#Must you be natural and straightforward to be of use - like the sun?

[completeoveranalysis]

[2]

OH IS IT EGG TIME?

IS IT EGG DAY?

Something something never skip egg day.

But all plot promises aside I love the thought process Doumeki is showing here. 

He understands an “egg” as “something that new things are born from”, and so he can’t imagine what other use it might have if that option is off the table. 

And there are so many different layers to that concept alone. Doumeki is, after all, a regular person who was presumably born one of the regular ways. For him, Egg -> New Birth is the ordinary and perhaps exclusive way of things, from his point of view. 

But what about eggs that aren’t laid at all, but still exist? What about eggs that are glitched into being - like Watanuki was? If Watanuki is an egg he is technically the same egg as the egg that originally existed, but he wasn’t the one that was actually raised by his parents. Does an egg like that still have some use in this world? (which is a very affirmative yes)

What about eggs that are separated from their world of origin, do they still have some use? Tampopo says yes! Like Watanuki, even if it’s just human connection and making someone else happy, then it existing at all is always a good thing, even if it wasn’t supposed to be here originally. 

And what about eggs that never hatch? Do they have some use in this world? 

Yuuko said it will. Doumeki doesn’t understand how, but he’s still only thinking about it from one angle. 

If he were thinking about it like a chef, for example, then yes there are many, many uses for an egg that will never hatch. As long as it didn't go off.

So clearly he should spend even more time with Watanuki. :) 

[yesimwriting]

A Matter of Timing

Midway part 2!! read part one here: Midway

Summary: Despite the hardships of your marriage to Aegon, the two of you reach a new understanding during the aftermath of his accident.

Warnings/info: forced marriage turned to awkward, subtle pining masquerading as friendship, descriptions of (chronic) pain, aegon's recovery being sped up slightly through a small time skip for the sake of plot, slight aemond slander, canon compliant incest (reader is rhaenyra's daughter)

----

The light spilling in through the window is a beacon, the warmth of it offering the king's apartments something beyond the somber sterility that followed his father throughout his final years.

At times, if Aegon allows his mind to dwell on the similarities between his situation and Viserys's the ache of his body morphs into something else, an all consuming beast that nearly makes him wish Sunfyre's wing had never cradled his broken body. It'd be a simple thing to spend the rest of his days being constantly mended within the safe confines of this room.

Someone else would rule in his place--like his mother and grandsire had done for his father--likely the same man, the same brother that betrayed him, and Aegon's role as a vestigial only ever visited out of obligation would be cemented into reality.

"I'm sure you're tired of novels..." The voice is not much different than the sun's light, a thing of warmth. His father did not have anything similar to you. "But I do not have much to speak of."

Aegon believes it. His authority was one of the few things holding you to your position. Now, with him here, he imagines your existence within the Red Keep has only grown more precarious. His mother had been petitioning to separate you from the monarchy since before the incident. He can't imagine anyone of significance telling you anything.

"Your small council meets often, which seems to be occupying a great deal of your mother's time." Your summary is blank, straightforward as you search your thoughts for information he might be interested in. "Aemond's recently been named regent, though I'm sure someone must have told you that already."

Aemond. The confirmation of his suspicions jabs at him, the assuring nature of your voice briefly losing its hold on him. He begs his body, his mind to cry out...All he can manage is a rasp that's almost a name and twitch of his fingers.

The seat you've pulled next to his bed side creaks as you shift. You've always been encouraging of his movements, invested in each sign of the life still clinging to him in a way that implies a devotion someone like you could never feel for him. "Aegon?" He tries again, another ragged distortion of his brother's name. "Are you--Do you want him?"

No. You are the only one that seems to be on his side entirely. You may detest his family, you may desire your mother's rule, but his recovery matters to you. Even with your care, he has no way to express what he needs to.

He squints his eyes open, a task that takes more from him than he'd ever admit. His sight is weak, the side of his face that took the worst of Vhagar's flames agitated by the effort. You're close enough for him to make out your features, your expression. With your eyebrows pinched together like that, you look a little younger, like the girl that used to pretend to understand the crude jokes made by her brothers and uncles.

You shift closer, your hand finding a place on his bed. With trembling fingers, Aegon manages to place his hand over yours. Your gaze dips downwards, briefly landing on where your fingers meet before finding his features again. You study him with a focus that'd be unnerving coming from anyone else.

Your lips part before you're ready to speak. "You don't want Aemond here." It's not a question.

Your understanding reaches something deep inside of him. The relief offers him the strength needed to tilt his chin downwards, an approximation of a nod. You let out a breath, a question clearly waiting on the tip of your tongue.

The sound of assured footsteps stops you from asking it. You press your lips together, attention shifting towards the room's entrance. The door groans as it's pulled open, the footsteps continue, clearer now. Aegon's eyes flit towards the doorway in time to see his brother.

Instead of looking at the results of his betrayal, Aemond's eye settles on something just past Aegon. You. "Your grace."

Dread coils itself inside Aegon's stomach. His fingers bend as much as he can will them to, his hold on you attempting to convey anything that might get you to stay away from Aemond.

Overnight, Aemond has been consumed by a monster that's fed off his loyalty, leaving nothing in its wake but a shell of who his brother used to be. That beast has no place near you.

Your eyes don't leave Aemond, but your fingers do press into his, a subtle confirmation of something. "My lord."

Aemond steps forward, his hands politely held behind his back. "How is my brother?" Another step towards his bed, towards you. Aegon's body aches with the desire to move, to place an even greater wedge between you and Aemond. "You are by his side more than ever these days."

Your lips press together, a tight lipped smile that doesn't reach your eyes. "It seems someone should be." The lack of subtlety in your comment seems to hit you a moment too late. In an attempt to remedy your mistake, you tack on something polite, "With you all understandably concentrating on the war efforts and ruling over your people. You more than most, prince regent."

Your shift to docility paired with the reminder of Aemond's new position seems to work. The corner of Aemond's mouth pulls itself upwards, a predator's smile. "So you've heard."

"Your mother told me this morning," you pause, "She often comes by during the mornings when Aegon's bandages are replaced to oversee his recovery." Aemond moves even closer, his knees practically against the side of Aegon's mattress. "It feels odd to congratulate you considering the circumstances, but I am sure it is still a great honor to serve your realm."

Aemond's single eye focuses on your expression. Aegon feels the inflation of his lungs stall. "Thank you, my queen." His brother's gaze does not leave you. "You seem to have taken to your own service." Aegon's stare does not leave you. "Mornings, evenings, sometimes through supper...you stay by your husband's side." He lets out a low breath. "Though noble, I do worry that you are not making enough time for your own rest."

The concern in Aemond's voice ignites something in Aegon's blood. It is not enough to disfigure him and steal his throne, now Aemond needs his wife as well. This is another aspect of Aemond's greed that Aegon should have long ago suspected.

Despite your questionable parentage and the circumstances surrounding your union, your beauty has never been deniable. Of course Aemond had seen it as well. Your way of being is another factor that made being forced into this marriage tolerable, even when you hated him most, your arguments and protests had never been cruel, they had only been vexing in the most intriguing way possible. Aegon should have known that, too, would not go unnoticed by his brother.

Aegon's fingers tighten around yours. "Though appreciated, your concern is unnecessary." Your voice is even, words measured. "I often rest in my own apartments, as they are connected to my husband's, which means that I do not have to worry about him needing something and no one being around to hear him."

"Your loyalties to the king are admirable." Aemond moves even closer to Aegon's bed, his knees pressing into the bed's side. "And they have been noticed. We are both aware of the skepticism some hold towards you because of your mother, but no one can deny that you are a good queen. You are poised, intelligent, and beloved by the small folk."

Aemond extends an arm over Aegon's form, his fingers gently brushing against the edge of your hairline, pushing a stray strand of hair back into place. "And I plan to look after you in the ways your husband cannot, as my brother would have wanted."

If Aegon were capable of full movement, he'd take his brother's remaining eye. As if sensing his unease, or perhaps even feeling some of your own, your hand squeezes his. "That is very kind of you, my lord. Thank you."

He nods, straightening fully. "Of course. I must now leave you both, the small council is waiting for me. I was only given a moment to check on the king's health."

"Yes, attend to the king's small council, your brother is well looked after."

Aemond presses his lips together, his expression uncertain. "I am sure."

With that, Aemond turns around. His footsteps are even, unhurried as he moves towards the room's entrance. You're quiet as he leaves, attention focused on the doorway.

After a long moment, once you are certain that Aemond is no longer within the confines of Aegon's apartments, you scoff. "I wouldn't want him involved in my recovery, either."

Your thumb drags against his knuckles, the contact so soft it borders on overwhelming. "But you--the two of you were close, weren't you?" Your eyebrows pinch together curiously. "At least, relatively so. You defended him after..." You blink, eyes glossier than they were a moment ago. "After Luke."

Aegon should have known then that Aemond was never meant to be an integral part of his reign. That type of instability, that connection to rage...loyal as a hound. The only thing his brother feels a sense of duty towards is his own ambition.

If he had punished his brother for Lucerys's death, exiled him, he wouldn't be here. You'd also--it would have been an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to his wife.

"I--" His throat burns around the syllable. You blink, the grief melting away from you as you focus on his words. "Things are different now." The energy it takes to form the words is not worth the cost. He cannot even decide what to focus on. You--comforting you, or attempting to explain Aemond's betrayal.

You squeeze his hand. "Even when it hurt, a part of me always understood why you sided so adamantly with Aemond. That is not to say that I was not angry..." He remembers your rage, the threats you had made again and again before breaking down. Aegon said nothing as you cried, but he did smooth circles against your back until you fell asleep. "I would have done anything for my brother."

You let out a low breath, the grief behind your eyes melting into something more present. "You are speaking more more these days." There's a warmth to the phrasing that soaks into his skin. "It is...assuring." Your fingers press into his. "If you do not mind me asking, why do you not wish to see Aemond?"

Aegon watches you openly, taking in your features and the softness behind your eyes. After everything that happened between the two of you, the circumstances of your marriage, you found it in you to tend to him as he struggled to not lose his hold on life. How could he repay your kindness by telling you the truth?

You're quicker to action when it comes to defending others, he had seen it in the way you spoke of Lucerys. As of now, Aemond seems to like you, or at the very least, want you. And though the thought makes his skin crawl, that is a much safer position for you than knowing what Aemond is. At the very least, until Aegon recovers enough to be in a position to defend you.

"He saw me go after Meleys after--he told me not to." The lie leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He squeezes your hand, reminding himself what he's doing this for. "And--and he is ruling now, he should--he should remain focused."

You watch him for a moment, eyebrows pinched together uncertainly. He lets out a breath, slowly moving his arm. Aegon ignores his pain as he lifts your hand to his lips. What the gesture takes from him is returned by your smile.

----

Evenings are usually his respite, the time between the late afternoon and true nightfall.

These fleeting hours provide him something much needed. A way of pretending that he is no patient, no burden. With no one around to hover and spare him pitiful glances, Aegon can almost imagine that his life has gone unchanged.

Especially during the evenings in which you join him. The solitude softens you, allowing you to speak freely and sometimes even jest about some of the happenings of his court. You’re rarely able to update him on any significant political changes, but he finds the gossip you can offer him distracting enough—or, at the very least, your delivery of the rumors is.

Tonight, however, there have been no stories recounting a supposed affair between Ser Criston Cole and some unknown woman or of the changes in the small folk’s attitudes. There has only been silence and the flickering of candlelight.

He glances towards the seat to left of his bed, one of your books abandoned in your place. The cane one of the maesters had encouraged him to begin practicing with is propped up against the wall behind the chair. Perhaps you are starting to realize that what drew you to Aegon was not some newfound appreciation of your connection, but your goodness, your desire to repair him the way you would a wounded animal.

Though still healing, Aegon has made it a few paces away from death's doorstep. He's been instructed to practice moving as much as he can bear to, to get used to strain of his limbs and the protests of his body. However, Aemond and the small council have made a point of suggesting Aegon does all he can to keep his recovery process away from prying eyes for the sake of morale.

The soft sound of footsteps echoes from beyond one of the walls that keep him from the outside world.

"I appreciate you taking the time to escort me to my husband's apartments, my lord."

Aegon's fingers dig into his sheets, his body incapable of giving him the force needed to exhaust any real frustration. That's another thing that seems to have changed in these last few days. With the crown on his head, Aemond has pivoted towards a new goal--you.

"These are uneasy times, my queen, I am glad to be assured of your safety."

His queen. Aemond has done all he can to protect your position within the Red Keep. He continues to promote you, partly out of a way of placating the small folk that support you and mainly as some kind of ploy to draw you in.

"Thank you, again," you say, "I won't keep you any longer, your time is valuable."

Without another word from his brother, the door to his apartments creeks open. Less than a minute later, the final door dividing the two of you is pushed open slowly. The hinges still creek, but you're still more careful than you need to be as you continue forward.

You turn to face him before the door can fall shut. "You're sitting." The words are said with such warmth, Aegon's frustrations are nearly banished from his mind.

"You've seen me sit."

His flatness does not quell your joy. "I know, but you're not with the maester...and it--it's later than you'd usually sit." You continue forward, stopping at the foot of his bed. You allow yourself to watch him openly. "And your skin is losing its yellow undertones." You place a hand on the foot of his bed, eyes shifting away from him. "Watching you recover...it has brought me a great deal of peace."

There's a hint of vulnerability in the way you stare at his bedding. Aegon lets out a breath. You are not the conniving type, and you have no way of knowing what Aemond really is. "Well, you deserve a great deal of credit." The words are enough to get you to begin walking again. "I do not know where I'd be without you."

