#we highly recommend getting caught in the rain | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whatifyoulivelikethat · 2 years

Text

seesaw (demo ver), m | myg

pairing(s): yoongi x reader

summary: Just you and Min Yoongi. Sitting in a car. Rain crashes down. The dark sky turns darker, giving way to the night. He asks you to listen to his sound.

warnings: rated M (18+) for language; friends-with-benefits; mild angst; using sex as a coping mechanism; mentions of past D/s smut (sub!Yoongi including forced orgasms, anal vibrator usage, choking); fluff honestly romantic ew; smut (fem reader, car sex in a rest stop parking lot, biting / scratching / marking teeny bit of Yoongi ass appreciation, nipple play, handjob, fingering, cumming onto your stomach, cum eating, f-receiving oral); non-idol!AU - long-black-haired, music producer!Yoongi

highly recommended to listen to seesaw (demo ver) while reading this, it makes everything so much better.

Rain.

“It’s really coming down, huh.”

“Yeah.”

A bolt of white lightning cracked through the black sky, eating through the darkness, only to dissipate into the clap of thunder. It wasn’t fully dark yet but it seemed like it was with the heavy clouds swollen with nature’s tears. A torrential downpour, soaking anything and anyone underneath.

“Maybe you should pull over for a bit.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“You can barely see. It’s just a flash thunderstorm. Couple minutes and it’ll die down.”

“Hah…”

He was reluctant to do so. You could tell by the furrow of his brow and the small sigh, but he relented, pulling into a rest stop. Filled up on gas, frowning under the awing with his hands shoved in his olive parka pockets. You caught his eye and he smiled a little, the curved line blurred through the glass covered in droplets.

You stuck your tongue out at him.

He raised an eyebrow.

You extended the muscle as far out as it would go, practically to the bottom of your chin.

Min Yoongi narrowed his eyes, unamused.

The pump clicked, indicating it was done. He turned and put it back. Pressed the final buttons to complete the transaction. Screwed the tank cap on and closed the cover, wringing his hand and flicking off the excess water. Yanked the car door open and scattered rain over his seat, falling down and snapping the door closed, one word under his breath.

“Ass.”

“I like yours and you like mine. Equivalent exchange.”

“Ready to go?” he asked, ignoring your true statement.

“Just pull into the lot and we’ll wait a little.”

He did so, peering at the closed doors and dark lights of the diner next to the gas station. Clearly nobody there. The start of a zombie film, probably, except there were other cars getting gas and someone attempting to change their tire in the rain.

“Man, I would wait…” you muttered.

Yoongi shrugged. “Maybe they’re in a hurry.”

The sound of rain, falling down, down, down. It created a drumming rhythm with the thick, fat drops hitting the car roof and across the windows, blurring everything. Yoongi reached over and turned the key, turning the car off instead of leaving it on idle. It wasn’t too cold.

Just a lot of water.

Yoongi frowned, his long black hair looking damp and hanging by his eyes, staring up at the black clouds.

“Doesn’t look like it’s gonna let up.”

“Water doesn’t boil any faster if you’re staring at it.”

He turned his head to face you but you had already leaned in close, anticipating his annoyed expression. Flashed a smile. Gave him a quick kiss and Yoongi kept his face neutral, struggling not to react.

You gazed into his dark brown eyes, not saying anything.

The rain fell down, down, showering the world around you, and you listened to his breath. Slow, steady, his pink lips parted. Admiring all of him, every curve, line, even the stray strands of black hair slipping down, creating shadows over his cheekbones. The shape of his face, eyes, lips. The way the dark world made his face seem like it was glowing, the contrast making his fair skin stand out.

“At this rate, we don’t need to go see the ocean. It’s being dumped down on our heads.”

Yoongi half-smiled. “It’s pretty much the same thing, mhm.”

You wondered if he was afraid.

Searched his eyes and there was a distance there. Hah. On one hand, unsurprised. On another, slightly annoyed. You backed up, not wanting him to notice your observations. He shifted. You felt it in the air, his unease, his silence, his inward struggle, but you pretended not to notice, settling back into the passenger’s seat and watching the rain, leaving a small smile on your lips.

Rain or shine, push or pull, up or down, anything or everything.

You couldn’t wait forever, but you could wait a little longer.

“I…”

You waited.

“Do you want to hear the latest track I composed? It’s only a rough draft. No lyrics yet.”

I’m sorry, he was going to say. But you were tired of hearing I’m sorry and Yoongi knew that. He was tired of saying it. But saying I’m sorry was a lot easier than saying I’ve figured out how to patch my torn-up heart.

You turned back to him, nodding.

“I want to listen to it.”

He looked back, looking for the lie, and you held his gaze, letting him see there was none. And now you could see it yourself, see that this wasn’t any old track that Yoongi wanted you to hear, his teeth gnawing at his lower lip, slowly reaching back to get his phone in his pocket. Taking his time. You noticed his hands, brushing them against his black pants and reaching over to turn the screen on. His lock screen was him with his dog sleeping on top of his chest. It had changed from the sunset landscape that he had for the longest time.

That sunset landscape photo that he had taken a long time ago, with someone else by his side.

Yoongi unlocked his phone with his thumbprint.

You looked away, not wanting to invade any longer. Chewed on your lower lip. Pushed your hopes down, because there was no reason to place stakes on uncertainties and assumptions. And besides, you too were playing around to some extent. Everything just for fun, for sport, not believing in anything.

He said he wasn’t that serious and you agreed to that.

It only became hard because you were beginning to think Yoongi was more than casual, more than a silent player, more than the shallow pool of emotions he let on. Just friends, but friends don’t know the way you taste. You thought you could wade through. There was no reason to get too deep into such a shallow pool of water.

The rain fell down, down.

You heard the sound of soft rain on greenery emitting from his phone speaker.

Crickets.

Piano.

Synth.

Friends don’t feel the things you let me feel.

Your eyes shifted and you found Yoongi leaning over to set his smartphone into the cupholder to aid the acoustics. Black hair hanging down, pulling his hand back and rubbing them together. Not quite looking at you, ticking his chin to his phone. Outside, the rain barreled down, but inside it was soft, slipping into piano notes and dreams, blending with the hum of crickets during a summer night, and you could see it, the shadow of Yoongi’s profile diligently leaning over the keyboard, working late to turn his emotions into music, bleeding them out to patch up his torn-up heart.

You listened to his words, each one trapped in the melancholy melody.

Piano, synth, strings.

Wishes, uncertainty, begging for decisiveness.

It faded out and then began to play again.

“I leave the default on loop,” Yoongi murmured, reaching forward. “Just to test the replay value of it. See if it’s catchy enough to listen to over and over.”

You stopped his hand, closing your fingers around his.

Cold in your warm hold.

“Let me listen again.”

The sky darkened, day rapidly slipping into night, but you didn’t pay attention, instead holding Yoongi’s hand and listening to this individual track. The storm only deepened it, the strike of light across the clouds and the harsh bass of thunder, and you held his hand, sliding your fingers down, your palm to the back of his hand, your fingertips caressing his, smiling as you felt the calluses caused by his guitar.

Yoongi didn’t pull his hand away.

He curled his fingers inward to cover yours, stealing your warmth.

You let him.

You weren’t a music producer like Yoongi. Just an avid listener and attentive to details, especially his. You listened to the song and to his body, humming with nervousness, trying not to show it, his hand still but his muscles on edge, and you turned your head, raising it, finding his movement mirroring yours, his long bangs sliding back and revealing those dark brown orbs.

Wary curiosity, afraid of what he might see.

You let go of his hand.

His breathing stilled; exhale trapped.

You reached up and tucked half of his black hair behind his right ear, the rest falling over his left eye. Pale skin from late nights, the shadows of insomnia in the form of dark circles. His olive jacket rumpled. White shirt underneath wrinkled. Simple black athletic pants in a half-assed attempt to look somewhat decent. Clean at least.

“What do you think?” Yoongi asked, his low voice turning his whisper into waning smoke.

He tried not to show his scars, but his music was giving him away.

You leaned forward and kissed him.

Lips to lips, inhaling softly. Stealing his breath, and he gasped involuntarily as your fingers traced his jaw, pulling him to you, sliding your tongue between his soft lips. Slow, finding his tongue, warm, glossing your fingertips over his cheek, passionate, layering the moment. Tongue, lips, touch. Breathe, sigh, tilt of your head. Deeper, detailed, varying pressure and lustful murmurs accented by falling rain and Yoongi’s melody purring below your bodies.

You felt his hand reach out and reach between the flaps of your oversized charcoal gray hoodie, clutching your dress, his long fingers curling into red plaid with buttons down the center, tracing the circle shape with his fingernail.

A beat to catch your breath, his taste lingering.

“Your sound,” you whispered between his lips and yours, faint in the dripping darkness, lashes lifting to see his half-lidded gaze back at you, both of you trapped in this buoyant bliss. “In all forms, speaks to me.”

His voice like faded stars, barely breathing and coursing with scars.

“What do you hear?” Yoongi asked.

The tips of his hair brushed against your cheek, his head leaning against yours and yours leaning against his, wishes, uncertainty, begging for decisiveness. A delicate shiver as your lips touched once more.

“Possibilities,” you breathed.

And neither of you could bear to discuss what that could mean, for then it would be too real and too revealing, wrapping yourself instead in his lips and the sound of rain, your hands on his chest and his on yours, kiss after kiss, the storm coming down, down, piano keys and trembling synth, tongues curling and his scent in your nose, pushing him and he pushed back, his hair against your face, shaking exhale that you drank with greed, running your fingers over his chest, only thin jersey fabric separating his nipples from your nails.

You toyed with them, savoring his swallowed moan.

Haunted by the up and down, the never-ending seesaw of not wanting to be the one that ruins it all, and when it came crashing down, Yoongi and his torn-up heart wandered into your path, looking for it to be ripped out so he didn’t have to feel anything anymore.

You assured him, I can do that.

You pushed his parka down his shoulders, splaying your hands over his collarbones as he undid the first button of your dress.

Everyone thought Min Yoongi didn’t feel anything. Thought he didn’t care, thought he didn’t have anything to say because he was so quiet, thought he was comfortable in his silence, but they just weren’t listening o his voice, because his voice wasn’t in words.

But in body.

Breath.

Music notes.

He gasped into your mouth as you let one hand slide up into his hair, curling your fingers into the soft, thick waves of black, a comforting darkness, trailing your other hand down, following the rain, trickling your caress, soft lips and tilting your head to extend your tongue farther, thrusting into his mouth as his tongue pressed against yours, savoring your insistence, open-mouthed smirk pressed to your kiss.

The first, yeah, okay, wild and rough but no big deal, so the next time, be rougher, I know you can be, seemed out of character for him, but you obliged, grabbing his right arm and pressing it into the small of his back, pinning him down to your mattress, your other hand in his hair, fistful of black locks as you slammed his face down into the sheets, his squirming hips in between your thighs, his hard, leaking cock smearing pre-cum all over your sheets as the anal vibrator assaulted his ass, pressed deep to hit the spot that ruined him the most. Lifted his head, pushed it back down. Took his breath away and gave it back, surfacing from suffering only to be thrown down into the inescapable pleasure once more until it was over.

I thought you were gonna fuck me.

That was way more frustrating and rougher, wasn’t it?

Yoongi clenched his jaw then, relenting in his mess of pooled cum soaked into your sheets.

You figured, that’s enough, he’s not gonna come back, but you were wrong.

It must have been a very bad night, because he was trying to hide the alcohol on his breath and shielding his torn-up heart with a tough exterior, what? I’m not thrown off because of last time. You’ll need to do more than that. It was bad to think of doing things like holding him and asking him what was wrong. He was using you as surely as you were using him, siting on his dick, rolling your hips defiantly slow, pussy clenching his entire length, keeping him at the cusp of pleasure with your hand around his neck.

