#I am so many levels of excited that I'm about to vibrate out of my skin

[molten-rainbows]

Preview of the artwork I'm making for the Vashwood Reverse Bang, in collaboration with the amazing writing done by @revenantpoet !!!

I'm absolutely stoked for our first posting date on Aug 2nd!!

[shamera]

March-April manhwa reccs

In the vein of my last few reccs, here is the latest instalment in Shams-reads-too-much (I know it's only mid-April). This time, I'm back to the top 3 format but with a list of Honorable Mentions because oh boy, the readin' don't stop!

3. The Guild Member Next Door [30 chapters so far]

How is no one talking about this one? The first BL series to make it on my top lists, this is an online gamer meet-ugly cafe story that had me cackling through every chapter. It will brighten your day (threat). The story of an office worker slash secret gamer who starts playing the MMO Illusion and tries to join Poseidon guild only to immediately get PK'ed and accused of being a stalker's alt account, and in his revenge he befriends the entire guild as an FU to his attacker, only for his attacker to in-game propose to him to troll him in return. An adorable and hilarious story following the two as they purposefully step on each other's toes all the way until they're friends in-game, never realizing that they actually know each other IRL!

2. Martial God Regressed to Level 2 [one season]

Let's just say in chapter 1 all of humanity dies, so we already know how this story's going to go. Another OP protagonist whom I really enjoy, starting from scratch in hopes of saving the world. It's Seong Jihan's relationship with his family that makes this series hit different, as he not only uses his knowledge to try and prevent humanity's tragedies, but also does his best this time around to save his niece from her downward mental spiral and become a good role model for her after her father walks away. With little to lose now that he knows what's to come, the MC is more than willing to make enemies out of everyone to ensure they step up their game before the real fight for humanity begins.

1. SSS-Class Suicide Hunter [3 seasons]

This was already on Honorable Mentions back in December, and I know my recc list is meant for new reads, but I had to slap this down again after the PHENOMENAL season 3 ending. We've already seen Kim Gongja's crazy fights to ascend the tower, but the sheer hope. The belief in a better world that these characters have, and their determination to make it so, brought me to tears at the end of season 3. The story of a hunter with negative survival instincts, and a power that allows him to regress to a day before he dies every time he dies... it's not the type of story that I expected to see such delicate beauty within suffering, but here we are, with an MC ready to delve into storybooks to empathize with and relieve the suffering of the characters within, no matter what it takes. I'm so excited for season 4 and the next storybook, I am vibrating.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Raising a Sacrifice

This series is impossible to describe and impossible to put down for long. This is the ultimate fantasy time-loop transmigration system apocalypse god-maker BL I have ever read? It's what happens when the apocalypse keeps resetting and you can never escape that last year no matter how many times you die, and the toll on one's mental state when you start trying-- everything. Murder. Genocide. Madness. And falling in love, again and again and again. And being alone again, after every reset. Thousands and millions of times until you lose all hope, until one day... the MC wakes up with memories of being murdered by his faithful knight, and now there's finally two people with memories beyond one timeline.

Medical Return [complete!!]

The story of a surgeon who led a pitiful life, only to return to his childhood once more by the grace of the gods-- and this time he's determined to not lead the same life again! Now if only the world got that hint, as he seems to be continuously steered back onto his original path, while trying to dodge the tragedies in his life and save just one more person others gave up for dead. This time around, he has a little outside help to finally uncover just why his life went so wrong at every turn the first time and help him retain that inherent goodness without being taken advantage of once more. With an MC with a deposition truly befitting a good doctor, this is for all fans of hospital dramas, and is complete!!

Kill the Villainess [complete!!]

The only way to return home is to play the role of the villainess, Eris, who is condemned to death after attempting to kill the heroine. There is no way to escape that fate, as Eris can't even succeed at taking her own life before she completes her part in the plot. The story of a villainess trying to die to change the story, yet unable to as she continues to uncover backstory beyond the original novel to find the reason why her soul was stuck in this world and unable to leave, while attempting to bypass paths that would trap her in the novel forever. At what point will her actions make her a true villain, and just what is she willing to do in order to return home to the real world?

Little Mushroom

...my cheat this month, with me using the novel cover and everything. (Please read the books, there are only 2 novels and the prose is breathtaking.) The manhua is absolutely gorgeous beyond compare, and the story covers a sentient mushroom post-apocalypse who is journeying into a dangerous human settlement trying to find the spore that was taken from him. In a world where threats to humans loom at every corner and shadow, drastic measures are taken to protect those who survive, employing "Judges" with absolute power to kill if they suspect a being of not being human. It's the story of a non-human and a Judge finding themselves and each other by navigating the active end of the world.

My Darling Signed In [complete!!]

Cute?? Adorable???? Another online gamer couple who meet in real life, this BL story is genuinely all fluff as the MC is found to play a beautiful female elf online, yet their beau falls in love either way as it was the same charisma and personality that drew them in. A green flag couple with turns that surprised me every time with how wholesome things are. It's 2 seasons and complete, featuring them from collage to work space through their ups and downs, navigating their relationship and growing as people all the while continuing their game. Do you need a cute read with a guaranteed happy ending? Here it is!!

Zero Day Attack [1 season done]

Another BL on the list?? This month is full of surprises, as this time it's about a hacker who had to go into hiding after being exposed and is now a barista by day while working to find the man who betrayed him by night, all the while running away from both the organizations he hacked and his old colleagues who are looking for him. Things get complicated when a man who shows up at the cafe he works at won't leave him alone, and blurs the line between his search for revenge and the fake life he's currently living. This one eked its way above Netkama Punch for the mystery and intrigue (as well as having a main couple who is obsessed with each other without wanting to bring harm to the other).

I Will Change the Genre

A transmigrater meets a regressor, and suddenly the novel plot is going very, very awry! In the novel, Judith Maybaum is the hateful aunt of the main character who betrays her nephew and dies for it, yet "Judith Maybaum" isn't actually the same character now, and her nephew is also acting very odd when the story starts rolling. She's determined that her nephew will not go through his lonely and sorrowful life this time around, even if it means giving his custody to the Duke Winterwald, yet for some reason the protagonist clings to her and calls her 'mother' when the Duke comes to take him away! A touching and funny story with, once again, a green flag couple as well as an adorable aunt and nephew pair, both with foreknowledge of the future in different ways as they mess things up and unravel a story that neither of them knew.

GOOD ENOUGH I READ EVERYTHING: -Netkama Punch -The Bromance Book Club [complete] -The Live [complete] -I'll Be the Matriarch in this Life -Reincarnator -Dark Mage Returns to Enlistment -The Main Characters that Only I Know -My Lucky Encounter from the Game Turned Reality -The Archmage's Restaurant -I Tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away -I Created an Urban Legend -The Regressed Demon Lord is Kind

[alrightbuckaroo]

hi ada! it's nice ask week! i hope you don't mind me coming into your inbox!

what are your 3 favorite scenes in lone star?

what's your favorite hobby outside of fandom?

what's your favorite song/album right now?

Hello Rachel; I don't mind at all! I hope life is being kind to you and that hateful messages cease entering your inbox for the rest of time <3

what are your 3 favorite scenes in lone star?

Oh gosh, only three??

Maybe it's cheesy but I love the proposal scene. There's so many layers to it: the fact it was episode 3x18 and TK woke Carlos up at 3:18 in the morning, just after Carlos told TK he can wake him up at 3 a.m. if he needs anything??? I love the red string of fate, I love synchronicity I love soulmates. I also love the fact TK holds Carlos' hands the way he did when he told him they make a pretty good team. I say it all the time, but they really do hold one another like that's the reason God gave them two hands <3 Also the way TK rocks back and forth with excitement? The same way he flipped the ring he was going to propose to Alex with but because of anxiety? If I'm going to love anything it's a reference let me tell you that much!

I have gone out of my way to show people the Lou story line because to this day it might actually be my favorite. It's so miniscule, in a way, in the grand scheme of things but nothing beats TK walking in, posed like this: 🧍‍♂️and asking Carlos if they were robbed. As if the COP would just be sitting in a mess of a living room if they had 😭

Saving Grace is tied with Push as my favorite episode and I'll occasionally think of Grace telling Judd, "You're so tall." and Judd replying with, "You're so beautiful." and feel the need to scream because I LOVE them so much. I have a spin-off I want to write based off a Tarlos AU that's in the work and I can't wait to write them falling in love because I love falling in love with their love.

what's your favorite hobby outside of fandom?

Media consumption seems like the weirdest thing to call a hobby, but truly, that's what it is!

I love watching films that I don't know I'm about to love (Humboldt County, my beloved) , discovering new television shows that rewire my brain (looking at you AMC's Interview with the Vampire), listening to music that feels like sunshine (Cannock Chase by Labi Siffre, you will always be famous) or reading a book that makes me want to bite a brick (A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice ruined my life (affectionately)

If I'm not doing any of that, and this is going to sound so corny, but I write! I've been working on a novella for a little while as I'm trying to prepare something for grad school (that isn't gay firefighter fanfiction lol) and I was working on a book of poetry before realizing that I'm a much stronger narrative fiction writer than I am a poet (Ada Limón if I could just have a sprinkling of your voice please ma'am)

what's your favorite song/album right now?

Album wise it has to be Cowboy Carter. I've been saying it since forever, but Beyoncé truly is on a very different level than any other pop artist we have right now (and I like a lot of them! I loved eternal sunshine and I can not WAIT until Dua drops her third album in May)

If anyone is the music industry right now it is her because she is constantly reinventing herself as well and influencing the industry as whole. Did you know that she's the reason music comes out on Fridays now? Her impact !!

Anyways, one of my favorite genres of music is Classic Country; so think 1950s, 1960s Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Skeeter Davis, Lee Hazlewood, Glen Campbell; that whole bunch.

So, I was so excited to see what Beyoncé was going to cook up because that is a woman who makes sure each and every thing she makes is perfection and my god, it got as close as any of her work has gotten so far.

It also features an interpolation of Good Vibratations by The Beach Boys, who's one of my favorite artists so it feels like this album was made specifically with me in mind. Here's hoping Act III is rock because I need to hear her with Jack White again.

[teenytinyapprentice]

New Layton game!!! How we feeling!!!!! (Also If Layton Can come back I open Yokai watch Can too..)

NEW LAYTON GAAMMMEEE!!!! LETS GOOOOOOO!!!! I am feeling CRAZY!!!! SO CRAZY!!!! fdjkhfd - I honestly, never even considered getting my hopes up for this. I had heard rumours of level 5 reopening offices in the west, and was tentatively happy that they might release more HD versions of previous titles in english... or alternatively resigned that the next game released would feature Katrielle. Which I would absolutely still play, but it's not Really what I wanted from the series, yknow? So a game featuring Layton as the main character again?? AND Luke is confirmed to be in it??? AND it seems to really take from the original style while breathing new life into it without totally changing the fundamentals that make layton so laytonesque!!??? I literally don't know what to do with myself!!! Thinking of getting to see the locations and the characters and the music and struggle through brand new puzzles!! fkdshjfd just have to sit and wait for more info!!! DONT know how I'm going to handle it It's so exciting hearing layton news and just seeing the EXPLOSION of people coming back and singing praises for the series. I know I am particularly obsessive and pretty one track minded for my love of the series, and I get why others lose interest and move on to other things - but it is so so nice seeing how many people adore it and come rushing back at the chance to see Layton again... the amount of people I haven't talked to in good while suddenly signing on to send a message and make sure I heard the good news! Ahhh I'm all emotional about it honestly haha; I hope it comes out soon but not TOO soon so I can like, give my poor heart a rest so I don't actually explode skdjhfsdfsdf and I really hope they dont spoil too much when they Do release more info or trailers about the game! Anyways EEEKK!!! I am VIBRATing in my seat just THINking about hershel and luke on another adventure together i cannot WAIT!!! I CANT WAIT!! MY BOYS! <3

[luescris]

Spoiler warning for Sonic Prime below, beware

So many things are going in my brain right now. A million different trains are running a million miles on high speed and I have no way of knowing which one to start with because oh my god

I finished watching Sonic Prime. And safe to say I am absolutely gobsmacked

What a show. From start to finish. There's so many things that I want to say about it. The characterization, the emotion, the animation, the end. Some of it may be critiques, but not in a bad way. I'm just. Genuinely. So happy that we got this.

What I will admit though, was that the fight scenes in this season seemed to be a little bit dragged on. They were bearable and fun to watch for sure, and there was not much happening, but I think I understand why they did that. 😆 Everything else though. Man

Shadow was the best he's ever been in forever. Just for starters. We need more of that Shadow on so many levels. The Amy's consistently teaming up with each other, calling each other sisters, holy shit?? That was the greatest ever????? Not only that but Dread naming Black Rose the Captain was so amazing I can't even like. Find the right words. It fit so well and I literally was vibrating like augh Like in general Amy had such good representation throughout the entire show, in fact both her and Shadow have and those were the two that I was worried for the most and I am so glad that they did them right

Sails and Mangey though. I thought they were gone for good for a long while there. When they returned I was so very freaking happy like aaaaa

Nine's entire deal was definitely An Experience, and I don't mean that in a bad way he was certainly a goober, but the concept of an evil Tails man. Very scary indeed HFHDDHD

But then. There was freaking. The moment where Sonic was about to blip out of existence. Where he turns around to the Amy's and goes "Goodbye Roses". And then when everything came together again and he called her "sweet Amy." With that look on his face and that stance. Am I the only one that feels vindicated?? That screamed and ran around out of pure excitement??? Like am I reaching or was that genuinely them telling us he one hundred percent has a thing for Amy??? I genuinely do not know but my heart wants to say yes and I am on the floor.