You smile, stalling at the other side of his bed. "I am wonderful, I know." You place your hand against the bedding, but not yet pulling them back. "In reality, I wish there was something I could to ease your pain. You are the one that is still recovering from Meleys's flames."

He turns his head enough to look at you. "You deserve a great deal of credit for that as well."

You smile again, this time the look a much more genuine thing. "Can I stay in here tonight?"

The question is one of the few formalities that you still cling onto. You sleep in his bed more often than your own these days. "I'd never ask you to leave my bed."

You roll your eyes as you push back his sheets. You push off your shoes before crawling into his bed. He enjoys your proximity more than he'd ever be able to tell you.

You settle close enough for him to be able to feel the warmth radiating off of your skin. "I missed you tonight."

"Then perhaps you should have taken your supper with me."

You let out a low breath. "I wanted to, but Aemond asked me about how often I have supper here, and I couldn't think of what to say."

Aegon cannot help his scoff. "And when Aemond calls..."

You turn to face him, your body shifting even closer. "He is acting as the king, he is your regent--"

"My regent, my throne, my wife." The embittered words come out before he can stop them.

"What?" You're staring at him with wide, bewildered eyes. "You cannot possibly think that I, of all people, have been disloyal to you."

Regret immediately jabs at his chest. His anger, his fear, none of it has anything to do with you. "No, I did not mean it in that way."

"I am here when you go to bed, I am here when you rise, I am here more than I am anywhere else. In what moment would I have had time to be unfaithful?" You push your weight onto your knees, hurt pooling in your eyes. "Perhaps while eating with your family, or--or sitting with the ladies of a court that loathes me?"

The yellow glow of the candlelight highlights the shininess of your eyes. "I tolerate my brother's murderer because we are married, because I am left no other option. Do not ever accuse me of betraying you or Luke like that ever again."

The words are sharp, tears brimming in your eyes as you force them out. Guilt ensnares some vital force in his chest, the pain of his body amplified by reget.

He whispers your name, the sound raspy and pathetic. "It is not you, it is the fucking traitor that is determined to take everything of value from my life."

You blink, the self righteous anger and offense briefly leaving you. "Traitor?" The mistake leaves his face warm. "What--" Your eyes flit towards the door. "Aegon, I am going to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me. If these last weeks have meant anything to you, I want you to be honest with me."

He swallows. You reach for his hand. "Your injuries--are they from Meleys's flames?"

Aegon squeezes your palm to his with a force that leaves pain pulsing up his arm. Beneath the weight of your stare, your silent pleading, he breaks. Aegon shakes his head.

You exhale, an odd sort of tranquility coloring your features. "Okay." Carefully, you bring his hand to your lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. The serenity of your movements throws him. "Thank you for your honesty."

Aegon watches as you set his hand down gently. You begin to shift back, forcing Aegon to straighten his spine even further. "Where--where are you going?"

"To tell the guards that their prince regent, the same man that removed his own mother from the small council, the same man that killed my--" Your voice cracks at the last syllable. "My brother, has now attempted to kill--" The words waver before breaking off entirely. "To kill the king."

Aegon reaches for you, his fingers finding their way around your wrist. He latches onto you as if you might disappear if he allows you to. "We cannot say anything."

The sentence pushes you away, sending you to that distant place that took you after your brother's passing. Aegon ignores the way his side protests as he sits up even further, his hand coming to rest against your spine.

"Guards know no loyalty beyond orders and their wages, Aemond is in a position of immense power. You are beloved by the people, but hold little standing in your own court." He runs his knuckles against your lower back. "Look at me. Any number of incidents resulting in my death could be deemed an accident. I can't--I can't protect myself, let alone you."

It takes you a moment to return. "He killed my brother." Tears begin to run down your face. "He almost killed you." You're crying openly now. "We need--we--"

"I know," he whispers, "But as of now, we have nothing except things to lose." Aegon moves his hand, allowing it to settle against your waist. "He likes you now, and that--that is a safe thing."

You inhale sharply, the sound a little more than a sniffle. "I don't care."

"I do." This is one area that he is unwilling to compromise in. "I won't risk you." He releases your side in favor of reaching for your face, his thumb wiping at already spilled tears. "Promise me that you will not do anything. Please."

"We cannot let him get away with this."

"We won't," Aegon vows, "Because we will wait until the right time. I will heal further. He will make a mistake, and if I do not hear of it, you will." He drags his thumb against your cheek again, his fingers settling beneath your jaw. "Promise me."

After a moment, you nod. "I promise." The words are shallow and uncertain, but Aegon does not fear them. You mean your promises. "What if he hurts you again?"

"As long as I am feeble and making no attempts to regain control or expose him, he has no need to." You look up at him, expression unconvinced. "And he will not do anything in front of you."

You dip your chin downwards, a halfhearted nod. "I will not leave you." There's an earnestness there that rattles something inside of him. Your unflinching resolve to promise that you're there for him, that this is not his battle alone.

Aegon shifts forward, his body begging him to resume neutrality as he begins to pull you towards him. You're quick to respond, leaning into his touch. Aegon presses his lips against yours.

He's kissed you before--at your wedding, a few times during your handful of attempts at producing a child, and even less times during the day when particularly enjoying your company. But this is something else, something more desperate and meaningful. His lips drag against yours with less ease than he'd like, a dull ache nearly taking him out of the moment.

You pull back first, your breaths ragged as you look at him. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

It was not simple, but far from agonizing enough to make it unworthwhile. "Do not apologize for that." You nod without looking him in the eye. Aegon moves back, allowing his back to rest against cushioning. "Go have your ladies help change you into your night gown, and come back."

It's early for you to get ready for bed, but no one would find it strange. The two of you are married, which means you are welcome to spend as much time together as you'd like. Besides, Aegon likes the thought of you leaving now and not needing to go anywhere until morning.

You agree without question, moving away from him with a subtle nod. "I'll return in a moment."

You leave out of the door that connects his apartments to yours. Before he knows it, you're knocking on the door once before entering his space again. You seem a little lighter, hair brushed and face washed. You return to bed wordlessly, covering yourself with his sheets before resting your head against his shoulder.

Aegon's hand settles against your knee. "I walked a little longer with the maester today."

"That's wonderful," he can hear the smile in your voice. "I'd like to see that. Tomorrow I'll be here instead of sitting with the ladies."

The thought is easing. "I'll put on a good show for you."

"I'm sure you will." You place your hand over his. "I know that you said not to say anything, and it's a timing issue...but there has to be something we can do."

He turns over his hand, his fingers intertwining themselves with yours. "It would help weaken Aemond's claim if I were to have another, more evident heir."

The implications of the statement take you a moment to understand. Once you do, you squeeze his hand a little tighter. "Oh."

The few times the two of you had attempted to create an heir had been far from unenjoyable, just a little uncertain. After Lucerys's death, you were clearly and understandably not in the mood to be looked at a moment too long let alone touched. Aegon obliged you, and would be willing to keep leaving you to yourself if that's what you want.

"We could go back to trying to produce an heir," you mumble, body becoming a little more rigid against him.

He runs his thumb along your knuckles. "Really?"

"I mean, once you're healed enough to feel physically ready," you pause, a little unsure of yourself, "It seems a fitting course of action, and we are married."

He smiles to himself, lifting your hand to his lips. "We are."

----

a/n i'm leaving for my birthday trip tonight so if u liked this u should def send me aegon asks to come back to 🙏💗

Taglist: @dracaryxzs @callsignwidow @vulgarfuckinvirgo77 @kazupop @hikaerys @froggyfrip @theargoblog @targaryenswhxre @woodlandwrites @familyshow-orisit @dinomecanico @forevercountingstars @bibli0thecary @magictrump @tempo-rary-fix @mrs-starkgaryen

[thegnomelord]

Ok, so I loved your dragon reader/ dragon price fic. The detailed courting rituals got me thinking about how different members of TF 141 react to a s/o who has different courting rituals than them.

The one rolling around in my mind rn is Gaz (which I'm pretty sure is a harpy or bird hybrid of some kind) with a dragon reader.

So Gaz tries to court reader through a more fancy version of pebbling. But, instead of giving cool rocks and sticks, it's gemstones and weapons. Yknow, expensive/fancy things that Gaz thinks the reader might want to add to his hoard.

Btw do you have an anon list? If so, is 👑 anon available?

I don't have an anon list yet but you're welcome to be 👑anon!

It's cool to think how they'd try to court you. I hc that werewolves, and Johnny by extension, are really straightforward. Like sitting way too close, hands roaming over your body, trying to lick into your mouth and going "Hey wanna make more of us?"

Ghost, the poor thing, is completely fucked bc he was human before becoming a wraith, how the Hell is he supposed to know? Que him going through Wikipedia articles and watching documentaries of your species courting and mating (having to rub one out imaging you and him in that position ofc) and just stumbling through the whole courting thing.

CW:NSFW

But Gaz? Oooh Gaz—

Safe to say he's fallen ass over tits for you.

It's the way you take care of them, of him, of the monstrous strength used to defend them turning velvet soft when Gaz needs emotional support that has his harpy hindmind demanding to lock you down before a competitor snatches you away.

Only problem — you're not a harpy. And Gaz has no idea how courtship works, as when he asks Price about it (under the guise of just being curious) the old fart just gives him an amused look and tells him to figure it out.

Though harpies and dragons are two different species, he figures there must be some similarities, so he figures to listen to the old fairy tales about your kind and looks for the shiniest thing he can find, because Harpies court by giving gifts and dragons like to hoard and both of them like shiny stuff right?

You're confused like Hell when one day you wake up to find a silver ring with a shiny amethyst sitting on your windowsill. You know for a fact it's not yours as the instinct to catalogue every item in your hoard is as old as the draconic blood running through your veins and you'd remember if you had it.

When you make sure it's not stolen and no owner can be found, (because who'd wear that type of ring in a military base?) you decide to keep it, failing to notice how the way Gaz's pupils get bigger when you put the ring in your pocket.

It is a nice ring, the shine of the gemstone tickling your brain in a pleasant way. The military doesn't allow dragons to have large hoards, most of the items you've gathered over the decades and centuries safely hidden in vaults, but it feels good to have a small hoard in your den.

You expect this to be a one off event. But. No. Every few weeks you find a new thing on your windowsill, from gems to guns to additions to weapons you've expressed you'd like to get. Each new thing leaves you scratching your head, annoyance growing bit by bit as there's never enough scent on the items to track the culprit down and it's not like you can turn the base upside down looking for them (again).

You're unsure how to feel; it's obvious someone is trying to court you, but it definitely can't be Price because no dragon would go about it like this. But you have to admit it's nice to be desired, regardless how odd the method may be.

Then you notice how Gaz has started acting. . . different. He'll ruffle his feathers and flutter his wings more than usual when you two are alone, purposely stretch more often to make your eyes naturally draw to him, sticking to your side as he talks about everything and anything under the sun.

You're also not a fool. You can figure out it's a harpy's way of trying to show off, but without any open hostility you can only assume he's trying to court you. And you let him, you like his presence and the sound of his voice, the way he gives you a lopsided smile and the way his dark feathers shine like onyx gems when the light hits them juuust right and the way he flushes and stutters when your tail wraps around his leg.

Then one late evening when you're doing paperwork you catch sight of something behind your window in the corner of your eye. Like a flash you're opening the window, your clawed hand gripping Gaz's hand before he can scatter.

Gaz's wings spread out wide, a surprised squawk leaving him as he looks into your slitted eyes. "Uh-, I, eh- Hi?" He says, gulping, his newest gift, a very shiny ruby, held in his hand. But what draws your eye are his dark feathers.

You let out an amused snort, "Hello." You purr, leaning in so your faces are close, enjoying the way he flushes from the proximity. "So you're the little thief that's been visiting me."

Gaz's feather puff up to make his silhouette twice as big, his eyes narrowing, a hurt and angry look spreading across his features. "I'm no thief!" He says, insulted that you'd suggest he can't get you gifts on his own. "I-"

"You are," You hum, reaching out your other hand to hold his jaw, and even with his anger he feels his mind croon at how softly you touch him. "You're in the process of stealing my heart."

"Oh." Is the most intelligent thing he can come up with, his pupils blowing wide like he'd just seen the shiniest thing in his life. "Oh."

"Yes," You shrug and pull your hand back to yank one of your scales out of your shoulder, giving it to him as you take the ruby. "Keep this safe for me, yeah?" You hum and then you let him go, going back to your work while he's left dumbstruck, clutching the scale close to his chest.

When it finally settles in his head that you'd just given him a gift, that you'd reciprocated, and given him a shiny gift, oh he's treating that scale like it's the most precious thing in his world. He keeps it close to him, cooing to it in the privacy of his room, keeping it on his pillow so he can fall asleep with your scent in his nose.

He also doubles down on the gifts, but now he's very open about it, to the point you'll have him randomly come into your office to give you something shiny or another weapon, preening so prettily when you praise the thing he's brought back, nuzzling into your neck and fluffing up his feathers. His heart swoons when you show him the small hoard you've made with all the things he's brought you, and you end up spending the entire evening with him cuddled up to you, chirping happily.

"Hey, can I see that scale I gave you?" You ask after a couple of weeks, curious to see how he's treated it.

"Uh, sure." Gaz can swear his heart's beating like a war drum as he watches you inspect your scale, checking for scratches or cracks.

But you find none, it's still as shiny as the day you'd given it to him. Maybe even shinier.

