#whether it's handfasting

[celestialholz]

ok you already know what TF is going on!!!!

tm 45 venoshock (evil). tm 146 grass pledge (gay). tm 95 leech life (divorce snail). tm 156 outrage (eviler). tm 115 dragon pulse (because if nobody else does it i will).....tm100 dragon dance (🥰). do not feel obligated to do them all these are just a compilation of the concepts we talked abt

Oh Austro, darling. I'm about to murder you in cold blood. ;) A tale in three parts for you, my good pal. The last one of these three was also requested by dear @xfriki26, and the other two here will be under a read more to respect space. Cross-posted to AO3 here as chapters five, six and seven respectively, welcome to a miniature saga of just about every genre going, which we shall begin with by killing y'all stone dead with:

TM115: Dragon Pulse

Beep.

Beep.

Brassius thinks he may be going mad. He’d thought that a multitude of times during his ice-cold, static darkness, but this is a different form of insanity: a hammering, a fractured, desolate, desperate despair.

Beep.

Beep.

He wants the beeping to shut up almost as deeply as he cherishes its rhythm, its sheer brilliance. He could wax artistic lyrical on how fervently he cherishes the machine that affixes his sun to its true orbit at his side, paint it in the yellows and oranges of joy and the purple of dragons for its remarkable cleverness – wide, tender brush-strokes, gentle gratitude poured into every trembling sweep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

How ironic, he muses darkly, that Hassel’s heart should be the thing to fail – that loyal, stalwart, core of sunshine, that is so achingly full of acceptance and understanding and vibrance, that had dragged his beloved back from the depths of the shadows.

Between them, now, they can barely make a decently functioning pulmonary system. The breath of life, the heart of the matter – both irreparably scarred, merely patched over with bandages and craft glue and hope and the most blinding, frantic adoration. They’ve operated upon his love, as though he is a mere tapestry, sown and stitched and patched -

Hassel is not meant to be fixed. He should never be broken in the first place. He’d thought they understood one another very well, after fifteen years together. You stand tall, querido; I fall, me. Not you. Never, ever you, because how am I supposed to -

He chokes back a panicked breath, squeezes dull, greyed eyes closed. He doesn’t have contingency for this – he was never supposed to make any. This isn’t his role. And perhaps that makes him the world’s most selfish bastard, perhaps he’s awful and leech-like and unworthy of such light, but perhaps he’s also saved because he would swap them, swap them every single damn time – you already have my lungs, take my wretched heart as well, it’s better than watching this –

Beep.

Beep.

… He hasn’t even gotten around to asking him to marry him, after all this time. They’d had forever - what was the rush? The gap in Hassel’s family is glaring, he doesn’t want to invoke painful memories of people who would never wish to attend, and they are husbands in all but name nevertheless, promise rings long since sculptured from crystals and worn against their hearts anyway.

He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t expected the chance to be possibly lost for all time -

Beep.

Beep.

Gods, how the hell does he deal with this every time it happens in reverse? How many hours has his world watched his own slowly fade away?

“It doesn’t matter,” Hassel had told him once, tears glistening in warm, adoring eyes. “It simply doesn’t matter. You are worth every moment of the agony, darling. You coming back each time is the only thing that counts.”

He tries, physically shaking, to hold such sentiments against his core, because his dragon’s always been entirely right. He is damaged goods too, now – he can empathise, now. And later, when muted sun meets frosty moon once again, all will be harmonious in the celestial sphere. The stars do not lament; they celebrate a joyous reunion, the return of gravity to a uncertain universe, an essential dual orbit.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

His role, flipped, is now to support – to shine himself, to endure, to treasure a recovery Hassel will make. You will make it. I need you. Always have done. And I will look after you, smotheringly, achingly. Oh, you’ll hate it, even though I will see the smile in your beautiful gaze and understand that you love it.

He breathes a quivering laugh, stumbling across his own tongue.

… Well, it is night-time. It’s his shift anyway.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

He clings to his sunshine’s hand as though it’s all that tethers him to the earth, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Come back to me,” he pleads, infinitely soft. “Come back and be my husband, won’t you dearest?”

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

TM146: Grass Pledge

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

“… Br…”

Brassius snaps awake from a light doze on their fifth night in the hospital, as though bidden by hope alone, to find a weak Hassel staring straight at him. Sunlight stabs at his frozen heart, piercing its outer shell instantly, and he breaks, fragments of ice shattering down around him.

“D-dear,” he whispers, heat pooling immediately in his gaze. “You’re here, you’re back -”

“Mm,” his beloved murmurs, coughing softly. “Just… just about…”

Water is poured by trembling hands, held to lips, tipped up ever so gently even as Hassel blurs before him, rendered briefly invisible by tears and heat and relief and gods, thank you -

"Br..." Hassel clears a now lubricated throat, and Brassius immediately meets his gaze - sunshine swathed by shadows, the darker moments before sunrise. As deeply grateful as he is to see the light, he curses its lack of luminence.

"Yes, my love?"

"... You okay?" He coughs again, and despite the sun's dimness, his concern is clear as day. "You... are too pale."

Brassius stares at him for a second, aghast, before dissolving spontaneously into tearful laughter, exasperation and absolute joy, and he's trembling, and dear heavens, why would it matter what he looks like -

"The sun came back out," he tells him eventually, as a weak hand clings to his as tight as it can, as he's watched with soft worry. "I'd been beginning to think it would never stop raining. I'll... I'll be fine, now."

"Good," Hassel murmurs, reassured; even as his eyes droop closed once more, and a thread of anxiety rushes back up his lover's spine, a gentle thumb runs against his in silent promise. Alright, now. "Wouldn't do... for us both to be old and broken, d-darling."

"You are no such thing," Brassius protests immediately, heart rebelling against the mere thought. "Look at you, querido. Sunshine incarnate."

Hassel murmurs a small laugh, cherishing the water that he's once more offered.

"Funny, you say that," he whispers after a further drink, a wonder held in his gaze. "I only... see one source of light, here."

Even as he's tenderly kissed, even after he drifts back off to much-needed rest, inspiration strikes his beloved, a sparkling of genius.

Oh, you clever, wonderful, miracle of a man. You conductor of moonlight. Where the sun meets the moon...

He makes plans, as he falls asleep himself: gentle, loving, delightful schemes, tears slipping beneath closed lids as he nods off.

/////////////

He prepares quietly, when they get home; sets the stage as Hassel recovers, buys the equipment, purchases the perfect jewellery, bides his time. Doting on his beloved is by far the more pressing matter, and thus it takes him weeks, but eventually...

They finish a homemade casserole lovingly prepared, just as day begins to shift; just as it begins to turn to night, he asks his beloved to head outside with him, into the garden that overlooks the shimmering beauty of the East Paldean Sea.

"My dear, where on earth are we g -"

Hassel stops instantly at the sight before him; at the ring boxes, at the arch strung over with vines and lights, at the strands of green and purple cord that sit between it all, tearful eyes slowly drawing to his nervous partner's.

"Is that...?" he swallows a sob, utterly rapt.

"It is," Brassius confirms, eyes scanning him, gauging his thoughts, reading softly a man he knows the soul of better than his own. "Should you wish it to be, anyway -"

He gets no further for a long minute, damp kisses pressed to his lips, over and over.

