#he will come back on eid trust me

[iitadoriis]

ahhh it’s almost time!! Happy Ramadan and Ramadan Mubarak to all this year! May all our fasts and prayers and duaas be accepted ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Celebrating Ramadan With Kalim and Jamil

Masterlist

First of all, I would like to say that all of this is incredibly self-indulgent. I know that everyone has their own traditions and ways of celebrating Ramadan but this is how my family observes this month. I would love to hear anyone else’s input.

Okay, my mother would love to meet them because they are good, respectable boys.

Every year my mother goes abaya shopping where she has to buy three different abayas (one for Eid, one for Taraweeh/Jummah prayers at the mosque and one for everyday wear) and she always gets upset because I’ve been using the same abaya for the past three years and I only get another one once my previous one has been worn down. Well, now she shall be disappointed no longer because not only would Kalim buy me three wardrobe’s worth of the most luxurious abayas known to man with the fanciest matching shawls but he also, most probably, would get her the fancy abayas as well.]

Kalim would win her heart by buying her those really luxurious hijab shawls.

Oh my god, Eid dress shopping would be a whole other monster. After finding out that I buy two dresses/outfits for Eid, he would be like ‘ha you thought’ and just pull up a thick magazine and ask my mother to point out anything and everything she wants me to have - since she’s the one that does all of the Eid shopping - and the next day I’d find a pile of readily tailored clothes in my bedroom.

A few weeks ago, my mother bought me a golden bracelet with my name written in Arabic on it and honestly part of the reason I love it is because it is exactly the kind of gift Kalim or Jamil would give me.

Iftar and Suhoor would be a feast with Kalim, Jamil and the Al-Asim wealth. Like these boys would stroll up with the rich people dates and my mother would be sold (my mum and her dad love dates).

This has nothing to do with the rest of the post but I know for a fact that the Scarabia boys would get my name right on the first try and I love them for that.

(Context: I have an Arabic/Muslim surname and I spent all my life going to a whiter-than-the-antaractic primary school that used to be a church. That place was so white that we didn’t even have proper assemblies, we had ‘service’ where the priest from down the road would come and talk about the Bible to the entire school whilst the 10-20ish Muslim kids would sit at the back of the hall and read books. So whilst I was there everyone would pronounce my last name as the way you would spell it out in english whereas the actual arabic pronunciation is different but since everyone including my teachers, the librarians, my mum and dad’s coworkers etc called me by the western pronunciation, I thought that that was what my name is. It was only after my Arabic/Quran teacher pronounced my surname in its Arabic way that my dad told me that it's the proper way of saying it. Not going to lie, it felt kind of weird knowing that I’ve been getting my own name wrong for over a decade and I still use the English pronunciation to this day)

Similarly to how Kalim would win my mum with dates and clothes, Jamil would win my mum with handmade kunafa. Trust me, my family loves kunafa.

Also, my parents love arabic tea. My mum collects tea sets and her two favourite sets are her Turkish tea glasses and silvery metallic Moroccan tea set. Jamil would see her arabic mint tea leaves and he would offer to brew it for her and it would taste like perfection, I just know it.

There was this one Ramadan where my mum got into Arabic calligraphy so she bought this big canvas and some black paint and my sister and I tore out pages from my cartridge paper pad and used my calligraphy pens and we just sat and tried to replicate the arabic calligraphy art we saw on google images whilst listening to nasheeds and I KNOW that Jamil would love to do this. Like he would come out with a masterpiece after ten minutes and then judge watch me try to make mine look half decent before trying to help me. 

I don’t think Jamil would be allowed in the kitchen when my sister, mum and I prepare food for Iftar since it’s a girls only zone but if he could enter it, I know that he would be all calm and everything would be ready at least ten minutes before the adhan compared to the rat race that happens in my house where there are some days where we are laying the table like a minute before it’s time to break fast.

So the day before or two days before Eid, my mother or her friends would invite all of the ladies and their daughters for a henna party where we pay a professional to come and put henna on our arms (and sometimes feet) and we play music and sing and dance and eat sweets and it's a whole thing. Kalim would be upset that he can’t join us but he’d understand since it’s a girls only party and there will be women who want to take off their hijabs and relax but he would pay for like ten of the best henna artists he knows and order food for us and he’d be such a sweetheart like he’d be so happy when I’d show him my designs and he’d talk about how his siblings would wear henna and he used to wear it before he got tattoos.

So, my family likes to celebrate my dad’s lunar birthday since he was born during Ramadan and then, since my sister and I made a big deal of it, my parents decided that they’ll also celebrate our lunar birthdays as well - and by ‘celebrate’ I mean that my mum would order takeaway from our favourite restaurants for dinner - and I can so see this as a thing that Kalim would do only he would treat my lunar birthday as an actual birthday with cake and presents and the whole she-bang.

I kind of want to introduce Kalim to my grandma only to see his reaction to her calling my little sister ‘shaytan’ (satan/devil) as a term of endearment.

Speaking along those lines, I also have a very artistically talented friend who shares the same morbid humour as me and as a gift she made me a canvas with the words ‘Kullu nafsin thaiqatu almawti’ (Every soul shall taste death) written in arabic calligraphy that I have hung up in my bedroom and I would love to see Jamil or Kalim react to that just being one of the first things they see.

[fandxmslxt69]

Holidays With Them <3

Steven Grant x f!muslim!reader, Jake Lockley x f!muslim!reader, Marc Spector x f!muslim!reader

Warnings: Absolutely tooth rooting fluff, ohmy god it is so so sweet you'll get a cavity. Lots of religion talk, food talk too. This is written with an Arab hijabi reader in mind so yes, it is a female reader!

A/N: AHHHH YOU DONT GET THE GIGGLES I GOT WHILE WRITING THIS!!! There is such a big lack of muslim!reader fics out there so it's my new mission to PUT THEM out there for the sake of me, and all of you pretty baes who asked for a tag or reached out about how touching the little blurb was, THANK YOU.

Synopsis: Disgustingly sweet Ramadan and Eid activities with your favourite boys

Word count: 2215 (sigh. I told you guys.)

Steven Grant: 

Steven’s a very curious soul, and he’s the kind of person who adores learning about new places, people and cultures. So you can imagine when you first started dating, he was already knee deep in studies of Arabian cultures and traditions (he’s a nerd but he’s cute). 

He’s regularly a very comforting person but you swear you’ve never met anyone who you feel so free and open to talk about your heritage and religion with. Naturally, when Ramadan and Eid came around, Steven was actually beyond excited. While he may have done a lot (and I mean a lot.) of research, he also loved listening to you talk for hours about traditions and Islamic history, so he absolutely made sure to sit down and ask at least a million questions, half of which you know he knew the answer to, he just wanted to hear it from you. 

By the time the first week had passed, he’d taken time off from work and decided he was just going to stay home with you for the rest of it even after you protested multiple times. 

He loves spending the mornings with you! On the early mornings when you decide to stay up after Fajr (which is often) he takes over from Marc to stay up with you. You’re sitting on the couch reading through your daily pages of the Qur’an, while he’s sitting at his cluttered desk, bent over a new book with highlighters and pens scribbling in the book margins. 

It’s peaceful and calming and you can’t help the way your heart squeezes every time you look up and glance at him. You felt incredibly blessed to be able to spend such an important holiday with such kind-hearted souls. It made it feel like the world was smiling down on you. When you got tired and started feeling your eyes drooping shut, you heard Steven shuffle over, gently tucking your copy of the Qur’an out of your hands and onto the table, carefully scooping you up and carrying you to bed. It became a routine. You’d wake up for Suhoor and have a quick meal- and like clockwork as soon as you finish Fajr prayer, Steven comes shuffling out of the room, tugging on a fluffy sweater with a little yawn. He grabbed a cup of water, gave you a quick kiss on the cheek, before settling at his desk. There was barely any talking, it was just a comfortable silence. He’d interrupt with the occasional question, or maybe a little fun fact- “Did you know ancient Egyptians didn’t use the wheel until the Old Kingdom?” You hummed, looking up from your reading. “Really? Makes sense. Stones were too heavy for wood anyway,” 

He’d nod, smile, then turn back to reading. Other than that, there were no interruptions. He liked it, especially when you felt good enough to do your Quran reading out loud. It made him happy, listening to you read in your mother tongue- and while he was never a religious person, it filled him with a weird feeling. He didn’t understand a word of it, but it reminded him of poetry- not something he could entirely understand or relate to, but still beautiful. Especially beautiful when you have enough courage to explain what you understand from different parts. It was a form of intimacy to share such sacred and important things with one another- it was a level of trust you both valued beyond anything else. 

He decided this was his favourite time of the day then, and he thrived in the gentle atmosphere of the month- how could he not like spending lazy mornings with you for so long? If he could, he’d never work again, he’d simply stay home and spend forever with you. While that isn’t possible in this reality, he’s more than happy to have this month as a forever. 

Marc Spector: 

Marc was very different from Steven. He was not the kind to research every small aspect, or to encourage you to give him a long lecture about your culture. He was more of a silent lover who showed his lover through small, quiet gestures. He wakes you up every night for Suhoor, leaving a small meal for you in the fridge because he knows Steven would forget. You realised after the first few days, your prayer mat and abaya had gone missing and you had asked him about it, he said he had moved them somewhere quieter. When you had found them, you felt your heart ache so deeply you thought you were dying. He had moved it all to a small corner of the living room, clutter moved out and thoroughly cleaned, with little lanterns and a small plant there. The prayer mat was laid out, along with your Quran and it smells faintly of musk. You thought you might die right then and there as you processed the fact that he had put together a small prayer corner for you. When you’d try to ask him about it, he’d simply shrug, muttering about how “it’s not that big of a deal honey, just glad you liked it.” He doesn’t get that it is a big deal. 

