#how to avoid extra marital affairs

[sipthegossip-if]

SIP THE GOSSIP! is rated 18+ for explicit language, skippable sexual themes, drugs, alcohol consumption, extra marital affairs and more. Best to be avoided if romance and drama are not your cup of tea.

✭ DEMO (TBA) ✭ FORUM (TBA)

You had everything in the palm your hand since birth. Success kissed your feet, the billboards sang of your symphony and the public chanted your name.

Until they didn't.

After years of a blockbuster after a blockbuster— ignoring the fact they were all your uncle's productions— you found yourself tangled up in serious allegations that left your reputation in shambles.

You lost thousands of followers across all your social media accounts and all your endorsement deals.

But you persisted. After things were resolved, you tried getting back on your feet. Starred in movies that had no connection to your dearest uncle.

But here's the thing : they all flopped. Badly, at that.

And you found yourself once again, at the rock bottom. After some time of having disappeared from the public eye you have decided to make a comeback and do what you were always good at— use your connections to gain a spot in the upcoming, very much hyped romantic series TO THE MOON AND BACK.

You will do anything to get your stardom back even if it means getting your pretty hands a little dirty.

✭ Play as male, female or non binary. Straight or queer. Customise your brand and appearance.

✭ Choose the article that destroyed the reputation you spent years building.

✭ Engage in a scandalous & fiery romance off and on set!

✭ Use whatever means you can to avoid being teared to shreds on the internet.

✭ It's been long since you have acted. You haven't forgotten how to bring those tear ducts to use, have you?

✭ Give interviews. Because isn't that what the blizz and bling all about baby?

✭ Engage with your fans. If they still haven't forgotten about you, that is.

✭ Escape or annoy the unrelenting paparazzi.

✭ Customise your public persona. Do things that transpire behind cameras differ from on camera?

✭ Choose the plot of T2MAB.

✭ THE BODYGUARD : Kai D'melio. [he/him or she/her]

Single and in early 30s. Stoic and all business. It's hard to get a read of them. They are a constant in your life.

Tropes : Bodyguard romance, slow burn, yearning, "crush" route.

✭ THE VETERAN ACTOR : Shiron "Shay" Hill. [he/him or she/her]

Married and in mid 40s, they continue to be a social media sensation to till this day. A friend of you and your uncle. They are the one who introduced you to the director and producer of To The Moon And Back and helped you score the lead role.

Tropes : Extra marital affair, steamy.

✭ THE DIRECTOR/PRODUCER : Victor/ia "Vic" Alvarez. [he/him or she/her]

Single, former actor and in mid 40s. An incredibly close friend of Shiron. They have been attached at the hip since the two first began working together in the industry. All their works have proved to be the public's favourites and you hope that is also the case with T2MAB.

Tropes : Work romance, steamy, commitment issues.

✭ THE M/F LEAD : Alexis "Alex" Sinclair. [he/him or she/her]

Co-actor and in late 20s. Charming and titled 'Industry's Budding Star' by People's Magazine. They seem to have a tendency to flirt with whatever that breathes. It would serve you best to not get involved with them, judging from their messy dating history.

Tropes : steamy, commitment issues, idiots in love.

✭ THE SECOND M/F LEAD : River Fox. [he/him or she/her]

Co-actor, singer and in late 20s. After having caught their now ex partner cheating on them, they seem to have a hard time trusting people. The fact that they dislike you for the means you used to get the role and the consequences it led to, doesn't help either.

Tropes : Slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, melting the ice king/queen, forced proximity, kind guy/gal who's mean to only you.

✭ THE CAMERA(WO)MAN : Arlo Kent. [he/him or she/her]

Single loyal to you and in their early 20s. They get all starry eyed and overly enthusiastic at the sight of you. More often than not, you have caught them not so discreetly keeping an eye you. You can only hope they are merely star struck and nothing more.

Tropes : Stalker/yandere fluffy romance.

[revvethasmythh]

you say you think Veth should divorce, could you expand a bit on that if you don't mind? what do you see as a happy ending for her?

To be fair, "should divorce" is kind of a conditional statement. By which I mean, as it stands now, I more think Veth and Yeza need to have a serious conversation about their relationship and start having some open communication about what they both want, and then take things from there--which could end very happily for them! Or it could, theoretically, end in divorce. So, it really depends on how that hypothetical conversation might go that would determine if I actually think they need to get divorced. Tragically, that is much more nuanced and way less funny than just posting #BrenattosDivorceWatch2k24, so here we are.

As for what I think a happy ending for her would be...it's interesting, because I don't think she has an unhappy ending now. I think she is, largely, happy. I would call her ending an imperfect one, and I don't mean that in a bad way--all of Veth's potential endings were imperfect. That was the nature of her conflict in the later campaign, that no matter what she did she was losing in some aspect or another. If she keeps adventuring, she runs the risk of acting the absentee mother to Luc. If she goes home to her family, she's leaving her friends out in the cold and might not be there to help if they need her. Her story was about making a choice and living with the consequences of that choice, which was very much highlighted by her extra-marital feelings for Caleb.

And I don't mean lust here--Veth lusts a lot, famously for Sunbreaker Olomon, which she justified by saying "50/50 chance my husband's already dead, so" 😂. But I mean feelings for Caleb. And I think you'll find that the vast majority of Veth stans are, if not actively on #BrenattosDivorceWatch2k24, then at least more keyed into the marital issues between Veth and Yeza than your average watcher. Because in C2, Veth had what amounted to a long-term emotional affair with Caleb that pointedly did not resolve, and you largely see the general, non-Veth stan audiences fail to acknowledge or engage with that aspect of their relationship and how that, in turn, effected her relationship with Yeza. In c2e85, Veth first hedges that she "used" to have a crush on Caleb, to which Beau replies, "You know, I kind of got that vibe before, thought there might be that feeling." Then, after c2e97, Sam outright stated Veth was frustrated with Yeza and wasn't sure she was still in love with him at all on Talks. In the early 100s, the Veth playlist dropped and confirmed she had romantic feelings for Caleb. In c2e121, Veth and Caleb have an incredibly emotional one-on-one about guilt, how much they love each other, and how much they'll miss each other when Veth leaves, where Veth tells him, "I will always love you." In c2e126, Veth sees Astrid having a breakdown after talking to Caleb and says, "Well, wouldn't you [have a breakdown] if you wanted to be with this amazing young man, and couldn't be because of circumstances tearing you apart?" and then later that same episode tells Caleb "Nothing is more important than you" (to which my good friend, upon watching with me, immediately said, "Umm???? Veth, don't you have a husband and son???").

Then, in c2e129, Luc dies. And from then on out, Veth is wholly focused on finishing out this mission and finally, permanently returning home to her family. Not that this wasn't her goal before, but it's clear that a choice has been made at this point and she's sticking with it. She's choosing her family, which was really the only choice she could make. And a consequence of this decision is that those extra-marital feelings she harbored are never discussed, never confessed to anyone (and I don't mean to Caleb here, I mean, like, to a friend), and fundamentally never resolved.

I said this before somewhere, but I don't think it was a bad choice to avoid finding resolution to this sort of thing in the campaign. It's a bit of a sensitive, awkward topic to noodle around with in your TTRPG. But I do think that lack of resolution to either Veth's frustration with Yeza's easy acceptance of whatever she does or her extra-marital feelings in general led Veth to a place of wanting. Which was always what her story was about to begin with, so there's an interesting symmetry to starting and ending with her wanting something. It was easy to name what she wanted at the start of the campaign--her body back, her life back--and much more difficult to face the idea that you may not be completely satisfied with having all that returned to you, that there's still other things to want.

Though, I actually think the Wildemount Wildlings helped her strike a great balance between the things that she wanted, adventuring and homesteading, just that it was an impermanent solution. Because she's not going to willingly resolve any issues she has with Yeza (nor Yeza with her) because Veth is a terrible communicator who will never outright tell Yeza if she's feeling this way, and Yeza is too passive to really push her into talking, so they just dance around their issues, pretending not to see them while the issues just fester and get worse. That's why I'm a #BrenattosDivorce Truther. Because i HATE indecision and dawdling and staying in a situation where you're not completely happy when it does a disservice to yourself AND your partner and THIS is why I am always the first person in the group chat to say "BREAK UP WITH HIM."

So, yeah, personally? I'd just want that potential for conflict that exists between Veth and Yeza to come to some sort of head. That's my happy ending, vague as it is. But that's far from the only way she might get resolution. Or she might get no resolution, which is as imperfect an ending as any of her options, and I'm okay with that too.

[veryferaldistributions]

CW: These posts will talk a lot about mpreg, as that is almost exclusively what I write about. There will be nothing sexual or kink or NSFW about the posts, nothing in the realm of fetishization, but I thought I’d give a general warning to those who try to avoid the topic at all costs.

1. How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?

So, the first thing I ever wrote and posted long-term was an original novel (teen mpreg fic, awful stuff, I was 14 when I started), and I never really wanted to do something that wasn’t 100% mine because I was worried I’d write the characters badly. Or that I’d mess it up somehow. Or I’d do something too weird and I’d get hate. (I had a LOT of anxiety, btw!)

But then when I was about 16 or 17 (halfway through writing my novel), that’s when the show “Fish Hooks” started coming out. I remember to this day, my friend and I had been watching “Phineas & Ferb,” and it rolled over into “Fish Hooks” and we just watched the intro and I suddenly say “wait, was that a pregnant seahorse character?” So we ended up watching the whole thing.

And I became completely obsessed with the character Mr. Baldwin, because I’d never seen a reoccurring male character who was pregnant throughout the full run of the show.

And he wasn’t in the show nearly enough for my liking. And what little there was of him, I was like “pff, I could write him better than THIS!” (Spoiler alert: I could not.) And, what really quelled my anxieties, I could write about a male character that was already pregnant in the canon, so no one could get mad at me! 🤣

So that’s why I started “9 Weeks,” to be kind of this alternate origin-story for this side character. I gave him a love interest, gave him a first name (Dan, after his voice actor Dana Snyder), cut out a lot of his interactions with his students, and tapped into this (weirdly) dark backstory that the show had just barely hinted at. It dealt with unwanted pregnancy, discussions of abortion, extra-marital affairs, post-partum depression, being a foster kid, and romantic relationship issues. (Did I mention this show was for CHILDREN? I made it VERY depressing!)

I also used LOT of OCs. (Most of which ranged from “unremarkable” to “completely pointless.”) I ended up writing about 24 chapters before finally unofficially abandoning it (To this day, I still have no freaking clue how to end it. So it remains unfinished.)

Lemme tell you, going back to this and reading it now…

It has not aged well. At all. Not as bad as my first novel, but hoo doggy!

[ramrodd]

Ayn Rand said that having an affair when you are married was an example of rational selfishness. Is selfishness rational?

People who vote for Gym Jordan think like Ayn Rand.

COMMENTARY

Forget the content. I mean, Dagny Taggart is the alter ego of Rand, who had discovered that fucking on a mink coat on her living room floor opened a brand new understanding of sex as sport fucking. It never occurred to her before she had this affair, in Chrysaor Jordan ·answer to this question, with Nathan Branden. Forget all that, It’s true, but it clutters the necessary details.

If you replace “the rational necessity of the extra-marital sex partner” with “eating too much chocolate”, the structures of her argument is an example of how libertarian logic lets you justify anything, morally, that appealed to her.

The children of white Country Club Republicans who expected to inherit their parents privileges and lifestyles as a divine right loved Ayn Rand’s method for both denying the existence of white privilege while defending white privilege with politicians like Gym Jordan.

This is what I mean by “Fascist sophistry”. It’s what Socrates was teaching that led to his death. Sophistry combined with persuasive Rhetoric. It’s like covering road apples with cinnamon and calling it Apple Pie.

Ayn Rand had consciously suppressed her sexuality to that of a young women somewhere between unicorns and menarche. It has to do with a novel she read about a Hero in the Byron Heroic of the Romantic Age. In important ways, her sex life proceed along an axis whe assumed was Reason, itself , but basically nded up at Nietzsche, an orgasm for her the intellectual equivalent of Also Sprach Zarathustra That’s why sex as rape was the subtext of Fountainhead. She bought in entirely with the Archetype of the Ubermunsch and blamed her mother for being born a girl.

In the current moment, she would been a prospect for gender reorientation between 18 and 25. She was a very talented person, make no mistake., but she was like Gum Jordan who could use a sewing machine. Literally.

Fascist sophistry is a useful, if not an essential, tool of the courtroom. The argument that the Declaration of Independence is an example of Fascist reasoning is unavoidable,, which is why George Washington didn’t sign the Tombstone. The Signers knew they were signing their death warrant if the venture failed because it challenged Deus et Mon Droit directly. But they ere all betting that they could create a new nation based on the secular values of life, liberty, fraternity, equality, equity and the Pursuit of Happiness. The concept had been validated by Jamestown of they wouldn’t have wanted to go into business for themselves. But it would require nourishing the roots of the treed of Liberty with the blood of Patriots to ratify the intent of the document.

So, as things go, we all indulge in sophistry to some degree, just to take the edge off of things. But that’s the reason why Objectivism has anything but the popular appeal of Hollywood Tonight.!, Right wingers love Objectivism because it is a way to avoid critical thinking and winning through intimidation. Both sides in the campus Vietnam debate represented opposite side of the same coin of personal happiness as moral necessity fascist sophitry, in contrast to the civil rights movement which proceded on the basis of Critical Race Theory., which is not Fascist sophistry.

The short version is that Rand’s rationalization for extramarital sex is characteristic of people who deny Critical Race Theory. Gym Jordan vs John Lewis.

Or Gym Jordan vs Michael Steele

[save-my-marriage-today-pdf]

Save My Marriage Today Review ( Scam? )

This review was written for the married man or woman who is either concerned for the state of his or her marriage, presently facing divorce, or wants to prevent divorce by improving his or her marriage. Many problems often haunt marital relationships. These arise from conflicts, extra-marital affairs, lack of physical intimacy, suspicion, etc. They wreak havoc with any relationship and sooner or later, the couple will be separated or divorced. Rebuilding trust takes a long time, it is not a switch that you can flip. Problems in relationships are sometimes complex ones which are hard to handle. The program provides lots of information that is very straightforward and simple for you to follow. Save My Marriage Today is a relationship course that helps couples who are having difficulties in their marriages. The Save My Marriage Today book does not only help struggling couples to survive but also thrive in their marriages.