"'Should I wish it,'" he repeats, laughing shakily in disbelief. "And at dusk, no less. Where the sun meets the moon, you brilliant, brilliant individual."

Brassius chuckles, similarly breaking. "You'll forgive me my poetry, I'm sure."

"I will forgive you anything, my darling." He chokes down tears, conscious of time, conscious of his lover's artistic vision. He can cry later, and he will - oh, he will. He doubts he'll stop for hours.

"So, you will, then -"

"Yes, I will," Hassel tells him clearly, fondly, adoringly, trembling hand coming to a precious, flushed cheek. "Arceus himself could drag neither of us away, despite his best efforts."

They marry, as the warmth of ambient sunset glazes over them; hands wrapped in cord of alternate colours, the draconic for the biological and vice versa; they whisper nonsense vows, straight from their cores, babbled and pure and perfect; they adopt glistening emeralds or dazzling violets as the moon takes reign, and there are tears enough to proclaim the sea that spectates them flooded.

"Why now?" Hassel asks his husband afterwards, tears still glistening in his eyes, his forehead gently pressed upon his beloved's. "All these years..."

"I thought we had forever," Brassius tells him simply, voice thoroughly raspy by this point, clinging tightly to him, as though he might fall to his doom should he ever let go.

"We do, my love," comes the replying whisper, the utter certainty. "I'm sorry, for frightening you so deeply..."

Brassius sobs into him, believing him with his whole heart, and shakes his head.

"You were worth every moment of the agony, dearest," he promises him truthfully, burying himself into soft folds of fabric, and the softest man of all.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

TM100: Dragon Dance

It’s difficult to practice for a celebration, when one’s heart or lungs have had their cracks filled in as though via liquid sunshine; an astral kintsugiri leaves one less willing than they might have been to put their beloved through physical stress.

“Well,” Hassel notes tiredly as they take seats together, “come the moment, darling husband, we could just vibe with it.”

Brassius glances at him, bewilderment strewn through his grey gaze.

“You know, as in do our collective best, dependent on our emotions at the time?” Hassel’s expression creases in thought. “I think that’s what my students mean by it, anyway…”

The pair burst into soft laughter, hands automatically finding one another’s and gripping on tight.

“Everything will be wonderful, querido,” Brassius whispers, “because you will be there, and I will be right there with you.”

Hassel takes a gentle breath, and melts into his side, stinging eyes closing as he smiles warmly.

“Indeed,” he murmurs, content. “That’s all I’ve ever needed.”

“And I.”

Hassel kisses him, swallowing his tremulous voice, assuaging his lingering anxiety.

/////////

It is beautiful if mad, their celebratory dance. They don’t say vows – they already have, the words for them and them alone, sparkling in the intimacy of the dusk. They simply host a small gathering, fairy lights strung up across their whole garden now, Grass types mingling between fauna, guests somewhere between buffet tables, wine refills and comfortable garden furniture. Lilligant develops a quiet, blushing crush on Katy’s dear Heracross, who flexes happily for his smitten acquaintance; a far too competitive Breloom attempts to spar with a far too competitive Staraptor, who promptly and triumphantly puts the bird to sleep the moment he gets too feisty; Flapple doesn’t leave the side of her fathers, chirruping happily as a laughing Hassel feeds her cake with a wink and an indulgent promise that she’s only allowed a little.

“Have a heart, kid,” Larry announces dryly, as he plucks her phone from a whining Iono, who has been attempting to livestream the event. She tries to snatch it from the air, which goes about well as such a height difference might imply.

“Awww! Just tryna share the joy!”

“Enjoy it, instead. Live in the moment. Pick up tips for the future, when someone feels like putting up with you for long enough.”

“Hey!”

He smirks down at his pseudo-daughter, his face softening. “Trust me,” he mutters, glancing warmly at Katy, who’s giggling at her Heracross. “If I can find them, anyone can.”

It’s endearingly awkward and inaccurate when their dance comes, when they take centre stage; steps misaligned at points, gentle amusement tripping from their lips. Shoes are stepped on, but the twirls are dramatic, and the audience appreciates their stars nevertheless, cheers, sobs and applause raising from their friends.

“Doing well, my love?” Brassius whispers as he swept up from their bowed finale, being drawn into a gentle, loving kiss.

“Doing perfectly, my darling,” Hassel promises tearfully after a moment, nuzzling his forehead to his husband’s. “And you?”

“Can’t complain,” he teases, and they both burst out laughing until tears stream down their faces in utter joy. Breath is briefly pulled from lungs, exhaustion reigns, but nothing ruins their harmony, their victory, their perfectly imperfect wedding reception.

They may have to take tomorrow slow; they may have to take the rest of their lives at an easier pace, a gentle stroll into forever instead of a sprinting wildness - but take it together they will, every step of the way.

Got a request for The Technical Festival, which celebrates Ephemeralart and Vanillacupcakes through the medium of TMs? Take a look here; my askbox is open!

#the technical festival #ephemeralartshipping #hassius #hassel #brassius #pokemon scarlet and violet #my writing #bringing a whole new meaning to 'heartbreaking' ;) #... no I'm really not sorry thank you for asking #look okay #fellow hassius writers #I don't care HOW you have these guys get married #whether it's handfasting #a massive Paldea-wide party #epic amounts of drama #you do you and I will adore it anyway #but if you're not hosting it at dusk are you even writing a hassius wedding #tm115 - dragon pulse #tm146 - grass pledge #tm100 - dragon dance

[lailoken]

A couple images of our Wedding Altar.

The arbor was made by my father-in-law from a felled Cherry on our property, which we then entwined with Hops from our garden.

The Handfasting Rite we carried out is one granted by my Spirit Kith, which functions simultaneously as a ceremonial celebration of two families united, and as a Love-Binding spell that all present partook in (whether they knew it, or not.) The powers of Air, Water, Fire, and Earth were called in, respectively, and then brought together to bind us in a union of Spirit—upheld by our beloved dead and the wights of the land, alike. This pledge was finally ratified by a congregation of friends and family and sealed in the holy name of the Old Spider.

While it was fairly straightforward in some respects, it still managed to be one of the most potent rituals I've ever been involved in.

#personal #wedding #marriage #old spider #wending way

[sanjoongie]

Hi there bestie!

Can u write a fic like yan!ot8 royalty au (idk if u write yan!) , or u can do it in a possessive way or something like that🥹

*sending u love and hug to raise ur filthy mindset 👀*

~Topaz: thank you for loving my stuff and I really dug into this troupe for this, I hope you enjoy. I got a little too carried away, but dealers choice lmao

A wolf in sheep's clothing

✧Pairing: poly! ateez x reader (f) ✧Genre: smut ✧Au: werewolf, royalty, yandere ✧Word Count: 2,088 ✧Warnings: YANDERE! ATEEZ! (beware), possessive tendencies, somnophilia, violent tendencies, ✧Rated: 18+ MDNI ✧Dedication: @mejuii & @downtoamagicalland the unholy trinity beta teaaaaam <3

Your life was meant to be easy. As the heir of a dukedom, in a remote part of Terre du L'Ange, you were simply required to ensure your people were well provided for. Your parents weren't keen on if you married or not, you had a brother who was continuing the line of your family. So you could live your life within the forest of your childhood.

