size of her torso. His lips are scaled and turned into a permanent smile. His eyes do not blink, but stare as well.

The laugh peters off and it tilts its head. As if it hadn't already gotten a good look, it makes a show of looking her over.

"You're amusing, mortal." A long, thick tongue slips out languidly to flick off to one side of her, "Entertain me more."

Her eyes harden again and her fists clench, anger in her muscles making them tremble, "I've come to make a deal with you! You have given maidens beauty and good health in the past, in exchange for favors or service or..." Its face is nearly against hers, it's eyeballs nearly half the size of her skull. She trembles and clears her throat, "O-or for their children...!"

"You have brought no child with you that you can give me."

"I have a son I will send to you. He is strong and he would not be missed by his father--"

"You ask for two favors, then, and offer nothing in return."

Her breath catches and the hard ice shatters again.

The smile doesn't move, but its eyes seem to widen in lieu of its mouth, "You want me to give you health, give you beauty... and take the bastard son you don't want." He shakes his head, "I have heard your whisperings with your husband. My roots witness all in the city. You're clever, little one, but not smart." It draws its head back, "You will keep the son."

It looks her over and its eyes fall on her stomach. On her womb. She is only so far along, it is likely she is oblivious to it.

"I will give you health and beauty, but you will never have another child..."

"...who doesn't belong to me." It flicks its claw out and jabs it against her stomach, but doesn't pierce, "I will take this one. And any you have after. You will never bear a son or daughter to your husband who is not mine. You will be fit and strong and beautiful beyond measure. But you will never provide an heir. Not for this husband. Not for any husband after he abandons you." He twists his claw, and sneers, "If you do not accept this deal, then I will let my friends have at your body and then your corpse when they inevitably rape your shit life out of you."

The yokai around whoop and hollar, throwing jeers at her. She'll be pretty, yeah, pretty useless to any husband.

She swallows. It knows not exactly what is going through her mind, except that she looks down at its claw. It was right. She didn't know she was pregnant again.

All it takes is a sheepish nod from her, and the tree's cackling bursts out, already at a feverish pitch. But this time she can see the jeering face. The fangs that flex as it's mouth falls open.

Lazily, it looks away, eyes scanning the ground, "Let's see, let's see..." it plucks some of the fallen fruits up off the ground, half rotted and smelling of sake. It yanks her hand forward and pushes them into her hand, "Brew these into a tea. One a day. Your health will return and no man will deny that you are the fairest they've ever seen. When you have no more of these, you will find more at your doorstep until you give birth. You will bring the child to me on her fifteenth birthday. Old enough to know the choice you have made."

She doesn't say anything, staring at the gross fruits. Its long, thick tongue flicks out again, this time it hits the side of her head. It appears to be an accident, but it is a slap, "Go on. Go home to your husband. Or jump off the bridge at the mountain pass. Both would be enjoyable to watch."

The spirit grins as she curls her fingers around the squishing skins of the fruits, then starts to walk away. The clan of yokai jeering at her, and some even spitting at her.

The appearance of the dragon-like serpent fades and leaves just the tree again, now contentedly pleased with the activities of the night, "Spill more sake for me, will you?" It laughs as it trips the half naked yokai on his way back to the main group, his cup breaking on the hard ground.

"Fifteenth birthday?" A raiju taunts, "Can't handle a toddler?"

"Pah! Heavens and hell, no. Could you?"

An agreeing shake of the head from the black-skinned bull, "Absolutely not. Let the bitches raise the pups." A brief pause, "What if she kills the child before the birthday?"

"What if she jumps off the bridge on her way back, as I suggested? Who cares."

"What if she doesn't bring the child?" The bull-demon stretches and drops itself into a nook between its roots that is blissfully dry.

"That's fifteen years away, I'll think of something."

"Maybe."

One of the roots lifts suddenly to fling the lightning spirit away from his resting place.

