#when you go to your loved ones who passed graves and light candles

[eddieisinlove]

a fun fact

[witchofspirits]

November 2nd is All Souls' Day and of course as a death witch/spirit worker I'm going to the cemetery.

Here's what you can do to celebrate this holiday and honor the dead:

Visit your local cemetery, and before entering, ask for permission to do so. Whether that be to a guardian (gargoyle, gates, christ, etc) or the spirits themselves.

Clean the grave of a deceased loved one or someone else's that looks like no one has visited them in a while. Trust me, they'll appreciate it, even if they don't know you.

Leave offerings to the guardian statue of the cemetery for their hospitality or to a loved one to show that you still keep them close to your heart

Put up a photo of a deceased loved one or pet on your altar or create an altar for them

Light a white candle for someone who passed (whether you knew them directly or not)

Honor the death deities you work with or that are from your pantheon (Hades, Anubis, Hel, Santa Muerte, etc)

Things to keep in mind:

Don't invite a random spirit to follow you back home, you don't know who or what can go with you.

Always protect yourself when interacting with spirits, energies, and entities. This includes when entering a graveyard/cemetery. You can do so by carrying a crystal, putting up a ward, protection shield, or creating a sigil or protection charm (ring, necklace, charm bag, etc). This must always be on you.

Be respectful to the dead!!!!! How would you feel if someone comes into your space taunting you or stepping on you? If you want to speak to them, do so kindly and calmly, hold a conversation instead of yelling, "If you're here, punch me in the face!" That's taunting and it's not nice.

Don't step on grave areas. If you accidentally do so, make sure to apologize. It's also recommended to say "excuse me" if you need to walk through a tight space where it's difficult to move forward without stepping on them.

Avoid direct pictures of grave stones. I know some people do it because "aesthetic", but I personally think it's rude. It's like shoving a camera in someone's face who didn't give consent to take a picture with you. If you want to do cool photography, you can do that without invading their space or showing their names.

[sycamorelibrary754]

The Afterglow

Summary: You finally visit Natasha’s grave a year after she passed away. You don’t know what you expected to find or feel when you get there, but you want to feel something. Maybe Yelena does too.

Pairings: Natasha x reader, Yelena x reader (Platonic)

Genre: Angst, Comfort

Word Count: 918 words

Warnings: Grief, mentions of death.

A/N: I can't believe today is finally here. I wasn't planning on writing anything today, but I was listening to Afterglow by Ed Sheeran, and this came out. Lyrics from Afterglow are italicized. Credit to the writers of WandaVision for the final line. I miss Natasha Romanoff.

October used to be your favorite month—a million colors of hazel, golden, and red. Natasha would do anything to make the fall season memorable for you. Lighting your favorite apple cinnamon-scented candle, attempting homemade hot chocolate for you, even indulging you in wearing matching fall sweaters when she was not a fluffy sweater person. You were both love drunk.

It had been a year since Natasha’s death—three hundred and sixty-five days without her strength, her protection, her vulnerability, her love. The inability to visit her grave made it all feel even more symbolic. Her physical form was lost to the dark depths of Vormir; it was an incapacitating fact you couldn't bring yourself to dwell on. I knew the remaining team had made the journey to Ohio, and it was no secret that Yelena had quietly bought a small house there just to be close to her sister again.

You decided to go, unsure what to expect or how you would feel when you arrived. At that moment, you just craved some emotion. You set off without informing anyone of your plans, not wanting to be swayed by others' opinions. She was your love, and you were hers.

The flight was mercifully short, but it seemed to stretch on endlessly. Lost in thought, memories surfaced with a bittersweet ache. Absentmindedly, you found yourself on an isolated dirt road, the car coming to a stop. The crisp sound of fallen leaves underfoot accompanied your stroll along the road, embraced by the gentle trees. Admitting to yourself, it was a picturesque setting - unassuming yet undeniably beautiful. It was undoubtedly the kind of place Natasha would have cherished.

As I made my way up the path, a small collection of headstones appeared, each adorned with the warm rays of sunlight. It didn't take long to spot her headstone, positioned right in the center of the area, just like she always was. The sight was quite moving - her headstone was the only one lovingly blanketed in a colorful array of flowers, cuddly teddy bears, and handwritten notes. Etched on the headstone were the words "Natasha Romanoff. Daughter. Sister. Avenger."

As you kneel in front of her headstone, the rough texture of the cold stone sends shivers through your fingertips. The only sounds that reach your ears are the distant chirping of the birds and the gentle fluttering of the wind through the trees. In this moment, it feels like the world has vanished, leaving you alone in your love. Your world has disappeared, and the painful truth is that it will never return. You were lost in a moment of solitary grief; a sudden whistle slices through the heavy silence. You close your eyes and draw a deep breath, refusing to move from your spot on the ground.

"I gave up hoping that she would whistle back a few months back," a Russian voice announced, catching your attention.

You rise to your feet, not bothering to turn around. You already knew who it was. Keeping your gaze fixed ahead, Yelena walks up and stands beside you in front of the headstone. "More people visit this place than you'd expect, considering how isolated it is," Yelena murmurs. "I try to come here a few times a week to tidy up, be close to her, and feel her presence wherever she is now."

You remain silent, simply nodding in response. 

I was hoping you would show up today," Yelena confessed. "I considered calling you, but I didn't want to feel like I was imposing.

"Honestly, I was worried that you might be mad at me for taking so long to get here," you confessed. 

"I could never do that. Who am I to dictate how you should deal with losing the love of your life?" she said as you gazed up at the swaying treetops.

"It's strange. Natasha and I used to live life in vibrant color, but now it feels like I'm just existing in black and white," your voice trailing off.

"In our childhood, we would spend evenings chasing after fireflies in the backyard. I remember Melina explained that their glow was created through the fascinating chemical process of bioluminescence," reminisced Yelena.

"Always the inquisitive scientist," you sighed.

"After a lifetime of searching, I finally realized the glow I've been pursuing was always hers," the young widow confessed.

As you gaze at Yelena, you notice the subtle shimmer in her eyes, reflecting the unshed tears. Reaching out for her hand, you feel the delicate coolness of her rings as your fingers gently intertwine with hers.

I would give anything to have had more time with her," she whispered, her voice filled with longing and sorrow. "I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make her proud.

"Yelena, Nat was always so proud of you. And she always will be," you said, your voice trembling with emotion.

Now Yelena is the one who nods silently.

Y/n, she loved you," Yelena finally says after silent reflection. "You broke down the walls that she had built around her heart. Her entire life, she believed that love was only for children. It wasn't until you came into her life that she started to believe that maybe, just maybe, love was meant for her too. You showed her that love knows no boundaries and that it's possible for her to be loved in a way she never thought was possible.

"I loved her too... I always will," tears began to trickle down your cheeks, silently expressing your grief.

Yelena's grip on your hand tightens. "She burned so brightly. We have to hold on to the afterglow. Forever."

The weight of it all became too much. You both leaned into each other, wrapping your arms around one another as tears fell. No words were needed; the embrace conveyed a multitude of emotions – sorrow and affection. It was as if all the pent-up sentiments from the past year were finally released, allowing you to feel something once again truly.

What is grief, if not love persevering? 

[khaire-traveler]

🌫️ Subtle Erebos Worship 🌑

Sit in stillness for a while, especially darkness; meditate or become comfortable in the quiet

Take time each day to decompress from the events of the day; relax and rest

Drink herbal tea or a warm drink you enjoy before bed; preferably something soothing

Get a candle that reminds you of him (no altar needed)

Wear jewelry that reminds you of him

Keep a picture of him in your wallet

Start a bedtime/nighttime routine

Try to avoid screens an hour before bed; try reading a book, drawing, or another relaxing and screenless activity

Fall asleep/meditate/study to music reminiscent of emptiness, stillness, or liminality (links included to videos I sleep/listen to c:)

Have a stuffed animal that reminds you of darkness, stillness, or The Void™; nocturnal animals work well (Stygian owl, trust me)

Have imagery of fog, darkness, the night sky, what you believe the creation of the universe looked like, or The Underworld (his name is sometimes conflated with The Underworld itself) around

Dedicate a collection of coins to the souls passing into The Underworld who don't have coins to cross the Stygian

Watch the sunrise; watch the sunset

Learn about the night sky; learn the different constellations and myths they have

Learn about space; learn about cave systems; learn about anything you consider mysterious, expansive, and a bit frightening

Visit/tour a cave (SAFELY!!!!)

Leave water outside for nocturnal animals that stop by; leave out water for a bird bath

Listen to the morning bird songs; listen to the sounds of the night

Press/dry a flower still wet with evening dew

Practice mindfulness; practice meditation

Go camping, and sleep under the stars; take time to be present in nature, in the night

Watch a scary movie in the dark; you're also welcome to watch a comfort movie instead

Collect animal bones (thank the animal's spirit after doing so)

If fog rolls in, go outside in it; take a walk in it (SAFELY!!!)

Plant seeds in the ground; start a garden; tend to plants

Grow your own herbs or produce

Honor your ancestors or passed loved ones; engage in spirit work if comfortable

Visit a cemetery; leave flowers on graves if given permission to do so

Reflect on your deeper beliefs; what do you believe about the different mysteries/uncertainties of life (the afterlife, universe creation, purpose, etc.)

Dance/sing to music that makes you feel ancient, mystical, mysterious, or generally cool

Take a walk during a new moon (if it is safe to do so your area)

Learn about self-defense; be sure to take a weapon with you when going out at night (if you feel it's necessary mostly)

Wear black or darker colors

Take a relaxing bath/shower at night, especially with herbs or in dim light (SAFELY!!!)

Write/read ghost or mystery stories

Light a bonfire; gather around it with loved ones; share scary or mysterious stories

Support space, deep ocean, or deep cave exploration organizations; support nocturnal animal preservation organizations

Learn about the different phases of the moon; learn about what each one means

Practice patience and restraint

Find healthy outlets for extreme emotions; drawing, writing, boxing, dancing, crafting, etc.

Learn to become comfortable within your own presence (this takes practice, it'll be ok)

Sleep with a small bag of soothing herbs under your pillow (lavender, jasmine, etc.) or charms

Keep a dream journal; try to interpret your dreams

-

This is my list of discreet ways to worship Erebos! He is rarely talked about, from what I've seen, but he is the God of Darkness, born from the primordial Khaos at the creation of everything. He is paired with Nyx often, and the two have had several children, including Hypnos and Thanatos. His name was used interchangeably with The Underworld sometimes. I'll likely add more later, but for now, I hope you enjoy what I've made. Take care. ❤️

Link to Subtle Worship Master list

[wanderingskemetic]

⚰️Subtle Wesir Worship🌱

Greatly inspired by @khaire-traveler's wonderful subtle worship series, which can be found here.

Eat in season produce; support local farmers

Start your own garden; grow plants in your room

Visit cemeteries; leave flowers at graves (with permission); or help clean up gravesites (if allowed)

Learn about and uphold Ma'at

Make a playlist or listen to songs that remind you of him or you think he'd like

Make a collage/moodboard/pinterest board/similar collection of photos and images you associate with him, especially if some of the images are your own

Wear a piece of jewelry or other clothing item that reminds you of him

Light a candle or incense that reminds you of him (safely)

Take charge/leadership roles in parts of your life

Send a nice message to your loved ones/check in on them regularly

Carry a picture of him in your wallet, pocket, phone case, etc. or as a phone or computer wallpaper

Pick and/or press flowers (only from areas you're allowed to)

Have djed pillar, crook and flail, mummy, grain, willow, or atef crown imagery

Support environmental organizations

Learn about plants and animals, especially those that are native to your area or Egypt

Take care of a plant, animal, or other person

Spend time out in nature

Learn about local invasive species, plants or otherwise; get rid of any invasive plants you see, if safe to do so

Do things to help local wildlife like hanging up suet feeders, building bat boxes, etc.

Honor your ancestors/souls that have passed

Allow yourself to mourn over difficult changes or the end of relationships; allow yourself to miss people

Become comfortable with change; take new risks, try new things, accept difficult changes

Hold onto any family heirlooms; keep items from people who have passed in your life

Support humanitarian organizations, especially funeral funding or suicide prevention ones

Learn about death; acquaint yourself with the idea of death; figure out what you believe happens after death

Cook with homegrown herbs or produce

Plant seeds, especially the fruit or vegetables you've eaten; give it new life

Recycle; reuse things that don't need to be immediately disposed of

Use compost for your garden or nearby plants

Try to start each day fresh

If you have a partner, set aside time to do something special with them

Make a list of simple joys in life; focus on the good parts of your day at the end of it

Give people chances to change, but if they continue not to make changes, don't continue to spend time with them

Practice truthfulness and keep your promises

Hold others and yourself responsible for their/your actions; apologize or make amends when possible/appropriate

Don't feel obligated to forgive people; you do not have to forgive them even if they've apologized to you

Stand up for yourself and the things you believe in

Let go of people or things that do not contribute to your life in a positive way

Go stargazing

Remember that rest is productive; take breaks when you need them

Showing kindness towards your fellow humans

I may add more to this list in the future. Suggestions are always appreciated.

