#So. There are these daughters of a goddess right. their job in heaven is to weave clouds and rainbows and shit

[kindheart525]

“Where in the world were you last night?”

Naturally, Heavenly Glow’s family had a lot of questions for her after she didn’t show up to dinner. It wasn’t like her at all to be late to an event, let alone not show up at all. However, Celestia and Novo were much more bemused than upset about it. It was honestly refreshing to see their normally-strict daughter loosen the reins and goof off a little. 

They couldn’t help but notice she’d been more relaxed in general lately, it was almost unbelievable. But it was a welcome change.

“I was simply showing Sahar around, helping her get familiar with the kingdom. Is it not my duty as her partner to introduce her to both of my nations of heritage?”

Heavenly tried to brush it off in a cool, stoic tone, though she felt warm inside as she remembered their night.

“Judging by the smiles you two came back with, it seems like you had a lot of fun for an ordinary educational trip.”

Novo quipped in a teasing tone, nudging her wife who had a mischievous smile of her own. They meant it innocently, having noticed all the bonding between their daughter and Sahar up to now. But Heavenly was already feeling a bit defensive, so she thought they were implying something else as her face grew hot.

“No! Heavens, no! Whatever you are thinking, we did nothing of the sort!”

Her mothers quickly realized where her mind had jumped. Celestia struggled to stifle her laughter but Novo made herself calm down, approaching the situation with more seriousness.

“Ahem, that is none of our business, nor were we trying to pry into that part of your life.”

“We’ve just never seen you so happy!”

Celestia blurted out what was on both her and Novo’s minds.

Heavenly simply shrugged as if this wasn’t news at all.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, I am perfectly happy so long as the God Mother shines her light on us.”

She couldn’t be defensive and stoic for long; a small smile appeared on her face as she recalled the fun they’d had together.

“Although I must admit, Sahar brings a feeling I have never quite felt before. It is not unlike basking in Gaia’s light, yet…it’s different. Spending time with her last night, watching her enjoy herself, enjoying myself by her side. We didn’t do much last night, we merely saw the sights and swam with the fish. But regardless of what we do, being in her company makes me feel as if I was put on this earth for no other purpose.”

The hippogriff mare almost couldn’t believe what was coming out of her mouth, it was such a grand declaration and she was never one to make such claims about anything not strictly related to her faith. Yet she meant every word.

“Oh my gosh…”

Celestia’s eyes filled with tears, her smile so wide she looked as if she was watching her daughter’s coronation.

“Heavenly, you’re in love!”

“We’re proud of you, dear.”

Novo wrapped a loving wing around both of them. 

“You know, when you were little you were so serious about all this. Even at the wedding you treated it like just another job. And it is in a way, marriage is always work. But it feels so nice, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, we love seeing you so happy!”

Heavenly rolled her eyes lightheartedly and wiped Celestia’s tears away with her wing, but she realized they were both right. She’d always taken her duty to her country and her goddess so seriously but it wasn’t until recently that she learned what it meant to have a duty to her partner. When Novo told her they were going to get along and work as a team, this was what she meant. Not only for the good of their kingdoms but for the good of each other.

And by Gaia, it did feel nice to have somepony by her side. Somepony she could learn from and grow with. Maybe this was what her God Mother wanted for her all along. Maybe this was the mare she was meant to be.

All these feelings and more Heavenly Glow couldn’t express out loud, she couldn’t possibly find the words. Plus her parents would surely make a big deal out of it and embarrass her. She still had her pride.

“That’s what you say. Yes…I suppose I am growing fond of Sahar.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Amphitrite Next: Psamathe

Background by LibbytheKautz

[the-firebird69]

Genesis - Home By The Sea / Second Home By The Sea (Official Music Video)

This place is 100% maintenance all day and night I have to admit it's harder with the max but we have to get to work and diminish their number here and it's working they are diminishing and these are important generals other generals won't last we need to tell you the pseudo empire is using advanced techniques now these people's days are numbered but we have to move in recognizing that fact and we're not doing it enough. We get to use at least what they're using.

This song is about A series of unfortunate events it's about where it's filmed and they lied it's not in BC it's in Newfoundland and it is part of where our son grew up he went there on vacation to St John and the surrounding area and to the narrows and where are the narrows are is what it means it's a passage and it's a narrow one and people should get it it's a way to go to heaven but it goes up to the stone ships now this is some of their work and at least we say it is Trump is sitting on Newfoundland and yeah the roots go down and they come in contacts with a huge cavern in the ocean when there's a massive one with diamonds in it that are 300x400 MI and 500x700 MI over by far be the most powerful laser on Earth and it can fire downwards too now people are seeking that out and divorce developing a war is developing that at least to this other cavern that is full of celestials tons of them and people want to take them over so he will be ruined there if he tries to hold it he will disagree no disappear we do hear it. The Roots reach down to a pyramid as they do in Florida the one up there is much larger than this one it's about three times the size and could be one of the master pyramids and it is on everybody is going after this boy Trump he's a child and he's evil and nasty needs to be put in his place and for real you people are not doing your jobs. Trump harasses anybody that helps our son the guy whose area this is who's to kidnap everyone is helping our son the most and that's BG it just shows you he knows what it does this guy Trump is willing to forfeit everything to treat our son badly cuz he's sitting on this stuff and he thinks he can get it and no you started the world with the max and we're stop him too. This is becoming very huge today very huge people are breaking it out our son and daughter and their children and in law children and the people and also one of the major players pair is Apollo and goddess wife and kratos and goddess wife. They're major players and he has his goofball running around as his character he has a version it looks like it the name is our son's character best son gets a lot of help from us and he knows it a lot of help and he needs it and he can't do the job without it it says right now and is doing well we know it's going pretty good soon as personal life will pull up a little and these people will be gone it's true his mouth healed almost completely overnight that's pretty fast and an oxygen is going up... And yeah my son does a whole bunch of crimes as kratos and Hera as is goddess wife they're out there doing tons of stuff while John remillard will see nearby and you'll find out it's Dan.

They get very beat up for it and I can't really say stuff

This is a huge deal with us this band the way they think it's our two daughter well our one daughter and son each is this is really the beginning of our lives then we'll post why

Thor Freya

Olympus we're not finished we're not done have a cab means that and it means abacus and we are to continue to use secretive methods including the device itself it works very well these days we have one that has a few more things in it but this is something that works okay you can't really open those things unless you know how we're going to go for another level security and we have to screen things before they go out but this is exactly what it means it also means that harbor on the Saudi Arabian peninsula and they go there and they're trying to figure out what it is and I think that it's a ship that we own or run same with tell Majid at Armageddon. We'll proceed now and fix this area and people who have problems

[a-plethora-of-midnight-roses]

Me: *reading a poem for class*

Poem: *References The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl*

Me: *ready to go apeshit because HOLY FUCK THERES MYTHOLOGY HERE I KNOW THIS*

Poem: haha lol ur not gonna say shit about those last three lines

Me: D:

[fantastic-nonsense]

Im DYING to hear what you have time to say about Tim bring atheist

Okay so this is partly answering a longer ask I'm currently working on about each character's religion in canon, but let me just say this: DC Comics pretending like any hero is actually atheist cracks me up because it's an unbearably stupid concept in a world where mulitple pantheons of gods literally exist, the Spectre is God's Chosen, and Heaven and Hell are both tangible places multiple heroes have been. They might not believe in YOUR* god, but I find it extremely difficult to believe they don't believe in A god (or gods).

*generic you, encompassing any given religion and/or interpretation of the divine

I specifically want to inspect Fabian Nicieza's brain while he was writing Tim's Judgement on Gotham tie-in issue, because one of his best friends is Zeus's daughter, he semi-regularly works with Azrael, and he's good friends with Helena Bertinelli...but he doesn't believe in a god or understand the concept of Catholic Suffering?

My mom was a little religious, my dad not at all. So when she was killed--and my dad was left in a coma--I didn't have a strong foundation of faith to turn to. By the time my father was killed--then so many of my friends--all I had left to turn to was anger. It was easier than believing in a God who had let that happen. But anger sovled little and when the world was in crisis...I prayed. I heard only silence. So I confessed my sins...and realized I had none. How could someone who tried so hard to be good--did so much for so many people--be asked to endure so much? -Red Robin (2009) #22

Nicieza had not read the Book of Job in several years (if he ever had) when he wrote that issue, I'll tell you that much. If he had, we might be having a very different conversation about Tim Drake's religious belief system right now.

My larger beef with DC is that their writers continually impose their own incredibly limited, biased, and Western Christian-centric religious views onto characters in a universe where those views make no sense, and there's fewer characters that issue is more prominent with than Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake; while there's nuance to be found in the difference between belief and worship, writers often throw around atheism whenever they want to prove how "logical and intelligent" their character is. Except within the canonical constraints of the DCU...claiming to be atheist just makes them look dumb, because they're denying an objective fact of their universe.

Basically: you can be generally non-religious (or non-practicing) without being a non-believer, which is what most of the "atheists" in the DCU probably should be. Realistically, any hero a writer wants to make "atheist" should be saying something like "all these gods and divine forces in the universe and not one of them chose to help me when I was suffering? They don't deserve to be worshipped" instead of "I don't believe in god."

But that would require comic writers to actually engage in a nuanced understanding of religion (within a fantasy world or otherwise), which we know a solid 95% of them are incapable of doing. Thus: Tim Drake, "technical atheist" despite being besties with a literal demi-goddess, personally witnessing multiple resurrections, and having worked with the physical embodiment of the Abrahamic God's Wrath/Vengeance on multiple occasions.

[hitoshisbabygirl]

Author's Notes ♡:Sooooo I wrote this once with no mythological background and it was so blank because one I half read and two it had no pizzazz. So here I am...enjoying this collab wholeheartedly. For some context the readers dad is Dionysus, yknow the festive, wine maker? So I tried to incorporate that with being a potions maker! Rappa is based on a mix between Behemoths and the Kusarikku, so i wanted him just a big and a bull man hybrid but not fully a Minotaur! I hope whoever reads this enjoy it as much as I did writing it! (Also I’m slowly realizing how much I hope this man)~ bunny ❥

Here’s the lovely masterlist of the others beautiful arts!

Warnings : NSFW again! (◎_◎;)

A use of pet names l, uh some heavy size kink (if you know who I based him on, also is one of my kinks showing yet) , Needy Rappa, breeding, Light cursing, a bit of a pussy job, female oral and a bit of overstimulation.

Word count : About 6.5k (ooof) !

Paring(s) : Bullman! Kendo Rappa x F!Reader

Summary : Being a demigod had perks, you could travel, you had god and goddesses as siblings and family members and of course the power! But what happens when you have to help a stubborn farm...pet?

Enjoy ♡

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Growing up as a demigods daughter who owned a garden on earth was one experience. All types of people, gods, goddesses and hybrids needed her experience with all sorts of plants and other things from nature ; rather it be for healing medicines , a bouquet for an upset lover or for help with livestock growth, [ ] and her parents helped with every little working class they could. As [ ] went from child to young adult she was used to her fair share of men from every place asking for her attention. A human asking for her hand and giving her the bare minimum, a god, wanting to make her a goddess, or just simply flirting to warrant her attention. But alas to them all she gave them no leadway, keeping her same polite smile and overall sweetness to each and every person she dealt with. On a warm day in the heavens as she walked the sky castles grounds she ran into a farmhand, one she remembered worked for Demeter approached her hesitantly, his eyes wandering to the young maidens “U-uh M-miss [ ] right?” The male asked her , her eyebrow raising as a silent answer “Lady Demeter would like to speak with you, she need some help but she did not tell me exactly what” he said with a bow and soon turned to leave. Wondering what the goddess could want she headed to her ranch, watching the cattle and other animals graze. Suddenly the door swung wide, revealing the deity to her “[ ] my favorite niece how are you love!” The tall woman sing songingly yelled, hugging the wide eyed girl “Hello Auntie Dem, im quite alright! Uhm, what seems to be the problem? One of your hands came to get me” [ ] said as she took in the ranch home her harvesting aunt had, all sorts of gains, wheats, fruits and more spewed about in her living room “Ah yes! Your father told me how great youve become with your potions and mixes of herbs, being the daughter of Dionysus im not surprised! I told him to let you grow and do more now look at you, serving us gods and mortals alike!” Demeter went on, handing her confused niece a large apple as she took one for herself. Becoming her to a table by the window they both sat, eating on their fruit as she explained her issue.

“You see, i have a lot of cattle, different kinds, different kins and legacies, but im a bit stuck. My favorite mare, had a child a little while ago and he seemed to just be your average bull at first….but..as time went on he out grew his father, my prized minotaur bull and even his normal cow and bull family.” Taking a glance to the field they watched as the minotaur children and some sheep danced and played, other average cow cults running to join. Sighing Demeter continued “Hes a hybrid, my prized minotaur as his father and well, my biggest and prized heifer as his mother. He wont come out of the shed, doesnt deal with his other kind, minotaur or not. Hes around your age now, getting to be his prime but..he wont converse in the fields. Both his father and mother voiced concerns to me about his health but when i checked on him, hes fine! Fields away under a sun and away from my younger and ready cows! I dont get it! Maybe because hes more human than he is bull, he does have a human face and even body, just taht everything below is...well bull. Tail, those wonderful breeding-” “Auntie!” Before she could finish [ ] was hushing the woman, waving her arms “I get it i get it Bull bottom human top i dont need to hear about his loins!” She pleaded.

Laughing, the goddess reached to a pile of hay, whistling to feed some of the nearby cows “Ah you silly girl, I was only gloating about my finest bull yet! I even tried bringing him mortals but...he crushed them, saying they were too small. Every single one! Younger older it didnt matter, he wanted nothing to do with them and just squashed them like a bug under his hoofs! I'm at my wits end, Im not sure what he needs, and hes so large i cant just let him walk around the palace place, he intimidates the clerks and huffs when talked to!” Dramatically laying against the table she looked to the thinking girl, her eyes shining with an idea “Hey auntie, how about you take me to him, i can see if hes loss any weight or seems sickly anywhere. Where do you think hed be at this time?” [ ] asked “Ah you brave girl, what time is it, almost high noon? He might be in the field but its the one with my giant tree that he likes” Demeter responded, pointing to a large tree up a few fields with nothing much around it but luhs grass. “Doesnt even matter if i put up a fence, he walks on two legs so he just hops over it” She sighed again as the duo headed outside.

Seeing a tall minotaur coming towards them [ ] stopped along Demeter, her goddess aunt speaking “Ah Milvor, how are you and Altine?” “Lady Demeter and I'm guessing this is [ ], we are fine. The misses is in the field now, seeing if she can see our boy” He said. Realizing that this was the after for her case [ ] spoke up “Uhm sir have you noticed anything amiss with er-” “Kendo, his name is Kendo” The Minatour said “Ah yes with Kendo, anything seem to be hurt or missing from his way of life” She asked. “Well..not particularly. Hes always fought some of the other males here so bruises and marks are a common thing we see from him. Besides a broken horn he doesn't have anything major going on. Just that he refuses to be around anyone here. Even us at times when were out with the others” He said solemnly , looking at the girl. Grabbing her hands he pleaded “Please, help our son? I know he can be rude and dismissive but down there our sweet boy is in there, were worried sick about him” Milvor said, a sad moo coming from his approaching wife “Miss i do appreciate you checking on him, I just hope he'd be home soon” A half cow women spoke , coming beside this Kendo’s father “Well i'll do my best, it doesnt sound like hes too hurt or anything serious so i'll make sure to try and get him to be with you both” Giving a reassuring smile [ ] started off, heading to the tree at the top of them hill. Just before she got far Demeter called to her, handing her sweet wheat “Heres some of his snack, he sometimes will come back if we offer him more” She said. Taking the wheat and putting it in the side of her flowing peplos. Soon with enough treading uphill , she got close to the tree , soon seeing a tail swish from in front of the tree. Hesitantly she walked forward before seeing hooved legs, also covered in black fur, pop out from the tree. Placing a hand at the side that had no person on it she peeked over to in fact , find a rather giant back in the sun, small flecks of freckles on the toned skin. Holding her gift closer she walked to the male before hearing a snort “ ‘M tellin’ ya Elinor I dont want nothin’ to do with ya, go on, go back to the heard” A rough and deep voice said, a larger hand coming up to wave off whoever was behind him. Feeling a bit bad for this mysterious Elinor and offended, she was brushed off [ ] walked closer , standing at the ends of his legs until the male growled. “I told ya to-'' Stopping himself from yelling once he turned around he was surprised to find not hybrid named Elinor but in fact the small [ ] her eyes widening as amber ones looked down “Yer not Elinor” He said as [ ] giggled “And im guessing youre Kendo” She said as the bull sat up, cruising his legs and the curious woman in front of her. “Whos askin?”

He huffed as [ ] looked at him as she did the same , sitting across from the hybrid “A…. doctor of sorts. Your parents, along with Goddess Demeter asked me to come check on you, see how youre doing” she said as he huffed again “ ‘M fine, now why did they send you” He said as he watched her pull things out, paper , a quill, ink and is that..? Pointing to the bustle of wheat he called out “Is that… for me?” Blinking [ ] looked at the almost childish Kendo, smiling as she untied the snack “It is for you, I heard you liked it. Brought it in the hopes youd talk to me?” She questioned, holding a piece out for him to take. Hesitantly he did, gnawing at it as he hummed in delight, his tail swishing. “ So uhm… Doc what do want to know” He asked, watching as the smaller girl touched his chest and arms, squeezing lightly as she wrote down different things “If ya wanted to touch me ya shouldve asked” He teased, taking his own hand to her face. Felling he face warm up she moved back, poking him with a finger “Now now be good im just seing if youre injured. Besides that horn, do you have anything broken or doenst feel well?” She asked as she waved a pisces of wheat, making him focus. “Nah, im as fit as a fiddle” Side eyeing his response she still gave him a piece , hearing him hum in delight as she wrote more notes.

“So no injuries, no pain , nothing?” shaking his head he continued to eat , taking some pieces from her bundle as she reached for the uneatten pieces “Hey! No you get these as a reward for answering me not to eat at your leisure!” She scolded. Reaching as far as she could she grabbed at his hand before he lifted them higher, smirking “Well miss doc i want what i want, and I want my snack” He said before she grabbed his arm, poking a manicured nail at it hand “Well Kendo ill let you have it if you tell me whats wrong, without covering it up deal?” Feeling him flinch at her poking she did it again until he moved away , glaring at her through his bangs that hung low “Fine! Stop poking me though, ya nails hurt! And theres nothing wrong, i just dont like ‘em cows! They stink!” He said as he knelt closer, moving her from his arm. “They stink? How old are you 5? Why do they stink!” [ ] huffed back as he chewed more of his treat, looking to the flustered girl “Im 22 in human years little girl , and like i said they stink! Reeks like open sores and meat” He said as he kept eating , laying in the sun. Thinking over his words it dawned in her what he could be talking about “And what do i smell like Kendo?” [ ] asked, catching the half bull off guard “I dunno, you dont stink, Neither does lady Dem” He said as he turned to her. Leaning over she gave him a piece of wheat again but this time, pushing herself a bit forward, watching as his body shook before he took the piece , eating it. “Well Kendo, my name is [ ] and ill be checking on you moreoften okay? I need to run down to the house but ill be back if that's okay with you?” Silently he shook his head, watching her run off as he opened his still crossed legs, feeling himself unsleeth as he groaned ‘Shit...now why am I gettin turned on’ he thought to himself, rubbing away what he could before the girl came back

As soon as she got to the farm she was met with the eyes of the worrying three, the first to speak being his mother Altine “Oh! [ ] youre back!” She said, the bell on her neck dangling as she ran to the fence “How is my boy? Kendo is he alright?” she asked as Demeter and Milvor came soon after for the report “Well maam i can confirm he is healthy, not is wrong with him the only thing is..” [ ] hesitated as she looked at them “He might have a heat approaching, is this his first one by any chance?” SHe asked as they all looked at eachother, Demeter speaking up “Well not exactly, this is why I kept bringing mortals up here, he wouldnt mate with the cows, and even other hybrids! Nothing! Hed turn his nose up at them all and go back to that field. He actually broke that horn of his fighting a bull from a neighboring farm who wanted to cow that was trying to get his attention” Demeter said, sigh as she saw her nieces blank face , afraid she overwhelmed her “Its alright if you dont think hes fixable [ ] i can-” “No hes fine. I can help him, and i think it wont be that hard either” [ ] said, giving the group a smile. “Watch him for a few days for me , im gonna go back up there with him, see how he is then come back in a few days with some of my things, ill stay here as long as need be to help your son” She said as she gave them all a smile, going inside to get her something to eat. Soon she hear her aunt appear, shuffling about to give her a basket to put her things in “Here, Im so gald helping him is a easy fix” She said sighing happily as she continued “I know he should mate on his own time, but im more concerned for his heath of it all, he doesnt even release into anyone or even by himself” Glancing towards her auntie she took in a breath before saying something “Well, i know it has to be bad now, he even said the er, cow women here stink, so their hormone have to be covered with other bulls or maybe he genuinely doesnt see appeal with them” [ ] said. Thinking it over Demeter gave her an almost alarming look “Well if thats the case just as you arrived he asked me what i was cooking, that something smelt good. I told him I didnt have anything and he just retreated back to his part of the barn before leaving for the field again.” Slowly [ ] realized she might be in for more than she imagines but brushed it off. “Interesting..” She said as she took her full basket “I have an idea, im gonna see if his heat hits its peaking times in a few days, I do plan on staying here if youd have me here?” She asked as a delighted look spread across Demeter’s face “Of course dear child! I missed having you around! Your Father was bad at bringing you over, him and his festivals” Demeter huffed before she poked her nieces cheek “Besides! We can have a girls night, or well er, weeks depending!” She said as the laughed together “Well it's a deal!”

Heading back up the hill she saw that Kendo had moved, facing a running river as he sast in the sun once more, looking content. [ ] smirked to herself before grabbing some of the things she had ; a brush, a lavish soap and a towel. Heading to where the behemoth of a hybrid laid she noticed his ear twitched, before he opened an eye to look back at her. “Hey Doc, ya back.” He said as she gave him a smile, sitting beside his head “Why yes I am. You seem to be enjoying yourself” She teased as he smirked, turning to face her. “Well i do enjoy the sun, keeps me warm nd my hair soft.” Looking him over again she noticed that his hair was always up in a bun but his bangs covering his eyes, a different hue of color, more of a rustic red than his black furred legs. “Well about that...Im gonna give you a bath!” the giant bull flinched at her words, seeing the happy look gracing her face “Oi now look, ‘m fine i dont need no bath” He argued as she pouted “Why sure you do! I know you dont go when the others get theirs, and if that bun of yours is any indication, you need to wash all of that dirt and grime off. Now let me help you” She barked back, pointing the soft looking brush towards his face. He stood up, now overthrowing the girls height as he pointed a finger at her “Now look, I like being this way, it keeps those girls offa me if you clean me now they wont leave me alone!” [ ] sighe before stepping closer, pointing her own small hand at his face, moving closer “Now you listen to me Kendo, I have things to help keep them off of you, this is for your own health! I can leave you here, dirty but your hair and fur is gonna get so matted theyll have to shave you!”

At hearing a potential that hed be shave Kendo flinched, moving his bangs so his soft eyes could meet her determined ones “Theyll shave me? Ion wanna be like the sheep” he said she she gave him a satisfied look. “Well go into the water then and ill make sure you wont!” Reluctantly he sighed, walking into the river as she followed behind, pinning her longer robe so it wouldnt get too wet as she sat at the side of the river. Holding a hand out she waved him closer, the male coming to her as she undid his hair. To her utter surprise it fell down his shoulders, stopping just short of his waist. Gently she pushed his bangs back to see his pretty amberish eyes looking up to her [ ]’ed ones. He had a typical Bull hook through his nose , the gold shining in the warm sun. He was quite handsome, sun kissed skin and a clear face, broad shoulders and a nice body. Even with his mostly human body his horns, tail and ears were bull, on top of his legs and...neithers , that were covered in fur. Softly she traced a scar under his eye, the wound slightly tender as he jumped from the touch. Going to her wrist she tied a string to hold his long bangs up, a giggle falling from her lips as he almost looked like a younger child getting a bath “What're you lookin at me like that for” He huffed as she laughed more, pushing his face together “You look like an upset child is all. Now go ahead and dip in the water for me , ill scrub you after.” Listening to her, Kendo dropped watching as some of the debris and dirt washed off around him as he stood up, shaking his hair “Good enough?” He asked as she shook her head, pouring some of the sopa on the brush as she started to was his chest,making sure to scrub him as clean as she could from land. Sensing her struggle he reached to her, lifting her over his body as she squealed “Sorry, you were just strugglin so i thought i'd help you” Kendo said as [ ] hesitantly started to wash as much as she could, tapping his arm anytime she needed to move. Being up there did help, she was able to was his horns and his hair, revealing the rust orange and copper hair underneath. Surprised she ran her finger though it, giving him a shy smile. “See dont you feel a bit better?” She asked as he shyly nodded, noticing how her clothes clinged to her chest. He reached to put her back on land, coming out of the water himself as he allowed her to scrb his legs and hoofs, the dull black fur coming to life as he watched in awe. She didnt mind helping him, still came to bother him when he said he didnt want help and now she was bathing him. Kendo mulled over how helpful she was, and realized she was more comforting than most. After scrubbing his hoofs shiny she tapped his legs, signaling she was done.

“All right! Now that youre all clean and such Ill make sure you stay this way okay Kendo?” [ ] said as she went back to the basket, pulling out two apples. The bull in question watched as she came back to him, handing him the other one “Here ya go! Thought you could use something sweet” kendo took the apple from the girl, before biting into it, thanking hier softly as they sat in silence. Soon [ ] spoke up, breaking their silet aurora “So...ill be around here the next few days or so, ill probably stay longer, giving how nice it is” She laughed, looking at the curious male beside her “Dont be afraid to ask me for anything okay? Im here to help you” With that Kendo nodded, going back to the apple. Quietly Kendo touched her arm, making [ ] look to him as an unfamiliar look went over his face. Gently herself, [ ] put her hand on his, shaking her head as a signal for him to talk. “Would you mind...pettin me?” he asked before [ ]’s eyes went wide. Now feeling a bit more embarrassed he spoke up again “I have problems going to sleep, ‘ts why i like it out here in the sun, its warm , nd comforting…” Pausing he continued after he got his words together. “You do the same thing like the sun. Youre warm...comforting.. And make me feel sleepy...so if you pet me...ill be comforted to sleep..its what my mama did, but im too big to be in her lap” With that kendo finished, glancing to the girl who gave him a soft look “Of course i can! I have to get pick some more clothes up but once i get back, I can stay with you out here.” Shaking his head Kendo looked back to the river “Ya dont have to sleep outside with me just...put me to sleep” Unable to stop herself [ ] hugged his arm, looking at him through her lashes “Oh cmon you big baby, I dont mind it! Havent slept under the stars since i was a kid!” Brushing off her dress she ran a hand though his thick locs of hair, giving him another warm hug “Ill be back before sundown, now you be good” And with that he watched as his new found friend walked down the hill.

As promised she brought a blanket and joined him, laying under the tree as the large male went to sleep on her lap, contently humming as [ ] ran her fingers through his hair, making Kendo groan as he fell asleep like mentioned, hugging her thighs as he slept the most comfortable he had in weeks. Watching the hybrid sleep she saw all types of scars, some down his back , others on his chest. A few on his arms and only one on his face, plus the broken horn. He obviously got himself into different groups of problems, but he was sweet, not as curt as he expected. Running her fingers down his back she watched him shiver, going to wrap his arms higher around her torso. Giggling as softly as she could [ ] started to braid his hair back in his sleep, the moving under her ceasing as he was well resting once more. Thinking to herself ‘ If he’ll be like this it should be a breeze to help him.’ Oh how wrong she was.