It took a little longer for you to realise that Marc had stopped going out for his…nightly activities. At first, you thought that maybe there just weren’t any new missions, but after a while you knew that something was up because now, he’s staying at home every night. Right after you had Iftar and cleaned up with Jake, Marc would take over, arguing to set up a movie and spend the night cuddling on the couch. When you brought it up, he acted like it was a normal thing. “You said this was a month to get rid of bad things like sex right? Well, sex has been removed from the equation, but violence is still a bad thing,” He shrugged. “Didn’t wanna ruin your time with all the blood on my hands,” You turned to face him properly, frowning. “You’re not ruining anything! Habibi, it’s your duty, isn’t it? Wouldn’t Khonshu get mad?” Marc hummed, tightening his arm around your waist. “Don’t care about him.” “Marc-” “Shhhh, enjoy the movie, baby. I’ve got it figured out, yeah? Besides, I like spending my nights with you, makes me happy that you want to spend this special time with me,” “Well obviously I do,” You leaned into him. “This means you’ll walk with me to Friday prayers now?” He chuckled. “Of course,”

You notice after that talk that he starts opening up a lot more. You noticed he’d ask about kosher food when you went out for Iftar on those off days. And you felt beyond proud and overjoyed when you saw him pulling out his kippah one day. He didn’t wear it, but you knew it was just the next step. Him considering it flooded you with joy- that maybe he’s healing a little every day and that it’s getting better slowly. 

Marc was also very good at another important thing: Period comfort. Your period came as it always did, full speed ahead and a pain in the ass, but Marc is always always there at the ready, this time even more. He makes sure you’re super hydrated, there’s always a water bottle beside you at all times- he makes sure you take the painkillers the first day since it’s always the worst, and he gives the best massages. He’s even gone the extra mile to pull up hours long Quran videos on youtube so you can listen to them as you try to fall asleep.

He was a quiet, gentle lover who swept through like a soft breeze that caressed your cheek and left rain kisses on your face. 

Jake Lockley: 

Jake was a romantic, as much as he hated to admit it (and he really hated it). While he’s definitely not as planted in education as Steven is, he’s still incredibly touched when you ask him to help you make Iftar for the first time. In all honesty, he’s never really learnt much about religions and cultures, so it’s definitely new to him but he feels like he won a lottery every time you share a glimpse of your childhood with him, or your favourite traditions or religious stories. With everything he’s been through in life, he’s never really had much time to learn about other people but he’s definitely very happy to learn now, especially from you. One of his new, all time favourite pastimes is making meals in the kitchen with you. While you’re just two people for the evening, he constantly insists on making many different dishes each night. He’s always the one to go out grocery shopping, whether after a taxi shift or just randomly on an afternoon, he just whips out a list and goes on a whim. He adores spending afternoons with you trying out all sorts of different foods. While he’s not a master chef, he definitely has good talent, but it’s honestly not even the food that makes it fun, it’s just the domestic task being done with you. He can’t help but feel all sappy and emotional over it. It’s just really hard for him to believe that he’s spent so long hurting and alone but now he’s got all this love and care all coming from you- for him. He feels so overwhelmed in moments like these when he forgets that hurt, and he just feels so understood and loved. 

As the days roll around, he starts spreading out more. He’s researching a dozen new recipes every day, a million Youtube tutorials and a notebook full of scribbles for different ideas to try with you. It becomes your thing then, like movie nights with Marc and early morning studying with Steven- cooking with Jake just fit in so easily. He’s cheesy, so much that he’d start dancing with you right there- while you may not be playing music in those days, he’s still humming along to your wedding song as he spins you around a few times, before picking you up and placing you on the counter, insisting that “my princesa shouldn’t have to cook after fasting all day. I’ve got hands, I can do it,” He makes use of every single moment you can get together but he also makes sure to give you your space and time to fulfil your tasks for the month. 

One of the harder things for Jake was definitely putting a pause on the mercenary stuff. He’s not the kind to say no to Khonshu, and he takes a sort of…pride in his missions. It keeps him occupied on those nights and makes him feel useful, so when Marc said he wasn’t doing the missions for the month, Jake was definitely hesitant. He understood why, of course, and got why it’s important but he wasn’t sure how to just drop the job for so long. In the end though, he doesn’t regret it one small bit. 

Best part about Jake though? Eid shopping. While Steven is definitely the one with a bit more appreciation for clothing, Jake is all in for style and spoiling his favourite girl. It’s the last few days of the month, and you’re just dragging one another from one store to the next. You try on at least a million different outfits before guys settle on something cute, simple and elegant. He’s also always always determined on buying you new hijabs EVERY TIME you go out, despite you already having many at home, he insists on getting new ones so you have “extras in case anything happens” (let’s be honest, he just likes spending money on you.) He will absolutely NOT let you pay for your Eid clothes, it’s happened more than once where you’ll just be struggling against each other only for him to be the one to reach out and tap his card and pay. He gets all smug and happy about it while you just grumble but in the end he makes up for it, always, with ice cream. 

He’s very damn insistent on goody bags too. While you guys don’t have kids, Jake absolutely goes insane every time he sees the little kids at mosques. He’s very sure to buy at a loooot of chocolate and candy boxes and spends those last few nights with you after Iftar on the living room floor, bags sprawled out everywhere and a bad sitcom in the background as you fill up a hefty amount of bags to hand out. The kids adore him, because he’s funny and sweet and let’s them mess around with him, and the kids have just taken to following you outside after Eid prayers because they know Jake’s going to be outside, leaning against his car and waiting for you to come. 

You always come back to him of course, whether exhausted after work or thrilled after a beautiful morning at the mosque, you always come back, as he always comes back to you too. 

Nothing’s keeping him away from his girl, and the wide smile on your face throughout the day as you go out to celebrate? He can’t help but feel like he’s the luckiest man alive. 

Thanks for reading <3 Please reblog if you've made it this far and enjoyed! Tags for you cuties: @whatthefishh @winterbiipp @looneytooz @twwcs @ahookedheroespureheart

[redactedasmrmcloven]

I love that I found the Redacted Asmr community on tumblr. It has truly been giving me light in these last few dark weeks. I thought I would try my hand at a few of my own headcanons for the Shaw pack boys and my vampire prince and cowboy

David & Angel

Someone on here had mentioned that Angel must have talked with David about how he communicated with them. Because in the beginning of the videos with David he had so much pent up anger and was just mean. I like the idea of Angel standing up for themselves to David and telling him off.

Love the idea of David seeking therapy at Angel’s request to deal with his grief and anger about Gabe dying. I think David is obviously upset that his father died and sad for his loss. But I also think he has a lot of anger for being left alone and taking up the responsibility of the pack at such a young age.

David going to therapy and learning to communicate his feelings and how to properly cope with his father’s passing

David apologizing to Angel for being mean/agressive and promising to be better in how he talks to them

Milo - Sweetheart

Maybe its because I am Muslim but love love love the idea of stealth culture being Islamic in some ways. Like Sweetheart covers their hair with a hijab or wears more modest clothing because part of stealth culture is only revealing your body/self to those you trust or have deep commitments to.

Milo taking his jacket off to cover Sweethearts hair after a young shifter accidentally tugs too hard at their hijab while they were playing at a pack gathering

Sweetheart wearing a niqab on days they don’t want to feel particularly seen

Milo matching his ties/shirts to Sweethearts scarves when they go out together

Milo supporting Sweetheart through Ramadan. He will make sure they get up early enough to eat, do morning prayers before they have to get ready for work and is respectful of Sweethearts fasting

Milo educates the rest of the pack on Ramadan making sure members aren’t doing anything extremely explicit in front of Sweetheart so their fast is not broken

Sweetheart’s family does not live nearby so they often celebrate Eid alone if they can’t get back home to be with them. Milo gets the entire pack to participate and has David and Marie work together to cook an Eid meal for Sweetheart

Asher / Babe

Asher is the wolf boy that took the longest to grow on me. I thought he was to immature but he has truly grown on me and I love him! In my headcanon for him similar to how Angel had to talk with David about his behavior I think Babe had a similar moment. Asher is naturally sweet and playful but I can imagine in the beginning of their relationship Babe had to tell Asher to grow up.

Babe getting into it with Asher because he doesn’t clean up after himself and spent the entire day playing video games. After a hard and long day at the office Babe wants nothing more than to come back to a clean apartment. But once they arrive they find Asher in the same position they left him in before they went to work. Trash has not been taken out, sink full of dishes that weren’t there before, and dirty laundry still on your shared bedroom floor. Babe calls him out for breaking the promise he made to clean.

Babe having to be more parent than partner to their mate

Babe trying to go to bed early for work and Asher up late being loud playing video games

Asher being irresponsible over shared task that inconvenience Babe. Which leads to Babe blowing up at Asher

Asher recognizes his wrongs and becomes a more attentive partner. I think of the boys Asher is the most emotionally intelligent but Babe helps him be more cognizant of his own actions

In quite a few videos we see Asher saying he needs to step up to support David more. Babe helps Asher mature in so many ways because Babe has always had to take care of themselves while Asher has always had people take care of him.

Babe has a strong work ethic similar to David. And just like David needs Asher to pull a more playful side out of him. Ash does the same for Babe

Asher being afraid he isn’t growing as fast as his friends. David is engaged, Milo buying a new home, Christian is not as evil, Amanda moving away for new opportunities.