Save My Marriage Today offers a lot of incredibly insightful lessons and exercises that can help you to successfully overcome the challenges facing your marriage but it will require willingness and some amount of concerted effort from you. With this course, you will find lots of valuable and very successful strategies regarding what to do to save your relationship even if currently it may look past repair or possibly on the verge of a separation and divorce. The system provides lots of information that is very straightforward and simple for you to follow. These techniques include many step-by-step instructions and exercises you can employ to rid your troubled marriage of the problems that have brought it into crisis mode. Through the practical implementation of its various strategies, the Save My Marriage Today book can be a very powerful tool. It can significantly help you to identity where your relationship might be having hidden unresolved conflicts.

One thing I like about this system is unlike any conventional relationship technique, you don't have to change yourself or give in to every of your partner's wants. Her techniques focus on resolving your anger and stress first so you can assess your marriage situation more carefully. Amy is able to identify where you have been going wrong, and shows you how to avoid those crucial mistakes that actually jeopardize your chances of saving your failing marriage. The techniques she reveals are thought provoking and have been proven over and over to help save marriages. Besides Save My Marriage Today, Amy has authored and hosted several other relationship related online courses. These include but not limited to Seduction Genie, Conversation Chemistry, and How to Be Irresistible to Men. Helping ailing relationships is virtually Amy’s life passion. With this program’s money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose! Stop accepting your marriage ‘as is’ — when you know that it could be so much brighter. Let Save My Marriage Today take you on an exciting and rewarding journey, together! So many couples have already benefited, and you can too — order your copy of Save My Marriage Today!

[famousloveproblemsolutions]

+91-8290613225 reasons behind extra affairs

In this modern time the world has changed completely. It is not the same. People who claim to love someone very much, often they change too, no one can be trusted and nowadays it is seen that people often have extra affairs after their marriage. Because falling in love with someone is a natural thing, no one insists that those who do it think that they are in love but it does not happen. They have extra affairs. By doing this, they get peace for some time, but due to all this, there are many problems in their married life, due to which many times their relationship is broken.

When a person have extra affair then he/she can’t think about anything else. But after some time, the dispute between husband and wife starts increasing and the distance increases, due to which the relationship of the couple reaches divorce. People feel that this type of relationship is beneficial for them, but this is not true at all because by doing this they may face very heavy losses and their married life can be completely ruined.

How can we solve the problem of extra affairs?

It is the very critical situation when we come to know that our partner have an extra marital affair. Then the question raised is that how to break his /her affair and make our life happy again.if you want to solve this problem then you should consult to an master expert astrologer because this type of situation is only caused by vashikaran and black magic type spells so it can only be solved by the master expert astrologer who has complete knowledge the spells by which your problem can be solved. Extra affairs are like a poison in two person’s married life then you should understand that there is no benefit of extra affairs it can only create problems in your life. After that if you did not get any result then you can consult to a master astrologer to solve your problem.

If you want an instant result then you can contact our astrologer. He can solve your problem completely.

For more information visit our website:

http://www.famousloveproblemsolution.com/extra-affairs/

[babaji12]

How can we stop extramarital relationships? | +91-8968620218

Having a relationship after marriage is not uncommon. It is not only men who have extramarital affairs, On being married, women are also in the same cases with other men. But you also need to understand why men or women have an extra marital affair. What motivates them to take this step? If your partner also has an extra marital affair or you want to know that How to solve extra marital affair problem then you should take help of astrologer who will give you some mantra and tips to get rid of this issue. so, you will have to contact with our expert astrologer who is extramarital affair problem solution baba Ji and he will provide you right guideline to cast remedies. You can call to astrologer and you can reach over him by whats app and get his number from our site.

Reasons why people have extramarital affairs

if you have a doubt that your husband and wife have any extramarital affairs then read given below reason to confirm your doubt Now we describe some Reasons why people have extramarital affairs.

1. Early marriage

2. Married for the wrong reasons

3. Inability to deal with changes

4. Becoming parents

5. Physical dissatisfaction

6. Emotional disconnect

7. Disagreements on core values

8. Differing life priorities

9. No common interests

10. Need for excitement

11. Personal finances

12. Career advancement

These are some reasons Reasons why people have extramarital affairs. if you want to solve extramarital affairs problem or you want to know that How to get rid of extramarital affairs of husband then contact our vashikaran specialist astrologer. They solve all these problems using by Vashikara. Vashikaran is a strong process to get anyone under your control. After using vashikaran you can make someone agree to work according to your desire or choice. If you also faced this problem then do not worry just read our next paragraph in which I will also explain how you can Remedies to stop extra-marital affairs.

How to get rid of extramarital affairs of husband — Remedies to stop extra-marital affairs of husband

Seeing the love of your life with someone else is one thing which cannot be easily tolerated. How can a wife see her husband with another woman? This is the heartiest moment for the woman. so that they want to know how to get rid of extramarital affairs of husband?

So women, do not worry. Whether there are problems with marriage problems just follow the Remedies to stop extra-marital affairs of husband again, forever:

· This is a very simple solution and can be practiced on any Sunday night. This includes the use of Kumkum. The woman needs to spread a few Kumkum in the bedroom, where her husband falls asleep. The next morning, after bathing the woman, she should choose that Kumkum from the side of the bed.

· Another simple remedy is to practice again in the night. Before sleeping at night, the woman needs to light a tablet of Camphor in the bedroom. This remedy can be practiced any day but with complete faith and devotion. This is the easiest way to eliminate a spouse’s marital relationship.

· The next solution involves the name of the woman with which the related woman thinks that there is additional marital relation with her husband. Each letter in the name of the woman should be written on the Makhana seed, which is a food grain. Once the name of that woman has been written on the seed of Makhana, till then the ash should be burnt till the burn.

Note:- As we are widespread in our business so we also provide our services in the following cities Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, so that you no more require to wait in order to get the solutions.

[miyahajiali]

How To Stop Extra Marital Affair I Extra Marital Affair Ko Kaise Khatam Karen I Top Video

https://youtu.be/QCHoHLWJaCM

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[extremelyblackandwhite]

ʟᴜꜱᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛꜱ ᴘᴜɴɪꜱʜᴍᴇɴᴛ

pairing: ares!bucky x aphrodite!reader

warnings: forced arranged marriage, angst, cheating, liberties with greek mythology canon (i.e. i do what i want with the canon), smut (18+), oral (male receiving), worshipping

inspired by the myth of ares and aphrodite’s affair

She’d been gone for a while, a while which was considered too long. The God of Gods had merely thought she was pulling a silly tantrum, still upset over her recent marriage, yet once it came word to him that the mortal world was in shambles for far too long when it came to love and lust, he immediately sent Hermes to fetch the goddess of love from her haven in Sparta. She returned against her will, her beautiful face refusing to contort into any smile as she was brought back to Mount Olympus. She refused to even look at Zeus, merely passing by him without as much of a sign of respect - instead, choosing to play the dutiful wife and walking towards her husband’s palace, yet all she wanted to see was him, James. She couldn’t, she knew she couldn’t so she mainly kept on her merry way towards her husband’s resting place. 

As she walked in, he was once again busy metalworking so she distracted herself with the new weaponry hanged on the walls. From swords crafted of legendary metals to legendary kings, to shields and armour, it was almost as if entering a war without its soldiers. Usually, she would find herself lost in each piece, her fingers tracing the blades softly enough so it wouldn’t break through her skin, yet a familiar piece of metalwork caught her attention. There, hanging on the wall almost like a trophy, a gold and metal arm, the same arm she recognised didn’t belong to this wall. 

      - You’re back early. - her husband finally acknowledged her presence, turning from his work to face her. - Did you get distracted in your travels?

      - That’s James’ arm. - she said, shock painted over her face.

      - I shall not give my work to the undeserving. 

      - Why would he be undeserving? I thought all twelve Olympians were deserving. At least that’s what you said when we married, remember?

      - I respect you, Aphrodite. - she stared at him with an almost angry look, not angry enough it clashed with the vibe she usually put up for people she didn’t trust, but unkind enough to look threatening. - I expect you to respect me as well. 

      - What would James’ arm have anything to do with my respect towards you?

      - I know what you’ve done. 

      - Of course you’d have your lackeys following me around. 

      - You don’t deny it?

      - Why should I? - she crossed her arms, a small tantalising smirk forming on her rose coloured lips. - I just find it funny how you’re allowed to criticise me when you’ve fathered children with several nymphs. 

His facade broke as he grabbed her elbow, keeping her close by, painfully unaware of what she could do. She always thought it best to keep it hidden, but part of her blood boiled once he dared touch her without her permission. She’d given punishments for much less; yet the thought of James and what could happen to her as well as the facade she had to maintain. She had no choice. 

     - You are my wife, you will respect me as such. 

     - I am no such thing. - she shook her elbow off him. - Touch me again and you will wish you hadn’t?

     - And what are you gonna do? 

Her blood boiled over but she avoided a major conflict, instead turning around and exiting her husband’s abode. An aura of blood lust followed her as she passed down Olympus, a fair sight to see such beauty mixed with the need to cause chaos. She couldn’t help it, it was part of her own essence, a daughter of Uranus herself. She continued with her walk, passing all the other deities and small nymphs who merely allowed her to pass by, all gossiping about her affair as if she had been the first goddess who decided to have an extra marital relationship. She hadn’t even been asked if she wanted to be married, she’d just been told.

She made her way towards Ares’ place, entering like a thief and expecting to see him training like he usually did whenever he was not in war. However, she merely saw the swords and bows either on the ground or neatly stored away, and that smell of him, of fire and forest, was nowhere to be sensed. Her expression dropped as her bare feet padded through the sanded arena and further into his resting place. He had to have one of the most interesting resting places of all of Olympus - a massive arena covered with sand surrounded it yet at the centre laid his resting place with soft draped red and golden fabrics covering a bed. Not even while resting was he outside the trait which was the only thing associated with him. Footprints were left in the wet sand as she made her way towards the centre but it was too dark to make up any of him. All she could see was his silhouette. 

    - Don’t come near. - his voice, horse and tired, echoed throughout the arena, stopping her on her path. 

     - It’s me, James. 

     - Then definitely don’t come near. - she still couldn’t see him, but could hear the rustling of the sheets as he turned around, the silhouette of his back facing him. 

     - I’m sorry for leaving without telling you, I ... I had to leave, had to clear my mind. 

      - I could never be angry at you for retreating to your safe place. In all honesty, my goddess, I could never resent you for anything. 

      - Then why won’t you let me see you? - she took a testing step forward but the lights were still dimmed lowly enough she could only see the outline of his body, briefly lit by candle light. 

She hoped he’d let her see him, hoped he’d let her see the face which had been haunting her the past month. Turns out even in Sparta, a place where he wasn’t even worshipped, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. Every warrior reminded her of him and every love sick woman reminded her of her own self. Sometimes, later at night when she was laying in bed, she could hear his moans against her ear and his touch against her skin. And now, now that she was so close to him, it felt even further than before. He sighed, the sound of rustling sheets returning. 

     - I can’t let you see me like this. 

     - It does not matter. - she took yet another step, rebellious to the distance between them. - Please. 

     - I don’t want your memory of me to be tainted, my goddess. Please. - her heart tightened as she heard those words. - I’m sure you’re aware ...

     - I don’t care. Please let me see you. 

     - Are you demanding it? 

     - Yes. 

James didn’t light anymore candles, instead he merely pushed the curtains away, showing his figure to the goddess of beauty herself. A part of him died as her gaze immediately went to the arm which had been stolen to him while he had been asleep. He didn’t look the part, didn’t feel worth of even being looked at by her. No matter how much he’d missed her, and he had missed her, he wished she would’ve remained in Sparta for longer, long enough where he could’ve sorted the problem. 

     - Oh my love ... - there was no hiding from her. It was as if she was feeling every single emotion of his, her pink dress following her as she kneeled in the middle of his parted legs. 

Her hands cupped his face, her eyes filled with both sweetness for the man she love and ire as if she were ready to fight any negative ideas. Her touch alone was enough to lighten his spirits, but as he looked to the place where his missing limb should’ve laid, that guilty returned. Her thumb carefully rubbed his cheek in circles as she leaned up to kiss him. He swore he didn’t deserve it and she swore she was wicked by forsaking her own marriage bounds - but if it feel so right, how could it be wrong? She’s supposed to know better as the goddess of love, but she didn’t. None of them knew better. 

     - You could never taint my memory. - she whispered against his lips, her forehead against his. - I’m so sorry. 

     - I want to hold you. - his voice trembled as he attempted to wrap his arms around the woman he loved, but found himself unsuccessful. - I can’t ... I can’t hold you. 

     - I can. - she climbed on top of his lap, her arms wrapping around as much of him as she could. Her head leaned against what was left of his shoulder, trying to take as much memory from his as she could. - I can always hold you. 

She turned her head towards him, meeting his lips yet once more. It wasn’t angry or desperate like their other meetings had been, it was soft and filled with sadness as if they were to merely disintegrate in their own sorrow if they were to stop kissing. However, they eventually broke off the kiss, her eyes meeting his azure ones before she started to kiss down his neck.

He let out a soft groan as she paid particular attention to his sweet spot, her teeth softly nibbling and sucking at the spot as her hands made do of his linen clothing, pushing them away from his body. James was just stunning to her, the pure picture of beauty and sensuality all together - her hands ran down his torso, a path which her lips followed until she reached his Adonis’ belt. 

    - You don’t have to do that. - he spoke as her eyes looked up at him. 

    - I want to. Why don’t you let me worship you, this time?

He groaned as he felt her warm lips cross over his mound of hair and kiss down his erected dick which had became hard the moment she sat on his lap. She kissed down to his tip, her tongue flattening against it, collecting the salty pre cum on her tongue. Her eyes sparkled up, looking devilishly at him, the specimen of manly virility. 

    - Don’t ... don’t tease. - his voice broke as she licked a stripe up his cock, her hands foundling his balls. 

She took him in her mouth, his tip resting heavy against her tongue as she took him further. He threw his head back, an animalistic groan exiting his throat. She smirked, hollowing her cheeks around him. James swore he was in heaven as she took him further, her small hands gripping whatever didn’t fit past those beautiful rose coloured lips. 

    - Shit, Y/N ... fuck ... - his hand gripped the edge of the bed, not wanting to hurt her. He started to thrust in and out of her mouth, using her like his own toy as her soft lips rubbed against the texture of his cock.

He looked down at her, her eyes watering as she attempted to continue with her pace, her free hand gripping at his thigh and his nails racking down the toned, tanned skin. His movements turned animalistic as his hand moved from the edge of the bed to grip her hair.