Yoongi looked back at you then, glassy eyes and biting back his whimpers.

Wishing for help.

You looked back, wordless, helping him by shattering the memories with pain and pleasure, working him from above and then from below, ramming your hips up into his and constricting him with your tightness until his knees gave out and, even then, you smacked your hand into his heaving chest, holding him up and fucking him until he came.

Uncertainty as you held him then, him accidentally falling asleep in the middle of cleaning up.

You let him sleep, because it seemed like he hadn’t slept for days.

You didn’t push his hair out of his eyes though. This wasn’t that kind of moment. This wasn’t what he wanted. What he wanted was his torn-up heart to be ripped out, so you let him be, leaving the distance between you and him, leaving those faded stars for eyes, letting him go when he wanted to be let go, stumbling out your door with his apologies.

Stop with the I’m sorry. You don’t have to say that to me, you know.

Back and forth, push and pull, up and down.

Yeah… Okay. I get it.

Rain cascading down, and now Yoongi slipped his fingers into the space created by opened buttons, stroking your skin underneath, teasing you by flicking the band of your bra, chuckling as you bit his lower lip, sucking on it harshly to get your message across.

The next time. And the next. Each time, you held him a little closer, a little tighter, a little longer. Between clenched jaws and your hand over his mouth, those dark brown eyes like faded stars that seemed to flicker with brightness every time you pushed him to the edge, the countless barrage of sensations shattering old memories.

I started making music again.

They were few and far between, these types of conversations. Oh? That’s good. You are music.

Was does that mean?

Your relationship with music is precious, you had told him. You belong with music and music belongs with you.

You broke the kiss and yanked his head back by his hair, shooting his low moan up to the ceiling of the car, tasting the vibration with your tongue against his Adam’s apple, his cool fingers slipping under your bra, pushing it up and wrapping his fingers over the curve of your breasts, a fingertip on your nipple, pushing it in a circle. You pulled down the collar of his shirt, pressing your lips to the bone, licking the pocket in between connected muscle, soft on flesh, sharp on skin, alternating kisses and biting, sharp sucks to mark his delicate fairness.

This was his idea, driving to the ocean, staying for a couple days. Random shit like that, going here or there, fucking in remote places or semi-public places, whatever he was feeling, trying to convince you with his calm demeanor that he was feeling nothing.

Then you would touch him and listen to his body.

You used to think, it’ll be quick, it’s just a person, people get over people, but it was not people or a person Yoongi was trying to get over. You realized between kisses, between gasps, between moans.

He was running.

He pinched your nipple and you sucked in a breath. Moment of hesitation and Yoongi swooped in, his other hand in your hair and pulling your head back, the sting of pain while your fingers remained tangled, but he didn’t seem to care, his head dipping down, mirroring bites and kisses, running his tongue over your throbbing skin, blood pumping strong under his agile tongue. Rain pouring down, blending with piano and the sounds of visceral sensuality, catching the gasps in your throat as Yoongi rolled your nipple between the rough pads of his fingers, squeezing, rubbing, manipulating the angle of your head.

It was hard to run from yourself, but Yoongi had help in your touch.

His hand slipped from your hair and he pinched both nipples, tugging up and making you hiss.

“It’s awkward,” you got out between gritted teeth. “With the seats.”

He let go and nudged you even though you were already moving, climbing over the center.

“Nice ass.”

Yoongi smacked his palm on your ass cheek and squeezed, satisfied at the way his fingers sank into the softness. You snapped your hips to the side, falling into the backseat and glaring.

“Get yours back here.”

The side of his mouth was quirked upward and, even in the rain and the blurred lights of the gas station, you could see the arrogance in it, climbing over the center as he shed his jacket, throwing it into the driver’s seat. His phone continued playing the instrumental track continuously on loop, the sound filling up the car as the outside remained a sea of pelting rain.

You shrugged out of your hoodie, no longer cold in the heat that was you and Yoongi.

He lowered himself, halfway on top of you.

You pulled up his shirt, carefully untangling him from the confines in the tight space.

It was unfair to put expectations on something that was clear from the beginning, so you did not, but there were still those nights, humid nights accompanied by open windows, and you looked out, bed empty, wondering if he looked up into the darkness too during those late sessions in his studio, his hands poised on his keyboard, trapped in his emotions so he bled them out over the keys and into melodies.

You would place your hands on the windowsill, looking up at the moon, the playful mirror of the sun, toying with its rays even as the sun hid on the other side of the earth.

You wondered if Yoongi looked for that light too.

You knew it was bad to think it, but.

You and him.

It could be so good.

Wishes, uncertainty, but you pushed it all away, wondering when would be that last time you would hold that hand scarred by music, wondering about that heart torn-up by others abusing his kindness, letting him hide behind an unfeeling shell and harsh words. You weren’t bothered by it because you understood it. Instead, you focused your energy on each time being worthwhile, knowing it might be the last time.

But you saw it, the way music patched up his torn-up heart.

Yoongi leaned down, black hair ghosting over your temples. You tipped your chin up, blowing a thin, steady stream of breath into his open lips, sensing his shoulders stiffening, low moan bubbling in his chest. Piano, synth, strings. Your fingers trailing along the elastic waistband, tugging down, tangling his knees in his pants and his boxer briefs. Falling rain, whispering darkness, barely any cars now. He sucked in a tight breath, your fingers spreading over his ass, sinking your nails into his flesh and dragging down, down the sides of his thighs, blossoming pain and thin pink lines, barely visible in the low light.

It was an addictive melody.

Your crept your fingers back up, one by one, dancing on his skin. Stroking it over the curve, tracing his hip, v-line, waist, breathing in his staggering exhales. Dug your nails in again. Dragged down. Pain in his hitched breath, but refusing to jerk his hips forward, resistant to giving in.

“Yoongi…”

A drifting, delicate soundwave of a whisper, calling him as much as it was intoxicating him, his erratic breathing exposing him despite his calm response.

“Touch my cock.”

His knees were ensnared by his pants and underwear.

You curved your hands inward, splaying them on the insides of his thighs.

“Not yet.”

You scratched him there too, harsh in the sensitive area, hearing Yoongi hiss and then an unwilling groan break out between gritted teeth, his knees hitting the backseat.

“F… Fuck…”

You pushed his clothes down more and he slid forward, his hard length hitting the inside of your thigh, smearing pre-cum onto your skin. His hand sank down between your bodies, unbuttoning more buttons, before attempting to slide his hand under the fabric.

You snatched his hand, stopping him.

“Unbutton it all.”

Yoongi growled, eyes flashing in the darkness, catching the blurred lights of the gas station, the reed-like synth murmuring through the cabin of the car. You shifted, moving your body horizontally, your head against the car window. Cocked your chin, still not letting go of his wrist.

He made a displeased noise.

You let him go and Yoongi unbuttoned the last three buttons.

Against the glass, you could hear the rain better. Softer now, steady. The lightning and thunder were long gone. You rolled your shoulders, tucking your bra under you and leaving your dress on the seat, lifting your hand to run your fingers through Yoongi’s hair again. Thick, soft waves of black, pushing it away from his face, sharp brows and dark eyes, his skin glistening in the blurs of low light.

You didn’t say anything.

The music continued, and Yoongi spoke to you.

Your name in his voice, weighted.

You smiled, listening to his sound.

You imagined him, illuminated by his computer monitor, furrowing his brows as he listened back to his creations. Each note a moment in his life, an exposé of his emotions. The melody the purple prose, contrasting his lyrics, candid, simple, clear.

You wondered what the words to this song were.

You pulled Yoongi down to you, into a maze of tongue and kisses, soft lips and gentle savagery, running your other hand down his torso, your nails against his chest. Past racing heartbeat, flicking his nipple and making him flinch, down his quivering core, feeling the heat rise, and you closed your fingers around him, his tremor slipping through your lips. Thick, hard, pulsing, working him slowly, rubbing your thumb along taut skin, hooking your index and middle finger, coiling the long length of your digits over his balls, constricting them.

Stroking his cock as you squeezed his balls.

He thrust his tongue into your mouth, fucking it.

The fingers of his left hand traced down your shoulder, his right holding him up. Sucking on his tongue and opening your eyes to his squeezed shut, his strong brows furrowed, his touch outlining your collarbones, the curve of your breast, stopping at your nipple and rubbing the hard nub, pinching it, flicking it, making your shallow breaths even shorter, his pace stuttering as you gripped him a little tighter, pumping him strongly.

His fingers let go, falling down, down.

You broke the kiss, turning your head to the side and releasing him from your hold for a split second. Drenched your hand in your own spit, tongue over fingers and in between them, a thick layer on your palm and you extended it back down, dripping onto his stiff cock, gripping him tight, two wet fingers around his balls.

“S-Shit…” he swore under his breath, swearing again as his fingers dipped in between your legs, feeling the slick and the mess.

“Put it on the head,” you murmured.

Yoongi didn’t even bother to refute you.

He coated his fingers all over with your pussy juices and lifted his hand, hissing in pleasure as he smeared the sweet stickiness over the head of his cock, previously neglected, but not anymore, his fingers now joining yours as you moved your hand up and down, teasing himself while you kept your steady pace.

His eyes flickered to yours.

You looked back, lifting a brow at half of his face covered by his hair.

The rain sang along with the melody echoing from the cupholder, blurred lights of the gas station catching his dark eyes, the car windows misted with heat and clinging droplets.

Yoongi watched your face as you jacked him off, slick and wet, squeezing his balls with every stroke, his own two fingers rubbing over the slit and along the underside of the head, breathing hard, lust thundering through his shoulders, flinching involuntarily at the overwhelming sensations. You didn’t stop, a bit faster, his head trembling a little, shaky pants, holding out for as long as he could, the muscles in his neck tense, the skin dotted with hickeys, your mark on him.

He removed his fingers from his cock and pushed them into your pussy.

You gasped, your stroke suddenly unexpectedly longer.

You stared into Yoongi’s eyes and not even the black curtain of hair could hide the fire in them, lit up by reflected light in the droplets of nature’s tears.

You raised your hips, rolling them into his thrusting fingers. A corner of his lips quirked upwards, the peek of white teeth and pink gums, inhale a struggle but driven by pleasure, bringing himself closer to your face, forcing you to remove your fingers from his balls and only focus on pumping him, directing the pressure at the base of the head. Ricocheting ecstasy shooting up your spine, to your head, to your breath sucked into his lungs, sparking oxygen into his blood rushing down to his throbbing cock coated in your spit and your juices, mixing onto your palm and fingers, sticky, slick, messy, listening to the wet, squelching sound of Yoongi’s fingers pushing into your dripping pussy.

Falling rain.

Piano and synth.

The rhythm of breathing, his sound just enough, hitched gasp to urge you to go faster, extended moan as your hand tightened, approving of the roughness, driving his fingers in, over and over, following the pace that you built through the haze of need, your right elbow holding you up as his left hand clutched the edge of the seat, the muscles from his neck, shoulder, and arm flexed, your name in a wanton hiss.

“Cum for me.”

You let out a puff of defiance.

“You first.”

Yoongi seemed amused at your response. Perhaps even expecting it, because you clenched your jaw as he slid another finger in, pushing your arm to move faster, more controlled, just under the head, and you could see his jaw was tense too, his forearm rippling with movement, building, building, layer on layer, scattered rain, crickets and strings, holding your breath as Yoongi held his, listening to the dirty noises blending with the rain and his own melody.

You pressed your hips up into his hand, all the way to his knuckles, and clenched around his three fingers.