It wasn't until a messenger on a horse came one stormy night to break the news: the king was dead. It was a sad day when your ruler passed on. Your mother cried in anguish and your father looked uncomfortable. But there was more to the message than just the king was gone…

The pact between Terre de l'Ange and Terre du Diable had fallen through with the king unable to finish negotiations. And with no heir to take his place… there was about to be a war brewing. 

But a dark secret was discovered. You were actually the bastard child of the king. Your parents had married to hide this secret but the queen had known it all along. With no heir and the threat of a war, the queen had no choice but to summon you.

If you were to marry into the kingdom of Terre du Diable, there would be no war and now two kingdoms formed together. The High Queen of Terre du Diable et L'Ange has a ring to it. Thus your world was thrown upside down from living in your serene forest to being thrown to the wolves… quite literally. Only humans lived within Terre de L'Ange but only werewolves lived in Terre du Diable.

What anyone failed to inform you of, when you traveled to the Château du Loup, was that you were handfasted with eight different men and they all wanted you because whoever managed to get you pregnant first would become the king.

Seonghwa was the eldest, hair dark like a raven's feather, and courteous. Upon introduction, he bowed over your offered hand and kissed the back of it. Hongjoong was the second eldest, eyes alit with danger, and growled when you were introduced to the third. Seonghwa had to hold Hongjoong back from attaching himself to you. Yunho smiled and blushed, murmuring about being the first to dance with you during the ball. He laughed with a hand held over his mouth. Yeosang smiled serenely and promised to give you a tour of the menagerie and grounds and especially the gardens, after he brandished a white rose for you. San offered a different tour, how to get to his room and one of his body. He promised both would be very educational. Mingi promised that your boudoir would be full of beautiful dresses and breathtaking shoes. He wanted you to feel spoiled. Wooyoung launched his body against yours, hugging you tightly to his chest and squealing about how much fun this was going to be. His mood was full of sunshine but his grin suggested mischief. Jongho, the youngest, couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge you, not even looking at you when you were introduced. He muttered something about mating with humans being beneath him and then you were swept away to be shown your rooms. 

It was up to you to approve of the mating, so whether the wolf princes liked it or not, if they wanted to be king, they had to do their best to get into your bed. 

Yunho was the first to approach you, which surprised you. The ball that was thrown in your honor the day you had arrived provided him a perfect opportunity to dance you into a secluded corner. His tongue found your sensitive neck, licking at a spot just under your ear. “Let me have the first taste of you, princess,” he murmured into your skin. His delicate fingers pulled at your skirts, inching them slowly up so that he may sneak those same fingers under.

“Duchess,” You corrected him, “I’ve never been a princess.”

A small smile curled at the corner of his lips, “Duchess, then.”

“I’m hardly in any hurry,” You dismissed him. “They already picked me, after all.”

Yunho frowned at you. “I can’t argue with that.”

“Exactly,” You winked at him and then moved back to the ball. 

San was next, now that one came as no surprise. He was waiting at your door for you to retreat for the night, stating you were tired from your travels. The small braids that held his hair from his face only underlined how sharp his cheekbones were. “Darling, I’ve been waiting for you,” He smirked from the shadows.

“Ah yes, you owe me a tour of your body, didn’t you say?” You quipped.

San giggled, high and childlike. “Straight to the point. I like you.”

You laughed under your breath. “You don’t have to like me. You just have to fuck me.”

San’s pupils blew at your words but he frowned. “I would hope it would be a bit more than that. We will be spending a lifetime together if I get you round with child.”

You cocked your head, curious. “Surely you don’t expect me to give you my heart upon the first night of meeting.”

San smiled crookedly. “No. But a small crush would do.”

“Okay. I’ll admit. I like you just a little bit,” You teased. 

San’s grin grew wider. He raised an eyebrow at you. “Shall we?” indicating he would join you in your bedroom.

“I don’t think so,” You replied. You tapped your finger on his nose and then went into your room alone.

You had already made a decision that you would not be fucking anyone on your first night. You didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, you certainly didn’t want to get knocked up by anyone you weren’t sure of, and most importantly, you did not want to seem like this was going to be an easy task.

What you hadn't expected was for Wooyoung to sneak into your bed that night. You woke up to some light caresses and mischievous giggle. “You’re a deep sleeper, lover,” Wooyoung cooed.

If it wasn’t for your lower half drenching, with Wooyoung’s fingers already deep in your cunt, you might have protested. But your back arched when he curled his fingers inside of you and you groaned loudly. “You make such cute noises when you’re asleep, I couldn't help myself. It’s your fault really.”

“Woo…young!” You panted in between being finger-fucked by one of your partners, “I am…not your…plaything!”

“I know, I know!” Wooyoung protested, “I only came in here to watch you sleep. But then you started to make these noises and I knew you needed something in you. The way you clenched your thighs together told me so!”

You grabbed the back of Wooyoung’s neck and pulled him close. The smug way he licked his lips told you everything you needed to know. “Make me come and then you leave,” You growled.

“Whatever you say, lover,” Wooyoung chirped.

Seonghwa was outside of your door to escort you to breakfast. He offered his arm and you curled your hand around it. “To what do I owe this honor?” You mused out loud.

“I made sure our cooks prepared a scrumptious breakfast for you and I would be loathe for you to miss it,” Seonghwa smiled charmingly for you.

“Mmm,” you hummed, “Not here to check if anyone was in my room?”

Seonghwa’s nostrils flared with quick anger but it was replaced by his charm. “Was there someone in your room last night?”

“Oh yes,” You informed him. “One of your rivals visited me in the wee hours. He’s quite skilled with his fingers.”

Seonghwa’s eyes traveled back and forth, trying to figure out who you were talking about with your vague hint. “Yunho? I saw him approach you during the ball.”

You shook your head, “Now now, Seonghwa. It wouldn’t be very wise for me to tell you who it was, would it?”

That’s when you found your back pressed up against the wall. “I will chop off the offending hand that laid itself upon you,” Seonghwa snarled.

You reached up and patted his cheek. “No need. I simply need some breakfast and then I’ll be plenty refreshed for today.”

Seonghwa let you go, bewildered that you simply skimmed over his outburst of anger. And that you didn’t mind that someone crept into your rooms. 

After breakfast, Yeosang approached you about showing you around the castle. You accepted and he smiled serenely. Yeosang was the epitome of a well of information. You didn’t manage to absorb a single thing he had shown you or told you, however, breath taken away by his side profile. 

“Thank you, Yeosang.” You couldn't help but brush strands of his hair out of his eyes. 

Yeosang blinked quickly but his hand was even faster to wrap around your wrist as you went to pull away. “Please,” He whimpered, “Don’t stop.”

You raked your hand through his hair and he whimpered at the stimulation. “I would do anything so that you could do this for me all day,” he admitted. 

“It would be an honor to gaze upon your face for an entire day, Yeosang,” You giggled.

Yeosang sighed happily in response.

Next, to the calm rain that was Yeosang, came in the fiery storm that was Hongjoong. In the afternoon, when you decided to read in the garden’s, Hongjoong came out of nowhere, diving at a servant who was attending you. You couldn't see exactly what was going on, but by the sounds of pain and the grunts, you were assuming Hongjoong was defending your honor from an unseen attack.

Hongjoong was panting when he stood up in the shrubbery. You had long put down your book and watched with big eyes as the blood splattered prince approached you. “I will never let another man look at you like that,” He growled. 