Babe comforting him and telling him not to compare his growth to others

Babe will sometimes support the pack and the security business by doing their accounting for them. They are great at numbers and have worked for many different accounting firms.

Sam and Darlin (Tank)

I cannot tell you how much I love the growth of their relationship. Both of them opening up and being vulnerable with one another makes my heart swell. Content warn for mentions of abusive relationships

I like the idea of Vincent having rubbed off on Sam by Sam sneaking into Darlin’s apartment to leave food in their very empty fridge. So when Tank wakes up and is hungry and checks their fridge they have all these meals with a note from Sam saying eat your veggies

Tank booking night time horse riding sessions because Sam loves horses and grew up riding them

In my mind and I’ve seen it on here mentioned a few times but Tank was in an abusive relationship with Quinn. Tank still gets unsettled watching Sam drink blood and has to remind themselves to make eye contact with Sam. Quinn use to trance them and make fun of them

Sam understands Darlin’s hesitation around vampires and in the beginning also noticed Darlin had a hard time making eye contact with him.

Tank sometimes feels insecure for not offering Sam to feed off of them. They understand that its a very intimate and trusting thing to do between vampires and their partners. But they think of the times Quinn fed on them without consent and would take too much blood and it scares them

Sam thinks about asking to feeding on Darlin but he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to trigger them and he still has a lot of internalized hate for being a vampire

Sam still struggles to feed sometimes and will go to the very last minute without getting blood. He prefers to drink blood with human food

Tank also makes sure Sam is eating by having blood available in their fridge for when Sam is over. They both argue about the other not taking care of themselves

Tank and Sam both working together to heal from their previous abusive relationships

Sam no longer wants to hate Alexis but cannot move on until she apologizes to him

When Tank brings Sam to pack events the younger shifters will often ask to race Sam to truly see how fast vampires can run

Sam once asked Darlin if they could ride them in wolf form. Darlin thought it was extremely cute and said yes but Sam was so embarrassed by the request he ended up not riding Darlin

Vincent + Lovely

I definitely was crying bad when Vincent turned Lovely. I like seeing how Lovely has come to terms with turning and relearning their body again.

Once Lovely was able to go out on their own after the bloodlust they had a lot of shit to share with their therapist!

Lovely sometimes will shock Vincent as a joke and still does

Vincent loves when Lovely uses their powers on him

Vincent has nightmares still about Inversion and Lovely has been trying to convince him to also start seeing a therapist

Lovely’s favorite date nights with Vincent are when they go for long night drives and stop at their favorite 24/7 Ice cream shop

Lovely’s fav ice cream is Ben and Jerrys Tiramisu. Vincent keeps their home stocked up on it

Vincent was known as player in his time before Lovely but Lovely to Vincents surprise also broke many hearts

Lovely ran into one of Vincents human relatives at the store one time. They have never told Vincent as he simply does not talk about his human family

Even though Lovely’s electro powers aren’t the same as they were before they still have quite a bit of power

This was a lot longer than anticipated. But those are my headcanons

[the-literary-nomad]

[It's Eid so I'mma post one of my favourite South Asian romcom book ideas]

There's this girl. And she's in the arranged marriage market, right? Her parents find someone and everything seems good. The only thing is, both families refused to provide pictures so they don't know what their potential spouse looks like.

Instead each party agrees to meet at a coffee shop and explains what the other is wearing. All this communication is done between the families—they don't talk to eachother even once. [pretty normal actually]

Finally the day of the coffee date arrives. And she dresses up in the outfit she said she'd wear and goes with her mum. They park and walk towards the entrance. At that moment, her mum realizes that she forgot her phone in the car. She tells the girl to go ahead and wait near the door for her since she's an hour early any way (this fam do be like that)

So the girl goes in and instead of waiting outside in the hot sun, she goes inside. Suddenly she sees the guy in the black button down and grey jeans and a baseball hat covering his thick curly hair.

He waves at her—she realizes he recognizes her clothing. She smiles and walk toward him. She realizes that oh my god she hit the jackpot because his eyes are like the lightest shade of brown she's ever seen in her life, and his face his bronzed and his jawline clipped. Who was this man?

She sat down at the table not even knowing what had made her sit down without waiting for her mum.

Damn, how'd I get so lucky?

The guy before her looked confused for a second and then burst out laughing, "Sorry?"

Oh my god had she said that out loud?

Did she just play it off with a laugh or turn into a nervous ninny?

"Yo, Hamad! Well well, I didn't know you had company."

The guy I front of her chuckled, and his honey coloured eyes twinkled with amusement; "Neither did I."

Hamad?

"Wait, what? Oh my god." The chair slammed back as she got up, and it fell over. She bent to pick it up, but it slipped from her fingers and fell again. The loud clang echoed as though the whole cafe had gone silent to witness this interaction.

Hamad had gotten up from his chair, and walked over to help her with the chair. She was utterly mortified.

Once everything was back in its place, she took a deep breath and apologized. "I am so sorry. I mistook you for someone else. It won't happen again. Obviously. Okay I'm leaving now before I do something even more stupid."

"Wait—"

But it was too late.

Well actually in my brain her mum enters at that moment along with the other guy and his mum (he looks completely different btw. And while he is quite handsome, it's not the bonechilling Hamad kind of handsome—she realizes). And then she spends the entire two hours talking to him while also every once in a while slipping glances at the completely oblivious Hamad.

Except he isn't oblivious

He's been doing the exact same thing.

And the way she said "Damn, how'd I get so lucky?" keeps echoing in his mind.

[my friends helped me out with this part]

But wait, fun surprise, he's the potential groom's dad's trusted protégé at work.

And so obviously he's aware of the whole wedding arranging process. And they can't avoid hearing about each other..

Also, the original match doesn't work out for reasons that are nobody's fault. Which sets the stage for the romance 😂

[back to me]

The "over hearing" parts over the next year go from occasionally eavesdropping to hunting for gossip until it finally reaches agonized wanting

Okay, so after a long tedious year of back and forth and realizing how they feel, wanting to be together and convincing their parents... they're finally doing their nikkah

And after they sign the marraige contract and the imam finishes the nikkah. They go to the reception hall. She's on the stage and he goes upto her—and here all of the lil marraige traditions come into play. Finally, he gives her his signature smirk and lifts her veil. When he sees her face his smirk morphs into a soft smile. His eyes light up, widen and then an adoring look enters it. He whispers softly so only she can hear him;

"Damn, how'd I get so lucky?"

***

Is this a product of extreme loneliness and absolutely no romantic experiences? Yes, yes it is.

Eid Mubarak, guys!

[profoundscribblesig]

I used to be the girl who runs to listen to comforting islamic lectures. I wanted a scholar, a well learned person about Islam to say all my worries will be taken away. They will be disappeared into thin air. All my dua’s will be answered, Allah will deliver, like an order made on Amazon. I counted on their intelligence to give me hope. I counted on their knowledge to tell me I’m okay, I’m gonna be fine. Because nobody around me knew what was going to happen. Those who knew a little more, knew how to use a situation to their advantage. Either I felt used or I felt hopeless. Always with less coins in my rusted palms. Wondering, wondering if this is all my worth ever would be.. until.. Until, one day I found Allah (swt). Funny thing about finding Allah (swt) is that, you may know about Him all your life and yet you may not really know Him. Until, you find Him. It’s not because He left you, it’s because you left Him. And that’s okay, don’t be difficult on yourself for leaving Him, because life can be difficult and Allah (swt) is very forgiving and inviting. Even if you were lost or messed up, He’d call you again. He’ll allow you to come back. And that’s what feels so relieving about finding Allah (swt) again. It’s so easy, once we really understand the concept of His ways. After finding Him, the less I started to rely on scholars to give me hope, the more I relied on Allah (swt) to nourish my heart with light. I didn’t want my dua to be delivered like an Amazon order anymore, although He does deliver. Not in the form we may think is perfect, but in the actual essence of perfection, He delivers, and if we have the eye, to look at it the right way, we may see, how wonderful it is. Even though my problems aren’t disappeared to thin air, it doesn’t really bother me because, I know, I know, nothing is beyond His permitted time. I understand what sabr is. After a month of fasting, there’s eid. After a period of trials, there is a good time. That’s the way of life in His magnificent design. I accept with no questions. I accept, I submit— After all, I am the slave of this brilliant, all- knowing, omnipotent lord that my Allah (swt) is. Once i truly, truly understand His design, His mercy, His power, His brilliance— I honestly don’t mind submitting. Once I encapsulated the idea that He is the driver, I consider myself an assured passenger who simply trust His tour.

profoundscribbles via Instagram

[ssar7an222]

Art Exhibition review: Eid Exhibition

This is a report about the charity Eid exhibition (the art of giving 3) that was opened on the 15th of April at the Safeya Ali Kanoo hub. It is sponsored by the Bahrain Trust Foundation, a charity foundation. All artworks presented were for sale and 50% of each sale is donated through the Bahrain trust foundation. The exhibition is a collaboration between many artists, as it displayed the works of 21 artists in total. Most of these artists were Bahraini, but Saudi and Iraqi Artists were present too.

Personally, this exhibition was an introduction to many new names in the local art scene, as I was unfamiliar with most artists that participated in this event. One that grasped my attention was Mahmood Haidar, who had 3 works on display. scenes of Bahraini life that could go back to the 70’s or 80’s of the past millennium, painted with water color on paper. These figures are the focal point, one is of a man harvesting dates from a palm tree, another is of a man transporting produce and the last is of a man riding a bike. All with little to no background, which allows focus on the actions bringing up a feeling of nostalgia, and perhaps melancholic.