You smile and before he can do anything you pull him close to you by a hand on his hip. "Very well done, little thief." You hum, kissing him. Gaz melts against you, not even your lips able to muffle the happy chirps and croons that escape his chest.

You spend the next few months getting familiar with each other's bodies, lazy evenings spent with your clawed hands preening his wings, Gaz steadily melting into the bed with every brush of your fingers. Kyle taking a few extra minutes in the morning to rub his face between your wing, chirping and crooning.

Harpy mating season comes around and you're caught off guard when you come to your room to find your covers and pillows and entire wardrobe on the ground, turned into a makeshift nest with a very naked, and very horny, Gaz sitting in the middle of it.

His eyes are hazy but he knows you're there the second your scent hits his nose, the most desperate sound you've ever heard leaving his lips, bruised from how hard he'd been biting them to reign his noises in, to keep them only for you.

"Mate-" Kyle whines, shuffles in the nest that has the pretty gems he'd gifted you strewn amongst the fabric, "-need you, please- I-"

One more needy sound is all it takes to have you tumbling naked into the nest in record time, deep guttural purrs answering his pleased coos. He presses flush against you, seeking out your mouth, whole body burning up and his thighs shaking, his cock rock hard.

"I got you, pretty thief." You rumble, pulling him into your lap, his wings spreading out and feathers puffing up, as if he needs to make himself look even more desirable. "What do you need Kyle?"

"Need you," Kyle whines, pawing at your own erection, desperate fingers shaking as he strokes you, "Please- hurts, I need- mate."

You shush him with sweet kisses, your hand sliding down to very carefully stretch him open while avoiding injuring him with your claws, your mind purring at how willingly he opens up for you, wings and limbs shaking as he whimpers against your lips, his mind steadily leaking from his cock.

"You're alright," You calm him when you pull your fingers out, positioning him so your cock head rests against his entrance, not missing how Kyle preens at your strength. "Going to breed you right, gonna take care of you."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Kyle moans are loud as you steadily push your cock into him, his walls clamping down on every inch of your length. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank- mate." His claws dig into your shoulders, clutching you tight as you bottom out in him, his hole clenching you in sync with his ragged breathing.

"I'm here," You hum, barely able to think, "Just relax, let me take care of you." You say, feeling him relax into you, and with deep purrs and lots of praise you begin to fuck him, moving him like a fleshlight on your cock, letting him moan and groan and scream his heart out uncaring who hears it, your ancient blood singing at the thought of his noises being a testament to your abilities as a mate.

Then the tight heat and the scent and just Kyle has your mind forgetting how to think, your body moving on it's own to show Kyle he'd picked a good mate.

[aviculor]

So, marinating on the lore and the reveals at the end of the storyline, there are a few discrepancies.

So Sada/Turo is dragging these pokemon out of their natural place in the timeline, right? Yet at the same time according to Heath a mere 200 years prior, these species already lived in Area Zero. Where were they before Sada/Turo came? Sada/Turo's dream was to recreate the paradise described in the Scarlet/Violet Book, but why would they need to do that? That wouldn't be necessary unless the book actually was fiction. Sada/Turo was making the contents of the book real using the "time machine" they built harnessing the crystals whose energy "enhance" machines for no explained reason. Furthermore, the straightforward time travel explanation for paradox pokemon is at odds with what Riddler Khu said. In the first place, why would a primitive relative of Amoongus still have pokeball patterning? Why would a primitive relative of Magneton exist at all, much less be made of steel with horseshoe magnets and bolts? Why would any descendant of any organic pokemon be a robot? You see, none of this makes sense...unless you consider that Sada/Turo was wrong about the nature of the crystals and what their device did.

It's not time travel, it's tapping into the power of an unknown legendary pokemon to make dreams into reality. Sada's favorite childhood book talks about savage, ancient versions of modern pokemon populating Area Zero. She makes it down to the bottom, and only finds ordinary garden-variety ones. Distraught, she works to build a machine that can pull pokemon from the past. Because she's using these crystals to power it, the machine produces results. It worked because she believed it would. It gave her the exact set of creatures described in her book, even though logically the probability of this would be infinitesimally small. And that probability would only decrease exponentially each time only one of those 8 specific pokemon appeared rather than any of the billions of other species that must have came and went over the epochs. No, because you see, the machine was not plucking pokemon from ancient history. It was plucking them from Sada's imagination. Same with Turo, obviously.

All of the paradox pokemon's pokedex entries talk about how they align with the creatures described in the book and were therefore named after them. Nothing about their biology or physiology or ecology. Not even the usual "hotter than the sun" "can jump over skyscrapers" bullshit. These pokemon aren't naturally-occurring. They're cryptids. They exist because Sada and Turo wished them to, and that's the same reason the professors were able to build sentient robotic doppelgangers despite that level of technology being explicitly stated to not exist in their world. Their desires resonated with the secret third legendary of the generation, a being with hexagonal crystalline plates forming a disc-like shell. But being rational-minded scientists, they concluded they were just brilliant inventors rather than the more unbelievable truth that they found a sentient orb that spreads crystals like a mold and bends reality according to the thoughts of those exposed to it.

The terastal phenomenon- the terastal orbs- is exposing pokemon to this unknown pokemon's energies and granting their wish. A wish to be a different type. A wish to be stronger. But what of the AI Sada/Turo that entered the "time machine"? Well, what if they returned in the DLC where all of this is revealed, and what if they were flesh and blood and ready to be the parent Arven always wanted?

[thebigsl33p]

Our Last Summer

A/N: Hello! It's been so long since I posted something, oh my God! It is my birthday on Sunday, but I thought I'd pump out loads of work. There will be another fic coming out soon with a similar title but instead with "I can still recall Our Last Summer" and that will be a Lockwood and Co. Fic (book based. I loved those books but Skulduggery Pleasant comes first. British schoolgirl things.) So Yeah... It will probably be an Anthony Lockwood X Reader!

Morpheus remembers that summer so vividly.

When he closes his eyes he can still smell the oranges, can still see her stretching up to pull them off the tree and her fingers messily digging into the skin, juice trickling over her hands. It's the smell that really pulls the memory to the front of his mind.

The smell of fields. Fresh cut grass, the oranges, the spots of lavender that surrounded her as she splayed out amongst the green blades and offered him half her orange before plucking a piece of lavender, smelling it and closing her eyes.

He would let her lay there for a while, looming over her. He would watch her, take in the complexity of her hair and skin under the sunlight, the slight warmth in her cheeks and the curls of her hair, how her eyes were so dark you could barely see her iris but when the sun hit her just right they would light up with gold.

He had loved wholly, and he would love wholly again, but none of his lovers would bring the sense of comfort Y/N did. With her, life was so simple. All the decisions he had to make were so straightforward, and every single one of them was made lying in a field, with her next to him or in his arms.

Morpheus also remembers the last day of that summer.

He had waited for so long, until the sun began to set. Until the sky burned with clouds of orange and pink and blue. And then finally, on a hill in the distance, he saw a figure - a shadow. It waved slightly, gently, before it began to walk down the hill towards him and the moment she came into view he frowned.

"Where were you?" he asked, once she'd reached him.

Gently, she folded her hands in front of herself, "I must go." She said, simply.

"Go? I don't-"

"This is the last day of summer." She waved her hand to the sun which was setting in the sky, earlier than the previous days, "I must be gone by tomorrow's dawn, the first day of winter." She stared at him, the slight confusion in his eyes, "Didn't you ever wonder who I was?"

He felt stupid, staring at her with lovestruck and pained eyes. It was so obvious now. He had presumed that other personifications were myths, extinct stories that were whispered on the air, but now she was standing in front of him. The golden sun hit her perfectly, she smelt like a warm breeze, the way nature seemed to hug her.

Summer. She was Summer. And now Winter was coming, she had to go.

"Summer," he had to say her name out loud, to know that she was real and he watched the slight recognition in her eyes and the slight nod of her head, "Where will you go when Winter arrives tomorrow?"

"I don't know." She was honest, "It's always Summer somewhere. I'm always needed, I'll always have a home. I just chose to make mine with you."

"There are places where it's always Summer in The Dreaming." The words just slipped out so easily, "Come live with us." Come be with me. Stay with me.

"Really?" She let an excited little smile slip onto her face, "You mean it?"

"Yes." He nodded and took her hands, "Yes."

And that was how, a year later, the smell of Oranges haunted his throne room. Occasionally Lavender followed it or Rose. Every time it took him back to that day, that summer spent in fields and sun. Y/N, which Summer went by, had ust left the throne room, and would be back within three hours with a basket of fresh fruit and freshly baked bread from The Dreaming. True, he could just provide her with these things with a flick of his hand.

But she liked to interact with the people of The Dreaming, and who was he to deny her. Especially considering his plans to make her their Queen.

[wordycheeseblob]

Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown - Gilbert Von Obsidian x Reader (Ikemen Prince)

Part of the event Spring Showers Spring Flowers hosted by @violettduchess and @aquagirl1978

Prompt(s): rainy days, a walk in the park

Pairing: Gilbert von Obsidian x Reader

Tags: angst

Word Count: 1400~

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Some time has passed since you were crowned empress of Obsidian. Initially It was as easy as saying 'yes' or 'no' to certain moral decisions. Easy as it goes, knowing Gilbert. Now you were finally getting a hand on administrative duties, delving deeper into obsidianite politics as a real empress would. "Some things take getting used to" you thought to yourself, reclined on the carriage window sill. Lonely droplets trickled paths across the crystal wall that kept you in and the world out, once so unfamiliar but that now felt like home. Spring in Rhodelite was a joyous time, floral aroma enveloped the streets mingling with the scent of freshly baked bread, when winter surrendered to the gentle rays of sun. Still, Obsidian wasn't such a desolate wasteland as one might imagine. As the nights grew shorter, the valleys saw their fair share of green. As you close your eyes, you could almost see it. Not as fragrant or floral as Jade or elegant as Rhodelitian fields in their full glory, but there was something endearing in the unassuming and straightforward nature of the daisies and wild flowers that crowned the country's mountainous range.It reminded you of its people.

The carriage swayed lightly bringing you abruptly back from your floral reverie. The view outside was a clear contrast to the your vivid vision. This year winter refused to recede a step. You sigh, forming a small cloud on the glass, as you pass another rank of austere birch trees your mind wanders to the inspection you were heading from, this time alone. You remember the first time Gilbert took you on a military inspection claiming something along the lines that to manage an empire, one must know every part of it well. Deep down it might have been an excuse to drag you along to brighten another rutinary outing, after all, you doubted this was part of an empress's duties. No matter, no one ever questioned the imperial family anyway. And it definitely was more than that; military was one of Obsidians stronger points, it made perfect sense for you to know it its workings in and out.

You clutch the documents in your hands a little tighter. With the recent commotion across the border, your days too would feel increased unrest. Doing logistics, surprisingly, made you feel in control.

The clatter of the wheels came to a stop.

Adjusting your ink black capelet coat, being more appreciative of its wormth than the intricate gossamer of golden embroidery, you alight the carriage. Instantly being greeted by the gray, hyetal weather outside, in the capital city. As much as you wished a feel of chelidonian winds, those that bring the promise of spring, or the last mercy of apricity on your chilled skin, spring was off to a slow, reluctant start.

–To think you'd know better than to let down your guard around me by now

–To think you'd use that cheesy line on me of all people– you turn towards the familiar voice to find Gilbert, merely seconds before losing all balance to a strong tug, familiar with his mannerisms you recognise being pulled for a hug and reluctantly accept your fate.

–How was the inspection?– his breath tickled your skin lightly. –You must be very sure of yourself to bring this little entourage– Gilbert gave a pointed nod in the direction of the small detachment of soldiers where your carriage was stationed. You weren't sure if what you caught in his pitch was the slightest hint of displeasure or amusement.

You wriggle enough in his arms to be able to look up, your eyes locking with his. Gilbert's usual smile is in place but his gaze is probing, as if searching for something. To Gilbert reading people akin to knowing what they were thinking. Some might call it genius, Gilbert preferred to call the process meticulous observation. People had ticks and tells when they lied, everyone was a product of their habits and what are habits if not patterns; something a so called genius had no problem detecting and exploiting.

–If you knew I was off to an inspection then maybe I wasn't as unprotected as you're implying.

Gilbert's smile only widened in response.

At this point you didn't have to ask how he knew, Gilbert had eyes on all sides, that was a given. And so did you at this point, to rule the vast that is Obsidian.

–Also Im pretty sure you already know how it went– You chuckle breaking free of the embrace to start walking along the dimly illuminated street matching his pace

–No idea  what you might be refering to here, I would be delighted to hear your retelling– Gilbert gave a light-hearted laugh linking his hand with yours.

· · ───────── ·᪥· ────────── · ·

It was Gilbert's idea to take a walk around the palace gardens. High above from where the obsidian palace overlooked the city, the air was so frigid you found yourself instinctively hugging his arm closer for some semblance of wormth.

– And that about sums it up. As usual, nothing unusual. You know we should probably head inside soon, the weather isn't looking any better.– you look around noting the dreary herbage and the unkempt weather-beaten hedge, the smell of petrichor still lingering in the air.

–just a little longer

For Gilbert of all people, to suggest staying out in this cold was very uncharacteristic. Did he like the idea of you clinging to him that much or... perhaps it's not the inspection he was trying to talk about. Had he cought onto your recent unease?

–Has something been troubling you?

You struggled to maintain a neutral face, your hesitation, however, gave you away almost instantly.

– Acroite, Tanzanite and Ruby have been acting rather suspiciously as of late, wouldn't you agree?– despite the gravity of what he said Gilbert sported his usual devil-may-care grin as if he had just hit the nail on the head. And he had.