His hand came out to cup your cheek. His thumb stroked your cheek bone. “You are mine, do you hear me, my love?”

“But Hongjoong--” You were interrupted when Hongjoong’s lips came crashing down upon yours. He bit and pulled and sucked at your lips, like you truly were his. 

Mingi knocked quietly on your door in the evening, in which you allowed him in. He went straight to your boudoir and discarded the dresses that simply would not work with your body type or skin tone. “Only the best for my doll,” Mingi insisted.

You were one step behind him, arms clasped behind your back. “Are there any dresses that match an outfit of yours, perhaps?” You wondered curiously. 

Mingi turned around, his tongue caught between his teeth. “Why of course, my doll, I wish for everyone to know that you prefer me.”

“Now now, Mingi, I can’t show favoritism yet,” You scolded him.

“But you will wear what I ask of you, will you not? For me?” Mingi furrowed his eyebrows, “Surely you would?”

When you nodded slowly, a huge grin almost split Mingi’s face. “Perhaps you already favor me. But we don’t have to tell the others. They’ll get jealous.”

You learned Mingi was a liar that day when he told Jongho all about how you had proclaimed him as the favorite. The next morning, Jongho had cornered you, his face politely devoid of any emotion. “You can’t be stupid enough to have picked someone you liked the most already,” Jongho spat at you.

You shook your head. “Of course not, Jongho, I’ve yet to speak to you.”

Jongho looked taken aback. A light blush sprinkled along his face and he began to stutter. “Wh-what do you mean?”

You smirked, “Why, Jongho, you won’t even look at me. Whatever have I done to make you so cold towards me?”

Jongho’s eyes were on the floor, a small pout pulling his pink lips. “N-nothing, I just don’t like strangers.”

“But we’re not strangers, are we, Jongho? We are handfasted and should exchange affections.” You ruffled his hair and Jongho yelled at you. When you pulled away, he demanded you don’t stop. “You’re sending me mixed signals, sir,” You teased him.

“Puh-please,” Jongho stuttered, “I would like to feel your affections some more. Please.”

Half of the wolf princes were wrapped around your finger and the other half were pulling at the bit to be let loose upon you. You knew one thing for sure: you didn’t miss your serene forest anymore. This was too much fun.

xxxx If you'd like to apply to my tag list, please send me an ask with a fic title or starter sentence, and I'll write a fic for you! Please also indicate if you want to be tagged for all my work (i am a multi after all), just ateez fics, or specific ateez member's <3

#topaz's one year anniversary! #topaz amswered #star 🌟 is an illusion✨️ #ateez smut #ateez ot8 fic #yandere! ateez #topaz's work

[tackytigerfic]

WIP Snip

Thank you so much for tagging me @drarrily-we-row-along and for sharing that delicious slice of hot angst!

I don't have anything new from my long fic that I can share atm as I'm still working on original stuff to a deadline. However this is a bit from another fic I started last year and which is probably my next project once I finish the current WIP. In it, Harry and Draco have to get married to fulfill a curse bond, but then they go their separate ways. However, due to political stuff, now Draco is back and hiding out in Grimmauld Place, against Harry's wishes.

“You’ve all gone mad,” Harry said flatly. “That’s the only explanation for this. Have you all forgotten that two weeks ago he was at a press conference pledging his support for the Minister, and every single one of us knew that it might as well have been Lucius Malfoy standing up there.” Across the room, Malfoy flinched, and Harry felt viciously glad. “Maybe he did help Hermione, she says so, so it must be true. But I don’t trust him. I never have. I can feel him, Minerva, through the bond. I’m stuck with him. And now I have to live with him? I married him so I’d never have to see him again. And you’re trying to pretend this is a choice? I never thought you’d do this to me.”

He crossed the room in a temper, and Malfoy lifted his chin insolently, put a hand up to keep him back. Harry took his wrist terribly gently. 

“You can stay, Malfoy. But I need your promise as my husband that you won’t tell anyone where we are. Because I still don’t believe that you don’t want me dead.”

“Not caring about whether you live or die isn’t the same thing as actively wishing you dead,” Malfoy said casually. “But fine.” He twisted his wrist in Harry’s grip so they were holding hands, fingers intertwined. There wasn’t any trace of a tremble, though his hand was desperately cold. “I swear it, husband. I’ll keep your secrets.” Around their wrists, the handfast bond flared into life for a moment before fading out again.

“Right,” Malfoy said disgustedly, shaking his hand free. “That’s quite enough of that. I must say, it’s a thankless task, this spying business.” He smiled coldly at Harry. “I thought there’d be more glory, pitching in on the side of right. If I’d known it would be this much trouble, I wouldn’t have bothered.” He switched to Minerva, and it was a real smile this time. “Maybe someone should have told this one what was going on. I could have told you he’d react like this. He doesn’t like being left out of things.”

It was breathtaking, his arrogance, Harry thought. His absolute certainty that he knew anything about Harry, or that he had the right to talk about Harry like that. Harry felt the quiver of rage, like a living thing, something muscular, rippling through him.

“Please try to behave,” Minerva said, and then she was, horrifyingly, giving Malfoy a brief, fierce hug. “Harry.” She reached for him, and he couldn’t help it, he recoiled. She smiled, unhurt. “I shall see you soon. Never fear. We shall prevail again.” She slipped out of the kitchen, and in the sudden silence, Harry and Malfoy could hear her quick, quiet footstops ascending the stairs, and then the heavy thump of the big front door shutting.

“Don’t say a word,” Malfoy said quickly when Harry turned to him. “I’m not here to cause trouble, no matter what you think. I’m just trying not to die. Now I’m going to go to bed and very much not sleep. See you around, Potter.”

And then he was gone too, though after a few seconds Harry could no longer hear him, because he was in his socks in Harry’s home, and it was more horrible than Harry could have imagined. Harry slowly moved around the kitchen, gathering the dirty cups, emptying the teapot, hiding the rest of the Jaffa Cakes. The only sound was the low muffled crackle of the fire, and the pop of coals.

#wip snip #six sentence sunday #or more like nine paragraph sunday amirite #drarry #i queue #rowing and writing

[gubsgames]

Tavuary Day 13 - Vows

It was the thirteenth day of #Tavuary! There are two ways to participate by either following the Week-by-Week Prompts (Week Two is "Amour") or by using the Day-by-Day prompts found in this post! Fic Title: Thatch-Roofed Cottages Pairing: Astarion x Dandy (my Halfling Bard Tav) Warnings: None, just fluff. Summary: (Post-Game) They're going to the chapel, and they're going to get married.

