#its hard to deny the euphoria that knowledge brings

[mydeaddad]

😬

[blackwoolncrown]

Genuine question, so I’m bi and even if I’m not out I’m still bi because I feel that attraction regardless if I’m in a relationship or not. But I recently realized I am very much non-binary, but I’m part of a very conservative, religious, middle eastern community in which I will always be perceived and treated as a woman. So, am I still non-binary? That’s not really the question I’m trying to ask. I’m just struggling with wanting to exist as I am beyond gender but not being able to

1. Being non-binary is a personal, internal feeling and has no bearing on whether or not people around you acknowledge this. That’s how gender works. This is why a woman with a body perceived as a ’man’ who is misgendered daily is still a woman. Our genders are ours, the struggle is having them validated and properly perceived by others who generally rely on gender norms and bioessentialism to interact w people.

2. I feel your struggle, evne down to the ‘this isn’t really what I’m asking’. Being nonbinary is very much a thing but it can be impossible to give language to because our entire language was written around binaries. We are constantly struggling to manifest and find in life an experience that we have tacitly been denied language to. We can work towards it and build it but it is not easy at all. I struggle with this constantly, and literally recently have been dealing with how this is playing out painfully in my own life. I do not have all the answers, but here’s my philosopy [TW: EXPLICIT DECONSTRUCTION AND INVALIDATION OF GENDER]

My background is esotericism and philosophy. While those things did not give rise to my internal feeling of being they did help structure and give it language which likely ‘fleshed it out’ a little bit. So that’s the disclaimer.

To put it in brief pretty much all core philosophies or enlightenment or religious mysticisms admit that the thinker must go beyond the world as presented and see through to its undifferentiated state. Gender being a construct is no new idea, but most people intellectually accept it and then refuse, outright or subconsciously, to actually apply that to their life and inspect where their identity is informed by gender and then actually divest themselves of it. It is said, in many ways, in many different schools of thought, that the essential, highest, or core of human being, of human consciousness is both genders, or undifferentiated in gender; concepts of gods and ideas as ‘male-female’ or genderless (like angels) abound. You being Middle-Eastern yourself may have an intimate knowledge of spiritual ideas of beings who have transcended gender. This concept is sometimes represented as embodied (male-female or genderless beings) or as transcending the body (having nothing to do with what form the physical body takes). Scientifically speaking, even the universe itself has been found to not work on a binary at all, but to be fundamentally quantum; that is, fundamentally emptiness (nothingness, undifferentiated-ness, openness) that only collapses (limits, manifests, chooses) once a point is perceived or made to interact with something else.

I don’t think this is simply a thought experiment or an end-goal of studious practice though that is one way to get there. I think this is the basic form of human consciousness and while gendered people can endeavor to arrive at this point through spiritual, religious or philosophical practice, there are plenty of us throughout history ( more here now due to the exposure of information perhaps) for whom ideas of gender construction didn’t ‘stick’ either because they made no sense (they fall apart at the slightest investigation) or because they cause pain (you know that feel).

While it is liberating to exist in this state, uninhibited by the limitations of a binary, this ecstasy and openness is removed whenever it is invalidated. Now, for a cis person this happens rarely because they live in a world that reinforces that their body and their gender are perceived socially as ‘correct’. When it does happen, they find it upsetting, but again it’s very infrequent. Enough that they can maintain a very rigid and unfractured sense of identity bound to their gender. They spend almost all of their time in a gender euphoria so present it becomes background noise. When trans people who are men or women exist in the world, their experience of gender invalidation can be much more common and much more distressing. Their gender euphoria comes from affirmation of their gender, and dysphoria is inflicted socially when they are misgendered. If you are the kind of nonbinary that you and I seem to be (which I must put this way because not all of us have the same experience of gender though most of us have a same experience of struggle), gender euphoria is much more fleeting because any assignation of binary gender feels limiting and confusing. Rare euphoria comes when we see or experience a ‘mixedness’ or ‘completeness’ that is very very hard to depict or express so we don’t get it often. Dysphoria comes whenever gender is assigned; there is no ‘correct’ one because very few people understand us– we ourselves largely are denied language to even explain it to them, and ears that listen!! There are no channels we can go down to have our gender affirmed because it is our lack of gender specificity that feels most comfortable, yet this is an entirely gendered society where the idea of a person is gendered by default and almost always tied to some aspect of the body.

I think that a problem we face is that to actually understand our undifferentiated/quantum gender state, people would have to accept an entire deconstruction of gender which, as an idea, may be abrasive to their sense of identity. Gender is a metaphysical construct- i.e. it is nowhere to be found in the physical body. People who are attached to the mental security their sense of binary gender gives them do not want to hear that their gender is just an idea they have assigned meaning to.

 I find it frustrating because it’s not particularly hard IMO to not do this: to understand each other not as men or women or gendered at all but to see our habits and needs and ways of life as being valid because we are human, human animals seems very easy and I wish people could do that more often. If I am nurturing that is not because I am a woman, because men can nurture too, can’t they? It is because I am human and the human species exhibits nurturing behaviors. If I am obstinate at times, it is not because I am being masculine, it is because human beings can exhibit bullheadedness and irritation at times. So on for desire, kindness, selfishness, resourcefulness, kinship…We do not need to gender these things for them to be real! But because we have, people are kind of stuck on that, despite the fact that the gender of certain attributes and behaviors can differ from society to society! If there is gender, it is always in relation to its opposite- men are not masculine and women are not feminine- men are masculine dominant and women are feminine dominant. The gender ideas should always be coupled into a whole, but I digress.Another question I raise myself and you may have wondered is if this is nonbinariness or the frustrating alienation of being perceived and treated as a woman, for surely discomfort with the gender identity of ‘woman’ is, ironically, quite common in womanhood. My answer is that, much like bisexuality, people considered women are much more likely to allow internal questioning to dissolve gender binaries or rigid gender role expectations because in a patriarchy, men’s gender brings benefits and women’s gender brings none. We don’t get anything really great out of the deal, and so we’re less likely to stick around and accept it. That doesn’t invalidate the fact that we’re nonbinary, because again ‘nonbinary’ isn’t specifically a ‘third’ or ‘other’ gender– it’s an experience of being that exists outside of the gender binary completely. It is the experience of finding gender as a concept too small to fit into.

You can be nonbinary in and of itself, and you can also be a nonbinary woman- a woman who identifies with the experience of womanhood but whose concept of womanhood is other than that of binary gender. It’s up to you. I sometimes use this designation but it is largely social- an admission that while I do not fully identify with it, I am born into womanhood and am experiencing life perceived as a woman, yet form a non-binary internal position.You in this moment are deeply nonbinary. It is not a fashion, it is not an outward expression. It is a deep inner presence and experience of unboundedness, unfixedness, and vague, undifferentiated immensity. It is, in my opinion, too big and ineffable to fit into any box, any outfit, any name. And so in this world we may find it difficult to interact with others who are always attempting to collapse us into gender, to cut us down to a digestible size, to see only tiny bits of us at a time. It is frustrating. To be honest I flirt every day with the idea of giving up and going to a monastery but I know good and well that monasteries, too have their gendered ideas for all their sweet talk of transcendance. 

I wish I had sweeter words to offer but still, yes you are nonbinary. You are what you are before people perceive you and regardless of whether they are capable of seeing you in fullness or not. That cannot be taken from you.

[songsofbloodandfire]

Levy

(A quick drabble follow up for a recent rp)

What have I done?

The question hovered in her mind like a specter, constantly haunting her despite all efforts to ignore it. It’d been there as she held Mede, trailing behind the happy sounds her son had made after he’d been brought home safe and sound. She’d heard it whispering softly in the recesses of her mind as she kissed Alvin and Khod’a good night, unable to rest despite her body's demands for it until she knew her other two children were safe. 

Even then, sleep hadn’t come easily and was restless until finally she’d given up, carefully pulling herself out from between her mates to go upstairs where the window overlooking the quiet, sleeping Goblet called her. On other nights, looking over the moonlight frosted rooftops and the looming mountains beyond had given her a sense of comfort but tonight they stood in silent condemnation. Even they seemed to whisper that same phrase over and over again until it was a deafening symphony of guilt. 

