#But they are definitely specialized and could use each other's work :D I don't think Minki has a broom yet but she's not much of a flier

[sysig]

Shop talk (Patreon)

[kolyubov]

Hello :D I would like to request an application for Sigma HCs with a reader where they both have their first time in marriage. I think it's kind of cute and romantic and I haven't seen anything like it before about Sigma. I don't know if you think this qualifies as "very personal and uncomfortable", and if it does, please excuse me and ignore my request.

hi, nonnie! this is not uncomfy for me at all, in fact, I find it pretty romantic as well (ꈍᴗꈍ)

if I'm not mistaken you mean the first time having sex/making love? I apologize if I misunderstood.

First time with Sigma!

✧ contents. nsfw, creampie (unprotected sex).

After the wedding party, I think both Sigma and you are tired and need to spend the night in each other's arms, cuddling and talking… and eventually making love<3

Sigma needs to take things slow! after all, this first time needs to be something special; slow making out entangled together, moaning into each other's mouths.

I headcanon Sigma as very sensitive, so a few kisses on his neck and moaning in his ear would make him hard instantly. He loves you so much that his body reacts on his own :((

He would slowly remove your clothing until you're lying on the bed with a cute white lingerie set that makes his cock twitch inside his pants.

(If you remove his clothes, he'll look at you with puppy eyes full of adoration).

Sigma would press kisses from your throat down to your cleavage, your ribs, your tummy, and finally to your navel before pushing the fabric of your lacy panties aside and kiss your bare pussy while looking up at you.

Of course, he needs to prepare you for what's to come, and what's better than his fingers?

“Angel, could you please open up?”

He'll say before sliding two fingers past your lips, coating them with your saliva then slipping them inside your hole slowly, making sure he's not hurting you or anything.

You could probably feel the wedding ring against your entrance as he pumps his fingers in and out, using his thumb to draw slow circles on your clit.

Once you're wet enough, he'll remove your panties and his boxers (already stained with pre-cum) and spread your legs a bit more before kissing your forehead.

“Tell me if it hurts, yes?”

After seeing you nod, he'll grab his cock and align it with your entrance— the tightness of your walls surrounding half of his shaft is enough to make him whimper softly.

“God… darling, please, take a deep breath, it'll hurt just for a brief second. I promise.”

Sigma smiles at you before linking your fingers together and kissing your lips as he shoves his cock all the way inside.

“Fuck… Oh my goodness… You feel so good, love.”

Sigma is definitely going to ask for permission before moving, then he's going to start with slow thrusts.

Panics a bit when he sees a little blood but then he remembers it's completely normal and goes back to work.

Even when you adjust to his cock, he won't stop asking if you're okay, and he'll tell you that he can stop at any moment.

He'll kiss you a lot, wherever he can reach. He wants to worship your body completely; squeezing your hips, caressing your thighs, kissing your neck.

Your pleasure is important to him too, so when he's close to cumming he'll rub your clit with his thumb so you two can finish together.

“I'm close, princess… let me fill you up, please please please—”

Creampie. First time with a creampie.

(From that day on Sigma is in love with creampies<3)

The afterward it's just him telling you how good you've done, how pretty you are, and how much he loves you and pampering kisses and cuddling with you until you both fall asleep.

© 2024 pinklacydovey

[traumxrei-archive]

【 i. guest list dilemma 】

summary: the first thing yuu had to tackle to prepare for the debutante was the guest list. that’s why they enlisted the help of their most connection savvy maid: azul ashengrotto

word count: 1.1k

author’s note: azul’s part ^^ when i was writing this, i rewrote it like. 2-3 times until i ended up with this :D (read the prologue for full context !)

[ the perfect debutante series | or read on ao3 (coming soon) ]

The first task that Yuu had to tackle, amongst the many in preparation for the Debutante, was the guest list. It was important to determine who was invited first. While their father had told them to invite who they wanted, they couldn’t take it that easy. They had made sure to get up early, knowing that Azul would be here soon. 

And just like clockwork, there was a light knock on the door, followed by a smooth voice, “Master? Are you awake?”

Yuu finished tying their shoelaces, heading for the door. As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted with Azul’s figure, already waiting for them. Yuu couldn’t help but silently admire the maid from behind. Azul really did cut a handsome figure in that dress, the flowy skirt whose fluid movements made it seem like he was walking on water. Not to mention the way the folds of his skirt fell oh-so-perfectly, and how the hairband perfectly framed his silver hair.

As soon as they entered the study, they could see that Azul had arrived earlier. The pillows on their couch looked perfectly plush, and their desk tidied from when they used it yesterday. Azul was always a step ahead of them, even when they were back in NRC.

“Is this the information from the guild?" Yuu asked, finding a manila envelope on the desk. 

"Yes. But Master, I must apologize, the information was more expensive than I anticipated," They looked up in time as Azul bowed his head. "Though I can vouch for the quality of each sentence."

"That's alright," They flipped through the papers leisurely as Azul poured them some tea. "I gave you an estimated budget, not a strict one. Our Duchy is strong, we can afford spending for information.

"And if you vouch for the quality," They smiled as they looked at him, a hand settling around the perfectly warm teacup. "Then it's definitely trustworthy."

Azul inhaled sharply, before his face melted into a pleased smile, "I am glad that you can trust me with these matters, Master." It was a very Azul thing to say. Rather, it would be stupid of them not to ask Azul, considering the other was quite adept at forming connections and researching others. It was something that he revealed he was competent at when they were classmates, after all.

Yuu spent quite some time working after that, flipping through the information that Azul has painstakingly gathered and added to before transferring the information to another piece of paper. The information contained anything from connections to diferent industries that each person was connected to. And Yuu couldn’t help but think about the future of the duchy as he added people to the list.

The mock-guestlist only seemed to grow from there, as inviting someone meant also inviting their close friends and family in order to make sure no one felt left out. Yuu drained yet another cup of Azul’s tea. However, a debutante of the future Duke had to be…special. To some extent, they supposed.

And Duke Crowley had told them to invite who they would like, so Yuu did invite a few people that they were personally curious about, or intended to befriend. However, it wasn’t long before they ran into a problem. They simply weren’t sure whether they were making the right decisions with inviting all these people.

“Azul,” The maid’s head snapped up to look at them. “I wanted to ask if you could give your opinion on the guest list so far.”

"I...don't quite understand, Master." Azul’s brow furrowed, through he drifted closer to their side, “How could I, a lowly maid, speak my opinions on established nobles?" 

And while his response was standard of a maid, Yuu still frowned,  "You're not a lowly maid, Azul. You know how much I value you and the others." It was true that his status was now of a maid, but that didn’t mean that Yuu liked it when he lowered himself  for their sake.

"But Master–"

Yuu held up a hand, "At least take a look at the list, mm? I've seen you read newspapers after cleaning time. I'm sure you're more up to date on high society than I am."

Azul looked stricken by their words, his face going pale. He instantly bowed his head, "M-My apologies, it was impertinent of me to—"

"No, wait," Yuu blurted, grabbing at his hands gently. "Please get up, I didn't...mean it as a bad thing. And I didn't mean to force your hand either. It's just…” They lowered their head, meeting Azul’s eyes. “I can't go to the head butler for every slight question. And I'm sure that since you helped with the information, you would have some insight. If you truly do not feel like it, then it’s alright.” 

"Master," Yuu felt almost bewildered at the soft smile that appeared on Azul’s face. "Thank you for making your intentions clear. This Azul Ashengrotto would be delighted to serve you." They blinked. It was rare for Azul to show such a…soft expression. His hands squeezed theirs lightly, the lace glove doing nothing to stop his warmth from seeping into their own hands before he let go.

“Oh. Well. Then,” Yuu said in a very eloquent manner, definitely befitting of a Duke’s hair. “Could you read over this section? I’m not too sure about this group of people right here, so I would like a second opinion. And…thank you, Azul.” 

Azul’s hands drifted to fix his glasses, though Yuu wasn’t sure what there was to fix, “It’s my pleasure.” Though looking at it closer, Azul did look a bit red. Maybe it was just a trick of light, or the room was a bit warm. There was no way Azul was blushing over such a simple compliment right?

