#i'm hoping to have the third and definitely final part out this August | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bluenpinkcastle · 7 months

Text

LEGO and Gender Play Roles

(this is a VERY long post) I saw an article today on social media by Tips & Bricks about LEGO gendered play. The article focused on a little bit of research done by the LEGO Group about how girls and boys play. (Tips & Bricks was also kind enough to make sure to mention not everyone falls into those gender binary constructs but that the research done only includes those two groups). articles (there's a third article about LEGO and gender and play that's not on their website yet): https://www.tipsandbricks.co.uk/post/1960-discussion-lego-gender-1-marketing https://www.tipsandbricks.co.uk/post/1975-discussion-lego-gender-2-colours I have a LOT of thoughts about this topic. I'm going to start with some observations of my own, as a 40+ year old woman who has been building LEGO castles most of my life. I'm a member of several LEGO online social media groups. One of which is the Brick Knights Alliance. As of this post (03 October 2023), there 44.5k members within this group. I think it's pretty safe to say that most of the posts I see and most of the comments are men. Another group is the Ladies' LEGO Lounge, with 21.4k members. The last group is the Women's Brick Initiative Members with 907.

Somewhere in early May 2022, I heard rumors about the new LEGO castle supposed to be released in the summer of 2022. I remember being SO. EXCITED. about this. I instantly posted to the group, hoping that others would be just as excited to talk about the new castle. Instead, I found myself besieged by trolls. I can't find the post anymore which means either I deleted it so I wouldn't have to see people's horrible comments anymore or the admins deleted it as a "confrontational" post. But I keenly remember the disgust from some of the men over the LEGO Group bowing to "woke libtards" and how women couldn't be warriors, knights, or most definitely not queens. It was a really rough and unpleasant series of comments. On 18 June 2022, I posted about the first officially revealed pictures for set 10305: the Lion Knights' Castle, set to arrive on shelves 01 August 2022. My caption was simple and 416 people within the group liked or loved my post and seven people commented with their own versions of excitement. On 31 October 2022, I posted a picture of some of the knights I intended to populate with my Pink Castle Defense at BrickCon 2023. I used four of the bright light blue "Avatar" horses and put wings on them to be Pegasi. Most of the torsos for my warriors were the pink crown knights from the Collectible Minifigure series 24, but a few were other medium blue knights. 114 people liked or loved that post. One of the 14 comments said the blue pegasi were Avatar animals, not horses. And it's that kind of lack of imagination which just makes me sad most of the time. And now we're caught up with mostly present day. On 08 September 2023, I posted a picture of my Pink Castle Defense as it was displayed at BrickCon 2023 in Bellevue, Washington. The Pink Castle Defense is simply the Lion Knights' Castle made out of mostly dark pink LEGO with other bright colors. I posted this exact same picture in three different online social media places. My caption read: "BrickCon 2023 in Bellevue, Washington! It's been about eight months of ordering parts, digging for parts, and generally working to build this, but it was absolutely worth it! This is the LEGO 10305 Lion Knights' Castle built in dark pink on a butter yellow moat, with an all-women army defending the castle against the invading skeletons. This is my first ever LEGO display." The Brick Knights Alliance: 41 like/love/wow and two comments, which said: "Finally. No ugly gray. Where's Evilyn and Skeletor?" and "Are the skeletons male?" The Ladies LEGO Lounge: 50 like/love and 40 comments, all extremely supportive. As an example, the Lion Knights' Castle (10305) from August 2022 featured a warrior queen and half the minifigures had lipstick (clearing showing they are women). HALF of the knights and warriors in the castle are women! I was extremely excited about this. But then I witnessed a significant number of men in the castle groups complaining about this. Then I had to witness the castle's LEGO queen get murdered violently in most of the castle fandoms so that "A Proper Ruler" (read: male king) could reclaim his rightful throne. The latest Tips & Bricks gender discussion topic involved the different LEGO play for girls and boys. One of the comments even stated how there's so much research done on the way girls play but no one ever talks about how boys play, which tends to continue to put the responsibility on girls and women. In my own experience, I have noticed that most of the males in the LEGO spaces I occupy are constantly putting their castles at war with the other factions, while the women are definitely focused on the story and the details of world-building. But really. How much of the way genders play is caused by the very marketing which enforces the societal norms of how genders play?

#lego castles #lego #lego blue and pink castles #lego castle #lego gendered play

5 notes · View notes

octolingkiera · 5 months

Note

5, 15, 16, 29

hi!! thanks for your ask!! :3

(the list)

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

so on the one hand, my danny phantom fics always get a lot of attention and it always leaves me a little surprised, but on the other hand, that fandom is very fic focused, so at the same time it Doesn't really surprise me when i get a lot of kudos for them. what surprises me more is how much other fandoms DON'T comment or bookmark or follow fics lol. i was seriously spoiled with those lol

as for a fic that's gotten more feedback, uhhhh hm. a couple of my dp fics have done better than i thought they would, yeah, but i also have this bleach fic that's in second person that seems to have come across really well, so i guess that one's the most surprising lol

aftershocks has done really well, but that's not surprising considering the talent that went into it, the fact we updated every week, and the word count, but it still baffled me as we were updating it how well it was doing lol

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

definitely my rottmnt separated au (chapter 1 is posted on ao3 as sunset hues, jetpack blues (SHJB)) lol. ive been putting a lot of effort into it, more than i give most of my fics, tho i'm realizing now as i'm working more on planning i may have jumped the gun a bit and posted it a biiit early?? but also i wanted to post it on my birthday so i'm not so concerned about that kdshbfhdsf

when i post chapter 2 (which is basically done except for the final revision i need to give it), i'm gonna reread chapter 1 as well and make sure it's up to date with the minor stuff i left out bc i hadn't nailed down some specifics yet (but dw, it'll be Very minor and won't effect the plot lol)

besides that, i have oneshot prompts i wanna fill out and i have a fic in the works i'm calling Fallout, which is inspired by fall out boy songs (which ive been thinking about since like february/march when "love from the other side" dropped lol)

i also lowkey wanna try to get a fic done for danny phantom's 20th anniversary in april but idk how that's gonna go lol. i'm still very focused on ninja turtles