A few days passed with little to no incident , [ ] going around helping with the daily chore and hanging out with her deity auntie. As the two of them sat in the living quarters, drinking a mixed juice that her father set them they heard a bell appear towards the window, it being Kendo’s mother “I'm so sorry to bother you , but i think something is gravely wrong. Kendo is whining in the shed, earlier he even started to-” Before she could finish a thumb came from his shed, followed by a groan “and that, he's been head butting his room” sitting up [ ] looked to his shed, seeing the door shut but large banging still coming from inside “Hey Auntie, is it alright if we could move him to the other field? I dont want his lashing to accidentally hurt anyone here” Coming besides [ ] Demeter chewed at her lip, thinking “Well, if we can stop him then yes, I'd get the boys to move it quickly”. With that answer [ ] got up, heading to the rocking shed. Taking in a breath she knocked, hearing that the groans subsided. The door slowly creaked open, showing a heaving Kendo “[ ].....?” He whispered, looking over her body as she reached to his forehead, pressing her hand against it. Hot, way too hot. “Kendo, sweetie come with me okay? We’re gonna go to the fields and we're gonna move your shed there okay?” Silently he nodded, coming out of his place. He was gasping, chest heaving as his eyes swirled a darker color than normal. Taking the outstretched hand of [ ] his larger fingers curled against it, following the light pull of the girl. Softly, He nudged her back “ ‘M hot..” he said as she looked back at him, making sure the fever wasn't wearing him down. He gave her a weak smile, rubbing the back of her hand “ ‘M alright princess, just hot” Kendo said as she noted how his voice dropped octaves. “Well theyre gonna bring a bigger shed for you out here and ill check on you every hour. Does anything hurt?” [ ] asked as they walked up the hill “Nah, but my horns are ackey.” “Is that why you were bashing them on the shed?” “Yeah...its like trying to scratch an itch you can reach” Kendo sighed, seeing his usual tree coming into view. As the duo got there he dramatically fell under it, pulling [ ] with him. “K-kendo! Careful!” she fussed as he let go of her apologizing as he drifted to sleep. Soon some of the workers had started working on the new roomed shed for him , finishing just before sundown as they would inform Demeter of where she was.

Gently pushing the deep sleeping boy from her lap she went to his new place, checking everything out. It was more of a small home than a shed, filled with a huge bed and a nice aesthetic to them, the touch of the goddess laced through the look of the place. Going around to sort some of the things they brought for Kendo, [ ] felt a presence behind her “whats all this..” the groggy bull said, ducking down to walk into his lavish bedroom “Your new home! I had them build something spacious but also not overwhelming, and these white are just so lovely.” [ ] kept talking as she soon felt two large arms wrap around her torso “ Ya did this for little ol me..?” He whispered as she ran a hand over his forearm. “I did...you need somewhere to relax in this state” She responded, trying to get from his grasp as he tighten it “Uh uh dont leave...tell me whats wrong with me doc..why cant I stop feeling hot...and anytime you come around I...cant help myself” He ended with a groan , burying his face in the shorter girls neck “Well once im sure of you being in a state of need ill be back okay? Just...relax for me and i promise ill be back.” finally convincing him to let go of her waist, not without a pained groan as he went to the bed, hazy eyes glancing over the short dress wearing girl “Get some more rest okay? Im gonna get something to eat and ill be back in the morning. Call me if you need me okay?” [ ] said as he just groaned a meek response, turning to his side.

Earlier the next morning [ ] woke up to an empty house. Stretching she found a neatly written note with some food on the table

Dearest Niece, Im currently headed to your Uncle Poseidon's place, I should be back some time later ; an update on Kendo, hes been begging for you all day, wont let anyone touch him or check on him. He should be awake now but do be warned ; He’s a lot more scatterbrained than usual

Auntie Demeter

Reading over the note again [ ] sighed, putting on her more comfortable and workable dress as she headed up to his new little house on his hill, the sound of groaning and whines coming to her ears as she got to his door. Seeing it ajar she pushed it open slightly, the place dark except from a crack of light coming from the window. Going to the shades she opened them, hearing a hiss from the bed. “Kendo its me..[ ]?” She called out as the wild set of hair came into view. He was even more disheveled, eyes filled over as he looke to the girl before growling, crawling out of the bed to her. With a gasp she was in his arms, body shaking as she was met with unnaturally feral eyes from the boy. “You left me yesterday..” he rapeseed out, burying his face in her neck again as she grabbed at his thick neck “Kendo honey, i told you id be back this morning didnt i?” She calmly said as he held her tighter, pushing her chest to his “Dont care, ‘ts too long” Realizing why he was so needy [ ] tried to reason with him “Well im sorry love, here lets sit down on the bed” Trying to get him to move she walked forward only to feel something large and hot push into her bare thigh. Nervously she looked down only to be faced to what she feared it was ; His hanging member. A wicked laugh came from above her as she was met with his ever lust driven eyes, a hand of his going to cup her ass and pull her closer “See what you left me with? No matter how hard i fuck my fist i cant cum, it wont come out” He whined and burried his face again, rocking himself on her thigh “Please ill do anythin..youre the only one who sgotten me like this...the only one i want..[ ] please princess help me” Overwhelmed but the situation she tried to pull back, eyes searching his “K-kendo youre getting yourself worked up relax-” Without warning he picked her up, making her screech as he brought her crouch to his face, inhaling as he whimpered, reaching down to his growing dick “Fuck you smell good, like flowers...and sweets..” Letting his tongue roll out he sucked over her panties, making her squeal as she gripped his messy hair “N-no kendo put me down i need to help y-you!” She moaned as his tongue flicked over her clit, a mutual groan coming from both of them. Soon a hard tug to his hair resonated, cause him to put her down as she barely touched the floor, hand grabbing his biceps “Kendo please, please sit down youre overworking yourself.” Trying to calm her racing heart she saw how hazed he was, his hand coming to wrap around his visually throbbing head, stroking himself as tight and fast as he could, looking at the awe struck girl infront of him. His hips lifted up as he was chasing a high but he soon groaned, thrusting meekly in his fist “I-I cant, fuck I cant do it doll, ‘t hurts...p-please” Finally snapping from her haze she got closer to Kendo, hand still trying to milk himself as she put her hand over his, stoping the motion.

“K-ken..ill help you okay? Youre gonna rub yourself raw at this pace..” nervously [ ] pulled his hand away, precum coating it as she gulped. He was huge, red and swollen tip curved in the right places. Even with his bull heritage he was still humanly manageable, but with a lot of work to try and get it to fit. With her staring at the intimidating size it twitched , curving up to his belly button as he gave her a lop sided snarl “ Cmon darlin, he... er, we need you . ya keep staring make me feel a bit exposed” He laughed as [ ] gave her own light chuckle. Facing her fears she wrapped a hand around his tip, a hurting yelp falling from Kendo at the touch made her eyes flicker to him but what she saw was pure lust, eyes blown with his tongue licking over his lips “Y-yes finally...shit I-i can feel somethin” Kendo couldnt help himself. Reaching down he grabbed her other hand , wrapping them tightly around his tip as he thrusted between them. “Mhmm im cumin, im gonna cum o-oh shit” As soon as she twisted her wrist to help him he felt himself twitch , spurts of warm cum splattering on [ ]’s face and the floor a he gave her a nervous laugh “S-shit doll face yer good...im sorry i couldnt hold it in..” he said shyly as [ ] gave him a sympathetic look, stroking over his still throbbing head. “[ ] please...can I fuck you? I-I promise ill go slow its juts the smell of you is..mhmm intoxicating” Kendo pulled her up from her knees, pressing his mouth against her clinging panties ,pulling them with his teeth. [ ] squeaked, grabbing his hair as he pushed her hips closer, trying to lick her. “W-wait ill take em off” Pushing at his shoulders she pulled the piece he had in his mouth out, sliding the flimsy lace as she came a bit closer, a growl coming from his lips as he pushed her dress higher, finally able to taste her. Throwing one leg then the next on his shoulder kendo fell back, making her fall onto his lips.

[ ] let a pitched moan come out, startled by his rummaging in between her thighs , his diligent uskcing on her clit taking a toll as she came, bucking her hips onto his mouth. Swallowing her juices Kendo flipped her on her stomach, pushing the fabric of her dress up and over her shoulder to release her covered chest, now exposed “mhmm i want more of that sweet nectar baby why dont you give it to me?” whispering in her ear and now bucking his even harder dikc between her small lips [ ] started to panic “K-Ken wait I dont think youll fit!” ignoring her thrashing Kendo looked over her body, seeing how she shook at every stroke of his tip against her sopping core “I told ya ill be gentle, hold still [ ]...i wouldnt hurt my mate” The heaviness of those word took over [ ]’s body as she looked back to him, only to see the save behemoth size push against her ring of muscles. Agonizingly slow he pushed, letting his tip slide in as he pushed each small inch he could in, a whine falling from them both. Once he was halfway in he slowly thrust his hips, causing the girl to yelp “I-its alright i got ya okay? Youre fine...its okay im here” Constantly praising her , Kendo was able to slip more into her, each mini thrust pushing him a bit closer to her, the sounds of squishing and pleasure filled moans filling the room. Becoming overwhelmed at almost being full [ ] pushed her hips back to take the rest, making Kendo yelped and [ ] moaned, the sudden feeling of him bottoming out almost too much as he placed his hand on her stomach, feeling him brush her cervix. Swinging his hips more fluidly he started to pounder her even more, gripping her neck as he pushed her deeper in the bed “Fuck yeah i knew youd be my perfect little minx, taking me so well i cant wait to see you swollen with my babies” He huskily whispered , the stretched out girl too blissed at taking him whole to care about his words.

“I bet youd love being my mate, wouldnt have to lift a finger for anything , id take good care of ya..” Continuing his beating against her cervix he felt something strong hed never felt before, a blind need to cum hitting him like a train “mhm..please let me breed you, this pussys’ mine, all i ever wanted...ill make you a cute little house wife hm? Make you swell with cute little us running about.” Feeling her weakening clench over him he reached for that bundle of nerves, switching his hips to hit even deeper, his throbbing dick pushing against that sponge in her walls. Crying out [ ] fell lower, feeling him slip impossibly deeper as he sped up.” Cmon [ ] , babygirl cum for me..give me it..t-then i can give you what you want yeah? Fill ya to the brim so you can bear me a strong child….”Finally at that the little sense of control snapped coming from a particularly hard push and roll of her clit she was whining , grabbing the arm beside her head as angry red lines welted up. Feeling her hit her peak Kendo got to his knees , nursing her bud as she tried to tug him away, thighs shaking as teary eyes looked down to his fierce lust filled one. As soon as she started whimpering and pulling her hips away he stopped, scrubbing his tip along her folds as he entered without too much pull, [ ]’s mouth falling open “Mh..i'm so close baby...just wanted to look at you when I fill you full..” Kendo felt his tip twitch, making his hips stutter as he picked his pace up again, watching as her arms went are far as they could to his back, stretching his shoulders as he came with a growl, and almost audible sound of him pumping in her heard as she weakly pulled him closer, their lips meeting in a intimate kiss.

With care he pulled from her lips, seeing her eyes fill up again as he kissed tears away “Its alright...its okay ‘m here princess...its alright..I didnt hurt you did I?” Kendo asked as he looke at her slightly bulged stomach, a satisfied smirk on his lips “ Hey [ ]...” He started as she gave a weak hum he continued “Be my mate..I know i didnt ask before filling you bu...id be honored to make such a caring woman my mate and wife...treat you just like my father does my mom..…” He said, nuzzling her cheek before [ ] pulled his face up, kissing him lightly as she gave him a tired smile, rubbing his cheeks “I-id be honored to be your mate..take good care of me okay? Or Auntie Demeter has your head..” Laughing he kissed her lips again, sealing their new deal

[roger-that-cap]

all the flowers will bloom

summary: you would have never tried to leave your mother if you knew that bringing that pomegranate tree back to life was your ticket to the underworld. or, maybe you would have, because it turned out that hades was quite the opposite of the evil goddess that you had been drilled to know.

warnings: upset mothers, insecure gods, romantic revelations, idk what to call this-

word count: 4.2k

part four!

You skipped Natasha’s escorting and went to the level yourself, crouching in the same area you had been working over and immediately putting your hands into the dry and brittle soil, sighing when you remembered that you forgot the water. 

  You didn’t even realize how long you had been there until the sound of metal crashing on the ground next to you came, and there was a watering pail right by you. 

 “You need this.” 

You didn’t bother to look at her, but you smiled. “Thanks.” You saw her nod out of the corner of your eye. You remembered that you couldn’t bring life when you felt so submerged in death, so you closed your eyes and took a breath. 

  Something moved under your hand. 

You yanked your hand off of the spot out of pure shock. “Good-”

Natasha was closer to you than you realized, hovering over and looking for something that went wrong. “What?” 

“Something- something did something!” You breathed out, eyes wide as you blinked at the ground. You stammered out something unintelligible before slamming your hand back down, feeling for the familiar feeling of a root wiggling its way through the earth. You were sure you felt it. “Water,” you called for softly, and you felt Natasha water the spot, some of it splashing onto your hand. “That’s enough, don’t drown it.” 

If you were any less excited about getting the feel of something, you would have laughed about how you just demanded Hades, Goddess of the Dead, to water a single plant that hadn’t even sprouted yet. And how she actually listened to you. 

  You lifted your hand off and bent your face down into the dirt, whispering to the poor thing that was fighting so hard, giving words of encouragement as your heart began to race. You could feel the older goddess hovering over, and though her expression didn’t show it, she was just as eager to see if something was coming. 

  “Come to me,” you said, trying your hardest to stay calm despite tour heart racing and threatening to beta out of your chest. You knew that if you got any more excited that it wasn’t going to grow correctly. Your hands were shaking as you touched the dirt again, prodding it lightly. “You’ve got it, seedling. Grow.” 

  Slowly, as slowly as a bated breath finally being released, a small bud clawed its way out of barren ground. The bud was a pure white, and as it grew taller, neither you or Natasha were able to speak. When it reached its full height and stopped, you immediately jumped back into conversation with it. 

 “That’s it, flower. You’ve got it.” Your voice shook as you watched the flower react to you, bending ever so slowly to your will and your energy. In a show of silent whispers and shaking hands, you and Natasha both witnessed a single flower open up from the inside and show off a gorgeous yellow, a circle that stood out from the pronounced, purely white petals. 

 It was as silent as the dead. 

After a few heavy moments, full of joy and confusion and everything in between, you heard Natasha clear her throat, the sound hesitant as she grappled for words. “You… you did it.” It was silent for a moment. “You actually did it, Persephone.” 

You didn’t even bother to correct her. “I grew it.” You said softly to yourself, eyes fixed right on the singular flower, all by itself and looking quite dismal in comparison to its surroundings, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. “It’s alive.” 

  “I can’t believe you did it.” 

You whipped around at her words, a brilliant smile on your face, showing teeth and happiness that could have been seen from miles away. “I did it!” You looked back at the flower, strong and beautiful, astonished by your own strength even though it only showed in one demonstration. 

Maybe you could go home. Just maybe. 

 Part of you didn’t even truly understand the gravity of what you had done, or what you had managed to do. You grew something in a land that was known historically to be infertile. You had grown a flower in a place where everyone knew that it was impossible. You had just opened a major door for everything that was capable of living, and you hardly even knew it. 

Natasha did. 

You didn’t even feel drained. In fact, you felt alive, more alive than you had throughout your days in the Underworld. You felt like you could make a thousand more flowers spring and defy the laws of nature, the laws of life and death. But even you knew that the high you were on would fade, and that you would need rest soon. 

“You’re shaking,” the goddess pointed out, and you couldn’t even manage to bring yourself out of your own head to confirm her observation. “You need to sit.”

  “No, no, I don’t need to sit.” Your head was spinning. “I need to do more while I can.” While you were ecstatic by the growth, you knew what it was possible that it was a fluke. And if it was, you planned on riding it out for as long as possible. 

Natasha wasn’t buying what you were poorly attempting to sell. “You’re about to pass out like some silly human because of your ignorance and impatience.” Your haze broke through momentarily while you glared at her. “If you think these gardens are a one day job, you’re wrong.” 

“Just give me a minute to celebrate, Natasha.”

“Well, you’re nearly falling over, Persephone.” 

“How in the world do you expect me to stop here?” You asked, eyes full of wonder and joy, and starting to gleam a little with pride. You had done something that seemed impossible, all by yourself. You, who were worlds weaker than your mother. You, the goddess who only really had a name because of her mother and her wrath and generosity. You had done something extraordinary and met someone even more so, and you couldn't find it in yourself to stop at one. 

You would make the entire Underworld glow with green, if you could help it. 

   §§

                                    That one flower had started to slowly push open a door, a door that you hoped would never close again. The morning after the first blooming of the first flower, you woke up to whispers of grass being at the river. You could feel excitement, confusion, and sprinkles of fear heavy in the air, and that overpowered you for a moment before you actually thought about the words. 

There was grass at the river. The river never really had much grass to begin with. 

Day by day, more plants started to come. Some were halfway dead by the time they sprouted, but you always caught them and saved them before they could truly die. You had to check on them and do maintenance every day, but you were sure that once they were all strong enough that you would be able to leave them alone for at least weeks at a  time. 

  You were feeling more energized, and while the growing presence of the feeling you felt while above ground intensified, so did your senses again. You had noticed your sixth sense, more than anything. And it came out whenever Natasha was around. 

  At first, you thought it was off. And then you put two and two together after days and days of feeling the hair on the back of your neck stand with her nearby, you finally realized. She was constantly watching you. 

  You had no idea if it was about her thinking that you were untrustworthy. You had no idea if it meant that she thought you were meddlesome, or troublesome enough to get yourself stuck in a place where you didn’t need to be. For a while, you thought it was because she was always on call to cure your hunger, which was dwindling by the day as you got more and more used to being in the dismal place. 

It felt like you and Natasha were walking on eggshells, and for the life of you, you couldn’t figure out the reason why. You looked at her when she wasn’t looking, and sometimes you couldn’t even stop your staring once she met your eyes. She did the same to you, and every time you saw her just looking on at you wordlessly, your heart fluttered. You wondered if she could feel you dying and coming back to life over and over again, and if she knew that with every passing second that it was becoming more and more for her. 

You were realizing quickly that you were starting to feel something. You had seen it happen many times in your lifetime, mostly amongst humans. They would meet someone who made an awfully monotonous life worth living, and then they would obsess with them and eventually do some strange ritual in which they tied their hands together with string that was a dark red or a dark purple, or some other passionate color. You watched from the clouds and from in tree tops, watched them kiss and hug and sometimes even laugh and cry, and you didn’t understand it then. 

You were afraid that you were starting to understand it. 

It was already bad that you were stuck. You felt terrible about it. When you weren’t thinking about the redhead that wasn’t the terrible goddess you thought she was, you were thinking about how your mother must have been scouring the earth and seas and even heavens for you. You thought about how the harvest was without a doubt dying without her full focus, and that made you think of the humans below that depended on her. 

People were dying because you decided to stick your nose where it didn’t belong. Your mother was raging because she thought she lost her only child, her precious daughter. And there you were, making heart eyes towards the goddess who your mother hated more than hate itself. You felt like a traitor. And you felt like even more of a traitor when you realized that you loved it when she looked at you, and that you loved to look back at her. You adored it. 

You would have to leave before your feelings for Natasha grew even more confusing. 

  And that was why you found yourself bending over in the garden that hadn't grown yet, fingers in the dirt as you willed the dirt to yield and make way for new life. You could feel her watching while you fixed flowers, and occasionally put enough power to use to make things grow. She was watching the way you moved your hands, the tension in your back, the way you cracked your knuckles in between doing “interesting” things. She watched it all. And for some reason, instead of unnerving you, it made you feel…delicate. Maybe even pretty, if you dared to go that far. It made you feel special, to be watched by someone that you found so naturally gorgeous, demanding. 

As much as you were realizing your feelings for Natasha, you were also realizing the way that she acted around you. If you hadn’t known that she is basically all powerful, you would have thought that she was somewhat scared of you. But it didn't take you long to understand that she wasn’t even close to afraid of you, but she was afraid of hurting you. 

It started to dawn on you when you told her one day that you felt like your stomach was going to eat itself alive, and she proceeded to have her hands hover over your body instead of the featherlight touches that were usually accompanied with the process. It worked just the same, but even you and your optimism couldn't ignore the way she immediately took steps away from you, like she thought it was against the laws of gods and man to be any closer than three feet to you. 

“You’re not the bad person that you think you are,” you muttered under your breath, half towards yourself and half directed towards Natasha. 

“What?”

You blinked, watching a flower grow underneath your pointer finger. You cleared your throat. “I said, you’re not a bad person, at all.” 

“I never said that I was.”

“You think you’re a burden to everything living, which isn’t true.” You said, and you heard her scoff from behind you. “I think that… we as gods, we think that we are what drives the world individually. We forget that we aren’t the only gods living and creating and destroying. We forget that we’re actually all a part of this one big cycle, and that we get in where we fit in.”

“So?” 

“You think that death is the bane of existence. And in a way, it is, but no one blames you. You’re doing your job, and it’s part of the cycle. Death needs to happen, just like life does.” You took your focus off of your budding plant to look at the red headed goddess who was already staring at the back of your head, listening to your every word. “I see the way you look at me and my plants sometimes. You’re so worried that you’re gonna kill me, or them, but I’m no different from you. I am a goddess, and I have a job to do, and we just happen to be on the exact opposite sides of the spectrum. But that doesn’t mean that I’m at risk of dying by just looking at you.”

 She crossed her lean arms and put her weight on her back leg, cocking a brow up at you before nodding in silence and taking in your tiny rant. “You speak a lot of death and destruction without seeing much of it.” 

“I’ve seen enough,” you responded, standing to your feet and walking over to a section of the dirt that you hadn't started messing around with, and without a second thought, you called her over to you.. “Come here.” 

“I should warn you to watch your tone.” And if you hadn’t seen the way that her mouth twitched upwards, maybe you would have thought she was being serious. 

“Yeah, you should,” you said, and your unspoken “you won’t” went left unsaid, but hung in the air as if it had been spoken. You fell silent after that, focused on the blooming of your brand new anemone, a flower that made your heart warm. It was one of your mother’s many favorites. 

There was no noise between you for the longest time, silence stretching on for miles and miles until you forgot that she was even there. Until you didn’t.

“What… what kind of flower is that?” 

Your heart jumped at her voice, and at her showing interest in your work, not just watching you do it. The Goddess of Death was really interested in what flower you were planting? “This is an anemone,” you answered softly, touching the brilliantly red petals of the budding flower. “Would you like to feel?” 

You would have thought that you asked her to condemn a mortal to death fifteen years early by the sound she made. “No. Of course not.” 

You would have tore your eyes off of the flower if you could have but you were never able to stop looking at growing life, even above ground. “Why not?” 

She stared at you for a moment, her eyes blank as she blatantly judged your intelligence. “Because I'll kill it, Persephone.” 

“Y/N,” you corrected, but there was hardly any true annoyance to it. “And no you won’t.”

“If I touch your flower, it’ll die.” Before you could say anything again, she spoke again. “I don’t touch living things without the intention of killing them.” 

 “If you do manage to kill my anemone,” you said, pulling back from it when it blossomed to its full capacity, and finally looking at Natasha, who looked more upset than you had seen her during your entire stay. “I’ll be right here to bring it back to life. It’s no problem.” 

She stared at you for a moment with such a blank expression that you should have been frightened, and you probably would have been if you felt like you hadn’t been around her for years. Natasha, even though she didn’t want to believe it herself, was virtually harmless. She wasn’t the cruel and unforgiving goddess that everyone thought she was, not in the slightest. Despite not wanting you there at all in the beginning, she was extremely accommodating, and she made sure that nothing bad happened to you. She was kind, and she cared about life. She ruled over the dead but cared about your living things enough to close herself off from even touching one of them. She wasn’t who everyone thought she was, and she was nothing like the goddess that your mother told you she was. 

You could see the hesitation in her eyes, but just as you could see that, you could see the way that she truly wanted to touch it.it dawned on you that she had probably never felt a soft petal on her hand before, or mindlessly rolled in a field, or picked a dandelion and blew the seeds off of it. You frowned, and then you stood to your feet and held out your hand. “Take my hand.” 

“Why?” But slowly, she did it anyway, without your answer. You kneeled to the ground, and for a moment, she stood still until you gave her a look, and then she was crouching down with you. 

“We’re going to touch it with the same hand,” you said, and she shook her head. “Whatever life you think you’ll take from it, I’ll restore it. It won’t even have the time to wilt.” 

“I can’t,” she said, and you turned your head to give her a smile. 

“Yes, you can.” When she shook her head curtly for the second time, you sighed. “Aren’t you curious?” 

“I don’t get curious. Curiosity is for humans and young gods.” 

“Liar,” you muttered, and you felt her fingers twitch in your hold when you reached towards the anemone, and then you gave her an encouraging look. “You won’t hurt it,” you whispered, afraid to break the delicacy and vulnerability of the moment. You reached out to touch the unknowing plant, and you could feel her hand trembling as you got closer to it. 

 The second her finger hit the plant, you could feel the energy of it start to drain. Before Natasha even noticed herself, you touched one of the petals with your pointer finger and revived it slowly, hoping that she wouldn’t feel the push to her pull, either. When you felt it was stable, you spared a look her way. 

  She looked straight out of a dream. Her lips were parted in surprise, hands still shaking. Her eyes were wide, like she couldn’t believe that she wasn’t hallucinating. The dark aura around her that you had gotten too used to was fading in just the slightest, becoming blanketed with the light that surrounded you in a single thin layer. Her skin seemed to glow. 

You took a few more minutes to look at her, just to watch her be in awe and have that look of pure relief on her face. It took everything in you to work up a word, knowing that it would break the spell that she was under. “See?” Natasha blinked, but nothing else. “It’s not dead.” 

  Slowly, she pulled her hand away from the plant and turned to look your way, the same look of adoration on her face. You nearly froze up when you realized that you were receiving the look, not your plant. “You’re amazing.” 

  Your heart sped up and then skipped a beat. “Oh, no,” you dismissed, waving and hand, more interested in how it must have felt for her to touch life for the first time in centuries.. “How did you like it? It was probably strange for you, wasn’t it?” You looked back towards her from where your eyes were fixed on the flowers, and your heart skipped a beat, seeming to remind you that you were still alive.  She was much closer than you realized, and her hand was much warmer than you could have imagined. You could have sworn that it was tingling. “Feeling something so- alive?” 

 “You have no idea.” Her free hand landed on your cheek and ruined you towards her in just the slightest so that the two of you were looking at each other head on, like two deer both enchanted by flames in the distance. “Can I kiss you?” 

Your head was going a thousand miles a minute. Did she really just ask you that? Did she actually mean it? Did it even really mean anything to her? What if your mother found out? It would be the ultimate betrayal, and you would neve be able to look her in the eyes again. Worst of all, what if whatever was about to happen was about to awaken something inside of you that you would never be able to ignore again. “Please.” 

The second her lips touched yours, you couldn’t hear a thing. The feeling of death that you were growing used to suddenly faded away, and the tingling feeling of life sprouting from the tips of your fingers turned numb. Your hands worked on their own as they went up to Natasha’s face, one hovering over her cheek and the other resting in her red hair. It was soft and sweet, but there was something deeper, something lying underneath the strangely innocent feeling of her smooth lips moving gently against yours. 

In all your years, you had never kissed a person before, god or man. Many had tried, and they had all failed. But Natasha wasn’t just anybody. You knew from the second you first met her that she was different, but not different enough for you to do one of the one things that you hadn't ever done before. But you were doing just that, one of her hands pulling you closer like she was afraid of you slipping through her fingers and into the earth, where you belonged. But the more and more you two kept coming apart to breathe in little, shared breaths and then coming back in just to stay close, the more and more you felt like you truly belonged somewhere else. 

   §§

Demeter was growing more and more restless with every second that ticked by without Hecate coming forth with the truth. She was on top of Olympus, waiting for an answer and glaring at Steven, who stared back at her nonchalantly. “She’ll be here, give her time.”

“All I have done is spared time,” she hissed out, the flowers that covered her body threatening to wilt. 