“Now then, shall I critique the list you’ve been making?” Azul said cheerily, and Yuu felt a shudder run down their spine. They had almost forgotten. Azul was a perfectionist. Yuu warily took another swig of tea before mentally preparing themself for what was to come. It was just the start of what seemed like a very long day.

thank you for reading ^^ if you’d like to read more, check out my masterlist ! like the art ? look at more of dumple's works on insta !

[ prev chapter | series post | next chapter ]

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

My (non-Jewish) anthropology professor made a really incorrect statement about the idea of Jews as “God’s chosen people”. When I (also non-Jewish but try to keep informed) corrected him, he brought up something else that sounded wrong to me: supposedly only Reform Judaism allows for conversion? I didn’t know enough to contest it at the time, but that really does not sound true to my ear, from the way I’ve heard Jewish people talk about it. Is there any truth to that?

Yeah, the Chosen People thing is often wildly and antisemitically misinterpreted to mean "We think we're G-d's Specialest Selected Elite People and the only people G-d actually loves and cares about" -- which like. Could not be further from the truth. What it actually means is: We were selected to do the project of the mitzvot of the Torah, which is a lot of extra homework that other people don't need to do but someone needs to do it. It's a lot more like "chosen to do the dishes" of the spiritual world than "chosen to be special." Now. Is there definitely some pride of place in doing the extra work? Sure! But at the same time, Jewish eschatology has always made room for non-Jews. We absolutely think non-Jews who live good lives and are decent, moral people have a solid place in the world to come. We aren't angling for a everyone to become Jewish because, kind of by definition, not everyone needs to do the ritual mitzvot. Live ethical lives and be decent to each other and us? Sure. Lay tefillin and daven three times a day and (during the Temple times) offer sacrifices and wave lulav fronds during Sukkot and eat matzah on Pesach and keep kosher and keep Shabbat? Etc.? Nope, that's our task and ours alone.

Now! If you feel personally called to living a life of Torah and believe that you have a Jewish soul and should be made part of Am Yisrael, the Jewish people, you can go through the lengthy process of conversion and (essentially) become a member of the Tribe? Yeah, you can do that. You better be real sure and go into it eyes open. You're going to need to be persistent and dedicated to studying and being present in the community. It's not encouraged, and traditionally rabbis would turn someone asking to convert away three times before accepting them as a student to make sure they were serious. In modern times, most rabbis are a bit more welcoming, but will still push you to seriously consider why you want to be Jewish. If the answer is still yes for you, then you can do it, if you must. Most gerim (converts) describe an experience very similar to how transgender folks describe our gender journeys - we can't be any other way, and wouldn't want to be. I'm both a convert and trans, and my sense of understanding myself as both non-binary and as a Jew are deeply held and equally compelling.

All branches of rabbinic Judaism accept converts. Some have a more strenuous process than others, and some take on very few converts. The more traditional the movement, the more likely it is that the person will be encouraged to explore other options. The reason for this is that the more traditional the movement, the more serious they take the binding nature of the commandments, and therefore adding another Jew (especially one who has so much to learn in a comparatively short time rather than being raised in it) is a risk that the person will revert back to their old ways or find something else later. Since we are judged collectively (Torah is a group project) and the future world to come hinges on us scrupulously observing the mitzvot (according to the more traditional movements) it is imperative that any late additions to the People be very serious and rigorous in their observance.

The liberal movements are a lot less intense about that, although it's also a spectrum. The Reform movement does not hold the ritual mitzvot to be binding, only the ethical mitzvot. They therefore lack the same incentive to avoid failed conversions. The Conservative/Masorti movement and some of the other traditional egalitarian communities do hold the mitzvot as binding, but are a lot more flexible about their expectations that everyone follow them. It's a lot more of a "do your best; we're here to support you" vibe. (That's my branch that I converted through.)

Each branch, to be clear, has their strengths and weaknesses, their merits and their drawbacks. Every Jew brings something to the table. The Reform movement (and similarly liberal smaller movements) are probably the most welcoming to gerim and have the fewest hoops to jump through, but every branch has a process and some amount of converts. Those that choose a more traditional movement typically support, respect, and value the extra hoops of the traditional movements and are willing to work within that system; at least that's how it was for me. I wanted it to be rigorous so that I was prepared and certain; I got that out of my giyur process. Other people have different needs and value systems that are equally valid.

[onyxmilk]

hi, can I please request drabbles of the strawhats with a fem!reader who is very very strong (like yor forger or maki zen'in), but doesn’t look like it? like, the reader doesn't look like she can beat people up, but she surely can.

Strawhats x f!Reader; "Strength"

notes; merry christmas yall :D tw; Reader uses She/Her pronouns!, unedited wc; 0.5k

Luffy; Luffy watched in awe as [YourName] absolutely kicked ass. See, he knew that something was special about you when he found her on the same boat that Koby was on! He knew there was some fire inside [YourName, and to the others she was deemed useless- just some girl Luffy had picked up early on. [YourName] fought with all her might, taking down buff men and flipping them. The others were too busy to notice, but Luffy did and he was entranced because of it. Luckily, he could watch and fight- encouraging [YourName] with soft 'Yeah!' and 'Kick their asses!'

Zoro; "Do you need help- Oh.." Zoro offered to [YourName] but instead watched her as she picked up heavy boxes and moved them onto their new ship. He had taken a liking to her, often making excuses to get near her, he just didn't know why and he thinks he found his reasoning. She was the definition of looks could be deceiving! She was shorted than him and often played hopeless to scam the merchants around them, it got them more food. Seeing [YourName] do what was deemed a 'man's job' really got him debating his feelings for the beautiful woman. Nami; [YourName] was friends with Nami when she was little before she left, and each time she had even thought of the girl- Nami would think of someone weak and needing assistance constantly. So to her surprise, when she had arrived back on her home island and after the whole fight did she find [YourName] carrying heavy medical supplies. Nami just had to watch for a moment in shock, that's when her sister had came up to her and chuckled, explaining that after Nami left, [YourName] took training seriously. Nami just blushed and nodded her head, understanding and assuming [YourName]'s reasoning. Usopp; Usopp was new to the strawhats, not sure what [YourName] because she didn't really do much but trip Kuro. So when he found [YourName] really making Zoro work for his money in an arm wrestle he was a little more than just shocked. He turned to Nami who seen this play out before and just laughed before nodding her head and heading out, Usopp just stayed and watched what would happen- and he was glad he did. After a long five minutes, [YourName] won the wrestle and got the berry. Zoro would scoff and walk off while Usopp praised [YourName]. Sanji; [YourName] was new to the Baratie, playing waitress who would help out in the kitchen now and again. Sanji didn't lay eyes on her until one night when it was just him to clean up the kitchen and [YourName] offered to help. "You don't have to get tha-" Sanji began, just for [YourName] to pick up one of the heavier boxes packed full of ingredients and move it. Sanji stood there, impressed but also in shock. [YourName] just didn't look like the type of girl to do any heavy lifting like that, but every woman to their own he supposed.

[bluesky-kitty]

Kai Anderson x fem reader || angst, fluff ||

“Mother”

tw-kai, fighting

As I tucked my two years old daughter in the bed, I heard the door slam behind me. Who could it be? Oh, her father.

“Why the fuck I am not informed about our sick child?” He said angrily with wide eyes.

“You were working so I didn't wan-”

“Are you out of your mind?” He knelt on the floor next to Victoria's bed and looked at her sadly. “It's nothing serious, just a little cold..”

“When you will understand that everything about her is special and serious?” She fake coughed. She always does that around Kai. Always some sign of injury. She always wants his attention.

“My poor baby”

“D..da…daddy!”

“Daddy’s here.” He placed his large palm on her small forehead. “She’s burning, we have to do something.” He said panicked. I put my arm on his shoulder. “I already gave her medicine.” He stood up sharply and dragged me away from Victoria.