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

of my 54 works on ao3 Fluff seems to be my most used tag with 10 times, which is. lowkey a surprise LOL. Hurt/Comfort comes in second with 7 (tied with "not beta read" and a tag for a danny phantom fic event) and Angst is in third with 6 (barring the two that i'm not counting lol)

going by just my rise fics, first place tag goes to Donatello and Leonardo are Twins (TMNT) with 6 of my 8 fics (ao3 says 9, but one of them is aftershocks, which i won't include bc it's a collab) and only reason it's not all 8 is bc i didn't tag it in fics where it's not a main focus lol

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

hmmmm let's see.... okay what have i written this year....

oh god that's a lot more than i thought, uhhhh

i have a lot of stuff i Really enjoyed tbh. there's a fun little action sequence i wrote for a later part of SHJB that i liked (that i'll prolly have to rework a little), there's a few Other parts of my prewritten SHJB stuff i enjoy, there's a bunch of stuff in my rise august fills i really liked...

but i think for a single line/passage, i'll go with this bit from the beginning of my fic what's in a name? (which is also posted here on tumblr!!)

Donnie, not bothering to look up from his phone, flaps a hand in the air dismissively. “I keep all my anger bottled up in here,” he taps his chest, “and hope one day it will just kill me. Like a normal person,” he adds, as if what he just described is unequivocally a universal experience.

this entire piece was a lot of fun to write and there's some more silly lines in this i really enjoyed but i think this is the one i think about the most, like the exchange directly after this lol

Leo purses his lips and steeples his hands, holding this fingers to his mouth. “So that’s a yes to the mad, then.” “Or it could be, like, the coo-coo for cocoa puffs type of mad!” Mikey chimes in, crossing his eyes and swirling a finger beside his ear. “Y’know, like British people say.” “Ew,” Leo says, because that’s all that needs to be said about that.

and this line a little bit down from that

Raph’s next exhale is heavy, the burden of Atlas in his eternal torment. “Pizza Supreme, I wish.”

thanks again for your ask!!! these were a lot of fun to answer. i love talking about my writing dfjghbdfg get me started and i'll never shut up lol

4 notes · View notes

ryuzakemo128 · 2 years

Text

Immortal

Trigger Warning(s): Cursing, violence, Major Angst, small amount of intense gore, hints of smut

Chapter One

Chapter Two: Thana’s Early Life (Part Two)

1960

During this time, Thana worked multiple jobs and finally decided to go on her first date with a young man that went by the name of Michael Jones. She got to know him while she was a full time nurse and a part time dressmaker. Her friend Betty introduced her to him at her friend's birthday party.

Her first kiss was at the end of a second date, after returning from the movies one night and he was so kind, so lovely. He might as well have been an angel. She counted her blessings each time she saw him, every time they ever kissed, until late one afternoon he said "We should see other people."

Her feelings were crushed and she thought she was to blame. Until he also said "I've been seeing another girl, I just like her more." Which made it hurt more than the suggestion of seeing other people.

Her first kiss, her first everything and she laid there naked in bed crying for the rest of the morning. Everything hurt more after that day, way more to learn to love or care for anyone else.

Betty went over to her place the day after Thana and Michael broke up. "I heard about the break up, " Betty said to her.

"Thank you for coming Betty. I didn't know who else to talk about. I certainly don't want to talk about him."

"I guess it would be best, Thana he didn't know you like the rest of girls do." Betty walked over to her, "He doesn't deserve you,"

Thana sat up a blanket wrapped around her to conceal her immodesty from her friend. "What should we be doing today?" She asked Betty.

"Anything to keep your mind off that jerk" Betty replied with a laugh, "You'll find someone that loves you more than he ever will."

"I certainly hope so Betty." Thana sighed, "I should go get dressed now."

"Yes, yes you should get dressed." Betty smirked and went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

1965

Betty and Thana hosted a dinner party one evening, Betty now married with two kids and a third on the way. Thana still looking for a love as pure and untainted as her first.

"Charlotte and Michael came to the dinner party" Betty said to Thana in a low whisper, "I can't believe the gall of those two."

"I thought you wanted them to come" Thana was beyond confused, "I mean you invited them didn't you?"

"To be polite and in the hopes that they would decline the invite." Betty protested as she sipped her drink from the wine glass.

Thana and Betty walked over to their other friends. Just to avoid talking to Michael and Charlotte. They walked over to them hand in hand.

"Betty, when are you and Victor getting married?" Tamara asked her.

"Victor and I haven't picked a date yet. But we're hoping late August or early September" Betty replied, "Charlie is looking forward to it though"

"Where is little Charlie anyway?" Thana asked Betty.

"He's with Victor, talking to Michael" Betty rolled her eyes, "I can't understand why he's friends with the conniving little shit."

"Pretty sure he just sees him differently," Tamara said, looking over at their other friends.

"Sandra would definitely agree," Cynthia smirked as Sandra shoved her playfully with a mouthful of cheesecake, holding the rest of the piece of cheesecake in her right hand.

"It's just funny how Thana moved on, but we haven't moved on from hating Michael" Sandra pointed out.

"Well it's been lovely, but Victor and I must be going now" Betty said to them, before going off to find her husband.

"See you at work Betty" Thana yelled out to her.

"See you then Thana" Betty yelled back, as she and Victor left to go home.

"Lets go back to my place and we can continue our little party there. Away from foul people and towards even better drinks" Cynthia suggested slightly intoxicated.

"Great idea, right Thana?" Tamara responded with a smirk, "It'll be fun"

"I suppose it would be, I'm in if you guys are" Thana responded as Michael noticed her, right after Charlotte pointed her out from the group of friends near her.

"Thana, is that you?" Charlotte walked over to her, "Michael and I didn't notice you for a second there."

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice me at all" Thana said in response before continuing to sip her wine and step away from her.

"I was hoping we'd talk again" Michael says to her preventing her from moving away from him.

"I wasn't hoping to talk to you ever again Michael, not after you chased her skirt around." Thana shoved his hand off her, "I don't like people touching me. So do that again and I'll break both your hand and your arm."

1970

"Thana I know you heard me come in" Sandra yelled into the house, "I was certainly hoping you had the front door locked at least."

"Michael hasn't stopped bugging me for the past five years, I even threatened to break both is hand and his arm in the hopes he'd fuck off." Thana responded ignoring the fact that her front door was left unlocked again that month.

