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aiallardyce · 3 months

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oc ethnicities and/or (irl) nationalities

twst

mcs

yume - japanese; lives in okinawa 🇯🇵

sarai - hmong; lives in chiang mai, thailand 🇹🇭

aikaterini - greek macedonian; lives in nymfaio 🇬🇷

u - american; lives in los angeles, california 🇺🇸

shayde - xeglanian; lives in acretis kingdom

melody - sudanese arab; lives in kassala 🇸🇩

senalat - oromo; lives in london, england 🇪🇹🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

roy - scottish; no permanent residence or homeland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

atajan - turkmen; lives in maine, usa 🇹🇲🇺🇸

galina - serbian; lives in zlatibor 🇷🇸

yudai - ainu; lives in enoshima, japan 🇯🇵

mary-annie - ecuadorian; lives in new york, usa 🇪🇨🇺🇸

eden - ianndelarian; lives in thaekya empire

gia - acrurgan; lives in fliedal

galadriel - xeglanian; lives in acretis kingdom

mi-gyeong - korean; lives in daejoon 🇰🇵🇰🇷

nrc

heartslabyul

arledge - british 🇬🇧

drake - half-british, half-guyanese 🇬🇧🇬🇾

ilsolvic - guatemalan; lives in florida, usa 🇬🇹🇺🇸

savanaclaw

beowulf - inuit 🇬🇱

macbeth - scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

caleb - tanzanian 🇹🇿

talon - igbo 🇳🇬

sadia - cameroonian 🇨🇲

octavinelle

gavin - turkish 🇹🇷

blake - surinamese 🇸🇷

claudius and marcus - venezuelan 🇻🇪

malacoda - italian 🇮🇹

scarabia

bassel - egyptian 🇪🇬

heera - punjabi, lives in india 🇮🇳

faqeed - kuwaiti 🇰🇼

pomefiore

noir and sommeil - french 🇫🇷

duyao - han chinese 🇨🇳

jermaine - azerbaijani, ashkenazi jew; lives in california, usa 🇦🇿🇺🇸

ignihyde

nikolaos and pavor - albanian; lives in greece 🇦🇱🇬🇷

evander - greek 🇬🇷

diasomnia

severus - breton 🇫🇷

franc - filipino; lives in england 🇵🇭🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

vulcan - maltese 🇲🇹

nrc staff

sargon - swiss 🇨🇭

nova - slovakian 🇸🇰

persinette - half liechtensteiner, half sicilian 🇱🇮

warren - american; lives in tennessee 🇺🇸

rsa

inferwitz

lewis - norwegian; lives in england 🇳🇴🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

harlan - armenian 🇦🇲

charles - navajo; lives in utah, usa 🇺🇸

bunky - moldovan 🇲🇩

ellis - british 🇬🇧

bruyerosa

ambrosi - french 🇫🇷

fleuri - scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

faunus - cornish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

mist - scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

minhara

jibril - arab; lives in iraq 🇮🇶

kahlil - bengali; lives in iraq with jibril 🇧🇩🇮🇶

weissieben

alvar - german 🇩🇪

denarius, roux, cobalt, jett, beryl, kessler, and larimar - swedish 🇸🇪

mythiroas

hector - greek 🇬🇷

perseus - half macedonian, half persian; lives in greece 🇲🇰🇮🇷🇬🇷

miles - half georgian, half romani; lives in greece 🇬🇪🇬🇷

chryses, castor, thales, theodore, melanthios - dominican; lives in greece 🇩🇴🇬🇷

ciniscram

winston - canadian 🇨🇦

pietro - maya; lives in el salvador 🇸🇻

tristan - czech 🇨🇿

tigre - khmer; lives in cambodia 🇰🇭

otus - estonian 🇪🇪

rsa staff

duke - french 🇫🇷

koen - aboriginal australian 🇦🇺

veredigna - jamaican 🇯🇲

faron - french 🇫🇷

jia-hao - han chinese 🇨🇳

mon - american; other information seems to be classified 🇺🇸

ivan - irish; lives in pennsylvania, usa 🇮🇪🇺🇸

awi

rubicarte

juno - british 🇬🇧

henrietta - spanish 🇪🇸

rosalyn - trinidian 🇹🇹

carmine - argentinian 🇦🇷

emerald - latvian 🇱🇻

vitaking

imara - wolof; lives in kenya 🇸🇳🇰🇪

zuri - kenyan 🇰🇪

keletso - half filipino, half motswana 🇵🇭🇧🇼

cesealia

iris - croat; lives in italy 🇭🇷🇮🇹

jessamine and forsythia - danish; lives in italy 🇩🇰🇮🇹

cobralmas

ritika - arab; lives in iraq 🇮🇶

alya - bolivian; lives in iraq with ritika 🇧🇴🇮🇶

leila - palestinian 🇵🇸

giftschnee

ellie - half tibetan, half german 🇩🇪

serenity - luxembourger 🇱🇺

meili - han chinese 🇨🇳

nekroskull

helena and andrea - greek 🇬🇷

reveaute

maria and deirdre - irish 🇮🇪

sydney - half hungarian, half scottish 🇭🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

daenerys - andorran 🇦🇩

awi staff

headmistress - ???

collector - polish 🇵🇱

vanita - german 🇩🇪

sorceress miriam - british 🇬🇧

yvonna - peruvian 🇵🇪

khaltmaa - mongolian 🇲🇳

bonnie - costa rican 🇨🇷

glynda - colombian; lives in louisiana, usa 🇨🇴🇺🇸

jayda - british 🇬🇧

gautami - tamil, lives in india 🇮🇳

kitch - french 🇫🇷

binx - afghan 🇦🇫

lily - malaysian 🇲🇾

kutaka - congolese 🇨🇩

yuzuki - japanese 🇯🇵

arsulu - half algerian, half malian 🇩🇿🇲🇱

lagan - maldivian 🇲🇻

jin - bedouin; lives in saudi arabia 🇸🇦

thundra - maghreb; lives in mauritania 🇲🇷

kraljica - slovenian 🇸🇮

moroni - italian; lives in vatican city🇻🇦

circe - montenegrin 🇲🇪

angelos - angolan 🇦🇴

chanteur - belgian 🇧🇪

leah - austrian 🇦🇹

extra

maximilian and margaretta - eritrean; lives in germany 🇪🇷🇩🇪

masood - arab; lives in iraq 🇮🇶

yusra - arab; not specific to any nation

tahmina - kurdish; lives in france with duke 🇮🇷🇫🇷

toussaint, serenella, and bene - half kurdish, half french 🇮🇷🇫🇷

joey - aboriginal australian 🇦🇺

rouge - monegasque 🇲🇨

yuehai - han chinese 🇨🇳

ma/zhang - manchu 🇨🇳

long/haoran - half malagasy, half hong-konger 🇲🇬🇭🇰

aponi, odina, and nuka - powhatan; lives in virgina, usa 🇺🇸

virgo - akan; not specific to any nation

pisces - norse; not specific to any nation

fandorms

jewell - american; lives in texas 🇺🇸

soraya - american; lives in texas 🇺🇸

aknk

mcs

nimue - bulgarian; lives in sofia 🇧🇬

yareli - half mapuche, half lebanese; lives in santiago, chile 🇱🇧🇨🇱

kimiya - ryukyuan; lives in kagoshima 🇯🇵

jace - liberian; lives in new york, usa 🇱🇷🇺🇸

camilla - melanasian; lives in kyiv, ukraine 🇺🇦

lenore - dutch; lives in north brabant 🇳🇱

butlers

andre - welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

hadwin - half finnish, half hmong 🇫🇮🇨🇳

obey me

mcs

eve/adam - korean; lives in yongsan-gu, seoul 🇰🇷

noa/noah - egyptian; lives in alexandria 🇪🇬

ruth/matthew - yoruba; lives in lagos 🇳🇬

deborah/barack - formosan; lives in tamsui, taiwan 🇹🇼

susanna/daniel - half persian, half japanese; lives in suginami ��🇷🇯🇵

abigail/david - welsh; current location unknown 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