Link to the Kemetic Subtle Worship Masterpost

[chickrawker]

FOB at Riot Fest 9/20/24

I am absolutely too old for festivals but I needed to see a show when FOB was doing their Eras so that's how I ended up at Riot Fest.

Fall Out Boy

Riot Fest at Douglass Park

Chicago IL

9/20/24

Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes

(Snippet as intro)

Take This to Your Grave:

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy

From Under the Cork Tree:

Sugar, We're Goin Down (with Tim McIlrath)

Dance, Dance

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows)

Infinity on High:

This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race

Thriller

Bang the Doldrums

Thnks fr th Mmrs

Folie à Deux:

Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes

I Don't Care

Save Rock and Roll:

The Phoenix

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

American Beauty/American Psycho:

Uma Thurman

The Kids Aren't Alright

M A N I A:

The Last of the Real Ones

Interlude:

Sweet Home Chicago

(Robert Johnson cover) (partial, Patrick solo; on guitar)

What a Catch, Donnie

(partial, Patrick solo; on piano)

So Much (for) Stardust:

So Much (for) Stardust

Love From the Other Side

Fake Out

Finale:

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet

(Magic 8 Ball song)

I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me

(Magic 8 Ball song)

Centuries

Saturday

I've never had any friends that got into FOB with me; when they came out I was already too old to be going to their shows but I went anyways. So I never really knew about their fan base until these Tourdust shows. The fans are seriously incredible. They do friendship bracelets and have a little project to pass out pink seashells for Fake Out. I even went to Emo Bingo with a bar full of fans, hosted by a FOB podcaster.

ANYWAYS I knew how the set list would go since I've actually streamed some of these shows (again the great fans that do this!) We got some surprises- Tim from Rise Against on Sugar We're Going Down! Patrick doing "Sweet Home Chicago" for the medley was SO GOOD. I love when he flexes his music geek talents. And 2 Magic 8 Ball songs? Yes please.

Both Patrick and Pete commented about being back home in Chicago and feeling really grateful for the fans. It's always nice to see a hometown show, I feel like the emotion is higher for the band. Not like these guys aren't bringing it every night because they are, it's just a very special vibe. Plus fireworks at the end, who doesn't love fireworks?

ThnksFrThMmrs guys!

[artbymsl]

HOW IS CELEBRATED "DAY OF THE DEAD" AROUND THE WORLD?

Have an extraordinary experience - ML ✿

The Day of the Dead

Around the world

Day of the Dead is celebrated around the world; it is one of the most important festivities in Mexico. The festivity honors dead with a celebration that involves food, dance and colorful decorations. Variety of colors are used to bring meaning and life into houses and buildings. Each place has a different way to celebrate the Day of the Dead. When it comes to honor an important familiar, customs and traditions are the key.

Do you know that Toltecs believed that dead people return to Earth and visit their families for about two days?

Discover the extraordinary ways to celebrate the Day of the Dead around the world, maybe you can spend the next holiday with different ideas and gifts to your long-lost loved ones.

The beauty of Day of the Dead in Mexico

Mexico is the place that comes to our mind when we talk about “Day of the Dead”; it was inspired by a Gooddess Mictecacíhualt in pre-Columbian period.

Nowadays, people visit the graves of their loved ones and set up offering, such a cempaxúchilt (a flower that symbolizes the sun) and food with a deep meaning. Food is a feeling, and our favorite food is a thing that give us satisfaction and happiness. The favorite food of our loved ones is put on the grave. All of this to invoke their spirits. When one of my aunt’s love one passed away, she put coke cans around the grave, it was the favorite drink of my uncle.

Nicaragua’s Day of the Dead

Family tomb is the key event in Nicaragua’s celebration. Food and drinks are sold on November 2nd. Cemeteries are fill with candles, flowers and offerings. The National flower of Nicaragua is Sacuanjoche. 

Ireland’s Day of the Dead

They believe that the souls of the dead return to their family home on All Soul’s Night. In other places of Ireland, kids have an important appointment. They go “soul-caking”, visiting neighbors to beg for cakes in exchange for prayers to be said for the dead.

1.    Irish go to bed early, but before it, they visit the cementer and clean the grave, dedicate players and leave a candle burning.

2.  Before bed, they once again light a candle for each of those who have passed. The candle is left in a window that faced the cemetery. When the evening prayer finished, the candle is extinguished. 

Halloween in United States

Halloween is one of the most important holidays in US. Dressing up like monsters, zombies and horror movie characters has been popularized by movies and TV. Children’s believe that it is a day when you can trick-or-treat. Places like Guatemala, Mexico and United States celebrate the Day of the Dead at big.

If you want to experience Halloween, every year, New York City Village Halloween Parade, attracts thousands of people dressed in costumes who gather at 6th avenue for a parade through Greenwich Village. 

The Indian Day of the Dead

Shraddha and Mahalaya are celebrated in India. They can be referred to as the Day of the Dead. In Shraddha Hindu families perform rituals with food offerings and prayers. Meanwhile, Mahalaya have a particular place in West Bengal and among Bengali communities. On Mahalaya, people tend to wake up early to listen the “Enchanting Malahaya Mantras”; it is the beginning of the festive season.

[ghoulsister1]

🎃SpookTober 31 Days Prompts🎃:

Day 20: Candle🕯

Danny Blue x GN!Reader. Spooky moments. Things go bump in the night. Power outages. Gotta light them candles. Lots of fluff. Cuddling and snuggling. SpookTober Prompt: Candle🕯

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☆●~When The Lights Go Out~●☆

You and Danny were just setting up for a good horror binge until you guys experience a power outage. Only candles for a light source, you two take turns telling stories. Things get really spooky......

"Danny! Hurry!" You Cried as you got your Netflix set up to watch a horror movie binge.

"Coming!" Cried Danny as he made his way downstairs and into the living room where you had set up some snacks and drinks, accompanied by some pillows and blankets. Danny and you were dressed in warm, comfy pjs and with a smile, Danny sits on the couch and you two snuggled up together.

"So, what movie do you wanna watch first?" You Asked, cosying up to Danny closer.

"Hmmmm........Wanna watch that new scary movie with the red door?" Suggested Danny. You giggle and you two get closer.

"Okay, let's try that one" You Agreed and you clicked on the movie. The movie was just getting started until out of no where, all the electricity from the TV to the lights and Halloween decorations suddenly went out, plunging you and Danny's home in darkness, scaring you in the process and making Danny let out a startled yelp.

"Oi!" Yelped Danny, startled. You jumped and pressed up closer to him, heart racing. The lights going out so suddenly caught you both by surprise.

"Power outage" You Remarked and both of you sigh. So much for a cosy, spooky night in.

"God damnit!" You Sighed sadly.

"Hey, don't worry about it love. Come on, we can still make this a spooky night in!" Suggested Danny and you looked up at your boyfriend, smiling.

"Let's get some candles lit up" You Suggested.

"Alright! Hand me that flashlight love" Said Danny and you handed Danny a flashlight before following him around the house, gathering up some matches and candles. Once everything was gathered up, you two returned to the living room, lit up the candles and to pass the time until the power returns, you decided to suggest some spooky stories to tell each other.

"Right, so you wanna tell each other spooky stories?" Asked Danny. You nod your head with a smile.

"See who gets scared the most!" You Added, giving Danny a cheeky wink and Danny scoffed with a smirk.

"Listen love, the whole scary stories thing? Doesn't phase me one bit" Smirked Danny. You giggled and smirked back.

"Alright. You go first Danny" You Suggested.

With a wicked smirk, Danny leaned in towards you.

"Alright love, but don't say I didn't warn ya" Warned Danny in a ominous voice, making you giggle as Danny leaned back in the couch.

"Right, so you know Alnwick Castle?" Asked Danny. You nod your head with a smile, remembering when Danny took you to see the castle.

"Yeah" You Smiled happily.

"Well, I bet you didn't know there was a vampire that lived in that castle" Remarked Danny smirking. You're eyes widened as Danny began his tale.

"Well, this is the story of the Vampire Of Alnwick Castle. Now it's a bit short but it's spooky nonetheless.

Right, so this 12th century historian William of Newburgh chronicled how a former master of Alnwick Castle would rise from his grave and prowl the streets at night, causing terror and disease you know, being a local boogeyman. So the townsfolk all panicked and some of the locals went to his burial site which was a shallow grave and dug up the body. The body was revealed to be bloated, which when pierced with a spade, disgorged fresh blood, proving to them that it was indeed a vampire. The body was then taken outside the town and burned" Explained Danny.

You shivered at that, just imagining the bloated corpse filled with fresh blood. Danny chuckled as you giggled a little.

"Okay, that was a good story Danny. It was chilling" You Praised and Danny smirked proudly.

"Told ya! Now it's your turn love. Tell me a blood chilling story" Suggested Danny smiling.

"I'll happily oblige my dear" You Replied smiling and you launched into your tale.

"Alright so this story took place in Ireland, in the late 70s. One night a strange, thick fog rolled in and wouldn't leave. That night, the police got phone calls from people claiming to see the dead walk the streets, sometimes they were relatives who passed on and others were neighbours and friends they knew. This continued until the morning, where the fog cleared up. The police decided to investigate the local graveyard to see if this was just a hoax by the people. When they arrived at the cemetery, the police were shocked and unnerved to find all the graves were empty. Only one question remained, where did the bodies go?" You Explained.

Danny felt a chill go up his spine at that story. He had to admit, you had a knack for storytelling and this one was good.

"Wow, okay that was a scary story!" Remarked Danny impressed. You smiled and blushed, glad to see he found the story scary.

"It's a mystery still to this day" You Added.

"Really? Jeez, so maybe the dead really walked that night" Remarked Danny feeling another shiver go through him at the thought of seeing an actual zombie.

"Did.....did anyone get bitten or attacked?" Asked Danny. You chuckled, shaking your head.

"No don't worry. Everyone was too afraid to go outside because of the strange fog" You Explained.

"I'd be more afraid of zombies than fog love" Remarked Danny, wrapping himself up in a blanket as you two huddled closer, the candles flickering and casting eerie shadows that danced across the walls.

Suddenly there was creaking in the hallway and you both turned your heads at the noise, both of you freezing. You looked at each other and then at the hallway, both of you shivering.

"You heard that right?" Asked Danny, a noticeable tremble in his voice as he spoke.

"Yeah....I..I....I did" You Answered, trembling.

You both kept an ear out for more sounds, nothing more was heard.

"Wanna hear another story?" Danny Suggested. You shook yourself of nerves and put on a brave face.

"Sure! Hit me with the best" You Replied smiling. Danny smirked and launched into his next tale.

"Another story about a castle but with a twist of some tragedy. In the 16th century, Heloise Pennington, daughter of Sir Ferdinand Pennington, master of Muncaster Castle, fell in love with a young carpenter right? But Heloise you see, was already betrothed to a knight and in anger at his daughter for daring to love someone deemed, you know unworthy, Sir Ferdinand had paid his jester to murder the freaking carpenter and presenting the severed head as proof of his deed! The headless body of the carpenter is said to roam the castle ever since, searching for his lost love" Explained Danny.

You felt a cold chill sweep through the room, the candles flickering and your heart ached for the poor unfortunate carpenter.

"Poor fella" You Remarked.

"Yeah, poor sod" Agreed Danny.

You were about to launch into your next story when suddenly the lights and power came back on, startling both of you once more.

"Jesus!" Yelped Danny as he jumped along with you. You both held each other for a brief moment before laughing at the same time.

"Guess we had a spooky night after all!" Remarked Danny and you both laughed in agreement.

You grabbed the remote and looked to Danny.

"Wanna finish that movie?" You Asked.

"Go on" Agreed Danny and you both smiled and snuggled up together on the couch as the movie played and the candles still flickered.

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[butterfly-wingss]

not in love with the ending also I haven't reread it since i finished and it has had 3 different endings so oops if it doesn't feel cohesive lolol also the gods in this story are inspired by those in dimension 20's fantasy high.