Void magic was something that she knew well in theory but rarely ever put into practice. The price was often too high for her to be willing to pull from that pool of knowledge no matter how tempting the power it promised was. There was also the fact that the Pack hunted void users and while she could no longer deny the fact that she wasn’t a void witch, she tried hard to not give her family a reason to need to eventually put her down as well. No amount of power was worth the pain that would bring to her family. 

And yet…

She’d so readily called upon that knowledge to save her son. The rush of almost euphoria that came from letting the surge of power run through her had been a heady thing and she wondered if it’d pushed her further than she would have normally allowed herself to go. While she was certain her rage at having her child put in harm’s way had tempered it some, she wasn’t all together certain it’d been enough. It wasn’t the deaths that she felt guilt over, those she’d killed had been dead the moment they’d kidnapped Mede, but how she did it was the issue. 

Turning her attention inward to examine the ebb and flow of her own aether, the damage she’d done was evident to her. She’d been born tainted, she knew that, but it’d been so small that had she never gone down the path she’d chosen it would have never grown. Every time she pulled from void magic, every blood magic spell she swore was worth the price, all of it added to that taint little by little. She’d gotten her revenge and had saved her son, but at a cost to herself. What had been a flicker of void taint that danced in stark black and deep purple around the edges of her aether had now woven itself even deeper into that inner flow, darkening that blue-white river with its presence. 

Even deeper she dove until she found the little cocoons of aether of the babies she carried. Ever so carefully she examined them, making sure that her actions hadn’t doomed them even before they had a chance to truly live. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she found them untouched, the precautions she’d taken to shield them having worked well. For a moment she let herself simply be with them, finding a sense of calm and wonder in knowing they were healthy and untouched. She could have lost them, or even worse left them tainted beyond what might have come from her bloodline. She’d been so reckless and yet she’d done what she’d needed to do in order to get her child back home to his father. She just wasn’t sure how far she’d go in the name of protecting her children or her family. First she’d nearly killed herself trying to help save Ayanga, Dunrai, C’tolemy, Mede and Terbish and now this. 

For years she’d gone without allowing anyone close to her except for three disastrous times and now she had so many people she’d allowed not only to get close but into her heart and soul. Everything in her screamed to protect them at all cost, even if the cost was herself. She knew it would only be a matter of time before she’d be forced to pay with a little more of herself again. 

She just wasn’t sure how much of herself she had to give before the price was too much. 

[thebritishblabbermouth]

Jungkook Fanfiction- BTS Mafia AU

Heyya :))

@atricksterwithwings requested a beautiful BTS mafia au, and I loved writing this for her. I’ve split it into three parts. Scroll down for the first and for the link to the latter. 

A/N: I’ve mentioned Zhang Yixing in this fanfiction aside from the other BTS members. Its totally okay if you dont know who he is...although you probably do, he’s like such a popular sheep ;) Find information about him here . 

Tell me your thoughts on this fanfic, Id love to receive any sort of feedback on my work and I totally think that likes and reblogs are recognition too :) Have fun reading, I know I really enjoyed writing this :) Its like 12 pages long on a word doc...idek anymore xP Jungkook is gorgeous. :) 

Also...there is cursing in this, mention of the mafia from different nationalities and part two and three are rated M (its smutty xP) Reader discretion is advised if any of these things bother you. 

Lots of love :) <3 - Enjoy :)  

PART 2

PART 3 (final)

1.

Jeon Jungkook stood at the 77th floor of Euphoria, the headquarters to the largest crime syndicate east of the Pacific Ocean. The height was dizzying for most, but not for him.

Jungkook had no fears; or so was assumed.

The man himself, was built at an impressive 6 feet and constituted of raw muscle, protein and a rather cynical approach towards life. Outwardly, the leader of the most legal crime syndicate was cold, intimidating and the type to burn you to ashes with a glare from his heated eyes.

Inwardly, he was exactly the same.

He was well aware of the effect he had on his employees, men and women who knew exactly of his affiliation with the Japanese Yazuka and the Italian Camorra yet pined to work under Jeon, the sheer power of his company bringing everyone to their knees with respect.

Euphoria was a giant.

It had dealings with government run telemarketing firms, banks, real estate agencies, alongside finance and technology markets. An easy way to convert money earned through extortion, gambling and trafficking to its pure and pristine form. The corrupt politicians whose elections he had funded didn’t complain. No one cared where the money came from and no one dared to ask otherwise. The cause of the founder’s formidable aura wasn’t a secret. Everyone knew how he had been tortured by his father, abandoned on the streets by a mother who seemed to love Heroin more than her own son. The story had been plastered all over the internet, and Jungkook would never deny reading through its many exaggerated versions. They were entertaining and did well to remind himself about how important money and power were, without those weapons, he too would be sitting in a room, writing about a life that belonged to someone else.

