#nearly 5000 today

[idontevenknowhowtolife]

Writer Problems (+ A new fic)

When you write a scene thats 3k words (but was meant to be no more then 2k) and its ready to expect except for the fact that you have a scene you need to write before u can post it but now that scene (which u thought would be like 2k at the most) is now nowhere near through what needs to happen and is nearly at 2k itself and so you shift the already written scene to the next chapter but then you have an amazing idea for a great scene between two characters so now you want to write that but to post what you have already written you have to finish the other scene but now you really want to write the great idea but also you want to post a chapter.

Essentially I wrote out of order because *someone* wanted to read this scene I ranted about to them and now these chapters just keep getting longer.

I'm blaming @raybyanothername. They are responsible for this. They sparked the idea for this fic and then enabled it and now this has happened.

Oh yeah! I also wrote a new fic!

The King is dead. Queen Rhaenyra sits the throne and Prince Aegon will remain just that - a prince. Too bad some people haven't quite got that message.

Its got two chapters up already and I'm pretty sure I'll have the next one up in a day or two and the next one pretty soon after that.

[jacubesilvora]

Sitting at my desk writing like

[little-paper-man]

눈_눈 pain and suffering - bad luck streak did not, in fact, end.

went to get my root canals done this morning at the free dental clinic (an hour drive to which already sucks but fine) and because of my stupid combo of small mouth+big teeth they couldn't get good enough x-rays in order to safely do them so they did a pulpotomy on them instead and referred me to a root canal specialist at a different dental place with better equipment.... that's NOT free and will cost $750 per root canal and I need 3 done T~T

Everything Sucks~! Eveeerythinnng Suuucks~!

(If you're wondering how bad the small mouth+big teeth combo is, even my body said 'yeah you got no room for wisdom teeth so you don't get any')

[extinctionstories]

Two hundred years ago, the wetlands of Japan rustled with pink-tinged feathers. Tall, pale birds stepped carefully through reeds and iris, hunting small fish, crabs, and frogs. 

Nipponia nippon, it would be dubbed by the national ornithological society, a bird emblematic of its country. The Crested Ibis. The Toki. The Peach Flower Bird.

Marshes slowly changed to rice fields, with farmers who resented the toki for ruining crops; to kill the birds was outlawed, so children chased them from the fields, singing warnings.

The doors of the country were pried open. Laws changed. Farmers bought their first guns, their sights set on birds who were no longer protected. The toki, the red-crowned crane, and many others began to suffer. But the worst was yet to come.

Pesticides are indiscriminate killers. The poison sprayed to kill a beetle can travel up the foodchain, toppling a cascade of larger animals, or affecting their ability to reproduce. It was reckless pesticide use that nearly wiped out the Bald Eagle. In the rice fields, the peach-flower-bird had little chance. 

In 1981, Japan’s last five living toki were removed from a wild that had become too dangerous for them.

I tell a lot of sad stories here, about mistakes we’ve made and animals we’ve lost. This isn’t one of those. This is a story about one of those precious times when we were able to fix the things we’d broken. 

A joint effort between Japan & China, and the discovery of seven more birds in that country, led to a successful breeding program, which in 2008 saw the first ibises fly free again in Japan. Today, at least 5000 toki exist in the world.

The last wild-born toki, one of those captured in 1981, lived almost long enough to see her species’ return. Reaching the equivalent age of a centenarian human, she died in 2003—not of old age, but injury after throwing herself against her cage door. 

Her name was ‘Kin’. ‘Gold’. 

Mended things can never be as whole as they once were. There will always be cracks that show, weak spots that remain vulnerable. Yet, like the shining seams of a kintsugi piece, these scars speak an important truth: here is a thing that someone chose to save; handle with care.

The title of this painting is ‘Restoration’. It is gouache on 22x30 inch watercolor paper, and is part of my series 'Conservation Pieces', exploring the effort to preserve endangered birds.

[anangelwhodidntfall]

Don't Matter: Lewis Hamilton

Formula One Masterlist

word count: 1k

description: a bad experience while out shopping with Lewis has you questioning your relationship with him.

Today was supposed to be a nice day out shopping with your boyfriend. You guys had been walking around browsing different shops when you came across a jewelry store. Who knew a prefect day could go downhill in ten minutes?

"Why don't you look around while I go grab our drinks?" Lewis had said. 

"Okay." You said giving him a kiss before walking inside. 

You walked inside and went over to the ring section just to look to see if anything caught your eye. 

"Hi there, is there anything I can help you with?" The associate asked as she glanced at your outfit. 

"No just looking around." You said giving her a small smile. 

You continued browsing around as you felt her follow you around, and you let out a sigh. You should've known better than to come in here without Lewis, people like you would always be looked down upon.  You reached into your pockets and grabbed your phone preparing to text lewis when your sleeve fell down revealing your charm bracelet that lewis had gotten you for your birthday. 

"Security! We have a possible theft happening!" The staff yelled as she grabbed your wrist.

"what are you talking about? I was wearing this when I walked in." You said. 

"No you weren't. Nice try though." She said. 

"Yes I was! I never take this thing off, it was gift from my boyfriend! See!." You said showing her a picture of you and lewis. 

"I highly doubt that someone like lewis Hamilton is dating someone like you, let alone buying a $5000 bracelet." She said. 

"Hey! Give me that back! My boyfriend gave me that!" You said as the bracelet was removed from your wrist. 

"I highly doubt someone like Lewis Hamilton would date someone like you, let alone buy you an expensive bracelet like this. If you leave now we won't involve the authorities." She said. 

You grabbed your bag and rushed out of their nearly crashing into Lewis who had just returned from getting y'all's drinks. He immediately set the drinks down and gathered you in his arms worried about you. 

"Sweets what happened? Why are you crying?" Lewis asked gently stroking your hair. 

"Nothing. Can you please just go get my bracelet back?" You asked.

"Your bracelet? Why would I need to go get it back?" He asked you confused. 

"They accused me of stealing it and lying about my relationship with you. They said that you would never date someone like me, let alone buy me a $5,000 dollar charm bracelet." You said as anger boiled inside his chest.

The bracelet you were referring to was a gift from Lewis for your birthday that had charms on it that meant things to you. He had it custom made for you and never thought that someone would accuse you of stealing. How dare they treat you like that based on how you look? How dare you they say those things to you? 

"I'll be back." Was all Lewis said. 

"Lewis please it's not that big of deal!" You said following him into the store. 

"Does someone want to explain to me why my girlfriend was so rudely treated based on her appearance? Please explain to me where you got the nerve to comment on my relationship with her and then accuse her of stealing?" He said. 

"Mr Hamilton we are so sorry, there must have been some kind of mistake." The owner said trying to smooth the situation over. 

"No mistake here, your staff all took one look at my girl at judge her and then accused her of stealing and saying some hurtful things. Give me her bracelet back now and believe me when I say your company will never get my business again." He said. 

The staff member gave you the bracelet back but it was already ruined a few of the charms had fallen off. Lewis didn't miss the way you eyes water upon seeing the state of your bracelet. 

"I'm sorry about the mix up miss." She said. 

"No you're not. Your only sorry because my boyfriend and your boss made you give me my bracelet back. You people always look down on people like me and then try to kiss our ass when you find out we have money." You said giving her a nasty look. 

You two made your way out of the store and into Lewis's car where you guys drove home not feeling up to shopping anymore. 

Lewis hated seeing how much the other day affected you, you had shut down not wanting any gifts from him, and just withdrawn. He had sent your bracelet off to get fixed after that store broke it and it finally came back and he couldn't wait to give it back you. 

"Where's mama Roscoe?" Lewis asked scratching his ears. 

The two of them made their way towards y'all's bedroom where he found you sitting in reading. he quietly knocked and you looked up at him giving a small smile as you closed your book. 

"I got something for you sweets." He said taking a seat on the bed and handing you the box. 

"Lew I couldn't..." You started to say but he grabbed your hand and pulled you into his lap. 