The grey carpet is all scuffed up from years of chairs being dragged around. The windows let in as much light as they can but it doesn't cast a warm glow over the room like it should. The little light that breaches the clouds illuminates the stains on the floor, the burn on the tablecloth from when the candles fell over a few years ago. Chrissy sits in the front row of the church. Her white dress is covered in sunflowers, her earrings are little suns, and her hair is braided back with a gold ribbon, she is picture perfect. As is expected of the preachers daughter.

Her mother sits next her her in a long, and light yellow dress balancing her 4 year old brother, Danny on her lap. Her fan isn’t quite covering up the cigarettes in her purse and Danny was babbling about how loud and scary daddy gets; they were able to chalk it up to the boys first taste of authority and discipline but he'll probably get yelled at when they get home.

Chrissy supposes that everyone has they’re darker side. It’s not blasphemous for trees to provide shade, or for clouds to block the sun, in fact its good they do, if one spends to long under Sol’s scrutiny they’ll be burnt for it; the shade provides a safe place to admire Sol and his work.

But Chrissy’s darkness isn’t just a cloud passing by, or a tree offering sanctuary. Her darkness isn’t fleeting like Dad’s anger coming and going with the bottle. She’s done something much worse.

After the sermon Chrissy makes the rounds with her family, talking to their fellow followers of Sol, when Shimmer asks the question she’s been dreading.

“What gems that, on your ring?” Shimmer Gladstone, always trying to start shit, especially when it means getting Chrissy in trouble. The shit eating grin on permanently attached to her face is mirrored on her mother as the older woman’s eyes light up.

“That dear, looks like a moon stone.” Her sickly sweet tone sears Chrissy’s skin. “Said to make people more impulsive you know, even drive them mad.” She tacks on conspiratorially.

Time for Chrissy to act like her life depends on it. “Really.” She says with as much concern as she can muster while shakily taking the ring off “I didn’t know; it was left in my locker, I’ve been trying to figure out who gave it too me but, well I guess I should look into it a bit harder now shouldn’t I.” A covert look over the should here, a hushed whisper there, and the Shimmers face ever so slightly pales. Before the Gladstones can dig Chrissy’s grave deeper her mother joins.

“Darling, why didn’t you say anything sooner?” the words were sweet and her face the epitome of a mothers concern but Chrissy knew it was a test.

“The note left with it made it sound like, um, a courting gift but there was no name attached,” Summoning every embarrassing moment that keeps her up in the middle of the night Chrissy forges on with a light blush. “So I wanted to find who it was first to see if they were properly devoted.” When Jamie Muford asked her out in year 7 everyone at church was gossiping about how he was trying to drag her out of Sol’s light.

“If it’s that Muford boy again we might just have to do something about it. It’s truly unacceptable for someone so…” her mother makes a vague so-so gesture, “Unilluminated to be causing such a fuss.”

“Though if it is the Muford boy maybe he’s getting back at her for rejecting him, moonstone can make you quite fickle.” The elder Gladstone adds with suspicion. By the end of their long talk Chrissy’s absolved of all crime and her ring was taken. But she knows better. Chrissy knows that the ring will always find her again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

weeks later, after everyone else is a sleep Chrissy pulls a shoes box from under her bed. It’s old and a bit ruffed up but inside is supplies for an eclectic alter. Small candles, matches, blue and purple and white ribbons, a few sprigs of lavender she took from the school gardens. Along with a few other bits and bobs she felt compelled to add. Loose buttons, earrings missing their pair, keys that unlock who knows what. It wasn’t much but it was perfect.

Chrissy clears her night stand to set up her patchwork alter, opens the windows and leave her blinds cracked slightly but not enough to bee seen. A sliver of moonlight strikes the candles on her night stand and they light on there own.

Chrissy sits before her alter, dons a shall of stars, and focuses on her goddess. The cool chill of the night air, the uneasy and unrest she feels at what she's about to do, what she’s about to say, but you can worship doubt without critique.

“Aporia, Goddess of doubt, mystery, and the night hear my pleas.” An icy breeze caresses her face, as if Aporia is saying she’s here, listening.

“My dear goddess, I am touched and eternally grateful for the gifts you have given me. But I- its not safe for me,” talking to Aporia is so different than everything Chrissy’s known. Aporia having very few disciples is able to truly hear her, or maybe gods like Sol just don’t care to listen.

“I will continue to work with you as I truly do believe in you’re philosophy and but, I can’t show it here. It’s just not safe Mistress.” The light breeze stops, the air stands still with tension, Chrissy’s every hair stands on end but she pushes forward.

She feels the carpet under her etching into her skin, the crack of moon light seeping into the room is strong so the goddess must still be listening. With a deep breath and heavy heart she continues. “I can hide a pendant, and keep rings and letters in my alter box.” Chrissy pleas as Umber, the fluffy black kitten Aporia sent her, nudges his way onto her lap. “but I can barely take care of a cat. And this is becoming so much more than a cat.”

“I just can’t hide a shadow that move without me or all the suns in my room turning to moons. I understand you don’t want your follower to live in a shrine of your enemy but this is the only place I can live right now and this is how I can stay alive to worship you, I know it’s not ideal but until I graduate and move out its all we’ve got.” Chrissy’s isn’t even pleading anymore, she begging. Begging this goddess that showed her the comfort and compassion her life was sorely missing. She doesn’t know what she’ll do if she looses her goddess but there has to be something she's not seeing. There has to be a way to devote herself without getting herself killed.

Chrissy sits there until the streak of moonlight moves off her night stand and her eyes are drooping. By now something should have happened. A breeze, flickering candles, the bone deep innate feeling to look somewhere for something, but nothing happens. She closes the window and packs up her alter. Chrissy keeps her shall out. It’s not like when Aporia guides her but she wants to keep it with her. If her parents wake her up in the morning though she’ll get in a lot of trouble, especially after the redecoration incident. She resolves to shove the shall in her pillowcase and finally sleep.

She wakes to find a key in her hand. But it’s not an old key, its shiny and colourful, shifting through blue to purple to pink and topped with a star. There are no scratches, no dent, no tarnish, it’s nothing like the other keys she's found under Aporia’s guidance.

The key feels heavy in her hand, it feels like it could unlock the secrets of the universe and knowing its owner it just might. Bam! Bam! Bam! Chrissy’s mind finally breaks away form the key “Get up right now young lady! I’m not dropping you off if you’re late.” Chrissy’s flooded with dread at the mere though of her mother in the same room as the key. She damn near falls out of bed trying to get to her box. When she finally fumbles the shoe box opens it’s empty-

Its. Empty.

The child in a strict religious household has to hide their worship of a pagan god, all while the various “gifts” from their patron become harder to explain.

[waliyanaeem]

7 Ways to celebrate a dad who’s passed this Father’s Day

Father’s Day can be difficult for those of us whose fathers have passed away. While others can enjoy the thrill of finding the perfect gift or planning a special celebration, you may be feeling bereft all over again. You might experience sadness or frustration, or just plain miss your dad more at this time. It may even feel like Father’s Day is no longer for you.

Well, it can be if you want it to be. While your dad may have passed on, Father’s Day remains a great time to reflect on who he was, what you love about him, and the impact he had on your life. So we’ve put together a few ideas for celebrating your dad this Father’s Day, even if he’s no longer with us.

1. Get out those old photo albums

Whether they’re digital or physical, photos of your dad are sure to bring the memories flooding back. Turn off your phone, sit down with a cup of something hot, and start digging through the archives of his life. You might like to call a brother or sister to bring over their stash of dad snaps so you can reminisce together.

In fact, this could be the perfect time to put all those photos into one place — a physical album, say. Or, you might decide to scan them and add them to an online memorial (like ours here at Memories) that you can visit whenever you’re missing him, wherever you are in the world.

2. Visit a place he loved to go to

Did you dad love a round of golf at the local club? Why not play one in his honor this Sunday? Perhaps he had a favourite café — you could stop in for a coffee and a moment of reflection. Think of the places your dad loved to go to, and choose one to visit on Father’s Day. While you’re there you might recall a memory or two from a time when you were there together, and that might feel like a gift in itself.

3. Write a letter or card to him

When we lose someone, we lose the opportunity to share our lives with them. Reclaim that feeling by writing a letter or card to your dad. What would you say to him now, if you could? What’s happened in your life that would make him proud, pleased, or want to help you? Write it all down in a special letter that you’ll never send, but can keep for as long as you like. You might even make a tradition of writing to your dad on Father’s Day, if you find it helpful.

4. Light a candle and reflect

An almost universal symbol of spirit, lighting a candle you’ve specially chosen can help you to pause and focus on all your dad meant — and still means — to you. This is the perfect time to just sit with his memory, and without any interruptions to distract you from what is effectively a meditation on your dad. Sifting through your memories of him may help you to feel closer to him, and remind you of his unique brand of fatherhood on this particular day.

5. Visit his resting place

Making the effort to travel to the place where your father was put to rest can help you feel physically close to your dad. It also provides a lot of scope for honoring his memory. If he was buried, you could take flowers to the grave, or light a candle at it. If he was cremated and his ashes scattered, you could revisit that place, and perhaps return to a reading or a song that he particularly liked while you’re there. Again, this might make a good tradition that you can continue in the years ahead.

6. Use something he gave you, or used himself

Some dads give lessons, some advice, and some give gifts that we cherish. What did your dad give to you? Use it on Father’s Day to honour him and his generosity. If you prefer, use something he used himself — his old fishing rods for example, or his gardening tools — to mark the occasion. These are great ways to honor your Dad’s wisdom, even if he’d have laughed to hear you call it that. And he’d be delighted to know his things — including his gifts to you — are still in use.

7. Call someone else who’s missing him

Even if you’re an only child, there’s sure to be someone else who’s missing your dad right now. It could be a relative or a family friend. It might be one of his own friends. Give them a call, see how they are, and maybe ask for a story about your dad. Reconnecting with others who were close to your father can, in turn, bring him closer to you. But their stories might also bring a smile to your face right when you need it. They’re sure to remind you that, whatever happens, your dad lives on through you.

[v-e-l-v-e-t-g-o-l-d-m-i-n-e]

Lestat, Armand and their complicated love/hate relationship

I found myself backing out of the room and away from him, staring numbly at his small dirty figure. His auburn hair shimmered despite the dirt in it; his eyes burned like two lights.

Grotesque he seemed, among all the candles and the swimming colors of the flat, this filthy waif of the netherworld, and yet his beauty held sway. He hadn't needed the shadows of Notre Dame or the torchlight of the crypt to flatter him. And there was a fierceness in him in this bright light that I hadn't seen before.

I felt an overwhelming confusion. He was both dangerous and compelling. I could have looked on him forever, but an overpowering instinct said: Get away. Leave the place to him if he wants it. What does it matter now? - The Vampire Lestat

"It is like not knowing how to read, isn't it?" he said aloud. "And your maker, the outcast Magnus, what did he care for your ignorance? He did not tell you the simplest things, did he?"

Nothing in his expression moved as he spoke.

"Hasn't it always been this way? Has anyone ever cared to teach you anything?"

"You're taking these things from my mind. . ." I said. I was appalled. I saw the monastery where I'd been as a boy, the rows and rows of books that I could not read, Gabrielle bent over her books, her back to all of us. "Stop this!" I whispered.

It seemed the longest time had passed. I was becoming disoriented. He was speaking again, but in silence.

They never satisfy you, the ones you make. In silence the estrangement and the resentment only grow.

I willed myself to move but I wasn't moving. I was merely looking at him as he went on.

You long for me and I for you, and we alone in all this realm are worthy of each other. Don't you know this? - The Vampire Lestat

I beat him again, turning him this way and that. And then I drew my sword to sever his head.

Let him live like that if he can. Let him be immortal like that if he can. I raised the sword and when I looked down at him, the rain was pelting his face, and he was staring up at me, as one half alive, unable to plead for mercy, unable to move.

I waited. I wanted him to beg. I wanted him to give me that powerful voice full of lies and cunning, the voice that had made me believe for one pure and dazzling instant that I was alive and free and in the state of grace again. Damnable, unforgivable lie. Lie I'd never forget for as long as I walked the earth. I wanted the rage to carry me over the threshold to his grave.

But nothing came from him.

And in this moment of stillness and misery for him, his beauty slowly returned.

He lay a broken child on the gravel path, only yards from the passing traffic, the ring of horses' hooves, the rumble of the wooden wheels.

And in this broken child were centuries of evil and centuries of knowledge, and out of him there came no ignominious entreaty but merely the soft and bruised sense of what he was. Old, old evil, eyes that had seen dark ages of which I only dream.