Materialism was reality and wealth- it’s currency.

~~~~~~~~~~~

‘’Sir, your coffee…’’ you said, walking through the office doors, a skip in your stride. There was no knock. No hint of awkwardness, no aspect of fear in the way she spoke. If anything there was the undertone of coercion, almost coaxing the man to leave his billion dollar thoughts in the gutter and focus solely on the warm drink.

Your playful extortion had worked, he was focused. Just not on the coffee.

Three months ago, Euphoria had issued an internal opportunity- PA to Jeon Jungkook. The post received 3 applications from his 20,000 employees. Min Yoongi, his chief of finance and operations took to appointing the least qualified of the bunch, a woman- aged a mere 22 years. The pitch to his ever frightening boss had been simple. ‘’You’ve let down 30 men in the last 6 months. I am done handling my job as well your shit. Those Harvard lunatics are too busy tending to their stupid resumes and I don’t have time for the garbage they throw at me when you fire their sorry arses. You’re settling with the woman, she’s got sick parents to feed- she won’t give a damn for ego as long as you pay her on time.’’

Jungkook could only snarl at the curses, the audacity of the man to speak in the way he did. Anyone else and they’d be lying in a pool of their own blood within seconds of the first word spoken against him. But Min Yoongi couldn’t be touched and this was a fact.

Jeon Jungkook was putty in the hands of his elder brother.

Today, he sent thanks to his sibling, for his aggressive outburst and daunting approach. You were priceless and the best decision ever- professionally of course.

He gave no reply to your request, not even a glance spared in your direction as your placed the drink onto his desk. There were just a series of footsteps, the man walking over to his maple work table, ready to do as he was told.

You had no idea of the prerogatives you held, and at that point, neither did him. The slight tease in your voice had mellowed down completely- replaced with the air of innocence and obeisance. Jungkook groaned at the sight. 

‘’So I was thinking…it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow…and well…’’ you said... Shuffling your buckled black heels.

‘’You aren’t leaving early.’’

His abrupt command had no thought behind it. Other than the fact he couldn’t let you out of his sight for more than a few hours, often paging you unnecessarily just to make you think of him.

He doubted you ever would if he didn’t.

‘’I am not…my parents are flying in tomorrow…it’s a small get together at my place with a few colleagues. I figured since you didn’t have anything planned…you could join us?’’  

Your apprehensive feet clicked across the hardwood with anticipation, the weightlessness behind your request holding the air in a trance.

‘’You’re my personal assistant, not event manager. You do not handle my private affairs so don’t think for a second that I care about your stupid Christmas dinner or the family I saved from crumbling.’’

It wasn’t what he had intended to say. Rather, his mind had flourished a thought he needed to keep locked away. He wanted to tell you that he’d love to join your family, share potato salad and amusing anecdotes across the table... All the while pressing his hand into your thigh- a subtle promise of sinful satisfaction later that night. But he wouldn’t dare to voice his feelings. You didn’t need to get involved with his shit, the scars that graced his back or the life full of gluttony and gambles he had chosen to lead. It was compulsion, to remind you every second of every day that the apartment which he bestowed upon you just 3 floors below his office- was a gracious boon, a gift given to improve your petty life. You had to be reminded of your father and how had been released from Jail after almost overdosing on the crack he had envisioned to peddle. Jeon Jungkook had to remind you of how ugly your tear stained face looked as you begged on your knees- begged for him to save your family.

There was simply no other way.

If you weren’t reminded, you’d crawl your way into his heart and sit there- encasing it completely.

He was just a damned moth to your flame.

‘’I know…and I am trying…I am trying to repay you. Please. Come over. I won’t waste your time.’’ You said. The words articulated with a purpose, were laced with meaningful sorrow but you couldn’t help the small smile that graced your lips.

He hadn’t declined.

Jungkook noticed how your full lips turned upwards, noticed how you had bent your head downwards, trying to hide your amusement. He knew he hadn’t said no, he knew inside the pits of his soul that was going to attend. Your reaction publicised his private notions completely.

It wasn’t hard to hate you.

Rather, it was the easiest thing in the world. His life had been built upon layers of lies, fear, judgement and mistrust. You tore everything apart with one look. He despised the hold you had over him, envied your purity and tried his best to tarnish it with his own two hands. Even if it meant burning your entire persona to ashes. He was well aware of the impact his audacious remarks on your large heart, knew just how much you wished to throw your small fists at his chest in rebuttal- he could see it in your eyes. But he knew you’d never break.

‘’Get out. I don’t have time for you.’’

Fuck.

Why couldn’t he just say no?

Probably because the thought of abjuration had never once crossed his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~

11 pm saw him standing at your door, a bouquet of Lilly’s in his hand. The flowers had almost wilted away. What the hell was he doing? Why was he even here? There was no noise from behind the oakwood and why would there be?

Your offer had been for dinner, not a midnight snack.

He wasn’t going to come, prove you wrong and act smug about the ordeal. However he had shown up, at 7 pm, flowers fresh and suit prim. Ready to tap onto the door and shimmy himself into you…your apartment. But his confidence dropped as he heard your laughter, it was beautiful, natural and something he had never experienced before.

Jeon Jungkook had never made you laugh, but had every thought of hearing you scream.

It wouldn’t have mattered to him if you were any other woman, but the lack of knowledge frightened him, made him think there would be another man who would have the pleasure of witnessing both sounds.

Every. Single. Day.

His heart beat erratically, edging him into a state of worry and insanity. What the fuck was wrong with him? It would be a complete lie if he said he hadn’t just stood in front of your door for 3 hours, praying he didn’t hear sounds of men. The silence at 11 pm provided comfort and he walked away, only after dropping the Lilly’s inside the vase at your desk.

You had been pleasantly surprised the next day, and you knew exactly who they were from. The flowers- drained from their pretty colour -were beautiful nonetheless and you couldn’t help but run your hands over their soft petals.

They were perfect- just like him.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

2.

‘’See that guy over there…he’s checking you out hon.’’ Lisa, the American-Chinese intern, stirred her tea at an exceedingly sluggish pace. Her eyes were glued onto the 27 year old accountant who stood in the corner of the room, photocopying his work and humming to himself. She’d been a temporary employee at Euphoria Inc. for a bare 3 weeks but had done well to pair 4 couples with her self-praised matchmaking skills.

3 of said relationships had broken up within 24 hours. And thus, It was only natural that her impeccable track record attracted many an employee to her small cubicle, ready for her to set them up with dates and one night stands.

It seemed that you were her next target.

You sighed and turned to look at Jamie. He was tall, considerably well-built and had this collegiate boyish charm to his appeal, his long-slightly raven locks sat faultlessly over his glasses.

The image was so immaculate it made you uncomfortable.

I

However in your opinion, the man on the 77th floor was nothing short of perfection. His ruffled hair didn’t need to be waxed and placed as it were; it fell naturally and it made you want to run your hands through it. His rugged and damaged personality sheltered his otherwise kind heart and you saw right through the vile facade. You didn’t hope for him to change. Didn’t hope for him to suddenly become a goofy cheeky soul; the kind who would sit and chat with his workers.

You loved the man as he was. A little broken but a hell of a lot confident.

‘’Lisa…I don’t really want to date him…’’ You mumbled, eagerly emptying coffee beans into the machine.

She laughed at your reply and peeled her eyes away from the man. ‘’Who said anything about dating love? I just said he was checking you out.’’

It was hard not to grimace at her words but as crude as they were you had to smile politely. Offices were run on brutal honesty and cut throat depositions. There was no room for pleasantries or hospitality and any that appeared were a courteous formality. You hurried in your steps and brewed the concoction with ease. It was 8 am and he required his morning fix, even though he never actually asked you to prepare it. You had just finished placing his black on the tray and had turned around to deliver it when a firm body crashed into yours, spilling the brew all over your clothes and the floor. The heat burned through your blouse and scorched your skin, it had been hard to not curse at the pain but you dealt through it, eyes shut tight in response.

‘’Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!’’ said the voice. It was a man, sharply handsome, his cheekbones were protruding and you were sure his skin glowed. It didn’t take long to recognise him.

Kim Taehyung.

He had been a prospective fiancé, from a year ago.

From a time when you had no viable job, no future and the money the Kim Family offered in exchange for your hand in matrimony, had been a welcome surprise to your household. They were staunchly against same sex marriages and Park Jimin had been banned from their home with immediate effect. The marijuana had inflected your otherwise gentle father and he had agreed in seconds to the proposal, not once considering your opinion. You had declined Taehyung in private, and he had hugged you in thanks. The man was humble and docile in more ways than one, and his heart had been taken years ago- by none other, than his childhood piano teacher. There was no way Taehyung would’ve agreed.  

‘’Tae!’’ You screamed, surprised yet elated at the discovery.

‘’Hey there fiancé. Glad to know you remember me…but really, why do we always meet in the worst of situations.’’ He walked over to the counter as he spoke, grabbing up as many napkins as he could find. His gentle hands took to patting at your chest, handing you the tissues while doing so and it didn’t take long for to dry up your blouse.

‘’I thought you’d be more respectful than that. Letting your fiancé walk into my building and displaying yourself open for the man. Tch Tch…I guess a lowlife is always a low life no matter what her circumstance.’’ Jeon Jungkook stood against the door, leaning onto it with a posture that screamed indifference. But in all reality, Jungkook was seething.

The small Glock tucked into his suit was ready to fire and destroy Kim Taehyung and maybe even leave a flesh wound inside Jamie the accountant.

However in that minute, his primal desire had been to destroy you. How dare you hide the news of your engagement? How dare you wear that damned pastel pink blouse to work, and let another man touch you so unabashedly? How dare you smile when you saw your betrothed? He hated you for everything.

And he hated himself for falling for you.

‘’And who the hell is this Joker?’’ Taehyung turned around to look at Jeon, the tissues in his hand soiled from the spillage. He had been invited to the corporation by Min Yoongi, a dear friend who had promised him help with TaeMin Designs, an upcoming entrepreneurial, founded by his beautiful husband. It didn’t occur to him that he’d meet you, but he was pleased that he had.

You were wonderful.

If it hadn’t been for your confidence, he would have never proposed to Jimin, never left his awful family and never been as happy as he was now. He owed you his life and his prosperity.

‘’Tae…he’s my boss. I’ll talk to you later. Please. I’ll call you hmm?’’ you tried your best to nip the fight in the bud. Taehyung was cool headed but an agitated version of the man could lead to the emergence of fists and blood. You were lucky he understood your pleas, and he grunted towards Jungkook while exiting the room, the daggers leaving his eyes were filled with venom and anger.

‘’I’d like you to pay attention to your job. Not to every single man out there. Why don’t you just do as you’re told? I don’t care what you do and who you do it with when you’re out of here.’’ Jungkook straightened himself against the wall and pocketed his hands. He told himself he enjoyed watching your eyes brim, told himself that his anger was justified. But god knows how much he wanted to cradle you and whisper apologies until you were forced to believe them.

‘’Let’s keep your sluttish acts away from the office hmm?’’

It was a harsh blow, enough to cause the first tear to slip from their confines. Why did he have to behave like that?

Why did you have to love him regardless of the way he did? 