"Why hasn't he fucked off yet?" Sandra asked her curiously.

"I accidently turned both of the fuckers on." Thana replied with a sigh rubbing her temples.

Sandra started laughing so hard her sides hurt, "only you could have that effect on them."

"I wish I didn't, especially now" Thana complained crossing her arms. Sandra walked over and hugged her.

"Cynthia and I are definitely jealous of you sometimes." Sandra whispered, "Since we got together last year that is."

"I forgot that happened. I hope you haven't had any trouble because of it." Thana replied frowning a little bit.

"No, none that we haven't been able to sort out on our own." Sandra laughed.

"I've been pursuing mechanical engineering the past five years." Thana explained, "It's the reason why I haven't been going out as much lately."

"We know, you told us a million times already." Sandra hugged tighter, "Your mother would have been proud of you Thana."

"You really think so?" Thana asked her.

"I know she would."

1975

Thana went to the Massachusetts University to earn her bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Her friends thought it would be a good idea to get a change of scenery after everything that has been happening around her. Even Sandra and Cynthia went with her, as they decided it was time to move somewhere with less crime in the area.

Thana kept Donna's house and told a few of her friends to look after it while she was studying in University in Massachusetts. She found out Michael is an angel long before he found out she is a demon. So it didn't take long to piece together what she needed to do before heading back home after completing that degree.

1980

"I don't see any other option other than killing him. Long before he finds out and decides to kill me." Thana explained while talking to Sandra over the phone, "It's the only sane option that I can think of"

"I'm not letting you kill someone Thana. You know how that would look. It would make me an accessory to manslaughter. Demon and Angel thing would be thrown out of the window. Concerning the law that is" Sandra argued, "Besides you staying in that house would only make you easier to find"

"I'm not getting rid of Aunt Donna's house. I told you guys that" Thana whines as she starts pacing around in a little circle.

"You are emotionally attached to that old place. Not surprising, considering that you went there while you were growing up."

"I guess I can move a lot of the stuff into the basement. He doesn't know anything about that part of the house and I can hide there." Thana suggested, hoping to get some form of praise in any way.

"Yeah that's a good idea. Now only problem is that he's an archangel. Not just some lesser angel type thing. But other than you should be able to hide there."

"Sounds like a backwards way of praising my great idea. But I'll take it"

"Never Change Thana, Never change" Sandra finally said after laughing quite a bit.

1990

During that time, she hid from angels trying to find her taking a form of either lawyers or clones of her family members that were deceased. It felt like hell in the form shitty angels and bad taste in style. It was ten years of pure agonizing pain and shitty looking haircuts.

It turns out that Charlotte was angel too. Michael dated her through out this decade too. Whether it was an attempt to make her jealous or not didn't matter to her. Not as much as being left to her own devices at least.

"Quit stalking me" didn't work. "Stop trying to worm back into my life" didn't work and the colorful insults didn't work either.

0 notes

sabraeal · 3 years

Text

Documented for Posterity, Part 2

[Read on AO3]

1:20 Method 1: Subject attempts to sleep off effects

In those first few halcyon moments before Yuzuri reaches for the lamp, Suzu has high hopes. It’s not the first time he’s slept off an inappropriately pitched tent; college dormitories and trips to the field don’t leave much in the way of privacy. He prefers other methods, of course, but as he settles down against a pillow of his jacket and a blanket of Yuzuri’s cloak, he’s got a good good about his chances.

But then her fingers flip the flame down to the faintest flicker, light dancing through the glass with a demure wave, and--

Well, now he’s just locked in a dark room with stiff cock and a girl dressed not only in a clinging chemise-- there’s a flirty ripple of lace sewn to the curve of her decolletage that he’s personally finding very hard not to dwell on-- but also smelling like apples and vanilla. His heart gallops triple time in his chest, not sure if he’s ravenous for pie, biscuits, or her cunt.

It’s a bit much, that’s what he’s trying to say.

“It’s hot in here,” he complains, because anything else will almost certainly end with him doing a walk of shame in his long johns and boots across the university’s main floor. “Don’t you think it’s hot in here?”

“Just try to sleep already,” Yuzuri sighs, impatient, somewhere behind his head. He can’t see her; she’s moved away from the lamp’s hazy glow, and from the sound of it, is back at the table, pen scratching at the rough parchment of the page.

Experiment one, she must be writing, in the looping, fat hand he’s seen in the log book and on placards in the hothouses. Subject trying to sleep away erection of middling size. In this researcher’s experience, it should only take fifteen minutes to reduce to its normal size, though the standard deviation for cocks--

“I can hear you thinking.” Her pen skips to a stop. “Stop it.”

“It’s hard.” He rolls over, half on his stomach before he’s reminded-- ah yes, not a good plan having that touch...anything. Even if it’s just cold storeroom floor. “I’m very smart, you know.”

“I can’t see how.” He can’t see her, but he knows how her mouth is pinched, elongating the elegant oval of her face, and her arched brows drawn down to look like the sternest librarian fantasy. “It’s not like you do it regularly anyway.”

He nearly corrects her-- once a day, whether he needs to or not, just to keep the pipes working and his sheets clean-- but she’s not talking about that.

“Hey.” Suzu’s in no position to put his hands anywhere near his hips, but spiritually, they’re there, arms indignantly akimbo. “I have plenty of ideas--”

“Then have more of them about sleeping,” she informs him, stocking feet scuffling on the floor. “It’s impossible to have results if a test subject refuses to participate in the experiment.”

“Fine.” His arms fold across his chest in a huff. “I will. But you should know--”

“Suzu.” The way her mouth wraps around his name, so soft and resigned, has every bit of him standing at attention in all the best worst ways. Or worst best. He can’t quite decide. “Shut up.”

2:10

Suzu would like the record to show-- if Yuzuri would be kind enough to oblige him, which he knows she won’t be-- he does give it an honest effort.