“Fuck, Yoongi…”

He screwed his eyes shut, swearing under his breath.

The waved crashed through you, igniting ripple across your torso and throb coursing through your hips as you came, hot, slick, pulsating around his fingers, uncontrollable shiver as his hips dipped and thick cum shot over your stomach, painting downwards, warmth cascading out onto your heated skin, covering you in his heady, strong scent, the head of his cock pressed to your abdomen, spreading it more. His black hair feathered over your shaking collarbones as he pressed his forehead to your shoulder, keeping his body hovering over yours. His pants washed over your neck, echoing in your ear.

Whisper of your name, husky and low, the sound melding with the rain.

You leaned your head against the window, cool to your heated scalp, gazing up at the black sky, the moon being the only break to the blackness, but today it couldn’t play with you, caged by sobbing clouds.

Each breath high, intense, the hum of pleasure slipping away slowly.

Yoongi lifted his head from your shoulder.

You didn’t look down yet, not really prepared for the cooling mess on your stomach.

Then you hissed and snapped your head down, seeing and feeling Yoongi’s tongue pressed to your skin, licking up the dripping trickles of milky white. He knew you were watching. A single blink and those dark brown orbs observed you under a shadow of black as he drank up his own orgasm.

You saw the twinkle of pleased amusement in those eyes despite him keeping his blank expression, tilting his head and running his tongue across your abdomen, leaving lines of tingling desire.

“Y-Yoongi…”

He lapped up the last bit, pressing his lips to your waist, wordless.

His words were each kiss, sprinkling them down your hips.

The strings thrilled with the falling rain and recorded crickets, fading out to the real rainfall.

His body slid down, slightly crammed in the small space, but you scooted up a little and then his mouth was on you, swirling tongue and dipping between your folds, your slick coating his lips, sweet vicious juices joining the salty strength of his orgasm. You felt him collect it into his mouth, painting your pussy with his tongue and grazing the tip over your engorged clit.

You whined and bit down on it, trying to shut it up.

Yoongi closed his lips around your clit and began a steady, firm pace, the previous orgasm compounding the sensation, your nerves singing with familiarity, craving that tongue and its precise movement, just rough enough to make your blood sing and those lips keeping you at the cusp of inescapable pleasure, his hands clutching your ass to support you to his mouth.

You moaned to the ceiling, leaking into his mouth in a twitching waterfall, painting your cum onto his chin. Grinding your hips to his face and throbbing against his still lips, wet muscle pressed flat to your quivering clit, the faint friction enough to prolong the high a little longer, a little stronger, a little death at the work of his masterful tongue.

Yoongi drank that up too, slowly and carefully.

The rain shimmered down, down.

He lowered you. Crawled back up, his breath a mix of you and him, and you breathed it in, savoring it.

“We’re still a couple hours from our destination,” Yoongi mumbled.

“Want me to drive?” you murmured.

“No. I’ll do it.”

You stared into his eyes. Yoongi reached up and pushed back his hair, a display of the stark contrast of his skin to the darkness. His black hair swooped to one side, tumbling down in a wave and cradling the left side of his face.

His eyes were clear, looking back into yours.

“You’re not alone, you know,” you reminded him softly.

He smiled faintly.

Steady and musical, the rain tapped against the car, blending with recorded crickets fading in and out.

“I know. I want you to be with me.”

You searched his eyes, looking for the familiar distance that he kept between you and him, but it wasn’t there. Washed away. You reached up and traced his jaw, remembering the familiar shape of his lips. The taste of many nights and honesty, clear in his intentions from day one. You said nothing, wondering if it was real, and Yoongi held your gaze, letting you see that it was.

You could hear it.

His words.

In his breath, in the melody he had created, in his touch as he mirrored your hold, grazing your cheekbone with callused fingertips marked by his guitar.

Piano, synth, strings.

Wishes, uncertainty, decisiveness.

You kissed him again, in the darkness, surrounded by rain and his music.

masterpost

#yoongi x reader #bts smut #yoongi smut #yoongi x you #min yoongi x reader #min yoongi x you #min yoongi smut

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kinomitarbeiterin · 2 months

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yesterday I watched Perfect Days before my shift at the cinema, and The Zone of Interest after.

Perfect Days is like a warm hug. A reminder of good people just living their lives in the world around us. It's telling you to enjoy the small things in life, to not be greedy. That human connection, no matter how deep, brings joy. Imagine smiling at the world every morning when you leave the house, even if it rains, even if you had a rough day yesterday. Perfect Days is a beautiful film with an amazing soundtrack and few words. Words are not always needed.

The Zone of Interest is more like being squeezed too hard, so that breathing takes a conscious effort, but you're still too captivated to look away. In contrast to the first film, it shows you the greediness of humans, how able we are to justify our actions and choices, despite them not being good or just. It's an extremely relevant film at the moment. What are we willing to overlook or reframe, to feel better about how we live our lives? What are we willing to do, for a fur coat and big house and a garden full of flowers?

Visually the films are also in stark contrast to each other. Perfect Days follows the protagonist closely with a handheld camera. We watch his face respond to his surrounding, because he will not be telling us anything otherwise. And we see the world through his eyes, how the sunlight shines through the leaves of the trees, how colours reflect on surfaces. It is beautiful. While in the Zone of Interest, the camera is always static, always just observing, not trying to induce too many emotions as the actions of the people should speak for themselves. It still present you with some beautifully framed shots, but you won't get lost in them, especially as the film is accompanied with a harrowing soundtrack to remind of the suffering happening on the other side of that wall.

The films are similar in that they don't really have any traditional plot. They throw away the conventional storytelling tools and let you observe and tag along, as the characters just live their lives. It's a type of filmmaking that I find very compelling, as it stays rather unpredictable throughout the whole film. It doesn't build up towards a showdown or a twist, which also means you don't get that catharsis at the end, there is no release. I think the films stay with you longer that way, because they haven't really ended. You can imagine how the characters keep going after the cameras have turned off. How Hirayama continues to smile at the world every morning before heading off to clean public toilets. And how the Höss family continues to take part in the Holocaust, while being too caught up in their own small lives to think too hard about it - until, as we know, the war comes to an end.

Anyways, these are some of my thoughts on seeing two powerful, but very different films in one day. I highly recommend them both. Let me know your thoughts if you'd like.

#perfect days #the zone of interest #movies #film recommendations #film reviews #cinema #film

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tired-truffle · 4 months

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The Art of Pointed Questions

A DamienxAmma Fic

Word Count: 2.6k

Part 1/1 - Complete

Based off the prompt from tumblr user @creativepromptsforwriting

P.S.: If you haven’t read this series but you like my other fics, i highly recommend reading Villains and Virtues by A.K. Caggiano, its literal gold 💯

Masterlist

“Have you ever had a friendship bracelet?”

The ridiculousness of that question echoed across the rocky walls surrounding their path as it wound through a small craig. It wasn’t the first absurd question that Amma had asked in their seemingly never-ending journey toward Faebarrow, but this one had to be one of the most egregious of them all.

Had Damien Maleficus Bloodthrone, Son of Zagadoth the Tempestuous, Ninth Lord of the Infernal Darkness and Abyssal Tyrant of the Sanguine Throne, ever had a friendship bracelet?

The better question would be if he’d had any friends at all, to which the answer would be a resounding no. He was evil, evil beings did not have such childish things as friends.

Damien didn’t justify the question with an answer, instead, he let out an exasperated sigh and debated using the talisman’s power to get her to stop talking - It seemed he was debating this almost every minute he let her have free reign of her own speech.

Kaz had scrambled off somewhere a half hour ago and had yet to come back, however Damien could sense his presence skulking behind them. He’d been keeping Amma busy chatting, though it had been more Amma chatting at him and Katz shooting back cruel names and annoyed looks. Even the imp couldn’t withstand this torture forever and had fled in a burst of rage. This had left Amma with a new target who was less eager than Kaz to leave Amma behind just to avoid her inane questions - he couldn’t leave the talisman unattended, could he? - hence his constant debate on ordering her to shut her mouth. He’d done worse to people for less heinous acts, surely this wasn’t unreasonable.

“I know you heard me, Damien, don’t pretend you’re too dark and broody for a friendship bracelet” Damien could hear the eye roll in her voice and he stifled back an irritated growl. “You were a kid at some point, right? Kids give each other friendship bracelets, half-demon or not. I bet you were just like all the other kids, playing with your toys and frolicking in the streets or whatever it is kids do in creepy villages.” Amma giggled, apparently, the image of a tiny Damien, pout on his face as he skipped around was too much for her to contain herself.

“I am evil, Amma. Evil people do not frolic, no matter their age.” Damien shot her a withering look. But like a fool, he’d fallen for her bait, and he watched as a wide smirk pulled at her round cheeks. Not wanting to admit to having been beaten, he said “Sanguinisui, do not talk until we reach our camp tonight.” Amma’s mouth clicked shut as her teeth clacked together, she’d been about to gloat and Damien had managed to catch her before she could, thank the hells.

She narrowed her eyes at him, clearly irritated, making his smug grin grow wider. She gestured to the surrounding forest before putting her hands to her throat and making a strangled sound, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth comically. He supposed he couldn’t blame her after the last time they’d been attacked and she’d been unable to make a noise because of his orders. Somewhere behind them, Damien heard Kaz make a wretching sound.

Damien rolled his eyes before adding, “Sanguinisui, you may only ignore that last order if you are in danger.”

Satisfied that she wasn’t at imminent risk, Damien turned away from her, clicking his heels against his ‘horse’ to spurn it on faster. The last thing he needed was to look back at where she sat dejected and fuming, he didn’t want to feel any sort of pity for her, like how he’d feel pity for a weak little kitten caught out in the rain. He had other more important things on his mind, like getting his father out of the crystal, his main objective. He didn’t have the time to spare her any pity.

The peace and quiet that had accompanied his order had been truly blissful for about thirty seconds before Kaz took it upon himself to sit behind Damien - now that Amma couldn’t speak to him - and glare at her, making rude gestures along with some snide remarks. Amma had then taken it upon herself to pull stones out of the bottom of her boots and chuck them as hard as she could at Kaz’s impudent face. Unfortunately for Damien, said face was right behind his back, and Amma’s aim was by no means her best ability, and she ended up mostly pelting Damien with the pebbles. When one had the audacity to bounce off his head, the scathing glare he shot her way had been enough to make her rethink her actions. Perhaps throwing stones at the man who was in charge of all your actions and would soon be killing you, wasn’t the wisest course of action, unless you were trying to speed up that death.

By the time they made camp, Damien was in an even fouler mood than he had been after seeing Xavier, which was saying something since that lecherous blood mage never failed to make his blood boil. Damien spat out his usual commands to Amma, told Kaz to guard her, and trekked off into the woods to find them some dinner. Surely killing something would make him feel better.

Kaz took that as his opportunity to discipline Amma himself, “How dare you anger Master Bloodthrone, he does not have time for your petty grievances, you are his captive.” and for good measure “Whore.”

Damien didn’t bother listening to Amma’s indignant response, he’d heard enough of their banter to know what she’d say, and he was sure it would only serve to piss him off further.

By the time he returned to camp an hour later, a small hare in hand and feeling much calmer after releasing his magic on some unsuspecting trees, he was feeling much more collected.

Amma had her back to him, facing the small fire she’d built and was hopelessly trying to start by spinning a stick in between her hands on top of another slightly larger stick.

“That won’t work,” Damien said in lieu of a greeting.

Amma yelped in surprise and spun around, having been so focused on her task that she hadn’t heard the crunch of dead leaves under his heavy boots when he’d walked up behind her.