~~~~~~~

3.  

‘’How long is it going to take you leave? It’s pretty simple. Take the bag to KM Constructions, drop it there and leave. What’s so hard? '' Jungkook’s anger had sky rocketed ever since the incidence in the cafeteria and he didn’t even understand why he was asking you to be a bag drop. Never once in a career spanning 6 years had he ever made a woman a part of a deal. But it seemed that you were an exception with everything.

‘’I am just leaving Sir.’’ You said, buttoning up the grey pea coat.

He noticed how inappropriately dressed you were, how feminine and vulnerable. He knew how lecherous men could be, knew it wasn’t safe. But annoyance clouded his senses and he threw the thoughts away. It was simple enough, no interactions. You’d be fine.

If only he knew.

Part 2

Part 3 

[historybehindassassinscreed]

In Game:

Christoffa Corombo (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo), better known by the anglicized Christopher Columbus, was an Italian navigator, colonizer, and explorer who worked with the nation of Spain. His voyages across the Atlantic Ocean exposed the existence of the Americas to the Europeans and planted the very first seeds of the Spanish Empire, though his original intention was to find a western route to India and China.

It was in 1491 that he was first contacted by a Rodrigo Borgia, Grand Master of the Templar Order, who he knew only as "the Spaniard". The Spaniard offered a long-term business partnership with Christoffa, whereby he would sponsor his voyage. Luis, secretly an Assassin, suspected that the meeting was a trap, but the desperate Christoffa refused to heed his warnings.

Faced with little choice, Luis accompanied Christoffa to Venice, where Christoffa was to meet with his sponsor for the very first time. While Christoffa hurried to the meeting, Luis left for the local Thieves Guild to request its Assassin leader Antonio de Magianis for help in protecting his friend. Luis's intuition proved correct: the meeting was indeed a set-up, and the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze assigned by Antonio to oversee the meeting arrived just in time to save Christoffa from murder; the Spaniard himself never showed.

Once his safety had been secured, Christoffa and Luis attempted to return to their lodgings, only to find that it had been raided by Borgia soldiers. Though their hostel's occupation would have been of little consequence to them, Christoffa's prized atlas was still inside. Its loss would not only jeopardize Christoffa's goal, but as it exposed the existence of the Americas, Luis feared the ramifications should it fall into the hands of the Templars. Without the means to fight the Borgia forces, they awaited Ezio at the Garden District, having asked him to meet them there should the meeting have gone askew. Ezio, unaware that Luis was an Assassin and not wishing to act as a mercenary-for-hire, was ever as reluctant when Christoffa and Luis asked Ezio to help them retrieve the atlas. Even so, he acquiesced due to the mission's possible connection with his archenemy, Rodrigo Borgia.

While the Assassin left to sneak into the hostel, Christoffa and Luis prepared for their departure at the Venetian harbor. As expected, Ezio returned with the atlas after escaping a pursuit by Borgia soldiers through the catacombs and streets of Venice. Although some parts of the atlas were indeed lost in the attack, they were able to retain the most significant maps—those drawn by the famed Turkish cartographer Piri Reis. While Christoffa momentarily left to check on the ships, Ezio advised Luis that he and Christoffa should bring their own protection the next time they come to Italy, to which Luis explained that their failure to do so owed to the Assassins of Spain being wiped out by the Spanish Inquisition, a remark that would prompt Ezio to venture to Aragon to save these Assassin on his own initiative. It was then that Christoffa returned to notify Luis that their ship was waiting on them to depart, and the two set sail back to Spain.

In Spain, Christoffa resumed his protracted negotiations with Castile in the hope that they would at some point finally concede to his requests for funds. Nevertheless, the prospect of such a sponsorship was kept perpetually on hold while Castile remained embroiled in their war against the Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish state in Iberia. With their treasury tied up in such a conflict, there was little cause for Queen Isabella to invest in a risky expedition.

Unbeknownst to Christoffa, this setback was orchestrated by the Templars themselves, who had one of their spies routinely provide false counsel to Emir Muhammad XII of Granada to dissuade him from surrender. By deliberately prolonging the war, they hoped to exhaust Castile's treasury and delay Christoffa's voyage, having failed to kill him, providing them with an opportunity to journey to the Americas and dominate the continent before its existence became common European knowledge.

Thanks to the intervention of Ezio, however, the Templar plot was ended, with the Assassin freeing Muhammad XII from Templar captivity after they took him hostage in retaliation for their spy's assassination and convincing the emir to at last abdicate the throne. Christoffa was present in Granada itself as it fell to the Spanish forces, meeting with Ezio, Luis, and their friend Raphael Sánchez just as Spanish soldiers entered the city. Despite how little time had passed since the surrender of the city, Christoffa immediately set out to urge Queen Isabella to lend him the funds for his voyage.

As soon as Luis had been informed by Queen Isabella of Christoffa's departure, he instantly deduced that the supposed offer by Louis XII was a trap and anxiously sent Ezio to save Christoffa's life yet again. To persuade him to return to him, he told Ezio to preemptively tell Christoffa that Queen Isabella had changed her mind, intending to fund half the expedition out of his pocket for his sake. Ezio intercepted Christoffa just moments before he was ambushed by a Templar guard captain, who Ezio slew after a brief fight. While Christoffa was skeptical of Ezio's claim that Louis XII had never actually offered his sponsorship, Ezio assured him that this was a moot point given that Queen Isabella was now open to his proposal. With that, Christoffa returned with Ezio to meet with Queen Isabella, just as she reached an agreement with Luis to sponsor Christoffa's voyage at last—but only because Luis promised to cover half the expenses.

That same year, the Assassin Aguilar de Nerha entrusted Christoffa with an Apple of Eden, tasking him to keep it safe after having wrestled it from Tomás de Torquemada when Grand Inquisitor sought to take it from Muhammad XII.

Christoffa kept the artifact until his death, and he was eventually buried with it at the Seville Cathedral. There, it would remain until the Templars, learning of its location from viewing the genetic memories of Aguilar through the Animus, took it from his tomb in 2016.

In Real Life:

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, part of present-day Italy, in 1451. His parents’ names were Dominico Colombo and Susanna Fontanarossa. He had three brothers: Bartholomew, Giovanni, and Giacomo; and a sister named Bianchinetta. Christopher became an apprentice in his father’s wool weaving business, but he also studied mapmaking and sailing as well. 

His career as a seaman began effectively in the Portuguese merchant marine. After surviving a shipwreck off Cape Saint Vincent at the southwestern point of Portugal in 1476, he based himself in Lisbon, together with his brother Bartholomew. Both were employed as chart makers, but Columbus was principally a seagoing entrepreneur. In 1477 he sailed to Iceland and Ireland with the merchant marine, and in 1478 he was buying sugar in Madeira as an agent for the Genoese firm of Centurioni.

In 1479 he met and married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, a member of an impoverished noble Portuguese family. Their son, Diego, was born in 1480. Between 1482 and 1485 Columbus traded along the Guinea and Gold coasts of tropical West Africa and made at least one voyage to the Portuguese fortress of São Jorge da Mina (now Elmina, Ghana) there, gaining knowledge of Portuguese navigation and the Atlantic wind systems along the way. Felipa died in 1485, and Columbus took as his mistress Beatriz Enríquez de Harana of Córdoba, by whom he had his second son, Ferdinand.

In 1484 Columbus began seeking support for an Atlantic crossing from King John II of Portugal but was denied aid. (Some conspiracy theorists have alleged that Columbus made a secret pact with the monarch, but there is no evidence of this.) By 1486 Columbus was firmly in Spain, asking for patronage from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. After at least two rejections, he at last obtained royal support in January 1492. This was achieved chiefly through the interventions of the Spanish treasurer, Luis de Santángel, and of the Franciscan friars of La Rábida, near Huelva, with whom Columbus had stayed in the summer of 1491. Juan Pérez of La Rábida had been one of the queen’s confessors and perhaps procured him the crucial audience.