   - Hm ... fuck! - he whined, his grip on her hair unforgivable as her moans vibrated against his cock. - Fuck, love ... my god ...

She knew he was close, his cock twitching as he came inside her mouth, his cum coating her tongue and tastebuds while some dripped down the side of her lips. She swallowed all she could, her thumb rubbing what laid her face and bringing it to her tongue before she climbed back in bed, her arms wrapped around him. 

   - We could run away. - she said in delirium. 

   - It’d never work. - he kissed her forehead. - Who would do your duties?

   - Hera. 

   - My mother can barely keep her marriage afloat. - that seemed to put a smile on her face. 

   - Then what do we do?

   - Every month we run to Sparta and forget of what’s ahead. 

   - Something’s ahead, isn’t it?

   - Don’t worry. - she cuddled against him. - We’ll worry when it comes. 

   - It’s gonna be bad isn’t it?

   - It’s gonna be disastrous, my goddess.

[longitud-de-onda]

deal - prologue

pairing; javier peña x reader warnings; heavy sexism, very toxic masculinity, alcohol, general douchebaggery  word count; 822 deal masterlist

The bar where most of the DEA hangs out after a long week is a seedy little place. A narrow plot of land, not too wide at any point but stretching far back. The lighting is dim and most of the chairs are sticky with dried beer and a number of substances the regular clientele doesn’t care to think about. It’s far from the best place in town, but the food is good and the bartenders even better. Plus the owner knows how to keep quiet about things.

The DEA likes to do their weekly destress at the very back, as far from the main entrance and close to the back alley exit as possible. 

Steve couldn’t come out with everyone tonight. Usually, he and Javier would sit together, avoiding the boisterous conversation and trying to forget the immoral things they’d done during the week. 

Tonight, however, Javier’s stuck with the DEA lackeys. Desk jobs, almost all of them. Real rude too. 

“...lovely ass walking down the street, bright red mini skirt. Called out at her from the parking lot, she completely ignored me. You know these Colombian girls, real sexy, all of ‘em, but real bitches too.” Tyler Phillips, the shortest guy in the department. One of the tallest egos. 

“Ty, ya know that’s ‘cause they’re all whores, won’t talk to you unless you’re paying good money.” Jesse Wilson. Knows how to tap a phone, but only monitors the calls that have something to do with extra-marital affairs. 

“Something Peña knows all about,” Tyler smirks. 

Five heads turn toward Javier, who, up until then, had been sitting back with his second bottle of beer stuck to his lips, not wanting to join the conversation.  

“You know they’re people too, right? Doesn’t do you any good to be talking about them like they’re below you,” Javier says, shaking his head.

“Come on, Peña,” Ken Cook says. Another communications guy. “We all know you’re fucking one of ‘em every night of the week. You can cut the feminist crap.”

“It’s not...” Javier trails off just as Carl Morgan pops into the conversation. 

“Say, have you all met the new secretary for the ambassador?”

“She’s real pretty, don’t you think?” Ken says. 

“Got those nice tits too,” says Billy Sullivan. 

“I’d love to knock boots with her,” drawls out Jesse. Javier’s known plenty of guys like him back in Laredo. Texas boys who think they know everything about anything. Thought he was leaving them behind on his way to Colombia. 

“I’ve already tried,” Tyler says, taking a drag of his cigarette. “She’s not gonna crack. Real prude.”

“Peña, ya’ seen her?” Billy asks. 

“Sure, couple times? What of it?” Javier was just thinking about leaving but now he glances up from his bottle, eyebrows raised. 

“I bet if anyone can bone her, it’d be you,” Billy says, smiling. 

“No way.” This was why Javier didn’t do these nights without Steve. 

“Come on, one hundred bucks says you can’t.” Tyler sets down his beer and leans back in the chair. 

“You said it yourselves, she’s not gonna crack,” Javier says, shaking his head. He doesn’t sleep with the women from the embassy. Especially the ones who don’t want the attention. 

“Didn’t take you as one to shy away from a woman, Peña,” Ken says. 

“I know how to choose my battles, and she ain’t worth it.” Javier downs the rest of his bottle before signaling to the bartender for another. 

“Fine, but she’s got an ass any guy would love to fuck. If you don’t want her, leave her to us,” Jesse says. 

“You’re missing out, Peña,” Billy says. 

“I bet she’s hiding even more curves under those skirts,” Carl says. 

Every guy at the table erupts in laughter, a cloud of happiness and horniness and a lot of something sinister. Every guy except Javier, who is now taking a swig of his third bottle as he scowls over everyone. 

“You know what?” Tyler says, voice loud enough to be heard by someone entering the bar. “Since Peña here’s not going for it, one hundred bucks to whoever sleeps with her first”

“A hundred? I’d do her for fifty.” Ken has just calmed down from the previous fit of laughter. He must have found something funny in the words he said, as he erupts again, bringing the rest of the boys with him in full body shouts. 

It’s interrupted by a loud bang. Javier is standing over them, his bottle firmly planted on the wooden table. 

“You know what? I’ve changed my mind.” There’s a dark look in his eyes. “You’ve got a deal. How long do I have?”

Tyler takes a moment to contemplate. “Two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” Billy exclaims, “Tyler, this is Peña we’re talking about.”

“You’re right,” Tyler says. “You’ve got one week to sleep with her. And I’ll double it if you don’t do it in one of your apartments.”

“Deal.”

taglists; (let me know if you want to be added, removed, or moved around)

perm taglist; @turquiosenights @el-lizzie​ @sparrows-books​ @dxxkxx​ @opheliaelysia​ @trashbin2​ @rzrcrst​ @arcadianempress​ @stevieharrrr​ @peterparkers-tingle​ @blushingwueen​ @coredrive​ @lokiaddicted​ @mserynlarsen​ @badassbaker​

pedro taglist; @pascalisthepunkest​ @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​

javier taglist; @letaliabane​ @awesomefandomsunited​

[pally1985]

closer look at the relationship between zues and aphrodite and athena. and why its deeper than you think.(part 1)

its going to be a long one so strap in.

why aphrodite?: Aphrodite was the goddess of erotic love and beauty. Today she is one of the best known goddesses and easily one of the most recognisable. Images such as Botticelli’s *The Birth of Venus* and statues like the *Venus de Milo* are some of the many iconic representations of Aphrodite. Her status as a goddess of love is well documented. Homer, Hesiod, and Euripides have all shown her to be a goddess of great beauty (naked or adorned), seduction, persuasion and passion. She is the divine source of *peitho*, "persuasion," *eros*, "sexual desire" and *himeros* "longing" and Eros was her companion. Hesiod links Aphrodite inextricably to sex with his account of her birth; from the sea where Ouranos’ castrated genitals had been discarded. Before researching this I thought Aphrodite’s remit was limited to love and seduction but there are other sides to Aphrodite that I feel have been a little neglected. Homer repeatedly calls her the Dios thugater (daughter of Zeus) which brings into light the relationship between the Homeric and Hesiodic Aphrodite and Zeus. Aphrodite was the goddess of mixis, the “mingling” of bodies in an intimate physical contact, in a martial and sexual sense. She could also be fiercely protective and brave at times, such as when she rescued Paris from the Battle of Troy. I want to discover why she called Aphrodite Pandemos “She who Belongs to all the People”. Was it because she encompassed so many ideas in one deity?. So it is because of these different and lesser known traits of this deity that I have decided to make this post solely focused on her. I want to explore the little known sides of Aphrodite and in doing so learn a more about her, her interactions with other figures from ancient Greek religion.

Zeus and aphrodite (part 1) In this entry I want to start analysing the relationship between Aphrodite and Zeus. Were they, father and daughter, aunt and nephew, oppressor and rebel or tease and pursuer? From Aphrodite’s birth and marriage, to Zeus’ fatherly instincts and attempted rape, I will look at different examples of the interactions looking into a very complicated relationship between two of the most significant Olympians.

The birth of Aphrodite is a contentious issue as Homer and Hesiod disagree; either she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione or she was created out of the sea where the castrated genitals of Ouranos had floated.

Hesiod believed that Aphrodite was Ouranos’ daughter albeit with an unusual birth. If so then it is understandable that Aphrodite would disobey Zeus over incidences such as her marriage to Hephaistos. She was of an older generation, effectively Zeus’ aunt and therefore not strictly under his control. If she was his daughter then her defiance whilst abnormal is a testament to how powerful she was.

The marriage of Aphrodite to Hephaistos, engineered by Zeus is a key example of Zeus’ power over Aphrodite and then her defiance succeeding. Zeus decided to marry Aphrodite to Hephaistos it was to prevent the desire for her causing conflict amongst the gods. As Aphrodite’s father, or at least as king of the god’s her *kurios,* it was his responsibility to marry her off but as the embodiment of sexual desire it was not in Aphrodite’s nature to be bound by marriage, she was not suitable for this institution. Aphrodite caused the conflict Zeus was trying to avoid when she and Ares were caught in bed. Hephaistos trapped them both in a net of bronze filaments and demanded that the gods come and bear witness to his wife’s lust for Ares. He also demanded that Zeus repay the dowry. According to Cyrino this is an example of Aphrodite being clearly under the parental control of Zeus but I disagree. The significance of this incident lies in the fact that Zeus tried to be in command of Aphrodite but ultimately she still overcame his demands and defied him. He attempted to oppress Aphrodite by making her conform to the norms of Olympian society by becoming a wife, the possession of one male but Aphrodite’s flagrant disobedience, bringing of conflict amongst the gods and subsequent apparent failure to remarry shows her continued dominance over Zeus.

There is no account of Aphrodite remarrying, it seems as though she had a substantial relationship with Ares but no actual wedding and judging by the number of children they had it was more than a casual affair. This would make sense, she was not suited to lifelong fidelity but that does not mean that sexual desire is fleeting; her affair with Ares was very in character. She was never suited to what Zeus had planned. Zeus also played the fatherly role when Aphrodite was hurt in the battle of Troy whilst rescuing Aeneas. Aphrodite’s wrist was wounded and she fled to Dione. Zeus “teasingly rebukes” her by calling her his “dear child” and patronizingly tells her to “take care of the pleasures of love and leave the fighting to Ares and Athena”. Despite seeming weak when running to her parents the fact that she even entered the battle shows her strength and bravery. Zeus displays a caring, fatherly side but his teasing highlights the fact that it would be dangerous for Aphrodite to have access to both love and warfare; she was powerful enough as it is. Jackson says that this scene can be interpreted as Zeus trying to keep Aphrodite away influence in love and war. When telling Aphrodite to take care of the pleasures of love Zeus may have been unaware just how powerful Aphrodite was in this respect. There are many examples of Aphrodite and her son Eros causing gods and mortals to fall in love, for example when Phaedra falls in love her stepson. Euripides describes Eros as her winged partner and her agent in her erotic control.Whether Eros and Aphrodite are active participants in the situation or not as personifications of love and sex they were always responsible for the feelings evoked. Cyrino says that it is the sheer force of Aphrodite’s existence that caused individuals to join together in sexual contact. In this respect all of Zeus’ extra-marital sexual encounters were a result of the force of Aphrodite. Zeus often had to prevent Hera from finding out about his affairs; hence taking disguises when meeting his partners. His desire to sleep with other individuals stems from Aphrodite; she was a major thorn in his side. Hera’s scorn and jealousy towards the children of these liaisons, Dionysus and Heracles for example was a result of Aphrodite’s effect. All the liaisons between deities (and mortals) inappropriate or not were due to Aphrodite. Her power was immense.

The sexual force emanating from Aphrodite made Zeus want to be with Thetis but either Themis or Prometheus told Zeus that a son born by Thetis would be more powerful than the father and would become the ruler of heaven. As a result Zeus arranged for Thetis to marry Peleus. Aphrodite made him desire Thetis, a deity that he could not have without risking his reign. An impossible love is a terrible emotion to feel, Aphrodite was unintentionally asserting herself over Zeus. Her power is making him have feelings that could never be acted upon or reciprocated; Thetis was raised by Hera and frowned upon Zeus’ infidelities. When Zeus united Aphrodite with mortal Anchises it was in response to her serial habit of uniting gods with mortals and then “mocking them all”\[ix\] This has been cited as an example of Zeus demonstrating his supremacy over Aphrodite and whilst he succeeded it does not mean that he was always superior to her. This is a rare occasion when Zeus gives Aphrodite a taste of her own medicine, but in mind this is an isolated incident; Aphrodite actively does this to other individuals regularly and inactively to individuals and animals constantly as she represents sexual desire.

Aphrodite also had enough force to make Zeus desire her. Greek poet, Nonnus, tells us in three fragments of his *Dionysiaca* about the time that Zeus tried to rape Aphrodite.

"once when Kypros \[Aphrodite\] fled like the wind from the pursuit of her lascivious father \[Zeus\], that she might not see an unhallowed bedfellow in her own begetter, Zeus the father gave up the chase and left the union unattempted, because unwilling Aphrodite was too fast and he could not catch her: instead of Kypros' bed, he dropt on the ground the love-shower of seed from the generative plow. Gaia (earth) received Kronion’s fruitful dew, and shot up a strange-looking horned generation \[the kentauroi or centaurs of the island of kypros\]."\[x\]

It is another example of her power over him that she could captivate his desires and then evade his attempts. Eventually when Aphrodite did allow an affair with Zeus Aphrodite became pregnant with the child Priapus.\[xi\] Kerenyi talks of Hera’s anger and jealousy due to Aphrodite pregnancy by her husband and she cursed the unborn Priapos to have unnaturally large genital and he was exiled from Olympus.\[xii\] When Priapus was conceived it was at the discretion of Aphrodite, when she deemed it suitable she then allowed them to sleep together. She teased him with no plan to satisfy him until she was prepared to do so. She was in control of the situation, not Zeus. The relationship between Zeus and Aphrodite is complex but there is another dimension. Zeus greatly favored Athena over Aphrodite she was the lynch pin in the maintenance of his tyranny and the attempted of dominance over Aphrodite. That I shall discuss in Part Two. closer look at the relationship between zues and aphrodite and athena. and why its deeper than you think.(part 2)

### Aphrodite and Zeus Part 2: The Athena Effect: In the last post I looked at the relationship between Zeus and Aphrodite from the starting perspective of them being father and daughter. Aphrodite was often disobedient and took pleasure in humiliating Zeus and many other deities and mortals, but she also posed a much greater threat to Zeus. Aphrodite instigated the Battle of Troy[i], she may have been of an older generation than Zeus and she had control of his sexual desires. However Zeus had a weapon against her; he used Athena who represented everything he could want in a male heir to undermine the fundamental tenets of Aphrodite’s existence. There was animosity between Athena and Aphrodite; at Troy they both supported different sides and Athena could be very scathing towards Aphrodite. After Diomedes wounded Aphrodite’s wrist and she ran to Dione, Athena and Hera taunted her for her efforts on the battlefield.