judith/achior - indonesian; lives in jakarta 🇮🇩

esther/mordecai - half sinhalese, half baganda; lives in colombo 🇱🇰🇺🇬

miriam/aaron - chilean; lives in valparaiso 🇨🇱

lydia/silas - swedish; current location unknown 🇸🇪

priscilla/aquila - italian jew; lives in calabria 🇮🇹

martha/lazarus - vietnamese; lives in birmingham, england 🇻🇳🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

berenice/herod - romanian; lives in bucharest 🇷🇴

tabitha/peter - ghanaian; lives in new jersey, usa 🇬🇭🇺🇸

zillah/lamech - belarusian; lives in lida 🇧🇾

other

crocell - assyrian; lives in calabria, italy 🇸🇾🇮🇹

legion - jordanian; lives in calabria with priscilla/aquila 🇯🇴🇮🇹

ereshkigal - iraqi 🇮🇶

ishtar/inanna - iraqi 🇮🇶

hypmic

asuka - ???; lives in enoshima, japan 🇯🇵

fumio - half danish, half japanese; lives in enoshima 🇩🇰🇯🇵

koyumi - japanese; lives in gion, kyoto 🇯🇵

honoka - japanese; lives in gion, kyoto 🇯🇵

moriko - half south african, half japanese; lives in gion, kyoto 🇿🇦🇯🇵

fragmem

vianali - totonac; lives in mexico 🇲🇽

caomint - totonac; lives in mexico 🇲🇽

kira kira

kuro - japanese; lives in yokohama 🇯🇵

souvanna - half lao, half japanese; lives in yokohama 🇱🇦🇯🇵

katawaguruma - japanese 🇯🇵

#personal #reference

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annethunderstorms · 1 year

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My Year in Books 2022:

11,299 pages read

33 books read

Children of the Volga/My Children by Guzel Yakinha

historical fiction, life, solitude

set in Russia (German colony Gnadenthal) between 1910s-1940s

main characters: Jakob Bach, Klara Grimm, Anna Bach

The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa

historical fiction, politics, betrayal

set in Dominican Republic in 1960s + 1990s

main characters: Urania Cabral, Augustín Cabral, Rafael Trujillo

Persuasion by Jane Austen

historical fiction, romance

set in United Kingdom (Somerset) in 1814-15

main characters: Anne Elliott, Frederick Wentworth, Lady Russell

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

nonfiction, memoir, oppression, human trafficking, survival

set in North Korea, China, South Korea in 1990s-2000s

Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth by Dan Richards

nonfiction, memoir, travel

set in Iceland, US, Scotland, France, Japan, Svalbard

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

historical fiction, romance

set in Chile (Valparaíso), US (San Francisco) between 1843-1853

main characters: Eliza Sommers, Rose Sommers, Joaquín Andieta, Tao Chi'en

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

fiction, dystopia, family, relationships

set in US (New York, Hawaii) in 1893, 1993 & 2093

main characters: David Bingham, Kawika Bingham, Charlie Bingham-Griffith

Dálvi: Six Years in the Arctic Tundra by Laura Galloway

nonfiction, memoir, introspection, Sámi, nature

set in northern Norway

Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

historical fiction, romance, western

set in US (Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming) between 1853-1858

main characters: Naomi May, John Lowry

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

historical fiction, family, hardship, Great Depression

set in US (Texas, California) in 1921 & 1934-1940

main characters: Elsa Martinelli, Loreda Martinelli, Anthony Martinelli

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich

historical fiction, Indigenous, mystery

set in US (North Dakota) in 1960s, 1970s and before

main characters: Evelina Harp, Mooshum Milk, Antone Bazil Coutts

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

nonfiction, memoir, race, grief

set in US (Mississippi) between 1970s-2000s

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

fiction, dystopia, motherhood

set in future US (Philadelphia)

main characters: Frida Liu, Harriet, Gust

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung

nonfiction, memoir, war, Khmer Rouge, family, survival

set in Cambodia between 1975-1980

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson

historical fiction, solitude, western

set in US (Idaho) between 1910s-1930s

main character: Robert Grainier

Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende

historical fiction, romance, dictatorship

set in Chile in 1970s

main characters: Irene Beltrán, Francisco Leal

The Promise by Damon Galgut

(historical) fiction, family, grief, race

set in South Africa (Pretoria) in 1986, 1995, 1999, 2017

main characters: Amor Swart, Anton Swart, Astrid Swart

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

historical fiction, family, survival, immigration, identity

set in China, Taiwan, US (Illinois, New Mexico) between 1938-2005

main characters: Meilin, Renshu/Henry, Longwei, Lily

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

(historical) fiction, family, immigration, deportation

set in Cuba, US (Florida, Texas), Mexico between 1866-2019

main characters: Jeanette, Carmen, Gloria Ramos, Ana

It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo

fiction, social unrest, oppression, grief

set in Venezuela

main character: Adelaida Falcón

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall

nonfiction, geopolitics, history, international relations

set worldwide

Stolen (Stöld) by Ann-Helén Laestadius

fiction, Sámi, discrimination, crime, family

set in northern Sweden

main character: Elsa

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

historical fiction, witch trials, romance

set in northern Norway (Vardø) between 1617-1619

main character: Maren Bergensdatter, Ursula Cornet

Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra

(historical) fiction, identity, politics, dictatorship

set in Chile between 1980s-2000s

characters: nameless protagonist, Claudia, Eme

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

nonfiction, memoir, abuse, mental health, child acting

set in US (LA)

The Marshal (Die Marschallin) by Zora del Buono

historical fiction, family, politics, war

set in Slovenia (Bovec) and Italy (Bari) between 1919-1980

main characters: Zora Ostan, Pietro del Buono

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

nonfiction, nature, environment, national parks

set in US (Utah) in 1960s

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

historical fiction, geisha’s, Japanese culture

set in Japan (Kyoto) in 1930s-1940s

main character: Sakamoto Chiyo/Nitta Sayuri

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

historical fiction, romance, family

set in Japan (Nagasaki), India (Delhi), Pakistan (Karachi) in 1945, 1947, 1982-1983, 2001-2002

main characters: Hiroko Tanaka, Sajjad Ali Ashraf, Raza Ashraf, Harry Burton

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

nonfiction, self help

The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante

fiction, separation, abandonment

set in Italy (Turin) in 2000s

main character: Olga

The Gift of the Wild (Das Geschenk der Wildnis) by Elli H. Radinger

nonfiction, nature, animals, environment

set in US (Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Texas), Germany

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

historical fiction, sci-fi, time travel, race, slavery

set in US (California and Maryland) in 1810s-1820s and 1976

Main characters: Dana Franklin, Kevin Franklin, Rufus Weylin, Alice Greenwood

#me #booklr #2022 reads #book recommendations #books #goodreads

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poisonerspath · 2 years

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Poisonous Plant Bouquet from @serpents_kiss_herbals class last weekend! These all grow locally here in Florida including trumpet creeper, Carolina jessamine, two leaf nightshade, oleander, and pothos! They are also all varying degrees of toxicity with effects ranging from “1000 knives” to complete bodily shut down #poisongarden #poisonousplants #poisonousplantsofflorida #banefulherbs #poisongarden #toxicology #occultbotany #veneficium #thepoisonpath https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf6fZ1wr7AW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#poisongarden #poisonousplants #poisonousplantsofflorida #banefulherbs #toxicology #occultbotany #veneficium #thepoisonpath

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jessie-tate · 2 years

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task 001 / / initial sitdowns

SHE WAS almost crying as soon as she even stepped through the doorway, eyes watery as Jessamine pulled out the chair and sat down at the table, legs crossed primly, hands clasped in her lap as she attempted to stop herself from fidgeting. Wouldn’t that make her look even more suspicious? Or would a calm demeanour merely serve as its own indicator of guilt? Either way, she supposed there was little she could do but be truthful. She had never been good with authority, nor was Jessamine a particularly good thinker of excuses. And maybe, just maybe, the genuine shock she was experiencing with Greer having been declared officially missing would serve as a demonstration of her absolute innocence. She was alone, no lawyer to back her up - she hadn’t even thought about that until too late - and all she had to give was her own word. It was a shame, she thought for once, that she’d never been a logical thinker.