(Image source)

Christian missionary and anti-Islamic fervour, the power of Castile and Aragon, the fear of Portugal, the lust for gold, the desire for adventure, the hope of conquests, and Europe’s genuine need for a reliable supply of herbs and spices for cooking, preserving, and medicine all combined to produce an explosion of energy that launched the first voyage. Columbus had been present at the siege of Granada, which was the last Moorish stronghold to fall to Spain (January 2, 1492), and he was, in fact, riding back from Granada to La Rábida when he was recalled to the Spanish court and the vital royal audience. Granada’s fall had produced euphoria among Spanish Christians and encouraged designs of ultimate triumph over the Islamic world, albeit chiefly, perhaps, by the back way round the globe. A direct assault eastward could prove difficult, because the Ottoman Empire and other Islamic states in the region had been gaining strength at a pace that was threatening the Christian monarchies themselves. The Islamic powers had effectively closed the land routes to the East and made the sea route south from the Red Sea extremely hard to access. 

Thus a great number of interests were involved in this adventure, which was, in essence, the attempt to find a route to the rich land of Cathay (China), to India, and to the fabled gold and spice islands of the East by sailing westward over what was presumed to be open sea. Columbus himself clearly hoped to rise from his humble beginnings in this way, to accumulate riches for his family, and to join the ranks of the nobility of Spain. In a similar manner, but at a more exalted level, the Catholic Monarchs hoped that such an enterprise would gain them greater status among the monarchies of Europe, especially against their main rival, Portugal. Then, in alliance with the papacy (in this case, with the Borgia pope Alexander VI), they might hope to take the lead in the Christian war against the infidel.

(Image source)

The ships for the first voyage—the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María—were fitted out at Palos, on the Tinto River in Spain. Consortia put together by a royal treasury official and composed mainly of Genoese and Florentine bankers in Sevilla (Seville) provided at least 1,140,000 maravedis to outfit the expedition, and Columbus supplied more than a third of the sum contributed by the king and queen. Queen Isabella did not, then, have to pawn her jewels (a myth first put about by Bartolomé de Las Casas in the 16th century).

The little fleet left on August 3rd, 1492. The admiral’s navigational genius showed itself immediately, for they sailed southward to the Canary Islands, off the northwest African mainland, rather than sailing due west to the islands of the Azores. The westerlies prevailing in the Azores had defeated previous attempts to sail to the west, but in the Canaries the three ships could pick up the northeast trade winds; supposedly, they could trust to the westerlies for their return. After nearly a month in the Canaries the ships set out from San Sebastián de la Gomera on September 6th.

Adverse winds carried the fleet to an island called Ayti (Haiti) by its Taino inhabitants; on December 6th Columbus renamed it La Isla Española, or Hispaniola. He seems to have thought that Hispaniola might be Cipango or, if not Cipango, then perhaps one of the legendarily rich isles from which King Solomon’s triennial fleet brought back gold, gems, and spices to Jerusalem (1 Kings 10:11, 22); alternatively, he reasoned that the island could be related to the biblical kingdom of Sheba (Sabaʾ). There Columbus took at least enough gold and prosperity from the natives to save him from ridicule on his return to Spain.

On January 16th, 1493, Columbus left with his remaining two ships for Spain. The journey back was a nightmare. The westerlies did indeed direct them homeward, but in mid-February, a terrible storm engulfed the fleet. The Niña was driven to seek harbor at Santa Maria in the Azores, where Columbus led a pilgrimage of thanksgiving to the shrine of the Virgin; however, hostile Portuguese authorities temporarily imprisoned the group. After securing their freedom Columbus sailed on, stormbound, and the damaged ship limped to port in Lisbon. There he was obliged to interview with King John II. These events left Columbus under the suspicion of collaborating with Spain’s enemies and cast a shadow on his return to Palos on March 15.

On this first voyage, many tensions built up that was to remain through all of Columbus’s succeeding efforts. First and perhaps most damaging of all, the admiral’s apparently high religious and even mystical aspirations were incompatible with the realities of trading, competition, and colonization. Columbus never openly acknowledged this gulf and so was quite incapable of bridging it.

The gold, parrots, spices, and human captives Columbus displayed for his sovereigns at Barcelona convinced all of the need for a rapid second voyage. Columbus was now at the height of his popularity, and he led at least 17 ships out from Cádiz on September 25th, 1493. Colonization and Christian evangelization were openly included this time in the plans, and a group of friars shipped with him. The presence of some 1,300 salaried men with perhaps 200 private investors and a small troop of cavalry are a testimony to the anticipations for the expedition. 

By the time he died on May 20th, 1479, he had had a total of four voyages across the Atlantic. Columbus had reached Spain in November 1504 after his final voyage. He was not in good health. He spent much of the last of his life writing letters to obtain the percentage of wealth overdue to be paid to him, and trying to re-attain his governorship status, but was continually denied both. He died firmly believing that he had traveled to the eastern part of Asia.

Sources:

http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus

https://www.biography.com/people/christopher-columbus-9254209

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus/The-fourth-voyage-and-final-years

http://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/christopher-columbus/

[spencersxeh304-blog]

17 Signs You Work With cbd blüten

Since ancient instances, food has been preserved by techniques such as curing, smoking, storing in salt or brine, and freezing: methods that ensure supplies won't run out when unfortunate circumstances limit the availability of fresh products. This helpful guide will go over the most popular cannabis items you will run into when you obtain marijuana in Naples. Different products are better fitted to different conditions. So, it cbdbro.ch/shop/cbd-blueten-marryjane-white-widow-pre-roll/ is critical to use this guide and the knowledge of your budtender to make the best health options for you.

Smoking CBD Buds. All benefits and advantages, and also all risks and side effects. Answering questions like can you obtain high or addicted of CBD Strains? Perform you move a drug test after smoking Cannabidiol? How about driving? Can you drive an automobile after vaping medical hemp.

Trainwreck is a reasonably infamous stress of marijuana. Everyone offers heard about it. Euphoria” is just how many smokers describe the sensation they get from Trainwreck, and medical individuals insist it can help them with anxiety and also PTSD.​ With notes of lemon flitting around in the background, Trainwreck can be, hands down, one of the most effective hybrids on the market today.

Cons: Edibles might appear a fun way to take CBD, but it's an especially inefficient technique, says Kaminski, the pharmacology and toxicology professor in Michigan Condition. That's because eating or drinking your CBD means it'll enter the bloodstream through the digestive tract, so it will need a while-30 moments or longer-before you are feeling it. Plus, the meals it's in, along with other foods you consume, could influence the way the body absorbs it, and undermine its potential effect.

A third citation was from Genesis II, the story of the Tower of Babel. According to the Dutch theologians, sinful men tried to go against the Will of God, which is "separateness" ("Apartheid", by creating unity and homogeniety of the human race God toppled the plan by causing misunderstandings among the builders of the tower to ensure that they ended up speaking different languages and, therefore, could no more understand each other. 'He' then divided the nations and distributed them all around the world."(Cronje) In the practical and real concrete conditions and practical conditions of the problem in South Africa, in those times, this designed 'separating' Africans from Europeans.

What about the hemp plant? Is there therapeutic benefits of smoking hemp flower CBD? The hemp plant is a number of the Cannabis sativa plant species that has an insignificant quantity of mind-altering 0.3 THC content (

Additionally it is interesting to notice that Tellinger and Heine postulate, within certain limits, properly about the origins of 'architecture' type South Africa, but simultaneously, won't acknowledge nor recognize that the land has long been peopled by Individual beings-present-day Africans, as he notes that "man appeared around 260,000 years, which too, I dispute, but want to increase that was when a fully fledged culture had been ripe and around that involves us today seeing that the structures they have reproduced of the materials culture of the the property.

But, the Enki myth and story is a very serious stretch and denying the Oral background and tradtion of several of these structures which can be within African folkorelore. The Sumerians had been correct in stating, of their texts, that or making reference to the actual fact that southern Africa experienced a civilization as a "time before period", is in actual fact true and indisputable. However they did not bring any civilization to the Mzantsi What i'm saying is in this Hub.