#might rewrite this later #or i might not #the flippant nature of the tree spirit before it recieves its treasure is a lot of fun #golden possessions #i imagine Mizho is brought up to the tree a frw years before Kia is 'given' to Vice #and Kia thinks shes lost her best friend the whole time #only to later discover she's still alive #so thats fun #ress writes

[melancholypancakes]

So, there’s a lot to talk about this. This is some OCs from my deviantart account within the Markiplier TV franchise.

My Deviantart account mainly use for Creepypasta now, since there wasn’t a lot of Markiplier TV fans active so now I’m on tumblr :)

Warning: mention of sensitive topics such as suicide, death and the topic of reincarnation. If you don’t like that please skip away!

Disclaimer: these Goddesses are OCs “Original character” they are not real goddesses in Japanese Mythology and the places and Jizo a god I mentioned are from Japanese mythology.

First let’s talk about the characters :)

Tsubaki, the Goddess of Love

“In Japanese Mythology, Tsubaki is the goddess of love and lust although she may be bad at love herself, she will grant any humanity love in any shape or form.”

“Tsubaki is the daughter of Akari The Goddess of Creation and Kazuki The God of Mortals. She is also the husband of Goro the God of Wrath and has three daughters with him.”

“Haru the God of Spring, Mieko the God of Light and Kokoro the Goddess of Emotions are Tsubaki older siblings that reside alongside Akari, Kazuki, Tsubaki, Goro, Scarlett and Rose in Takamagahara (High Plain of Heaven)

Scarlett, The Goddess of Children

“in Japanese Mythology, Scarlett is the Goddess of Children she protects and blesses children from their parent’s sins and guides them to the right path.”

“Scarlett is the eldest daughter Tsubaki The Goddess of Love and Goro The God of Wrath, Scarlett is the Granddaughter of Akari The Goddess of Creation and Kazuki The God of Mortals.

“Scarlett has two younger sisters, and she resides in Takamagahara ( High Plain in Heaven)”

Rose, The Godess of Beauty and Wisdom

“In Japanese Mythology, Rose is The Goddess of Beauty and Wisdom; many adore her and her guidance of wisdom for their future. “

“ Rose is the 2nd daughter of Tsubaki The Goddess of Love and Goro The God of Wrath; she is the granddaughter of Akari The Godess of Creation and Kazuki The God of Mortals.”

“She has an older sister and younger sister, Rose resides in Takamagahara (High Plain of Heaven)”

Lyra, The Goddess of Death

“In Japanese Mythology, Lyra is The Goddess of Death and guides souls to the afterlife. However, this was not her role she was meant to be called upon; she was to be The Goddess of Life and Melody.”

“Unfortunately, she was cast out of the heavens for her cruelty against mankind, half of her body was burned and she was half skin and half bones.”

“She was banished to the underworld as punishment; Although, some say in variations she was kind and sweet towards everyone before her 80th birthday.”

“Lyra was cursed by her Father with Eternal Reincarnation, as he called it her “gift” the gods soon stripped her heavenly abilities as of Life and Melody”

“They banished her to the land of the Dead without a second thought.”

“Lyra is the daughter of Tsubaki The Goddess of Love and Goro The God of Wrath; she is the youngest granddaughter of Akari The Goddess of Creation and Kazuki The God of Mortals. Lyra has two older sisters but remains in “Yomi” the Underworld”

The Curse

“As long as thyself remains in Eternal Reincarnation, so shall this be the norm. Until an Act of Love comes to be thy will be set free”

“This was Lyra curse, until an act of true love came to her, she will be set free from her Eternal Reincarnation but if not, she will be met by Death and once again be Reborn.”

Wait for me

This is an art inspired by Hadestown “Wait for me”

This is a sibling version of the telling of “Orpheus & Eurydice” in this Japanese Mythology version Lyra is a younger sister of Rose who was misfortune to be cursed and force to reside within the underworld.

“When Rose found out by Jizo, The God of Travelers and children who had told Rose; Lyra was six feet down the underworld and had called for Rose before she went.”

