#and its also not my online name which is dove

[dgtn]

Hey all! So I wanted to take a few to introduce myself. Another blogger did this a few days back and I was just like omg I need to do that too!

So my name is Diane and I am at midlife now in terms of age. I have been married for over 20 years and have 2 amazing kids, a young man and a daughter.

We live in Tennessee. I love so many different genres of music - my playlist has everything from BTS to Carrie Underwood, Troye Sivan, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Aretha Franklin…you name it…it’s probably on my list!

Outside of BTS and Jikook I love spending time with my family, health, fitness, and making jewelry, and yes that includes BTS themed jewelry of course 😏

My favorite shows to watch are crime dramas and anything sci fi. I’m a huge Star Wars fan (I still remember going to see A New Hope when it came out!)

I have 5 fur babies- 4 dogs and a cat. We also have a gecko.

I am a cancer survivor, coming up on 8 years now. I've also had brain surgery - crazy crazy!

So now that that’s out of the way….let’s talk BTS.

I’ve always heard the saying: you don’t find BTS, BTS finds you when you need them. This is true for me too (more on that later ).

I discovered BTS when I heard Butter for the first time back in 2021. I thought it was a catchy song and wanted to know more about the band behind the song. And so it began. I looked up BTS on the internet and the first member I came across? Jimin of course. My first thoughts were my god he is gorgeous. And his voice - are you kidding me! I’ve been around a long time and I have never heard a voice like that! So of course I needed to know more. Next came Jungkook. Uh….wow! That man is beautiful too! And his voice! I mean come on!!!! I had never heard of kpop before BTS so I had no idea about the world of kpop or any of its inner workings.

So into the world of BTS I dove. I went on line and started watching their music videos and started listening to more of their music and really really liking it. I slowly discovered the world of BTS online; Bangtan Bombs, In The Soop, Lives, Run Episodes, etc. Of course, watching all of these...I started to wonder, what's up with Jimin and Jungkook? Definitely caught a different vibe from them. So.....started watching jikook videos. Then, I discovered GCFT - and that sealed the deal for me. No looking back from that point. I remember the first time I watched it (yup, like yourself Ive watched it way more than once!!!) I was blown away and my reaction was "these 2 are in love with each other".

I absolutely love love love Jimin and Jungkook (as I’m sure you can tell from my blog!). I love them as individuals and I love them as a couple. They have something SO very special together and I just get so much joy out of seeing their relationship now and how it has grown over the years. They went from seriously crushing on each other in the early days of BTS to being in a long term fully committed monogomous relationship. I do believe that they are in this for life and have committed to each other for life. What that exactly looks like I'm not sure as they are still "In the Closet". My hope for them is that one day they will be able to show us their love for each freely and openly.

So getting back to BTS and how they found me when I needed them. I am officially mid life, in my 50's. I have always been a stay at home mom. My son is high functioning autistic. Throughout his schooling we really struggled with finding the right fit for him academically. When we moved to TN we eventually decided to home school him which became a huge priority of mine. Homeschooling was not easy. When he graduated high school it was such an accomplishment. I will admit that it also left me very emotionally drained. Being a mom in general is really hard (best job in the world!!!). We always put our children first before everything else; it's just what we do.

As my children have grown and continued to become more independent I actually started thinking about what I want to do for me. It's a foreign concept because as a mom I've never really thought that way. That was right about the time I discovered BTS (see where I'm going with this?). Their message of love yourself, take care of yourself, was something that really resonated with me. I know it might sound crazy but that "glow up" that some people have experienced through BTS happened to me too. I have found the time to "love myself" as BTS says. I am really putting myself first for the first time in my life. I am still here for my family 100% but I am also finding the time to take care of myself :) I am on that journey to find balance in my life and BTS has most definitely played a big role in that!

I absolutely love BTS as a band and as individuals. I have really enjoyed getting to know them and I look forward to sharing my love of BTS and jikook with all y'all for years to come :) I have met some wonderful people through Tumblr; some of whom I have become very close to and consider dear friends; and I feel so grateful and blessed to have these peeps in my life. I am really excited to see what the future holds for these 7 incredibly talented young men who came into our lives.

One thing for sure, The Best is Yet To Come.

Xoxo 😘

#me as a blogger

[mania-sama]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "mania-sama "?

Hi!! Thank you so much for sending me an ask!! I will answer the story behind my name first, and then I'll get into the fics!

mania.sama comes from a couple years back when I was making my first online persona account. I had my regular Instagram account with my real name, but I didn't feel comfortable with people I knew in real life knowing the content I engage with and want to post (fandom-related and gaming clips). At the time, a couple of my beloved friends had these Instagram accounts all starting with a mental disorder and ending with a Japanese honorific. Weird combo, I know, I don't know how the trend started, I don't ask questions around here. Anyway, we brainstormed and decided on the mania, as in the manic disorder, and sama, a Japanese honorific of high respect. I would change it since I'm well aware it's kinda cringe since I have absolutely no Japanese heritage whatsoever, but it's too iconic to change now. All of my online persona accounts have this name, and people have called me "Mania" for far too long on Ao3. I'd hate to switch it up on people. And besides, I think it's grown on me after all this time.

Now for the fic!! So, I'm going to be so, so for real right now. I only have three fics I have bookmarked publically on Ao3, and they are my only favorite fics. Three. This comes from the fact that I read mainly one-shots that I forget as soon as I read them. I don't really have the attention span nor want to read long-form works most of the time. So, I did a lot of digging to come up with the rest of the seven, but I want to list favorite three first because they are actually my favorite. They aren't ranked in any particular order, they are just above the rest of the seven (which are also in no particular order).

These following three fics are also the only fanfics to ever make me cry. I've come close to a few of them, but these, of all my years reading and writing fanfic, are the only three to manage to bring tears down my face thus far:

Come Morning Light by SharkbaitSekki -> Haikyuu | 354,105 words | 15 chapters -> Teen and Up | Completed | Locked Work -> Summary: All in life will come and go. People and places will ebb and flow. Fate's dealt cards can't be foreseen. Safety is obsolete. When a nuclear blast on the island of Japan destroys all of the families and dreams within its radius, all that is left in the aftermath is to rebuild something -anything- out of the debris. Back to back, heart to heart, it's a long way up for the kids who have seen their lives go down in flames. But once at the top, for those who have made it, there is nothing left to do but admire the view. In which all of the aspects of their future are uncertain, except for the fact that unity will always lead them home. -> Thoughts: This was the only fic I had as my favorite fic for a long time, and the only one of the three to have an objectively sad ending, though it's listed as ambiguous. There isn't a dead dove tag on here, but there should be because this fic is gruesome, horrific, and downright traumatizing. And you know what? It's amazing, every single 350k words of it. The way some of these characters died, the trauma they experienced, and the ways they didn't or did move forward. It's all so impactful, and each character has a special focus. Not a single one goes without a spotlight. It also says it has ships, but none of them are actually canon, just vaguely implied. I don't really know how to explain this, but everything they go through, all of the places they go to, and the events that occur because of the nuclear bomb itself (such as acid rain and food poisoning) are all so well done, original, and thought-out. A town where all crime is legal at night but you must remain perfectly civil in daytime (as well as not talk about said crimes committed the previous night), radio broadcasts, refugee camps, trafficking, and more. There are just so many stand-out concepts and scenes that will stick with me forever.

one hundred miles by No_one_you_know -> Dream SMP | 126,898 words | 3 work series -> Teen and Up | Completed* -> that's, like, a hundred miles | 60,444 words | 12 chapters | Completed -> he's my brother, i just raise him | 7,034 words | 1 chapter | Completed -> as long as i'm here | 59,420 words | 14 chapters | Completed -> Summary (using the first fic): Dream would kill him. Dream was going to kill him- he was going to- no, he wouldn’t. Dream was his friend- friends don’t hit each other- Dream was supposed to take care of him- Dream /was/ taking care of him. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. He couldn’t clear his thoughts as he stumbled to the family computer, pulling up a tab on google and frantically typing the name into the search bar. The words Technoblade Watson stared back at him, the little black bar at the end of the letters blinking slowly, mocking him. Why, of all people, did it have to be Technoblade? in short: the one where dream sucks as a parental figure, tommy runs away, and visits his least favorite family member technoblade -> Thoughts: I KNOW. I know what you're thinking. Dream SMP? Really? Listen. It was a different time, lads, and I, for one, refuse to be ashamed of my history with Dream SMP. I read and wrote fics and enjoyed it. What gives? Anyway. I chose the entire series instead of one fic because all of these fics are so good, and I feel that if you read the first one, you should read the others. This is the ultimate series of "Healing is not linear." It's a work on the failures of society, of the justice system, how life can be repeatedly cruel over and over again. All of the doubling back, the mental fight, the complex relationships, morally gray actions, and the brilliant display of the way trauma can effect children, and the way that adults can get away with so much abuse. I think about how he walked a hundred miles only to wind back in the same place again. Obviously, it ends positively (relatively positively), but it takes just as long to get there. Secretely, though, adoption fics are a guilty pleasure of mine and you can't take that away from me. EXTREMELY well written. * the series says it's not completed, but it sure feels like it is. Very conclusive ending, I don't think the author intends on ever updating again, so I think the "Not Completed" status is simply a mistake on their part.

When I Awake by wildflowertea -> Bungou Stray Dogs | 235,960 words | 23 chapters -> Mature | Completed -> Summary: Dazai Osamu has been in a coma for exactly one year, seven months, and twenty-two days. But Death still refuses to take him. Trapped in the space between worlds, and unable to die, Dazai waits, killing what precious time he may have left and hoping—praying—that his family will pull the plug and move on. He doesn't expect someone to move into his old apartment instead. Nakahara Chuuya, two-time Grammy awards winner, and freshly unemployed pessimist, has never believed in fate—much less the supernatural. But the lively—if a bit annoying—ghost of his apartment's previous tenant, might just change everything. -> Thoughts: What isn't there to say about this? I have written many comments under this fic, so if you want to hear my full thoughts, they are all there in the last chapter. I also added another comment months later, and will probably add another one in the future. This fic single-handedly changed the romance genre for me, set the bar too high, and I can't tell whether I should love or hate it for that. I'd go as far as to say this fic isn't really about romance, either; it's been every kind of relationship there is under the sun. It's about death, it's about hope, it's about tragedy, addiction, failures, and family. It's everything. I love, love the idea of the soul separating itself from the body being used as a symbol of a person at the ultimate crossroads: Should I live, or should I die? And death giving that person a second chance to make their final decision. I love this fic. Everyone and their mom needs to read it because it's truly life changing. I cried three times reading this. THREE. Not a single word is wasted here.

Here are the rest of the seven. These are all fics I enjoyed immensely and love dearly:

Running on Air by eleventy7 -> Harry Potter | 74,880 words | 17 chapters ->Teen and Up | Completed -> Summary: Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects. -> Thoughts: Genuinely, this fic ALMOST made joined the other three in my favorites. The only reason it didn't is because it didn't leave the same impact that the others did. But the writing, the plot, the romance, the characterizations, are all amazing, and the fact that it could've been a fourth edition to my favorites without the additional impact should be a testament to how good everything else is. I love a good investigation fic where I have no idea what's going on, but eager to learn more. I love the way they handled Ginny and Harry's relationship, how they were both never really good for each other as lovers, but humanizing them both. Ginny isn't a villain in the way of the gay relationship (I hate that trope, as we all do). Harry was just as bad in their relationship. And there are just so many good quotes, and every time I'm in the car for too long, staring at the road, I think to myself, "What if I just kept driving? What if I didn't go where I needed to go, but instead left everything behind and kept going?" And I really think this fic is in part to blame for that. Phenomenal work.