### “But Athene and Hera, as they looked upon her, sought to anger Zeus, son of Cronos, with mocking words. And among them the goddess flashing-eyed Athene was first to speak: “Father Zeus, wilt thou anywise be wroth with me for the word that I shall say? Of a surety now Cypris [Aphrodite] has been urging some one of the women of Achaea to follow after the Trojans, whom now she so wondrously loveth; and while stroking such a one of the fair-robed women of Achaea, she hath scratched upon her golden brooch her delicate hand.”[ii]

### The competition between them stems their similarities and thier differences. Both were famous for their beauty, hence why Paris had to choose between them. They both possessed a gleaming, golden quality to their beings. Homer records them both has having the attribute of glaukopis; darting or gleaming eyes. He also tells us of how Athena was one the few deities whom Aphrodite's powers had no effect on. Both goddesses have key roles with mortals, Aphrodite makes them mate (with gods also). Athena comes across as a sister and friend to mortals and assists them with powerful gifts and wise council.[v] The animosity arises from a difference of purpose; Athena was celebrated for her mind and wisdom, Aphrodite for her beauty and sensuality. It was also due to Zeus’ relationship with both of them that their animosity grew. The Zeus portrayed by Homer is not an omnipotent ruler; he still faced challenges to his office. Whilst Strauss Clay says that despite the occasional disturbance Zeus’ reign can “no longer be shaken”.[vi] Jackson rebuts that the majority of the divine action in the Iliad is made up of such challenges to his authority. After all if Homer had wanted to show Zeus’s authority as unchallenged then why would the Iliad feature so many subversive elements? Jackson argues that due to this instability Zeus needed someone to help instil order; that someone was Athena. His obvious favouritism of Athena was aimed at subduing Aphrodite. This conflict between him and Aphrodite also highlights the greater conflict between the Zeus and the other gods. Hesiod and Homer have different accounts of Aphrodite’s creation and whilst superficially the two Aphrodite’s appear very different they serve the same purpose relating to Zeus. The Aphrodite in Theogany similar to Athena in that they were both born of one male parent. This created a strong tie with each father; Athena with Zeus and Aphrodite with Ouranos. The place which the two deities sprung out of can also be linked to the characteristics surrounding the father’s reign and the daughter’s actions. Zeus gave birth to Athena out of his head, hence Athena was renowned for her wisdom and Zeus’ reign was “one of the mind”. Hesiod also describes Athena as having “courage and sound council equal to her father’s”[vii] Aphrodite was produced out of Ouranos’ genitals in a act of grotesque violence. In this respect Ouranos’ reign is one filled with “gross physicality”[viii] and Aphrodite is linked with sex and fertility. As Aphrodite was born out of the succession struggle between Ouranos and Kronos then she is linked with the succession process and therefore she poses a danger to Zeus’ reign.[ix]

### Aphrodite’s link with sex and therefore childbirth is a regular source of threat to Zeus. In Hesiod’s family trees he describes the women during conception as literally “dominated in love by golden Aphrodite”. She is inextricably linked with the birth of those who would later challenge Zeus for example Typhon who Zeus would have to engage in single combat to display his right to his throne.[x] When Zeus fell in love with Thetis (due to Aphrodite’s power) then she was setting him up to have a child that would bring instability to his reign. Involved in the conception of dangerous offspring Aphrodite often brings menace to Zeus’s rule. However Zeus’ reign was partly secured by Aphrodite; his repeated infidelity and the children it produced earned him the title of “father of gods and men”[xi]. This infidelity created a network of kin bound to Zeus through love and familial ties.[xii] This network that entrenched his reign stemmed from Aphrodite’s powers over promiscuity; Aphrodite helped establish his reign and Zeus feared she could just as easily demolish it.

### It is in relation to this threat that we must look at Athena again. The creation of Athena was Zeus’ master stroke in maintaining his reign. Both Ouranos and Kronos tried to maintain their reigns by imprisoning their children; Ouranos locked his children in Tartarus and Kronos ate his children, obviously both failing. The way Zeus managed to maintain his rule was by placing all the gifts that would so dangerous in a son (courage, wisdom, skilled hands) in a daughter: Athena.[xiii] She is all he could want in a trusted lieutenant but as a woman she could not assume the throne from him. And as a virgin goddess she could not continue the line of succession so she represented the end of the succession cycles. With the birth of Athena out of his head Zeus placeed the significance of thought (Athena) above the groin (Aphrodite). Still Aphrodite, with her children, and her link to the higher echelons of divine power posed a threat. Although it should be remembered that whilst Zeus may have feared her power; as a woman Aphrodite also could not have claimed the Olympian throne; it would have been one of her children. Thus Hesiod created Aphrodite to be the “other” in Zeus’s reign, always lurking and posing a subtle threat.

### The Homeric Aphrodite is just as dangerous and Zeus curbed Aphrodite’s influence by placing Athena at the front of his affections. In the Iliad Athena is obviously Zeus’ favourite; in Books 5 and 8 she wears his armour and in book 5 Ares accuses Zeus of ignoring Athena’s unruly behaviour. It is interesting that Ares would slight his father in this way; was this the action of a god jealous of his father’s attention on Athena or a god defending his lover Aphrodite? But Ares wasn’t the only jealous deity around; Athena prized her place as Zeus’ darling. When she believed Zeus favoured Thetis she claimed that “the day shall come when he shall again call me his flashing-eyed darling”[xiv] Athena’s jealousy would also lead her to become far more active in the story of the Iliad. Up until the beginning of Book 4 Aphrodite was one of the most active participants in the story, she instigated the war, saved Paris and persuaded Helen to reprimand Paris’ cowardice. It only took a slight mention from Zeus of Aphrodite’s achievements and Athena and Hera’s relative laziness to make Athena take over a prime divine role in the fighting; hence why several mortals prayed to her believing she would be the deity most likely to act for them.[xv] Zeus was being defensive; Athena could be as powerful as she liked but she could never usurp Zeus, Aphrodite was much more powerful and therefore needed to be limited. By placing Aphrodite’s power in the hands of Athena and trying to replace Aphrodite’s inappropriate contact with humans with Athena’s more demure approach Zeus belittled Aphrodite’s power. By championing Athena’s powers of thought over Aphrodite’s powers over the groin Zeus is distancing himself from his father and grandfather and stopping the cycles of succession. By defending Aphrodite from Athena’s mocking, and then teasing Aphrodite when she is wounded, Zeus brings her into the family and places her under his control. It is through the relations with Athena, Zeus’ greatest weapon that he manages to keep Aphrodite a subtle threat, but still a threat to be wary of. Aphrodite is predominantly a goddess of love but despite the best efforts of Zeus to keep her away from influencing warfare there are many strong links between the spheres of love and war under Aphrodite. She might not have been as war hungry as Ares but there is evidence to suggest she did not do as Zeus told her and just “take care of the pleasures of love and leave the fighting to Ares and Athena”.Aphrodite is the goddess of mixis. Cyrino defines this as “the blending of bodies in intimate physical contact, both sexual and martial.[ii] Her birth shows the martial future she had”. The remarkable act of violence which created her[iii] embodies the violence and antagonism which the ancient Greek poets linked with the intensity of human sexuality.[iv] It also linked her from the beginning of her existence to violence and power struggles. In the Iliad she was the first point of intimate contact between mortals and gods, when saving Aeneas from the battle. She was also the first god to be wounded by a mortal in battle which led other deities to engage in further god-mortal combat, for example Ares and Diomedes.It must be asked how Aphrodite could be comfortable entering a battle. When rescuing Aeneas and Paris is it her passion as a goddess of love that gives her the strength to enter a battle. There are many literary examples of Aphrodite being a goddess not of war but linked to war. In Book Five of the Iliad she rides Ares’ war chariot back to Olympus, in Book 21 she helps Ares away from the battle when wounded[vi], she was married to Hephaistos; maker of weapons and armour and most importantly she was the instigator of the most famous military battle in Greek mythology.[vii] As a result Aphrodite is also responsible for all the honour that is bestowed upon the gods and heroes who fought.[viii] Regardless of whether Aphrodite was actively part of the fighting or not the emotion she embodied was inspiration enough for many fighters to bear arms.[ix]

### Aphrodite’s golden quality is most often associated with objects of power and prestige for example armour, breast plates and spear rings.[xi] Other divine objects with this quality were Zeus’ scales, Apollo’s aegis and Athena’s armour. Instead of being a quality just of beauty it is also one of power, it is another embodiment of mixis. There were physical monuments erected to the war-like Aphrodite. In the 2nd century AD Pausanius mentions the existence of “armed” (hoplismenē) statues of Aphrodite. She may have acquired a militarised personality in Sparta where there was a temple to Aphrodite Aria. This temple suggests that Aphrodite was worshiped as a warrior herself or as a mixis between her and her lover Ares.[xii] It must also not be forgotten that two of Aphrodite and Ares’ children were his followers representing fear (Phobos) and terror (Deimos) she must have had war-like attributes to produce children like them.

### The Aphrodite Hoplismenē may not have been worshiped by the majority but her embodiment of mixis, her relationship with Ares, her instigation of Troy and her bravery in battle all point to her being a goddess of war but with a twist on it. It is a mark of her power that even though she may not have shouldered a weapon like Artemis or Athena that she still caused and actively participated in the greatest war in Greek mythology. Jackson believes that Hera is using Aphrodite’s seductive power to subdue Zeus in order that the other gods could fight unhindered and give advantage to the Greeks in battle. Hera asks Aphrodite if she can borrow the “ornate sash” which contains Aphrodite’s powers of desire and seduction because she wants to unite the quarrelling Tethys and Okeanos. But Hera had “every intention to deceive”[iii]; she used Aphrodite’s power on Zeus giving Poseidon the chance to assist the Argives in bettering the Trojans. Jackson states that whilst this scene recognises Aphrodite’s “awesome power”[iv] it also removes Aphrodite’s power from her control then turns it against Aphrodite and her beloved Trojans. Jackson’s Aphrodite is naive and is easily depowered by Hera.I however believe that Aphrodite knew exactly what she was doing and allowed Hera to use her power to seduce Zeus so that she could gain the upper hand over both of them. Zeus had forbidden the gods to intervene in the Trojan War and it was a strain for the gods to obey. By helping Hera distract Zeus it left the gods open to completely rebel against his rule.But Aphrodite would have also liked getting one over Hera. Relations between them were often hostile for example Hera (with Athena) mocked Aphrodite’s efforts in battle[vii] After Aphrodite fell pregnant by Zeus Hera cursed the unborn Priapus resulting in him being born with unnaturally large genitals leaving him exiled from Olympus. Whilst Aphrodite favoured the Trojans and would do almost anything for them, her pride was more important. Hera had been antagonistic so Aphrodite would have relished the chance to be superior. Aphrodite was a powerful goddess and would have liked that both she and Hera would have known Hera was subordinate to Aphrodite on this occasion.Cyrino introduces the reader to the idea of  Aphrodite embodying the concept of Mixis.  She claims that Aphrodite represents the “blending of bodies in intimate physical contact, both sexual and martial”.[i] Mawr states that in Cyrino overuses of the word mixis and “weakens its effective usefulness as an interpretive tool.[ii]  But I believe that mixis is the starting point to view Aphrodite as a binary goddess linked to many opposites; sea and sky and love and war are the most obvious.Not only is she a goddess of female sexuality but in uniting male and female individuals she encompasses both their sexual ideals. The individuals that she unites were of course not just mortals, any combination of god, titan, nymph or mortal could be united under Aphrodite’s power, either in sex or combat. She was a wife and an adulteress. She has a dual parenthood, in one account she is the offspring of Ouranos alone[iii] in the other she has two parents, Zeus and Dione.[iv] Aphrodite also represented the struggle between the desires of the mind and the groin in her competition for superiority over Athena and to a large extent Zeus. In this competition she also represents the clash between what was expected of a male and female deity.

I interpret Aphrodite’s capacity to represent so many opposites as one of her greatest strengths. Mawr might disagree with Cyrino and say that Aphrodite was not one of the most widely worshiped deities in Ancient Greece\[v\] but I agree with Cyrino. I believe that in some places she received the epithet P*andēmos* meaning “she who belongs to all the people”\[vi\] because with the multitude of different notions that she embodied or were related to her how could she be anything but belonging to all the people?

[ibijau]

Burn it down AU // on AO3 // extras on AO3

His secrets discovered, Jin Guangyao pleads his case. And when everything is over, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have a much needed chat.

Warning for character death

The instant Qin Su’s scream finished ringing in the air, footsteps starting to come running in their direction, shouting for their mistress and asking what was wrong. The young woman looked around as if in a panic before grabbing Wei Wuxian and shoving him inside the mirror chamber. This left Lan Wangji no choice but to quickly follow him inside, which Qin Su did not try to prevent.

They stumbled onto a dark room that instantly illuminated the moment they stepped inside, the oil lamps kept there igniting on their own. It was filled with cabinets, and shelves covered in papers, as well as less pleasant things such as torture instruments. Since it wasn’t too dark inside, Lan Wangji was able to see perfectly well that Wei Wuxian looked extremely puzzled, enough so it showed through his disguise. He shared the feeling.

“Do you think he lied to her?” Wei Wuxian asked. “About the Jin blood thing?”

“Hm.” Lan Wangji nodded, hoping that was the case, though he wouldn’t be surprised if there was another explanation. The Jins had never taken marital vows quite as seriously as some other sects did, since they had the money to buy their way out of most scandals. An affair could have happened at any point during the ancestry of Qin Su. Hopefully, at a very far away point. And yet, considering Jin Guangshan’s reputation, and the late Madam Qin’s beauty…

An unpleasant train of thought that Lan Wangji refused to consider at the moment.

Wei Wuxian must have reached a similar conclusion. He grimaced briefly before turning to look at the nearest cabinet, peering curiously.

“Well, we made it here, in the end. Lan Zhan, let’s just look around? I don’t know what’s up with the young Madam Jin, so let’s see if we can get the things we came for, in case she decides to call her husband and we need to run.”