I let him go, and I stood up and sheathed my sword. - The Vampire Lestat

He heard me. But he didn't give an answer. He looked to Gabrielle, who stood near the fire, and then to me. And silently, he said, Love me. You have destroyed everything! But if you love me, it can all be restored in a new form. Love me.

This silent entreaty had an eloquence, however, that I can't put into words.

"What can I do to make you love me?" he whispered. "What can I give? The knowledge of all I have witnessed, the secrets of our powers, the mystery of what I am?"

It seemed blasphemous to answer. And as I had on the battlements, I found myself on the edge of tears. For all the purity of his silent communications, his voice gave a lovely resonance to his sentiments when he actually spoke. - The Vampire Lestat

"Each time the death and the awakening will ravage the mortal spirit, so that one will hate you for taking his life, another will run to excesses that you scorn. A third will emerge mad and raving, another a monster you cannot control. One will be jealous of your superiority, another shut you out." And here he shot his glance to Gabrielle again and half smiled.

"And the veil will always come down between you. Make a legion. You will be, always and forever, alone!" - The Vampire Lestat

"Does anyone else know the size of your soul?"

Witchcraft. Had it ever been used with more skill? And what was he really saying to us beneath this liquid flow of beautiful language: Come to me, and I shall be the sun round which you are locked in orbit, and my rays shall lay bare the secrets you keep from each other, and I, who possess charms and powers of which you have no inkling, shall control and possess and destroy you!

"I asked you before," I said. "What do you want? Really want?"

"You!" he said. - The Vampire Lestat

He had only moved very fast, and I had moved faster, and we stood facing each other in the doorway of the crypt, and again I said that single negation and I wouldn't let him go.

"Not like this, we can't part. We can't leave each other in hatred, we can't." And my will dissolved suddenly as I embraced him and held tight to him so that he couldn't free himself nor even move.

I didn't care what he was, or what he had done in that doomed moment of lying to me, or even trying to overpower me, I didn't care that I was no longer mortal and would never be again.

i wanted only that he should remain. I wanted to be with him, what he was, and all the things he had said were true. Yet it could never be as he wished it to be. - The Vampire Lestat

"You're mad to blame it all on me. You have no right," I insisted, but my voice was faltering so badly I couldn't understand my own words.

And his voice shot out of him like the tongue of a snake.

"We had our Eden under that ancient cemetery," he hissed. "We had our faith and our purpose. And it was you who drove us out of it with a flaming sword. What do we have now! Answer me! Nothing but the love of each other and what can that mean to creatures like us!"

"No, it's not true, it was all happening already. You don't understand anything. You never did."

But he wasn't listening to me. And it didn't matter whether or not he was listening. He was drawing closer, and in a dark flash his hand went out, and my head went back, and I saw the sky and the city of Paris upside down.

I was falling through the air.

And I went down and down past the windows of the tower, until the stone walkway rose up to catch me, and every bone in my body broke within its thin case of preternatural skin. - The Vampire Lestat

Poor Armand. And you told me Louis was dead. Go dig a room for yourself under the Lafayette Cemetery. It's just up the street. - The Vampire Lestat

"You always make me laugh," I told him. "I would have laughed at you under that cemetery in Paris, except it didn't seem the kind thing to do. And even when you cursed me and blamed me for all the stories about us, that was funny too. If you hadn't been about to throw me off the tower I would have laughed. You always make me laugh."

Delicious it was, the hatred between us, or so I thought. Such unfamiliar excitement, to have him there to ridicule and despise. - The Vampire Lestat

"It wasn't that I wanted vengeance," he whispered. His face was stricken, his heart broken. He said. "But you came to be healed, and you did not want me! A century I had waited, and you did not want me!"

And I knew, as I had all along really, that my restoration was illusion, that I was the same skeleton in rags, of course. And the house was still a ruin. And in the preternatural being who held me was the power that could give me back the sky and the wind.

"Love me and the blood is yours," he said. "This blood that I have never given to another." I felt his lips against my face.

"I can't deceive you," I answered. "I can't love you. What are you to me that I should love you? A dead thing that hungers for the power and the passion of others? The embodiment of thirst itself?" - The Vampire Lestat

In mute fascination, Daniel had watched that little clip on MTV portraying Armand as the coven master of the old vampires beneath the Paris cemetery, presiding over demonic rituals until the Vampire Lestat, the eighteenth-century iconoclast, had destroyed the Old Ways. Armand must have loathed it, his private history laid bare in flashing images, so much more crass than Lestat’s more thoughtful written history. Armand, whose eyes scanned perpetually the living beings around him, refusing even to speak of the undead. But it was impossible that he did not know. - The Queen of the Damned

At last particular movies struck his fancy. Over and over he watched Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, fascinated by Rutger Hauer, the powerfully built actor who, as the leader of the rebel androids, confronts his human maker, kisses him, and then crushes his skull. It would bring a slow and almost impish laugh from Armand, the bones cracking, the look in Hauer’s ice-cold blue eye.

“That’s your friend, Lestat, there,” Armand whispered once to Daniel. “Lestat would have the...how do you say?...guts?...to do that!” - The Queen of the Damned

At the door, I turned and kissed Gabrielle again. I felt her body collapse against me for an instant; then her attention locked on Akasha. I felt the faint tremor in her hands as she touched my face. I looked at Louis, my seemingly fragile Louis with his seemingly invincible composure; and at Armand, the urchin with the angel’s face. Finally those you love are simply... those you love. - The Queen of the Damned

The other immortals are still around, of course-Maharet and Mekare, the eldest of us all, Khayman of the First Brood, Eric, Santino, Pandora, and others whom we call the Children of the Millennia. Armand is still about, the lovely five-hundred-year-old boy-faced ancient who once ruled the Theatre des Vampires, and before that a coven of devil worshiping blood drinkers who lived beneath the Paris Cemetery, Les Innocents. Armand, I hope, will always be around. - The Tale of the Body Thief

“No. Just tell me what’s happened. You’re in danger, aren’t you? Or you think you are. You sent out the call for me to come to you here. It was an unabashed plea.”

“Are those the words Armand used, ‘unabashed plea’? I hate Armand.”

David only smiled and made a quick impatient gesture with both hands. “You don’t hate Armand and you know you don’t.”

“Wanna bet?” - Memnoch the Devil

“My point is simply that I love you, that we’re linked in some way that none of the others is linked. Louis worships you. You’re some sort of dark god to him, though he pretends to hate you for having made him. Armand envies you and spies on you far more than you might think.”

“I hear Armand and I see him and I ignore him,” I said. - Memnoch the Devil

This was Armand.

He sat on the stone park bench, boylike, casual, with one knee crooked, looking up at me with the predictable innocence, dusty all over, naturally, hair a long, tangled mess of auburn curls.

Dressed in heavy denim garments, tight pants, and a zippered jacket, he surely passed for human, a street vagabond maybe, though his face was now parchment white, and even smoother than it had been when last we met.

In a way, he made me think of a child doll, with brilliant faintly red-brown glass eyes—a doll that had been found in an attic. I wanted to polish him with kisses, clean him up, make him even more radiant than he was.

“That’s what you always want,” he said softly. His voice shocked me. If he had any French or Italian accent left, I couldn’t hear it. His tone was melancholy and had no meanness in it at all. “When you found me under Les Innocents,” he said, “you wanted to bathe me with perfume and dress me in velvet with great embroidered sleeves.”

“Yes,” I said, “and comb your hair, your beautiful russet hair.” My tone was angry. “You look good to me, you damnable little devil, good to embrace and good to love.”

We eyed each other for a moment. And then he surprised me, rising and coming towards me just as I moved to take him in my arms. His gesture wasn’t tentative, but it was extremely gentle. I could have backed away. I didn’t. We held each other tight for a moment. The cold embracing the cold. The hard embracing the hard.

“Cherub child,” I said. I did a bold thing, maybe even a defiant thing. I reached out and mussed his snaggled curls.

He is smaller than me physically, but he didn’t seem to mind this gesture.

In fact, he smiled, shook his head, and reclaimed his hair with a few casual strokes of his hand. His cheeks went apple-perfect suddenly, and his mouth softened, and then he lifted his right fist, and teasingly struck me hard on the chest.

Really hard. Show-off. Now it was my turn to smile and I did. - Memnoch the Devil

Lestat, not a bad friend to have, and one for whom I would lay down my immortal life, one for whose love and companionship I have ofttimes begged, one whom I find maddening and fascinating and intolerably annoying, one without whom I cannot exist. - The Vampire Armand

Lestat, my Lestat - for he was never theirs, was he? - my Lestat was crazed and railing as the result of his awful saga, and held prisoner by the very oldest of our kind on the final decree that if he did not cease to disturb the peace, which meant of course our secrecy, he would be destroyed, as only the oldest could accomplish, and no one could plead for him on any account.

No, that could not happen! I writhed and twisted. The pain sent its shocks through me, red and violet and pulsing with orange light. I hadn't seen such colors since I'd fallen.

My mind was coming back, and coming back for what? Lestat to be destroyed! Lestat imprisoned, as I had once been centuries ago under Rome in Santino's catacombs. Oh, God, this is worse than the sun's fire, this is worse than seeing that bastard brother strike the little plum-cheeked face of Sybelle and knock her away from her piano, this is murderous rage I feel. - The Vampire Armand

"Lestat, give me this one embrace and I'll never ask another thing of you for all eternity. Let me put my lips to your throat, Lestat, let me test the tale, let me do it!"

"You break my heart, you little fool," he said with tears welling. "You always did."

"Don't judge me!" I cried. - The Vampire Armand

“Armand,” I said. “Please.” I dropped down on my knees in front of him, looking up into his face.

All the emotion he had held back was printed there now. He was in a rage.

“Is your heart totally turned against me?” I asked. “Do you have no faith in what we seek to build here?”

“Fool,” he said again. His voice was roughened now by emotion he couldn’t suppress. “I have always loved you,” he said. “I have loved you more than any being in all the world whom I’ve ever loved. I have loved you more than Louis. I have loved you more even than Marius. And you have never given me your love. I would be your most faithful counselor, if you allowed it. But you don’t. Your eyes pass over me as if I don’t exist. And so they always have.”

I knelt there defeated. I didn’t know where to begin. I didn’t know what to say. I felt such a huge exhaustion, I had no way out of it, no way to find eloquence or reason or the vigor to try to reach him, reach beyond his malice to his soul.

He went on again, staring at me as he spoke.

“I hate you as much as I have ever loved you,” he said. “Oh, I didn’t want for Rhoshamandes to destroy you. Good God, that I never wanted. Never. When I heard them crying out that you’d returned I wept like a child. [...] But how could I not hate you, you who went in search of my maker all those long years ago when I scarce believed in him anymore — and was found by him, saved from the earth by him, welcomed into his lair by him, you whom he loved, you to whom he told the secrets of our beginning, when he had never come to free me from the Children of Satan, you to whom he gave his love, while resigning me to the ruins of all you’d destroyed around me. I hate you! I understand the very definition of ‘hate’ when I think of you.” - Blood Communion

“You who humiliated me and destroyed my world,” he said, his voice now a fragile whisper. “You who later told with such relish how you shattered my coven, my little coven, my little coven of holy purpose. Yet still I didn’t want for you to die. And I should have known that you wouldn’t. Of course not. How could anyone put an end to you? [...]

I found myself on my feet again. I’d drawn back away from him without realizing it. The air was poison between us. But I couldn’t look away or go.

“I love you still,” he said. “Yes, even now, I love you, as they all love you, your minions seeking just a smile or a nod or a quick touch of your hand. I love you like all those throughout this palace who are dreaming of drinking just a drop of your blood. Well, you can leave me now. I’m not going anywhere. Where is there to go? I’ll be here if you want me. And grant me my wish for the moment, you and your august friends. Go and leave me alone.” - Blood Communion

The only thought in my mind, the only image, the only idea, was of Armand, and how Armand would feel when he too could hold Marius like this and know that Marius lived, that Marius had been restored, that all of them were safe and secure, and using my strongest power I sent the word to him. I sent the news. And I sent my love to Armand with it. - Blood Communion

[oh-katsuki]

Jealousy (Connie x Reader)

phases of love collab | masterlist

Pairing: Connie x Reader

Summary: You take Sasha’s place. 

Content Warnings: Implied aot ending spoilers, smut, angst, character death (reader), some fluff, romantic sex, slight cockwarming, drugs / alcohol

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: This hurt me to write so I hope it hurts to read. Thank you so much to @dande-lion​ and @eremiie who beta-read this and gave me so many suggestions because I didn’t like the way I worded it. I would not have been able to be happy with this without you, ILYSM

For @mikaberries​ collab! Thanks for letting me participate!