Oyasumi by monozayn -> Identity V | 6,210 words | 1 chapter -> Mature | Completed -> Summary: Oyasumi, Oyasumi Close your eyes and you'll leave this dream. . . . Eli Clark was something. But at the end of the day, Eli Clark wasn’t Naib’s something. A short story about giving too little, too late -> Thoughts: I had a VISCERAL reaction to this fic when I read two and a half years ago. I think I can contribute most of my feelings to the fact that I myself wasn't in the best mental state at the time, so it just hurt more than it should've. I think if I were to read this today, it wouldn't make it onto this list at all, but because of the strong memories I have tied to it, it's keeping its place here. I do remember really liking the characterization of Naib, who, despite being the MC, is entirely blameless and often really comes off as creepy, especially in the beginning. It was really interesting.

Food for the Heart by SharkbaitSekki -> Haikyuu | 28,486 words | 1 chapter -> Teen and Up | Completed | Locked Work ->Summary: Enter Oikawa Tooru, the middle-class citizen who has everything he needs, but who does not eat. Enter Iwaizumi Hajime, the homeless young man who barely scrapes enough to eat every single day. One chance encounter is all they need to start turning things around. That is, if they actually do want to bring change to their comfortable, destructive routines. -> Thoughts: If I'm gonna be honest, this fic is kinda like a fever dream to me. It's actually the only fic on this list that I've read twice, that being I really don't reread or rewatch media in general outside of gently skimming or rewatching certain episodes/scenes. I always lose this fic, and it came as a surprise to me to see that it was written by the same person that wrote Come Morning Light because I did NOT know this until I found it again for this fic. Thrice I have found this fic and thrice did it escape my attention. Now about the actual fic and not the mythical legend that it truly is, it's just such an interesting take on the characters. Less so that it's a perfect characterization but a wonderful insight to homelessness and privilege, into complex relationships and eating disorders. It shows that all people are different, they can be selfish when trying not to be, that life sometimes just really rocks our shit. I've struggled in on and off periods with eating myself, so this fic really drives home a nail into face that it might not for other people.

the path to paradise by roadtripwithlucifer -> Bungou Stray Dogs | (currently) 73,250 words | (currently) 11 chapters -> Explicit | Work in Progress -> Summary:

To think that there’s a gifted in this world who can transport others to a ‘Hell.’ Not even a particularly hellish hell. For all Akutagawa had experienced in his life, this is obnoxiously tame. Pleasant, even, if he was to ignore the centaurs hunting him for sport and the fact that he’s kneeling in an open grave.Still - if Akutagawa was given such an ability, he’d have no shortage of significantly more creative punishments for creatures as loathsome as himself.

Akutagawa goes to Hell. Atsushi follows. Neither return the same. -> Thoughts: This is one that is being updated quite regularly, so I have complete faith it will be saw through to the end (as the author has seen their other longfics to the end, too). This has some of the best BSD characterizations I've ever seen, especially Akutagawa. This fic scratches a very specific itch, since it's literally a Dante's Inferno AU, and where else are you gonna find one? One that's actually well-written, no less? It satisfies my constant hunger for tragic, painful things to happen to my favorite characters without ending poorly. They find comfort in each other. I love that. I love this fic. I can't wait to see how it ends. I like the use of their Dante and Virgil as "OC's", too. I don't mind OC's in most fics, but this is one the first to truly make me like their OC's. The author also puts in a whole lot of research, and they use this cool system of endnotes (that I WILL be stealing for any future long-form projects) to express their research. I just love reading their thoughts, and you can clearly see how much passion there is here.

Tommyinnit's unbeatable method of avoiding sudden death by eneliii -> Dream SMP | 79,922 words | 30 chapters -> Teen and Up | Completed -> Summary: “I uh,” Tommy starts, not knowing how to break this to the hero lightly. He hates to be the bearer of bad news. “I think your powers are broken? It’s not a bad thing of course, but like, I swear you tried to mind control me and it like, totally failed. Which is fine, honestly, don’t feel insecure. Everyone’s power stop working sometimes… I think.”  Sheesh, this is very awkward. Why is no one else talking? Why is Philza looking at him like he grew three heads? Why is the Blade staring at him so intensely? Why is Willow still frozen? “Did I, did I hit a nerve? Yikes,” Tommy hisses, “Well um,” He steps back, bracing his legs and bending his knees, “This was like super fun, but I’m - I’mma head out.” or, in which Tommy manages to annoy the hell out of Phil, Techno and Wilbur by being both impossible to catch and irritatingly endearing. or or, a crack fic where Tommy is a vigilante and Phil, Techno and Wilbur are the heroes hunting him down. -> Thoughts: I read this fic while it was coming out. I was also in therapy, so imagine my surprise and utter devastation when those chapters started coming out (if you know, you know), because I was, indeed, reading it to make myself feel better and not be sad all the time. I haven't read it in a hot minute, so I'm not sure if the humor would match up to mine today of if it would just be really cringe but I remember always finding it very funny. If it had just been funny and random, it may not have made it on here, but the overarching plot makes it a work of art. I won't spoil, because I do think you should read it, but it's a very good plot twist that I didn't see coming because I hadn't read any of the other works. Everything in that fic has a meaning, and everything is beautiful, and everything hurts. The concept itself is something that I think about often, too, even before I'd read it. Great execution.

Spiderwebs and Secrets by fi_niamh -> Genshin Impact | (currently) 89,103 words | (currently) 14 chapters -> Teen and Up | Work in Progress -> Summary:

Albedo, usually one for blunt and quick actions, was struggling to determine how he should continue. On one hand, marking the death as suicide, as it very much appeared to be, would immediately close the case and give the bereaved family some much needed closure. But could Albedo really do that when so many things didn't line up? Sitting back in his chair Albedo let out a deep breath. He scanned down the page reading the provided boxes. ... He was really going to do this wasn't he? Picking up quill with a steady hand, Albedo marked the fourth and final box with a neat cross mark. Death under suspicious circumstances. Albedo stood, waiting for the ink to dry before gently picking the piece of paper up. Albedo had a new assignment. As head of the Knights of Favonius Investigation Unit, Albedo was not going to let the cause of Diluc Ragnvindr's death go unknown.

When Diluc is reported dead as what appears to be a suicide, Jean struggles to keep it together, Kaeya is left in shambles, and Albedo begins to uncover the web of secrets and lies that Diluc left behind. -> Thoughts: While this fic hasn't been updated in a long time (and admittedly I haven't even caught up to the latest chapters, but that's not because the updates were bad, I just have this mental block that occurs with every multi-chaptered fic I read that I always have a really hard time breaking through). Anyway, this fic has the best characterization I have ever seen of any of the title characters: Kaeya, Diluc, Albedo, and Jean. It hurts so bad and so good, and I love me a well-written investigation fic that keeps me on my toes. So, so good. Did I mention that this hurts? Because it hurts. Hurts like a knife digging into your stomach and being twisted, but you keep pushing it in because the pain is addicting.

Butterflies and Storms by Chalily -> Bungou Stray Dogs | 36,524 words | 14 chapters -> Teen and Up | Completed -> Summary: “That girl in the back! She’s getting away!” Chuuya whipped around to see that his men were right — one of their assailants was an ability user, and she was using her power to escape. Shit. Mori had been painfully clear when he’d assigned this mission. He expected no survivors. Chuuya dropped his ability’s hold on the six or seven people around him, then kicked off of a nearby wall to propel himself at the girl. She was slowly dissipating into light, vanishing upwards into the ceiling, but before the edge of her coat could vanish Chuuya shot by like a dark bullet, reached out, and just barely grabbed it. // Chuuya gets transported to the past! Watch him struggle to figure out what the hell’s happening, then enlist the help of a young Oda to get back. But with the past altered, will he return to the same future he left behind? -> Thoughts: This fic has the perfect blend of good plot, characterization, and humor. Mainly the humor part, because it's always so effortless and it astounds me how easily they were able to write it. It's so natural, and I only wish I was half as funny as they are. This fic also reminds a lot of BEAST, and I am under the personal opinion that BEAST is better than the actual manga. Because it is and I'm correct. The OC they used for this and her ability is actually a book I'd read before, so that was also an added bonus for me. Very, very enjoyable fic and criminally underrated.

Honorable Mention: I KNOW you said only 10, but I have to mention this one fic that I can't for the love of me find, but I think about nearly every time I'm writing. It's a Dream SMP one-shot. If I remember correctly, it was somewhere between 1-3k words, and it was an absolutely masterpiece. I would've booted one of the fics I have listed to fit this one, but alas, I cannot find the fic. It's about the SBI, but all of the brothers get drafted to World War I or II, I can't remember, leaving Phil alone in their shared house. It's so. Good. Whenever I write, I try to emulate the emotion that author put into their fic, the way they were able to convey the lived-in, homely feel of the family as each one of them were ripped away, as they died. They described things in such a simplistic manner, and instead of focusing on faces or words, they talked about how the knob to the cabinet door was broken, the scratch marks on the table, the squeaky tiles on the floor. Amazing. I wish I could find it again.

Again, thank you so much for asking me!!!

#anon ask #fanfictions #favorite fanfics #fanfic #fanfics #haikyuu #bungou stray dogs #roadtripwithlucifer i know youre there #identity v #dream smp #genshin impact #harry potter #running on air #answered asks #ao3 #ao3 fanfics #ao3 fanfic

[fantasythetrashywriter]

i wanna do all the asks TwT

If i had to narrow down tho 1 8 10 26 and 31 i guess??

KEK AHAHAHAHAHA THAT’S GOOD!!! I’ll do all, cause I want to LOL

Hmmm…comfort character… I guess Mami, I relate to her the most I think. I mean, I hate being alone too…and she loved her parents so much and I love mine a lot too! And honestly, I’d hate myself a lot if I had the opportunity to save a loved one’s life but didn’t use it. I think I relate to Mami the most, and she’s also really sweet. 

Lighter. 

Uhhh no, I don’t! Don’t want anything to come in…

Ummm…the yeti I think? 

Dark brown, almost black! Nothing special about my eyes, honestly…

D-Do what? What did I do?

Scrunchies! I like scrunchies better, though hair-ties are also nice! 

I think like, six? 

Neither. I don’t like coffee, they taste bitter and weird, blech! Also my parents say I’m too young to drink it and I agree. 

Ehhhh…no? I don’t want to kill anyone? Slaughter is an especially bad word…

Writing and singing! I’m not too good at writing though I think I’m okay, and as for singing…not sure how good I am at it hehe… I really like both though!! And I would like to improve on both, especially on writing. 

A good day today! Not sure what that means though…

I think like, 2 hours ago? 

Yeah, I do! It smells like rain hehe… also it rains a lot in my hometown, so that scent smells like home! Too bad it doesn’t rain much here…

Pffffttt, no! I’m way too young to have children! 

No, I’m too young! 😅 I would like to know how to drive though, but my concern is destroying my car… 

Umm…neither!

I use Dove shampoo, presently! 

If you want! But yeah, I would! Painting nails sounds fun hehe…

Soda? Pop sounds nice too! 

I guess my stuff toy, Tundra! There’s also this necklace I have. Also my stuff toy dog, Lucy, she’s been there since before I was born. Oh and a snow globe! 

I’m that shy, energetic girl who likes to make friends and avoid conflict. Personality type is ENFP, if anyone’s wondering…

I like it! When it’s too cold though that may not be fun. I got a little sick last time. But generally I like chilly weather! Especially after a rain. 

Whatever you want to be doing! Though for me it would be watching the city below (my rooftop’s high up) or just staring at the sky! Or maybe chatting if that’s fine with you! 

I do use a lotion, but I forgot its name… -_-

Rebellion’s boat scene. God I loved that scene. I’m fairly certain I replayed MANY scenes from both that movie and the series.

I think 10 hours? 

Yeah, I do! Until COVID is officially over heh. It’s for protection! 

Depends on the weather, honestly! If it’s hot then I want cold or cool water, if it’s cold then I want hot water! 

Nope!

Hmmm…I guess songs by LANY. They have great music! 

Ehehehe, nope! I don’t mind my towels LOL

Last adventure? I guess the last time I went to Bahrain. I’m traveling now though, so does this one count? 

Better When I’m Dancin by Meghan Trainor. I think I memorized a few other songs too but I forgot which ones… -_-

Arabian Standard Time.

None, so far! I just joined November 2023. 

Umm…no. I must’ve known that person since I was a toddler LOL But seriously, no. I don’t have a longtime friend aside from my family members… (yeah, no real life friends who aren’t my family)

Yeah, Likas papaya! It smells nice! 

I used to, but now no. I don’t use makeup much! (Only on very special occasions and I don’t like it much)

Yup! I had banana. 

Ick, again, I don’t like coffee at all. It’s blech. 

Safari for many of my stuff, Google Classroom for my online classes, and Reddit when I’m chatting with two of my online friends! 

It’s okay. I like spicy Cheetos and some kimchi sauce. Not too much though, I don’t think I can tolerate spicy stuff too much

No one! I don’t want to kill anyone! Wait does fictional characters count? If so then I would kill that OC from the second chapter of the fanfic, “Tiho Mi Pazi”. Fremde, my GOD, why’d you make such a terrible character (it was on purpose, I know but I HATE her)? No worries, many people want to kill her too…

Yup.

I think The Christmas Chronicles! That was a fun one. Or Jingle Jangle, I loved that one too! Or Klaus. I loved those all!! 

Me telling my online friend that my classes would resume on April 1 with a side message from me wondering if Toby Fox would pull a joke on us again. 

I have never tried or drank alcohol, I’m WAY too young. 

Never tried but NOPE. I’m fairly certain I’d suck at it. 

Of course!! That would be so delightful! And I don’t mind, I’d encourage it even! 

This was a lot, but I enjoyed answering everything!!! Thanks so much for the ask!! Again, you can ask anything you’re curious about…

Thank you so much for the ask again!!!

#ASKS!!💌 #Fantasy talks #This was so fun to answer thank you so much

[the-melancholy-heart]

Writeblr Intro

Hello! My name is the_melancholy_heart (she/her) and you can find me on Wattpad under the same name if you want to read my Devils Of Beladair series (which was done on accident actually and I’ve just realised I used the same name twice on different platforms whilst making this… I’ll confess that it was convenient though) and under Anne_writes19 if you want to read my Silver Hills series.

I love to write fantasy books and have a big high fantasy series planned for the future, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that because all I actually end up writing is Wattpad books for fun.

Right now the only books available online are the first two books of the Silver Hills series on Wattpad, and a few unfinished fanfictions on ao3 under the_melancholy_heart. I have begun publishing weekly instalments of ‘Devil & Dove’, the first book in my Devils of Beladair duology on wattpad (now on hold).

I’ve been very inspired by other writers on tumblr to blog my own writing experiences, something very beneficial for my happiness as I like having a pretty blog but very bad for my writing productivity.

My Books:

Silver Hills

Persephone Smith discovers there is a secret supernatural world hidden in her hometown of Silver Hills, and even finds an ancient bond between herself and the powerful alpha of the wolf pack, Jax. As she struggles to realise her place in the new world she’s entered, her friends and family must fight to protect her against an ancient evil which wishes to use her to for his dark designs.

Devil & Dove

Young writer, Katherine ‘Kit’ West knows that Beladair is teeming with danger but when her job draws her towards the beautiful and ancient city she finds herself wrapped up in its dark secrets. As she uncovers the truth behind her own job- to ghostwrite for the dead author of the famous Silver Montague books- Kit also discovers a threat to the democracy of Beladair, and finds herself getting close to the most dangerous man in the city: the leader of the Beautiful Devils.

#writebrl #writing community #Books #literature #wip stuff #Wattpad #ao3 #my ao3 stuff is hardly worth mentioning #an unfinished potot fanfic and then an anti-Rhysand ACOTAR fanfic that also only has one chapter #writer intro #blog intro #writing #author #writers of tumblr #women writers

[umichenginabroad]

Taking on Tasmania (Week 8)

For those of you who, like myself, have questioned whether Tasmania is a real place or not, I can officially confirm that it is! The island-state south of mainland Australia was once the destination for 80,000 convicts and was referred to as Van Diemen’s Land before its name was changed to Tasmania and the island became its own Australian state in 1901. Now, Tasmania is the smallest state of Australia by both size and population, with just about 570,000 residents out of Australia’s 26 Million. For just about 4 days, five of my hostel-mates and I rented a car and made it our mission to see as much of the island as possible. After landing in Launceston, Tasmania’s second largest city, we picked up our car rental and went into the small downtown area where we grabbed breakfast and then headed straight for the library. The library? Yep, the realities of traveling during the second week of school are that online exams are already being assigned… for me. While I spent that Thursday studying and taking my 2.5hr exam for fluid mechanics in a Tasmanian library, my friends were out exploring Ben Lomond National Park. As soon as 5pm struck and my exam was submitted, I was picked up and we headed to our Airbnb near Cradle Mountain, about 2 hours away. This was the view I woke up to the next morning:

Friday was spent hiking near Cradle mountain at the renowned Dove Lake trail and Enchanted Walk. Despite the rain and noticeably colder temperatures compared to Sydney, we were blown away by the beauty of the diverse landscapes at the surrounding national park. We were also saddened to learn that Tasmanian Devils and Wombats are nocturnal and would not be joining us for our hikes like their poops did every few steps.

^^Dove Lake pictured above with unfortunately low visibility.

^^ The Enchanted walk with a truly magical Flora.

The drive to Hobart, Tasmania’s largest and capital city, was just as memorable. From rolling hills with a seemingly infinite number of cows and sheep, to mountains peaking at the horizon, Tasmania was everything I had expected Australia to be. 

Hobart was just as wonderful having access to the coast and mountains all together. We spent our Saturday wandering around the Salamanca Markets which displayed incredible Tasmanian woodwork, refreshing our knowledge of contemporary art at the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art), driving up Mount Wellington to see the city from above, and cooking our own Tasmanian steak dinner at our AirBnB. 

^^ Me at the top of Mount Wellington in a jacket I had just purchased from the Markets!

^^ The group after devouring two steaks, salads, and a mound of sweet potatoes while enjoying the sunset over the water and mountains.

On our last day, we booked it back to Launceston where we had to return the car by noon and three of my friends had to fly back home, leaving the rest of us in the city for the day which gave us the chance to see Cataract Gorge, a forested river reserve surrounding a remarkable gorge. 

^^ Cataract Gorge!

^^ A particularly photogenic peahen at Cataract Gorge.

David Bayer

Biomedical Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

#umichenginabroad #ipewinter24 #ipeunsw #australia #davidbayer

[xianjaneway]

The Loss of Rev. Bubba Copeland, Part 2

(Content note: we're going to address topics like suicide, child sex abuse, graphic descriptions of sex & abuse in fiction, fundamentalist & conservative hatred towards LGBTQIA people, & the Southern Baptist Convention's cover-up of child sexual assault within its leadership. This is a cry for justice, & it's not going to be pretty. If any of this is unhealthy for you to read about, please use the back button to save your sanity.)

Conservative Christianity showed its face today, & it is dirty.

The response of the church to the passing of Rev. Copeland has been outrageous, confusing, and filled with both misinformation & bigotry.

I need the queer, trans, fanfic, dead dove, & any other affected community to see what's happening here:

They're saying his works of fiction are indications that he's a danger to the community.

They're saying that, because he wrote about a murder, using the name of a real woman, he must have secretly wanted to murder her.

I don't know how to explain to non-writers, "Fiction isn't reality. Copeland wasn't going to murder that woman, just like I'm NEVER going to be an military intelligence analyst in witness protection."

I wonder if they think reality TV is real.

Even worse, they're attacking those of us who brought stories of systemic child sexual abuse into the light, saying, "BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS GUY?? HOW CAN YOU DEFEND HIM?"

My friend @CoffeeYall said it best: "We will never ever deal with church abuse, when we view a queer adult man as having the same amount of evil, as a pastor who grooms and rapes underage girls."

The church fundamentally does not understand the difference between "sin," or violating their commandments, & "abuse," the act of harming another person, taking a person's agency away, controlling them, violating them, & destroying them. They view sin as a type of abuse against God, the church, & society, & seek to banish it.

They don't understand consent, which is why the fact that Rev. Copeland's wife had full knowledge & consent of their online life doesn't matter to them. When we became Evangelical, we were supposed to give ALL of our will & ambition & sense of self over to God.

They don't understand that people have a right to exist without their approval. They literally see themselves as a type of authority that should be on equal footing with the government.

Here's the laziest example of this type of thinking. It's an excerpt from James Dobson's book, "Marriage Under Fire," page one:

Does Dobson justify this claim in any way? Of course not. That would take work! Evangelicals like him just accept that their views should be taken as default. They don't understand that protecting the rights of people who disagree with them eventually protects their own rights as well.

You might ask, "Why then would Rev. Copeland stay in such an environment? He was only harming himself?"

Sadly, Rev. Copeland was 49 years old when he died. I turn 44 in a couple of weeks. I can tell you, as someone just five years younger than him, who also grew up in a rural community, that we didn't grow up with the internet, or strong technology literacy, or any diversity of media.

The only difference is, I was taken away when I was 16, & was exposed to a new world of ideas. If I'd stayed?

The most radical or diverse ideas I'd have seen would be at the solitary Catholic church in a 30 mile radius. Maybe I'd have been a crazy Apostolic or Methodist Lady Pastor!

People who discover truths about themselves late in life often face a very difficult choice:

Hide who you are for just a FEW more years, until you can comfortably retire.

Don't hide who you are, & lose everything you've spent the last 20-30 years building. Your community, your financial security, your dignity, & your life.

I know a pastor who successfully navigated 3 short years before retirement. I could tell when the topics & language of his sermons changed, that he was struggling. He's now living happily, about 2500 miles away.

I wish Rev. Copeland had been given that same chance.

#church abuse #bubba copeland #fanfic writing #dead dove do not eat #dead dove fic #transgender #churchtoo #church too #conservatives #christofascists #christofacism

[a-tejero]

Personal Narrative:

"Repeatedly Endless"

I always experience being hurt whenever I choose to love, its like an evaporation process in atmosphere that cannot compete with a dove. A roller coaster in a parallel drive, can go deeper when you start it to dive. It all started when I first fell in love, within a week the love I had did not last enough. After that break up, I just locked myself in the room; listening to the quiet noise, noise that comes from tears resulting in creation of a lot moist. Three people who opened me up to the world of love, three people also made me feel pain in return.

First, let's just hide it under the name Tyler. "You will be my world, better than enough to hold" he said, bitter sweet words coming from a lying in broads. We were like that for a week, fooling around and saying words we could not stand. I admit, I was happy during the times I was with him; who does not? It was my first time, to love. But after the happy days, the rain also came on those occasions; giving me a cold vibes, due to leaving me alone in the tides. Yes, he left me. It's ok, it doesn't hurt... just a little.

Second, my sweetheart during secondary or junior high school days, although its not harsh enough to cause a lot of pain but, its brutal enough to put me in a couple of chain. More or less two years in the making of the relationship we have, when suddenly there's a boy named Jonathan came in his life. The boy who fulfills all of the things that I can't give to him. I was like a dehydrated lettuce when I found out that he cheated on me, my surroundings were spinning like I was inside a washing machine. I waited at that time for him to break up with me, because I couldn't let him go. I was afraid that if I let him go, nothing would really happen, which actually happened.

Lastly, is the unexplainable one, because we don't have a clear label on the relationship between us. But he always made me feel like he owned me, the same way I owned him. We'll hide him in the name of Lucas, that I commonly remember as my "Internet Hubby". We met through online dating, particularly on a facebook group. He first took a move by sending a message request, then so on the others are history. Based on what I remember, we chatted for a month or two long; during the first months of the pandemic. Then suddenly he ghosted me and did not reply back, he is the latest and last person I flirted with.

All my experiences are meaningful even though they are painful. The series of break outs that started from that one man ended to the unclear one, has already final. Now, I choose to live for myself. Letting myself heal, regenerate and repeal; by choosing to be single without anything needed to be healed.

[clevertravelerprincess]

Very best Birkenstock styles to use

Arizona online Birkenstock sale EVA

For a more affordable option, we suggest grabbing this version of the Arizona sandals, which are made from a vinyl material. Modeled on the original, the brand says that they feature the anatomically shaped footbed, but they're also waterproof and lightweight, thanks to the EVA.

Editorial director Adrianna Brach claims she would wear these shoes everywhere. "I literally put on all of these summertime very long — whether I'm running around with my little girl, or at your workplace or TODAY business."

Arizona Birko-Flor

The Arizona style is arguably one of the most well-liked and vintage designs of Birkenstocks. The simple sandals function two changeable straps, which, in this case, are made from the brand's proprietary Birko-Flor substance, which was created to be both long lasting and easy to clean up.

Boston Soft Footbed Suede Leather

The biggest style of the second, Birkenstock's Boston clogs have a good amount of people's slip wishlists today (which includes ours.)

One particular TikTok consumer shown them among the shoes that "you NEED for slip" and the other said they were "so worth the cost." Actually, they're so popular at the moment that choose styles are almost completely sold out at numerous retailers – so you're gonna want to get them now to include in your in season rotation ASAP.

Mayari Birko-Flor

Using its crisscrossed straps and a number of color choices (including a trendy metallic gold variation), we believe that this pair of Birkenstocks would be an easy task to attire up or

straight down for virtually any occasion. "Received these for your arch assistance experiencing recently been cursed with plantar fasciitis but quickly declined for each other for your sheer comfort and calm style of them," one particular Nordstrom consumer published. "Pleased feet! Wasn't sure Birkenstock's had been to me but they are, I like them. Don't wait."

The Madrid was the sandal that started out everything! And it's still one of many brand's best-selling models every one of these years later on. This set comes with an accentuated buckle for any elegant effect, and will come in a number of leather color options.

Arizona Soft Footbed Oiled Leather

Another iteration of your Arizona sandals, these shoes function the brand's soft footbed, which include a foam insert for comfort. They also have suede leather straps, that the company says are "soft to touch."

Gizeh Birkibuc

1 Amazon purchaser claimed that these sandals from the manufacturer are "worth every penny." They added that they're "awesome secure [and supply] wonderful arch help" to relieve foot discomfort. The upper in the strap is manufactured out of Birko-Flor materials by using a nubuck appearance, and so the company affirms could possibly almost be wrongly recognized for true leather.

What exactly are Birkenstocks?

Based on the firm internet site, Birkenstock's very humble beginnings particular date all the way straight back to 1774 in Germany, exactly where Johann Adam Birkenstock was a cobbler. It's clear the profession carried on together with the name, due to the fact later in 1896, grasp cobbler Konrad Birkenstock started production and selling versatile footbed insoles.

In reality, the household started to be experts on footwear. Inside the 1940s, Carl Birkenstock unveiled his reserve, "Podiatry – The Carl Birkenstock Program," which dove into his ideas about "natural gait" and healthier footwear and, based on the brand name, it was actually the very best-offering podiatry textbook at the time. Then, in 1963, the company's first sandal, the single-strap Madrid, was introduced.

So, while the shoes might be very trendy right now, the Birkenstock title continues to be related to good quality footwear for years and years. "They've been pioneering the arch help game and bringing about podiatry for the really long time," Sayed said.

#online Birkenstock sale

[cassiale]

Greatest Birkenstock styles to use

Arizona online Birkenstock sale EVA

For a more affordable option, we suggest grabbing this version of the Arizona sandals, which are made from a vinyl material. Modeled on the original, the brand says that they feature the anatomically shaped footbed, but they're also waterproof and lightweight, thanks to the EVA.

Editorial director Adrianna Brach affirms she dons these shoes all over the place. "I literally use these all summer season lengthy — whether I'm walking around with my little girl, or at the office or TODAY studio."

Arizona Birko-Flor

The Arizona style is arguably one of the more preferred and vintage models of Birkenstocks. The easy sandals attribute two variable straps, which, in this case, are manufactured from the brand's exclusive Birko-Flor substance, which is designed to be both durable and straightforward to clean up.

Boston Soft Footbed Suede Leather

The largest style of your moment, Birkenstock's Boston clogs are saved to lots of people's tumble wishlists at this time (which include ours.)

A single TikTok end user shown them among the shoes that "you require for slip" and the other stated they were "so worthwhile." In reality, they're so popular today that decide on dimensions are almost completely sold out at numerous stores – so you're planning to would like to get them now to include in your periodic rotation ASAP.

Mayari Birko-Flor

Having its crisscrossed straps and a number of colour alternatives (including a chic metal metallic version), we suppose that this couple of Birkenstocks can be simple to gown up or

down for just about any occasion. "Acquired these for the arch assistance experiencing been recently cursed with this condition but quickly declined for each other to the absolute comfort and calm style of them," one Nordstrom buyer published. "Pleased feet! Wasn't confident Birkenstock's were actually in my opinion however are, I adore them. Don't wait."

The Madrid was the sandal that started all this! And it's still one of several brand's best-selling types each one of these several years later. This match has an accentuated buckle for the fashionable contact, and can be purchased in several leather shade alternatives.

Arizona Soft Footbed Oiled Leather

Another iteration of the Arizona sandals, these shoes function the brand's soft footbed, which include a foam insert for comfort. They also have suede leather straps, which the company states are "soft to touch."

Gizeh Birkibuc

A single Amazon buyer stated that these sandals from your company are "worth every penny." They added that they're "very cozy [and give] wonderful arch assist" to relieve foot discomfort. The upper of the strap is made of Birko-Flor substance using a nubuck appearance, hence the company says that it could almost be wrongly diagnosed for true leather.

What exactly are Birkenstocks?

In accordance with the organization website, Birkenstock's simple beginnings time completely back to 1774 in Germany, exactly where Johann Adam Birkenstock was a cobbler. It's clear that this profession maintained with all the name, because later in 1896, master cobbler Konrad Birkenstock began developing and promoting flexible footbed insoles.

Actually, the family unit started to be industry experts on footwear. Inside the 1940s, Carl Birkenstock introduced his reserve, "Podiatry – The Carl Birkenstock Process," which dove into his hypotheses about "natural gait" and healthful footwear and, according to the brand, it was the highest-promoting podiatry textbook back then. Then, in 1963, the company's first sandal, the one-strap Madrid, was launched.

So, whilst the shoes may be extremely stylish today, the Birkenstock brand has become associated with good quality footwear for hundreds of years. "They've been groundbreaking the arch support video game and adding to podiatry for any really number of years," Sayed mentioned.

#online Birkenstock sale

[ghost-bird]

a commission of a BNHA oc i did on fiverr. tbh never expected anyone to comm me thru that app i thot that account would just rot there lmaooo

#bnha #bnha oc #scalie #fiverr #commission #im never sure how to sig my stuff #bc doctorbird is the username i relate to most #but its not my art account name #and its also not my online name which is dove #bc username =/= name yaknow #but i prefer signing w dove just bc its easier to write bc its shorter #this is also the one and only account where i use ghost-bird?? #hmhbngmbhhm

[keilemlucent]

boneless wings

(T!)

word count: ~1.6k

You’re feeling shitty and Keigo is more than willing to help you out. 

just a short little thing. just tooth rotting fluff, soft keigo, very sweet, nice. nesting fic with avian hawks. enjoy a soft, feel good piece. 

enjoy a feel good piece y’all ;^)

||||||||||||||||||||

Sometimes, you just have shitty days. It’s just a fact of living and breathing, somedays just fucking suck and it’s just how it is. You knew this. You were well aware. 

And, you were having one.

The weird, gluey feeling in your chest didn’t go away, no matter what you did. You tried the kitschy self-care that those online magazines recommended. Yoga, face masks, drinking fucking water—

None of it worked, so you gave up, opting to nest in your living room. You padded it with pillows, blankets, and a few plushies. You didn’t much feel like eating, mouth dry despite the extra water you had chugged in desperation.

You resigned yourself to riding out your nastiness, ambiently watching TV with half-lidded eyes. The constant pattering of drizzling rain relaxed you, but the gray sky it brought with it was hardly welcome. 

Your phone rang in the early evening, pulling you from your stupor.

You answered without checking the caller ID, “Hello?”

“Angel!” Keigo’s voice was like sunshine through the phone. “Have you eaten? I found a great street vendor that I want to take you to. You down?”

You sighed into the receiving, nestling in your blankets. You weren’t up for much moving.

“I’m sorry, Kei’,” You hated how weak your voice sounded. “I’m not feeling so hot. I think I’m staying in for the day.”

You could hear his frown through the phone, “Aww, babe! Why didn’t you tell me? I’ll bring you some soup! Maybe dumplings, if you’re feeling that.”

“No, love, it’s not that kind of sick,” You rubbed at your eyes. 

Keigo had made it very clear early in your relationship that for all of the hoops and secrecy you had to jump through for him, he wanted to be more than there for you. He was insanely nice and supportive if you let him.

Especially on your shitty days, you struggled to tell him how rotten you were feeling. 

“Dove,” His voice was so sweet from the phone, worming its way through your depressive haze. “You want me to come over? Snuggle you a little, order in some food you like? You know I’m here for you, (Y/N).”

You swallowed, rubbing at the wetness around your waterline, “I don’t wanna trouble you, ‘Kei, you know that.”

“Now I gotta come over, Dove. You’re never trouble. Guess I gotta show you.”

“Keigo—”

He hung up before you could argue.

Though, you did receive a text shortly after.

 [heart eyes chicken wing]: i’ll be over in 30, okay? 

[heart eyes chicken wing]: i’m gonna kiss u so much

[heart eyes chicken wing]: you want me to stay over? i’m the big spoon 4 u ALL NIGHT!!

[heart eyes chicken wing]: i love u so much dove!!!

 You swallowed, rubbing at your tears. Sure, Keigo was a bit overbearing. He was actually pretty new to the whole ‘dating’ thing, but he really tried. And on your shitty days, it did feel better to have someone close.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Keigo arrived a half an hour later, knocking on your balcony door.

You hauled yourself from your nest, quickly dodging to the bathroom to grab him a towel for his wings. 

Padding to the door, you unlocked and slid it open, stepping aside for Keigo and only looking at the ground. You handed the towel to which he thanked you promptly. There was a bag in his hand that was dropped to the ground, a bit damp from the mist outside. 

Standing next to him, you felt a little pathetic, to say the least. Standing in front of him in nothing but sweats and an oversized sweater, eyes scratchy with old tears, and a mess of unattended hair. 

“Oh, baby,” Keigo’s voice was so empathetically sad, it made your own chest ache. 

You finally looked up, just as Keigo cupped your face, leaning down the slightest bit to pepper your face with kisses. 

“H-hey, stop that,” You stuttered, unable to stop the fluttery feeling cracking in your chest, a little ray of warmth through the rot. “You’re too nice.”

“Nope,” Keigo dropped a kiss on the tip of your nose, pulling him into you by your waist to hug you as tightly as he could. “I’m not nice enough. You deserve the world, you know.”

“So you tell me,” You mumble against his chest, locking your arms around his neck and settling against his neck for a moment.

Keigo let you rest against him, a birdlike cooing vibrating cutely from the back of his throat as he rubbed your lower back with his thumbs.

“Thanks for coming by, Kei’. I love you,” It was in a small voice, but it was something. 

“I love you too.” Keigo nuzzled into the side of your head, pressing a wet kiss to your temple. “And, of course. Anytime. Also, I brought you a little treat.”

You pulled away a little, just to eye the bag he’d dropped when he’d arrived, “Dinner?”

“Hmmm, no, but we’ll get that too,” Keigo left the embrace, but slipped your palms together. “I thought it might be nice for your bad days. It’s kind of heavy, though.”

You cocked your head to the side as he passed you the bag, topped with pastel tissue paper. Pulling it away, your eyebrows rose. 

Inside, was a blanket, heavy in the bag.

“It’s a weighted blanket! Rumi was talking about how helpful they are for Fuyumi when she gets anxious, and I figured it might help you too,” Keigo beamed at you as you looked in the bag.

You were very fragile that day, and small kindnesses hit a little harder than you wanted to admit.

Your arms wrapped around his neck again, blanket dropped to the ground as you hid your damp face in Keigo’s neck.

“Thank you,” You pressed into his neck as he rubbed at your sides. “A lot.”

He squeezed you, smothering your messy hair with kiss after kiss, “Of course, dove. Anything to help you out. Now, dinner? Anything. You name it.”

...

Keigo ordered in your favorite comfort food, more than happy to make the phone call to the place for delivery. 

The moment he hung up, he was eyeing your ‘nest’ on the floor.

“Uh, babe, what’s all that?” He jerked his head towards the mass on the floor.

The embarrassment in your gut stung, “It’s... I guess a nest... It’s kind of dumb, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, silly,” Keigo was on you in an instant, kissing your forehead and dragging you into him. “Don’t apologize. One, it looks comfy as hell. Two, I’m bird adjacent, and the idea of you making a nest that I can now snuggle with you in makes me like, cuddle horny.”

You snorted a laugh out, the filthy feeling your gut dulling, “Nesting turns you on?”

“Like, in a cute way,” Keigo smiled down with his honeyed eyes. He dragged you over to the nest, falling into the piles of blankets and pillows. “Like, I want to wrap you up in my wings and kiss you until you fall asleep, kind of horny.”

“Ohhh, I see,” You smirk down as he cutely adjusted the softness around his feathers, a cluster of the downy ones from the base of his wings falling around the nest. “What are those doing?”

“Gotta claim it, bird stuff,” He huffed while papping his hands on a pillow. “Get down here, dove. This nest isn’t complete without you in it, you know.”

It was a little silly, Keigo’s avian doings, but it was also very endearing to see him like this. Both he and you were being particularly vulnerable, and though you felt pretty raw, it also felt nice. Very nice.

“Oh, wait!” Keigo piped up as you fell to your knees on a soft comforter.

One of his feathers shot off, then three more, bringing the new, weighted blanket over to you and Keigo’s nest. It fell into your lap.

You carefully unfurled it as Keigo idly told you about his day, knowing all too well how it was harder for you to talk when you weren’t feeling well. You appreciated the gesture, a bit of tension rolling from your shoulders as you fully unwrapped the blanket.

As you did, Keigo plopped into the perfect nest he made, wings perfectly poised behind him.

You followed his movement, scooted closer to him. Keigo wasted no time urging your back to his chest, wrapping you the two of you up in one of his wings. The warm scent of the oil he rubbed on them instantly lulled you, eye going half-lidded. Keigo giggled, watching your sleepy reaction. He knew how to get you boneless without a single touch (in more ways than one). 

He stretched for the new blanket, pulling it over the two of you, sighing at its weight, “Oh, I get it now.” 

The blanket weighed down on your body, thoroughly pleasantly. The pressure lulled you even more, Keigo’s heat and steady breath only adding to your increasingly lax state.

“Like it, dove?” Keigo asked, lightly laughing as he swept a bit hair from your face. He adjusted a pillow under your head, the arm thrown over your waist drifting chastely to under your sweater to rub circles on your hips.

“Mhm, it’s really nice,” You let your eyes shut. “I’m getting a little sleepy already.”

Keigo hummed, kissing the crown of your head, a happy chirp echoing his chest, “Good, I’m glad. Very glad. You rest if you need to, angel.”

You felt your eyes well with tears at his unabashed kindness. It was so earnest with him sometimes, it was overwhelming.

Turning, you pressed your front to him, nestling yourself against his neck, softening as light coos rolled from Keigo’s throat, just up against your ear.

You fell into a light, but calm sleep, happily. Keigo with his avian quirks, worn hands, and sweetest nothings, helped bear the burden of your bad day, happy to fall with you into your new nest.

(Keigo would have to convince you to make a permanent one, but with how easily you unwound and settled in this one, he didn’t think it would take much.)

|||||||||||||||

taglist: @sinclairsamess

#salem writes #drabble #ish?? #u know i have the ll chapter to edit and its almost 4 am but enjoy some fluff #hawks x reader #hawks x y/n #takami keigo x reader #takami keigo x y/n #mha x reader #hawks fluff #takami keigo fluff #takami x reader #hawks x you

[yamayuandadu]

The Two (or more) Ishtars or A Certain Scandalous Easter Claim Proved to be The Worship of Reverend Alexander Hislop

Once upon a time the official facebook page of Richard Dawkins' foundation posted a graphic according to which the holiday of Easter is just a rebranded celebration of the Mesopotamian mythology superstar Ishtar, arguing that the evidence is contained in its very name. As everyone knows, Dawkins is an online talking head notable for discussing his non-belief in such an euphoric way that it might turn off even the most staunch secularists and for appearing in some reasonably funny memes about half a decade ago. Bizarrely enough, however, the same claim can be often found among the crowds dedicated to crystal healing, Robert Graves' mythology fanfiction, indigo children and similar dubiously esoteric content. What's yet more surprising is that once in a while it shows up among a certain subset of fundamentalist Christians, chiefly the types who believe giants are real (and, of course, satanic), the world  is ruled by a secret group of Moloch worshipers and fossils were planted by the devil to led the sheeple astray from the truth about earth being 6000 years old, tops. Of course, to anyone even just vaguely familiar with Christianity whose primary language isn't English this claim rightfully seems completely baffling – after all it's evident in most languages that the name of the holiday celebrating Jesus' resurrection, and many associated customs, are derived from the earlier Jewish Pascha (Passover) which has nothing to do with Ishtar other than having its origin in the Middle East. Why would the purported association only be evident  in English and not in Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Spanish, virtually any language other than English and its close relatives – languages which generally didn't have anything to do with Mesopotamia or early christianity? Read on to find out what sort of sources let this eclectic selection of characters arrive to the same baffling conclusion, why are they hilariously wrong, and – most importantly – where you can actually find a variety of Ishtars (or at least reasonably Ishtar-like figures) under different names instead.

The story of baffling Easter claims begins in Scotland in the 19th century. A core activity of theologians in many faiths through history was (and sometimes still is) finding alleged proof of purported “idolatry” or other “impure” practices among ideological opponents, even these from within the same religion – and a certain Presbyterian minister, Alexander Hislop, was no stranger to this traditional pastime. Like many Protestants in this period, he had an axe to grind with the catholic church  - though not for the reasons many people are not particularly fond of this institution nowadays. What Hislop wanted to prove was much more esoteric – he believed that it's the Babylon known from the Book of Revelations. Complete with the beast with seven heads, blasphemous names and other such paraphernalia, of course. This wasn't a new claim – catholicism was equated with the New Testament Babylon for as long as Protestantism was a thing (and earlier catholicism itself regarded other religions as representing it). What set Hislop apart from dozens of other similar attempts like that was that he fancied himself a scholar of history and relied on the brand new accounts of excavations in what was once the core sphere of influence of the Assyrian empire (present day Iraq and Syria), supplemented by various Greek and Roman classics – though also by his own ideas, generally varying from baseless to completely unhinged. Hislop compiled his claims in the book The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife. You can find it on archive.org if you want to torment yourself and read the entire thing – please do not give clicks directly to any fundie sites hosting it though. How does the history of Easter and Ishtar look like according to Hislop? Everything started with Semiramis, who according to his vision was a historical figure and a contemporary of Noah's sons, here also entirely historical. Semiramis is either entirely fictional or a distorted Greek and Roman account of the 9th century BC Assyrian queen Shammuramat, who ruled as a regent for a few years after the death of her husband Shamshi Adad V – an interesting piece of historical trivia, but arguably not really a historical milestone, and by the standards of Mesopotamian history she's hardly a truly ancient figure. Hislop didn't even rely on the primary sources dealing with the legend of Semiramis though, but with their medieval christian interpretations, which cast her in the role of an adulterer first and foremost due to association of ancient Mesopotamia with any and all vices.

Hislop claims that Semiramis was both the Whore of Babylon from the Book of Revelations and the first idolater, instituting worship of herself as a goddess. This goddess, he argues, was Astarte (a combination of two flimsy claims – Roman claim that Semiramis' name means “dove” and now generally distrusted assumption that Phoenician Astarte had the same symbols as Greek Aphrodite) and thus Ishtar, but he also denotes her as a mother goddess – which goes against everything modern research has to say about Ishtar, of course. However, shoddy scholarship relying on few sources was the norm at the time, and Hislop on top of that was driven by religious zeal. In further passages, he identified this “universal mother” with Phrygian Cybele, Greek Rhea and Athena, Egyptian Isis, Taoist Xi Wangmu (sic) and many more, pretty much at random, arguing all of them were aspects of nefarious Semiramis cult which infected all corners of the globe. He believed that she was venerated alongside a son-consort, derived from Semiramis' even more fictional husband Ninus (a mythical founder of Assyria according to Greek authors, absent from any Mesopotamian sources; his name was derived from Nineveh, not from any word for son like Hislop claims), who he identifies with biblical Nimrod (likewise not a historical figure, probably a distorted reflection of the god Ninurta). Note the similarity with certain ideas perpetrated by Frazer's Golden Bough and his later fans like Jung, Graves and many neopagan authors – pseudohistory, regardless of ideological background, has a very small canon of genuinely original claims. Ishtar was finally introduced to Britain by “druids” (note once again the similarity to the baffling integration of random Greek, Egyptian or Mesopotamian deities into Graves-derived systems of fraudulent trivia about “universal mother goddesses” often using an inaccurate version of Celtic myths as framework). This eventually lead to the creation of the holiday of Easter. Pascha doesn't come up in the book at all, as far as I can tell. All of this is basically just buildup for the book's core shocking reveal: catholic veneration of Mary and depictions of Mary with infant Jesus in particular are actually the worship of Semiramis and her son-consort Ninus, and only the truly faithful can reveal this evil purpose of religious art. At least so claims Hislop. This bizarre idea is laughable, but it remains disturbingly persistent – do you remember the Chick Tracts memes from a few years ago, for example? These comics were in part inspired by Hislop's work. Many fundamentalist christian communities appear to hold his confabulations in high esteem up to this day – and many people who by design see themselves as a countercultural opposition to christianity independently gleefully embrace them, seemingly ignorant of their origin. While there are many articles debunking Hislop's claim about Easter, few of them try to show how truly incomprehensibly bad his book is as a whole – hopefully the following examples will be sufficient to illustrate this point: -Zoroaster is connected to Moloch because of the Zoroastrian holy fire - and Moloch is, of course Ninus. Note that while a few Greek authors believed Zoroaster to be the “king of Bactria” mythical accounts presented as a contemporary of Ninus, the two were regarded as enemies – Hislop doesn't even follow the pseudohistory he uses as proof! -Zoroaster is also Tammuz. Tammuz is, of course, yet another aspect of Ninus. -demonic character is ascribed to relics of the historical Buddha; also he's Osiris. And Ninus. -an incredibly racist passage explains why the biblical Nimrod (identified with – you guessed it - Ninus) might be regarded as “ugly and deformed” like Haephestus and thus identical to him (no, it makes no sense in context either) - Hislop thinks he was black (that's not the word he uses, naturally) which to him is the same thing. -Attis is a deification of sin itself -the pope represents Dagon (incorrectly interpreted as a fish god in the 19th century) -Baal and Bel are two unrelated words – this is meant to justify the historicity of the Tower of Babel by asserting it was built by Ninus, who was identical to Bel (in reality a title of Marduk); Bel, according to Hislop, means “the confounder (of languages)” rather than “lord” -the term “cannibal” comes from a made up term for priests of Baal (Ninus) who according to Hislop ate children. In reality it's a Spanish corruption of the endonym of one of the first tribes encountered by the Spanish conquerors in America, and was not a word used in antiquity – also, as I discussed in my Baal post, the worship of Baal did not involve cannibalism. This specific claim of Hislop's is popular with the adherents of prophetic doomsday cult slash wannabe terrorist group QAnon today, and shows up on their “redpilling” graphics. -Ninus was also Cronos; Cronos' name therefore meant “horned one” in reference to Mesopotamian bull/horned crown iconography and many superficially similar gods from all over the world were the same as him - note the similarity to Margaret Murray's obsession with her made up idea of worldwide worship of a “horned god” (later incorporated into Wicca). -Phaeton, Orpheus and Aesculapius are the same figure and analogous to Lucifer (and in turn to Ninus) -giants are real and they're satanists (or were, I think Hislop argues they're dead already). They are (were?) also servants of Ninus. -as an all around charming individual Hislop made sure to include a plethora of comments decrying the practices of various groups at random as digressions while presenting his ridiculous theories – so, while learning about the forbidden history of Easter, one can also learn why the author thinks Yezidi are satanists, for example -last but not least, the very sign of the cross is not truly christian but constitutes the worship of Tammuz, aka Ninus (slowly losing track of how many figures were regarded as one and the same as him by Hislop). Based on the summary above it's safe to say that Hislop's claim is incorrect – and, arguably, malevolent (and as such deserves scrutiny, not further possibilities for spreading). However, this doesn't answer the question where does the name of Easter actually come from? As I noted in the beginning, in English (and also German) it's a bit of an oddity – it  actually was derived from a preexisting pagan term, at least if we are to believe the word of the monk Bede, who in the 8th century wrote that the term is a derivative of “Eosturmonath,” eg. “month of Eostre” - according to him a goddess. There are no known inscriptions mentioning such a goddess from the British Isles or beyond, though researchers involved in reconstructing proto-indo-european language assume that “Eostre” would logically be a derivative of the same term as  the name of the Greek Eos and of the vedic Ushas, and the Austriahenae goddesses from Roman inscriptions from present day Germany  – eg.  a word simply referring to dawn, and by extension to a goddess embodying it. This is a sound, well researched theory, so while early medieval chroniclers sometimes cannot be trusted, I see no reason to doubt Bede's account.

While Ushas is a prominent goddess in the Vedas, Eos was rather marginal in Greek religion (see her Theoi entry for details), and it's hard to tell to what degree Bede's Eostre was similar to either of them beyond plausibly being a personification of dawn. Of course, the hypothetical proto-indo-european dawn goddess all of these could be derived from would have next to nothing to do with Ishtar. While the history of the name of Easter (though not the celebration itself) is undeniably interesting, I suppose it lacks the elements which make the fake Ishtar claim a viral hit – the connection is indirect, and an equivalent of the Greek Eos isn't exactly exciting (Eos herself is, let be honest, remembered at best as an obscure part of the Odyssey), while Ishtar is understood by many as “wicked” sex goddess (a simplification, to put it very lightly) which adds a scandalous, sacrilegious dimension to the baffling lie, explaining its appeal to Dawkins' fans, arguably. As demonstrated above, Hislop's theories are false and adapting them for any new context – be it christian, atheist or neopagan – won't change that, but are there any genuine examples of, well, “hidden Ishtars”? If that's the part of the summary which caught your attention, rejoice – there is a plenty of these to be found in Bronze Age texts. I'd go as far as saying that most of ancient middle eastern cultures from that era felt compelled to include an Ishtar ersatz in their pantheons. Due to the popularity of the original Ishtar, she was almost a class of figures rather than a single figure – a situation almost comparable to modern franchising, when you think about it. The following figures can be undeniably regarded as “Ishtar-like” in some capacity or even as outright analogs:

Astarte (or Ashtart, to go with a more accurate transcription of the oldest recorded version of the name) – the most direct counterpart of Ishtar there is: a cognate of her own name. Simply, put Astarte is the “Levantine”equivalent of the “Mesopotamian” Ishtar. In the city of Mari, the names were pretty much used interchangeably, and some god lists equate them, though Astarte had a fair share of distinct traits. In Ugaritic mythology, which forms the core of our understanding of the western Semitic deities, she was a warrior and hunter (though it's possible that in addition to conventional weapons she was also skilled at wielding curses), and was usually grouped with Anat. Both of them were regarded as the allies of Baal, and assist him against his enemies in various myth. They also were envisioned to spend a lot of time together – one ritual calls them upon as a pair from distant lands where they're hunting together, while a fragmentary myth depicts both of them arriving in the household of the head god El and taking pity on Yarikh, the moon god, seemingly treated as a pariah. Astarte's close relation to Baal is illustrated by her epithet, “face of Baal” or “of the name of Baal.” They were often regarde as a couple and even late, Hellenic sources preserve a traditional belief that Astarte and “Adados” (Baal) ruled together as a pair. In some documents from Ugarit concerned with what we would call foreign policy today they were invoked together as the most prominent deities. It's therefore possible that she had some role related to human politics. She was regarded as exceptionally beautiful and some texts favorably describe mortal women's appearance by comparing them to Astarte. In later times she was regarded as a goddess of love, but it's unclear if that was a significant aspect of her in the Bronze Age. It's equally unclear if she shared Ishtar's astral character – in Canaan there were seemingly entirely separate dawn and dusk deities. Despite clamis you might see online, Astarte was not the same as the mother goddess Asherah. In the Baal cycle they actually belong to the opposing camps. Additionally, the names are only superficially similar (one starts with an aleph, the other with an ayin) and have different etymology. Also, that famous sculpture of a very blatantly Minoan potnia theron? Ugaritic in origin but not a depiction of either Astarte or Asherah.

The Egyptians, due to extensive contact with Canaan and various Syrian states in the second half of the Bronze Age, adapted Astarte (and by extension Anat) into their own pantheon. Like in Ugarit, her warrior character was emphasized. An Egyptian innovation was depicting her as a cavalry goddess of sorts – associated with mounted combat and chariots. In Egypt, Ptah, the head god of Memphis and divine craftsman, was regarded as her father. In most texts, Astarte is part of Seth's inner circle of associates – however, in this context Seth wasn't the slayer of Osiris, but a heroic storm god similar to Baal. The so-called Astarte papyrus presents an account of a myth eerily similar to the Ugaritic battle between Baal and Yam – starring Seth as the hero, with Astarte in a supporting role resembling that played by Shaushka, another Ishtar analog, in the Hittite song of Hedammu, which will be discussed below.

Shaushka – a Hurrian and Hittite goddess whose name means “the magnificent one” in the Hurrian language. Hurrian was widely spoken in ancient Mesopotamia and Anatolia (and in northernmost parts of the Levant – up to one fifth of personal names from Ugaritic documents were Hurrian iirc), but has no descendants today and its relation to any extant languages is uncertain. In Hittite texts she was often referred to with an “akkadogram” denoting Ishtar's name (or its Sumerian equivalent) instead of a phonetic  spelling of her own (there was an analogous practice regarding the sun gods), while in Egyptian and Syrian texts there are a few references to “Ishtar Hurri” - “Ishtar of the Hurrians” - who is argued by researchers to be one and the same as Shaushka. Despite Shaushka's Hurrian name and her prominence in myths popular both among Hittites and Hurrians, her main cult center was the Assyrian city of Nineveh, associated with Ishtar herself as well, and there were relatively few temples dedicated to her in the core Hittite sphere of influence in Anatolia. Curiously, both the oldest reference to Shaushka and to the city of Nineveh come from the same text, stating that a sheep was sacrificed to her there. While most of her roles overlap with Ishtar's (she too was associated with sex, warfare and fertility), here are two distinct features of Shaushka that set her apart as unique: one is the fact she was perceived in part as a masculine deity, despite being consistently described as a woman – in the famous Yazılıkaya reliefs she appears twice, both among gods and goddesses. In Alalakh she was depicted in outfits combining elements of male and female clothing. Similar fashion preferences were at times attributed to Ninshubur, the attendant of Ishtar's Sumerian forerunner Inanna – though in that case they were likely the result of conflation of Ninshubur with the male messenger deity Papsukkal, while in the case of Shaushka the dual nature seems to be inherent to her (I haven't seen any in depth study of this matter yet, sadly, so I can't really tell confidently which modern term in my opinion describes Shaushka's character the best). Her two attendants, musician goddesses Ninatta and Kulitta, do not share it. Shaushka's other unique niche is her role in exorcisms and incantations, and by extension with curing various diseases – this role outlived her cult itself, as late Assyrian inscriptions still associated the “Ishtar of Nineveh” (at times viewed as separate from the regular Ishtar) with healing. It can be argued that even her sexual aspect was connected to healing, as she was invoked to cure impotence. The most significant myth in which she appears is the cycle dedicated to documenting the storm god's (Teshub for the Hurrians, Tarhunna for the Hittites) rise to power. Shaushka is depicted as his sister and arguably most reliable ally, and plays a prominent role in two sections in particular – the Song of Hedammu and the Song of Ullikummi. In the former, she seemingly comes up with an elaborate plan to defeat a new enemy of her brother - the sea monster Hedammu - by performing a seductive dance and song montage (with her attendants as a support act) and offering an elixir to him. The exact result is uncertain, but Hedammu evidently ends up vanquished. In the latter, she attempts to use the same gambit against yet another new foe, the “diorite man” Ullikummi – however, since he is unfeeling like a rock, she fails; some translators see this passage as comedic. However, elsewhere in the Song, the storm god's main enemy Kumarbi and his minions view Shaushka as a formidable warrior, and in the early installment of the cycle, Song of LAMMA, she seemingly partakes in a fight. In another myth, known only from a few fragments and compared to the Sumerian text “Inanna and the huluppu tree,” Shaushka takes care of “Ḫašarri” -  a personification of olive oil, or a sentient olive tree. It seems that she has to protect this bizarre entity from various threats. While Shaushka lived on in Mesopotamia as “Ishtar of Nineveh,” this was far from the only “variant”of Ishtar in her homeland.

Nanaya was another such goddess. A few Sumerian hymns mention her alongside Inanna, the Sumerian equivalent of Ishtar, by the time of Sargon of Akkad virtually impossible to separate from her. As one composition puts it, Nanaya was “properly educated by holy Inana” and “counselled by holy Inana.” Initially she was most likely a part of Inanna's circle of deities in her cult center, Uruk, though due to shared character they eventually blurred together to a large degree. Just like Inanna/Ishtar, Nanaya was a goddess of love, described as beautiful and romantically and sexually active, and she too had an astral character. She was even celebrated during the same holidays as Inanna. Some researchers go as far as suggest Nanaya was only ever Inanna/Ishtar in her astral aspect alone and not a separate goddess. However, there is also evidence of her, Inanna and the sky god An being regarded as a trinity of distinct tutelary deities in Uruk. Additionally, king Melishipak's kudurru shown above shows both Nanaya (seated) and Ishtar/Inanna (as a star). Something peculiar to Nanaya was her later association with the scribe god Nabu. Sometimes Nabu's consort was the the goddess Tashmetu instead, but I can't find any summary explaining potential differences between them – it seems just like Nanaya, she was a goddess of love, including its physical aspects. Regardless of the name used to describe Nabu's wife, she was regarded as a sage and scribe like him – this arguably gives her a distinct identity she lacked in her early role as part of Inanna's circle. As the above examples demonstrate, the popularity of the “Ishtar type” was exceptional in the Bronze Age – but is it odd from a modern perspective? The myths dedicated to her are still quite fun to read today – much like any hero of ancient imagination she has a plethora of adversaries, a complex love life (not to mention many figures not intended to be read as her lovers originally but described in such terms that it's easy to see them this way today – including other women), a penchant for reckless behavior – and most importantly a consistent, easy to summarize character. She shouldn't be a part of modern mass consciousness only because of false 19th century claims detached from her actual character (both these from Hislop's works and “secular”claims about her purported “real”character based on flimsy reasoning and shoddy sources) – isn't a female character who is allowed to act about the same way as male mythical figures do without being condemned for it pretty much what many modern mythology retellings try to create? Further reading: On Astarte: -entry in the Iconography of Deities and Demons in Ancient Near East database by Izak Cornelius -‛Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts by Mark S. Smith -ʿAthtartu’s Incantations and the Use of Divine Names as Weapons by Theodore J. Lewis -The Other Version of the Story of the Storm-god’s Combat with the Sea in the Light of Egyptian, Ugaritic, and Hurro-Hittite Texts by Noga Ayali-Darshan -for a summary of evidence that Astarte has nothing to do with Asherah see A Reassessment of Asherah With Further Considerations of the Goddess by Steve A. Wiggins On Shaushka: -Adapting Mesopotamian Myth in Hurro-Hittite Rituals at Hattuša: IŠTAR, the Underworld, and the Legendary Kings by Mary R. Bacharova -Ishtar seduces the Sea-serpent. A new join in the epic of Ḫedammu (KUB 36, 56 + 95) and its meaning for the battle between Baal and Yam in Ugaritic tradition by Meindert Dijkstra -Ištar of Nineveh Reconsidered by Gary Beckman -Shaushka, the Traveling Goddess by Graciela Gestoso Singer -Hittite Myths by Harry A. Hoffner jr. -The Hurritic Myth about Šaušga of Nineveh and Ḫašarri (CTH 776.2) by Meindert Dijkstra -The West Hurian Pantheon and its Background by Alfonso Archi On Nanaya: -entry in Brill’s New Pauly by Thomas Richter -entry from the Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses project by Ruth Horry -A tigi to Nanaya for Ishbi-Erra from The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature -A balbale to Inana as Nanaya from The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature -More Light on Nanaya by Michael P. Streck and Nathan Wasserman -More on the Nature and History of the Goddess Nanaya by Piotr Steinkeller A few introductory Ishtar/Inanna myths: -Inanna's descent to the netherworld -Inanna and the huluppu tree -Inanna and Enki -Enki and the world order -Inanna and Ebih -Dumuzid and Enkimdu

#mesopotamian mythology #sumerian mythology #inanna #ishtar #astarte

[noesa]

Thesis: If Jesus were alive today, he would have been a radical nonbinary PoC furry streamer.

Let’s get the easy ones out of the way first. He obviously would have been radical because all of his teachings were about how to resist the Roman Empire and/or the importance of compassion and community, and the early Christian church was basically anarcho-communism before it was cool. If he were alive today, he definitely would have identified with leftism.

Traditional Rabbinical views say that God contains both masculine and feminine aspects, if they aren’t entirely above being anthropomorphized with human concepts like gender in the first place. So Jesus, as a manifestation of God, would have been nonbinary. He probably wouldn’t have been genderfluid, because Jesus’ identity seems pretty stable since it can be both 100% human and 100% divine at the same time, but I think there’s a decent chance he would have identified with agender.

Even if we assume that our modern Jesus wouldn’t necessarily be born in the Middle East like he was in the Bible, the important aspects of his background in his story as written are:

He was a refugee as a child, fleeing from a regime that wanted him dead for reasons outside of his control.

For the majority of his life, he lived under an imperialistic power that abused and exploited his community.

So I think it’s safe to say that he wouldn’t be white if we’re keeping as true to who he was originally as we can. (There’s a lot of speculation we could do on exactly what ethnicity he would be, and that’s ignoring that we haven’t even said if Christianity exists in this timeline, which would have its own repercussions to examine. But I won’t open that bag of worms in this essay.)

Now, let’s get into the meat.

Jesus would have been a furry.

Since he was basically God’s humansona, Jesus would have identified on a personal level with the idea of fursonas, and as an advocate of community, he would be very invested in the furry fandom. I don’t think he would go to many conventions since he was against the idea of profiteering like that (see: the temple incident), but instead he’d be very active online. I could easily see him spending most of his free cash to support furry artists.

The interesting question here is not whether he would be a furry, but what his fursona would be. The most immediately tempting possibility is that he would be a sheep. Jesus self-describes as the “Lamb of God”, and sheep are a frequent motif in his sermons. However, upon examination, these connections are largely surface-level, as in his sermons he identifies more with the shepherd than the sheep (and, in fact, calls himself the “Shepherd of Men”), and his title as the Lamb of God is metaphorical for his impending sacrifice for humanity.

In light of this, it is more likely that Jesus’ fursona would be a dove. Doves are also a frequent motif surrounding Jesus: Jesus’ family offered doves as a sacrifice to consecrate him after he was born, and a dove appeared when Jesus was baptized. In addition, in Jesus’ time birds were thought to be messengers for the divine, and Jesus himself called doves innocent and told his followers to be like them in Matthew 10:16. So, in summary, Jesus would probably have a dove for a fursona because doves are an animal which Jesus holds high esteem for, which could be metaphorical for his impending sacrifice, and which are messengers of God, like Jesus himself.

Jesus would have been a streamer.

But why would Jesus be a streamer? Well, in the Bible, Jesus wasn’t working while he did his ministry: he and his apostles were getting by on the charity of others, who respected the work he was doing. The two best analogues for this in the modern era would be for him to be a streamer and get by on donations, or for him to be a Youtuber/podcaster and have a Patreon.

There are three reasons, of those options, he would be a streamer. The first is the fact that we know that Jesus would have been about thirty when he started preaching. And, although we don’t know the exact ages of the twelve apostles, people have speculated that because they took the role of students to Jesus’ “Rabbi” position, they would have been young adults, most likely no older than 25. So, if we think about it in modern terms, Jesus would be a celebrity in his 30s appealing to a young audience, which fits with some big-name streamers like Jerma and Vinny Vinesauce.

The second is audience interactivity. While a large part of his ministry was the sermons and monologues he’s known for, he was primarily a teacher, and he would often answer questions posed to him by the people listening to him. It’s possible to do this with a Youtube video or a podcast, but a more likely scenario would be for him to just frequently interact with chat.

The third and final reason, which ties in with the above point, is just that he would value as direct a relationship with his audience as possible. The whole purpose of Jesus’ earthly incarnation was to remove the barriers between humans and God, and it follows that would extend to his ministry as well. And while Youtube videos and podcasts would convey his message, just the fact that they are produced and edited makes them a layer removed from the audience. Jesus would want to be as raw, direct, and unfiltered as possible, and the best way for him to do that would be for him to be a streamer.

In conclusion, Jesus’ fursona would be a dove, and he would have a facerig of it for his Twitch streams. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

#finally i can use my catholic upbringing for something useful: shitposts #this started as a joke but my argument was so good that i convinced myself #essays #christianity #furry #long post

[ggukcangetit]

Crime & Punishment: JJK Fic

pairing: jungkook x female reader

genre: light smut, f2l(?)

rating: 18+

summary: no one messes with your stock of snacks. absolutely no one. not even a very attractive jungkook who handles the repercussions really well.

warnings: kissing, grinding, oreos are disrespected, hickeys, mention of breasts.

word count: 1.3k

a/n: this pointless thing was written thanks to that post by jin that has collectively sent us all into early graves. also my first time writing anything resembling smut so >.< please bear with me. and huge thanks to @wwilloww​ for looking over this and helping me with the rating lol. 

There are a few things that can get you really angry. Like really pissed-off, flip-the-table, set-the-spaghetti-on-fire mad. These things range from having to do the dishes first thing in the morning - which is quite low on the piss off scale - to finding out that some knob-head has taken credit for the days worth of data crunching you did completely by yourself. Somewhere on that scale - leaning more towards knob-head than dishes - is coming home to see your stock of snacks empty or messed with. Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that you are a horrific control freak, it should be clarified that you are very protective of your stock of snacks - fondly called The Emergency Fund by Seokjin. It has been curated over a number of years, keeping in mind shelf-life, flavor, variety, nutrition, availability, and novelty. The original purpose of The Emergency Fund was to give your blood sugar a kick when you had spent days on end without proper food, trying to finish your final thesis. Gradually, you had realised that having a well-rounded stock of snacks had many other merits. You had learnt of a ton of different grocery stores and online portals specializing in snacks, not to mention always having something ready if guests arrived unexpectedly. But probably the most satisfying part of having a stock of snacks was that it gave you something meaningful to come back to after a long, and often, unfulfilling day of work.

Unfortunately, random guests who decided to drop by without prior warning often also decided to go through your stock of snacks even if you weren't around. Such was the case when you came back home on Thursday, particularly disgruntled after a disastrous team meeting. Namjoon had texted you earlier, asking to borrow your camera tripod, so you were expecting to find a few things out of place when you reached home. What you weren't expecting was to find the last of the oreos in The Emergency Fund, completely desecrated and ravaged beyond belief. Only a complete barbarian would would lick the cream off the middle of the oreos and then put the soggy, saliva-drenched biscuits back in the container. And you knew exactly who that barbarian was.

"JEON JEONGGUK WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU??"

You stormed into apartment 5C two floors below yours, fuming, frustrated, and famished. The apartment was neat and devoid of much furniture - as it had been since Jeongguk had moved in a year ago after completing his degree in video production. You looked around for some sign of the heartless dickhead who had destroyed the one thing you looked forward to after a shitty day at the office.

"I SWEAR TO EVERYTHING GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL IN THIS UNIVERSE, IF YOU DON'T SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NO-"

You stopped mid-rant as a very worried, very flustered, very wet haired, very shirtless Jeongguk rushed out of his room.

"What happened? Y/N, are you okay?"

You gulped, trying to remember why you had thought it was a good idea to barge in without knocking. Or in fact, why you had all decided to have keys to each others apartments.

"Cookies..." you muttered, trying hard to focus on the speck of dust hanging from the lamp behind Jeongguk's left shoulder. Jeongguk's left shoulder which had a tiny mole - that increased the overall count to four. How many more-

"Huh?" His doe eyes grew wider, not understanding what was going on.

"Oreos." You managed to get out, trying to think of anything other than the way his biceps curled as he scratched the back of his neck. Fuck.

"Y/N?" he asked, walking towards you uncertainly. The smell of his shampoo wafted towards you, snapping you out of your questionable musings.

"You!" Jeongguk recoiled slightly, at your sudden change in volume. "You complete arsehole! How could you do that?! To my Emergency fund?!"

Usually, your rants were pretty much feared by everyone in the group. But when your eyes kept wandering over his body before flitting away self-consciously, Jeongguk knew he had the upper hand.

Taking slow measured steps towards you, he tilted his head to one side and raised his left eyebrow in concern.

"My bad, Y/N," he said, stopping right in front of you after having backed you up into the wall. "That was really inconsiderate of me."

"Y-yes." You could also smell the soft apple scent of his body-wash now.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" he asked, his voice dropping a few octaves.

"I-" Language had started to betray you.

"I know what," he said, reaching to his left and grabbing something from the counter. "Why don't you take this? As a sign of my sincere apology."

Somehow, you managed to tear your eyes away from his long enough to see his peace offering - a limited edition pack of Hazelnut Cream Pocky. It was your absolute favorite and you had only managed to find it in stores once since its release.

"Here," he said, tearing open the packet, taking out a single Pocky stick, and holding the non-chocolate coated end between his teeth.

Apparently your body had also started to betray you as you found yourself inching forward, taking small bites of the Pocky. With every bit of the Pocky that was consumed, the space between you and Jeongguk diminished further. Finally, a couple of centimeters of uncoated biscuit was all that was left between the two of you. And in order to get to it, your lips would have to touch his.

At first, it was just a tiny brush, your focus more on navigating the final bit of Pocky into your system. But soon, you felt his lips moving over yours - soft, pliant, and not as chapped as you had imagined.

You groaned as he swiped his tongue into your mouth, tasting the hazelnut flavor that lingered. His hands moved off the wall, where they had been framing either side of your face, as you tugged him closer. The kiss quickly turned more desperate, his hands finding purchase on your hips. You were completely overwhelmed by him, arching yourself into him as his tongue wrecked havoc in your mouth. Heat pooled in your lower regions as Jeongguk pressed himself into you, his arousal all too evident through his Iron Man boxers.

Moving from your lips, he started trailing kisses down your neck, causing you to jerk your hips into his.

"J-jeongguk." Your voice sounded foreign to your own ears, a frenzied need seeping into your words.

Upon hearing his name said in that way, Jeongguk pulled down the side of your lavender shirt, exposing more of your collarbones and just a glimpse of your bra. A low growl escaped him as he dove forward, placing light kisses on the top of your breasts. His fingers had started unbuttoning your shirt further, as you dug your nails into his hair.

And it was right at that moment that your stomach decided to announce the fact that you hadn't eaten since lunch - 5 hours ago.

Jeongguk looked up from where he had been expertly leaving hickeys along the tops of your breasts, his doe-eyes still dilated. Your face was flushed, rivaling the color Seokjin turned when anyone complimented him. 

"Hungry?" asked Jeongguk, a small smile playing on his handsome features.

"A bit," you replied, voice small in embarrassment.

"I was going to make dinner when someone rudely barged in." You swallowed, taking in his smirk, his apple-tinted cheeks, his sparkling eyes, and his continued state of undress. "You wanna stay and eat?"

You nodded, fumbling to fix your clothes in a sudden rush of self-consciousness.

"Great!" He smiled his adorable bunny smile.

"W-where are you going?" you asked, as he started walking towards his room, already missing the heat of his body against yours.

"I was going to put on some clothes," he said, barely containing his amusement. "Cooking with hot oil in this condition can be slightly dangerous."

You nodded your head, mortified by the words coming out of your mouth.

"But don't worry," he whispered, coming closer and placing a soft kiss on your lips. "We can continue after dinner. There's an entire box of hazelnut Pocky still left."

still recovering from shirtless jungkook so excuse me for the 1.3k rant. hope you like it though!

#jungkook #jungkook fic #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #bts fic #btsbookclub #c me write bangtan

[dashedwithromance]

Take this as a chance to tell about 5 things you've been thinking about lately. Anything from good food to a captivating tv series to global inequality. It's nice to hear what people have to say

oh that’s so sweet thank you!!

1. dracula. no surprise. more specifically, i’ve been thinking about how dracula is such a… quietly lonely novel, and that loneliness always seems to be lost in translation in the adaptations i’ve watched (definitely the recent ones; i haven’t watched any hammer horror ones but that’ll change soon). i always apply a queer interpretation of dracula - it’s one of the reasons i love it so much. and obviously we don’t know how bram stoker would identify if he had access to all the modern terminology we have now, but we do know he was queer. dracula was written and published during the time oscar wilde was publicly on trial, and letter jailed, for sodomy. we know wilde and stoker ran in similar artistic circles (and were even in a long time love triangle). and i always wonder what impact that had on stoker - to watch that unfold while writing a story about a monster who can’t see himself in the mirror or go into sunlight and passes his ‘infection’ on through blood. this was also the time STD’s were discovered as being transmissible through blood. and even if you wanna take a death of the author approach to the novel, it’s still, in its core and its bones and its blood, a queer novel. a book that revolves around the presence of and physical lack of sex, that features a single man of his kind so monstrous he cannot say holy words or stands the touch of consecrated things, or even see himself in the mirror… it echoes a very prominent loneliness of many queer writers at the time (and is a common sentiment of the gothic). so the loneliness of dracula always stands out to me - being one of your kind, or at least feeling like you are, in a world that actively hunts you. it makes me very sad, if i’m honest. it’s also why i’m so… pedantic about dracula adaptations - sure, the ones that make it into this star crossed lovers time-bound love story between mina and dracula are probably very well made! but they’re not dracula. they miss what makes dracula such a beautiful story. (and oh god that got so long)

2. hmm i saw a tiktok the other day about it but i’m growing more and more frustrated with how… sexed up the young adult genre is growing (to the demand of adults). not that sex doesn’t have a place in YA - it absolutely does! but the YA genre is primarily for, hence the name, young adults. when adults read YA (which again, is totally fine! wonderful, even) and start demanding ‘spicier’ content or full blown smut scenes, that’s the problem. nothing against these books but like, serpent and dove should not be YA. acotar should never have been associated with YA. and with series like kingdom of the wicked, that start YA but delve into NA (a genre most book stores don’t have!), that’s also a problem too! it’s just frustrating

3. thinking about how much i love my friends, online and in real life!

4. i started an online book club! which is exciting!

5. i’ve been watching the chestnut man on netflix atm which is good but i am terrified of chestnuts now

#thanks for the ask! sorry you got a dracula essay in return

[appleandelder]

Little doves and cherry blossoms

For celebrating Ukrainian Christmas with @graveyarddirt because when Ms Dirty says to cook a meal to feed your ancestors you get to cooking. A dish my great-grandmother always made for Christmas.

It was only fitting that today is Wednesday becuase Wednesdays are personally the day I assoicate with family and in particular my great-grandmother who I will be cooking in honor of. I was a picky child (who took after his mother) and am embarrassed to say I never actually ate my great-grandmother’s gołabki and tracking down her recipe has been a challenge yet to be overcome but it is dish that harbors my memory of her and as I’ve grown has become something I make often and always with her in mind. Luckily it is a pretty simple dish that with knowledge of the ingredients and vivid memory of the sights and smells of my great-grandmother’s dish, (and some conformation from some recipes online of course) I have been able to create my own rendition that I think she would approve of. My immediate family has had a disconnect and family recipes haven’t been continued and passed along. I never grew up with a meal that felt like home, like family, like history. Which to me is honestly heartbreaking because food is my love language. Food says I care about you, I want you to feel happy, I want you to be healthy. It is time spent laboring in order to care and nurture. It preserves emotions and memories through its immersive organoleptic experience. I am overwhelmed with love, joy, and pride when I can offer someone a home cooked meal, even more so when it comes from food I’ve grown and raised myself. Enjoying a meal with someone for me is an intimate moment of reciprocal love. So my husband and I have been trying to rekindle some traditions that skipped a generation (or two) through food. Which brings me back to my great-grandmother’s gołabki which now as an adult (and I actually enjoy eating them) is my tether to the familial. I feel my great-grandmother’s love every time I make them. I also recently learned gołąbki literally translates to little doves which only reinforces my association of mourning doves with her presence. So tonight I cook especially for her and for her mother (who I recently learned of) and for my matrilineal ancestors all whom prepared food as an act of love for their children and loved ones nourishing their health and hearts (and for giving me a genetic love for cabbage).

Prepared is: gołąbki, mashed potatoes (peeled and very creamy as per my great-grandmother’s preference), pickled beets (requested by the husband), a homemade bread with 1/3 local rye flour, and kołaczki with homemade foraged blackberry jam

My great-grandmother named her daughter for a Saint, and when I received a dream of cherry blossoms in mid December, I gathered some of their branches in her honor (following old traditions). I’m not sure why I felt so compelled to do so but (without getting too personal) they have brought attention to a need. And now on Christmas (albeit on the Julian calendar) they have bloomed (ish, budded?!) which I hope is a sign of good things to come.

Continuing the theme of celebrating with the ancestors, today also honors the Epiphany (which in all honesty I haven’t paid much attention to since my days in catholic school) so I put together a gift of frankincense, myrrh, and “gold” (yellow birch bark) as an offering for the night’s festivities.

#I wrote this yesterday but didn’t get around to posting it #ancestors