Five minutes of honest to goodness silence settles him-- at least, enough to realize he’s too scrawny to ever lay on a stone floor in comfort. His shoulder blades jut oddly into the mortared edges, and when he rolls into his side, his ribs grate. It’s cold too; even in his woolens, Suzu feels the frosts of winters past riming his spine. And quite honestly, warm as his coat is, it’s nothing next to a good down pillow. Most bedding doesn’t smell of lab chemicals and yesterday’s lost dumpling. And Yuzuri’s cloak--

Well, it’s soft, warm-- and it smells like her. And, fool that he is, Past-Suzu thinks that’s a plus. Oh, Past-Suzu just catches that hint of dessert on the air and sticks his nose right in, huffing down that sweet scent of apple crisp, letting the soft, flickering of the lamp lull him. He can’t see her, but line of sight has never been necessary, oh no, not when a semi-eidetic memory meets an imagination as overactive as his.

Yuzuri sits up on her chair, one stockinged leg tucked beneath her, the other dangling, foot arched as her toes strain to press against the floor. Her golden hair falls over one shoulder, leaving the other bare, chemise sliding down its pale cusp. It’s chilly in here; she raises a hand to guide it back up. Her fingers hesitate-- maybe it would be better if they shared heat. Suzu, after all, looked so cozy there on the floor. Angelic, even, with the way his hair curled over his jacket.

Slowly, she stands, padding over, dropping to her knees. Her breasts strain against the soft linen of her chemise, nipples aroused by the contact, her hand reaching--

“Nope!” Suzu bolts upright, hunching over his knees. It’s a bit of a feat, now that his tent had expanded into a pavilion. “This is...definitely not working.”

The valve squeaks, the shadows deepening as the lamp brightens. The glare Yuzuri levels at him over the table describes all the way that his fantasies will stay firmly in the realm of imagination, aphrodisiac-induced arousal or not. “Really?”

“Yes,” he informs her a little more manic than he would like. “It’s giving me far too much time to think.”

Yuzuri hum, flatly. “I can see how that might be dangerous to your health.”

“It’s not funny,” he snips, head snapping over his shoulder. “I’ve had an erection for two whole hours. That’s-- that’s at least a whole hour longer than I’ve ever done before.”

The pen scratches across the page, but he could swear he hears a muttered, hour fifty-five.

He frowns. “What was that?”

Yuzuri doesn’t bother looking up. “What was what?”

“You said something.”

“No.” Her mouth forms the word carefully as she crosses her ankles, legs drawn tight together from knee to thigh. “I didn’t.”

His mouth purses, annoyed. “I don’t think you’re taking this very seriously.”

“I’m handling it with the seriousness it deserves,” she informs him primly, her tone implying another half to the sentence, which is none.

“I’ll have you know it hurts.” At least it does now, now that he’s said it. Stings, quite honestly, like skin pinched in a hinge, too full for too long.

For the first time since this whole debacle started, a real thrill of fear rushes through him. The whole situation is ridiculous and mortifying and carries the vague threat of ending his career if someone with more pearls to clutch than Yuzuri found out he was sporting an erection in an educational institution, but it hasn’t seemed dangerous. But now he nudges his cock, just the barest bit, and tears spring to his eyes. Something might actually be medically wrong. This could have lasting implications.

“Oh, honestly.” Yuzuri squiggles in her seat, thighs rubbing together in a way that brings new meaning to the words painfully hard. “Can’t you just jack yourself off?”

Suzu, age twenty-five, of sound body and mind, nearly has a cardiac event.

“What?” He stares at her hard enough to pop a vessel-- which he doesn’t, but it’s a close thing, considering. “Right here?”

“N-no, Suzu!” A blush blooms over the rosy rounds of her cheeks. “I’m not just telling you t-to whip it out in front of me!”

He nearly asks why not-- it’s not like it will be the first penis she’s seen outside of a clinical setting-- but his teeth snap shut around the impulse. That’s one of those things that could be career limiting, if one considered the bedroom a place of employment. Which he didn’t; it was his sanctum sanctorum, the place in which he rested his head at night, but--

Well, if he had a reason to be employed in there, he might. He’d at least like to be conducting interviews, instead of, ah, self-review.

“I meant that you could, I don’t know, go around the corner.” She waves her hand vaguely towards the back of the stockroom. “Use a shelf for cover or, um, something.”

“There’s a closet,” he says, because elaborate self-sabotage could be listed on his curriculum vitae under professional skills. “We use it for storing light sensitive materials.”

Against all reason, she actually lifts a finger to her chin and ponders the suggestion. “You’re able to do it in the dark?”

He could find his cock blind, deaf, mute, and one-handed, but that strikes him as a relatively unimpressive feat, considering how it’s attached to him.

“Yeah,” he says instead, “if you, ah, don’t mind.”

There is a distinct, heavy hesitation before she replies, “Well, it’s not like you’ll be in the same room.”

“No,” he agrees, technically.

“I think--” she worries at the edge of a page, thoughtful-- “that as long as we’re, ah, recording our findings, then it’s fine to be...scientifically rigorous.”

He swallows, hard. It makes a noticeable thunk.

“Right,” he says, weakly, rising to his feet. “Scientifically...rigorous.”

2:15 Method 2: Subject attempts manual stimulation

“What?” Suzu squawks, peeping out of the closet. “You can’t write that!”

Yuzuri flattens the journal against her chest-- that’s not helping what going on down in his whole...Pavilion Street reconstruction down south. “Why not?”

“People are going to read that!” He makes a terrible, uncoordinated swipe for it. She easily sidesteps him, giving him a withering glare. There was a reason Kirito always asks Obi to be on his team for the little snow battles him and his rascally friends enacted on the quad and not Suzu.

“That’s the point,” Yuzuri deadpans, “it’s being documented for posterity, like all you scholars love.”

“Right, yes, I get that.” He shuffles, cock bobbling painfully in his pants. Really, something has to be done about this. “But Shidan will read it.”

Her mouth pulls thin; or at least it would, if her lips weren’t full and quantifiably kissable no matter their configuration. “Shidan is a person, yeah.”

“Which means I’ll have to talk about it.” He licks his lips, nervous, and Yuzuri watches him with ever-increasing incredulity. “In, you know, a meeting.”

She stares for a long moment, then opens the journal with a sigh.

2:15 Method 2: Subject attempts manual stimulation to self-administer proposed course of treatment

“That’s better.”

Yuzuri glares up at him. “Just get in the closet already.”