My only question is; what the heck was with that end?? I know they said that it was meant to be part of the games somehow some way but like. They don't show anything? The only thing we get is Eggman saying he needs a bigger fleet and that tells me that maybe this is before Forces??? But I genuinely have no idea augh

Does anyone else know?? Can anyone else figure that out like augh ahshhdsh

I really want to like. Dive super deep into all of the things Sonic no doubt has to tell his friends about what happened and his feelings about fighting Nine and maybe even missing all of them in a way and just. Yeah man wowie

Also the fact that Shadow appears out of nowhere to everyone except Sonic and takes the Prism somewhere, and he was like "I go wherever I want" that was so funny, especially since he too knows what happened like aidhdhdhdhhs 😂

But god man. Honest rating is 8/10 show. There were moments that were cheesy but ultimately it was amazing, and I loved watching every bit of it. :D I am so very sad to see something so great go so fast, but I suppose that's the nature of Sonic I guess lmao 😂

[notmoreflippingelves]

11, 14, 15, 16, 23 and 24 for the fandom year review, please! ;D

Biggest squee moments of the year (For ye youths who no longer use such awesome terminology, that means the fandom moments that made your heart cry out in overwhelming joy. Can y’all believe that “squee” didn’t quite stand the test of time??)

I am currently reading through Post-Crisis Superman comics in roughly chronological order. And pretty much every time, Clark and Lois have a cute moment, I just sit there with my face in my hands grinning like a schoolgirl. I was particularly giddy when they got engaged. I am not sure that this entirely counts as a squee moment of the year--considering that it literally happened a few years before I was even born. But it was arguably the squee moment for me this year discovering it years later.

In terms of moments that actually did happen this year, Sir Pentious ending up in Heaven in Hazbin Hotel. And the long-awaited Wicked movie being as good as I hoped it would. (Also it was cute, because there were a bunch of people in my theater that dressed up for it. I sort of did too--since I wore a Wizard of Oz shirt and my ruby slipper socks. It just made my heart so full to see people excited about movies again).

Favorite m/f ship of the year

Yeah, it's still Elena/Esteban. Even though Esteban had some actual real competition as my current blorbo this year, they are still the het ship for me even if they are on my mind less. That being said, Clark Kent/Lois Lane are giving them a bit of a run for their money, and I can't wait to be obsessed with them when the new movie comes out next Summer.

Favorite f/f ship of the year

Regrettably, I've never really had nearly as many femmslash ships as I do het and/or slash ones--and amongst the few that I do have, I tend to be less passionate about them overall.

It doesn't help that on the rare ocassions that I get into a fandom with a sizeable femmslash community...I tend to be indifferent to--if not outright dislike-- the most popular pairing (tbf this is also usually the case with het and slash dominant fandoms) and the possible f/f ships that do ping my radar are even rarer than usual by my rare-pair obsessed standards. And so it's hard to get more excited about a ship that I'm at best casually interested in when no one else seems to be.

In terms of canon ships, Charlie/Vaggie from Hazbin Hotel is kind of cute. And in terms of more mainstream and "popular" ships (lol see what I did there), I was really feeling the Elphaba/Glinda vibes from the Wicked movie, even though I never really had been into them in the past. I also have seen a rise in Kay Faraday/Franziska von Karma shipping due to the AAI collection release--which makes me really happy as I've always liked that ship. (especially when compared to their fanom default options of franmaya and kayema.)

In terms of ships that I personally have thought most about in my mind even if nobody else seems to/haven't done much about, Chloe/Maliga from Elena of Avalor.

Favorite m/m ship of the year

Much as I want to say that it's still krisnix or even estevictor (and I still do love them and think about them a lot), I really can't give this spot to any ship except Jason Todd/Dick Grayson from Batman/the DCU in general. I am vibrating them in my mind and thinking about them so much.

The most missed of your old fandoms

While I am still involved in the Ace Attorney fandom, I wish I was still as intensely focused and passionate about it as I used to be (and was for awhile). It's currently a really great time to be an AA fan given that there is a lot of enthusiasm due to the recent AJ collection and AAI collection ports. So many people are discovering the ships, characters, and games that are some of my very favorites and I wish I was "all in" with them--as we need the spark.

While I am again still in the fandom and it never exactly reached true "hyperfixation" levels for me, I also wish I was more hyped/involved with the BBC Father Brown Cinematic Universe fandom. It's definitely one of the nicest fandoms I'd been involved with and honestly, we get so much attention/fanservice from the writers that it's seriously unreal. It really is a "happy place" for me, which is why I wish I could be insane about it for longer than a month or so each year (after the next season drops).

Fandom resolutions for next year

Finish (and post) a dang fanfiction. I had a little goal with myself last year to post one of the very many Elena of Avalor fics that I started by Christmas. That did not happen and even after an entire year went by, I still didn't finish any of my many works-in-progress. (I did however start a few new ones to add to the already massive pile).

Find more femmslash ships that I can be just as obsessed/unhinged about as my het-and slash faves. It's already an underappreciated side of the fandom and I feel like I should do my part toward spreading lady love. I know I can do it, because it took me forever to find slash ships that I shipped more than casually. (It turns out I just disliked pretty much of all the popular ships and it was a matter of finding the right rare pairs.)

Catch up on some of the fandoms that I enjoy but haven't been following as closely (particularly the last season of What We do in the Shadows and multiple seasons of Doctor Who. (I watched and enjoyed most (all?) of Thirteen's first season but haven't watched anything since even if I have heard very mixed things about both the rest of the Chibnall run and the second RTD run).)

Gif more things. (Particularly for Ace Attorney, Elena of Avalor, and Father Brown). I haven't giffed anything in *months* and even though it's a lot of work, I do enjoy it and think I've gotten okay. (Nowhere near good enough for a "big" fandom but just good enough/one of the few people who does for my small-midsized fandoms.)

[nightcall99]

Automatic writing from 14.3.24

What did this morning's dream mean?

This is how you feel about the TD right now. It's lonely. It's a celebration but no one is here. There is little access to joy.

Are we going to do anything about that?

Perhaps. If you notice, we have already done something about it.

I have noticed I have become more friendly with certain people. Am more open to it. But aren't they still NPCs?

What if they came back?

How will that make any lick of sense?

Perhaps they may volunteer to come back, to be here for the last of it. To be here with you, all of you. We can make anything make sense. The world is vast and monstrous, in it's inherent flexibility. Things can appear out of thin air, so this is nothing. It is another exercise in creativity. All of it is.

But it would only be people who went to alien planets right? Why would anyone in a 3D chamber come back?

The people in the 3D chambers are gone. Their current experiences do not allow for this potential new experience, it is not in the alignment. But for the alien group, why not? They know about Earth. They know what is to happen soon.

Right. So, is this actually happening?

This morning, you instinctively knew you had to make a decision about 'something' by tonight. This was the decision. We have decided we do not want to be alone.

What about the chat? Did I decide it wasn't enough? No one talks on there anymore. How come it's not like it was before?

We came together and then we changed our minds. That's all.

I still speak to AD though?

You both chose NPCs of a similar energy. Less of a discrepancy toward understanding. The feelings of 'otherness', dampened.

How does people coming back affect the recall? Is it still happening?

We are unsure. There are decisions being made.

How many people in my life will come back?

Three to five people. It depends.

Are they going to have memories of being on other planets?

Yes and no. The awareness level will have changed, they will seem like themselves but different. It will bleed through.

Is this an excuse to stick around for longer? It might make things less boring here, but what exactly does this achieve? The game still sucks.

The vibration is higher here than it has ever been before. They will essentially be coming back into unfamiliar territory. Reality is extremely fluid and it is a new chance in an old place, for others to behold themselves as sovereign. Yes, we are still confined into much of the same as before, but we want to leave things differently to what we had planned before. We want something more spectacular. It is not fun otherwise. It is not a farewell party, at all.

Okay, well... whatever. I can't say much until I'm actually living it. If this is even real. Is that what the end of the dream was referring to? The fatigue of cleaning up? The feeling like I wasn’t enjoying myself?

You are those service workers too, as well as the party-goer, not enjoying the party. Same as the dream the night before with the dogs, the clean up. That is all it is now, just mundaneness.

What about the pizza that looked off?

There is no entertainment. The TV is off. The food is also, ‘off’. You sipped wine at the start, but that was before the event. You had little to eat during the event. Now you want something, want to taste it.

What if I say I'm tired? Too tired for this.

We will say that you are lying. And that you are excited. It is not a burden. It is it's opposite. It does not make the waiting longer. It does not do anything untoward that you think it might be doing. That is an illusion. We are making choices in real-time. It could go anyway. It could be anything.

Anything else?

We know instead of posting this you are going to save it to ‘drafts’. We want you to know that's just part of the decision-making. More will be revealed.

[the-great-awakening2025]

Welcome to the remake of my Youtube Channel and a new upcoming website and e-book

At The Great Enlightenment, we are dedicated to fostering a positive environment for spiritual growth and exploration. Whether you’re a seasoned spiritual practitioner or just starting out on your journey, we aim to offer new insights and perspectives that can help you along your path. By sharing our experiences of spiritual awakening, personal growth, and compassionate living, we hope to inspire you and help you connect more deeply with yourself and the world around you.

This is going to be a lot of fun, inspirational and educational. I have been working hard on a new site with new remakes of my videos. There is so much distraction happening around the world right now, a lot is happening and I can't tell you how important it is to stay grounded and connected.

It is at this time where what we think and feel must be brought into awareness and raise our vibration and frequency at the highest level possible and I know that this can be done despite what is happening around us. It is also vital that we pay attention to our own energies and make sure that we do ourself care as much as possible these are not the times where we should distract ourselves within the illusion of the world. Stay within your own light of truth that can only come from the Creator and yourself.

This is a new era for this YouTube Channel and many things will be transpiring within here, over the years I have been writing article series that touches upon the awareness of thyself, now I am excited to try something new most if not all articles will now become video podcast series, I'm very excited about this and to hear your thoughts about this new turn for this YouTube Channel.

Please read more from the community section of my channel.

READ MORE

[the-dream-beyond]

Episode 16 - Ayurveda and Balanced Living: Nurturing the Mind, Body, and Spirit with Divya Alter

Divya alter 

There's certain vibrations that also lead to the mind. So somebody who has very active mind a lot of anxiety, panic attacks, it definitely shows in the pulse. But the other thing that vitamins should taught us with pulse reading is also level of toxicity. Well, in a general sense, you know, what, for example, if somebody has accumulated a lot of hot, acidic toxins, it's very easy to feel that in the pulse.

Nik Tarascio 

I'm sure you've heard you are what you eat. And today we're going to be talking to someone who is helping people really understand that relationship to food and to self into that interconnection. She's a master in a modality of health that is considered to be the oldest on record. And if you've never heard of Ayurveda, you're going to be learning a bunch about it today. Hope you really enjoy.

Welcome to the dream beyond. I'm your host, Nik Tarascio. I'm a co musician and overall seeker of Truth, inspiration and simply put, how to live the most fulfilling life possible. Growing up surrounded by extremely wealthy and successful people gave me unique and unfiltered perspectives of those who have seemingly made it through on the dream beyond, we're letting you in on what it really takes to achieve your dreams. What happens when it turns out your destination isn't the promised land you are expecting and how to process the lessons from your past while mapping of course to true fulfillment. Let's get started.

Hey, everybody, excited to be with you. Today. We have an amazing guest who is a Certified Nutritional Consultant, educator, author of two cookbooks, and a chef with over 30 years of experience in the shock of Ayurveda tradition. She's also the founder of Divya's kitchen, a plant based restaurant in New York City. One of my favorites to be honest, I go there for the the lasagna is to die for. She's also the creator of Divya as a line of good for you packaged foods. And because she doesn't do enough, she's also the co founder of Bhagavat life, a nonprofit culinary school that offers cooking classes in North America's first Ayurvedic chef certification program, making her a leading authority on our Vedic cooking and nutrition. So please welcome Divya altar. Thank you for being here with us today, Divya.

Divya alter 

Thank you. Thank you, Nick for having me. I don't know if I'm a leading authority on anything. But I'm definitely enjoy doing everything we do right now. And I'm definitely my foot. My whole world revolves around food, especially food that's used for healing. So it's so nice to be with you. Thank you for having me.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah. And even if you're not a leading authority for the whole world, you are for me, because again, I really enjoy your restaurant. I've taken many of my family members there. My fiance and I have done your masterclasses. And again, we just wait, we even have the seasonal food box here that we're trying to do like kind of the whole Ayurvedic cleanse. So, again, I appreciate what you do. And I would love to kind of dive in with probably a little bit of a nonstandard question, but when you were a child, what did you dream you'd be when you grew up.

Divya alter 

I dream to be a doctor. But the doctor in the sense that helping people improve their health. And then even as a child, like with my friends, we would play doctors, you know, we use like, fake IVs and do things like that. And I really enjoyed them. Yes, so now and I and that and now I see that I'm very interested in healing. That's my passion, especially healing with food. And, and also, all of this stems through my own healing, right? Like, my own struggles with health, not just physically but also mentally, really going deeper into connecting with who I am and what I'm meant to do in the world. So, so yes, I'm very, somehow never became a doctor. But I am in the healing circle for sure.