Damien smirked, good, scaring unsuspecting innocent girls was something evil people did, evil like Damien.

“You don’t have to startle me, you know, I was only trying to help.” Amma dropped her sticks, pink creeping up her neck in embarrassment.

Damien shrugged and quickly lit the fire with his magic.

“Showoff,” Amma muttered under her breath, crossing her arms across her chest. Kaz cracked an eye from where he was resting on a rock, satisfied that Amma looked dejected, he closed his eyes again.

Amma turned away from the fire, picking at the long grass and small wildflowers that were bordering the little clearing they’d found. Damien quickly set to work preparing their dinner, and by the time it was cooked and devoured by all participants, it was time for bed.

Damien gave Amma her nightly commands, - sit, stay, play nice - and settled down to sleep, turning away from where she sat, staring off into the dark woods, fiddling with grass in her hands. If she didn’t want to sleep, that was on her, but she better not be cranky tomorrow. He didn’t know how he would cope with more irritation after today, he had his limits, and Amma being here was already pushing it. She’d already steered his evil plan of course, he now had to go to Faebarrow to get the amulet out of her so he didn’t have to kill her. It was out of pity of course, like that cat stuck in the rain, he wasn’t evil enough to push it under a carriage wheel, even if it would end its suffering.

And if his dreams were filled with horrible images of a lost blonde cat, shivering in the rain, no one had to know but him.

***

When Damien woke up, the first thing he noticed was that Amma was not where he’d left her sulking by the fire. The second was that said sulker was no longer looking so miserable and had moved to hover over the small sleeping form of their resident imp.

“Do I want to know what you’re doing?” Damien asked, rolling to his side and propping himself up on his elbow, swiping a hand down his face. It was much too early to be dealing with this, but the sooner he got whatever ridiculousness was going on out of the way, the better the rest of his day would be.

Amma whirled around, eyes widened in surprise and hands clasped guiltily in front of her chest, pulling Damien’s eyes to the ample cleavage her shirt did very little to cover. He quickly looked back up to her face, pleased to see she showed no indication that she’d seen his brief lapse of control of his gaze. “Have you finally smothered him in his sleep like he deserves?”

Amma squawked indignantly, “Of course not!”

Damien shrugged, sitting up and stretching his arms out from the little aches and pains he’d gained from their sleep on the hard, unforgiving ground.

“That’s too bad.”

“Damien!” Amma hissed, “Don’t be so mean to him, look how cute he is when he’s sleeping.”

Cute wouldn’t be how Damien would describe Kaz, his protruding lower jaw wide open, drooling into the rock he’d made into a pillow, his spindly body spread out haphazardly. In a way, he looked almost dead, if it weren’t for the rise and fall of his chest. Damien could see how he could look peaceful, but cute felt like a bit of a stretch. Damien had prepared a retort when a small band of green and white caught his eye, pulling his gaze toward the imp’s wrist. He rubbed his eyes to ensure he was seeing correctly, and when he looked again he saw that the small band was still there. It was made of thick grass interwoven with small white flowers into a delicate braid pattern and tied in a neat bow.

Damien looked between the bracelet and Amma, his eyebrow raised.

“I think it suits him.” Amma said, crossing her arms across her chest defensively, “And I’m very good at making friendship bracelets.”

Damien felt a headache coming on, he thought they’d left this conversation yesterday, “Imps don’t have friends.”

“They do now.”

Stubborn as ever, Amma refused to relent, and Damien no longer knew why he even bothered arguing about this. Kaz would wake up, tear off the offending item, and call her some rude names, to which she would insist he keep the bracelet and be unnecessarily kind to the hateful creature.

And Damien had to pee, something he had no plans of putting off for a pointless argument.

He stood up, brushing off his clothes as he popped the joints in his knees. As he looked down, feeling an unfamiliar object moving on his wrist with his movements, he felt anger build in his chest before he laid eyes on the object. He already knew what it was.

“We aren’t friends either,” Damien growled, eyes flashing as he looked at where Amma stood, a sly smile on her face. It was unnerving that she’d been able to get the bracelet on his wrist whilst he slept without him noticing, and he would have to add a new line to her commands about not touching him when he was unconcious. However, this grass and flower bracelet was somehow entirely black, blending in with his black sleeves.

“I even covered it in ashes so it would match your moody aesthetic.” Amma flicked her fingers at him and he felt an indignant jolt run through his chest. He wasn’t moody, though arguing that point would not help his case. Though he couldn’t help but feel that it was also strangely…. Thoughtful, that she would take into account his preference of colour, or lack thereof.

He grunted, unable to come up with a proper retort so early in the morning he turned quickly on his heels to march towards the forest.

“I’m not keeping it.” He called, not bothering to face her as he lifted his arm up and yanked the bracelet off so the bow came apart, ripping slightly as it did.

“No!” Amma’s disappointment was clear in her tone and Damien ignored the tug in his gut from some stupid emotion he didn’t bother putting a name to - likely pity, that was about all his evil heart was capable of in this situation, or so he told himself - and he continued his journey to find some quiet and private place to pee. It shouldn’t have been as difficult a task as it had been.

“Fine, be a miserable loner then!” She yelled after him.

“I’m evil, Amma, evil people don’t have friends, and they certainly don’t wear friendship bracelets.” Damien drawled, grinning to himself, “Right, Kaz?” He lifted his voice so the imp could hear him. If he hadn’t been evil he would have felt bad about sicking the imp on her, who at Damien’s call, realized what Amma had bestowed upon him, and was reacting just as he had expected.

Damien chuckled, revenge felt good, these were the consequences of her actions. Including him throwing that damned bracelet away and never looking back.

He twirled the bracelet between his fingers, the ash rubbing off as he did so. It was strange that she’d gone through so much effort to give him something she knew he wouldn’t like. The son of a Demon Lord wearing a friendship bracelet, how absolutely ludicrous. It would get him laughed out of Yvlcon, and he could only imagine what his father would say should he show up to free him from the crystal with an ash-covered, grass and flower braid around his wrist.

He went to toss it into a bush, but at the last second, he hesitated. He couldn’t name what had stopped him, but the image of Amma, eyes wide and glistening with tears over all her hard work going to waste, of him rejecting the gift… it made him seethe quietly, but at the same time, he found himself unable to let go of the bracelet.

Resisting the urge to stomp childishly, he shoved the bracelet into his pocket. With any luck he’d forget about it and it would become crumpled beyond repair, and at last, he could part with it, if it didn’t turn to dust first.

It would serve as a reminder that he didn’t need such things, that they weren’t for people like him. Bad people don’t deserve nice things. But if he kept it in his pocket, if he ruined such a nice gift, then maybe he could keep it, if only as a show of how evil he truly was, to hurt someone who had only tried to be kind.

He didn't have friends, nor would he ever, no matter how hard Amma tried, he was sure that he would be a ‘miserable loner’ for the rest of his life. It was his fate, no friendship bracelets would ever change that.

Damien shook himself, he should really be more concerned that that thought upset him, but as he listened to the sounds of Kaz and Amma bickering, he couldn’t help but feel a warmth light somewhere within the deep, dark recesses of his heart.

That damn girl and her damn kindness, surely it would be the death of him. He wasn’t sure what was worse, that his tombstone may read ‘Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne, Killed by Kindness” or that he wasn’t sure he would mind it, as long as it was Amma, with her bright smile and even brighter laugh, who did it.

A/N: I adore this series and it needs so much more hype!! Its literally the funniest and the cutest and had me giggling and kicking my feet???? Irl??? Wild.

Brb gonna go consume everything this author has ever written ✌️

#villains and virtues #damienxamma #damien maleficus bloodthorne #baroness Ammalie Avington #enemies to lovers #literally the best book series ever #tumblr prompt #throne in the dark #Kaz #drabble #silly #beginning of feelings #falling in love #a k caggiano

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slayerkitty · 5 months

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BL & Me: 2023 Edition

To celebrate my full first year as a BL fan I decided I wanted to do an end of the year list. Something to commemorate the absolutely wonderful fandom year I've had. Prior to watching my first BL, I had not participated in any fandoms since 2015. Getting back into it reminded how much fun it is and I've met and followed so many amazing people in the last year (technically, I watched my first BL in October 2022, so it's been more than a year...).

These lists are going to focus on the BLs (and two Thai dramas that wanted to be and probably should have been BLs) that came out during 2023 (or their finales aired in late January through February). Since I'm still playing catch up on older BLs, there are several that I watched for the first time this year but I might do a separate post for that.

Total # of BLs watched this year: 42

Thailand: 38 Dramas, 1 Movie

Japan: 1

Korea: 0

Taiwan: 2

Clearly I need to watch more from Korea. Currently I'm making my way through Taiwan's BLs so once I am sufficiently caught up on those, I will be moving over to catch up on Korean ones. Until the last month or so, I had never seen a Taiwanese BL, so that's what started me on watching those - I'm almost done with the ones that have been recommended to me so far.

It's plain to see that I love Thailand's approach to BL's the most; they are what hooked me into BL and keep me watching.

Most Anticipated BLs: Bed Friend, Between Us, Cutie Pie 2 You, Moonlight Chicken, Naughty Babe

My Highest Rated Shows on MyDramaList: I Feel You Linger in the Air (10), La Pluie (10), Moonlight Chicken (10), Our Dining Table (10), Laws of Attraction (9.5), Midnight Museum (9.5), My Dear Gangster Oppa (9.5), Only Friends (9.5), Shadow (9.5) and Kiseki: Dear to Me (9.5).

It's a very interesting mix of shows here - one from Taiwan, one from Japan, and the two regular Thai dramas.

Favorite New Trope: Waltzing Gays. 2023 said, "Let the gays dance!" and they did.

Memorable Fandom Moments (The Good, The Bad, And The Absurd):

Altering the name of Moonlight Chicken. When we heard the name of the show, it was impossible not to make fun of it just a little. Many a nickname/play on words was created for this show and it was so much fun to see what others would come up with.

The ONN fandom protesting the O part of their ship landing a new BL and a new BL partner (complete with hiring a truck to drive around with a sign).

The Pit Babe Omegaverse post breaking containment and topping out at just over 69k notes (NOICE).

Playing "Spot the Cameo" during Midnight Museum and watching while GMMtv marched out practically their entire pool of talent for the show and yet still needed both Gun and Nannon to play more than one character.

Playing "Spot the Cameo" for Kiseki: Dear to me as they practically had all the major BL actors cameo in the show.

The fandom exhaustion over the marketing/casting announcements for Red Peafowl and the eventual fandom decision to just worship our lord and savior Kuhn Feathers instead.

Best/Worst Use of Product Placement: (you decide which is which)

Midnight Museum using the product placement car to hit and kill a character.

Oiishi Green Tea being used as part of foreplay/foodplay in Dinosaur Love

The random Toyota Service Center call during a highly emotionally charged moment in Bake Me Please

Every single 7/11 scene in Venus in the Sky. Every single one.

The spicy meals used as torture devices in Kiseki: Dear to Me

Shows That Started Great But Couldn't Stick the Landing: Dangerous Romance, Hidden Agenda, Only Friends, Our Skyy 2 (select episodes), Step by Step

Best/Favorite Kisses:

GunCher "challenge" kiss (A Boss and A Babe episode 2)

TinnGunn bed kiss (My School President episode 12)

WinTeam poolside "fall into each other" kiss (Between Us episode 2)

JokeZo balcony kiss (Hidden Agenda episode 8)

YaiJom rain kiss (I Feel You Linger in the Air episode 7)

PalmNueng rooftop kiss (Never Let Me Go episode 5)

LianKuea wedding kiss (Cutie Pie 2 You episode 4)

(I could keep going but I'd be here forever so I'm stopping myself)

Worst/Yikes Kisses:

DinoRak (Dinosaur Love) - just... almost all of them. THERE IS SO MUCH TONGUE. Normally this is not a bad thing. However, here it's basically Dino tongue-bathing Rak's face like a dog and it did not work for me. Yikes.

