#Raising Seed Funding

[internationalsummit]

A 2025 Guide: Raising Seed Funding for Your UAE Startup

Starting a business is exciting but challenging, especially when securing the necessary funds to get your idea off the ground. Many startups struggle in their early years due to a lack of funding, making seed funding essential for their survival and growth. The UAE has emerged as a thriving hub for startups, offering various funding opportunities. But how do you raise seed funding for your UAE startup? This guide will walk you through the essential steps and strategies to secure early-stage funding and kickstart your business.

Where to Find Seed Funding for Your UAE Startup

Securing seed funding requires knowing the right sources to approach. Here are some key avenues for raising funds in the UAE:

Angel Investors

Angel investors are high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) who invest in startups in exchange for equity. They not only provide funding but also mentorship and networking opportunities. Some renowned angel investment networks in the UAE include Dubai Angel Investors and Falcon Group.

Early-Stage Venture Capital (VC) Firms

Early-stage VCs specialize in high-risk investments and can provide significant capital for startups with growth potential. Some well-known early-stage VC firms in the UAE are Global Ventures, Wamda Capital, and BECO Capital.

Incubators & Accelerators

Startup incubators and accelerators in the UAE offer not only funding but also mentorship, office space, and resources. Programs like Hub71 and Dubai Future Accelerators help startups refine their business models and scale efficiently.

Government Grants & Initiatives

The UAE government actively supports startups with various funding programs that don’t require equity dilution. Programs like the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) provide financial aid to innovative businesses.

Crowdfunding Platforms

Startups with a strong community presence can leverage crowdfunding platforms to raise funds from a large pool of investors. Platforms like Eureeca and Beehive have helped numerous startups in the UAE raise capital.

Corporate Funding & Strategic Partnerships

Large corporations and industry-specific accelerators offer funding, resources, and market access to promising startups. Companies often invest in startups aligned with their strategic goals, making corporate funding a valuable option.

How to Secure Seed Funding for Your UAE Startup

Raising seed funding requires a strategic approach. Here are some key steps to improve your chances of securing investment:

Develop a Scalable Business Model

Investors look for startups with a clear path to scalability and profitability. Your business model should outline your revenue streams, target market, and long-term growth strategy.

Create a Compelling Pitch Deck

A strong pitch deck is crucial to attracting investors. Since investors spend only a few minutes reviewing a pitch, your presentation should be concise, engaging, and informative. Include key elements such as:

The problem you are solving

Your unique value proposition

Market opportunity and target audience

Business model and revenue strategy

Market traction and achievements

Funding request and proposed equity dilution

Leverage Market Research & Data

Investors prefer data-driven decisions. Conduct thorough market research to showcase demand for your product or service. Present key metrics like competitor analysis, customer traction, and potential market expansion opportunities.

Participate in Pitching Competitions

Pitching competitions provide an excellent opportunity to secure funding, gain industry recognition, and receive valuable feedback from experts. Popular startup pitching competitions in the UAE include:

Make It In The Emirates (MIITE)

GITEX Future Stars

Supernova Challenge

Green Shoots Startup Pitch Competition

Network at Startup & Investment Events

Networking is essential for raising seed funding. Attend events like the International Investor Summit (IIS) and Dubai Startup Networking Event to connect with potential investors and industry leaders.

Build Relationships with Investors

Before pitching for funding, engage with investors through social media, industry panels, and investment forums. Understanding their interests and investment criteria allows you to tailor your pitch for better chances of success.

Conclusion

Raising seed funding for your UAE startup requires a well-defined strategy, extensive networking, and a compelling business case. With various funding sources available, including angel investors, VCs, government grants, and crowdfunding platforms, startups in the UAE have multiple opportunities to secure early-stage capital. By refining your pitch, participating in startup events, and building investor relationships, you can increase your chances of success and take your business to new heights.

FAQs

1. What is seed funding, and why is it important? Seed funding helps startups develop their product, conduct market research, and launch operations. It plays a crucial role in transforming an idea into a viable business.

2. What’s the difference between pre-seed and seed funding? Pre-seed funding is used for validating ideas and creating prototypes, while seed funding supports business operations, product development, and market expansion.

3. How can a startup qualify for seed funding in the UAE? Startups must demonstrate market demand, scalability, and a strong value proposition. A compelling pitch deck, solid business model, and networking efforts can improve chances of securing funding.

4. Can international startups raise seed funding in the UAE? Yes, international startups can secure funding in the UAE if they comply with local business regulations and set up a legal entity. Joining incubators and attending startup networking events can increase funding opportunities.

[lackadaisycats]

Video essay by Jellybox about what's good and bad about indie animation!

Wanted to share this in case it's helpful to anyone wanting to pursue making animation independently. It's also for fans of indie animation who may want some insight into how an indie studio works, why indie cartoons are always selling merch, why release schedules are often erratic, etc.

I also wanted to clarify the video's context, because it seems to have been somewhat misconstrued in some circles. Not long ago, WGA and SAG strikes, followed by TAG negotiations were very much in the news, shining light on the struggles the artists, writers, and actors in the Hollywood studio system are facing. In response, the words 'just go indie' have been tossed around quite a bit lately.

Gene and Sean at Jellybox approached us a few months back explaining that they were planning to make a video about the realities of running an indie studio/producing indie animation, largely in response to that 'just go indie' attitude. They were curious if we'd be willing to share our experience, including information about actual costs and the various difficulties and complications we've encountered. We said yes! We'd like for people to know what it's like. As much as it might look appealing next to the currently very broken studio system, indie has its own set of problems, and we think it's a good idea to be transparent about that because talking about problems is how you begin to address them.

Of course, while you get creative freedom and you have no shareholders to appease with indie production, the primary struggle you're always going to face is funding…and funding avenues are limited. Banks aren't eager to hand out business loans to freelance artists making cartoons, for instance. Social media algorithms reward frequent updates you can't swing with hand-drawn animated content, so you can't rely much on things like AdSense. You can't really insert sponsored ads into your animated videos without being too obtrusive. You can take on client work, but that interferes with your ability to focus on own animated project. Crowdfunds can be great for seed money, but they're also a ton of work to fulfill, and fulfillment itself will tend to eat up a considerable amount of the funds you've raised. Once your animation is produced, there is no well established way to sell the animated episode itself like there is for, say indie games sold on Steam. So, while we consider ways to try to make the terrain a bit more hospitable to indie creations, if nothing else, let this explain why productions rely a lot on merch drops!

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

And hey, if you're an animation fan, consider supporting the independent productions you enjoy, whether you're tossing a few dollars their way, buying their merch, or just mentioning them to friends:

The Far-Fetched team is launching a crowdfund very soon to help them complete their pilot!

The Monkey Wrench team is killing it lately, and they deserve so much more fanfare than they've gotten!

And of course, thank you to the excellent folks at Jellybox for starting an important conversation!