Connie’d never loved like this before. He can’t recall a single time in his life that he’s felt so truly connected to someone, so deeply ingrained in someone else’s being that he doesn’t know who he’d be without them. 

Connie had you wrapped in his body, dick buried in you so deep and legs intertwined so gently. His delicate fingers sunk into your skin as one wrapped around your waist, the other around your head. There was nothing rough about tonight, nothing exemplary or particularly outstanding except for the fact that he was hopelessly in love with you. 

Connie was infatuated with you. He couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t feel enough of your skin against his as he fucked himself up into you with steady flicks of his hips. You felt so good around him, hips grinding to meet his with gentle moans. He wishes he could have this moment forever, wrap it up and keep it in his pocket so he can feel it whenever he needs to. The way your gummy walls hugged him or how you breathed in low and deep sighs with each of his thrusts. 

“So beautiful…” He exhaled against your skin, pulling back to take the hand from your head and run his thumb along the plump skin of your cheek. 

You gave him a lazy smile, eyebrows furrowed together in focus and pleasure as he leaned in to kiss you. It was delicate at first, pumping into you slowly, keeping up his sluggish pace. Connie was taking you in, appreciating the feel of your lips on his and the way you tasted like sweat and sex and something akin to cinnamon. 

Connie wasn’t working towards a goal, arm wrapped lazily around your body, sticky with sweat while he admired your feel.That was the best way to put it— he was simply letting you both admire each other’s feeling, whispering sweet nothings, he just wanted to love you. So he fucked into you languidly, mind clouded over and head spinning. 

He could remember clearly every moment like this he’d had with you and he was about to lock away this one with the first time he saw you, your first kiss, your first time. He doesn’t know why this moment in particular strikes him so deeply, but the way you look and your cunt fluttering around him has his heart swelling with love and pride. 

You’re his. 

There was nothing to be discontent with, no doubt seeded in his heart about another man, no jealousy bubbling in his gut. You were only his and he knew it, he could feel it in the desperate little sighs of his name as you came closer to your high, heat building in your stomach as the candle beside the bed dimmed as it burned through its wick. 

The two of you had been like this for hours, Connie unwilling to let you go until he’d felt you come undone around him so much that he’s all you think about— you’re all he thinks about. He was already all you thought about though, already taking up the most space in your mind even when you weren’t creaming around him. Still, you couldn’t complain, so wrapped in his smell and feel that you let him keep rutting his hips into you, arms looped around his body and fingers digging into the muscles of his back. 

But it’s true, Connie’s love for you was incredible and you felt it with every stroke of his big hand against you, in the way your skin buzzed as if it were whispering its own sweet words between his. Words of praise whispered over the pillow, lips brushing past each other’s ear to mumble quiet “I love you’s” that rattle through each other's bodies like coins down a well. 

When you finally came undone in a steady rise, like water bubbling delicately over the edge of a too-full container, you whimpered, teeth sinking into the muscle of his shoulder. Your legs trembled as he held you tightly, slowing his movements and letting you bury your face into him, looking for anything to ground you as your body rolled. 

Connie loved your voice, the whine of his name that spilled from your lips and the way your cunt clenched around him, pillowy and soft. He loved you and with that profound knowledge, soon met his own high with a stutter of his hips, cumming deep into you as he buried himself to the hilt. 

You stayed like that for a while, wrapped in each other, Connie unmoving within you as you panted against each other before your breathing fell into an even rhythm. How was he supposed to let you go? How could he be expected to pull out and let you pad to the toilet. It would only be a few minutes but he found himself dreading the moment you stirred in his arms. He’d let you meld yourself to him like this if it were possible. 

“You know that I’ve got to get up.” You chuckled into his chest, turning your head to glance to the nightstand. “And I’d like to get up before that candle burns through and I have to stumble through the dark.” 

It was growing dim, nearing the end of its life span as it casted a low light across the bedroom. Connie’s desk was faintly illuminated in the corner but you were focused on the way the light danced over his features, displaying the apples of his cheeks that rounded with his smile. 

“I know,” he sighed, pulling you closer, “just don’t wanna let you go right now.” 

“You big baby, it’s only a few minutes.” You say, peeling yourself from him and pulling him out of you gently. 

He was soft already, but the act itself was intimate and you could feel the way he started to spill out of you as you moved to the other side of the room, wrapping a robe around yourself before leaving the bedroom. 

Connie watched you as you left, admiring your hips and your figure as you receded into the darkness. How had he gotten so lucky? He somehow managed to snag the girl the entire regiment was crazy for, and– as you both moved through the ranks– managed to fall so irrevocably in love with you that he’s forgotten who he was without you. 

Still, he wouldn’t trade it for the world, wouldn’t trade you for the world. 

He was deep in thought by the time you returned to bed, discarding the robe and snuggling up beside his naked figure. 

Of all the things that had changed recently, you hadn’t. You remained the woman he loved more than anything, still smiling. He remembers the way you’d joke with your friends and squad, evenings spent laughing at a pub with all of the captains after your promotion. 

Every major event of his life had been spent with you and you both had made it out clean, more appreciative of the love you shared. Connie cherished every part of you, every fleeting moment with you. 

And he was certain that he’d do it for the rest of his life. 

---

They’d suspected that Eren had gone awol. That he’d gone off on his own. Connie should have stopped him, they could have talked some sense into him before he fled to Marley, attacking a congregation of world leaders and forcing the Scout Regiments hand. 

You both had separated so quickly, each moving away from each other in your own individual squadrons without so much as a stay safe. You both always did. Connie couldn’t have imagined that you’d be one of the six who didn’t make it home. 

He couldn’t have guessed that the child would sneak aboard the ship and point the rifle toward Sasha’s chest. But Connie could have predicted the way you jumped in front of her, moving before you had time to think to shield his best friend from the shot. 

Connie would never forget the look in your eyes as your blood seeped and pooled onto the cold floor of the airship, his warm hands pressed to your cooling chest, covered in a thick layer of your blood. You looked content, the same look you’d flash at him before any expedition. You were at peace and you smiled up at him. A far too pleased smile for someone who was slipping from Connie’s hands faster than he could process— faster than he wanted you to. How could you be smiling? He was losing you. 

 It was like you to take a shot for a friend. You always put your comrades before yourself like that.

You and Sasha were both brave that way, the only difference being that today, Sasha would return home to her lover and you would not. Your body would stay in the morgue for the night before they placed you six feet below the ground in a graveyard not far from where you lived. 

How is it that you could be so close so far away at the same time?  He’d never get to feel your body against his again, never hear your laugh that rings like chimes on a spring day, and looking at your grave after the funeral procession, he could only think about how quickly your blood had cooled on the floor of the airship. Connie stared at the fresh dirt under the headstone, trying to bring anything but your lifeless eyes to mind. He tried to think of your smile, of the crinkle in your eye whenever he’d say something stupid, but instead he was reminded of the uncharacteristically stiff way your body laid in the airship and the wan tone of your skin as your precious years drained from your face. 

---

As time passed jealousy bled into Connie’s life. Slowly at first, in the waning hours of the morning when he’d be awake and full of drink. He found himself thinking about you constantly, your picture flashing through his mind with startling clarity. 

He’d wake up in the middle of the night, grabbing at the sheets beside him– searching for you, wondering in his half asleep state where you’d gone, only to be reminded that this time you weren’t coming back to bed. You’d no longer take your trips to the bathroom and you were much farther away than a few minutes. Instead, he was reminded that he’d have to spend a lifetime without you. 

A lifetime without your presence. How unfathomable. So he buried himself in drink, in alcohol, in fighting a war he no longer had a reason to fight. It was bearable that way, his days without you. He was occupied. Working until his hands shook and his feet ached, then drinking to quell the pain. It was all he knew in those following days, working for a peace you’d never know, drinking to forget your time together, sleeping in hopes that he’d see you in another world. But the next world wasn’t for him. Life mercilessly kept him alive, despite his carelessness in the fight.

When the war finally ended and things came to a quiet halt, everything became harder. Eldia rebuilt its streets, patching up the wounds that battle had left on it, and with the power of the titans gone, Eldians were negotiating their terms of peace and fighting the good fight to total freedom. Connie found it difficult now to focus on anything but your absence. 

He’d move down the cobbled streets of Marley and be reminded of you at every turn, reminded of something you’d never get to see. He thought of your plans for the future and the way you’d agreed to marry him once peace finally came, but peace came and went without you. 

The summer months in Marley were the most beautiful. They brought couples and children and laughter. You’d have loved them. In between peace negotiations, Connie would let himself wander through the streets. Why he even bothered to go outside? He had no clue, but he still did it everyday without fail, wandering until he ended up in the same place he always did. He’d find a seat in the park and watch the couples, listening to the way the ocean sounded as it beat against the shore. 

It was supposed to make him feel better, supposed to remind him that things were okay now. But all he felt was unimaginable rage. A rage that grew brighter with each gust of wind and each rustle of leaves. Each happy chuckle of passing couples and each aimless laughter of stumbling children. Connie was jealous, perpetually and undeniably. 

He was jealous of the time the two of you never got. Jealous of the people who would spend their lifetimes with their lovers and get to cradle their children. Jealous of his own time, the years he had left ticking by slowly and twisting the knife in his gut with each turn of the month on a calendar. He was jealous of Marco who was no doubt with you now, jealous of Erwin and Miche and anyone they’d ever lost because they were with you.

Why did everyone else get so much time? What made them so different from you? Connie couldn’t understand a world where someone else deserved to survive to see the end when you didn’t, where people other than the two of you got enough time to live out their lives. 

Connie didn’t have that luxury and you surely didn’t either. 

The weight piled on, the greed, disgust, and envy weighed on his shoulders like boulders. A person can only take so much, can only struggle for so long under such a profound feeling. 

It was the day the negotiations were finished, the day the war came to a true end and Eldians were no longer discriminated against legally, that he broke. 

He fell to his knees in his temporary apartment after getting home and seeing the bare walls, the ones that lacked pictures because he’d never gotten to take any of you. You would have loved today, would have pulled him into the living room to dance or even invited all of your remaining friends to your shared apartment to celebrate. Connie could practically hear you telling him to appreciate the day, your voice chiming like bells in the recesses of his mind. It was haunting. 

“Fuck!” He shouted, slamming his fist onto the counter and collapsing to the floor as sobs wracked through his body. 

His friends had followed him to his apartment, worried for him. They had been for a while and today was the breaking point, watching him sway down the steps of the courthouse without so much as a word. They could hear him crying through the walls, hear the guttural cries that seemed to push through him so angrily. 

Connie’s stomach was twisting in painful knots, it was years of being tired, years of missing you crumbling all at once in a crescendo of anger and unimaginable grief. He was sick, his heart wrenched in his chest, hammering against his ribcage, something your heart could no longer do. 

It was sickening, how his bones wracked and how his shoulder shook with every shuddering sob. His own walls were finally let down and his veiled emotions crashed over him appallingly fast. How did he carry around this weight, this grief, for so long? 

Connie couldn’t pick his head up from his hands when his friends came in, ushering themselves past the entrance to crouch on the floor with him, Jean’s arm bracing his frame and helping to keep him upright. They let him cry like that for a long while, letting the sounds echo through an apartment that should have had you in it. 

They all missed you, but they had already done their mourning. In doing so, they’d left Connie behind to fend for himself. Left him alone like you had. 

“She’s watching from somewhere, Connie.” Jean’s voice piped up, low and reassuring.

“Y’know-” Connie choked out, sniffling. “Everyone talks so much about this a-afterlife.”

Another sob wracks through him. 

“About his place where the dead go once they’ve finished their time here.” He was shouting now, voice rising. 

“I just wish that maybe there was some fucking proof that she’s still there.” His fists balled up against the floor. This time Connie doesn’t try to stop the cries to talk, he pauses to let himself sob before speaking again. “Because right now I can’t find a single reason to believe she’s out there and I don’t know what I’d do if I never got to see her again.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to move on? How do I carry this weight? How can I keep taking steps forward when she’s not at the end?” Connie’s eyes snap up to Jean, his hand coming to grab his wrist. 

His eyes were pleading, crying for an answer, something, somebody to tell him that there was something to look forward to. That you would be at the end of this stupid game called life. His  voice came up from the deepest recesses of his body. Eyebrows pulled up in anguish, eyes glassy with tears that refused to let up as he peered into his best friend’s eyes. Connie knew he couldn’t answer, knew that there was no one secret to getting through this, that he’d have to power through on his own. But he was so angry, so exhausted from fighting. 