KanghanSailom bathroom kiss (Dangerous Romance episode 6?) - I've tried to like it. I have. It's Perth. It's Chimon. It's AWKWARD. Yikes.

DanNai "locked in a room all night" kiss (Shadow episode 9) - it's bad because it's not reciprocated and IT HURTS DAMN IT.

Most Surprising/Memorable Show Production Moments:

Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of a Thousand Stars crossover announcement.

Finding out while watching Pit Babe episode one that it was Omegaverse after being told that aspect had been removed for the show.

Pixelated Butts/Genitals in The Sign

Mame landing McDonald's money for Wedding Plan

Gun Attaphan playing not one, not two, but three separate characters in Midnight Museum.

Feel free to use any of these categories if you're doing an end of the year list too; I can't wait to see what others might come up with.

#BL & Me: 2023 Edition #Thai Bl

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moonpool-system · 8 months

Note

Ask Game!

🌈- What are some common hobbies?

🌪️- What is the most liked food between everyone?

✨- Does anyone have a pet?

-Avril/Neds/Damein

So the funny part about this is that we just answered the first question in depth right here! So that's convenient ^-^ I forgot to mention that sparring is pretty big here too, but it's way more of a sport in our partner system's headspace.

What's the most liked food between everyone? - Hmmm that's actually a hard choice, everyone seems to have different favorites (leads to a lot of half eaten food) - we all have different styles of what we buy when we shop too, lol. I'd say fruit and dairy have to be the two most consistent things we eat? I don't know anyone in the system that flat out doesnt like either of those things (even Steven, whom went from vegan to vegetarian because of cheese LOL)

Does anyone have a pet? - Oohh so this has some fun stories to it! We have one system member perfectly comfortable with being called a pet, and that's Survivor - they're a fictive of the main character of Rain World (a beautiful and difficult game that started out as a survival simulator) and while they're sapient they quite definitely have Animal Creature Brain and act accordingly. They're a simple and sweet creature that likes pets and cuddles and only fronts to get us food or rarely play outdoors, they're pretty much the system's pet like how a pet is part of your family, and I love them a lot

As for the other story, okay so we have a fictive of Red Velvet from Cookie Run right? And the whole deal with this guy in canon is that he's a hybrid of a Cookie and a Cake, quite literally just another baked good cooked in the magical Oven, but even though a significant portion of them show blatant signs of sapience, the Cookies straight up see them as monsters. (YES this is canon. There're speciesism themes in CRK and thats not even the main theme. This is a cookie game why is its genre fantasy politics) So Red Velvet in canon, effectively bispecies and being caught between this, said fuck that and started using the Oven to make Cakes of his own. Most of them look like little puppies (Cake Hounds, highly recommend looking them up theyre so cute) and they're great, Red Velvet and his new companions dedicate their lives to fighting back. Cut to Red Velvet in the system, whom has the memories of all this, the lava tunnels running through the core of Celeste Mountain, and a genius mechanic also in the system - he ended up *making another oven* and spends most of his time baking new Cakes when he's not training. They now pretty much populate the innerworld as NPCs, all different types, and a ton of people in the city have them as pets.

Thanks for the ask!! ^^

#prism #pluralgang #ask game #plural community #headspace

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fireintheflames · 9 months

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An IRL Update!

Just a general update on things, and some fun life hacky adjacent type things!

It's been a busy summer for sure, been trying to find something fun to do every weekend so I can hibernate guilt free in the winter. Some highlights:

Concerts! Including Styx in the rain, which was very fun! Learned that earplugs at concerts are 100% a must for anything inside, if only for the crowd noise. We used cheap Harbor Freight ones, like $5 for 100, worked pretty good!

Camping! which was delayed due to a combo thunderstorm/flood. We made hobo pies! Recipe: 1 cast iron pie iron (~$20) 2 slices of Hillbilly (TM) Bread, or similar soft wheat/white bread (think wonder bread texture) Fillings (i highly recommend PBJ for sweet, or cheese and pepperoni for savory, melty is ideal) Optional: Non-stick cooking spray (Spray inside of pie iron), put bread in each side, add filling. Clamp pie iron. Place in hot coals for about 5-10 minutes each side, flipping once. The edges should be dark, but not actively on fire. Remove iron from fire and unclamp, turn pie out onto plate and let cool until heat comfort level is reached. Eat!

Gardening! My lobelia, obedient plant, vervain, verbena, harebell, and anise hyssop flowered! I picked blueberries! My petunias have lived! I successfully transplanted lemon balm from cuttings (to a pot, the stuff is very aggressive and I'd like to bring it inside in the winter)/I somehow kept the "finicky" plants alive, but killed a nanny-berry (a notoriously hardy viburnum variety). The squirrels keep digging up my wild bergamot! But a 100% increase in bees and bugs, as was the goal! We have fireflies in our 1/4 acre city lot, which is very nice! (to see more bugs/birds, find out your city's grass cut limit and hang tight to it. Where we live it's a pretty generous 10", so lot's of "weed" plants can come up. We actually need to remove a lot of the beech and maples that are growing in places they really shouldn't (like 6" from the house foundation), but we've let all the clovers/violets/asters hang out. We also use a push reel mower and an electric weed whip instead of a normal two stroke mower, which both do a worse job of mowing grass but a better job of not annihilating the things we want growing!

Art fairs! I bought so many mugs, I'm going to need a second mug hutch! (My first mug hutch was the first piece of furniture I bought because I wanted it, not needed it. It is red, with dark green insides. The doors stick and the glass is cracked, but I adore it!). I collect mugs, but I may need to purge if I keep this up. I also bought a "rice vest". It's like a hot sock, but a vest. It has a bunch of little sections full of rice so the weight is evenly distributed. You can microwave it or freeze it. Great for my tense shoulders! I love it so much, I attached a picture!

Art classes! I took multi-media storytelling, which was basically working with collages! I made some pretty cool pieces, and it inspired me to start cleaning my side of the basement for an art studio. I'm going to sign up for more classes in the fall, see if I can get into the pottery courses (our local art center has all sorts of classes for adults, but the pottery ones are the most popular and actually have an order you need to take them to unlock them in). 100% recommend, it was nice doing something creative with other people.

Birding! Not too seriously, but I got a pocket guide and Miles bought some nice binoculars (the lad loves optics and lenses, it's the fun part of photography for him) and we take 'em on hikes! Highlights so far are some cedar wax wings (not uncommon, but not something we see a ton around where we live), a bald eagle, several great blue herons (the nature center by us is a big river/wetland, so lots of birds stop over), and a black crowned night heron. We also got caught in a surprise thunderstorm while looking at some red-winged blackbirds, which was an experience!

That's really for it, it's just been a busy time and I wanted to share! Have a wonderful day!

#actually blogging for once #long post #personal stuff

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idanwyn-et-al · 2 years

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(XIV||22-29): Fuse.

(Continued from here.) (♪ - I highly recommend listening to this one for reading!)

Despite her best efforts, that flame of bravery quailed as she was guided to the crowded steps of the Tribunal. Her seeking eyes picked them out of the assembled; her immediate family, dressed in somber finery as befitted the occasion. Raphael Bale, her father, his salt-and-pepper hair combed neatly back from his worried face. Her mother, Mathilde, similarly-frightened with a spark of indignant anger in her pinched expression; taller than her husband by six ilms or so, a gift from her Durendaire grandmother, as was her umber skin. Mathilde’s sister, Elodie de Centurio, had her sword arm looped through Mathilde’s; she cut an impressive, elegant figure as always, with her blazing-red hair and its streak of white tamed into short curls, her sturdy adventurer’s body immaculate in a tailcoat and dress trousers. Anne-Sophie’s elder brother Felix, heir to the House, kept his face schooled into a perfect courtly mien that gave nothing away; it was only when his eyes caught hers that he offered her a wink, which stirred that flame of hope within her breast. It burned brighter as she saw Noémie, hand-in-hand with her wife, Aurienne de Courcellain; the astrologian and the pacifist mouthing ‘go get ‘em’ and ‘we’ve got you, Annie,’ respectively.

Rallying herself with their support, she stood up as straight as she could, managing to look much taller than her five-fulm-two-ilm frame would seemingly allow. They had come, after all. They would stand by her to the end.

---Previously, in the Gyshal’s Greens:---

I’ve always enjoyed rain. Even now, as it patters against the shingles of my hideaway, it brings back memories of watching droplets streak like serpentine comets against the lead-glass panes of our summer home. For all that we Bales are a hardy folk, favoring strength of body as a means to carry a clever mind, we didn't much care for outdoor excursions when it rained.

Everything within that western manor took on a festive air during summer thunderstorms. Stewards that had served since Father and Uncle Alberic were babes at the breast pressed their noses to the windows, gasping with delight as levin threaded wild ribbons between the clouds. Father would break out the good port and overindulge, playing cards and dice in the cellars with the kitchen staff. Mother and Aunt Elodie would gather us children in the conservatory facing the gardens, then throw the doors wide and race us to the stables and back, laughing and shrieking with each heart-rattling boom of thunder. “Warm up, wet moppets,” Mother would say each time we returned indoors, all of us stripping down to our smallclothes and seeking out the baths in the eastern wing.

Later, Felix would help the maids with the washing, while Noémie and I curled up with books and board games in the library, letting the warm fire dry our combed hair. As the cloudy skies grew darker, Mother would draw Father to bed, which we children all pretended not to notice, especially because it meant we could stay up late. Felix used to join us half the time, pretending he was too old and too important for our silliness, but inevitably succumbing to our childhood flights of fancy.

I wonder how many times Aunt Elodie carried each of our overtired bodies to bed in her strong swordswoman’s arms, giving us a gentle kiss on our foreheads before retiring for the night herself. Safe. We were all safe during those storms; the mountains around our estate were much taller than its highest gables, and the dragons did not often attack when levinbolts fused blinding pathways in the skies, seeking the tallest targets.

Perhaps that is why I enjoy this cabin, called the Gyshal’s Greens, so much. It feels safe, too; hidden and remote. A summer estate for the Knights Errant; humble for an estate, to be sure, but with its own vault beneath its weathered boards. Its own thriving gardens, too, and a nearby spring-fed brook. No stewards---at least, not yet---but we all like it that way. It means there is always good work to be done; the sort that leaves you exhausted but fulfilled as you enjoy a filling supper that you grew much of with your own hands.

I had plans to start a dodo hatchery in the spring, for meat and eggs. Perhaps a pen of aldgoats in the blackberry brambles out back, too, if we could keep them from destroying our crops. I say “had”, because my future is uncertain now. This may be my last night in the Greens, and I am here alone; Miovont off to Ala Mhigo with his sailing crew, and Trineaux with his adoptive parents in Empyreum. Though I miss their company, in truth I am glad for this moment of solitude. Miovont’s lighthearted jokes might fall flat for me tonight; a shame, since he tells such jokes as a way to stubbornly defy the early death that crawls through his veins. Trineaux would be keeping his hands busy, either cooking or cleaning or separating out the mending for me to do; though born to nobility, he was raised in the Brume, and his family performs day-to-day tasks with fervency that nearly seems religious in nature. Strange how that particular trait is never seen as heretical.