The idea seemed reasonable, so Lan Wangji could make no objections. Even if he had wanted to, it was too late: Wei Wuxian was already walking around the room without any caution. Lan Wangji sighed, though he could not have said whether in fondness or frustration, and followed the other man.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Wei Wuxian grumbled, looking at some loose sheets of paper on a shelf. “I recognise my writing! Those are my notes on raising Wen Ning from the dead, why are they here? I’d have thought everything would have been destroyed.”

“Lanling Jin gathered many of Wei Ying’s possessions,” Lan Wangji explained. “For safekeeping.”

“And then they let people like Xue Yang and little Mo Xuanyu play with those. And I guess it’s also thanks to them that everyone seems to have a compass of evil these days? Eh, if there’s a profit to be had, Lanling Jin is never far behind. Hm? And what’s in there, you think?”

There meant a large cabinet taller than Lan Wangji and a little wider than him as well. It looked at odds with the other items in the room, being obviously made to be sturdy rather than pleasant to look at. It bore the marks of blows and had been slashed at, or perhaps clawed at. Considering the pattern of attack of Nie Mingjue’s corpse, it caught Lan Wangji’s attention as well. One hand on Bichen and ready to draw it out if needed, he stepped closer as Wei Wuxian opened the cabinet.

They both gasped at what they found inside: a man, younger than Lan Wangji, too pale to be alive, with long, wild hair, and restrained by heavy chains around his body. Although he looked at them when the door opened, there was no curiosity in his eyes, no anger, only bleak emptiness.

“Wen Ning!” Wei Wuxian cried out, reaching for the fierce corpse’s chained hands. “Wen Ning what did they do to… wait, but you’re supposed to have been burned? Hey, Wen Ning, say something? What did they cut your tongue?”

Wei Wuxian’s alarm rose the longer Wen Ning remained silent. The fierce corpse was not making any efforts to free himself even now that help had come, making no movement though his eyes were tracking every gesture Wei Wuxian made. It made a shiver run down Lan Wangji’s spine to notice this single trace of Wen Ning left. The Ghost General had always been drawn to Wei Wuxian like a flower to the sun, and it seemed to be true even when his master had changed so drastically, a frail boy now instead of a wasting man. Or perhaps it had nothing to do with Wei Wuxian, perhaps Wen Ning recognised Mo Xuanyu, or he always looked at everyone that way, in this odd state he was in.

“They must have done something to him!” Wei Wuxian said. “It’s not normal, he shouldn’t be like this, he… Lan Zhan, did you know about this?”

The reproach in his voice stung, though considering the circumstances, Lan Wangji could understand the accusation.

"I did not know," he promised. "We all thought him destroyed." He paused, and frowned. "Xue Yang must have known."

Wei Wuxian's shoulder relaxed ever so slightly. His trust soothed the sting that his moment of doubt caused.

"Little bastard," Wei Wuxian grumbled between clenched teeth. "He knew we'd find him. I wonder… Lan Zhan, keep looking around for Chifeng-Zun's head, I'll see if I can do something for Wen Ning. This isn't… He shouldn't be like this." 

"Wei Ying, be careful." 

"I'm always careful," Wei Wuxian replied, which had to be the worst lie Lan Wangji had ever heard in his life, but he let it pass. It wasn't that big of a room, if Wen Ning attacked, he'd be there in an instant to protect Wei Wuxian. 

On one side of the room, Lan Wangji noticed a small desk. Right in front of it was another cabinet, this one covered with a dark, heavy curtain. After another look toward Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji lifted the fabric and gasped lightly in shock at the sight of Nie Mingjue's head. 

After what had happened to the rest of his brother-in-law's body, perhaps Lan Wangji should have expected that even his head would be desecrated in some way. Still, to find it bound and gagged, its eyes and ears covered as if it were a vicious beast rather than the remains of a man, and then positioned in such a way that whoever worked at that desk could gaze upon it and gloat over their victory… 

Lan Wangji was glad that Nie Huaisang wasn't there with them. A sight like that one might have sent him back to the state he was in when he made Mo Xuanyu kill himself. 

With as much gentleness and respect as he could, Lan Wangji took the head from that cabinet, and walked back to Wei Wuxian. The other man didn't notice at first, still too focused on Wen Ning. He only turned when Lan Wangji called his name, and let out a noise of disgust. 

"That Lianfang-Zun holds a pretty mean grudge, uh?" Wei Wuxian commented. "That or the head was just as drenched in resentment as the rest of the body, and someone had to work hard to suppress it."

Lan Wangji nodded. Even just holding it, he could feel Nie Mingjue's rage seeping through the restraints. It would not be easy to put him to rest after everything was over. He had been an extraordinary cultivator in life, and even in death he might prove a challenging opponent. 

Before Lan Wangji could point out this worry of his, ripples appeared on the bronze mirror, and Qin Su joined them, looking a little more composed once more, though not for long. 

Her eyes jumped between them, Lan Wangji holding the desecrated head of an old family friend, Wei Wuxian standing next to the fierce corpse of a long destroyed enemy. At first Lan Wangji feared she would scream again, but though she turned pale and trembled, Qin Su kept her calm. 

"Is this what you came here for?" she asked Lan Wangji, looking him in the eyes to avoid the sight of what he held. "This is… Is this who I think?" 

"Chifeng-Zun and the Ghost General," Lan Wangji confirmed. 

Qin Su had to move close to a wall to support herself, her face growing paler still. 

"Chifeng-Zun… Are you here to accuse my husband of killing him?" 

"You are jumping to that conclusion very quickly," Wei Wuxian noted, abandoning his friend a moment. "Madam Jin, could it be you have suspicions?" 

She shook her head, leaning harder against the wall. 

"They had arguments, but my husband was working on a reconciliation. He went to the Unclean Realm so often, even when I was expecting… Hanguang-Jun, my husband is not that sort of person. He is not a murderer. He owed Chifeng-Zun so much, how could he ever do this? But this… "

Her gaze darted toward the head in Lan Wangji's hands. She shivered and closed her eyes with a faint whimper. 

"It can't be. He goes in this room often, he couldn't have ignored that… Hanguang-jun, did he really do this?" 

Lan Wangji nodded grimly. 

"We have a witness, and other proof," Wei Wuxian added. "This was the last missing piece of the puzzle. I assume you didn't know?" 

Qin Su shook her head again, and let herself slide down on her knees, trembling too much to stand. 

"If I had known… I would have told my father, he would have known what to do. I just cannot believe… A-Yao isn't like that, he's a good man. He can't have done this. Hanguang-Jun, is it certain?" 

"It is," Lan Wangji replied, feeling a twinge of pity for Qin Su when she broke into tears.

While she cried, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji exchanged a long look, silently wondering what to do next. 

"I'll get Nie-xiong, and he'll get Zewu-Jun while I keep an eye on the children," Wei Wuxian offered. "It's probably better if they're kept away from this, and I don't think I have much more insight to offer on this matter, eh?" 

It seemed the safest plan. They couldn't both leave, in case Jin Guangyao came back and tried to destroy the evidence. It would also have been unwise for Wei Wuxian to stay behind, since Qin Su might have decided to destroy evidence to protect her husband, and Wei Wuxian's new body wouldn't have had the strength to oppose her. 

Still, Lan Wangji remained restless until, after a long while, Nie Huaisang and Lan Xichen entered the secret room along with Jin Guangyao and some other high ranking Jin cultivators. 

Jin Guangyao took one look at his still kneeling wife whose eyes were throwing daggers, at Lan Wangji holding the head of Nie Mingjue, at the impassive Ghost General. He grabbed Lan Xichen's sleeve, and let his expression turn to one of deep anguish. 

"Er-ge, I swear I can explain." 

-

Jin Guangyao did explain, and most of his story roughly coincided with what Lan Wangji, Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian had discovered while investigating the murder. When he claimed that his father had forced him to conduct the murder, Lan Wangji felt unsurprised, and he suspected that the Jin elders present were nowhere near as shocked as they pretended to be.

"Father would have thrown me out of the sect," Jin Guangyao explained with tears in his eyes, still turning again and again toward Lan Xichen, clearly aiming to get his sworn brother to protect him. "I was stuck between my father's threats and Da-ge's refusal to make any compromise… Er-ge, you know how hard I tried to act as a bridge between them, but something had to give. With a choice like this, what man would I have been if I didn't side with my own father?"

"A righteous one," Lan Xichen replied. "You really never understood Da-ge at all if you think he wouldn't have helped you, had you told him your father's orders. You wouldn't have been a Jin anymore, but you would have been a good man, a good friend." 

Sensing that no help would come from there, Jin Guangyao thought to appeal to Nie Huaisang instead. 

Since stepping into that secret chamber, Nie Huaisang had stayed close to Lan Xichen, leaning against his side while his lover had an arm wrapped around his back to support him. Whether it was his usual act or true vulnerability and exhaustion, Lan Wangji could not have said. Either way, it changed the instant he felt Jin Guangyao’s eyes on him. Immediately Nie Huaisang's spine became straighter. He stepped away from Lan Xichen to stand on his own and glared down at the man who had taken so much from him, silently challenging him to dare appeal to his mercy. Radiating such immense rage, Nie Huaisang looked more like his brother than he ever had before. 

Jin Guangyao quickly cast down his eyes, stunned for a second into silence by the man he had always treated with benevolent condescension. Realising that his former friends were resolutely against him, Jin Guangyao changed strategy and turned his attention to the Jin elders. 

It was likely that some of them had a dirty conscience, and that Jin Guangyao knew some of their secrets. There could be no other reason why they were so willing to let him shift the blame on Jin Guangshan, no longer here to defend himself, and on Xue Yang, who he boldly accused of coming up with that plan. 

"We can ask him about that," Nie Huaisang interrupted with a sharp smile he quickly hid behind a fan. "We have Xue Yang, alive and well."

The news startled not only Jin Guangyao, but also some of the other elders present. To Lan Wangji, it confirmed that their Chief Cultivator and his father probably had accomplices, even if those men might not have been privy to all their plans. 

"Huaisang, what did Xue Chengmei tell you exactly?" Jin Guangyao asked with a sympathetic smile. "You realise he is not a very trustworthy source, don't you? What happened, this situation… It's really more complicated than you realise."

Nie Huaisang shrugged behind his fan, and looked around the chamber, taking in all of his former friend's secrets. 

"I actually think it's a very simple situation," he said. "And I'm going to offer a very simple solution." He turned to the Jin elders and lowered his fan. "I want Jin Guangyao's head within the week, or it's war. I also want all the contents of this chamber as blood price for my brother’s murder, including the Ghost General and other possessions of Wei Wuxian."

Jin Guangyao paled at the demand, while the Jin elders started whispering urgently between themselves. 

"Huaisang, you can't mean that," Jin Guangyao pleaded in a weak voice. "Please, I'll go into exile, I'll…" 

Ignoring him, Nie Huaisang crossed the distance to Lan Wangji and silently took back his brother's head. His hands were shaking badly as he did so, but his face remained perfectly impassive while he cradled the severed head in his arms. 

"Count yourself lucky I'm only asking for your head, San-ge," Nie Huaisang lightly said, his eyes on his brother's head as he gently tucked some stray hair behind its ear. "I could demand a lot more, I'd have law and tradition on my side. You have a wife and a son, you had accomplices… But they all get to live, as long as you die. As for the other price I ask for, I think it is a light one."

"Sect Leader Nie, we don't even know what's in this chamber," one Jin elder mildly protested. "To ask for its contents is…" 

"It is not my problem if you people have been kept in the dark by your sect leaders," Nie Huaisang snapped, holding the head tighter against his chest. "Again, consider the alternative. And consider also that if you do not let me have this, Sandu Shengshou will hear about the contents of this room. Do you wish to deal with him rather than me?”

Although Yunmeng Jiang was still not back to its full power, the reputation of it sect leader was such that a few of the elders immediately appeared to make their decision. The contents of this secret chamber were worth a fortune to be sure, even more so than they all realised since Nie Huaisang would have access to Wei Wuxian himself to make sense of it all if he deemed it necessary… but nothing could be worth making an enemy out of Jiang Cheng. Even for Nie Huaisang it was a risk, but he’d proven before that he knew how to placate his old friend.

That, or he intended to destroy the whole lot anyway, save for whatever Wei Wuxian might ask to have back, because it was to protect their own demonic cultivator that Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao had killed his brother.

Even after all this time, Lan Wangji still couldn’t figure out what his husband thought sometimes.

Jin Guangyao, feeling the wind turning decisively against him, turned once more to Lan Xichen and fell to his knees before his sworn brother.

“Er-ge, please, have mercy. The crimes that have been committed were not all my own doing, and I was never more than the sword others held. Will I really be the only one to pay for what happened? Those who profited from it, those who closed their eyes, will they really go unpunished, simply because I am the easier target for your hatred? I know I have hurt others, Er-ge, but I have always done everything I could to help you! I saved your life once, will you truly not return the favour?”

Seeing him pleading in such a pathetic manner, Lan Xichen appeared to be moved. He looked at Nie Huaisang, as if ready to suggest that a more lenient sentence might be offered, but kept silent when their eyes met. 

He could have asked anything of Nie Huaisang and his lover would have tried to give it to him… anything, but not this. Nie Huaisang, engulfed once more in his righteous fury, would have broken up without hesitation with the lover he had so patiently waited for, rather than to give up on seeing his brother’s murdered dead.

“You gave up the right to ask for favours when you made me an accomplice of your crimes,” Lan Xichen told Jin Guangyao with a sigh, “and when those crimes took the life of a man I thought we both loved as a brother. It is Sect Leader Nie’s right to decide how he wants justice to be conducted in this matter. Appeal to him for mercy, if you dare.”

Hesitantly, his shoulders hunched, Jin Guangyao turned his head to glance at Nie Huaisang, still cradling the head of his brother. Jin Guangyao had a thick face and could argue black into white, but under that rageful glare he could only hang his head in defeat. 

"Then let it be so," he sighed. "If I must die by any hand, let it be yours." 

-

Although the Jin argued and begged, in the end they agreed to the guilt of their sect leader, and bent to the demands of Nie Huaisang. It helped, probably, that Nie Huaisang had sent an urgent message to Qinghe so his brother's sabre would be brought to him. Baxia arrived only the day after, and with it in hand, Nie Huaisang personally guarded the cell in which Jin Guangyao was kept. He did not want the murderer to be set free, he explained, and he did not trust anyone in Lanling Jin. 