“Jizo, told Rose there was a way to get her little sister back but it was a deadly path she may not come back from and asked, “ Do you really want to go?” and Rose looked into his eyes with sorrow.”

“with all my heart.” she says as he sighs and smiles.

“With all your heart…We’ll that’s a start” he said as he proceeded to show Rose the way as he left her warnings what lies ahead “Yomi” the land of the dead.

“Rose wouldn’t give up on her sister and even if Scarlett and their mother were cowards; Rose would sacrifice everything if it meant to save Lyra’s life.”

Sadly, just like Orpheus and Eurydice, Lyra never made it back to heaven and her curse was never lifted up because of Rose turning her back after the King of the underworld had warned her not to.

Lyra was forever lost in Yomi…

Also, who guides the mortals to the afterlife if Lyra gone and reincarnated?

Well, according to Japanese Mythology there are many “Shinigami” Death gods; so Lyra wasn’t the only one.

If you’re wondering how Lyra got reincarnated into Mortals ( Y/n) Lyra had stabbed herself in the heart with a crystal shard that could kill gods.

She hoped she could release her curse this way but she was reincarnated as a young peasant mortal Japanese woman, an empress, a soldier, a farm girl, a rich girl, the DA and now Y/n.

Originally, I was just going to stick with a mythology story with other gods with a “friend” of mine before creating Ruthanne as a reincarnation of Lyra in Markiplier TV which lead to creating Alice :)

I’m glad I created Ruthanne and Alice though ☺️

The reason the mythology story didn’t work out is because this friend had ghosted me on the plans for the series.

So, I decided to just do things on my own with my characters and Y/n in the Markiplier TV franchise.

Yes, this is why Ruthanne has powers because she is a reincarnation of a goddess and has a curse on her soul.

Now, you know part of my Y/n origin story :D at least from her previous lives I’ll get into her personal life as the DA and Y/n in another post.

#japanese mythology #my oc stuff #my oc shit #my oc story #Y/n #markiplier tv fanart #inktober #my art #sensitive topics #mentions of suicide #eternal reincarnation #reincarnated! y/n #wkm #da wkm #wkm y/n #goddess oc #deviantart #origin story #oc lore #Y/n lore #Alice OC

[innerpalaces]

THE PRINCESS WEI YANG - 169 PART 2

CHAPTER 169: Eternal Disaster

On the sixth day of the lunar month, the Empress Dowager's funeral was held. Since the morning, heavy snow had been falling all over the capital. The wind stirred up the snow and the snow wrapped in the wind, seeming to mirror the currently restless atmosphere of the imperial court. As far as the eye could see, the palace was filled with white drapes, white screens, white tables, and white mourning dresses. A cold wind blew, and a series of weeping sounds could be heard.

When Li Wei Yang entered the main hall, what she saw was this scene. There were not only the Emperor's children, but also Consort Rou, Consort Lian and other concubines in the palace. Their tears seemed to be endless. When the Empress died a few days ago, they mourned for three days and three nights. Now they still have to mourn. Not only do they have to mourn, but they also have to cry in a dramatic fashion. However, these people may have been crying for too long and too much, and they can no longer squeeze out tears. So, rather than saying they were crying, it would be more accurate to say they were howling. But no matter whether it is real crying or fake crying, there is still no flaw in the appearance.

Li Wei Yang stood among the crowd, covering her face with a handkerchief. In fact, the Empress Dowager was not very kind to her. After all, she had schemed against her several times, but it was not too unreasonable. After Princess Yongning got married, the Empress Dowager had repeatedly tried to find her to rebuild burned bridges. Obviously this old woman was not that cruel and heartless. Perhaps the older a person gets, the more they feel that killing is endless and they hope for things to calm things. However, the Empress Dowager would never have imagined that Tuoba Zhen would poison her for the throne, and Tuoba Yu would ignore it in order to prove his brother's crime. At that time, Li Wei Yang could have kept the court lady who poisoned the Empress Dowager, but the situation was too chaotic. She couldn't predict the consequences of keeping this person alive. If she escaped and went out to publicize the Empress Dowager's death, she would also suffer. It was an unnecessary disaster, so Wei Yang simply ended it with one blow, but this also left a hidden danger. Now no one can prove who poisoned the Empress Dowager.