 Another Artist the gallery introduced me too was Fatima Hassan, who has a very unique style might I add. She uses Oil paint and -I assume- some kind of varnish or thinner to recreate the flow and texture of watercolor on canvas. She had 2 paintings displayed, one of a ship on shore and the other of a horse, both with lots of variety and contrast between different textures that balances out the fact she used only one shade of color.

One Artist that made excellent use of a colorful pallet is Hasan Alhader. Perfectly placed impressionistic strokes of the brush, a slightly exaggerated pallet, All reminiscent of early impressionists like Monte. The scenes of the old Bahraini Markets are supported with this style and the contrast in tones as well in between the lively yet cool blue and the saturated brown, All together presenting an oil on canvas painting that looks like an old blurry photograph in the best ways possible.

Alhader wasn’t the only one presenting traditional market scenes in his work, Ebrahim Alghanem, one of the Artists I’m familiar with, also displayed traditional Bahraini markets but ones of the modern day. The work is of watercolor on paper and it is truly the work of a master, high on detail that serves the story telling of the image like the names of the shops. High variety and contrast in texture and tones with a realistic color pallet. Images that are brought to life by a wonderful artist.

Elyas Rasti, an oil painter, is one more name I know prior to the exhibition. He Had 2 Paintings on was of a . However, I very much gravitated towards the Sufi whirler with the tanoura.  The dynamics of the image is brought by the mid-movement capture, the clashing textures of the dancer’s clothing and the cloudy background, the way the tanoura itself is captured with the action lines created by the dry brushing technique, all come together to center the whirler.

[molosmojo]

Take a step back, to be able to move forward!

It was our EID on Friday, Saturday and even Sunday – three days and still not done!

After meeting a few relatives on Friday, I decided to visit my sister on Saturday and take the family along too. We got up early (as always) and I got ready earlier than the family to go down and get the car refuelled with CNG and Petrol; and be ready to leave with the family. I put my new clothes on, wore my slippers (since I had come back home in like 10 minutes) and got down to go to my car.

For those of you who know, I have this challenge around car parking at my place – I had parked my car a little far from my place on Friday.

I was walking towards my car and noticed a car parked in parallel and blocking my exit – I was already fuming. I looked inside this car and didn’t see anyone inside. And, yet, I was knocking the car as if someone would pop out magically and move their car out of my way.

I looked around but no signs of any drivers around.

I went inside the building (where my car was parked) to see if someone from that building had parked their car here – asked the watchman and he was “No, none of our building cars are parked on the street”. I was already perspiring (because of the heat re baba)!

This fellow, who was standing next to the watchman, heard me and came out with me to the car – he was like “you can try taking this out in reverse, there is some space” – I looked at him and I was like HOW!

I asked him if he could guide me, and he happily agreed. I got inside my car and took the car in front, then reverse, change sides – left, right, straight…this went on for like 5 to 7 minutes. Finally, this person said “you may come out, let me try” – he tried for a minute or so and there, my car was out in the reverse, finally. I thanked him and sat in my car to go to the gas station – lost 15 minutes but worth the experience!

I came back home and took the family out – all happy!

In that situation, I had 3 options:

Just stand there and wait for the driver of the other car to come in and then move my car out – I don’t know how much time it would have taken.

Try taking the car out somehow – at least do something. This is what I did.

Go back home and leave with family in an Uber! This would have spoilt the mood with the family.

In life, many times, we end-up blaming X, or Y, or Z but perhaps fail to ACT to move things forward ourselves. Many times, it is important to step back a little to be able to move forward and trust the process – if it is meant to be, you would find help/guidance in some shape of form and you would be surging ahead!

[leaflovescloud]

Hello, April.

I can't believe that we are entering Q2 already. Time indeed flies.

I'm currently in BB, KD. It's a Sunday and yeah of course I'm working. But it's been a really chill week for Eid. And I managed to workout almost like everyday.

It feels weird that my life is not so occupied with work anymore. Instead, I have much more free time to do things that I like, or even spending time with my friends. I'm indeed grateful for that.

But at the same time, I'm also feeling anxious and lost as to my career progression. So my G11 is not progressing at all and that really worries me.

Clearly, I need to do something.

Is it true that I can't have everything at once? Hmm.

Anyway, other than career progression, I don't have anything to complain about. I mean, I'm truthfully happy, I guess. At least, I feel more attune to my inner self now.

Speaking of that, I've been acting very impulsively, doing things that I'd normally overthink a lot - piercing(s) [emphasis added].

So, in the span of 2 weeks, not only I got a piercing, but I got 4 piercings LOL. Tel me that's not impulsive.

So I got double helix, one ear lobe piercing and also a nostril piercing. That's actually very insane to me. But I'm just feeling empowered at this point as in I don't want to run away from my fear anymore. Instead, I want to honour what I truly want to do and really just do it and trust the moment.

And the fact is that I really do feel good about it. And I'm glad that I managed to empower people around me to do the same too. I hope empower is the right word, or rather, may be enabling them to do it, haha.

Speaking of that, i just want to highlight something. I think back then, I spent too much time overthinking and just worrying about things, that haven't even happened, and gradually I got consumed by the ideas and the fear that I created for myself, and that's what stopping me to achieve things.

I realized this traits about me because of K, of course. I mean, in life, I still need to be careful, be thoughtful, be thorough and logical. But sometimes, there are certain things that I can truly just listen to my heart and just do it. And I like that about myself.

Because of that, I feel powerful and I feel I'm ready to execute challenges.

Learning how to detach from the expectations is also very important. Often times, I find myself being upset when things are not going my way. For instance, I think I may be a bit affected or resentful when K didn't really "deliver" what he said he would, for instance, promise ring and bracelet. Or at least, I feel like he represented that he would get those for me?

And what I would do last time is probably keep on prompting him, and i think eventually he will buy it. But right now, I'm actually nonchalant about it, just because, I don't know, considering the circumstances, honestly I don't know I'm asking for gifts in what capacity. I'm not so sure about the role that I'm playing - Is it just someone that he is seeing right now and that's it?

And truthfully, I think the gifts will be more meaningful if it's comes from him without me prompting him. I would definitely appreciate that more. But aha, I don't think he is romantic kinda guy, in fact, I think he is quite practical.

And once again, I ask myself this - At this age and stage, I think I'm quite enlightened in terms of life lessons, and I think I like this version of myself, mature though still playful. And I feel like I'm ready to love and be a good partner. But I'm also kinda scared that I'm compromising my own needs and standards at the same time.

I think I'm just gonna give us a bit more time probably until June. I do hope that we can build a future together and support each other. But I really don't know if he is the right guy.

There are just a few things that are quite alarming and I really don't want to down play the significance of it - (i) 15 years older (ii) divorced (iii) with kid. This is something that I have never encountered before. I don't exactly think it came as a shock for me - because truly after all these things, what else could shock me?

And I appreciate the qualities in him, and how he is aspired to be a good father too. And I have no issue with that.

It's just we won't be like the couple going through the conventional path - For eg, being alone in the weekends....

I don't know if I should be involved in a relationship that has so many uncertainties.

I want a partner that I can grow together, and do things together.

Hmm.

[ancestorsofjudah]

2 Kings 17: 14-17. "The Starry Hosts."

What does it mean to have a stiff neck? A stiff neck comes from looking behind oneself instead of looking ahead. It is clearly so much fun to want to try to do things like they did in 2024 BC but that is not today's date. We've made a lot of progress since then on somethings, and if we keep looking straight ahead, we will surely make some more.

It is the job of the Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses of the Kingdom of Israel to keep the eyes pointed straight ahead. God told the Israelites over and over, do not go back to Egypt and still many of them tried. Many are still trying. There must be a straight undeterred line between now and the onset of Mashiach.

For that to happen, all the numnutz and freakshows who have managed to pull the shortz over the heads of the US Government, causing significant tragedy in the Middle East must be dealt with. It is unfortunate the US Government and DC Metropolitan Police let the Mormons stage and wage a war on Israel through the filter of Hamas, but Israel has a destiny, and it is not one to be found in its past, but directly ahead. Do not look back, do not reject these Decrees:

14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 

15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”

16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 

17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

v. 14: the Value in Gematria is 6913, וט‎אג‎, and a tag, "A crown."

v. 15: the Value in Gematria is 13178, יג‎אז‎ח‎, yagzah "ya gazah" "the strength of gathering in God's name vs. one called together by an apostate.

v. 16:

They made two idols shaped like calves: and both of them did nothing. Adam and Eve however, which God made were capable of doing whatever God said was allowed.

We know what an Asherah Pole is "happiness pole" that is fully capable of making us miserable too.

Starry hosts are forces within and without that oppose the Crown of Israel.

the Value in Gematria is ‎11792, יאזטב‎‎‎, yaztev, "take His advice."

v. 17: the Value in Gematria is 8354, חג‎הד‎, eid, AKA "understand."

"The verb ειδω (eido) is one of three verbs that cover three groups of tenses of the act of seeing — for instance a star (MATTHEW 2:2), amazing things (LUKE 5:26), conflicts (PHILIPPIANS 1:30) — but specifically with a subsequent recognizing and understanding. Particularly, in the narrative of the New Testament, a past-tense seeing results in a present-tense knowing ("I saw" means "I know").

The simple act of looking, or using one's eyes, would be expressed by means of the verb βλεπω (blepo); the opposite of which is to be blind.