“What if my daughter has no time to spare? I swear, Zeus, if I find her dead, every human being will perish from famine.” There was a rumbling sound, the same sound that was made every time a god arrived on the mountain. She whipped her head around and saw a timid Hecate approaching, hands swirling with her red magic as she looked the older gods in the eye. 

“You called for me, Steven?” 

“Under request of the Harvest Goddess,” he said, nodding towards the still-fuming Demeter. “I’m sure you’ve heard of what happened.” 

Wanda looked towards Demeter with a sympathetic look, though she kept herself at a distance. “I’ve heard.” Who hadn’t heard? “I’m sorry to hear about your daughter.” 

“I know that you are able to use your magic to track her,” Demeter said through grittred teeth, ignoring Wanda’s offering of pity. “What do you need to find her?”

“I need one of her possessions.” 

Demeter swallowed as she looked at Wanda, a hesitant expression on her face as her hand automatically moved to the necklace she had found on the ground, her daughter’s necklace. She sneered before taking it off and handing it to Wanda roughly, her eyes lingering on it as Wanda clenched it in her hand. 

“Hurry up.” Wanda nodded and her magic swirled again, suspending the necklace in mid air for a few seconds as silence fueled the tension, and then, the necklace clattered to the ground after Wanda gasped. 

“Oh, dear,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair. Her eyes flickered from Steve’s and then down to the ground, wild and thinking at a hundred miles a minute. “Oh, no.” 

“What happened?” Steven said, and he barely got his mouth opened before Demeter was close to raging. 

“Speak up, or I’ll toss you off the mountain.” She grabbed the younger goddess’s arm in a tight grip and watched her face for any signs of mourning. When Wanda gave her a pitied look, she gasped and gripped her harder, despite Steve’s warnings. “No, is she dead?” When all Wanda could do was stutter out a few babbling words, Demeter shook her shoulders. “Is she dead?” 

 A light bulb went off in Wanda’s head, and as quick as a flash, her eyes grew panicked as she looked towards Steve, who caught exactly what she meant. He let out a soft curse and shook his head, realizing that things were a lot worse than he imagined. “She… she’s not on the earth,” Wanda breathed out, and then, like she remembered something that had been told to her centuries ago, her eyes widened as she looked to Steve for help, who suddenly knew all too well. “She’s in the Underworld.” 

Demeter’s anguished cry reached to the ground far below, and it shook everything that lived. 

****

hi guys!! hope y’all are doing well- if y’all have been unfortunate enough to see my blog within the last few days you probably know that i am not 💀 it’s a miracle i got this out “on time”. thank you guys for being patient with me as i work to get myself back on track and all of that jazz, it means a lot. the SECOND school is out of the picture- it’s game time lmao

tag list (literally you can ask to be added or-most importantly- removed at any time!!

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[lacrimosathedark]

Who'd like some good old fashioned name analysis?

Okay, so, I been doing so much research for Resident Evil stuff and learning shit about fairy tales and timelines and genome editing and searching for impossible Romanian poetry I got overwhelmed and went, fuck it. Why not just look at their names? Maybe I'll learn something there.

So, here I have done it. Name meanings for characters of the Mold Saga so far aka 7 and 8 aka Biohazard and Village.

(Sorry I'm on mobile I'll put a cut here when I can)

Ethan: Firm, enduring, strong, impetuous, long-lived. An incredibly consistently common and popular name. E name just like Eveline, so could be a successor of sorts to the mold.

Mia: Derivative of numerous other names of many possibilities. Mia as a word means “mine” in Italian and Spanish. Mamma Mia is a well known Italian phrase, particularly due to the ABBA song and musical of the same name, and it being the catchphrase of the Nintendo character Mario. The phrase means “my mom”.

Winters: First and last season of the year where everything becomes dormant and cold and either dies or sleeps.

Eveline: Contains “Eve”, as in both the biblical first woman. Also means a night before an event, and the game takes place in the span of one night. The name Eve means “ life”, “living one”, “mother of life”, or “giver of life”. Another possible name origin is as a variant of Aveline, which is a diminutive of Ava, which is the same pronunciation as the name Eva as pronounced in Village.

Baker: Occupational surname. In older times consider an upper-middle class job, much like the family. Also adds the emphasis of the “food” and also how they essentially make more molded.

Jack: God is gracious, supplanter. A nickname for John and other related names, but also a name in itself. It is also a word with a couple meanings, including a heavy lifting tool, to steal something, to take control of something, or an everyman.

Margueritte: Pearl. French name for ox-eyed daisy. Derived from Margaret. Sounds like maggot.

Lucas: Light. Derived from Lucius which means “the bright one” or “the one born at dawn”. Luke is also an Apostle of Jesus and was a physician.

Zoe: Life. Came from the name Eve. Fitting as Zoe was practically pushed out of the family after Eveline’s arrival, replaced as the daughter of the family.

Joe: He will add. Was added as DLC. Short for Joseph. Joseph is the name of multiple biblical figures. One is a child of Jacob and Rachel and Jacob’s favorite son in Genesis (note: Jack is a nickname for Jacob) who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, but rose to become vizier, the most powerful position nest to the Pharoah, and forgave his family and brought them to Egypt. One is the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who loved and raised a child he knew was not his against social norms. Another is a disciple known as Joseph of Arimathea who notably took Jesus down from the cross for his burial and testified when he revived and was gone. 

Rosemary: Dew of the sea. Combination of Rose and Mary or the plant rosemary. Roses as a plant vary in meaning depending on color. Mary and its variations have many differing meanings, among them being, “beloved”, “love”, “bitter”, “rebellious”, “wished-for child”, and “drop of the sea”. There are also the allusions to Mary, mother of Jesus as she is sometimes worshipped with roses, and you say Hail Marys on your rosary which is only two letters from her name. In regards to the plant, it is relatively resistant to drought and cold, though some breeds are susceptible to frost and they don’t like too much water. They have fibrous roots, so they spread and fan out like we see with the mold. They thrive in more alkaline soils and seem to have been named by a taxonomist named Carl  Linnaeus. In stories, folklore, and tradition, the plants or flowers are often used for remembrance, specifically for the dead. It’s also been used as a spice and in medicine.

Miranda: Worthy of admiration. Latin in origin. Character in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and whether she is a strong female character or not is highly debated, as she frequently defies men like her father, but often when they expect and/or want her to. She is otherwise compassionate and naive. The titular character of a Polish novel in which everyone is a mage and Miranda is a medium connected to another character, Damayanti, who is portrayed as the ideal woman and has a romance with the male protagonist, yet sacrifices her body so her spirit can experience a higher state of consciousness. Miranda can contact her soul, and disappears when she dies. Miranda in the US refers to the required practice by police of reading suspects their rights before interrogation.

Eva: Latin form of “Eve” and meaning “life”, “mother of life”, or “giver of life”.

Duke: A ruler of a duchy. A title bestowed by royalty or passed through family, often given to royalty or nobility, but can be given to anyone. In France,  the peerage system was abolished in 1789 (vive la révolution), brought back in 1814, and finally perma-abolished in 1848. 

(Note: While the wife of a duke becomes a duchess, the husband of a duchess does not become a duke. At least, from what I gather. This shit is confusing.)

Alcina: Strong-willed. Greek origin. There are two operas using the same story about a sorceress named Alcina who lives on an island with her sister Morgana and seduces every knight who comes to the island, but turns them into plants, animals, or stones when she bores of them. When the source of her power is destroyed, she, her sister, and their palace crumble to dust. The Hungarian name for Alțâna, a commune in Sibiu County, Romania in the historical region of Transylvania.

Bela: Bela Lugosi was an actor who famously portrayed Dracula. His name is Hungarian and meant to be spelled Béla meaning “heart”, “insides”, or “intestines”, roughly translating to “having heart” or “having guts” in modern terminology, as in being brave. However it is considered a male name and as Bela is female there is also the possibility of the influence of the name Bella short an l, Bella an Italian name meaning “beautiful”.

Cassandra: The one who shines and excels over men. Name of a Trojan princess and priestess in Greek mythology. She was given her gift of prophecy by the god Apollo but, in most versions of the tale, he asks for sexual favors in return, and she initially agrees but then rejects him once she’s gotten her gift. In anger he cursed her to always tell true prophecies that no one would believe and was thus thought a madwoman. She served a temple of Athena, goddess of wisdom, handicraft, and warfare. When Cassandra was assaulted and possibly raped in Athena’s temple and dragged out while desperately clinging to Athena’s statue, Athena was so enraged by the damage done to her temple and/or her priestess that she enlisted the help of both Zeus and Poseiden to exact revenge on the Greeks for failing to punish the man who attacked Cassandra and caused the resulting damage. Zeus gave her one of his own bolts of lightning and she struck them down at sea. While Cassandra was never believed, she was always right.

Daniela: God is my judge. Feminine form of Daniel. Daniela is also a genus of moth with only one species in the genus, Daniela viridis. It is also another name for the Italian wine grape Prè blanc.

Dimitrescu: Child of Dimitri. -escu suffixes in Romanian are like -son suffixes in English, it derives from parentage (ex. Jackson is Jack’s son, Dimitrescu is Dimitri’s child). Dimitri means “devoted to Demeter”. Demeter is the Greek goddess of the harvest, agriculture, sacred law (i.e. cycle of life and death), fertility, and the earth. Like many Greek myths, she is repeatedly wronged, and rather severely, by multiple male figures. Demeter in particular is a mother who has her daughter Kore, later known as Persephone, stolen away from her and goes on a rampage searching for her and those responsible.

(Note: Considering the founders had these names it’s a bit dumb seeing as this trend of parentage -escu names supposedly came about mid 19th century (1800s for those who find that confusing cuz I do), long after the Village was founded)

Donna: Lady or lady of the home. Italian name and a title of respect. Derives from the Latin term Dominus. The Romanian form of the word (not the name) is Doamnã. The Atropa belladonna aka deadly nightshade have berries and foliage that contain tropane alkaloids including atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine which are extremely toxic and can cause hallucinations and delirium, but are also used in pharmaceutical anticholinergics. Throughout history people cluelessly used the berry juice as eye drops to cosmetically dilate their pupils, giving them a seductive doll-eyed appearance. Symptoms of belladonna poisoning are dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. The plant's deadly symptoms are in atropine’s ability to disrupt the parasympathetic nervous system’s involuntary regulation like sweating, breathing, and heartbeat.

Angie: Diminutive of many names containing “angel”. Angels are messengers and warriors of Heaven, a realm souls go after death. Angel statues are also common grave markers. Children are also often told they have guardian angels, a being watching over them to protect them.

Claudia: No sure meaning has been found, but some think it comes from claudus, meaning “lame”, “limping”, or “crippled”, or clausus, which means “shut” or “closed”.

Beneviento: Good wind. Neapolitan spelling of Benevento, the name of both a province and its capital city, located in the Campania region of Italy.

Salvatore: Savior. Italian name. In the movie version (I specify as I have not read the book and the movie synopsis has more on the characters) of The Name of the Rose, the character Salvatore is hunch-backed and twisted, and has a history of not-really-acceptable religious beliefs. He was also tortured and falsely accused of witchcraft. He dies when a library is set on fire.

Moreau: Moorish, dark-skinned. French surname. Titular doctor in The Island of Doctor Moreau, in which said doctor performs disturbing and torturous experiments on people and animals, especially through vivisection, to make beastial humanoid creatures.

Karl: Free man, strong man, manly. Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made notably important contributions to hydrodynamics, ferromagnetism, cosmic rays, and subatomic particles. Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, and socialist revolutionary who believed societies develop through class conflict, and in a capitalist society this is the “ruling” class (the bosses) having power over the working class. He believed people should have equal footing and should and would inevitably fight for it. Karl Jaspers was a German existentialist philosopher and psychiatrist. His humanist ideals had him dissatisfied with the medical community’s approach to mental health and worked to improve it, and philosophizing on it after.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: Since I’ve seen accusations of the RE character and his influences being so, I feel I must state it here. Karl Heisenberg is NOT a Nazi. Both Heisenberg and Jaspers lived through World War II and neither were Nazis. Jaspers was blackwalled because of his Jewish wife. Heisenberg was forcibly drafted into the Army Weapons Bureau, but pre-war he had been repeatedly slandered as a “white Jew” and his career held back, and post-war became more political, worked against traditional primacy in the education system, and actively protested the government considering equipping the army with American nuclear weapons. Capcom reps have also stated that Karl Heisenberg has nothing to do with Nazis.)

Heisenberg: Calling mountain (could not find a specific definition, “heisen” means “to call” and “berg” means “mountain or hill”). Reference to Werner Karl Heisenberg, (explained above). Likely unrelated, but another well-known (in the US at least) name thief of Heisenberg comes from the popular TV show Breaking Bad as the alias/street name for the main character Walter White who takes the name and starts selling drugs when he is unable to afford medical care for his in-need child, but grows more twisted throughout the series. Also place name.

Berengario: Italian form of Berengar, which is derived from Germanic root words meaning “bear” and “spear”.

Cesare: Italian form of the Latin word Caesar, which is an imperial title like an emperor or empress. The word Caesar itself may come from caesaries meaning “hairy”. 

Guglielmo: Italian form of the Germanic William, meaning “vehement protector” or “desired helmet”

Nichola: Anglicized form of the Greek Nikolaos meaning “victory of the people”. Also a variant of Nicholas (Considered a female variant but fuck gender roles and the description says he.). This character is also referred to as Father like a priest I looked into saints and while I found no notable Saint Nichola (meaning on Wikipedia) there are multiple Saint Nicholases, most notably Saint Nicholas of Myra, also known as the Wonderworker and the model of Santa Claus. Stories of him include gifting gold coins through a window of a home for three nights to prevent three girls from being forced into prostitution, calming a storm at sea, saving three soldiers from execution, and chopping down a possessed tree. More connected to where his treasure is found, there is also a tale of him resurrecting three children who had been murdered by a butcher who had had intended to sell their meat as “pork” during the famine.

*BONUS TIME*

By that I mean these are less important so I did slightly less research and/or didn’t  feel like typing all the research so there’s less info, but it’s still relevant, so here you go!

Chris: A rare name in its own right, often a shortened version of names like Christopher, meaning “Christ-bearer”, and Christian, as in the religion.

Redfield: Literally red field. Fitting for the trail of blood in his wake because have mercy on any of his enemies, but regrettably including many of his friends and allies (rip in peace Piers Nivans). 

Elena: Shining light. Greek origin.

Leonardo: Strong as a lion. Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese version of Leonard.

Lupu: Wolf. Romanian surname. Fitting as the surname of the man we saw become a lycan before our eyes. 

Luiza: Renowned warrior. Polish, Portuguese, and Romanian name.

Iulian: Romanian name from the Greek iulius meaning “youthful” or “juvenile”, or ioulos meaning “downy-bearded”.

Vasile: Romanian name from the Greek basileus meaning ”king”. Vasile Voiculescu wrote a poem called Schimnicul, The Recluse in English, about varcolacul.

(Note: For those who don’t recall or didn’t notice his name in Ethan’s diary, this is Luiza’s husband.)

Rolando: Famous throughout the land. Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese variant of Roland.

Elba: Spanish form of Alba, which can mean “dawn”, “white”, or “elf”, depending on origin.

Dion: Shorter form of Greek Dionysios meaning “of Zeus”.

Wilson: Lineage surname, “Will’s son”. Very common surname in English.

Charlie: A name in itself but often a nickname for names like Charles meaning “man” or “warrior”

Graham: Gravelly homestead. Habitational surname, apparently derived from Grantham in Lincolnshire, England.

John: God is gracious. The most common name ever with the most variations.

Perlman: Ashkenazi Jewish surname. Also literal, “perl” possibly meaning “pearl” thus being an occupational name, or Perl being a woman’s name making it mean “husband of Perl”.

Emily: Rival. Latin name. 

Berkoff: Could be Jewish, Dutch, or German surname. Definition not quite certain, but likely related to birch trees.

Josef: German, Czech, and Scandinavian version of Joseph.  

Simon: He has heard. From Hebrew Shim’on.

Roxana: Bright, dawn. Latin form of Greek Rhoxane and Persian Roshanak.

Anton: Priceless, praiseworthy, flower.

Sebastian: From the Latin name Sebastianus which meant “from Sebaste”. Sebaste is a town in Asia Minor and comes from the Greek word sebastos meaning “venerable”.

Eugen: Well-born.Romanian form of Eugene. From the Greek name Eugenios. 

(Note: This is the man who lived in the house with the red chimney.)

Ernest: Serious. Germanic name.

(Note: This man is noted to be missing in a letter to Luiza and his diary is found with the Cannibal’s Plunder in Otto’s Mill.)

[ndiecity]

In alphabetical order I present to you, drum roll please… the gods of alcohol.

Aegis, Nordic God of the Sea and host of the gods

Ægir is the divine personification of the sea in Norse mythology, and also the frequent host of the gods. In the Poetic Edda, Ægir has a wife, Rán, with whom he has Nine Daughters associated with the waves. Ægir is often portrayed in the eddic poems as the host of the gods. In Hymiskviða, Thor acquires a huge cauldron in which to brew beer as the gods expect to visit Ægir. In Lokasenna (Loki’s Flyting), Loki’s verbal duel with the gods occurs at a feast hosted by Ægir, and the poem is also called Ægisdrekka (Ægir’s Drinking Party) by paper manuscripts. During the party, Loki kills one of Ægir’s servants. In Grímnismál, Ægir’s prowess as a host is the final motif Odin reveals to the King Geirröd.

Dionysus (Bacchus), Greek God

Dionysus, Romanised as Bacchus, was the god of grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology.  He was later considered a patron of the arts. Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele. He was one of the most important gods of everyday life and became associated with the idea that under the influence of wine one could feel possessed by a greater power. On one hand he brings together joy and ecstasy, on the other chaos and misery, reflecting both sides of wines nature. He was a god who stood for the untamed nature of life. He wandered the world actively encouraging his cult. Maenads, women who had been driven mad, flush with wine and known for their cries of ‘oi’, accompanied him. The maenads achieved a state of ‘ecstasis’, which is where our word ecstasy comes from, and were famously outrageous. Festivals called Dionysia were held in his honour in the spring, when leaves started to reappear on the vine, Greek theatre was institutionalised here.

Kvasir, Norse Mead of Poetry

In Norse mythology, Kvasir was a being born of the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir, two groups of gods. Extremely wise, Kvasir traveled far and wide, teaching and spreading knowledge. This continued until the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar killed Kvasir and drained him of his blood. The two mixed his blood with honey, resulting in the Mead of Poetry, a mead which imbues the drinker with skaldship and wisdom, and the spread of which eventually resulted in the introduction of poetry to mankind.

Liber, Roman God

Liber (the free one), also known as Liber Pater (the free father) was a god of viticulture and wine, fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome’s plebians, his festival of Liberalia, (17th March) became associated with free speech and the rights attached to coming of age. Young men celebrated their coming of age by cutting off and dedicating their first beards to their household’s guardian deities, and if citizens, wore their first toga virilis, the “manly” toga. Liber also personified male procreative power, his temples held the image of the phallus. His cult and functions were increasingly associated with Bacchus and his Greek equivalent Dionysus, whose mythologies he came to share.

Mbaba Mwana Waresa, Zulu Goddess, South Africa

Mbaba Mwana Waresa is a fertility goddess of the Zulu religion. She is a goddess of the rainbow, agriculture, rain and beer. She is one of the most beloved Goddesses of Southern Africa, largely because she is credited with the invention of beer. she could not find a suitable husband in heaven, so she came to look on earth. She came across a herdsman named Thandiwe, whose song moved her so much that she chose him to be her companion.

Ninkasi, Sumerian

Ninkasi is the Sumerian goddess of brewing and beer and head brewer to the gods themselves. Her name means “the lady who fills the mouth” and her birth was formed of sparkling-fresh water. The sumerian written language and the associated clay tablets are among the earliest human writings. Among these is a poem with the English title, “A hymn to Ninkasi”. The poem is, in effect, a recipe for the making of beer. Early brewers were primarily women, mostly because it was deemed a woman’s job.

Ogoun, Yorùbá religion

In the Yoruba religion, Ogoun is an orisha (deity) and loa (spirit) who presides over iron, hunting, politics and war. He is the patron of smiths, and is usually displayed with a number of attributes: a machete, rum and tobacco. Ogoun comes to mount people in various aspects of his character, and the people who venerate him are quite familiar with each of them. His possessions can sometimes be violent. Those mounted by him are known to wash their hands in flaming rum without suffering from it later. They dress up in green and black, wave a sabre or machete, chew a cigar and demand rum in an old phrase “Gren mwe fret” (my testicles are cold). Often, this rum is first poured on the ground, then lit and, finally, the fumes generated by this are then allowed to pervade the peristyle. The sword, or much more commonly the machete, is his weapon and he often does strange feats of poking himself with it, or even sticking the handle in the ground, then mounting the blade without piercing his skin.

Radegast, Slavic God

Radegast, is an old god of Slavic mythology, his name can be etymologised as meaning something like “Dear guest”. He was proclaimed as the Slavic god of hospitality and as such entered the hypothetical, reconstructed Slavic pantheon of modern days.

Raugutiene and Raugupatis, Baltic God and Goddess

Raugupatis is known as the God of fermentation. Raugutiene is Raugupatis partner and she is known as the Goddess of beer.

Silenus, Greek

Silenus was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He was the old rustic god of the dance of the wine-press, his name being derived from the words seiô, “to move to and fro,” andlênos, “the wine-trough.” He was also the god of drunkenness who rode in the train of Dionysus seated on the back of a donkey.

Soma, Hindu

Soma, an ancient Hindu god, is many things; the afterworld, the moon, inspiration and the god of poets and a bull. Not only does he enjoy drugs, he is a particular drug: the soma plant, known more commonly as ephedra vulgaris. For millennia, Hindu warriors have drunk a concoction derived from the soma plant. This drink was said to give them a sense of euphoria and ecstasy and helped warriors get over the fear or anxiety of an upcoming battle. As a drug, the god Soma represented a link between the world of the gods and this world. Soma is the name of a fictional drug in Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel, Brave New World.

Sucellus, Celtic

In ancient Celtic religion, Sucellus or Sucellos was the god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks of the Gauls, also part of the Lusitanian mythology. He is usually portrayed as a middle-aged bearded man, with a long-handled hammer, or perhaps a beer barrel suspended from a pole.

Tezcatzontecati, Aztec

In Aztec mythology, Tezcatzontecati is the god of pulque, of drunkenness and fertility.

Yasigi, African

This African goddess of beer was depicted as the ultimate party girl, a female deity depicted with ample breasts, a beer ladle and penchant for lustful dance.

Yi-ti, Chinese

This Chinese god is said to have created the first rice wine. Not much is known about Yi-ti but it is said that he brewed the concoction for an emperor and may of used grapes as well as rice.

I'm hoping this is all accurate information, because this is super interesting and a really weird thing to get in my inbox lol

[robininthelabyrinth]

Now I want the story where NMJ is half war god and NHS is half fox spirit, thank you so much xD

based on this tumblr post and Lao Nie’s decision to refer to WRH as A-Han in this one ficlet

on ao3

Nie Zonghui had long ago suspected that his Sect Leader was a madman, but he didn’t really know it for certain until the first time he lost the man while on a bodyguarding mission – his first, and a great honor. 

Supposedly.

“It’s all right,” his father said, looking long-suffering, when he reported back in distress. “He’s an adult, our sect leader, and this is a small city with no major threats in the middle of some idiosyncratic festival celebration for some goddess or another. How much damage can he really do before he sobers up?”

Nie Zonghui stared at his father, then turned to his mother, who was also staring at her husband with an expression of sincere incredulity.

“Lots,” she supplied. “Lots and lots and lots, and that’s assuming he doesn’t get himself killed in the meantime. Why would you even say that?”

“He’s our sect leader, have some respect.”

“I respect the boss bull of the herd, too, but it doesn’t mean I let it go wandering around the fields wherever it pleases!” She shook her head, snorting in a manner not entirely unlike a bull herself. “Well, if we’re very lucky, maybe our cousin will knock up a cow while he’s out and about rather than just breaking things. We could use a direct heir already; he’s not getting any younger.”

“We could use him being properly married is what we could use. I don’t understand why he’s so resistant – ah, Zonghui, you’re still here? Go gather some cultivators and go look for him, but don’t kick up any fuss, and worry too much if you can’t find him at once. He’ll be back to business soon enough.”

He was, if by “soon enough” one meant “after nearly ten days” and by “back to business” one meant “still drunk off his ass and waxing rhapsodic about some girl he met and possibly married”.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure the sun shines out of her ass,” Nie Zonghui’s father said, his face stormy. “You still could’ve told us where you went. Look what you did to poor Zonghui, he’s been wearing down his heels pacing in worry over you!”

“Oh, heels, yes, did I mention that my gorgeous goddess had amazing legs, too?” their sect leader asked with a soppy smile and stars in his eyes, totally uninterested in any of their petty complaints. “She could kill a man with them – oh, but I would die a happy man between those thighs…!”

“Zonghui, go guard the outside door,” his mother told him. “Also, tell his younger sister that she might need to be sect leader sooner than she’d hoped, because I’m going to murder this fucking –”

-

Nie Zonghui was there, too, when ten months later his new little baby cousin was (metaphorically) ditched on their doorstep.

The entire thing was entirely too dramatic for his taste, and yes, he was aware that as a person who chose to dual wield sabers he had very little room to criticize others for being overly dramatic, however correct he might be.

They had been fighting bandits – barely disguised mercenaries, really, probably paid off by the Wen sect to harass them – in what had turned into a particularly bad situation. Three separate regiments had joined together to take advantage of a terrible thunderstorm and ambush them at all once and them with their backs against a raging river, swollen with rain to the precipice of flooding, with no way to retreat except by fleeing on their sabers, abandoning the common people they were protecting and losing all face. 

The sect leader had been raging on the battlefield, saber in hand, but even he had seen that they would need to shortly choose between death and dishonor; Nie Zonghui, close by his side, had seen how his face was split with a terrible scowl as he wracked his brain for more options.

Then there had been a terrible roar of thunder, and then a flash of light that had blinded them all.

Nie Zonghui had immediately noted the anomality of it, thunder first and lightning second, and wondered it if it was some sort of array working against them, especially when the light had not faded away but grown brighter, causing searing pain in his eyes that made him fall and clutch at his face. But he was a good soldier, loyal and true, and he forced his eyes open to squint into the night, looking to see he did not know what.

Through his sun-blindness, he vaguely thought he could see a silhouette not unlike that of a woman, ten feet tall and radiant as the sun, wearing a dress of nine colors and carrying a guandao in her hand that seemed to reach the clouds, but when he blinked again he saw nothing at all.

Or, well, he did see something: all of their enemies were headless, no matter where on the battlefield they were, their bodies dropping like a loosened string of coins where they had been standing and splattering anyone they were fighting with blood as they gawped at the sudden corpses.

Also, the sect leader was suddenly holding something in his arms when he hadn’t been before.

“What’s that?” Nie Zonghui asked, and the sect leader turned towards him. Nie Zonghui squinted, and suddenly wondered if this entire battle had been a very bad dream. “…is that a baby?”

“Yes,” the sect leader said, grinning broadly. “He’s my son!”

“He’s your what,” Nie Zonghui said.

“My son! I didn’t know about him, of course – apparently he came as something of a surprise to her as well – but anyway she thought that it would be more appropriate for me to raise him, all things considered. A baby doesn’t quite fit her lifestyle. What do you think of ‘Mingjue’ as a courtesy name? Good, yes?”

Nie Zonghui suddenly understood why his parents were always cursing all the time.

-

“I don’t see why I need another wife,” the sect leader said. “I already have a son.”

“Don’t you want to give said son a mother?” Nie Zonghui’s mother asked, her arms crossed. “One that isn’t the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens, the war goddess you somehow managed to knock up without getting killed?”

“She never specified that she was –”

“Someone needs to be Nie-furen,” the sect leader’s younger sister interrupted, “because I am sick and tired of doing the job, and it’s a little difficult to ask a goddess to do it. So you are going to find yourself another one that’s a little closer to the ground this time, you understand me?”

The sect leader nodded and agreed, which was universally agreed upon to be the only appropriate reaction when his beloved meimei said something in that particular tone of voice.