The consequences of marijuana on the body are often immediate. Longer-term effects may depend about how you take it, how much you utilize, and how frequently you use it. The exact results are hard to determine because marijuana has been illegal in the U.S., making studies difficult and expensive to conduct.

The replication of shafted tool produce only using methods and materials available at Sibudu has enabled the identification of the complexity of the idea processes that it required. The stone spear was embedded in the solid wood using a compound adhesive produced up of plant gum, crimson ochre and, to aid the workability, possibly a small amount of beeswax, coarse contaminants or extra fat. This preliminary mixture needed the proper ingredient proportions and, before shafting, go through a controlled heat treatment stage. This heating had in order to avoid boiling or dehydrating the mix too much, otherwise it would weaken the resulting mastic. Also the maker acquired to reduce its acidity. By experimentally recreating the creation of this adhesive, researchers figured the center Stone Age (MSA) humans at Sibudu would have needed the multilevel mental functions and abstract considered modern people to do that.

In the usa market, our team has been actively creating a selection of high-quality CBD products and product marketing programs and securing the production resources essential to bring products to the U.S. market by the end of this fiscal year. The Company has developed a broad CBD product offering that includes skincare and cosmetics, topical creams, vape products, beverages, edibles, natural oils and softgels, and remains on track to unveil CBD items this fiscal year.

The recent legalization of cannabis for medical purposes in a few US states has reinvigorated the debate over cannabis in Germany. Support for medical cannabis has been rising in Germany. Legislators recently passed a legislation that will allow severely ill individuals who absence treatment alternatives to obtain dried cannabis plants and cannabis extracts from pharmacies with a prescription from their doctor. The law will get into effect in the springtime of 2017.

CBD, a constituent of marijuana, is broadly touted seeing that nature's miracle by CBD enthusiasts It does not get people high, unlike marijuana's primary constituent, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). However, given the latest surge in its reputation, you'd think the molecule is certainly magic.

Instead, federal laws dictates that experts typically must obtain any weed for scientific trials through the National Institute on SUBSTANCE ABUSE, which uses cannabis grown at the University of Mississippi. Scientists have lengthy complained about the difficulty of obtaining that marijuana, as well as its limited quality, variety and usefulness for scientific research.

[sablelab]

Three Days in the Highlands Chapter 33

DISCLAIMER:

This is a complete work of fiction and as such is an entirely fabricated tale created in my imagination.  I appreciate you taking the time to read my story . Many thanks xox

SYNOPSIS:

Emotions overcome them and both surrender to one another. Some Highly Suggestive text.  

Special thanks to the talented @sassylover-stuff  for her bubble bath manip picture used below for inspiration for this chapter. xox 

Chapter 33

Caitriona gasped at Sam’s hoarsely spoken words, her entire body shuddering with anticipation of a kiss from the man whose kisses she knew intimately. Time stood still as every sense of hers heightened as she watched his delicious mouth move slowly towards hers.   His eyes lingered on Cait’s face with love and devotion as ever so gently his large hand grabbed a handful of her damp hair curling the tendrils around his fingers as she fisted her hands over his chest.  Eagerness for the caress she knew would curl her toes gnawed at her bones as Caitriona waited for that electric current to course through her body with the feel of her lover’s lips against her own.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on taking steady breaths to help alleviate the staccato beating of her heart pounding in her chest.  Then with a tenderness that stole her breath away, Sam’s face dipped down, his mouth capturing her mouth.  Persuasive lips brushed over hers and rapidly turned into overwhelming desire.  A strangled moan travelled up Cait’s throat, she melted into his caress as her arms draped around his neck. Slanting his mouth slightly to readjust his penetration, he caressed Caitriona’s soft lips with gentle nips and protracted connection teasing her soft mouth then capturing her lips with determination deepening his kiss.  Sucking Cait’s lower lip between his, Sam tugged on it, gently nipping the soft fleshy mound gently with his teeth.  She just managed to take a quivering breath before his next onslaught when his tongue licked across her upper lip.  Air hissed between her teeth as pleasure ricocheted through her body.  Caitriona groaned, unable to stop the feelings of sublime joy his kiss evoked.

“Sam ... Oh, Sam...,”  she cried out cry when he pulled back relinquishing his mouth from hers to watch the reaction of the woman he adored in his arms.

His fingers danced along his love’s nape then threaded up through her hair before caressing her scalp with one hand in rhythmic circles that had Cait swooning with feeling. Sam then moved his other hand, to the small of her back. Arching into him, Caitriona pressed her tummy tightly against his muscular body and slid seductively against his torso with a need so great that her body had a mind of its own.  Glazed eyes opened wide as she ground against him and Sam retaliated tightening his grip on her body while bringing her mouth back down to his and sealing his lips over hers like a drowning man gasping for breath.  

Sam’s kiss was more demanding this time as his mouth greedily explored Cait’s with a hunger that could not be denied. His tongue sort entry to the wet cavern of her mouth and he slid it home with assurance and familiarity. Fire raced through her veins as her love’s wet, hot tongue swept erotically within her mouth. It was unbelievably arousing to her senses and Caitriona whimpered sliding her own tongue against his in the mating duel of lovers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bathwater sloshed at their sides when Sam adjusted their position. Boldly cupping her backside, his fingers glided across his beloved’s velvet, smooth skin while Cait’s hands travelled up his chest and wrapped around his neck. Her fingers tangled in the curls behind Sam’s ears before sliding up the back of his head and in doing so brought her closer and even more flush against his body. Caitriona Balfe was a firecracker and was ready to explode. Her fingers tightened in his hair, angling his face against hers just like Sam had done previously to her.

They were both panting, gasping for breath, their chests rose and fell rapidly as they looked into each other’s eyes.  Both were as aroused as one another and were on the precipitous of something momentous. The hard length of Sam Heughan pressed hotly between her suddenly damp thighs left Caitriona in no allusion as to how he was feeling. Sam’s erection brushed her inner thigh as her heightened nipples scraped his chest while she wantonly rubbed against his growing arousal. Cait was really enjoying his predicament and a carefree chuckle bubbled up in her chest revelling in the knowledge that she was the one who had this effect on him. Not to be outdone, Sam deftly lifted his love closer into his arms until they were flush wet skin to wet skin. He smiled a huge big smile that could mean only one thing. His legs parted wider and in so doing caused Cait to open up her body to his in wanton yearning. He pulled her closer and closer until his erection was poised where she ached for him.  Smiling, Caitriona wiped the moisture from Sam’s brow with her fingertips. She ran them over his eyebrow in a mirrored imitation of similar erotic moves to her while he closed his eyes, loving the gentle, soothing touch of his love.  

"I love you," she whispered softly, running a hand over his ribs lightly. She closed her eyes at Sam’s answering moan, returning it with one of her own when he began kissing her neck.

Lifting Caitriona up, he captured her lips in a searing kiss. Tongues duelled hotly from one mouth to the other, frantic and full of need. Sam’s hand reached up and cupped Cait’s breast, squeezing it gently and running his thumb over the already diamond hard nipple. He nipped lightly at her lower lip, just hard enough for her to feel his teeth, as he caressed his lover's breast.

Caitriona groaned deeply into his mouth and held her love tightly, feeling a pleasant warmth beginning in the pit of her stomach. But it was too soon, but at the same time not soon enough. This dichotomy of feeling was at loggerheads in her brain. She pushed Sam away slowly; looking into his desire clouded eyes, and smiled. Ever the tease, she then darted her hands down his chest circling his hardened nipples and rotated her fingertips around and around.  

His chest was heaving and although Sam tried to calm his breathing, he couldn’t.  Vixen, he thought, my, darling, adorable, sexy vixen!

Dextrous hands captured hers and sensually placed them in his mouth.  Unable to escape the sexual tension in the room and the need to connect even more viscerally with his love suddenly his strong hands gripped Caitriona’s waist.  Sam shifted his body closer still to his love’s body until with one deep, penetrating thrust he entered her welcoming depths.  The feel of her man was sublime. Cait’s head fell back and she closed her eyes as a deep sigh escaped her mouth as she began to rock with him moving in the synchronised rhythm of love.