“Why did it have to be her!” He gasps, eyes going wide as realization courses through his shaking body. “Why didn’t she get more time, why didn’t she get to fucking see today?! Why was it me? _____ would have known what to say today, would have had the perfect words. I’ve never had them, never had anything to say.” 

Connie inhaled deeply, blinking until limpid tears decorated the fabric of his uniform. “I need her here. I need her.” 

That was the last thing he said that night, letting himself cry on the floor in the company of his friends who tried in vain to calm him. He raged against fate, body heaving in tremendous sobs that left his chest feeling emptier than before, inhaling in great pulls because with each cry he could feel the water flooding his lungs. Invading, violating, and wretched with every wail. Everything served as a reminder for his jealousy, ugly and painful in its existence. 

Connie knows you’d have hated this. 

Could you see him right now? Were you watching in the months to come as he hit his lowest low before slowly starting to pick himself back up, finally formally forgiving Gabi even though he hadn’t blamed her for a long while. 

It took a long time for him to gain that semblance of normalcy and once he returned to Eldia from overseas, he went straight to your grave, finally able to face your name scrawled on the headstone once again. Connie hadn’t expected it, but with time the jealousy faded into a dull ache. He spent hours in the graveyard that day, staying with you until the sun had long set over the horizon and the air nipped at his skin. Connie would take any time he could have with you, even if it was like this. And as he sat there talking about the newfound peace, he hoped you could hear him. 

He was filled with regrets about you. He wishes he had made you laugh more or studied the way you threw your head back in a smile because after so many years the memory had faded to little more than a silhouette. Connie wished he had taken pictures of you, kissed you on the day he met you, married you. But he couldn’t.

Connie wondered if you were watching him all the time. Did you watch his healing, the way he picked himself back up after being shattered and broken for so long. Maybe he’d glued part of you to him when he patched himself up, maybe he still gets to carry some of you with him in the corner of his heart he knows is reserved for you.

Did you see the day he met her? The woman he’d marry one day. She’d caught his eye because she reminded him so much of you, especially in her smile. Connie couldn’t help but think you’d had something to do with it, some cosmic influence that led her to him. 

He thought of you on his wedding day as his bride moved down the aisle, radiant in her beauty. Connie loved her the way he loved you, deeply and honestly. He thought of you the day his first child was born and on every day after that because he saw you in every part of his little girl. He saw you in the way she laughed and the way she ate, the way she stood up after scraping her knee to keep running. 

Connie told his wife about you, about the love he lost, and his daughter thought of you as family, despite never meeting you. Your name fell from his family’s lips so often that it was like you’d never left this world in the first place. 

He healed, Finally, time began moving again and that sickening envy slipped from his veins like melting ice. He was no longer jealous. 

He still goes to your grave, every Sunday. He brings his family and sits his daughter on his lap to tell stories about you, about every aspect of you. Partly because he wants her to know, but also so that he can remember. It’s like a prayer, uttering your name as they sit in the grass that had long grown over the dirt with such reverence, such adoration. 

The wind moves through the trees, shaking leaves from their late summer bloom and Connie swears he can hear you laughing, deep and rich and so like you. 

taglist: @namrekcaivel , @mikaberries , @kyuhos , @veroyktv , @honeyzawa , @erenstellar , @female-titan , @kiyoobi , @pancakesv , @jean-prettyboy-kirschtein , @lazyezstudy , @jeanbabygirl , @peachysimp , @shisoaya , @shekeepsitsweet , @babybottlepop96 

please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed from my taglist! 

[xxairerexx]

Asking out

Allen

- Allen asked you to go outside and take some fresh air

- he was blushing

- he wanted to ask you out but ended up saying that needed go to the bathroom

- when you went inside again, Anne asked you what you said to Allen

- you were confused

- "I mean... did you reject him or are you guys together now?"

- when Allen came out of the bathroom you yelled

- "YES ALLEN, I'D LIKE TO GO OUT WITH YOU"

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Hajun

- he was crowded by his fan girls

- he saw you walking by and said "sorry, I have plans" and walked towards you

- "aha...what kind of plans do you have with me, Mr. Longlegs?"

- "plans to ask you out" And then he kissed your forehead

- "would you like to go out with me?"

-and you just stood there dumbfounded and blushing

- "I'll take that as a yes" Hajun smiles

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Anne

- you guys were on the phone talking to each other

-they were working and you don't have that much money to pay for the call at the club because Anne is pretty popular there

- but in the middle of your conversation there was a long pause

- then your door rang

- you opened it and got hugged by Anne

- "agh! You don't know how much I miss you!!"

- "....we hang out like 3 hours ago..."

- "but still when you're around it feels different than being around the customers.....and....I want to be around you much more..."

- " yeah, yeah I get it you clingy bubblegum. You're my best friend too"

- Anne huffed " I didn't mean as a friend!"

- you look at them confused and it took you a while to get what Anne meant and smiled "huh...and I thought I was the only one"

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Naoakira

- months passed you and Naoakira grew closer

- and your feelings for him also grew stronger but you think that he doesn't feel the same

- he still has that sad face, he always zone out and fidgeting with his ring whenever you and the others were drinking

- it breaks your heart because you knew he's not in a condition to be in a relationship again

- one day Naoakira asked you if you wanted to come to visit his wife's grave you said yes

- after you arrived you light up the candle and clapped your hands twice and pray in front of her grave

- After you finished your praying you let Naoakira do his praying

- after he clapped his hands he spoke

- "Tsubaki, I hope you're doing well. I'm feeling better since I met [YN]. [YN] is just like you, kind, generous, not afraid to speak for themselves. But they're also different in their own way. Tsubaki,......."

- you couldn't hear what he said next but you saw the candle light dancing around

- "Ah! Tsubaki is smiling! Look!"

(AN: I saw this in Barakamon, if the flame is moving even though there’s no wind, it means the spirit has heard your pray and is smiling, if I remember it correctly)

- "yes...and I'm glad she did..."

- "what did you say?"

- "that I would like to start a relationship again.....with you. I’m sorry that it took a while"

-he kissed you on your forehead

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Yohei

- You were at the bar again

- the kids are already asleep and you were helping Nao to clean the tables

- Yohei was drunk and was screaming at the little cactus that Shiki usually takes care of

- "should I stop him?" You asked

-"haha, no. He's fine and it's not like he will punch the plant-"

- CRASH

- "I take my words back..."

- you rushed to help Yohei but when suddenly he pulled you into a hug

- 'did he really just knock over the plant just to get my attention?'

- "ya know...you're the most interesting, kindest and most gorgeous person I know....I want to go out with you.."

- you were shocked by this but hugged him back

- "I love you too"

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Ryu

- you walked out side of your school building together with Shiki and guess who was in front of the gate?

- a crazy white haired guy who dressed up as the Joker who happened to be your friend

- "[Y/N] WILL YOU BE MY HARLEY TO MY JOKER?!!!" And then he threw a baseball bat at you

- but you ducked and the bat hit [teacher that you hate]

- you quickly picked up the bat and ran away

- after you reached the bar you couldn't held it anymore and laughed and said

- "yes, I'd love to be your Harley Quinn”

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Shiki

- he asked you if you want to go to the library with him and you said yes

- when you got there you picked a random book and sat down

- Shiki also picked something but when he sat down he wrote something on a paper, ripped it and started to read the book he picked

- you didn't pay attention to it because you thought he wrote the book's title to add it on his Book List because he had already read a LOT of books

- "Hey...[Y/N]-san.."

- "I told you to drop the honorific, you don't have to be so formal"

- "I don't understand what it meant...."

- " ah... ok let me see"

- he handed the book to you and you noticed the paper from before that said

- 'Do you want to go out with me?'

- you closed the book " Well, it means that you want to be my boyfriend and you're probably too shy to say it directly. And yeah, I'd love to go out with you" you smiled at him

- and Shiki hid his red face and muttered a small " thank you"

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Kanata

- you had a fever, but you were glad the bakery closed for today

- your dad were out to visit your mom's grave

- then you heard the door open and someone entered your house and it didn't seem to be your dad because his footsteps are loud but this one's not

- you grab something near you which happened to be an apple and ready to defend yourself

- you heard the person slowly going to your room and when he opened the door you threw the apple at him

- "OI! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

-"KANATA?!! OMG IM SO SORRY!! Wait... Where's Nayu?"

- "He's hanging out with that judo person"

- you two talked and he gave you your medicine

- you fell asleep because of the medicine and when you woke up you felt your fever went down

- you saw Kanata sleeping on your sofa and a cupcake with [fav/color] icing on your nightstand and a folded paper underneath it

- you stood up and picked the paper

- "Will you go out with me?" You said out loud

- you smiled and kissed him on the cheeks and noticed that he was blushing

- "AHH! YOU WERE AWAKE THIS WHOLE TIME?!"

- "SHUT UP" he yelled back and turned his head around to hide his red face

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Nayuta

- you finished your training and Nayuta clapped

- "you're awesome [YN]!"

- you thanked him and he praised you more

- then you heard someone behind you said

- "hey, that [YLN] is really arrogant, am I right? Whenever I asked them something they just ignored me as if they are looking down at me"

- "right? Just because they're the best in our group that doesn't they have to act like that"

- you felt like tearing up as they continued trash talking you and Nayuta also heard the things they said

- he confronted them and asked them why they would say such things then they started to start an argument

- you tried to calm them down but then you saw one of them raised their fist and you knew that they wanted to hurt Nayuta

- you stopped them by catching his wrist before his clenched fist could touch Nayuta's

- "Do NOT think about it"

- your grip tightened and he pulled his hand away

- when they were out of sight you turned to Nayuta

- "That was close...you know you could've been badly injured if I wasn't there"

- "yeah but you're here, right? I know that you would protect me. You're just like Aniki, but that doesn't mean I won't try to defend you guys. Both of you are important to me"

- when he finished his sentence he close the gap between you and kissed you on the cheek

- "would you go out with me?"

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Iori

- you were visiting your brother, Yohei, and surprisingly Iori and the others are also here

- Iori and Yohei were talking and they would look at you for a short moment

- you were playing with Bucchi , Hokusai's cat, and tried to shrug it off

- but it kinda bothered you because it felt like Yohei was telling him all of the embarrassing stuffs you did when you were little

- you turned around and walked to them

- "Mind if i join?"

- "Nah, not at all"

- but when you sat down Yohei stood up and whispered something to Iori which made Iori laugh nervously

- you tilted your head in confusion and asked what Yohei just said to him

- but he just dodged the question

- "ye wanna drink somethin’? heard from Saimon that ye can hold yer alcohol better than yer brother, haha"

- you just went along with it because you know that if he decided not to tell you that it won't be easy to get it out from him

- minutes passed and both of you stopped talking and just drinking

- "Ye know? I never knew that Yohei had a younger sibling...and I think I know why he didn't even mentioned it from the first place..."

- "because he doesn't want me to get hurt? I knew about it, well more like I assumed because he often got home with scars..."

- "hmmm....but the thing that probably hurt the most is him knowin that yer not little anymore and someone would take ye away from him....like me..."

- "huh?"

- "Do ye wanna go out with me?"

- before you could answer you felt a hand on your shoulder which belong to Yohei that was glaring at Iori

- "enough with the talk, ok? You need you sleep [YN]"

- "Ehh?! But I'm not a child anymore!! I'm already 26! Don't you think I should get a partner now?!"

- "no"

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Zen

- Zen, Yume and you spend a lot of Time together for the past 3 weeks

- but recently you had to work extra hours because many coworkers were on vacation and you don't have time to watch over Yume

- your sister also told you that she had to fly over to America for business matter and she will bring Yume with her

- you met with Zen even less and you were convinced that he could care less about it because it's not like he stayed to spend time with the two of you because of you but Yume

- which made you kinda sad thinking that you're only a meaningless friend of him

- after you finished for today you decided to visit the park a bit because you really need to let the stress out

- when you arrived at the park you saw a familiar face

- "Zen?"

-" [YN], hello!"

- "what are you doing here? Are the boys out again?"

- "yes....but I would've come here too even if they weren't out..."

- "oh? Are you ok?"

- "Now that you're here, yes. I've been thinking about you a lot lately and I thought you didn't like me because you're not at the park anymore...I always checked if you're here every single day, even when the boys weren't out."