(He did, after a suitable period of time, state that he wanted to make clear that there was no actual evidence that he had knocked up Jiutian Xuannü and that it was quite plausible that the mother of his heir was nothing more than a rogue cultivator of particular strength and possibility even immortality. If Baosan Sanren had managed it, why not someone else?)

At any rate, they brought him several pictures of women that might fit the bill and who would not be too offended at being asked to be a secondary wife – their sect leader swore up and down that he had performed bows with the mother of his first son, rendering him legitimate, and anyway no one was in the mood to see if the maybe-a-goddess would take offense to someone calling her child a bastard – but none seemed to catch their sect leader’s interest.

“Consider visiting a few brothels,” Nie Zonghui’s great-uncle suggested. “Anything to get you back in the habit of thinking about women of a less divine nature – though of course we’d prefer that she be literate.”

The sect leader scowled and stalked off to go night-hunting instead.

“I don’t like brothels,” he said to Nie Zonghui as they made their way through an especially deserted mountain valley in search of something that had murdered all the local mensfolk in the surrounding villages with especial viciousness. “Surely there’s an option in between.”

Nie Zonghui preferred his sabers to either men or women, but he obediently wracked his brain to think of where people in stories and famous songs found their wives. “Innkeeper’s daughters?” he finally suggested.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the sect leader scoffed, but the very next day, he decided to break his usual habit of staying out in the wild no matter the weather in favor of taking shelter from the encroaching storm in a small inn right at the base of an especially lonesome and nasty-looking cliff.

“We’re always happy to have guests,” the innkeeper said with a somewhat sinister smile – he was pale as a ghost in the guttering candlelight, and his lips looked very red. “My daughter will show you to your rooms.”

The daughter in question was inhumanly beautiful: small and graceful, with a fox’s face and dark hair that fell to her knees.

“Wow,” the sect leader said, staring at her. “You know, I think you could kill me with those nails of yours.”

Nie Zonghui took a look and agreed with the sentiment, seeing that her nails were as long as claws and looked just as sharp, but apparently he and the sect leader had somewhat different interpretations of this sequence of events and plans on how to address it.

Namely, Nie Zonghui pointed out that the lady was obviously some sort of yao or maybe a gui and that she was probably the one seducing the local mensfolk, draining their yang energy and then slaughtering them, and therefore that it was undoubtedly their duty as cultivators – and cultivators of the Nie sect in particular – to put an end to her vile deeds through the swift application of their sabers. Furthermore, he explained, they should take care never to allow themselves to be alone with her in the process, lest she seek to entrance them with her seductive magics and lure them to their undoubtedly violent deaths.

The sect leader’s rebuttal to this line of logic was limited to “I’m the sect leader and if I want to bang the probably-a-ghost, I’m going to bang the ghost and there’s nothing you can do to stop me”.

Amazingly enough, the sect leader did not end up dead the next day – the innkeeper looked just as surprised as Nie Zonghui felt – and instead announced, very happily, that he was planning on marrying her.

“You what,” the innkeeper said, staring at his very smug-looking ‘daughter’. In light of dawn, she was wearing a dress of many colors with a foxfur ruff, and her beauty was almost painful to behold.

“You why,” Nie Zonghui moaned.

“You shut up,” the sect leader told him. “I’ll have you know that my lady here is very clever, literate and well-learned, and she doesn’t at all mind being the second wife. Weren’t you one of the ones on my case about getting a Nie-furen to help managing things back home?”

“I didn’t think we needed to specify that the person in question didn’t murder a lot of people!”

“Isn’t his first wife supposedly a war goddess?” the lady inquired, her clever eyes dancing in amusement.

“Well…yes…”

“Also, all those men deserved it,” she said. After a brief pause, she added, “In my opinion as a totally unrelated observer, of course.”

“See?” the sect leader said, putting his arm around her waist. “No problem. Anyway, she’ll stick to killing bad people from now on, it’s fine.”

The lady smiled. There were many teeth in that smile, and they were very sharp.

“If she doesn’t, I’ll have my first wife discipline her,” the sect leader added and her smile abruptly disappeared.

Nie Zonghui coughed into his hand, but reluctantly admitted that maybe this wouldn’t turn out to be as bad as all that.

-

“Huaisang is a lovely name,” Nie Zonghui’s mother said, being the best of them at diplomacy when she put her mind to it, although admittedly it was something she did only very rarely. “I think we were just expecting something a little different, that’s all.”

“Possibly something a little more fox related,” Nie Zonghui’s father said.

“Please,” the sect leader’s second wife said. “That would be gauche.”

They looked at her.

“…all of my suggestions along those lines got rejected,” she admitted, and glared at the small shrine in the corner as if it had personally wronged her. In this context, it very well might have.

“Is there anything we should keep an eye out for?” Nie Zonghui said, watching his little cousin carry around his even littler cousin under his arm as if he were a sack of potatoes and not a baby that hadn’t yet had its first month celebration. He would have interfered but for the fact that little Nie Huaisang seemed to be notably more in control of his various limbs than the usual infant. “A tail, for instance?”

“Oh, no,” the second lady said. “Nothing like that.”

“Great,” Nie Zonghui said. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“It’s very rare for fox children to achieve a grand plot worthy of a tail in their first lifetime.” A pause. “From what I understand, that is.”

“Great,” Nie Zonghui said. “…great.”

“You’ll take good care of him when I’m gone, won’t you?” she asked, and when they all looked at her, smiled. “Not for another year or two, don’t worry, but I really can’t stay here that long. Sometimes, a girl’s got urges she has to take care of.”

“The sort of urges where we’d need to hunt down a mysteriously appearing fox yao for having murdered a lot of people?”

“I already promised to stop killing people,” she said sulkily. “Although I do think I made some plausible arguments in favor of a little bit of entirely justified murder in connection with the Jin sect and maybe the Lan sect and, oh, the Jiang sect –”

“Please don’t.”

“It’s not my fault your Great Sects are all headed by men who wrong women.”

“You’re not wrong,” Nie Zonghui’s mother said, and Nie Zonghui’s father looked alarmed. “But still, don’t.”

“You’re such spoilsports. But no, as it happens, it’s getting to that time when I need to return home for a while to pay my respects to the older generation.”

“How often does that happen?” Nie Zonghui’s father asked. “Once a century?”

“A gentleman shouldn’t ask a lady her age,” she sniffed. “At any rate, my family home is rather far away and they’re fairly insular, so I’ll probably be gone for at least a decade or so. I’d take the baby with me, but, well, you know, long travel and all. He’s better off sticking with his father.”

“All right,” Nie Zonghui’s mother said. “We understand, and we’ll help take care of him as best we can.”

“I’m glad.”

“We have only one thing to ask of you in return.”

Their second lady arched her delicate eyebrows.

Nie Zonghui’s mother smiled. “You be the one to tell your sister-in-law that you’re leaving your post.”

“…you know, on second thought, maybe I can push my departure out a few more years…”

-

“Before you say anything, I want to be clear right now that I don’t need a third wife,” their sect leader said. “I’m fine.”

“Sect Leader,” Nie Zonghui’s mother said, not unaffectionately. “You’re not allowed a third wife.”

“And therefore – wait, really?” he asked, a little skeptically. “You’re not concerned about me?”

“Oh, we’re very concerned about you,” Nie Zonghui’s father said. “But not in that specific respect. Some celibacy would probably be good for you, at least in terms of increasing your life expectancy.”

“…my sister is lying in wait with a cleaver to make sure she doesn’t have to take on the duties of Nie-furen again, isn’t she.”

“I’m not discounting that possibility, but don’t worry about it, it’s fine, we’ll talk to her. The Lan sect haven’t had a proper hostess in years either, we can just say we’re following their example.”

The sect leader eyed his cousins beadily. “They haven’t had a proper sect leader in years, either.”

“No, you don’t say,” Nie Zonghui’s mother said dryly. “What a coincidence -”

“You have two fine sons,” Nie Zonghui’s father said hastily. “That seems like enough, really.”

“You don’t think they need a mother…?”

“Sect Leader,” Nie Zonghui interjected politely. “While we admit that it may be within your capabilities to be able to find a mother willing to deal with one step-son who has been waiving around a saber taller than he is since he learned to walk and has a penchant for the unyielding, unmerciful and very violent application of the norms of divine justice –”

Nie Mingjue’s presence bolstered the spirit of good men, while his gaze seemed to make evildoers itch. He was the most earnestly good person Nie Zonghui had ever met, and also one of the most stiff and unbending in respect to what he believed should and should not be done.

Unfortunate that his standards didn’t seem to match up to the needs of either human law or diplomacy…

“– as well as another who can scheme circles around anyone and persuade them of anything as long as he puts his mind to it and only doesn’t because he’s too busy lazing around in the sun to bother –”

Nie Huaisang liked to file his nails down to something that looked quite normal, but they grew sharp quickly enough if he wasn’t paying attention, and he had a penchant for pranks. There was nothing quite as unnerving as running into a sudden and unexpected ambush and then suddenly hearing the shrill peal of a fox’s laughter, hidden behind a scholarly fan.

“– but all things considered, we’d really rather you - didn’t.”

His mother and father nodded fervently.

“Good,” the sect leader said, though he still looked suspiciously at them as if he thought they were hiding something. “Good. As long as we’re agreed.”

-

Nie Zonghui walked in on his sect leader pinning the Wen sect leader to a wall, murmuring something in a low voice with a very particular smile on his face, and then he turned around and walked right back out again.

The sect leader of the Wen sect might appear beautiful and young, but he was at least a generation older than the Nie sect leader. Not that that had stopped the latter from relying on their respective positions to refer to him in startlingly intimate terms – my dear A-Han, the sect leader would say with a touch of wickedness that reminded one of his second son and the tiger gall bravery of his first – and while at first the Wen sect leader had taken it as a challenge to his authority, an act of brash insolence, it appeared that they had progressed beyond that.

That the Wen sect leader already had three wives and two concubines apparently didn’t present any obstacles either – except perhaps in what those poor women might have to endure from their husband when he returned from the wretched teasing he was enduring. Nie Zonghui felt a bit of pity for them.

Shortly thereafter, he felt a bit of pity for himself. The Wen sect had long dreamed of dominating the cultivation world and sought to increase their influence with the other sects through underhanded means, with the Nie sect opposing them at every turn. Even if war was not on the immediate horizon, the wise could smell its distant approach in the air - the best estimates said that it would take another decade or two to arrive, unless the Nie sect leader took an especially hard stance.

It appeared, however, that the Nie sect leader had chosen to take a different sort of…hard stance.

Ugh.

Maybe Nie Zonghui could conspire to throw his sect leader into a cage with a live tiger in heat next time he felt in the mood. It’d probably be less dangerous.

Nie Zonghui had assumed that the first person to talk to him about what he had seen would be his sect leader, even if it was only to remind him of the general rule that the sect leader had ultimate power and therefore could exercise his own bad judgment in deciding to fuck whoever he wished, but instead it was the Wen sect leader that found him later that afternoon.

A flush had yet to fully fade from his cheeks, and Nie Zonghui raised his eyes to the ceiling to avoid looking directly at the man in front of him. 

He did not want to know. Others might, given that no one had ever complained about the looks of either party, but he himself had realized long ago that he had no interest in matters of the flesh under any circumstances; he was very content with that conclusion.

“Is there some service this one can provide to Sect Leader Wen?” he asked politely, and it was only when the sect leader flushed again that he realized belatedly that his words could be misconstrued. After all, his own sect leader had probably already made a similar offer regarding the provision of services…

“Your sect leader has a sister, doesn’t he?” the other man asked, his voice tight and his hands in even tighter fists. “I’m not misremembering that?”

“He does,” Nie Zonghui responded honestly, and not without sympathy for the Wen sect leader’s position. He was given to understand that making certain belated discoveries regarding one’s own preferences could be highly disconcerting, particularly later in life. “But she’s rather different in kind than what you may be thinking, so it won’t work out that way. It wouldn’t work even if she wasn’t already married, which she is.”

After a moment of thought, he added, “Also, consider your predecessors.”

The Wen sect leader’s eyes narrowed.

-

Really, it was the sect leader’s own damn fault that he got himself murdered.

[a-edgar-allan-hoe]

The Last Chthonian

Part 17

Bucky x Reader, Sam x Reader, Zemo x Reader

A/N: It is here! So sorry for the late update lovelies! I’ve been having really bad writers block lately and my job keeps switching my hours up so now my sleep schedule is all fucked up. And after writing this part I want to go stargazing so bad but the light pollution kind of sucks where I live. 🥲 Also this is my first time writing a steamy scene so I’m sorry if it’s awkward. Feedback is much appreciated and let me know if you want to be added to the tag list. 😊

Summary: Imagine being Hekate, the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft, the night and the moon, doorways and crossroads, creatures of the night, and ghosts and necromancy. You stumbled upon Earth many centuries ago and since then have resided on the foreign planet. During the recent years you created an alias for yourself to hide your true identity, and after the war against Thanos you chose to live out your days in the Scottish countryside, until a certain trio appears at your doorstep one day.

Warnings: language, angst, some foreplay and making out

You had still been wrapped in Zemo’s arms, the two of you indulging in each other’s presence in a silence, which combined with the faint beating of his heart, you only found to be comforting. The meteors still swept by the earth’s atmosphere above you in flashes that lit up the sky, leaving behind trails of white that resembled the strokes of a brush, as if your mother Asteria had painted the celestial bodies using diamonds onto a canvas that was the night sky. You could only make out the few stars and constellations that were scarcely scattered across the vastness above you, caused by the light pollution that unfortunately managed to mantle the wonders and beauty that settled just beyond, separating humanity from the marvels of the universe. The stars flickered like the diminishing of the flame of a candle, a farewell to the billions of years lived by the remnants of those enormous spheres of hot plasma, thus leaving behind the birth of other stars to fulfill their legacy. However, there was a certain star that did not flicker like the ones around it, a certain spectacle distant in time and space that still managed to burn bright despite the innumerable amount of light-years that separated Earth from it. The remaining light of your planet Olympus. You stared at that particular star, your brows knit together and your face etched with this certain melancholy that one could not explain. How could one thing be so near, within the reach of your fingertips, and yet be entirely outside the capacity of reach.

“Draga.” You heard Zemo softly speak, his chest slightly wavering beneath your cheek from his words.

“Hm?”

“Something troubles you.”

“What makes you say that?” You stared off, your eyes still fixated to the fading existence of your world.

“Your eyes draga.” Zemo looked down at you, his eyes scanning over the troubled creases that masked your features. “I have seen this shadow in your eyes that has seemed to occupy them as of recently. What troubles you?”

“…………You see that star there, right between those two constellations?” You pointed above you.

“Mhm.” Zemo nodded as he followed the line of your finger, his eyes now focused on the same exact star yours have not yet left.

“That’s my planet………Olympus.”

“You’re welcome to tell me about it if you’d like.”

“Well, when I was little, I used to live with my mother in this quaint cottage by the sea, similar to the one I live in now with my daughter. She used to bring me out most nights for stargazing. She had built this outdoor platform with bedding and blankets and we would have a small fire going to keep us warm as we watched the stars and constellations while she told me different tales and epic poetries. As silly as it sounds, she would make shooting stars appear in the sky for me knowing how much I loved them. Gods, I wish you could’ve seen my home back in its days, back when everything still remained. Everything was so…..beautiful, and the skies, gods the skies, you could see the different planets and galaxies as if they were only miles away. To this day, I have yet to see anything in my travels that compares.”

“I would have loved to seen it Schatzi. Your mother sounded like a wonderful person.”

“She was the kindest soul I knew.” You turned your body so that you could look up at him, resting your chin on your hand.

“You miss her.”

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss my family and planet.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to them Schatzi. I wish you never went through what you did.”

“If only I could bring them back. I’d do anything to be able to just see them again.”

Zemo was silent, believing that no amount of words could have provided you comfort, no matter how deep the meaning or how significant. He could not imagine what you went through. He had lost his country and his family, and you had lost your family as well, but you lost your world, your entire race, leaving you to be the last remaining entity of your people, the last Olympian and the last Chthonian. Words could not bring your family back, just as they could not with his. So he only did what he was able, making a silent unspoken promise within the abyss of his damaged heart to be there for you as he held you closer to him and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

A sudden feeling of guilt crawled up your spine like a venomous scorpion ready to sink its stinger in your skin with means to cause nothing but pain and suffering. You felt guilty for being here, lying next to Zemo wrapped in his arms like a pair of star-crossed lovers from the pages of a novel. A part of you felt selfish for what you did, undeserving of the affection that was bestowed upon you from a man who had suffered enough from the loss of his family. How much longer did you think you could give in to your mindless emotions without a single thought of the consequences it might bring about. Did you really think you could go on as if nothing is happening? As if you can conceal your true form from him forever. No. You could not. You did not have the heart to keep such knowledge from him. If you wanted to pursue what you had with him, you would have to tell him the truth when the time came.

“We should probably get back before Sam and Bucky notice.” You mumbled, blinking back the tears, your heart aching to go back to the way things used to be, wishing you could leave all of this and just be able to go back home. You didn’t belong here on earth, an immortal amongst mortals. At least on Olympus, if your titaness form had been revealed, many would not have bat an eye. They had already seen the likes of Titans before and the locals had become accustomed to you. But here on earth, you were nothing but a stranger, a drifter.

The two of you walked back to his place in silence, the only sounds being the whistling of the wind, the chirping of crickets, the voices of the few pedestrians and the humming of the cars that drove by. Your hands brushed against each other, craving to intertwine your fingers with his as you walked down the stone paved streets lit by the lamps that lined it, the two of you still withdrawn despite what occurred between you both. You felt it would have been silly, holding his hand like a couple of teenagers, though a century ago, you wouldn’t have gave it a second thought.

You arrived at his place, standing at the bottom of the steps in front of the double doors with Zemo opposite you, illuminated by the street lamp that stood just behind. Feelings of conflict washed over you, drowning you in waves of despair. As much as you wanted to be with him, a small part in the back of your mind kept telling you that it was wrong. Neither of you wanted to go through those doors just yet, wishing you could have spent the night under the stars. But life seems to have a way of working against your favor. The Wakandans would be here to collect him possibly tomorrow, and you would have to bid him farewell, separated from each other for what could be forever. As much as you did not look forward to that moment in having to turn him in and never see him again, you wouldn’t stop the Wakandans from what they were promised. And though you hadn’t said a word, Zemo had already knew what your decisions were regarding it, and he could not blame you for it. You were a woman of justice and you followed a code, and he respected that.

“Zemo.” A frown appeared on your face.

“Please,” Zemo whispered to you as he pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear, “Call me Helmut.”

You looked at Zemo once more, a look of longing hidden behind your eyes as you unconsciously swiped your tongue across your mouth, watching how his eyes followed the movement before lingering on the wetness of your lips that resembled the petals of a rose after the pouring of cold rain in the midst of spring. Oh how he wished to be the drops of rain that were gifted the pleasure of grazing upon the velvety petals that belonged to such beauty of a flower, a symbol of union between the two domains in which the heavens came down to declare its love for the earth. A pulling sensation filled within your core, drawing yourself to Zemo as if he were the sweet berries of deadly nightshade that have lured many unfortunate souls. Banishing the thoughts of doubt that clouded your mind, you grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to you, crashing your lips against his in a heated kiss. Zemo was initially shocked by your bold gesture and stiffened from the way your mouth moved against his, surprised you would pull something like this when just a wall away Sam and Bucky were awaiting your arrival, before loosing himself into your embrace.

Your fingers clenched the collar of his sweater and your fingers grazed across the exposed skin of his neck while his hands went to your waist in a desperate attempt, fumbling to grab at anything and bunching up the bottom fabric of your sweater as he pulled you against him. The tips of his fingers brushed against the skin of your waist that was exposed below the hem of your sweater, leaving behind goosebumps in its trail. You smiled into the kiss from the way he completely melted under your touch, a part of you amused from the affect you held over him as you managed to elicit a moan from deep within his throat. Zemo’s brows were furrowed in the passionate moment, something you have noticed when you first kissed him, a small crease in the muscles of his face that showed just how lost he was when encased in this moment with you, and it absolutely melted you. He was addicted from the warm numbness, the ecstasy he felt from kissing you. Your lips were like heroin to him, leaving him yearning for more, and it didn’t ameliorate the fact that his years spent in a German prison had left him somewhat inexperienced and filled with a chasmic longing for touch and intimacy from the lack thereof. Deep within him, masked by his ideas and objectives, Zemo wanted to be able to love someone again, a chance at a new life and a family, and perhaps, he saw that possibility with you. But, behind the passion of the kiss you shared with him, there was something else, a poison that laced your lips with feelings of despair and forbidding that consumed you as if you had tasted those sweet berries of nightshade, slowly loosing yourself to its malice. His lips which were at first warm to the touch, now felt cold like ice and sent shivers of dread through your veins, as if this would be the last kiss you shared with him.

You pulled away from the kiss to catch your breath, your teeth softly grazing against his bottom lip as you did so. Both of you were left breathless as you rested your foreheads against each other, panting as your breaths fanned each other’s face as if you had just been trapped in the depths of the ocean before breaking through the surface to allow oxygen to fill your lungs.

“If you keep doing that Draga.” Zemo rasped between breaths, “I won’t be able to compose myself.”

“Good. Maybe I don’t want you too.” You smirked before placing a playful kiss on the tip of his nose. “But I really should go back inside, and you should do the same. Just make sure you go unnoticed.” You slipped his coat off your shoulders, his cologne that lingered on his fur collar leaving your senses with discontent as you returned his coat to him before going over to the doors, stopping to turn back to him with a smile before stepping inside and closing the door behind you. Gods, what the hell did you do that for???? You felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment as you wanted to slap yourself for pulling a move like that.

“Gods I’m stupid.” You muttered to yourself.

“Hey.” Bucky smiled once he spotted you, his voice soft as if he were afraid you would shatter at any moment from the discussion that took place earlier. “How was your walk?”

“It was nice, relaxing. I went to the park to stargaze.”

“That’s good. As long as you feel better.”

“I do, actually. Thanks Bucky.”

“You look flushed. You okay?” Sam noted as he stepped over to you.

“Huh?” You stopped short. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. I just had to kind of uh power walk back here so you guys wouldn’t get worried. But I’m fine, yeah. Anyways, I’m going to hit the sack since I’m feeling a bit tired. Goodnight you guys.” You waved them off before going to your assigned room, making Sam and Bucky give each other questioning looks before they both shrugged it off.

You shut the door behind you, letting out a breath of relief that they had not caught on to anything and praying that Zemo had managed to sneak in. You had just gotten off the phone with Maze and your daughter, catching up on their activities after cleaning yourself up and changing into your nightgown. You had pulled up a chair next to the window that was in your room, your feet tucked underneath you and a warm cup of rose and blackberry tea in your hands. Your robe hung loosely off your shoulders as your index finger twirled above the small silver spoon that swirled in your cup, mists of violet wrapping around the handle of the spoon as you used your powers to stir the contents of the tea. You stared out the window onto the old streets of Latvia before glancing down at the teacup that was nestled in your hands, the glow of your eyes reflected off the window pane along with the tiny stars that swirled through the small globe of your necklace your mother gave you. You hadn’t stopped thinking about the moments that passed and the ones that have yet to come.

There was a knock on your door, interrupting you from the thoughts that had resided in your mind. “Come in.” You spoke as you looked through the reflection of the window and saw a figure step in. “Zemo?” You stopped using your powers, the clinking of the spoon scraping against the sides of the porcelain cup coming to a stop. “You know, you gotta stop sneaking into my room.” You teased before frowning, seeing the expression that sat on his face. “What’s wrong?” You got up from the chair, setting your cup down on the table before walking over to him.

“The Wakandans will…….be here for me tomorrow.” His eyes were lowered to the floor, the browns of his irises which reminded you of the dunes of the Sahara desert were whirling in thought, resembling the dunes caught in the midst of the fury of a sandstorm, as if searching for an answer to his troubles.

“Ze-Helmut, I………” You sighed, your tongue and mind lacking the ability to compose any words that might have provided some solace. “I’m sorry………..I don’t know what to say.”

“Y/n, schatzi” Zemo grabbed your hand, tracing his thumb over the bumps of your knuckles. “You don’t have to say a word. My actions………must be accounted for.”

You were silent, your brows knit together and your lips sealed as if your voice was ripped from your throat. Your heart wanted to tear itself from your chest, begging to be released from its cage so that it could be free to lament, so that it may be able to express the words that held it captive. But your tongue was tied, held back between the prison that was your teeth as you clenched your jaw. Zemo’s hand still held yours, stroking the soft skin on the back of your hand which were a contrast to the small rough patches on your palm, before you heard him speak again. “Can I kiss you?”

You blinked at him, lips parted in surprise that he would even ask such a question when you were honestly willing to kiss him any time of the day. The Zemo you had come to know was far different than the one you had heard about, his cold demeanor seemed to completely fade when he was around you, like a fog that dissipated with the coming of daylight. A part of you pondered whether this was how he used to be, before the events that happened. Though he hadn’t had a chance to share such affection with anyone and lost practice, you still found him to be great kisser and it always managed to leave you breathless. “Yes, please.” You whispered, your voice barely audible before you felt his lips brush against yours. What was sweet at first became more feverish and filled with hunger as an unfamiliar spirit seemed to possess your body, darkening the amethysts and golds of your eyes that resembled the galaxies, into the blackness of the abyss that swallowed the outer edges of space where not even the slightest bit of light could reach, almost as if you were sinking your claws into your prey.

A heat pooled in the pit of your stomach, filling your body with an electrifying warmth as his mouth moved against yours more confidently this time, catching you utterly by surprise and leaving your knees weak, a feeling similar to the stillness in the air a mere second before lightning strikes the ground beneath your feet. His hands slipped down to grab the flesh of your waist, dehydrated, and filled with an intense thirst that could only be quenched by your body that was the ocean, your skin separated by the silk fabric of your nightgown. Your hands went up to grip his shoulders as a gasp escaped your lips upon feeling him move down to your jaw and neck. Gods, since when was the last time you were touched like that?

“Helmut.” You rasped, struggling to hold back a moan as his lips sucked on the skin where your collarbone met your neck, making you lean your head back to allow him better access. Your robe had fell to the floor, leaving your arms completely bare while Zemo’s hands caressed the skin that lined them before resting on the dorsal part of your upper arms, the combination of the frigid air and his fingertips that felt like the touch of fire sending shivers through your body. “What if they hear?”

“Let them.”

“No……….I’m…….serious.”

“Well if you’re that worried Draga.” Zemo stopped to look at you. “The walls are thick enough.”

Gods that completely sent you over the edge. It felt as if you were on a high, your mind was not even within this dimension as Zemo met your lips again. You had to throw your arms around his neck to keep yourself from collapsing as the two of you shifted in the room, Zemo guiding your body before the back of your knees came in contact with the side of your bed. You let yourself fall back into the soft mattress, bringing Zemo down with you. You both were a mess, your hair disarray, the thin straps of your nightgown fallen past your shoulders had almost left your breasts exposed, and the skirt of your nightgown had ridden up to your thighs as you wrapped your legs around his waist. Zemo squeezed at the soft flesh of your thigh before attacking your neck again. He didn’t know how to describe it but you tasted absolutely divine. Perhaps being a goddess made you taste of ambrosia; the golden, honey-flavored fruit that grew on the trees of Olympus. You were in absolute bliss and thanked the gods he wouldn’t be able to leave a mark, at least you hoped not.

“Helmut.” You moaned, your nails digging into his biceps as his warm lips made a trail down your collarbone and lower to where the lace trim of your nightgown met just above the curve of your breasts, lingering on the space between, filling your mind with thoughts of a certain region you desired those lips to be. “Fuck.” You hissed from the contact, your hand moving its way to his head as you ran your fingers through his soft hair, your nails raking across the back of his scalp as the heat between your thighs only grew. You unconsciously pressed your heel to the lower part of his back, beckoning him closer to that heat between your thighs as you bucked your hips up. Zemo growled at the movement, slightly nipping at the skin where your breast had started to form, causing you to gasp and your eyes to fly open from the sensation.