Tuoba Yu had been looking at Li Wei Yang from a distance, his eyes deep. Since that separation in the palace, he hasn't had the chance to see her, but he knows that she is safe, which is already good.

Li Wei Yang suddenly raised her eyes, and her gaze collided with Tuoba Yu's unintentionally. Tuoba Yu only felt that there seemed to be some shining light that illuminated the dim hall for an instant. He couldn't help but feel a little moved, and even wanted to reach out and hold her in his arms.

"Your Highness?" A woman's voice sounded next to him. Tuoba Yu suddenly woke up from his thoughts and looked back, seeing a beautiful face. "You don't look good. Are you feeling unwell?"

Princess Pinting's face was full of worry, but Tuoba Yu just looked at her coldly: "I'm fine."

Princess Pinting glanced in the direction of Li Wei Yang, feeling slightly sad, but she had to suppress this emotion and said softly: "That's good."

His Highness Seventh Prince likes Princess Anping. This matter has long been known to everyone. For this reason, Pinting had tried to stop this marriage. Unfortunately, many things are uncontrollable. If possible, Pinting doesn't want to be caught between the two of them, but - Wei Yang said that she has never liked Tuoba Yu, so can she hope that when Tuoba Yu gives up on Wei Yang, he will pay attention to her, who has been standing by his side? Princess Pinting didn't realize that her thoughts were so naive. She had been raised by Chaoyang King and was full of optimism for everything, but she didn't know that a person's heart can't be won just by working hard.

At this moment, there was a slight stir from the front of the crowd, and they heard someone exclaim: "My lady, are you alright?"

Li Wei Yang raised her eyes and saw that Consort Lian, who had been kneeling in front, had collapsed. Everyone hurriedly helped her to the side hall. Consort Lian slowly woke up, lifted her eyelids, and glanced at everyone. "I'm fine, I'm just too sad."

Too sad. Li Wei Yang felt quite amused when she heard these words. She walked up slowly and said to everyone: "You all go back first. It's fine as long as I'm here."

The court ladies looked at each other, but seeing Consort Lian and Li Wei Yang's expressions, they all retreated knowingly.

Consort Lian's eyes were like waves. She glanced at Li Wei Yang, and whispered softly: "Wei Yang, you really understand my thoughts." She paused, "I just fainted, and you knew I wanted to see you alone."

Li Wei Yang smiled, looking at her calmly: "Of course Wei Yang understands Consort Lian's thoughts."

Consort Lian picked up the tea cup, and drank some water to moistened her throat. She had been crying for too long just now, and she could hardly move. Of course she had to seize the opportunity to take a breath at this moment. Then she put down the tea cup and said: "I haven't had the chance to see you, so I can't ask you anything about what happened in the palace before. Why didn't you tell me earlier so that I could be mentally prepared?"

She was talking about Sun Chongyao's attack on the palace - Li Wei Yang smiled and said: "Consort Lian already knows what she knows, so why bother asking me?"

Consort Lian's expression changed slightly and she said, "What are you talking about? How could I know this?!"

Li Wei Yang was neither humble nor arrogantly: "Consort Lian has changed since the fall of the Jiang family. You no longer need revenge, so you are only thinking about building your own wealth. But this wealth is not obtained for nothing. I thought you would at least be ethical, but I didn't expect that you would defect to Tuoba Zhen halfway."

Consort Lian's expression suddenly changed as she said: "What nonsense are you spouting!"

"Whether I am spouting nonsense or not, Consort Lian knows best. His Majesty has not made a decision yet, and Tuoba Zhen once made trouble for you, but you still surrendered to him without hesitation. It really surprises me." Li Wei Yang smiled.

Consort Lian's face became even more ugly, and she was speechless for a moment: "So you have suspected me for a long time."