“Not enough y/n. That is not enough, what you’re doing.” I looked at him confused and shocked. “How could you let her get sick? What kind of mother you are?”

This made me mad. “Excuse me? What kind of father you are? I always take care of her, I try to make everything easier for her and make her life better, and most importantly, I love her!” This last part of the sentence made me nervous, I don't know why I said it. I just had to. I felt need to tell him.

“Oh yeah? Really y/n? Now I don’t love her? I don’t take care of my blood, my skin, my heart?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mea-” He quickly went to our daughter and took her in his arms harshly. She got nervous and started crying as Kai carried her around like a plastic doll.

“Stop! You’re hurting her!” I ran after him all over the house, slapped his shoulders and tried to take my child back, but nothing. When he left her on the bed in our room, he turned and slapped me. I fell to the ground from the force of the blow of his hand.

“Maa..ma okay?” Victoria's big eyes looked at me with a spark.

Shit, Kai didn’t realize he hit me in front of her.

“Mama just fell, she’s okay sugar” He picked me up and acted like the slap never happened.

He took me to the basement and threw me on the ground. “Let me go fucker I am her mother!”

“I put her into you, I made her, she’s my messiah but you act like she’s your enemy.”

I wanted to laugh so bad but I couldn’t.

“I just can’t belive what are you saying”

Again his episode. Kai would say some things that are insane and think that’s true. Drugs blurred his boundaries of reality.

“You stay here till I let you go.”

He was gone as I heard the lock. I know he won't harm our daughter. He is too protective over her which puts me in situations like this.

Kai was giving all his past weakness to her. She always wanted daddy to feed her, daddy to put her to sleep, daddy to sleep on, always daddy.

I don't even remember how many times I thought I was a bad mother. It always hurt me, but Kai said I was exaggerating. She loves both of us? I don’t think so. I remembered the time when he tickled Victoria's neck and stomach with his nose. Her giggles could be heard to the other side of the world. Then he would pretend to be a monster and bite her hands while she kicked him with her little feet. I don’t think he’s pretending to be a monster anymore, I think he became one.

I heard his voice in my memories. “Hey” He was standing at the door. “What?”

“I think she’s hungry..”

Then why don’t you feed her? fucking daddy

I wanted to yell. But I didn’t. I stood up and started to go through the door but his hand stopped me.

He definitely noticed I was crying. He gently pressed his rough lips to my wet dark circles, hoping to soften them.

“i’m sorry babe.”

“She good?”

He nodded with smile. “She good baby” We finally hugged. “Now she wants your tits so lets go” I smiled slightly.

As I walked into room, she was on her stomach trying to move. Kai and I looked at each other exiting. She was everything we had.

While I was breastfeeding her, Kai couldn’t stop talking. “I mean what if one day she kick us out of the house we build for her or even run away-”

“You’re really hungry Vic”

“I’m hungry too mama”

“Shut up” I could see smirk on his face.

“Make sure the milk is warm”

“Are you stupid? It’s always warm.”

“Good to know. Is she cold?”

“Stop worrying, I’m here too, I know things”

“Sorry mama”

I smiled at his apology. Kai ran his hand through her young curly hair. She had long dark eyes. When she finished, I laid her down between me and Kai. The baby's scent wafted across our bed, it felt heavenly. My eyelids got heavier and heavier until they finally fell.

______

The cold air woke me up. I heard deep sighs. My boyfriend was not in bed. In total darkness, I got out of bed and went to the open window, in front of which Kai was standing. His muscular back bare, filled with my incised nail lines. I hugged him around the waist and kissed his shoulder.

"My beloved, my king, my lover, my whole world…what’s wrong?” He wiped away his tears and continued to look into the distance.

“I don’t know..I guess I’m afraid something bad will happen to her. ” He said biting his lip. After Kai lost his parents he was afraid of losing all of us. “But we'll never let anything happen to her, will we?” I asked him, pushing the blue locks out of his face. “I’m losing my shit.”

He turned and put me over his shoulder. I giggled quietly as he threw me onto the bed. He lay down next to me and slipped his hand under my nightgown. “Kai you horny maniac calm down”

I laid down on top of him and place a little kiss on his lips which turned into a makeout session. It wasn’t some preparing for sex. The feeling of being in his big warm hands was stronger than anything. And just like that, all three of us fell asleep pressed against each other.

Yes, your daughter’s name is Victoria, hot just like her daddy is.

[consistentsquash]

12 HP Slash Fic Recs from 2022

One completed fic selected from each month!

Theme of the year: Fest fics! Fests are one of the biggest fandom activities for readers and artists/authors! We have some new fests started this year. We also have some fests ending this year.

AO3 Collection

  Earth is the right place for love ( January 2022 )

by eldritcher

Pairing - Rosmerta/McGonagall/Snape

Length - 16000 words

Fest - Hoggywartyxmas 2022. Definitely check out this fest because it's starting soon and it's their last round!

Rec because - Absolutely beautiful seasonal fic. It's about poetry, love, forgiveness and sacrifice achieving the literal impossible of bringing Snape back to life. Beautiful character studies packed in a really rich fruit pudding fic. It's written like a triptych with three character panes going from winter to spring. This is one of my favorite seasonal fics of all time and gets a ton of winter time rereads from me.

"The rest of the tale is rather drab. It makes for no worthy yarn of Christmas." "Tosh!" Griselda harrumphed. "Invoke the prophet who steered you to good luck during your exploits in war and peace! Tell me of the lion's resolve that shepherded you home to love's arms at journey's end! Regale me with the muse who was love's torch!" Theatrical absurdity suited her. Everything suited her, as everything suited those who embraced the dangerous condition of je ne sais quoi. "The prophet of this tale was Umbridge, you realise."

  The Lych Yew Gambit (February 2022)

by Delphi

Pairing - Snape/OMC

Length - 13000 words

Fest - Five Figure Fanwork Exchange

Rec because - Beautiful, beautiful fic! Don't let the OMC tag stop you from reading this one. Because this is a special fic. It's one of the best character studies of Snape I read in my life. The observer POV is intimate, curious and really meticulous. You are pulled into the observer's world and it doesn't let you go. But you don't want to leave. So that works out! Honestly there is life before reading this fic and life after reading it!

In this way, it suited him to have a cipher for a lover. Yefim was a man who enjoyed lists and numbers more than he enjoyed most other people, and if Severus was going to present him with the quandary of occasionally missing him, it was considerate of him to leave a mystery in his wake. When he was here, there was the mild inconvenience of making a second cup of tea and sharing the bed, and the moderate to major advantage of sex and board games. When he was away, there was the comfortable routine of solitude and the pleasure of wondering about him.

  Two is better than one (March 2022)

by webofdreams89 @the-kellephant

Pairing - Harry/George/Fred

Length - 4300 words

Fest - Weasley Fest 2022

Rec because - After reading two really, really intense and thick fics we've got to celebrate with the perfect dirtybadhot polyamory fic!

“Gah?” Harry said nonsensically, his brain short circuiting as he thought of all the perverted things they could do together.

“Oh dear, I think we broke Harry,” George said, grinning.

  Alphard's Favourite (April 2022)

by @thistlecatfics

Pairing - Sirius/Alphard, Sirius/Peter

Length - 4700 words

Fest - Blackcest 2022

Rec because - Dirtyhotbadwrongdelicious. Also Peter Pettigrew POV. His observer POV helps us to see how extra crazy this family is. It hits harder than a direct POV!! Also it's got my fav line about Sirius :D

He was the type of dog where you had to learn his tells - flattening ears or low growl - or else you would lose your hand.

Contempt (May 2022)

by @danpuff-ao3

Pairing - Snape/Harry

Length - 20400 words

Fest - Snarry-a-thon 2022

Rec because - The perfect Snarry. Angry, dark, beautiful! Also really hot. Intense fic! Probably the most intense fic on this list.

How can Harry not despise him? It's been ages since he's been in Severus' arms, and the moment he is, he — it's — damn him, but it's wrong how right it feels. Like all of his broken pieces have been gathered up and stored in a box for safekeeping.