Sprawled in bed with parchment scattered everywhere, Astarion and Dandy polished off their second bottle of wine and were about to start on a third. The pair cuddled beneath several blankets with Dandy’s head on Astarion’s shoulder as they poured over their copious note-taking.  “What about ‘I crossed oceans of time to find you?’” Astarion motioned wistfully with an outstretched hand.  “It sounds very pretty, but I thought you wanted to veer away from any sentiments that sound like love-is-worth-the-suffering?” He crossed out the line with a sigh. “This is hard. I used to be good at this, you know.” They were trying to craft the vows they would recite at their upcoming nuptials. They already held a “handfasting” ceremony, and Astarion still was not certain why they had to have a second wedding. He did, however, receive wagon from Dandy’s parents at the handfasting, but he was clueless as to whether the wagon was just a gift or some sort of dowry.  “Why don’t you just say what you said when we visited the graveyard? That was lovely.” “I don’t think your parents would appreciate me saying that I didn’t like you when we first met.” “I didn’t like you either.” “Little liar, you are incapable of disliking anyone,” Astarion laughed, “at least, until they have fully acted an ass.” “You certainly did.” Astarion snuck a glance at Dandy’s much more robust collection of notes in her swirling unreadable script and compared it to the few scattered scribbles on his own. His only accomplishment out of an evening’s worth of work was a ridiculous drawing of a dragon that amounted to little more than two S-shapes, stick legs, and a not insignificant amount of consummate Vs. He was just about to add some thatch-roofed cottages for the dragon to attack when Dandy doodled a blobby vaguely-rabbit-shaped orb with wings that likely could not support its weight on his paper. “I gave the dragon a friend,” she noted before adding little hearts and stars to her design. 

For a while, they just added to each other’s drawings until the entire surface of the parchment was full of delightful nonsense, including a mermaid taming a majestic winged phallus. “You can say whatever you’re comfortable with for your vows. You can be over-the-top romantic or plainspoken, and it won’t bother me either way. I know how you really feel, and that’s enough for me.” “I appreciate that, darling.” Astarion kissed the top of Dandy's head, enjoying a little nuzzle into chestnut brown waves. “Just no entendres — double, triple, or otherwise.” “I make no promises.”

#baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #tavuary #astarion #astarion x tav #fanfic #gubsgames

[dykepuffs]

I am fascinated by how over the next few decades we will probably get a whole new queer community, of the now-adult kids of queer parents.

I remember having ONE friend who had two lesbian Mams when I was a teenager, who didn't even go to the same school as me. And his Mammy and Mam had been in the local paper because of being denied IVF to have a second child - And the article included disgust and horror that they had a FIRST child, conceived the old-fashioned way. There was a week of readers' letters talking about how he should have been taken away from them.

So, he was basically alone in having the experience of being raised in queer community, even though he had plenty of gay friends, and as time wore on we met a few more people where one of their parents had come out late in life and they now had one gay parent, a gay stepdad or stepmam, but also still with one ostensibly straight parent too. But now, I feel like the first generation where a kid with two out gay parents who are both their parents has had the chance to know other kids-of-gay-parents when they were growing up, and to make a cohesive culture together.

Second- and third- generation queer people are going to have experiences and identities that I can't even fathom. My friend (Not the one with Mam and Mammy, but one whose Mam came out when he was in infants school and never got him a Stepmum, but who took him to all kinds of Dyke events and fully socialised in Dyke norms) grew up to be a lesbian, sort of- He was so embedded in lesbian culture, he only ever had relationships with bi dykes and ended up handfasting with a Butch and very much embracing being a Femme as part of that. Straight dating and straight sexual politics just totally lost him.

And now as an adult, know a few more people of all orientations who were raised by gay parents, and whether or not they think of themselves as queer seems to not be determined by their orientation but by something way more complicated. And I wonder how that will shake out over the next decades, will we as a whole embrace "I'm gay, both Dada and Tato are gay, and my four grandmothers are lesbians, it doesn’t matter that I'm heterosexual, I am also GAY." or will they be seen as (and largely see themselves as) straight people like any other straggot? Will it be less of a whole thing as gay couples move more in straight society too rather than in gay villages (whether physical or psychogeographical) and the cultural gulf between our societies narrows?

I am just excited to see!

#third generation gays #inheritance

[nulllikesshit]

yo i’ve got thoughts re: the doctors marriage to river

so there’s like three main reasons and a couple minor reasons their marriage might not be considered ‘real’

so first off there’s not an officiant. neither any, rory, or river are priests of any denomination and as far as we’re aware the doctor isn’t either - and even if he was he couldn’t marry himself to river. this is a stupid problem to bring up. as theta says, it’s an emergency wedding in a war zone, presumably to be followed up with something more formal. while this seems to imply it’d not be binding, that’s only if we judge the marriage by our human standards. we don’t know much about gallifreyan marriages, let alone whether they require an officiant. while this could be an issue, for time travelers who aren’t even technically the same species the lack of an officiant isn’t really a problem

the second big problem is that of the actual structure of the wedding. the handfasting isn’t technichally between river and the doctor, but between river and the tesselecta. this is also a stupid issue to take with the wedding. if an individual has lost their arm and wears a prosthetic, would a handfasting between that hand and their spouse be invalid? i say not. theta was in control of the tesselecta and all it said and did, i think it’s appropriate to consider that close enough to be an appropriate replacement. another issue is the name, he doesn’t actually tell river his name in that moment. but river clearly knows his name, she says it on trenzalore, hell she says it the first time we see her, into the tenth’s ear. the name exchange clearly happened at some point, and delaying it, especially for someone whose timeline is as complex as the doctors is a weird issue to have.

finally there’s the issue of the timeline. the biggest problem with the doctor and river marrying is that it happened never. not in that it did not occur, but in that it occurred in an alternate timeline. however, she and the doctor clearly remember what happened, as do their witnesses, amy and rory. therefore i consider it appropriate to consider their marriage to have happened, even if it happened never.

lastly, the doctor and river consider themselves married, and that’s what matters. for chronic travelers like them, the legal mandates of any one state at any one time are like dust in the wind. what matters about marriage is the promise, not the legal pinning down of that promise. river and the doctor are married. the doctor says herself that she has a wife. river says she has a husband.

they are married and polyamorous send tweet

#the doctor/river song #theta/river #marriage #doctor who #idk i just have so many thoughts #also i do call the doctor theta sometimes i use the names interchangeably ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #nuwho

[gloriousxdarkness]

7, 9, 13

SHIPPING MEME // accepting // @thatslayer

7. would your muse ever get married?

Yes, under specific circumstances:

1) The world, or a good chunk of it, will end unless she gets married. The Hand will win unless she does this in a ritual fashion to unlock some mystic power. This just happened in the comics, which is not to say Elektra didn't enjoy the romance of marrying Matt under these circumstances anyway.

2) Things somehow settle down and she and Matt somehow get on the same page. Elektra goes through enough emotional healing and is persuaded to do it. Again, would enjoy the romance of it, but it's kinda just a piece of paper next to the commitment from her point of view that already exists. The commitment is what's much more meaningful.

3) The same as above but takes longer; she moves on in a meaningful way and falls for someone else who also wants to marry her and persuades her to (for legal or practical reasons is the better argument here). It does help if Matt is dead in this situation. The girl carries quite a torch whether she wants to or not.

4) Spontaneous impulse. After a crazy near-death experience that was extremely thrilling and not traumatic for instance lol (a high bar) OR a cultural, informal wedding more for fun like handfasting or jumping a broom. Not those exactly, but she'd be more open to something less formal and more symbolic spur-of-the-moment.

5) MCU magic?

Elektra at one point envisioned marriage as part of her future, when she was younger, but now doesn't much see the point even if she's happily in love. 9. who are some characters you ship your muse with?

Elektra likes guys who have a warrior spirit and good hearts. To use shipping here to mean, I can see her having significant relationships with them which may or may not be full blown love: obviously Matt, Thor, and Steve fit the bill. I also like her romantic interactions with Frank, though I haven't gotten to RP that much. They seem to fit because they both have had their Big Love already and get that whatever is between them, it won't be that again, but it can still be good companionship. 13. how easily would your muse get over a bad breakup?