[leotanaka]

List of Palestinian GoFundMes (8th September 2024)

Below are a list of fundraisers that I have been sent. All of these have been vetted by either @/90-ghost, @/el-shab-hussein or @/nabulsi. They're also GFM's that have been shared by @/vetted-gaza-funds, @/northgazaupdates, @/gaza-evacuation-funds and @/riding-with-the-wild-hunt

If you see this, please help in anyway you can and if you can't assist financially, please reblog this post.

Vetted GFM's

hamzaahmed21: GFM (€3,184 raised of €21,000)

hillesmahmoud: GFM (€25,019 raised of €37,000)

safaabed8: GFM (€34,128 raised of €90,000)

atalah-mohammed: GFM (€15,621 raised of €82,000)

ahmed4palestine: GFM ($17,778 USD raised of $20,000)

malkzaim: GFM ($25,391 CAD raised of $50,000)

rasha-ibrahim: GFM (€2,455 raised of €35,000 )

boshradaoud1: GFM (€32,295 raised of €75,000)

zeanyahya3: GFM (€9,099 raised of €25,000)

abdullahgaza: GFM (€83,052 raised of €120,000)

m8hammed: GFM (€9,925 raised of €25,000)

yasermohammad: GFM (€21,485 raised of €35,000)

lets-help-osama: GFM (€2,627 raised of €15,000)

mo-shamia: GFM ($63,037 USD raised of $70,000)

atalah-mohammed: GFM (€15,621 raised of €82,000)

dodoomar12345: GFM (kr188,919 SEK raised of kr300,000)

acallforhope: GFM (€430 raised of €60,000)

familymajed2: GFM ($24,680 CAD raised of $90,000)

abdalhadiaburas: GFM ($5,267 CAD raised of $65,000)

olagaza: GFM ($44,779 USD raised of $50,000)

ahmedhelllis: GFM (€14,903 raised of €80,000)

tahseenkhazen: GFM ($11,875 USD raised of $25,000)

mariam-fadi: GFM (€7,746 raised of €15,000)

yousefjehad3: GFM ($7,146 USD raised of $15,000)

emanalmadhoun1: GFM (€16,346 raised of €20,000)

drfarhatblog: GFM ($7,975 USD raised of $29,500)

4-zien-yousef: GFM (€15,616 raised of €23,000)

monashamali90: GFM (£14,049 raised of £30,000)

anasbatran : GFM ($4,471 USD raised of $35,000)

farahmoo2: GFM (€5,115 raised of €20,000)

alaakh99: GFM (€9,457 raised of €100,000)

bshaeromars-blog: GFM ($17,212 USD raised of $40,000)

omargaze: GFM (£8,289 raised of £20,000)

esraayyad14: GFM (€17,794 raised of €45,000)

These GFMs are unvetted at this stage from what i can see but they appear to be legitimate so I am going to include them in the event that they are vetted sometime after this is posted.

rawhyfromgaza: GFM (€1,848 raised of €20,000)

akramamran: GFM ($65 USD raised of $15,000)

osama-family: GFM (£2,706 raised of £50,000)

anasfamilys : GFM (€2,262 raised of €50,000)

ahmadallouh32: GFM (€1,722 raised of €50,000)

ghadafamily: GFM (€278 raised of €20,000)

mohammedmoner: GFM (€222 raised of €25,000)

aiamaher: GFM (€1,059 raised of €55,000)

mohammednasers-blog: GFM (€4,366 raised of €38,000)

Other ways to support

Feminine Hygiene Products for Gaza

Gaza eSims

Mutual Aid Diabetes

Crips for eSims for Gaza

Sources where you can find vetted fundraisers (from @/vetted-gaza-funds):

el-shab-hussein and nabulsi's spreadsheet

gazafunds.com

Operation Olive Branch’s spreadsheet

Strawberry Seed Collective’s master list

Operation Poppy Flower

Project Watermelon master list

GoFund(water)Me(lons) master list

Ottawa4Palestine

Pali Pals on instagram

The ButterflyEffect Project spreadsheet

**Links to previous Vetted GFM Masterlists that I have created can be found in the source of this post.**

[afriblaq]

african.echo

Two Years of President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso: A Report Since Assuming Leadership of the Nation 1. Burkina Faso’s GDP rose from around $18.8 billion to $22.1 billion. 2. He declined loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, stating, “Africa doesn’t need the World Bank, IMF, Europe, or America.” 3. He cut the salaries of ministers and parliamentarians by 30% while raising civil servants’ salaries by 50%. 4. He cleared Burkina Faso’s domestic debts. 5. He established the country’s first-ever tomato processing plants. 6. In 2023, he launched a modern gold mine to strengthen local processing capacity. 7. He halted the export of unrefined gold from Burkina Faso to Europe. 8. He constructed Burkina Faso’s second cotton processing plant, adding to the single existing one. 9. He inaugurated the National Support Center for Artisanal Cotton Processing, the first of its kind, to aid local cotton farmers. 10. He prohibited the use of British legal wigs and gowns in local courts, replacing them with traditional Burkinabé attire. 11. He prioritized agriculture by distributing over 400 tractors, 239 tillers, 710 motor pumps, and 714 motorcycles to enhance production and support rural communities. 12. He facilitated access to improved seeds and other agricultural inputs to maximize farming yields. 13. Tomato production grew from 315,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 360,000 metric tonnes in 2024. 14. Millet production increased from 907,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 1.1 million metric tonnes in 2024. 15. Rice production rose from 280,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 326,000 metric tonnes in 2024. 16. He banned French military operations in Burkina Faso. 17. He prohibited French media from operating in the country. 18. He expelled French troops from Burkina Faso. 19. His government is building new roads, expanding existing ones, and converting gravel roads into paved surfaces.

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - January 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles!

1. Homes built with clay, grass, plastic and glass: How a Caribbean island is shying away from concrete

“[… Clay] traps moisture which then evaporates and pulls heat from the surface as it goes. […] The roof is covered in old recycled advertising banners and piece of a water tank, the other half of which is used to house some of Rahaman-Noronha's fish [… and] multi-coloured glass bottles inset into walls provide an avenue for streams of light and colour.”

2. To Combat Phoenix’s Extreme Heat, a New Program Provides Sustainable Shade

“The neighborhood workshops allow residents to get a shade plan tailored to their community’s needs and identify the locations where officials can plant trees. Meanwhile, the workforce-development side of the program creates the jobs needed to keep the trees alive for generations[….]”

3. Conservation corridors provide hope for Latin America’s felines

“[… S]cience has shown that to maintain healthy populations there needs to be connection between individuals. [… A] protected area that is close to another has more species and more potential for their survival.”