He nodded his head knowingly.

–I'm sure you have a bad feeling about this.

–I had them on my mind for a while now but how did you know?

–People tend to have a sorrowful look when thinking about the past, like you when you remember Rhodelite– you looked at him but Gilbert only shrugged– and an anxious one when thinking about the future.

–Oh...– you avert your gaze to the dampened tiles on the ground. The 'clank' of the man's cane came to a halt.

–You couldn't have possibly thought I would fail to see the increase in your inspections lately.– He paused, sighing almost theatrically– It would do you no good to worry about things outside of your control, you know? Preparing would be a much better use of your time if anything.

Despite everything, Gilbert appeared to be genuinely worried about you. With the influx of duties on your plate, things became increasingly more challenging and there was no way he wouldn't catch on.

– surely... there must be something I can do

– In due time. We have to make sure to greet our guests properly.

You shot Gilbert a quizzical look.

–If they're really planning to attack as you might have come to suspect, someone is bound to come over to test the waters before the main event. We'll ask the questions then and look into the particulars after.

You felt as if the invisible veil that was weighing on you had suddenly been lifted, making it easier to breathe

–I... yes, you're right. Thank you.

–Ahaha would you say this concludes the interrogation then?– Gilbert chuckled breezily.

Way to ruin the moment. Gilbert always did this thing when after a good deed he'd try to downplay it somehow because, of course, how could he ever admit he was simply worried. You think to indulge him, just this once.

–Unbelievable, you seem a bit too fond of using interrogation techniques to make me open up– you cross your arms in fake disbelief. –this is the one where you use my mental fatigue knowing it uhh... hinders my cognitive information processing so I don't withhold anything from you, yes??

–I prefer your angry face to the sad one, it's full of determination

–you wanna go?

–on a date? Pretty much, Yes

You beam giving him a nudge on the arm.

As you wander through the forlorn gardens, hands intertwined, the shadow and light drawn by dusk weave a picture resembling silk satin damask, it's reflections slipping through the dampened tiles. You revel in the stillness, not unlike your own mind, knowing that even when adversity flooded your life, there was no tide you couldn't turn together.

[out-inthewilds]

Outer Wilds planets as people

That's right, all the planets and major locations of the game now have a personality! Why? Why not.

ENJOY and tag yourself in the comments ;P

Warning: angst at some point

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

Timber Hearth: the best way to describe you is that to everyone you feel like home. You are such a heartwarming presence for the people around you that they’re naturally drawn to you and feel like they could tell you everything.

You watch over your family and the people you’ve adopted become friends with and get so so proud of their accomplishments, even when it means they’re slowly drifting away from you, following their own dreams, reaching for the stars. You don’t have grandiose goals for yourself, in fact you feel quite contempt where you are, but part of you longs for the stars as well, for the thrill of discovery. It’s a dilemma that puzzles you to no end, but ultimately you realize that you can be perfectly contempt with where you are without beating yourself up for not being ambitious enough, and still keep the flame of your curiosity lit and your eyes up to the sky in wonder. And when your family gets a little homesick rest assured, you’ll always be there.

🌙🌙🌙🌛🌛🌚🌜🌜🌙🌙🌙

Attlerock: you’re the quiet kid. You often watch silently in awe how all the people in your group blend in seamlessly, like they all were bits of a song that needed to be played together. Despite this though, you feel something missing in you, like you’re the only one without an instrument. This makes you feel somewhat lonely and worthless even when you’re surrounded by the people who love you. Do they love you? Would they forget about you if you weren’t literally there at all their meetings, if you weren’t the nearest and easiest to reach of the group?

You probably haven’t found your instrument, the thing that makes your soul flutter with joy yet because of this deep insecurity that drains you, like a gaping hole that makes you feel only half there.

You are always there for the people you care about, but sometimes you’re worried you have nothing to give to the others. Watch out for the people who will just use you to vent or repair themselves and then leave you behind.

🔹️🔸️🔹️🔸️🔷️🔶️🔷️🔶️🔷️🔸️🔹️🔸️🔹️

Ash twin: you’re very good at keeping secrets and verry organized: when people have a problem, you know what they need and where to send them. You go by your own rhythm and one must be very patient in order to get to know you. You know not to rush things and are known for your biblical patience. You can stand a great amount of pressure, it’s like you were made for it. But. This doesn’t mean though that your patience can be abused ‘cause even though your shell is strong, if someone manages to break in they’ll have to be very careful of their next couple of actions and pray they haven’t triggered their own doom.

You know Sun’s secret, but they begged you not to tell the others. With tearful eyes, you comply.

🔸️🔹️🔸️🔹️🔶️🔷️🔶️🔷️🔶️🔹️🔸️🔹️🔸️

Ember twin: you have a lot going on. Curious and quick tempered, you have NO patience at. All. and love love love to debate and exchange opinions with people: friendly disputes are your bread and butter. Whether you have a more artistic or scientific inclination, you tend to experiment a lot and put all your energy into your projects, but you also know your limits.

You didn’t exactly have a peaceful childhood / upbringing and some things got under your skin, but despite the harsh environment you managed to free yourself from the things that slowed you down thanks to your acquired tough skin and a close community that you hold very dear. You stand out for your confidence and straightforwardness, there’s no time to waste.

🪕🪕🪕🎵🎶🎵🪕🪕🪕

Brittle Hollow: Extremely curious. Having so many interests, you mastered compartmentalization and can handle a lot of hobbies at once, or you jump from one special interest to another, always moving.

That being said, you ultimately crack under pressure. Underneath all those interests you hide a heavy and somewhat terrifying truth that you may not want to face, and it will be hard for others too to confront it. But having dealt with it your whole life you have learned to just accept it, live with it and somehow you built yourself a safety net of sorts, something to bring you back from the abyss. It’s not much but it keeps you from losing yourself. You wouldn’t mind a hand though.

You may get frustrated by this inner turmoil of yours that forces you to fall into the same mistakes again and again. Understandable. But know this: knowing how to put yourself back together is a skill that not many possess and you are worth saving, every time.

🗻🗻🗻🗻🌋🌋🌋🌋🗻🗻🗻🗻

Hollow’s Lantern: looking back you can’t help but blame yourself for not noticing it before. You’ve always been the life of the party with your hotheaded personality, but with high highs come low lows and your temper tantrums have always just as explosive. You never meant to hurt your friend/relative so much though, but every time you two get near you end up hurting them and now… you can’t even muster the courage to get near them, afraid that you’ll only damage them more.

The fire of your ever present burning passion can be handled only by the toughest skin. So you make the tough decision, and let them go.

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

Giants Deep: you have the soul of a poet… and the inner turmoil of one too. You’re capable of such deep introspection, but it’s locked behind a wall of mistrust, away from unwanted judgement. In fact, getting to know the inner you is quite tricky, as you tend to ‘test’ people to see what they’re made of. There is a correct answer and it’s through listening and understanding, there’s no way around it, people will find literally no way to force themselves in your heart if you don’t want to.

Once a person has proven to be trustworthy, they’ll start seeing all the other facets of your personality, like that one thing you’re extremely enthusiastic about to the point that it Will scare them. You’re also very into journaling, writing, maybe even youtube vlogging.

The best nights spent together are the ones where yall are stargazing and your friends are just taken aback at how you, taken by the moment, somehow start talking like you know the secrets of the universe. That’s a wisdom you’ve gained from learning to pay attention to the world you live in, and to work alongside it and not against.

▫️▪️◽◾◻⬛⬜◼◻◾◽▪️▫️

White hole: they could never exactly pinpoint your behavior. You just seemed to spit back at people everything they tossed at you seamlessly. When people give you hate, they receive hate. When they give you love, they receive the same amount of it back.

Your face has always been a blank slate where people could see whatever they wanted. Truth to be told, you could never explain it yourself either. It’s just that… emotions are hard? to feel? and you don’t really know how to feel half the time?

You have a hard time reaching for others and tend more to react to what happens to you than anything else, and your peers have kind of accepted that and always make sure to include you in their activities to give you the opportunity to interact or choose to pass. You’re very grateful for that.

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑

Quantum moon: you are a social butterfly, extremely adaptable to every situation and tend to blend in the group, mimicking people’s personality. You don’t do it out of malice, it’s literally a superpower you own. Truth to be told you are kinda quirky, spooky even, but you only allow to manifest your true self when no one is around. People who want to get to know the real you need to understand that you are not lying when you change depending on who you stand near, they’re all bits of personality that make the whole you. When they have accepted what they observe as it is, you’ll know you two will be linked and whenever you see each other around know that your presence will comfort them.

🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔷️🔷️🔷️🔷️🔷️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️

The Interloper:  cold and distant, you didn’t mind watching things from afar. You have a hard time blending in and even after years you still felt like an outsider amongst you peers, like you weren’t made for this place.

There was one time when you met someone special and felt warm inside for the first time in years, but…

Let’s just say, you’ve made a big ass mistake in the past that ruined something you cared about. You blew up when you shouldn’t have, and now you can’t let go of what you did and can’t forgive yourself, so you just act as a passive observer, afraid of opening up again.

🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅

The Sun: You’re very mature, goal driven and a natural leader. You are kinda the reason your group of friends formed in the first place and have been a senior member and constant presence up until now. You’ve grown, and had so many wonderful memories with your friends, but you’ve known for a while it couldn’t last forever.

You told your friends that (be it for study or work) you’ll have to move out somewhere far away from your friends and you’re kinda worried that if you stop being a constant presence the rest of the group will eventually slowly drift apart, but you hope their friendship is strong enough to pull them together. And if it isn’t, hey, it’s ok. It’s hard to accept change, but such is the nature of living. Things have to end, and things have to begin. In the end, what matters is that they happened.

🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆

The sun station: you are a daredevil. Risk is in your breakfast and adrenaline in your veins. You live life on the edge and never pass an opportunity to test yourself. You tried to pick up a fight with Sun once and… they severely beat your ass, and you hold a great amount of respect for them since then. And that’s why right now you feel like your heart is breaking open. You look at your friend and tears form in your eyes as you ask them Why, why won’t you tell the others. Your friend smiles.

You found out by mistake. It’s terminal. As the whole world crumbles beneath your feet you’re left with the haunting, horrible truth that there’s nothing you can do about it. “Please” you cry out, “the others need to know”.

They’re the best thing that ever happened to you and you’re not ready to let them go.

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

Dark Bramble: mysterious and vERY hostile towards strangers. Something hurt you in the past, really badly. No one knows what happened but it changed you forever, suffocating all your hopes and dreams, strangling them in a maze of lies... It wasn’t your fault, but now you have to live with the consequences. You try to reach for distant memories buried in your now foggy mind, unsure of what went wrong, what did you do to deserve this.

Sometimes you hurt others without meaning it. It’s hard to explain and people often don’t have the patience to understand. You leave little to no room for folks who don’t know how to handle you and only to those brave enough to learn and try again you show your inner beauty.

It’s tempting to think that healing on your own is the only proper way. It took a long time to even try to reach for help, to let a weak cry into the void in the hope that someone, anyone would listen.

And for a long time, no one heard you. Still, underneath the fog a little beacon of hope was stubbornly lit.

In the end, what you needed was time, some space to free yourself from the thorns of your past, a lot of patience, and an opportunity to stand up for yourself and finally breathe again. The battle is never over, but you’re trying your best to heal.

🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔉🔉🔉🔉🔉🔉🔉🔈🔈🔈🔈🔈🔇

The Vessel: you possess the curiosity of a child and the analytical thinking of a true scientist, a powerful combination that makes you into a powerhouse of ideas. No question can remain unanswered for you. You tend to think BIG with your projects, and sometimes go overboard: more than once you broke your own equipment in the midst of a probably too enthusiastic testing. Remember to be careful, one of these days you might hurt yourself with your own hands. But when all is said and done, it’s people like you who will change the world.

👁👁👁👁🌲💀🌱🌲👁👁👁👁👁

The Eye of the Universe: without any effort on your part, people seem to label you as mysterious and unexplainable, when in reality you’re just minding your own buisness. It’s true you may be very hard to reach, but it’s just because of your reserved nature and not any kind of hostility towards others. You may have opened up to like one true friend who knows everything about you. You’re very independent and can be quite unpredictable in your interests and actions. Your eyes can see wonder and opportunities in anything, sometimes you get quite lost fantasizing about the endless possibilities in front of you; a good friend can help you ground yourself in reality and remind you that, unless you take action, they will only remain possibilities.

🌌🌌🌌🌌 🪐 🌌🌌🌌🌌

The Stranger: You had a pretty normal childhood and were quite happy, you even thought you already knew what you wanted to be when you grew up. But then you grew and, watching the adult life of endless struggles that was in store for you, you got scared. The once bright future now seemed bleak and uncertain. Soon the thought of it became a source of stress you just couldn’t deal with and you retreated in your own imagination, becoming reclusive, evasive, sometimes even hostile. The past was slipping away and soon fear started to eat you up from the inside.

One day, something changed. A stranger (to be precise, Timber Hearth) who for some reason just didn’t want to leave you alone, soon became a familiar presence in your life. It was new, it was scary, but exactly what you needed to free yourself from the coffin you built around you. A helping hand, a little spark of hope that slowly gave you the strength to stand up again, and start looking at the future with your head up, timid but determined to see what was in store for you.

WOWIE this was a long post ^-^' feel free to add more interpretations of the planets, I love reading everyone's take on the game. Which one are you? I'm a quantum moon/white hole.