“Apologies draga.” You heard him mutter before tenderly kissing the spot where his teeth had been.

Seeing Zemo in a close proximity above you in such a position had you dazed, wanting him to take you right then and there and not caring if the others heard you or not. And as your eyes wandered lazily over the sight of him, they widened in horror once they glimpsed at the image of your hands. Your nails became sharp, claw-like, and that deathly color had returned once again, slowly making its way up your arm like the tendrils of a shadow belonging to a demonic spirit.

“Helmut.” You whispered, your voice becoming panicked as you loosened your grip on his arms, being careful not to pierce his skin. “Helmut wait.”

Zemo stopped, pushing himself up to meet your eyes as his concern grew from seeing the frightened look that filled them. “Schatzi, what’s wrong?” He brought his hand up to your face, brushing away the strands of your hair. “If you’re uncomfortable let me know.”

“No, gods no. If anything I don’t want you to stop.” You breathed out, trying to catch your breath. “It’s just that………….”

“What is it schatzi?” His voice was soft as his fingers caressed your cheek, afraid that he might have offended you in some way, afraid that he might have been too forward.

“I’m sorry Helmut. I want to, I really do, but not like this.” You shook your head as you got up, shifting over to where the dark shadows of the room fell on the bed to hide your arms, afraid to meet his eyes as if you had made a fool of yourself. “Not like this.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me y/n.” Zemo smiled at you. “If you’re not ready, than I’m not ready.”

“Thank you Helmut.” You smiled back before giving him a delicate kiss. “I’d………uh like to think some things through.” You prayed that he didn’t see your hands, hoping that the darkness of the room managed to disguise it.

“Of course draga.” Zemo placed a lingering kiss on your forehead before leaving your room, stopping at the door to give you a comforting smile as he carefully shut it behind him.

Your eyes still lingered on the door, waiting to make sure he didn’t come back before turning on the bedside lamp and staring down at your hands. You had managed to stop the color from spreading up your arm, yet it strangely still remained, stopping halfway up your forearm. This wasn’t good.

“What the hell?” You scrunched your nose, trying to use your powers once again to remove it but to no avail. Fear coursed through your veins as you attempted to remove the color, spell after spell, hoping those vine like tendrils would crawl back down your hands and disappear. You cursed under your breath as each attempt proved to be as futile as the one before. What the hell was going on? Why were your spells not working? It vanished before from your magic, why wasn’t it doing so now? You were struck with a sudden realization that perhaps this change would become permanent, that maybe suppressing your true form for all those years had caused it to spiral out of control and in turn try to overpower you as if it had a mind of its own. You growled through gritted teeth, the furniture around you shaking as your fists were clenched in frustration, the violet mists of your powers encompassing your hands and sparking with small bolts that corresponded with the vexation that overwhelmed you.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, the mist around your hands disappearing and the shaking of the furniture coming to a stop. You had to work something out. You were left no choice but to keep your hands covered from now on until you found a solution. If any of them questioned it, you had to have a damn good lie. Getting up from the bed, you walked over to the double doors that led to the small balcony and opened them, your hands gripping the cold iron rail as you stared out at the view of the Latvian streets and buildings before you. Oh how you wished your sister Athena were here. She knew everything.

“Oh Athena.” You stifled a sob as you stared up at the stars, focusing on the light of your planet as if she could have heard you, a tear cascading down your cheek and dropping to the streets below. “Gods I wish you were here. I really need your help.”

Despite your pleas, you knew she wasn’t there, her existence only an artifact of the past. You were praying to nothing but a memory. It was extremely urgent that you got information on this matter of your form and the words of the prophecy that still threatened and echoed within the depths of your mind. And since you couldn’t obtain such knowledge from another Olympian, you would have to gather it from the old texts. Muttering a few words in Ancient Greek, you waited, searching, until a small white moth came into view, fluttering in your direction. You held out your finger, letting the tiny creature come to rest upon it.

“Hello little one.” You smiled at the moth as you gently stroked it in greeting, bringing it closer to your face so that you could speak to it in your language. “Please send word to my familiar and tell him to gather as much information he can on Titans and the prophecy. And tell him to come find me when he is done. Thank you.” The moth looked at you with understanding behind his tiny black eyes, it’s antennaes twitching before fluttering away into the moon. You sighed, watching it disappear into the night before giving your distant planet one last glance before shutting the doors and going back over to the bed. You laid down under the covers, your hands rested on your stomach as you stared up at the ceiling, dreading the day to come. How could you face Zemo? And however were you going to keep your hands a secret? Surely the three are bound to find out sooner or later? You just prayed that the message you sent would be returned in a short time. You needed to fix this before it would be considered too late. And the sooner you found Karli the better. Your mind was racing with thoughts, but you closed your eyes, desperate to get some rest and forcing those thoughts away. Gods help you from this moment on.

Tag List: @girl-obsessed-with-things @aerynchromie @sunshinepower17 @viviace @kakimakiloh @thehornyles @awhorewithissues @gambitsqueen @spookycereal-s @lulu-yuming @mochminnie @Gabitanaka47 @s00nhi @vanteguccir @tomhollandsslilslut @dracoxxyoflam @suchababie @uhhhcrypticbastard @on-my-way-to-erebor @thewinterrbucky @mylifeispainandiloveit @fillechatoyante @padmoonyfeorge @montypythonsholysnail @pollynx @aziraslowlylosestheirshit @roundbrownlover @awesomeowlbook @bookloverfilmoholic @hargreevesd @death-is-beautiful @ilovespideyyy @peakyrogers

[soukokuwu]

heaven in hell

     genre: fluff      pairing: fyodor x reader      warnings: some religious references/themes; bonus points if you can see who i projected them both as      word count: 1.7k      synopsis: you and fyodor go through thick and thin together.      - requested by anonymous: fyodor with a childhood friend s/o who takes part in his murderous shenanigans — at one point she tells him: “it’s strange. when i’m with you, no matter how bad things get, i’m not afraid.”

White daffodils and crimson pomegranates.

Silk dresses and flower crowns.

That’s the sight that accompanied your beauty the first time he saw you. How old was he then? Eight? Nine? Somewhere there. He didn’t place much significance in that moment. How was he supposed to know then that you’d mean so much to him now?

The daughter of a wealthy family, someone who seemed to have everything. Everything but freedom. Even someone like you, who was constantly surrounded by people, must’ve felt lonely. The empty praises and fake kindness from those who surrounded you.

You hated it, Fyodor could see it. He had found you ravishing, and that was never a secret. That was what drew him in. At first. In all honesty he thought you’d be plain, a blank canvas in the mind, like a drone that only operated on commands.

But as he spoke to you that day, under the shade of the pomegranate trees, Fyodor found his expectations exceeded. The way you vocalised your opinions, the way you spoke of politics and disdain for the sinful nature of humanity. Then, only then, was Fyodor completely entranced.

Where he thought you grew flowers because you loved to see them grow, you admitted it was not; you liked to watch them fade and die. Like there was something worth admiring about a necessary death. A certain duality lived in you — like you could be the goddess of life, and yet at the same time, a ruler of all that was dead.

Fyodor found something in common with you that day. Both of you would kill for the sake of a better world, if only you had the means. That was the first time you spoke of him as that. It was when he confessed his perception of an ideal world — a world without ability users.

“Kill any one of them, that makes you a murderer,” you had commented once.

“But if I kill millions of them, that makes me a conqueror.”

You had turned toward him with a playful smirk then. “Kill all of them — that makes you a god.”

A wildflower — that was what he saw you as.

You grew from what you perceived as nothing. That house held no meaning, your choices were never actually yours to make and family was just an empty label tying blood relatives together. Where you used to be scared of going against your family, you stood up to them. Renounced everything they promised you, called them out for being nothing but self-fulfilling bastards.

You chose to run of your own accord, but that was not what your family spoke of. They spread rumours of how you had been seduced by evil, bribed by the demon, manipulated to leave your nest. They spoke of how you were stolen, not cast off. They were adamant on how you were dragged away from paradise and into hell. They omitted how you were the one who pounded on the its gates yourself just to escape the real devils parading as angels in their own personal form of ‘heaven’.

There was a sickness in them. Rising like the bile that leaves that bitter taste at the end of your throats. You hated it. And so you ran to him, to Fyodor, with only your hatred for such greed in tow. You had absolutely nothing. Yet ironically, with nothing to your name, you stumbled upon everything.

Whatever it was initially, it had bloomed into something more. Much akin to friendship on fire.

Only a beautiful soul such as yours would kiss the damned. That was how he viewed all ability users at first, and that included himself. But you? You didn’t have any — you were all human, pure, untainted, this way. You didn’t think of him as a damned being though. Much as you viewed certain deaths necessary, so were certain evils. And if Fyodor viewed himself as damned, you argued to put it to good use.

“You are not the devil, you are a god.”

You always reminded him of that. Until it was ingrained in his mind. And just like that, you became the most influential person in his life — the reason he does anything for the dream of a better world in the first place. Not only for himself, but also for you.

That’s why you followed him wherever he went. Fyodor deemed himself god and you were his one loyal, devoted follower. No — he viewed you as his goddess, one worthy of standing beside him as an equal. Although he does not say.

He was still doubtful you’d follow him away from Russia, leaving the safety of familiarity for foreign lands. Fyodor was preparing to leave you, to say farewell. But you showed up with your luggage in tow this time, carrying with you the smile he called home. He found it fascinating, how with each step toward him it’s like you brought springtime with you, and with each step away it felt more and more like winter. Lucky for him then, you’d always stick close to him.

You became his partner-in-crime, a goddess standing strong beside her god, the bride to his ruler of ‘hell’ (as they used to call him back at home — you were nothing like your parents though, you thought being with Fyodor was like heaven on earth), minus the deceptions because he could manipulate everyone, but he would never want to do that to you. Only you.

Every scheme, every murder. You had a hand in it. There were other subordinates, sure. But you were his right-hand man. There was no other he’d trust more than you. And you hid in the shadows, far deeper than any of them did.

But not for tomorrow. For tomorrow they needed a female. And you had volunteered.

Fyodor isn’t one to worry, much less one to admit it. Although you can always tell when something is off. Tonight is one of those times.

You’re on the balcony, looking out at the view before you. It’s a nightly routine for you, to stand here and just enjoy the song of the breeze, along with the choir of stars that blanketed the sky, seemingly endless. There’s something more tonight though — Fyodor. He’s right there behind you, bony, icy fingers nestling against your stomach, cheek resting against your back.

He’s the first to break the silence by calling your name.

“Yes, fedya?”

Fyodor exhales gently through his nose before he says anything, the warm air hitting the back of your neck now that he straightens up. “Мне так повезло́ тебя́ встре́тить,” he whispers in your ear.

He celebrates inwardly as he sees the smile creep up on your face. You’re trying not to grin silly, but you fail miserably the moment he leaves a chaste kiss on your earlobe. “I consider myself lucky to have met you too, Fyo.”

“Are you not worried, lyubimaya?”

He knows he is. He’s always preferred to keep you safe behind the screens, never let the enemy even know of your existence if he can help it. He’s not worried about whether you’re capable of carrying it out properly, no. He has the utmost confidence that you’re the best person for the job. As you did for the few previous times you had to help out. You’re intelligent, capable, tough. Perfectly able to kill anyone you had to. But you are also the only thing he is afraid of losing.

You turn around in his arms and cup his cheeks in your hands, giggling slightly as his cheeks grow rounder from being held. Your gaze shifts to his purple orbs, finding it endearing how you’re the only one who gets to see his hardened gazes melt into an earnest plea for answers.

Fyodor can’t help it; the way his vision wanders to your body — your torso. He only has to furrow his brow ever so slightly for you to know exactly what’s on his mind: the last time you went on a mission, how you had severely underestimated the enemy, how they had stabbed you and nearly killed you. Not a day goes by that Fyodor doesn’t think about it. The man is dead now, yes, but he can’t get the sight of your scar out of his mind. A reminder of how he had failed to protect you.

“It's strange. When I'm with you, no matter how bad things get, I'm not afraid.”

Your words snap him out of it. He swallows the lump in his throat. He appreciates your attempt at easing his worries, you can see that from the slight pink tainting his pale skin. His thumb rubs over the spot of your scar through your shirt.

They say that when you lose someone, you’ll only ever regret the things you don’t say. Is this what he’s feeling now? The taste of loss — however false it may have been now since you’re safe and alive — is still fresh on his tongue. Nothing will stop either of you from continuing with this. So maybe, this is the least he can do, isn’t it? Let you in? After all, you’ve been with him for as long as he can remember.

“Я хочу́ провести́ с тобо́й всю оста́вшуюся жизнь,” he mutters with a serious expression before he releases you from his embrace and turns around. “So you better not fail tomorrow.”

As he disappears back into the room, you lean back against the railing and smile to yourself. Over time you got used to his shows of affection. People who knew always commented on how he doesn’t show enough — but to you he shows plenty. Fyodor has never said he loves you. It’s always said in a roundabout way because that’s just who he is.

But what you heard earlier? That must be the best one yet.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you too, Fyo,” you whisper after him into the night. Because you’ve never said you love him either. But just like you, he already knows.

tags: @yokelish @gogolparadise @fyowyn-writes

[dreamterlude]

In alphabetical order I present to you, drum roll please… the gods of alcohol.

Aegis, Nordic God of the Sea and host of the gods

Ægir is the divine personification of the sea in Norse mythology, and also the frequent host of the gods. In the Poetic Edda, Ægir has a wife, Rán, with whom he has Nine Daughters associated with the waves. Ægir is often portrayed in the eddic poems as the host of the gods. In Hymiskviða, Thor acquires a huge cauldron in which to brew beer as the gods expect to visit Ægir. In Lokasenna (Loki’s Flyting), Loki’s verbal duel with the gods occurs at a feast hosted by Ægir, and the poem is also called Ægisdrekka (Ægir’s Drinking Party) by paper manuscripts. During the party, Loki kills one of Ægir’s servants. In Grímnismál, Ægir’s prowess as a host is the final motif Odin reveals to the King Geirröd.

Dionysus (Bacchus), Greek God

Dionysus, Romanised as Bacchus, was the god of grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology.  He was later considered a patron of the arts. Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele. He was one of the most important gods of everyday life and became associated with the idea that under the influence of wine one could feel possessed by a greater power. On one hand he brings together joy and ecstasy, on the other chaos and misery, reflecting both sides of wines nature. He was a god who stood for the untamed nature of life. He wandered the world actively encouraging his cult. Maenads, women who had been driven mad, flush with wine and known for their cries of ‘oi’, accompanied him. The maenads achieved a state of ‘ecstasis’, which is where our word ecstasy comes from, and were famously outrageous. Festivals called Dionysia were held in his honour in the spring, when leaves started to reappear on the vine, Greek theatre was institutionalised here.

Kvasir, Norse Mead of Poetry

In Norse mythology, Kvasir was a being born of the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir, two groups of gods. Extremely wise, Kvasir traveled far and wide, teaching and spreading knowledge. This continued until the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar killed Kvasir and drained him of his blood. The two mixed his blood with honey, resulting in the Mead of Poetry, a mead which imbues the drinker with skaldship and wisdom, and the spread of which eventually resulted in the introduction of poetry to mankind.

Liber, Roman God

Liber (the free one), also known as Liber Pater (the free father) was a god of viticulture and wine, fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome’s plebians, his festival of Liberalia, (17th March) became associated with free speech and the rights attached to coming of age. Young men celebrated their coming of age by cutting off and dedicating their first beards to their household’s guardian deities, and if citizens, wore their first toga virilis, the “manly” toga. Liber also personified male procreative power, his temples held the image of the phallus. His cult and functions were increasingly associated with Bacchus and his Greek equivalent Dionysus, whose mythologies he came to share.

Mbaba Mwana Waresa, Zulu Goddess, South Africa

Mbaba Mwana Waresa is a fertility goddess of the Zulu religion. She is a goddess of the rainbow, agriculture, rain and beer. She is one of the most beloved Goddesses of Southern Africa, largely because she is credited with the invention of beer. she could not find a suitable husband in heaven, so she came to look on earth. She came across a herdsman named Thandiwe, whose song moved her so much that she chose him to be her companion.

Ninkasi, Sumerian

Ninkasi is the Sumerian goddess of brewing and beer and head brewer to the gods themselves. Her name means “the lady who fills the mouth” and her birth was formed of sparkling-fresh water. The sumerian written language and the associated clay tablets are among the earliest human writings. Among these is a poem with the English title, “A hymn to Ninkasi”. The poem is, in effect, a recipe for the making of beer. Early brewers were primarily women, mostly because it was deemed a woman’s job.

Ogoun, Yorùbá religion

In the Yoruba religion, Ogoun is an orisha (deity) and loa (spirit) who presides over iron, hunting, politics and war. He is the patron of smiths, and is usually displayed with a number of attributes: a machete, rum and tobacco. Ogoun comes to mount people in various aspects of his character, and the people who venerate him are quite familiar with each of them. His possessions can sometimes be violent. Those mounted by him are known to wash their hands in flaming rum without suffering from it later. They dress up in green and black, wave a sabre or machete, chew a cigar and demand rum in an old phrase “Gren mwe fret” (my testicles are cold). Often, this rum is first poured on the ground, then lit and, finally, the fumes generated by this are then allowed to pervade the peristyle. The sword, or much more commonly the machete, is his weapon and he often does strange feats of poking himself with it, or even sticking the handle in the ground, then mounting the blade without piercing his skin.

Radegast, Slavic God

Radegast, is an old god of Slavic mythology, his name can be etymologised as meaning something like “Dear guest”. He was proclaimed as the Slavic god of hospitality and as such entered the hypothetical, reconstructed Slavic pantheon of modern days.

Raugutiene and Raugupatis, Baltic God and Goddess

Raugupatis is known as the God of fermentation. Raugutiene is Raugupatis partner and she is known as the Goddess of beer.

Silenus, Greek

Silenus was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He was the old rustic god of the dance of the wine-press, his name being derived from the words seiô, “to move to and fro,” andlênos, “the wine-trough.” He was also the god of drunkenness who rode in the train of Dionysus seated on the back of a donkey.

Soma, Hindu

Soma, an ancient Hindu god, is many things; the afterworld, the moon, inspiration and the god of poets and a bull. Not only does he enjoy drugs, he is a particular drug: the soma plant, known more commonly as ephedra vulgaris. For millennia, Hindu warriors have drunk a concoction derived from the soma plant. This drink was said to give them a sense of euphoria and ecstasy and helped warriors get over the fear or anxiety of an upcoming battle. As a drug, the god Soma represented a link between the world of the gods and this world. Soma is the name of a fictional drug in Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel, Brave New World.

Sucellus, Celtic

In ancient Celtic religion, Sucellus or Sucellos was the god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks of the Gauls, also part of the Lusitanian mythology. He is usually portrayed as a middle-aged bearded man, with a long-handled hammer, or perhaps a beer barrel suspended from a pole.

Tezcatzontecati, Aztec

In Aztec mythology, Tezcatzontecati is the god of pulque, of drunkenness and fertility.

Yasigi, African

This African goddess of beer was depicted as the ultimate party girl, a female deity depicted with ample breasts, a beer ladle and penchant for lustful dance.

Yi-ti, Chinese

This Chinese god is said to have created the first rice wine. Not much is known about Yi-ti but it is said that he brewed the concoction for an emperor and may of used grapes as well as rice.

Anon don't get me wrong I absolutely love this and I read the entire thing but I do have to ask: what prompted you to send me this??? please reply???

[thecandywrites]

Jewel Of The North Part 7

As always thanks to @monstersandmaw​ for sharing ice orcs with me. 

Now, get some popcorn and a drink and lets watch things blow up in our readers face and her past comes to bite her in the ass, shall we? 

Jewel of the North 

Part 7

On Sunday, Noah and yourself finished your dishes for the family dinner and no matter what Noah tried to say, you were just on edge and anxious about it and you couldn’t shake your gut feeling that it was a bad idea and that something was going to go wrong. He even tried banging the nerves out of you, twice. But all that did was push you to try to hide how nervous and anxious you were. 

The only one Noah warned you about was his sister Alorna who was a stuck up priss and a hypocritical one at that, how she loved to preach about the traditional ways but didn’t feel she needed to live by them herself and was the most “Anglo” out of all of them whereas Neena had practiced what she preached and how Alorna was always at odds with everyone, especially Neena and brought drama wherever she went and to take whatever she would say with a big grain of salt. 

Meanwhile Summer’s tea leaves told her that you were feeling anxious and that you were going to be judged and compared to Neena and she practically drilled into everyone that they needed to be nice and gentle, warm and welcoming and accepting which they were all to happy to comply. 

“Alorna, you’re still coming for the family dinner tomorrow right?” Summer asked as she was on the phone with her the day before. 

“Of course I’m coming, I’m getting the crab now, John got huge tips this week, he gets off at 4 and we’ll be there by five, no problem.” She reassured her mother.  

“And make sure you all bring your best manners too, she’s nervous to meet everyone. We have to be warm and welcoming.” Summer insisted. 

“She’s the one who should bring her best manners, has anyone even checked her out? How do we know she’s not some gold digger or someone working for the developers or the oil company or even the prospectors? They’re getting more and more scheming and devious.” She argued. 

“I can swear to you that she isn’t. She’s come on vacation and made herself and instrument in The God’s Will and I have seen it with my own eyes. She is a blessing and if you scare away this blessing, the gods will not look favorably on you. And if you and your family can’t be nice, you won’t be welcome. You can eat all that crab at your own home and I’ll tell her that you couldn’t make it.” Summer offered in ultimatum. 

Alorna glared in outrage at her phone. 

“No, we’ll be there and we will show her as much respect as she shows us.” Alorna spat before she ended the call before she got what she came for and went home and got out her own best outfit, she was going to be the prettiest woman there while she dug into the name she was given, she looked on Facebook and found so many Zara Kingsley’s but when she crossreferenced LMT’s and Great Lakes and was pretty sure she found you- especially when in the comments, she realized that “Zara” was a nick name. Your full name was a mouthful, but you had quite the following as she went through the facebook feed and the linked businesses facebooks. You owned three seperate businesses, but they were all spa businesses. Cushy jobs, you were beautiful- sure, and your home spa did look luxurious and obviously why you looked as good as you did for being as old as you were, you had your very own spa at your disposal. You were obviously spoiled and used to getting and having everything. 

She then found old pictures of your husband who had not had a Facebook, he was- rather hideous, he was perhaps one of the uglier orcs she had ever seen, so that meant in her mind, he either had a really good personality, a really great dick, he worshiped you like a goddess or he was wealthy and came from a wealthy family and most likely, all of those factors were the only justifications a woman as beautiful as you would be with someone like him. Your children on the other hand were really adorable, your son was handsome and had a facebook of his own which posted a lot of pictures of him in modern dance which she could appreciate, but then she found the pictures and videos of him in ballet, which she thought was rather hysterical if not absurd, shameful and dishonorable. Orc boys did not belong in ballet. Elven boys and human boys and fae boys of course, especially moura boys who were born flamboyant, but not orcs, it was ridiculous. He looked so out of place and it was just... embarrassing. Were you trying to raise a pansy? You took a perfectly good orc boy and turned him into a flower is what you did, heaven forbid you give Noah a son and do the same thing to him as you did your own. There was no way he was going to continue the family line of his natural father. With a few pictures she found your son’s snake channel on You Tube and a little google search told her that it was an expensive hobby which all pointed to your family having a lot of money. 

Your girl though, she was into MMA and martial arts in general, now that- she could approve of. Orcs were natural born warriors and she was a natural. She was also into hunting judging by the pictures of her with game she killed when she went hunting with her grandpa. Well at least the dishonor that your son bathed and rolled around it was not something she shared. She felt pity for your daughter for having such a brother. The poor thing couldn’t choose her family. Well hopefully Noah would straighten Xander out and get him out of those tights and ballet shoes and get him out in the woods or working with him in the plane or something, that was the only way your son could be saved, because you sure weren’t. And doing some math, it was only after your husband died that your son got into ballet and your husband was probably rolling in his grave if he knew how you’ve destroyed his son. The lack of a proper masculine role model was clearly damaging. It was your son that needed rescuing, if not a full on intervention. 

And since you were a widow and judging by your posts, you were a widow for about two years now, you probably used all of your husband’s life insurance policy payout to either buy or build that house that was looking like a small mansion from these images on the business’ facebooks or you or your husband came from money and all of these were just hobbies for you. And when she found the post about what your husband did, another quick google search at what that kind of position payed and if you were wealthy, the wealthy always got life insurance and if you followed the rule of thumb, you got at least a million dollar pay out and that sure did look like a million dollar house to her. How foolish, you used all of your husband’s money to build a mansion with it. But one look at it all and she doubted you’d give this up for Noah. Noah was poor and his house was practically a trailer compared to your mansion, a humble cottage really. Which to her, meant one thing, you were probably going to be taking Noah and Sakura home with you- if this was ever going to go anywhere and the thought made her stomach sour, you were going to buy one of the best pieces of the Arctic Tundra and take it home and put it on a shelf with any other souvineer. The audacity you had!

The only way she was ever going to think otherwise is if you and your family moved up here. And with your tastes for the luxurious, there was really only a few homes that would be suitable because there was no way you would think Noah’s humble abode would be good enough for a princess like you, much less your son. Of course if that happened, you’d probably buy her dream house which was currently on the market. And she’d probably resent you for that too. You were only a blessing to them because you had money. And you could use whatever money your “mansion” sold for and “invest” it in the family. That was all there was too it. Well the least you could do is perhaps get Noah and maybe her parents out of their debt. Maybe pay off their houses if you were humble enough to move in with Noah. And if you’d be treating the family with your spa services for free and uphold all the traditions that Neena wanted to uphold without question or complaint. That was the only way she was going to be happy about this. If you could prove yourself in that way because if she or anyone else in the family had to pay for anything, you would practically be taking advantage of them from her moral point of view. 

Come Sunday you felt like you were a bundle of nerves and one of the ways you found you could try to bury it was you got dressed up in your cutest, most flattering outfit and got dolled up so that you looked picture perfect and tried to make yourself look as sweet and as non-threatening and hopefully likable as possible before you made sure Sakura was looking particularly darling and perfectly precious and did her hair up in curls and braids and got her a new outfit and bow before Noah took you and Sakura to his parent’s house where everyone but Alorna and her husband John were already gathered, all of them eagerly awaiting your arrival, in particular Neena’s family who were especially excited to meet you.

You already knew Summer who introduced Neena’s parents, Isla and Tonrar, Neena’s brother Yakone and his wife Merideth and their children. Neena’s sister Miki and her husband Dave and their kids and Neena’s other sister Sedna and her husband Max and all of their kids before she had you meet the rest of her family- Ukluk, who you recognized from a picture on your parent’s wall. Noah’s brother Nago and his wife Samantha and their kids and of course Noah’s sister Sesi who you got to briefly meet yesterday and her husband Suka and their kids and you were so grateful that you brought so much of all your dishes so that hopefully everyone would get a taste as they all helped you bring in all your dishes and beer and wine and other alcohol from Noah’s truck after they all gave you a series of big hugs as you realized both families were big huggers which was fine by you because each hug you received seemed to settle your nerves a little more and reassure you a little more that it was going to be ok and that perhaps you had been worrying for nothing. All of Sakura’s cousins were awesome and had asked you all kinds of questions about your kids which you were happy to answer. All the boys especially were interested in seeing pictures of your son’s snakes while the girls liked to see the pictures of the other animals in your ‘menagerie’ while all the guys dug into the beer especially and talked among themselves in the living room, leaving the women to talk in the kitchen, around the kitchen island before the kids left to go play in the playroom, Sakura leaving her new hair bow with you so it wouldn't’ get hurt. 

“How do you keep getting so lucky? A priestess and a massage therapist?” Suka jabbed at Noah’s arm and Noah could only shrug but his grin was awfully smug, if not proud, as they sat on the couch together and drank the ridiculously good beer you had brought. 

“And she’s a good cook, her food is making my stomach growl.” Dave admitted. 