4. Social program cuts tuberculosis cases among Brazil's poorest by more than half

“The decrease [“in TB cases and deaths”] was over 50% in extremely poor people and more than 60% among the Indigenous populations. […] "We know that the program improves access to food [… and healthcare…] and strengthens people's immune defenses as a result.””

5. Geothermal has vast potential to meet the world’s power needs

“New geothermal systems could technically provide as much as 600 terawatts of carbon-free power capacity by 2050[…. C]ountries could cost-effectively deploy over 800 GW of geothermal power capacity using technology that’s in development today[….]”

6. New D.C. Catholic archbishop is pro-LGBTQ+ and anti-Trump

“In 2018, he objected to the blaming of gay priests for the clergy sexual abuse crisis, “saying that such abuse was a matter of power, not sexual orientation[….]” “We must disrupt those who portray refugees as enemies [… and] seek to rob our medical care, especially from the poor.””

7. Chesapeake Bay Will Gain New Wildlife Refuge

“The Chesapeake Bay area will have a new wildlife refuge for the first time in a quarter century. […] “This new refuge offers an opportunity to halt and even reverse biodiversity loss in this important place, and in a way that fully integrates and respects the leadership and rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities.””

8. Inside Svalbard seed vault’s critical mission to stop our favourite fruit and veg from going extinct

“[… T]he world’s largest secure seed storage […] sits proudly in a massive former coal mine[….] Right now, there are over 1,331,458 samples of 6,297 crop species. […] “During 2024, 61 seed genebanks deposited 64,331 seed samples, including 21 from institutes that deposited seeds for the first time this year[….]””

9. Medical debt will be erased from credit reports for all Americans under new federal rule

“The rule will affect more than 15 million Americans, raising their credit scores by an estimated average of 20 points. [… S]tates and localities have already utilized American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to support the elimination of over $1 billion in medical debt for more than 700,000 Americans[….]”

10. 'Forgotten' water harvesting system transforms 'barren wasteland' into thriving farmland

“"The process started with the community-based participatory planning[….]” 10% to 15% of the water will actually soak into the ground to replenish the water table, creating a more sustainable agricultural process.”

December 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[arinzechukwuture]

Two Years of President Ibrahim Traoré 🇧🇫: A Report Since Assuming Leadership of the Nation

1. Burkina Faso's GDP rose from around $18.8 billion to $22.1 billion.

2. He declıned loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, stating, "Africa doesn’t need the World Bank, IMF, Europe, or America."

3. He cut the salaries of ministers and parliamentarians by 30% while raising civil servants' salaries by 50%.

4. He cleared Burkina Faso's domestic debts.

5. He established the country's first-ever tomato processing plants.

6. In 2023, he launched a modern gold mine to strengthen local processing capacity.

7. He halted the export of unrefined gold from Burkina Faso to Europę.

8. He constructed Burkina Faso’s second cotton processing plant, adding to the single existing one.

9. He inaugurated the National Support Center for Artisanal Cotton Processing, the first of its kind, to aid local cotton farmers.

10. He prohibited the use of Britısh legal wigs and gowns in local courts, replacing them with traditional Burkinabé attire.

11. He prioritized agriculture by distributing over 400 tractors, 239 tillers, 710 motor pumps, and 714 motorcycles to enhance production and support rural communities.

12. He facilitated access to improved seeds and other agricultural inputs to maximize farming yields.

13. Tomato production grew from 315,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 360,000 metric tonnes in 2024.

14. Millet production increased from 907,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 1.1 million metric tonnes in 2024.

15. Rice production rose from 280,000 metric tonnes in 2022 to 326,000 metric tonnes in 2024.

16. He bąnned French milıtary operations in Burkina Faso.

17. He prohıbited French media from operating in the country.

18. He expęlled French troops from Burkina Faso.

19. His government is building new roads, expanding existing ones, and converting gravel roads into paved surfaces.

[m0chisenpai]

lestat x black female reader

inspired by ep 1 where lestat invites louis and lily, but here it would be reader and lily where they are friends and lestat just uses lily to finally have reader 🤭

fascinating

˚｡⋆ lestat de lioncourt x black!fem!reader

in which you are the most fascinating being of the night

You were a fly on the wall when it came to Lily and her business. And you intended to remain the same, though you boarded in the same home as she, and the rest of her working girls did. You refused to partake in the business.

You were a…muscle of sorts. Though you could hardly overpower the men who she saw all you needed to do was scream for someone and the men would be sent right out without question.

You could never partake in the business of pleasure, it was not something that drew you in.

Truth be told the touch of a man made you feel ill. Not that you preferred the company of women, but the men who came in for Lily wanted one thing merely and that was to waste their seed and forget about their problems at home.

You could see right past their imported rings, their custom tailored suits. It was all a ruse to mask the broken little boys deep in their souls, but tonight Lily insisted you enjoy the music out on the patio while she handled her ‘business.’

This was typical, you kept her clients company while she got ready or wrapped up a previous one. She offered a portion of her earnings to you but you declined. But tonight you were in need of the funds for a new new novels you'd had your eyes on.

“I need you to keep an eye out for my next appointment love please?”

You hum turning your head rested in the palm of your hand to look at her.

And from the look in her eye you grumble like a child. “Not Lawrence again he is such dull company.”

“No now if he were coming I’d tell you to pick your book up and come. No this ones a French white,” she whispers it like a scandal and you will admit your interests are peaked.

“A french man Lily. What’s his name and what’s he look like?”

“Oh he’s got these dreamy blue eyes, golden locks. He knows to meet me up here, but you'll keep him entertained for me love won’t you?” When she holds your hands and pouts her lip you sigh and agree and she’s squealing and promising a treat on her next night.

You'll hold her to it.

When she’s gone your eyes return to the book, the light music spilling from the night sets the perfect ambiance for you to read from the tattered pages. You enjoy your little bubble in peace, oblivious to the man who now sits in front of you. Watching, drinking in your calming aura. It brings peace to his own mind.

It isn’t until his cane knocks into the table that you pick your head up to meet the most beautiful of eyes. This man is unlike the others. No, he is special. When you tilt your head ever so slightly he mirrors it back.

“I hope I am not of a disturbance, madame.”

“No,” your wet your lips finding your voice. “You must be looking for Lily. She should be ready for you in a moment I can alert her-“ When you go to stand his hand comes down upon the hand atop your book. But it is gentle, and it stops you.

“No please, I would prefer your company tonight.”

Oh now this was new, your eyebrow raises but your hand does not move from beneath his own. It is cold, but it is comforting in the humid evening. “I do not warm beds sir, if you’d like I can find you another woman to provide you the company you desire?”

“I think the company you offer surpasses any woman’s here, please sit. I will even pay you for your time.”

You hesitate for. A moment, but the extra money could provide you just enough for the new novel you’d been in search of. So you sit, crossing one leg over another.

“Where are my manners, what am I to call you madame?”

You offer your name and he whispers it back. “Lestat De Lioncourt, but for you my dear, Lestat.”

His answers are vague to your questions. She comes from France, from money passed on from a father. His mother travels the world since the passing of said father, and he finds himself in love with New Orleans.

“But enough about myself what-“

“Mr Lioncourt!” When Lily comes the tiniest bit of disappointment fills you. But Lestat’s eyes do not move when you dearest Lily returns by your side.

“Lily you did no tell me you had such interesting company around here.”

“I told you she is, she would rack in a fortune-“

“But I do not like the feeling of a man. It makes me…” you shake your head but Lily’s hand on your hand provides you comfort. Cause she knows, a secret that built the bridge of your sisterhood.

“Well I will leave you both to it, I’m gonna check in with Madame, Lily, you fine by yourself?”

“Of course, Mr.Lioncourt is my last of the night then we can go to that new cafe.” You stand, book in hand to walk past but Lestat’s hand holds your elbow. Had it been any other man your instinct would be to step aside out of their grasp.

But his hand does not feel like fire on you. And he drops a ring in your hand, a fortune which he lays his hand atop.

“Will this suffice?”

“Yes, thank you Lestat.” You smile and move to leave his hand dropping from your hand. Yet his gaze does to leave until you are completely out of sight.

Lestat begins to buy up Lily’s time, to the point where she hardly can see others. She wasn’t comparing the man paid her extremely well from what you could tell, enough that she was giving you a portion her earnings.

“I just feel bad, dragging you to and from. But I think he is sweet on you love.”

“He is not.” You giggle as she bumps into your side as you walk to the mans home, your elbows linked and walking slow enjoying this rare moment of peace with one another.

“He is! You know….” She leans up to speak into your ear, “I think he pretends it is you some nights.”

“You and your imagination Lil,” she giggles right until he is meeting you at the iron gates and letting the both of you in. It was always the same, he offers you both a drink, you speak for a bit, the two go upstairs while you drown the noise out with a song on the record or one of Lestat's novels from his collection, then Lily walks you both back home.

But tonight it was as though the two knew something. Because when she passes Lestat the gaze they exchange is....mischievous? Perhaps she has found a new trick for him. Lily pauses in the doorway cursing beneath her breath when you are shedding your coat.

“I left my compact at Lawrences love I’ll be right back!” And she’s dashing out the door before you can run after her. Lestat closes the door just when your hand reaches for the knob and your looking at him, chest to chest, eyes wide as a does in embarrassment.

“I hope is am good company,” he holds his hand to you. And you lay your hand in his, letting him lead you into the parlor. Two glasses await you before the lit fireplace.

The record plays the softest of music, dare you say romantic

The setting feels too intimate, especially as he places his hand now to the small of your back nudging you to join him on the couch beside him where he sits close, closer than most do. But you attribute it to his heritage. He was always more touchy, cold skin was something you were used to and never flinched at when you felt it.

He deposits a glass, half filled into your hands and clinks your glasses together. You take a slow sip. It’s a smooth red that warms your bones and you set it back down. When you look up at him, his gaze is settled on you, almost loving. Too kind for your linking to you settle on looking at the spot between his eyes.

“Do you find my company a nuisance?” He tilts his head, and a furrow creases the perfect marble of his skin. “Because I can’t offer you what Lily has. I’m sorry.”

“Au contraire my little love,” his hand slips into your own, lifting it to press a kiss to your hand. “ Your company offers me something hers does not.”

Now it is your turn to be confused and you tilt your head. He continues, “Your questions. Your thoughts. Your hunger and desire to know the things beyond man and God. You hunger for something more.” As he speaks his hand rests across your bare chest, where your heart beats beneath his cold palm.

”It is here. And I too had such desires. Until it brought you to me. My answered prayer. The one who alone can satisfy this hunger.” You don’t realize how your body seems to draw closer. Your own hand resting where his heart should beat.

You should feel sick, you should be broken. No man can fill the void of your heart. “You were never broken, your soul knew what your flesh knew not. It needed me.”

When you go to move back his hand rests at the back of your neck, but it is gentle. His hand are always so gentle. “How did you know.”

”Because my love. We were meant to be, to be companions for a lifetime, no, for lifetimes to come.”

You don’t know why it feels so hard to breathe. But he is sliding another ring from his pinky, and he drops it into your hand, curling your hands around it to hold between both his hands.

“Be my companion, my love, let me fulfill every desire these mortal men have neglected. Please,” he whispers your name like a prayer. He's not like him, the one who left you broken. No. Lestat does not look at you in such a way. You are not damaged goods, no. You are the pieces of a broken promise.

And he intends to fix it. He intends to remedy every single thought, every way those mortal boys have misused you. Tears fill your eyes, sliding down the slopes of your cheeks. You can only slowly nod.

And he is devouring your lips, the flames burn higher.

”Oh love!” Lily squeals seeing you at your normal spot. Your back is to her, hair pinned up in a gorgeous crown braid with silk ribbon. It had been some time since you returned. Whispers spread that you eloped, that you ran off to France, hopped a train to New York with some man.

but Lily long since told you needed a break. Though her heart did drop when she returned one day to a simple letter of your departure, she was reassured by the set date of your return for the fall.

And here you sit unbothered by the chill.

“Lily,” your voice is so smooth, had you always sounded like that? When she is able to see you, you look up at her.

Golden eyes, stare into her brown ones.

[fox-bright]

Distracting myself from the world outside my yard, as much as I can, by planning out the seed-starting which will begin this weekend.

Usually my garden planning doesn't feel as grim as this. But there's still some joy in it, even if I'm plotting out just how much of our food is going to have to come from the garden this year, and maybe for the next half-decade or so.

I keep trying to write cheerful beginning-of-the-season garden posts, and they come out of my fingers like this:

Forty percent of our nation's homegrown produce is harvested by undocumented immigrants. Another fifteen or so percent is harvested by documented immigrants with work visas, not that ICE is treating them any differently in their raids (nor citizens, for that matter, scooped up indiscriminately as long as they're brown). During the last Trump administration, crops rotted in the fields because there was no one to harvest them; this time around, it's going to be worse. That is true regardless of whether or not RFK gets to institute the "wellness drug rehabilitation farms" that he's talked about in interviews (which, to be clear, would be concentration camps full of Undesirables such as people who use drugs, protestors, and queers). I do not attempt to put my need to eat over the humanity of the people who provide my food. This is a double-fisted problem, here--the Republicans took something that wasn't a problem and made it into their voters' boogeyman, and now it's going to become an actual nightmare for anyone involved, and *everyone* is involved. Hunger is the most singleminded need there is. A starving person can only think about food.

Sixty percent of the fresh fruit eaten in the States, and forty or so percent of the vegetables, are imported, largely from Mexico and Canada, though we get plenty from SE Asia and other places. Tariffs and our generally being increasingly xenophobic, racist assholes is going to take a measurable toll on agricultural imports.

And we've already spent the last couple of years in a Trump-mediated Age of Listeria; that's sure to get considerably worse as even more regulations (and regulators, and inspectors) are eliminated. A person who can't even trust their food won't trust anything else.

I get this far and then I put the pen down, and I return my gaze to the sheets and sheets of handwritten seed inventory lists with their columns of variety types and days-to-maturity, 55 days, 65 days, 80 days from planting out to fruit, and I take a couple of breaths, and I start writing again.

I'm increasing the size of the garden. I had a whole series of posts planned about it, about building the new beds and setting up trellises and beanpoles, fixing the fence as best I can, building new steps off of the low back porch so that I don't have to carry every baby plant out the kitchen door. I need to find about seven or eight hundred dollars for trucked-in soil for raised beds; I'd really thought in the Autumn that I would have a full year to sort this out, and I don't, so I'm trying to figure out a way to fund-raise. Sell some handmade semiprecious gem jewelry? Open a garden blog Patreon? I dunno. Everything is tight for everyone, and that is not shortly to improve. Leave it to the side. Not important tonight.

Eyes back on the blue-lined page. Amish Paste, Black Krim, Black Plum, Brandywine. So many varieties. Enough to share, if I plan my plantings carefully. Beans, grown for green eating and pickling, even now it doesn't make sense to grow dry beans, not with how many pounds a year this household consumes. Sweet potatoes, this year, slips ordered online for the first time, and I find I'm a little nervous about them. I've never grown a sweet potato before, but people say they're easy, and they're high in a lot of nutrients, and they keep.

Next page. Flowers. Marigolds, nasturtiums, violas.

I try to put a flower in the ground every time I transplant a vegetable. Doing so increases the vegetable yield, since it improves pollinator coverage, but also it's just nice for my soul to be able to clip flowers and bring them in to present to my husband, to have on the counter when I'm frying eggs for breakfast, to stick haphazardly behind my ear and wear on my daily walk. So tonight I'm sitting here with a pen and paper, deciding what I want to grow for food this year, deciding how much energy I can devote to flowers. Nasturtiums, marigolds, bachelor's buttons and borage and cosmos are all edible, and common in my vegetable garden; I'm doing a bunch of zinnias this year as usual, but I'll probably be direct-sowing those this year. Won't have room in the seedling closet when I've got to start so much more food than before. But I can devote *some* energy to the flowers, and I know they'll give me back what I give to them.

There's a clatter off the roof, ice sliding down to collide with whatever it can hit. We've got a wintry mix happening outside right now, little pats of slush falling from the sky to freeze hard on my trellises, and summer now seems far away, but it isn't. It's a very brief time before Last Frost and things will need to get into the ground, and I know that no matter how bleak I feel right now, and how much harder things are likely to be by then, bright-faced zinnias will be a joy when they bloom. Every source of energy is a source of energy. No one can function entirely on rage.

One foot ahead of the other. Seedling mix into my seed trays, tomorrow, and water; the day after I'll sow seeds, and put the trays under the lights. Step by step and in the summer there will be tomatoes and chard, asparagus beans and watermelons and nasturtiums. One foot ahead of the other.

[katabay]

naoki urasawa (along with many other incredible people) is auctioning signed copies of his works to raise funds for gaza as part of the watermelon seeds fundraiser

⭐naoki urasawa's auction page (if you are overseas, clicking on one of the auction items will take you to the buyee proxy service listing)

⭐the auction ends august 4th

[neil-gaiman]

Hi! I hope this isn't rude to ask you to highlight, but Len Kaminski, who did a lot of work for Iron Man (especially with War Machine) as well as having written many Marvel and DC Comics (including runs of Web of Spider-Man, Sensational She-Hulk, Venom: Seed of Darkness, Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme, Justice League of Amazons, Justice League of Atlantis, Scare Tactics, Fate and more) was in a rather bad accident last year and is basically being financially abused by the care home he was placed in after the accident. There is a gofundme trying to raise funds to get him to a better location.

I don't think I can send you a direct link to the gofundme as due to tumblr's policies on links in asks, but if you google Len's name and "gofundme" you will find several articles from sites such as CBR and Bleeding Cool talking about this fundraiser.

Again, I hope this isn't rude to ask you highlight and share, but would you be willing to help spread the word to folks who might be fans? You're one of the biggest comic industry names on tumblr, so you were one of the first people I thought of who might be able to spread the word.

Thank you for your attention, Mr. Gaiman and I further thank you for any assistance you might be able to have in spreading the word!

Thank you for letting me know. That’s awful!

There’s an article about it at

And a direct link to the Gofundme at

[royalarchivist]

This year's fundraising event for the One of Us Foundation is taking place RIGHT NOW!

40 streamers are participating in today's "Seize the Crown" competition to help raise funds for the Potato Seeds micro-grant pilot program, which provides leadership and grants support to support youth-developed projects.

Your donation also gives your streamer Lucky Blocks, which helps them in game.

Watch the main stream live and donate here!

[mybeingthere]

Emily Kame Kngwarreye (1910 – 1996) is considered one of Australias most significant artists. Amazingly, she only began painting with acrylics in her late seventies but in a few short years became an artist of national and international standing.

Emily was the first female painter to emerge from an art movement dominated by men and did so in a way that transformed Aboriginal painting. Employing a variety of styles over the course of her eight-year painting career, she painted her Country and sacred Dreamtime stories in a deeply emotional and expressive manner.

She was born around 1910 at Alhalkere (Soakage Bore), on the edge of the Utopia pastoral station, approximately 250km north-east of Alice Springs. Alhalkere was her fathers Country, and her mothers Country was Alhalpere, just to the east.

Despite being married twice, she had no children of her own but raised her relative Lily Sandover Kngwarreye and her niece Barbara Weir. Both becoming famous artists in their own right. Other nieces that also became famous artists include Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre, Ada Bird Petyarre, Violet Petyarre and Nancy Petyarre.

Well before she became one of its most senior contemporary artists, Emily held a unique status within her community of Utopia. Her strong personality and past employment as a stock hand on pastoral properties in the area (at a time when women were only employed for domestic duties), reveals her forceful independence and trailblazing character.

Her age and ceremonial status also made her a senior member of the Anmatyerre language group. She was a senior custodian of cultural sites of her fathers country. She was considered the Boss Woman of the Alatyeye (pencil yam dreaming) and Kame (yam seed dreaming).

Emily started as a traditional ceremonial artist, beginning painting as a young woman as part of her cultural education. An important component of this education was learning the womens ceremonies, which are associated with in-depth knowledge of the Dreamtime stories and of womens social structures.

This knowledge is known as Awelye in Anmatyerre language. Awelye also refers to the intricate designs and symbols associated with womens rituals. These are applied to the womens upper chest, breasts and arms using fingers or brushes dipped into rich desert ochres.

Aboriginal art outside of ceremonial painting began in Utopia in 1977, when batik-making was introduced to women as part of an extended government-funded education program. In 1978, Emily was a founding member of the Utopia Womens Batik Group. In 1988, the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) completed its first project with the Utopia Womens Batik Group. This became an exhibition called Utopia - A Picture Story.

From the beginning, Emilys art stood out from the others. Rather than filling her batiks with Aboriginal symbols, she preferred patterns of layered lines and dots that revealed plant, figurative forms and cell like structures. The 88 silk batiks from this first project were acquired by the Holmes a Court Collection in Perth.

In the same year the CAAMA shop initiated The Summer Project, introducing the Utopia womens batik group to the use of acrylic paints on canvas. Among the 81 paintings completed was Emilys first artwork on canvas, Emu Woman.

Inspired by the many Dreamtime stories of which she was a custodian, Emily employed an extraordinary array of styles over the course of her eight-year painting career.

In her early works, Emily preferred the use of an earthy ochre colour palette, reflecting her experience of using natural ochres during ceremonies. Over time she expanded her repertoire to include a dazzling array of colours found in the desert landscape. Colours are significant in her paintings. Yellow, for example, often symbolises the season when the desert earth begins to dry up and the Kame (yam seeds) are ripe.

Her shifting styles also reveal her self-confidence and willingness to experiment with form, pictorial space and artistic conventions. She drew creatively from the geographic landmarks that traverse her Country and the Dreaming stories that define it. Whenever she was asked to explain her paintings, her answer was always the same:

Whole lot, that's the whole lot. Awelye (my Dreamings), Alatyeye (pencil yam), Arkerrthe (mountain devil lizard), Ntange (grass seed), Tingu (a Dreamtime pup), Ankerre (emu), Intekwe (a favorite food of emus, a small plant), Atnwerle (green bean), and Kame (yam seed). That's what I paint; the whole lot.

This is because she chose to present a very broad picture of the land and how it supports the Anmatyerre way of life. Her artworks embrace the whole life story of the Dreamtime, seeds, flowers, wind, sand and everything. Although her works relate to the modern art tradition, this resemblance is purely visual. The emphasis in Emilys paintings is on the spiritual meaning, based in the tradition of her people.

The evolving styles of Emily Kame Kngwarreyes paintings

Emily started to paint in 1988. Her early style featured visible linear tracings following the tracks of the Kame (Yam Dreaming) and animal prints associated with the Emu Dreaming. Fields of fine dots partially obscured symbolic elements.

By 1992 her paintings were so densely packed with layers of dots that her symbolic underpainting was no longer visible.

Another evolution in her painting style occurred when she began to use large brushes. She worked faster, more loosely and on a larger scale. Sometimes dragging the brush while she dotted, producing lines from the sequential dots.

By the mid 1990s she had pioneered a style of Aboriginal painting referred to as dub dub works. They were created by using large brushes which were laden with paint and then pushed into the canvas in such a way that the bristles part and the paint is mixed on the canvas.

Using this technique, she created wildly colourful artworks and her paintings became progressively more abstract. Different artists from Utopia including Polly Ngale and Freddy Purla have subsequently adopted this style.

During the last two years of her life, she used the linear patterns found on womens ceremonial body designs as the primary inspiration for her paintings. The abstracted sequential dots of colour gave way to parallel lines which were much more formally arranged. She had used lines earlier before gradually submerging them under layers of dots. This time, she created simple, bold compositions of parallel lines in strong dark colours.

The above style in turn evolved to looser meandering lines which appear to trace the shapes of the grasses and the roots of the pencil yam as they forge their way through the desert sands.

In 1996 she produced a body of work in which she depicted pencil yam dreaming using a rich ochre colour palette. In this final burst of creative energy, Emily produced a beautiful body of work known as her scribble phase. In these atmospheric paintings, lines and dots were replaced by flowing fields of colour.

https://www.kateowengallery.com/.../Emily-Kame-Kngwarreye...

[leotanaka]

List of Palestinian GoFundMes (22nd October 2024)

Below are a list of fundraisers that I have been sent. All of these have been vetted by either @/gaza-evacuation-funds or @/gazavetters. Some have also been vetted by The Butterfly Effect Project or through other users such as @/el-shab-hussein, @/nabulsi, @/90-ghost, @/ibtisams & @/fairuzfan.

If you see this, please help in anyway you can and if you can't assist financially, please reblog this post.

VETTED:

ayoosh-gaza1: GFM ($11,762 USD raised of $35,000)

nourasissue-4: GFM (€2,259 raised of €50,000 )

ghazialamoudi: GFM (€1,376 raised of €10,000)

mohamedjshamia: GFM (kr68,811 SEK raised of kr250,000)

lailashaqoura: GFM (€31,990 raised of €55,000)

amirashawikh: GFM ($1,752 raised of $60,000)

savejudyblog : GFM ($3,420 USD raised of $50,000)

mohammedoshehab38: GFM (€1,647 raised of €30,000)

ahmednser: GFM (€487 raised of €100,000)

faroha2001: GFM ($3,383 USD raised of $35,000)

drdarine: GFM ($5,102 USD raised of $30,000)

alaakhateeb2024: GFM (£29,779 raised of £56,000)

amiranimer: GFM (€31,330 raised of €39,000)

etafalqattaa: GFM (€4,458 raised of €100,000)

abdalsalm: GFM (€13,179 raised of €50,000)

mohammedayyads-blog: GFM (€5,041 raised of €35,000)

mahmuodanwar : GFM (€303 raised of €15,000)

VETTED BY ASSOCIATION

mohammedbatish: GFM (€454 raised of €60,000)

mohmoud-j : GFM ($21,574 USD raised of $60,000)

emanabosedo: GFM ($1,321 USD raised of $50,000)

lino-gaza: GFM (€44,313 raised of €60,000)

CURRENTLY UNVETTED

lawyer-adhamayyad88: GFM (€491 raised of €50,000)

islamqazal: GFM ($380 USD raised of $20,000)

weasm-82: GFM (€187 raised of €20,000)

ranensworld: GFM (€9,786 raised of €80,000)

jamelwww: GFM (€40 raised of €60,000)

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT

Feminine Hygiene Products for Gaza

Gaza eSims

Mutual Aid Diabetes

Crips for eSims for Gaza

SOURCES WHERE YOU CAN FIND VETTED FUNDRAISERS (from @/vetted-gaza-funds):

el-shab-hussein and nabulsi's spreadsheet

gazafunds.com

Operation Olive Branch’s spreadsheet

Strawberry Seed Collective’s master list

Operation Poppy Flower

Project Watermelon master list

GoFund(water)Me(lons) master list

Ottawa4Palestine

Pali Pals on instagram

The ButterflyEffect Project spreadsheet

GazaVetters Spreadsheet

Gaza Evacuation Fund Spreadsheet

**Links to previous Vetted GFM Masterlists that I have created can be found in the source of this post.**

[chadfallout76podcast]

FALLOUT DAY GLOBAL EVENT WITH BETHESDA!

SAVE THE DATE: October 23rd @ 3pm EST for a 4 hour long community variety show for charity with Bethesda!

Two months ago Bethesda asked myself and the Fallout For Hope Charity Initiative to help them bring the entire community together in celebration of Fallout, the first #FalloutDay.

That day, October 23rd isn't just about one game or the current title...it's about all of us, all of you. Whichever was your first or favorite, we all have a Fallout we call our own.

A 4 hour long live broadcast is no easy feat. This was a monumental undertaking, but we put together a showcase of Fallout 76 CAMPS, fan films, original music and cover songs, collections, cosplay, prop building, cooking and more that represents ALL of the games. We are all only here because 30 years ago this very year, Tim Cain had an idea for a game that started with the engine to power it. That seed grew, evolved, changed and continues to evolve. Today Fallout has been shaped by tens of thousands of developers, but more still by generations of gamers all over the world.

Aside from raising funds to help kids fighting cancer at St. Jude, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the insanely talented people in our fandom who don't just play Fallout, but LIVE it. I hope everyone tunes in, because this will be something special.

[giuliettagaltieri]

Against All Odds

Pairing: Groom!Coriolanus Snow x Bride!Reader

Chapter Synopsis: The Bride

Warning: minor wedding drama

Word Count: 2275

4 of 7

Coriolanus believes it is possible for a person to be so happy for his senses to numb over.  It is possible when someone goes into shock and panic.  And the state of happiness he is in is just as powerful.

The crowd cheered so loudly but his head refused to process it.  The colors and movement on the side was also being ignored.  Everything fades to nothing but with the exception of his tactile sensation.

If there was a ticket to Heaven, it is your lips.  It was soft and pillowy, just like how he remembered.  And you are sweet, you tasted just like fresh pomegranate.  The moment your lips touched, there was no point of return.  He opens his eyes to watch you.  Too lost in the kiss, your eyes have fluttered shut.  Expertly brushed lids covering your eyes.

He studies your features while he is in close proximity.  And he was glad to know that he felt the same affections for you when you are only a millimeter far or a kilometer far.  Coriolanus smiles through the kiss, pulls you closer and kisses you deeper.

Your fingers snake to his nape and you play with his hair.  Soft giggles attempt to escape you as his fingers dig deeper to your side.

Finally, Coriolanus lets you go and you part softly, your hair still tickling his cheeks.  You both open your eyes and share the purest of smiles.

The solemn ceremony ended and gave way to the reception.

Coriolanus made sure to give you the most lavish celebration.  It was like all the setbacks from yesterday were a decade ago.

You were most thankful to Dr. Gaul who seeded the clouds last night, making the tempest double its intensity.  The clouds cried the entire night that only a blanket of warm cerulean skies was left.

Tigris exceeded expectations with how well she made the final touches of Coriolanus’ suit.

And Mrs. Plinth gifted you a ruby set as your jewelry which matched the wedding motif perfectly.

Everything was perfect.

But what is a wedding without drama?

Lysistrata Vickers has taken your attention, congratulating you on your wedding.  You were not very close to her during your time in the Academy and University but you share no ill blood.  She was a close friend to Coriolanus in his time at the Academy and that was enough for you to be civil to her.

“I love the barrette.”  You point at the silver ornament that held her hair neatly.  She smiles at you as her fingers carefully brush on it.

“Thank you, I bought it specially for the wedding.”

You smile appreciatively at her as you reach to hold her hand.  The woman is smart, you’d love to keep good graces with her.  Although her kindness needs more filing down.

She excuses herself to get another glass of posca and you let her, now just soaking in the cheerful atmosphere of your guests enjoying your wedding.

You smile to yourself as you reach for your own glass of posca.  You swirl it before lifting it by the stem.  A slight movement from the corner of your eyes has you looking over.  There, Dr. Gaul raises her own glass at you, a sharp smile quirks on her lips.  You lift your own glass to her and you both drink.

Her efforts were well appreciated, perhaps you’d visit the University and fund one of her projects.

“You brought this upon yourself!”

You glance to the side to see your husband talking to Livia Cardew who had her face scrunched. 

Coriolanus was standing with indifference, it was almost comical to see Livia behave so emotionally.

“You always had a knack for making bad decisions but to marry that woman when many more were much suitable for the title!”  She seethes, her nails digging on her cream dress.  The audacity to wear such a color so close to your gown!  “This is what happens to kids with no mothers to guide them”

You glance at a peacekeeper who looks at Livia before nodding at you.

Sighing, you walk over to them.

“Are you insinuating that I should have married you instead?”  Coriolanus asks calmly, but you hear the mocking tone in his voice and you don’t bother to hide your condescending smile.

Livia’s face reddens like a beet and she curls her hand tightly, as if ready to strike.  She looks at the place with disgust.  “This is a mistake!  The Swansworth name died with that vile woman’s father.”

The sound of your heels hitting the floor summoned a smirk to Coriolanus’ face.  He recognizes your pace anywhere.

“I can assure you, it is very much alive.”  You glide next to Coriolanus, hooking your arm with his.  Livia eyes you angrily, the grimace on her face making her less attractive with every second.

“My love.”  Coriolanus acknowledges you and plants his lips on yours. 

You chuckle upon seeing your lipstick stain on his lips and your hand lifts to swipe your thumb on his lips, your enormous ring glinting and blinding Livia with the reflected light.  You and Coriolanus share mischievous smirks as she curses, now rubbing her eyes.

“‘A mistake’ she called our wedding.”  Coriolanus grins.

You continue to look up at him, your smile widening as a peacekeeper approaches Livia and takes her away.  She was struggling and causing a commotion but you and Coriolanus are in your own world and you cannot break the rose tinted hue that your gazes share.

“It has got to be the best mistake we ever made.”  You respond and he can’t help but steal another kiss from you.

The music shifts to a calmer one and Coriolanus places an arm on your waist as he leans down to look you in the eyes quite like how he did earlier in the altar.

But this one was different.  You see the anxiousness in them.

“Do you think you will regret marrying me?”  He asks suddenly and you almost scoffed, had it not been for the sincerity in his voice.

“Are you second guessing your decision, Coriolanus Snow?”  You narrow your eyes, tilting your chin up until your noses brush.

He shakes his head, his arms tightening its hold on your waist.  “No, no.  I don’t think I ever can.”  He glances at your lips and his brows crease.  “I have given you all that I am, Y/N Swansworth.  Please do not break me.”

You sigh, smiling at him with your eyes showing him understanding beyond comprehension.  He wonders how you do it.  Times come when he even struggles to understand himself but you seem to see every fiber of his being in highest clarity.

“You have my heart as your prisoner, Coriolanus.  Hurting you would be the death of me.”

He smiles softly but he remains looking at you, waiting for you to continue.

“The only regret I will ever have from tonight is letting Festus make that toast.”  You place your forehead on his shoulder.  Coriolanus laughs heartily as you groan.

“Indeed.”  He chuckles.  “It was a very emotional speech.”

You roll your eyes.  “There was more sobbing than actual speech.”

His thumb brushes on your back.  “He was just happy.”

“He had too much posca.”  You counter and Coriolanus had to yield.

Mr. Plinth did tell him earlier to know when to shut up once in an argument with his wife if he wanted to keep the marriage long and prosperous.

“Gods.”  Coriolanus groans and you see him massaging his brows.

“What is it?”  You asked, concern lacing your voice.

“Price.”

You glance at the champagne tower behind Corio and you see a reflection of Persephone Price walking in your direction with the widest smile.

“I can try to distract her.”  You offered gently, your hand massaging his arm.  His discomfort towards Persephone was still present despite his attempt to recover from the horrors brought by the Dark days.

“No!”  He was quick to say.  “I don’t want you alone with her.  Or any Price for that matter.  Just give me a moment.”

You stay silent, letting him decide what to do.

Coriolanus can be civil with her if necessary but he decided he did not want that tonight.

“Corio?”  You ask when his eyes darted around the hall before they settled on you.

“May I have this dance?”

“What are you-”

He suddenly pulls you by the hand, laughing as he avoids the crowd.  You were so lost but your feet tried to keep up with him anyway.

“Oh, Gods.”  You gasp when Corio takes a sharp turn after nearly colliding with Grandma’am.  “Sorry, Grandma’am!”  You yell as you continue running with Coriolanus.

Grandma’am fell on her chair, pointing at the two of you as she muttered how you two should not be running, and in your wedding reception too!

Coriolanus laughed as he held your hand tighter.  You laughed along as one of your hands held the tiara attached to your long trail of veil.

You see Tigris in the sides and she gives you a warm smile as you pass her.  It has been a while since she saw the same excitement and joy in Coriolanus’ eyes.  And she has you to thank for it.

Festus cheers as you pass his table, his champagne spilling to the floor and Lystrata grins as she shakes her head.

Cameras were clicking in your direction but you cannot care as you feel yourselves becoming one with the wind, Coriolanus nearly slips on the spilt champagne and you laugh once more as you stomp hard on the puddle, sending a splash to the dress of Clemensia Dovecote who was looking at you with animosity.

At that moment, you did not care about your families’ reputation.

Coriolanus is not the son of Crassus Snow.

You are not the daughter of Thanatos Swansworth.

You were just you.

The doors slammed open loudly and the two of you came to a stop as camera flashes blinded you.  Both of you are breathing heavily, sweat beading on your temples and your clothing sticking to your backs.

Without thinking, Coriolanus pulls you to the side and takes off again.

The paparazzi chases you, asking about your wedding and your plans but you are too busy trying to get as far away as possible from them.

Upon seeing a maid, you halt in your steps and Coriolanus glances at you with perplexity. 

“I have an idea.”

The maid who was carrying a basket full of linen was stunned to see you.  She was in utter shock that she was biting her tongue as she stumbled with her words.

You ended up following her in a secluded hallway.  It was under renovation and one cannot enter unless they come through the servants’ passage.

It was directly above the reception, the maid tells you.  And indeed, you can still hear the loud chatter in the wedding and the muffled music.

The maid scurries away after bowing in a back-breaking manner.

You and Coriolanus share a look and you burst out laughing.

“I cannot believe we spent the entire day yesterday stressing about making this wedding…”  You wave your hand in the air as you roll your eyes.  “perfect.”

“Only to run away.”  Coriolanus chuckles as he stares at the wide lawn, the city center of the Capitol is miles away, thus the lesser light pollution.

A familiar tune has you perking up and Coriolanus watches how you sway with the melody.

“I did ask you to dance, didn’t I?”  Coriolanus walks over to you and offers you his hand.

You narrow your eyes playfully.  “You’re not going to bolt again, are you?”

He purses his lips to contain a laugh.  “No.  I am asking for a real dance this time.”

Humming in content, you take his hand and you let him sway you to the song.  It seems the dance lessons you took while you were in the Academy paid off.

“You are a good dancer.”  You say with your brows slightly raised.

“You seem surprised.”  He replies before dipping you lowly.

The song ends and your chests are flushed together as you breathe heavily.  He keeps his eyes on you as your hand grips on his nape for support.

Your lips look lovely in that angle.

“Don’t divorce me.”  You say quietly, almost in a warning.

Coriolanus was about to retort but you cut him off before he can say anything.

“I studied your constitution and legislation.  I could strip you of power before the weekend.”  No, it was more of a threat.

Despite the venom you are spouting, the smile on Coriolanus’ lips remains undeterred and he kisses your lips with utmost gentleness.

When he breaks the kiss, your stern gaze has softened.

“I made a vow, in front of the gods.”  He says and he pulls you so you are both standing upright.  “I intend to honor that vow.”

You stare up at him before relenting.  Your bottom lip juts out as you smooth out the creases that appeared on his coat. 

“I’m your husband now.”  He grins.

“Oh, is that what you are?”  You feign a surprise as his grin widens.  “I thought you were just a fancy chaperone.”  You suddenly pull him by his collar, no trace of jest in your face.  “Remember what I told you.”

He leans down, his voice low.  “Oh, how easily threats can slide from those lips.”

“Lips you adore?”  You raise a brow haughtily and his smile drops, his eyes hazing over with danger as he leans down until his warm breath fans your face.

“Lips I worship.”

Quest for Happiness

Wedding Magazine by Trinket & Co.

[palms-upturned]

Hello 👋 This is Moamen and his family from Gaza. Please help us evacuate to safety, complete university studies, and find a source of income after the destruction of what we own. We live in difficult circumstances and a difficult life 🙏🏼 ❤️ Please share the campaign and spread because I urgently need help and the matter is urgent. Because the campaign is going very slowly, there is no water and little food. Please donate and spread please https://gofund.me/610b22c5

Of course <3 Moamen's campaign has been vetted and vouched for by a group on instagram called pali pals, which is not as well known as OOB or Strawberry Seed Collective, but claims to have 50+ volunteers working to verify campaigns and stay in touch with people in Gaza. Moamen's campaign is very low on funds, having only raised $71 out of $30,000 USD, and he is trying to raise the money in order to evacuate with his father, his mother, and his four brothers. Please donate what you can, share his campaign, and share the link to pali pals' post verifying his campaign! If not for one person in the tumblr search results who shared the link, I would have had no idea he'd been verified and I think many others are under the same impression!