Now if you excuse me I'm going to hide in the tags

[theblurbwitchproject]

The Nature of Magic by Rachel Griffin

Published: June 1, 2021 Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc

The Author

Rachel Griffin writes young adult novels inspired by the magic of the world around her. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Rachel has a deep love of nature, from the mountains to the ocean and all the towering evergreens in between. The Nature of Witches and her subsequent novel Wild is the Witch were both New York Times bestsellers.

˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗

The Story

For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, their power from the sun peaking in the season of their birth. But now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic. All hope lies with Clara, an Everwitch whose rare magic is tied to every season. Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It's wild and volatile, and the price of her magic- losing the ones she loves- is too high, despite the need to help control the increasingly dangerous weather. Over the course of the novel, Clara must choose between her power and her happiness, her duty and the people she cares for, before the changing climate thrusts the world into chaos.

˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗

The Vibe: witch academia, boarding school, weather magic, wheel of the year, climate change, plant magic, slowburn romance, LGBTQ+ representation

The Style: first person, standalone, easy-going prose, young adult

Tringger Warnings: climate change, severe weather scenes, wildfires, character death, sex, negligent adult in position of power

˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗

The Review

The Nature of Magic by Rachel Griffin is described on Goodreads as Practical Magic meets Twister, is anyone really surprised I gave it a try? The story scratched a lot of itches for me; I’m a big fan of nature magic, and have been a Climate Action advocate in my personal and professional life… and as always, I’m trying to find the next Practical Magic (my absolute favourite witch-focused series by far). While The Nature of Magic is very much a YA novel, it contains some very creative and original magical lore that makes it a worthwhile read if you like witchy stories as much as I do.

Our protagonist is Clara, a 17-year-old student of the Eastern School of Solar Magic, an institution that teaches its students to use their nature magic to combat climate change and protect the non-magical inhabitants of the world, otherwise known as Shaders, from ecological disaster. In this world, witches are born on either a solstice or an equinox and their magic is strongest in the season of their birth. There are Spring witches, Summer witches, Autumn and Winter witches. Clara’s magic is somehow tied to all four seasons, making her an Everwitch; an extremely rare trait in which her magic morphs with the seasons making her powerful year-round. Clara’s teachers haven’t seen an Everwitch in their generation, in fact she is the first to be born in over 100 years and finds her powers isolating and overwhelming. The seasonally-focused nature of the magic was, for me, the most enjoyable aspect of the story; it really demonstrated a love of the different spokes of the Wheel of the Year and the beauty to be found within each.

"Winter is the truest of the seasons. It’s what remains after everything else is stripped away. The leaves fall. The colors fade. The branches get brittle. And if you can love the earth, understand it when all the beauty is gone and see it for what it is, that’s magic."

I love the way Griffin describes the magic in this story, it feels very natural and tied both to the character’s bodies and the world around them. While Clara’s magic is “special” in the only way a YA protagonist’s skills could be, I actually preferred how the regular seasonal witches magic was written: Springs are calm and project this vibe outwards, Summer’s magic is “a constant rush, strong and powerful,” Autumn’s magic “builds on an undercurrent of thankfulness and sorrow”, and Winters are very straightforward- “what you see is what you get” with them. Another interesting concept that Griffin developed was that witches gain their power from the sun, and can lose their magic permanently by depletion through severe overuse, or being in the path of totality during a solar eclipse. The novel utilises depletion by overuse to demonstrate the increasingly fragile global climate, as witches worldwide find it more and more difficult to manage the Earth’s severe weather and begin losing their magic and their lives as a result. Meanwhile, Clara has a more personal struggle as she grapples with the idea of stripping herself of her magic intentionally during an upcoming solar eclipse.

Typical of any YA protagonist, Clara is absolutely swimming in tropes. She is singled out as The Chosen One from chapter one, being the only known Everwitch and thus The Only Hope in managing the worsening climate crisis by harnessing the magic of every season. She’s Not Like Everyone Else. Her magic is tied to her emotions, and seeks out those closest to her, resulting in the deaths of numerous loved ones including her parents and more recently, her girlfriend Nikki. Clara struggles with the responsibility forced upon her; her powers are overwhelming and she lashes out at anyone who forces her to use them (which is fair, as only one adult in the story seems to have any sense or consideration for her trauma at all). This all comes to a head when Sang Park, a Korean AP Botany student, is brought in to help train her. And he’s super cute.

"We’ve tried to adapt and handle the shifting atmosphere on our own, but we can’t keep up; it’s as if we’re blowing our candles when the whole house is on fire."

What would a YA novel be without a romance subplot? Thankfully, Sang is a lovely counterbalance to Clara’s sometimes overwrought teen angst, bringing his Spring magic and plant-whispering skills to the school and, with some difficulty, into Clara’s life. He is initially brought in to train Clara in the use of her magic, however these lessons tend to blend together in a “one step forward, two steps back” series of events which slow the pace of the book somewhat. Later on, there are some lovely scenes of communication between the two through the plants he grows (a kind of melancholy Floriography that I found lovely.)

As I mentioned earlier, the pacing of the book could have been improved with a shortening of some sequences, but overall, I really enjoyed the story. Some readers may think the climate change message a little too on the nose, “-no one wants to hear they’re part of the problem- that they are the problem now”, but I think a message like this needs to be on the nose at this point.

Finally, before I wrap up, I want to give a shoutout to a few additional points that I enjoyed: Clara is a good example of bisexual representation (yay!), Nox the cat is super cute (what would a witchy story be without a cranky black kitty?), and the excerpts from the ficticious book A Season For Everything which open each chapter are a wonderful world-building choice.

"I’ve had moments of despair and deep resentment. But then I stand outside and touch the earth, feel the magic in my fingertips, and understand that this is how it’s meant to be. The sun and stars conspired for me, and I am filled with gratitude."

I asked Rachel Griffin whether she'd ever return to the universe, to which she replied, "I'd never say never, but I don't have any plans to return to that world at the moment. I would have to come up with the right idea, but if I did, I wouldn't be opposed to it!" I would consider this a standalone for now, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Griffin returns to this story sometime in the future, as there is plenty of potential for a deeper exploration of the magical lore she has created.

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

[Goodreads]

[dicktozier]

Losers Club Big 3 in Astrology

with snippets of notes I've taken that stood out to me on why that placement makes sense for each of them.

Richie Tozier

Sun - Pisces

Flexible, adaptable, and good at blending in with others. Can appear elusive when interacting with others. Romanticize life deeply. Caring and compassionate about other people. Cry baby. Feel like they are beyond anyone’s understanding. Loves to escape reality. Lives contain moments that feel spiritual, fateful, or universal. Prone to mental illness and identity crises.

Moon - Gemini

Only shows you a part of themselves. Need an outlet for their thoughts and ideas. Can’t stand still. Have a difficult time with silence. Anxiety from the moment they wake until the moment they fall asleep. Must find a way to deal with their emotions rather than look at them as something to fix. Mothers had a different plan for them than they do. Always has a sense of humor about everything.

Rising - Leo

Part time entertainer, part time hype people. Fun vibes in the friend group. Love to stand out. Usually the one cracking jokes. Will laugh at any time. Have a great laugh. Have a contagious smile. Don’t mind spending money on things that will make them feel beautiful, and also love giving gifts. Generous people that want to make everyone feel loved.

Eddie Kaspbrak

Sun - Scorpio

Stubborn. Hot headed. Non-nonsense approach to life. Always observing. Plotting and planning from the shadows. Very emotional and they feel everything. Destructive when pushed past their level of patience. Transform through pain and suffering. Never remain the same person for a long time. 

Moon - Virgo

Practical, thoughtful and value routine in their lives. Caring and looking out for other’s well-being. Invented anxiety and hating things. Self-critical. Struggle with expressing their emotions openly, preferring to analyze and rationalize their feelings. Ignore the fact that they’ve been stuck in the same loop of problems for years. Mother had strict rules and disobeying them disappointed her.

Rising - Aries

Deals with the world in a straightforward manner and fiery energy. Driven and direct. They prefer to let people know where they stand rather than beating around the bush. Extremely loving and loyal to their friends and family. Masks uncertainty with assertiveness. Warmth attracts others, but insecurity can push them away.

Stanley Uris

Sun - Cancer

Have a tender heart. Inspired to help others and nurture them. Tend to use humor to comfort or heal others. Moodiness and irritability. Retreats back into their safety net. When they get an idea in their head, it can be difficult to get them to give up. Hold grudges and have difficulty with forgiveness.

Moon - Aquarius

Have a hard time with emotional encounters in the moment, and need a moment to read into it. Overanalyze their own feelings and others. Overthink. Can see their future and don’t always know how to get there, but have an intuitive sense of direction on how to get there. Don’t disturb them in their hermit moments. Love to share their viewpoints.

Rising - Virgo

Come off as reserved and shy, but are not really. Appear unapproachable and distant. Tend to be neat and put together. Pay attention to details and have a keen eye. They seek practical solutions and prefer to rely on facts and logic. They enjoy analyzing and gaining a deeper meaning.

Ben Hanscom

Sun - Gemini

Naturally curious and have a thirst for knowledge. Adaptable and can easily switch roles in different situations. Innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life. Find humor in any situation, making them a joy to be around. Kind and considerate of others. 

Moon - Libra

Some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. Shine best when surrounded by people. Will consume anything to help block out their thoughts. Genuinely scared of being alone. Can focus on the downsides of life. They invest in relationships and focus deeply on that person.

Rising - Taurus

Enjoy the lovely things in life and prefer to take things slow. Calm and collected presence attracts people. Being around them feels like the crackling warmth of a fireplace during a storm. They give often. Committed to aspirations. Very patient, steady and enduring. Have a complicated relationship with food.

Mike Hanlon

Sun - Cancer

Have a tender heart. Inspired to help others and nurture them. Retreats back into their safety net. When they get an idea in their head, it can be difficult to get them to give up. Always know little facts about the gossip and surprise people with unknown facts. Known for their intuition and deep understanding of the world around them.

Moon - Virgo

Caring and looking out for other’s well-being. Self-critical. Ignore the fact that they’ve been stuck in the same loop of problems for years. Reserved in showing emotions. Find solace in routine and organization. If you have a problem to solve or analyze, they’ll often have a set of solutions. 

Rising - Taurus

Have some of the best energy. Very down to Earth. Calm and collected presence attracts people. Very patient, steady and enduring. They are about setting traditions and foundations, and it doesn’t have to be outdated. Driven to help those that are suffering. Resistant to change by nature.

Bev Marsh

Sun - Aquarius

Won’t ever let anyone tell them who they are. Goes against the grain and rebels against norms. Straight to the point and no nonsense. Don’t lie. They want to make a change in the world and will call out what’s not right. On an odd emotional wavelength. Very clever, witty and intellectual. Value personal freedom.

Moon - Cancer 

Nurturing and sensitive emotional nature. They feel others' emotions strongly. Probably tends to other people’s emotions before their own. Good at sensing problems and insecurities and putting words to them. They need as much validation as they give. They will do anything for their family (or found family).

Rising - Scorpio

Magnetic and powerful aura. Have the ability to transform or persevere. Have often witnessed a lot of unfair situations or been in one, and had to work their way around that. People become inspired by them or fear/hate them. Amazing gifts in creativity and art. Maintain a sense of mystery around them.

Bill Denbrough

Sun - Aquarius

Won’t ever let anyone tell them who they are. Weirdos. Feel like aliens. Aloof. Inspires others to see what’s possible and available to all of us. Hard to understand, hard to open up, but worth it once they do. Can be surprisingly stubborn. Equality and fairness are important to them.

Moon - Pisces 

Powerful intuition. Cool and attractive personality. Struggles with escapism. Visionary and artistic. Give the feeling that no emotion is too much and that everything is allowed. They tend to follow what they want to do, and this makes people admire them. Their unwavering presence and support makes them a pillar for those in need.

Rising - Aries

Extremely loving and loyal to their friends and family. Extremely passionate and unstoppable. Their life has set them up to lead. Hold down the fort for everyone. Can end up carrying the world on their shoulders. Masks uncertainty with assertiveness. Warmth attracts others, but insecurity can push them away.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

If man is bound in sin what is the purpose of exhortations and admonitions?

While the other answers may suffice, we can address this specially by acknowledging that even though God works all our good in us and for us, He does not treat us as lifeless objects. Instead, God deals with us according to our natures, using arguments and reasons. You may ask, "What's the point? Isn't it like shining the Sun or holding a candle to a blind man?" However, these exhortations and the preaching or reading of God's word are the very instruments through which God works. Therefore, preaching should not be viewed merely as a form of exhortation but as a sanctified medium or instrument through which God accomplishes what He exhorts us to do. Although God may send prophets to exhort those who won't listen, for the godly, these exhortations are operative means, similar to when God said, "Let there be light," or when Christ said, "Lazarus, come forth from the grave." This should deter you from despising even the simplest preaching, as its power lies not in its elegance or eloquence but in its appointment by God to achieve its purpose. Just like water from various conduits, a sermon's effectiveness lies in the water itself, not in the conduit's appearance. Likewise, the seed that is thrown into the ground will fructify whether it comes from a plain hand or one adorned with gold rings and jewels. The minister's gifts may differ, but the power comes from God. The main issue is to open the closed heart.