"Sweets I know what happened the other day made you get into your head...but trust me when I say that there is no one else for me, you are absolutely prefect. I don't care that you don't come from money or have a high paying job. I care only about the beautiful, kind girl who given me the  absolute honor of having her as my girlfriend." He said placing a kiss on your lips. 

"I'm sorry for shutting you out the last few days, between the incident and what they said, it just got in my head." You said to him. 

"No need to apologize, I understand. Just as long as you understand, I will always defend and spoil you." He said making you smile as he handed you a box. 

You carefully opened the box and were shocked to see your bracelet that had been broken a few days ago. You smiled as you lifted it up and saw all your charms and been put back on, before throwing your arms around Lewis. 

"Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever, I don't deserve you." You said. 

"It's me who doesn't deserve you." He said. 

"Can you put it on me?" You asked shyly.

"Of course sweets." He said wrapping the bracelet around your wrist before placing a kiss on your knuckles. 

"I love you Lew." You said placing a kiss on his lips. 

"I love you sweetheart." He said looking at you with a smile. 

[complementaryhalves]

as someone who wrote nearly 5000 words of smut about lando not spraying oscar on the podium in hungary, today's team photo spray was such satisfaying payback, I'll never be over it

[taraljc]

Adorable screencap from the live feed cat cam of Shadow napping in the Rover (I was eating dinner in the living room and set up a feed so that I could make sure she was okay). After a pretty scary few days, she is eating and drinking (although not as much as I would like). she was definitely more like herself today though, up to and including some escape artist antics that nearly gave me a heart attack.

I am fortunate to have a sibling with the means to put down the $8,000 deposit for the surgery in the wee hours of Tuesday morning on her credit card. I've raised a little over $3,000 thus far to pay her back, but I still have another $5000 to go (trying not to think about my mortgage and bills). If you're able to help at all I would really appreciate it even if it's just a signal boost of the fundraiser.

[weltato]

GUYS I NEED A NAME FOR MAX'S DAD I'M GOING INSANE NOT USING A NAME FOR THIS MAN LIKE WHAT IM NEARLY 5000 WORDS IN AND NO NAME HAS DESCENDED INTO MY BRAIN AND I WANNA GET THIS FIC PUBLISHED TODAY SO I CAN WORK ON ANOTHER ONE AAAAA

[splash-brothers]

shoutout to everyone who followed us for years! nearly 5000 posts, 13,000+ followers and 300,000+ notes. i enjoyed reading yall tag essays, yes, i read them all lol. started this blog in 2015 to serve as my personal archive for when i wanna look back on 73 wins, 37 in a quarter, all-time 3-point record, fiba world cup, okc game 7, all star games, finals, victory parades. had no idea it will grow into what it is today.

but now that steph and klay are no longer on the same team, i'm probably retiring this blog. i might upload every once in a while but idk. it has been fun, almost, 10 years!

[asterrrrion]

Okay I should definitely be sleeping rn but ! I need to say this : I've seen a lot of international (mainly American people) on the internet describing the general situation of the world as chaotic etc because of Syria and Korea and Brian fucking Thompson and France (which is what I'm going to talk about here).

First off, the current french situation isn't really that groundbreaking or anything new right now, the country has been in a political crisis for... a while now, at the very least since 2018-19 although in my opinion it started much earlier.

It has been really chaotic for now nearly five months, since Macron dissolved the Parliament and the acting government in June after the European elections (there was a political strategy at play here however it failed pathetically which is something I'll get to later) ; however this isn't something on the scale of what happened in Korea, not even mentioning Syria. The government and the people are just (much like in America) extremely polarised because of years of neoliberal political decisions and it's showing and slowing the government down.

Tale as old as time, I know.

However ! I ask of you to never say that the extreme left and the extreme right united among themselves to take the centrist government down. While the Rassemblement National is a far right party (who is currently being charged for stealing a shitload of cash btw, hope you like the taste of lawsuits Marine), our current President Emmanuel Macron and his party (I would give you the name but tbh they've rebranded so many times I can't remember what it is rn so let's just use the old one En Marche) are NOT a centrist party, and LFI, even more so the NFP are NOT a far left coalition/party.

Saying they were a centrist party was what carried them through the 2017 presidential election until it became abundantly clear if it wasn't already that they were in fact very right-wing.

Macron started out in the Socialist Party who is, these days, not very socialist anymore and who we can in fact barely call left-wing as they tend to have pretty much the same ideals as you guys' democrats (which are our centrists, basically, we have different political scales).

So, to summarise (I am warning you right now I have unmedicated adhd and am studying history with a deep love for political history this will be 5000 words long) nearly fifteen years of french politics to analyse what got us into this mess and why I'm asking you to not say these parties are far left parties, here's this :

There are a lot of different political parties in France. Anyone can create one, and so that means that the left's biggest problem for the past *checks notes* now a bit more than a century, has been division.

The socialist party and the communist party, which used to make up most of the left wing, separated in 1921 or 22 can't remember over the 3rd International and the Soviet Union. That created the historical division between far left and left : which one wanted to overthrow the government (in the 1920s the anarchists and communists which... to the left is still the same today actually) and which one thought elections were the best way to change things (the socialists).

The communists were big for a long time but they kinda got demonized after the Marshall Plan for obvious reasons, and after the fall of the Soviet Union, while they remained the French Communist Party (PCF for short) they kinda stopped actively having communist ideals and being a big party. Nowadays they still exist but are a pretty small party and aren't exactly big revolutionaries (nor, to be honest, big communists).

The socialists had their time of glory, the Front Populaire, in 1936. It was an alliance between all left-wing parties to forbid the far right from being elected basically, as they had just attempted a basically coup d'état but not really a few months earlier. The thirties were, for also obvious reasons, a pretty rocky time in Europe. They did very very good (i'm a leftist if you haven't noticed by now. Also, duh, this is Tumblr.) social policies for the first year but quickly had to stop due to various economical and military issues and resorted to a pretty default not doing much type of governing (I promise you, this WILL become the signature pattern of the PS or socialist party).

They were elected again in the 80s, and pretty much did the same thing, and then again in 2012, and by then they were hardly a left wing party anymore, mostly a bunch of at best left centrists politicians and at worst right wing opportunists. So a new party emerged called La France Insoumise (LFI) who is now the biggest french left wing party led by an extremely controversial figure who has a bit of an ego problem (they've also, objectively, made a bunch of shitty decisions on handling inner politics of the party but we won't get into that).

Forgot to mention this but there's also the Greens, Les Verts, an ecologist party with vaguely leftist ideologies. Their ecology program is pretty much the same as LFI's but it doesn't really hurt to vote for them except for the presidential election.

Now, the Republicans on the other hand (our Republicans. not yours. obviously.) used to be a left-centrist wing party but they slowly became a right wing one at the beginning of the 20th/end of the 19th century as the monarchists and imperialists got the fuck out of the Parliament and the socialists came in. This is a prime example of a political scale being tipped to one side (rarely seen this way around). What you need to know is that except for Mitterrand in the 80s and Hollande in 2012, the country has been exclusively led by these guys from 1959 onwards. Or, not necessarily these guys but similar parties (yes I'm looking at you De Gaulle). Nowadays they're extremely divided and the whole party is falling apart between far right and traditional conservative right.

The Rassemblement National which used to be called the Front National (so RN or anciently FN) is a far right party who was founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen and a few nazis. Yes, you did read that right. No, I'm not joking. Funnily enough Jean-Marie was in the Resistance, but I don't wanna know what goes on in that guy's mind. They're now led by his daughter (as the dude is on death's door now, but there has been some family drama there also), Marine Le Pen, who has worked very hard in the past few years to make the party go from outwardly racist, misogynistic and homophobic to covertly racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

This means that aaaall of the decisions that caused poverty and misery for french citizens, mainly the lack of funding that goes into public service and the abandonment of any and all rural areas has led a lot of people to turn to the now not as demonized as before RN.