“Yeah it was hard not to eat it as she was prepping it all day yesterday. You should have seen the spread she made on Tuesday.” Noah bragged. “She made me and Sakura something called a ‘gosbe’ it’s her clan’s tradition of a wooing feast which I didn’t know that was a thing until days later, after the fact which I wish I knew because it worked like a charm. She made these huge tomahawk steaks, one for each of us and cooked perfectly medium rare with all these sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, the mushroom risotto, candied yams with alcohol which I didn’t know you could do but she did and they were the best. She made brussel sprouts with bacon and they were actually really good and broccoli with cheddar that was also amazing. Like, I had never had a vegetable as tasty as she made those. And a death by cheese mac and cheese and rolls, all of it she made by hand, from scratch, I’m pretty sure I gained 20 lbs from that one meal and I was fighting, fighting not to nail her to every surface of my house on Tuesday and she managed to clean my house while she made all that too, like she was wonder woman, made it into a game with Sakura so Sakura helped out too.” Noah revealed as all of his brothers and brothers in law all keened and whimpered at just the sounds of the food. 

“So she’s perfect, you found the unicorn. They stopped making women like that fifty years ago I think.” Nago teased as Noah just laughed but couldn’t argue about that. 

“And she’s a widow?” Max questioned. 

“Yup, been one for about two years and it has only been recently that her kids were ok with her moving on.” Noah answered. 

“Ah, well have you talked to them yet?” Ukluk asked. 

“I did last night, they’re understandably really weary because of extenuating circumstances they have come into a little bit of inheritance and they have already had to deal with vultures and wolves of the ‘walking upright variety’ so her and her kids are pretty gunshy. So it’s just gonna take a lot of time and effort to prove to them that I’m not one too or a threat and not out to take advantage of them in any way- so it’s gonna be a work in progress.” Noah ventured as he chanced a look in the kitchen to get a quick read on you and your body language to make sure you were ok as he noticed you were practically inbetween all of them and the center of attention which you looked like you were handling fairly well which made him grin. 

He had told you that you had been worrying over nothing and that his family and Neena’s family were going to like you and that you had nothing to worry about in the first place. As long as you were yourself and genuine and honest, you were going to be just fine and right now you looked so natural and so in place in his parent’s kitchen, just having wine like one of the girls, besides his own house, you looked like you belonged there and he couldn’t help but think of what you had told Doug yesterday, that you were a jewel and you could decide what setting you wanted to be in and right now, in his humble opinion, you were in your proper setting.  

“But honestly, the way she is with Sakura, even if she didn’t cook or clean or have a career or anything like that. That alone is proof that she’s an answered prayer for Sakura and me.” Noah affirmed as he turned his attention back to all the guys. 

“Well I’m happy for you guys.” Ukluk encouraged his son as Noah smiled and nodded. 

“So when you say she came into some inheritance, what kind of inheritance?” Nago gently prodded. 

“I don’t know and frankly I’m scared of asking or finding out because apparently everyone who finds out becomes a gold digger and comes after her. Because that’s what happened to Doug Kizzo last night. Turned that asshole into a gold digging bootlicker overnight. We were at Taylor’s house getting the rest of her stuff so she can stay with me and we weren’t there five minutes and Doug rolled in there with the biggest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen in my life, wearing a suit and he begged her to leave me for him and threw me and all the native clans under the bus, insulting every tradition we have and tried to appeal to her “anglo sensibilities” and that he would worship her like a goddess and cater to her every whim and desire and some crazy, off his rocker bullshit and Zara shut him down and had Taylor ready to call the cops because she’s already had guys find out about it and quit their jobs, sell everything they had to buy a ferrari and pull up in her driveway from across the lower 48, ready to throw her kids into summer camp and take her to Europa to sweep her off her feet, kind of crazy bullshit so what none of us are going to do is ask her about it or try to play FBI- looking into it. She just wants to be a normal mom and LMT, and we’re going to give her that and I swear to every god in the realm if any of you go digging into her, I’ll disown you.” Noah warned them. 

“Because we’re better than that.” Ukluk insisted. 

“That won’t be a problem right boys?” Tonrar insisted as he looked out over the rest of them as they all nodded even though Suka was looking like he was gonna die because the curiosity was killing him. 

Meanwhile back in the kitchen- 

“Aren’t you just as pretty as a picture.” Isla fawned as she gave you another big hug after you had popped open all the bottles of wine for the ladies who were all eager to try it all the different kinds with you. 

“Thank you.” You graciously thanked her. 

“How much did you spend on all this?” Sesi asked as she looked at it all. 

“It doesn’t matter, as long as you like it, it’s money well spent. When I was flying around with Noah this week, I unexpectedly got to work on his clients who all paid me really well, which I didn’t think I would be making any money while I was up here, so I used some of that money to splurge on this- so don’t worry about me exceeding my budget or anything like that, no one is going to go hungry or anything and this isn’t going to be any kind of hardship for me, I did it because I wanted to and no- no one is going to be paying me back. It’s a gift.” You reassured them as you refilled a few of their glasses, Isla’s and Summer’s especially. 

“Well, you didn’t need to go all out. Even if you had just brought one, it would have been more than enough because Sakura told me on Wednesday when I was helping watch her with Summer that when she hugged you for the first time on Monday, it felt like she was hugging her mom again and when you watched her on Tuesday and cooked with her and played with her and most importantly prayed with her in Intuk and you were so incredibly respectful of her heritage and wanted to keep those traditions alive, you have no idea how much all of that meant to all of us.” She praised.

“You’re welcome, I was raised to be respectful of all cultures and traditions, especially when they were not my own. And not to be weird- but the feeling towards Sakura was mutual, when I hugged her for the first time, it just felt like I was hugging my own children after I gave birth to them and I got to hold them for the first time. That’s the only way I can explain it because I’m sure all of you have had that- ‘there you are, my most precious possession, I have waited so long to finally meet you, I’m gonna love you forever’ feeling when you held your own kids the first time after birth? That’s what I felt when I got to hold her for the first time and from there I was helpless to fight against all my mothering ‘must protect and care for this child’- instincts towards her and Noah of course has been nothing but amazing from the start. Really nice, really respectful, really professional, supportive, understanding and of course protective without being smothering or overbearing which is a hard balance for anyone.” You bravely confessed as you chanced a glance at Noah to make sure he was at least close in case you needed saving because Noah had told you to tell them that and that they would believe you and would be so happy and relieved to hear that and that it would endear you to them the way it endeared you to him. So for them to hear that confession, you might as well have brought out a kitten or the most adorable puppy ever, all the women fawned at hearing that before they started hugging you again as a few of them got a little teary eyed. 

“You have no idea how long and how hard all of us have been praying for that exact thing to happen. And it’s not weird at all- that’s The Gods’ Will, the fact that you said those exact words without any prompting from us- tells us that there is no better or no safer place for Sakura than with you and you have been the one we’ve been waiting for.” She reassured you and you felt a little gutted because you were sure she was gonna take those words back when she found out you were potentially taking Sakura away. 

“So speaking of traditions, are there any in particular that you really want to see Sakura hold true to?” You asked thoughtfully. 

“Well there’s the summer festival, those are always a really big deal up here, there’s the singing and dancing, which we don’t expect you to perform, especially on such short notice. ” Isla explained. 

“Ok, is there anything else? Other than the daily prayers, the language and the summer festival?” You prodded before you noticed a few of them looked questioningly to each other as you could see a few of them seemed to want to tell you something but a thinly veiled look from the others were keeping them quiet. 

“Well since Noah is the head of the house, he should probably be the one to decide which traditions he wants Sakura to follow.” Sedna suggested before the kids came barreling through the kitchen chasing each other. 

“Hey Sakura,” you called out to her before she turned and came back to you. 

“Yeah Mama?” Sakura asked. 

“I was talking to your family about traditions, which ones do you really want to keep true to?” You asked her. 

“The Talik!” Sakura answered.  

“Cool, what is it?” You asked. 

“It’s basically a mother daughter dance at the summer festival.” Summer supplied. 

“Aw, is it really complicated?” You asked. 

“It can be.” Summer nodded. 

“But I can try to teach you later Mama, you’re a really good dancer when you were dancing with my Daddy yesterday in the kitchen while you were cooking so you should pick it up really easy.” Sakura reassured you which got all the women to fawn at the news Noah and you danced in the kitchen while cooking, so romantic. 

“And the Kaskae,” Sakura insisted. “It’s where all the warchief’s and their sons dance, it’s really fun, Daddy’s always really good in it.” She explained. 

“Oh, I didn’t realize he was a warchief’s son.” You answered. 

“Grandson. It’s Ukluk’s father who’s the warchief and he had eight sons and several daughters each of those sons had a ton of kids too so it ends up being just about every guy in the clan that dances in that dance.” Summer explained. 

“And the Kunik.” Sakura giggled which got the other women to giggle with her. 

“Uh oh, what’s the kunik?” You asked playfully as you tried not to giggle yourself. 

“It means ‘kiss’ so it’s the newly wed dance, all those who either got married or will get married dance together.” Isla explained. 

“I see.” You nodded and your instincts told you that what Doug was alluding to was probably this and wondered if there was a ritualistic part where the younger ones would take part in that dance at least ceremonially. 

“Well it all sounds really fun and I can’t wait to see it in person.” You assured them before Sakura got called back to play with the kids. 

“And did my mama tell you she’s an heiress! She’s teaching me how to be one too!” Sakura added proudly before she ran off as you blushed and smiled and laughed a little nervously as they looked from Sakura’s retreating fram to you as Noah nearly spit out his beer as he practically jumped off the couch to come into the kitchen to intervene and stopped Sakura in her tracks. 

“Honey, that’s her personal business, and we don’t talk about anyone’s personal business.” Noah began to get after her which got everyone to pause and look at each other as Suka practically bounced off the couch too and got another beer which happened to be in the kitchen. 

“It’s ok, it’s the truth. I wasn’t born into money and I didn’t necessarily marry into it either. But I did inherit a few estates when my grandparents died and I’ve been managing them ever since,  that’s all, it’s a long, sad, story.” You informed them as you tried to waive off the details before Sakura slipped away to join her cousins again. 

“I wouldn’t mind hearing it.” Isla gently prodded. Before you took a deep breath and stiffened up your posture before Noah came over and put his arm around you and held you to his side as he was ready to come to your defense. 

“Me either.” Suka and Sesi murmured as Noah glared at them as all the women noticed how defensive Noah was getting and realized from your body language you were getting defensive too. 

“You know what, Noah’s right, we don’t need to know, don’t worry about it.” Samantha dismissed. 

“Agreed, if you’re uncomfortable talking about it, then don’t. We were just curious.” Meredith seconded. 

“Zara, really, you don’t have to say anything, you were telling me on Monday how you’ve dealt with people who’ve acted like vultures and wolves once they found out about it and you’ve learned to be very defensive about it because you don’t want to get eaten alive or preyed upon over it and you wanted to teach Sakura those same lessons but without her having to go through it herself and honestly that was more than enough for me. You’re basically a member of the family and all of us are more than willing and ready to defend you against those who mean you harm. I know you will defend Sakura against those who mean her harm too and that’s all that matters. You don’t know us that well, you don’t have to bare your soul and all your scars to us when you don’t know us that well. Especially when we have yet to show you ours.” Summer very calmly and very warmly reassured you from her spot next to you as you breathed out in relief and smiled appreciatively at her. 

“Honey, if it’s that big of a deal to you, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to pry, I was just curious. Sakura is an heiress too but dealing with it has been nothing but headaches for all of us. And she’s had her own wolves and vultures and it honestly gives me peace that you have experience in dealing with that and can help her. That’s all I need to know.” Isla apologized profusely which made you feel guilty but the validation was like a soothing balm. 

“Look, you can’t blame her, she just had Doug Kizzo turn into a vulture just last night, and she’s still a little shaken up and on high alert from that.” Noah pointed out as all the girls gasped in horror. 

“He’s an asshole already, I can’t imagine what he was like if he turned into a vulture.” Samantha realized with a grimace as did all the other people who at this point had come to gather around in the kitchen. 

“What did that bastard do?” Isla growled. 

“Well first, Greg spent the last two days hyping him up and gassing him and Taylor told me that Doug had actually been camping out at her house, waiting to ambush me when I would eventually return to get my stuff, even though Taylor has been practically screaming at the top of her lungs that it’s not gonna work and that I’m not interested and they wouldn’t listen to her, like at all. Because when I went on a blind date with him on Monday, I picked up on the narcissistic asshole immediately and it wasn’t the worst date I’ve ever been on but he took me out earning him and not needing him or his income as a blow to his ego. So I get there, the second I’m through the door Greg texted Doug to tell him I’m there, as I’m gathering my personal belongings so I can continue to stay with Noah- Doug comes hauling ass over to their house and makes this huge, stupid, grand romantic gesture with a hundred roses, wearing a suit and bathing in cologne and hair gel.” You began before a few of them sniggered a laugh. 

“And he’s making this big long spiel about how he’s ready to follow me to the ends of the earth, worship me like the goddess I am, how he’ll make sure I never have to work, let alone cook or clean for the rest of my life.” You recalled. 

“Which is rich because he can’t do either, I know because my sister is his ex wife and he didn’t do jack shit when he was married to her, hence, the divorce.” Samantha spat in disgust. 

“He would probably use her inheritance to hire a maid and a personal chef.” Noah sneered and you watched as they all seemed to roll their eyes or snigger another laugh. 

“Anyway, so I tell him to take a hike and ask him what happened between Monday and yesterday because Monday he was so not interested and yesterday he’s obsessive and so instead of admitting he’s a douchebag, he sees Noah who came in to check on me and he throws Noah under the bus and outright attacks Noah and his character and thank the gods that Noah was able to have some self control because I was ready to beat his ass and if it hadn’t been for Noah to get me out of that situation, the police would have gotten involved, again, because they always do when that happens.” You revealed as all of them were just staring in various stages of disgust and horror. 

“No wonder you didn’t want to say anything! Oh you poor thing. That’s just awful, no wonder you’re defensive, you’ve had to be to survive that.” Isla realized. 

“Well the worst part is what that’s done to her kids, both of her kids are understandably super weary of strangers, which is why I’m not taking any offense to their own defensive attitude towards me.” Noah pointed out. 

“Oh I didn’t think of that. Do they just..hate every stranger now because of that?” Sedna asked. 

“Just about, because the first couple guys who pulled an “Alex” which is the name of the first guy who tried that on us, he actually talked his own kids into stalking mine in school, like he pulled his kids out of their school and put them into my kid’s school for the sole purpose of getting as close as possible to mine, like one of them, he had him repeat a grade to get into my son’s class and had all of his kids phishing for information to use against them and me and try to divide and conquer my family.” You revealed. 

“No!” Isla and the other women blanched. 

“Oh I’m gonna be sick.” Summer groaned. 

“That’s unthinkable, like, that’s so messed up. Like they didn’t have a shred of decency or respect or honor to do that.” Isla insisted. 

“No they didn’t, so once the police got involved, then he backed off and once I and my kids got a restraining order against him and his kids, he went to jail for getting his kids involved. But by the third time an asshole tried the whole ‘swooping in with a big romantic gesture’ kind of thing, they got wise and they’re beyond fed up with it and when they had to change schools when we moved into the new house this past September, they had a hard time making friends because they just plain don’t like new people. They have taken a similar stance that the mafia takes which is- you have to be introduced to them by someone they trust. Which is basically, they only have a handful of friends that they had made before everything went to shit when most of their support system all died within the span of three months and that handful of people who they trust, those are the only people who they trust to introduce new people to them. And they have gotten really, really good at reading people and deciphering whether someone is being genuine with them and they have their own tests for it. And anyone who fails, they immediately cut off and once that decision is made, they don’t look back.” You warned them. 

“So what happened the second time a guy tried to make a grand gesture?” Sesi asked curiously. 

“I called the cops and my dogs wouldn’t let them get out of their car and actually bit the bumpers and mirrors off the car.  The third time it happened, my son had the police on the phone and my daughter, getting impatient, got her father’s rifle out of the safe from the second story, had the rifle resting on the window sill, and shot the guy’s tires out and held him at gunpoint until the police did arrive, which was terrifying. Of course, them hearing gunshots and hearing Xander screaming ‘Stop shooting! Put the gun down!’ They thought the guy was the one who had the gun and had me and my kids at gunpoint so they came barreling in and Xander managed to get the gun from Skylar and get it put away by the time the cops rolled into the driveway and I’m inside consoling both of them. And the police beat this guy into the concrete of my driveway, like, he came in looking like a million bucks and he left looking like a road penny. And after that I learned to change all the safe codes, because my husband and I were already responsible gun owners before, but now, they are really locked away and only ever used under adult supervision and my kids got into therapy because that was really, really traumatic for both of them and me. And now I have a gate at my driveway and all kinds of cameras all over my property and all my clients get a special code whenever they come to have their treatments.” You explained. 

“And that’s what you’re walking into?” Suka asked Noah. 

“Yup.” Noah nodded. 

“You’re a braver man than I am.” Suka admitted. 

“That’s for sure.” Sedna muttered as Sesi glared her. 

“It’s just gonna take time and effort. Besides, I kinda like her, and I want to keep her around, she kinda makes me happy, and Sakura happy. Sure she has enough baggage to fill a jumbo jet, she’s been through hell, it’s kind of expected at this point.” Noah tried to joke which got you to laugh. 

“Yeah, that’s true, so here’s why we’re all like this but please don’t repeat any of this, so eleven years ago when I was in massage school, my school had a clinic for the students to get their practical learning hours in and sometimes clients of the clinic really click with you and bond to you and end up following you as clients once you graduate and that happened to me. Even though, I got pregnant when I was in school because the massage teacher swore that two women out of every class get pregnant, Well I had a big class and I was one of five and that’s how I conceived Xander, but anyway, I picked up about 2 dozen older couples as clients- who were between my parent’s age and my grandparents age at the time. And these wonderful people watched my belly grow and felt my babies kick and got me baby shower presents and saw me through both of my pregnancies and watched my kids grow up and in the process of living and working and befriending each other, we grew really really close as friends and they basically adopted me as a grandkid because I took such good care of them because most of them either didn’t have children or the ones that did, their children were out state and they never got to see each other so I took care of them because my own maternal and paternal grandparents were also out of state but they had other members of the extended family close to them to take care of them.” You began. 

“So at the time they didn’t need much because almost all of them were physically mobile and had all their faculties and mental clarity and their independence and I was able to help them keep that precious independence for as long as possible so that they didn’t have to go into nursing homes and they could continue to take care of themselves. And then about five years ago, the pneumonia was really bad that year and almost all of them lost their spouses. Some lost husbands or some lost wives and they were left all alone but they still wanted to be independent and so a lot of them would just come over to my house, I’d make them breakfast, have a pot of tea or coffee and hang out and they would watch my kids and cook me lunch and sometimes dinner like any other grandparent occasionally does so I could work out of my home office while my husband went into work and each one had their own specific day where they got to play grandparents and they got to celebrate all the high holidays with me and my family so they wouldn’t be alone. And then two years ago my husband Andy died at work from an accident, out of the blue and I was completely blindsided by it and if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know how I would have gotten through it. And they all paid for me to meet with their financial advisors and lawyers and helped me invest and structure Andy’s life insurance policy payouts so that I could live modestly off the interest instead of using it all up trying to pay off debt and stuff and still trying to pay for the house because at the time, the house I am living in now was still under construction and they barely knocked the delapedated house down and cleared it out and dug the foundations of the old farm house out that had been there. And the house we were going to build was our dream house that his parents had helped us finance, he had gotten a really good raise at work, most of our debt was getting paid down, we weren’t going to expand our family and I was working from home and we made all these plans and just as things got started, it all came crashing down. So it was, really awful timing but they helped me get through it and they helped me use all the money I had come into from his death- wisely and invest it well, so well in fact that I was able to take just the interest off of most of it and replace my husband’s income with just the interest so myself and my children would be taken care of so I wouldn’t have to overextend myself trying to work full time to be the primary caregiver and caretaker and primary breadwinner because being a single parent is really hard and really expensive.”  You explained. 

“Wow, that’s really smart to invest it though.” Meredith nodded in agreement as did the others. 

“And so anyway, we get through that, and one of them told me that when he passed away, he was leaving everything he had to me and so I just assumed it was just his house which was a nice house in the suberbs and his car which was a nice daily driver and I thought was really sweet and agreed to it because he didn’t have any kids or any surviving family that he knew too well and he felt I was deserving, little did I know the guy had a couple million dollars in the bank and a really old, really rare, really amazing sports car in his garage that was also worth a fortune but I digress. What I also didn’t know is all of them, all of my adopted grandparents even though they knew each other through me and befriended each other, they all decided separately to all go to their lawyers, and none of them used the same lawyers and all of them left me either something really valuable in their estates in the cases where they had kids, or in the 15+ cases where they didn’t have any kids or grandkids- they left me everything they had but none of them told each other or me, only one told me that that’s what they were going to do for me but because of my confidentiality agreement, I didn’t tell any of the others that because anything anyone discloses to me, especially while I’m working and in session- I never repeat, that’s part of the job because I can get sued for breaking that client confidentiality, that’s how serious it is. Anyway, so then just a few months after Andy died, just as everything seemed to be settling down and I was learning how to live without him and how to juggle everything and find a new groove and make progress and still try to build the house, another round of pneumonia came around and killed all of my surviving adopted grandparents off within the span of a week and a half, because they all decided to get together one night and play bridge at someone else’s house and that someone else had it and passed it to them. When they first got sick and I took them to the doctor and they got diagnosed with either pneumonia or double pneumonia, I had hospice called in for only a couple of days and boom, it felt like overnight, they just all- died…” You explained as you tried not to cry at the memory as everyone got so quiet just listening intently to you. 

“And for me, it was absolutely hectic because no sooner had I gotten all their animals and took all their animals home with me along with their valuables like jewelry and important paperwork like deeds and titles and bank records, I had to go back and clean out their fridges and freezers and cupboards of all the food so nothing would spoil and I would be at the food banks dropping it all off and then I would get another call from hospice for another one because I was their power of attorney and I was informed that another passed and I just did a cycle of- they’re dead, take all the animals home, come back, clean out the fridge, the freezer, the cupboards, give all the food to the food banks and all their clothes to Goodwill, then come back and give the house a good cleaning and then lock it up and move on to the next one’- all while arranging or helping to arrange- 26 funerals within a week. I was preparing and planning and executing 26 funerals all at the same time and it felt like just one big long funeral to me and practically slept in the same black dress for a week and I was beyond numb by the end of it and my parents moved down from the northern Great Lakes to the Southern Great Lakes to be with me and the kids and help me through it all and another week after that as I was finalizing all of their final affairs, that’s when I learned that I had inherited everything from 15+ couples and then lots of somethings from the other 11. So now I have 30 plus houses in my care and they’re just...sitting there, winterized and empty. And I am still, two years later, overwhelmed by it all. So um, please don’t get mad at me or Noah but I was talking to Noah about it and he suggested that we could flip them which had been my plans initially anyway. But they’re all very dated and would need to be updated before they could be sold on the market. So since Noah’s season ends in September slash October, he offered that he and Sakura would come down for the winter, get Sakura in school and Noah could work on flipping the houses for an hourly rate and a percentage of the final sale while I continued running my own businesses since it’s the fall, winter and spring that are my busiest times of the year and that’s when I make the biggest bulk of my own income and just see how that goes.” You suggested as you held your breath and waited for the floor to drop as they all looked from you to Noah expectantly but otherwise didn’t react negatively, but mostly just looking for a confirmation. 

“But that is contingent on Zara’s kids meeting me and liking me and approving of that idea because those houses are part of their inheritance too and they have every reason and every right to be weary of me until they get to know me and I have a chance to earn their respect and trust because of their shared past, I understand that they’re a family unit and they’re part of the package but when they do get to meet me and if they like me and if we even get go that far, I think it’s gonna be fun, I had a blast building my house and helping build everyone else’s houses and help build this house even. And all things considered, Sakura would have been going to school either way and she would have done it either up here or she can do it down there and I would prefer her to go down there because she’ll be with her kids and make new friends. Plus Zara’s kids are into a lot of extracurriculars that the Frozen Tundra just doesn’t have up here and I’m not gonna ask them to give any of those up, especially for me, especially since they haven’t met me in person yet. So right now they’re coming up with how that’s gonna happen and hopefully we’ll find a way to make it work and hopefully we’ll be able to get along. Plus Sakura might get the advantage of getting a new perspective and a fresh start which we both sorely need right now and she may end up getting into the same extracurriculars that Zara’s kids are into.” Noah added as he rubbed soothing circles into your back from his spot right next to you. 

“What kind of extracurriculars are your kids into?” Sesi asked curiously. 

“Ballet, modern dance, tumbling, gymnastics, martial arts, hockey, hunting, fishing, archery, knives, snakes, horses and just 4H in general.” You listed off as all of their eyebrows rose in surprise. 

“Yeah, we have the hunting, fishing and archery up here and the hockey and some martial arts but that’s...that’s it.” Miki answered. 

“So like, half of them so unless both of your kids are into both, one of them isn’t going to be happy about it.” Sedna realized. 

“And both of them need to be happy with the arrangement, I won’t settle for less and I don’t want them to settle either, I mean if this was the other way around, and I had two kids instead of one and only one of them would have what they’re into available to them while the other had nothing, it would be a no go deal for me because their happiness is more important than mine and Zara and her children shouldn’t have to give up everything they love and sacrifice their happiness for anything.” Noah insisted as they all had to nod along that that was a good and fair argument. 

“But snakes? Really?” Sedna asked as she grimaced at the thought. 

“Yeah my son is really into animals and breeds ball pythons as a hobby and he’s hand raised all our chickens from chicks and he manages the menagerie that I inherited really well. He’s very detailed and specific and likes to have things ‘just so’ and he’s one of those- likes to have every move mapped out in a logical sequence before he makes the first one which makes him a terrifying chess player and he’s facinated by genetics. Whereas my daughter follows her heart and her gut rather than her head most of the time and is very reactionary, which is why she’s in martial arts is to learn self discipline and self control.” You explained.  

“That makes sense.” Isla nodded in understanding. 

“But what about your house and your plane?” Sesi asked Noah.  

“Oh I told him to keep both. It does get much hotter down there than it does up here and I know from my own schooling that some orcs who are used to cold climates actually get sick if they get too hot.” 

“So what you could do is just spend the off season at the Great Lakes at Zara’s house, and then spend the shorter flight season that’s only three months long up here that are the hottest months down there, up here, that way we’ll still be able to see Sakura when we normally would have, your kids can take their summer vacations up here when they’re off school so Noah and Sakura don’t get too hot or chance getting sick and Noah can still earn a living as a pilot so he doesn’t have to give that up completely and you can still practice your massage up here if you want to either from Noah’s house or one of the hunting lodges and retreats and you guys can have a dual residency.” Miki realized before you turned to Noah to give him a hopeful look because that sounded awesome to you as he was mirroring that look. 

“Yeah that could totally work.” You agreed as you and Noah were both nodding to that.  

“So where is the baby picture of me on the wall?” You asked Summer before she brought you to the living room where she had collages of her family on the wall. 

“So I take it you’re the newborn?” Sesi asked. 

“Nope, I’m the toddler. Jewel orcs are born a really dark, drab olive green and brown, it’s a built in defense mechanism and camouflage. But between two and three, they change, the olive green turns teal and the brown turns blue and purple. Imagine my parent’s surprise when that happened to me because their parents were only partially paradise orc and it wasn’t until the great grandparents met me that they confirmed that that’s what happens because I only had a one in 32nd chance of coming out paradise orc, I had much higher chances of looking more dark elf like my sisters, I had a one in four chance of either that happening or not looking orc at all, cause I also had a one in four chance of looking human or a one in eight turning out more moura than I am and I had a one in two chance of looking gold rush or great lakes orc and then because my husband was half paradise orc himself even though he favored the southern great lakes which is more jade green as opposed to the deep turquoise, both of my kids turned out paradise orc, so even though it was a slim chance, I just happened to hit the odds, but the cool thing was after I transitioned into my jewel orc colors, I stopped getting mistaken for a boy over night. Because that’s what happened to my own kids see?” You urged as you got your phone out and pulled up pictures of your own kids before and during and after the change as they all ‘oohed’ in understanding. 