No, I should not let my thoughts turn to bitterness. I must have faith. Ishgard is changing, and, when I am honest with myself, the actions that I took to get myself to the First were rather reckless. Now that I have travelled more, both in that other world and in mine own, I understand that the rite I performed could leave any nation vulnerable. It is my dearest hope that the Holy See knows my contrition on this matter, while still allowing that the practicing of such magicks cannot and should not be anathema any longer.

I have already prepared for tomorrow. A suit of my dress armor sits polished on its wooden form, my Glass at the ready by its side; not the same dress armor I favored when I travelled to the First, but similar enough. I know the Temple Knights will strip me of it straight away, but it is important to me to come correct, as they say.

I will enjoy the fire in the hearth and the rain against the windows until they lull me to sleep. When I awake, I will muster my courage and head to Whitebrim Front to turn myself in. I wonder if I can collect the bounty on myself and donate it to some venerable cause; the Fury knows I have put any number of smallfolk at risk simply by accepting their bread and board. Perhaps someone will catch me on the road tomorrow and take the reward; given how Nymeia has been spinning my threads of late, it would suit.

When at last Anne-Sophie dozes off in the oversized chair, she dreams of an upturned ewer, pouring a gentle stream over the Gyshal’s Greens. Atop these waters are illuminated pages that float like water lilies, surrounding the Mystic Knight with a sense of peace that she has not known in moons.

(Continued and concluded here!)

#FFxivWrite2022 #my writing #Anne-Sophie Bale #XIV Write 22 Anne-Sophie Story #The Trial of Ser Bale #first person pov #gotta do it for the penultimate challenge!#Prompt 29 #Fuse #with mentions of #Ishgardian Knights Errant #yay less long posts #also dun dun dun some religious foreshadowing #House Bale

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briantravels60 · 2 years

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Day 28 – Armenteira to Villanova de Arousa – 24 km

Leaving Armenteira, I came to the river, where there I had to decide which side of the river to walk along. I chose to stay on the right side of the river. Both were along the river. The right side was more scenic and the left side was smoother. They converged after a km or so.

The walk along the river was both beautiful and historical. This part of the route is called "Ruta da Pedra e da Auga". It was lined with dozens of mills which were originally constructed in the Middle Ages and used to saw wood.

In the initial part of the trail along the river it was rocky and treacherous I caught up to Marie (QC, Canada), and not a young woman. I. walked with her to ensure that she would get down the river safely because we were the only two on the trail at that time. She spoke English and I spoke French. Both of us pretty badly.

It rained off and on until 1:30. The walk was beautiful, along steams, through forests and vineyards, finishing along a beach in Villanova de Arousa. The route was hilly but so pretty that I didn't even notice it.

I stopped for lunch and met Steen (Denmark). After lunch we put our earbuds in, turned up the music and walked.

Late in the day, I had the sun in my face for the first time on this walk, while I walked westward towards the coast.

In the evening we celebrated Stacey Trumble's birthday - a Camino family event.

Last night’s stay was at Pousada Armenteira. This was a luxe stay in Armenteira. It had an excellent breakfast, but no bar service. Outside the room was a nice area to sit and take in the afternoon sun. It also offered an unheated pool - it was too cool to use it. Highly recommended.

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rat-girl-rambles · 2 years

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midnight retrospective

Its midnight on a Wednesday, thursday I guess, and I'm wide awake. I'm not the type to stay up late. I'm the flavor of mentally ill that enjoys sleep a little too much. I'm careful to always try to have my mornings now, to be up and at em and not "sleep away the day." I know how things begin to feel stuck if I let myself slip on the little things.

Anyways, I'm up and brainstorming ways to hate myself a little bit less. I'm not up because of the scary movie I saw earlier tonight with a couple friends, I didn't feel too spooked at all really. I was social tonight, I did well enough at work, I ate enough, I went through all the right motions and did all the right steps. To be honest, I've been swinging in and out of low level panic attacks for the last couple of days. I'm starting to understand why people don't stay friends with their exes. Find yourself people who love you, break their heart, and then stick around their lives to remind you what good people they are. I must be a fucking sadist.

Brainstorming ways not to hate myself - off to a great start. Let's start off easy, what did I like about today...

I got caught in the rain today. It was actually pretty annoying but something about getting drenched in the rain feels really nice and cathartic in the moment. It's only after, when you're stuck in those cold wet clothes that you remember it's not as fun as you thought. I guess I'm like that about a lot of things. I can be short-sighted and impulsive. I'd like to look out for my future self a little bit more. Sometimes I feel like no ones looking out for her. Sometimes I feel like it's only a matter of time before she's gone, really.

And time to bring myself back. I always do that. My panic comes on as one thought that floods the rest of me and says "sit here- sit here forever and think about what you've done." And then the rest of me says "no, ma'am, you can't stay here- move forward. Have the thought and for fucks sake just move forward." This back and forth is so painfully not metaphorical that I've come to the only logical conclusion-- I need to be medicated.

I have goals for myself - I want to get medicated and get therapy. I want to write more (boo-yah look at me writing, goddamn Jane Austen over here). I want to travel- plan a whole big international trip. It's a solo trip. So I can become self sufficient and like myself- I think it's a good plan. Honestly, it feels like the greatest scheme I've ever hatched when I'm feeling manic. I want to learn Adobe Illustrator and learn a new language and workout and all the other generic bullshit people want to do. It's not like I'm special. A mantra I set for myself back in high school - you are not the exception that proves the rule.

We're working on Q2 retrospectives at work. When we look back on campaigns and everything from Quarter 2 and see what worked and what didn't and how we could do shit better in Q3. I guess I should do that with myself. Working on yourself just seems so exhausting. And who's there to validate you on a job well done? Myself? Yeah, because that opinion means so much to me lmao.

That's what's not working I guess, the "negative self talk" like I imagine my (nonexistent) therapist would call it. Humor and anger are two great gateway drugs to never actually having to feel your feelings. Highly recommend.

I'll write here more. Maybe it does something? Placebo effect if nothing else. Well I'm bored of my own thoughts. Insert outro here.

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umichenginabroad · 10 months

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Week 5: Pompeii and Venice

Ciao!

Once again, this blog post is about a week late because I’ve been so busy recently. I still can’t believe that I’m over halfway done with my time here in Italy as I’ve been having so much fun!

On Wednesday I went by myself to Pompeii which is super easy to get to from Sant'Anna. I bought my entry ticket online through the official Pompeii website, meaning I could just walk to the gates and enter the site, saving me time by not having to stand in line to buy tickets. Once in Pompeii, I used the free audio tour on the Rick Steves Europe app (a great resource for free audio walking tours of various European cities) which covers some of the famous monuments and buildings in Pompeii. I also walked around to see the other famous sites like the Villa of Mysteries, Amphitheater, Garden of the Fugitives, and various Necropoli. I spent over 5 hours exploring the site and I didn’t even see everything!

Various photos from around Pompeii including casts of the victims (upper right) and the Villa of Mysteries (bottom left)

Make sure to bring plenty of water and snacks as it gets hot exploring the ruins and there are various fountains inside where you can fill up your water bottle. Also wear good walking shoes because the site is massive and there is so much to see. If you’re a fan of ancient history, or just want to see one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, I highly recommend visiting and seeing what life was like in Ancient Rome. Between Pompeii and Herculaneum, I liked Herculaneum better because it was more manageable and there were much smaller crowds but Pompeii had a lot more important buildings to see like the fully evacuated Forum and Amphitheater.

Other photos from around Pompeii including the greek ampitheater (upper left) and one of the various well preserved "fast food stalls" aka Thermopolium located throughout the city (bottom right).

Thursday was my food and culture final and a CIS Abroad Summer 1 farewell dinner (which was at a delicious restaurant in Marina Piccola and celebrated the students only here for the month of June). Most excitingly, however, on Friday I headed to Venice! I’m pretty comfortable using the Circumvesuviana (the local commuter train between Sorrento and Naples) now and transferring between trains was easy. This train also terminated in Venice San Lucia which was the stop we were getting off at, making traveling easy as we just rode the train to the end of the line. When we got to Venice, however, it was absolutely pouring rain so we got completely soaked on our way to the AirBnb. Luckily, none of my stuff got too wet but it was definitely not my favorite way to start off the weekend.

We were in Prima (aka first class) on the way to Venice (left). The absolute downpour we got caught up in when we arrived (right)

The next day we stopped and grabbed breakfast at a cafe before heading to Libreria Acqua Alta, a cat themed bookstore that had a gondola filled with books as well as some fun souvenirs and cool photo backgrounds. We then walked around Venice to look at all the artisan shops before reaching the absolutely stunning Piazza San Marco and Doge’s Palace. We had booked a 30min Gondola tour at 3 so we quickly grabbed some pasta before heading to the meeting point. After a quick walk, we got to board a Gondola to ride through the canals! This was absolutely incredible as the ride was scenic and peaceful and 100% worth the money as it truly was a once in a lifetime experience. There is a whole culture and history around Gondolas in Venice from when locals ride on them to who can actually operate them and how you can buy one (spoiler, you can’t). We then did some more walking around and grabbed some incredible Gelato before returning to the Airbnb to rest before going out for dinner and crepes.

Various photos from Libreria Acqua Alta (top) and from throughout Venice and the gondola ride (bottom)

The next day, we left the apartment and headed to grab a quick breakfast and see some cool buildings. We saw the famous Rialto bridge as well Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo which has an absolutely beautiful spiral staircase and amazing views of the city. We then grabbed lunch and got absolutely incredible Tiramisu from I Tre Mercanti. I got Banana Caramel Tiramisu and it was one of the best desserts I’ve had while I’ve been here and they had fun flavors like traditional, pistachio, and passion fruit. We then had to catch our train back to Naples.

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo (left) and it's gorgeous view (center) as well as my incredible Banana Caramel Tiramisu (right)

Overall, I absolutely loved our trip to Venice. I seriously couldn’t believe how picturesque it was and it was cool to actually ride on a Gondola. I swear every street looked like a postcard and I’m so glad I was able to make it to Venice during my study abroad. I think that ~1.5 days was a good amount because we got to see everything we wanted to see and the island itself is pretty small, but I could definitely see spending more time here to visit the other islands or actually tour some museums. Venice also has a unique, historical feel to it as you wind through the canals and tiny streets and alleyways. It’s completely different from Sorrento or Rome in that there are no cars (or Vespas) on the island which made getting places easy but was also a little strange. If you ever get the chance to go, don’t pass it up because it was truly an incredible experience.

Some more fun photos from around Venice because it's just so picturesque

I don‘t have any big travel plans anytime soon because for the second five weeks I have classes scheduled every week day. I do, however, want to go and explore Naples sometime and specifically get to the famous archaeology museum where most of the original Pompeii frescos, statues, and mosaics are housed.

Ciao! Reganne Watts Aerospace Engineering Engineering in Sorrento, Italy

#umichenginabroad #ipesummer23 #ipesorrento #regannewatts #italy

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picklesabroad · 11 months

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Folegandros

First things first - put it on your list. We were lucky enough to have Folegandros highly recommended to us by a friend, Rachelle - thank you Rachelle, I cheers my gelato to you.

We arrived in Folegandros very ready to be away from the crowds of Santorini.

We were greeted at the port by Theo, our host, who scooped us up in his car and took us to our accommodation. Folegandros is only 14km long, so it is a tiny wee island and boasts a population of about 760 people. We were in paradise.

The first stop was our accommodation - a gorgeous room in the Ampelos suites, just on the edge of town with a view of the Church of Panagia (the Virgin Mary) up on the hill. Theo gave us a full rundown of the food in the village and let us loose with the parting words “There is good gelato here”. Believe me when I say we got amongst the gelato.