On the other side the left wing has been eating itself alive since Hollande in 2012 because of rivalries between the Socialist Party and LFI, which has cost them several times the presidential election, and less and less people are voting since more and more people are losing hope in modern politics.

Which leads us to 2017 : the election of Emmanuel Macron as President. Macron was originally a banker and Minister of the Economy under Hollande, but he changed sides and left the Socialist Party in 2016 to create En Marche, a party that was supposed to be a centrist party but was quite obviously a right wing one.

As the left was divided, LFI's leader and the socialist leader were outvoted in favour of him and Marine Le Pen for a second vote to determine the President ; this was his strategy. As long as the left was divided, he would win the first round of voting, then the second, because he knew that left-wing people would ALWAYS vote for him against Le Pen.

A LOT of shit happened under his mandate (to name a few, COVID, the gilets jaunes etc) all of which were handled very badly, and all of his decisions were neoliberal shit as always which didn't help anything and made it actively worse. That wasn't helped by the guy's ego (I am not kidding most politicians are arrogant but this is like on another level this dude seriously, dead-ass thinks he's the smartest person in any room he walks in) and general condescending behaviour and statements (like when he said "I like train stations, because you meet both people who have succeeded and people who are nothing". yeah. turns out the nation he's supposed to be representing wasn't a big fan of that one. wonder why).

In 2022 most people hated his guts, but as the left was still divided because the fucking socialists can't admit they're not the biggest leftist party anymore and the threat of the far right in power was more present than ever, he got re-elected. The thing is, right afterwards the presidential elections is held the legislatives. They're the election of both the Senate and the National Assembly, so the Whole Parliament.

Normally, this would just be a formality, as a people who has elected a president literally four weeks ago is generally going to vote for his party. It's important to note here, than TRADITIONALLY (can you hear the anger in my voice yet ?) the President, when choosing a Prime Minister, is supposed to choose from the biggest political party represented in the National Assembly. When that party is from another party than the President's, we call this a cohabitation.

Cohabitations are always a messy but pretty fun time, as the Prime Minister, usually only a lackey of the President, is now a member from an opposing party and as he has, constitutionally, enormous legal power (that he, usually, as a lackey of the President, only uses to support the President's politics). The thing is we hadn't had a cohabitation in a long-ass time, because the amount of time presidents were elected was specifically changed to avoid them and put the legislatives right afterwards the presidential election. The other thing is, when the entire country is only voting for you because the only other alternative is the far right...

Now, in 2022, the biggest party elected was still the President's. However, it was only a relative majority instead of an absolute one, which meant that they had to have support should they want to pass any law. So, instead of finding allies, they chose to use a lovely article of the Constitution, the now infamous in France 49.3. This article means that on budget laws (and ONLY on budget laws which... is definitely going to be totally respected and not at all ambiguously used) the government (read : the Prime Minister) can make a text of law bypass the National Assembly and be automatically applied.

But the Assembly has then the choice to vote in order to demote the Parliament. They tried. It nearly went through. It didn't though, in the end, because the Republicans were too divided for it to go through. However both of the major opposing forces, the entire left wing and the far right party the RN, voted it if I remember correctly. And most of the past two years until summer 2024 were just the government fighting with the National Assembly. They used a metric ton of 49.3, it's now a meme (and also a widely antidemocratic tactic that everyone hates).

In the summer of 2024, there were the European elections. Each country votes, and ours voted for the far right. Like, a lot. I'm not kidding when I say that the situation with the RN is pretty fucking critical. What matters here is also that the President's Party had a ridiculously low score.

Now, Macron won't be re-elected. He can't. Like, physically. You can't be elected more than twice in France. But he wants someone of his party to take over after he leaves (which btw is going to be difficult, I'll be very surprised if en marche lasts three weeks without him since they're also divided as hell), so he needs it to be popular.

So he did something that he thought was smart : he dissolved the government and the Parliament. That meant we had to have a new legislative election. We were scared shirtless as we were all sure the RN would be elected and we'd have an RN prime minister, which we know now by some sources is what Macron intended to be able to prove that his party is the best alternative to the far right in order to continue to be elected in the next Presidential elections in 2027.

But the morning after the annunciation, then LFI MP Ruffin called for an union of the left wing parties, which was by the way done remarkably quickly for parties that have been at each others throats for the past ten years (forgot to mention this but it HAD to be done quickly as our rat bastard President put the election literally a month and a half after annunciation).

So now Macron needed something to discredit the left in order to be considered the only candidate against the RN. And he found his thing : he demonized them. Because of their public support for Palestine, they were suddenly antisemitic (this is particularly vicious as antisemitic hate crimes have in fact been an issue since the beginning of the Palestinian genocide in France and a lot of Jewish people here are scared of antisemitism for, yk, very good reasons) and a far left party who was basically anti republican and composed of revolutionaries.

And it worked ! It helped that LFI has been seen as such for a while for a variety of reasons, mostly baseless, and that everyone conveniently forgot that the leftist union was and is made up of four different parties. The far left does not exist in the National Assembly in France. Not in the communist party, not in LFI. I'm not the one saying this, official statements by the state council are. But every right wing politician forgets that because it gets them elected. And people believe them. So stop spreading that lie, please.

The first round of voting was led by the far right, so for the second, Macron and the left allied themselves : in every district of voting where a leftist candidate, a macronist candidate and a far right candidate were still competing against each other, the candidate of the two with the least votes would resign their candidature to be able to give as little votes to the far right as possible.

In truth this wasn't completely followed by Macronists especially, some refusing to resign when against an lfi candidate, which is completely ridiculous and personally disgusts me. But it worked, and the left-wing won the election with the far right coming in third place. I cried that day, actually, from relief, as embarrassing as it is.

So that meant that Macron had to name, TRADITIONALLY, a left wing prime minister. Several names were offered (which was difficult as the socialists and government would veto any lfi member and the communists and LFI would veto any socialist member) and Macron said that he wouldn't name any government who had members from lfi in it. So the lfi leader did a pretty beautiful move and pulled out all of the lfi members of any and all propositions of government (this being, I remind, the biggest left wing party in France).

Macron still named a right-wing prime minister, denying the elections' result and preferring to work with the far right than with the left, left which might I recall got him elected. Anyway. So we got a very right wing government, borderline far right to appease the RN, who only managed to stay in place because of that fact.

They had to make 49.3 for most laws they wanted to pass as the Assembly was heavily divided in the past months. The leftist union voted to demote the government every time, but the RN wouldn't. And then, a week or two ago, on one of the most restrictive budget propositions for public service this country has ever seen, they remembered they had to look like they care about poor people since that's, you know, their electorate, and since the budget was of course forced through with 49.3 voted also to demote the government.

So now we have a new prime minister, supposedly more to the left although still, obviously, a right-winger. Nothing much changed. Can't fucking wait for 2027... And please don't say that the leftist union is far left or that Macron is a centrist. Neither are true.

[copias-juicebox]

It's a Sin Chapter 3

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

Pairing: Cardinal Copia x fem! Reader Words: 5050 Genre: romance, angst, smut, fluff, hurt/comfort, SLOWBURN Warnings: in this chap: very sad and pathetic cardi, implied bullying whole fic: explicit languge, violence, abuse, age gap, smut (in the upcoming chapters blabla) Notes: we once again hit the 5000 words guys. I am kinda happy with this chapter I can feel myself improve with every sentence. Leave a heart in the comments to give Cardi a very needed hug to comfort the poor old man. And as always interactions are appreciated.

As the sun's first rays shone through your window, you slowly stirred awake. Sleepily you turned around in your soft bed until you realized where you were and you opened your eyes, your heart rate increasing with each passing second. You checked your phone on the bedside table for the time and instantly relaxed when you saw it was about 5:30 in the morning. You still had about 2 and a half hours before you were required in the infirmary to get introduced to your workplace in the ministry.