Li Wei Yang sneered and said: "Consort Lian is too smart, but she has been a little impatient in doing things recently. You always ask me a lot of questions and can't wait to know the answer. If you hadn't done this, I wouldn't have had doubts in my heart."

Consort Lian's face gradually calmed down, and she just sighed: "In this way, I am still showing off my flaws, but you shouldn't blame me. No matter how beautiful my appearance is, there will be a day when my appearance fades. Once I'm no longer in my prime, I am just a powerless concubine. I will stay in the palace all my life. What's the use of being rich and noble? But Tuoba Zhen promised me that I would give my son the title of The King of Jiangxia and grant him the fiefdom of Lanzhou. At that time, I can leave the capital in glory and live a freer life."

What makes Tuoba Zhen better than Tuoba Yu is his grasp of people's hearts. He understood Consort Lian's anxieties and her desire for power. However, could such a headstrong person like him really allow his empire to have an imperial concubine and a young prince who could form their own country? Li Wei Yang smiled lightly and said: "Although I sent you into the palace, there is nothing wrong with planning for yourself. It's just that Tuoba Zhen is not an easy person to deal with. Your Majesty, I am afraid that before you left the capital, you would become the first concubine to follow the Emperor to his grave."

Consort Lian stopped smiling, and her expression became more and more cold. She patted the folds on her skirt gently and stood up. The fatigue and weakness she had shown just now seemed to have never existed. She slowly said: "Li Wei Yang, not everything in this world will be under your control. We still don't know who will win. I advise you to leave a way out for yourself."

Li Wei Yang's eyes were like an ancient well. They looked clear and dark, but there was a chill that made people tremble all over. She pressed forward step by step and said: "Consort Lian, you have done so much for us, do you think Tuoba Zhen will really let you go? You want to have the best of both worlds, but I'll warn you, only those who stand firm can live longer."

Consort Lian's expression did not look good: "Li Wei Yang, I have helped you so much, do you still have a conscience?"

There was a smile on Li Wei Yang's lips, and she said meaningfully: "Conscience? I haven't had one for a long time. Why? Does Consort Lian still have one?"

Consort Lian's expression suddenly changed, as if covered with a layer of white frost, and then she became even more angry. A common problem among smart people is that they believe in themselves too much. Consort Lian is of course also a smart person, and she also suffers from this problem. She naturally feels that she is an exception, but Li Wei Yang knows very well that there are no exceptions. In Tuoba Zhen's hands, there will never be a useless lackey. He always likes to get rid of the old and welcome the new...

Consort Lian couldn't say a word for a long time. Finally, she looked at Li Wei Yang's cold expression, softened her tone, and said: "Wei Yang, I was just confused for a moment, not to mention that I was just talking to Tuoba Zhen. I met him several times in private, but I didn't reveal any important information to him."

That's because I've been guarding against you, and you didn't have the chance to tell him anything! Li Wei Yang sneered in her heart, but on her face she showed an awkward expression: "You have already taken refuge in him, can I still trust you?"

Tears began to well up in Consort Lian's beautiful eyes, and she said: "Wei Yang, you have always been my friend. I have always been soft-hearted and easily moved by people's words. Now I know I was wrong. Wei Yang, please forgive me. I will never help him again! I just ask you give me another chance for the sake of how many times I have helped you!" As she said that, regardless of her identity, she knelt down with a plop, grabbing the corner of Li Wei Yang's skirt with tears streaming down her face.

That look and expression were so pitiful that anyone who saw her would be moved and think she had sincerely repented. Li Wei Yang sighed in his heart and said softly: "Why are you doing this?"

Consort Lian looked up at her with hope: "Wei Yang, I would not regret my own death, but the little prince is innocent. If you tell the Seventh Prince about this, he will never let me go! Nor will he spare the little prince!"

Tears streamed down Consort Lian's face, and she didn't even hesitate to use her own child as an example in hopes of moving Wei Yang. Li Wei Yang looked at her, a trace of ridicule flashed through her heart, but her face remained calm and she said: "Consort Lian, you should get up quickly. I can't accept such a big gift."