  All In (June 2022)

by @gracerene

Pairing - James/Teddy

Length - 4800 words

Fest - HP NextGen Fest 2022

Rec because - Hot and realistic. I am a big fan of how gracerene writes smut. This fic is a really good take on how communication and smut skills are totally different things for first time hotness.

  These Fragile Bodies of Touch and Taste (July 2022)

by @hawksquill

Pairing - Cedric/Harry

Length - 9900 words

Fest - HP Queer Fest 2022

Rec because - One of my favorite fics of the year from one of my favorite authors I discovered this year! A really beautiful fic about trauma and healing. Cedric and Harry are returning to attend the Triwizard Tournament. Of course they have to deal with a lot of their baggage about their past/the war.

“ You were a kid. I was older. I should have…I should have protected you. It’s my biggest regret, you know? I think about it all the time, wondering what might have been different. Maybe I could have helped you. Maybe we could have defeated him. Or at least if there was another witness, maybe more people would have believed that he was back.” The words tumble out so quickly and fully-formed, smooth as gillyweed. This has clearly been the fodder of hundreds of nightmares.

  it's not enough (this time) (August 2022)

by @billsfangearring

Pairing - Sirius/Remus

Length - 2500 words

Fest - Cruel Summer 2022. It's their first round!

Rec because - OMG! The characterization! Generally I don’t really see Canon! Sirius in a lot of fics especially in modern Wolfstar. This fic has Canon Sirius the way I see him. He really cares about people. He is super empathetic. For him the Potters are not just his friends but also found family. Also really really tragic. Same for the Remus characterization.

He should have known that it had never been him and Remus alone together in the middle of London, hunched over cheap chips as their breath mingled with the exhaled smog of the city.

The wolf had always been there too.

  “Former Headmaster,” oil (and occasionally mixed media) on canvas, 2010 (September 2022)

by nocturn

Pairing - Snape/Remus

Length - 2200 words

Fest - HP Crackfic fest 2022

Rec because - Portrait Snape is just crackfic material!

“You’ve been here a year, Severus, after being specially commissioned alongside the other war heroes—who, by the way, have been perfectly amicable. Even Fred Weasley is more cooperative than you. Fred! I will no longer tolerate your unsolicited advice.

  The Boy (October 2022)

by themoonandstars1989

Pairing - Snape/Harry

Length - 2500 words

Fest - Snarry AUctoberfest 2022

Rec because - Darkfic. Real dark oldschool Snarry! I loved it for how it really embraced the tropes and executed them perfectly. Read the warnings on this fic!

  Tell Me (We Belong Together) (November 2022)

by Maggs0607

Pairing - Harry/George

Length - 6300 words

Fest - HP Rare Pair Fest III

Rec because - Really sweet fic about falling in love and getting together during the adult phase of their life when Harry is raising Teddy.

  A tangled mess (December 2022)

by shushu_yaoi_lj @orange-peony

Pairing - Harry/Ron

Length - 16100 words

Fest - HarryRon Fest 2022

Rec because - Really beautiful fic about grief/healing/recovery/finding love. It has a lot of tropes I don't normally go for. But the fic does serious justice to the tropes/themes and is a must read!

He waits for Harry to tell him it’s a joke.

He waits and waits, but all Harry does is look at him, a hopeful glint in his eyes. So Ron leans into him over the kitchen table, giving Harry the softest peck on the lips that lasts for longer than expected, because Harry’s startled little puff of air probably means that he didn’t think Ron would actually do it, but then he lingers, his lips warm against Ron’s.

[good-beans]

You know what I realized today? I've gathered from dashboard osmosis that the inmates in Milgram are being judged for deaths they're responsible for that don't qualify as murder in a legal sense, right? So... Mondo could totally be an inmate in Milgram World. I don't really know where I'm going with this, but... thoughts on him as an inmate? Like, how might his crimes get treated by the narrative? What music style and symbolism might they use in his videos? (Are there different musical styles? I haven't actually listened to the songs...) Sorry for sticking my special little guy in here lmao, I promise that I'm doing it in a "I'm walking my Littlest Pet Shops through your Barbie Dreamhouse" sorta way.

YES we are mushing our toys together and having a good time :’D Omg always stick your special little guy here!

And that’s exactly it! Five of the prisoners should have been charged with homicide though they have very emotionally charged situations, but the other five have pretty standard lives except that they indirectly/unconventionally took a life – so he would 100% fit. (There’s also a theory I really like that characters only end up in the prison if they personally feel guilty of murder, so it’d work that he felt like he killed someone so he found himself there.) 

He’d have such cool symbols in his video ooh... The videoa have a mix of actual scenes of reality along with a more dreamscape-type area. So you’d have moments from the night of the accident, but he could also be riding his bike surrounded by stylized open highways, traffic lights/signage, car lights, and cityscapes that reveal his recklessness/relationships. Or if those are too similar, his dreamscape could also be a garage where he’s working on – or smashing – his bike. Most characters have a single simple image that's their major symbol, I think his would be a red traffic light.

(I can't think of anything clever at the moment but there could also be a lot to work with for diamonds symbolizing something tough/hard, valuable, and visually distracting)

The songs are all generally pop-y, but there are definitely distinct genres for each character which is super fun! (I do recommend giving the soundtrack a listen even if you don’t get into the story side – all the season 2 songs SLAP lol) And I swear I'm not just saying this because he's my favorite, but Mondo would definitely fit Fuuta’s vibes. It’s the whole “I’m a tough guy and I’ll kick your fucking ass, (but deep down I am actually very human and scared and feel immense guilt over this!!” thing. Bring it On is his more confident intro song and Backdraft is after he’s a bit more fucked up and feeling scared/guitly. 

Story-wise, I think he’d also be pretty similar to Fuuta in that his toughness would put people off at first. There are three seasons/trials (we’re in the middle of the second one rn), and I think his first voice drama would be full of aggression, and then his song would reveal he’s in a gang – causing the audience to think he was just a loudmouthed delinquent needing to be brought down a notch, and vote him guilty. But then season 2 he hits ‘em with the fact that the gang had nothing to do with the death, and it was in fact love that caused it all, and he's a lot more complex. And maybe it’s held off until s3 to reveal it was his own brother, giving that final twist of the knife. From some of the opinions I’ve seen so far, it seems like he’d get a good reception and may make it out! (Though you could stay true to his original tragedy and take the possibility that his final verdict would be guilty :( )

I would walk my barbies back into your littlest pet shop area, but I mean, the main Milgram high schooler character did stab a girl in broad daylight, so I don’t think there’d be much of an interesting investigation there… 😂

[picnokinesis]

hello!! :D I asked for a spoilerless preview of 13s seasons a while back on anon, and your answer really got me excited to finish my rewatch!! took me a while because uni doesn't allow for binging the way high school used to, but I just finished season 12 the other day! I've enjoyed chibnall's era more and more the further I got (season 11 still definitely isn't anywhere near my favorite, but liked it a LOT more than I did on my first watch, knowing the foundations it was laying), and I LOVED the first episode of season 13! SO much! I haven't gotten further but I really wanted you to know haha, it's fun, it's exciting, it's got awesome new characters -- I so wish chibnall had gotten into the groove a little sooner, because this is exactly what I hoped his era to be! imagine if we could have gotten 3 full seasons on the same level... ahhhh I'm super excited to watch the rest! especially since several of the episodes you mentioned were your favorites are from season 13 -- and the first episode isn't even one of them!