2:19

This should be easy. After all, Suzu always joked-- with Obi, alone, door locked after surreptitiously checking the halls to make sure no one was lingering too close to hear through the solid oak-- that if they’d handed out doctorates for masturbation, he’d have three. He is, in as much as one could be at a private practice with no grading rubric, a professional.

But as soon as he unbuttons the fall of his trousers, letting his cock sit heavy in his hands, he’s just...lost.

It should be a relief. When he’s left to his own devices, there’s no bigger rush than making it to his room before midnight, work finished-- or at least, avoided-- and stripping down to nothing. Just him, his bed, and a bottle of vanilla-scented oil, with the whole night before them.

But now he stands here in the dark, cramped closet, the scent of herbs so heavy he can feel it pressing against his skin, and even with his aching cock, he just can’t quite, well--

Get it up. No, wait, it’s definitely up, but--

But there’s nothing sensual about this. No romance. No chemistry. Like the dates Yuzuri always complains about-- no dinner first.

“How’s it going?” The wood muffles Yuzuri’s voice, but he can hear each word as crisp as an accusation. “Getting close?”

Suzu’s tongue falls in an exasperated cluck, swiveling his neck toward the door. “Just how long do you think this takes?”

“In my vast experience,” she drawls, her tone vibrating at the frequency glass shatters, “you should already be done.”

He’s tempted to balk, maybe even disparage her previous paramours, but, well-- if she was here, her soft, slender hands wrapped around his cock, whispering encouragement into his ear, Suzu doubts he’d fare much better. His cock gives a good twitch of agreement, and promptly continues to get absolutely nowhere.

“Well,” he manages, mouth utterly dry-- another factor making this whole venture both uncomfortable and unlikely-- “I can’t do it when you’re right out there, listening.”

Even through the door her sigh is heavy, frustrated. “I’m taking notes!”

“I don’t see why,” he snaps, giving his shaft a vengeful stroke. It, like all the others, feels good while also being irrevocably, disappointingly wrong. “It’s not like you’ll be describing this in Methods.”

“Because if I take notes, this is experimentation,” she explains haltingly, “and if I don’t, then...”

Then he’s just a young man fruitlessly jerking off in a closet while she listens, no matter the details. She could sit back at the table, of course, folding those shapely legs beneath her, biting her lip with a longing glance over her shoulder but--

But it wouldn’t change anything. He’s still in a closet, hand around his cock, hoping for some relief, and she’s enabling him. The science is the only thing between her and a scandal.

“It’s just...” His palm squeezes the base of his shaft, a spark of arousal zipping up his spine. “It’s like trying to pee when there’s someone in the next stall.”

There’s a long moment of silence, enough that he wonders if she’s wandered away after all, ready to wash her hands of the whole thing. It’s his problem, after all, not hers, and she--

“Suzu.” Her voice is low, the kind of deep-throated whisper that sends static swirling over his skin. “Are you a shy pisser?”

His cheeks sting, heat prickling like a rash. Unfair-- by any natural law, or at least the ones in his repertoire-- he shouldn’t have the blood to spare for a blush, let alone one that fully threatens to expand its horizons in either northern or southerly direction. Any moment now he’ll start to get dizzy, maybe even pass out in this tiny bolthole of a closet, and Yuzuri will have to drag him out with his pants around the ankles before she goes and writes something like, subject’s delicate constitution precludes finishing trial, and--

“NO ONE LIKES PEEING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE.” His breath huffs out of him in ragged pants, and for once it has nothing to do with the state of his erection. Well, tangentially it does, but-- “honestly, Yuzuri.”

“Strange stance to take when you can pee on any tree you want,” she mutters, just audible through the oak. “Now are you going to finish this up or what?”

Suzu looks down at his cock-- still painfully hard, ridiculous jutting out from the ruin of his trousers-- and glares.

“Why are you even still here,” he grumbles, shoving it back behind his fall, buttons fumbling out of the grip of his trembling fingers. “Nothing about this is arousing.”

2:20

“I just don’t see what the big deal is,” Yuzuri says, incredulous, for what had to be the twelfth time since he’s stumbled out of the closet, desperately aroused and with no relief in sight. The repetition has not made the observation any less embarrassing. “You must do it all the time.”

Suzu hunches over his knees, willing himself to disappear. Like everything he wants, invisibility remains frustratingly elusive. “I’m not talking to you about-- about--”

“Jerking off?” Her brows make a rousing bid for her hairline. “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”

He shrivels sullenly. “It’s not fair.”

Yuzuri sighs, but she tips her head to look at him, hair falling like a solid sheet of gold over her shoulder, neck curved in an elegant line, ready for a mouth to--

Ugh. Suzu buries his face between his knees. His suffering is unending.

“How is this unfair?” She asks, annoyance adding spikes to every oblivious word that falls from her lips. “Just because your genitalia is external and obvious?”

It should be impossible to be so angry and so aroused at the same time, not without blissfully passing out to avoid both states, but here he is, still conscious. Still conscious, and the tatters of his brain-to-mouth filter frittered away by the ache in his crotch.

“It’s not fair,” he seethes raggedly, “because nothing is happening to you!”

The silence his shout leaves behind is deafening. What was he thinking? He never raises his voice, not like this, and especially not at Yuzuri. Yuzuri who could be doing anything else instead of sitting here, nursing him through the worst night of his life.

“What?”

He can barely bring himself to look up, to look at the confusion furrowing her perfect alabaster brow.

“I know it’s not your fault, but--” he should really stop himself, but an object in motion stays in motion, and there’s no friction he can provide that can stop the truth from barrelling out of his mouth-- “here I am, experiencing death by erection, and you--” he waves his hand vaguely in her direction-- “are immune or something.”

“Immune?” The word hisses between her teeth, sharp as a page’s edge. “Suzu, I’m dying. I-- I can barely sit upright, but someone has to write this down.”

Suzu stares. Properly this time, gaze fixed to her face, and-- she’s flushed, pink blooming around the gathering at her collar, and twinging up her neck, flooding her cheeks. “W-what?”