Consort Lian gritted her teeth and said, "If you don't forgive me, I'll continue to kneel and not get up."

Li Wei Yang's face showed a trace of fluctuation, as if she was moved by Consort Lian, and said: "I'll just pretend that this never happened."

Consort Lian immediately showed a tearful smile and said: "Okay, from now on, I will never let you down again. If I violate this oath, I will be struck by thunder and will not end well."

Li Wei Yang smiled meaningfully and said: "Why do you need to make such a vow, Wei Yang believes you are sincere."

Consort Lian received repeated assurances from Li Wei Yang and left with satisfaction. Shortly after she left, Tuoba Yu walked in from behind the door. His face was covered with a layer of frost, and he had obviously heard what Consort Lian said. Li Wei Yang looked at him, smiled slightly, and said: "Did you hear everything?"

Tuoba Yu sneered and said: "It turns out that our ally has betrayed us long ago. If you had told me earlier, I would not have given her a chance to live until now."

Li Wei Yang smiled and said: "She is just an insignificant person. If you kill her while the rebels are taking advantage of the situation, it will arouse His Majesty's suspicion. It's unnecessary." Tuoba Yu's face was still full of hatred, but Li Wei Yang changed the topic and said, "Has everything been arranged?"

Tuoba Yu gently raised his lips, his dark eyes were shining, and he took a deep look at Li Wei Yang and said: "I have laid down a group in Cangling; three hundred carefully selected archers. There are also five hundred guards on the periphery to seal off every escape route. No matter how powerful he is in martial arts, he will not be able to escape with his life." Then, he paused for a moment and said, "However, he's already been forced into a corner, do we still need to take the risk?"

Li Wei Yang smiled and said: "Your Highness, if you have to consider whether everything is worth doing, then there is no need to do it at all. If you want to win, don't look backward. You can only move forward. If you look back, you will be doomed."

Tuoba Yu's expression changed slightly, as if he was talking to himself: "Wei Yang, you are always more cruel than me."

Li Wei Yang glanced at him with a half-smile and said: "Oh, really?"

Tuoba Yu only felt that her glance seemed to see through all his thoughts, and immediately his heart trembled, and he laughed: "This is natural, I am too soft-hearted, and I am hesitant in doing things. Its all thanks to you for giving me advice, or else I would really be in trouble. I don't even know how to repay you."

His words seemed to be filled with boundless love, but when they entered Li Wei Yang's ears, they gave off a strange creepy feeling. Li Weiyang clearly heard them, but she didn't seem to feel anything, she only smiled and said: "Thank you in advance."

The two looked at each other and smiled with infinite understanding, but they had their own thoughts and intentions at every step. At this moment, a shadow flashed by the window and quickly vanished. Li Wei Yang raised her eyes, glanced at it, and a sneer appeared on her lips.

On the day when the Empress Dowager's coffin leaves the palace, everyone has to see her off all the way to Cangling. Cangling is the closest mountain to the capital, with a height of 360 meter. It is not far from the cemetery where the Emperor will be buried in the future. Cangling is a cliff to the south and a steep rockface to the north, shaped like a black dragon with its head raised to the sky. The Emperor had already ordered people to build a plank road on the south side of Cangling Mountain. He then built a gate at the middle of the mountain, constructed a graveyard path, and then proceeded to build an imperial tomb at a depth of 500 feet. After two years, the tomb was finally completed. The Emperor ordered people to pour molten iron between the stone bars, waited for the Empress Dowager's coffin to be placed inside, then sealed the tomb passage and dismantled the plank road. In this way, there is a cliff below the tomb, and birds are unable to land on it, truly integrating with the mountains. This is not only to prevent thieves from robbing the tomb, but more importantly, no matter how many years pass or how many dynasties change, no one can disturb the peace of the Empress Dowager.

When Li Wei Yang explained this to Zhao Yue. Zhao Yue was dumbfounded and said after a long time: "His Majesty's thoughts are really rare in the world."

Li Wei Yang smiled softly and said: "Yes, His Majesty is a rare smart person in the world." But if it were her, she would not go to such trouble. She would need to be buried in the mountains. Just dig a whole and place the coffin in without raising a tomb or grave marker. If there is no gold and jade buried with the coffin, no one will steal it. Or even more simply, just burn it with fire, and all ashes will return to ashes, and dust will return to dust. No matter who becomes the Emperor in the future, everyone will have eternal peace.

The Empress Dowager 's funeral was attended by hundreds of officials, escorted by the imperial army, and tens of thousands of people were dispatched. Walking all the way, they finally arrived at the foot of Cangling Mountain. The sacrifice began. The Emperor knelt down three times and bowed nine times. The princes, officials, and madams all accompanied him. After completing his duties, the Emperor watched the coffin being sent in, the tomb passage was closed, and the soldiers cut off the plank road. At this time, someone reported to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, traces of Sun Chongyao's henchmen were found on the right side of Cangling——"

Following Sun Chongyao's rebellion, some people fled after hearing the news. Cangling is located in a remote area, mostly surrounded by high mountains. It is not surprising that Sun Chongyao's old subordinates chose this place. However, these people actually dared to show up when the Empress Dowager was being buried. This was really too bold. No, it might even be someone's plan. The Emperor gave Tuoba Zhen a cold look. Tuoba Zhen immediately realized something and whispered: "Father, please allow me to capture them."

Tuoba Zhen wished to arrest these people. On the one hand, he could draw a clear line with them, and on the other hand, he could prove his loyalty to the Emperor. It was perfect. The Emperor nodded, waved his hand and said, "Go."

Tuoba Zhen watched the Emperor's chariot leave, turned around and was about to mount his horse, when suddenly a guard quietly approached him and gave him a note calmly. Not far away, a woman looked at him. He clearly recognized that this woman was Consort Lian's trusted aide. He smiled slightly, blocked the sight of others with his sleeves, opened it, and read the lines at a glance. Then he was stunned. After a moment, he clenched the note tightly and sneered. Li Wei Yang, if you want me to die, how can it be so easy!

#the princess wei yang

[alligoodc]

You’re the blessing

As our days on earth accumulate life progresses. By design the higher the accumulation the higher the realization of the blessings we’ve been giving to help us get to the point we are, as long as we have disciplined our sight to see these as blessings and nothing less. Great moments and the tough alike all make our portrait of life the beautiful masterpiece it becomes.

Feeling a little sentimental this evening, here’s some of my great blessings. The list is too long to list them all, and each one not listed are so much a part of the happiness and joy I have come to realize. If you are reading this, know that we have been introduced to each by more than chance or circumstance. I hope I have added as much to your life portrait as you have mine. Much love for you all.

First and foremost our Maker and his Son for his grace. Loving Christian parents that sacrifice for better futures for their children. Siblings that are always a part of who we are no matter how far apart we are. A loving spouse who exemplifies a Christ like sacrificial love that can’t be duplicated again. Children that allow us to realize unreachable dreams through the parts of ourselves we see in them. Friends, client, customers, who fill our days and give us the reward of a smile or embrace that warms our heart. Teachers who give so much year after year and change the lives of their students in ways they may never know. While I love some of my lower school teachers ( public school) still to this day and the many teachers of my children, I can’t omit the teams of administrative people who have maintained operations of a great private Christian School, From my preschool to high school years to my children’s schools days North Hills will always have an enormous part of our gratitude for irreplaceable character, value, academic and foundational cornerstones that build solid futures. The fire service and everyone who I ever had the pleasure to share adrenaline sweat and tears with. To the three church’s in my life that provided communities of family and friends who will be there for eternity. To my current church and the opportunity to continue finding a community of the same, and for being the “iron sharpening iron” of spiritual character. For the latest couple of years, professors and classmates that pour into me and prepare me spiritually for a task yet revealed. Everyone that has encouraged and helped me realize the unthinkable health and wellness that I now realize.