“Cai-tri-ona … My Cait  …, ’’  he uttered like a sacred mantra as they joined together in total abandonment.

Their bodies shuddered in pleasure from the explosion occurring between them. Strangled cries emitted from their throats at the potent connection of bodies and souls, while simultaneously keening moans gushed from their lips as they both surrendered to the moment. Shuddering with shared ecstasy they had found release as the intense pleasure rendered them both speechless.

Caitriona looked down. It was as if she knew what he was thinking. Sam looked up … his eyes devouring her gaze, pupils still blackened in passion. Burning blue eyes pierced her glance as Sam’s eyes met hers fervently capturing Cait’s gaze in transcendent perusal. Their eyes locked; connected and held … savouring the euphoria of their love as they both shared this magical moment.

It felt good.

It felt right.

It was perfect.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Making love in the bathtub was all Caitriona thought it would be and more, however, in due course Sam lifted her turning her body in the water until her back was resting against his chest and her buttocks were nestled against him. The feel of his beloved’s naked form against his torso and groin filled him with lust for the woman who had stolen his heart.  Her porcelain skin was like velvet and the thought of running his hands over her lithe body suddenly made him catch his breath. The need to leave a trail of kisses across her skin was oh, so tempting as tactile expression heightened his senses and touching Caitriona’s skin always filled him with a kaleidoscope of feeling for this beautiful, strong, independent woman.  

Sam’s eyes lovingly glided over the silky, smooth skin of Caitriona’s body, across her shoulder blades and to where the loose damp tendrils of her topknot kissed her neck.  His fingertips gently glided over her spine like butterfly kisses and Cait shivered in delight of her lover’s touch. Sam gently moved her tresses to one side so that his warm lips could caress a trail of spot fires along the length of her exposed neck. A guttural sigh escaped from her lips as her head fell back against Sam’s chest exposing the erogenous area that throbbed for his kiss.

“Ahhh.”

The audible, evocative moan was music to Sam’s ears.   He shifted position in the bathtub as Cait melted against him knowing that once more the urge to make love with his woman was electrifying.

The way Sam was making her feel filled her heart to bursting as she felt his lips dance across her throat anointing her damp skin. Burrowing his head into her neck, Sam nipped kisses to the column of her throat, each one a little more intense than the last. With her eyes closed in sensual pleasure, Caitriona reached up one of her hands and tenderly stroked his neck before she splayed her fingers to the base of Sam’s head and drew him closer to her. Angling her head just so, she opened up a tapestry of skin for him to better his masterstrokes and to work his magic.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The touch of her lover’s fingers running circles across the top of her shoulder made Cait sigh in pleasure. Sam was a master magician and with every small caress she fell deeper and deeper under his spell. He ran his fingers down the sides of her arms and intertwined his fingers with hers. He then brought her hand up and kissed their joined hands as once again he shifted beneath the water, unable to control the effect his woman had on his libido.  Leaning back against the porcelain bathtub Sam pulled Cait back close towards his body and pulled her pert backside into a more intimate position against his groin.  

“Ahhh … my Cait … I do love you so,” he breathed against her lobe as his lips caressed her ear with the gentlest of kisses.  

Blissfully sighing, she snuggled closer and rested her head contentedly on his chest.  “And I love you.”

At her reply, Sam moved and when Cait looked at him she was captured by the fathomless gaze of her lover studying her intensely.  His eyes caressed her delicate features and lingered on her beckoning mouth and the tongue tip just cheekily peeking through her lips.

Her hand reached for his lovingly interlacing her fingers and squeezing them gently. She smiled; her eyes lingering on his sensuous mouth. Caitriona traced her fingertips along his powerful jaw feeling the bristly stubble on his chin which tickled the pads of her fingertips and Sam rubbed his chin up and down her palm. Overcome with the erotic sensation of the rough hairs pressed into her hand, Cait mewed happily. Tenderly she stroked his face before tracing the outline of his oh-so talented mouth, trailing her finger lazily across his bottom lip. She dipped it inside his mouth all the while holding his gaze and he intimately kissed her fingers, holding them to his lips.  

Blue eyes were captivated by his lips and her leisurely touch was having an effect on his logical thought patterns. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Sam?”

Releasing her hand he too traced Cait’s petal soft lips before closing the distance between them with a chaste caress. “Hmmm?” he answered as his fingertips separated the tangled tresses from Caitriona’s nape. 

“I can’t believe that ...” 

“... That we just made love in this bath?” He replied finishing her sentence.

She blushed at his reply, caught in his spell as the soft timbre of Sam’s voice caressed her ears. Her thoughts were in overdrive basking in the sweetness of what their life would be like here at the farmhouse and waking up every morning with Sam for the years to come. 

“Well ... it was rather nice Heughan,” she uttered in a hushed voice.

Smiling back at her, his hand reached up and brushed her brown tresses away from her temple. He then stroked her delicate features sliding the backs of his fingers up and down her cheek and under her chin. Lovingly, he traced the arch of her brow with the pads of his fingertips before gently kissing her forehead.  Caitriona welcomed his touch and rubbed her head against Sam’s hand, wanting his touch.

“That it was Balfe.”  He grinned, “Very nice indeed.” Sam continued to caress her features as he kept speaking against her ear lobe. “And here we are  ... still making love in the bath,” he added softly for further elucidation.

Stroking along her eyebrow Sam traced her petal soft lips then closing the distance between them he tenderly captured her mouth in another gentle kiss. 

“Do you realise how tempting you are Caitriona lying here in my arms, naked, wet and delectably adorable? You’re killing me.  You, my love are the devil incarnate. You tempt me so that I just can’t resist.”

“And you think that you don’t do the same to me whenever you are near? Well you’d be wrong ... very wrong. I think we are both equally to blame.”

“I agree honey. Perhaps we need to slow down or we just might drown in this bubble bath.”

“You think?”

“I do ... we can continue this later in more comfortable surroundings you know.”

“Hhmmph.”

Sam teasingly nipped Caitriona’s bottom lip once more. “We better think about getting out of the bathtub then before the water turns tepid.”

She splayed her hands against his chest and traced her fingernail across his skin with intent. Sam sucked in his breath trembling at her touch. “Why? Can’t we just stay here?” Cait replied mischievously feeling his painful erection begin to throb once more against her soft skin at her reply. 

Slipping a hand around the nape of her neck, Sam brought Caitriona’s face close to his. “Because ... you ... my love, will look like a frizzled up prune and we can’t have that happening now can we?”

“Well then, if I will turn out like a prune what about you Heughan?”

His eyebrow lifted in the way that she adored and he scrunched up his face as he bopped her on the nose. “That would be something resembling a Shar Pei puppy ... I guess. Still cute but very wrinkly.”

He watched as a beaming smile crossed her features. Caitriona laughed, her infectious laughter echoing throughout the bathroom. “Well then we can’t have that happening. It could be quite painful.”

“No more painful than what you are feeling after your climb today babe.”

“I’m feeling much better Sam but ... I may need some more TLC.”

“Well then ... perhaps we may just have time for one more dalliance my darling.  I have to make sure that those aches and pains have eased from your climb today.” “Do your worst Heughan. I’m up for another challenge.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Are you sure this will help Sam?”

“Oh I’m very sure Balfe.  Just enjoy.”

The feel of Caitriona’s body so intimately against his sent rolling shivers along Sam’s nervous system. Her touch was like an electric current running through him that he was unable to ignore.  As if on their own accord his hands slid along her arms dancing across Cait’s skin as if reading Braille and mapping the curves of her body to memory.

“Does it hurt here babe?”

“A little ...”

“And here?”

Dancing his fingertips down between her breastbones Sam sensually rotated his palms over her nipples.  In response they immediately beaded at his touch but when his hands dipped below the bubbles floating on the water and ran them across her stomach, Caitriona clenched her teeth. His hands moved even lower still, skimming across her groin where she ached for his touch.

“Nnn... no.” Cait mewed closing her eyes at his sensual attack.