Well. We wandered around the town, enjoying the quiet and the lack of other tourists. The Chora (town) in Folegandros is unique because it is all on one level (not a rats nest of stairs), and for a tiny little town, it has a whopping 5 town squares. Each town square boasts leafy trees, festoon lighting, and alfresco dining from the restaurants around the periphery of the square. I was home. We had a late lunch at a place called Pounta, which was so nice we went back thrice more times. Lunch was toast with a salad of rocket, capers, olives, spring onions, herbs, feta, and local goat's cheese. To die for.

We were ready for a swim so we walked back to the port and along the coast to some beaches. The water was crystal clear and the perfect temperature so we had a dip at two separate beaches.

Our first beach was called Vitsentzou, and I speak on behalf of the three of us when I say we sat on the beach pinching ourselves for a while. We had made it, to the azure shores of Greece, three young lasses off on an adventure. The beach was perfectly empty, the water refreshingly cool. Stacey and I thought it was time for a nudie swim. We had bloody well made it.

Our tummies told us it was time to go and source some dinner, so we jumped on the bus and bussed back to the Chora, where we managed to locate some dinner at a traditional greek grill. Delightful. Our highlights were the big beans (cooked in tomato sauce, onions, capsicums and dill), stuffed tomatoes and eggplant dip.

Gelato for dessert and off to bed for a sleep. WRONG. Turns out a demented rooster had moved into the paddock below our room, and he wanted us to know he was there, so tootled his song all night long. Joy. Ronaldo the Rooster should take notes.

The next morning was overcast, so we did what we could while avoiding the rain. It was a slow day, but we had the best dinner of the trip that night at a place called Chic in one of the town squares. Cheese balls, cheese and dips, slow cooked lamb with prunes and almonds, meatballs in red sauce and blue cheese pasta. It was fantastic!!!!!

The next day was hot and dry, but my sinuses were wet and gooey. I think while my mind likes island living, my sinuses don’t enjoy the pollen and dust. My friends went for a big walk down to another beach, and I lay on my bed and read my book. Once they got back, Soph and I went for a walk up to the church of Panagia. We didn’t realise there was a wedding on up there and ended up being able to sneak in to see the inside of the church while the wedding was getting set up, which was a neat experience. We could see the trail of guests coming up the zig zag stairs below, so we perched on a rock out of the way and watched the wedding party come up the hill. We walked super slow down the hill and managed to cross paths with the bride on her way up!!! Very neat. We caught up with Stacey and went and grabbed our rental car which we had organised during the day. The lady who owned the rental car was very surprised when I asked about the state of the spare tire (reservio in Greek) as no one had ever asked before, but I must say, I am my fathers daughter in that respect.

We had the rental car for a 24hour period from 7pm-7pm, so we left the rental place and drove straight up the coast (14km) up to a place we had been recommended for dinner, where we had a very nice dinner of Matsata - a local dish of cheesy fat pasta-y noodles and Rooster cooked in red sauce (reminded me of aeroplane food but don’t tell the Greeks). Post dinner we went to the tippity top of Folegandros to catch the sunset.

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at Pounta (toast with salad toppings, and a crepe to share) and headed to the beaches at the top of the Island. We were told we weren't allowed to drive down the dirt road to the beach, so we parked in the parking lot up the top. As we started the long, long treck down the dirt road, we realized the dirt was more concrete-y than we thought, and that perhaps the rental company had missed this detail out, so Stacey, being the MVP she is, ran back to the car and drove it as far as she could on the concrete road, saving us a deathly slog back up to the top in the midday sun.

Once the car was parked on a level surface (parking brakes are not to be trusted around here) we meandered down the much shorter walk to the two glorious beaches. Perfection. All of the beaches in Folegandros were just gorgeous.

We swum, I snorkelled, we ate treats and read our books in the shade. We lapped it up and switched into Island time mode. When we had sufficiently swum enough, we walked back up the hill to the car and drove back to Agali bay, where we had a seafood lunch overlooking the beach. We then went back into town, where Stacey dropped Soph and I off for a snooze while she went to another beach down by the port. She came back to grab us in the evening, and we went back up the coast to the Folklore museum, where we learned about the traditional way of life for most Greek people in Folegandros. Highlights for the group were the manual olive press, the wine stomping bath set up, and the house that was built around the lemon tree. As the tree got bigger, so did the wall, as lemon trees were very important back in the day and needed to be protected from the wind.

After that, we returned the rental car (the man asked if we had used the reservio spare tire with a chortle) and grabbed some dinner. It was our last night, so we went to a place called Belegra and had a mezze dinner. The highlights were fried local cheese and a herby potato salad.

Folegandros gave us a proper glimpse into the Greek way of life. Businesses (nut just food, all businesses) open 10am - 1pm, then close till about 5pm, when they would open again until late. Everything seems to happen when it happens, and no one seems bound by time, or to be rushing to be anywhere. Restaurants will seat you when they are ready for people, and when you sit outside at a bar to have a drink, the bartenders will come out and have a drink and a chat with you, and bring you little silver bowls of chippies and nuts. Perhaps it's the heat, or the small houses that people live in, but for some reason the locals all seem to spend a lot of time in the town squares, chatting, eating, drinking together. I think this is what real community is, whether by necessity or design.

One of the nights we were there, we were sitting outside and we noticed a lot of smoke. We found out later that there had been a fire and someone had died, but that was after we witnessed all of the men in the town leaping into action to try and put the fire out. It was a morbid way to experience what 'community' means here, in a tiny village in the Cyclades, but it was a learning nonetheless.

On our last morning in Folegandros, we mucked around in the city, buying snacks for our ferry ride, had breakfast at Pounta (again), and walked past the gelato shop about 6 times willing it to open. It held fast to it's 2pm time and I was left sans gelato. We then made our way to the ferry gate, to set off towards... NAXOS.

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dailyaudiobiblechronological · 1 year

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1/3/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

Genesis 8-11

Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm Jill. Today's the third day of January. It is day three, and I'm so glad that you are here. It is my joy and my honor and my sheer privilege to be reading the Word of God for us. We do that individually. We do it collectively, and whether you know or not, we do that in community. What a beautiful community it is. We are going to jump into the word real quick like here as we continue in Genesis. But before we do, every day, I'm trying to give you another little tip or pointer so that you're not completely overwhelmed and inundated with information and tips. And then you get lost. And when we get overwhelmed and it gets too hard, we just shut down and we walk away. And I don't want that to happen. Some of you just got here. We want you to just stay. And the intention is to be helpful and not hurtful. So let's talk about getting behind. It's probably going to happen at some point in this journey. We set really big goals. We have a lot of excitement. We have a lot of good intentions at the beginning of brand new journeys. And this is the day I'm going to start. I'm going to stay with this. And we try to do it perfectly instead of embracing the process. And there is something to be said about consistency, but perfection is nearly impossible. So if you get behind on your reading, things happen. Vacations take place. You fall out of regular routine, whatever the circumstances is. You get far behind, you get overwhelmed and you go back and you try to play catch up. What we highly recommend is to start with the day that it is currently and then go back and try to catch up. And the reason being is, if you go back at the day that you left off and you try to play catch up and then you get further behind, such a wide gap can take place that you truly just get overwhelmed and then you fall off altogether. You have a much more likely chance of staying with it if you start with that day and then when and if you have time to go back, you can certainly do so. So super helpful tip. If you get really behind, start with that day that you come back, that present day, and then try to catch up. I know some of you are just super awesome and you're like, I was two months behind and I caught up. I listened six days non stop, 24 hours a day. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you get the point. And there's also grace for yourself in this process. You may do it imperfectly and that's okay. Leave room for error. You're going to need it. We're all going to need it. But for today, let's jump into scripture. Today we're reading Genesis, chapters eight through eleven and this week we will be reading the New Living Translation, Genesis, chapter eight.

Announcements

Okay, let's do a little bit of review back to yesterday. Did God really regret that he made humanity because of the evil they were engaged in? He did. Did God really tell Noah to build an ark, take the animals and his family and shut them inside the ark and caused it to rain for a long period of time and flood the Earth? Yes, he did. Did God tell Noah's family afterwards to go and multiply the population because there's all of what, seven, eight, nine people, a whole lot of animals that are going to they're going to do their part to repopulate the animal world? Yes, he did. And here's the thing about the stories that we're reading. God is speaking directly his self to the men and women in the stories. There is no middleman. This is direct relationship between God Himself that spoke to Adam and Eve, that spoke to Noah and gave Him precise, distinct instructions on the dimensions of the Arc and what he is to do. And we noticed that was a process, right? There was not everything at once. It was, do this and then a time elapsed, and then do this and then take the animals, and then I'm going to shut the door. And then the Earth floods and then check the water to see if it had receded. It hadn't. And then check it again. It was a process. Step by step, listen, obey, listen, obey. Then we get to the covenant that God makes with Noah after the flood. And then we have Noah and his sons post flood, and we have directions from God of a process. We go through some lineage again because it is important to learn how we got to where we are, the steps that took place. And again, everything is building into a greater story. Okay? Which leads us to this little tiny story tucked away in today's reading called the Tower of Babel. Have you ever heard the phrase they're just babbling oil? Now, you know, so hearing the story for the first time, there could be a little confusion. I totally see that. Let me interject right here. There is no government, there's no regions or cities or providences set up. This is God speaking to people and people coming into existence and creating these territories, languages and clans that will later become something. But right now it is as raw and rugged as you could not ever even imagine. So the people of Babble get together and realize that they spoke the same language where they can understand one another. This means other languages were being spoken, people didn't understand each other. So we find a group of people have formed and they have an idea. They're going to build a tower to the heavens and they even have the materials to do so. And so they set out and they build this great city with a tower to reach to the sky. And then here it comes. We hear their intention.This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world. But the Lord came down, looked at the tower that the people were building, and he said, look, the people are united, they speak the same language, they understand each other. And whatever they set out to do, nothing will be impossible. Let's go down and confuse the people with a different language. Did God really send down confusion so that people would not be able to understand one another? Yep He did. If we think about this story in terms of the story we just came off of Noah and the Flood, the main difference, first and foremost, God instructed Noah. The people were not instructed by God. Secondly, it's important to understand that God just completely wiped out round one of humanity prior to the Flood because of the evil that people had already been engaged in. Now the confusion can come to think, but isn't unity the key? Aren't we, as the body of Christ, to pray for unity and be united? And I would think the answer to that is yes. But I think sometimes where we miss it is to think that our language must match up, our thinking must match up. We must be on the same political path. We must have our doctrine and our theology completely in sync. And then we can come together of different nationalities and join hands and pray and sing in unity. But man, how boring would it be if we were all the same? The key to unity is recognizing our differences and still coming together. So can we pinpoint the thing that caused God to ixnay the babylet project day? I don't know. We can sit with it, we can ask Him. But what we do know is that their intent was clearly stated was for them to become famous all over the world and to not be scattered, but that they could stay in their comfort zone of sameness. So, tiny story, really big important point to not miss today.