The focus is on the people, it’s always the people, it’s always you. Thank you for being you, you’ll never know how much love I have for you.

[dreamingsushi]

Eternal Love - Episode 24

I’m super tempted by another Chinese drama right now, but I promised that I would go back to one of the series I started already, since they are so many that I need to complete. As a completionist, I can’t let my blog be in this state. So I figured I would go back to this one, since I love it so much. Also... There’s Yang Mi and Zhao Youting. Can we go wrong with those two? I don’t think so. Plus, for every two episodes of Eternal Love, I will allow myself to watch something new! That is not Apple of my Eye, I will keep with this one, but it’s going to be my layover watch I think, because the format of the episodes is just perfect for that. I can’t remember where we left last time, so bear with and let’s just marvel once again at the beautiful opening of this drama, if it is ever possible to get tired of it.

Oh... I thought I was out of the human life cycle, but it has not ended yet and it’s the most painful part too... Haha, I chose well, I chose well. Gosh. So Sujin being the nasty woman that she is pays a visit to Susu in her palace to brag about how good Susu’s eyes are and how Yehua stayed by her side while she was healing (which is wrong, since he was taking the lightning punishment instead of Susu who wouldn’t be able to endure it as a human). Once she’s sprayed her venom, she leaves. Feng Jiu is mad at her, so in her fox form, she bites Sujin. In turn she throws the fox to the wall, thus injuring it badly. She wants to beat it up, however Donghua comes around to claim his fox. The queen of lying gets mixed up in her lies and she’s lucky that Donghua is indifferent to most things because he doesn’t investigate further, even though he knows Sujin did some shitty thing. Donghua is really somehow useless. Anyways. He tells her to stay away from the people in his palace and from his fox. Also I forgot how old is this. The CGI really isn’t what it is now. It shows so much that the fox is computer generated. No one grabs it or pets it at the right places. It’s not even funny.

Ye Hua is going to inherit the throne in a month from then or so. Everybody’s happy. However, when he goes to tell Susu the news, she’s rather distant and pretends that she’s sleepy so he would leave. I mean, I would feel uneasy too if the man I loved took my eyes to give it to the one who pretends to be his childhood lover, you know. I think Susu should trust a little more Yehua, but Yehua definitely should trust a little more Susu and let her know what’s going on. Like, if he told her a little more, things wouldn’t have gone that bad, if you know what I mean.

Li Jing pays a visit to his brother and reveals to him that they are vessels for his father’s powers, were he to come back he would try to kill them three, even though they are his children. So that’s why he’ll keep Li Yuan imprisoned and won’t let him die, ever. Yanzhi wants to leave to the mortal realm. At first, Li Jing won’t let her, but she gains cause and he agrees to let her go. If I remember properly, Xuan Nü told her that her older brother is imprisoned and not dead... That sounds like another betrayal. He still loathes his wife and only wishes for Si Yin.

Everybody’s invited to the ceremony, even Li Jing who inquires about Susu, because he feels bad for that incident (remember, his mount set up fire to her palace, by accident). Sujin is praised for how she reacted to that question, when she was harmed by Susu (lies). While Yehua is facing his lightning shots, Nainai rushes in to tell Susu that Sujin has been appointed to marry Yehua after the ceremony. Then Susu is starting to have contractions. Meanwhile, Xuan Nü is also in labor, but she’s early. The doctor says she should give up the baby, but she won’t and threatens to have him killed if he doesn’t deliver the baby alive. Yehua needs to undergo is punishment, so more lightning for him. Susu doesn’t want Nainai to go get Yehua. All in all, it’s a big mess.

And that’s it for episode 24! I forgot how good is the music in this drama, it suits so well everything that is happening. Some parts didn’t age that well, but the soundtrack is still as great.

#eternal love #yang mi #zhao youting #dilraba dilmurat #gao weiguang #xuanhuan #xuanhuan drama #cdrama #c-drama #chinese drama #drama review #drama recap #drama reaction