You fell back down into your pillows and took a deep breath. Today would be the first day that you were officially starting your job. It was all still quite outlandish to you. Your mind was racing once again, the same thoughts and doubts dashing through your head as last night when you desperately lied awake in your bed for countless hours before sleep finally took pity on you and took you in.

You had tried to not think about the day too much, but with yesterday's events and the information of your new boss being something like a “satanic pope” made you feel uneasy, and you were unsure what to make of it all. After all, you were going to spend the night under the devil's roof, and you hoped and prayed to God that he would protect you. The question lingered: would he actually do so? Would he not punish you for turning your back on him like this? Would he forgive you for your sins and connections to the devil? These worries plagued you all night, and unfortunately resulted in only 4 hours of sleep.

On the other hand, you felt unusually well?

You decided to leave the warmth of your covers and start your day with a refreshing shower. Once you stepped under the hot stream of water you felt your muscles relax. Up until now you had not realized how tense you were and how good the warm water running down your spine was. You washed your hair and body, contemplating your encounter with Papa and the Cardinal on the top of the stairs yesterday. Papa was so intriguing. He had a very intense energy that was surprisingly not off putting in any way. But you were going to tread lightly around him. Hannah had warned you about him, and you wondered if he was committed to the devil, if he had granted him clandestine powers. That would explain his extraordinary aura. Nonetheless, you could not deny deep down inside of you he was fascinating. You were sure it was not an attraction, no. You could never feel attraction towards a Satan -worshiping man. You could not allow yourself to be misguided by his sinful demeanor. And then there was the other man. He appeared to be a bit more approachable to you — clumsy even. Not nearly as intimidating as Papa was to you. Thinking about the strange man with his pencil mustache and sideburns led your thoughts to wander again. The man with his black biretta and nervous smile seemed to be the opposite of Papa. He could barely look at you when he shook your hand. Maybe he had been in a serious conversation with Papa that you two interrupted and he was intimidated by his presence. You could not tell.

When you stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself up in a blanket, your mind was back to the day ahead. The weight of responsibility made you nervous. You wanted to prove yourself. You wanted to show them you were capable of doing your job.

You should not have been surprised, but when you opened the door to get dressed, the scrubs were not white as you were used to but pitch black.

You took them out and put them on, smoothing out the fabric as you stood in front of the mirror now. They looked good on you, too, and you decided to go with some makeup to look a little less tired. Just a bit of foundation and eyeliner with mascara. Finally, you finished your look for the day by tying up your hair in a high ponytail.

One last look into the mirror and you tried to convince yourself you were ready for the day. “You got this, don’t worry. Everything will be fine” you murmured to yourself

A knock at the door indicated that Hannah was waiting for you outside and you knew that the time had come for you to leave the safety of your room and get started on your first day now.

You walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Hannah dressed in her habit looking at you with a big smile and warm eyes. “Good morning, sunshine. You look gorgeous, sis. How are you? You must be thrilled, right?”

“Good morning, Hannah. You look gorgeous yourself. You pointed to her. “I don’t know if thrilled would be the right word for how I am feeling right now. More like hysterical, maybe.” You half joked.

“Ah, nonsense you are going to be fine, girl, I know that.” She said, wrapping her arm around your shoulder and walking down the corridor. “Let’s go get some breakfast, and after that I will bring you to the infirmary to Sister Jane. She will explain everything to you and you can get used to the outline of our hospital wing.”

Arriving down in the dining hall, Sister Hannah led you straight to a group of brothers and sisters. Watching everyone gather in the dining hall dressed in their black robes and satanic accessories was somehow less intimidating than you would have expected. It made you nervous nevertheless to meet other satanic believers. Were they all going to be as easy going as Hannah had proved to be?

“Morning, everyone. This is our beloved new nurse. Say hello,” She turned to you. The group greeted you in unison and you said your morning greetings back, introducing yourself. As you sat down, one of the Brothers asked if you wanted some coffee. You nodded your head and he asked the next table if they could hand over their carafe.

When he poured the warm, steaming liquid into your cup, you stopped him halfway. “Oh not too much please, I like to fill half of it with milk actually.” You told him, extending a hand.

“So you mean you like to drink milk with a shot of coffee?” He joked and you laughed.

“Yes I can‘t deny that. But it is the way I like my coffee best, so what can I say?” You shrugged.

As breakfast went on you got to know everyone out of the small group a little better. There were 3 other sisters besides Hannah and two brothers. They all seemed to get along well and you found them to be quite ok too. All you needed was to be accepted and respected (and not chosen to be sacrificed should they decide you were not good enough.)

You brushed those thoughts away for now and tried to just socialize with everyone normally.

Around 30 minutes later, everyone was leaving for their work and jobs in the ministry and that was your cue to grab Hannah and ask her to show you the way to the infirmary.

“Alright, alright, love, no need to rush. It’s not far away really.” She assured you, walking you down the corridor and then to the left. A huge door came into view and you were walking straight to the heavily decorated threshold and pushed it open.

As you entered the dimly lit infirmary you noted the high ceilings and ornate embellished walls. Flickering candlelight casted eerie shadows on the walls and accentuated the tapestries depicting occult symbols alongside shelves laden with ancient medical tomes and arcane ingredients. The beds stood in rows on each of the long sides of the rectangular room with crimson bedding and black curtains to ensure privacy if needed. Despite the unsettling atmosphere, an aura of quiet comfort envelops the space.

As you were too absorbed with the room’s ambiance, you didn’t notice an older Sister coming your way, halting and asking if she could help you.

“Sister Ana, this is our new support on the medical team.” Hannah said as she introduced you to the senior nurse.

“Oh thank Satanas, finally. I am so happy you are here to help.” Sister Ana cheered, embracing you in a warm hug. You hugged her back politely and she released you beaming at you.

“Sister Ana is our only nurse here since Sister Elizabeth retired last year.” Sister Hannah informed.

“Ah, I see. You must have been super stressed then, Sister Ana.” You replied, understanding Ana’s great delight of your presence.

“Come on Sister, I will show you where everything is and introduce you to the Ghouls.” Sister Ana ushered you further into the room, eager to have you on her team now.

The older nurse spent the morning introducing you to the hospital wing of the ministry. She explained to you where to find all the necessary items, ranging from basic items to treat a patient with a simple cold, to more specialized equipment for more severe cases, from severe burns or cuts that might even require some operations to contagious diseases and other serious illness.

At one point, an older man wearing slightly worn off Papal makeup and an older woman stood in the door of the infirmary, and Sister Ana asked you to go to the back room and get her a basket she had prepared for Papa Nihil. The makeup on that man's face was indicating him to be of high status within the ministry, and you tried not to let him wait for too long. When you came back with the basket, the old man looked you up and down with curious eyes.

“My my, who is that young lady, Sister?” He asked Ana, to which she proudly answered:

“This is the newest member of my team.” She introduced you to Papa Nihil and Sister Imperator.

“What a pleasure to see our community growing, and with capable people, too.” He smiled, not even hiding his apparent liking towards you.

You were not sure, but he appeared to like you, and you were very pleased to see that a high-ranking member of the ministry seemed to be happy with you (even though you did not do anything to prove you were capable so far). You literally just carried a basket from one room to the next!

The woman next to the man appeared not as friendly as the old guy. She wore a stern expression the whole time and did not even introduce herself to you. You brushed it off for now since you did not want to judge a book by its cover, but you were feeling that she was not as gleeful to your presence as Papa Nihil was. You were glad the two left after that.

As time went on and the day was nearing noon, it got impossibly hot outside. The sun shone mercilessly and the summer heat was palpable. On one hand, you were very lucky that the infirmary was on the backside of the ministry facing away from the sun and kept the whole room at a decent temperature, but on the other hand, you were getting overrun by Sisters and Brothers suffering from dehydration and sunstrokes. By 4 pm, the infirmary was packed and all beds were occupied. Sweat was running down your forehead and Sister Ana was as equally stressed as you.