The Scripture portrays conversion and repentance as both the effects of God's grace and our acts. No one denies that we are the subjects, who, enabled by grace, act accordingly. Grace cannot exist without an intelligent subject. Just as dew falls before the manna, preparing the ground to receive it, reason and liberty qualify the subject to be passively receptive of grace. But when empowered by grace, the subject becomes active as well. Some have struggled with certain passages, questioning why those promises of God converting us prove conversion to be His act, while other passages instruct us to turn to the Lord, implying that it is our act. The answer is straightforward: No one denies that believing and turning to God are our acts. To believe, one must engage the mind and will. Augustine makes a strong point: If we consider man as a partial cause with God merely because it is said, "Not of him that willeth and runneth, but of him that showeth mercy," then we might as well say, "Not in him that showeth mercy, but in him that willeth and runneth."

The question is, Can we do this of ourselves, with grace? Or does grace only enable us to do it? Bernard's distinction is clear: The heart of man is the subject in which grace resides, not from which it originates. Therefore, when grace empowers the mind and will to turn to God, it is not like a seal impressing a stamp on wax or wine being poured into a vessel, where the subject recipient remains motionless. Nor is it like Balaam's ass speaking or like an enthusiastical or involuntary motion. Instead, the Spirit of God inclines the will and affections to their proper object.

The Antinomian's analogy of God converting a man to a physician pouring a potion down a sick man's throat against his will is flawed. It is true that the will, in its illicit and immediate acts, cannot be forced by any power whatsoever. It is impossible for a man to believe unwillingly because believing requires an act of the will. While the will in conversion may be resisted by the corrupt heart and will of a man, when it is overcome by the grace of God, it willingly turns to Him. — Anthony Burgess

[monstersoc]

Titanic without the iceberg - Richlady!Monster+ Commoner!Worm

Summary: think smth similar to the plot of pat and jens titanic if the ship never hit the iceberg (Angst, humor, happy ending tho also this is seperate from the real story)

A less then fine day it was today. Despite the predictions of weather being hot and sunny, rain had started pouring dowm and lightning struck down making the guests aboard tale shelter to avoid getting soaking wet. While most were annoyed and angered at this sudden change- one was afraid of it.

The loud crack of the thunder and the white flash of lightning bought her discomfort and the cold temperatures didn't help soothe her at all. Her hands shook slightly as lighting and thunder burst, a fitting sound to match the rough patter of the rain and she greatly wished the rain would disappear- to where it went was not her concern.

As she internally panicked, an unwelcome guest decided to climb aboard the ship. How he managed to get from land to the ship on the sea was a mystery but what was not a mystery was the trouble he would be in if spotted by security. The security also weren't skinny or weak, quite the opposite actually. They were muscly and had a permanent glare etched on their face. Anyone could tell they don't show mercy to any wrongdoer.

The boy carefully and quietly weaved through the people, attempting to act natural to no avail. Security immediately looked at him- muttering words of suspicion- and the boy realizes he needs a quick cover up. Someone to help him blend in.

He immediantly heads to the frightened girl, feeling he can trust her the most to help him out. The girl notices him heading her direction and immediantly becomes confused. The boy looks nothing like the people on the ship and is soaking from head to toe which could only mean one thing- he is a commoner.

A poor person. Someone not meant to be aboard this ship. Someone who the girl, who was born into an extremely wealthy family and was meant to be on this ship should find no interest in. Yet she does anyway. Like when a girl gets a crush on some boy she saw while in a school hallway.

The boy finally reaches her and immediately goes behind her as if using the girl as a shield. The girl looks behind her- intruiged at his actions- and decides to face him.

"Afternoon, is there something I can do for you?" She asks politely and the boy responds. "Don't mind me just using the pretty posh lady as a shield from security" and the girl tilts her head. "Pretty, posh lady.?" She repeats- clearly judging his choice of words.

He nods his head with a small smirk, as if finding amusement in her reaction. "Hm, normally I don't stay around commoners like yourself but, I will admit, you are attractive" she says with a sly smirk before thunder strikes down. The girl jumps slightly at the sound and fear overtakes her body for a second before she clears her throat.

"Apologies, I have a silly fear of lightning" she says with discomfort and the boy puts a hand on her shoulder, comfortingly. "Hey, it's not a "silly fear", it's totally normal to fear lightning" he says and the girl finds her lips parting in slight shock. A total stranger- not someone she was arranged a marriage with- treating her with kindness. Kindness not even her own parents bother to treat her with.

In that very moment, there was an unfamiliar feeling in her chest. Her heart beat a little faster and she felt nervous for multiple reasons. Most confronted these feelings head on but, what does she do? She makes an excuse.

"Apologies, I must go run some- errands" she says and the boy gives her a weird look. "But its raining-" he begins before the rain miraculously stops and the sun starts to shine. "Not anymore! Goodbye!" I say, ready to leave. "Ah- alright.. bye..?" he says while removing his hand from her shoulder. "We shall meet again, commoner" she says before turning around and walking away.

"'Attractive'? Real straightforward woman, huh"

~Timeskip~

Evening- it was- and the girl found herself tired and bored. She was currently sat at a table making small talk with the other guests on board as per her parents wishes. She was only ever bored as every person was the same. The all asked where she was from, always complimented her. She was starting to despise it. Scratch that- she did despise it. She desperately wanted something new, a thrill.

Whenever she decided things were overwhelming or exhausting, she would go to the rooftop. A calming place where no one ever seemed to notice her. She quickly excused herself claiming she had some "errands" to run (an overused excuse of hers but oh well) before walking off politely.

Sneaking quietly, she climbed up the wall and onto the roof. She went over to the edge of the roof and watched the people from below. A calm sigh left her at the relaxing sight. She enjoyed watching people from above go about their regular business. It made her feel like some observer and she enjoyed it. She often wished she was a ghost during times like these. Unfortunately, her peace was disrupted.

"Boo"

A yelp left the girl and she turned around, summoning her polearm and pointing it at the intruder. "Woah there" he says, putting his hands up in mock surrender. The girl let's out an exasperated sigh and puts a hand to her chest. Her weapon disappears as she takes a few deep breaths.

"Don't scare me like that!" She finally says and the boy smiles. "What brings you up here?" He asks and the girl quickly responds. "I just need a place to get away from the chaos and the roof happens to be the best option" she says while turning around to face the view.

He goes closer as she turns back around to face him. "What about you? Why are you up here?" She asks. "Well I'm not exactly meant to be on this ship, am I?" He says and the girl awkwardly laughs. "Right, commoner" she says.

Darkness takes over and the sun finally sets and she let's out a sigh. "Well I suppose I should call it a night" she says and he looks at her. "See you tomorrow morning then?" He asks and she nods her head. "Good night, commoner" she says. "Goodnight pretty lady" he says in return and the girl blushes. She quickly covers her lower face with her fan. She clears her throat and nods her head before walking away, silently praying he didn't see her blush. Unfortunately for her, he did.

~Next morning~

The girl had awoken quite early, as per her usual schedule, and found herself getting up immediantly. Normally she would relax knowing she had the same boring schedule of endless dates. Today though, she had one thing on her mind- the commoner.

She made her way out and began to look for him around the boat. She searched and searched for half an hour but ultimately failed. Unfortunately, she had to go on yet another date with another man who was probably not all that different to the others.

She let out an annoyed sigh and slowly headed over to where she was meant to meet this man. She looked around and a man already seated waved at her. She walked towards him and took a seat in front of him.

From there began the endless small talk with compliments scattered in between. She gave fake smiles and laughs at whatever he said without noticing the boy on the roof she had been searching for before.

He had been jumping up and down while waving his arms before a bright idea came to mind. He quickly scribbled down a note on same paper before scrunching it and throwing it down at the girl. However, it ended up hitting her date right on the head. The guy in questions angrily stood up and picked the paper up.

"Who threw this?!" He yelled and the girl cringed internally. If there was one thing she hated more than thunder, it was yelling. She stood up and calmly spoke. "I'll take that for you and find the person" she starts while talking the paper. "I'll be quick" she finishes before walking off and unfolding the paper.

She walked towards the edge of the boat and read the contents of the paper. Her eyes immediately widened and she quickly looked towards the balcony. He made eye contact with her and waved with a smile. A pure smile made its way on her lips but it was quickly covered with one of her fake ones and a polite wave.

The boy looked in slight confusion at her posh behavior but let it go as she made her way towards the balcony. When she made it, she noticed he was nowhere in sight and looked around confused. She peaked over the balcony to see if he had somehow made it down when a hand went on her shoulder.

"WAH!" She yelped and spun around only to see the commoner in question. "I told you to stop that!" She said while holding a hand to her chest and the boy laughed. "But your reactions are cute" he says and the girl immediantly blushes.

"I- what!" She says, flustered. Her ability to maintain eye contact was gone and the boy smirked at her state. "Why are you so red? Are you sick?" He says while putting his hands on her cheeks. The girl immediantly stutters out a "no I'm perfectly fine" and the boy removes his hands.

"I must go now I have to- erm- run some errands, yes!" She suddenly says in a panic and she quickly walks off with a "good afternoon, sir". The boy looks at her amused before turning around and heading up to relax on the roof.

The girl had decided to go to the edge of the ship and stare at the sea ahead. She was angry- not at the commoner or her parents or the man on that date. She was angry at herself. If there was one thing she couldn't do, it was fall in love with a commoner.

"God I'm so stupid" she huffed while leaning over the railing. Her parents would kill her if they found out she was in love with someone poor who wasn't even meant to be on this boat in the first place. She sadly sighed before turning around and deciding to head back to her temporary room.

~time skip to evening~

The boy wandered around on the rooftop waiting for the girl to (hopefully) arrive. He was fully aware of his feelings for her and the comfort she bought him. Not to mention her cute reactions that were oh-so enticing.

The sound of footsteps hit his ears and he quickly recognized them as the girl he was just thinking about. He hid from her eyeline and she made it to the very edge of the roof and started to quietly sneak up behind her. If he was being honest, he enjoyed scaring her. The cute expression of shock that would appear was enough to make him lovesick and he adored that.

"Hey" he says and the girl immediantly jumps. "What did I say about scaring me!" She shouts and the boy laughs. "I believe I already told you I find your reactions cute" he says and the girl blushes. "Yes you- uh you did" she says while looking away.

He steps closer to her and grabs her chin lightly with his hand to make her face him. "Is the ground more interesting than me?" He asks and the girls eyes widened. To her he looked ethereal. A strong word to use for someone of his class but it was used anyway. Like a defense mechanism, she immediantly made an excuse.

"Ahem- I have to go- I have things to do, you know?" She says while frantically trying to find a way around him. "What do you have to do?" He asks seriously and she chucks another pathetic excuse. "Uh- errands! Yup!" She responds and he looks at her with an eyebrow raised. "You had errands already" he says and the girl immediantly snaps back. "Well you know how it is for the rich! Always got to work!" She says and he crosses his arms.

"What work?" He asks. "Uhm.. cleaning! Lots of cleaning! And I really don't want to be late so-" she starts before being interrupted. "There are plenty maids down there- why would they request your help?" He speaks quickly and she starts to noticeably panic. "You can never have enough help! Now please let me through!" She says but the guy doesn't budge. "Why do you want to leave?" He asks and she doesn't respond.

"Just- let me leave!" She yells and he yells right back. "Why do you want to leave?!" And her answer makes his heart drop slightly. "Because your poor! I can't be seen with someone like you! It's forbidden! Now let me through immediately!" She yells and he goes silent. "I'm sorry" he says while moving out of the way.

Quickly, she walks off without saying goodbye and the boy watches her sadly. Perhaps it was partly his fault for pushing her so far but the girl was still to blame as well.

The girl mostly went to the roof for comfort but obviously that was not an option so she went to the next best place- the edge of the ship. There she thought about what had just happened. She knew she would end up snapping slightly and it was only a matter of time before she released all her anger.

"I- I have to.." the girl spoke aloud to herself. She knew there was only one option she could make and it wasn't the best. She pulled out a pen and some paper and began to write;

Dear Mother and Father,

Only a few words in and she froze up. It was clear this was not a decision she wanted to make. "Come one just!- just write it!" She yelled at herself. She forced the pen down to the paper and slowly began writing each word. She felt her heart breaking little by little but she pushed through regardless.

She looked at the sentence on her paper and a small tear fell. The paper got a wet start and this only depleted her mood more as she quickly folded the letter. She hastily ran over to where the mail was usually delivered and halted her movements on the stairs.

She needed to have the letter delivered but she couldn't bring herself to move. To give it to the mail people. As if on cue, the commoner came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. He found himself gravitating towards her because he felt the need to apologise. He wanted to make amends and make sure their friendship isn't ruined.

"Hey" he said and the girl gave a simple nod with a "hello". The boy looks at the letter in her hand and curiosity peaks him. "Whats that in your hand?" He asks and the girl looks down before looking back up at him. "Oh- erm- just a letter nothing important" she says quickly and the boy only grows more curious. He attempts to sneak a look and the girl immediantly pulls the letter to her chest.

"Like I said- it's nothing important" she quickly repeats and the boy looks at her with an unconvinced look. He quickly grabs the letter out of his hand with a teasing smile. "Catch me if you can~" he says before taking off and the girl panics.

She quickly chases after him but ends up losing him completely. "Archons no!" She says under her breath and quickly runs up to the balcony. She frantically looks around from her high point and eventually spots him. "Worm!" She yells while getting down and running towards him.

Then rain starts to fall.

A few short seconds and she's there but she stops in place when she sees the hurt look on his face. "Your having an arranged marriage?" He asks and the girl says nothing. "Please give it back" she says while putting her hand out.

Reluctantly, he gives the letter back and apologies. "I shouldn't have took it, sorry." He says sadly and the girl nods. Without another word said, she left with the letter towards the post people.