The opposite of our verbal triad is to be obtuse. These two verbs are beautifully juxtaposed in the evangelists' quote of Isaiah 6:9: "... you will keep seeing (blepo) but you will not see (eido)" (MATTHEW 13:14, MARK 4:12, ACTS 28:26). Or in the words of Jesus: "You know (eido) neither me nor my Father; if you knew (eido) me, you would know (eido) my Father also" (JOHN 8:19).

Our verb ειδω (eido), and its verbal derivations, is used for most pluperfect (he had seen/ was seeing; MATTHEW 24:43, you had seen/ was seeing; LUKE 2:49, I had seen/ was seeing; JOHN 1:31) and most aorist forms of our verbal triad — and the aorist (or a-horizon, or no-boundary) tenses describe the mere action of the verb but say nothing about when it occurred, occurs or will occur.

This tense is the most common in Greek storytelling and usually (but not always) correlates with a past tense in English storytelling.

Our verb ειδω (eido) also takes care of most of the perfect forms (past tense — "God saw before you ask"; MATTHEW 6:8), and in one case a future form ("they will know"; HEBREWS 8:11).

Imperative forms of this verb emphasize a mental observation or understanding: "behold!" or "understand!" (MATTHEW 1:20, MARK 13:21)."

[drrutherford]

ayda--demir​:

Excitement buzzed in the Turk. Tomorrow was the end of Ramadan, thankful that Gideon had invited her over after sunset, and the festival she had been working on, along with Emre, would happen. It was exactly what the community needed before all hell broke lose – something she didn’t want to think about for the night. 

She side stepped into the lift before the door closed, her fingers clasped around a bag in front of her. It was impolite to show up for dinner without bringing something. That was something taught to her at a very young age, and that morning she had been baking with Mrs. Aksoy, where she made a little extra baklava to bring. 

Ayda gives a small cringe at a word he used, though she could understand how hospitals could feel like a warzone themselves, not holding it against him. It would only be a matter of time until the true weight of the situation exploded, pun intended. “Work has been busy, though I have been making use of my time around the community.” She knew who his family was, and was well aware that he had to know the true extent of what happened that night.

 The Turk steps out of the elevator, walking slightly behind him to the door of his flat. “I have been good. Working on the festival for Eid al fitr.” She gives him a smile. “I understand, there was a lot that happened that night. I’m still digesting some of it.” Still no word about Aviv, and it was eating away at her. 

“How have you been Gideon? How is your family? I’m sorry about their loss.” She meant it. 

.

“Come in, come in,” He waves, peeling his coat off before extending a hand to take hers. “Don’t be shy. You’ve been so kind to me all these months, it’s my turn now. Pretend this is your place, I want you as comfortable in it as when you’re in your own bar.” His gaze drops to the plastic bag she’s still holding, and he has a suspicion she hasn’t come empty-handed. “Aydaaa...” The surgeon drags her name out in mock warning. “I told you you weren’t meant to bring anything. That better not be for me.”

Knowing her inclinations towards tending to people, though, he has feeling that it is.

“Oh! Happy Eid, by the way.” Gideon adds, as he shows her to the living room. “How are you celebrating?... Please tell me you’re doing something to kick back and relax, and not just making sure everyone else is having nice things for the special holiday.” Speaking of nice things, the Rutherford moves towards his drink cabinet and pulls it open, grabbing two martini glasses. “I’ve got just the drink to celebrate... And before you protest, it’s non-alcoholic.” He shoots her a smile, although it dims slightly when she asks about his family. “A little rough, honestly. I’ve fared better than they have.”

He doesn’t want to bring down the festive mood by talking about death, but Gideon doesn’t want to push her away either, given the number of times she’d trusted him with personal enough topics herself. “There was a man who died that night... Amir Dawar. I – most of my siblings – we were friends with him... One of my sisters, Lara, was even engaged to him at one point.” He explains, moving into the kitchen.

“He and I, we’ve been – were – somewhat estranged over the last few years... “ The Rutherford continues, wincing at the verb tense. “But some of my siblings remained fairly close to him, despite that. So it’s been-... It’s hit them pretty hard... Even Lara.”

[redactedasmrmcloven]

I have always interpreted Sweetheart as being a Black Nonbinary Muslim who occasionally veils/wears a hijab. With so many different Empowered cultures within the Redactedverse, I personally see Stealth culture having elements related to certain Islamic values. It also makes sense why Sweetheart is taken advantage of and discriminated against in their job. Being a Black Muslim in an organization that represents Empowered FBI/CIA cannot be easy. Look at the historical ways in which the two organizations have purposefully infiltrated Black communities and Muslim identified communities. But in Sweethearts mind they are making a change from inside the organization ( which idk about that but it makes sense for them). For me what makes Milo and Sweethearts relationship so strong is that Milo has shown an effort to better understand Sweetheart’s culture. He had a lot of unlearning to do and some misconceptions he had to clear up. So many of the stereotypes around Sweetheart and their people would mirror real world AntiBlackness and Islamophobia. Like Stealths are thieves and liars who can’t be trusted. All of this again coming from the fear of the unknown which Stealths sit at the intersection of the unknown because of their unique abilities. So with that all being said here are a few of my more personal HCs for Milo and Sweetheart.

When Milo and Sweetheart first got together he didn’t know a thing about Stealths other than he was taught to be weary of them. Which it didn’t help for Sweetheart to break into Milo’s apartment!

Sweetheart noticed that Milo didn’t immediately blame them being a Stealth as being the reason for them in his apartment at the start of their relationship.

Sweetheart use to wear the hijab full time but once they entered into the DUMP Academy and became an investigator they took it off while on missions or even entering into their office.

They got tired of instructors, superiors, supervisors telling them that “once they are an agent they arent going to be able to wear that thing ( their hijab) in the field”.

Sweetheart now wears their hijab after work, on their days off or at home. That was until Milo told them they shouldn’t have to give up on their beliefs to appease bigoted people

Milo has bought an Islam for dummies book and shared it with his pack before introducing Sweetheart to them.

Asher was the first person Milo gave the book to after he finished it himself. To Milo’s surprise Asher really did a deep dive into Stealth culture not wanting to alienate Milo’s potential mate.

When Sweetheart first met Asher he greeted them with the traditional greetings (As-salamu alaykum or peace be upon you) which completely caught Sweetheart off guard.

The Shaw Pack has never been intentionally discriminatory and has been known for being a very inclusive pack. But even with that being a fact it’s always a few bad apples in the bunch. You best believe that David does not tolerate any ignorance directed towards Sweetheart or their culture.

Marie absolutely loves Sweetheart. She believes that they are such a good influence on Milo. Marie’s secret fear is that Milo would take on some of his fathers worst traits. And with Sweetheart being present in Milo’s life she sees the opposite.

In another post I mentioned Sweetheart’s family lives far off so they don’t see them often. They often have bouts of loneliness because they miss celebrating Eid with their family and praying together with them (Muslims are meant to pray in congregation. We can pray alone but we place a lot of value on praying together in community)

Even though Milo is agnostic he has learned how to pray with Sweetheart and will join them during their prayers or will just sit in space with them. Milo find it very peaceful and loves to just watch Sweetheart be at peace.

Sweetheart has taught Milo how to help them with their hair and how to tie hijabs and turbans on for Sweetheart. ( sometimes you really need someone to help tuck a piece back in)

After they bought their new home together Milo gifted Sweetheart with a surprise visit from their family. Milo loves how less guarded Sweetheart is around their family. But he was not prepared to have a house full of Stealths who all love to scare each other. (Which if someone wants to borrow this as a fic idea please do. And tag me so I can read it!)

Just like young shifter cubs have to play fight to learn how to get control of their shifter forms, young stealths play hide and seek to manage their abilities

Sweetheart was able to support the pack in learning how to shift with their clothes. Shifting and phasing require similar magical skills.

Whenever it’s someone’s birthday in the pack Sweetheart matches their hijab to that persons favorite color. And they have a scarf for every color.

The pack thought Milo had a lot of Clothes but that was nothing compared to Sweethearts wardrobe.

Feel free to use any of these to inspire a fic or your own HCs. I love this little fandom and how creative folks are!

[mlmxreader]

Brokeback | Sierra Six x gn!reader

@spicyveganfun asked: “I wish I knew how to quit you.” “Don’t quote Brokeback Mountain at me” with Sierra Six prettyyyy pleeeeaaaase 🥺

summary: Six is glad that he can relax for a bit, that he doesn't need to worry about going back to work anymore and that he and his little sister are in safe hands.

tws: brief mentions of violence, swearing

Six laid back, his ankles crossed and the back of his head pressed against the pillow as he put one hand on his bare stomach, the other holding a battered copy of 'All Quiet on the Western Front', the sound of 'Father' by Sabaton filling the room as he dared to look away from the book; watching carefully as you put away the laundry, folding it and making sure it went in the right place. He couldn't help but to smile. All the time that he spent away from you when he was pulled away for work, weeks and months spent miles away and yet he always knew he could come back; but now there was no work. Not anymore.

He hadn't expected you to take Claire under your wing, to adopt her like she was your own, but he was thankful that you did; knowing that he could leave and that his little sister was in good hands. Safe. Protected. But he did envy you a little, knowing that the best sniper he had ever known had been retired and it hadn't so much as caused a single bullet to fly; knowing that you got out of the game years before him and hadn't had half the shit he did when he was given that fucking drive. He envied that you had a quick and clean exit. No one on your tail. Still, that didn't stop Six from being glad that you had adopted Claire, that you had taken her under your protection almost as naturally as a parent.

"Claire's at Megan's for the night," you started, "and before you ask, I told Erich to keep an eye out. He lives next door."