About an hour later, Ana told you to take a break and you finally had time to breathe for a few minutes as many of the Brothers and Sisters seemed to feel well enough to retire to their rooms and sleep off the rest of their exhaustion.

You decided you would walk one of the Sisters you’ve met earlier at breakfast to her room since she was still swaying from left to right when she got up and then quickly grab something to eat for you and Ana from the kitchen (as none of you had time to go to eat lunch earlier).

The Cardinal was running around the ministry from left to right for 5 hours now, pulling at the collar of his robes to let some air meet his chest. He was supposed to check in with the Ghouls this morning, making sure they were doing their soundchecks properly. When a problem with the electricity turned up, it was also his job to get it fixed somehow. The scorching heat was wearing him down as the clock struck 2 and he was still far from finishing his duties today. Terzo asked for Copia’s help in translating another Latin text for the next Sunday mass and Papa Nihil was requesting his presence in his office— the latter scaring him as Papa Nihil was relentless when it came to Copia. Whatever the Cardinal did never seemed pleasing to Nihil, making him put in more effort the next time. He felt his head pound, running his tongue over his dry lips as he walked down the corridor to Papa Nihil's Office. Once he was done with whatever Papa had planned for him, he would get a momentary break and maybe he could figure out what that new nurse was up to in her free time.

After you successfully escorted Sister Rose to her chambers, you quickly made your way to the kitchen to ask for some leftovers from lunch. You were just on your way back to the infirmary rounding the corner as you nearly bumped into another individual crossing your path. You both managed to react in time to not actually knock each other off the ground but the other person stumbled over his own feet, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink that contrasted his pale complexion. He caught himself and reluctantly looked at you, sweat apparent on his face.

“Oh Sorella I.. I am sorry I was not looking..” The Cardinal stammered, gaze falling back to his feet as if it was too much for him to actually look at you for a second too long.

“No worries, Cardinal. I was not paying attention either.” You prompted, trying to ease his obviously anxious mind.

He hurriedly tried to move past you but you both tried to get out of the way of one another and shuffled from left to right at the same time, making the situation somewhat awkward and comical until you both stopped.

You started laughing heartily and he glanced up at your bashful smile as he joined in with a shy chuckle of his own.

“Corner-collisions happen to the best of us,” you exclaimed and the still-flustered Cardinal managed a small smile of gratitude.

Your easy going demeanor put the Cardinal at ease a little as you grabbed him by the shoulders carefully and moved his body past yours as you rotated on the spot.

“There we go, Cardinal.” You flashed him a warm smile and he started to shift on the spot seemingly not knowing what to say he mumbled another barely audible apology. His face was even redder now, making you worry.

“Cardinal, forgive me if I am being nosy, but have you been drinking enough today? You look a little pale, and I am sure you have already heard, but today seems to have taken a toll on the members of the ministry. I would hate for you to suffer from dehydration as so many others have,” you pleaded with him, worry lacing your voice.

“Y..Yes Sister yes.. I have. I. I.. uh.. I just have to be in Papa Nihils office as soon as possible, yes..” he muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from you.

“You should also not overwork yourself, Cardinal. Please make sure to take a break every now and then.” You warned him, pressing the back of your hand to his forehead to feel his temperature.

“Oh dear, you are hot.” You exclaimed shocked, resulting in Copia’s face to heat up even more hearing those words said to his face by such a beautiful human being. Copia knew you were talking about his temperature, but he could not help himself as the butterflies in his stomach seemed to rampage.

The Cardinal was not used to being treated so kindly and with so much care. All his life he had been used or made fun of. So, he put all his energy into his career and his job since he was a boy. He was a very hard working man. That was what grounded him in this harsh world.

“Uh, I am sorry… I mean you are burning up.” You interrupted his thoughts and let your hands fall back to your sides. “You should probably follow me to the infirmary so I can check on you properly, Cardinal.”

He shook his head. “No no no sorella, I cannot. Papa awaits me in h..his office, yes.” He gestured to the other end of the corridor. “I am fine Sister, do not worry, no.. no I am fine, yes.” He objected, turning around but you grabbed his arm effectively turning him back to face you.

“Cardinal please. I worry for you.” You countered.

Copia blushed immensely and for the first time he stared back into your eyes. Was this real? Or was he imagining things? That beautiful thing in front of him just told him she worried for him. He was fully aware she was likely just doing her job, but it made him squeal inside. “I..I am terribly sorry, sister. I will come to the infirmary after I have spoken to Papa, sí?” With these words he turned around once more and left you staring after him with concern. You hoped he was right. That he was feeling better than he let on.

Cardinal Copia’s mind was reeling. Right now he was only acting on instinct and that meant he ran. Not physically but metaphorically he ran. He needed to breathe. The new Nurse had an effect on him he could not explain, nor understand. He was sweating and that was not just the heat outside catching up to him. He had never been the most extroverted person, that was common knowledge, but whenever he was around you he was just utterly lost and nervousness ate away at him to the point that he felt stupid. And yet he still yearned for your presence. To be as close as possible to the almost painful heat that burned inside of him in your company. It confused the Cardinal immensely until the moment he stood before Papa Nihil's office and knocked on the door twice.

Sister Ana still had not stopped praising you since you had returned to her with some lunch leftovers from the kitchen, claiming that you were the biggest blessing the ministry ever received. The slightly older woman had such a warm energy radiating off of her that you felt extremely comfortable and her kind words never failed to make you blush. The two of you sat in the backroom, now finishing up your meal and laughing as Ana divulged some gossip that had you cover your mouth with your hand.

“I tell you, sister, the other day Papa Nihil actually shit his pants during black mass.” She whispered over to you. “I sat behind him and he farted loud enough for everyone sitting around him to hear it. You could really see him shift around and hurry off with Sister Imperator behind him leaving for the restrooms.” Ana snorted, the rest of the sentence barely audible between her giggles.

Your laughing fit was interrupted when the heavy door to the infirmary was forcefully bashed open by one of the Ghouls. The loud bang resonated in the room and the two of you jumped out of your seats rushing to the main entrance of the infirmary. That’s when you spotted a Ghoul and a Sister, the Sister rushing forward to you. “Aether, put him on one of the beds. Sister Ana, please, the Cardinal needs help.” Only then did you understand the Ghoul was carrying a man. He was carrying the Cardinal in his arms. Before anyone could move, you were by the Cardinal’s side checking his temperature and preparing a bowl with fresh, cold water.

“The Cardinal was in Papa Nihil's office when he suddenly collapsed. Luckily Aether was there.” The sister explained.

“Okay, okay, calm down Sister Morgana.” Ana said, soothing the Sister’s nerves, glancing over to you as you swiftly worked around the Cardinal’s bed. She decided to step closer and have a look at the Cardinal herself.

“He likely collapsed due to exhaustion and the heat, Sister. I was afraid that was gonna happen.” You told her, the last part mostly mumbling to yourself. You knelt next to his bed and drenched a clean cloth in the bowl with cold water and started wiping it softly across his sweaty and pale face.

“I met him in the hallway on my way here and he looked sick. I felt his temperature and he was practically burning up. I asked him to follow me to the infirmary, but he refused saying he needed to speak with Papa Nihil. He showed signs of dehydration and exhaustion but he was adamant to visit Papa Nihil first.” You explained to her, your voice lightly going up as the thought of him placing his duties before his health angered you.

Sister Ana watched carefully as you gently took care of the Cardinal. “I think the Cardinal is in good hands, Morgana. You should go back to report to Papa Nihil. The Cardinal should be fine. We will find out more once he wakes up.” The older nurse pointed out, bringing the now relieved sister back to the entrance door of the infirmary.