Not easily. Not easily at all. Elektra's stoic, but she takes a lot to heart. She's actually pretty sensitive to what people say or do to her and is quick to internalize anything that feeds into her negative beliefs, until presented with stronger counter-evidence. If someone matters to her enough to be in a relationship (and friendships, let's be real), to let someone into her life, she'll take it pretty hard afterwards to no longer have that. She'll grieve it. She doesn't really get over the stuff that happens to her.

Part of her is always waiting for the people she admires and loves to turn around and hate her one day if they see too much of "who she really is" (or who she thinks she is, the inhuman wrong inside her.) In a way the end of relationships is the expectation because it's all she's known, but it still hurts her deeply because she also wants so badly to believe this time will be different, because that means she's different, she's capable of and worthy of love. The hope and then despair of it is what hurts her the most, I think. And the fact that she's a solitary person out of conditioning, but not personality, so she's lonelier than ever after.

#thatslayer #answered; #ask memes; #free universe; #( ghost who walks as a woman. // ABOUT ) #( all of the above and i still know what her wedding ring looks like )

[darkchocolatepot]

I am SO PLEASED to be able to share this fic with you! It's Original Work, written for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange and only revealed last week.

He That Plays The King

Relationship: Original Male Character/Original Male Character

Tags: Rightful Monarch/Usurper, Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Loyalty, Royalty, Kingship, Size Difference, Collars, Whipping, First Time, Humiliation, Middle Ages, Pseudohistory, Anglo-Saxon

10 chapters, 30.7k words

Edward's throne is usurped by Athelstan, whose uncle puts him into ever-stricter imprisonment before bringing him, bound and beaten, to court. How could any good come of this?

“He must be consenting,” said Baron Hardwich sharply. “That is what a marriage is , the consent. Forgive me, but as he is bound, one cannot help but question his … his agreement.”

“He consents,” said Radwulf, strolling back to Edward and tweaking the rope that still connected his bound wrists to his guard. “We’ve had many a chat on the way back here, and he understands what he’s doing. All that’s needed for this is your own consent, now, nephew.”

Suddenly Athelstan found his voice again. It would not be right, he thought, to have them be wedded in the old way, with just a handfasting in front of witnesses – Edward Peace-Bringer was a devout man who paid almost as much attention to religion as the monks Athelstan had thought he’d be willing and eager to join. “We must have a priest bless the union,” he said firmly. “And his hands must be untied to show his willingness.”

Radwulf shrugged. “Have it your way,” he said, and gestured to the guard holding the rope, who immediately began to untie the knots. He looked at another guard still near the door. “Fetch the archbishop, then.”

The skin under the ropes was fairer than Edward’s hands, and rubbed raw in many places. Athelstan found himself wondering whether the binding had been in place since Wylasten.

#original fiction #m/m #hurt/comfort exchange #hurt/comfort #historical fantasy #whump

[ameliaweddingsbythesea]

Quirky Rituals: Adding Charm to Wedding Ceremonies

Weddings Ceremony is a sacred and joyous occasion where two hearts unite in love by the help of Officiate. While traditional ceremonies hold a special place in our hearts, incorporating unique and quirky rituals can add an extra vibe of charm and personality to the celebration. In this blog post, we'll explore some creative and unconventional wedding rituals that can make your special day even more memorable.

The Unity Cocktail

Move over unity candles, it's time for the unity cocktail! This fun and interactive ritual involve mixing two different drinks into one, symbolizing the blending of two lives into one. Guests can even participate by adding their own ingredients, making it a truly communal experience.

Ring Warming Ceremony

Before exchanging rings, pass them around to your guests, asking them to impart their blessings and well-wishes. This heartfelt ritual infuses the rings with love and positive energy from all your loved ones, creating a truly meaningful exchange.

Love Letter Capsule

Write heartfelt letters to each other and seal them in a capsule along with a bottle of wine. The idea is to open the capsule on a milestone anniversary, reminding yourselves of the love and promises you made to each other on your wedding day.

Tree Planting Ceremony

Symbolize the growth of your love by planting a tree together during the ceremony. As the tree grows, so will your love and commitment to each other, creating a beautiful living reminder of your special day.

Sand Blending Ceremony

Similar to a unity candle, this ritual involves pouring different colored sands into a single container, symbolizing the blending of two lives into one. The resulting sand art serves as a beautiful keepsake of your wedding day.

Handfasting Ceremony

This ancient Celtic ritual involves tying a ribbon or cord around the couple's joined hands, symbolizing their commitment and unity. Each color of ribbon can represent different aspects of their relationship, such as love, trust, and loyalty.

Jumping the Broom

A tradition with roots in African-American culture, jumping the broom symbolizes sweeping away the old and welcoming the new. It's a powerful symbol of new beginnings and a unique addition to any wedding ceremony.

Honey Tasting Ceremony

In this sweet ritual, the couple tastes different types of honey, each representing a different aspect of their relationship, such as sweetness, patience, and resilience. It's a delicious way to celebrate your love and create lasting memories.

Time Capsule Ceremony

Create a time capsule filled with mementos, letters, and trinkets that represent your relationship and your hopes for the future. Seal it during your ceremony and set a date in the future to open it together, reminiscing about your wedding day and reflecting on how far you've come as a couple.

Final Words

Incorporating unique and quirky rituals into your wedding ceremony can make it truly unforgettable. Whether you choose to mix a unity cocktail, plant a tree, or jump the broom, these rituals are sure to add an extra touch of charm and personality to your special day. So, go ahead, get creative, and make your wedding ceremony as unique as your love story! You can contact the Weddings Officiant Specialists in Amelia Island for a better ideas.

#Amelia Island Weddings Officiant Specialists #Officiate Weddings Ceremony

[ornabinderweddingcelebrant]

The Vital Roles of a Celebrant for Weddings: Crafting Memorable Moments

Weddings are one of life's most cherished milestones, marking the beginning of a new chapter filled with love and commitment. At the heart of every unforgettable ceremony lies a skilled orchestrator—the celebrant. More than just an officiant, a celebrant is a storyteller, a guide, and a guardian of the couple's journey into matrimony. Let's delve into the pivotal roles and responsibilities of a celebrant, illuminating their indispensable contribution to the magic of weddings.

Crafting Personalized Ceremonies:

One of the most significant roles of a Celebrant for weddings is to craft personalized ceremonies that reflect the unique essence of the couple's love story. Celebrants have the flexibility to tailor every aspect of the ceremony to suit the couple's preferences, beliefs, and values. From incorporating meaningful rituals to weaving in personal anecdotes, celebrants infuse each moment with authenticity and sincerity, ensuring that the ceremony resonates deeply with the couple and their guests.

Facilitating Meaningful Rituals:

Rituals play a vital role in wedding ceremonies, symbolizing the couple's commitment, unity, and blessings for their future together. Whether it's a candle lighting ceremony, a sand ceremony, or a handfasting ritual, celebrants are adept at guiding couples through these sacred traditions with grace and reverence. By explaining the significance of each ritual and creating a conducive atmosphere for participation, celebrants elevate the ceremony from a mere event to a profound and transformative experience for all involved.