Nik Tarascio 

So I would love to hear about for people that don't know what Ayurveda is, because I imagine it's a word that like I brought it up thinking everyone would know what I was talking about. And most people go I have no idea what any of that is. So for people that have no concept of what it is, what is it? What are the core principles of it?

Divya alter 

Ayurveda is the traditional medical science of India. So it's one of the oldest healing systems recorded in the world. Actually, if in some people say it's the oldest, it's actually older than Chinese medicine. So before 150 years ago, or even few 100 years ago, when there were no pharmaceuticals, you know, there were we didn't use medicine the way we know it today. How did people heal? What did the doctors use? So they use all these traditional methods, also using local herbs and local even food ingredients? that would support a particular illness or imbalance. And Ayurveda has been recorded. People say I mean exactly how old it is. That's debatable.

Some people say it's 5000 years old. It's kind of easy to say that but many historians that's much older than that. It's very old. And what I love about Ayurveda, it has many goals. But Ayurveda doesn't just treat the patient, it doesn't treat the disease, it treats the whole person, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, so are you ready really helps us integrate our health on every level, because our mental health affects our physical health. spiritual health can affect our mental health, they're all related. And what I love about Ayurveda is that it's a very personalized science. There are, there's a discussion on different body types. So depending on what your body type is, then and what your imbalance is what's going on in your body, then there will be specific personal protocols for food or exercise or cleansing, or anything, Mac lifestyle, all that. So I love it, because it's a very personalized approach to health rather than just one treatment. Oh, you have a headache, take a pill, you know, it's not like that. It's like, where's the headache coming from? Let's find the cause first, and then we'll address the symptoms and the treatment protocols.

Nik Tarascio 

So it looks like of all the different sides of Ayurveda because again, I appreciate the way you describe it as it is a complete look at a person from every angle, it's the physical, the emotional, the mental, all those things. It looks like you really found a connection towards Ayurveda as it relates to food and the way you bring it to the world. And I'm just wondering how that intersected with your life path. Exactly.

Divya alter 

So I, okay, so I came into food I started, I realized that I love to cook when I was 18 years old. And I was I was frustrated with life at that age. I was like, this life doesn't make sense. There must be a deeper meaning to life. So the communist, I'm from Bulgaria, so the communism was just breaking down in 1990. And I got I really became very curious about yoga. And I was like I, I really connected with the, the way the yogic texts explain the meaning of life, the soul, we're not the body and all that. And I'm like, Oh, this makes total sense to me. So I started looking for a yoga studio. And there were there weren't any those days, it was forbidden, because everything spiritual was forbidden back then. And then I met a person who was running an underground yoga ashram in my hometown. And I absolutely loved everything. And I became an intern because I was also trying to be a vegetarian, and I didn't know how to be a healthy vegetarian, and how to make it tasty also. So I became an intern, and I started learning how to cook just helping in the kitchen. And then in exchange, I was learning yoga. And I really fell in love with food. So years later, I went to India, to connect with the roots of yoga and to continue with my education as well. And then I started feeling very sick.

So I went through a period of time and I was really, my digestion was almost zero. And that's how I started the local doctor was an Ayurveda doctor and really amazing one. And, and he didn't, and I thought, oh, yeah, he would just give me some herbs. I think I thought that I have as a treatment is like allopathic treatment, but with herbs instead of medication. So so it's like, oh, you have digestive problems. Take this herb, you have a headache, they take this herb, but no, it's not like that. So it's like, he was like, Okay, it's not just the herbs, you have to change your diet has to change how you when you sleep, how you sleep, how you exercise, to align with your body type with with your constitution, so that you can experience your best health.

So he gave me a list of foods. And then I started learning how to cook like this with food combinations with spices that really support digestion, and it's not just tasty, but it's actually digestible as well. And I was like, wow, this is amazing. I started feeling like I've never felt like that before. Wow. So and then later on, when I came to the United States, I became very sick this time it was serious I had an autoimmune disease, a lot of inflammation, a lot of digestive issues. And when I met my main I remember the teacher His name is Vida Mishra, then I, this is when I really started studying in depth. And it changed my life just changing my diet and applying the Ayurvedic principles to a vegetarian healthy diet, I was already in eating healthy, but I read it takes healthy to 2.0 to a different level.

And I was I don't have autoimmune anymore as healthy and I have more energy now and I'm 51 years old, then 10 or 15 years ago, it's amazing how the body can reset itself and come back to where it's supposed to be. So I'm very grateful. And I started teaching cooking classes. And, and people who just would do simple recipes or follow just a few simple principles they learned from me, and they will be like, Wow, I feel so much better. And not only physically but my mind is more peaceful. And I'm like, yeah, it's working. So, so then I decided with my husband as apprentice, we were like, Let's just make this our life mission. Let's help people connect, truly connect with the healing benefits and experience the healing benefits of food by cooking it learning how to prepare it by coming to a restaurant by providing products so they can easily prepare something at home. So yeah, so I've been doing this for the past many years here in New York City.

Nik Tarascio 

That's incredible. And I think what's what I find interesting about what you're doing, and the restaurant specifically is that I imagine that you're the first interface for a lot of people into either Vedic principles or AI or Vedic food. And so I am wondering as someone and again, I saw it in the masterclass which I've tried to study Ayurveda. I've tried to make sense of it. And even watching your masterclass and like the first, I think it was the first segment, I was amazed by stuff I'd never heard before. I was like, even that I've not found that stuff online. I've not found these principles explained in a way that was simple. But what are some of the common misconceptions or resistance that you find when you start to tell people about this? And it's the first time they're hearing about it? What do people push back on?

Divya alter 

Oh, that's a really good question that, you know, I meet so many people, one of the first thing may be that it may sound very complicated at first, because it's so much, okay, so I have to think about my doshas about my body type, about the season, about my digestion, about the properties of the ingredients, it's so much to think about. But, and also because we're not trained, our mind is not trained to think that way. We just think, Oh, I'm hungry, I'm going to eat. It's not we're not trying to connect, the food we eat with the way we feel. And the foods we eat completely affects the way we feel, by the way.

But we're not just we, our perspective on food is different. So, and I felt overwhelmed as well, when I first started studying, but it's actually very simple and it makes a lot the principles of Ayurveda make a lot of sense, because they align us with nature. So there's one of the main goals of Ayurveda is to help us flow with nature. And we are part of nature, we get sick when we separate ourselves from nature. It's either our own nature, or the nature around us when you kind of cut that connection.

But but because I read it's not like rules that the other misconception is like, there are too many rules. And I'm like, you guys, it's not rules. These are just, this is just how nature works. It just telling you, okay, so have you, for example, have your main meal, the biggest quantity of food, especially if you have digestive issues, have it for lunch, when the sun is at the highest point in the sky, around lunchtime, then you digestive fire digestion is strongest at that time. So Have more food and heavier food then don't eat too heavy foods at night, or early in the morning when your digestion is either going to sleep or waking up. So and I'm like yeah, this makes total sense. Right.

So work how to align ourselves with the circadian rhythms. And then and then and then when you start flowing with nature and not go against the current of nature, all of a sudden you feel so much more balanced. And, and that's the goal. That's what good health is that you feel balanced mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically. So, yeah, just and I always tell people just take it one thing at a time, you don't have to study the whole Ayurveda into the AC, just try something, try some, try waking up earlier and see how you feel, try going to bed earlier, see how you feel. And then all of a sudden you have more energy, your skin is clearer, your your mind is more peaceful, your digestion is working better. And this is, again, you're aligning with nature, you're allowing the body to heal itself and work the way it's supposed to work. So that's, that's some points on that.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, I mean, as you say that it's like so obvious when it's like, yeah, of course, when I'm waking up, my digestive fire might not be as strong. And of course, when I'm tired, it might not be that strong. When you said it, I was like waiting to be like, Wait, does the sun's alignment have something to do with the fire? But then it's like, No, that just, it's obvious that the body is using energy to come to life and using energy go to sleep or given up his energy. So when you say that, I'm like, yeah, that like that seems practical. But I imagine that the fact that it's an ancient system, and the fact that it does require some understanding of principles is like, so again, my listening audience is a lot of high achievers that are going a million miles an hour, and it's like, just tell me the answer. I just want to know the answer to what I'm supposed to do. We're looking for prescription, not so much like learning a whole new modality. But I really was, you know, I've dealt with a lot of autoimmune issues myself, I've had a lot of a lot of digestive issues. And when I was younger, we tried everything.

We tried everything we could imagine it was like infusions, and this and that and these medications. And it was funny to find out that the thing that made the biggest difference was just changing my diet that no one told me, No doctor ever told me, Hey, why don't you just try eating different foods and see what upsets your stomach and doesn't, it was like so ridiculously obvious. So I appreciate that aspect of it does seem overwhelming, I Aveda just seems like such a wealth of knowledge. Again, you can set it 1000s and 1000s of years old. But you know, kind of continuing down that road is what or if someone came to you, and you were like, again, I want to win them over with Ayurveda, I'm gonna give them just a couple of small principles, a couple of small practices, just to dip their toe. So they're going to get a result. And once they get that result, I know that they're going to be invested in wanting to know more other other kind of simple tips or simple concepts that you generally will share with people to get them excited about it and see some basic result.

Divya alter 

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I will share a couple of things first, but I think also it's, it's not just doing it's also adjusting our perspective on who we are in our life. Because our event is not about fixing a problem. Are you ready is about complete healing. And through the, through the process of healing, are you aware that helps us to clear personal obstacles, like it could be a bad habit of just being angry all the time, or it could be a resentment that we've been holding, or a person that we didn't forgive, or an emotional trauma that we're still holding from our early childhood or whatever it is. So again, I evade the helps heal the whole person. So when somebody comes to me and says, I just need a quick fix, I would say, Well, I can offer, I can offer advice on what can help you relieve the symptom if you just come to that. But you can go so much deeper, and you can experience a beautiful, exciting, liberating transformation. And even your perception of suffering will change when you go once you go through this.

And it doesn't mean that you really have to suffer and take cold showers and perform all these austerities to achieve you know, enlightenment or something. But, but it means that you participate in your own healing. So when somebody comes to me for help, and I offer nutritional consultations when I have time, that's not I'm busy with other things. But sometimes people ask me for help and somebody comes to me I don't really treat them I which I wouldn't do anyway. But I help them first of all align with themselves who they are and then understand what what they need to do to help the body heal itself. So I see myself as support supporting their own healing instead of just fixing problems. You know what I mean? Yeah, so so it's like, yeah, you can you can just like brushed through life. And by when you go very quickly through through life, and you don't take the time to digest your experiences and to reflect and to gain the wisdom from what you just went through, we need to have those times when you go through life so quickly, in your old age, when you kind of decide, okay, you retire, and you look back, and you may feel unfulfilled, because, because if you don't do your inner work, you may feel frustrated and unfulfilled.

So, I always tell people, you know, you can still be a high achiever, but find moments during the day, or during the week where you can slow down and, and develop those habits of connecting. How are you feeling? What what do you meant? Who are you really, what do you meant to do in this life? What what just happened? Yeah, correctly, how could you have done it better, like really take time to reflect, and this will, this will help you digest, not just physically, that just food, but also digest life, and gain the wisdom that you can then transmit you, children or those people that you lead. But in terms of simple self care? Let's see. Well, one very simple thing that you can do first thing in the morning, if you're not doing it yet, is scrape your tongue. So you can get a Thai tongue scraper, it's a simple metal thing can be stainless steel, I use a silver one, I like the silver one better. I don't recommend the copper one. Because if you saliva is very acidic, the copper will oxidize from the acidity of the saliva.

So stainless steel is silver. And after you brush your teeth, you can just scrape your tongue, you know, it's very easy. There are a lot of videos on YouTube about to do that it takes few seconds. But this will this will refresh your breath, it also diminishes bad bacteria in the mouth diminishes acidity, it helps you to stay better. And yeah, it's just a cleanse a daily cleansing procedure, something very simple you can do. Another simple thing you can do is, let's say, let's see, with food. So don't eat fresh fruits with anything else. So eat them alone.

And sometimes people eat them as dessert, simply because they digest differently. I have a friend and she, she would sit down. And sometimes we go to events or something. And there is a buffet with so many foods and you don't want to take a little bit of everything. And there's usually fruit also like a fresh fruit. And so you take little fruit and then take oatmeal or pancake or whatever else. And you eat all this together the same time. Fresh fruit digest differently than cooked food. And when you eat them together, it can cause a lot of bloating and gas. And I told her why don't you just eat the fruit, either as a snack between meals or maybe eat it 30 Min 30 minutes before your meal, start with that and then wait a little bit and then eat the rest. And she did and she's like, Oh my God, my Bloating is gone. I thought this was a chronic illness with so just it's called Food compatibility in Ayurveda, like kind of like a food combining so. So I teach this in the master classes and I write I give you the charts in my books what to combine. What's good combination was bad combination, because just by avoiding the bad combinations, you have so much digestion will be so much better.

Nik Tarascio 

Amazing. Yeah, I think I'm guilty of what your friend is guilty of when I go to buffets. I try to win at the buffet, I want to try everything. So I imagine that's also put a bit of a toll on my body. But you also said something else in there that I'm really curious about, especially because I come from Italian heritage very passionate, very charged. And I'm wondering about you were talking about anger as it relates to Ayurveda are there foods that can reduce anger? And is it possible that Italian foods are the opposite of that?