It took about an hour for the Cardinal to regain consciousness, a sense of disorientation settling in. The first thing he noticed was the sterile smell. Fatigue weighed heavily on his body, every movement an effort. It felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach and he weakly tried to sit up on the bed. With a dry throat and parched lips, he pieced together that he must have pushed himself too far this time. His body refused him and must have collapsed. His foggy mind struggled to untangle the events that had led him here. He should have listened to you. He should have listened to his body instead of ignoring all the warning signs. Tentative thoughts of missed tasks and nearring deadlines clouded his mind. He could not afford to pass out like that. The ministry and Papa relied on him. His thoughts ate away at him and Copia tried to push himself off the bed just to stumble and sway on the spot. His hands shot up to his head as a piercing pain shot through his skull.

It took you barely three seconds to cross the room and catch the Cardinal before he could fall. Your hands wrapped around his lanky frame, securing him in place and giving him more stability while he stood.

„Cardinal, please. What are you doing? You need to sit down!“ you ordered, gently pushing him back down on the bed.

„O.. Oh Sorella.. wh.. what is all this fuss about? I‘m fine,“ he says with a wince, clutching his head.

„Oh, you are not. You can barely stand with my help.“ you scolded him.

Copia glanced at you with a sharp look of bitterness and sorrow in his eyes. He hated to be seen as weak, even though he was. When he didn‘t answer, your eyes found his and the frown on your face was replaced by a look of worry and pity. He looked so fragile as if he was about to cry. All you wanted was to hold him and tell him it was going to be alright.

„Do you remember what happened after we met in the corridor and you went to Papa Nihil's office?“ you prompted softly, not trying to sound angry and starting to feel his temperature again.

Copia struggled in thought, the events after his near crash with you in the corridor hazy and blurred. „I uh… I remember a meeting.. a meeting with Papa Nihil.. yes. After that I don‘t know. What happened, sorella?“ he asked, afraid to hear something embarrassing.

You retrieved the thermometer from him, noting that his temperature seemed to be nearly back to normal, just slightly higher than it‘s supposed to be. „Well, I am not too sure. I wasn‘t there, but you collapsed in Papa Nihil's office, apparently.“ you shrugged, gaze softening when he averted his eyes staring at his feet, looking crushed. Taking in his defeated form, you sighed.

„You know I was not kidding when I saw you in the hallway, Cardinal. You looked.. how do I say this..?“ You tried to find the right words to not sound bitter and mean. Copia‘s eyes found yours again, afraid to hear the poisonous words you surely were going to spit into his face. How he looked like an ugly rat that was about to die soon and that it would have probably been for the best if he‘d just perish. But by now he was used to this. It hurt. It really fucking hurt each time, and it should not affect him anymore, but hearing these things from you would probably blow him off completely. You were the last person in the ministry he wanted to appear weak to. Life for sure was never going to get easier.

„Argh, you know I was so worried for you. You looked so pale that for a moment I was sure you were a ghost.“ you chuckled at the ridiculousness of your own words. „I am amazed you even made it to Nihil‘s office at all.“ you told him honestly.

Your words had an impact on him that he didn‘t expect. They were not harsh and neither were they laced with bitterness or hate. Two feelings people around him never ceased to show him throughout his entire, miserable life.

You grabbed his gloved hand into your own and held it, softly brushing your thumb over it. „You must promise me one thing, Cardinal. Please take care of yourself.“ The Cardinal was momentarily struck by lightning. At least to him it felt like that. He was completely and extremely overwhelmed by your words and actions. You held his hand, brushing his with your thumb. Oh how he wished he was not wearing his gloves today. He imagined how it felt to have your soft, delicate fingers on his own hands. Skin on skin. Your touch had his brain short circuiting. And when your words had made it into his brain, he was sure he must be levitating. You cared for his well being. The thought alone nearly made him tear up. He blinked away the wetness in his eyes so you wouldn‘t notice and cleared his throat.

The moment your hand made contact with his gloved hand you saw something. A picture of a black leather glove, wet but warm to the touch flashed through your eyes. But as fast as it had come it went and you froze for a moment.

„Sí sí, sorella, I will from now on. Thank you for your care. Can I go now? Secondo was going to send someone with a few papers to my office. I‘d like to see if they arrived, yes?“ Copia was eager to get up. His mind rushed back to the things he was supposed to finish today.

A hand on his chest pushed him back down. „You are going nowhere for now. Have you not been hearing what I just said Cardinal?“ you questioned, impatience in your voice.

„N..No I mean yes, sí sorella, I did, but I am feeling much better already, you see.“ He grabbed your hand and put it on his forehead. „No more fever, yes?“

His silly actions made you laugh out loud. This man could not be serious right now.

„You are staying here. No going anywhere, you hear me?! Nurses orders!“ you commanded with authority in your voice, successfully rendering Copia speechless.

Sister Ana called you to assist her in the backroom and you turned your back towards the Cardinal, heading to the door that connected the two rooms. As soon as the Cardinal was left alone he tried to get up and sneak his way out of the infirmary without getting caught. He nearly made it but unfortunately the heavy metal doors squeaked when he tried to push them open and you were standing behind him in an instant with a stern expression. After he‘d been brought back to his bed, you informed him that he was going to have to stay the night in the infirmary to make sure he was not suffering from any late consequences of him collapsing. He did hit his head on the floor after all, and you and Sister Ana both agreed to keep him here for the night under supervision.

As the sun set, the halls of the ministry grew increasingly quieter. Everyone was retiring to their respective quarters and the Cardinal felt he was sleepy. It took him a few minutes to fall into a deep slumber.

When he awoke again, it was in the middle of the night. The room was dark, just a candle flickered in the far end of the room. Now was his chance. He just had to be quiet and remember that the left door squeaked so he needed to open the right side.

Before he could completely sit up on the mattress, your voice startled him and he jumped up, turning around.

„Lay down!“ you insisted. „Don‘t even think about it.“ You sat coolly in a chair, flipping through an old book of ritualistic healing, from one of the shelves, not even bothering to look up at him. As fast as he sat up, he was lying down again, staring up at the ceiling, mind swirling around you and your gratefulness until eventually sleep claimed him again.

Taglist:

@hauntedlover03 @adinferix @ghostfangirlsweden @fishwithtitz @pinksweetsxtan

[inshelliesworld]

Shellie’s Simple Lessons in Astrology:

I'm finally getting started!

My goal with these lessons is to help anyone interested to learn more about themselves by giving the basic tools and information to be able to look at their own chart and “decode” the language.

Before beginning this new endeavor, I wanted to cover a few basics about astrology’s history. And also a little bit about myself!

Astrology’s History:

Astrology is over 5000 years old. In Mesopotamia around 3000 BCE Babylonians became the first astronomers by recording and identifying the prominent constellations and their patterns. Babylonians also created the first zodiac wheel.

Constellation maps have existed far longer than maps of the world, and for centuries early civilizations used the rhythm and cycles of the Sun, Moon, & Stars to hunt, plant, harvest, migrate, and even to treat illnesses and ailments.

Astrology is a method of predicting human and earthly behavior based on the placements and movements of the sun, moon, and planets within the 12 zodiac constellations.

During the Middle Ages, astrology was a fundamental part of culture. Being practiced and studied by doctors, astronomers, and mathematicians alike. Advances in mathematics helped astrologers develop better, more accurate and sophisticated charts.

Belief in astrology began to decline as the church gained power. It was seen as superstition during the Holy Inquisition which is when Galileo Galilei was charged with heresy and was forced to renounce his astrological beliefs to save his life.

Today, the practice of astrology is seen and used as a form of entertainment. Although many societies and cultures still utilize the reading of the stars to successfully plant/harvest crops, kill weeds, plan surgeries, and ween their children from bottles & pacifiers. (More on the Farmer’s Almanac later!)

Shellie’s Herstory:

I’m self-taught! I’ve been studying astrology for nearly 30 years.

I started when I was 10 years old with my still-to-this-day-bestie. We used “The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need” which we both still use today. We even taught ourselves to manually calculate full birth charts including ascendants (this was pre-Internet days!) and cast many charts for our friends over the years.

I try to find fun, simple, easy-to-digest ways to explain the complexities of astrology even when the learner has zero prior knowledge.