Ahhhh oh my days hi hi hi!! I am SO so happy that you've enjoyed s12 so much! I think s12 honestly might be one of my favourite seasons of doctor who (although there are a lot of excellent contenders), simply because it just inspired me so much. There's so much to dig into. And yesss I think s11 works a lot better in context of the rest of it, which is super interesting. Actually, honestly, it all works SO nicely as a whole unit, which is super satisfying - to me, at least - but I suppose that hampered it when everything first aired, because we didn't have the whole picture (but also, that is how tv works sometimes ksksk - there were and are a LOT of bad faith viewings of this era, and it makes me so sad because I know that the moment you dig into it you start to realise just how rich this era has been). But yknow, what you say about s11 is interesting, because I do know a lot of people who really love it exactly as it is and always have - there are quite a number of people who got into Doctor Who because of s11, so I think, whilst there are things I don't like about it, I reckon Chibnall did approach it in a particular way with a particular intent - and it worked for some people, but less for others. And like, in a similar vein, I've actually found myself defending Moffatt of all people lately, despite the fact that I really don't enjoy like, two of his seasons, as well as a lot of things that he tends to do. But it's because I think like....hm, I guess I've lately found it really helpful to remember that all the writers are just humans who are putting stories and art out into the world that they want to create, and are sharing it with us - it's never going to be perfect, despite how much we want it to be. And there's always something of value in each era, right? Each of the main showrunners we've had since 2005 have had strengths and weaknesses, and there's something about each era that I absolutely adore. That said, there's definitely value in expecting better in certain degrees - but then you get people making hour long videos about how the show sucks now and I get so tired skskks

BUT YEAH sorry for rambling, your ask just got me thinking thoughts - much more importantly, you've got THE REST OF FLUX TO WATCH ahhhHHH have FUN!! War of the Sontarans is next and oh my daaaaays i love that episode SO much (I literally said as much earlier today and my coworker was like 'yes taka i know you love that episode' SKKSKSKSKSK SO. YKNOW) but honestly I just adore Flux. It's got such classic who vibes - I've started watching some classic lately and it's so funny seeing what inspired a lot of the structure/style of Flux (like the STUPID CLIFFHANGERS oh my days we need MORE of those). So I really hope you enjoy the rest - and the specials too!! Eve of the Daleks and The Power of the Doctor are soooooo much fun :D Please feel free to let me know what you think when you've watched it all, if you'd like to! I'd love to hear your thoughts/what your favourite episodes of thirteen's era as a whole have been! <3

[eisforeidolon]

https://www.tumblr.com/eisforeidolon/728741971448954880/it-also-needs-to-be-reiterated-that-bi-lighting

You already covered this really well, but a little extra discussion on "bi lighting," and how stupid it would be as a way to demonstrate a characters sexuality. For one thing, say in the bar scene in season 15 of Supernatural where Dean is visiting his old friend. He’s not the only person in that scene, so is everyone in that scene bi?

Also, I know that filmmakers use colors to evoke moods and make us feel things, to draw focus, etc, but that being said, 8% of men and 1 in 200 women (according to a quick Google search) are colorblind. So, they are going to use color cues only to tell us someone is bi, but not actually make them, you know, attracted to the same sex at all, but just use the color as a clue. I get that not a huge amount of people are colorblind, but I know quite a few who are, myself included. But still, show runners are going to do things like put characters in "bi colored shirts" and light them with "bi lighting" but not actually say it out loud? Not to mention, I am sure there is a considerable amount of the general audience who won’t automatically knows the colors of the bi flag, and if they don't know them off the top of their head, they’ll have no reason to look up color choices of shirts and stage lights to check. So, now colorblind people and people unfamiliar with the bi flag colors aren’t going to know your character is "bi." That’s not the entire audience, of course, so maybe that’s fine, but then you also have the people who just watch a show to enjoy it and aren’t actively looking for parallels or clues about characters. These viewers are just, you know, watching the show. They are doing this crazy thing where they watch the action and listen to what the characters say (not what they wear unless it funny, out of character or otherwise stands out in some way) to find out information about the characters.

Anyway, I don’t have anything profound to add, just wanted to add weight to the absurdity of big lighting, and help demonstrate why hellers are delusional.

It doesn't need to be a profound addition to make it worth continuing a discussion. I mean, I don't think I was saying anything really new in the first place, but sometimes, especially in a fandom so full of really bad interpretation? I think it's a good idea to keep pointing out all the ways it obviously all falls apart if you actually look at it.

At the end of the day, it just comes back down to the fact that subtext and symbolism simply don't work like that. You don't tell a story ONLY through symbols that could potentially have a multitude of other meanings (if they're significant at all) and ONLY count in terms of one of many characters they could apply to. You don't tell a story ONLY through symbols large parts of the audience will not catch - or may not even be able to catch. You definitely don't tell an extended story ONLY in the subtext contradicting the directly told main narrative. These kinds of theories always rely on a fundamentally flawed and frankly bonkers assumption a canon's writers are telling a secret hidden story that will only be satisfying for the fraction of super special people in the audience *cough* clever and dedicated enough to decipher it being hinted at for years and years without materializing in the actual narrative. In this case, a CW tv show's writers where the previously on segments made it clear they sometimes didn't trust the audience to remember what happened an episode ago writing a hidden story across fifteen fucking seasons (since they insist there were totes hints in the first three, too). Yeah.

I admit there's an evil troll part of me that almost wants to go write a D/C fic where Dean and Castiel treat each other just as they do in canon, but I constantly include background detail nonsense like bi lighting from their meta. Then in literally only one line at the end of the final of many long chapters, apropos of literally nothing building to it, shove in something vaguely romantic and just end the fic. Because I'm sure they know damn well that would be an absolutely shit excuse for a story, and wouldn't be shy about saying so - if it was divorced from their campaign of "proving" their ship totes exists (or they deserved for it to exist) in the canon. But I won't because I'm lazy and not that much of a dick.

[3kiripima3]

Hi! I just saw your post about Hazbin match ups & I’ve never done this before so I hope I’ve included everything I needed to :D

. Gender Identity -> Gender Fluid

. Sexuality -> Bi

. Hobbies -> Ok so I have quite a few so first off I absolutely LOVE reading (bit of an understatement) but it’s a really bad habit of buying books that don’t fit anywhere, as for a specific genre of books I quote like murder mystery or dark (as in spooky, mystery etc) fantasy. Some of the books I own are how to kill your family, one of us is lying, hunger games, girl in pieces, good girls guide to murder, five survive, welsh poetry & to kill a mockingbird. Secondly I’m apart of the air cadets! I do not have a rank and I’m quite happy with just attending events and such and I’ve been having such a great time with them, another hobby of mine is baking (especially for my grandparents) their diabetic so I love trying to find receipted that don’t have as much sugar that they can have. And lastly I do horse riding, while I did stop for a while because of money issue I’m starting to get back into it and I’m hoping to start either show jumping or cross country.

. Interests -> Hmmm as for interests I’d probably say FNAF, hazbin of course and at the moment I’ve been getting back into Murder drones (especially after the 7th episode come out, I was so shocked) but I honestly don’t have many I treated as most of my time is taken up doing things like my hobbies (all though I do love to give places a good clean)

. Overview of personality -> umm I honestly don’t know what to say to describe myself, but based off what my friends are saying I’m quite sarcastic & quick witted with my answers, but I tend to be concerning in my sense of humour & my things, I’m somewhat on the neurodivergent spectrum but I don’t have a special interest I keep changing them a LOT (hence why I haven’t put much down for interests) and I think my friends start to get concerned when I become interested in things like needles and phlebotomy before changing to something like cannibalism (I find it fascinating what drives people to these things). Anyway I have been described as being quite a lovely person especially by family me members and I think it tends to show when I’m around people I don’t know much because I like to make a good impression of myself & not embarrass anyone or myself.

. Any character I don’t want to be paired with -> Husk (nothing against the man just not my type at all yk), Charlie & Vaggie (their such a cute couple and definitely prefer to keep them together and not get myself shipped with any of them)

. Anything extra -> idk if this helps but I honestly SUCK at using technology, like I can’t do it to save my life 😭, but I do like to have a good poke around on stuff like tv’s, laptops, sat navs, just to see if I can find anything out. Oh and I hugely look up to my grandad, anyone asks me and I’ll always say I’m a grandad’s girl he inspired me so much, he was in the navy & worked as an engineer. And I t think to do something like that for a good chunk of his life is so inspiring.

Anyway, hope I’ve written everything I need to, and have a good day/night xx

Hi! Thanks for the request! After some consideration, I think I'd pair you with…

Alastor!