Six nodded, swallowing thickly; Erich was one of the guys you used to work with, a couple of ranks beneath you and more or less your best friend for years. Erich was one of a handful of people who could actually be trusted, but much like you, he had retired from the business quietly and cleanly; he lived with his wife Aneesha these days, they had a kid, Albert, a few years younger than Claire. They were good, often inviting you and Six over for holidays, especially Eid. Six liked them a lot, he knew he could relax if Erich was keeping an eye out on Claire.

"Good," Six grumbled, moving to place the book on the table as he dared to look at you with a slightly softer glare. His smile still plastered on his lips as he put his arm behind his head and tilted his head slightly to the side. "Erich's a good guy."

You nodded, daring to laugh softly. "Erich's heart is made of the purest gold, you know that."

It was true, Erich Horstmayer really did have a solid gold heart; he had never wronged anyone, he was always good and kind unless someone didn't deserve it. He got into a lot of fights when he was working, especially over refusing to take contracts that meant hurting innocents. Disobeying orders to help civilians and to get them out of the way. Openly disagreeing with those in higher ranks. You protected him a lot, using your own rank to shield him, using it to stick up for him and to ensure that he wouldn't see trouble from certain cunts. Everyone knew not to have a go at Erich, unless they wanted to risk your wrath.

Six had only seen that wrath once. Directed a new guy who had disrespected Aneesha when Erich wasn't around; the new guy went home with several broken ribs, broken fingers, superficial stab wounds to his face, a broken jaw, a broken leg with the bone poking out through the flesh. Six stopped doubting your ability to protect people after that; the bloodiest hands were the safest.

"So it's just you and me," Six grumbled softly, nodding his head a little as 'De Sade' by Slipknot came on.

"That it is," you chucked a t-shirt away, no more laundry left to put back. You did your best not to smile as you clambered onto the bed, pushing his legs apart a little as you got between them and knelt, putting your hands on his chest. "We can do whatever you want."

For a moment, all the things flooded through Six's head as he chewed at his lip, able to feel the soft sting and the flesh pull away between his teeth; trying to stop the growl that threatened to leave the back of his throat as he put he leaned back a little bit more, shifting around so that he was almost laid down entirely. "Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah," you grinned, moving around so that you could straddle his waist, the feeling of his body beneath yours was too good to be true. His soft stomach, the thick biceps, his thick thighs and the warmth of his flesh. You bit at your lip. "I wish I knew how to quit you."

"Don't quote Brokeback Mountain at me," he groaned, shaking his head. He loved that film, he really did, but the ending was so heartbreaking that every time he was reminded of the film, he could feel like his gut had been punched.

"My bad," you dared to laugh softly as you nodded. "Y'know, we could always watch it again - I can go get us some snacks, I can fill up a pitcher with some Monster... make it like a little date night."

Six smiled as he nodded back. "That sounds good, let's do it."

if you liked this fic, REBLOG IT - you SHOULD reblog it; spam likers WILL be blocked. as will blogs that refuse to reblog or to give feedback. if you don't wanna reblog, then you'll get blocked; reblogging is the BARE MINIMUM. don't just "like", REBLOG

[ratherbefangirling]

BTS Reaction : Eid Edition

Note: In case of V it's in continuation/ same universe as Ramadan Reaction, feel free to check that out first.

Reader is Muslim and friends with BTS

BEFORE YOU READ:-

There are two Eids, one marking the end of Ramadan (the Holy month in which Muslims fast)-> Eid ul Fitr also called the sweet eid because sweets are the focus at meals and the other is Eid ul Adha marked by the end of Hajj (the holy pilgrimage that is done at a specific time) 7

Other meanings given at the end. If something is confusing please let me know. I've tried to make it accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Read also : BTS Ramadan Reaction

Warning ⚠️: Don't like Don't read.

Kim Namjoon

On one of the many conversations you had had with Namjoon you had mentioned how back home you waited to watch the moon on the last day of Ramadan.

The crescent that showed up indicated Eid-ul- Fitr.

Still you were surprised when he showed up at your apartment with a picnic set, carefully buying and ordering *halal food and snacks.

"Surprise."

You would be more excited if you weren't exhausted to the bone as exciting as Ramadan was it did catch up on your energy levels. Also the prospect of cleaning on Eid was less exciting since you really didn't have any great plans for Eid. It didn't seem exciting if you were alone.

Still Namjoon showing up was like an Eid Miracle.

So on what might had ended as a bittersweet night ended up in a fun night where you hung out in a camp site waiting for the moon to show and roasting things in the camp fire and discussing everything under the stars.

And when the moon finally showed up your smile resembled it.

Kim Seokjin

⚠️ don't come at me !!!

Seokjin had accompanied you to your house before but nothing could prepare him for the feast that was whipped up on Eid.

"Auntie, its delicious." He complimented mouth stuffed.

"Have some more, kids these days eat so little."

"Auntie honestly if I knew I was going to get such delicious food I would have come starving. It really is good."

Your mother is pleased. So she packs food for him.

"You really need to give me the recipe Auntie. " He tells her.

"Whenever you want to eat I will cook for you."

"Ah he's so nice if he were a Muslim boy I'd have gotten you married." Your mother tells you in your native toungue.

"Nah never."

"What did she say?"

"Trust me you don't want to know."

"Is she saying we should get married?" He jokes .

"How did you know?" You say flabbergasted

"Aren't I a dream son in law?" He winks

You make a gagging sound to let him know exactly what you think about that.

Your mom hits your arm at your 'misbehaviour' in front of guests.

"Don't act to smartly, my mom regularly speaks to the mom's of my Korean friends, you might just find yourself married." You tell him threat evident.

"You won't do that to me."

You look at him so as to say 'try me'.

He gulps nervously.

Min Yoongi

Days before Eid you had been at the height of excitement. You had gotten approval on your leave and had your tickets booked too. Except because of a work emergency you had to cancel your plans.

Atleast it was a Sunday on Eid. Your family was miffed too.

So when on a Sunday you got a call from work you were ready to throw your phone. Except you were an adult with bills who couldn't act so childishly.

Apparently someone had forgotten to save the files you had all worked overtime on.

In the end duty called still you decided to atleast wear your eid outfit who cares if people on the public transport looked at you.

What you weren't expecting was decorations in the meeting room and a feast spread out. And streamers released the moment you stepped in.

You did end up tearing up. Apparently, Yoongi your office bestfriend had talked to your boss and other colleagues since everyone felt bad for you because you couldn't enjoy your well deserved leave.

You later come to know Yoongi had pulled an all nighter and made the food himself as the rest of the office decorated the meeting room and it had been tough to hide this from you.

He even had to go on an extra shopping trip to gather all ingredients. Still it was worth it seeing you so brightened instead of disappointed as you had been previously slaving away.

"Is it good?" Yoongi asked.

"A+" You returned

"Eid Mubarak Y/nie."

"Eid Mubarak Yoongi-ah."

Jung Hoseok

Hoseok was always a social person and so when you invited him along to the Eid Party organised by the International Students committee. He had no reason to say no.

For Him it was a day of discoveries. He dressed up nicely but conservatively because that seemed like a theme with you, his sole source of information.

For the most part you had been busy with the preparation along with other members busy coordinating events and activities. You didn't have time to hang out with Hoseok and your other Korean classmates/ friends.

Hobi had shown up timely at the event.

"Eid Mubarak y/n." He said and gave you flowers because he had no idea about Eid Customs but every one liked flowers right?

"Thank you Hobi, thanks for coming."

You had introduced him to other people all of them dressed differently he noted.

"You look good." You said to your friend.

"Say 'Mashallah' Y/n."

"Sorry, Mashallah you are looking gorgeous."

"What does that mean?" Hoseok asks.

"It means basically like it's to protect you from evil eye." You reply.

"It is basically what God has willed so in this case like God willed some should look nice. Another term that is used is Subhanallah that means God is beautiful and used to say like .. um God is beautiful and likes beautiful things."

"That makes sense but also all of you are wearing different clothes...Don't you have a Muslim dress?" Hoseok questioned.

Someone laughed at the question and another person elbowed them.

"Hoseok there is nothing like Muslim dress we all belong to different ethnicities and dress and even eat different foods so we have things which aren't allowed for eg pork and alcohol but otherwise Islam is a religion, Muslims are followers and having same religion doesn't mean we are same culturally like a Christian from the west isn't a copy of one from the east." The head of the committee explained.

"Oh that makes sense." Hobi replied.

"That reminds me there's a dabke* dance performance soon. Y/n told us you're into dancing. You might like it."

And like it Hoseok did.

Jimin

On the day before Eid, Jimin asks if you want to try donuts at this new shop. You agree. Since it's near to the shop you're going to buy henna cones at.

First you go to buy henna and then eat donuts with which Jimin would have no problem except you seem lost in the phone busy looking up designs.

"Come on Y/n. Look at me, your phone is always with you."

"Sorry its just I need to figure out a good design."

Jimin pouts.

"Sorry Jiminie. I will pay attention. Happy now."

"Hmm fine."

Just then your phone rang. It was your mom.

"It's my mom give me aminute."

"Assalamualaikum.*" You said answering the phone.

"Walaikumassalam* I sent you your Eidi* Check your bank account."

"Thank you. I'm outside so I will check and text you ok?"

"Ok and eat something nice ok. Then let me know."

"Inshallah (If God wills) . Bye." You say cutting the phone.

"What happened?" Jimin asks.

"I'm rich for today do you want me to get you coffee." You ask

He raises a brow.

"I got gift money for Eid and since I'm going to a relatives house tomorrow I'm going to be loaded."

"Lucky you."