I try to make it a point to regularly remind everyone that no one person is all one thing and no two people are exactly the same. We are humans and are a complex amalgamation of nature and nurture. I once read something that said (save for twins born within the same minute via cesarean, etc) it would take 25,000 years for a natal chart to repeat exactly. So, safe to say everyone has their own, individual, unique birth chart!

Come learn with me! No matter how long I’ve been doing this, there are always new things to learn in this very old, very information-dense topic. So always bring questions – I don’t know everything but I love to research and learn new things!

[chelzone]

hey im gearing up for a move within this month and were gonna need like nearly $5000 to handle 1.5 months rent and the security deposit in advance as per the house terms

if anyone can spare anything to help us cover that net it would be appreciated! we've got at least 3 folks working here so that should cover a great chunk of that but anything else to keep us afloat past that would go a long way

no worries if ya cant spare anything, even reblogs go a long way. thanks for reading!

https://ko-fi.com/opossumvalley

[sailtomarina]

HBD, Harry!

Maybe if he pretended today was like any other day, nobody would remember that it was Harry Potter’s birthday.

Once upon a time, nothing would have made him happier than acknowledgement of his day of birth, much less these several past years of celebration. It had all started with Hagrid’s cake and a curly pig tail, and now? Now, Harry was well into his 30s. The time for rejoicing in turning one year older was over. 

Just this past month he’d finished training the next line of aurors, kids straight out of their N.E.W.T.s and over eager to catch the baddies and get their names in the limelight. He’d put them through their paces, made them almost wish they’d never been born. He could still run laps around young adults twenty years his junior. They only wished they could land a single hex on the Head Auror. 

That still didn’t stop him from realizing that it had been years since he last beat his personal bests. He could glare at his Nimbus 5000 all he wanted—the broom still couldn’t catch his decade-old record. Harry had carved the downward turn of his graph of marathon times into his heart. There was no question about it.

He was getting old.

So forget about the cake, forget about the candles and sparklers. Forget about a special dinner. He’d take Ginny out the next weekend, somewhere poncy, somewhere she’d get to wear some sinful, body-hugging excuse of a dress.

He should’ve known better than to expect her to forget. He should’ve stolen one of Hermione’s latest Time Turners, or maybe jumped straight from bed into his invisibility cloak.

The second he walked into the kitchen for his morning coffee before work, Ginny pounced.

“Hey there, birthday boy.” She snagged him in her arms and shoved him against the counter.

“Ginny, wait—”

Any protests were silenced by a swift yank on his tie, another hand in his still unruly hair—thank goodness he’d never have to worry about balding—and the complete ownership of his lips by one Mrs. Potter.

How could he do anything but submit? Of course he’d wrap his arms around her and her still fit form.

“I made reservations for Tito’s,” she bit out breathlessly, hands now yanking at the buttons of his shirt. 

“Love, I’d rather stay home—” He choked as she twisted a nipple and grinned up at him.

“We can come home after and stay in bed for however long you’d like.” She peppered his chest with kisses, moving steadily downward.

“It’s not that, it’s just…Gin!”

He yanked her up the moment she reached for his belt, and nearly laughed at the look on her face, a mixture of someone having stolen the last pudding and the sight of an open shot to the goalpost.

“What?”

“Can we not celebrate my getting older this year? We can go to Tito’s this weekend instead and celebrate, I dunno, your next big scoop.”

Oh, he did not like the smirk on her lips.

“Are you…having a midlife crisis?”

“No!”

“Because Harry, you know witches and wizards live a lot longer than muggles, right? We’re not even middle aged.”

“I know that.”

“Then why the sudden hesitation?”

He could barely think with the way her fingers brushed up and down his torso. “I’m not old, but I’m not young. I haven’t beaten my own times in years. We have three kids now. I sit behind a desk more than go out into the field.”

Ginny snorted before running her eyes down his body, licking her lips at the sight. “Babe, do you even realize why you’re not getting faster?”

“Why?” He dared her to say it. That he was fat, that he was slow. As ridiculous as the desire was for her to state the ugly truths, he needed someone else to point them out.

She lay her hands flat against his stomach with a predatory smile. “You didn’t have these when you were a seeker, not even in the first few years as an auror.” She pressed down on his abs, making him flex in reaction.

That did make sense. He was several stone heavier now than he was as a new recruit, so of course he’d be slower. He wasn’t a bodybuilder, or anything like that, but there was a weight to his movements now, one that he’d unconsciously adapted to in combat and mock quidditch matches.

“So no more of this birthday-less nonsense, okay? I want to celebrate my husband’s special day…starting right now.”

She resumed her descent and there were no further protests. Harry’s mind blissed out over the next couple of hours, and nobody batted an eyelash when he waltzed into the Auror Department late. It was his birthday, after all.

WC 797 Might this be my first ever Hinny? I think it is, other than when I've referred to them in Dramione pieces. Either way, happy birthday, Harry!

[ancientcraftnoccultism]

Beginner Class - Introduction to Meditation

Ancient Craft & Occultism

Introduction to Meditation

___

By KB

Introduction

Hello again, everyone! Welcome back to the next lesson for the Beginner Class. Last lesson, we talked about finding your personal center as well as a bit more in depth on grounding. Well, today, we'll be taking a closer look at the many forms and practices of meditation.

What Is Meditation?

Meditation is an essential aspect of witchcraft and magic practice as it allows you to interact with the universe (or your higher power) through conscious thought and focused desire. Ritual, spellwork, and your regular thoughts and speech are examples of other techniques. Meditation is a discipline in which one trains the mind and creates a state of consciousness in order to gain some advantage. Meditation encompasses a wide range of different activities and practices. We will go into more detail in the following sections.

Nearly every culture in the world has some connection to meditation. Whatever the design, they are typically intended to encourage connecting with spiritual guidance, feeling at ease, developing inner strength, having psychic visions, becoming closer to God, remembering former lives, going on astral journeys, and more. Meditation is a well-known, age-old technique that has been used for millennia to promote calmness, concentration, and connection with our inner selves. The benefits of meditation on the mind, body, and soul are reciprocal.

A Brief History

In actuality, nobody is certain of the exact beginning and location of meditation. But our theories are supported by facts. This ancient rite is mentioned in many civilizations and religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. All of these faiths have something to offer to the modern understanding of meditation as it is practiced today. Although the history of meditation is controversial, many people think it began there more than 5000 years ago.

India Origins

It is generally accepted that the Vedas, a collection of Hindu writings, include the oldest written account of meditation. The Vedic books were written around 1500 BCE. The Vedas include mention of a practice known as "Dhyana," which is considered to be the first example of meditation that we are aware of. In Sanskrit, the word "dhyana" implies "contemplation" or "meditation." It is intended to calm the mind and attain "thoughtless awareness." However, Vedantism is frequently rejected by Buddhist beliefs in favor of the Buddha's teachings.

The various Buddhist levels of meditation can also be found in other ancient Indian scriptures dating back to the first century BCE. These texts are known as the Pli Canon Sutras. The Pli Canon is a body of Theravada Buddhist literature. And then there's Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince, was the inspiration for Buddha. He was looking for a means to end human pain. Gautama attempted numerous strategies, but none of them seemed to work. He sat down under a tree one day and determined not to move until he discovered the solution he sought. He attained enlightenment after 49 days of meditating and started the Buddhist faith. The practice of meditation is claimed to have spread throughout India from there. Buddhist monks embraced meditation as a means of achieving inner peace, frequently sitting for hours in silence, meditating on their master's teachings.

Asia Origins

Around the sixth century BCE, the practice of meditation spread to China, where it was influenced by Taoism and Buddhism. At the end of the Han dynasty, Buddhist monks from India introduced meditation to China. Over the next century, the practice began to blend into Chinese culture. The Taoists also believed in the efficacy of meditation and devised their own techniques for mind-stilling. One famous Taoist meditation practice is known as "Qigong." Qigong is a type of moving meditation that entails slow, gentle motions as well as deep breathing. Meditation extended from China to Japan, Korea, and other parts of Asia. Zen Buddhists perform "Zazen," a type of meditation practiced in Japan.