I feel like you two would be practically perfect for each other.

I see Alastor as the type to also read a lot. I think he'd honestly have very similar taste in books to you. I could imagine him often recommending you books, albeit rather concerning ones.

With baking, I don't see Alastor being particularly fond of that. However, I view him as the type of person who likes to cook instead of bake. So, you'd likely both end up making different food at the same time and talking with each other.

Due to Alastor's nature, I don't think he'd exactly be interested in shows at all. Yet, I can see him listening quite avidly to any of your interests if you discuss them with him.

Alastor would appreciate your personality a bunch. As he himself is naturally quite sarcastic and quick-witted, he'd enjoy having a person like you who'd be able to reciprocate. Alastor would definitely not have any issue with concerning types of humour unless it involves anything sexual towards him.

I think Alastor would also love that you're able to make good impressions on people and be a lovely and polite person, as he values his reputation a certain amount and would rather not be around someone extremely brash in public.

Sucking at using technology wouldn't bother Alastor at all. He'd probably bond over the fact that you both struggle using technology.

Thanks for requesting! I hope this is good enough for you :)

[iris-in-the-rain]

favourite good omens ship for the ask game! :D

Gives nose/forehead kisses: 

Crowley loves Aziraphale's nose, so he gives him little smooches randomly. Aziraphale loves to take Crowley's head in his hands and gives him long forehead kisses.

Gets jealous the most:

Crowley decidedly does not like anybody flirting with his Angel and gets irrationally jealous even though he knows Aziraphale is totally oblivious to said flirting.

Takes care of on sick days:

Aziraphale might be the most caring Angel on any given day, but when he's sick, he's a nightmare. But Crowley is endlessly patient 😊

Drags the other person out into the water on beach day:

Aziraphale LOVES beach day! Crowley doesn't necessarily want to go into the water, but it gets better with time and Aziraphale's presence.

Brings the other lunch at work:

Not so much brings lunch, but Crowley makes sure Aziraphale's cocoa is always hot. And Aziraphale makes sure that his Demon is hydrated and fed when he spends all day in their cottage garden and forgets.

Tries to start role-playing in bed: 

Aziraphale, actually. He's adorably awkward and Crowley could not love him any more.

Embarrassingly drunk dancer: 

Definitely Crowley, no competition! 😁

Firmly believes in couples costumes: 

Oh my god, Aziraphale! He wants to recreate his and Crowley's favourite eras looks and also wants to sew the costumes himself, despite Crowley begging him to use magic!

Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas: 

Aziraphale absolutely insists on buying presents and 'no miracling them, Crowley' and spends ages making sure each gift is perfect.

Makes the other eat breakfast:

Aziraphale really gets into cooking and baking once him and Crowley move into their cottage. He gets up early and prepares breakfast every day. The wonderful smells make Crowley drag himself out of bed and it quickly becomes the favourite part of his day, breakfast with his Angel.

Remembers anniversaries:

Surprisingly, it's Crowley. Aziraphale gets scatterbrained sometimes, but Crowley remembers every special moment in their time together, since the very beginning.

Brings up having kids first:

They don't have kids, but Crowley adopts every stray animal that wonders onto their property and Aziraphale absolutely dotes on each and every one.

Kills the bugs:

Crowley shrieks sometimes when a spider drops onto his shoulder, but Aziraphale lovingly picks up the creature and coos at it, while he takes the spider outside. Crowley pouts and turns into a snake, until Aziraphale picks him up, too and Crowley naps while curled around his Angel's shoulders.

First to define them as a couple:

I mean, it's obvious to literally ANYONE.

Who hides their guilty pleasures longer:

Neither has to hide anything anymore.

Snorts while laughing:

They both do and that makes them laugh even more.

Ask game can be found here

[safyresky]

Smile Shots: Clawfoot Tub

Was thinking of what Diteline Valentine's Day probably looks like, given it is Dite's BUSIEST day of work and often one of the COLDEST days of the year. This was what I thought up! I was a little torn on how it would end up, but I knew for sure they would be chillin in a hot bath together after their long ass day lmao. Please enjoy what I was originally calling A Very Diteline Valentine's Day aka, "Two girls, chillin' in a hot bath, thigh to thigh because they're SO gay". For each other, lmao.

UM ALSO Killian belongs to @lmelodie. I very much enjoy stealing him for a quick mention in situations >:). This is some time in the future (hence diteline marriage! in theory, Dite should be going by Donnie rn but in practise, I entered a fugue state when writing this and went with the present naming conventions), but to clarify: I imagine that blackice plans involve another attempt at reconciliation that devolves into a fistfight 😂😂😂. my GOD their dynamic is EVERYTHING to me 😍😍😍

ANYWAY, formalities out of the way, enjoy! And ah, Happy BELATED Valentine's Day, in all the ways love exists! :)

(would've had this out sooner but I got very distracted by my own romantic shenanigans which involved a lot of Puss in Boots. The last Wish SLAPPED and the first movie was ALSO very good! :D)

---

"This is either a Valentine's Day surprise, OR you have had a very long day."

"Would you believe that it was both?"

Dite giggled, gently shutting the washroom door behind her. She looked down at her wife, up to her shoulders in bubbles, cucumbers on her eyes, fruity face mask all over her face, and kissed the top of her half-thawed head.

"I think I would, yes. But definitely mostly the latter," Dite said, unravelling her chiton. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I drew the SHORT STRAW, DITE," Jacqueline said, her tone of voice reminding Dite of the pouting emoji as she pulled off the cucumbers, throwing her hands in the air and her head back. The wet brown tendrils of hair stuck to her shoulders; above it, the still frozen white strands bounced a little bit, the steam slowly dissipating the snow. "The SHORT STRAW!"

"Oh no," Dite said, folding her chiton and placing it on the weird ledge behind the toilet, her heart shaped fibulae gently placed on top.

"Oh YES! Can you believe it, babe? Even JACK had plans!"

"Oh, cute!" Dite said, tossing undergarments into the laundry. "What are the two of them up to today?"

"I don't know, probably fist fighting in an alley way? I don't get those two."

"Well, love is love," Dite said, gently testing the water with a finger. "And your brother and Killian have a special way of showing it."

"That's a...polite way of putting it," Jacqueline said, eating one of the cucumber slices. "Here, lemme get some hot water back in here for you."

Dragging her leg off of the rim of the tub, Jacqueline leaned forward, turning the hot water tap. She frowned, moving her hand away from the stream that came pouring out of the faucet, looking up at her wife. "Maybe you should test the water. I know it's usually too hot whenever I do it," she said with a small sideways smile, slightly flushed—and Dite knew that it wasn't from the steam.

The goddess smiled, sliding into the bath, and placing her hand under the tap. "It cooled off fast, and you're nowhere near done melting," she said, twirling the cool water tap a smidgen.

"Yeah, it's a cold one today. Very cold. Fucking freezing even. I think parts of Northern Ontario are hitting forty below. Same with the Midwest. There's like two polar vortexes, several flurries on the west coast, so Vancouver is, of course, freaking out," she said with a snicker. "I figured California could use a good scare and flurried there too, since, you know, I got SADDLED with all the WORK! Figured I may as well have some fun, y'know? Goddess of the Springs, I can't believe I got the short straw," Jacqueline said, once again doing a stellar impression of the pouty emoji. "I'm not unconvinced that Mom and Jack didn't cheat."

Dite smiled, sliding down the porcelain wall of the tub, leaning back with a happy sigh. Her wings unfurled, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief and drooping over the tub as the goddess got comfortable, the steam doing wonders to her muscles. "Well, you did an amazing job, blue eyes. There are going to be cuddles ALL OVER THE GLOBE tonight."

"I aim to please AND freeze, brown eyes," Jacqueline said with a grin, eating the other cucumber. "Anyway," she said, still chewing on the slice. "Are you done for the day? Or is this a siesta to see lil' old me? I wasn't sure how late you'd be working so timing the bath was a little bit of a challenge."