The only visitor Jin Guangyao had during that time was his own wife. What they said to each other was never revealed, but Qin Su was visibly upset when she returned from that visit, and immediately announced that she was returning to her father's sect with her son. She declined to wait until it was decided whether her husband would live or die. 

"He has done what he has done," she stated. "I no longer care for his fate. My parents were right to be against this union, and I only wish I had listened to my mother." 

This rejection from a previously devoted wife had pushed a few more elders in the camp in favour of execution, though not as much as the testimony of Nie Mingjue himself. 

It took days of constant effort for Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen and Wei Wuxian to repair the damages done to Nie Mingjue’s body and soul. Wei Wuxian had not even been sure it would be possible, and noted that if Nie Mingjue had been left in that horrific state a few years longer, nothing could have been done for him. 

His soul stabilised, Nie Mingjue's spirit was made to explain what had happened to him. The living might have lied, but the dead were known to be truthful, and this sealed the case. 

Jin Guangyao would die. 

The manner of his death brought new questions and he was brought into the council room while the matter was discussed. The Jins were loath to handle it themselves, since it could have passed as an act of rebellion against their sect leader.

Jin Guangyao, in a shocking move, requested that his execution be handled by Lan Xichen, stating there was no one else he trusted so much with making his end a quick and painless one. Lan Wangji almost offered to do it himself instead, to spare his brother from this torture. Before he could say anything on that matter, Nie Huaisang started laughing, bringing everyone's attention to himself. 

"I asked for his head, and I'll get it myself," he announced, carelessly petting Baxia's handle, which he still hadn't let go of since it was brought to him. "It is my duty as the leader of Qinghe Nie. And that way, you still get to be killed by a friend, San-ge. Isn't that a nice compromise?" 

Jin Guangyao paled, but gave up on trying to negotiate for himself. 

He died the next day, at Nie Huaisang's hand. 

In public, Nie Huaisang showed no more emotion than if he had beheaded a chicken. In private, with his husband and his lover, he broke into tears. Whatever else had come to pass between them, Jin Guangyao had once been one of his favourite friends. Even Wei Wuxian, who until then had clung to a certain resentment on behalf of Mo Xuanyu, could only pity his old friend. 

With this problem over, the four of them were asked to leave Carp Tower at their earliest convenience so the Jin could decide who would take over their sect until Jin Rulan came of age. They were only too happy to comply. Nie Huaisang, escorted by some of his disciples who had rushed there, headed back to the Unclean Realm with a cart heavy from the contents of that secret chamber. Hidden from view, Wen Ning was going there as well. Although Wei Wuxian had managed to undo the harm caused upon him by Xue Yang, he'd been forced to admit that Nie Huaisang had a better chance than him to keep Wen Ning safe for the time being. The Unclean Realm was a fortress against which even Jiang Cheng's rage would be powerless.

"We will visit him," Lan Wangji promised as they watched the Nies leave. "He is family." 

"Well, yeah, he's A-Yuan's cousin," Wei Wuxian replied. "Are you fine with him reconnecting with his Wen origins, though ?" 

Lan Wangji wasn't comfortable with it, but this wasn't about him. Wei Wuxian had once cared for Wen Ning's people so much that he had given up on everything else. As for A-Yuan, he deserved to have as full a family as possible. Already, it was going to be difficult for him to learn that the new friends he had only just made would probably never get to play with him again, since the relationship between their sects promised be tense in the future. Hopefully, getting a new cousin would mitigate that somewhat.

“He is family,” Lan Wangji repeated, a little more firmly.

It had to have been the right thing to say. Wei Wuxian smiled at him as if Lan Wangji had offered him the moon, rather than just accepted a very reasonable request regarding their son.

-

It was good to be back in the Cloud Recesses. A-Yuan, who for safety had been sent back there right after Jin Guangyao had been exposed, was beyond happy to have his family back with him, though he expressed disappointment that Nie Huaisang had returned directly to Qinghe.

“I know Nie-ge has his sect and he’s so busy, but it was nice when everyone was here together,” he sighed.

“We’ll be together again,” Lan Wangji promised.

It would be easier in the future, without the threat of Jin Guangyao forcing them to be careful. Nie Huaisang wouldn’t be so scared about letting them visit, and they would be able to stay longer in the Unclean Realm. Lan Wangji wondered if Wei Wuxian would want to help Nie Huaisang and A-Yuan with their vegetable patch, if he’d offer advice and kneel down in the dirt with them while Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen stood to the side and watched the men they loved having fun in the sun. Just the thought of it made his heart go soft.

Those happy moments would have to wait. For now, there was still some distasteful business to take care of. While Wei Wuxian went to the Jingshi with A-Yuan, Lan Wangji and his brother had a meeting with their uncle and the Lan elders to give a detailed account of what had happened in Carp Tower. Most of the elders were shocked at hearing of Jin Guangyao’s crimes, and even more so when told that Nie Huaisang had demanded his death and acted as executioner, going against the image they had of him. They were also very unhappy to hear the fate that Nie Huaisang and the Lan brothers had settled on for Xue Yang.

“Just cutting his dominant hand and sending him in exile, isn’t that too risky?” one of them objected. “That boy is a demon, what if he decides to take revenge on us? After what he did to the Yueyang Chan sect…”

“We are rather stronger than they were,” Lan Xichen noted calmly. “And these actions of his were undertaken with a copy of the Tiger Seal which he no longer owns, under the protection of Lanling Jin which he has lost. I will not say he is not dangerous, and I cannot say either that I am fully happy with setting him free when he caused so much damage. But he was promised mercy for his help, and keeping him imprisoned is not a long term solution. Someone like him would find a way to escape sooner or later.”

It caused a long debate, with some of the elders wondering if they really should consider themselves bound by that promise to a murderer. Lan Xichen held strong, though Lan Wangji knew he probably wanted to see Xue Yang dead more than the rest of them, since it was his actions and the need to protect him that had pushed Jin Guangshan into ordering the death of Nie Mingjue. Still, a deal was a deal, and Gusu Lan had always kept to its word. Lan Qiren supported his nephew, and so the sect leader’s decision had to be accepted.

After that unpleasant council, Lan Wangji decided to head for the kitchen. Wei Wuxian and him had agreed that it would be nice to have dinner in the Jingshi with A-Yuan so they could enjoy a little quiet after their difficult time in Carp Tower. To make this more pleasant, Lan Wangji set out to prepare some dishes that would be more to Wei Wuxian’s taste. He’d found out in recent times that he enjoyed cooking, not simply because it made Wei Wuxian happy, but because it was relaxing and gave him time to think.

And he certainly needed to think. It had always been clear to him that Wei Wuxian was there only until the situation with Jin Guangyao was resolved. Since it was now done, Lan Wangji had no idea what the future held for him, A-Yuan, and Wei Wuxian. He had fantasies of a perfect life with his son and the man he loved, yet wasn't foolish enough to think that would come true. So far Wei Wuxian hadn’t said a word that might hint he would leave with A-Yuan and never return, but Lan Wangji doubted he would be comfortable staying in the Cloud Recesses. After all, he had always made it very clear he did not like the place, even if he had been less vocal about it in this new life. So, they would have to discuss his future plans, perhaps not that very night, but soon.

Once their meal was ready, Lan Wangji returned to the Jingshi. There he found the man he loved playing with their son, the two of them laughing together. The future was uncertain, but it probably wouldn’t be bad.

It was a very pleasant evening. Dinner was good, and they chatted a long while after, until it was time for A-Yuan to go to sleep. Wei Wuxian was the one to read a story with him that night, while Lan Wangji cleaned and tidied the table. Without really talking about it, the two adults then went to sit on the porch to enjoy the cool air and the starry sky. After such animation in recent times, it was pleasant to have a little quiet. Even Wei Wuxian seemed a little more subdued than usual and kept silent for a while.

He still was the one to speak first, of course.

“Lan Zhan, tonight… did you cook all that?” he asked.

“Some of it. Wei Ying doesn’t like Gusu Lan food.”

Wei Wuxian smiled with a small sigh, looking up at the moon.

“Ah, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan… you’re really something else.”

This could, and perhaps should, have been the end of that conversation, but Wei Wuxian appeared to be in a chatty mood after all.

“You know, I’ve had a few talks with Nie-xiong lately,” he announced. “And he had the guts to scold me for some things. He seemed to think it particularly important that I tell you that, about my past life… there’s a lot I don’t remember very well. I’ve never been one to remember things that don’t matter to me, but concerning the time after I went to live in the Burial Mounds… there’s really a lot I’ve forgotten. And anything that happened after shijie died? That’s a complete blank.”

“Complete?” Lan Wangji repeated.

Wei Wuxian nodded with a small grimace, and laughed.

“I don’t even know how I made it out of Nightless City that time,” he claimed, nervously brushing his finger on his nose. “Using the Tiger Seal really took a lot out of me, so by all accounts I should have just fallen to the ground and been captured by whoever was still standing… but I guess I must have had some strength left, if I made it back to Yiling. Still, that was… Lan Zhan, are you unwell?”

Not trusting his voice, Lan Wangji only nodded as relief overcame him. If Wei Wuxian didn’t remember anything that had happened after Nightless City, then things could remain good between them. Without his unwanted confession, they could continue being friends. It explained also why Wei Wuxian was so comfortable around him, having no idea that Lan Wangji was foolish enough to want more than his friend was willing to give.

For a moment Wei Wuxian frowned, appearing almost concerned. He then looked away and laughed lightly.

“Lan Zhan, so it was really bothering you that my memory is this bad, eh? I see why Nie xiong was so insistent that I tell you. And, you know, it’s not the only thing we chatted about.”

“What else?” Lan Wangji asked, feeling at peace in a way he hadn’t been in too long.

“Well, the other thing is your fault,” Wei Wuxian explained. “Remember that day when we saw Nie-xiong and Zewu-Jun kiss?” he rolled his eyes, as if still upset by that perceived betrayal, no matter how welcome it had been for Lan Wangji. “And after, you said it was fine because Nie-xiong and you had already discussed this, and that you both knew you were in love with other people when you married.”

That precious sense of peace evaporated in an instant, leaving only dread. Wei Wuxian, who wasn’t looking at Lan Wangji, didn’t notice the way he tensed and continued on.

“Since you didn’t want to tell me who it was, I had to ask Nie-xiong. I’m a curious person, and I really wanted to know who could have captured the heart of the mighty Hanguang-Jun, ahah! But Nie-xiong… well, you know him. He won’t say things plainly if he can make a mystery of it. He thinks it makes him cool or something. So he told me that yes there’s a person, and yes he knows who it is, but he wouldn’t tell me their name.”

Lan Wangji breathed again. He might buy his husband a new fan to thank him for keeping that secret, or offer to take over his brother’s duty a little bit so Lan Xichen could go visit the Unclean Realm for a month or two.

“He did give me some hints though,” Wei Wuxian added.

Lan Wangji pinched his lips, and retracted the good deeds he’d just wanted to do for Nie Huaisang.

“Nie-xiong said that you are very devoted to this person, and you trust them more than anyone else does, but you’ve also had some big arguments with them in the past because you couldn’t understand some of their choices. Which I thought was funny, because Lan Zhan isn’t the sort to have fights. If someone annoys you, you’re more likely to just ignore them, right? Aside from me, I’ve never seen you get really angry at anyone… but I’m good at pissing off people, so I figured that’s different. Then Nie-xiong told me that even if you act so cool and distant, you’re really just a big sap!”

Lan Wangji huffed quietly. Nie Huaisang was going to pay for this.

“So Nie-xiong said that it’d be easy to guess who you loved, because you are always spoiling that person, buying them anything they want, letting them break any rule that pleases them when they're in the Cloud Recesses. He said also that you’re always looking at them if they’re nearby, and always ready to protect them even if they’re in the wrong. And I thought… really, that’s funny. It sounds almost like the way you act with me!”

Lan Wangji tensed even further when Wei Wuxian finally turned to look at him again, his cheeks flushed and his gaze intense.

“Lan Zhan… is it really like that?”

“I have no expectations,” Lan Wangji said, which wasn’t quite a reply. “I am honoured to have Wei Ying’s friendship.”

Wei Wuxian gasped, his cheeks turning even more red.

“Lan Zhan, really? But you’re… You’ve always been so annoyed by me! You’ve punished me so many times, and we’ve gotten into so many arguments and… haven’t I gotten you in trouble a few times in the past? Lan Zhan, you really have awful tastes!”

“My taste is excellent.”

At that remark, Wei Wuxian gasped again and had to turn away.

“Lan Zhan, you really are a sap! I can’t believe it, I never would have suspected! Well, I know now. I’ll have to tease you about that!”

“Wei Ying always teases,” Lan Wangji calmly retorted.

Wei Wuxian laughed at this, so loud that it echoed in the silence of the Cloud Recesses. He did not seem upset, or distressed, or even less angry about the situation, just amused to have found out a new side of Lan Wangji that he hadn’t previously known. After how much anguish he had felt over his unrequited feelings, Lan Wangji could only be grateful that Wei Wuxian was taking it so well this time around.

After he was done laughing, Wei Wuxian stayed quiet for a little bit. Lan Wangji was starting to wonder if the matter was going to be dropped when the other man spoke again.

“Lan Zhan, I don’t really know what to do with all this,” Wei Wuxian admitted. “It’s all been a little complicated lately after all, I'm still getting used to being alive again. But I know I like spending time with you. I like that I get to chat with you and poke fun at you. I like how well we work together. I like that I can trust you, and that you trust me too. In short, Lan Zhan, I like you a lot, and the idea of having you in my life… that really makes me so happy. I don’t know if that’s love, but if you’re okay with giving me time to think about it, then I’ll think about it a lot until I figure it out.”

“Wei Ying can take the time he needs,” Lan Wangji earnestly replied. “No matter the conclusion, Wei Ying is my friend.”

Wei Wuxian blushed harder, and slapped his shoulder.

“Lan Zhan, you’re really too much of a sap!” he pouted. “I can’t believe you’ve managed to keep that hidden from everyone. The great Hanguang-Jun looks so cold, but he’s really the warmest and softest person in the world! I’d tell everyone, but they wouldn’t believe me!”

Lan Wangji could only smile, relieved that he hadn’t ruined their friendship by feeling too much, amused also by how flustered Wei Wuxian was when he’d always acted like such a shameless flirt in the past. Seeing his smile, Wei Wuxian pretended to be shocked by this new display of emotion and started blabbering on, before quickly laughing at his own jokes as he too often did.

What a ridiculous man he was, and Lan Wangji loved him all the more for it.

[tarotbytya]

Scorpio • Pisces • Cancer • Capricorn • Aries • Sagittarius • Leo • Gemini • Libra • Aquarius

Sun ☀️ Moon 🌙 Rising 🏹 Venus ♀Placements

GENERAL

The 5 of Cups appears when a situation hasn’t turned out the way you anticipated or expected and you’re left feeling sad, regretful, and disappointed. Instead of moving on from the situation or with your life, you could be choosing to wallow in self-pity. The 5 of Cups indicates you’re choosing to focus on what went wrong and how you failed. You’re stuck in the past and can’t let go. Some old wounds and bitter memories seem to triggering you into thinking about the past and what happened. Or you could be blaming yourself adapted this mindset where you believe you’re a victim of life’s circumstances. The 5 of Cups wants you to know it’s time to get over it! It’s okay to allow yourself to feel the feels but you shouldn’t let it consume you, it’s time to pull yourself together and move on. Forgiveness is vital with it comes to the 5 of Cups. For yourself and others. Find it within your heart to forgive that person or even yourself. If you’re feeling frustrated with yourself, know and remind yourself that you did the best you could under the circumstances. Now is the time to learn from your mistakes. Reflect on what led to this point and what valuable lessons you can take it. It’s time to shift your mindset and focus on the present and what can go right from this point on. Be open to the brighter side of life because the 5 of Cups is saying there’s some blessings that are in disguise right now.

For some of you, The Devil (R) can appear when you’re on the verge of a break-through or up-levelling. But first thing first, you need to let go of any unhealthy attachments or self limiting beliefs. This could include: addiction, an unhealthy relationship, or a job/career you no longer feel passionate about. The Devil (R) wants you to confront your inner fears and anxieties and ultimately free yourself from the chain and bondages that you have towards these limiting beliefs and unhealthy attachments. The Devil (R) can also appear when you’re slipping into a deep and dark place. Try to understand your innermost shadows so that you can release or integrate them into your life in a more constructive way. On the other hand, The Devil (R) can also be an indication you’re hiding your deepest, darkest self or a secret from others. As a card of inner deceit, the 7 of Swords (R) also indicates keeping secrets hidden from others. You could be harboring a secret that you hope will never be revealed. You may have some thoughts, fantasies, addictions, or habits that you don’t want others to know because you feel embarrassed or ashamed. If you’re involved in some kind of affair or extra-marital relationship, the 7 of Swords (R) indicates a growing reluctance to keep up with this affair. For some, keeping this secret could be causing stress and tension, guilt and/or shame.

Accept who you are. If you need to and feel it’s necessary then forgive yourself for the thoughts you have. The Devil (R) is encouraging you to detach your attachment to the desire for things, people or concepts of the world, and essentially free yourself from any restrictions. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean you should stop caring for people or things but you should and need to release your dependence on them. The 7 of Swords (R) also appears when you feel like a fraud or could be suffering from ‘imposter syndrome’ where you doubt yourself and your abilities. Or you could be deceiving yourself—trying to convince yourself into believing something even though you feel or know otherwise. For example, you could be telling yourself that everything is okay when it’s not. The 7 of Wands (R) wants you to be real with where you are and address your situation head-on. The Temperance card represents bringing balance, patience and moderation into your life. Temperance wants you to stabilize your energy and to allow the life to flow through you without force, hesitation or resistance. It’s time to recover your flow and get your life back into order and balance. Remain calm even when life feels stressful or frantic, right now is not the time to be opinionated or extremely controversial. Instead, be the peacekeeper. Take a more balanced and moderate approach. Temperance is about blending, mixing, and combining diverse elements in a way that creates something new and more valuable than separate parts.

For others of you, For some, the Ace of Swords encourages you to pursue the truth of the matter and/or to find justice. The Tower (R) indicates you could be going through an important and personal transformation. Or, you could be going through an existential crisis where you’re seriously questioning your life’s purpose. It may be time to create, change and transformation so you can step into a new and evolved version of yourself. Sometimes, The Tower (R) can also be a sign that you are resisting change. You may be in denial that change is even. occurring. Or you could be still clinging to an old belief even though you know they are no longer relevant or align with you. As much as you don’t want to or detest change, The Tower (R) wants you to know you need to go through this difficult phase to learn the lesson(s) and/or make progress in your life. If and you continue to resist this change, the universe will only force its way and lesson into your life even more. The 9 of Wands comes as a sign that even in the face of adversity, you must still stand tall and strong. For some, you may already have an intuitive sense that something is about to happen. Plan ahead to avoid the destruction that The Tower (R) lies ahead. The 9 of Wands wants you to trust that what you’re going through is just a test of your courage and resilience. Know that every time you overcome an obstacle, you become stronger. The 9 of Wands encourages you to establish your boundaries and protect those lines. If you allow others to stand in your way or deplete your energy, you need to assert yourself more effectively. Be very clear on what it is you need in order for this situation to be successful and for you reach your goals. Then communicate those needs and your boundaries to others.

MOONOLOGY 🌙

Full Moon in Aquarius

Show the world the real you.

This card brings the message from the cosmos that you need to detach a little from whatever situation you’re asking about. Someone might be keeping you at arm’s length now but it’s no bad thing. It’s important for you to allow life to unfold and progress, even if change seems like a frightening prospect. If you’ve been holding yourself back from the real world, this card reminds you that your unique characteristics are what make you special. In a relationship, are you being too aloof or detached? Go ahead and be yourself in whatever is coming up for you.

Attune to the Moon:

* Be aware of your feelings but also be prepared to move on.

Additional meaning for this card:

* Don’t lose the beauty and romance of life.

* You are too much in your head—get into your heart!

* A friend needs you—be there for them.

* A situation is going to take a very unexpected turn.

DIVINE ABUNDANCE ✨

Grief

Tears are what happen when the ice in the heart melts.

Worth

You have been worthy to belong to love all along. Without any need to improve. In fact, you are Love itself.

Reframe

“This is happening for me, not to me.”

ANGEL ANSWER 🕊

BIG, HAPPY CHANGES

The positive changes are coming into your life! You may find yourself on a new career path, entering a new relationship, or moving to a new home or city. Embrace these exciting events, knowing that your angels will be beside you all the way! What you were asking about my require you to take leaps of faith that same frightening or beyond your ability. Dressed at opportunities before you were meant to bring you happiness. These options when I have present themselves unless you were ready for them. Release your fears and follow your heart.

ASK YOUR GUIDES 🥀

Psychic Awareness/Divine Soul

You’re Divine Saul is awakening, and with it you’re a psychic abilities are coming alive. More involved in specific then basic intuition, you’re a psychic facilities are giving you access to the fourth dimension and are coming into contact with discarnate, Enlighten Helpers who can assist and guide you in beautiful ways. You may start accessing Divine music or tap into new healing energies. You also may receive telepathic messages and have a clairvoyant visions. Heed your newly aroused psychic faculties and don’t doubt the specific transmissions flowing to you. Record your dreams, believe in your hunches, and accept the symbols and signals being relayed to you from the psychic channels fully; what they’re communicating is essential to fulfilling your purpose. Ask your Divine Soul to lead you. They’re message: “Embrace and trust what you receive.”

Cards Pictured: 5 of Cups, The Devil (R), Temperance, Ace of Swords, 7 of Swords (R), The Tower (R), & 9 of Wands.

[se-ono-waise-ilia]

After Party - Chapter 1

Masterlist

Summary: The organized and dignified celebration of winning the war shifts once some of the older crowd leaves in the middle of the night, and the children of the Khaganate introduce some party elements that lead to a more raunchy affair.

Warnings: mature content, alcohol & drug use

Multiple POVs, many ships included: Manon x Dorian, Aelin x Rowan, Elide x Lorcan, possibly more!

Music & Dance inspiration for Manon: Stampede - Alexander Jean Ft. Lindsey Stirling and Derek Hough - Kairos Ft. Lindsey Stirling

Genre: some angst, partying, romance, hints of smut (ooh), and actual smut in later chapters (ooooooh)

Why: Because Nesryn’s memory of the party left a lot to the imagination.  So let’s dance…

—-

The night was progressing as Manon noticed some people start to leave. Although Manon was older than most of those present, she could sense that it was mostly the old humans and exceptionally old fae and witches leaving.

This party was a bust for her.  While watching Aelin and her mate dance an actual fiery waltz was something she would never forget, the style of music and dance wasn’t of interest to Manon.  The merry string music and cheerful waltzing and line dances clashed with her brooding mood.

Yes, they won.  But the cost…

Manon continued to nurse her bottle of liquor.  She had given up on cups soon after the initial dance, due to the fact that every time she left her dark corner, a certain king tried to make eye contact for a dance.  So she shamelessly took three bottles of liquor from the bar, and kept her eyes down as she claimed a large bench for herself.  She sat right in the middle, and used the many layers of her black skirt to take up the extra space.  No one sat next to the Crochan Queen, which was how she wanted it.

She kept hoping Abraxos would make a surprise appearance and stick his head through the nearby window.  But Manon knew he was mourning the loss of his mate in private.

Manon didn’t want to be at the party.  Nor did she want to be with Abraxos, where she would feel prompted to face her grief.  Nor did she want to be alone, where she would be forced to face all of her emotions in sad solitude.

So, she would stay at the party for as long as it lasted to avoid confronting her feelings.  She did have one more bottle to consume before she needed to go to the bar again, but she did need to relieve herself.

Gathering up her gauzy black skirt in one hand, and her final bottle in the other (she wasn’t going to leave it unattended), she made her way to the toilets.

Her path was blocked by a familiar attractive male body.  She swayed a little from being prompted to stop so abruptly.  She kept her focus pinned on a button on his formal jacket, but he lifted her chin with his finger, “Dance with me Manon.”

Manon looked up at him.  She noticed him during the party confidently conversing and dancing with a variety of people.  He was very good at it.  But she couldn’t picture herself dancing merry dances to dreadfully cheery music. She could tell he was also uncertain, as he had a hesitant look on his face.  She would decline, and he wouldn’t be surprised.

“No.  This music is bad,” and she stumbled around him.  He didn’t seem at all rejected as he swiped the bottle from her hand, and took a slow swig as he stared her down.

Manon slurred, “Hold that for me,” as she continued her trek to the toilet.  She heard him chuckle as she swayed.

It was after she relieved herself that she understood how drunk she was.  The room spun around her.  She just leaned against the wall for a few minutes.  She wished she had brought her bottle with her….and Dorian.  She smiled at the thought of how they would use that wall.

After an unknown period of time, she made her way back to the party.  The cheerful music had thankfully stopped, and someone was talking.

Manon eventually found a place to see the speaker, one of the female royals of the Khaganate.  She had the room’s attention, so Manon chose to listen.

“…the side effects may make the evening a little more…intimate,” the woman indicated to the little smoking bowls being placed around the room.  Manon sniffed a tendril of smoke, drugs.  

Manon observed a bowl being placed near her, and she moved to stand directly next to it.  As she inhaled it, she felt herself let go of her miserable emotions somewhat.  The room wasn’t spinning anymore, so much as it was growing hazy and soft looking.  She went from disgruntled, to numb, to simply present.  Manon intentionally inhaled some more.

“As is tradition on our continent, the first dance of this particular portion of the evening goes to the oldest royal with the greatest title in the room.” Hasar! That’s her name…

The whole room looked towards someone, but Manon was simply hoping for different music. The princess continued, “The title must be from bloodline, not marital relations.”

Manon liked drums.  They were fierce, and the tone was more primitive.  Guitars also had a sense of power and authority she liked.  And the strings…when played right, they were just sensual.  

She felt eyes on her.  The eyes of Hasar, the room, and she instinctually found Dorian’s.  Oh…me…that’s interesting.

The princess gestured to the middle of the dance floor, “Queen Manon, our Khagan musicians will play music based on your dance style.  No one else will dance until you command the room.”

Manon looked to Dorian again, who straightened up as if she expected him to ask for a partner. She noticed he was still holding her bottle of booze, which she very much wanted at the moment.  She huffed, lifted her chin, and managed to not stumble on her way to the dance floor. Alone.

The room remained silent.  Manon looked to the new musicians from the Khaganate, and was pleased to notice a variety of drums.  And a guitar.  She pointed at them, “No fucking waltz or overtly happy music.”

They nodded, and Manon felt thrilled at the idea of control over the vibe of the room.  She looked around, and noticed everyone was fuzzy looking.  She cackled, completely aware of how drunk and high she was.

She lifted her arms and hands above her hands, and the drums started.  The beat was powerful and sensual.  She swayed accordingly with her hips, ribs, and arms.  But she found her arm movements constricted by the shoulder sleeves of her top.  She stopped, and the music stopped.

She heard many gasps as she took off her top to reveal blood red bindings around her breasts.  She decided to keep her skirt on.  She liked how the many layers of fabric moved like black smoke.  

She laughed again and continued to dance. The musicians continued with her. This music was far superior to the damn ballroom music. She rolled her shoulders, quickened her hands, flipped her hair, shifted her ribs, circled her hips, grazed her feet across the floor, moved her whole body to the floor, and more.

Why is no one else dancing?  She wondered after an unknown amount of time. She felt eyes on her, but the only face that came into focus was Dorian’s.  She smiled upon seeing him.  I think it’s time for him to have his chance with me on the dance floor, she thought as she pointed to him while continuing to sway.

--

Next up: Dorian’s POV

Chapter 2  

This is my first multi-chapter post on tumblr, and I understand the protocol is to give the option for interested readers to be tagged.  So feel welcome to ask for a tag if you like :)

[kittenshift-17]

26 Hermione/thorfinn/antonin?

Not exactly a drabble but... here goes... You didn’t say which #26 drabble prompt you meant (there were about 4 compliations to choose from on my page) so I picked this one from the “Writing Prompts Inspired by Songs” list: 

26.“I lie awake and miss you.”

“Do you have to go?” Antonin Dolohov asked, rousing unhappily when Hermione Granger rose to her feet and shimmied back into her knickers.

“Toshka,” Thorfinn Rowle cautioned from the other side of the bed, having already been disturbed as the pretty witch clambered over him to search for her bra.

“What?” Antonin complained, watching from his side of the bed while Hermione silently located her bra, and her skirt, and then her top, redressing like she hadn’t just allowed both wizards to rip her out of the day’s work clothes and ravish her within an inch of her life. 

“Don’t whine,” Thorfinn said tiredly, in no mood for Antonin’s theatrics. “It’s unattractive.”

“So is being deserted by our witch after shagging her into a stupor,” Antonin complained. 

Thorfinn looked over and met Hermione’s gaze while she fished her riotous curls from under her collar. He rolled his eyes at her, never overly patient with the third member of their little menage.

“I have to be getting home,” Hermione said when she was dressed as she slipped her feet back into her shoes. 

“Yeah, before your bloody husband notices,” Thorfinn said, smirking.

“Like he’d notice?” Antonin complained. “He’s probably already in bed and snoring his head off like he usually is when you come home late. Meanwhile, I lie awake and miss you every night you’re not here.”

“Bloody hell, Toshka, is it that time of the bloody month for you or something?” Thorfinn scoffed, shoving the man on the bed beside him.

“Mudak,” Antonin grumbled, punching Thorfinn’s arm in return. 

Hermione left them to their scuffling, letting herself out of the bedroom and sauntering away down the hall and to the fireplace. She hadn’t lied. She did need to be getting home. Even if her husband might not be there to greet her. Flooing home, she let herself into their quiet cottage and sighed at the lack of sound. He was asleep then, as Rowle had predicted. That, or he wasn’t even home. Hermione didn’t imagine she was the only one in their marriage carrying on extra-marital affairs. How else could he not have noticed that she came home from ‘working late’ at least four nights a week, and typically reeking of firewhiskey and sweat from a good go in the sack with Thorfinn and Antonin? 

Say what you liked about ex-Death Eaters, they shagged like the devil. 

Hermione sighed, kicking off her shoes and heading for the bathroom, supposing that the least she could do was bathe off the evidence coating her skin and pooled between her legs of how she’d ended her work day. She was almost in the bathroom when the low moan caught her ears and Hermione’s stomach flipped nervously. Surely he wouldn’t? Not in their bed. Doing it behind closed doors and away from the home was one thing, but not in her bed. She didn’t get to bring her lovers to their bed, so he couldn’t either, thank you very much. God, she hoped it wasn't someone vapid, like Parvati or Pansy.

Stealing down the hall on tiptoe, her shirt unbuttoned and her skirt halfway unzipped, Hermione peeked into the bedroom. She supposed she should’ve been hurt by what she found. Shocked, even. But she wasn’t. Not really.

“Bloody hell, Oliver,” Ron Weasley groaned from his place on his knees before the Puddlemere United Quidditch Keeper.

Evidently they weren’t expecting her home for some time yet. 

Hermione wondered what she ought to do. She’d suspected since even before they got married that Ron might actually be gay, but she’d never brought it up and had just assumed that if he ever acted on those fantasies, he’d do it outside their home. Was she supposed to confront him about it? Had he done this here intending to get caught? Was this some sign that he was ready to put pain to their marriage once and for all so that she didn’t have to abandon the bed of her lovers and leave Antonin whining and Thorfinn silently pining though he’d never speak on it? Was she supposed to leave, and make no mention of this moment?

Hermione didn’t know. 

Could she continue playing this game? Half the fun of being with Thorfinn and Antonin was the guilt it stirred in her and the assuage it offered for her frustration with her husband. Ron Weasley was many things, but an attentive lover to his wife was not one of them. Frowning, Hermione supposed that maybe the game was over, then. This was it. She’d caught him. She couldn’t help but be a bit put out with him, actually. There was a secretive thrill in ‘sneaking’ about with her lovers to avoid being caught and yet here Ron was, flouting the rules of the game.

She waited quietly for the two men on the bed to find completion, noting with a wrinkle of her nose that the sheets would need to be changed when Ron found his climax all over the duvet. When they separated, panting and blissful, awaiting recovery, she very softly cleared her throat from the doorway where she’d propped her shoulder.

Oliver jumped and Ron’s eyes went wide as he turned slowly to look at her, his ears turning red and an angry flush crawling up his neck.

“Hermione?” he breathed, evidently horrified and terrrified in equal measure. 

Hermione waited, wondering if he might stammer out apologies. She noted with some amusement the way Oliver ducked down to pick up his abandoned shirt, using the balled fabric to hide his todger from her view. At least it was a nice view, thanks to the long hours he spent training and honing his body for his professional Quidditch career.

“I... um... this is... bloody hell!” Ron stammered when she simply leaned in the doorway and waited. 

She should put him out of his misery, but in truth she was a bit angry with him for letting himself be caught, thus ending their little charade of a happy marriage once and for all. 

“You don’t seem surprised,” Oliver noted finally when Ron couldn’t seem to manage a single thing to say in his own defence. 

Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

“Only annoyed that the charade is at an end,” she admitted. 

“You knew?” Ron asked. 

Hermione raised her eyebrows. “It seemed a little obvious when the only times I could coax you into shagging me, you wanted to do it up the bum, love.”

Ron’s blush worsened. 

“Are you angry?” Ron asked quietly.

“That you’ve been caught,” Hermione sighed. 

“You knew I was sleeping around on you?” Ron asked, his eyes wide and sad now. “And you never said anything?”

“What was there to say, Ron?” Hermione asked. “You knew I was sleeping around on you, too...”

Ron’s left eye twitched and his mouth opened in surprise.

“Or... maybe you didn’t?” Hermione frowned.

“I thought you were actually working late,”  Ron said, looking even sadder that he evidently knew he so little as to tell the difference between her staying back at the office and her getting a little side-nookie. “I thought you could tell I didn’t want to shag and it made you uncomfortable, so you just stayed at work longer until I’d be asleep  by the time you came home so we wouldn’t have to talk about it. I felt so guilty that I.... I just... let you think that. I never imagined you'd be... ”

Hermione bit her lip, shaking her head. 

“You have someone else?” Ron asked, and Hermione noted that Oliver looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but didn’t know how to excuse himself. 

“Two someone’s,” Hermione offered gently. “I suppose, after tonight, I can stop upsetting them by jumping out of bed when we’re done and rushing home, lest you catch me in the lie of working late.”

“Two...” Ron repeated, his eyes wide. “Who? It’s not Harry and Malfoy, is it?”

“It’s not Harry and Malfoy,” Hermione said quietly. 

“Right,” Ron said, evidently realising she wasn’t going to tell him who she was shagging. 

“Right,” Hermione repeated. “Um... I guess I’ll... pick up a petition for divorcement tomorrow, then?”

“You’re not upset?” Ron asked again, clearly worried.

“It was only a matter of time, love,” Hermione said sadly shrugging her shoulders. “And my wizards have been a little more vocal of their dissatsifaction with being deserted every evening for me to return here to your snoring. I don't imagine they'd have continued making it so easy for much longer...”

Ron blushed agian. 

“You knew about me and Oliver?” he asked, nodding toward Oliver where he awkwardly shuffled his feet before sitting down on the end of the bed. 

“No,” Hermione shook her head. “Just that you must have someone, and that your someone was likely a 'he'.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Ron confessed quietly.

“Nothing,” Hermione said. “I... um... I’ll take some of my things. Return to my wizards for the night and let the two of you... um... get dressed, I suppose? Or go another round? I'll get out of your hair.”

She pushed away from the doorway and slipped into the room, crossing to the closet and locating her trunk. A whispered word packed up all of her things from the closet and the bedroom. She would return tomorrow with divorce papers to begin sorting out their combined belongings.

When she exited, Ron had his head in his hands, sitting on the edge of the bed they’d shared as husband and wife for years. Oliver awkwardly sat beside him, one hand on his shoulder to offer silent comfort. He met Hermione’s gaze and lifted one eyebrow at her when he saw her with her trunk. Hermione supposed they must’ve expected fireworks were she ever to find out. Perhaps they’d bet on her pitching a fit and hexing them both with boils all over and shouting herself hoarse.

The truth was, though, as she shrugged her shoulders helplessly at Oliver and eyed Ron sadly once more, that it was actually a relief. It was a relief to know he wasn’t just unattracted to her as a woman, but because she was a woman. It seemed a little less hurtful to know she hadn’t the right equipment up her skirt, as opposed to simply not having enough filling out her shirt or something equally ego-wounding where her looks and her figure were concerned.

“I’ll be home for dinner tomorrow night, Ron,” Hermione said gently as she crossed the bedroom. “With divorce papers.”

“Hermione... don’t.... I... I’m sorry,” Ron offered, looking up to stare at her, his face wet with tears.

“Don’t apologise, Ron,” Hermione said softly from the doorway. “No one should apologise for who they love. We can’t help it that it’s not each other.”

With that said, she left, Flooing back to the apartment Thorfinn and Antonin had shared since being released on probation. When she stepped through, she found her two wizards in the kitchen, both shirtless, both snacking. And both with their wands trained on her until they recognized her.

“Myshka?” Antonin asked, his eyes fixed upon her trunk.

“Princess? Everything alright?” Thorfinn asked, frowning as he looked her over. “Bloody hell, he caught you, didn’t he?”

Hermione cleared her throat. “Um... No. I caught him,” she said gently. 

"Bloody hell," Thorfinn said, and he frowned, evidently expecting her to be upset despite the year-long, torrid affair she'd been carrying on with the two of them. 

“Was it true that when I go, you lie awake and miss me?” she asked, stepping a little further into the living room.

“Yes,” both wizards said together.

Hermione smiled smally, meeting their eyes steadily.

“Would it be alright if you didn’t have to, anymore?” she whispered.

“Da,” Antonin nodded, looking choked with emotion.

“Hell yes,” Thorfinn grinned. “You need a hand with your trunk, Princess? Blimey, did he try ravishing you before letting you go? What happened to your shirt? Come on, give me that. Toshka, get over here and help her out of her skirt, could you?”

Hermione laughed, letting Finn take her trunk, which he swung up onto the coffee table while Antonin converged on her. He didn’t help her out of her skirt, but he did wrap her into a tight embrace and bury his face against her neck, breathing heavily, evidently overcome. Thorfinn grinned when she met his eyes over Antonin’s shoulder before he walked around behind her and curled his arms around both of them. 

For the first time since she’d fallen into bed with them, Hermione sighed in relief, finding that their presence was all the more delightful when she wasn’t wrought with guilt. 

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25198675

[hometowndiaries]

The Famous Aunt

When Sneha woke up in the morning her husband was on a call with his cousin suraj, she never liked Suraj because of his selfish attitude. Her husband looked a bit upset while talking to him. After the call he told her that aunt Baidehi was no more and her landlord informed Suraj about her demise. As expected Suraj being a sloppy shoulder, was trying to pass the responsibilities of last rites to her Husband.

Sneha asked her husband to let Baidehi’s landlord take care of funeral and in return keep all the stuff she has.

Well Sneha is not a mean person but she wasn’t a saint either. Who would want to take a burden of a person who wasn’t nice to her husband or anyone for that matter.

Aunt Baidehi was a unique character altogether.

Aunt Baidehi and her husband got separated within first few weeks of their marriage; she was on her own since then. Daily, she will randomly visit different relatives to make them sort out her meals. She was known to cooking-up stories to seek sympathy. However, the fun fact is she used to grow tired of a person so quickly, once that happens, she will nonchalantly ignore that person. When confronted she will talk about her poor eyesight and how she is getting blind, but nobody is there to take care of her etc.

Well a blind person who walks in a busy market, heavy traffic without any issues and can recognize you from a distance only if she has work with you. Sometimes she simply refused to recognise people at her convenience. I wish I had such guts, If I would refuse to recognise 70% of my relatives but anyways this is Baidehi’s story.

Due to her infortune and her sob stories, some kind relatives offered her to stay with them, but as I have mentioned earlier, she used to grow tired of people at the fall of a hat. She used to start accusing them of stealing money from her room; apparently, she used to keep the money under utensils, below her clothes and people used to steal the money.

After many such events, eventually these stories spread and people started avoiding her, they refuse to let her stay at their place. No one wanted their mental peace disturbed over the money they did not steal or that may not even have existed.

She finally found a place on rent and have been staying there ever since, her last abode. Gradually her stories were forgotten and people stopped bringing her into conversations.

That is Aunt Baidehi for you, a curious character with many infamous stories about her. Therefore, we cannot really blame Sneha for her lack of compassion towards Baidehi.

However, we do not really know a person until we get to see them from a different perspective.

Next week when Sneha’s neighbour Hanspreet asked about Aunt baidehi, she was more than surprised. Hanspreet was nowhere associated with Aunt Baidehi, but in this small town there is always some story that will keep you surprised and trust me you cannot get used it these shocking surprises.

So now time for a little story of how Hanspreet know Baidehi. it’s a bit complicated, She made it sound so simple and I will take it upon me to make it sound less complicated but if you lose track don’t beat yourself up, it takes time to get familiar with the ways of this town.

Hanspreet has a friend named Rita who stays with her husband and 2 kids. Whenever her husband gets drunk and starts the domestic abuse. Rita gets out of her house and stays at Hanspreets place. This has been happening quite frequently in recent times. Rita confided in Hanspreet and shared the story of her extra marital affair with a person called Jay, whose mother used to live near Baidehi.

As our Aunt Baidehi was known to use people to her advantage, she once asked Jay’s mother to accompany her to the bank. Baidehi transferred a heavy sum of couple of millions to her nephew, which made Jays mother realize that Baidehi is loaded with money.

The Money has this power of bringing people together. Jay’s greedy mom suddenly found her affection towards Baidehi and offered to sort out her 3 meals per day in exchange of money. Aunt Baidehi was happy with this deal she wasn’t much into cooking anyways, so she agreed.

After Aunt died, Jay’s mom did the funeral for her. She took all her from her rented room and collected her death certificate from the Panchayat office as well.

In order to release the amount from her bank the nominee will need to show the death certificate, Jay’s mother has her eye on the dough, and she is ready to cut a deal with nominee for an equal distribution of assets. Of course, Jay is a dodgy character and he has his eyes on the money in the bank, he attempted to get hold of late Baidehi’s death certificate book to withdraw money but his mother denied it.

Sad, jobless Jay went to his girlfriend Rita and told her his sob story. Rita wished if only she had a room, she would have let Aunt Baidehi to stay at her place so she could have had access to her cash.

While narrating this story to Sneha, Hanspreet expressed the regret of not knowing aunt Baidehi otherwise even she would have offered her food and shelter, of course nobody would have done it out of love, compassion for a fellow human being.

Sneha kept wondering that these people did not even know Baidehi and on knowing about money, wishing that she must be living with them. This is greed to another level.

Sneha could visualize aunt Baidehi seeing this all from a parallel universe and saying – “ People were so distanced from me when I was alive and after I left this world see the extent they are missing me, Even the unknowns.