The technique was introduced to Japan by the Japanese monk Dosho, who journeyed to China to study Buddhism under the famous master Hsuan Tsang. Zazen, which translates as "seated meditation," is sitting in quiet with one's eyes closed. Korea has its own type of meditation known as "Won," which is based on Buddhist and Taoist concepts. It is a sort of moving meditation in which gentle, rhythmic motions are used to calm the body and mind.

Western Origins

Meditation became popular in the Western world in the twentieth century. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was among the first Westerners to popularize meditation. Maharishi is most known for popularizing the technique of "transcendental meditation" in the 1960s. The Yogis are a Hindu group that believes in the power of meditation to help one achieve enlightenment. The term "yoga" truly means "union" or "connection." Yoga seeks to unite the mind, body, and soul.

Other Yogis, such as Paramahansa Yogananda, who penned the classic book "Autobiography of a Yogi," also contributed to the introduction of meditation to the West. Maharishi's method of meditation is closing our eyes and reciting a mantra. A mantra is a word or phrase that is repeated repeatedly. The idea is to concentrate on the chant while clearing our brains.

Meditation & Spirituality

Spirituality is a broad topic with numerous interpretations. In general, it encourages a sense of connection to something larger than ourselves, as well as a connection with your higher self or higher awareness. It promotes the search for meaning in life and living with a broader perspective. It has a highly global appeal--something that all humans can relate to. A spiritual experience may be described as sacred, ethereal, mystical, or transcendent, or simply as a deep sense of positive emotions such as calm, amazement, wonder, connectivity, contentment, appreciation, acceptance, compassion, and unconditional love. All of these are true characteristics of our spirit.

Spiritual meditation, as the term implies, is that which connects you to your spirit. It pushes you past your limiting identities and labels to the core of who you truly are. You as your authentic self - joy, love, and tranquility. You may feel a rain of grace and happiness, as well as a deep sense of closeness and oneness, if you practice spiritual meditation. The desire to practice spiritual meditation stems from an underlying desire to perceive and think beyond the apparent world. Spiritual meditation can assist you in discovering the everlasting truth and meaning of existence. It keeps you anchored in the present moment, where you want to be and find peace.

Any genuine meditation practice, when practiced over time, can aid in your spiritual growth and will begin to provide the following spiritual benefits:

A balanced and grounded sense of being

Experience of deep inner stillness and peace

Radiating serenity, calmness, and love

A sense of awakening and freedom

Less emotional reactions

More awareness and mindfulness

Sense of inner bliss regardless of situation

The feeling of always being home

Belonging and connecting to all

Great abundance and security

Increased creativity and free thinking

More resilient to anger and stress

Meditation & General Health

Although meditation has been practiced for many years and is known to have many positive effects on the mind, it is only recently that science has established a strong connection between meditation and physical health. It's simple to feel overpowered by ideas and emotions in the fast-paced world of today. We all know the damage stress and anxiety can do to our health. Stress and anxiety are frequently caused by emotional overload. Nowadays, professionals from all over the world agree that practicing mindfulness for a little period of time each day can make a huge difference. The advantages of meditation for both the body and the mind are well-documented and very compelling. Here's just a few ways frequent meditation can improve our overall health.

daily meditation practice can improve blood circulation, lower the heart rate and help maintain a healthy heart

frequent mindfulness sessions seemed to improve meditators’ immune system functions

produces positive, lasting changes within the brain

meditation not only supports memory and attention, it also enhances mental agility and alertness

women, in general, who practice mindfulness are more aware and accepting of their bodies (also helps with PMS pain)

meditation develops mental awareness and can help you manage triggers for unwanted impulses

meditation can diminish the perception of pain in the brain

blood pressure decreases not only during meditation but also over time in individuals who meditate regularly

Meditation & Witchcraft

As magical practitioners and witches, one of the most important things we can master is the art of meditation. It allows us to still the soul and quiet the mind, which, in turn, allows us to listen to our intuition and focus on our personal energy. Meditation can also be used as a gateway for higher awareness or entering the astral realm.

Now, meditating may not come easy for a lot of you. This is perfectly normal. When I first started practicing, I had a feeling inside that made me feel extremely goofy, and stupid. The more I ignored it, the louder and stronger it grew. I eventually sat with the voice and came to the conclusion that it was my ego, driven by fear and insecurity. The more I sat with the voice, the less I felt stupid about things. I believe this was my initiative into shadow work. Anyways, back to class -

Utilizing meditation within your craft will prove to be absolutely essential the more you do ritual and spell work. Don't give up hope if "conventional" methods don't work for you. We're going to get into several different techniques of achieving the same meditative state.

Types of Meditation

There are so many different types of meditation, if I went into them all, this lesson would turn into an entire chapter. I'm just going to keep it sweet and simple here, but I absolutely encourage you to look into different methods, especially if none of the ones I have listed work for you. Let's get to it.

Active Meditation

Sitting in silence for even 2 minutes may sound like absolute torture for a lot of you. Good news is, that's not the only way to meditate. Have you ever done a yoga class, a workout session, or even taken a nice, fresh shower & felt a sense of bliss? Well, you experienced a meditative state of mind. You can do this by getting out in nature, cleaning the house, performing an art form, anything that involves movement can be a form of active meditation! Woo-hoo for us neurodivergents!

Body Scan

This method allows you to reconnect the mind to the body in a way that notices any physical sensations or tension. While relaxation naturally happens here, the goal is to pay attention to sensory experiences you typically don't notice. This allows you to be more present in your day to day life and is also a wonderful grounding and centering technique.

Mindful Breathing

The body is wiser than the mind, and this technique proves it. It is a very simple, mindless method, but has very profound effects on the body and mind. There are several breathing techniques out there, which I encourage you all to research on your own. All have different effects on the mind and body, so please be sure to choose one that is suitable for you.

Visual Meditation

This is when you focus your mind's eye, or your imagination, into an image to center the mind and the body. The main focus is to imagine and hone in on a memory or something creative and nice that opens the mind's eye. This is a wonderful exercise for those who want to enhance their visualizing abilities.

Sound Meditation

Again, this is exactly as it sounds. This meditation uses sound to provoke a meditative state of mind and align the bodily energies.

[starleska]

would you like to hear some rare Mad Mod content? 👀 in 2005 there was a Teen Titans video game, wherein you could fight a bunch of our favourite villains - Mad Mod included. however, gameplay footage was hard to come by, and it seemed no one had compiled the high-quality voice lines from the game. well, until today:

i downloaded an emulated version of the game and used some specialist tools to isolate the audio files from the .iso (as they were not in any folder/in any typical audio format) and ended up with nearly 5000 files...none of them labelled 😭😭😭 however, there are wonderful tools online which allow you to stitch together .wav files, so after converting these thousands to .wavs...i ended up with 12 minutes of audio from the game, including Mad Mod's voice lines 🙈💖 much easier to search through;;; the funny thing is, his voice lines were all distorted!! thankfully all they needed was a speed change...however, this is my best guess as to Greg Ellis' interpretation of Mad Mod, and it may still be slightly too fast or slow. i think it sounds very close either way 🥰💖 so yes, here we are!!! Greg Ellis' lovely take on Mad Mod 🥴 i'm quite a fan of this haughty, pompous, self-important version of his voice...he has quite a lovely Cockney drawl, and i appreciate how his voice pitches when he's angry 🙈 these are Mad Mod's voice lines:

"Looks as if the sun is setting on your empire, duckie."

"Time for you to bow down before your new ruler!"

"Take that for Queen and country!"

"You're beginning to annoy me, you little snot!"

if anyone is looking for the full audio file from the game, or specific lines from certain characters, let me know!! Tom Kenny's Mumbo comes through loud and clear 🔥💖