She goes up to them and speaks. "When is the post open?" She asks. "Not until tomorrow morning, sorry ma'am" he says and the girl nods her head. "That's alright, I shall return tomorrow" she says before turning the other way.

She couldn't bear to have to hold on to the letter. It was miserable. She loved him but she couldn't. She couldn't be with him. Again, she found herself on the edge of the rooftop, reading the sentence over and over.

"I want an arranged marriage"

She didn't- not at all- and the fact had bought tears to her eyes. As heavy rain poured and heavy tears fell along with it, the faint sound of footsteps approached. "Is this really what you want.?"

She wiped her tears quickly and turned around to face him. She said nothing. She just stood there. He came closer and repeated his question. "Is this really what you want." He said seriously and the girl dodged the question.

"This is what my parents what- for me to marry a rich man" she said and the boy felt himself get annoyed.

"Why are you sacrificing your own happiness for your parents!?" He yelled and the girl flinched at the sound. "Your parents clearly don't care about you!" He continued.

"Stop trying to make your parents happy!"

"What about us!"

"Why are you doing this!"

"YOUR MARRIAGE IS JUST AN ACCESSORY FOR YOUR PARENTS TO SHOW OFF!"

"Please be quiet.." the girl whispers as her breathing becomes heavily unsteady. "I can't be a disappointment. I can't disappointment them again. If I date you I'll disappoint them

I can't.

I can't.

I can't.

I can't!" She yells repeating the same phrase over and over again in a panicked frenzy. "Woah, hey!" He starts before quickly grabbing her hand. "Breathe, okay?" He says, putting his other hand on her cheek. "I shouldn't have yelled, I'm sorry" he says and the girl shakes her head.

"No its my fault.. I've disappointed you now too..." she says and the boy immediately pulls her into a hug. "You do not disappoint me, Monster" he says as the girl makes no effort to move.

A comfortable silence wriggles it's way in and the girl backs away from the hug once she feels she can breathe again.

The boy looks at her and takes her hand. "Can you answer something truthfully please?" He asks and the girl nods. "Is this what you want? Not what your parents want- what you, yourself want" and the girl hesitatantly shakes her head.

"No, I don't want an arranged marriage" she starts before trailing off. "I want- uhm" she awkwardly says. "I- erm- wow.. I want to uh-" she continues and Worm attempts to stifle a laugh.

"Ah- you know what I want" the girl says giving up and the boy smiles before getting down on one knee. The girls face turns into one of shock and she looks around nervously. "W-what are you doing! This is quite fast, no?" She says but the boy pays no mind.

"Monster, ever since I first saw you, I felt a comfort I had never felt before. I knew then and there that you were the one I wanted. The only one I could ever want. So would you consider making me the happiest guy in the world and.. marry me?"

The girl looked around frantically in a panic with a flushed face and the boy started to panic thinking she was going to say no. "YES! I mean- ahem- yes, I would be delighted to offer my hand in marriage" she corrects herself while reaching her hand out.

The boy smiles and puts the ring on her hand before leaving a kiss there making the girl sweat in embarrassment. He slowly rises and cups her face with his hands. The girls breath hitches as he leans closer and eventually their lips connect. After a long kiss, they part and the girls face is incredibly red.

"This is rather embarrassing"

BONUS!!:

Being married to a commoner was forbidden according to rich people so the girl still had to go on many- MANY dates with generic people. Worm came up with ways to ruin the date each time.

The favorite date destruction if hers was the first.

The guy was immediantly making uncomfortable advances- saying how he wants to marry her and it made the girl extremely uncomfortable. Worm had immediantly come pretending to be a waiter and asked if they would like some wine.

An evil smirk overtook the guys face and he had decided to order wine for "the pretty lady". It was clear there was malicious intent behind the smirk and the ridiculous compliment which slightly worried the girl.

The man bought himself closer as if attempting to kiss her and- fortunately for the girl- the 'waiter' had conveniently spilled the wine on him. The man stood up and yelled at him to which Worm gave a quick apology- pretending like he cared.

Thankfully, that was enough to get rid of the guy and Monster, forgetting other people exist, immediately stood up and squished her loves cheeks. "Your so.. adorable" she spoke and the boy immediately blushed. "Monster.. there are people watching" he whispered and the girl immediantly put her hand down and cleared her throat. With another pathetic lie, she excused herself and ran to the rooftop.

The boy followed quick behind her and she began to complain at the embarrassment she just endured.

"I called you adorable and squished your cheeks!" She said while pacing back and forth. The boy blushed at her words and the girl paused.

"Are you blushing.?" She says with a smirk and the boy gets more red. She goes up to him and puts her hands on his cheeks and leans in close. She almost kisses him but quickly swerves and kisses his cheek instead. She's back up with a smile.

"I thought getting flustered was only a me thing" she says and the boy jokingly glares at her comment. She laughs a little but stops when he grabbed her hand. He left a soft kiss and the girls face bursts with a red shade.

"Who's flustered now?~"

[hoppertravel23]

Aruba Travel Guide || Things To Do In Aruba

When it comes to well-liked vacation spots, Aruba is a must-see location. People love this island for a variety of reasons. Beautiful white sand beaches and calm, blue waters make it difficult to choose just one to recommend. Sunny skies every day of the year, opulent lodgings, cutting-edge construction, hospitable locals, unusual activities, etc.

SAFETY: 

Most well-known tourist locations are secure, but you should exercise caution: stay away from isolated areas after dark. Never leave valuables in your car or carry them to the beach. Make sure handbags and purses are secure and challenging to steal. You must follow your usual safety procedures when traveling. A threat could also come from nature, despite being spared from the threat of storms due to being outside hurricane alleys. The landscape, the Caribbean Sea, and the possibly harmful animals in both still present risks.

Weather

The equator lies 12 degrees and 30 minutes north of Aruba. The temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit on average and has been quite constant. Creating a tropical yet not harsh climate (28 degrees Celsius). It is important to remember that Aruba is south of the main storm tracks and normally only experiences the sporadic effects of tropical weather nearby. The island is cooled by trade breezes, making it considerably more bearable to sunbathe on one of the many beaches. This is misleading, though, as the sun is very powerful, especially between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. High-SPF sunscreens are highly recommended, especially for people with fair skin.

Transportation

It is straightforward and affordable to get around Aruba without a car by using public transportation. The easiest method to get around is to take a taxi. Being a very tiny island, Aruba, you'll get there shortly. You are welcome to rent a car for one, two, or three days if you want to explore the island; various nearby companies provide discounts for three days. It is more affordable to take cabs or reputable buses if you plan to leave your resort to eat, gamble, or shop.

Activities

Indeed, Aruba is a "happy island." For a variety of reasons, people flock to this Caribbean destination. Including some of the best wreck diving in the area, wind-sculpted desert scenery, and gorgeous beaches. Days on Aruba can be spent shopping in Oranjestad and scuba diving off Hadicurari Beach. exploring the Arikok National Park's natural wonders or enjoying a meal at one of the island's elegant eateries. Additionally, Palm Beach is the best place to go in Aruba if you're looking for beachside nightlife. With bustling clubs and casinos, dancing, movie theaters, water fountain displays, bowling alleys, and two of Aruba's most prominent shopping centers, this beach comes to life after sundown.

Beaches

Due to its tranquil, lovely seas, and abundance of marine life, Arashi Beach is regarded as one of the best snorkeling locations in the Caribbean. The beach is easily accessible and has plenty of parking and snack huts. It features smooth white sand and clear blue water. One of the island's most family-friendly beaches, Baby Beach is known for its calm, shallow waves. Young swimmers will benefit greatly from this beach's virtually absent waves and shallow water, which make it simpler for them to swim safely. You can also explore Eagle Beach, a well-known white-sand beach with nearby access to watersports, sheltered areas, and beach huts. Visitors from throughout the world come here for a stunning seaside experience.

People

Arubans are recognized for their extraordinary beauty and friendly disposition. In reality, the Arawak Indians—a tribe of farmers and fishermen who respected peace—were the island's first inhabitants. Despite having a varied history, the people have a strong sense of national identity that is backed by a booming economy and a strong educational system. Additionally, the Caribbean has one of the best living standards. Visitors to the island have noticed the genuine warmth of an Aruban smile and the friendliness of its residents; in fact, many have said that it is the people who keep them coming back year after year. Despite having so many different cultural influences, Aruba manages to retain its uniqueness, as shown by the kind nature of its people.

[nirwanastays]

Best tent for 4 people

Best Tent for 4 People: Finding Your Perfect Shelter in Nature

Camping offers an amazing way to disconnect from the routine and reconnect with nature, and one of the most essential pieces of gear for any camping trip is the right tent. If you're camping as a family or with a small group, a 4-person tent can provide the ideal combination of space, comfort, and convenience. Whether you’re setting up camp at nirwana stays or exploring a remote national park, choosing the best tent for four people will ensure you have a cozy, protected shelter to recharge after a day of adventure. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the must-have features for 4-person tents, highlight a few of the top options on the market, and offer tips for setting up your tent for maximum comfort.

Why Choose a 4-Person Tent?

For groups of up to four people, a 4-person tent strikes the right balance between capacity and portability. A good 4-person tent will offer enough space for four sleeping bags and some gear while still being relatively easy to set up, transport, and pack down. The best tents in this category often come with convenient storage features, durable materials, and weather-resistant designs, providing a great experience for both casual campers and experienced outdoor enthusiasts.

Choosing the right tent is especially important if you plan to stay at popular camping destinations like nirwana stays, where comfort and ease of setup are key to enjoying your stay. Let’s take a look at some key features to consider when selecting a 4-person tent.

Key Features to Look for in a 4-Person Tent

1. Size and Interior Space

A 4-person tent should have ample interior space to ensure everyone can sleep comfortably without feeling cramped. Look for a tent with a floor area of at least 55-65 square feet, as this will give enough room for sleeping pads, bags, and a bit of gear storage. Some tents even feature a higher peak height, which allows you to stand or move around inside more freely—an important feature if you're camping for several days and want some extra comfort.

For added convenience, consider a tent with a vestibule or a separate storage area. This feature is perfect for keeping gear organized and shoes dry, especially in locations with unpredictable weather conditions.

2. Weather Protection

One of the most important considerations when choosing a tent is its ability to withstand various weather conditions. A high-quality rainfly is essential to protect against rain, and a tent with a bathtub-style floor (one that extends a few inches up the walls) will help keep water out even in wet ground conditions. Durable poles and a well-ventilated design also add to the tent's resilience against wind and reduce condensation inside the tent.

If you’re camping in areas with a lot of sunshine, look for a tent with UV-resistant materials that will protect against sun damage and keep the interior cooler. Tents with a full-coverage rainfly and mesh panels provide optimal ventilation, allowing airflow without letting bugs in—ideal for comfortable summer camping.

3. Ease of Setup

After a long day of travel or hiking, the last thing you want is a complicated tent setup. Many modern 4-person tents come with color-coded poles, simple clip attachments, and straightforward instructions to ensure that setup is a breeze, even for beginners. Pop-up tents or tents with instant setup mechanisms are also a good choice for those looking for convenience. At nirwana stays or other sites where people tend to arrive in the late afternoon, a quick and easy setup can help you get to relaxing sooner.

4. Weight and Portability

If you’re planning to carry your tent to a remote camping spot, weight is another important factor. While a 4-person tent won’t be as light as smaller options, many models are designed with portability in mind, using lightweight materials that balance durability and ease of transport. Tents under 10 pounds are generally manageable for most campers and ideal for short hikes to a campsite.

Top Picks for 4-Person Tents

Let’s look at a few highly-rated options in the 4-person tent category, each offering different features to suit various camping needs.

Coleman Sundome 4-Person Tent: A popular choice for budget-conscious campers, the Coleman Sundome is easy to set up, has good ventilation, and is made of durable, weather-resistant material. It’s ideal for mild weather camping and provides plenty of room for four campers.

REI Co-op Half Dome 4 Plus Tent: Known for its spacious interior and reliable weather protection, the REI Half Dome 4 is a great investment for those who plan to camp in varying conditions. It offers ample ventilation, easy setup, and a lightweight frame, making it a good choice for both car camping and short backpacking trips.

Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL4 Tent: For those willing to splurge a bit, the Copper Spur HV UL4 is a premium tent that balances spaciousness and ultralight design. With quality weather resistance and a quick setup process, this tent is perfect for serious campers who want durability and portability.

Tips for Setting Up Your 4-Person Tent

Once you've chosen your tent, a few setup tips can make a big difference in comfort:

Choose Level Ground: Set up on flat, dry ground to avoid pooling water if it rains.

Use a Tent Footprint or Tarp: A footprint protects the tent floor and adds insulation, especially in cooler climates.

Stake It Down: Properly stake your tent to ensure stability in windy conditions, especially if camping in open or high-altitude areas.

Conclusion

Choosing the best tent for four people can transform your camping experience, providing a spacious, comfortable, and protected shelter for any adventure. Whether you're camping at nirwana stays or embarking on a trip to the wilderness, a quality 4-person tent with the right features will enhance your time outdoors. By considering the tent's size, weather resistance, ease of setup, and weight, you’ll find a model that fits your group’s needs and maximizes comfort. So, pack up, pitch your tent, and get ready to enjoy nature with your friends or family by your side!

For More Info-https://nirwanastays.com/best-tent-for-4-people/

[organicface1]

Inika Baked Mineral Foundation: The Perfect Blend of Nature and Radiance

When it comes to makeup, one thing everyone looks for is a product that not only enhances their natural beauty but is also good for their skin. The Inika Baked Mineral Foundation does just that. This innovative product brings the best of both worlds – it's derived from pure minerals and offers a natural, flawless finish.