“So how is Grusta?” Ukluk asked. 

“You can ask him yourself, they should be done with Sunday worship by now.” You answered as you got your phone and called him. 

“Yeah Baby?” Your dad answered. 

“Hey Dad, guess who I’m having dinner with?” You prompted him. 

“Who?” Your dad answered. 

“Ukluk Kintuck and his family and the Yural family.” You revealed. 

“Really?!” Your dad gasped in delighted surprise. 

“Yeah, here, say hi,” you offered before you gave the phone over to Ukluk who started talking with your dad and they started talking and catching up on the last 30+ years they had been apart as your dad told Ukluk that he was currently helping his grandkids look into Noah as Tonrar accompanied Ukluk because he wanted a chance to speak to your dad too as they walked to the back porch because that’s where the best service was for cell phones before Noah’s sister Alorna and her husband John Wilks came in late and you nearly gave yourself whiplash giving John a double take. 

Oh shit. 

“Noah,” you breathed as he turned to consider you. 

“Hey, uh, so John and I have already met, and uh, he’s not gonna like me and he’s probably about to pull you and every other guy in here aside to tell you to dump me but before you believe every word he says about me and what I did in his presence, just give me a chance to defend myself ok?” You pleaded to Noah who knitted his eyebrows together in contemplation but still smiled adoringly at you and kissed you really quick because you were so close since his arm was around your shoulders. 

“Don’t worry about it. I ain’t changing my mind, no matter what.” Noah reassured you and you wanted to laugh because this sweet sweet man still had no idea who and what was standing right next to him.  

“Hey, come in and meet Zara,” Sesi urged her sister and brother in law as John was looking at you in disbelief, like you were a ghost but he did his best to remain cool and nonchalant. 

“Zara, this is my sister Alorna and her husband John and their kids Johnny Jr. and Gabby.” Sesi introduced. 

“Hi I’m Zara Kingsley, pleasure to meet you.” You greeted them as Alorna offered her hand for you to shake which you obliged instead of giving you a hug as you could tell John was trying not to blurt out how he knew you before you could see John take out his phone and try to subtly shoot Noah a text after he had put their broaster on the food table as Alorna seemed to look you over with thinly veiled criticism. 

‘We need to talk privately NOW.’ John texted Noah. 

‘About?’ Noah answered.

‘Your GF, she’s trouble.’

Noah looked at his phone and looked at it disbelievingly and looked at John the same way as John pointedly looked at the door and back to Noah and back to the door then back to Noah meaningfully as some of the other members of the family looked on curiously because John was acting strange. 

“Hey Noah, I need your help bringing in the beer Bud.” John hinted heavily as you just grinned knowingly. 

You fucking called it. 

“Ok,” Noah nodded before he unwrapped his arm around your shoulders and walked with John back out of the house. 

“We can help too.” Suka offered. 

“No, I think John and I can handle it by ourselves.” Noah immediately dismissed them and there was an insistent tone in his voice when he said it that had Suka stopping in his tracks before he looked from their backs to a few of the other guys who by now were either shrugging it off or looking at each other meaningfully because they picked up on it. 

“Hey um, I know you just met her and all, and I know she’s probably the most beautiful woman any of us have ever seen in our lives, but listen, that woman is a snake in the grass, she is a man eating she-wolf and I know from looking at her from your parent’s livingroom, she doesn’t look it but Dude, I saw her take down a whole table of pilots on Wednesday night. She has a thing for pilots and she ate every single one of them alive and she seriously fucked them up, like it’s been four days and they still can’t walk, they can barely crawl and they had to be carried out of the bar, they couldn’t even walk out.” John professed. 

“What did Zara do to them?” Noah asked, worried that you had gotten into a bar fight or something.  

“Dude, that’s not even her full name! She’s pretending to be Anglo, she’s not Anglo, she’s Siberian. She came into the bar with the hottest most sexiest gold dress and everyone was drawn to her like a moth to a flame and she burned everyone.” John insisted. 

“Ok, was she alone?” Noah asked worriedly. 

“No, Taylor was with her, call her yourself, she’ll tell you! But you have to believe me! I don’t know what kind of spell she has you under but you need to break out of it. I know it’s hard, hell I was under her spell too, don’t tell your sister but I was ready to fuck her so hard she couldn’t walk straight and I’ve been fantasizing about her ever since and I know that sounds awful, but she had her pick of the whole bar and she chose Derek and Evan’s group and their game wasn’t even that good. Look I have pictures.” John told him before he brought up pictures of you at the bar as Noah looked closely at them. 

“What was she doing?” Noah asked as he looked them over. You did look hotter than sin. And if he was honest, if that’s how you looked when you first met him, he probably would have reacted the way these guys did but seeing you in these guys’ laps with their hard ons tenting their pants behind your butt  and their arms wrapped around you had jealousy and possessiveness eating him alive. 

“Everything ok out here?” Suka asked as he peeked his head out the door to see Noah and John next to John’s open trunk. 

“Yeah, we got this, get back inside or else you’ll let all the mosquitoes in.” Noah urged his brother in law firmly before Suka shrunk back. 

“What’s going on out there?” Dave asked Suka. 

“Something Noah doesn’t want us to know about, he’s awfully defensive.” Suka murmured as they stood by the door and looked out of the window by the door from the kitchen as all the women were engaging you in conversation. 

Meanwhile outside. 

“She was doing some kind of erotic massage on all of them, all of them creamed their pants while she did it too.” John answered. “It sounded like they were fucking right there in the bar.” John professed. 

“Moscow Doll.” Noah realized as he mumbled that under his breath. 

“Yeah! That’s what they called her because they got so drunk they couldn’t remember her name. But ask her what her full name is, It’s Zara- Zahn-something, Vol-something.” He urged Noah. 

“Zara Zahnochka Volchietsa Kingsley.” Noah supplied. 

“Yeah, wait, how do you know that? Did she tell you?” John pressed. 

“Yeah, that’s her priestess name, she’s a priestess for Aura.” Noah supplied. 

“Oh, ok, yeah, that explains that Siberian connection. But still Dude, don’t trust her with anything, she’ll take it and run, I’ve seen it before, like I know Sakura is head over heels for her but Sakura will get over it, you don’t want a woman like Zara raising Sakura. She’s going to be nothing but a bad influence and you know Neena wouldn’t be cool with you moving on with a predator like her, she’s gonna eat you alive my friend and leave you worse than Neena did when she passed.” John urged desperately as Noah frowned in concentration as he continued to look at the pictures skeptically.

"She hasn't touched you yet has she?" John asked worriedly as he noticed Noah wasn’t really saying much in response to this.

"She has actually." Noah confirmed. "But obviously she hasn't done me any harm." Noah defended. 

"Wait, have you slept with her already?" John asked, torn because he was weary but jealous all the same. "No, you did- didn't you. Oh gods, was at least good? Crazy pussy is the best pussy and I'm both thrilled yet terrified how she's gonna spit you out- yet jealous because of course a woman that hot would be a good lay. But think about Sakura, do you want Sakura to turn into that?" John pointed at your image as you straddled Evan's lap a wolfish grin on your pretty painted lips. 

Meanwhile Alorna was looking you up and down skeptically herself. Alorna was drop dead gorgeous too and you could tell she was used to being the most beautiful person in the room and you wondered if she felt threatened by your own beauty. 

“Well let’s get dinner ready to eat.” Summer suggested before you got everything organized on the tables.  

“Well I brought king crab legs. John got super big tips this week.” Alorna bragged as she took the lid off the broaster to show it full of king crab legs. 

“Oh that’s awesome and very generous, I just made mushroom risotto and a side of sauteed mushrooms, candied yams and death by cheese mac and cheese and caramelized onions and Noah made some awesome Salmon.” You praised as you showed her your own dishes in Noah’s pots and pans of the dishes. 

“Oh,” Alorna grinned smugly. “So Anglo, is all the experience you have with family dinners just the high holidays? You might as well have brought a turkey.” She practically sneered with a condescending giggle through her nose as Neena’s sisters and sisters in law and even her own sisters and mother all cut their eyes at Alorna because they brought humble but familiar dishes themselves. 

“Nope I did.” Sesi piped up rebelliously, as she put her turkey on the table from out of the oven as Alorna quickly rolled her eyes. 

“And I brought good ol’ roasted potatoes.” Samantha added as her and Nago just shook their heads at Alorna before all of the other women pointed out to you what they had brought too as the food tables were practically overflowing with food around the dining room table. 

“And moose and reindeer roasts to round it out.” Ukluk cheered once he put the reindeer roasts on the table as Tonrar put moose roasts on the table before he handed you your phone back since he had spent this whole time talking and catching up with your dad and exchanged phone numbers so they could keep in touch as Tonrar had done the same with your dad and Ukluk was so tickled that you were basically family found at this point as your dad gave Ukluk the run down of what had happened to you, how you had been a good, discrete, modest and loyal wife and an amazing cook and a somewhat decent housekeeper but because of an accident at your husband’s work you were a widow and mother of two and doing your best to take care of them and how you stood squarely on your own feet and taking care of your parents in their retirement years as well and how if Noatak was anything like Ukluk and could make you happy, your dad was happy to give his blessing on the match and vouch for Noah to your kids which Ukluk agreed to do so as well since he trusted his friend to be honest with him and Tonrar was ready to do the same. 

“Ooh, all this looks really good Zara,” Ukluk praised as Tonrar hummed in agreement. 

“Thanks, I know it’s not as glamorous as Alorna’s dish, she brought the crab.” You deferred. 

“Eh, crab is to us what chicken probably is to you, not that big of a deal. Those mushrooms though, I’m gonna have those all over my roast,” Ukluk replied as Alorna frowned and the other women snorted a laugh and gave each other meaningful looks. 

“And these onions smell divine, I’m definitely having both the mushrooms and the onions on the moose. I know caramelized onions are a labor of love and take a lot of time and patience, and I’ve never had risotto but that looks amazing, thank you.” Tonrar thanked you as he gave you a squeeze from the side before you returned the side hug. 

“You’re welcome.” You smiled. 

“Where’s Noah and John?” Ukluk asked. 

“Outside getting beer.” Alorna answered before Ukluk sighed before he left and opened the front door, passing the guys who were still watching from the window as John was talking and gesturing wildly about what was on his phone that he was having Noah look at. 

“Something’s up.” Yakone murmured as he watched them too as they were all thoroughly enjoying the beer you had already bought and brought in, and all of them had been impressed and grateful that you had excellent tastes in booze.

“Hey! Get your asses inside! Food’s getting cold!” Ukluk barked as Summer quickly whispered ‘when they get back inside, own it’ into your ear before Noah gave John his phone back. 

“Don’t show those to anyone else. I’ll get to the bottom of it on my own, let’s just have a nice dinner ok? Don’t make a scene and keep your mouth shut about this.” Noah insisted to John as John and Noah quickly grabbed the rest of the beer and came back inside to join everyone else as everyone seemed to grab their second choice for a bottle of beer from them before Noah took one of the best ones that you had bought and sat down next to you at the table before Ukluk urged everyone to bow their heads so he could offer a prayer over the food as Sakura happily grabbed your hand to hold it as you offered your upturned hand to Noah discreetly under the table before he readily took it and held it on top of the table before he let it go so he could wrap his arm around you again before holding your hand with his other hand and any tension you had that Noah was going to distance himself from you melted away. Ukluk gave a beautiful prayer thanking the gods for bringing you here and bringing family back to them and over the food and then after the prayer everyone was quick to get a plate, Ukluk and Tonrar being the first to go through the line followed by Summer and Isla and then the moms went after that to make sure all the kids got fed first before any of the dads did. 

“Wait, what do you mean she’s family found?” John asked as they went around the food tables.

“Yeah, my old air force buddy Grusta Wainwright, Zara is his eldest daughter. Her baby picture is on our wall with Duska and Dakota, apparently paradise orcs are born olive green and brown and turn peacock colors when they’re toddlers,” Ukluk informed John and Alorna proudly before he explained how you and your sister Blossom were born up here and how you had moved away when you were a toddler and since then, your dad had started a plumbing business in the Great Lakes with your brother Gavin and had taken on a couple of your brothers in law and all of them became jack of all trades and how there was a branch right where you lived that your dad still managed in his semi-retirement and how your parent’s friends had kids and you stayed in touch with them and became friends and came up to visit them and met Noah as Summer was looking at you, giving you an encouraging smile and nod. 

“Oh,” John and Alorna answered as Alorna was considering whether or not she had judged you too harshly from just your facebook.  

“And John, I just wanted to thank you again for taking care of Taylor and I the other night.” You chimed in with an appreciative look to John, your tone sweeter than honey with a smile to match. 

“Aw, did you girls go out drinking this week?” Ukluk realized. 

“Yup, on Wednesday night, after I spent all day treating Taylor and her family, we went to Goose’s and John was the bartender and he took such great care of us and made sure that we didn’t get taken advantage of or rufied or harrassed in any way.” You praised and John turned three shades darker with his blush and a guilty smile as Summer and Ukluk as well as Isla and Tonrar all smiled appreciatively at him before Tonrar gave John a big pat on the back from his spot next to him. 

“Good lad.” Tonrar praised. 

“Uh, yeah, you’re welcome.” John thanked you as Nago looked from Noah’s schooled neutral expression and John’s expression and then to the other guys who seemed to nod in understanding as they all wondered if more had happened that night that John wasn’t letting on to anyone else but Noah apparently. That would explain John’s dodgy behavior and Noah’s defensiveness. 

“Wait, so you’re Taylor’s siberian friend?” Alorna realized because that’s what John had told her. 

“Well, kind of, so my brother’s wife and her family are Siberian, Yamalian to be exact and his wife Natasha and her mother Olga are both priestesses of Aura and when Gavin was courting Tasha, the second Olga she met me- she practically adopted me and trained me to be a priestess of Aura too alongside Tasha so I’m in the Rushaka order with Natasha and Olga is the Manta at Sinai Temple. If you look on the priestesses of Aura website I’m listed under Olga’s daughters as a private priestess. Which means I don’t belong to any one particular temple and Olga named me Zahnochka Volchietsa when she met me when I was only 15 and I was baptized at 16 as a priestess under that name. Volchietsa means ‘she-wolf’, and Zahnochka means ‘she will rise again’ and Olga always gives me a ‘blessing bag’ whenever I go anywhere, and this time for this trip, it had all the jewelry and shawls and a ‘blessed reading’ tea ceremony set and things for a proper priestess and Summer encouraged me to ‘let the she wolf out’ and to embrace that heritage so I could help Noah, which I did, I must have blessed at least three dozen of his clients, giving them free tea readings in exchange for guaranteed business with him so he and Sakura wouldn’t just survive but thrive.” You explained. 

“Is there any way we can sweet talk you into doing your priestess thing at the summer festival? Because Sakura has inherited quite a bit of land and the people who would have normally inherited it have been hounding us for her to give it back to them and if you could try to discourage them and find a way to make them knock it off, we’d really appreciate it.” Ukluk requested. 

“I would love to.” You readily agreed and John looked like he was about to explode and ignoring Noah’s warning look and subtle shake of his head as they all dug into the delicious food, everyone thoroughly blown away by how exquisite everything was, all the women murmuring to each other on how they were going to try to coax the recipes out of you later. 

“So is part of ‘taking care of Noah’ fucking over Noah’s competition?” John blurted because the truth of what he saw was eating him alive watching Noah continue to be affectionate with you and it was obvious to him that Noah hadn’t changed his mind.

And with that, everything stopped. 

Everyone froze, most of them mid bite as they looked from you to John then back to you and noticed your kashmir blue blush morphed into an amethyst purple that went from your ears, to your cheeks and to your chest as Noah looked like he was ready to reach across the table and strangle John himself and before either you or Noah could say anything Summer thankfully cut in. 

“So what if she did? Who are any of us to judge her for that? All of us know how snow bears, moose and she wolves protect their den and their cubs, calves and pups with their lives and none of us bat an eye when they take down their prey for food for them, why should we do that for Zara? It’s in her name and she should be proud to bear it. Her ‘den’ was threatened. What mother here at this table wouldn’t do whatever it takes to ensure that our children are safe and cared for and even if that means we have to show our teeth and claws to do it. All of us have had to show our own teeth and claws to defend Sakura from those aiapas who are after her shares. I for one am grateful she had teeth and claws big enough and sharp enough to take them all down and a mind sharp enough to do it in such a clever way and walk away without a scratch, that takes nerves of steel and she obviously forged them in hellfire for them to be so fine and so strong. You can’t fault her for that. Anglos like to think women are soft and innocent and harmless but most importantly defenseless and easy prey but we know better. We don’t disrespect our snow bears or our ice dogs or wolves or moose just because they’re females and we all know better than to mess with cubs or pups or calves and it isn’t any different with us as people. It’s an instinct that drives every mother and I’m grateful hers kicked in so strongly for Sakura’s sake. She didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not offended by it all, I’m very proud of her actually. She took initiative and was moved to action at the right time instead of second guessing herself and missing her opportunity. I can’t think of a better model of a mother for Sakura.” Summer defended you which caused you to smile at her gratefully. 

“Did your tea leaves tell you that Mom?” Alorna spat. 

“Yes they did and so much more, and if you practiced the art yourself you would have seen it too.” Summer returned defiantly. 

“Well if you have any questions about my motives, you can call Taylor yourself.” You challenged John calmly. 

“Alright.” Alorna agreed as she called Taylor and put it on speaker phone as Neena’s family looked questioningly at each other. 

“Hey Ali.” Taylor greeted. 

“Hey, so Noah and Zara got together and started dating but John pointed out how he served you and Zara on Wednesday night and apparently some things went down, can you tell us what happened from your point of view?” Alorna asked. 

“Or better yet, Taylor, you could come and tell them in person, just in case the phone cuts out.” You suggested. 

“Ok, I’ll be there in five.” Taylor agreed as you dug into the food because chances are you were going to leave with Taylor after she put in her two cents. You almost wanted to blame your heart for not trusting your gut on this.  

“She doesn’t need to come,” Noah shook his head no. 

“Yeah she does. Because I doubt I can say anything right now that anyone here will believe or trust. If all of you trust Taylor to tell the truth, let her tell the truth.” You insisted. 

“But I believe you. Isn’t that all that should matter?” Noah gently argued. 

“That is all that matters to me but this is still your family and Neena’s family and everyone here has a common interest in protecting Sakura who is the most vulnerable member of this family and I’m willing to bet a hundred dollars John challenged my ability to mother Sakura when he pulled you aside earlier.” And to see Noah’s eyes drop from yours told you that you were right.

“I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings about motives and intentions and actions.” You answered and no less than four minutes later Taylor was there since she lived right down the street. 

“Hey, you made it, come here, tell them everything that happened Wednesday night, don’t leave out anything.” You invited before you went back to eating while everyone else stopped to listen to Taylor talk.  

“Well after she treated me and my family we went to Shen’s for takeout and Evan and Derek and their crew were there and talking about how they were going to the bar later and Zara asked me which bar and knowing them, it was going to be Goose’s and she asked me if they were attracted to women, I said yes, so she had me take her back home so she could change into the proper ‘catch a man’ attire and you told me while we were curling our hair in the bathroom that your plan was to sabotage them and get them so black out drunk that they would miss flying the next day so Noah could pick up their loads and save the day from the client’s point of view because those losers had the audacity to undercut Noah and put Noah and especially Sakura’s livelihood into jeopardy and you were going to eat them alive for that. So we went and we strutted into that place and every guy in there tried to get in your drawers and even John tried his best to hook up with you.” Taylor began as everyone turned and glared at John, Alorna most of all who looked like she was about to set John on fire where he sat as John got impossibly blushed and avoided everyone’s gazes as he tried to stuff his mouth with food as everyone else looked downright pissed as Nago and Suka and Yakone started to snicker a laugh because that would explain why John looked so guilty. 

“Ha! That’s why you looked guilty as sin when you saw her here and why you were ready to piss your pants when she brought it up that she met you already, you tried to get Noah to dump her before she could expose you. Now this makes sense.” Nago practically sang from his spot before he continued eating as did everyone else as everyone seemed to get over it but they were eager to hear what else had happened. 

“So Zara paid John a hundred dollar bill to give her the lay of the land, confirmed Evan and Derek were the other pilots and she paid you to give her an empty beer glass so she could use that as a “chaser” so she wouldn’t get drunk and she assured me before we left that I was the one who was going to take her home. And so John gave her what she asked for and it was like she turned into Marylin Monroe on the red carpet and every guy in there was drawn to her like a moth to the flame and Derek and Evan were powerless against her charms and her allure and once they started asking her about herself, she told them she was an LMT and she offered to give them Vahva Kun treatments.” Taylor continued. 

“Now, I’m gonna stop you right there, someone google Vahva kun, it’s spelled V-a-h-v-a Kun is K-u-n and then add the words Olen heikko- o-l-e-n, h-e-i-k-k-o and read out loud what the answer is.” You invited. 

“It means ‘strong when I’m weak’ in Finnish, and it’s a discipline of massage therapy used in body building when the therapist disables prime movers so that the synergists have to take over, it causes all muscles involved to bulge and is very popular among bodybuilders before competitions because it enhances aesthetic but disables functionality and strength. First time recipients usually have a sexual response but can not move properly for one to two weeks after while others who regularly receive Vahva Kun only take a few days to recover, it is estimated that 95% of body builders use Vahva Kun and for the last five years all of the top 10 competitors in every competition have used practitioners to enhance their body’s esthetic and swear by it. Practitioners make on average 1 to 5 thousand dollars for a full body Vahva Kun treatment which can only take an hour or two. Only professionals should attempt it and uneducated attempts can risk permanent muscle injury.” Yakone read out loud. 

“Now, go to AMTA and look me up under members from the Great Lakes and cross reference with Vahva Kun. But you’re going to have to use my full legal name since “Zara” is my anglo nickname because my full legal name is too long to fit on a business card and it’s a lot easier to say. It’s Zarasashasabine - Z-a-r-a-s-a-s-h-a-s-a-b-i-n-e Kingsley- K-i-n-g-s-l-e-y. And my licence number is 816-269-937-55.” You spelled out as a lot of them tried to wrap their mouths around saying your full name and got tongue tied. 

“She’s the top result on AMTA, she’s been practicing it for 5 years.” Sedna revealed as she showed them a picture of you on the website and indeed found that as she passed her phone around as Noah realized here had fallen in love with you and hadn’t even known your full name and was a little embarrassed by that. 

“So, back to the story Taylor, what did I tell Evan and Derek and their group about Vahva Kun before I implemented it?” You prompted her. 

“You told them that you practice it on body builders and that it would make their muscles bulge and it feels better than sex with the gods.” Taylor proudly answered. 

“And did I give them the opportunity to turn me down and tell me ‘no thanks’ or did I force it on them?” You prompted her. 

“Nope, you asked and gave all of them the oppertunity to consent, they all had the chance to look it up but they just wanted you to touch them after taking like a hundred pictures of you and all of them gave you clear and conscientious consent to do whatever you wanted to them. And because they were drinking like there was no tomorrow and pushing you to drink just as heavily as they were to lower your guard and your own inhibitions and if it wasn’t for John giving you those empty beer bottles, you would have gotten black out drunk with them. But you didn’t, you stayed in control the whole time while they lost most of their self control. You barely got tipsy and you did screw them over without dropping your panties an inch and no one would have been any wiser for it and you stayed above everyone’s suspicion, Evan and Derrek and their group most of all because they have a habit of finding and taking advantage of easy prey.  You made it seem like you were just another woman on vacation enjoying a night on the town and trying out your massage tricks on them and you tried your best to cover your tracks and make sure that your behavior and Noah’s reputation would never meet let alone ever get connected. And on the way out you gave John another hundred dollar bill for helping you stay sober before you had me take you home and on the way there you told me all about it and the science behind why and how it worked before you told me that the inventor of the discipline was originally a prostitute who had gotten the crap beaten out of her when her clients recovered and you risked getting the crap beaten out of you from them and it’s been a good thing you’ve been with Noah ever since because he can protect you, and he should considering you did it all for him and Sakura.” Taylor defended. 

“That’s where you got the two one hundred dollar bills in your wallet, and why you wouldn't tell me where you got ‘em from and why you didn’t fight me when I told you what I wanted to spend them on, because you got ‘em from her!” Alorna accused John angrily because she was still livid that her husband had tried to be unfaithful and then had lied and kept it from her as Noah looked like he was well passed strangling John, he was mentally already beating him to death by the death glare he gave him across the table. 

“Well that’s Noah’s choice if he wants to, he doesn’t have to.” You answered Taylor as you couldn’t bring yourself to look at Noah before you set your silverware down and addressed everyone else. 

“Now what I want to assure you guys is I gave Evan and Derek and their crew exactly what they asked for and what they agreed to and I had their informed consent to do it and I executed that technique flawlessly and yes I had to get a little flirty to get that physically close to them to begin with but I did not do them any lasting harm. Yeah, they’re going to be sore for a week or two but when they recover, they’re going to look better than they ever have and practically drown in pussy when they get cleaned up and emerge from their apartment, which is all they really wanted anyway. Cause they’re young, single and stupid and for them it’s about getting laid and having fun rather than making money or taking care of themselves. It’s not a big deal to them to lose loads and customers because they’re again- young and stupid and chances are they have parents that help them out and pay most of their bills anyway. They’re not going to be without food, clothing or shelter. But Noah on the other hand, he can’t lower his prices down any more or else he’ll lose money and when he loses money, his bills can’t get paid and he’ll go hungry to make sure that Sakura doesn’t and he has pride which means none of you would have ever known about it because he never would have said anything to anyone, would you.” You turned your head slightly in Noah’s direction but wouldn’t look at him directly as he nodded in confirmation because you called that one right too. 

“And I could write a check for a hundred thousand dollars right now and try to give it to him and you know he probably wouldn’t take it. Would you?” You questioned him as Noah shook his head no. 

“Are you going to charge me a fair price to fly me back to cruise ship if you’re gonna fly me at all?” You asked. 

“No I was going to fly you down and I still will if you want me to because from where I sit none of this changes anything between you and me and I wasn’t going to charge you at all because I swore to your children that I wouldn’t take another penny from you and I’m a man of my word.” Noah insisted as he looked to everyone else, daring them to stop him or argue with him. 

“I know Noah, I know you’re a man of your word because my first husband was too. And you both have pride and having been married to a man before who would rather suffer in silence rather than say anything. I recognized that and I knew I had to get around it and I would rather Noah think it was just a ‘coincidence’ or that I got drunk in bar and let a table full of men try their best to take advantage of me or that I was a man eater or whatever else he could possibly think of it me if it meant that he would be ok and Sakura would be ok because I couldn’t risk him rejecting my help. Not when so much was on the line.” You insisted before you took a deep cleansing breath. 

“Big talk when your son is fruitcake.” Alorna spat. 

“Excuse me?” Noah barked before you started laughing. 

“Wow, someone did thier research before coming to dinner, is that why you were so late? Doing some googling did you?” You taunted her. 

“No, we were late cause John didn’t want to leave work, hoping you would come back in but obviously that didn’t happen. But yes, I did do some research on you because I wanted to know what Noah was getting into. I knew your name was Zarasashasabine Vivilana Zahnochka Volchietsa Wainright Kingsley. You were married to Andrew Kingsley, one of the ugliest orcs I’ve ever seen in my life, but I’m guessing he had a great personality, and obviously deep pockets, with parents who had even deeper ones. Andy died at work two years ago which is a shame you’ve had to live without his income of a hundred grand a year but you probably got what? Half a mill, maybe a whole million in life insurance money? And you built a mansion with it. And since then, your son Xander got into snakes and ballet of all things, let me guess, his daddy kept him pretty tightly in the closet when he was alive but since Andrew died, he sure did come out in style didn’t he? Now he dances in tutus and point shoes and has a hobby that costs more than Noah can make in a year. I’m just praying Noah beats the homo out of him before it’s too late and get’s him to straighten up and fly right before he’s a complete lost cause. And I’ll bet you everything you have that Andrew would be rolling in his grave if he found out how his son was living. The only positive is your daughter is now in martial arts. So you have a fifty percent sucess rate at raising children. At least Sakura might grow up to only be half as fucked up without Neena. But too bad that’s still a failing grade.” Alorna taunted defiantly. 