“When did you last speak to Greer?”

Uncomfortable, Jessie crossed and uncrossed her legs, biting her lip. Why couldn’t she remember this? Why was it so hard to think back to the start of the summer? Were the drugs having an effect on her longterm memory already, at the age of 21? If she’d have known, if she’d have been told it was important she’d have kept a note of it, but there were just so many meaningless at the time interactions with Greer which had since taken on more significance than she could ever have imagined… “I- I don’t- We talked so much,” Jessie said hastily, voice shaking with nerves. “Like, stupid texts, saying hi on campus…. I guess it must have been right before she left, before summer started…. I can probably check my phone-?”

“When did you last actually see Greer?”

“It was… it was right before I left for Florida,” she racked her brain, desperate for more detail, “just before the end of term, I left a little early, um….. I went on May 18th,” she said eventually, pulling the date from the tangle of previous term memories she was struggling to make sense of. “I didn’t stay to watch graduation, uh, there just didn’t seem… Much point. So I said bye to her and that was pretty much it….”

“How well did you know Greer?”

“We were friends,” Jessamine’s tone turned sincere as she leaned forward. “I’d… I suppose you never really know as much as you think you do, but I’d like to think I knew her pretty well. She definitely knew I cared, she knew all about me… I mean, we didn’t have deep conversations a lot, but I knew her well enough. I… sometimes I think maybe she knew me better, but- well.” She cut herself off, nodding as if cementing her words in her own mind as much as in the officer’s.

“What was your relationship with Greer like?”

“It was- It was good,” she exhaled shakily. “Like I said, I was her friend. We did a lot of things together, parties, uh… yeah….” Why couldn’t she think of anything else to say? Why was her mouth failing her now? Jessie was starting to think that perhaps she ought to pause the interview and get a lawyer, that nobody with a law qualification would have allowed her to make such a mess of it. “Just…. Normal college stuff. College girl things. I confided in her…. I trusted her. And I mean, Greer was popular, everyone wanted to be her… it felt like an honor, you know? That she picked me? I just never wanted it to end. Sorry, I mean- I don’t want it to end.”

“Have you heard or seen anything about where she was this summer?”

“Uh… I saw her on Julieta’s Instagram,” Jessie offered, hoping to sound at the very least helpful. “Other than that….. I guess not? I sent her texts,” she added quickly, “messages, voicemails…. I didn’t get a reply but I just thought maybe she was caught up travelling or something and she just didn’t have time to say anything to me- I didn’t know if she had plans, but…”

“You wouldn’t have wanted Greer to disappear, would you?”

“No, sir,” Jessamine shook her head violently, adamant to make her point clear, “absolutely never in a million years. I really love Greer, ask anyone, I swear- I just want her back,” she said firmly, an edge of panic taking over her voice. “Truly. I- are people saying I’d want her to disappear? Because I can assure you I don’t, I just want Greer to be okay, I-“ She was rambling now, tears flowing freely down her pale cheeks, and she could have sworn she could see a hint of disgust at her antics on the officer’s face as he reluctantly slid the tissue box her way.

“Thank you for your time, Miss Tate.”

She didn’t even know how she managed to exit the room, her legs shaking to the point where she didn’t even feel like they belonged to her anymore. One thing was clear in Jessamine’s mind: she had fucked that up to an inordinate extent, and if she hadn’t been a suspect before, she in all likelihood was prime suspect now. In her head, she sent out a silent plea. Greer, just send some sort of message. Let them know what’s happening. Before it’s too late.

#ogdentask #tw drugs mention

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lakelandg · 7 months

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Urgent Search for Theodore Idleburg Jr. in Polk County - Police Seeking Information

On the evening of 30th September 2023, PIO Brian Bruchey of Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida specifically appealed to the public for assistance in their ongoing search for Theodore Idleburg, Jr. 44-year-old Idleburg is a resident of Jessamine Drive in Lakeland, Polk County, and presently holds an arrest warrant for Interference with Child Custody. He is suspected to be in the company of a…

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oleodesucupira · 2 years

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Os 6 benefícios mais importantes das flores de gardénia e do óleo essencial de gardénia

A maioria de nós conhece as gardénias como grandes flores brancas que crescem nos nossos jardins, ou como a fonte de um forte aroma floral utilizado para fazer produtos tais como loções e velas. Mas sabia que as flores, raízes e folhas de gardénia também têm uma longa história de utilização em Medicina Tradicional Chinesa?

As plantas da Gardenia pertencem à família da Rubiaceae Família vegetal e são nativos de partes da Ásia e das ilhas do Pacífico, incluindo China e Japão. O extracto de etanol de frutos e flores de gardénia é ainda hoje utilizado de várias formas na medicina herbácea e é aromaterapia. Existem mais de 250 espécies diferentes de plantas de gardénia, uma das quais é nomeada Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, as espécies principalmente utilizadas para a produção de óleo essencial.

Como aprenderá, a gardénia demonstrou ter numerosos efeitos, incluindo ser um antibiótico natural, analgésico, antifúngico, diurético, anti-séptico, desintoxicante e antiespasmódico. As utilizações do óleo, suplementos e outros produtos incluem a difusão do óleo para combater o stress, a sua aplicação na pele para tratar feridas e a ingestão de chá de gardénia para Melhorar a digestão.

O que é Gardenia?

Dependendo da espécie exacta utilizada, os produtos têm muitos nomes, incluindo Gardenia jasminoides, Cape Jasmine, Cape Jessamine, Danh Danh, Gardênia, Gardenia augusta, Gardenia florida e Gardenia radicans..

Que tipos de flores de gardénia são geralmente cultivadas em jardins? Exemplos de variedades de jardim comuns são a beleza de Agosto, Aimee Yashikoa, Kleim’s Hardy, Radians e First love. (1)

O extracto mais utilizado para fins medicinais é o óleo essencial de gardénia, que tem inúmeras utilizações, tais como o combate a infecções e tumores. Devido ao seu cheiro floral forte e “sedutor” e à sua capacidade de promover relaxamento, é também utilizado para fazer loções, perfumes, lavagens corporais e muitas outras aplicações tópicas.

O que significa a palavra Gardenias significa? Acredita-se que as flores brancas da gardénia simbolizavam pureza, amor, devoção, confiança e nobreza no passado. É por isso que ainda são frequentemente utilizados em ramos de casamento e como decoração em ocasiões especiais. (2) Diz-se que o nome do género foi dado em honra de Alexander Garden (1730-1791), um botânico, zoólogo e médico que viveu na Carolina do Sul e esteve envolvido no desenvolvimento da classificação dos géneros e espécies de Gardenia.

Vantagens e usos da gardénia

Algumas das muitas utilizações das plantas da Gardénia e do óleo essencial incluem o tratamento:

Controlo de Danos radicais livres e a formação de tumores, graças às suas actividades anti-angiogénicas (3)

Infecções, incluindo infecções do tracto urinário e cistite

Resistência à insulina, intolerância à glicose, obesidade e outros factores de risco relacionados com diabetes e doenças cardíacas

Refluxo ácido, vómitos, flatulência, SII e outros problemas digestivos

Depressão e Ansiedades

Fadiga e nevoeiro cerebral

Abscessos

Cãibras musculares

Febre

Cãibras menstruais

Dor de cabeça

Baixa libido

Má produção de leite nas mulheres que amamentam

Feridas de cicatrização lenta

Lesão hepática, doença hepática e icterícia

Sangue na urina ou nas fezes ensanguentadas

Que ingredientes activos são responsáveis pelo efeito positivo do extracto de gardénia?

Estudos demonstraram que a gardénia contém pelo menos 20 ingredientes activos, incluindo uma série de antioxidantes poderosos. Alguns dos compostos isolados das flores comestíveis da gardénia selvagem são Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis incluem benzil e fenilacetatos, linalool, terpineol, ácido ursólico, rutina, estigmasterol, crociniridoides (incluindo coumaroylshanzhiside, butilgardenoside e metoxigenipina) e glucósidos fenilpropanóides (como gardenoside B e genipóside). (4 ,5)

Como é usada a gardénia? Apresentamos a seguir alguns dos muitos benefícios medicinais das flores, do extracto e do óleo essencial:

1. ajuda a combater as doenças inflamatórias e a obesidade.

O óleo essencial de Gardenia contém numerosos antioxidantes que combatem os danos dos radicais livres, assim como dois compostos chamados genipósido e genipina, que demonstraram reduzir a inflamação. Verificou-se também que ajuda a reduzir o colesterol elevado, a resistência à insulina/ intolerância à glicose e os danos hepáticos, e pode proporcionar alguma protecção contra Diabetes, doenças cardíacas e hepáticas. (6)

Alguns estudos também encontraram provas de que a Gardenia jasminoide pode ser eficaz para Reduzir a obesidadeespecialmente em combinação com exercício e uma dieta saudável. Um estudo publicado em 2014 no Journal of Exercise Nutrition and Biochemistry afirma: “Sabe-se que o genipósido, um dos principais constituintes da Gardenia jasminoides, inibe o ganho de peso e melhora os níveis anormais de lípidos, os níveis elevados de insulina, a intolerância à glicose e a resistência à insulina”. (7)

2. pode ajudar a reduzir a depressão e a ansiedade

O cheiro das flores de gardénia é conhecido por promover o relaxamento e ajudar as pessoas que se sentem sobrecarregadas a reduzir o stress. Na Medicina Tradicional Chinesa, a gardénia é um componente da aromaterapia e das formulações herbais usadas para tratar distúrbios de humor, incluindo. Depressão, ansiedade e inquietude. Um estudo da Universidade de Medicina Chinesa de Nanjing, publicado em Medicina complementar e alternativa baseada em provas descobriu que o extracto (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) mostrou um efeito antidepressivo rápido ao aumentar imediatamente a expressão do factor neurotrófico (BDNF) no sistema límbico (o “centro emocional” do cérebro). O efeito antidepressivo foi estabelecido em cerca de duas horas após a administração. (8)

3. ajuda a suavizar o tracto digestivo

Ingredientes isolados de Gardenia jasminoidesincluindo o ácido ursólico e a genipina, têm demonstrado ter efeitos antiânticos, antioxidantes e neutralizantes de ácidos que protegem contra uma série de problemas gastrointestinais. Por exemplo, a investigação tem sido realizada no Plant Resources Research Institute na Duksung Women’s University, em Seul, Coreia, e em Toxicologia Química e Alimentar, descobriu que a genipina e o ácido ursólico podem ser úteis no tratamento e/ou protecção da gastrite, refluxo ácidoÚlceras, lesões e infecções causadas por H. pylori Acção. (9)

Foi também demonstrado que a genipina ajuda a digerir a gordura estimulando a produção de certas enzimas. Também parece ajudar outros processos digestivos, mesmo num ambiente gastrointestinal com um equilíbrio “instável” do pH, de acordo com a pesquisa publicada na revista Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry e realizado no Colégio de Ciência e Tecnologia Alimentar da Universidade Agrícola de Nanjing e no Laboratório de Microscopia Electrónica na China. (10)

4. combate as infecções e protege as feridas

Gardenia contém muitos compostos naturais antibacterianos, antioxidantes e antivirais. (11) Para combater constipações, infecções respiratórias e sinusais, e congestão, pode inalar óleo essencial de gardénia, esfregá-lo no peito, ou usar algum num difusor ou num vaporizador facial.

Uma pequena quantidade do óleo essencial pode ser misturada com um óleo veicular e aplicada na pele para combater infecções e promover a cura. Basta misturar o óleo com Óleo de coco e aplicá-lo em feridas, arranhões, arranhões, contusões ou cortes (diluir sempre primeiro os óleos essenciais).

5. pode ajudar a aliviar a fadiga e a dor (dores de cabeça, cãibras, etc.).

Extracto de gardénia, óleo e chá são utilizados para combater a dor, desconforto e mal-estar associados a dores de cabeça, TPM, artrite, lesões, incluindo entorses, e Cãibras musculares. Tem também certas propriedades estimulantes que podem até ajudar a elevar o humor e melhorar a cognição. Verificou-se que melhora a circulação, reduz a inflamação e ajuda a trazer mais oxigénio e nutrientes às partes do corpo que necessitam de cura. Por esta razão, era tradicionalmente dada a pessoas que lutam com dores crónicas, fadiga e várias doenças.

Um estudo animal realizado pelo Departamento de Cirurgia Espinhal II e pelo Departamento de Neurologia do Hospital Popular de Weifang na China parece confirmar o efeito de alívio da dor. Quando o ozono e o gardenoside, um composto na fruta Gardenia, foram administrados, “os resultados mostraram que o tratamento com uma combinação de ozono e gardenoside aumentou o limiar de retirada mecânica e a latência de retirada térmica, confirmando o seu efeito analgésico”. (12)

6. pode ajudar a melhorar a cognição e a proteger a memória

Um estudo publicado na revista Revista Chinesa de Medicamentos Naturais descobriu que o extracto de gardénia ajuda com as seguintes queixas Melhoria da memóriaparticularmente em pessoas mais velhas com problemas de memória, incluindo a doença de Alzheimer. No estudo, dois componentes principais dos extractos de Gardenia, genipósido e gardenoside, pareciam suprimir a expressão de genes imunológicos no cérebro, implicando que têm efeitos anti-inflamatórios que contrariam os mecanismos subjacentes dos défices de memória. (13)

Utilização em MTC e Ayurveda

Em chinês, a fruta de gardénia é chamada Zhi Zi ou Sheng Shan Zi. De acordo com a MTC, tem propriedades fortes, amargas e frias que ajudam a proteger o coração, os pulmões e o estômago. (14) Diz-se que actua sobre os meridianos do Triple Warmer (san jiao). Entre outras coisas, é utilizado para eliminar o calor em excesso, dispersar o calor húmido e arrefecer o sangue. A Gardénia é utilizada em MTC para baixar a pressão arterial, parar a hemorragia, tratar insónia, tratar infecções do tracto urinário, aliviar o inchaço e hematomas devido a trauma e aliviar a dor de entorses e abcessos.

Os praticantes de MTC recomendam uma dosagem de cerca de três a 12 gramas por dia. O pó seco de gardénia, chá ou extracto pode ser utilizado internamente. Também pode ser aplicado directamente sobre a pele.

A gardénia é utilizada sob diferentes nomes em Medicina Ayurvédica, incluindo dakamali e nahi hingu. É utilizado no tratamento de doenças como a febre, indigestão, feridas, doenças de pele e dores abdominais. Diz-se que tem um sabor pungente, amargo e seco. Diz-se que estas propriedades ajudam na digestão e reduzem o calor e a humidade.

É especialmente recomendado para os tipos Kapha e Vata, que beneficiam da sua protecção contra a indigestão e infecção. Uma utilização comum na Ayurveda é utilizar a resina ou aplicada na pele ou tomada sob a forma de pó. Doses de 200-500 miligramas por dia são recomendadas para condições tais como vermes intestinais, flatulência e obstipação, tosse e gengivite.15)

Gardénia vs. Jasmim

Como se compara a gardénia com outras plantas medicinais, tais como o jasmim?

Óleo essencial de jasmim é outro melhorador de humor e aliviador de stress. Como gardénia, jasmim (Jasminum officinale) tem sido utilizado há centenas de anos em partes da Ásia como remédio natural para a depressão, ansiedade, stress emocional, baixa libido e insónia.

Diz-se que ambos os óleos têm propriedades “sedutoras”, uma vez que os seus odores aumentam a sensualidade e a excitação. De facto, o óleo de jasmim é chamado a “rainha da noite” devido à sua capacidade de aumentar a libido e a energia.

Acredita-se que o óleo de jasmim, semelhante ao de gardénia, tem propriedades antivirais, antibióticas e antifúngicas. Estudos demonstraram que a utilização de jasmim pode levar a uma melhoria do humor e a uma redução dos sinais físicos e emocionais de baixa energia. Pode também ajudar a combater bactérias e vírus nocivos e a prevenir doenças, irritações, infecções fúngicas e virais.

O óleo de jasmim pode ser inalado através do nariz ou aplicado directamente sobre a pele. Não precisa de ser combinado com um óleo de transporte, mas deve ser utilizado sem diluição para melhores resultados. Experimente usar jasmim e gardénia juntamente com óleo de massagem ou em loções corporais, esfoliantes corporais, sabonetes e perfumes caseiros e velas caseiras.

Dosagem e Suplementos Gardenia

Óleo Essencial de Gardenia: O óleo essencial é obtido através da extracção dos ingredientes activos contidos nos ácidos voláteis da planta. As pétalas são geralmente a fonte do extracto/óleo, embora as folhas e raízes também possam ser utilizadas. Como é utilizado o óleo essencial de gardénia? Pode ser difundido em casa, aplicado na pele diluído com um óleo veicular ou adicionado a banhos, loções, sprays corporais e perfumes. O óleo tem uma fragrância delicada, doce e floral. Para uso na pele e no cabelo, recomendo combinar o óleo com óleo de coco, jojoba ou amêndoa para o ajudar a absorver e a hidratar. Se quiser utilizá-lo para relaxar, adicione algumas gotas ao seu banho ou espalhe-o pelo seu quarto antes de dormir. Para os melhores resultados e para vossa segurança, recomendo a compra de óleo essencial 100% puro de gardénia biológica.

Suplementos/Cápsulas de Gardenia: A Gardénia é considerada segura numa dose de três a 12 gramas tomadas por via oral diariamente. Os suplementos Gardenia estão disponíveis online, embora não sejam tão bem pesquisados como o petróleo. Muitas vezes o extracto é encontrado em produtos combinados que também contêm outras ervas/flores medicinais. Os suplementos não devem ser confundidos com Garcinia cambogia Suplementos alimentares concebidos para promover a perda de peso e reduzir o apetite. Não são provenientes da mesma planta e têm efeitos diferentes.

Chá de Gardenia: O chá Gardenia, que tem um sabor leve e por vezes doce e tem um efeito diurético natural, pode ser feito a partir de flores secas. Pode também adicionar outras ervas como o alecrim, orégãos, manjericão e tomilho ao chá para aumentar o seu efeito. É assim que se faz o chá de gardénia: colha as flores quando estão em flor, seque-as colocando-as num tabuleiro num local seco e virando-as duas vezes por dia até estarem secas, depois coloque-as num vaso e deite água muito quente sobre elas. Deixe o chá mergulhar durante pelo menos alguns minutos até arrefecer, depois adicione outras ervas. (16)

O que é a fruta de gardénia? Alguns produtos afirmam utilizar frutos de gardénia nas suas cápsulas ou fórmulas, mas as plantas não dão realmente frutos comestíveis como se poderia imaginar. Gardenia jasminoides é outro nome para o fruto, que pertence a certas espécies de gardénia que crescem nos meses quentes do ano. A fruta parece uma baga de laranja que contém uma polpa pegajosa. É normalmente seco e moído para produzir um pó concentrado. A resina de gardénia, por outro lado, é extraída dos caules/brancos da planta.

Receitas de gardénia e como cultivar gardénias

Plantas da Gardénia, incluindo espécies populares Gardenia jasminoides, são arbustos sempre-verdes verdes escuros que crescem durante todo o ano em climas quentes. A maioria produz flores brancas muito perfumadas, embora as flores possam tornar-se amarelas, beges ou laranjas dependendo da estação do ano. As plantas florescem durante todo o ano em climas quentes – ou no Verão e no final da Primavera em climas mais frescos. Normalmente crescem entre 1,5 a 1,5 metros de altura e bastante largas se tiverem espaço para se espalharem. (17)

Pode cultivar uma variedade de plantas de gardénia e arbustos em casa e depois usar as flores frescas de diferentes maneiras. Aqui estão dicas para cultivar a sua própria: (18)

As gardénias precisam de sol ou sombra? Gostam de crescer a pleno sol ou com sombra parcial. Também florescem melhor quando cultivadas em solo húmido e ácido. Recomenda-se a utilização de solo orgânico ou cobertura morta orgânica para melhores resultados no cultivo de gardénias.

Quando faz muito calor e sol, as plantas fazem melhor se tiverem pelo menos alguma sombra, caso contrário podem sobreaquecer. Porque é que as folhas ficam amarelas? Isto é um sinal de que estão a ficar “queimados pelo sol”.

Como as flores são brancas brilhantes com folhas verdes escuras e ficam muito bonitas, pode apanhá-las e usá-las para decoração ou deixar uma fileira de arbustos no chão para formar sebes.

Precauções

Possíveis efeitos secundários associados à utilização de cápsulas de Gardenia ou óleo essencial podem incluir perda de apetite, diarreia ou fezes soltas, irritação e inflamação da pele, e possíveis complicações em mulheres grávidas/de amamentação e crianças.

Embora o óleo tenha sido utilizado durante muitos anos para apoiar a produção de leite em mães lactantes, não há muitos estudos que provem que é sempre seguro para mulheres grávidas ou a amamentar. Uma vez que não se conhece o suficiente sobre os possíveis efeitos da gardénia durante a gravidez ou amamentação, deve ter cuidado e consultar primeiro o seu médico.

Considerações finais

As plantas da Gardénia ostentam grandes flores brancas que libertam um aroma forte e calmante. As gardénias são membros da Rubiaceae Família vegetal e são nativas de partes da Ásia e das ilhas do Pacífico.

Os extractos medicinais, suplementos alimentares e óleos essenciais são produzidos a partir das flores, folhas e raízes.

Os benefícios e utilizações incluem a protecção contra doenças crónicas tais como diabetes e doenças cardíacas, combate à depressão e ansiedade, redução da inflamação/ stress oxidativo, tratamento da dor, redução da fadiga, combate a infecções e suavização do tracto digestivo.

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berryb3autiful · 4 years

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twilight-adamo · 5 years

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Author’s Notes: Brave New World, Chapter 1: The Parting of the Ways

In April 2018, the same day I posted the epilogue to As Dreams Are Made On, I wrote the first scene of Brave New World, and most of the second. And then I got stuck, for quite a long time. I lost myself in research, tried to build out my plans, tried to focus on other things for a time, particularly These Our Actors, which posed its own challenges - but I’ll cover that in my author’s notes on Rosalie’s installment. I had a difficult year for a number of reasons. For a time I wasn’t writing at all.

I see from the revision history that I only came back to Brave New World in February of this year, spent a couple days on it, and left it alone again until June. June was when I finally realized that there was one particular thing in my life that was destroying my mental health and my ability to create, and that I was carrying on with it out of a sense of obligation, but I’d help no one - least of all myself - if I wore myself down on it. So, reluctantly, I dropped the obligation that was dominating my mental landscape, I took a step back, and I allowed myself to breathe. I’m still not working at a hundred percent, but I am getting better. And over the last few days, I’ve been able to write again.

My original plan for this chapter had been to focus on the wedding of Charlie and Kate, and I threw myself into a ton of wedding research, wanting to get everything just right. I figured Carlisle would officiate, so I researched Anglican marriage services and drew heavily on what I found. I looked at venues and considered colors and organized the wedding party and stopped just short of actually planning an entire wedding. And I got through the ceremony, which felt shorter than it should be, and I was beginning to write what came after, and I was thinking about what I had planned for the reception (notably what probably would have been an even cheesier musical moment than the rendition of “The Best Is Yet To Come” from the epilogue of As Dreams Are Made On), and I realized...none of it was working from me. It was indulgent in a story which is already going to get indulgent in parts, but worse, it was dull. My protagonist didn’t have much to do aside from stand and watch and react.

I also wanted to have a family meeting scene where we got some sense of where everyone was going over the summer, what they were doing, and I had a choice between tacking it onto the end of an overstuffed and boring first chapter or onto the beginning of the second chapter, which I’d planned to set primarily in Jacksonville. So I finally looked at the ten or so pages of wedding stuff I’d already written, considered how much more I would need to get through and how little I would enjoy it, and decided it all had to go. The first chapter would focus entirely on the family meeting, a last goodbye to Forks before I started the grand road trip that would take up the first few chapters of the book. Once I’d figured that out, I finished the first chapter in a day or two. It’s still a little more talking than I’d like and a little less action, but I think it sets up the next chunk of story nicely, at least.

As for the stuff I didn’t cut: as I said, Bella’s nightmare was the very first thing I wrote. I’ve made some minor tweaks here and there, but it’s pretty close to what I originally wrote over a year ago. I wanted to show some of the psychological effect of Bella’s decision to start a fight with the Volturi, I wanted to show that Eleazar’s panicked reaction to whatever he saw had affected her, and I wanted to start things off with a sense of menace hanging over our heroes. The Cullens and their extended network of friends and family may not be in a state of outright war, but there is still danger lurking at the edges of their lives, and unresolved mysteries hiding just below the surface of things. I wanted to spin a vision of something that could yet be, and establish that “happily ever after” is still a long way away, down a dark and twisted road.

It was also just enormous fun to write.

And it was a nice segue into a domestic scene with Alice and Bella, a glimpse of their lives a few weeks on from our last visit with them. We already got such a glimpse in the epilogue of the last volume, but seeing as that chapter was focused largely on prom, I thought they deserved a little alone time.

I spent a great deal of time trying to work out the plan for the summer - where everyone would be going, what they would be doing. I actually nearly forgot to include Eleanor in those plans, up until the last minute. I’m sorry to say that, focused as Brave New World is on Bella’s perspective, we’re not going to see much of the others’ adventures in this text, but they’re certainly fodder for future installments of These Our Actors, and Bella will get updates here and there, particularly once everyone is reunited in Forks. Bella, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett will all have quite enough on their own plates, so hopefully none of you will be bored.

There will be much more of Renée - and Phil - in the next chapter, which will cover the gang’s time in Jacksonville. I confess I’ve never been to Jacksonville (I’ve really only visited Florida for the theme parks) so I’ve got a bit of research to do. “I’ve got a bit of research to do” is likely to be my recurring mantra on this story, as I’m trying to blow out the boundaries of this world, introduce vampires we never met in the Twilight novels from places that were never really touched on, and perhaps bring in stranger things besides. But that’s a way off. For now, I’m a little ways into Chapter 2 (and have even written a bit of Chapter 3), and having great fun writing Bella’s free-spirited mother. I hope you’ll love my take on her as much as I do.

And now, as a bonus, I present the raw text cut from Chapter 1 of Brave New World. I’ve held onto it for reference, in case I decide to draw on it for flashbacks or a future installment of These Our Actors, and it’s possible the details may change, but since I don’t have any plans for it now, I thought I’d share what I came up with before I changed directions. It’s under the cut. I’m afraid not all my formatting carried over into Tumblr’s interface, but you should get the gist.

(Picking up from the end of the scene with Bella and Alice in bed at the cottage.)

I’d been pretty scarce around Forks the last few weeks, since school let out - I’d completely missed late spring giving way to high summer. Officially, I had been busy helping my dad and his new bride with wedding preparations. In actuality, I’d spent most of that time dropping into comas, recovering from them, and moving on to the next. I’d had a limited window of opportunity to turn a few select vampires human, and no time to waste. Edward had been the first to volunteer - he’d told Angela the truth, and she’d eventually decided she wanted to be with him regardless, but he still wanted to lose his bloodlust for the time being, and needed a bit of a break from everyone else’s thoughts after the past few months. I had carefully packed his powers away for safekeeping, then taken his vampirism from him. At his request, we were leaving him human until he reached his long-delayed eighteenth birthday.

Rosalie, Eleanor and Emmett had decided to turn human, too, and I had requested that they stay that way until Carlisle had finished identifying effective birth control techniques for hybrids, or at least until the summer ended. Kate hadn’t become pregnant just yet - and I really didn’t want to consider just how miraculous that was - but I didn’t want to push our luck with another extremely sexual and potentially fertile couple. Or thruple, as the case seemed to be - they had become much more open in their mutual affections toward Eleanor since she and Jessamine had moved to Forks.

Jasper and his sister - now going by Mina to avoid confusion - had decided to stay vampires for the time being, as had Carlisle, Esme, Tanya and Irina, though I had made my tweaks to the new arrivals so they and the shifters would no longer find one another offensive, assuming the vampires all stuck to non-human blood. It was just as well. With a five day coma after each de-vamping exercise and a day for recovery, I’d been cutting things awfully close to the rehearsal and the wedding itself. And no matter what dad said, I still felt a little guilty about that, even if he and Kate had plenty of help from everyone else. Especially since I was in the wedding party, if not precisely in the role I’d expected. At least I wasn’t maid of honor or best man, so to speak - those particular honors had gone to Irina and to Harry Clearwater, respectively. But I was still expected to stand at the altar.

After a luxurious spell in bed, followed by a relaxed breakfast and a shower, Alice “helped” me dress in the tuxedo she’d made for me, complete with high-collared blouse, fitted waistcoat, and a navy blue bow tie and cummerbund, all of it tailored perfectly to my frame. In all honesty, it was a blatant excuse to get her hands all over me and take me in one last time before the ceremony, but I can’t say I minded. At last, she finished, tying my hair back with a navy ribbon and kissing me softly, leaving me to finish my makeup while she hurried to meet Kate, Irina and the other bridesmaids.

Once I’d finished preparing, there wasn’t much left to do but head for the Cullens’ house, where dad and the rest of his party would be waiting until the time came to head for the venue. A mixed crowd of humans, hybrids, werewolves and most importantly vampires meant we were taking no chances with an outdoor wedding, and we were probably one of the few wedding parties this summer hoping for rain, or at least overcast skies. Fortunately, we’d gotten the latter, at least long enough to get the vampires into the hall, and by the time the reception was over with, it would be well past sunset.

It didn’t take too long to walk to the main house from the love nest Alice and I had made of Pine Cottage, and I arrived to find the others gathered around a table in the den, in the middle of a game of poker. There were two other groomsmen after Harry and myself: Emmett, and dad’s Deputy Chief, Joe Miller. From the pile of chips in front of him and the enormous frat boy grin on his face, it looked like Emmett was taking the others for all they were worth.

“Hey Bella!” he called out, waving as I came in and gesturing at the empty seat beside my father. “Want us to deal you in?”

I chuckled, taking the seat but shaking my head. “Thanks, but Alice already warned me about you. Hey, dad. Please tell me you didn’t put your honeymoon fund on the line.”

I nudged him with my shoulder, and he slung his arm around me, giving me a brief hug. “Hi, kiddo. The honeymoon fund’s safe. Kate would kill me. You girls didn’t think to warn me?”

“Well, you know, I’ve been busy. Distracted. And I figured Emmett would be too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a man on his wedding day,” I added, shooting a mock glare at the ex-vampire in question.

“Your first mistake was assuming I’m any kind of gentleman,” Emmett returned, with a broad smirk. “Besides, I respect Charlie too much to just let him win.”

Dad gave him a deadpan look. “I’m touched. Really. You can respect me a little less, though.”

“Can’t do it, sir.” Emmett drew himself up, looking impossibly earnest, save for the twinkle in his eye. “Did I ever tell you you’re my hero? You’re everything I wish I could be.”

“He’s been like this for the last hour. I’m starting to think he’s just always on,” Deputy Chief Miller remarked, glancing my way. “How’s your summer been, Bella?”

“Trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg with him,” I replied, gesturing at Emmett, who chuckled. “Oh, you know, good. Busy with wedding stuff, getting ready to leave town, all that. Alice and I are heading to Jacksonville with mom and Phil after the wedding, we’ll be back in August.”

“Your, uh, girlfriend’s going on vacation with you?” he said, his eyebrows rising.

“Don’t worry, Rose and me will be chaperoning,” Emmett interjected cheerfully.

Dad cleared his throat. “More importantly, Renée and her husband will be providing adult supervision. And separate guest rooms.”

I bit my lip to hide my smile. I still didn’t really have memories of my mom - or, rather, the mom I had here and now - and I’d only recently gotten to spend any time with her, since she and Phil had come to town for the wedding. It had all been e-mail and phone calls before that. But from my memory of the books, and based on my interactions with her so far, I would not really call Renée Dwyer a responsible adult, and Phil was friendly and level-headed but not really a parent to me. That suited me fine - I didn’t really feel like an actual teenager, even now, and I didn’t need active parenting - but it was apparently important to dad to keep up the convenient fiction.

What he wasn’t saying, of course, was that Jacksonville was only part of our trip. That just about everyone except Edward was leaving Forks for the summer, and that in fact he had no honeymoon fund to worry about, because Alice had arranged everything.

“Huh. Well, uh...have fun down in Florida. Is Jacksonville anywhere near the theme parks?” Miller asked, clearly ready to change the subject.

“It’s not - not any of the big ones, anyway - but Carlisle and Esme are going to join us down in Orlando for a few days before we head back,” I lied - another little fiction, this one mainly for my mom’s sake, but we were all keeping to a consistent narrative. “So we’ll be going to Disney World, anyway. The Cullens have never been, and they’ve been nice enough to invite me along.”

The deputy chief’s eyebrows shot up, and he glanced at Emmett, the lone Cullen in the room. “Seriously? What with this house and all, I sort of figured you’d be going every year.”

“Oh, we don’t travel much once we put down roots. It’s mainly just camping trips,” Emmett said. “Can’t wait to ride Space Mountain, though.”

“Gentlemen, I think we have a hand to finish?” Harry interjected at last, a little smirk on his face. “And then maybe we can find something to do that doesn’t give Emmett a chance to shake us down.”

“We have a pool table,” Emmett suggested innocently.

“We are not falling for that twice, kid,” dad said firmly. “Joe, I think it was your bet.”

“God help me,” Miller said, shaking his head as he pushed in his chips.

*****

After the game came to its merciful conclusion, we had just enough time for a movie before it was time to head for the venue. Neither dad nor Kate had been especially invested in the idea of a church wedding, so they’d picked out a lodge in the nearby woods, and asked Carlisle to officiate. I’d only seen the venue in photos. Seeing it in person, nestled among the towering pines, decorated in fairy lights and banners of blue and silver and lavender, the whole scene accompanied by the sounds of the wind in the trees and the river flowing nearby...I was simply awestruck by everything that lay before me.

“Well then. Guess this is our cue to go around back and get in position,” Harry said, clapping my dad on the shoulder. “You ready for this, Charlie?”

I looked over at dad. He, too, seemed briefly stunned and frozen. But when Harry spoke, he started to break into a grin. “Yeah,” he agreed quietly. “Yeah, I think I am.”

“You’ve got this, dad.” I turned to him and gave him a loose hug. “I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“I love you, too, Bells,” he said, hugging me back and kissing the top of my head. “Go on, then, I know you’re eager to see Alice.”

“God, you make it sound like we’re codependent,” I complained, lightly, pulling back. Not that he was entirely wrong: I could definitely feel a tingle of excitement running through me as I headed inside with Emmett and the deputy chief.

The rest of the wedding party was gathered in the lodge’s tiny lobby, preparing for their grand entrance to the great room. We didn’t have a ring bearer or a flower girl - Harry had the rings - but everyone else was prepared to play their role. I wasted no time making my way to Alice’s side, slipping my arm around her waist, while Emmett followed me at a more sedate pace, chuckling softly as he joined Rosalie.

“We were never that bad,” he remarked to Rose, looking at the two of us.

“Oh, you were worse,” she returned, smirking up at him. He made a scandalized noise in response.

“Is that how we’re going to play it, Rose? ‘Cause I seem to recall a particularly insatiable little -”

“How did the wedding prep go?” I asked Alice, tuning the two of them out as I turned to kiss her cheek. “You look gorgeous.”

“Mmm, I’d hope so, after all that. It was nice to be pampered. The makeup artist was a bit of a perfectionist, but Kate got the worst of it,” she replied, looking up at me through her lush, dark eyelashes, a smile curving her red lips. Her hair framed her face in messy waves, and of course she looked amazing in her bridesmaid’s dress - lavender, strapless, accented in silver, tailored to fit the individual figures of each woman in Kate’s wedding party. “It’s possible the poor woman suffered a static shock or two.”

“I told Kate to use her powers for good,” I joked, my eyes sweeping over the room. Eleanor and Deputy Chief Miller, who’d be escorting her up the aisle, had joined Emmett and Rose, and the deputy chief seemed a little lost and perhaps slightly scandalized by the increasingly shameless flirting among the trio. And Kate, as might be expected, was sandwiched between her maid of honor, Irina, and Tanya, who’d be giving Kate away in the place of their mother.

Kate, naturally, looked absolutely incredible. Her normally straight blonde hair had been curled and bound up in an elaborate updo, and dangling silver and sapphire earrings glittered at her earlobes. A brass pendant, formed in a sort of hammer shape and decorated with elaborate, curling lines, hung from a chain about her neck. Her wedding dress was also strapless, all white and silver, the bodice clinging tightly to her figure as it swept down to the full skirts that frothed about her legs, interrupted only by a lavender sash tied about her waist. She looked radiantly happy, her joy outshining her natural hybrid glow.

Alice and I made our way over to her, and I offered a slightly hesitant one-armed hug. “You look amazing, Kate. I just wanted to wish you and dad all the best, one more time, before we get started.”

“Thank you, Bella,” she replied, returning the hug, awkwardly at first, but we both relaxed into a genuine embrace after a moment. “I’m...well I’m glad you’ve accepted all this so easily. And that your mother has been so welcoming. I wasn’t sure…”

“Please, don’t worry about it,” I told her softly, though I could feel that slight, uneasy shift in the pit of my stomach, even now. I tried to quiet it: I’d seen how happy dad and Kate were, how good they were for each other. They were the same people they’d always been, or at least dad was, but happier. Still...the mating bond hadn’t given either of them much choice. I worried about that, as I still, sometimes, worried about Alice. As fast as I’d fallen for her, I’d still been able to do so on my own terms. That was something Alice never got to do, and a chance dad and Kate would never have.

I forced a smile nonetheless as I continued, practiced enough now to make it genuine - which it was, really, mostly, despite my doubts. “Both of us just want dad to be happy. And you make him so happy - I’ve seen it, and now mom’s seen it, and she’s already remarried. She loves my dad but...they didn’t work. You two do. You just...fit.”

Maybe Kate caught something in my body language or my tone, despite all my best efforts, because she looked at me with faintly troubled eyes. But just as she was opening her mouth to say something more, we all heard the music starting in the other room, and Irina clapped her hands.

“Positions, everyone! Bridesmaids and groomsmen, go,” she announced, loud and clear. There was no more time to chat.

Alice and I were last in the procession of groomsmen and bridesmaids, and she nudged me gently as we swept into the room, murmuring softly. “You all right? You just seem…”

“I’m fine,” I whispered, through my smile, as we walked down the aisle under Carlisle’s benevolent gaze, surrounded by our family, friends and loved ones, going to meet dad and Harry at the altar. “Just getting in my own head a little.”

“Mmmm. Stop it,” she said, squeezing my arm as our moment came to part. “We’ll talk later.”

I nodded, very slightly, and we took our positions on either side of the aisle, watching Irina walk up last of all. The music changed, shifting to a classic bridal march, and everyone’s eyes were on Kate as Tanya walked her slowly and gracefully up the aisle. She was smiling brightly enough to transform her face into something even more beautiful, and broadly enough that it seemed like her face might crack in two, and I knew without looking that dad’s gaze was locked on her, his smile just as bright. Love and passion just radiated off the two of them, a palpable force filling the room from wall to wall. The room fell to a reverent hush, and for a moment I would have sworn I could hear their two hearts beating as one.

At last, the moment was broken by Carlisle’s voice, deceptively soft and yet resonant enough to fill the room. “Cherished friends, we come together today to witness the joining of Charles Geoffrey Swan and Katrina Sashova in holy matrimony, to ask for God’s blessing upon their union, to share in their joy, and to celebrate their love. For of all the gifts bestowed upon us by our Creator, love is the most precious, the most fragile, and the most important. As it is written in First Corinthians, love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

“We are taught that marriage is a gift of love, for God is love. It is a gift of God in creation and a means of God’s grace, for through this holy mystery, two become as one. Marriage is given that each partner might help the other, living faithfully in need and in plenty, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy. It is given that with delight and with tenderness those so joined might know each other in love, and that through the joy of spiritual and of bodily union, they may strengthen the connection between their hearts and minds. Marriage is a grace visited not only upon those joined in matrimony but upon all their loved ones - not only upon any children that may arise from the union but also upon their beloved community.

“In marriage, those so joined belong to one another, and embark upon a new life within their community. It is not a gift to be taken lightly, carelessly, or selfishly, but reverently, responsibly, and after serious thought. This is the way of life that Charles and Katrina are now to begin. I have been privileged to know them, and privileged to witness their love for one another. I believe with all my heart that these two are meant to be one. And now I must ask: if anyone here knows of any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Silence followed. I wasn’t expecting anything else, but even so, it felt like the world had let out a breath it didn’t know it had been holding. Dad and Kate beamed at one another once again.

“Very well,” Carlisle said, breaking into a warm smile of his own. “Charles and Katrina, I now invite you to join hands and to deliver your vows in the presence of God and of all assembled here. May you speak honestly and without reservation, from the bottom of your hearts.”

Dad and Kate stepped forward, closer to one another, joining hands, and for a moment dad seemed at a loss for words, until his perfect hybrid memory kicked in and he found his place once more. He cleared his throat and chuckled nervously under his breath. “I, Charles Swan, take you, Katrina Sashova, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward: for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. I swear to love, cherish, and honor you each day, from now until my last day on this Earth, in God’s name and by God’s grace.”

“I, Katrina Sashova, take you, Charles Swan, to be my lawfully wedded husband,” Kate returned, her eyes shining just slightly, her face aglow with more than the usual hybrid radiance. “To have and to hold from this day forward: for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. I swear to love, cherish, and honor you each day, from now until my last day on this Earth, in God’s name and by God’s grace.”

“I believe the best man has the rings?” Carlisle said, taking them gently as Harry offered them, and cradling one in each hand. “God, by your blessing, let these rings to be to Charles and Katrina be a symbol of unending love and faithfulness, to remind them of the vow and the covenant which they have made this day in your holy presence. Amen.”

With that, he handed the rings off, and I could see dad’s fingers tremble just a little, almost imperceptibly, as he slipped Kate’s ring on her finger. “With this ring, I pledge myself to you, giving you all that I am, and sharing with you all that I have.”

Kate echoed his words softly, slipping his ring onto his finger in turn, and Carlisle joined their hands together, covering them loosely with his own.

“What God has seen fit to join, let no man put asunder,” he pronounced solemnly. “And by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Charlie, you may kiss your bride.”

They were moving before he was done talking, and somehow mustered enough restraint to move slow enough for the human eye to follow, though I heard more than a little laughter at their eagerness nonetheless. Charlie swept Kate readily into his arms, tilting her back just a little as they kissed fiercely, her bouquet dropping to the ground as her hands reached up to cup his cheek.

The room broke into wild applause, with a few hoots and whistles mixed in, and my eyes caught Alice’s as we clapped. For one wild, breathless moment, I wanted to throw caution to the wind, speed to her side and take her in my arms as well, hell, maybe even tell Carlisle to marry us here and there. But just a split second later, I felt a sort of coolness rushing through me, like a cold shower inside my mind, and my gaze swept into the audience, where Jasper raised one eyebrow at me expressively and inclined his head. I gave him a sheepish grin, then looked back at Alice, who winked and blew me a kiss before turning her attention back to the matter at hand. A triumphant march played as the wedding party swept back outside for photos and drinks and all the rest while the lodge staff moved everything around again for the reception.

*****

“I’ll be honest, that was way more God than I was expecting,” Callie remarked to me, once I’d been excused from modeling duty and we had a moment alone.

I shrugged. “Dad and Kate believe in a vague something. It was enough to have a vaguely religious ceremony. Besides, Carlisle’s dad was an Anglican pastor.”

Callie downed some of her sparkling cider, her eyes narrowing at me. “Is that a ‘lingering obsession with Twilight factoid’ or an ‘I spend all my time around the Cullens’ factoid?”

“Column A, column B,” I said, with another slight shrug. “I already knew about it, but I mean, we do talk. Anyway, Carlisle’s not nearly as hardcore as his father was, but he’s religious enough and in the know, so…”

“Vaguely religious ceremony. Right. Gotta say it was probably also the shortest wedding I’ve ever been to,” Callie replied, before looking sadly at her half-full glass. “And it’s the most sober wedding I’ve been to in a while. For us, anyway.”

“Yeah, being legally underage definitely has its downside. And please, you saw that kiss - I don’t think we could’ve gotten those two to wait much longer.”

Callie snorted. “True. Hell, you and Alice probably won’t even make it past ‘dearly beloved’.”

Mom chose that moment to come up just behind Callie, her eyebrows rising at the remark, and I immediately started laughing just a little too loudly. “Ha ha! Like we’re about to get married - which we’re not - because I’m seventeen! I am still just...seventeen. And in high school. And not even thinking about getting married. Yep. Good one, Cal, mom, you remember Callie.”

Callie stared at me and shook her head slightly before turning to face my mother. “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Dwyer. Did you enjoy the ceremony?”

“I did, thank you,” mom said, granting me a brief respite as she smiled warmly at Cal. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything over here.”

I shot Callie a pleading glance, and she looked in my direction just long enough to smirk at me before shaking her head. “No, not at all. I should probably go meet up with my parents. You two should catch up. See you later.”

“Of course. We’ll see you around,” mom agreed, and Callie gave a slight wave and moved off. I glared daggers at her retreating back, just for a moment, while mom watched her leave and shook her head. “I still have no idea how you get a nickname like ‘Callie’ out of a name like ‘Tara Chen’.”

“It just suits her,” I mumbled, sighing. “Long story.”

“If you say so. Now, let me look at you.” Mom turned back to me, putting her hands on my shoulders, taking me in. “I still can’t believe how big you’ve gotten, Bella. Or how...oh, what’s the word....dashing, maybe? How dashing you look in that suit.”

#twilight #twilight fanfiction #twilight fanfic #twilight au #the tempest trilogy #the tempestverse #bellice #brave new world

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