Prayer

Father, we thank you for your word. I thank you for the treasure that it is knowing that sometimes treasure has to be dug for and found. And sometimes treasure comes from looking for something completely different. And we find these little unexpected diamonds, these unexpected little treasures that are invaluable to us in life. And as we are just barely getting started, scratching away at the surface of getting to know You, Almighty God, thank you of how you are already showing Yourself to us, may we take this moment today and examine the intentions of the things that we are doing, that we are accomplishing? Are they for your glory. Have you invited us into? Are we trying to make a name for ourselves and be known? Or are we making Your name known in all of the earth? We thank you for this time and for this day. We pray this now in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Announcements

A couple of quick announcements today. Daily Audio Bible, if you're new and you want to know more, check it out. That's the website. Take a look around. The app is free. And let me just tell you, lots of new people here this year today, so much that it crashed the app for just a quick minute. So we do ask for your grace. We prepare for these things, and sometimes they even go beyond our preparations. So the app was blown for a bit, but it's back. Maybe we're back. And just some grace, extra grace there as we welcome and make room. Like, let's scoot on over and pull out a stick of gum and get it ready for the new people that are coming, because who doesn't love and probably need a stick of gum? The point is, let's welcome them, let's make room and let's understand first and foremost why things are happening and then apply grace. Okay, let's talk prayer. If you have a prayer request, if you would like to call and pray for someone that had a prayer request that you heard on the line, here are your instructions. If you're calling on your mobile phone, people still do that, I'm told, 800 583-2164. That is our very own line for Chronological. If you're utilizing the app, at the top right, there's this beautiful little red circle button. You'll push that, you'll hear my daughter China make a beautiful announcement of instruction, and then you'll have two minutes on the prayer line to state your prayer or your prayer request. And now, many of you, if you're a first timer, you're going to ramble on because of nerves. And then the beep is going to come and you're going to go, oh, shoot, I missed it. And you might do it a few times until you get comfortable, especially if you're not used to hearing your own voice. Okay, red circle button, two minutes. At the end, push Submit and then turn that little dial on your phone over to Chronological. That will get to the right place. We do ask that you utilize that line for prayer and encouragement through prayer. If you're wanting to reach out for a connection, we ask that you use social media platforms in that regard, and I will tell you about those tomorrow. That's going to do it for me today. We're going to turn the page together tomorrow, and we're going to start a brand new book of the Bible. We're going to take a little step away, a little pause on the Book of Genesis, and we will head into Job tomorrow. And it's a really important book and very relatable book for some of us. So that's it for us today. Day three. You made it. I'm Jill. We'll turn the page together tomorrow until then love one another.

Community Prayer Line

Hi, DABC. This is God's child. I just listened to the December 29 recording and I'm just calling in to pray for Darien for Texas who called in requesting for prayer for his wife who was from Vietnamese for Vietnam. So I'm just going to call in and pray. Dear heavenly father, I thank you so much for Darian and his wife. Thank you for this family. Lord, your word says that it is your desire that all will come to repentance. Lord, I pray for his wife that she would seek after you, that you will touch her heart and remove the heart of stone, give up the heart of flesh, and that she would seek after you and seek after your will. I pray for his mother in law. I pray the holy spirit that he would touch her heart as well and that she would release his wife to seek after you only Jesus, because you are the only way in truth and the light. And I pray for his mother in law to also turn her heart to you. Thank you father, I pray in Jesus name, amen.

Hi, this is Chassis from Kansas. I just wanted to call and say to Whitney, you really encouraged me with your message that played on December 30. That's when I'm recording this. So I know it will probably be in the new year when it plays. But just when you said that God has been too faithful to not believe in Him or something along those lines. That's just what kind of stuck out. In my heart was. God has been too faithful to not believe in Him, to not trust Him. And I just I want to encourage. You that he is with you always. And I know that you are doing the best you can and you are doing an amazing job and it's so hard to walk through that grief of losing your parents. I'm so sorry. I pray for you and your family often. I just want to tell you I love you and I really hope that you're going to have an amazing 2023 you and your family and I pray blessings upon you guys. I pray that over everybody in this community and everyone that you guys come into contact with, I pray for blessings upon each and every one of you. I love you all so much. This community has been such an amazing encouragement to me over the past year and I'm so thankful that I'm being able to be a part of it. God bless all of you.

Happy New Year, everyone. It's almost new year's. It is New Year's Eve eve. This is Leanne from Michigan calling and I was so encouraged, Whitney, by your call in your honesty, your sharing that the pain is still there, but also your encouragement, how it blessed my heart. I just wanted to say how much I love DABC and DAB, Brian, Jill, China, all of the support staff. And this is going to be my fourth year, and I can't imagine not listening every day. It has challenged me, encouraged me, and sometimes broken my heart by some of the prayer requests. But I love you all and I'm so thankful. So be encouraged, friends. We're all on this journey together and we're all choosing Jesus and to follow Him, help us to put that into action. And as Jill always says, love one another. I love you all. Happy New Year.

Hi DABC family. I just wanted to share with you exciting news. This is Tiffany from New York. Praise report that baby Elijah was born on Christmas Eve, early in the morning in a very fast five hour labor, and he is perfectly healthy. So I just praise God for that. Also, I'm just asking for prayer that God would give me and my husband all that we have in need of to love one another well and our son well in this new season of learning and growing together as a family and for my own physical healing and recovery from birth. Thank you so much, everybody. And Happy New Year. It's.

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VIETNAM

From Nov 8 - Dec 18, myself, Ollie and Jaimie set off on our Vietnam adventure - picking up a few strays along the way. Here is the highlights and a few things in between.

HCM

Ollie and I flew into Ho Chi Minh City and Jaimie joined us a few days later. We spent our time trying to sort out our visas to extend our stay, walking around the city, eating street food, walking around the markets, catching grabs (asian uber) and visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels was the only classic “touristy” thing we did whilst in HCM. We learnt about the Vietnam war, what life was like living in the tunnels and the effects the war still has on Vietnam today e.g. ancient orange. Whilst we were there we went into one of the tunnels (which was already made bigger for “fat American tourist” and through a 100m tunnel that was very small and difficult.

HCM > Cat Tein > Bao Loc > Dalat

The three of us then hired motorbikes to embark on an 8 day trip north to Dalat. The first day included a lot of rain showers, riding through the busy HCM traffic, avoiding 3284 stray dogs on the road and some pretty landscapes and small villages. We rode 147 km over 7 hours on day 1. Highly don’t recommend.

We then rocked up in a small town called Cat Tien - which has a national park right beside it. After finding that our airbnb didn’t exist, we stayed in two different hostels over two nights. We explored the national park and besides getting attacked by 361840 leeches, it was pretty spectacular. Saw some big trees, col mushrooms and some rapids.

We then moved onto Bao Loc where we saw some cool lookouts and a lake. A good stopover spot as we head north. Jaimie also fell in love with Jackfruit which she thought was durian, given to us by our host parents.

Dalat is where it’s at. We spent a few days on this place and loved it. We stayed in Redhouse hostel where the very scenic (and noisy) rooftop is where we spent a lot of our time. We also walked around, tried egg coffee, ate dinner at the night markets, visited a really cool maze bar, visited the crazy house and rode to a near by wind turbine and tea farm. Riding to the tea farm was my favourite, we went down so many random and sketchy tracks on the bikes and saw lots of pretty views. We also paid to see some waterfalls with big monkey statues - bit random.

HCM > Cambodia > Danang > Hoi Ann > Danang

We then caught 2 buses back to HCM (stopping in a very rainy Mue Ne on the way) for our visa run to Cambodia. We all liked HCM a lot more the second time, spending our time chilling in cafes, Jaimie got a tattoo and we walked down this insane street with lots of night life.

After coming back we flew from HCM up to Danang before driving down to Hoi An. We had a lovely introduction to Hoi An and even had lunch with our driver! We spent about 4 days here - walking/riding around town, getting linen tailored clothes, wave surfing at the beach, eating out at the night markets, seeing the lanterns on the river and attended a half day cooking class.

The cooking class was amazing! we got picked up from our hostel and drove to the markets to collect all the food. We then got transported to the river where we went in small round basket boats whilst watching some on water entertainment and had our driver spin us around like crazy and fished for crabs. Then came cooking time! We learnt how rice paper is made before all hooking in to cook pho, rice paper rolls, beef noodle and an egg omlette thing.

We then headed North to Danang for a couple nights before flying to Hanoi. We spent our time in Danang walking around, eating coconut ice cream, visiting magic mountain (which consisted of a bunch of caves, temples and Vietnamese kids wanting to practice their English).

Hanoi > Ninh Binh > Hanoi

We spent a day chilling out in Hanoi before catching an early 2 hour train south to Ninh Binh! Ninh Binh is a beautiful small town with a rivers and big limestone mountains. We spent 4 days here relaxing (I felt really sick on the first day), went on a short hike (sore a man filming a music video, explored the area via motor bike by going up every random road and found a secret cave.

We then headed back to Hanoi for a couple of days whilst we waited to Nick to arrive. I got some tattoos and chilled out on the first day, where on the second day we all explored the city solo! I went to train street, an art gallery, temple of literature (where I saw national top models - it was very very nice), ate some yummy dumplings, walked around the old quarter, went to the museum of Vietnamese women and took myself go karting where i burnt a hole in my macpac jacket on the exhaust (whoops).

Ha Long Bay

We then splurged and went on a two night/three day cruise around Ha Long Bay. It was overcast the whole time but we all absolutely loved it. We has the most amazing views of limestone mountains popping out of the water from our bedroom! On the first day we had lunch on the cruise and headed out onto a row boat to view some caves. The evening was spent playing cards, chatting to other travelers and learning to make fresh spring rolls. We met an American couple named Natalie and Danny. The next day - after some early morning Tai Chi, the Americans and us all went over the Cat Ba island where we hired bikes and explored a local village. Once we got there we sat with our feet in the water and had fish come and nibble on our toes - It was the weirdest feeling ever. We also drank alcohol made with snakes inside the bottle - tasted like vodka but worse. The afternoon was spent cruising past some islands, swimming in the freezing water off the boat and playing some “camp fire games” with Nat and Danny. That evening we returned to the boat had some cocktails.

The next day we did some kayaking before heading back to land. Ollie and I saw a mountain goat. Highlight of the trip.

We then caught a bus all the way back to Hanoi (about 2 hours) before having dinner out with another Australian couple we met on the boat (Steve and Linda - who adopted us as our Mum and Dad. Before taking a night bus to Ha Giang!

Ha Giang

The 6 of us (Ollie, Jaimie, Nick, Nat, Danny and myself set off on our Ha Giang loop adventure!!! This was the absolute highlight of my trip and I recommend this place to everyone!

Day 1 - Rode from Ha Giang to Yen Minh: Picked up a solo traveler named Adrian from England. Danny and Nat fell off their bikes around a turn. Stayed in an amazing homestay. Played badminton with some local kids. Played campfire games on the rooftop. Drank lots of happy water (MOT, HI, BA, YO) and played pool.

Day 2 - Yen Minh to Dong Van: Ollie sent his bike up onto the road railing braking the hand brake (got it fixed). Met a cyclist who has been cycling for the last nine months. Stopped in a village with 5793 kids with flowers on their backs. Went to the flag pole (climbed 1000 steps), saw the fence to China and stayed in a super noisy homestay alongside 50 others doing the Ha Giang.

Day 3 - Dong Van to Mau Due: Separated from Nat, Danny and Adrian. Went on a boat ride through the mountains. Dealt with ALOT of construction along the roads. Stayed at a small hotel.

Day 4 - Mau Due to Tam Son. Rode to Tam Son through a village along the flats. Beautiful views. Ran into (literally) Nat, Danny and Adrian when they were having lunch. Stayed in a small hotel.

Day 5 - Tam Son to Ha Giang - cruised back to Ha Giang with an additional side loop that was really quiet and beautiful. Ollie and I dropped off Jaimie and Nick to Ha Giang and went on our own little adventure down some super sketchy roads. I fell off my bike in the mud and corked my thigh. But it was an amazing section of extra solo riding.

The next day we relaxed and walked around Ha Giang before taking the night bus again back to Hanoi.

Ollie, Jaimie and Nick then flew to Thailand where I stayed two more nights to see my friend Luke from Canberra. We walked around Hanoi, drank lots and lots of beers, I lost my phone and we had the best time ever.

Now we are all in Thailand - ready to embark on our next adventure!!!

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