Whether you’ve been using mineral makeup for years or are just starting, this foundation is worth getting excited about. Let’s dive deep into what makes it so special and why it’s a great addition to your beauty routine.

What is the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation?

The Inika Baked Mineral Foundation is a natural foundation crafted from pure, earth-derived minerals. Unlike traditional liquid or powder foundations, this one is baked on a terracotta tile in Tuscany, giving it a silky, lightweight feel that glides effortlessly onto the skin. It offers a smooth, radiant finish, perfect for those who want a natural glow without compromising on coverage.

Why Choose Mineral Makeup?

Mineral makeup, like Inika Baked Mineral Foundation, has grown in popularity because it’s gentle on the skin and free from harsh chemicals, making it ideal for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin. But why is it better than traditional makeup?

Imagine your skin as a delicate plant. Just as plants thrive in nutrient-rich soil, your skin thrives when you use makeup that is natural and nourishing. Mineral foundations don’t clog pores or irritate the skin; instead, they allow it to breathe while providing coverage and sun protection.

Key Ingredients in Inika Baked Mineral Foundation

A foundation is only as good as the ingredients it’s made from. The Inika Baked Mineral Foundation boasts a range of natural ingredients, including:

Minerals: Provide lightweight coverage without weighing down the skin.

Mica: Adds a subtle shimmer to give your skin a healthy, radiant glow.

Kaolin Clay: Helps to control shine by absorbing excess oil.

Jojoba Oil: Hydrates and nourishes the skin, leaving it soft and smooth.

Each ingredient works together to create a foundation that is both effective and gentle.

How to Use Inika Baked Mineral Foundation

Using the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation is straightforward, but there are a few tips to get the best results. Here’s a quick guide:

Prep Your Skin: Start with a clean, moisturized face. If you have dry skin, use a hydrating primer to ensure the foundation doesn’t cling to any dry patches.

Apply with a Brush: Using a kabuki brush or flat-top brush, swirl it into the foundation and tap off the excess.

Buff Into the Skin: Apply the foundation in circular motions, focusing on areas that need the most coverage. Build up the product for fuller coverage, or keep it light for a more natural finish.

Set (Optional): If you have oily skin, you can set the foundation with a light dusting of translucent powder.

The Benefits of Inika Baked Mineral Foundation

So, what makes the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation a must-have in your makeup bag? Here are some of its standout benefits:

Natural Look: Achieves a radiant, flawless finish without looking cakey.

Breathable Formula: Won’t clog your pores, making it perfect for everyday wear.

Lightweight: Feels like you’re wearing nothing at all while providing ample coverage.

Buildable Coverage: Whether you prefer a light, natural look or fuller coverage, this foundation can do it all.

Sun Protection: Contains natural minerals like titanium dioxide that offer some degree of sun protection, though it’s still recommended to wear SPF underneath.

Is It Suitable for Sensitive Skin?

Yes! The Inika Baked Mineral Foundation is free from synthetic chemicals, fragrances, and parabens, making it suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. If you’ve ever struggled with makeup that causes breakouts or irritation, switching to a mineral foundation like this can be a game-changer.

Think of it like trading in harsh, artificial products for something more nurturing and gentle – much like swapping fast food for fresh, organic meals. Your skin will thank you!

Why Inika Baked Mineral Foundation Stands Out

There are countless foundations on the market, but the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation has several features that make it unique:

Baking Process: The traditional baking process enhances the product’s longevity and makes it easier to apply.

Natural Ingredients: It’s made from high-quality, ethically sourced minerals.

Sustainability: Inika is committed to eco-friendly practices, making this foundation a great choice for those conscious about their environmental footprint.

Versatile Finish: Whether you prefer a dewy glow or a matte look, this foundation can be tailored to your liking with the right application techniques.

Comparing Inika Baked Mineral Foundation to Liquid Foundations

While liquid foundations are often associated with heavier coverage, they can sometimes feel suffocating on the skin. On the other hand, mineral foundations, like the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation, offer a lighter, more breathable alternative. You’ll get all the coverage you need without the risk of clogged pores or a greasy finish.

It’s the difference between wearing a heavy coat on a warm day versus a light, breathable jacket – the latter feels much more comfortable and natural.

How to Choose the Right Shade

Choosing the right foundation shade can be tricky, but Inika makes it easier by offering a variety of shades for different skin tones. Here are a few tips to help:

Understand Your Undertones: If you have warm undertones, opt for shades with a golden or yellow base. Cool undertones pair well with pink or neutral-based shades.

Test in Natural Light: Always check how a foundation looks in natural daylight to ensure the most accurate match.

Mix and Match: Sometimes, mixing two shades can help you achieve the perfect match for your skin tone.

Sustainability and Ethical Beauty

Inika is known for its commitment to ethical beauty, and the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation is no exception. The product is:

Certified Organic

Cruelty-Free

Vegan

Free from toxic chemicals

This means you can feel good about what you’re putting on your skin and how it impacts the environment.

Inika Baked Mineral Foundation: Everyday Use

For those who love a foundation that works for both everyday wear and special occasions, the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation ticks all the boxes. Its buildable coverage means you can wear it lightly for a natural look during the day or layer it for more coverage when needed.

Final Thoughts: Is Inika Baked Mineral Foundation Right for You?

If you’re in search of a foundation that offers natural coverage, cares for your skin, and aligns with eco-friendly values, then the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation is worth trying. Its lightweight feel, buildable coverage, and skin-loving ingredients make it a top contender for anyone looking to upgrade their makeup routine.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Can I use the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation on oily skin? A: Yes! This foundation is suitable for all skin types, including oily skin. It helps control shine without clogging pores.

Q: How long does the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation last on the skin? A: It lasts all day with minimal touch-ups, especially if set with a translucent powder for oily areas.

Q: Is Inika Baked Mineral Foundation cruelty-free? A: Yes, Inika is a cruelty-free brand and does not test its products on animals.

Q: Can I wear this foundation without primer? A: Yes, you can, although using a primer can enhance the longevity and smoothness of the foundation.

Q: How do I remove the Inika Baked Mineral Foundation? A: Simply use a gentle makeup remover or cleanser to wash it off at the end of the day.

[greendreamclub]

Exploring the Cannabis Culture in Málaga: Laws, Trends, and Tourism

Málaga, a sun-kissed coastal city in the heart of Spain's Costa del Sol, is known for its rich history, stunning beaches, and vibrant nightlife. Over the past few years, it has also become a point of interest for cannabis enthusiasts due to the growing presence of cannabis clubs and evolving public attitudes towards marijuana use. For tourists and locals alike, understanding the cannabis culture weed in malaga involves navigating the local laws, exploring the social clubs, and understanding the wider trends that impact the city's cannabis scene.

Cannabis Laws in Spain and Málaga

Spain has a unique stance on cannabis. Nationally, cannabis use is not fully legalized, but there are significant loopholes that have led to the growth of a semi-legal cannabis culture, especially in cities like Málaga. Under Spanish law, the personal use and cultivation of cannabis are decriminalized but heavily regulated. You can possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use, but only in private spaces. Public consumption, on the other hand, is illegal and can result in fines.

The real attraction for many cannabis enthusiasts in Spain, including in Málaga, is the rise of cannabis social clubs. These private, non-profit associations allow members to cultivate and share cannabis among themselves. The key to these clubs is that they operate in a gray area of the law—since they are private and members-only, they are not considered to be engaging in the public sale or distribution of cannabis. However, these clubs must adhere to strict guidelines, such as not advertising and restricting membership to adults over 18 or 21, depending on the club.

Cannabis Social Clubs in Málaga

While Barcelona is often seen as the cannabis capital of Spain, Málaga has steadily grown its own network of cannabis social clubs. These clubs offer members a safe and discreet environment to consume cannabis without the fear of breaking the law. To join, you typically need to be referred by an existing member, and you must agree to abide by the club's rules regarding consumption and behavior.

Each club has its own vibe, catering to different crowds, from laid-back lounges where people can relax with friends to more active, social environments where cannabis is enjoyed alongside music and entertainment. It’s important to remember, though, that the clubs do not sell cannabis in the traditional sense. Instead, members contribute to the cultivation process and receive cannabis in return. Many clubs take this communal aspect seriously, promoting responsible consumption and fostering a sense of community among their members.

Tourism and Cannabis in Málaga

Tourists are increasingly curious about the cannabis culture in Málaga, and while it is possible for foreigners to join social clubs, it’s not as straightforward as simply walking in off the street. Clubs typically require a membership fee and proof of residence in Spain, though some may make exceptions for long-term visitors. Nonetheless, tourists are urged to be cautious about trying to find cannabis outside of these clubs, as buying on the black market is illegal and can lead to legal trouble.

Despite these hurdles, the relaxed attitude towards cannabis, coupled with Málaga's natural beauty and vibrant cultural scene, makes it a popular destination for cannabis enthusiasts looking for a European getaway. Travelers who are part of the social club scene praise the relaxed, welcoming environment that malaga weed offers, where cannabis can be enjoyed in a responsible and communal way.

The Future of Cannabis in Málaga

As public opinion continues to evolve, so too does the cannabis landscape in Málaga. There is increasing pressure within Spain to clarify and expand the legal framework around cannabis use, particularly as other European countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, push towards full legalization. In Málaga, this shift could lead to a more open and accessible cannabis culture, benefiting both locals and tourists.

In conclusion, Málaga offers a unique intersection of legality, culture, and community when it comes to cannabis. While the laws remain somewhat restrictive, the presence of cannabis social clubs allows for a thriving cannabis culture that attracts both locals and visitors alike. For those looking to explore this side of Málaga, joining a club and respecting the laws is essential for enjoying cannabis in a responsible and legal way.

[gujarattaxi]

Spiritual journey to Dwarka with Gujarat Taxi Services : Feel free to contact us. 

Best Taxi Service in Rajkot: Book Your Cab Now.Gujarat taxi - Best online taxi service in Rajkot 

Road Trip Guide: Ahmedabad to Dwarka

Embarking on a road trip from Ahmedabad to Dwarka is a journey through the heart of Gujarat, blending cultural heritage with picturesque landscapes. This guide will ensure you have a seamless and memorable travel experience from the bustling urban landscape of Ahmedabad to the sacred shores of Dwarka.

Route Overview

The distance between Ahmedabad and Dwarka is approximately 230 kilometers (143 miles), and the journey typically takes around 5 to 6 hours, depending on traffic and road conditions. The primary route is via National Highway 947 (NH947), which is well-maintained and offers a smooth drive.

Route Description

Ahmedabad to Rajkot (Approx. 210 km, 4 hours)

Starting Point: Begin your journey in Ahmedabad, departing from the city center or your home - hotel-etc.

Route: Head west on NH47. Follow signs and stay on NH947. The road is mostly straightforward with minimal turns.

Points of Interest: En route to Rajkot, consider stopping at the town of Surendranagar if you wish to explore more of Gujarat's local culture. Rajkot itself is a bustling city with attractions such as the Kaba Gandhi No Delo and the Rotary Dolls Museum,Pradyuman Park, Ram Van,Aji Dam, etc 

Rajkot to Dwarka (Approx. 90 km, 2 hours)

Route: Continue on NH947 from Rajkot towards Dwarka. This segment of the journey will take you through some scenic rural landscapes and small towns.

Points of Interest: As you approach Dwarka, you may notice the changing scenery with views of open fields and the Arabian Sea in the distance.

Travel Tips

Vehicle Preparation: Ensure your vehicle is well-maintained before embarking on the trip. Generally While NH947 is well-signposted, having a GPS navigation system or a reliable map app on your smartphone will be beneficial for real-time traffic updates and route guidance.

But if you are with Gujarat taxi service - Rajkot then no matter for the same.

Weather Considerations: Gujarat's climate can be quite hot, especially in summer. Carry sufficient water, wear comfortable clothing, and use sun protection. Check the weather forecast before starting your journey.

Food and Refreshments: There are various eateries and dhabas (roadside restaurants) along the way, especially around major towns like Rajkot. For a more comfortable experience, consider packing snacks and drinks for the road.

Local Etiquette: While traveling through smaller towns, be mindful of local customs and practices. Respect for local traditions and polite behavior will make your trip more enjoyable.

Key Destinations in Dwarka

Dwarkadhish Temple: The primary attraction in Dwarka, this ancient temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and is a significant pilgrimage site. The architecture and religious ambiance make it a must-visit.

Nageshwar Jyotirlinga: One of the twelve Jyotirlingas dedicated to Lord Shiva, located about 20 kilometers from Dwarka, this temple is known for its spiritual significance.

Bet Dwarka: Accessible by a short ferry ride from Okha, this island is reputed to be the residence of Lord Krishna. It offers serene views and historical temples.

Rukmini Devi Temple: Located on the outskirts of Dwarka, this temple dedicated to Rukmini, Lord Krishna's consort, is renowned for its beautiful architecture and tranquil setting.

All these places are spiritually great. Gujarat taxi - Best taxi service in Rajkot makes this road trip from Ahmedabad to Dwarka offers a rich experience of Gujarat’s cultural and natural landscape. By following this guide, you can ensure a smooth journey, enjoy the scenic beauty, and explore the historical and spiritual significance of Dwarka. Safe travels and enjoy the journey through one of Gujarat’s most enchanting routes!

Gujarat taxi - Best taxi service in Rajkot makes this journey a cozy  experience of Gujarat’s cultural and natural places.

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