“What do you mean ‘what?’“ she snaps. “It’s not like I’ve been hiding it! Just because I don’t have external genitalia doesn’t mean I’m not--”

She throws up her hands, the noise she makes halfway between a grunt and a scream,all frustration. Her one arm drops, wiping at her forehead--

Her forehead, which is coated in sweat. Wiped by her hands, which are trembling. Right above her eyes too, too dark even for the dimness of the room. And her thighs, they rub together, pressed tight at their apex--

His mouth dries. Her chemise is wet, right where it settles over her crotch. The scent in the room now is not just herbs and alcohol, but something earthy and tantalizing, something he’d like to taste on his tongue.

“Yuzuri,” he says slowly, heart pounding in his ears. “Are you...horny?”

She turns to him with those too dark eyes, breath huffing out her small nose.

“You,” she sighs, trembling fingers pressing to her temples, “are an utter moron.”

#suzuri #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #my fic #ans #somewhere on the citrus scale but god knows where it is #definitely not a lemon but limey??? maybe???#listen I know I said this would show up in February #but obviously things rarely work out the way i wish they would #i'm hoping to have the third and definitely final part out this August #but that all depends on bingo and obiyukiweek!

12 notes · View notes

mothman-misato · 2 years

Text

this post is super long i'm sorry in advance...

i got curious so i was looking up stuff about Iwanuma City bc bakuten brain rot is wild and i found an article that said bakuten "is part of a three part plan called Zutto Ouen Project 2011 + 10.. (ずっとおうえん。プロジェクト 2011+10…) These anime are about the affected areas of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and will be aired on Fuji TV to try to help promote the affected areas." source

so i got super fascinated and looked up more of the Zutto Ouen Project. The article I looked at said, "The three major projects are not directly related. But they all take place in either Fukushima, Miyagi, or Iwate prefectures in the Tohoku region." source These prefectures were all specifically affected by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. The projects are as follows:

Bakuten!!

Miyagi Prefecture

for those finding this post that aren't in the bakuten fandom, bakuten is a 12 episode sports anime about men's rhythmic gymnastics (there is also a movie coming soon)

The first episode was released in April 2021

Can be streamed on crunchyroll

Misaki no Mayoiga

Iwate Prefecture

this one is a movie based on a novel by Sachiko Kashiwaba

Released on August 2021

I can’t find a streaming service that officially has a sub or dub, but if anyone knows of one please let me know (i am not above watching bootleg versions)

Hula Fulla Dance

Fukushima Prefecture

this is a movie about a girl who works at a hawaiian spa in fukushima

This was released 10 days ago in Japan (on Dec 3, 2021)

I also can’t find a streaming service that this is on in the US, but it was released very recently so I’m not sure if there will be or not.

i will definitely have to go watch the two movies now.

it gets bakuten specific from this point on btw

the project is specifically to promote tourism to those prefectures to help rebuild the economy which is super cool but it also allows for some easter eggs and culture to show up in/for bakuten

• it's why we get this image of the boys in this specific outfit, which was already explained in this post by paul

• also in episode 7, during the flashback where the third years are talking to shida in a small restaurant, there's a little doll in the bottom left corner. that doll is actually Iwanuma's PR character, Kakarichou

i'm sure there's a ton more easter eggs but that's all i could find offhand (i might go rewatch the whole show just to try to find more easter eggs like this)

but it got me thinking, a lot of animes use real life places as a basis for their scenery, especially sports animes, and since this sports anime in particular is meant to show off miyagi, there's probably very specific locations used in bakuten that shouldn't be too hard to find images of online. and i was right.. a quick google search of iwanuma city got me these things:

*disclaimer: there is no actual proof that i can find of this, this is just my own best guess based on basic googling so if i'm incorrect don't be surprised. that being said, i'm pretty confident in what i found.

millennium hope hills

takekoma shrine (from the art above)

the path that shida is always walking on

there's definitely more places i could find if i looked hard enough. it's 4am when i'm making this though, and i have finals tomorrow, so i will have to look next week. that being said, someone remind me that i want to try to find: sekiou university (where they use the mat), the place where they have the competitions, maybe the high school (but i imagine this will be particularly difficult), and the goose wall (this one may be impossible but if it exists i have to know).

on top of all that, i found out that the characters names (last name specifically) are all actual towns and cities and places in the tohoku region. a lot of them are places in miyagi specifically (though not all of them).

i double checked all of them. both teams.

most of them are cities, towns, districts, etc. not all of them though. ryugamori is a mountain. azuma is a mountain range.

anyway thats all i am allowing myself to look up right now since i need sleep

#i thought this was super cool so i thought i'd share #i'm scheduling this to be posted at a time where it's not absurd to be awake #i would just post it then but finals #long post #bakuten #bakuten!!#backflip!!#zutto ouen project #anime #this felt like a whole research project #misaki no mayoiga #hula fulla dance #edens thoughts

12 notes · View notes

lightinalexandria · 3 years

Text

Dictatorship vs Theocracy: The Lesser of Two Evils?

August 11th, 2021 اغسطس ١١

If you were reading this post in Arabic from me as an Egyptian journalist, or even in English, and the police found it...in the best case scenario I'm brought down to the station, "scared straight" and let off with a promise never to criticize the govt again. But I’ve heard of lots of scenarios anecdotally, as recently as 2 years ago, where activists just disappear. Want to know what life would have looked like in a dystopian alternate universe 30 years after Trump succeeded in his coup and never left? That said, the way the situation is viewed by politically moderate Egyptians and Americans -if such a thing still exists- is so very different, and that’s the real point of this post.

After the Egyptian revolution in 2011, when Mubarak left, from what I’ve read and heard, there were 3 main paths forward. The most exciting was Egyptian civil society fielding an organized enough field of candidates to become viable as a governing power. The second was the Muslim Brotherhood candidates, an ultra-religious Salafism-influenced theocratic organization. The third was an interim military govt. That thin strand of spiderweb hope for civil society fell apart, and someone who is much more versed in Egyptian history and culture than me no doubt has an explanation. The first real election after the revolution saw Morsi from the Muslim Brotherhood elected, and a scant year after the military coup that brought Sisi to power, where he remains almost 10 years later.