Creating a Warm and Inclusive Atmosphere:

A celebrant's responsibility extends beyond the logistical aspects of the ceremony; they are also tasked with creating a warm and inclusive atmosphere that fosters connection and joy. Through their words, demeanor, and presence, celebrants set the tone for the entire celebration, infusing it with warmth, humor, and heartfelt emotion.

Navigating Legalities and Logistics:

In addition to crafting meaningful ceremonies, a Celebrant for weddings also plays a crucial role in navigating the legalities and logistics of the wedding process. From obtaining the necessary permits and licenses to ensuring that the ceremony adheres to legal requirements, celebrants handle the bureaucratic aspects with professionalism and efficiency, allowing the couple to focus on savoring every moment of their special day.

Embracing Diversity and Inclusivity:

In an increasingly diverse and multicultural world, celebrants embrace the rich tapestry of human experience, honoring traditions and customs from all walks of life. Whether it's blending cultural rituals, incorporating religious elements, or officiating same-sex unions, celebrants celebrate love in all its forms, championing inclusivity and equality.

[joinedbylove]

Simple Ceremony Officiant Services in Ontario

Are you seeking a simple yet meaningful ceremony to celebrate life's important moments in Ontario? Look no further than our professional and experienced ceremony officiants. We specialize in crafting simple, heartfelt ceremonies tailored to your unique preferences. Here's what sets our services apart:

1. Personalized Ceremonies:

Simple Ceremony Officiant Ontario  that every couple is unique, and we tailor our ceremonies to reflect your personalities, values, and love story.

Whether you're planning a wedding, vow renewal, or commitment ceremony, we create a ceremony that feels authentically you.

2. Professional Officiants:

Our officiants are licensed professionals with years of experience in conducting ceremonies.

They bring warmth, professionalism, and a calming presence to your special day, ensuring a smooth and memorable ceremony.

3. Stress-Free Planning:

Planning a ceremony can be overwhelming, but we're here to simplify the process.

From the initial consultation to the ceremony itself, we guide you through each step, offering support and expertise along the way.

4. Customizable Options:

Whether you prefer a traditional ceremony, a modern twist, or something entirely unique, we offer customizable options to suit your style.

Choose from a selection of readings, vows, and rituals to make your ceremony truly special.

5. Intimate Gatherings:

Our services are perfect for intimate gatherings and elopements, allowing you to focus on the love you share with your partner.

We create an atmosphere of intimacy and connection, surrounded by your closest family and friends.

6. Location Flexibility:

Whether you envision exchanging vows in a scenic outdoor setting, a cozy indoor venue, or your own backyard, we accommodate various locations.

From parks and beaches to private residences and historic venues, the choice is yours.

7. Meaningful Rituals:

Incorporate meaningful rituals such as handfasting, unity candles, or sand ceremonies to symbolize your union.

These rituals add depth and significance to your ceremony, creating lasting memories for you and your guests.

8. LGBTQ+ Friendly:

We proudly support and celebrate love in all its forms and welcome couples of diverse backgrounds and orientations.

Our inclusive approach ensures that every couple feels respected and honored on their special day.

9. Legal Requirements:

Our officiants are well-versed in the legal requirements for marriage in Ontario.

We handle the necessary paperwork and ensure that all legal aspects of your ceremony are conducted with precision.

10. Unforgettable Moments:

Above all, we strive to create unforgettable moments that you'll cherish for a lifetime.

Your ceremony will be a reflection of your love story, filled with joy, laughter, and heartfelt emotions.

Contact Us for Your Simple Ceremony in Ontario Whether you're planning an intimate elopement or a small gathering with loved ones, our simple ceremony officiant services in Ontario offer a seamless and heartfelt experience. Let us help you create a ceremony that celebrates your love and commitment in a meaningful and authentic way. Contact us today to discuss your vision and start planning the perfect ceremony for your special day.

For more information visit us:

Wedding Officiant Ontario

Marriage Officiant in Ontario

Ontario License Wedding Officiant

[printwedding]

Making the Ideal orders of service for weddings

The big day is a wonderful embroidery of adoration, custom, and festivity. Everything is arranged and executed flawlessly. Among the heap of components that make up this exceptional day, the wedding request of administration stands apart as a directing light, coordinating visitors through the function's significant minutes. We know how important it is to create a wedding order of service that is both easy to use and unique, telling the couple's love story and setting the tone for an unforgettable day.

An order of service for weddings isn't just a rundown of occasions; it's a guide to the couple's excursion into marriage. Whether it's a conventional church function, a provincial outside issue, or a close oceanside gathering, the wedding request of administration sets the cadence and stream of the whole occasion. From the processional to the recessional, each part of the function is painstakingly coordinated to bring out feelings and create enduring recollections.

With regards to creating the ideal orders of service for weddings, meticulousness is foremost. We have a lot of different designs and templates that can be changed to fit the individual preferences and style of each couple. Whether you favour exemplary polish, current complexity, or capricious appeal, our master planners will work intimately with you to rejuvenate your vision.

Wedding orders of service should not only educate guests but also involve them in the celebration. Integrating significant readings, songs, and individual accounts adds profundity and reverberation to the function, making it really remarkable. Our easy-to-understand stage permits couples to flawlessly coordinate these components into their request for administration, guaranteeing a consistent and strong experience for all.

From the planning of the commitments to the position of the rings, everything about making a wedding request to the administration we offer a scope of customization choices, permitting couples to tailor their request for administration to suit their remarkable inclinations. Whether you Favour a conventional configuration or a more contemporary methodology, our instinctive plan devices make it simple to make a stand-out magnum opus that mirrors your romantic tale.

The Wedding order of service is additionally a chance to honour treasured customs and social traditions. Whether it's a solidarity candle function, a handfasting custom, or a conventional tea function, integrating these components into the request for administration adds profundity and wealth to the general insight. At we, we comprehend the significance of respecting these customs while likewise making a function that feels bona fide and consistent with the couple's special process.

All in all, the wedding request of administration is an impression of affection, responsibility, and the excursion that lies ahead. We invest wholeheartedly in assisting couples with making significant and customised requests of administration that are set up for a long period of bliss. From adaptable layouts to master plan help, we are focused on guaranteeing that everything about your unique day is absolutely flawless. Allow us to assist you with making the ideal wedding request of administration that will be valued long into the future.

[leeharrington]

I made a decision recently that I wasn’t going to be officiating Handfasting for folks who are not dear friends or long time connections. Part of this is related to the amount of work that I do when working with people who I am going to be officiating weddings and Handfasting for. I love getting to help folks vision their relationships. It is not about the day of a wedding itself, but about the relationship you are building. After all, a wedding is just a day, the relationship is a long time to come afterwards. One of the assignments that I give the folks that I am working with (because yes, I give homework assignments) are the questions that I am including below. Whether you are preparing for your own commitment ceremonies, in a relationship at all, building towards what you already have, or simply curious, I hope you enjoy these questions. The full list is available on my Patreon for all subscribers. patreon.com/passionandsoul [Description: Image has a green background with a graphic of a yellow rope across the top. Below that is white text that reads: "What to Consider with YOUR Handfasting?" Below that is a graphic of two hands reaching towards each other, a line connecting them. In white text underneath reads "Lee offers some ideals making your commitment" with a yellow squiggle beneath it and more text in white that reads "patreon.com/passionandsoul"]

[qwanderer]

I want really badly to push ahead with the edits on the book now that the weather is properly cold and my reserves are full again. But also I am still tired because I have just been doing more other stuff! And thinking about the edits I'm trying to do has been stressing me out.