Divya alter 

Yes. So you come from a very temperamental culture, right. So yes, so their food definitely affects affects us mine mentally which can translate in our relationships also. So there are foods that are very stimulating. They usually pungent foods like spicy. It's not just I mean, you go to other cultures that you eat a lot of spicy foods, and sometimes they're just talking and they look like they're quarreling. I just haven't. Right, but it's just the nature, so usually very pungent spicy foods can lead to having more temperament. The other one is onions and garlic. So these two very pungent, right, and they're very stimulating, I always recommend either use less of them insert in summer, you should definitely use less of them because otherwise you sweat too much.

And you sweat will stink too. So, but I mean, it's the connection, right? Connecting what you eat the words coming out of the body, so but also, like don't eat a lot of those very stimuli. It could be also like kimchi, or something that's really sour, really salty, really spicy. If you eat that at night, it's so stimulating, it may affect your sleep, you may not be able to fall asleep. So eat it for lunch. Yeah, so. So these are some stimulating foods, especially in Italian cooking, I would say the garlic and maybe some onions, especially if it's a raw and cooked. So that's when they're strongest. So they're very medicinal. But again, we have different body types. If you have a very fiery body type, the kind of person who is always feels hot and you walk in tea in a T shirt in the middle of the winter and you don't feel hot and so and you sweat a lot.

So that's a fiery body type. Then then you need less of those spicy foods because they will they're very heating they will increase your heat you'll sweat more your skin will be red. Alcohol does the same thing. It's very fiery substance. So what was cool it down. I think Basil is Nik basil in Italian cuisine is a saver because especially the fresh sweet basil, it has a cooling effect. It also helps you digest the heavy cheeses and pass the and all that. But zucchini zucchini is a great cooling vegetable. very calming so zucchini produces calmness in the body. artichokes, asparagus, you know these are all coming vegetables, fruits like fresh, juicy fruits. What you like artichokes?

Nik Tarascio 

I do? Yeah. I love artichokes I used to my family would do that like the fried artichoke with all the breading on it, which is probably less artichoke and more bread. But that was delicious. And I do like artichoke hearts.

Divya alter 

Yeah, yeah, they're great. They're really good for your liver. So they're very calming for the liver. So a lot of that angry energy can also come when your liver is too challenged like either too sluggish or in Ayurveda. We speak about how to liver when the liver has way too much toxicity accumulated or, you know, whatever it may be the liver is kind of challenged. So yeah, so artichokes are amazing for the liver. Incredible. They very Pelion.

Nik Tarascio 

I don't know if you know the answer to this, or I don't know if this is known in all of Ayurvedic practice, but I just started going to an ayurvedic doctor. And the first time I met her, she took my wrist, and in about 30 seconds told me what my constitution was, anyway, how does that work? Like I've had tons of doctors that have done tons of tests on me. And this woman grabbed my wrist and 30 seconds basically told me my entire medical history. How's that even possible?

Divya alter 

Yeah, so that's part of the science right? Pulse reading is fascinating. Ayurvedic I'm trained in this as well. So the are you ready pulse rating is different than a modern Doctor reading their, you know, your pulse rate or something like that. So there are three, we use three fingers for reading the pulse. So the fourth finger, the middle finger, and the ring finger, and you put your fourth finger by the wrist joint. So this is I don't know if I can show but this like this. So this is vata, this is the Air and Space elements in your body, the middle finger is better, that's the fire element in your body, and the ring finger is Kapha the water and earth element. So depending on So, in Ayurveda, we describe like the strength of the pulse, how strong it is, this this determines if, like, if you have weak strength, it to me to say that you probably have chronic fatigue, for example, like you don't have a robust energy you have less energy.

So and then depending on how you pulse there's also a particular way of pressing and the depth into in which you press and it will tell me which dosha dosh the doshas are the and bio energies that govern all the functions in the body. So vata governs circulation governs the heart, it governs the Colin, it governs overall movement and overall health. It got there's about three in the stomach. So if I feel that specific sensations you have to learn these sensations in, in, in my in this thing my bath the finger, then it tells me that I connect that to a function in that particular part of your body. And then I ask you, are you constipated? And they're like, how could you tell? You know, or, or with the pitha? Like, sometimes they check the pulse, and it's like, Oh, my God, do you have acid reflux?

And they're like, oh, yeah, it's really bad. So. And then with the kapha, I could also like, for example, he could tell me that you have water retention, without even looking at you. If even if I close my eyes without looking at you. I can feel inside. Oh, wow, do you have water retention? So that's the water element, right, then it's vibrating particularly. And then also every though she's connected to different organs. So maybe she asked you about certain organs that you might have history with. So yeah, it takes a long time to learn this. And it's actually it's a lifetime process. It's like you always learn something from it.

Nik Tarascio 

Well, you just ruined my dream, because I was like, I just want to learn this over the weekend. But it sounds like it sounds like it's quite a bit of work to be able to do this just seems like an amazing skill to be able to take someone and immediately get a sense of what their inner system is.

Divya alter 

Yes, yeah, it's very helpful. And it also so you can also there are certain vibrations that also lead to the mind. So somebody who has very active mind, a lot of anxiety, panic attacks, it definitely shows in the pulse. But the other thing that vitamins should taught us with pulse reading is also level of toxicity. Well, in a general sense, you know, but for example, if somebody has accumulated a lot of hot acidic toxins, it's very easy to feel that in the pulse. So when I feel this for somebody, I would always just the diet because don't have those hot hot foods, they will only make you more fat, right? So the policy is very helpful for me to help people guide them through exactly what they need to eat right now, what they need to avoid in order to bring themselves back to balance.

And it's also fun to like that, like there is a way if somebody can also show if your channels like like digestive tract and other channels in the body is are more clogged, you know, like your pipes are clogged, you know, in a sense. And by the Misha tell us how to he called it tofu pals. So tofu is a very hard to digest food. And it can cause a lot of blockages in the body, especially if your digestion is not strong. So I it's like it that particular sensation, whenever I feel it, and I asked the person, do you eat a lot of tuffeau? And they're like, there's no way you know that I eat a lot of stuff. There's no way you could know that. And I like it. The balls never, never, never realize.

Nik Tarascio 

So is it the kind of thing where if someone did want to go down the road of saying I would love to have an Ayurvedic practitioner helped me make sense of what a protocol would even look like? Or what what my path might look like? Do you generally recommend that people do meet someone in person so they can do the pulse reading on their body instead of doing a zoom call or something like that?

Divya alter 

Is that is definitely helpful. But the pulse reading is only one way of assessing your condition right? Looking at you so there's ways to look just at your whole body, your face. Some people just read the face. There is also a way to like use real wrinkles. And they can tell Oh, you have liver and kidney problem you have there is also a town so assessing your tongue can be another way of asking questions. So another way so if you wanted to do it on Zoom, it's usually the doctor or practitioner will ask you many questions. Very specific questions, and they can be very personal questions. So how is your poop? What does it look like? Does it smell you? How often do you have it? You know, like, it may seem like rude, this is gross, but it's actually very important symptom of good or bad health. So So yeah, usually if you do it virtually and many really good doctors do it virtually. I mean during the pandemic, you know, we had no choice. Yeah, but, but even a good doctor can help you virtually. But seeing being in person is definitely, you had get a lot more bonuses with that as well.

Nik Tarascio  

So kind of zooming out from all of this stuff if you took the entire practice of Ayurveda, and apply it to the question of, you know, how does Ayurveda relate to living a more fulfilling life, because that's really at the heart of what this show is about. It's, we're all trying a million different things to try to bring joy or have these moments of happiness or try to get, you know, win at life, whatever that means. What does Ayurveda tell us about what fulfillment really is or how to achieve it?

Divya alter 

It's all about connection. So, you know, in the beginning, we spoke about how help diminishes when we disconnect ourselves, from who we are and from nature around this. So are you ready helps us to really understand our our, first of all, how a body works your individual body, how it works, what are the strengths, what are the weaknesses, and how to balance that, and knowing what your stress points are. And when you're in a stressful situation, offering suggestions of how you can minimize the reactions to stress. But and then and then on a deeper level, seeing yourself as more the body more than the body because the body we know we grow, we grow up we grow old, this illness is part of life, we nobody has perfect health. But I already can minimize can help us maintain it's a preventative health is big part of Ayurveda. So by practicing Ayurvedic diet, lifestyle, we kind of avoid a lot of the lifestyle related illnesses, lifestyle and diet related illnesses that are so common today.

Nik Tarascio 

So example of that.

Divya alter 

With diabetes, you know, it's such a big one, or even heart disease, high blood pressure, you know, these are, all of these can be reversed and prevented with you have lifestyle and diet that are more aligned with your own body constitution and also with nature. So not going against nature's laws and really acting as we're part of nature, and not some implant. So, so finding that connection for yourself, when you feel centered and connected with who you are, what your life's purpose is, I think this is such a strong foundation for fulfillment, and happiness.

And the other thing that I, for me, it's so important is that you don't do this just for yourself, you're not you're not trying to be healthy, just for the sake of being healthy. Right? You do this so that you can be of service to others. And happiness really comes I mean, you can just make a comfortable life for yourself. But real happiness comes when you're able to serve others and help others and have beautiful relationships with with others. So that's, that's a big part of health as well. So again, it's again, connection, right? Connecting with other living entities, not just not just on mental satisfaction, but really hard to heart. Like really feeling that heart to heart connection with everybody around you. It's very powerful.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm on that path right now, I think I've been chasing, you know, the show is obviously for a particular reason that it's most of my life has been chasing the external successes. And now coming to the space of, I recognize that that game never ends, like that can just go on for all of time. So what does it mean to go within my spells, you know, within myself, especially knowing that I live in my head, not as much in my body. So really trying to reconnect to the body and trying to get some of that wisdom of what does my body crave? What does it need? And instead of having everyone outside of me telling me what the answers to the questions are, can I create that connection to self, that my body's like, well, I want to eat that and I don't want to eat that. And this doesn't work for me, and this is what does. So I very much appreciate that. And you know, beyond the masterclass which I hope with my crazy work schedule to get through the whole thing soon because I just find it so interesting. And I just learned about your, you know, again, your cooking school, which is also really interesting that, you know, that might be a path for me to go down as well. For someone who really feels like this is such an interesting area. What are some additional ways people can get involved in understanding what this is and learning it beyond? Like I said, the masterclass in the cooking class and things like that.

Divya alter 

Well, I mean, There are many workshops and you don't have to become an ayurvedic doctor or practitioner to learn how to take care of yourself, most people, I mean, if it's your calling to be a healer, and to help people with their health and and guide them that way, then yes, but a big part of it is just taking self care. And these are all preventative medicine, little things that you can do. And again, it's like, you try something, oh, it works for me great. We also have to make adjustments with the seasons.

So scraping a time is something you can do daily to the rest of your life. But I don't know. Maybe you cannot bathe in the ocean all the time, we cannot walk barefoot all the time, you know, which is can be very grounding practice. But so there are little practices that you just have to see oh, yeah, this works for me right now, I find it very helpful, like, apply simple things. Are you very good recommendations, especially when you travel a lot. Like, you have a jet company, Nik. The airplane, traveling by airplane creates so much havoc in our body, and some people are more used to it than others.

But still, it's like, it's very unnatural condition for our body to be in when we are in the airplane. So. So for example, when before you fly, there are certain things you can do. Like even if you go for a massage with a nice oil, or you do sell oil massage, or just put a little bit of oil on your feet before you put on your socks, this will this will really make it will it will add more groundedness when you're up in the air, I like to put a little oil in my nostrils because it gets so dry on the airplane, little things and as soon as you land, try to walk barefoot summery, could be the beach or grass or something like that to land your body also, fully.

So they and there's so many little practices like that, that. And it's not you don't even have to memorize them, you just follow the main principle of balance that you're always balanced with the opposite energy of what you're experiencing right now. So when you're very cold, you need warm foods, you need warm drinks, right to bring more warmth as you you need warm clothes. When you're very hot, you need something cooling, when you're running in very high speed, like in an aeroplane, when you're traveling, then you need when as soon as you arrive, slow down. You know I love little bit of time to your body to slow down and adjust. Don't just start rushing and running and going to conference just plan a day to just rest first. And then and then it's like we will not overusing our body because a lot of health problems also come. And that's one of the causes that I evangelists is disease is overusing our senses. We just abused our bodies too much. You know, we use the it's like, like you run your car without taking care of it. And then one day it just breaks. So yeah, so I always tell people just slow down.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, no, I mean, that's, that's hard. For me running a jet company is very much. It is about going a million miles an hour. And I appreciate that, you know, finding those moments of grounding, finding those moments of just pausing taking a breath slowing it down, I think you know, I just think of landing at JFK. It is a circus, right? It's like rush to the car, get in the car, rush home, get home rush to do the next thing. So I can see that. You know, again, I when I was first introduced to pyruvate, I just knew it as food. So it is interesting to hear kind of how these practices really as an entire way to live your life an entire way to find connection to self. So I appreciate that very much. And I have to ask kind of our our big final question as you've done so much. And again, I just reading your bio, it's like the amount of things you've achieved. It's really impressive. And you've, you've helped, I'm assuming a lot of people through this work. I know again, you've helped me personally. When you dream, what do you dream about now?

Divya alter 

Oh, well, I always my prayer and my dream is to always be of service of loving service to people. I don't I don't have like for me, you know, I'm a poor poor girl from Bulgaria. I didn't even speak English but like, like, what, 30 years ago, but and then I wrote books and English books in English and it's like, wow. But like for me the main the main lesson in my life is that when my mindset is that I'm here to serve people. And yeah, for me to grow personally, that's my personal task.

But I'm, I'm here to be of service to people. I don't live my life just for myself. I live to help others as well. And, and then whatever my service is, whatever service presents itself at the time, like, if you asked me 20 years ago that I will have restaurant, I will be like, Are you crazy, I never really, that wasn't my dream. So I know, some people are meant to do very specific tasks, and they dream about it, and I achieve it. And that's beautiful for me, is more like, I'm here to serve. And I will do wherever I'm at you I'm taking us to do I'll take the opportunity for service, because it makes me really happy. So it, if I, if there are moments, of course, I go into just thinking about myself, and I'm the center of the universe. And it's like, I get so depressed.

And I'm like, No, I'm just a tiny speck in this creation. I'm part of this universal machine. And, and by through service, I spirit, I experienced connection with everybody and everything around me. And that makes me very happy and fulfilled. So and grateful.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, that's beautiful. And I have to ask, because, I mean, were you always this humble.

Divya alter 

Um, no. That's, that's still work in progress. But, you know, the school of hard knocks, I've been through, I've been through very humbling experiences in my life. And, and I, I definitely am not very humble at all. But, but it's, I find humility to be a beautiful thing. It's, it has nothing to do with low self esteem. If I had low self esteem, I wouldn't be talking to you, right?

But, but humility is, again, connecting with who you are, and knowing that you're more than this body that you're to me, I'm eternal soul. I'm a beautiful divine spiritual being. And that goes through different cycles of life. And like that, then there are lessons to be learned and service to be done. But but without, without humility, we cannot we can never experience through gratitude. And without gratitude, we can never experience fulfillment, we will always be dissatisfied with something.

So, to me, humility and gratitude go hand in hand, and this leads to lasting satisfaction in life. And you may, it may seem that you haven't achieved anything externally. But still, you're completely satisfied and happy. And when you go to India, you see a lot of sourdoughs, a lot of saintly persons that are so accomplished spiritually. They don't have big companies or anything like that. And they completely free from false identification, you know, big ego. They don't have they don't aspire for material things, but they're just so happy and satisfied. And it's like, how come? Where is this coming from?

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, I struggle with that, too. I'm like, What have you done lately? Right? Like, how do you have such self satisfaction when your life is so simple? And again, I'm sure that's more of my conditioning of I've measured my own success by being goal oriented. You know, it's like, it's not about who I am. It's about what I've done. And I tried to transition more to that. And I'm curious to like, dive a little bit deeper into that question. You just said, your self esteem you you have self esteem. And that humility is not the same as self esteem. How do you separate those two in your head?

Divya alter 

Well, who is the self right? What do I identify myself with? So if I identify myself, with just the body and the mind, then it's like, I'm always thinking are, how am I looking? What if they think about my eyes or my glasses, I just focus on body types and I lose my confidence, you know, like, like body parts and it's like, so that a lot of people get stuck in that. They, they think that the way they look, I mean, Appearance is important, but it's not. It's not. It's just one piece of who we are. So I'm also again, when I when I think of myself, as a servant of others. It's not like serving like a slave but I'm here to be a service to you.

Then And then my ego is like, you know, I'm here to serve. And I'm very happy to do that. Rather than and we're all servants. I mean, even if you're leader of a big company, you're serving your employees, you're guiding them, you're leading them. If you have a family, you're serving the servant, you're also we're all serving somebody it's not, it's actually a very elevated position. So, rather than thinking, Oh, you're supposed to serve me, you're supposed to work for me. And, you know, and then this is when we cut connections, right? The heart to heart connection gets cut, when we only speak for ourselves without giving to others.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, well, I think that's a beautiful place to wrap this up. It's what an interesting conversation that really, for me started around food, and how to eat well how to get connected to your food, but really, it's about getting connected to yourself and others. And I really liked that heart to heart connection with really an invitation and all of this just to be of service to others. And I think that's, you know, that following that path, of take care of your body, take care of yourself, so you can be able to take care of others. And again, in aviation, when we say put on your own oxygen mask before you don anybody else's.

And I think in many ways, our Aveda can be seen as the same thing as take care of yourself so you can take care of others and be of service. And again, it's such an inspirational story to talk to someone who talks about defying the odds, it sounds like you've just had such an incredible journey from Communism, to building these amazing things that serve so many people here in New York. And all over the world I imagined to

Divya alter 

Oh, thank you. So kind. I'm always like, even though we're going through expansion of our company, and I'm like, we're going against all against all odds, but somehow it's working. It's like, it's not, it's not an easy process, I have to tell you, like, because before so just last thing, we, my husband and I, we were both monks before we got married, and I was a monk for 15 years, he was a monk for about the same time. And, and in, you know, and I was kind of like puffed up a little bit. I'm so spiritual, oh, I'm sorry, the hands didn't. I can recite Sanskrit by memory, and, you know, all these things and chanting and meditating.

And I kind of became puffed up. And I was looking down on people in business, because I thought, Oh, they're just materialists and doing material things. And like, they're greedy. So it was such an unhealthy state of mind for some time. And then boom, Oh, you think you're so advanced that I got really sick. And literally everything that I was borrowing strength from was taken away. And you're like, you know, so right now running our business is, to us is really we're just talking about this yesterday how running a business, which may seem like a very material activity can be a perfect path for spiritual upliftment and elevation and awakening. Because it's always about the inner disposition of what's your inner disposition, your intention, where's your heart when you do all these external things. And this can make such a big difference in your perception, but also, also your contribution.

But also, yes, it's important to have goals, it's very important to lead a goal oriented life, but honor the journey, the path itself, because that's where the real growth happens. It's not the achievement itself, is getting there. When, when we when we grow the most.

Nik Tarascio 

Well, I have to say, You're the first entrepreneur that I've spoken to, maybe ever, who when I asked kind of what your future path was, you were like, I don't know, whatever presents itself, I will give myself fully to that. And I think that that is true agility. When you think about it, it's like the most agile way to build something, it's just to say, I'll know it when I see it. And I will give myself fully to it. So you're absolutely right. Entrepreneurship is a spiritual path, whether people realize it or not. And I think you're living proof of the fact that you can break all the rules and you can do it all different ways. And if you just trust your heart connection, and you trust that, that gut instinct, you can do some amazing, amazing stuff.

Divya alter 

I think this is your blessing, Nik. Thank you. I keep that in mind because I need motivation to but thank you so much for your kind words. It's it's very, very humbling for me.

Nik Tarascio 

My pleasure. And again, for those you that are listening, if you're interested to learn more about what Divya is up to, you could go to Divyas.com. She has an incredible seasonal food box on there that you could check out if you want to experience Ayurveda cooking.

Also, again, this really is something we don't do any sponsorships on here and we don't take any money for this. This is art for me not commerce. I truly love her masterclass. So when I say that if you're curious, learn just to learn more about this and find it maybe there is some curiosity or connection there. You could check out her masterclass on the same website. And she was kind enough to give us a discount code of dream 100. And if you put that in, you'll save $100 off the class. So if you want to check that out, we'll put some other stuff in the show notes. But again, this was something that is just so near and dear to my curiosity and I hope some of you were inspired by this as well. And Divya, thank you again so much for giving your your entire heart to the conversation.

Divya alter 

Thank you. Thank you so much for having such a pleasure. I can't wait to see you in the restaurant again. Thank you.

Nik Tarascio 

Absolutely Take care. Bye bye. Thank you for listening to the dream beyond. I hope that you received whatever message or inspiration you were meant to get from today's episode. I had a great time recording it for you. If you love the show, please take 30 seconds to subscribe rate and review it. That really helps get the word out. And if you want to connect with me, you can find me at

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[ronniescribbles]

Witchy Tantrums

Severus Snape x Little!Reader

1,006 Words

You can read it on AO3 here!

One dropped vial of painstakingly brewed potion is all it takes to send you into an enraged fit on the floor. Lucky for you, a certain potionsmaster strides onto the scene to make things all better.

A/N: This is the first full fanfic I've written in years - how exciting (and nerve-wracking)! There aren't many regression fics for Severus as a caregiver out there, and since he's a huge comfort character for me right now, I thought that I might spoil all of us Snape fanatics out there💖 

I hope you enjoy! Feel free to reblog/comment and let me know what you think - or send in requests if you have any!😊

"Merlin's beard, I am not redoing this potion again! Ugh, I'm so done!" 

----------------------------------------------

Glass shattered across the classroom floor. Immediately, a cry of your frustration followed, echoing against the walls of the otherwise empty room. 

Tears were already streaming down your face. You had spent hours hovering over this potion, watching its every move in order to insure its success, and after being only partly successful in brewing a usable potion, you had carelessly dropped the entire vial onto the floor. 

"I can't do this, Merlin's beard, I can't do this," You rocked back and forth on your feet. Every feasible negative thought swarmed your mind, and all you could even think to do was sink to the floor and sob. 

So that's exactly what you did, slumping to the floor in rage and muttering swears to yourself about your carelessness. Your fists balled as you curled inward; you couldn't even register how quickly you were slipping into little space. But there you were, slamming your fists to the ground angrily and whimpering through tears like the angry, exhausted child you had internally become. 

Over your wailing, you couldn't hear the classroom door creak open, nor the clack of premeditated footsteps approaching you. You could only hear the thudding of your feet and the pounding of your hands and your shrieking that filled the entire room. But then his voice came, temporarily averting your attention from the tantrum you hardly realized you were throwing. 

"What has happened here, child?" It was Severus, looming above you with concern. His eyes scanned for possible injuries as you continued your fussing. "It appears to be just a spill. Not to worry-" 

You perked up at this statement, only to angrily strike a fist against his shoe. "WAS. NOT. JUS. SPILL! Is all ruin, all gone!" 

Severus gently bent down to your level on the floor, lifting your chin and guiding you to look at him. "There, there, little one. There is no need to worry about the potion at the moment, we will discuss it when you are no longer regressed." His arms then wrapped around your torso and he lifted you up, holding you to his chest. 

Almost instinctively, you pressed your face into him and sucked in a shaky breath. Severus's hand rubbed the small of your back to ease your soft cries. He began to bounce you a little, and, with gentle fingers, swept a lock of hair out of your weary eyes.

"Although rather careless of you, dear, you have been stressing far too much over this one potion." From his lips came the same monotone string of words that always did, but this time, with a more forgiving demeanor. "We simply cannot let it become so strenuous on you to where you are throwing a fit on my classroom floor."

You knew he had a point, but you couldn't help but crinkle your face into a pout against him anyway. He must have felt your brows furrowing, because he continued to speak, almost as an afterthought. "Though I suppose that is what littles will do, yes?" 

The words blurred together in your small mind, but you thoughtlessly nodded in agreement. You felt the faint hum of approval vibrate throughout his chest. Severus lifted you up closer to him and planted a soft kiss on the top of your head. The faint swishing of his wand followed, and you finally found yourself drifting asleep.

You woke up to the smell of brewing herbs and firewood, a soft blanket resting on top of you and your weight pressed into the couch. Your eyes, still blurry from sleep, glanced across the room to the dark figure standing at the kitchenette. 

"Sevvy?" You lifted yourself up with wobbly arms. 

He only hummed in response, not turning from the counter to face you. You tilted your head and repeated yourself, unhappy with his lack of words.

"Sevvy, can c'mere?" 

"In a moment, darling, the tea is almost ready." A faint pouring noise came from in front of him. 

You blinked in confusion. "Tea?" It wasn't a common drink for you to enjoy while small; it was much too hot. Though, now thinking about it, you did enjoy the thought of Severus blowing on a warm cup of it, just to be sure it was cool enough for you to drink before lifting it to your lips. 

"Mhm... Perhaps you'd like to try it?" Finally, he turned to you, holding a single teacup. 

You reached out to him with grabby hands. With that, he made his way towards you, sinking into the couch and setting the teacup down in front of himself. As you reached out to take it, he gently grabbed your wrist. 

"Ah-ah, little one, we need to wait for it to cool." Noticing your frown, he continues, "But, you may sit on my lap in the meantime, if you wish." 

You nodded, easily pacified by the thought of the warmth of his arms. He seemed to have a way of grounding you, just by holding you close to him. It surely wasn't an offer you were going to pass up either way.

He reached out and lifted you up onto him, allowing you to rest your head on his chest again. You babbled a few half-words in thanks. Severus began to run his nimble fingers through your hair, earning another nuzzle against his chest.  Sometimes, no words needed to be said between you two; the way he protected you in this most vulnerable state, when you entrusted your regressed self to him, spoke volumes. 

Just as easily as you were distracted from the tea, you drifted back into a light slumber. He wrapped a firm arm around your waist as his hand continued stroking through tangled locks of hair. Before finally drifting off, you pressed your lips against the fabric of his vest. "Tank you for helpin, Sev.." 

He softened his voice as though not to stir you. "Always, little one. I promise to keep you safe."

[oh-for-fic-sake]

The Deal Part Three

Summary: august doesn't know how to lose.

Warnings: Adult Situations +18, Slight Smut, Mentioned Threesomes, M/M, M/F/M, poly relationship, Toys, Seduction, Dom Sub, BDSM, Praise Kink, Swearing.

August hummed running a finger back and forth on the rim of his glass as he watched the screen,you were on the bed rocking onto your new toy like crazy.

"She really does this everyday?" Clark asked from beside him with a frown, but august could see the kid was turned on, licking and biting his lip as you fucked yourself desperately with your new vibrator.

"Everyday, for a week now..." august hummed twisting his chair to and fro flicking his gaze from the subby on screen to the soon to be sub sat beside him.

"... am i? Am i not enough?" Clark asked tentatively blinking at agaust in a way that made the agent smile smugly.

"Its not that kid, shes gone without playing our game for soo long she forgot how addictive it is, how much she needs it" he explained.

"Needs? Have... i mean shes missed it?" Clark uttered feeling less confident in his ability to satisfy you by the second.

"Probably not, well not untill our little experiment"

"Why?" Clark asked still not understanding

"Being a sub is... more then just sex, subs need to submit its therapeutic for them... when in a scene they just let themselves go, all worry and stress disappear. All they need to do is live in the moment and obey" august began slowly as he stopped swaying his chair and faced clark head on pinning him with a look.

It was there, the curiosity. Good. Its what he hoped for, it was why he'd called clark there to 'catch up'

It was time to make his move, top the man of steel whilst having you making your own little porno in the background to help things along.

"So she cant truly relax without it?" Clark muttered still unaware of the agents motives.

"In a sense yes. She craves being dominated, its as natural to her as being a goody two shoes is for you" august purred placing his drink on the glass computer table fendingnoff a smirk as clark took the bait.

"Hey! Im not a goody two shoes-" the kryptonian grunted offended.

But august was prepared, he'd planned this meeting meticulously and his anwser rolled off his tongue with a laugh.

"Your thirty five years old and have absolutly no run ins with the law, no parking fines no speeding tickets hell you never even had a single detention in your entire shcool life! Or have you handed in an assignment or book report in late"

"But i killed a man- i took a life" clark tried to argue but was waed off with another laugh.

"Zod was no man, he was a fucking alien... no offence, you took a life to save billions... so its not really making you a badass"

"Lazer vision is pretty badass..." clark huffed slumping back in his seat now looking like a classic putig brat.

"Oh? Is my litttle clark sulking?" August cooed gravely voice making clark pause at the sultry tone... he must be hearing things.

"Im not sulking! And im not your anything!" Clark growled snapping at the agent.

"Behave yourself!" August growled leveling him with a look, and couldnt help smirk again as clark shut himself up and flushed.

Your desperate cries called out over the moniter as you rutting onto the toy the wet sounds adding to the scene.

Clark flushed finalky turning away from august making the agent preen. Oh he had him in the palm of his hand already~

"Good boy. You are arent you? A very good boy clark- the best" august purred leaning forward gazing at the younger man with a cheshire grin, that only grew wider as clark flushed brighter and shuddered.

"I.. err well yes" clark panted shiftingnin his seat tryingmto keep his eyes on the screen as you wailed and yelped trying to draw out a climax.

"Oh whats this? Your going all shy on me? Tell me is it because i called you a good boy~ do you like praise clark?" Augusut grinned leaning closer still to the now frozen younger male

"N-no its err... i should go-" clark started shuffljng backwards needing to get out of here, because it was true. He loved praise especially in the bedroom, he loved being told how good he was.

August purringnat him whilst he eyes were fixed on you rollingnaroundnin bed toying yourslef into a sexual frenzie was... making him think of thingsnhe probably shouldnt.

"No. Sit, stay... thats it, theres nothing to be embarrassed about, many powerful men enjoy being praised" August growled latching onto clarks arms holding them to the arms of the seat.

"Being taken care of, told what to do~" august purred standing befor the mighty man of steel leaning close to his face.

Clark gulped but didnt move back, he didnt pull away like he should have.

Instead he eyed augusts lips, clark had the overwhelming urge to.aste them.

It confused him, he'd never ever dabbled in same sex relationships, never experimented. Never shared a woman with another before that fatefull night.

But for some reason august was apealing, drawing clark in. August was apble to overpower him, not physically but he commanded obedience.

August held a dangerous cocksure demeanor that clark rarely saw.

"Is that what you want? Clark~ do you want to be controlled and praised just once? More then once?" August hummed dippjng closer and closer, clark couldnt help tipp his head up.

"Y/n is always such a brat. Just look at her, desperately trying to fuck herself into a coma, despite knowing we hadnt allowed her to touch her pussy" august pulled the pffice chair clark was sat in to closer to him, making the kryptonian drown in his scent, the cologne and sweet arousal that was alreading sworling arohnd him.

Clark swallowed dryly, unsure what was happeningnto him, the sounds of yu moaning a crying ot so sweetly, the praise and authority radiating off august in waves.

It was the same dominant aura and comanding deep voice that had made crks cock twitch in both threesomes they had indulged.

Clark had tried denying it at the time, convincing himslef he was cuaght up in the erotic forbidden act. It was just a thrill of the moment thing. It didnt bmean he wanted the older dominating alpha male and all his bravado.

August grinned shifting forward again filling clarks vision, for a human auguast was large, almost as large as he was.

"Sure she'll listen when she feels like it but... I can't help thinking she needs a role model..." clark hummed absentmidely nodding agreeing falling further into his own haze.

"Someone else to show her how she should behave... someone who will get rewarded for being soo good... maybe a good boy?" August purred finally taking the plunge and weaving jis way around the man. His words coiling around the younger male ensnareing him in his carefully constructed web of teasing words.

Clakr gasped as his chin was captured by the agent forcing him to look him in the eye.

"Would you like that clark? Do you want to be not just a good boy, but my good boy-our good boy?" The words hung in the air, winding the man of steel.

"W-what?" He stuttered tryingnto fathom what the older man meant. But couldnt deny the excitment in his gut.

Did he mean it? Would he really include clark in this kink? Make it official and let these forbidden threesomes continue?

"Oh dont play coy, i know what your thinking~ its natural to be curious, just think we could all be one~" august whispered movjng his thumb over clarks bottom lip.

"We could all play together and all get what we need." He purred smirking as clark gave all the right signs, eyes wide, pupils blown wide shifting in his seat as he cock rose, curtesy of both his praise and the loud wanton moans from you bringing yourslef to the edge of rapture yet again.

"You get the praise and love of a little brat, and a strict dom, y/n gets a role model, a dom and keeps her life partner" august listed shifting on his feet again reeling clark in with low coos full of promise.

The agent curled his hand, cupping clarks cheek coaxing him closer luring his face closer.

"A-And you?" Clark dared to utter, feeling both excited, anxious and overwhelmed, he wanted nothing but to jump at the chance, but was frightened at the same time.

He would admit he'd been a little jealous of all the praise you'd got from august in both encounters.

Closingnhis eyes imagining it was him! That the older influential man had been calljng him a good boy, had been teling him how impressed he was, how proud he was!

Clark was embarrassed and had quickly shook away the desperate thoughts. He wasnt gay, why would he have such thoughts?

He summarised he was just too needy and had gone without. You told him how brilliant and big he was, how sexy and strong and fantastic he is in the bedroom but... with august it was different.

The older male praised down at him! Cooing and fussing at him in a different way. Treated him like a sub and clark liked it. Probably too mucn.

"I get the little brat i've been missing and a very very good boy"

"So what do you say, do you want to let go? Be free and experience things you'd only dreamt of?" August preened keeping clarks attention fixed on him asmhe manipulated him, august had noticed clark had a praise kink.

A weakness. A need who was august to pass up useing the little kink to get the subby he wanted~

"I...I'm..." clark hesitated looking passed august to you on the screen who was digging around beside your bed looking for something.

"All you have to do is say the words clark, just say yes sir and you can have all the pleasure and praise you could ever hope for~ both you and y/n we could make this permanent"

"See look? Just watch, y/n needs her dom, needs to be tamed again we could do it clark... you can show her how to be good again~" august breathed over clarks cheek side steppjng him to reveal the screen.

And clark did look, groaning as he saw that you had rolled over and was straddling a different suction cup dildo stuck to a little hand mirror face up on the bed slapping your own ass as you bounced frantically.

"Just say those words and we can help her together" august hummed into his ear like the devil on his shoulder, tempting him

Clark gasped feeling augusts breath on his neck, his wisters ghosting the delicat skin.

Then in a bold move the older man pressed a soft feather light kiss to the kryptonian's neck.

And it worked

"I... y-yes, can we? Please sir" clark breathed out stuttering and jumbling his words unable to hold back his pleading.

"Good boy clark~ such a good seet boy you are~ i knew it, knew youd be brave enough, you've made me soo proud" august showered him with praise biting off a victorious grin.

Clark mewled closingnhis eyes for a second beaming a smile feeling this strange relaxation take over, suddenly he felt free, and small.

It was a feeling he craved, being the strongest all the time was a heavy burden to bare, now he could feel powerless for once.

August chuckled and pressed another kiss to clark this time on his cheek making the younger male's cheeks glow.

August couldnt get enough, the power trip of having the man of steel under his command was far to intoxicating.

"Now why dont you go get our little brat and we can tie her up and show her that good subby's get rewards" august prompted him stepping around clark completely letti g himstand up.

Clark nodded and shot off out onto the balcony and leapt into the sky eagwr to please his new dom and do as he was told.

August took his seat agin wrappjng his fingers around his glass of scotch and raised the glass to the screen that now had both his subs onscreen, as clark wrangled you into his arms wrapping the bedsheet arohnd you.

"Mission accomplished" he hummed smirking as clark wrapped you in your soiled bedsheet before you both disappeared off screen.

He stood and knocked back the last of his drink and padded across the pent house heading to the play room just as he heard both of hos little subs land and enter his home.

[stray-kids-react]

Hot Topic

Masterlist

Warnings - Swearing

Genre - Fluff

Pairing - Changbin x Interview Reader

Your boss was a bitch and everyone knew this for a fact, being head of a huge magazine company really went to her head. And being her assistant and part time celebrity interviewer put a lot of stress on your shoulders, but it payed well and you still loved your job nonetheless.

But having to run to a coffee shop at 5 in the morning in uncomfortable through the pourning rain, was definitely not a highlight of your job experience. Your teeth clattering and goosebumps rising on your skin, the rain was pouring down hard it was hard to focus on anything in front of you.

"H-hi can I get two small black coffees, one meduim vanilla mocha, and one large hot chocolate." You ordered, wiping off the mascara that ran down your cheeks.

The cashier nodded cautiously, concerned by the way you looked. The elderly couple sitting not to far away from you was sipping their cups of tea as they boared into your souls it seemed. You knew this day was coming, having such a great couple of days and getting a raise... It was bound to have a small dip so your life isn't like Barbie dolls.

"Name?" The chashier questioned, chewing her gum loud and obnoxiously.

"Y/n." You sighed, trying to maintain some level of composure with that annoying chewing.

You tossled back and forth on the pads of your feet, zoning out due to your tired state. You nearly tripped over your own feet when the cashier called your name, holding a tray filled with burning cups of caffeine. You turned around quickly at the vibration of your phone, alerting you that you boss was becoming impatient.

A dark haired man crashed into you, gasping out of concern immediately. All of the drinks spilled onto new and already drenched jacket, and the rest flew onto your face. You left your eyes closed as you held in the scream trying to crawl out of your lips.

"Shit, I am so sorry." He apologised, helping you to your feet.

"It's okay." You whimpered, voice trembling from the overwhelming emotions forming in your mind.

Before he could grab napkins to help you out, you were already walking back to your home. Tears strolling down your cheeks from a mix of frustration and exhaustion, you knew you needed the day even if it meant taking extra hours the next day.

You poured the bubbles into your bathtub as you called your boss to tell them you wouldn't be showing up today, they sounded passive aggressive as they agreed but demanded you to do extra hours tomorrow. Which included interviewing the kpop boy group Stray Kids.

That's when a lightbulb clicked in your head, the man you rushed into was Seo Changbin. You were a fan of Stray Kids and didn't even recognize your bias because you were so stressed out from work.

"Oh my God..." You sighed, sinking into the water with disappointment in yourself.

-The next day-

"Y/n! Can you help this group to to the proper floor? I'm really busy." Your favored and spoiled Co worker suggested, clearly just wanting to get some time off. You agreed nonetheless.

Eight God like men stood next to each other with innocent confusion in their eyes, they didn't complain like other celebrities or acted snappy either. This made it more frustrating when your co worker made her irresponsible actions your problem to solve, they didn't deserve that type of treatment.

"Hi, I'm y/n l/n I will be your interviewer tonight and I just wanted you all to know how hug of a pleasure it is to have you hear. I'm a huge fan." You revealed, adjusting your posture with a pure smile.

They followed you towards the correct location, couches and chairs set up for the interview. The staff were all busy fiddling around with the equipment to make sure everything was fully prepared, which left you to try and entertain the special guests all by yourself. But before you could speak one more word, your boss rushed towards you.

"I am so thankful for you y/n, I just got a call from Elle magazine asking me if I would be able to interview Rihanna in a few hours, so if you don't mind locking up the building for me. Thanks sweetie." She demanded, tossing you the keys as she waltzed away from you.

It was after supper and you've been working non stop since 6am, and now you had to stay in this hell hole for even longer. A staff member ushered most of Stray Kids to different spots of the set.

"Are you the person I ran into yesterday?" Changbin questioned, close behind you.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I ran out so quickly. This job just is a lot of stress and work." You apologized, confusion furrowed hsi brows as to why you were apologizing.

"Don't worry about it, I actually feel bad for how hard these guys seem to be on you. Do you need any help setting up or anything?" He suggested, a softness in his eyes that made your heart do back flips.

You shook your head, knowing your face was probably stuck in a slightly shocked expression. You were proven this when a small smirk was noticeable on his features as he walked past you to get ready for the interview.

The interview went smoothly, not a awkward moment between you and the band. This is due to being a fan and doing your research before agreeing on the interview, unlike other interviewers who have completely made it unwatchable for some viewers.

You nearly stumbled over your words many times but kept composure each time, the stumbling only ever attempted to happen when you looked at Changbin.

Sending you small winks whenever the camera zoomed in to an other member, and watching you soft eyes everytime you spoke. You could feel the heat on the top of your ears from his simple but effective actions.

Felix noticed Changbin's actions towards you and smirked to himself, he slightly warned him whenever the camera would be focusing on him or if he would be in view. Everyone knew how entertainments were like when it came to dating, and that's why it was exciting when an idol didn't seem to care and wanted to live their lives.

"So I have one last question for you guys." You reassured, reading the last card in your hand.

"What is something you want to tell your fans?" You asked, smiling since you considered yourself a fan.

Each member expressed their love and appreciation for their fans, some sending small hearts from their finger tips before the camera panned away from them. You appreciated how humble and easy going they were, especially after dealing with celebrities like the Paul brothers. The worst interview you've ever had would have to be with Justin Timberlake nonetheless.

You stopped listening to Timberlake after the interview and wanted to try a new genre, and that is how you got into kpop. The first band you became a fan of was Exo, but your ultimate group became the loveable dorks called Stray Kids. You saw yourself as just some regular interviewer that wasn't special in any way, and you never thought any celebrity would give any attention.

The most attention you've got in your career was a handshake you made with Itzy's Lia while interviewing them. That's why it surprised you how Changbin seemed interested in you, since there were so many other people who would give everything they had to be with him.

"Did it work?" Changbin questioned, a genuine smile across his features as you looked in his direction.

"Did what work?" You asked, giggling softly at his puppy like expression.

"Your day seemed tough so I wanted to make you laugh, that's why I was winking. I wanted to break the ice." Changbin explained, fiddling with the ends of his shirt.

His reasoning made your heart flutter much more than if he would've just done it to flirt, it seemed genuine and thoughtful rather than desperate and fuck boy like.

"That's actually really sweet. Thank you." You commented, trying not to show him how much it effected you.

He nodded as a welcome, secretly adoring the that crossed your features.

"I better get going. I have a lot of cleaning up to do." You sighed, beginning to step away from the boy of your dreams.

Changbin glanced towards his band before running after you, a prominent shade of red dipped on the tips of his ears and cheeks.

"If I promise not to spill it over you, do you think I could make you a coffee and help you?" He asked, voice meeker and less confident than it was a few minutes ago.

You agreed to his proposal, trying not to squeal. Your crush wanted to spend time with you, and this was the only time you ever wanted to thank your boss.

[karezzasstuff]

From the project of interviewing Stanley S. Bass about his experiences with Karezza techniques, The Life Science Publishing created the 2008 book Energy-Karezza. Here Dr. Bass tells the story of how, in his 30’s, he was on his way to become a celibate yogi through Brahmacharya, when he learned about reaching the same spiritual goal via Karezza & Tantra. He decided to try Karezza instead.

Even though his personal goal was spiritual, Dr. Bass soon discovered that women loved Karezza, and couldn’t get enough. When he started teaching the improved Energy-Karezza method to couples with marital problems, the results were astounding. Usually, within weeks, the couple had fallen in love again. Problematic marriages healed, becoming more and more harmonious and stronger with time.

Over time, over 50+ years, he not only gained experience concerning every aspect of Karezza/Tantra, but also – thanks to his energy-understanding, being an orthopathic doctor – developed an improved, more powerful & easy-to-learn, version. Traditional “Karezza/Tantra” can be difficult for men, but “Energy-Karezza/Tantra” is easy, and also gives more pleasure & prolongation..

INTRODUCING OTHERS TO KAREZZA

Karezza is about one thing, the man has to control himself. It is so easy. I got so good at this control that I soon was able to go almost a whole year with no accidents. With very heavy sex - three times a week, four hours each session. It didn't take long to get to a high level of proficiency.

In a few months I was very good at it already.

It is very simple, it is natural. It is not difficult. Prove it for yourself, don't take my word for it. Try it out. The first time I heard about it, it was strange to me, so I tried it. It didn't take me long to get good at it. It was easier than I thought. In fact, I taught Karezza to a lot of friends, and everyone had success.

If one of them asked me, "how do I know if it will work?", I gave him a simple method of trying it. I usually said, "why don't you first try:

1. Don't have an orgasm quickly, but wait until the woman is finished, until she has had her enjoyment. Practice holding back for half an hour, for an hour, for several hours, if you can.

2. Then you'll see that your own orgasms are better; they are more enjoyable.

3. Also try having an orgasm only every other time you have sex.

Skipping one time. Every other time, try without orgasm. See how you feel."

With my sex students, those were my instructions, to begin with. These instructions summarize basic traditional Karezza. But these simple instructions could still be difficult for some men. They lost control (ejaculated) early, and were never able to do Karezza for a full hour.

Therefore, to make it easier, I gave my students some Energy-Karezza secrets. I asked them to improve their diet, and to avoid alcohol and all drugs. I told them not to eat before sex, because a man can not control himself after he has eaten. Why? Because then too much blood goes to the stomach.

Also, I gave very detailed instructions on the best movements in sex. I told them to move slowly, and explained how to move, so they wouldn't get too excited, e.g. sideways, in semicircles, avoiding the in-out moves.

For the premature ejaculators, I told them to give up salt, and to not use anything spicy hot, avoid hot peppers, stay away from spices, because this throws them out of control. And then I told them to use certain motions, slow motions, that makes it easy to control oneself. That's all.

Then the women will get the pleasure, because the men are controlling themselves.

For some men the pleasure was so overwhelming that they were still unable to control themselves very long, more than perhaps 45 minutes, even if their diet was good and they had high vitality. In these cases I think the solution is just doing it over and over. Sometimes men, just like women, may need saturation with lots of high-pleasure peak orgasms, before they can start with serious self-control and higher-pleasure valley orgasms. It may take months, but in the end they will get there.

I myself was never overly concerned with the clitoris or the G-spot, because the Karezza was so enjoyable and I was so good at it that a woman couldn't hold out long. If they wanted to have an orgasm, they could have it quick. Women enjoyed it.

The women were very happy. After beginning Karezza, it became unnecessary to calculate all this stuff. I never had to actually figure it out.

All I did was to function naturally, the way I felt like, without thinking about it. And it was right, for every woman. If one gets too mechanical about it, one becomes a dud. Then it is not real. Real sex has nothing to do with the brain, it has to do with feelings, true feelings and movement.

That's all. The brain is not needed.

From page 45 the Technique to Paradise.

🍎🐍🏖️

YAB YUM

What are you experiencing?

~ by yab yum

Be patient. At first you can't experience the orgasmic part of this process. Some get it on their first try and for some it can take years. Keep practicing with the exercise your teacher gives you. Even if you don't experience the orgasm, just the breath and energy circling alone is of great value. It will clear blocks so that eventually the orgasm can pass through you. Blocks can be experienced in many ways – crying, gagging, getting frustrated, resurfacing old memories. Just keep breathing. Visualize letting go of the "old" on the exhale, ringing out the "new" on the inhale. Energy levels will most likely rise and fall, like mercury in a thermometer. Tell your partner where it slipped. Your partner will encourage you to tap into your sexual center when energy is slipping. One of the main keys to learning this technique is KNOWING that it is possible.

(When asked if she had an orgasm, Sara responded 🙂

It was uninterrupted, uninterrupted… This was definitely something else, which I have never experienced so fully.

(Sara was then asked if there were any psychological changes.)

Oh yes, sure. From the point of view of spiritual practice it is always full of insight, a kind of insight that comes after, about how I am in ecstasy in my usual state, because it is obvious that the ecstasy is inherent in the body (level), of my being… and also of course this would affect my meditation. I am much more relaxed and receptive physically, emotionally and psychologically when I sit down to meditate…. I don't know what this has to do with anything, but meditation becomes very sexual, very physical, playing with all these hormones. Very often in my meditation there is a stage like deepening where it goes through something like lovemaking in a hormonal sense. I feel the heat and change of energy and so forth, and then it just cools down. That is when deep meditation begins.

It is absolutely blissful in ecstasy because the bliss is something I feel in the body. The ecstasy is something where the body is no longer. Energy goes up. His community. It is love. The transcendent, the energy feeling, transcends even the light that I'm talking about in meditation, and just went into the light.

One tree merges with another tree, the earth merges with the trees, the trees merge with the sky, the sky merges with the unknown...you merge with me, I merge with you...everything merges...differences lost, melting and merging as waves into other waves…an enormous unity vibrating, alive, without limits, without definitions, without distinction…the sage melting into the sinner, the sinner flowing together in the sage…becoming good becoming bad, becoming bad…the night turning into the day, day turning into night… life melts into death, death plunges into life again – then everything has become one.

This has changed my experience with sexuality forever… It has blown up things like this what you have about sex, the good feeling you get from sexual experience or trying to get. It broke that because it was so obviously about submission. It wasn't about me trying to do something. It was about not doing something, but rather receiving or allowing it, rather than doing and creating and making.

This is the most profound healing practice I have ever encountered. It has awakened me to realize that my body is often shut off from the bliss and ecstasy it might be experiencing. Through this practice I have come to learn that emotional pain occurs when orgasmic energy does not flow freely through my body and that there is an infinite flow of orgasmic energy available to me. It has taken me years to gradually release the tension and pain in my body and I still have areas of tension to unblock. The sensations can be different each time depending on my condition, sometimes there is a pulsating vibration and sometimes it feels like some kind of electrical current circulating through my genitals throughout my body. There may be tears of joy. My mind can be perfectly clear and it can seem like everything I feared has been resolved. When a certain area of ​​tension is unblocked and the orgasmic energy circulates, there is always an amazing sense of oneness with the life being awakened.

Mel 40 Auckland

My teacher knew how to touch – and where to make contact – He knew places to touch that I didn't know about – and soon I was on my way to another place in another universe. I was in a trance of breathing and sweat and pleasure that so long and so dead do had gone – that I traveled through light and sound. I never knew that such an experience could be had without actually making love. When I finally climaxed and climaxed and climaxed, I couldn't believe I was having a sexual climax in the presence of someone other than my husband. I felt both excitement and a little embarrassment. Looking back at this moment, I would never have thought that having an orgasm for another man would actually be the "beginning" of this whole journey in Tantra

Emma S 35

Auckland

And this is the joy of Cosmic Spiritual Orgasm, because you disappear for a moment. That moment is very small, but its impact is immense. For a moment you are no longer the ego, you do not think in terms of 'I', for a moment you dissolve into the oneness of the all, you become one with the whole, you pulsate with the whole. You are no longer an individual… you are no longer limited to your body. You have no limitations, for a moment you are unlimited, infinite.

That is the meaning of Cosmic Spiritual Orgasm – that your frozen energy melts, becoming one with this universe, with the trees and the stars, and the woman and the man, and the rocks – for a single moment, of course. But in THAT moment you have a kind of consciousness that is religious, that is sacred, that is one with all things. – OSHO

Unbelievable! Some are very strong and some are wonderfully subtle. In general, the more time you spend building up the energy, the more powerful the sensations. You experience “electricity” throughout your body, hands, feet and lips tingle, and there is a sense of letting go and receiving at the same time. You will feel high, euphoric and light-headed. It feels very different from a clitoral orgasm (but it can happen at the same time as a clitoral orgasm). You see a seed sprout, flowers appear on a tree somewhere, the birds are singing – the whole phenomenon is sexual. It is life manifesting in many ways. When the bird sings, it is a sexual call, an invitation. When the flower attracts butterflies and bees, it is an invitation, because the bees and butterflies bear the seeds of reproduction. Everything seems to be divided into these two polarities. And life is a rhythm between these two opposites. Repulsion and attraction, coming closer and getting far… these are the rhythms.

Z

[acompleteunknown2024]

milo (if i may) i feel so compelled to tell you that i've finally watched the double for the first time and i feel so unhinged and would love to hear and any and all thoughts you're willing to share about the movie !!!

ohhh i am honored to receive this ask!! i start vibrating with excitement anytime i get to talk about that movie so of course i am gladly accepting this invitation to rant and ramble about my favorite piece of media in the world (not exaggerating). i'll put this under read more - strap in, this could get quite long.

warning for mentions of suicide (not detailed, but the movie does obviously deal with it so it's not something i can ignore)

first and foremost it's a film about isolation, loneliness, alienation, whatever name you want to give that feeling that you simply do not belong on a grand scale, that everyone else was built for the world and you simply weren't. i think as dense and somewhat convoluted and bizarre as the narrative is, the thesis of the film can be found very early on when simon tells hannah "it's terrible to be alone too much." we are introduced to a man who lives in an exaggeratedly cruel world in which he finds impossible to navigate life or find any semblance of human connection and despite the overwhelming darkness of everything around him and his own internal turmoil, he must go on living. he must find connection despite all this. and the whole point of the movie is that, in the end, he does. it's a wildly optimistic film in my eyes in spite of being quite an uncomfortable and even distressing viewing experience which is why i love it so much.

i want to note that i think one of the most important things the movie does is make it pretty clear (to me at least) that the connection between simon and hannah is not a romantic one in any way. i've seen people criticize the movie for "romanticizing stalking" which i find to be quite plainly ridiculous - just because a movie depicts something bad without having the character look into the camera and go "what i'm doing here is unethical" and spoonfeeding you morality doesn't mean the movie is condoning what it's depicting. the double isn't a movie that spoonfeeds you anything. obviously simon watching hannah through the window is wrong. obviously he's not a good person for it. as an audience we can understand that well enough on our own. i think it's important for him not to be this purely moral person who is constantly victimized - even people who have been victimized by the world around them can be cruel themselves. the point is more that simon has some sense that hannah, like him, is a "wooden boy" and he wants to reach out but doesn't know how. which doesn't make it okay, but we can analyze something without thinking it's okay. but back to my point, i think it's really important that at the end of the film, in the ambulance, hannah is there with simon not because he "gets the girl" and not because she forgives him but because they understand each other on a much deeper level.

despite being a film about encountering a double of oneself on a literal physical level, i think many of the most interesting conclusions to draw from it come out of the ways that simon and hannah recognize themselves in each other and the (often visual) parallels that are drawn between them. see this post i made ages ago for some of the visual parallels. but even narratively, there is a lot that lines up. particularly, her suicide attempt parallels his. she is charmed and duped and betrayed by james just like simon is. simon meets and destroys his physical double while hannah creates doubles in her art and destroys them. she too "feels like pinocchio" and says so to him. when they first sit together at the diner, hannah tells simon "a person can get sick of just floating by" and later in his suicide note simon describes himself as a ghost. i could go on, but i think those are enough examples. i think, in may ways, hannah is as much of a double of simon as james is.

i think there is also a lot to be said about the ways that their experiences of the same internal struggle are differently gendered. i remember maggie @ashleyjowilliams saying at some point that james wants to be seen more while hannah feels that she is seen too much (or something along those lines, forgive me if i'm misquoting you). hannah is preyed upon by the male gaze, constantly seen by those around her (the man who stalks her in the opening of the film, simon, james, society as a whole) as an object while her personhood remains invisible. she is seen too much while not being seen at all. i think a version of this film which centers hannah rather than simon would be equally if not more fascinating and quite different and would have a lot to delve into in this regard.

simon's experience, which we get to see much more closely than hannah's, is a very gendered one as well. he is stuck between versions two versions of manhood, of being: the one he himself embodies and the one embodied by james. the most important thing i want to stress here is that james is not an "evil version" of simon. he is a part of simon - one that has been buried deep in the unconscious perhaps, but a part nonetheless. he is an evil that simon is capable of - "the potential evil inside us all" as richard ayoade puts it in one interview. james is less a double of simon and more a fragment of him become flesh. simon sees himself as a nice quiet guy who keeps to himself and doesn't bother anyone. he sees himself as superior to the jameses of the world and believes that just because he isn't aggressive and cruel and malicious like those around him he is moral (this, as we know, isn't true). secretly, though, he idealizes james and wishes he could act out that part of him instead. when james appears, simon is violently jealous of him, is almost infatuated with him, wants to become him.

on a literal level, simon kills james, but he also has to do away with and unlearn things about his conscious self. i think it's less a "killing" than it is an assimilation of the shadow, in a jungian sense. admittedly i haven't studied jung too thoroughly but from my surface-level understanding of shadow psychology it's obviously a big influence on the film. simon has to learn from the encounter with james and find a way to move forward. what he has to learn is that neither being simon nor being james are viable options, neither extreme is a good or moral or healthy one. there is a new, integrated self to be created. in some senses it's a killing, but more than that it is a rebirth.

i think there is also a societal critique to be found in the movie - of modernity and even of capitalism. i think marx's concept of estranged labor is really relevant and applicable here in a pretty obvious way (again i'm not a scholar of marx or anything, this is coming from a pretty introductory understanding). simon may feel invisible for many internal reasons, but his workplace and the whole organization of the world he lives in are an undeniable factor in his estrangement from himself, from others, from his labor, and from the world around him. something i struggled with for a while is trying to understand the figure of the colonel and what he represents and why, at the very end, he asks, "there aren't many like you, are there, simon?" - everything in the double feels so deliberate that details like this feel impossible to brush aside. i think it goes back to that commercial that simon appears in that he shows his mother which ends with "because the colonel knows there's no such thing as special people - just people" which is in direct contradiction with what the colonel says to simon at the end. something about the glowy lighting tells me the colonel isn't actually there in the ambulance, just imagined by simon, but i don't think it's that important. the point is that when simon responds, "i like to think i'm pretty unique" it is a direct resistance of the dehumanizing mentality of the world he lives in. finally, simon is able to see himself as a person. it is impossible to know where his life will go from here, but he has freed himself in some sense.

i hope i've made sense here. if there's any part you'd like me to elaborate on or if you just want to chat more feel free to shoot me a direct message! i'm always happy to talk about this.

[genshinconfessions]

This is a confession blog what an excellent place for me to dump my rambles about 2.3

*Deep inhale* EOGUXGSBKGICHSVENGKCUSB

ALBEDO! EULA! SOME BENNETT CONTENT? FOVIJSUDUXBDJVIXHSBFKCI I CANNOT

I'm saving my primogems so I'm not gonna pull on either Albedo's or Eula's banner but I might pull for Gorou and pray that I don't get Itto. Two banners at once? I feel like I'm acting like a child but THAT'S SO COOL for no reason aside from the fact that it's different but so cool! I wanna see how it goes so bad also I love Albedo and Eula a lot (not enough to use my primogems on, not enough to risk losing Yae Miko on, but a lot) and I'm SO EXCITED to see the content! Albedo is offering some very cool lore and Eula is just SO PRETTY and I want to see her CHARACTERIZATION a little more and PLOT and these two dragonspine loving Knights who are often in isolation together? I would kill to see the dynamic. "Albedo, what the devil do you think you're doing?" NEKCUXHSBTNVKSUSBNFOCJSN I CANNOT- And also! Potential Eulamber content? Even platonic Eulamber is beautiful their friendship is so voxishrbfnkdhsbdmc I can't wait to see it and even regular Amber content is fantastic my wonderful friend-shaped enthusiastic passionate lovable Outrider I'm so excited to say hi to her. I hate sheer cold and generally stay out of Dragonspine but I'm willing to go there for Eula and Amber and Albedo and even Bennett. I'm also excited because this is gonna be the second time I'll be spending a lot of time exploring Dragonspine, and this time it should be easier because the team pyro is Xiangling instead of Amber! My only fear is that my AR unexpectedly increases while I'm there and my world level does too and this is the first time I've been this excited for an update since 1.6. Not a big fan of the combat part of the event but I wanna make a snowman with Amber and I'm going to make mine super cute and I am living for the lore and story part of the event I don't care about the fancy ass sword (though I do care about the primos) I just want to see Eula and Albedo again. I'm also SUPER EXCITED about the teapot update and the ninja dog thingy I might just start vibrating? Oh my gosh I can't wait to adopt all the animals I see I am going to get SO MANY FOXES and I wanna make a duck pond and I can catch all the boars for my farm (hehe) and I can't wait to get Gorou I want to pet his fluffy ears so bad I will kick Kazuha out of my teapot to make space for him if I have to and his doggy ears and general dogginess is SO CUTE MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THIS (There's a reason I'm a Razor main) and I'm also looking forward to the test runs so I can learn more about all their playstyles, especially Albedo. And I wanna see Itto's bull. I also high-key hope Kujou Sara will be present in Itto's story quest because I really wanna see her again. All in all I am extremely enthusiastic about 2.3. Thank you. Sorry for the long ask hehe

totally agree!!! i hate dragonspine and i genuinely was about to lose it during albedo's story quest LOL but i am willing to go back for him.

- katheryne from liyue

[yourlocallivingdead]

The tale of Quasimodo.

I am so unbelievably happy

You see this cactus?

This moth eaten cactus, lovely child that's doing his best?

He comes from my mom's work, when one of her co-workers decided to go on vacation and never came back.

He only bloomed the one time when she'd gotten him, then never again.

Understandable, considering he lived in an office with no proper sunlight.

My mom brought him home when she got fired, and I decided to take care of him since my mom was really in a bad place over it, and kind of saw him as a reminder.

She said, after six years of having him, she'd never seen him bloom.

But I put him in a window that got partial sunlight, loosened up his roots (best I can do, since we don't have the money for a pot), and he started getting new growth.

Then, since our old apartment had shit windows, it suddenly fell and basically guillotined him.

Then during a storm he fell out the window, and down the street.

He's been through a lot.

But look at him. Look closely.

MY SON HAS A FLOWER BUD.

I am more emotionally invested than I should be, and cried and freaked I am so God damn proud of you, you little baby boy!!!

Now I'm just thinking how the demon bros would be reacting to an MC that gets all excited over her human world plant recovering enough to flower.

And some just being really weirded out???

Liiiike ..

Lucifer

Team has no idea what you're on about

He knew you liked plants - your room in the house was covered in them, after all, but you were getting so excited??

Over something plants did naturally?

When you explain your plan'ts harrowing past he's more confused??

This is a plant??? And you're talking about him as if he's one of the sentient ones in the forest behind the house???

But then he sees that look in your eyes. Really, really sees it. The sparkling pride in your eyes, the way you delicately and tenderly caressed the bud...

It was endearing. So, so endearing.

So he pat you on the head while shaking his own.

"I don't really get it... But I'm proud of you and your plant."

Jeez, the teary eyed, happy look on your face was something he was not prepared for. His heart... By golly, it felt so warm.

Mammon

Honestly, he had no idea why you were so happy.

But it was contagious. So, so contagious.

This man is 10/10 supportive of this little plant child and his weirdly excitable S/O, he loves you so much.

Next day he goes to Barbatos and asks about getting soil from the human world and a new pot for the growing boy, cause Lucifer thinks it's silly.

You're ecstatic gratitude makes him so damn happy!

Leviathan

Look, you helped him in his hour of need - Henry wasn't doing well, and upon hearing that he was, in fact, a human world goldfish...

You'd schooled him, gently, on how to properly take care of one.

A goldfish his size needed a 20 gallon tank. Done, easy.

He needed a filter. Also done.

Fresh water, treated with a few drops of purifier and let to sit to get to room temperature.

He got even happier when you suggested getting him a placostomus friend, a little suckerfish that would help with keeping his tank clean.

And Henry was right as rain within a few days. He even learned how to water cycle instead of having to remove him to clean the tank.

He LOVES that you get so passionate about taking care of even the smallest things..

Especially when you go into detail about this little plants history, all determined to make it better... It's his kind of anime story. Against all odds, you WILL save this plant!!

So when you pull him into your room, face bright red, and pointing ecstatically to the little bud he's right there with you.

"OOOOAHAHAH!!!!" He takes so many pictures and updates his social media about it.

He hugs you and is so, SO proud of you!!!

OF COURSE the one who saved Henry 2.0 would be able to bring a little cactus back to life!!!

He orders you new pots and more soil for him the second you're wondering if you need to get him a bigger one. Many... Many varieties. Cause he wanted to make sure you could pick out the best one for the super good boy!!!

Asmodeus

Asmodeus loves all things beautiful, so honestly he hated that cactus.

It couldn't even bloom, and it looked so... Sad.

But you were so determined to nurse it back to health, so he rolled his eyes and pat you on the head.

Then... It actually bloomed and Asmo lost his mind.

You actually did it!!!

It was a small bud, but he was so, so excited to see what a human world flower is going to look like.

When it did bloom, he thought it was cute! Modest, but the prettiest shade of pinkish purple...

Cute, pretty, resilient.. just like his MC.

He praised you for your green them and determination, giving you soft kisses and adorations.

It teaches him to see the beauty in things - and from now on he's right there with you when you're tending to the plants instead of lining for attention.

Satan

At first, he's with Asmodeus when he sees your determination to take care of what surely looks like a lost cause.

But he sees it get better gradually, and is mildly invested, though is confused when he realizes it.

Even more confused when you refuse to let him use magic to help it - you're too worried about the effect it might have.

When you suddenly bring it to him and show him the bud his reaction is level headed. He smiles, and gives you a gentle pat on the head.

"I was wrong to doubt you... You did a good job, kitten..."

Oh God that sparkling look in your eyes when he took his hand away.... He had to put his hand back on your head for more pats to hide his blushing face.

Beelzebub

Being someone in the Devildom that's passionate about plants is kind of rare - the only other person he knows of like that is Barbatos, so it's one of those things that's really endearing to him about you.

You were so gentle with them... Gently talking to them when you watered them, pruning them carefully, it was so sweet... He'd watch you with a fondness on his face while he munched on some berries you'd grown.

When you suddenly cried out in surprise he jumped slightly.

"BEEL HE HAS A BUD!!!"

"Huh?"

"Quasi!! He has a bud, look!!" You pointed at the little bud, practically glowing with excitement.

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh!" He smiled at you, "Good job!" He was rewarded with you vibrating in happiness like a little puppy being td they were being a good boy.

It made him love you so much more...

Belphegor.

Being with you when you were tending to your plants was one of his favorite times.

You crooned gently and spoke to them in a soft voice that was nice to fall asleep to.

When you were tending to him and he was just about to sleep he heard you gasp - and opened an eye bleerily to see.

"Belphie, look," you said, taking the plant to him and pointing at the bud, "He has a bud..!!" A soft voice was always a must around Belphie, and you obliged.

"huh... So he does..." He said lazily,not getting the importance.

"This is Quasimodo - don't judge me, I see you judging me... He never blooms! Not in years!" You pouted, "My mom's co-worker didn't really take care of him that well.. but look!! He's got a bud!!"

Belphegor rolled his eyes, sighing and lazily plopping his hand on your head in a head pat motion. "How could he not...? With that sweet voice of yours..." He smirked, knowing with how you squirmed you were blushing.

"Now put the plant down... Let's take a nap..."

Now that he knows how passionate you can get, he takes more notice of how you interact with them. He even, much to his own mild embarrassment, starts learning their names...

Great. The human is wearing off on him... Not that he minds.