Dite laughed, sinking deeper into the tub. The bubbles went up to her neck as she sought out Jacqueline's legs, resting hers against them. She sighed, happily. "In theory, I'm done for the day! In practise, it's hard to say! Mom kidnapped Dad halfway through the morning shift."

"Does Psyche has some fun plans?"

"I guess so! She seemed excited! Anyway, I told them not to worry, I could handle the day. I mean, it's my favourite day of the year after all! Dad said he'd take the evening shift, which starts now, but I haven't heard from him yet so we'll see how it goes," Dite said, chipper.

Jacqueline sighed, sliding deeper into the water.

"What's really bugging you, babe?" Dite asked, shutting off the tap. Water sloshed out of the tub, soaking the stone floor below them. Whoops, Dite thought, watching bubbles float up from the floor.

"I had big plans for today," she admitted with a sigh. "I spent all of last week looking at ancient battle grounds to find some monsters for us to fight together today. I had two perfect locations picked out and everything! Then I was gonna make reservations at the new steak place in the South Province back at home, and then I was gonna book us one of those nice little over water beach cabins nearby so we could sit and spend the evening watching the stars and the icebergs drifting by! But then I drew the SHORT STRAW!" She said with a huff, droplets of water following her arms up into the air, the bath sloshing around her and over the rim when she crossed her arms with a splash, sinking low enough to blow bubbles in the water with her nose.

Dite sniffled. "Awwh."

Jacqueline popped out of the bubbles, looking at the blonde with concern. "Are you—are you crying?!"

"It's just. That's very very sweet of you," Dite said, with a HUGE smile, eyes tearing up.

Jacqueline flushed. "Well, it's your favourite day of the year, after all. And more importantly, I love you! Of course I'd plan something special! Shame loving your partners runs in the family."

Dite laughed. "That's not a bad thing!"

"It is when I don't get to bring my WIFE to the BEACH!"

"How about we rain cheque that?" Dite said. "For my birthday? Or yours, since that's like, around the corner."

"We can do it for yours," Jacqueline said. "After all, I planned it for you and I'm sure you already have plans for mine."

"I do indeed!" Dite said. "Thankfully, I am a planner, and I have a little plan for us this evening given that we both worked late today," she said, watching as Jacqueline's eyebrow quirked up, curious. "I stopped by that place you like in Canada, the one with the really good general tso's chicken?"

Jacqueline perked up, her back straightening. More water sloshed onto the floor. "You got us take out? From the Prosperous Lizard?"

"I did! Extra saucy and extra spicy for you! And, I stopped by all of the random little altars that pop up for me around this time and grabbed ALL of the deserts people left for offerings."

"DESSERTS?!"

"Mhmm," Dite said, nodding. "Lots of cupcakes this year! The usual chocolates, a BUNCH of roses, and, someone left us this," she said. she lifted her hand out of the water, suds drifting off as it glowed a bright pink. In front of her, a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries appeared. "Your favourite!"

"AhhhHHH! Oh my god, you were spoiled this year!"

Dite laughed. "I sure was! Which means that I get to spoil you," she said, leaning forward and booping Jacqueline's nose. "And the people who gave us these? Yeah, they get extra Hedone blessings tonight," she said with the hint of a suggestive smile.

Jacqueline sloshed forward, grabbing a strawberry and devouring it. "Mmm. This is the best," she said, sliding back down in the tub. "You're the best. I love you so goddess damned much," she said, the strawberries drifting closer to her.

"I know!" Dite said, chipper, helping herself to one of the strawberries. "And," she said, her voice sultry. "You'll love what I did with the roses."

"What you did to the. Sorry, WITH the roses?" Jacqueline quite literally squeaked, her voice cracking on the last word. Her flush deepened; the snow in her hair melting a tad bit faster. Dite's lips quirked up, a knowing little smile.

"Oh, you know," Dite said, coy, slowly sliding forward in the tub. "I spread them around the house in all the cozy spots for...ambience," she said, nose to nose with her very red wife. "Around the couch...the bed...and also, here," she said, her voice low as her hand shot up, her fingers fluttering.

Rose petals exploded, landing on the slightly runny floor and floating in the little pools of water caught in the uneven crevices of the stones. Some landed in the tub, the bubbles gently caressing the pink and red petals. A handful landed on the top of Jacqueline's head.

"Holy Hedone," Jacqueline said, flushed.

"That's my name," Hedone replied, her voice heavy and her smile. Well. Cheekily successful.

"Did you—are you. Are WE. Uh. Do you. Are you."

"You're so cute when you're all flustered," the goddess said, rubbing the face mask off of her nose and kissing the very tip.

Jacqueline smiled, this cute, warm, corkscrew-y grin that Dite had only ever seen on her when they were together. She cupped her hands, splashing water on her face and rinsing off the face mask.

"So that's a, that's a yes then?" the sprite asked, her voice going high once more.

Dite laughed, choosing to answer not with words but with a kiss.

Her lips were soft, and warm, and welcoming, and Jacqueline melted into her arms with a sigh, the rest of the snow in her hair falling right off in one go.

---

Later that evening, curled up on each other on the soft couch surrounded by all sorts of romantic flowers, a plethora of desserts laid out on the coffee table, Jacqueline glanced up at Dite.

"You know," she began, "I'm really glad we got that bigass claw foot tub," she said, pecking the underside of Dite's chin. "That was a good investment, one hundred percent."

"Oh my god, right?! I love that we both fit into it comfortably," Dite replied brightly, kissing Jacqueline's forehead. "Sitting in the hot water just being with you is," Dite sighed, happily. "Super nice."

"Hey. I love you," Jacqueline said, burying her head in Dite's shoulder. "Thanks for coming in clutch for Valentine's Day."

Dite scooped Jacqueline up, hugging her very, very tightly. "I love you too! And I hope this was a good one for you," she added with a soft smile. "Even with the short straw and the long work day."

"Easily one of my top three," Jacqueline said, snuggling even closer to Dite with a happy sigh.

"Me too," Dite said, with a soft smile filled with love. She kissed Jacqueline's messy brown head of hair. "Me too."

[thegodwhocums]

polythiest asks: 19, 11

Oh my gosh! I meant to reblog @flamingkorybante 's responses but you're right, I posted an ask meme! Ok let's do this.

19. How have your Gods affected your life?

Hoooooo… more than I can say. When I was about 13 and just getting into Wicca, which was all I could find (it was like 2001), I tried plugging into the Celtic pantheon and Brigid in particular and it just never clicked. I made some futile efforts towards Artemis when I was older, and Athena, and Apollo, all Strong or Logical or Independent or Rational gods that look like white people in the picture books, and nothing clicked. Dead air, no signal. Closed that chapter, moved on.

In 2007, I became a professional drag king and started describing myself as transgender and genderqueer. In 2011, I started thinking about Dionysos. I found that strange, internally, bc what does the party god have to do with my uptight, basically straightedge ass? Drunken debauchery? No thank you. Then I read Hermaphrodeities by Raven Kaldera (I'll let someone else explain who that is). That book described a Dionysos I could relate to - queer, mixed divinity, mixed race, an outsider, mad; someone with the freedom that I in my Spartan anhedonia craved. In February 2012, my partner channeled the god and he spoke to me. I still have the exchange.

Since then I would say that Dionysos has been instrumental in me taking steps to become more comfortable in my skin, my brain, and my heart. I have made friends, built relationships, and been places that never would have occurred if not for the shared enthusiasm for D. (Some good, some bad, of course, but all definitely influential.) He was with me as I prepared for surgery, and his mentor Cybele was there to receive our blood offerings when Rocket and I had healed. He was with me onstage, in the doctor's office, in forests and mountains and fields, as I mythologized my suffering and found a way through. He was with me when my mental health bottomed out and he was with me on the hotline when I begged for help not dying. He was with me as I went onto head meds, and then he was quiet, and when I went back off head meds he was there waiting for me. I think my heart has opened, I have become kinder, and my spirit has become freer with the help of Dionysos. I am still learning to love and enjoy my body, and he is still there helping me to do so.

There are other deities but he has always been at the center of my practice, and in many ways of my world.