Okay, you could have read that from a history article. Here are stories from friends on the ground, though; I know at least 2 Egyptians in my circle that would have FOR sure voted for Biden over Trump, but have come to look positively at Sisi. One of them was active in student protests AGAINST Sisi during the revolution; he still has the scars where one of Sisi’s military police shot him in the face during a demonstration. That said, he’s terrified of what a theocratic govt. under the Muslim Brotherhood might look like. As a queer Egyptian, it’s already a risk to have liaisons with men, and you can still be arrested, but that’s way ahead of the Salafi death penalty. He also carries so much trauma from the year after the revolution without any functioning govt -standing outside his house during looting with a sword because civilians don’t have guns and all the police ran away- that to have a strong govt feels like a relief. Of course, of course he hates the lack of free press, but puts it way higher up Maslow’s hierarchy of Societal Needs than most of us Americans would.

The other Egyptian in my circle who supports Sisi sees the Muslim Brotherhood as an existential threat to Egypt because their primary loyalty is to a pan-African Islamic caliphate and not the state of Egypt. She points to a very controversial Ethipoian dam project at the mouth of the Nile that was green lighted during Morsi’s short reign as Muslim Brotherhood leader of Egypt. Ethiopia is building it, and Egyptians are furious because the Nile flows through Egypt after Ethiopia. She also -and I see strong echoes of my Chinese friends thinking- points to Sisi’s anti-poverty programs as strong and necessary authoritarian measures. Sisi has starting razing unplanned buildings and slums, including in my city of Alexandria, and forcing residents to move to new apt. buildings in different parts of the city. They cannot sell the new apartments for 20 years. Of course many residents are delighted at the new digs; TV this summer is oozing with govt propaganda videos showing sad Egyptians with sad music in slums and happy Egyptians with happy music in new flats. And…residents don’t have a choice to move. In Alexandria that land under the slums has been sold to a Saudi conglomerate to develop a water park.

For me it’s helpful to think of gov’t philosophy in different countries as reflecting family structures; in Egypt, the man is the undisputed head of the household, legally and socially. We cringe at paternalism of Europeans towards their colonies now, and I don’t have the full perspective to say how similar or different it is from intra-national paternalism like this, but there’s definitely a relation.

A final note, about the economy under Sisi. If you suspected a military dictator might not prioritize the lower and middle classes, you’d be right. (You could argue the housing program I mention above does mean he’s prioritizing them, but maybe wait to reserve judgement). Simply put, the army has taken over the economy. I’d say it follows the playbook of nationalization that other socialist or communist govt has followed, but in so many sectors, it seems like the army is just undercutting local businesses. All the army brass is involved in running disparate businesses; telecom, mango export, apartment construction. The army companies don’t pay taxes as a national subsidiary like other Egyptian private companies, so they can undercut most prices. I’m surprised it hasn’t produced a seething mass of disgruntled Egyptian businesspeople ready to fund another revolution, which makes me think there must be some sweetheart deals in the back room.

And what has Sisi done about the pollution, overcrowding and generally lower living standards in a city like Cairo? Invested in improving local infrastructure, pollution mitigation technology/funding? Nope. He’s building new cities for upper-middle and upper class Egyptians to move to. Not neighborhoods. Cities, in the desert, like a pharaoh of old. Look up “New Cairo” or “New Alamein.” I’ve been there, it’s spooky, like a fancy mall that goes on forever. Big middle finger to the broke, un-educated masses staying behind. I guess you could make an argument for the benefits of lessening over-crowding. Maybe Sisi has a grand plan to swoop in once the old cities empty out a bit and work some magic. But I don’t think so.

The Muslim Brotherhood might have done more to improve at least the economic conditions of Egypt’s more vulnerable citizens. I don’t think they would have built the separate cities, or involved the army as a business octopus in every lucrative industry. But then, the very little social freedom Egyptian women enjoy would be cut back another 40 years, maybe to full body niqabs and mandatory accompaniment by a male family member. Public displays of affection of any kind, even between opposite sex couples, banned in any sort of public space. I want to be clear that the Muslim Brotherhood represents one far end of the Islamic spectrum in the same way that ultra-orthodox Zionist Judaism represents one far end of the Jewish spectrum, one that has little to no relation to the way I understand and practice Judaism. I’ve had many discussions with friends here -who are simulateously progressive feminists and devout Muslims- on the 5 pillars of Islam, the way they support a reflective and fulfilled life, and the way more extreme interpretations twist the original intention.

To bring it back around, Egypt is now a military dictatorship, and has both repressed dissent and consolidated economic power so effectively I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The world is such a very complicated and Machiavellian place. From the American perspective with a free press, democratic-ish elections, social freedom, a stable govt and a booming economy, of course Sisi’s dictatorship seems irredeemably, one sidedly terrible. But what if you had to choose just 2 or 3 of those 5 things? Of course us dreamers and activists want to push for all of them, and we should, but what if the only organized factions capable of governing brought only some of those benefits to the table. What would you choose?

#egyptianpolitics #egypt news #sisidictator

4 notes · View notes

ahopkins1965 · 4 years

Text

Toggle navigation

Browse

The Bible Toggle Dropdown

Search The Bible

Find it!

Why Will the Meek Inherit the Earth?

Bible / Bible Study / Topical Studies

Share Tweet Save

Heather Adams

Contributing Writer

Sunday, August 30, 2020

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).

Jesus spoke this familiar verse on a hillside near the town of Capernaum. It is one of the Beatitudes, a group of instructions the Lord gave to the people. In some ways, they echo the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses, in that they provide directions for righteous living. These focus on characteristics believers need to possess.

I have to confess that I used to look at this verse as if it were an item on a spiritual to-do list, but that is much too shallow a view. I was also puzzled a bit by it - I wondered what it meant to be meek and how that would lead to blessing. Have you wondered that as well?

As I've explored this verse more, God has shown me that it holds a lot deeper meaning than I realized. Jesus' words challenge my desire for instant gratification, and offer me blessings as I let God be in control of my life.

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way" (Psalm 76:9).

What Does "the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" Mean?

Dividing this verse into two sections helped me see how important Jesus' choice of words was.

"Blessed Are the Meek…"

In modern culture, the term "meek" might conjure up the image of a person who is mild, passive and even timid. But as I searched for a more complete definition, I discovered what a beautiful trait it actually is.

The ancient Greeks, namely Aristotle - "the character of one having the passion of resentment under control, and therefore is tranquil and untroubled."

Dictionary.com - "humbly patient under provocation from others, compliant, gentle, kind"

Merriam-Webster Dictionary - "enduring injury with patience and without resentment."