Sam whispered lurid, erotic mutterings in Caitriona’s ear as his mouth placed damp, wet kisses to her neck before working his way to her nape. Her breath caught in her throat and Cait became an amoebic shape that leaned her body to his.  Sam Heughan certainly knew how to torment her, but his touch felt wonderful and healing. Picking up a bath sponge from the side table, he lowered it into the water and then slowly and deliberately began to ease it over Caitriona’s breasts, drizzling the water in droplets all over them.  

“How does that feel, my darling?”

Through hooded eyes, she watched the beads of water and soap bubbles trickle down between her breasts and then disappear into the water again. Caitriona’s breath hitched in her throat and her inaudible reply was a muffled sound that seemed to evaporate in the room. Her reply was one hushed word.

“Won ...der ... ful.”

“Good.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sam felt his beloved mould into his body as if she was indeed weightless. She felt so relaxed and the things he was doing to her made Cait forget about her sprained ankle, sore knees and aching limbs. Deft fingers sensually rolled the sponge down along Caitriona’s thighs then gently around her sore knees, before ever so lightly trailing it along her inner thigh until he was poised at her hidden opening.  Cait bit her lip not knowing that her man was doing exactly the same.  Sam’s fingers touched her intimately as they trailed behind the sponge, before one finger, then two inched inside her body until Cait writhed under his touch, lost in sheer bliss.

Her voice was husky with built up emotion. "Sss-am," she whispered.

The longing sound of his name on her lips was all that he needed to hear.  The feel of Caitriona’s skin rubbing against his own was more than enough to send him over the edge and the night was still young.  His Cait was melting in his arms as they lay in the bubble bath and Sam could feel that she was on the brink of capitulation once more.

Gently he cupped her cheek in his palm while his thumb stroked under her chin. With his other hand he continued to drizzle warm water over her breasts with the sponge until she arched her back in sensation. Her man was bathing away her physical pain but he was administering pleasure at the same time. Leaning back Caitriona cupped her love’s head and drew him towards her so that they could see each other.  

Beset with passion their eyes locked with an intensity that stunned them both. The sponge dropped from his fingers. Simultaneously, guttural sighs escaped their mouths as they kissed deeply, hard and long with all the desire they possessed for one another.

“Sam … my Sam!” Cait sighed in defeat. Her arms encircled his head bring her love’s sensual mouth to her own once more devouring his lips until she couldn’t think.

Overcome with emotion at his love’s reaction he couldn’t help himself. Without wavering Sam shifted his body, taking her with him and rolled Caitriona’s body back on top of his flush from neck to knee.

“This is just the beginning my love ... it could be a long night.”

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for reading. xox

[monoceros-celestial]

Hi! I saw your post and thought I would like a reading. So I'm gonna give like a General question and I'm not sure if any of these can be used with playing cards so Ill ask three and you just pick one you like and what one you can answer with a deck of cards 1)What positives do the people in my life provide me? 2)What am I not seeing? OR 3) Are there truths that I am denying? ALSO before I forget thank you very much!

Thank you for choosing me to do this reading for you! I hope to answer your questions thoroughly and it resonates with you. I hope you do not mind, but I will be answering all three to test my limitations!

With that said. Here we go. :)

Question one: What positives do the people in my life provide me?

I pulled. The 6 of Clubs, the 10 of Diamonds, and the 5 of hearts. So far this is a very positive spread in regards to your question.

6 of Clubs

The 6 of clubs has many meanings, but since you are looking for what sort of positives people in your life bring you. I am looking at its more optimistic meanings!Now this card can also express a small conflict and obstacle that you are struggling to resolve. It tells me that once you do, things will start to look more positive for you, and that you will harmonizing well with your friends and family. Whether it be expressing your concerns or possibly confiding in them. The people in your life may not be saying much, but this card indicates that in the future you will start receiving recognition from the people around you. Maybe now it does not feel like this currently, but this tells me that these feelings will soon be realized. 

This card can also indicate that you can achieve this by helping people around you. Is there someone in your life who you know is struggling? A friend, a family member? Maybe both? Sometimes when you help others, they will show their gratitude and with that, you receive positive energy in return. When you help others, they will help you in return. This tells me that soon you will start to receive what is rightfully yours after all you have given.

10 of diamonds

With this card, it confirms what I believe the first was trying to inform you of. The 10 of diamonds is a good omen! Its very literal meaning is ‘success after a period of difficulty‘. So if you have been having a hard time in your life. I am telling you now that the people in your life will start to help you on your path. They are there for you, and are waiting for you to be ready to confide in them. If you have been worried that all you have done has meant nothing, worry no longer! Things will start changing for you as long as you are putting your trust in the people you believe truly appreciate it! (Of course feel free to go at the pace that makes you comfortable!) 

It can also indicate your friends and family might also be looking to you for guidance and truly are appreciating this from you. So is someone possibly really looking to you for help? If this is so, I believe you are the right person for the job. You are favored by the people who seek you out!

5 of Hearts

Last but not least. The 5 of Hearts. A happy union will be coming your way with this card. You will start to feel at harmony with those in your social circle. There will be joy and euphoria with the positive people in your life. The ones you trust, and the ones that trust you! This card has clarified much of what I have said. I am sure the people you are thinking about during this reading, are the ones who this is truly about. By helping out whatever family members, and friends are in need of you, you will start to feel closer and bonded with them. Don’t be scared of this, this tells me that good things will come out of it and they are accepting to go at your pace!

Question two: What am I not seeing?

Ahem....So.

It is very interesting how this second question’s answered clashed with you first, but it is no matter!Queen of Diamonds

I see I see, I decided to hit this one first. Your readings seem to hit a lot of family areas. When you ask what you are not seeing. It indicates that someone possibly a relative that is quite the gossip. While its always good to be on great terms with people, sometimes you have to put yourself at a distance. This could not be a relative, but often the Queen of Diamonds seems to be associated with a woman who has a bit of a forceful personality that is in the family. While they may not completely associating with you now, they might be trying to in the future. When they do, this warns you to be cautious of this person. Try to know they may be jealous and frustrated with you, but do not let that stop you. Gossip is just gossip. You are above it! Whatever hang ups this Queen has with you, you may not see at first, but you will have knowledge now. The future is always something that can be changed! :)

7 of spades

The 7 of Spades is not particularly a bad card. It is a card that wants to push you on the right path. This card is telling you that you are not seeing that you avoid taking more optimistic opportunities that can benefit you. That you might be lonely but you are not trying to face these feelings. Try not to let you, or anyone else talk you out of doing things that you might love. Those things can help you in the future. Though with this, you will have to work hard to achieve it, and this might scare you but I believe it is to show you that in the long run you will be a happier person! You are in need of putting your foot down, don’t let you or other people immobilize you! The 7 of Spades always refers to SHORT term sorrows, and with your first reading, I believe this to be true. :)

Question three: Are there truths that I am denying? 

5 of Spades

This card can mean a lot of things, but paired with the 4 of hearts I am getting a sense that you have not come to terms with some things you are depressed about. Don’t we all struggle with such a thing? There is something looming over your head that you are not ready for. If that is so, please know that, it is okay. Life is hard at certain points. I do believe that the 5 of Spades is being harsh in nature, but it is telling you that you have to look whatever is plaguing your mind in the face. I believe it is associated with the next card that fell out of the deck.

4 of Hearts

This card, in this sense tends to mean that something is coming into your life. Something big. From your question. I am getting the idea that you are not prepared. Usually this card indicates change, and many things say that it is travel. Are you going somewhere? Are you changing your job? Are you moving? This tells me you are afraid to think about this change. You are hiding your pain, and I am certain we all would. It is hard to admit to hurting. :( Both this cards are telling you that its time to accept your feelings. Even if they have negative meanings in this context I believe they want to help you! Its time to get in touch with your emotions! Things are always scary, but I see from the answer to your first question, that once you open up with yourself and others you may be cleansed of such negative thoughts and feelings!Again, thank you for choosing me as you reader! I hope this gave you some insight and you are happy with the outcome. I see that things will be bumpy but you have a great support system waiting for you!