"You want to come?" You ask

"Won't it be awkward?" He returns.

"No its eid." You reply as if it explained everything.

And it wasn't awkward at all. Somehow he fit in perfectly. the house cat marked Jimins lap as his territory and Jimin spent most of the time petting him. Your cousins liked him and you were sure one of them developed a crush on him.

Taehyung

Taehyung wasn't expecting to be woke up so early after spending his night on video gaming.

Still there you were, with unidentified people standing behind you. Two females, one male and a so cute baby.

You introduce them as your aunt, your cousin and her family who had come to visit Korea for Eid Vacation but a miscommunication had messed up the hotel booking so needed accommodation for the day.

He would have said no but your kicked kitten look and a cute baby he could play with were too hard to resist.

So he opened his home turned the sofa bed into a bed and showed him the bathroom and went to sleep.

He woke up late noon. His drawing room clean and empty. He decided to check up on you.

On knocking your cousin's husband opened the door. Your house was lively and full of aromas. The female army he assumed was in the kitchen because he could hear voices from there.

Taehyung played with the little baby while your cousins husband set the dining table bringing foods from the kitchen.

Finally you came out cheeks stretching with a smile he didn't know you were capable of having.

"Thank you Taehyungie. Here have a date."

You said handing him a platter of stuffed dates.

He finally paid attention to the feast spread on the table. He didn't know names of many things.

"It's nice." He said.

Your aunt came from the kitchen and said something to you. You nodded.

You brought a plate.

"Do you want me to give you a selection or do you want to try taking yourself? "

So he filled his plate with sweets and other items.

One bite and he was in heaven.

You laughed and his facial expression.

"You liked it yes? Happy sweet eid Taehyung."

"Happy eid!! Everyone." He says.

"Eid Mubarak." Your family responds.

Your aunt says something to you.

"My aunt is grateful you let my cousin in law sleep at your home."

"It's ok. Its my pleasure. The food she cooked is very good, tell her that."

"How do you know I didn't cook it."

"I have tasted your cooking and to be fair..."

"Not a word Kim Taehyung if you know what's better for you."

Your cousin comes out. The family is leaving joining the tour they had come for. She hands you the gifts they had brought for you. Your Eidi.

Aunty gave Taehyung an envelope with Eidi too.

"Eid gift." You supplied before he asked. He nodded and let her pat his head.

She patted your head too. Then they left. Taehyung was very sad to part with the baby. Still you both had a lot of food to taste test.

"You have a lot of energy even after fasting the whole month." Taehyung commented remembering his attempt at fasting.

"I mean it's Eid after all. Oh and do you want to have dinner here or at home?" You ask.

"Can I call my friends over, they planned to crash at my place?" He asks.

"Sure, my friends are coming too."

"Oh."

"You didn't think all this food was for only the two of us did you?"

Jeon Jungkook

Jungkook had accompanied you to *home country* since he had always wanted to discover new places.

So when you booked your tickets for Eid Ul Adha.

All of it was a new experience for him. His new routine included the special element of feeding the goat which had come for slaughter.

You were worried he would get too emotionally attached. You remembered a younger you who was the same. Excited to have a pet goat and then on the day of Eid, learn it had turned into your favourite meal. The world was not a kind place.

At least your parents didn't make you watch, you had heard how some kids were woken up at dawn to be shown the sight. 'To strengthen their hearts' the old wives say. Others say 'it's so that you don't waste your food'.

Of course you know the story behind the slaughter.

So you told Jungkook as a way of comforting him when you broke the news.

"When God had asked his messenger to to slaughter what was the most dearest to him and he had sacrificed 10 camels and he still had that dream so he slaughtered 100 camels. God through his dreams still insisted what was 'most precious' to him. Then He'd decided to sacrifice his son who had been born towards the end of his life when he and his wife were convinced they were barren, who agreed to be the sacrifice but at the last moment God had replaced the messengers son with a ram. And now Muslims all over the world sacrifice animals for the same."***

"Oh I didn't know."

Your mother called you handing you the meat that was distributed. All the males of the house had left for the Eid Prayers.

Jungkook helped pick some up.

"Who do we give this too?" He asks.

"Basically the meat is divided into three parts. One third for the family, one third for the poor and needy and one third for relatives and neighbours."

Jungkook nodded doe eyes wide soaking up the information.

When you both did return from the rounds your weight didn't actually reduce because you recieved some from most houses you went to and you were sure Jungkook was having sugar rush from everyone feeding you sweets and you both even got Eidi from he older ladies.

Eid Mubarak indeed.

Jungkooks adventures however were far from over.

Dressed up and doused in Itr (pefume oil) and wearing a cap your father had gifted Jungkook which was going to be abandoned because it was hot outside, he was ready to fit in with the party goers.

Everyone was supposed to be gathered in your house in the evening. Before the sun was down your dad, you and Jungkook ended up setting the barbecue.

Knowing your father's tendency of pushing the hardworking on you because of his 'age'. You called over your cousins to help and dragged Jungkook away. He was a guest afterall.

Slightly bored because you got busy with hosting the evening. Jungkook brought out his camera.

The kids dressed to the nines gathered infront of him indicating that they wanted their pictures taken. Once he started doing so, he was an instant hit among the party.

Still Jungkook was satisfied by his day, he had newfound appreciation for you and cultures different from his own.

When the guest thinned out. You finally had time to sit with him. Eating Lamb skewers.

What could be better than this, good company, tastier food and happy memories.

☆☆☆FIN☆☆☆

-----

****Important Notice: This is the version of the Tale I remember reading. I cannot quote the source because I didn't find it on top of Internet search results.

MEANINGS

*halal : permitted ; opposite is haram not permitted. For eg pork , alcohol, taking interest in loans are not permitted.

------

*dabke : a regional dance form

*Assalamualaikum: peace be upon you , used as a greeting

*Walaikumassalam: peace be upon you too , return of greeting

Wow this was a ride 😳

Hope you liked it.

🌟 eid mubarak🌙

As eidi send me compliments thank you 😊

I swear Jungkook's could be a drabble in itself the amount of restraint I had to show for my own well being. The original ideas were different in some cases like Joon and Jimin but I think these worked well.

Dear @mintsugarmy this is the result of your seduction. It was supposed to be light and simple but then I added information and then I got more ideas so the later reactions got longer.

Also like I didn't want it to be an infomercial but also didn't want to confuse people who read out of curiosity 😅

Do I have regrets? Always, because I don't think I've done justice to this but know I've tried my best.

Hope you have nice day. Borahae 💜💜💜

[writingwithcolor]

Hey! I’m currently writing a Jewish character and was wondering if this would be offensive: my character has a family where her mother is Jewish but her father celebrates Christmas, so they fuse their holiday celebrations to bring their two families together for any holidays that fall in line with eachother. Would this be a problem? I’m basing her off of irl friends who’s family does this, but I want to make sure it doesn’t seem like I’m erasing her Jewish heritage and pride. Thanks so much!

Celebrating Hanukkah & Christmas in interfaith family

No problems from me other than to note that I hope you meant to say that they're both celebrated, not that they're literally "combined." Because putting Christian ritual into a Jewish holiday would bug me, as a reader, but someone watching Mom light the menorah before going out caroling with Dad would not--for example. Does that make sense? There are plenty of interfaith families out there that do both, but keeping the actual practices separate is the best way to keep the Jewish ones Jewish. (And in my example I was picturing both parents there for each activity, so it's not like I'm calling for that much separation -- just, not bringing up "the meaning of Christmas" while you're literally telling the Chanukah story.

You may also want to decide if the character themselves is drawn in one direction or the other, or neither yet. (You said "Jewish heritage and pride" so from this I gather that's how she believes? In that case, is Christmas totally just a fun secular thing for her or is it something she regards as an outsider, religiously speaking?)

--Shira

I'm going to start by saying that interfaith families exist, and have a variety of ways of expressing their combination of cultures. I'm absolutely not here to argue with that, be negative about that very real way of life, or invalidate those experiences in the slightest. 

With that being said... people outside our community really, really love to show us celebrating Christmas, and Easter, and eating bacon, or doing anything else that might code us as assimilated (regardless of our internal identities). These are things that some Jewish people do, and I think it's absolutely good to show the breadth of the community, and the varied ways we express ourselves, but I do not, at all, trust someone outside the community to do that mindfully. 

In wider media, whether books, television, movies etc. Jewish characters are so often shown to be either assimilated, or from an interfaith family. Interfaith does not necessarily mean assimilated of course! But the fact of their interfaith relationship is often used as a convenient way to get the Jewish character into situations that are intended to show how "not really" Jewish they are. There is an obsession with showing us as assimilated, a delight that is taken in trying to prove that we either are exactly the same as the broader culture, or that our differences can be erased and eroded until we are. 

A Jewish person remains Jewish, whether they go to a Christmas party or not, whether they have shrimp at dinner or not, whether they marry a non-Jewish person or not, but the intent behind constantly showing Jewish characters doing this is suspect to me. This asker may not have this ill-intent, but frankly, it's hard to come by a character, written by a non-Jewish person, that says "I'm Jewish" in the beginning of a work, and then "oh, no thank you, I don't celebrate Christmas" in the middle, let alone even continuing to say "I'm Jewish" by the end.

When I read a work about interfaith families, and their specific traditions by a person inside the community, or coming from an interfaith background themselves, I'm interested, happy to learn about the characters, and their lives. When I read a work like that by someone outside the community it leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth, and the feeling that even fictional versions of us are being gleefully, voyeuristically, intentionally assimilated.