Bible Dictionaries add to the idea of meekness bringing a sense of calm to the soul. The King James Bible Dictionary says "mild of temper, not easily provoked or irritated, submissive to the Divine will, not proud or self-sufficient."

The Baker's Evangelical Dictionary entry builds on the notion of meekness being connected with having a longer view: "It describes strong people who are placed in positions of weakness who keep going without sinking into bitterness or a desire for vengeance."

Meekness, then, comes not from fear, but a firm foundation of trust and faith in God. It reflects a person who keeps their eyes fixed on Him, who is able to withstand unfair treatment and injustices with grace.

"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility…" (Zeph. 2:3).

The second half of Matthew 5:5 refers to the result of living with true meekness of spirit.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Gift Habeshaw

"...for They Will Inherit the Earth."

This phrase was confusing to me until I understood more of that longer view God wants us to have. In other words, we are ideally living here on Earth while being aware of the life that's yet to come. In our humanness, that can be a hard balance to strike.

The inheritance Jesus' means is peace, joy and contentment in our daily lives, wherever we find ourselves, and hope for our future. Again, this is not a popular idea in a world that places importance on grabbing fame, wealth and accomplishments as soon as possible. It highlights the things that matter to God versus those of men, and Jesus wanted the people to see the clear difference between the two.

Jesus knew that most people in His time made their living as farmers, fishermen or tradesmen. They weren't rich or powerful, but had to deal with those who were. Being oppressed by both Roman rule and the religious leaders led to frustrating and even fearful moments. Jesus wanted to remind them that God was still present in their lives, and they were called to live by His standards.

This passage as a whole also hints at the persecution that first Jesus, and then His followers, would face. He would soon share with the Apostles how he would be put to death and rise again. Most of them, in turn, would later experience some of the same treatment. It would be vitally important for the disciples to see Jesus' circumstances, and their own, through eyes of faith.

What Are the Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes are part of a much larger teaching Jesus gave near Capernaum. He and the twelve disciples had been travelling through Galilee, with Jesus teaching and healing as they went. Crowds soon began coming from all over the region to see Him. Finally, Jesus went up onto a hillside to speak to the enormous gathering. The Beatitudes are the opening to this message, popularly known as The Sermon on the Mount.

Through these points, recorded in Matthew 5:3-11 and Luke 6:20-22, Jesus laid out characteristics that genuine believers are to have. They can be seen as a "Christian code of ethics" that clearly show how different God's ways are than the ways of the world. Jesus meant the Beatitudes to serve as a moral compass to guide people when facing temptations and troubles in this life.

Each begins with "Blessed are," and presents a specific trait. Then, Jesus states what the ultimate reward will be for those that are faithful in it, whether right away or at a future time. He goes on from there to teach other principles for Godly living.

In Chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel, verse 5 is the third Beatitude of eight. Before that, Jesus introduced the traits of being poor in spirit, and of mourning. All of these first three qualities speak of the value of humility and acknowledge God's supremacy.

Jesus continues, speaking of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, of being merciful and pure in heart, of seeking to make peace and of being persecuted.

All Believers Are Called to Be Meek

God's Word emphasizes meekness as one of the most essential traits a believer can have. In fact, this quiet but powerful endurance is one way that we are set apart from those of the world. According to Scripture, everyone who desires to please God will:

See the value in meekness, embracing it as part of a Godly life.

Desire to grow in meekness, knowing we can't do it without God.

Pray for opportunities to show meekness to others, hoping it will lead them to God.

The Old and New Testaments are full of lessons and reminders about this characteristic. Many of the early heroes of the faith lived it out.

"Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3).

Jesus taught over and over about humility and loving our enemies. Those two elements show that being meek is not passive, but making an active choice motivated by God's love.

"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:43-44).

In this passage from Matthew 11, Jesus spoke of Himself in this way, then invited others to join Him.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).

Jesus showed us the ultimate example of meekness during His trial and crucifixion. He willingly tolerated abuse and then death because He knew the result would be salvation for us. Isaiah shared a prophesy of this event that reads, "he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, he did not open his mouth…" (Isaiah 53:7).

Later, the Apostle Paul encouraged the new church members to respond to Jesus' meekness by “putting it on” themselves, and letting it govern their behavior.

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12).

As we think more about meekness, though, we need to keep in mind that we are not meant to stay silent all the time. God always takes care of us, but He may call us to speak out and defend Him to others, maybe even loudly. Jesus provides us with a model for that as well. He knew the passions of His Father's heart, and let those lead Him during His ministry. For example:

"When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” (John 11:43).

"So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’” (John 2:15-16).

Photo credit: Unsplash/Aaron Burden

What Does This Verse Mean for Believers Today?

Meekness may sound like an outdated idea. But if God calls us to it, He will show us how it applies to our lives. We may not face open persecution, but we certainly can find ourselves caught up in unfair circumstances. The question is how we handle those moments.

For instance, how do you think you'd respond if someone talked about you behind your back, or your faith was made fun of, or another person took advantage of you? We can try to defend ourselves, or we can ask God to equip us with quiet dignity to go through. One way leads to momentary relief, while the other leads to spiritual growth, and may even be a witness to others.

If I'm honest, meekness is not always my first response, because it goes against my human tendency to get justice and to stand up for myself. My heart needs to change, but it won't happen without God's touch. With a prayer, I can invite Him into the process. The Lord will build each of us up, revealing practical and powerful ways to walk out the trait each day.

The mindset of meekness is a discipline that will strengthen us to face any type of difficulty or bad treatment. Having this kind of spirit is one of the hardest yet most rewarding goals we can set. Now that I see what being meek means and where it will lead me, I'm more determined to make the journey.

Heather Adams is an author, speaker, and singer living in Connecticut. Heather’s passion is to equip and encourage believers to seek more of God’s truth and to experience more of His joy each day. Her book, Bow Down: The Heart of a True Worshipper is a practical, 30-day devotional about worship based on the writings of King David. Heather's blog, Worship Walk Ministries, offers weekly Scripture passages and insights to ponder. A native New Englander, Heather is settling into her home in the South, trying out local foods and watching for the alligators that live nearby! You can connect with her on her website: heatheradamsworshipwalk.com