- you blinked twice not knowing how to react because you didn't see that coming

- you told him why you didn't have much time anymore and that you're sorry to keep him waiting

- "that's ok. From now on we will have an alone time together at the park, ok?"

- "ok" you smiled

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Hokusai

- after Hokusai said that you guys are friends he would always greet you in the morning and pat your head

- he also invites you to eat with him and the others at lunch

- he was a nice boy and you always had butterflies when you're around him

- Hokusai asked you if you could help him with his math homework and you said yes and went to the library

- while you were explaining what he should do he just looked at you

- " do I have something on my face?"

- " ah...no... sorry....I was just wondering.."

- you hum in response

- "why do I always get distracted whenever you're around...like....I have this weird feeling in my stomach I don't know how to describe it...."

- "I-.....I also feel the same thing...."

- before you could say something else Reo popped out from behind the bookshelf and screamed "OMG [YN] FEELS THE SAME WAY!!! I TOLD YOU THEY WOULD BE A COUPLE!!!!"

- then Satsuki showed up next to Reo "OI!NOT TOO LOUD YOU DUMMY!"

- then the librarian kicked them out

- You were blushing all the time because you felt the others still looking at you

- Hokusai stayed the same but then you heard a little chuckle from him

- "So we're a couple now?"

- "Y-YES!!"

- you also got kicked out off the library

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Satsuki

- you were playing among us with Satsuki on your phone

- both of you were the only who already died in the game but you two still hadn't finished your tasks

- but he suddenly stopped

- "hey...do you still remember that time when Reo teased me about being single?"

- you nodded

- "and he told me to date you but he was just joking.."

- you also stopped gaming and looked at him "why are you bringing it up?"

- he looked away "well...what if....I really want to date.....you?"

- you looked at him but his back was still facing you

- "I knew and I'd also like to date you"

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Reo

- it was Saturday and your friends asked you if you want to go to karaoke

- you packed up your wallet and phone and got dressed

- then you heard the door rang so you went downstairs and opened the door

- but in front of you was a pink heart shaped balloon that was tied to a rolled paper

- you opened the paper and it read

- "would you go out with me?"

- you looked up and saw Reo in front of you smiling widely

- you also smiled and said yes

[fruitcoops]

Hi, Eve

Rose here from yesterday, thank you very much for the Birthday message, I wasn't expecting you to read it let alone reply but I was looking for Coops kids Birthday fluff specifically. It doesn't matter if you don't have time however as I don't want to be a bother.

Hello Rose, and happy (belated) 20th birthday! Sorry for the wait--I really wanted to get this one right to celebrate such an important number. I hope your day was absolutely fantastic! SW credit goes to @lumosinlove, but Stella is an OC

Combined with asks for Sirius lightly making fun of Remus' accent and Remus yelling at a game show (@nazar4114)

“Medusa!” Stella shouted with all the force in her thirteen-year-old lungs. Remus leaned forward on the couch. “Medusa!”

The front door opened with a creak. “I’m h—”

“Yes!” they cheered in unison as Nicole answered correctly. Remus turned and gave Stella a double high-five, feeling his heart squeeze at the vivid joy on her round face. “Good guess.”

“I knew she was gonna get it,” Stella said with a pump of her fist as she turned back to the show and folded her legs underneath her.

“Gonna,” a familiar deep voice mimicked from the doorway. Paper bags rustled before footsteps stopped behind the couch; Remus tilted his chin up without sparing a glance, and Sirius pressed a laugh-laced kiss to his cheek before dropping one on Stella’s head as well. “You sound too much like your dad.”

“Love you, too,” Remus said wryly.

“I’ll take ‘Myths and Moths’ for 400, please.” Nicole’s voice snapped his attention back to the screen, and Stella narrowed her eyes.

“Daily Double!” the automated voice announced. Stella gasped; Remus bit his lower lip. “This mythical shield was wielded by Athena, and is sometimes said to be made of goat skin.”

“Aegis,” Stella whispered, then raised her voice. “It’s the Aegis, Nicole. You know this.”

“We know you do,” Remus said, scooting forward. “You just guessed whose head is on it.”

Nicole’s buzzer went off with two seconds to spare. “What is the Aegis?”

“Hell yeah!” Stella whooped.

Remus turned to her and raised his eyebrows. “Excuse you.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you two going to do this the whole afternoon?” Sirius asked from the kitchen, obviously amused. “We might need to get the neighbors some noise-cancelling headphones.”

Stella blew a dark lock of hair out of her eyes as she flopped her head back. “It’s almost final Jeopardy, papa. We have, like, ten minutes.”

Sirius blinked at her, then shook his head. “I swear you two share genes.”

“Ope, you caught me,” Remus said over the noise of the commercial break. “When I was 20 and had literally never left Wisconsin, I went and had a secret kid in Maine who looks terribly like you just so that someone would watch Jeopardy reruns with me thirteen years later. Oops.”

“It’s the truth,” Stella said with great gravity. “I remember.”

“Mon dieu,” Sirius muttered, though he couldn’t keep a smile down. He had never been able to hide around Stella, not once in the three years since they had adopted her. It was one of the things Remus loved most about him. “By the way, nobody under the age of fourteen is allowed in the kitchen for the next…hour. Ish.”

Stella squirmed around until she could rest her arms on the back of the couch. “What if I get thirsty?”

“I’m sure you can invoke birthday privileges and ask your dad to get something for you.”

“Birthday privileges?” Remus scoffed. “Nobody in this house has a birthday today. Yours was last month, and mine’s in March.”

“It’s my birthday,” Stella said.

“What? No, it’s not.”

“Yeah-huh.”

“Your birthday is in June.”

“It’s today.”

“Or maybe July?”

“It’s today, in December, when there’s snow,” she insisted, throwing herself back against the pillows. “Come on, dad, that’s not funny anymore.”

Remus raised his eyebrows. “Is somebody too old to find their poor old dad amusing now? Can you go back to being twelve so somebody will laugh at my jokes again? I know, I know, we're super lame compared to all your friends’ parents—”

“So lame,” Sirius agreed from the kitchen.

“—but I like to think we get one more year of pre-teen cuteness before the teen angst takes over.”

Stella sat up again with a groan. Looking at her, Remus saw a mix of himself and Sirius that had always baffled him, considering they had adopted her comparatively late in her life; beneath it was something uniquely Stella. Maybe it was her double-jointed elbows, or the board-straightness of her hair next to their curls, but there was no mistaking that she was her own person through and through. He loved that about her. “I’m not going to be a terrible teenager.”

Sirius poked his head around the edge of the kitchen—his nose was adorned with a smudge of flour. “Can I record that for future use?”

“Non.”

“Ooo, using the French,” Remus hissed. “That transformation is already beginning.”

“It’s not like you were bad teenagers, right?” She settled upside-down on the couch with her flamingo-patterned socks high in the air.

“I almost convinced Grandma to let me dye my hair blue, but otherwise I was pretty good.”

“I was terrible,” Sirius laughed. “I didn’t talk to anybody for a solid three years.”

Stella frowned. “How? I think I’d die if I did that.”

“He’s stubborn,” Remus stage-whispered.

“I heard that.”

Stella suppressed her laughter as best she could, but she was about as good at hiding her emotions around them as Sirius was. She didn’t really giggle—the amount her voice had deepened over the past three years always gave Remus whiplash—but her laugh had the same cadence as it did the first day they heard it. While Stella had been quiet at first, it only took love and time to bring her out of her shell. Within a year she settled into their lives like she was always meant to be there.

A thoughtful look crossed her face. “This is my last year before high school.”

“Does it feel different?”

“Not really.” She paused, then shrugged. “And a little. I don’t feel older. It just feels like there’s stuff I won’t get to do anymore.”

“And a lot more you will get to do.” Sirius left his dishtowel on the counter before joining them on Stella’s other side. “You can drive soon, you’ll get a longer curfew, you get more freedom…”

“I guess.”

“What are you going to miss?” Remus asked as she toyed with the hem of her shirt. It was a basic Lions FAN jersey; he was fairly sure she bought it to be ironic. That, and she only wore one of theirs if she was upset with the other, or if one needed a boost at a game.

“I dunno.” A few beats of silence passed. “My classmates. My team. It feels like everything’s going to turn upside down.”

“You can still keep in touch with your friends, and I bet your team won’t be too different,” Sirius said quietly. “Even if it does, that doesn’t mean you have to give all of them up. People change in different ways. They come and go on their own time.”

“There’s going to be a lot of upside-downs over the next couple years, kid.” Remus offered her a smile. “But you’re going to be just fine.”

“You two sound like such dads right now.”

“This might shock you, but that’s because we are.”

The corner of her mouth tugged up and she lolled her head to the side to look at Sirius. “Is the cake done?”

“Fifteen more minutes.”

“Will you watch final Jeopardy with us?”

“What’s the category?”

“US Presidents.”

Sirius exhaled through his nose, but nodded. She grinned and turned herself upright to snuggle against his arm. “You just enjoy watching me lose.”

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

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Sirius called from the kitchen.

“On three,” Remus said, raising his phone camera. “One, two, three!”

“Happy birthday to you,” over a dozen voices sang. They were off-tempo and so out of key the composer was probably spinning in his grave, but Stella’s clear joy didn’t waver for a millisecond even as her cheeks reddened. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Stella, happy birthday to you!”

Finn, of course, dragged out the last note. So did Leo, Logan, Kasey, James, Lily, and Talker in varying degrees of awful harmony attempts. It was terrible, and beautiful. “Make a wish,” Sirius said softly as he set the cake down and stepped back. His eyes were the brightest quicksilver Remus had seen in many moons.

Stella closed her eyes, took a breath, and blew as hard as she could—the entire room erupted into cheers when all the candles went out. She was laughing and blushing at the same time when Remus turned the lights back on, though the humor won out in the end and she helped pass plates of cake to her many aunts and uncles. Like every year prior, Regulus managed to smear a bit of frosting on her chin, only to immediately deny it with great offense when she noticed. It was becoming a bit of a tradition—one that Remus never grew tired of.

I know what I would wish for, Remus thought as he looked around the table at their patchwork family. Celeste, Dumo, and his own parents had no doubt spoiled their first grandchild with ‘cusp of adulthood’ gifts, and Natalie and Lily would certainly steal her away after cake for some girl time. Finn and Logan would remain the fun uncles while Leo and Regulus kept their thrones as the cool uncles; Stella would interrogate Jules on the intricacies of high school for at least an hour before they destroyed everyone in a snowball fight. The world they built together had a place for everyone.

I would wish for this. This, for us, forever. It wasn’t a bad eternity to imagine.

[translations-by-aiimee]

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Chapter 13

Original Title:  二哈和他的白猫师尊

Genres: Drama, Romance, Tragedy, Xianxia, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 13 - This Venerable One's Bride

No need to remind Mo Ran. Chu Wanning had already figured that out long ago.

Those people were chatting and laughing, but they didn't know where the voices came from. Those who were sitting or standing, gesturing and toasting; their faces were blank, just like paper.

"What do we do? Do we have to go in and drink with them?"

Chu Wanning was not amused by Mo Ran's poorly-timed joke, and he lowered his head in thought.

At this moment, there was a sound of rustling footsteps in the distance. Two long lines of people emerged from the hazy fog, slowly approaching the main building from the distance.

Chu Wanning and Mo Ran subconsciously ducked behind the rocks, and the two teams approached, led by a coquettishly smiling golden boy and girl. These two people had clearly defined facial features. Their faces were colourful, and in the night light, they looked like paper dolls burned for the dead.

Each of them was holding a red candle in one hand. The body of the candle was as thick as the child’s arm, with dragon and phoenix seals entwined on it. As the candle burned, the rich fragrance of the powder wafted to their noses, and Mo Ran almost fainted again. Fortunately, the wound that Chu Wanning stabbed in his arm still hurt, and he squeezed the wound again, finally keeping his consciousness clear.

Chu Wanning gave him a look.

Mo Ran: ". . .cough, this trick works."

After a pause, he wondered again: "Shizun, why don't you need to poke holes in your body to stay awake?"

Chu Wanning: "This fragrance doesn't work on me."

"Huh? Why?"

Chu Wanning said coldly: "Good concentration."

Mo Ran: ". . ."

Headed by the golden boy and girl, the two lines climbed up the steps. Chu Wanning moved his gaze back, looked for a second, and suddenly let out a low "Hmm?"

He was rarely surprised, so Mo Ran was immensely curious. He followed his line of sight to see, also amazed.

He saw that those who swayed in the procession were all dead bodies with closed eyes. They had pale skin and kept the appearance they had before alive. Most of them were very young. They were in their twenties, both men and women. One figure was very familiar--

The Chen family's eldest son, who was seen in the coffin before, appeared in the procession again at some point. His eyes were closed. He followed the scent of candles and walked slowly. Next to him was something different from the others. Others had corpses walking next to them, he walked next to a paper mâché ghost bride.

While Mr. Chen was not a big deal, when the procession came to the end and they saw the people at the end of the two lines, Mo Ran's face drained of blood.

Shi Mei and Chen Yao had their faces hung and were following behind the dead body. Both of them had their eyes closed. Their faces were as white as snow. Their walking posture was no different from those of the dead people in front of them. They didn't even know if they were still alive or not.

Mo Ran's mind exploded. He jumped up and wanted to rush over, but Chu Wanning suddenly grabbed his shoulders: "Hold on."

"But Shi Mei——!!!"

"I know." Chu Wanning stared at the procession slowly moving forward and whispered, "Don't move rashly. Look over there, there is a martial law barrier. If you rush past it, the barrier will scream and I'm afraid that all the faceless ghosts in the yard will rush at you, and the scene will grow out of control."

Chu Wanning is the master of barrier enchantments. He recognized these enchantments well and his eyes were razor-sharp. Mo Ran found that at the entrance to the banquet yard, there was a nearly transparent film.

The golden boy and girl walked to the front of the courtyard. They gently blew on the cupped candle flame, fluttered the flames, and then slowly - passed through the layer of barriers and walked into the courtyard.

The men and women behind them followed them one after the other, passing through the transparent barrier without any issue. The faceless people in the yard drinking wedding wine turned their heads, watching the men and women who entered, laughing and applauding.

Chu Wanning said: "Go, follow them. When you cross the barrier, remember not to breathe and keep your eyes closed. Also, no matter what happens, copy what the corpses are doing and never speak."

He didn't need to say anything more. Mo Ran eagerly wanted to save the others, and immediately followed Chu Wanning into the group of corpses.

The number of corpses in the two lines stayed the same. Chu Wanning stood behind Shi Mei, and Mo Ran could only stand behind Chen Yao. The lines moved very slowly, Mo Ran glanced over at Shi Mei several times. All he could see was his pale profile and a section of white neck that was helplessly drooping.

It was hard to keep up the act all the way to the boundary. The two concentrated and held their breath, smoothly following through to the courtyard. After entering, he found out that the area inside was much larger than it looked like from the outside. In addition to the three-story main building, the courtyard was lined with a hundred or so small rooms, each of which had a red letter of happiness in their window and a red lantern.

The faceless guests suddenly stood up. Salutes were fired and suona horns sounded.

A faceless salute officer in front of the building sang in waves: "The auspicious hour has arrived, and the bride and groom have entered the garden--"

Mo Ran was stunned. What? He dared to say that these two dead bodies are the bride and groom?

He turned his head to ask for help from Chu Wanning, but the brows of Beidou Immortal were furrowed. He was immersed in his own thoughts, unable to extricate himself, and didn't bother to look at Mo Ran.

. . . Mo Ran felt that all his uncle's hard work might be in vain. Going down the mountain to gain experience, with this kind of shizun, was really more damaging to his pride than if he had gone without a shizun.

Suddenly a group of laughing and joking tufts of children rushed out from the courtyard, dressed in bright red clothes, but with white head ropes tied in pigtails. They clustered like fish to either side of the lines and began pulling one person each, leading them to the compartments on either side.

Mo Ran didn't know what to do so he mouthed to Chu Wanning: Shizun, what should I do?

Chu Wanning shook his head, pointing to the tidal wave of dead bodies that followed the boy and girl scattered in front of him. The meaning was clear - follow them.

There was no choice but to let a boy with a bun pull him forward, stumbling into one of the compartments. As soon as he entered, the boy waved his sleeve in the air, and the door closed with a bang.

Mo Ran stared at the little man, wondering what the faceless brat wanted to do to him.

In his previous life, Chu Wanning rescued Shi Mei first and then broke the illusion. He didn't do anything the entire time then he easily removed the evil spirits. And then all he did was relish in the wonderful afterglow of kissing Shi Mei. Afterwards, during Chu Wanning’s report, he actually didn't listen much.

So now the situation had completely changed. He didn't know what was going to happen next, so he could only bite the bullet.

The room was decorated with a dressing table, a bronze mirror standing upright, and a black and red suit embroidered with Ruyi patterns supported on the wooden frame.

The boy patted the stool and motioned for Mo Ran to sit down.

Mo Ran realized that the ghosts here weren't very clever. They were pretty stupid. As long as he didn't speak, they couldn't tell the dead from the living, so he sat in front of the dressing table like the child wanted. The little boy rustled over and started to help him freshen up and change his clothes. . .

Suddenly, a begonia flower drifted in from the window and landed leisurely in the water inside the copper basin.

Mo Ran's eyes lit up. This begonia was called Evening Night Northern Star, which was specifically used by Chu Wanning for silent messaging.

He picked up the begonia from the water, and the flower instantly stretched and bloomed in his palm, revealing a gleam of light gold in the centre.

He twisted the golden light on his fingertips and put it to his ears. Chu Wanning's voice rang in his ears.

"Mo Ran, I have confirmed with Tianwen that this is the illusion created by the Master of Ceremonies Ghost in Caidie Town. It was worshipped by the villagers' incense for a hundred years and gradually cultivated into something more physical. As long as there are more ghost marriages, its power will grow stronger, so it loves to organize these wedding ceremonies. Those corpses lined up in two lines should be the ghost couples that the people of Caidie Town have put together under its witness over the past hundreds of years. It likes this kind of fun. Every night, it summons those corpses to the illusionary realm and conducts another ghost marriage, and each time it conducts it, it grows even stronger."

Mo Ran thought to himself - What a pervert!

When other gods are bored, they'll at most match up boys and girls. What kind of Master of Ceremonies is this? It's said to have an immortal body, but its brain must not have kept up with it. Its only hobby was to match up male corpses and female corpses. It didn't matter if they were already matched, the dead married corpses were summoned from the grave every night, again, again, and again.

Was this group of corpses that good-looking?

This bachelor god must be lonely enough.

Chu Wanning continued: "Its true body isn't here. Don't act rashly. Follow the instructions of the golden boy and girl for a while. Since it wants to absorb the power of their ghost marriage, it will inevitably show its original shape in the end."

Mo Ran wanted to ask: Where's Shi Mei? How's Shi Mei?

"There's no need to worry about Shi Mei. He, like Madam Chen, was bewitched by the fragrance powder and temporarily lost consciousness." Chu Wanning considered the problem very carefully and made it clear that what Mo Ran might be wondering. "Take care of yourself. I've got everything under control."

After speaking, the voice disappeared.

At the same time, the child also took care of Mo Ran's attire. He looked up and saw that the face in the bronze mirror was beautiful, the corners of his lips naturally raised, his eyebrows were clean and fresh, his collars were overlapped, his auspicious clothing was a flaming red, and the hair was long but tied back with a white hairband, and he really looked like a married bridegroom.

The boy made a gesture of "if you would" and the door of the closed compartment creaked open.

Under the corridor, standing a row of corpses in auspicious clothes, both men and women, it seemed that the clay head mould of the Master of Ceremonies Ghost wasn't enlightened yet. As long as he had pairs in the hall to be married, it didn't matter, regardless of whether it was a man and woman, man and man, or woman and woman. He didn't care.

There was only one line of dead bodies standing on this side of the corridor, and the other line was on the opposite side. They were too far away, and he couldn't see if Chu Wanning and Shi Wei had come out.

The procession was moving slowly forward, and every now and then the sound of the chanting of the officials in the building could be heard. The marriage of one pair after another was slowly being completed.

Mo Ran took a look at Chen Yao in front of him and felt that something was wrong. After pondering for a while, when the line was gradually shortening and the last few pairs were about to take their turn, the dirty bastard finally understood— —

Wait! According to the procession, does that mean the woman in front of him is going to be married to Shi Mei? Wouldn't that mean he's going to be paired with that little bitch Chu Wanning? This isn't going to work!

At that moment, the former emperor of the human realm was not happy anymore. He grimaced and unceremoniously pulled Chen Yao, and cut in line and stood in front of the others.

The little boy behind him was taken aback for a moment, but Mo Ran quickly put on the expression of a half-dead hanged ghost with a bowed head, drooping down and mixing in with the corpses. Those golden boys and girls with low cultivation levels were in a daze, probably too dumb to figure out what had happened so they didn't react.

This time Mo Ran was happy. He followed the line with great enthusiasm, ready to walk to the end so that he could meet with Shi Mei on the other side of the corridor.

At the same time.

Chu Wanning glanced at Shi Mei standing in front of him, and thought for a while, not knowing what dangers lay ahead.

He has always been hard-spoken and soft-hearted, though harsh to the point of being repulsive. But, in fact, as long as he was there, he wouldn't put his apprentice in any kind of danger.

As a result, he also tugged Shi Mei and pulled the unconscious man behind him while he stood in Shi Mei's original position.

It was his turn.

The ghost bridesmaid standing at the end of the corridor was holding a black and red tray. Seeing Chu Wanning coming over, he chuckled, his face without facial features making a girl's crisp voice.

"Greetings and congratulations to the bride, she is beautiful and white."

Chu Wanning's face instantly darkened.

Br-Bride. . .? ? Do you have no eyes?

He looked at the blank face of the ghost bridesmaid again and held back a shout.

He really doesn't have any fucking eyes.

The ghost bridesmaid smiled and picked up the red gauze veil in the tray. Raising his jade-like arms and pale hands, he covered Chu Wanning's face. Then he stretched out his cold hand, gently held Chu Wanning, and said with a sweet smile: "Bride, if you would."

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[wanderingskemetic]

🤱Subtle Aset Worship🪄

Greatly inspired by @khaire-traveler's wonderful subtle worship series, which can be found here.

Support humanitarian organizations especially those that help parents or children

Learn about and uphold Ma'at

Make a playlist or listen to songs that remind you of her or you think she'd like

Make a collage/moodboard/pinterest board/similar collection of photos and images you associate with her, especially if some of the images are your own

Wear a piece of jewelry or other clothing item that reminds you of her

Light a candle or incense that reminds you of her (safely)

Carry a picture of her in your wallet, pocket, phone case, etc. or as a phone or computer wallpaper

Have kite (bird), tyet knot, throne, scorpion, cow, horns, sistrum, or sycamore imagery

Do some subtle heka or other magic

Assert your boundaries clearly; learn what your boundaries are

Sharpen your mind; play memory or mentally stimulating games

Take care of your body physically to the best of your ability (shower, eat well, get a good amount of sleep, etc.)

Take care of a plant, animal, or other person

Visit cemeteries; leave flowers at graves (with permission); or help clean up gravesites (if allowed)

Get involved with your government (vote, go to local meetings, protest, write/call a leader, etc.)

Take charge/leadership roles in parts of your life

Give people chances to change, but if they continue not to make changes, don't continue to spend time with them

Practice being more forgiving and not holding grudges (within reason)

Practice being more forgiving and kind to yourself

Spend time with friends and family (blood or chosen)

Show support for any parents in your life, especially new ones; help out when/if you can

Send a nice message to your loved ones/check in on them regularly

Honor your ancestors/souls that have passed

Keep family heirlooms; hold onto to objects given to by loved ones who've passed on

Be kind to children; play with them if offered

Learn about something you're interested in

Go stargazing

Carry a protective charm with you

Learn self-defense, weapons included or not

Invest in your future; set up a savings account, work on getting more exercise, find or spend time working on a hobby that brings you joy, etc.

Take your medications, if any; take medications as needed

Look into healthy coping skills for any anxiety, depression, trauma, etc. - anything that can improve your mental/emotional well-being

Take a walk through nature

Eat in season produce

Learn about different types of divination especially those that are less well known (bibliomancy, augury, pyromancy, etc.)

Practice patience and persistence

Stand up for what you believe in; attend protests or activism events (be safe, please)

Allow yourself to mourn over difficult changes or the end of relationships; allow yourself to miss people

Take care of a sick loved one or someone who is having a hard time; support the people you love

If you have a partner set aside time to do something special with them

Donate children and baby supplies to homeless shelters

Help out or mentor others, especially children

Stand up for family members blood or otherwise (keep in mind they might be in the wrong)

Learn about your healthcare options and medical rights (HIPPA in the US)

Learn about/research health conditions that you or your loved ones have; get a better understanding of these things

I may add more to this list in the future. Suggestions are always appreciated.

Link to the Kemetic Subtle Worship Masterpost