“Alorna, what did I tell you before you came? If you couldn’t be nice, you weren’t welcome, get the hell out of this house.” Summer challenged. 

“No, don’t leave just yet, she was just now showing me her true colors, I think how she’s sexualizing a child is disturbing because he’s only ten. And my daughter is only 8. How you can judge them based on their tastes as children think that that’s what will define them as adults is...frankly pathetic. And it’s really hypocritical that you accused me of Anglo when you’re the one with the super Anglo points of view. Because my children, even though they’ve been through hell and lost a parent and lost their adopted grandparents who they were closer to than their actual grandparents and had to be in the public eye since they were 8 and 6 and already get scruitinized and judged based on looks and circumstances that they had no control over is upsetting, but typical, I’m used to it and sadly, so are they. That’s why we’re so fiercely protective of our privacy. But in all your “research” the way your tone and your choice of wording tells me that you didn’t find the biggest piece of the puzzle.” You returned calmly. 

“Which is what?” Alorna spat. 

“Google it. Google my full name and then add Andy’s work place which was Nullensill Semiconductor and see what comes up. I dare you. But know that from this moment on, you and I will never be friends, never be close and you and your family will never benefit from me and know that once my children do come up here, you will stay the fuck away from them and you will have no contact with them because I don’t trust you not to lash out at them and try to hurt them.” You determined. 

“Alorna, for the love of the gods you and John need to just leave, Johnny Jr. and Gabby are always welcome but you no longer are.” Ukluk snarled. 

“I can’t believe you! You’re taking a stranger’s side over your own daughter?!” Alorna shrieked before John reached out and grabbed Alorna’s arm harshly as he stared at his phone’s screen with wide eyes and sharply inhaled through his nose. 

“Just shut up you petty, jealous bitch! You need apologize to Zara for offending her right now! Zara, I am so sorry I tried to have sex with you, that was inappropriate and I’m so sorry, and you know what? Just take all the crab that’s left and take it home with you, our gift to you. And you know what, you are doing such a good job raising your kids all on their own and I know Noah will take care of them like he has taken care of Sakura.” John tried to appease but you just shook your head at him. Suck up as Alorna was about to rip him a new one before he shoved his phone in her face which got her to freeze and her jaw to drop before she looked from the phone to you. 

“And I take back everything I’ve said before this point, I’m sorry, I was just concerned, I didn’t want to see Noah get hurt and obviously there’s no safer place for them to be than with you.” John tried to excuse. 

“You weren’t concerned when you tried to fuck her Wednesday.” Alorna spat as she continued to read the article. 

“Because she looked like this at the time! I’m a hot blooded guy, I never said I was perfect.” John excused as he brought up the pictures he had taken of you on Wednesday as the other guys were curious enough to get up go around the table to where John was to look at the pictures, making their wives narrow their eyes before all the guys dropped their jaws at the pictures. 

“Damn!” Suka and Dave jeered. 

“And that didn’t stop you from kissing her on Wednesday either.” Taylor added as all the women gasped as Nago and the other guys started laughing because there hasn’t been this much drama in the family in forever as some of the wives started snickering too. 

“Only her hand! I only kissed her hand!” John quickly defended himself. 

“Only because you couldn’t lean over the bar any further and kiss her on the lips, not that she would have let you do even that much to her.” Taylor taunted John. 

“And as I recall, you were the only one who I let do even that much.” You added just a little smugly before Alorna finally read what John just did before she gasped in outrage. 

“You’re the one who should have brought the crab! And you should have brought prime rib roasts too with a quarter of a billion dollars!” She practically shrieked angrily as she threw her husband’s phone at your head but Noah caught it and crushed it in his palm.  

“That’s it! Alorna and John, leave!” Ukluk boomed angrily.  

“Yup, on it.” John got up and picked up his angry screaming wife and kicking wife out of her chair and promptly left the house with her over his shoulder. 

“Do we have to go too?” John Jr. asked. 

“No, you guys should stay, you didn’t do anything wrong. Your parents will need some time and space.” Summer warmly assured them as she picked up her plate and came around to eat with them. 

“Well, I hate to tear apart another family. So, I’ll leave it up to all of you. You can put it to a vote if you want to,  if you don’t think I’m good enough to be here and share the same space with you or to help Noah and Sakura that’s fine, you’re all entitled to your opinions. Now, what I’m going to do is thank you Summer and Ukluk and Isla and Tonror for your hospitality and warm welcome and Sakura, Baby, do me a favor and remember that everyone at this table loves you very, very much and they only want the best for you. Let them talk about this so they can come to their own conclusions about me. Ok? I’m gonna go home with Taylor. And if you and your Daddy decide that I should continue to be in your life and if you still want to be in mine, you know where to find me. If not, just gather my stuff that I’ve left at your house and drop it off at Taylor’s house. But I need to get out of here so everyone can talk about me freely.” You told her as you hugged her and kissed the top of her head as a few tears escaped your eyes. 

“No! I don’t want you to go, you’re not leaving without me Mama!” Sakura started crying as she got up and clung to you and tried to force you to sit back down as you tried to back away from the table. 

“Baby, I don’t want to leave you either but right now, it has to be this way ok?” You tried to counter as you started to cry too because seeing Sakura cry cut you to your very bones. 

“No, you can’t leave, not without me,” Sakura tried to argue as she practically glued herself to your leg and wrapped herself tightly around it and clung to it for dear life. 

“It’s not like you’ll never see me again Sweetie, I agreed to go to the summer festival and intervene on your behalf as a priestess of Aura and I’ll do that if everyone else still wants me to. It’s only two days away, the day after tomorrow.” You tried to remind her as you steadied yourself on the back of the chair and lean over to talk to her.  

“Zara, no, don’t go.” Noah pleaded and the poor man was in tears himself as was most of them around the table as he got up and tried to gently guide you back to the table because he felt like if you walked out of there, he was gonna lose you forever and die right then and there. He didn’t care if his whole family turned on you. He was ready to cut them all off for you. He made the concious decision to choose you over all of them. 

“Zara, please don’t go anywhere, you’re part of this family, and anyone who doesn’t want you to be in this family can leave the house now and take whatever food they brought with them and take their place in it with them too like Alorna and John just did.” Ukluk pleaded as he joined his son in trying to guide you back to the table because seeing how much his granddaughter loved you and her distress at being parted from you was breaking his heart and he wasn’t going to let this circumstance detract from you or your place in this family. 

“Agreed,” everyone else mirrored in agreement as you finally gave in and sat back down only to have Sakura climb into your lap and practically hold you to the chair itself so you couldn’t get away as you cuddled and coddled her and dried her tears as Noah just smiled gratefully and adoringly at you and rubbed on your back before he tightened his hold on you from beside you since once you sat back down, he put his chair right next to yours and promptly wrapped his arm around your shoulder. Because you weren’t going anywhere, your place was beside him. And he wanted to thank you in every way for doing even half as much and even though at first blush he wasn’t completely comfortable with your method, the more he thought about it and knowing why you did it had him readily forgiving you and in fact it endeared you to him even more and meant so much to him and he could understand why you felt you needed or wanted to do what you did. And why you would have kept this to yourself even though you had told him about it in a way, little hints here and there when you explained who Zahnochka was and what she was capable of. He just didn’t put two and two together.  But now he felt like he put it together and he was even more in love with you now than he was this morning. You were a badass and he loved that about you before Taylor seemed appeased that you were where you should be and simply grabbed a plate and then went home. 

“So how much of that did you get to keep?” Suka chanced before everyone else glared at him. 

“I was just curious.” Suka defended. 

“A very small portion, a very tiny fraction really, his company took the vast majority of it and what was left was split between myself and the five other widows and widowers who’s mates were involved and died in the accident, most of them took the one lump sum pay out of 25 million which the government took half that so they’re left with 12 and a half million and the three of them barely have a million left two years later, and the other two and myself were smart and took the full payout but over the next fifty years. So I only get a check for 250,000 to live off of and the government only gets 15% instead of fifty percent.” You waived off. 

“Oh,” Suka nodded in understanding. 

“Which is still about double what my husband made a year so I shovel whatever we don’t use just on day to day expenses into savings accounts and retirement accounts and college funds and investments just like everything else I inherited from my grandparents. But at least my house is paid off, so I don’t pay a mortgage which is really nice. Those stinkin credit cards though, they’re just too easy to use. Death by a thousand cuts those things.” You revealed. 

“Oh you’re preachin to choir on that one.” Merideth answered. 

“Oh and don’t feel bad about Alorna leaving, she’s been a hypocritical bitch since day one, anyone who isn’t native- she hates and honestly now that she’s gone, we can finally all relax and enjoy the evening.” Sesi reassured you from her spot next on the other side of Sakura as you looked around to everyone else who were subtly and not so subtly nodding in agreement. 

“Nothing shows your true colors quite like money.” Noah grumbled as he cut into his moose with the caramalized onions. 

“I swear I thought I did better raising her.” Summer just shook her head. 

“Me too.” Ukluk chuckled as he did the same. 

“So what we’re saying, don’t worry about it, don’t let Alorna’s bark scare you off, the gods will make sure she gets what’s coming to her. And if you do end up coming here and staying here only a few months out of the year, don’t ever treat her or have anything to do with her or John.” Tonrar encouraged you. 

“Yeah but if she starts running her mouth and telling everyone that I have a quarter of a billion dollars, there’s going to be another manhunt for me like there was a year and a half ago.” You muttered. 

“You told us that you only get two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so that’s how much you got, period and as far as I’m concerned and all I need to know and all I will ever assume is that was a one time payout, and don’t you dare go and correct me, which means you’re no richer than anyone else at this table, it’s easy to say Andy’s company took it all and you said as much and we have no reason to doubt you and anything more is your own business and should stay your own business. They don’t need to know about settlements or any other details. All of our voices together will drown her one voice out or even her’s and John’s or even hers, John’s and Doug’s. So don’t worry about it, as far as I’m concerned, you’re still just the oldest daughter of my best friend in the airforce. So practically family. And I already vouched for Noah to your dad who agreed to vouch for Noah to your kids so your kids will have someone they trust introduce Noah to them which is what they need and I don’t care about what your kids are into, they’re kids, they deserve to be happy and carefree and if they’re happy doing what they’re doing, that is all that matters. Especially to everyone here at this table.” Ukluk reassured you. 

“Thank you. The reason I didn’t take Alorna’s words seriously is because ballet saved Xander’s life. After Andy died, he shut down completely and he just...imploded. He wouldn’t necessarily cry and sob, but he wouldn’t laugh or smile or hang out with his friends or talk beyond one or two words. All he did was eat and sleep and spend what little time he was awake in a near catatonic state. Ballet brought him back, and taught him it was ok to be expressive. Skylar on the other hand, she was on the opposite side of the spectrum and so explosive. She was getting into fights every day, she nearly went to juvy and she got so aggressive and combative. So it’s the martial arts that saved her, taught her self control and to tame all the chaos she felt and still feels. And of course therapy, lots and lots of therapy.” You revealed. 

“Aww, the poor dear. I can’t wait to meet them both.” Isla assured you. 

[thelittlethinginsaigon]

saturn / shiva / subramanya

https://komilla.com/lib-myths-of-saturn.html

Myths of Saturn  by KOMILLA SUTTON

Saturn myths are in many of the Puranas, prominently in Shiva & Skanda Puranas. Understanding his myths helps us.

To appreciate the quality of Saturn's influence. Saturn is the envoy of the Gods whose main job is to ask people to account for their karma. Shani's influence comes through his position in the natal chart, the houses he aspects, the dashas & bhuktis and finally through his transits. Studying the myths in the Puranas shows that no one could avoid his influence whether it was gods, kings, demons or humans.

Below are some of the important myths of Saturn that help us in understanding his influence more:

Celebrating the fast of Saturn? I am sharing a couple of these myths for all to read and understand Shani's great power.

Saturn's influence on Lord Shiva Saturn was a great devotee of Shiva yet they are two important myths that show his powerful influence on Lord Shiva. The first is connected to the sacrifice of his wife Sati & the second with the birth of his son, Ganesha.

The story of Sati's sacrifice

When Lord Shiva came under the influence of Saturn, he experienced the loss of Sati, the first incarnation of his wife. The story of Sati goes as follows:

Daksha, the son of Brahma, prayed to the Mother Goddess that she be born as his daughter. She agreed on the condition that he would never displease her. He agreed and she was born as Sati. When Sati matured she fell in love with Lord Shiva and married him against her father's wishes. Daksha disliked this alliance as he felt that the ascetic Shiva was not good enough for his daughter. Daksha expected Shiva to pay obeisance to him but Shiva refused to do so as he was the supreme god & most revered of all. According to Vedic tradition if Shiva were to venerate Daksha who was on a lower in stature to the great Shiva, the former would be cursed forever. Daksha's ego did not allow him to recognize the true Shiva. Lord Shiva refuses to pay respect to his Father-in ?law & thereby creating an ongoing feud which caused a lot of sorrow to his wife Sati.

Daksha decided to avenge this humiliation by organizing a yagya in Kankhal near Haridwar. He invited all Gods in heaven and prominent men on earth, with the exception of Shiva and Sati. When Sati heard that her father was holding a ceremony, she wanted to go despite not being invited. Shiva cautioned her that only misery would result of her going uninvited but she was adamant.

Sati demanded an explanation from Daksha as to why she and Shiva were not invited. Daksha said that Shiva, a person who dressed in rags who adorned himself with ashes, skulls and snakes and frequenter of graveyards had no place in this elite gathering. Unable to bear the insult Sati proclaimed that she is giving up her life and in front of an astounded audience she stepped into the sacrificial fire of the yagya.

When Shiva learnt of this, he was inconsolable and in his grief destroyed the yagya and all Daksha's army. Daksha's head was also cut. Then Shiva held aloft Sati's limp body and began the Dance of Destruction or Tandava Nritya. This is the dance that heralds the destruction of the universe.

Guests approached Vishnu who was also present at the ceremony. He realized that it was too late to reason with Shiva. He let loose his chakra or disc like weapon and cut up Sati's body into pieces. The various parts of her body got scattered all over India. Wherever a part of Sati's body fell people built a shrine to the Goddess Shakti, whose incarnation Sati was. Vishnu consoled Shiva and requested him to give back life to the dead. Shiva did so but insisted that Daksha had to be punished for his pride. He cut off a goat's head and attached it to Daksha's lifeless body before making him alive. To this day Daksha is depicted with a goat's head. The ceremony was then completed.

Shani was said to have create all this mayhem in order to punish Daksha for his pride and created inconsolable sorrow for Shiva. Shiva went to Mount Kailash and lived a life of a recluse and ascetic till Parvati the next incarnation of Sati came into the life and brought him out of the sorrow.

Lord Ganesha receives the elephant's head

Lord Shiva and his wife Goddess Parvati invited all the gods including the planetary gods to celebrate Lord Ganesha's birth. After his naming ceremony, the gods - Vishnu, Brahma, Indra, Agni, Varuna, Surya, Chandrama, Mangal, Budha, Brihaspati, Shukra - took him in their lap, had a look at him, gave blessing and gifts.

The last was Shani Deva. He gave his blessings and gifts to the child like others but did not look at the child. His face was turned to the side.

Goddess Parvati said - "Shani Deva, You are dishonouring us by not looking at our child while giving your blessings."

Shani Dev said - "Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, You know when I look at somebody, it brings destruction. So I don't want to bring any calamity by casting my negative sight on baby Ganesha. "

But Goddess Parvati didn't agree that Shani's look was so negative. She insisted Shani Deva to see her child while blessing him. Shani Deva continued to protest but after a long debate and when Lord Shiva also asked, he finally said "Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, I am doing this on your request, so I will not be responsible for the consequences."

He turned to look at baby Ganesha; his head got separated from his body.

Goddess Parvati said - "Shani Deva, What did you do to my child? I asked you only to look at the child not to destroy him."

Shani apologized and said - "Lord Shiva, This is why I always keep my eyes down and never look directly at any body as I know whatever I glance at, I destroy. As you did not agree with me and insisted on me to see baby Ganesha, what can I do now?"

Now Goddess Parvati started crying. Lord Shiva was also upset.

He called his Ganas and sent them to find a newborn child whose mother was sleeping with her back to him; and cut the head of such a child as he felt that a mother who turns back to her children does not really care for them. The Ganas could not find such a child, all the mothers were sleeping close to their children. They found a female elephant sleeping with her back to her child. The Ganas immediately cut the child's head from his neck and brought it to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva immediately fixed it on baby Ganesha's body. The child got alive.

This is just one of the myths of how Ganesha got an elephant's head.

We have to understand this myth as an allegory. Shani's aspect cutting off Ganesha head shows his ability to remove the physical ego of an individual.

Also according to Jyotish Shani's aspect to 3rd , 7th and 10 th houses is more difficult than his placement. The houses Shani aspects, their significations tend to be destroyed or your relationship to them would be. E.g. if Shani aspects the 7 th house, there is going to be destruction of a relationship ? in form of divorce or long separation. It can also lead to unsteady marital relationships. Also Shani's aspects by transit must be considered. If Shani is in Virgo by transit, he will be aspect Scorpio, Pisces and Gemini- significations of these houses can be troubled for the duration of the transit.

—Compiled by Komilla Sutton

© 1995-2019 Komila Sutton, All Rights Reserved

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Blitzo x Verosika's Daughter Trixi of June 2021

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Credit for to Helluva Boss & Hazbin Hotel goes to  Vivienne "Vivziepop" Medrano

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Trixi is just a Fanon type character, as well as Verena. Verena is the leader of the Valkyrie, their jobs are the same as the stories about Valkyries in Mythology.

but Verena and the rest of the Valkyrie will be slightly different from the ones from mythology. the valkyrie protect a soul's life, they the valkyrie wear the Guardian Armor.

which is like the armor that Trixi is wearing in this drawing. not all the Valkyries will be Female, and will have Males and even Nonbinary in the group.

if I had to think up a idea about the Valkyries for this drawing, is that they use to be all Female Souls that were the Valkyries. but after the whole imbalance, and some mortals placing more focus on the Masculine energy,

instead of a balance between the Masculine and Feminine, and then losing her son.....at some point she had let Male Souls in, then over time saw humans on Earth start to develop new gender identities, and at some point after that discover, the first Nonbinary Identity Angel became a part of the Valkyrie, then over time others with different gender identities.

the Heavenly Mother/Goddess became estranged with the Heavenly Father/God,then she separated the Earth-Heaven from the Sky-Heaven. of course if this is gonna be a type of AU, it wouldn't be canon to Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel.

I also want to say, that I am NOT in a good mood right now.

I need to try to do something to relax me,

like either watching a movie or show, maybe even playing a video game, maybe even try some meditation.

but I might not end up feeling up to the whole meditation right now.

I did want to post the drawing I did that has to to do with MLPFIM,

but I’m gonna wait another time to do so.

plus the idea I have so far for these two OCs,

might only end up being a One Shot Type, maybe...

I’m gonna listen to Born Without A Heart By Faouzia.

I still think if a person don’t listen to the whole song,

and only listen to the few parts of it in the start of it,

people might misunderstand it, before they truly listen

and get the meaning of the song.

I also want to say, growing up made to believe certain things I was told was wrong, like stuff I had discovered was never wrong,

and did find out that my being upset because of the whole trying to come out as a Aceflux type myself, but I couldn’t. 

not everyone can come out of the sexuality or gender identity closets,

or even the new religious belief closet.

sure you can be open about it online, but you might end up not being able to be open about it in real life.

there can be two types of toxic views of you,

one is the negative, where you family starts to try to “fix” you in a aggressive way.

and the toxic positive way, where your family still loves you,

but they still want to try to “fix” you.

and I know I can’t just tell them I’m a sexual empath either.

I’m just going to listen to that song a few times,

then I’m gonna lay down and try to relax.

also want to point out that no matter a person’s sexuality or gender identity, you don’t go to heck for it.

same with the whole if you don’t go to church.

now if you did what my disgusting older cousin did,

then yeah.....you might go to that kind of place...

and I hope he stays in jail for a very long time.

I still think if I was listen to, maybe he wouldn’t of ended up doing a very bad thing to someone else.

no matter if it the thing I remember happening when I was just a little girl, was either a warning dream or did really happen.

if I didn’t talk to my mom about it before,

it could of been because of trauma, I mean you don’t just kiss someone like that and suspect them to like it.

I know I had bad feelings.

I might wait a few days to post anything else on here,

either it be a drawing or talk about some feelings or thoughts,

and maybe placing a AU I had made on hiatus.

anyway I might sign back on later or tomorrow,

to check out some more stuff on here.

I want to talk a bit more about Trixi

and why she has a halo and wings,

and how she can have the ability to hide them when she transform into a human disguise or like a half disguise.

but I don’t feel like it right now, I’m just gonna go and try to relax.

oh and in case it might be hard to see the drawing,

make sure to click it to make it bigger.

I hope that works and well maybe tomorrow I will feel more happy.

see ya later and stay safe everyone. 

[fuwafuwamedb]

Aruru Pt 2 (Hakuno, Gilgamesh, Enkidu)

Previously: 1

___

One story.

And then another story.

Then one more story, because ummum was staying up very late this evening to tell stories and she just wouldn’t fall asleep.

Aruru stared up at the woman, waiting patiently for the moment that her ummum would drift off and let her have time for fun. She’d made these plans carefully. She needed her ummum to just close her eyes and dream happy dreams about adventures and magic and family.

“Aruru,” her mother murmured, leaning in close.

“Night, ummum,” she murmured back, kissing her mom’s cheeks and watching those eyes hover to a close.

Ah! But this was ummum. She was really smart and had special, divine powers. She was like a goddess, able to sense everything before it happened. That was why she had to wait, listening to the sounds of the kingdom outside and to the few people that would shout into the night. She had to feel her ummum’s heart beating gently, just to make sure that she was entirely asleep before she did anything.

With that done, Aruru slipped slowly from bed.

She pulled on her best robes, the ones her ummum had made using her favorite two colors.

The jewelry came next.

She’d learned a lot about royal people from being in this place and royal people always had to wear their jewelry when meeting with diplomats and with other royals. They had to behave appropriately, standing tall and proud, answering questions honestly and proving themselves to be brave and powerful.

Everyone in the kingdom seemed to think her abum was the most powerful and smartest man in all of the universe. Even smarter than the gods too!

Her eyes drifted once more over to where her ummum slept.

Ummum would not like this. She was always talking about how dangerous it was to spend time with the king and she had those strange eyes when she talked about him. While she didn’t really listen to what her ummum said, the sight of all that water threatening to fall out of her ummum’s eyes was enough to have kept her from going to meet this man.

Until tonight, that is.

He had kissed too many ladies that were not her ummum.

Her teacher had said that kissing was meant for the person you marry, because otherwise it would hurt the person you marry and they would waste away into nothing.

Well, if he was kissing not ummum, then she needed to help him stop.

Immediately.

It was for the safety of her mom that she did this.

With a nod to the reflection glass, Aruru opened the doors to the hallway and crept out.

It didn’t sound like anyone was still awake.

There was the sound of the owls and the night animals, moving about in their frenzy of activities. She could hear the wind since they were high enough up in the air in the building. There were flickers of the flames in the torches as Aruru meandered the halls.

Now, where was that king?

He had been near her favorite garden, but the building looked bigger at night.

Maybe she should have investigated more.

The hallways were large, reaching up to the heavens above her and making it so that the stairs to get to the next floor were large and tiring to walk up. She had looked up at all the big statues and fabrics that adorned the walls, knowing that somewhere out there, there was a really tall person that went around and just hung things up for a living.

It sounded like a neat job, but their handiwork was even darker at night.

The warm and nice fabrics now hung high over her head, like great dark portals letting lions and nightmares into the room. She could see the statues, but their glittery claws and shiny teeth were now glinting in the light of the torches, their eyes following her as she walked passed them.

No, she ran by the end of the one hallway, slipping around the corner and panting slightly.

Her eyes looked to her left.

The sound that came out of her was a squeak of a scream, quickly covered by her hands as she looked deep into the garnet eyes of an anzu bird statue. The great lion’s head was baring its teeth, leaning in close enough that it could have taken a bite if it were real.

Real or not, she still fell on her rump.

She still felt her heart racing as she tried to tell herself it was okay.

Ummum was near.

Abum was near.

She was fine.

Monsters weren’t really real. There was nothing that was inhuman that lingered anywhere near Uruk. Everywhere was safe and sound, especially-

“What is this?”

She saw the flash of green and squeaked again, feeling her stomach churn as she tried to flee.

A pair of strange claylike hands were holding her though, pulling her back little by little.

“LET ME GO!”

“Hmm?”

“LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

The being was huge, enormous. This was the one that hung all the tall things that she would never be able to reach. Their eyes didn’t gleam in the light like a human being. Their face was too smooth, neither a girl or a boy. They were too strange, too still.

Monster.

They were a monster!

She opened her mouth to scream when a door opened nearby.

Aruru froze.

She was locked in the hands of an absolute monster, one who was taller than the gods and the mountains and stiller than the earth and the deep blue skies. And then the person she had wanted to see so bad, the man she was needing to find to save her ummum from being sad forever, was standing right there, his smirk dying as he looked down at her.

Aruru yanked her arm out of the monster’s grip.

She kicked at them before rushing forward and wrapping her arms around her abum.

“Help.”

The word came out in a hiccup, her grip tightening on her abum.

A hand pressed lightly to her head.

“Enkidu, explain.”

“I don’t get it either,” the monster replied, making her glare over at them. “I came back to grab some things for Shamhat and found the little one scared of the statues.”

Aruru could feel her hair being brushed, a little bit of tugging making her wince.

“She didn’t dye it. I’d smell the strange chemicals.”

“Look to me.”

Her father lifted her chin, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks as he looked her over.

“…These are mine. What are you doing with these?”

“Ummum gave me this stuff.”

“Ummum?”

“Ummum is your wife. Your best wife…”

The man glanced to the monster again.

“…Do you not remember ummum? She has brown hair, brown eyes. She makes you eat all your food at meals and you have to make sure to study or she gets really upset and gets quiet because she didn’t have so many opportunities and she thinks you shouldn’t waste them.”

“Hmmm…”

“You know ummum’s ummum face,” Aruru argued. “The one she makes that’s like this!”

Aruru scowled, just like she’d seen her ummum do.

In response, the king snickered, those eyes lighting up.

“I know that look.”

“Good. Then let’s make the bad guy go away and then we can lay with ummum and sleep.”

“I think I have another plan,” the man mused. Aruru found herself turned around, marched up to the being whom stood in waiting. “Apologize for calling Enkidu a bad guy and for shouting when they had done nothing to you.”

“But-“

The flash of a look made her whimper, her eyes drifting back to the being that was now lowering themselves to her level.

“…Sorry…”

“Enkidu, did you hear something?” Her father drawled.d

“I, Aruru of Uruk, apologize for calling you a bad guy. You are tall and you look strange and you scare me, but Abum is here and Abum will keep me safe until Ummum gets up.”

“I scare you?”

Aruru felt herself nudged forward, a throat clearing making it clear she had to do something else.

“Am I really that scary?”

The monster leaned in, those strange eyes roaming over her face as they took her hands into their own.

“I am here to protect your abum and ummum. I am Enkidu, the friend of your abum’s.”

“Do not coddle this behavior, Enkidu.”

“May I have a hug?”

Aruru just stared at the being a moment before she moved to hug her father. Her eyes closed.

She shook her head.

“Tomorrow she will give you a proper morning hug,” the king told him. “For tonight, I have maidens to remove from my bed and a daughter to learn about. I imagine this conversation will take a while-“

“What about ummum?”

“She will come in the morning. After all, she has indulged you and your wellbeing to a deep extreme.”

There was something off about that, but a kiss to her forehead had her tongue tied and her mind easily influenced.

This was her abum, after all.

And he seemed to like her.