I have an ancestral practice as well, so if we want to include those spirits as "deities," they have helped me buy a house for my chosen family (and the house next door as we grew!), find financial stability, keep my family safe, and quiet those who would do us harm. Seriously, if I were to embed one piece of advice in this response, it would be that your ancestors want you to thrive, let them help you.

11. Do you pray? If so, what do your prayers look like?

For a while I had a daily devotional practice, but at this point in my life prayers are more for special occasions. I don't usually need to ask the gods for anything - and usually I know what they want me to work on or bring them, so the only purpose in communicating is to say thank you. When I do that, the format is usually:

light a candle particular to that deity

burn some incense

purify myself some way (it varies)

invoke them by name and with a series of epithets

read or sing a prayer or hymn (orphic, etc), or a poem

say what I need to say

sit quietly for a while

say "thank you"

bow

put out the candle

The one regular practice I do have is that every week I change out the water in all the offering glasses on both altars (personal deity altar and house ancestor altar), and when I do that I do invoke each entity or family line and say thank you. I usually dust and reset or redecorate the altars monthly.

[anghraine]

I'm still thinking of GW2 as a TTRPG à la D&D 5e, and contemplating:

a) as in my original post about it, the extent to which species impacts stats, because it does seem a bit strange (if mechanically understandable) that being slim and 3 ft tall vs a hulking 8 ft would have no impact whatsoever for martial classes, and that having a magic-friendly culture has no benefits to spellcasters, but veer too far in that direction and you smash into shitty racial essentialism.

b) If I'd try and essentially "map" GW2 professions etc onto something 5e-ish and simply exclude categories that don't fit The Lore (no, you can't be an aasimar in GW2! dragonborn would be super interesting, though).

Some would work easily, at least thematically (warrior -> fighter, guardian -> paladin, ranger -> ranger, thief -> rogue), but others are more difficult, esp spellcasters, since GW2 spellcasting is so specialized—an elementalist simply can't use mesmer abilities, but an Evocation wizard or an elemental-themed sorcerer can use illusion magic, even if an Illusion wizard would be better at it.

c) It would be pretty painful to lose crafting, since it's so integrated into GW2 and so much fun (for me, anyway!). Maybe integrate it into backgrounds (homebrew something to make Guild Artisan more appealing, say, while permitting things like Noble or whatnot—or hybridize backgrounds to some extent à la D:OS2).

d) Actual storytelling, lol. One of the things that had me thinking about it is how the GW2 story is in some ways not very MMO-ish despite much of the game's mechanics being dependent on interaction between players. In-story, there is one Pact Commander—your character, and what they're like is dependent on your specific choices. Other players are ... "adventurers" or something as far as your story is concerned (even as each is the Commander in their own story).

Like, there's not much going on to reconcile your individual significance to the story with the actual experience and interactions that make the game function. Contrast something like City of Heroes in which the premise is was, as you might guess, that you're having adventures in a city with a sizeable population of superheroes that includes you, so the existence of other superhero characters made perfect sense—I much prefer GW2 and its story/vibe/politics, but in that respect COH made more intuitive sense.

It's not a big deal because unexpectedly powerful random adventurers don't seem that odd in GW2's setting, but I've sometimes wondered what the story would be like if they'd taken GW1 more local instead of less (in general, you're operating as part of a larger organization in the GW1 storylines and assisting people much more important than you, usually with the vague assumption that you're one of several people doing this, so this wasn't much of an issue there). Like, speaking of D:OS2, something more along those lines in terms of a protagonist with a party and not "several hundred thousand people simultaneously are and are not the protagonists of this story."

A TTRPG would be harder, in some ways, because making one player the Pact Commander and the other players their, idk, minions would not really work. But I think it'd be doable to tweak the story so it could (no reason there can't be multiple commanders, but like... four or five, not 300,000, lol). Hmmm. Also, you'd definitely have to balance the overarching plot vs the difficulties around railroading—make more use of factions and make it an active choice, say, to correspond to the Orders of Tyria, but also just give players more freedom in general without completing sacrificing the story because someone rolled badly or Leeroy Jenkins'd something.

[seelestia]

dw he can always come home and rest in my arms after dealing with all the, uh, interesting people, throughout his day lol-

sweat is just. evil. icky. yucky. ew ew get it away from me D; it's unfortunate that i can't get away from sweating every time i'm outside here. tropical country whyyyy ;w; so far no plans for another vacay anytime soon sobsob we'll see... it'll have to be next year for sure :c hbu??

lmao i don't think he finds my jokes funny enough rip 💔 it is!! that's why i did try to pull for him despite having too many polearm characters already ;w; oh well.

xiao: "don't talk nonsense, my power is meagre compared to morax." // me: "yeah no shit i still haven't built him yet-"

you bring him so much entertainment and that's one of the things he just loves about you lolol al haitham looking back at you skeptically like 'what in the world is this little creature barking about...'

hskdhfjsdhf the way you're cheering on us pls that's so cute ;w;

omg you're a genius yes yes i can totally see you walking around with a few dogs ;w; ayato made sure they're trained so well too (flashback to that one time when you first got them, they were untrained and almost made you fall down the stairs bc they're just a bunch of excited balls of fluffs), always walking by your side and never tugging on their leash (altho the moment you unleash their harness they just zoom about everywhere). v v cute <3

ayato and lia having a mini friendly debate session hsdhjs thoma is so used to bringing you tea while you're in the middle of doing this and he's always so amused (he might even cheekily add in his two cents too) hehe

I HAVE SEEN IT YES and gosh i love love love it so much, the colors and shading and lighting is just sosososo gorgeous ughghghghghgh ;w;

i'll let you know when i finish them archon quests ahhhh i did finish the events but i need to start on them sllsdjflksd

us indulging and screaming about each other's selfships 🤝

also your birthday is tomorrow yes? :) hehe. hehehehe >:)

give 👏 the 👏 man 👏 some 👏 rest <//3 if not for the obstacles he had to face as the geo archon, now he has to deal with unique people after he retires LOLLL as a hu tao kinnie, i am afraid i might not be able to help alleviate his suffering. (/lh)

the continuous summer 😭 it's like can't we get more creativity in terms of seasons here?? me eyeing the orbit 🤨 (/j) aaaa, you deffo deserve to go on more vacay trips! they're so therapeutic <//3 i'm not sure about me either, but the highlands have a special place in my heart, so we'll see! expect strawberry-related pics if i do >:)

WAIT, YOU'RE RIGHT. *squints at zhongli and xiao* it's either your fav weapon is polearm or you just happen to like people who like polearms JFWKDKSK dw, rin jie, more characters to pull for soon! it's either tartar sauce or angy shortie now 👀

in alhaitham's eyes, i'm just a puppy trailing after him angrily <//3 whatever do you see in him, my dearest cousin? is it the iq? the brains? his voice? but alhaitham's could never compare to your hubby's (/j)

lia walking with kins of her kind is a sight to see 🤫 we need more fanarts of ayato with animals, i will cry 😭 the power of fanarts over us is smth else <//3 and true, thoma just got himself a ticket to a live debate show in the kamisato estate! he'd put down the tray in ayato's office and just comment on how 'spirited' the both of us are LOLLL ayato isn't vv fond of work, so i might as well do smth to help him get thru it easier, hehe. iirc, in his voicelines, he expresses ironic (?) shock if you tell him that some people who treat their work as a hobby. he just goes "how... exceptional." HELPFKES i think paperwork traumatized him (/j)

I KNEW YOU DID 😭 i just knew you went thru the artist's page and honestly??? so valid because i did too 🤝 if i come across more zhongli fanarts, i'd definitely trip and run over to you in an instant! >:)

YESYES lmk! and take your time~ i love how sumeru is going thru a crisis while mondstadt is just 💃🍃🥂 ✨ LOLLL but i wasn't expecting how the wienlesefest event just went straight for those with parent issues HELPFKWK i thought this was supposed to celebrate wine and autumn... OUCH. 😟 but at least, we got pieces about crepus, razor's parents, amd even kaeya's father. and angst