-- Dierdra

1) If your character is invested in their Jewish heritage, celebrating Chanukah is not enough to show this. Please please please research our other holidays and traditions, talk to Jewish people who feel the same level of connection to their Jewish roots, consume #OwnVoices materials.

2) Agree with Dierdra that interfaith families exist and deserve representation, but that writing an assimilated character requires a lot of research and sensitivity; any blatant disregard of halacha should probably be avoided in case it is consumed in that voyeuristic way by the reader.

3) And with Christmas in particular, you can be close to touching a nerve because not all Jewish people have fond memories of Christmas, to say the least. To people of minority faiths, it can be the time when our othering is the most blatant and impactful (we’ve included some personal stories below). 

It would be best to listen to many Jewish experiences of December shenanigans, from people who celebrate Christmas partially or fully, to those who are indifferent, to those who have mainly negative associations and memories.

-- Shoshi

Our personal experiences with Christmas (Jewish Mods)

Also, as a note from all of us, discussing this question brought up so many stories about our own experiences with Christmas, and the culture surrounding it.  A selection of them are below, just to give an idea of what it can be like:

- Just not having lights up was enough to get our neighbor asking our then roommate if we were "you know... sorta..." When our roommate confirmed that we are indeed Jewish, he reassured him that it was "fine." It didn't feel fine to be told that though. I also had a neighbor ask what we were doing for Christmas once, and I said "oh, we do Chanukah in this house" just to keep it casual. She excitedly yelled back "JEWS!!" Even without Covid I was getting to the point where December was just a month where I tried to stay in, and avoid getting grumpy at people who are just enjoying their holiday (they just happen to be enjoying it everywhere, all the time. And sometimes kind of aggressively). God forbid you correct someone when they wish you a Merry Christmas. 

- Me too, it's the marketing, it's so aggressive. Last year I got so fed up with Christmas music being on in the office that I decided to bring a dreidel and spin it casually on my desk throughout the day, just so that my own space could feel like it was somewhat reserved for my own identity, you know? On day two of this, a colleague I didn't know that well came up to me and said, "Please could you stop doing that? It's really loud." I wanted to yell "NOT AS LOUD AS YOUR MUSIC!", but I didn't, I just stopped spinning it because I'm a darn pushover at times. I had to sit through my first hand-wringing 'how will we do Christmas with Covid?' conversation in about September, even though Pesach and Eid were both during the height of lockdown in this country and no one said a thing until after the fact. 

- I've had people scoff, and sniff, and make snide comments to my face in my old workplace when I politely reminded them that I don't celebrate Christmas. It can get so uncomfortable, just existing in the world, and Christmas can end up a really miserable time. 

[sixth-light]

The Taste of Home (Nile + team, gen, 1.2k)

A fic for the Nile Freeman week prompt “Nile + comfort”, liberally interpreted, and inspired by my post about Nile and the team doing Thanksgiving last week. In canon I fully expect that Booker and Quỳnh will be with them this far into the future, but I felt like doing a end-of-movie-team-only story, so...there we go. No major warnings, aside from a brief mention of canon-typical violence. 

Nile crossed the Canadian-US border into the country of her birth for the first time in six years, late one November – not nearly as cold as it should have been in New England this time of year, thanks, climate change – and realised that two days from now was going to be Thanksgiving.

Andy said “What’s that?” and Nicky said “I think it’s a feast day” and Joe said “Yes, the one with the turkey!” and Nile said “Have none of you spent any time in the US before?”

“Oh, plenty,” said Joe, shifting uncomfortably; they’d crossed the border in a rental car on a back road, relying on Copley’s instructions to avoid the drones and patrols, and there clearly wasn’t quite enough room in the back for his long legs. Andy was driving, of course, and the boys had graciously ceded Nile the front seat. She was tired, and hadn’t argued. “We were first here in – 1582?”

“That was Mexico, it’s not quite the same,” said Nicky. “More than a hundred years after that, for Nile’s lands.”

The three older immortals started bickering about what counted as the United States of America, exactly, before Nile said “Okay, okay. My point is – have none of you ever had Thanksgiving?”

She knew they weren’t picky about holidays, just not consistent; in her years with them they’d celebrated May Day and Eid al-Fitr and Saturnalia. It depended where they were, and what they were doing, and the moods that struck them. Nicky had come to church with her for three Christmases in a row, three different churches in three different countries, and then last year said simply “No, not this time, thank you.”

“I think we lifted some extra rations off an American army unit in Vietnam, one November,” said Andy. “Apart from that? No.”

“Where’s Copley got us this time?” Nile asked.

“A house,” said Nicky. “Rented. We are being tourists again, until we get our local identities organized.”

“There’s a few missions we could do. We’ll talk about it later,” said Andy. “I figured we’d take a week off first. Nothing’s on fire…that we can help with.”

“Most of California’s on fire, right now, but okay,” said Nile. “Okay.”

“You wanna do Thanksgiving, huh?” Andy glanced over at her, with a sharp smile that made Nile feel known, but not exposed.

“Can we help?” Joe asked from the back seat.

“Uh,” said Nile. “Let’s see.”

*

Nile had never done anything like a full Thanksgiving meal before, partly because until she’d been deployed her job had mostly been to wash dishes and keep some of her younger cousins from getting overexcited, and partly because there had been a strict family hierarchy of who got to cook what, and she hadn’t yet been invited to join it before – before.

She decided to keep it simple, the real classics; after all, there were only four of them. Turkey, definitely. Green bean casserole. Mac’n’cheese. Yams. Pumpkin pie. She was fully prepared to buy the pie crust, too – she knew her limits – but Nicky put his foot down on that, having had to endure the purchase of ready-made cranberry sauce and canned pumpkin, so she let him take care of it. 

Nicky was far and away the best cook of the other three, followed closely by Joe. Andy wouldn’t burn anything, but she just didn’t care enough to get creative. Nile had eaten a lot of re-heated soup when Andy was on cooking duty. Andy, Nile decided on the way back from the Big Y, was getting assigned to chop vegetables. 

The holiday cabin Copley had found for them was much more comfortable than where they’d been sleeping for the last three weeks – Nile was getting a bedroom to herself, a rare luxury –  but the kitchen was tiny, clearly intended for vacationers who weren’t the home-cooking type, and preparations spilled out onto the dining table. Nile had been half-hoping someone else would take over, unused to taking center stage for this, but they all looked to her for instructions and she did her best to rise to the occasion. She felt absurdly trusted.

The biggest problem would have been that both of the kitchen knives provided were absolutely terrible – Joe threw them aside, saying “No, and no” – except, what was she thinking, her family traveled armed to the teeth at all times. Andy chopped yams with a knife Nile was ninety percent sure she’d seen her gut someone with. She forcibly decided not to think about it.

“Don’t worry, this one’s new,” said Andy. “I have standards.”

“Uh-huh,” said Nile. She could hear Nicky chuckling behind her as he worked on the pie crust.

“I do!”

“Do you think these are halal?” Joe asked, holding up the bag of marshmallows.

“Wait, probably not,” said Nile. “Never mind, we can leave them out.”

“I didn’t want to criticize,” said Nicky, “but I didn’t think they were going to go very well with the pie.”

“They’re for the yams,” said Nile.

“The yams are for the sweet course as well?”

“No, they’re part of the main.”

“Put them in, I just won’t eat the yams,” said Joe, tossing the bag at her. “This is your holiday.”

“You eat marshmallows with the turkey?” Nicky said, his voice noticeably rising. “That is – that is very interesting.”

“My holiday, my rules,” Nile retorted.

“Yes, ma’am,” Joe said, and winked.

*

By the time everything was prepped, they were all ready to lie down on the couch for a bit; unfortunately, the couch wasn’t that big, so Nicky took one end, Joe stretched out with his head in Nicky’s lap, Nile compromised by wedging herself under Joe’s feet, and Andy just spread-eagled herself on the floor with a cushion from the armchair under her head.

“You could take the armchair,” said Joe, clearly enjoying his overlordship of the largest piece of furniture.

“No,” said Andy, who Nile had learned was mildly allergic to furniture. “This is better.”

“Someone give me the remote,” Nile said. “It’s football time.”

Joe perked up noticeably at that, and noticeably sagged when Nile found ESPN. “Oh. American football.” Nicky poked him in the shoulder. “Ow.”

“So,” Nicky said. “We eat all the food, and then…?”

“Then we watch some more football,” said Nile. “And before we eat, we say what we’re thankful for.”

“Huh,” said Nicky. “Okay. That’s easy.”

“Now?” Andy asked. “Or right before we eat?”

“Right before,” said Nile, which didn’t stop Andy saying “Because you know what I’m grateful for right now? Carpet.”

“That’s terrible.” Nile threw the other cushion at her. “You have about an hour to come up with something better.”

Joe was obviously composing a speech in his head already, drumming his fingers against his thigh. Nile decided not to interrupt him.

“And that’s it?” Nicky persisted. “There’s nothing else you need, for this to be Thanksgiving?”

Nile had half-expected, when they’d been in the supermarket, that this was going to turn out to be a terrible idea, make her homesick all over again, like the Christmas three years ago when she’d come home from church with Nicky – they’d been in Germany at the time – and cried into Nicky’s shoulder for an hour, soggy and miserable, while Joe brought her mulled wine and Andy dropped a box of tissues in her lap.

But it wasn’t like that at all. There was a good meal cooking; she was warm and safe and content; this wasn’t the family she’d grown up with, the one she would always miss, but they’d spent today telling her they loved her with every chopped vegetable and half-serious complaint.

“Nah,” Nile said. “I got everything I need. Thanks for asking.”