Usually I start with the small edits and keep the big edits in mind while I work through the biggest edits mentally until they don't seem so big after all. And I thought I'd try switching that up, so maybe I could make more major changes where more major changes need to happen before I get bogged down in the details of the medium sized edits and lose sight of the big picture. But what has actually occurred is I am running up against the limits of my imagination! I am focusing on these more major changes I am supposed to be making and just stressing out because genuinely I can't think of anything else to go there, and I'm not getting any other edits done either. So I might have to call this a wash.

The muses are arguing about whether I ought to push onward or take a chill pill until I feel less stressed about things.

I did get some ideas for other stories while I was at work (the sequel to this book, the sequel to Tabitha, one of my Vorkosigan Saga WIPs) but then I was thinking about this book and getting stressed about the edits and Eliot was like, "No more jellybeans, you are going in the soup."

People get put in the Goddess Soup when they are the kind of person who pushes themselves too hard and doesn't always stop properly when they are getting harmed by that. (Among other qualities.) I put Eliot in the soup and it tends to force him to relax and gain some perspective. Lately he has developed a fondness for putting me in the soup!

My lovely handfasted, on the other hand, the Black Jellybean, who is from some angles the god of stories, and from other angles a metaphor for my calling to write, is definitely of the opinion that I ought to push on. We both want to keep writing together! But Eliot is right, I am not quite in the right state for it.

So I told my ice prince to come and join me in the soup for just a bit.

I think we are taking tonight off, and then we can push forward with editing over the weekend, however that wants to look, and maybe that means working on the medium sized edits and letting the big edits shrink themselves if they want to be shrunk.

#writing #editing #conversations with the muses #the grafting mark #not editing #oh and obviously I am not doing nano this year or anything like it #DEFINITELY not space in here for that right now #just a little push on editing maybe #not today tho

[sweetweddedbliss]

Handfasting is a lovely tradition, deeply steeped in Irish history that could hold pride of place in your dream Irish wedding. A remarkably romantic enhancement. For those couples looking to incorporate something traditionally Irish and romantic, this is a lovely enhancement to consider for your wedding ceremony.

History

Dating back to ancient Celtic times, Handfasting was, in the simplest of terms, the official wedding of the ancient Celts. Dating back far beyond 7000 B.C. in ancient Ireland, two people who chose to be married were brought together, often on a feast day such as Beltane, and faced each other. With arms extended, they clasped hands and a braided cord or ribbon was wrapped and tied around their hands. The Druid priest proclaimed that the two persons as engaged to be married. This period of engagement was typically a full year, and a day, during which, the couple were encouraged to cohabitate together (and consummate the relationship). It was a public declaration of intent to marry, signaling to potential suitors that the woman was intended to be her betrothed. When the period of a year was over, the engaged couple returned to the priest and declared their intent to be married. The wedding would follow, a short time later. If they decided they were not a good match, the couple were allowed to dissolve their hand-fast and be free to choose another suitor and bride. ‍

Interweave a Handfasting ritual seamlessly into your ceremony.

‍Tabhair dom do lámh - Give me your hand. Have you ever thought about how you, as a couple hold hands? Can you describe it without actually holding hands? Try it now! No cheating! (OK, you can hold hands now - there is so much power in that simple gesture). ‍ Perhaps, it's with interlocked fingers, or one hand inside the others in a loose clasp. There are many ways to hold hands, and yours will be unique to you. Whatever hand holding style comes naturally to you, it is an expression of closeness and affection. When we hold the tiny hand of a child in ours, to guide and protect them, they trust us completely. Hand holding is an intimate gesture. When you and your loved one interlink your hands, it's a symbol of your connection, and an expression to the world that you are a team. As you hold both of your hands with your beloved in preparation for your Handfasting ceremony, you are connecting with the hands of your best friend, your lover, the one you trust, the person you give your heart to be held in theirs for all of your days. Like a small child, you put your trust in the love you share, knowing that you will guide and support each other in the union of your marriage. All your energy and devotion to each other are symbolised by this simple act. You are literally giving your hand in marriage. ‍

Music for your Handfasting ritual.

Of course, it is your decision whether to have music as part of your Handfasting, or not. We would like to share our favourite for this special bonding time, steeped in history and folklore, yet as meaningful today as it was centuries ago. There is a beautiful tune attributed to an Irish harper, Ruairi Dall O Cahain, c.1570-1650. If you are interested in history or storytelling, you will enjoy this tale. In the book "Carolan: The Life Times and Music of an Irish Harper" by Donal O’Sullivan (new edition, 2001, Ossian Publications Ltd., Cork Ireland). Arthur O’Neill tells this story about Rory Dall O Cathain (Blind Roger O’Keane). "He [Rory Dall] took a fancy to visit Scotland, where there were great harpers. He took his retinue (or suite) with him. Amongst other visits in the style of an Irish chieftain he paid one to a Lady Eglinton, and she (not knowing his rank) in a peremptory manner demanded a tune, which he declined as he only came to play to amuse her, and in an irritable manner left the house. However, when she was informed of his consequence she eagerly contrived a reconciliation and made an apology, and the result was that he composed a tune for her ladyship, the handsome tune of ‘Da mihi manum’ (‘Give me your hand’), for which his fame reached through Scotland and came to the ears of the Gunpowder Plot prophet James the First of England (then the Sixth of Scotland).” ‍ The tune was revived in the 1960’s in Ireland by the great Sean O Riada.

Chieftans version

The cords that bind you in love.

It's common in Ireland that when a deal of any sort is made between two people, they “shake hands on it” - thereby giving their word to the arrangement. It may be that this custom came from the ancient Handfasting rituals, where the arrangement was between a couple to be bound together by the promises they made. There is a strong symbolic element to the binding of hands during your wedding ceremony. In the binding, and the tying of the binding ribbons or cord, you publicly demonstrate your commitment to your marriage. As your Reverend/celebrant, or family member ties the cords, there is a pause, when you feel the strength and warmth of your partner's hands, and a sense of deep security when both pairs of hands are as one. Your eyes gaze from the hands to the eyes of your beloved, and you see the spark of their love for you reflected therein. Why don’t you try this out at home, and see if this feels right for you? It’s guaranteed to bring a smile!‍

‍

Invocation or blessing - even an ancient lorica.

As the Handfasting ritual concludes you may choose to have a reading read aloud by your Reverend/celebrant or a guest, on behalf of your gathering. This can be any reading you choose or write yourself. We love this one, an excerpt from St. Patrick's breastplate.

‍

May your marriage be blessed with the strength of the heavens the light of the sun the radiance of the moon the splendour of fire the speed of lightning the swiftness of wind the depth of the sea the stability of the earth and the firmness of rock, for all of your days.

‍

Choosing your cords:

Couples choose colours for Handfasting based on their preferred colours. For some, a colour has an attached symbolism or special meaning to them. They may choose as many colours as they like. Couples love the visual representation that Handfasting provides. It is literally “tying the knot“ right in the company of your friends and family. Add your creative touch to the Handfasting cords, as a meaningful keepsake family heirloom. Photographers are happy snappy taking those Handfasting shots too!

Below are the 13 colours used in Handfasting and their symbolism: