Podcasts about Blushing

Gordon bij Andy in de auto!  Cornelis Willem Heuckeroth. Zanger, presentator, columnist, schrijver en ondernemer. Één van de bekendste TV-persoonlijkheden van Nederland. Heeft ontelbare progamma's gepresenteerd waaronder Geer & Goor, Nederland veroverd met de Toppers en doet het fantastisch in de horeca met Blushing. Een echte icoon en mooi om deze Topper in de auto te hebben!

Joel & Hannah are getting back into the Never Have I Ever email inbox this week, with a possible scam from Massachusetts and some very encouraging words from Belarus. Plus, how is Joel's tour show coming along and can Hannah come up with some ideas to spice it up?Email: Hello@NeverEverPod.comInstagram: @NeverEverPod TikTok: @nevereverpodThis episode contains explicit language and adult themes that may not be suitable for all listeners.Thanks for listening. Please subscribe and leave a five star review!Please review Global's Privacy Policy: https://global.com/legal/privacy-policy/

Dean from Waves Nightclub reflects on some of his top tracks from 2024, and plays a brilliant new Blankenberge (his favourite band) track sparking us in to 2025. There's Australian acts – Hyla and Relay Tapes. There's Asian representation – burrrn and FOG. America is represented with Blushing, Trauma Ray, and Cathedral Bells and The KVB represent the UK. Looking down is looking up.For more info and tracklisting, visit: https://thefaceradio.com/shoegrazzzeTune into new broadcasts of shoegraZZZE, Mondays from 11 PM - 1 AM EST / 4 - 5 AM GMT (Tuesday)//Dig this show? Please consider supporting The Face Radio: http://support.thefaceradio.com Support The Face Radio with PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/thefaceradio. Join the family at https://plus.acast.com/s/thefaceradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's be honest—when are we not talking about boys and crushes on this show? Today, we're introducing yet another new character to Lily's flow chart of men, and this one has an ironically complimentary name to Pumpkin. Speaking of Pumpkin, we have some BIG updates on that dynamic for you all. Aside from the updates to the chart, we're talking CRUSHES. From puppy love to easy love, we're chatting about our experiences with crushes and the different feelings you get from a crush, from when you're a teenager in love to an adult just trying to find the one. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok & Twitter, and make sure to DM us your toxic confessions! ⁠@gintoxicpodcast on Instagram⁠ ⁠@gintoxicpodcast on TikTok⁠ ⁠@gintoxicpodcast on Twitter⁠ Follow Christina Harris on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok & Twitter ⁠@beautychickee on Instagram⁠ ⁠BeautyChickee on YouTube⁠ ⁠@beautychickee on TikTok⁠ ⁠@beautychickee on Twitter⁠ Follow Lily Stewart on Instagram, TikTok & Twitter ⁠@lilyystewart on Instagram⁠ ⁠@lilystewartttt on TikTok⁠ ⁠@lilystewartt on Twitter⁠ For all inquiries please contact podcast@beautychickee.com  New full episodes every Wednesday at 12PM ET. Bonus episodes every Friday at 12PM EST. Music by ⁠@MarkGenerous⁠. Stay toxic.

Join us for Episode #4165 of Day1 as Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee, senior pastor at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto, Ontario, delivers an inspiring message titled “Blushing Water,” based on John 2:1-11. Speaking to the Second Sunday after Epiphany, Dr. Byassee reflects on Jesus turning water into wine. Through this well-known story, he explores themes of divine hospitality, spiritual hunger, and the call to embrace holy risks. With wisdom and humor, Dr. Byassee challenges us to envision the church as a place of radical welcome and hope, where maybe a good party should happen from time to time.

The End. A review and a look back. It's been over seven years since Marc and Steve brought on an intern  (Eric) to create a music review podcast.  Since then they covered every single NIN and Bowie song, and 42 separate albums by other artists ( plus related discographies).  The Trio has reached the end of the road, and they find themselves back at the starting line.  Pod Like Hole's pilot experiment, the first episode, was Nine Inch Nails' “Pretty Hate Machine”, but the Hole Boys didn't really know what they were doing yet.  Blushing amateurs, they bungled a classic record.  In the spirit of setting things right in this jacked up universe, they will finish what they started.  But this time....they'll get it right. (what year is this?) Enjoy a track by track review of “Pretty Hate Machine” , and betwixt the analysis the guys will reflect on this project, their friendship, and the incredible listeners we've gotten to know over the better part of a decade. It's a loose, long goodbye. As the bionic guitars of Ringfinger echo into the stratosphere, so do your hosts. While our friendship is eternal, this project has been canceled.   This is our goodbye.  But …..to quote Joe Strummer, (co-creator of our only perfectly scored record), “ The Future is Unwritten”…. Links: Artwork by the great Greg Wolgast.  Check out his you tube channel where he destroys every drum cover he does..in a good way :  https://www.youtube.com/@someroomtodrum   Read the new book by frequent guest Guy Mankowski's, “You Complete the Masterpiece” Buy on Amazon or even better your local bookstore And be on the look out for “Lived Through This”  based on the journals of late Hole-bassist Kristen Pfaff.    Listen to the incredible sophomore album by regular listener Michael Komonos , “My Mother and Child”. https://michaelkonomos.bandcamp.com/   Our listeners have been the extra fuel to get this baby to 88 MPH, thanks for seven years of friendship.   

Al is joined once again by Dr. Dawn Grimes. She was on a couple months ago and we didn't get to some of the stuff that Al wanted to talk about...so we're here for round 2! One of these things is the lie that we tell ourselves about time. See if this one seems familiar to you: "Once x is done, I will have more time for y." And no matter what, once you free up some time, other things will grow to fill that time. Some of what we discussed: Evaluating wasted/sunk time Why the Matrix movies are not action movies at all  "There are days that I just want the steak." We don't want reality and we often won't see reality Instagram and overtreatment You're going to have to replace things over time Root canals don't cause cancer "Blushing pulp" "That tooth didn't hurt until you worked on it." Better case acceptance = don't care if they do the treatment Play hard to get You cannot care more than the patient does Patients aren't doing care for their dentist. Don't work on patients that are "doing it for you." Diagnose and explain like Spock...emotionless Some links from the show: Jerry RDH's Instagram Melissa Zettler's Instagram Join the Very Dental Facebook group using the password "Timmerman," Hornbrook" or "McWethy," "Papa Randy" or "Lipscomb!" The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you'd like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! -- Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you'll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use coupon code “VERYDENTAL10” you'll get another 10% off your order! Go save yourself some money and support the show all at the same time! -- The Wonderist Agency is basically a one stop shop for marketing your practice and your brand. From logo redesign to a full service marketing plan, the folks at Wonderist have you covered! Go check them out at verydentalpodcast.com/wonderist! -- Enova Illumination makes the very best in loupes and headlights, including their new ergonomic angled prism loupes! They also distribute loupe mounted cameras and even the amazing line of Zumax microscopes! If you want to help out the podcast while upping your magnification and headlight game, you need to head over to verydentalpodcast.com/enova to see their whole line of products! -- CAD-Ray offers the best service on a wide variety of digital scanners, printers, mills and even  their very own browser based design software, Clinux! CAD-Ray has been a huge supporter of the Very Dental Podcast Network and I can tell you that you'll get no better service on everything digital dentistry than the folks from CAD-Ray. Go check them out at verydentalpodcast.com/CADRay!  

Welcome to another episode of Bedtime Stories with Salty Vixen. Tonight's episode is titled “Blushing Waves”. Dear Sir, Are you ready?Full Story on Salty Vixen Stories & More: https://www.saltyvixenstories.com/blushing-waves-bedtime-stories-with-salty-vixen/Salty Vixen Stories & More main site- Bedtime Stories With Salty Vixen: https://www.saltyvixenstories.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new MP3 sermon from Grace Audio Treasures is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Where shall we hide our blushing face? Subtitle: Puritan Devotional Speaker: Octavius Winslow Broadcaster: Grace Audio Treasures Event: Devotional Date: 10/11/2024 Bible: Ezra 9:6; 1 John 1:9 Length: 2 min.

Another challenging gem by Octavius Winslow-

Another challenging gem by Octavius Winslow!

  Question #1: John asks: Can you do TEAM on your own? Question #2: John asks: Can you provide more insights or instructions on how to do Positive Reframing on your own? It seems to be an incredibly important key to TEAM-CBT. Question #3: Ann asks: What can I do when I blush and my face turns bright red? Question #4: Dylan asks: Can you have a delayed reaction to the CBT exercises? #415 September 23 Ask, New questions Question #1: John asks: Can you do TEAM on your own? Oh, one other point that occurred to me, the people doing personal work on your podcasts are generally TEAM CBT therapists or people familiar with the TEAM model. They are obviously very familiar with the steps and techniques in TEAM, and yet they seem to require the insight and guidance from yourself and Jill. Why do you think that is if they are so well versed in TEAM already? Does that mean that a person from the general public doing their own work using your books without the guidance of a TEAM therapist is futile? Or would you always recommend someone using a therapist? Kind Regards John David's response Can we include it in another podcast? Would love to just read it and jam on it with R and M. Warmly, david Question #2: John asks: Can you provide more insights or instructions on how to do Positive Reframing on your own? It seems to be an incredibly important key to TEAM-CBT. On Mon, Aug 5, 2024 at 9:24 PM John Macken wrote: Hey there David and Rhonda, I hope you're keeping well, this is John from Ireland, we had a previous correspondence on Should statements! David, thanks very much for asking for access to the beta app, I'm really enjoying the modules! I heard you say on one of your apps that you are planning some workshops in relation to the app, will they be available online do you think? Would love to tune in if possible! I am always grateful for your inspiring work! I love your passion for the work that you and Rhonda do and that comes across from both of you during every podcast episode. Your FG community sounds amazing! Who knows, maybe one day I'll ditch the corporate career and join the cult! I have another question on Positive Reframing! As someone who is still trying to find my own journey to enlightenment following many months of anxiety and depression, I feel I am falling at this positive reframing step. I still find I am bumping up against resistance and I feel that my positive values and benefits don't count. It's almost as if there is some kind of discounting the positive going on like my negative points vastly outweigh my positive points. It's like there is such a negative filter there is no space for recognizing positive qualities. I was listening to the beginning of Episode 310 where a listener had an excellent contribution on Positive Reframing from your live work with Nasli. That got me thinking, would it be possible to hear more insights and detail on how to perform your own Positive Reframing work? Or do you have guidelines or a worksheet anywhere? It feels like the most powerful of all the steps! Among the many incredible tools that have been created under TEAM it seems the Agenda setting piece is probably the most powerful and innovative. I have listened to many of your Live Sessions intently and it seems that your gift and that of Jill Levitt is in convincing the patient of the beauty of their depression and anxiety. It feels that they are almost recovered or very nearly once you go through that step. On the face of it, it looks like what you're doing is very simple but there is a nuance and complexity to it that is incredible and without sounding too grandstanding or over dramatic this "gift" seems to be where the healing power lies. If you could bottle that gift you would change the world or be a billionaire or both! It is astounding to listen to. I would love to hear more about your insights into this area and how people can unlock this for themselves. For example, I found podcast 387 on Acceptance and Daring to be average incredibly powerful and insightful and convincing and these are pieces I'm trying to implement in my life. Love and admire your work and would love to make it over to one of your in person workshops someday when they are available to the general public, Warm regards John David's response We will address positive reframing on the show. Question #3: Ann asks: What can I do when I blush and my face turns bright red? Dr. Burns, I hope you're both doing well. I wanted to share with you that you have changed my life dramatically. I have always thought that everyone else had a problem as far as attitudes and behaviors. But you have taught me through all three of your books and podcasts that my thoughts are why I've been so anxious and depressed. I have been on medication since I was 20 years old. Now, I'm weaning off of my medication because of all of the work I've done with your book and a therapist trained in TEAM therapy. My relationship is much better with my husband and it was me that was pushing him away from me. Talk about enlightenment!? I'm anxious about getting completely off of my clonazepam because it helps me “control” my face from turning red. My red face makes me so anxious and I start sweating profusely whenever I'm in a situation that's embarrassing. Thank God, my menopause has helped me with explaining why my face is so red. This has been going on since I can remember. I think I was 5 years old in school when it first happened. Most people stare at me because my face gets really red. I've repeatedly tried looking at people, while my face is turning red, to see if they are truly looking at me and sometimes they are and not. The redness lasts for around two minutes but if feels like hours. What can I do? I want to get off all of my meds but my psychiatrist says to do it slowly. I haven't listened to all of your podcasts but I don't think there's one out there regarding a 49 year old lady suffering from a red face. Maybe an ask David? I hope I've been specific enough for you. I cannot thank you enough for everything you do for people. Thank you, Ann Zernone David's response Yes, we actually had a podcast on this exact thing, and happy to add it to the next Ask David if you like. Best, david 88 Role Play Techniques: Feared Fantasy Revisited https://feelinggood.com/2018/05/14/088-role-play-techniques-feared-fantasy-revisited/ 168 The Blushing Cure https://feelinggood.com/2019/11/25/168-ask-david-the-blushing-cure-how-to-heal-a-broken-heart-treating-anorexia-and-more/ Question #4: Dylan asks: Can you have a delayed reaction to the CBT exercises? Hi David, I'm a big fan of your work. Quick question: do you commonly come across people who do CBT exercises and they don't get their anxiety or depression levels reduced super low right after doing the exercises but a couple days later they experience the results? Dylan Aames Unfit Productions, LLC President @JohnnyPlissken-xs7hq  • 12 hours ago David replies Will talks about having this same experience on the live show.

Blushing, sweating, stumbling over words - we've all been there. But what if these physical reactions are holding you back from greatness? In this episode, Caleb and Michael unpack Seneca's advice on handling embarrassment like a Stoic. (00:46) Embarrassing Introduction(04:50) Seneca On Blushing (08:08) Feelings vs Judgments (10:02) You Are Not A Horse (13:05) Embarrassment For Learning (14:52) Caring About What Others Think (19:24) Natural Bugs (22:47) Seneca On NatureDownload the Stoa app (it's a free download): stoameditation.com/podIf you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

This week on Sins and Virtues, Pete and Tommy tackle the surprisingly complex concept of Chastity. While often considered a virtue, Pete makes a compelling case for its inclusion in the pantheon of deadly sins.The episode takes a deep dive into the history of chastity belts, revealing a surprising truth: they were likely never actually used in medieval times. Instead, they seem to have originated as a sort of inside joke that later gained a life of its own, becoming a symbol of male control over women's sexuality. However, in a delightful twist, modern interpretations of chastity devices have emerged, flipping the script and empowering women within certain communities.The conversation then shifts to the historical influence of the church on perceptions of chastity. From vows of celibacy to linking female "hysteria" with a lack of chastity, the episode explores how religious dogma has often been used to control and restrict sexual freedom. Tommy raises a thought-provoking question: can we discuss chastity today without getting bogged down by outdated dogmas?Pete and Tommy wrap up the episode by acknowledging the complexities of discussing chastity in a modern context. They emphasize the importance of personal choice and freedom, encouraging listeners to form their own opinions on this multifaceted concept. Join them next time for another thought-provoking exploration of sins and virtues! ---Learn more about supporting this podcast by becoming a member. Visit our website to learn more.

Click to Subscribe:  https://bit.ly/Youtube-Subscribe-SoapDirt Young and the Restless spoilers for September 9-13, 2024 see Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) is on the edge while Claire Newman (Hayley Erin) experiences a blush-worthy moment, and Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) seems to be losing control. Major developments include Lucy Romalotti (Lily Brooks O'Briant) landing in hot water due to her reckless behavior, leading to a stern reaction from Heather Stevens (Vail Bloom) and Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei).  Y&R spoilers also see the Newman family dealing with several issues. Summer Newman (Allison Lanier) believes that Lucy got off easy, while Sharon is struggling with her feelings towards Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) and Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow). Billy's struggles continue as he tries to balance his professional and personal life, while Chance Chancellor (Conner Floyd) reveals his doubts about working with him on the CBS soap opera.  Young and Restless spoilers expect Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) to reveal a secret to Claire, and Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters) is frustrated with her relationship with Kyle and Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman). Billy, overwhelmed with his responsibilities, might need help running Abbott Chancellor Industries. Also, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) continues to influence events, and embarrasses Jack and Diane. And Sharon confronts her imaginary friend, Cameron Kirsten (Linden Ashby), possibly leading to dangerous consequences for her and Phyllis on Young and the Restless the week of 9/9-9/13/2024. Visit our Young and the Restless section of Soap Dirt: https://soapdirt.com/category/young-and-the-restless/ Listen to our Podcasts: https://soapdirt.podbean.com/ Check out our always up-to-date Young and the Restless Spoilers page at:  https://soapdirt.com/young-and-the-restless-spoilers/ Check Out our Social Media... Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoapDirtTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoapDirt Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/soapdirt/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@soapdirt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soapdirt/

You're pouring yourself a cup of coffee while chatting up the new boss, and…

Join me as I spill all the juicy details from my guest spot on The Strictly Anonymous Podcast!

This week's show, after a 1987 Chills chillwave: brand new Effigies, Chime School, X, Tombstones in Their Eyes, Trans-Canada Highwaymen, Meatbodies, and Blushing, plus The Herd, Beach Boys, Hank Snow, Lloyd Charmers, Ennio Morricone, Replacements, and ...

김영철의 파워FM - 진짜 영국식 영어 290회 - 낯 뜨거워 = I'm blushing!

Are you someone who blushes if embarrassed? A group of Dutch and Italian researchers have found that blushing is most likely to occur independently of our thoughts.

When Coach LaFleur is that impressed, it must've been a good offseason. Topics we cover this hour includes the arson that has disrupted the rail system in Paris - all hours before the Opening Ceremony. We check in on EAA as that continues through the weekend - and Gabe Neitzel stops by to talk one of the most 'modern' Olympic events

Seg 1: Watching Karaoke to find out why we blush A team of researchers conducted a study at an Amsterdam laboratory to explore the phenomenon of blushing and its neurological underpinnings. Guest: Dr. Milica Nikolić, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Amsterdam Seg 2: View From Victoria: Green Hydrogen plan gets put on the back burner A Green Hydrogen project planned for BC is being put on standby as the Australian Billionaire who brought forward the plan has put his ambitious plan on hold due to the high price of power. The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer is here with his take on the day's headlines. Seg 3: How a second Trump presidency would impact Canada Polls indicate former president Donald Trump is well-positioned to win the presidency this November, which could significantly impact Canada. Guest: Dr. Laura Dawson, Canada-U.S. Relations Expert and Executive Director of the Future Borders Coalition Seg 4: Rising Sea Levels has caused the first US based extinction According to a paper published earlier this month in the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, a type of tropical cactus native to the Florida Keys, known as the Key Largo tree cactus, has become the first species in U.S. history to go extinct due to rising sea levels. Guest: James Lange, Research Botanist at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami and Co-Author of the Study Seg 5: What's it like having to evacuate from a wildfire? The Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) issued an evacuation order on Sunday due to the rapid growth of the Antler Creek wildfire in British Columbia's central Interior. Guest: Ed Coleman, Mayor of the District of Wells Seg 6: BC's accounting regulator fails to account for member misconduct Despite praise from the Minister for CPABC's regulatory efforts, U.S. and Canadian regulators have been heavily penalizing accounting firms that are auditing public companies for various violations. Guest: Graeme Woods, Reporter for Glacier Media Seg 7: How risky should you let your kids be this summer? During summer, outdoor play is a vital aspect of children's health and overall development and the importance of “risky outdoor play,” involves engaging in thrilling and uncertain activities that carry some risk of physical injury Guest: Dr. Mariana Brussoni, Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newfoundland and Labrador fishers rescued, Kamala Harris: supporter, Wabush wildfire birth, Elephant harmonies, Anti-whaler arrest, Blushing study, and more.

Adam explains his experiences as a contributor of Compact Magazine, how it was pitched to him versus what the magazine has become, based around the recent resigning of friend of the show Nina Power as an editor of the project after Luke Turner leaked private communications between her and former guest Daniel Miller that were presented as evidence during their legal battle with the sociopathic British artist Turner.. Hate to have to be acknowledging Luke Turner in 2024, but that's where we are. FULL EPISODE at PATREON SOUNDTRACKCoroner "Mental Vortex" Unrest "I Do Believe You are Blushing"  Nervous Eaters "Shit for Brains" Pentagram "Sign of the Wolf" Ginuwine "So Anxious" LINKS:Nina Power on the debacleDaniel Miller on the trial between himself, Nina and Turner Sohrab Ahmari on Elena Velez 

Mike's Picks: * (16:13) “Moonlight Crush” by Or:la (2024) (https://open.spotify.com/album/7IHdloLhzDbsaNFPTgUgss?si=6nTOyCaURLGzrneAlLBuQA) * (27:41) “Sugracoat” by Blushing (2024) (https://open.spotify.com/album/0EQL2KDngVugkK73uORAyW?si=QUBhCvY1Si2OXCnhft6F_A) Adam's Picks: * (10:11) Portal Revolution (https://store.steampowered.com/app/601360/Portal_Revolution/) * (21:15) The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) (https://www.netflix.com/title/81237854) Theo's insight about Jake's x-ray vision had struck a chord. Maybe it wasn't just a curse but a part of him that needed understanding and management. The trip to the cabin was a reminder to take care of himself amidst his extraordinary abilities. Back at the hospital, Jake approached his patients with a newfound empathy and patience, grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in their lives. The memory of the dark figure still lingered in the back of his mind, but it no longer held the power to paralyze him with fear. Time passed and things fell into a rhythm until one evening at the end of a shift. His phone rang. It was Theo. He was panicked, speaking in short bursts. He wasn't himself. “Jake, where are you? I need you in the ER. Please, it's my brother!”

This week's show, after a 1984 Damned ditty: brand new Blushing, New Model Army, Real Estate, J. Robbins, Neutrals, Jon Snodgrass, and Aluminum, plus Tomorrow, Koko Taylor, Reg King and The Action, Jimmie Rodgers, Turtles, Jacob Miller, and Fairport Co...

The true-poo-crime podcast that took 2023 by storm, "Who Shat On The Floor At My Wedding?", is back with a second series. Blushing brides Helen and Karen whose beautiful wedding was sullied by the fact that one of their guests shat on the floor, return with their friend, lead detective Lauren to investigate a new case.And as usual, they will go to extraordinary lengths to crack a case that's not quite serious enough for the police to be interested in. I caught up with Karen Whitehouse and Lauren Kilby as they were preparing to share the first episode of their second series with the world to find out what they'd learned from their first go around and how this investigation will be different.Who Shat On The Floor At My Wedding? And Other Crimes is available wherever you get your podcasts. For Support: Lifeline  on 13 11 1413 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732CREDITS:Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram Guests: Karen Whitehouse & Lauren KilbyExecutive Producer/Editor: Matthew TankardGET IN TOUCH:https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.comBuild your pro podcast with The Audio CollegeSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/australiantruecrime. Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's show, after a 2002 Decemberists ditty: brand new John Cale, Rain Parade, Miki Berenyi Trio, New Model Army, Blushing, Greg Hoy & the Boys, and Matt Hunter & the Dusty Fates, plus Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pretty Things, Bob Gibson, Left Bank...

Podcast #694 takes you places with cuts from Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds, Yankee Rose, Lunchbox, Owen, Y Dail, The Uncouth, Reckless Upstarts, & Blushing.

This week's show, after a 1970 Kinks karol: brand new The Rifles, Snuff, Blushing, Pernice Brothers, Black Watch, Matt Hunter & the Dusty Fates, and Party Battleship, plus The Zombies, Slickers, Gene Clark, Love Affair, Otis Redding, Hank Thompson, and...

who's the most famous person you've met? 

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Unexpected Delights at Beijing's Number One Building Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/unexpected-delights-at-beijings-number-one-building Story Transcript:Zh: 在北京的一家老北京大饭店，又名“京城第一楼”，正对着天安门。这里的菜品名字奇特，味道不可言喻，令人总是惊喜连连。这个晚上，张伟带着他的约会对象刘英，准备在这享受一顿丰盛的晚餐。En: At a famous old Beijing restaurant in Beijing, known as Beijing's Number One Building, facing Tiananmen Square, the dishes here have unique names and indescribable flavors, always pleasantly surprising. On this evening, Zhang Wei brought his date, Liu Ying, to enjoy a sumptuous dinner here.Zh: 张伟，一个外地来京的年轻人，一直对北京的文化充满了好奇。他心情紧张又期待。他曾听说，只有那相当流利的普通话才能真正点出京城第一楼所有菜品的韵味，所以他花了大量的时间，尽可能地改善自己的普通话。他希望能让刘英喜欢上自己。En: Zhang Wei, a young man from out of town who has always been curious about Beijing's culture, was feeling nervous yet excited. He had heard that only fluent Mandarin could truly bring out the charm of all the dishes at Beijing's Number One Building, so he spent a lot of time improving his Mandarin as much as possible. He hoped to make Liu Ying like him.Zh: 刘英是土生土长的北京人，她爱好京城的一草一木。她看着张伟那一副紧张而认真的模样，心里又是感动又是好笑。En: Liu Ying, a native Beijinger, loves every aspect of the city. She looked at Zhang Wei's nervous yet earnest demeanor, feeling touched and amused at the same time.Zh: 青砖小瓦的老北京楼房下，刘英和张伟找了个角落坐下，身旁摆满了各种旧时物件，王杰是他们的服务员，面带微笑，手持菜单走过来。En: Under the old Beijing building with blue bricks and small tiles, Liu Ying and Zhang Wei found a corner to sit down, surrounded by various old objects. Wang Jie was their waiter, smiling as he approached with the menu.Zh: 张伟接过菜单，满怀信心地说：“我们要一份炸酱面，一份烤鸭……”他用他至今为止最完美的普通话，认真点着菜。然而，当他想点“拔丝地瓜”的时候，却一时紧张，发音错误，变成了“拔丝毛驴”。En: Taking the menu confidently, Zhang Wei said, 'We'll have a plate of fried noodles, a Peking duck...' using his most flawless Mandarin to carefully order the dishes. However, when he wanted to order 'sweet potato in syrup', he hesitated and pronounced it incorrectly as 'syrup donkey'.Zh: 王杰一愣，刘英却笑出了声，整个饭店的人都回头看向他们。张伟感到脸颊火辣辣的，无地自容。En: Wang Jie was taken aback, but Liu Ying burst out laughing, drawing attention from everyone in the restaurant. Zhang Wei felt his face burning with embarrassment.Zh: 然而，接下来发生的事让张伟完全惊呆。王杰笑着说：“拔丝毛驴，确实是我们店里的一道菜。”说完，他转身就去了。原来“拔丝毛驴”真的是菜品之一，只不过是间餐厅的一道特色创意菜，将刀豆精心烹煮后，做成了形似“毛驴”的模样，再裹上糖霜。En: However, what happened next completely stunned Zhang Wei. Wang Jie smiled and said, 'Syrup donkey is indeed one of our dishes.' With that, he turned and left. It turned out that 'syrup donkey' was actually a dish, a creative specialty of the restaurant. The dish, resembling a donkey, was made by carefully cooking knife beans and coating them with sugar.Zh: 张伟一瞬间明白，刘英肯定认为他是故意的。他满脸通红地向刘英解释：“我真的不知道这是菜名...我是想点拔丝地瓜的。”刘英瞪大了眼睛，然后忍不住笑出了声。她说：“我知道。我觉得这个是你的一种用心，我很感动。”En: In a moment of realization, Zhang Wei understood that Liu Ying must have thought he did it on purpose. Blushing, he explained to Liu Ying, 'I really didn't know that was the dish name... I meant to order sweet potato in syrup.' Liu Ying widened her eyes, then couldn't help but burst into laughter. She said, 'I knew. I think it shows your thoughtfulness, and that's touching.'Zh: 张伟松了口气，两人互视而笑。尽管还有些尴尬，但更多的是释然。窗外的夜晚静悄悄的，张伟明白，这场晚餐，没有因为一个错误而变得尴尬，反而变得更有意思。这也许就是他和刘英间令人期待的开始。En: Zhang Wei breathed a sigh of relief as they shared a smile. Despite some lingering awkwardness, there was more understanding. The night outside the window was quiet. Zhang Wei realized that this dinner didn't become awkward because of a mistake; instead, it became more interesting. Perhaps this was the anticipated beginning between him and Liu Ying. Vocabulary Words:Zhang Wei: 张伟Liu Ying: 刘英Beijing: 北京restaurant: 饭店culture: 文化Mandarin: 普通话dishes: 菜品flavors: 味道sumptuous: 丰盛nervous: 紧张waiter: 服务员menu: 菜单Sweet potato in syrup: 拔丝地瓜embarrassment: 尴尬creative: 创意specialty: 特色realization: 领悟thoughtfulness: 用心understanding: 理解interesting: 有意思beginning: 开始surprising: 惊喜unique: 奇特excited: 期待charming: 韵味awkwardness: 尴尬fluent: 流利touching: 感动laughing: 笑surprised: 惊呆

This week's show, after a 1966 Bee Gees belt: brand new Guided By Voices, Blushing, Pernice Brothers, Black Watch, Libertines (U.K.), Carina Messier, and Ride, plus Nina Simone, Chuck Berry, Dolly Parton, Guess Who, Nancy Sinatra, Jacob Miller, and Sta...

The Peddler & the Fairy: Part 3 The trio's idle hours are interrupted by an unexpected guest.In 10 parts, by Scholarly Mori. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. During the trek back to camp, Reina lagged behind. She felt a little awkward with her new family, but she was also giddy. 'I can't believe I finally found a herd-mate!' she thought. 'He's not what I imagined he'd be; he's not even the same species, but he didn't mind my oddities or disfigurement, and he; he actually kissed them!' She put her hands to her face, blushing at the memory. [[MORE]] 'Speaking of kisses, Azalea kissed me, as well, and on the lips no less. What did that mean? Did it mean anything? Is that normal? What is considered normal for humans and fairies? I guess I can only try to play it by ear and see how things develop.' Arriving at Devin's camp, she assessed her new home. "Your camp looks clean and well organized. I would expect no less from my herd-mate." "Thanks! I try to keep it that way. Food scraps tend to attract wild animals, and I like knowing where everything is." Reina looked toward the wagons. The largest barrels had round stone plates on top and bottom, lashed together with rope. Ice clung to the sides and rim of the barrels. "You mentioned you were a merchant. What do you sell?" Reina asked. "Before I answer that, how much do you two know about human society?" "I have not had many interactions with humans. When I was very young, my parents took me with them to the human capital, but all I remember is a lot of people and tall buildings." She shrugged. "The Northern kingdom is an alliance of demi-human tribes and the old kingdom of Lindone. There are three major human cities: Thawdenn, Iceford, and Merport, with a smattering of smaller towns and homesteads across the region. Because of the poor growing environment, milk is an important staple, especially during the winter months. Because there are very few holstaurs this far north, compared to the Middle Kingdom, sheep-girl and satyr milk have become the primary alternative -- mainly because they endure cold better, and sheep girls have the added benefit of producing wool," Devin explained as he started to break camp. "So you're a milk merchant?" inquired Reina. "Mostly. I buy milk wholesale from Thawdenn and resell it in Iceford or one of the smaller settlements, charging a slightly higher price, plus a delivery and handling fee. I sometimes also barter for other demi-human commodities: lamia venom, sheep-girl wool, spools of arachne silk, pollen from alraune, the occasional order of milt, and caviar from Merport, plus a few other things." "That sounds like a lucrative enterprise." "It's a modest living. Everyone needs something to be moved from one place to another, so I figured the prospects with that as a profession would be stable." "Are these stone plates responsible for this?" Reina asked while tapping the ice on one of the barrels. "Yes. Those specific ones are called chill runes. Think of them as a pre-cast spell. Runes are flexible and convenient for non-affinity users. They can be applied to many different materials for a variety of effects, but they have many limitations, too, mainly duration and availability. I'm not sure exactly how they are made, but I think they take blood as a fuel source." "Impressive you have multiples of these." "Enough for each milk barrel, but they'll expire soon, so I hope you don't mind the hasty departure, but it's almost noon, and we have quite a bit of distance to cover. We'll be heading out as soon as we are packed," Devin announced. When the wagon was fully loaded, and Devin was hitching up the bay, Reina put a hand on his arm. "May I be allowed to pull the wagon?" "You can, but why?" he challenged with a stunned expression. Reina patted the old bay. "I can't, in good conscience, let this elderly horse do all the work alone. I would like to assist her." "That's fine with me, but I don't have a spare harness. I'll have to rig something, and it probably won't be comfortable." "I am not concerned about a little discomfort." A warm smile broke out on her face. Reina positioned herself next to the bay as Devin tied some spare rope into an assortment of loops. Then he placed them around Reina's lower torso and behind her front legs. "How is it? Not too tight?" Devin checked. "It's a little rough, but it will suffice." Devin climbed into the driver's seat, and Azalea took up her favorite perch on his shoulder. He gave the reins a test pull. "Can you feel that?" Reina felt a little tug on her left side, then the other. "Yes." "Let me know if you become too tired," he offered. With a flick of the reins, the wagon jerked forward. Reina watched the bay, timing their movements together. Progress was slow at first, but Reina soon settled into a complementary gait. As they neared the treeline, Devin pulled the wagon to a halt. "How are you feeling, Reina?" "This is quite invigorating," she panted, "although this area is getting a bit sore." She rubbed where the rope was chafing her skin. Devin thought for a moment, then rummaged around the wagon bed. "This might help." He placed some burlap fabric between her skin and the rope. "Better?" "Yes, thank you." Devin stood on the wagon and poked his head above the trees, checking the highway for signs of people. Seeing none, he climbed back into his seat, and the trio made their way down to the road. "What a magnificent example of human ingenuity," Reina commented. "Half right. The king's highway is the cooperation between humans and demi-humans." "I remember my mother mentioning it when I asked her about human culture once," reminisced Azalea. "It was the answer to the problem of particularly harsh winters that would strand many tribes and stymy trade. Though, I think it's mostly taken for granted now," Devin mused. When she was guided to the edge of the road, Reina had to maneuver a bit to clear the lip of the embankment. Its construction was mostly crushed rock overlaid with packed earth, slightly higher than the surrounding environment. She stopped a moment to wipe the sweat off her forehead. "It has been quite a while since I've exerted myself this much. I don't know how this poor creature managed it for so long." She patted the bay's head. "So we are headed to Iceford, herd-mate?" "Yes, but we'll make a detour to my friend's homestead," Devin answered. "I have never been to this part of the region. Excuse me for a moment." She pulled up the blanket covering her backside, squatted, and urinated. Devin cocked an eyebrow. "Do you have a pee fetish or something?" Reina hid a smile behind her hand, "For many demi-humans, urine contains a great deal of information about an individual, but to answer your question, no, I do not. The fact you've seen me urinate so much is purely coincidental. In this specific instance, though, there is a custom among Whitehorns called poronkusema. When we start a new migration into a region we are unfamiliar with, we measure the distance based on how often we need to empty our bladder." "That's one way to do it, I guess." "Maybe I should have done the same thing when I flew here from my village," Azalea quipped. -- The sun was slowly warming the crisp morning air as the trio set off west. Usually, Devin passed the dull kilometers daydreaming of a more exciting life, but now that he had it, he was glad for the long hours. He needed time to plan and think about certain changes he'd have to make in the future. "Reina." Looking over her shoulder, "Yes, herd-mate?" "Is this something you want to do full time, or until I find a new horse?" "If your cargo doesn't get much heavier, I am confident I can fulfill this role." "I don't usually fill it beyond this amount. I'm assuming you are equally confident in snow?" "Yes, more so, even." 'That would lessen my concerns quite a bit. Horses are expensive, and Gylan might not even have a spare to let me borrow or sell.' He thought. For his bay's sake, he never did much winter trading when the snows became deep. This might be an opportunity if Reina was offering and proficient at winter travel. He had to consult with a wainwright about getting a proper harness for her. The rest of the day was uneventful. Reina would stop roughly every seven kilometers and urinate. Azalea passed the time humming or sketching the landscape, but she eventually grew bored and pulled out a separate sketch pad bound with a thick cord. "Hey, Reina!" Reina's ear swiveled backward at the sound of her name. "Can I sketch your ass?" Azalea requested matter-of-factly. "You want to sketch my what, ?!" "Your ass! It's very cute, and I want to preserve it for, posterior-ty!" Azalea grinned at Devin. "Haven't you seen enough of her ass?" Devin solicited. "Can you ever have too much of something that's nice to look at?" challenged Azalea. "It beats staring at trees the whole time," Devin relented. "If it makes Azalea stop making bad puns, then please say yes, Reina." 'Why am I so embarrassed whenever I interact with Azalea,' Reina thought. Aside from the threesome they had this morning, when her embarrassment was superseded by her horniess, she always felt a bit flustered around her. Blushing, Reina pulled the blanket up, giving the two an eyeful of her shapely rump. They didn't say anything, but she could feel their eyes wandering over her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Azalea start to sketch. "You have a graceful walk, Reina," Devin extended. "Th, thank you, herd-mate." Each footfall was firm and sure as her legs and haunch muscles tensed and rippled with the strain of each step. She shook her head just as a breath of wind caused the filigree in her antlers to catch the light, scattering the sun across the silky hair fluttering behind her. It definitely enhanced her assumed queenly persona. "I'm done!" Azalea announced two hours later. She handed Devin her sketch pad. He held it up, comparing it to the real thing. Azalea's giftedness was quite evident. Devin was impressed by the way Azalea used shadow to imply the location of her muscles and provide depth to the finer details of her more intimate bits, especially the grooved lines of her anus and slight creases of her labia. The attention she applied to Reina's fur stood out the most, creating the illusion of movement and softness and making the image seem more real than it should. "Subject matter aside, you're an amazing artist," he commended. "One of the few things I'm great at," She said smugly. "That sketchbook contains a collection of all my most memorable and favorite drawings. Flip to the beginning and see!" Devin turned to the first page, and it made more sense why Azalea chose Reina as her theme. "Azalea, your collection is extensively detailed drawings of demi-human genitalia?" he asked, incredulous. "Uh-huh! Well, not all of them, but they are all people I've met, or care about. Aren't they amazing?! Look at all the different shapes and sizes! Isn't this one cute? Can you believe how big that one is? Isn't the shape of this one fascinating?!" Devin shook his head. The sketches weren't sexual in nature. They were so academic that they just needed labels for it to be some kind of indecent demi-human field guide. "Not sure I want to ask if you peeped on all these people naked so you could draw them." "Of course not! That would be rude and creepy. I casually go up to them and ask. It's not my fault if they think I'm a Leannin Sidhe." "A what?" "They are cousins to us fairies, but eccentric and obsessed with art, drawing, composing music, singing, stuff like that." "So you don't clarify that you're a fairy." "Well; not exactly, but it's fine. They were all happy to pose for me." Halfway through the sketches, the theme changed. Devin had to ask, "Is this your village?" "Yes. It's very boring, but quaint enough to live in, I suppose." Very much in tune with the natural surroundings, her village did look cozy. There were tiny doors and windows in trees, fallen logs, and the sides of hills. Its fairy inhabitants looked similar to Azalea, with a wide array of brightly-colored clothing. The scenes looked like what you'd find at any human town: fairies perusing market stalls, some singing to small audiences, all of them going about their daily lives. The last two pages were a panorama. "Oh, that's my classmates after we graduated. They wanted to relax after all our studying, so they went to the communal baths to unwind." "They didn't invite you?" Devin inquired. "No, but I went anyway. It's normally used by the whole village, but it was early enough in the day so we were the only ones there." Azalea pointed to a spot in the upper left corner. "The bath is fed by a large creek diverted into two channels. The first feeds five waterfalls where we wash before going into the main area." Azalea pondered over the picture a moment. "This is Lilac under the first falls, she has a well-rounded knowledge of many topics, especially anatomy. Unlike me, she has no problem remembering all those unnecessarily long names. Next to her is Magnolia, she's soft-spoken and very clumsy, in a cute way". "Any examples?" Azalea put her hand to her chin. "We once went foraging in the forest. She tripped over a root. Luckily, I was behind her, so I had a front-row seat, and it was my first time seeing under her dress. She has a beauty mark on her left cheek. Also, I'm sure she has the biggest clit out of all the girls." "You would notice things like that," Devin commented and laughed. She circled her fingers and looked through them at him. "As an artist, I have a quick and discerning eye for detail, life-mate." "Indeed," Devin said amused. "Where was I? Oh yes, this lovey-dovey couple is Camellia and Reed. They've been together for years. They go everywhere and do everything together. She says her long, golden hair is high maintenance, so she has Reed help wash it, but I think it's just an excuse to feel his penis between her thighs." "I can relate! I appreciate a certain fairy's thighs wrapped around mine." "You did?! I'm glad, life-mate!" She pounced on him, hugging his neck. They shared a kiss before going back to the picture. "The second channel feeds the main bath. I think it can fit twenty-five fairies comfortably, maybe a few more if they sit on these mossy rocks surrounding the edge. "Life-mate, here's a fun little secret. This moss feels really good on a bare cunt. Imagine soft, bunny-girl fur between your legs. This one especially makes it easy for a little stealth masturbation." She leered at an unassuming rock protuberance. "Easy to hide wet spots in the bath," Devin speculated. "That was my exact thinking, too! Too bad it's not a hot bath, or else it'd be easier to hide a flushed face as well." She giggled. "Let's see, who else? Oh, this is Chrysanthemum. She's quite athletic. It's fun to watch her boobs bounce around when she exercises. She doesn't talk much, though. When she's bathing, she just eats the fruits hanging from these vines and people-watches. Unlike these two," Azalea said and tapped the page, "Myrtle and Hazel, they love to gossip, mostly about Hyacinth. They don't do it maliciously, though. "Speaking of which, this is Hyacinth." Devin followed her finger to a fairy with tied-up blonde hair and a pair of alluring emerald eyes. "She's the class tease, always flirting with the boys. She's giving poor Sorrell a handjob while he watches Lily grope Marigold. I say poor because she has a bit of a mean streak. She never brings them to climax, always leaving them with blue balls. I overheard some of the boys say her hands feel amazing, so maybe it's worth the discomfort. Now that I think about it, they do get them more often in the bath. Maybe it takes more work to get them hard in cold water?" "And this is Lily and Marigold?" Devin asked. "Yep, Lily has the flattest chest in the class. She enjoyed groping all the big girls, especially Marigold, who's the largest aside from me." "She never groped you?" "She did. Got my nipples hard on quite a few occasions, but when my little nymphomania secret got out, she stopped." "So, let me get this straight. You went to the baths with your classmates even though they essentially ostracized you for having a high sex drive?" Azalea twiddled her thumbs. "Even if I can't get close to people and they don't talk to me, I still like to be around them." Devin scooped up Azalea and cuddled with her for a moment. "I hope our time together makes up that." Azalea nuzzled him back. "It already has, life-mate! I've been happier than I've been in a long time! It hasn't even been two days, and already I've had so much fun with you. and now that Reina's here, it's been double the fun!" Reina smiled. "I too am looking forward to our future together, Azalea." Devin set Azalea down. "So, fairies aren't normally as horny as you?" "Faires, no; pretty conservative, the bath thing was just them goofing around. Our Leannin Sídhe cousins, on the other hand, are much more so. They express their sexuality through art, so they can get away with the 'its art' excuse. Pixies, though, the little addicts, sex to them is basically saying hello. The one time I went to one of their villages looking for a life-mate, four of them were going at it in the town square while casually discussing what to eat later. No one batted an eye. They'll do anything whenever, wherever." "And that didn't appeal to you?" "It was tempting, but Pixies just love the pleasure. For me, sex is fascinating to study and learn about; the pleasure is just a bonus. Also, they never leave their villages, that sounds boring to me." Devin nodded his understanding and flipped to the next page. "Oh, that one is my mom and her husband when they moved to the orc village!" A fairy with a face resembling Azalea, except a bit older with a smaller bust and short wavy hair, was standing on the open palm of a large, well-dressed orc. "You keep saying husband. Is he not your father?" "Hmm? Oh, no, he isn't." "Oh. I thought it odd you didn't call him dad. Wait, didn't you say fairies can only have offspring with other species?" "Huh? I don't think so? Maybe I didn't explain it well enough. Fairies can mate with other fairies, demi-humans, or humans, but offspring will always be fairies. Anyway, mom remarried and that picture was when she made her public announcement of marriage." The way Azalea hurried away from the topic of her biological father, Devin surmised she didn't want to talk about him. "The adjacent picture is the day after their marriage." Azalea's mom was in the bath, sitting on her husband's erect penis. "He's a bit of a shy sort when it comes to nudity around anyone but mom, but she managed to persuade him, saying she wanted to make sure they were both clean before drawing the lovecrest. "This was the first time we had all bathed together. I was sitting across from them. Mom was scrubbing his penis a little too vigorously and ended up making him cum all over me. He was mortified, but mom and I had a good laugh while reassuring him it was alright." 'I see where her lewd side came from.' Devin thought. "So, your mom has a lovecrest too?" "She does, she is the one who taught me, but her's, has some unique additions." Azalea trailed off. "Anyway, she was able to take him first try, no problem. That's why I thought maybe you'd fit in me." "Well, your mom is, well, a mom. She had you, so that was bound to stretch her out a bit." Azalea sighed. "I hope so." The second-to-last page had a full-page image of a penis. 'This one looks oddly familiar,' he thought. "Azalea." "Yes, life-mate?" "Is this my penis?" "Isn't it lovely! I loved snuggling up to it this morning." "Is that going to happen every morning? "Of course. Who doesn't like breakfast in bed?" she snickered. Devin handed her sketchbook back. "So, what'd you think of my collection?" she buzzed. "It's, um, a very unique way to express your interests." "I can't wait to fill up more pages during our adventures!" she beamed. "I'm gonna go show Reina." She had just landed on Reina's shoulder when a large shadow passed overhead, drawing everyone's attention. Devin instinctively pulled the wagon to a stop. Azalea and Reina both looked back, eyes wide, as two large and glossy black wings enveloped Devin. "Hello, little brother," said a tenderly sensuous voice, "I have returned for my bi-weekly sibling bonding time!" "You know you don't have to, Mavis," Devin replied, nonplussed. "Don't be so cold. Is that any way to treat your big sister who hasn't seen you in such a long time?!" She hugged him tighter, resting her chest on top of his head. "It's only been two days." "Two days is an eternity when I spend all my time alone, flying across the broad swath of empty wilderness." She sniffled melodramatically. Devin brushed some of the feathers aside and looked up into the smiling ruby eyes of a slim woman in her mid-thirties. "Won't you give your lonely sister a kiss?" Devin lightly kissed one of her feathers. "Now, now! That won't do! Give your big sister a proper kiss." As Devin sighed, she shook a few strands of black hair from her face and bent down, pressing her soft lips into his in a not-quite-sensual, but definitely more than familial, kiss. She probed his lips questioningly with her tongue, but he kept them firmly closed. Mavis looked disappointed. "You normally love our little make-out sessions." "M'not today," he muttered. "Is it because you're embarrassed to show how close we are to your friends? Oh well, I guess I can settle for this to stave off my loneliness for a while, but next time it will be full tongue!" she cooed. Azalea, getting over her initial surprise, fluttered up to the harpy calling herself Devin's sister. "Oh, hello, are you a friend of my brother's? Would you like a kiss too?" she proposed alluringly. "He's my life-mate, and I have a hard time believing you're his sister, given the obvious differences." "You don't believe me? Can't you see the family resemblance?" She rested her head on Devin's shoulder so Azalea could compare. "See? Perfect family resemblance!" she chuckled. Azalea folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "She's technically right, Azalea," assured Devin, "though it's more accurate to say I'm her adopted brother. We were childhood friends growing up. I was eighteen when my parents passed away, so Mavis' family took me in." Mavis mussed his hair. "And that's why he has my family's last name. We are just as close as any biological siblings." Azalea mulled over this explanation a moment. "If you're life-mate's sister, then; then that makes you my sister too?!" "I'm not sure that's how it wor―" Devin tried to say. Azalea exploded in excitement. "I've never had a sibling! What do sisters normally do together?! Try on each other's clothes?! Bake sweets?! Pick flowers?! I could make you a pretty―!" Devin plucked her out of the air, muffling her in his hand. "You found a sweet girl, Devin! I like her -- very spunky. She's just what you need to experience the more exciting parts of life," Mavis said. "Actually, she found me." "Is that so?" Mavis stole Azalea out of Devin's hand and pulled her close. "You want to hear some interesting stories about him?" "Most definitely!" She nodded enthusiastically. "He peeked at me several times in the bath." "She complained she couldn't wash her back properly," Devin interjected. "That was the first night I moved in and before I became aware of your hobby of teasing me. I got in trouble with your father for that." "You say trouble. I call it life experience." "He was such a naughty brother, Azalea -- always trying to glance under my tail feathers." "You mean you enjoyed giving me a hard time by wearing next to nothing when lounging around the house," he clarified. "I think you mean hard-on," she teased. "Clothes are such a bother, anyway, when you don't leave the house." Turning her attention back to Azalea, "That wasn't the most daring thing he did, Azalea. He was even brazen enough to sneak into my bed once and spoon me." "She snuck into MY bed, in MY room, and rubbed her ass against me." "You liked it, and I could tell you wanted to cum." "Did not." "Well, technically, yes, I couldn't tell since you had a lot of pre-cum and a very wet dream." Azalea patted them both on the head between laughs. "You two are so cute together, and he does produce a lot of pre-cum. I'll have to try giving him a wet dream sometime, too." Azalea giggled. "Oh, so you know! He was so mean to me that night, Azalea. Imagine it: it's late at night, and you get those tingles, that deep itch that can only be scratched by someone with fingers, but he's fast asleep! So what am I to do but try to scratch it myself with the nearest long, hard object, but the angles are all wrong to get it inside, so all I end up doing is making him get my tail feathers all sticky. Then, when he wakes up, instead of helping me, he leaves the room embarrassed!" she mock-cried. Azalea put her hands on her hips. "Life-mate, shame on you, it's written in the younger brother handbook that he has the responsibility to take care of the sexual needs of his older sister." "First, I wasn't expecting her to be in my bed rubbing up against my morning wood. Second, I wasn't ready to fertilize her eggs, and third, I'm positive and glad no such book exists," he claimed with exasperation. "He can be quite the stick-in-the-mud, can't he, Azalea? I tried many times to wash his penis, to search out his favorite spots, but he always found an excuse to avoid me." "You want me to tell you where they are?" Azalea whispered conspiratorially. "I can hear you when you're right next to me, you know. If you two are quite done teasing me, I would like to know if you have any messages." Reina sighed. "Always business first. Yes, I do, but first, look!" She spread her wings and did a little spin in the back of the wagon. "Brand new uniforms! Doesn't this purple and yellow beret look professional?" She adjusted it smartly. "It even has our emblem of a talon clutching a scroll embroidered on it, and isn't this black leather jerkin with alternating purple and yellow trim fashionable? I still need help to put it on and take off, but it's a lot quicker now since they moved the brass buckles to the sides. "The only thing I dislike are these tight, form-fitting breeches. The short belted skirt over it is cute, but how am I supposed to show off my trim ass if it's being covered?" "I'm sure your ass wasn't even a consideration for your boss." "Sadly, you're right, even though I'm his fastest harpy at Wing and Claw Delivery. Speaking of asses, I thought I eyed you covering yours just before I landed, Miss Quiet Whitehorn." Reina had been silently listening and not in any particular hurry to enter the conversation. "A lady would never do such a thing in public," She deflected. "Is that so? I have a pretty good eye, especially for asses, and I'm positive I saw yours for a brief moment." "I asked to se―" Devin muffled Azalea with his hand again. "How about I introduce you two," Devin cut in. "Mavis, this is Reina D Virtsa. She's traveling with Azalea and I. Reina, as you've already heard, this is my older sister, Mavis Ebonplume." "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ebonplume." "Likewise, Miss Virtsa." "Returning to business matters, I have a client who has a big commission they want you, specifically, to fulfill; if you're up to it," Mavis announced. "Oh? Who, and what's the commodity?" Devin queried. "For now, they would like to remain anonymous but will have the written request completed in a few days. If you could stop by the office, I'll be able to give it to you then." "Alright, I'll be making a detour at Gylan's farm, so it'll be about two or three days." "That's fine. It's not an urgent or time-sensitive request. Anyway, I've used up all my break time and need to be off to deliver the rest of these." She shook the large satchels hanging under her wings. "Love you! I'll see you in a few days!" Mavis spread her wings, did a test flap, and then took flight heading east. "Your sister is fun to be around, life-mate! I can't wait to see her again!" "I'm glad you two got along, even if it was at my expense." -- Managing a few more kilometers before sunset, the trio found a decent place to camp for the night. Devin served up a meal of baked potatoes and wild chives that Reina found. Azalea was the first to finish eating, falling asleep soon after leaving Reina and Devin alone with the fire. "Are you feeling sore, Reina?" Devin broke the silence. "It was a bit more exertion than I anticipated, but I will grow accustomed to it." Again, the two sat in silence for some time around the crackling fire, listening to the crickets' nightly song. "Your sister really cares for you, herd-mate." "She does. She's always been highly independent and proactive at doing whatever she puts her mind to, but she was never too busy to check up on me. She keeps trying to get me to quit being a merchant and come live with her, but I don't know how she could afford me not working. She can't make that much at her job. She keeps telling me she has an alternative income but never elaborates where from." "Even still, you never considered her offer?" "I like being a merchant and love traveling. Besides, if I had, I never would've met you or Azalea." Reina tried to hide a smile. "That's true." Devin got up and joined Reina on her side of the fire. "Wha; what are you doing, herd-mate?" "Just wanting to hold your hand." "Of course, but I've just never done it in an intimate way before, is this part of human courtship? I don't know anything about how humans bond. It hasn't even been a day since we met and things have all happened so fast. I'm sorry if ―." Devin suddenly kissed her lips. She stiffened in surprise, then felt her worry melt away as their lips lingered together. Settling back he squeezed her hand. "There isn't really any 'right way', go at our own pace," he assured her. "How do Whitehorns conduct their courtship?" Reina pondered a moment. "When Whitehorns come of age, both females and males leave their family to join other herds. Most males join together in 'bachelor bands.' During mating season, they will sparr with one another to demonstrate their physical and charismatic prowess to claim the right to be the first to ask potential females. Candidates are chosen based on pedigree, personality, looks, fertility, etc. The female can then either decline or accept to create their own separate herd as a pair or a group. "The male will choose a primary female. Together, they will co-manage duties between themselves: when and where to migrate, who to trade with, and diplomatic-related duties with other herds or other demi-human tribes. The male will eventually mate with all the females of the herd, but the primary female chooses when and sometimes with who. She does that to maintain the resources balance within the herd. Offspring are raised communally, allowing females without offspring to work with mothers to gain experience and allow other mothers a chance to rest." Devin leaned his head on Reina's side. "Do you miss your family?" "I am unsure of my feelings about them right now. My family was never very openly affectionate, and my father was rather stern most of the time. Being the oldest child, they probably had expectations of me, but they never verbalized them or hinted at their wishes. They were probably disappointed that I'm thirty and never found a herd-mate." "Till now." She smiled. "Yes, until now, but I am uncertain how they would view our; unique relationship. I've never heard of another of my kind in a similar situation." "Relationships like ours seem to be rare. In my travels, I've seen only a handful of similar partners. When we first met, you said you were on your way to catch up with your herd?" "I did. This time of year is our bi-annual migration to our winter home. I had many things dwelling on my mind, so I decided to travel alone for a while so I could think about things," Reina mused. "And, " he prodded. "And?" "How did the bramble come into play?" he asked. Reina looked down. "It was a rash decision, and my stress was quite high; and I needed some relief." "Will they miss you when you don't turn up?" Devin pushed further. "I don't know. I've been left to my own devices for many years now. I doubt they would miss me." "I'd like to think, on some level, most parents want to at least know if their children are safe," Devin stated with sympathy. "If you want, you can write a letter and have Mavis deliver it. Might give you some closure." "I'll think about it." Reina started to feel warm near the fires, so she removed her coat. She still felt a little vulnerable removing her outerwear. Out of habit, she moved to cover her scars but saw Devin watching her and folded her hands instead. "Do they really not bother you?" she asked quietly. Reina tensed as Devin made a move to touch them, but with a mischievous smile, he started tickling her. Surprised, she attempted to fend off his attacks but ended up laughing more than defending. He continued his onslaught for a few minutes and managed to roll Reina onto her side before stopping. "Feel more relaxed?" He grinned. She nodded, catching her breath and wiping happy tears from her eyes. "I wasn't expecting that." Devin helped her back up. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision." After a pause, he continued, "I'm still curious as to how you got them." Reina took a deep breath. "I; my sister and I were kidnapped by slavers." "Wait, you were victims during that slaver attack thirteen years ago!?" "I was. I tried to protect my sister, or at the very least, keep her in the group I was in. They didn't like my protests that much." "So they whipped you," he said bluntly and with a tinge of anger. Reina nodded. They both fell silent, letting the weight of Reina's story sink in. "I'm sorry about your sister." "I mourned for her and had nightmares for several years." Devin pulled Reina into a hug. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." "Thank you, herd-mate. I no longer have nightmares, so these scars are the only reminder of that time. "I'll do my best, and I'm sure Azalea will as well, to make sure you enjoy life from now on." "I am still getting used to Azalea's; unreserved nature, but I know she means well." "I don't know if it'll help, but you might try viewing your scars not as a stigma of your failure to protect your sister but as a testament to your courage and survival. Think if you hadn't. If a few minor injuries were the price for freedom, I'd say it was a pretty cheap cost." "I've never thought of it that way. I'll try to, herd-mate. I suppose the only other good thing that came from that event was my father hugged me for the first time when we returned home." "See! He does care for you." Devin tried to encourage her. Reina just looked into the fire thoughtfully. They interlocked and intertwined their fingers as silence settled over the camp, each attending to their own thoughts. "Reina, I've been meaning to ask about our; mating earlier. I was wondering if we hadn't come along, what was your plan if you got pregnant?" "I hadn't really thought about the repercussions," she admitted. "I'm ok with bearing your offspring if that's what you're implying?" "My preferences aside, I really want to hear your feelings." Reina looked into Devin's eyes. "I'm not against the idea, nor am I particularly eager to rush things. I am already more than happy to spend time traveling with you and Azalea for the time being. Not to mention, the orgasms you two gave me were quite satisfactory," she commended. They continued watching the fire, enjoying each other's closeness. Reina tried to stifle a yawn. Devin leaned against her, imagining no other place he'd rather be than right here, warm and content. "I bet you're going to sleep well tonight with all the exercise you got." "I will, but I am sure I will feel sore tomorrow." "Maybe we can alleviate that some." Reina watched curiously as he straddled her back. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he began a slow, deep massage. "I've found one of the best things in life is a massage right before bed and right when you wake up." "I can see why." She hummed delightedly. "Let me get this out of the way." She undid the clasp behind her neck, and her large breasts revealed their freedom with a slight bounce. She rolled her neck and shoulders, which tossed the fabric to the side. "Wearing clothes feels so confining at times." "Aside from pulling human wagons, you must get sore fairly regularly being so well endowed." Reina weighed them in her hands thoughtfully. "All the females from my family were blessed with a voluminous bust. I have become accustomed to the discomfort." "You shouldn't have to! You can ask me for a massage any time." "Such an attentive herd-mate. I'll be sure to take you up on your offer." Encouraged by her little purrs of pleasure, he tried to focus on the massage but kept getting distracted by her ample cleavage. He thought of how to ask to touch them when Reina took the initiative. "If you are going to be thorough, herd-mate, you are going to have to massage these as well." She smirked, placing her arms behind her head and thrusting her chest out. "As my queen desires." Thinking he was making fun of her, "M'not really royalty, you know." "I'm aware, but I already consider you my queen." Devin leaned in and kissed the back of her ear. Heat flooded Reina's face, and she tilted her head down, blushing profusely. "You're also incredibly adorable when you're embarrassed." Reina took a few breaths to calm her fluttering heart. "When I was very young, two human nobles and their retinue visited our herd." Devin scooted closer, his hands kneading the delicate muscles around the base of her breasts, ready to listen to her story. "Father didn't inform me as to the nature of their visit. I had no interest, either -- that is, until I saw the nobleman's wife, sitting upon her carriage, regal, indifferent as if the mediocrity of everyday life was beneath her." "What'd she look like?" he asked. She closed her eyes to bring back the memory. "Her hair was dark as walnut, braided into a crown around her head. She wore a sapphire-embedded coronet. An emblem of blue roses embroidered the entirety of her billowy dress. She looked so striking compared to what I was used to seeing; I was enchanted by her. "They stayed with us for a week. I wanted to talk with her, get to know her, but I rarely saw her outside her tent. For the first few days, I tried sneaking peeks at her, but I wasn't very discreet, and she shooed me away." Reina was so engrossed in telling her story that she failed to notice Devin's massage transition from a wholesome alleviation of soreness and tension to a more lewd nature. He experimentally cupped the oversized mounds in his hands, enjoying the luscious flesh squishing between his fingers. "On my fourth attempt," Reina continued, "I went at night. She was humming a song while brushing her hair. This time, though, she sighed when she noticed me. She ushered me in. Then she put her brush down, demanding to know why I kept disturbing her. I told her I was infatuated by her, the way she conducted herself, her lifestyle. "Whether she was bored or genuinely amused, I couldn't tell, but she invited me back to listen to her stories about growing up as a noble and how court life was conducted. Before she left, she gave me a book on etiquette. I ended up reading it so many times, I wore it out." "An interesting choice for a role model." He remarked, lightly brushing her large gray-brown areola with his fingertips. "My family and friends thought it cute, at first, but things became rather awkward between us when they realized it wasn't temporary." Devin slid from her back, taking his place in front of her. "People seem to latch on to what they admire, and coincidentally, I'm admiring these cute, little inverted nipples!" Reina looked down at his fingers teasing the slight indentations. "They are from my mother's side. Please be gentle. They are super sensitive." A low moan escaped her lips as he coaxed her left nipple from its hiding place, its stiffness hinting at her arousal. The right one proved less forthcoming, so he placed his lips over the stubborn nub and alternated sucking and pinching until it popped out stiffly. Reina pushed her chest forward, hugging his head in her arms as he suckled." That feels wonderful, herd-mate! Please don't stop." Devin increased the pressure in his mouth as he relaxed in the tenderness of her hug. Her warmth and her smell nurtured his love for this lovely young woman. Like with Azalea, he was going to do everything he could to make her happy and strengthen this bond. After several minutes of their intimate embrace, Reina gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry, herd-mate. That feels fantastic, but I won't be able to have an orgasm just from that. Allow me a few moments to cool down. We should probably get ready for bed. Would you please assist me?" It didn't sit right with Devin -- getting Reina all worked up then leaving her without satisfaction. As he helped remove the filigree from her antlers, he mentally tossed around a few ideas. "Could you attend to my fur, please?" She handed him a well-worn brush made of antlers and etched with trees and flowers. Her coarse outer fur was well adapted to protecting against snow. Her wispy, under-fur was silky and suited to resisting cold. "Reina, until we find an adequate means of birth control, have you ever tried anal?" "You mean mating with, that hole?" She pulled her tail in protectively. "Do people do that?!" "Not everyone likes it," Devin admitted while stroking her flank. She looked at him. "Wouldn't that hurt?" "Not with the right preparations. It might feel a bit more intense than vaginal, though." She bit her lip, wrestling with the idea. Seeing her hesitation. "We'll go as slow as you want, and you can tell me at any point if it's uncomfortable or hurts." With curious trepidation she let him pull her tail to the side. Right away, she shivered at the slight brush against her anus. Unlike a centaur's, Reina's anus depressed slightly inward. Human-like in texture, it was smooth and pale-ish pink. He caressed the velvety sphincter, getting her used to the sensation. "Should I stay in this position, herd-mate?" "Whichever is more comfortable for you," he replied gently. Reina remained lying down. She couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but every time his fingers made contact, little goosebumps appeared on her arms. Knowing her nervousness wouldn't help loosen her up, he considered different approaches to help her relax and have a little fun at the same time. He wondered how much teasing she could endure. Switching targets, he caressed her slit with the back of his knuckle. She was still mostly dry, so he helped her along by giving her a few playful licks. She muffled a squeal at the sudden sensation. "Sorry, I've never had anyone lick me there before." "I'm honored to be the first." Devin took another taste and an extended lick, letting his tongue slowly trail into the smooth recess of her body. He snaked his tongue up and over, staying just out of reach of her clit and vagina. His saliva mixed with her juices as her body began to leak her natural lubricant. His purposeful avoidance of all the places she wanted his tongue the most was making her all squirmy. She kept trying to angle herself to get more of his tongue, but he kept adjusting to her movements. "Are you enjoying teasing me, herd-mate?" "Most definitely. I think you're ready for something more direct." "Please!" She whined. Devin peeled her dripping lips apart. Her insides blossomed into view -- dark red, swollen, and drooling for more. Again, Devin sensuously trailed his tongue, from Reina's perspective, agonizingly slow toward the source of her need. Pausing just above her opening, he waited. "Pleeease, herd-mate!" she begged. With a smile, he plunged his tongue as deep as he could. She issued a guttural moan, and her cunt gushed at the sudden intrusion. He slurped and swirled his tongue, drinking as much of her as he could as he tried to get deeper. The more he lapped, the more she drenched his tongue. Coming up for air, he licked the juices dripping from his chin and admired his handiwork. When she turned to look at him, her eyes full of lust, he challenged, "Ready for more?" "I love what you're doing, but I thought we were; gonna do the other thing." "We are. I just got a little carried away enjoying how you taste." "I'll let you lick me anytime if this is the feeling I have to look forward to," she panted. "Just a little more." He eyed her clit peeking out from the bottom of her vulva, nicely glazed with her juices. He dove back in and swirled his tongue around the engorged nub. A passionate mewl encouraged him to play with it more. Pushing up from the bottom, he popped more of it out of hiding as he took it between his lips and sucked greedily. Her wiggling became earnest enough that he had to push her hips down. He hadn't forgotten the original purpose; he continued to feast as he transferred her lube to her anus. After a thorough coating, he slowly pushed his digit into her tight ring. Her sphincter resisted the initial push before yielding to his digit, and with a little fingering, widened enough for a second. Devin freed his erection and then stroked his length across her slit, replacing his fingers at her entrance. He pushed forward firmly. Her anus was unsure if it was ready and constricted. Momentarily pausing his advance, he checked with her, "Does it feel ok, Reina?" "I feel so full. Please go slow," she pleaded. He pulled back a bit, applying another helping of lube to himself. His next attempt was easier. With the head fully entering her, he held still, allowing her to adjust. He felt her clench a few times. A nod from her gave him the go-ahead. Starting with small thrusts, he gradually switched to longer and deeper ones. "That feel better?" "The pressure feels really intense," she groaned. "Could you aim downward a little? It feels really good when you push in." He had to switch to a crouch to angle downward. He felt his glans rub the bottom of her rectum when he pushed in. "Like that?" "Yes, I can feel it, sorta, in my vagina." Reina's purring made her comfort apparent. He'd have liked to fist her again, but at this angle, he couldn't maneuver his arm properly, so he settled for rubbing her clit with his thumb. "I'm going to be sore back there, but I can't believe how good this feels," she mewed. He responded by thrusting faster and harder, his balls slapping the top of her cunt. "Rub my clit harder! I'm gonna cum!" He felt her orgasm surge through her. Her anus clenched, making his thrusting difficult but adding to the sensation. Her cum gushed over his hand. He waited until she finished. "Reina, try pushing me out." She bore down, and her rectal muscles tightened around him. That is when she felt him grabbing her hips and thrusting hard and deep a few more times before erupting in her. "Oh, I can feel your cum!" she exclaimed, continuing to squeeze her muscles until he collapsed on her back. Following a few deep breaths, Devin pulled out of her and stood up shakily, licking her juices from his hand. Unlike Azalea's, whose was watery and thin, Reina's was syrupy and thick. "Did you have fun?" "You said massages are great before bed. We can add orgasms are great, too!" They both laughed. Devin helped clean Reina then himself before snuggling up against her. "Azalea must be a deep sleeper if she managed to sleep through all that noise," he thought out loud. Reina looked at their diminutive, sleeping friend. "I'm sure she would have joined us if she were awake." "Imagining a vibrating fairy against your clit again?" "I'd pass out again if she did that." They smiled tiredly at each other. "Good night, my queen." "Good night, herd-mate." Sleep prevailed in the camp. To be continued in part 4, by Scholarly Mori for Literotica.

Daphne, the Amazon leader, Honors Don & Toshia. By BradentonLarry - Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Chapter 14 Reunion: our heroes enjoy each other and a Sisterhood orgy. Don held Toshia tightly in his arms and kissed the top of her head. For several moments he just forgot about everything else and was happy to hold her. It had always been like that, one Toshia hug and he was totally in love with her. [[MORE]]  Whatever else was going on in his life, there was the constant affection he had for her, and in those all too brief moments when they were together like this nothing else mattered. Of course, here in Eros, he had gotten used to having much more of her attention and enjoying quite bit more than the occasional hug, but after being separated from her for a week a simple hug was a celebration! Gradually, he became aware that Shelonda and Nicole were also there, waiting to greet Toshia as well. Reluctantly, and only because he knew she wasn't going to fall off another cliff anytime soon, Don kissed her again and loosened his embrace. He smiled at her and said, "Welcome back." Blushing a little, she grinned back at him and gave him a quick kiss, before turning to the girls who immediately attacked her with a happy group hug. Don looked to Daphne, who was busy eyeing the creature who had escorted Toshia back to the castle. Somehow it hadn't really surprised Don to see a living, breathing Minotaur here. Clearly, the big man-bull alarmed the sisters, and the fact that he had docilely accompanied Toshia, who had apparently counted on the fact that the sisters would be alarmed, amused Don a great deal. Paying a bit more attention to the creature, Don noticed that the Minotaur was anything but at ease here. He was looking about himself as if he expected the sisters to attack him at any moment. Likewise, the sisters seemed tense, ready to defend themselves if the big creature went berserk. Amy noticed the Minotaur's agitation and reached out to stroke his side, but this didn't really seem to help. "Toshia," Don said, "I don't think your friend there is too happy here." "Oh!" Toshia immediately extricated herself from the girls and walked over to the Minotaur. She reached up and caressed his long, broad face and murmured encouragement. She said, "If you want to go back outside, it's OK." Then, with an obvious and meaningful glance at Daphne, Toshia added, "Just don't go too far. We might need you again." Don smiled to see the Minotaur clearly nod his head and turn and leave the way he had come in, sisters scattering to get out of his way. Don turned to Daphne, who had been watching all of these proceedings silently, and said, "My friends and I don't intend to stay long -- just the night." Don thought he could see some conflicting emotions playing out in Daphne's blue eyes. He added, "Perhaps a celebration of our visit is in order..." "Yes, of course," she smiled and nodded. "We will have a party in your honor. I will have rooms made available for you to rest and bathe." Don wondered if he detected the first genuine jealousy he'd seen in Eros in Daphne's tone and choice of words. He continued to assert his dominance, saying, "Just one room will do." Daphne bowed her head a little, but Don could tell she wasn't smiling. In a short while, Don and the four women were alone in one of the castle's bedrooms. There was a large, low bed in the middle of the room and a small chamber off to the side that Toshia identified as a bathing room. "You're pretty badly banged up, love," Toshia said with some concern. "We better get you cleaned up and bandaged." As the women gently, but quickly, stripped his clothes off him, Don had to admit that he was feeling the abuse he'd suffered in his fighting with the Sisterhood. He cheek was tender and a bit swollen, the area around and above his left eye was quite sore, and the cuts on his left shoulder and forearm stung annoyingly. Moreover, his muscles were sore and stiffening from what had been a long, strenuous fight with the sisters. It was all enough to put thoughts of sex a bit out of his mind, even though he was led naked into the side chamber by Toshia and Nicole, who were also stripping out of their clothes. Toshia dumped a bucket of cold water over his head, and this did nothing at all to rekindle his lust. He noticed that Toshia's belly was pretty seriously scraped up, but she assured him and the others that it was nothing and didn't even hurt anymore. As Toshia and Nicole took washcloths and soap to his sore body, Shelonda began to wash his hair, and Don reflected that he was leading a weird and wonderful life. Thinking of weird and wonderful, he remembered that he wanted to ask, "So, Toshia, what have you been up to?" Toshia laughed and began to tell them about her adventures. She tried to summarize things, but Don and the others wouldn't let her get away with that. She described her first encounter with the satyrs in as much detail as she could remember. The other three women found this story very interesting, and clearly arousing as they all began to be more and distracted by the lovely and increasingly wet and soapy bodies at hand. Don also felt his body and interest responding. He would have returned to his normal self if Nicole weren't carefully cleaning his wounds and his head didn't ache quite so much. Still, he contributed his own fair share of probing questions. To one of these, Toshia responded, "Yes, two of them at once -- both in my pussy, but that's nothing." "Well, it's definitely not nothing!" Nicole said, looking up from Don's arm. "No, but there's more," Toshia smiled. "More than two in your pussy?" Shelonda asked in surprised. Toshia laughed, "No! How would that even work?" "Let me think about it, and I'll get back to you," Amy smirked. "You do that," Toshia grinned. "I meant, let me continue, and you'll see." Toshia told them about being captured and brought to the castle, and about how she'd been tied up to the X-shaped cross while they finished cleaning Don up. Another bucket of cold water was dumped over him, and he was told to sit on a nearby bench to dry, while they took turns bathing each other, starting with Shelonda. Now, Toshia told them about being thrown to the men. "Oh, down where Don and Daphne fell and fucked?" Shelonda asked. "Oh, now I have to hear about that!" Toshia said with surprising enthusiasm. Don laughed and said, "No, no -- you finish your story, first." "Fine, but I won't forget!" "Of course not," he smiled, leaning back against the stone wall. "OK, well, I figured there were two ways I could think of the situation..." Toshia said and began to recount the story of her long gang bang. The girls weren't having any synopses, and pressed her for as much detail as she could remember. Shelonda was actually finished being bathed before things began to get seriously out of hand. Toshia was being bathed by six hands, and was saying, "I got on my hands and knees, so I could suck that one big cock, and I told the others they'd have to take turns fucking ..." when she was distracted as Amy pushed several fingers into her. "God, that feels so good!" Toshia breathed. "Having them take turns fucking you?" asked Amy mischievously. "Mmm, yes, but that's not what I meant. Oh!" Shelonda had lowered her mouth to Toshia's breast and proceeded to suck on her hard nipple. Seeing that they were taking a break from story time, Nicole went ahead and leaned around to kiss Toshia passionately, while cupping Toshia's free breast in her hand. Don watched from the side as Amy worked her hand against Toshia's wet, naked body, fucking her fingers in and out of Toshia's pussy. His cock, already half-hard from listening to Toshia's story, quickly returned to full mast, but he was still quite content to sit back and watch. Amy leaned forward to get her mouth on the tit that Nicole was holding, while Nicole began to kiss and bite Toshia's neck. It didn't take long before Toshia was moaning and then crying out loudly as she came hard on Amy's hand. They kept at her, though, until she was coming again, this time longer and harder. When she pushed them back, Nicole proceeded to dump a bucket of cold water over Toshia. Naturally enough, this resulted in Toshia grabbing the slim black girl and pulling her down on the stone floor. Before another minute went by, Nicole was being mobbed by the other three girls; Toshia was between her legs, going down on Nicole's pussy, while Amy and Shelonda attacked Nicole's nipples with their lips, tongues and teeth. Don was admiring the tangle of wet, naked women on the stone floor when he noticed that someone was standing in the door to the small room. The newcomer was a tiny brunette woman with long hair and not a stitch of clothing. He was pretty sure she was the serving girl who had accompanied Brigit with the news that Toshia had escaped. She was meekly standing in the doorway watching Don's four companions playing. Don thought she was very pretty, and found her tiny, fit build extremely attractive. When she glanced over at him, he smiled and beckoned her to come in. As she took the few steps it took to come to him, Don saw that she was looking at his hard cock with clear interest. When she stopped in front of him, she said, "I was sent to see if you needed anything, sir." "What's your name?" "I'm Nina, sir," she said quietly. She was still looking at his prick. "Who sent you, Nina?" "Daphne, sir." Don reached out and gently took the girl's hand. "Were you supposed to do something specific for us?" "No, sir, she just said to make sure you had everything you need." Nina seemed fixated by Don's cock. More than a little amused by himself and the situation, Don asked, "Would you like to touch it?" "Oh, yes, sir!" Don chuckled a little and said, "Well, go ahead." Don actually ignored the giggling, moaning and gasping group of women on the floor before him as he watched Nina inch closer and reach down to run her fingers over his rigid sex organ. Her delicate touch almost tickled as she explored his length. "It's very big and hard," Nina breathed. "What else would you like to do?" "Oh, sir, I would love to fuck it!" Nina said eagerly, looking Don in the eyes for the first time. "Oh, would you?" he chuckled. "I think that would be all right." With a surprising combination of determination and timidity, Nina quickly stepped in front of Don and turned around. With her feet on either side of his legs, she bent her knees and waist as if she were going to sit on his lap. Don held himself upright until he felt Nina's delicate fingers wrapping around the shaft. Then, he ran both hands over her tight butt and thin, muscular back. He felt her already very wet pussy being pushed against the head of his cock, and then, almost at once, he was inside Nina as she sank down on him. Nina let out a happy whimper as she took his thick sex into her. Don moved his hands over her petite frame, enjoying the feeling of her tiny body against his. Then Nina began to move up and down, and Don held on to her narrow waist to keep her on him. She was bouncing on his shaft when Don felt fingers brushing against the base of his cock. Looking around Nina's body and dark hair, Don saw that Toshia had crawled over and was now sucking at Nina's small breasts while she played with Nina's clit. This made Nina cry out happily, and encouraged her to ride Don even more vigorously. At one point, she rode up high enough that he slipped out of her tight embrace. Nina let out a disappointed little sound, but, before she could get a hold of him and shove him back in, Don felt Toshia's mouth on his cock. Toshia's hand milked his shaft while she sucked on him enthusiastically. Then he was being shoved back into Nina who immediately went back to riding up and down on him. As soon as he came out again, Toshia caught his cock and went back to giving him an all too brief blowjob, before pushing him back into Nina. While Nina rode him, Toshia played with Nina's clit and toyed with Don's balls. When he felt Toshia's hands pushing his thighs further apart, he happily complied, simultaneously spreading Nina's legs wider. He was rewarded by feeling Toshia's tongue on the base of his cock and on his balls, as she alternated between those and licking at Nina's clit. To encourage Toshia to keep up with this, Nina leaned back against Don, not fucking him quite so energetically. Don reached around her to cup Nina's small breasts in his hands while rocking his pelvis to keep moving himself in and out of her grasping vagina. When he felt Nina shaking and trembling against him, with her pussy squeezing and pulling his cock, Don could hold out no longer. He groaned and let a heavy stream of cum shoot up inside Nina. He pumped again and again into her, emptying his balls for the second time that day. As he regained his wits, he felt Toshia's tongue on him, licking up the cum that leaked out of Nina. When the tiny girl pushed up, letting his cock slip free, Toshia quickly dove between her legs to lick and suck up the pearly treasure he'd left there for her. Soon, Nina was lying back on the bench as Toshia continued to go down on her. The little serving girl would be coming again soon, and Don was eyeing Toshia's backside as a good place to put his still hard cock. When he moved to put this idea into action though, he felt Nicole pushing him back. "That's enough for you for the moment, Professor," Nicole said authoritatively. "Let me look at those cuts of yours." Don had already noticed that he had stopped bleeding very quickly, and had guessed that the XYZ in his system would help him heal rapidly, so he wasn't particularly surprised when Nicole said, "That's just incredible! Both of these cuts have almost closed up already -- not only don't you need stitches, which is good because we don't have anything to stitch you up with, but I'll bet you're healed in a couple of days." "Excellent!" Don grinned. "Let's get back to the good stuff!" "Hold on," she laughed. "I don't want you to mess those wounds up by bumping into something or rolling over on them. I'll just bandage them to protect them a bit." While Nicole quickly wrapped his forearm and bandaged his shoulder, Toshia, Nina and the others moved into the larger bedroom, which had the distinct benefit of having something more comfortable to play upon than a stone floor and a wooden bench. Don found the sounds of their play extremely distracting. It didn't help matters that Nicole and he were quite naked, and her dark skin still glistened with droplets of water. Finishing up, she said, "Now try to take it a bit easy at least until tomorrow." "This headache I've got is probably going to see to that," Don smiled as he ran a hand over her smooth thigh and up her side. "I'm sure you've got a mild concussion," she nodded, while reaching down to take his cock in her hand for some idle stroking. "Make sure you drink plenty of water." "Yes, ma'am," he smiled. At that moment, the quartet in the other room hit a crescendo of passionate moaning interspersed with "Oh god!" "Fuck!" and "Yes, yes, yes!" Nicole leaned in to kiss Don lightly on the lips. She smiled, said, "While I've got you all to myself for the moment..." and straddled his lap, her knees on either side of him on the bench. Don grinned up at her as she took his hardness in her hand and guided it into her waiting pussy. As she sank down on him, he took her by the back of the neck and pulled her down so that he could give her a long, passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, and he ran his hands up her back. As their tongues moved against each other, questing and probing, their bodies moved against each other; Don's cock slipped in and out of Nicole's smooth, tight pussy, as her pelvis rocking against his abdomen. When they broke their kiss, Nicole smiled at him and asked, "Are you sure you want to leave all this behind, Professor?" "This behind?" he grinned as he dropped his hands to squeeze her ass. "Well, that too," she laughed. "If we get back to Earth we should definitely look each other up. But you know what I mean; do you really want to give up this sexual paradise?" "It's more complicated than that," Don said. "Both Toshia and I have people we'd like to see again, though she's certainly more motivated as far as that goes. She really does love Sarah and wants to get back to her. If Toshia weren't here I'd definitely want to get back home to see her eventually." "Eventually, eh?" Nicole smiled as she bobbed up and down on his hard shaft. "Well, I'm certainly not saying I'm not enjoying the hell out of this place," Don said. To accentuate that thought he paused to revel in the feeling of her tight, wet embrace pumping his cock. "But don't you think that after a while you're going to want to do more than wander about having sex?" "Um," Nicole leaned and kissed the side of his neck as a tremor passed through her body, and then said, "right at the moment I have to admit I'm not sure. This feels pretty damn good!" "Yeah, it does," smiled Don. Then, holding on to her ass, he stood up, hoisting Nicole up, impaled on his shaft. She laughed and promptly wrapped her legs around him. Taking a few quick steps across the chamber to the wall where there was no bench, Don leaned her back against the stone wall, and began to fuck in and out of her vigorously. Nicole grinned and said, "Yes, fuck me, Professor! Slam that cock into me!" His headache out of his consciousness, Don focused on doing just what Nicole said, driving in and out of her almost violently. Each thrust slapped her butt against the wall, and elicited an exclamation that was half-grunt and half "yes!" After several minutes of Don's pile driving, she clenched her eyes closed and said, "Oh god! Yes, fuck, damn -- yes! Fuck!" She wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him, holding him tightly to and inside her as she shook and trembled with her intense orgasm. Don merely held still, holding her up and enjoying the feeling of her body in his arms and wrapped around his sex. As she was slowly coming down, she smiled up at him and said, "It's going to take me a long time to get tired of that." Don grinned and said, "I know exactly what you mean." "Hey! You're supposed to be taking it easy!" she mock scolded. "Put me down." Don lowered her and bent down enough to slip out of her slippery, wet embrace. Then, hand in hand they went to see what was going on in the outer room. As it turned out, the little girl-on-girl orgy had subsided into a drowsy, cuddling almost-nap. Nina had slipped away to report that the Sisterhood's guests did not require anything else at this time. When Nicole and Don climbed on to the bed, Shelonda promptly reached out for Don's hard penis. Finding it slick with Nicole's juices, she lowered her head and began to lick and suck him clean. Apart from this little activity, though, everyone seemed inclined to rest a little. They all expected the evening to be quite raucous. Later, after everyone had at least dozed for a bit, it was Nicole who remembered that Toshia hadn't finished her story. So, Toshia finished telling them about her time with the men, including the bit about the double anal penetration which impressed everyone, and then went on to relate how she'd been tied up and frustrated, and what had happened when she gave in. Don had many questions along the way. Hearing about Toshia and sex was one of his favorite things. Toshia told how she'd essentially climbed out of a window and made her escape, which both amused and impressed everyone, and then about her encounter with the Bull. Here, of course, Amy was able to add details, starting with, "You should have seen her, bent forward, leaning against a tree while that big beast fucked her with his huge cock!" The room was getting quite dark when Toshia got to the part about how she'd gone down on Amy and admitted, "I'd like to have one of you put your hand in me like that." Amy grinned and said, "Well, there's no time like the present!" Don, who, thanks to all the naked women and Toshia's sexy story, was now quite horny, was looking forward to seeing Toshia being pleasured by Amy, and probably the other women. Unfortunately, at just that moment the room was filled with light as a torch-bearing Nina entered and said, "The banquet is ready." Once they'd dressed in their respective "action wear" as Toshia mischievously called it, they followed Nina through the halls of the ancient castle into the main hall. The large tables were heaped with flowers and bowls of fruit. The sisters stood to welcome them as they entered. Don noticed that they had taken off their armor and were now wearing decidedly feminine garb of a particularly skimpy bent. More than a few of the women were bare breasted, and all of them seemed to be dressed so that easy access was guaranteed. At the far end of the hall, stood Daphne wearing a sheer black robe cinched around her waist with a silver cord. Her thick dark hair spilled loosely over her shoulders and down her back. "As our honored guests, please accept this banquet in your honor," Daphne said and then actually bowed in Don's direction. The other sisters also bowed at their entrance. "You honor us by your hospitality, sisters," Don answered. Nina led them to a table at the far end of the room, near the one by which Daphne and Brigit stood. As he drew near Daphne, Don caught her eye and smiled a bit smugly. She responded by smiling in return and nodding. When Don and his party of four women were seated, the sisters also sat and began to eat, drink and be merry. As he ate some grapes, Don turned to Toshia, who was sitting next to him and said, "So, you seem to be enjoying the more exotic citizens of Eros." She grinned at him and said, "We need to find you a harpy or a mermaid. And yeah, I'm doing my best to enjoy anything I can get my hands on." Smiling warmly, Don said, "It suits you. We saw you with the satyrs by the way, twice." He told her briefly about spying her with them at their campsite, before they were about to try to rescue her, and then seeing her in the Wizard's mirror. He concluded by saying, "I have to admit, I just love watching you have sex." "Right back at ya, stud," she winked. "I also have to admit that I'm starting to really enjoy being watched. I feel like I'm the star of a huge erotic adventure movie or something." "I know exactly what you mean." "But, tell me more about this Wizard." Don gave her the story of the Wizard and his wife in a fairly brief synopsis -- with far less detail than had been drawn out of her in regard to her adventures. When he was done he said, "We'll go back there after this, to return the carpet, get some fresh clothes and try to figure out our next move." "And to have more sex, I hope," she smiled impishly. "Well, of course," Don laughed. "Speaking of which..." he gestured to the rest of the room. While at first the sisters had been content to talk about the events of the day and steal glances over at their guests while they ate, a few soon came over to talk to Don's companions. It didn't take long before Shelonda was making out with the tall woman with short, jet-black hair who had been guarding the gate earlier, and who now sported a purple bruise along her cheekbone and temple where Don's staff had struck her. Amy had removed her khaki shorts and unbuttoned her shirt, and was sitting up on the edge of the table while a sister busied herself licking Amy's pussy. Nicole had hiked her white skirt up a little and was sitting on the face of sister who was lying on the floor. All around the room, women were engaged in various acts of lesbian play. Don thought back to Nicole's comments earlier and admitted that it would take him quite a long time to get tired of this place. He noticed that his headache was completely gone at about the same moment that he felt Toshia's hand moving up his thigh. As he turned to smile at her, he noticed Daphne. The cool beauty was surveying the rest of the room aloofly. "Our hostess isn't enjoying herself," Don said to Toshia. "I'm not sure she knows how," Toshia said. "Oh, she knows," Don laughed. "I think she's got things on her mind. Why don't we go take care of some business with her?" Toshia frowned at him in confusion, but took the hand he offered and followed him over to where Daphne sat at her table. "You seem troubled, Daphne," Don said as he sat down next to her. Toshia sat down on the other side of the sister. "I am wondering how what's happened today will affect the Sisterhood," she nodded. Don took an empty cup, nodded at the pitcher of water in front of Daphne, and said, "I'm thirsty." Daphne looked at him with murder in her eyes for a moment, but then reached for the pitcher and filled his glass. Seeing that Toshia had also set a cup in front of herself, Daphne filled that too. "As I said earlier," Don said after taking a long drink of water, "we intend to leave tomorrow. If anyone questions your authority you will have the pleasure of correcting them." Daphne smiled with cold but real amusement at the thought of quelling any insubordination. Then, she said, "There is the problem of the Bull. Now that he has been tamed, we cannot use his myth to keep our servants in order." "Most of your servants stay here and serve you because that's what they want to do," Toshia said. "Their submissive nature keeps them in check. You should let anyone who escapes on their own go anyway." "In fact, I insist that you do," Don said seriously. "However," Toshia added, "I don't think you're fully appreciating the Bull. I'm sure he would be happy to patrol the forest around here for you, and help you defend yourselves if it came to that." "Why would he do that?" Daphne asked skeptically. "We've never done anything but chase him away." "Well, he's really quite pleasant, and he has needs that I'm sure some of the sisters would be happy to satisfy," Toshia smiled. "I can assure you it's mutually satisfying." Daphne looked at Toshia and genuinely smiled, "I really have underestimated you, pup." "Why don't you make it a ritual," Don suggested. "Either draw lots for who gets 'sacrificed' to the Bull, say once a week..." "They'll want to do it nightly once they give it a try," Toshia corrected. Don laughed, "OK, well, either draw lots or make it a reward for success in a competition." Daphne thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I can see how that would be acceptable." "Toshia was telling me about the men you keep," Don changed the subject. "She says they showed her wonderful hospitality. It seems to me that, in honor of my victory today, and to reward them for being so nice to Toshia, that you ought to let them join in the party tonight -- freely. You can tell them it's a one night only gift." Daphne scowled at this thought, but then nodded, saying, "As you will." "But first, I have a request..." Toshia began. After Toshia explained what she had in mind, Daphne called for Brigit and gave some brief instructions which the big blonde hurried to carry out. After waiting for a few minutes, while they watched the casual orgy around them, Daphne stood up and clapped for the sisters' attention. Surprisingly quickly the play stopped and the sisters looked to their leader. "We are going to begin a new tradition tonight, in honor of our guests and to commemorate the unmatched prowess of Don, a male. Come with me, sisters, out to the courtyard." To be continued. A new Amazon Tradition. Don and Toshia followed close behind Daphne as she led the crowd of disheveled and curious women out into the courtyard and to the big hole in the floor through which she and Don had fallen earlier. She took a seat in what was apparently her reserved chair and indicated that Don and Toshia should sit on either side of her.  Don could see that the pit with the big mattress had been lit by torches and that the three of them and anyone else who could get a "ring side" seat would have a pretty good view of anything that happened below on that mattress. Don looked for the other women in his party, but could only see Shelonda, sitting a short distance away, her feet dangling down into the pit. When everyone had a chance to find a position around the big hole, Daphne stood and the crowd got quiet again. In her commanding voice, Daphne said, "Our guest, Toshia, who is the most interesting pup I have ever had the pleasure of breaking, says one serving girl deserves special recognition for the hospitality she showed our dear pup. Yes, there she is." Brigit appeared on the opposite side of the hole, holding Nina by the arm. The little serving girl seemed quite frightened. "Toshia has recommended a particular reward for this girl, and for the men who treated her so well the other day." Nina looked confused, and then startled as Brigit shoved her out over the edge and into the pit. The tiny brunette sprawled out on the big mattress below. Daphne addressed those who were in the chamber below the big opening in the floor, saying, "Men, in honor of Don's victory here today, and of your service to Toshia the other day, you will be allowed to come up and join us in our celebration tonight, and any time Don returns to visit us." There was a murmur of excitement both from the men below and around the circle of women above. "However," Daphne said loudly, "before you can come up here, each of you must come in or on this young woman." All the sisters applauded this announcement, and the men didn't seem to mind either. As Daphne sat down, a gate was opened by two sisters and three men hurried into the mattress area. Little Nina was kneeling by the time they surrounded her, and she quickly grabbed for their cocks. She seemed to not know what to do with so much man flesh, but she was certainly eager to figure it out quickly. Soon she was sucking on one cock and stroking the other two. The man she was sucking held on to her head and fucked himself in and out of her mouth. Before too long he was shoving more forcefully, which Nina didn't seem to mind at all. Then, clearly, he was coming, filling her mouth with his seed. Nina tried her best to swallow it all, but quite a bit spilled out of her mouth to run down her chin and splatter on her tiny breasts. "Let him climb up," Daphne ordered, and the rope ladder Don and Daphne had used earlier was dropped over the edge. As the first man made his way a bit awkwardly across the mattress and started climbing up, Nina turned her oral attention to the prick she'd been stroking with her right hand. Daphne leaned over to Don and said, "You should have seen pup, here, when she was down there. I thought she was going to fight and resist, but she just threw herself into it. I've never seen a more wanton slut. I would say the men used her thoroughly, but I think she was using them for the most part. It was quite impressive." Don smiled across at Toshia, who had only been able to tell that she was the subject of Daphne's comment. She gave Don a quizzical look and then went back to watching Nina. Don said to Daphne, "She's really amazing. I understand she pleasured you as well." "Yes, she finally behaved herself like a good pup," Daphne smiled smugly. "I think it's time you returned the favor," Don said. "Oh, you do?" Daphne said in her old haughty tone. Don fixed her with a steady gaze, smiled derisively, and said, "In fact, now." Daphne looked like she considered defiance, but then her expression softened and she bowed her head. She pushed her chair back and got down on her knees, and turned toward Toshia. "Toshia, turn your chair this way," Don said. He said this loud enough that several of the nearby sisters looked over to see what was going on at that end of the gallery. Toshia seemed about to object that she was enjoying the show, but then she saw Daphne kneeling next to her. With an amused expression, Toshia turned her chair so that she faced Daphne, who promptly leaned in to run her hands up Toshia's smooth legs. Toshia smiled down at the haughty beauty and scooted forward in her chair, taking the time to pull her skirt up. Daphne dropped to her hands and knees and began to kiss her way up along Toshia's spread thighs. As Daphne reached Toshia's pussy, Toshia leaned back and smiled. She cupped her left breast in her hand, squeezing through the thin fabric of her tight tank top. On the mattress below, Nina had gotten two more men to come for her, and their jizz ran down her chin. As three more came onto the mattress, she got onto her hands and knees so that she could suck one while another fucked her from behind. The two eligible men quickly clambered up to be welcomed by the horny sisters. Don was only barely aware of these things, though. Instead he was focused on watching Toshia as she enjoyed what Daphne was doing with her mouth and tongue. He reached out and ran his hand over Daphne's butt. He could feel her firm muscles through the sheer fabric of her robe. Without another thought, Don pushed his own chair back. He stood up and quickly got rid of his clothing. Then, kneeling behind Daphne, he threw the back of her robe aside. Don caressed the perfect, tight ass in front of him, and then ran his hand down between her legs and felt the warrior woman's dewy lips. As he pushed his fingers up inside Daphne, she pushed back against him, asking for more. Happy to oblige, Don took his hard cock in hand and pushed the fat head against her waiting opening. Slipping between her lips, Don penetrated Daphne once again. This time, as he filled her he pushed her forward into Toshia. Don and Toshia looked at each other as he held Daphne's hips and fucked in and out of that wonderfully hot, wet and tight pussy, and as she held Daphne's dark head pressed against her. Don wasn't worried about coming, and only focused on maintaining a good, strong, steady rhythm which was carried through Daphne and delivered to Toshia. All the while, Toshia and Don held each other's gaze. That is, until Toshia closed her eyes and let her head loll back. Don watched as her chest rose and fell, and then as she arched her back and gasped. Daphne kept at it, and Don kept at Daphne, until Toshia fell back in her chair. After a moment to catch her breath, Toshia said, "Why don't you let Daphne and me change places so you can give me the real thing, Professor?" "Good idea!" Don grinned. He slowly pulled out of Daphne, who began to rise to switch places with Toshia. Toshia leaned forward abruptly, though, and caught Daphne's head in her hands. Without any other warning, Toshia was kissing Daphne hard and deep. Though obviously she was initially surprised by this, Daphne was quickly responding in kind, returning Toshia's passionate kiss with enthusiasm. Don smiled at this. These two women clearly had developed a strange, complicated relationship. He took a moment to glance down into the pit, where he saw a muscular, dark-skinned, bald man with an impressive organ preparing to enter Nina, who was lying on her back with her legs spread wide and a sloppy grin on her pretty little face. "That's Victor," Toshia said. "I want to take him with us if we can." "Uh, OK," Don said. Then Toshia kissed him on the cheek quickly before getting on her hands and knees between Daphne's legs. While Don had been momentarily distracted, Toshia had quickly stripped and Daphne had shrugged out of her robe. Don looked down to see Toshia's pale butt offered up before him and couldn't resist taking a moment to caress and squeeze it. There was also her strong, thin back ending in her tousled hair as she went to work between Daphne's gorgeous long legs. Daphne's body, which he was seeing naked for the first time, was simply amazing -- perfect abs, beautiful full, firm tits, strong muscles -- amazing! Daphne smiled across Toshia's bare back at him in the night, and he pushed into Toshia. Toshia shoved back against him and he began to fuck steadily in and out of her wonderful pussy. Remembering Toshia's stories, Don took his cock out of her for a moment, replacing it with his thumb. When he got his organ into her pussy again, Don pressed his slippery thumb against Toshia's puckered asshole. Toshia managed to make an audible sign of encouragement, and Don pushed his thumb into her. Soon he was alternating -- pushing into her pussy with his cock while drawing back his thumb, and then pulling his cock out as he shoved his thumb into her ass -- and Toshia was rocking her pelvis against him, clearly enjoying herself. Don felt Toshia's fingers brushing against him as she reached back to play with her clit. All the while, Toshia kept going down on Daphne, who leaned back in her chair, pushing herself forward into Toshia's mouth while she let her head and beautiful hair hang back and squeezed those wonderful tits in her strong hands. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the fact that she had just climaxed, Toshia was the first to come. She moaned and shuddered between Don and Daphne, her pussy and ass clasping at his cock and thumb. She never stopped licking at Daphne though, and soon the raven haired beauty was writhing in her chair as wave after wave of orgasm wracked that gorgeous body. Don withdrew his thumb and gave Toshia a moment to recuperate. Daphne raised her head and looked across at Don and down at Toshia with a satisfied smile. Then, she slipped down out of her chair, pushing Toshia up and back. Don sat back on his haunches as Toshia rose against him, still mounted on his hard cock. As soon as Toshia's head was high enough, Daphne held it in her hands and returned the deep, passionate kiss Toshia had given her earlier. Pressed between Don and Daphne, Toshia squirmed on the former's cock while making out with the latter. Don slipped his hands between the two women and cupped Toshia's tits in them. He felt Daphne's full breasts pressed against the backs of his hands. Toshia's hands were roaming up and down Daphne's back while holding the athletic woman tightly to her. Daphne, meanwhile, reached around Toshia with one hand to hold Don tightly against Toshia's back, and down with the other to get her strong fingers between Toshia's legs. Don's head was next to Toshia's, and he lowered his mouth to her neck, kissing it through wisps of her hair. Then Daphne was kissing him, hungrily and passionately. Toshia, sandwiched between the two of them, continued to squirm and shift on Don's shaft. Then, Don felt Daphne's fingers pushing up into Toshia's pussy along with his cock. Toshia stiffened at this unexpected intrusion, but then began to rock her hips, working herself on the penis and fingers that filled her. Daphne went back to making out with Toshia, letting Don go back to kissing and biting at Toshia's neck. Don pinched Toshia's nipples between his fingers, and then sharply increased the pressure. Breaking her kiss, Toshia cried out and began to come again. She shook and bucked between her two lovers, moaning and whimpering until she sagged, spent, in their embrace. Daphne took her fingers from Toshia's very wet crotch and gave both Don and Toshia an almost tender kiss, and said, "Come to my chamber when you're through with the party." Then, Daphne got to her feet, collected her robe and disappeared into the night. Toshia relaxed against Don's chest as he caressed her, running his hands over her belly. She sighed and said, "That was nice." When he strayed too close to her clit, though, she laughed and said, "No, I think I could use a little break. Let's see what's going on around here." When they finally managed to disengage themselves and stand up, Don and Toshia saw that although a few people were still watching the spectacle of Nina getting fucked by one guy after another, the vast majority of people in the courtyard were busy with their own sexual activities. Due to the flickering quality of torchlight, Don found it hard at first to distinguish individuals, and instead saw a wild vista of naked, struggling flesh lit in red, yellow and orange. The first distinct group he made out was a nearby threesome consisting of two sisters and a diminutive woman who must be one of the serving girls. The girl was on her hands and knees between one of the sister's legs, while the second sister knelt to the side, one hand teasing her companion's bare tits and the other behind the serving girl, pushing what looked like a thick dildo in and out of the girl's ass. Toshia's hand slipped into his, and they began to slowly work their way around the hole in the floor of the courtyard. The first of their companions that they saw was Nicole, who was engaged in what looked like an intense session with one of the sisters -- Don thought it might be the blonde who had tried to stab him with her spear earlier. Nicole and the sister were kissing passionately as their hands worked intently between the other's legs. The muscular blonde, comparatively pale, was an interesting contrast to Nicole's petite body and dark skin. Next they spied Shelonda, who was in the middle of an interesting foursome. Shelonda was leaning back against a section of wall, as a sister knelt in front of her to lick at Shelonda's pussy. A second sister leaned over to suck at Shelonda's luscious tits, while one of the men fucked this second sister from behind. Shelonda saw Don and Toshia, smiled over at them and gave a little wave. Before they found Amy, they noticed Brigit. The striking blonde Valkyrie was kneeling over another sister's face, squeezing her own large tits. Toshia tugged Don's arm and said, "I owe her some attention before the night is over." "Why don't we go over now?" Don asked. "No, she looks like she's having fun," smiled Toshia. "Oh, there's Amy." Amy had managed to secure the attentions of two of the men. She was on her hands and knees while one of the men was fucking her steadily from behind and the other was letting her suck his stiff cock with her customary enthusiasm. Don thought she looked particularly good like that, with the soft curve of her back and the swaying of her beautiful tits, not to mention the erotic sight of her mouth wrapped around a cock, which Don especially liked. "That looks like fun!" Toshia grinned. "Well, all we need to do is find another..." "Victor!" Toshia pointed across a small orgy of bodies, where Don could see the muscular, dark skinned and bald man kneeling behind a woman who was engaged in a 69 with another woman. As Toshia drew Don closer, Victor drew himself back so the women could roll into a side position. Before he could get back into the action, Toshia called out and touched his shoulder. Victor looked around and smiled warmly, "Hello, Toshia." "Victor, this is Don," Toshia said with what Don thought was an actual touch of nervousness. Don was amused to notice that Toshia had at least a little crush on Victor. She hurried on with, "Come play with us." "I'd be happy to," Victor grinned and quickly got to his feet. He was a bit taller than Don and much more muscular. His erect penis, which stood out proudly in front of him, was quite impressive, though not as big as Igor's or the Player's. Toshia took both men by the hand and led them off to a side of the courtyard near one of the crumbling walls. There was a pile of pillows there that Don hadn't noticed before, and as soon as she got to them Toshia promptly knelt on them. Before either man could do anything, Toshia had a cock in each hand, stroking them happily and enthusiastically. There was enough torchlight here that Don could easily watch as Toshia bent forward and to the side a little to get her mouth on Victor's prodigious prick. He watched her take his head into her mouth and suck on it greedily, and then as she stretched her mouth to get more of him into her mouth. He thought she was beautiful as she moved herself up and down on that thick shaft. Each time she got him a bit further into her mouth and down into her throat. She certainly had gotten better at giving blowjobs! All the time she was fucking Victor's cock with her mouth and throat, Toshia continued to squeeze and stroke Don. His cock was almost painfully hard, as the sight of Toshia having sex like this was one of the most intensely erotic things he'd ever seen. When she had as much of Victor's cock down her throat as she could manage, Toshia pulled back and smiled up at him, saying; "My pussy misses you, Victor. Get behind me and fuck me." As soon as she got on her hands and knees, facing Don, Victor knelt behind her and began to push his big cock into her waiting pussy. Toshia looked so tiny and pale in front of the big man, and when he leaned over a little, Don could see the thick shaft of Victor's cock disappearing into her tight vagina. As if this weren't intense enough, Toshia was moaning and calling encouragement, "Yes, just like that! Fill me up with that beautiful cock!" Then, Toshia caught hold of Don's hard on and drew him to her mouth. Without the slightest of preliminaries she lowered her mouth on his head and proceeded to take him past her lips, over her tongue and down her throat. At first she had her hand wrapped around the base of his cock, but she soon let go to use that hand to support herself on the pillows beneath her; her other hand was busy reaching back between her legs to play with herself. Don held her head in his hands as he gently fucked his cock in and out of her mouth and throat. When she murmured her encouragement around his organ, Don pushed into her with more abandon. Her slender, fit form swayed between the hands that held her head and her narrow waist. Don thought this was the hottest moment of his life, and then Toshia was coming -- moaning loudly on his cock as she shook between the two men. She was a furnace of lusty ecstasy grasping and sucking on their sex organs hungrily. Both Don and Victor held still inside her until she began to come down from her climax. Then, she pushed Don back until she could say over her shoulder, "Fuck my ass, Victor!" "Gladly!" he grinned. He drew his glistening pole out of Toshia's pussy and proceeded to press the big head against her ass. "Yes, that's right. Put it in... Oh fuck! Oh god!" Toshia exclaimed. "That feels so good!" Don knelt there and watched for a minute as Victor pushed himself deep into Toshia's ass. Her head hung down, with her hair falling on the pillow beneath her. Victor pulled back a long way and then slowly pushed back in. Toshia let out a long, low, happy groan. Victor repeated this, and this time, when he began to slide back in, Toshia pushed back on him, saying, "Fuck me!" Victor promptly began to work in and out of Toshia's backside as Don watched. The big man was certainly capable of doing most of the work, his hands on her waist pulling and pushing her in time to his thrusting, using her light body for his pleasure, but Toshia was definitely a full participant, working herself back and forth, shoving back hard against Victor's strong muscles. Don thought back again to Toshia's stories and had an idea. He leaned in over Toshia's back and said to Victor, "Lift her up in front of you." Victor smiled and nodded, and then reached down to raise Toshia up so that she was sitting back against his front. Naturally she still had his thick cock up inside her ass. Having some idea of what Don had in mind, Victor leaned back and parted his legs so Don could get in close enough. Seeing Don in front of her with his own hard cock ready for action, Toshia also caught on quickly and spread her legs for him. Don walked on his knees until he could push the head of his cock up inside Toshia's exposed pussy. He smiled at her as he pushed himself into her. The sensation of being inside her while Victor's thick cock stretched her ass was quite new. "God yes - that feels so good!" Toshia said as she threw her arms around Don's neck. "Fuck me, boys!" Victor leaned her forward a bit, so that the three of them were more nearly vertical. Don and Victor fucked in and out of her steadily, but it was Toshia, working herself between the two of them who was doing most of the work. It seemed to Don as if she had gone into a lust-crazed frenzy, riding up and down on their cocks and rubbing her sweaty body between them as if she couldn't get enough of every sensation she was experiencing. When she came again, Toshia cried out shrilly and bit down on Don's shoulder. She writhed there, clenching and gasping for a full minute before she sagged limply in the embrace of her two male lovers. The first thing she said after that was a whispered, "I fucking love you, Don." He smiled, kissed her, and said, "I fucking love you too, Toshia." Then Amy interrupted the moment by dropping to her knees next to them, her face and tits glistening with sweat and cum, and saying, "Who's your friend, Toshia?" Toshia laughed, "Amy this is Victor; Victor, Amy. You're going to like Victor, Amy." In another minute or two, Toshia and Don were watching Amy suck and then fuck Victor's big organ. When he filled her pussy with his cum, Toshia knelt down to lick her clean. Don took this opportunity to slip his still very hard cock into Toshia from behind. "No, no," Toshia said over her shoulder, "please come in my ass, love." Don promptly pushed his slippery manhood deep into Toshia's butt. He held onto her hips and drove himself into her, reveling in the tight, hot grip of her ass. It wasn't long at all before he finally came, shooting a flood of cum up into Toshia's bowels. Of course, the party didn't end there, but went on for several hours. Shortly after he came, Don got hard again, while watching Amy lick Toshia's clit and fuck her entire hand in and out of Toshia's pussy. Nina eventually crawled up out of the pit and was welcomed by Toshia and Shelonda who had great fun cleaning the serving girl up with their mouths. Don amused Toshia very much by bending Wanda over a chair and fucking her ass, and Toshia got a chance to repay Brigit with a long 69 and quite a few orgasms. Then, late in the evening, Toshia led Don, Shelonda and Nicole out of the castle, where she called for the Bull. When the Minotaur quickly came out of the trees, Toshia explained to him that the sisters would be coming out to visit him from time to time and wouldn't run away. To make sure he understood, Toshia suggested that Shelonda and Nicole might sample his large phallus. The two girls, who had only heard about the satyrs and Toshia and Amy's earlier encounter with the Minotaur, were quite happy to agree to this idea. So, Don found himself amused to watch first Shelonda and then Nicole hoisted up and held by the Bull and then bouncing up and down on his thick pole. Each of them came to loud, enthusiastic orgasms before Toshia joined them in gathering around to have the Minotaur spray his cum all over their upturned faces and breasts. Finally, Don and Toshia found their way into Daphne's chamber, where the three of them expended the last of their sexual energy for the night in an intense and blissfully confused encounter that left them piled together in a deep satisfied sleep. To be continued In Lost in Eros, Book III: The Resort By BradentonLarry for Literotica

Having blocked out the Sun, Rob Levy has put together another edition of The Free Design! This one features new music from Blue Ocean, BDRMM, Ride, Khruangbin, Wisp, Blushing, and more! There's also an amalgam of other sounds, including some female-fronted indie sounds, some dirgy tracks, and even a bit of synthpop! For more info visit: https://thefaceradio.com/free-design/Tune into new broadcasts of Free Design, every Monday from 6 - 8 PM EST / 11 PM - 1 AM GMT.For more info and tracklisting, visit: https://thefaceradio.com/free-design///Dig this show? Please consider supporting The Face Radio: http://support.thefaceradio.com Support The Face Radio with PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/thefaceradio. Join the family at https://plus.acast.com/s/thefaceradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's show, after a 1995 GBV gutting: brand new Decemberists, Jesus & Mary Chain, Finnogun's Wake, Lemon Twigs, Blushing, Nick Kizirnis, and Otherworldly Things, plus B.B. King, Tomorrow, Max Romeo, Junior Wells, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Jerry Lee...

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Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Tokyo Tales: Discoveries in the City of Contrasts Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/tokyo-tales-discoveries-in-the-city-of-contrasts Story Transcript:Ja: 東京の活気ある街角、そこは古き良き時代の雰囲気と現代の騒音が交錯し、絶えず新しいムードを作り出していました。ユキは、初めて巡り合う数々の異文化が衝撃を奏でるその街で泳ぐ青年でした。En: In the lively street corners of Tokyo, where the atmosphere of a bygone era intertwines with the modern noise, constantly creating new moods, Yuki was a young man swimming in the shock of encountering various different cultures for the first time in that city.Ja: ある日、疲れ切ったユキは、通りがかりの自動販売機に目を留めました。彼の視線は、キラキラと太陽の光を反射する行列の中に並んだ無数のドリンクに釘づけになりました。それはまるで、各々が別の世界への扉を持つ無数の宝物箱のようでした。En: One day, exhausted Yuki's attention was caught by a vending machine as he passed by. His gaze was fixed on the countless drinks lined up in the array reflecting the sparkling sunlight, as if each was a treasure chest holding a door to a different world.Ja: 「こんにちは、お疲れ様です」と口に出して言ってしまい、丁寧に頭を下げました。その瞬間、何も返事しない自動販売機から気づき、ユキは自分が機械に対して頭を下げていたことを悟りました。恥ずかしさに頬を赤らめ、同時に彼の心は冷静な現実に引き戻されました。En: "Hello, excuse me," he accidentally said aloud and politely bowed his head. In that moment of realization that the vending machine would not respond, Yuki understood that he had been bowing to a machine. Blushing with embarrassment, his heart was simultaneously brought back to the cool reality.Ja: 憤りと錯覚に対する自嘲が優しく絡み合う中で、ユキは街の雑踏へと目を戻しました。彼の顔には細かな笑みが浮かび、自らの間違えに苦笑いしていました。そして深く息を吸い込み、再びその賑わいに身を投じるためのエネルギーを得ることができました。En: Amidst a gentle intertwining of frustration and self-mockery, Yuki turned his gaze back to the bustling city crowd. A subtle smile appeared on his face, chuckling at his own mistake. Taking a deep breath, he was able to regain the energy to immerse himself once again in the liveliness surrounding him.Ja: そしてそこで、彼は自分自身に気付いたのです。東京のこの街角で、新しい出会いと驚きに触れるたびに、彼は自分自身をさらに深く理解し、新たな視点を得ることができるのだと。それが、東京という場所が彼にとって特別なのだと。今では笑い話になるその思い出が、彼の心に深く刻まれていきました。そしてそれは、ユキが自分自身をほんの少しだけ大人にした、特別な瞬間でした。En: And it was there that he realized something about himself. In this corner of Tokyo, with each new encounter and surprise, he could further understand himself and gain new perspectives. That's what made Tokyo special to him. The memories which now became a tale he could laugh about were deeply etched in his heart, marking a special moment that made Yuki just a bit more grown-up.Ja: それからというもの、ユキは仲間たちにその日のエピソードを話し、みんなを笑わせることになりました。彼は、自分の間違いを恥じることなく、むしろそれを楽しむことができるようになりました。そしてその経験が、彼をさらに成熟した人間にし、東京という街を彼自身の成長のステージとして確立させることにつながりました。En: From then on, Yuki shared the day's episode with his friends, entertaining them. He learned to not be ashamed of his mistakes, but rather to enjoy them. This experience made him a more mature person and established the city of Tokyo as a stage for his own growth. Vocabulary Words:young man: 青年encountering: 巡り合うcultures: 異文化vending machine: 自動販売機drinks: ドリンクbowing: 頭を下げるembarrassment: 恥ずかしさreality: 現実frustration: 憤りself-mockery: 自嘲gaze: 視線subtle smile: 細かな笑みdeep breath: 深く息を吸うliveliness: 賑わいencounter: 出会いunderstand: 理解perspectives: 視点special: 特別memories: 思い出laugh: 笑いfriends: 仲間entertaining: 笑わせるashamed: 恥じるenjoy: 楽しむmature: 成熟experienced: 経験established: 確立growth: 成長episode: エピソード

Fluent Fiction - Hungarian: Hungarian Heart: Embracing the Power of Family and Language Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/hungarian-heart-embracing-the-power-of-family-and-language Story Transcript:Hu: Áron az asztal végén ült, szemben a lassan hömpölygő Duna és a híressé vált Lánchíd látványával. A nagy pesti családi összejövetelek mindig ott voltak, a nagymama patinás ötödik kerületi lakásában, csodás panorámával a város szívére. A konyha illatlanával telt meg az egész lakás, ami mint valami láthatatlan szőnyeg, átfonta a szobákat.En: Áron sat at the end of the table, facing the slowly flowing Danube and the famous Chain Bridge. The grand family gatherings of Pest were always held there, in his grandmother's elegant apartment in the fifth district, with a marvelous view of the heart of the city. The whole apartment was filled with the scent of the kitchen, which, like an invisible carpet, permeated the rooms.Hu: Az összejöveteleknek mindig volt valami meghatározó pillanata, amit mindenki nagyon várt. Most ez az időtlen pillanat épp Áronon volt a sor. Nála volt a főszerep ez alkalommal. Megpróbált magyar szavakat kiejteni, miközben falatozott a nagymama híresen finom gulyásából. Egy erdélyi faluban nőtt fel, a magyar nyelv árnyalt voltát még mindig tanulmányozta.En: The gatherings always had a defining moment that everyone eagerly awaited. This timeless moment was now Áron's turn. He had the spotlight this time. While sampling his grandmother's famously delicious goulash, he attempted to pronounce Hungarian words. He had grown up in a Transylvanian village, still studying the subtle nuances of the Hungarian language.Hu: Mindenki vidáman figyelte Áront, ahogy az apró falatokat tunkolta a zamatos gulyásba. Kiejtett hosszú, bonyolult szavakat, nevetgélt a család, de vele együtt, soha nem rajta. Ők nem parodizálták, hanem szeretettel figyeltek, miközben Áron harcolt a szavakkal.En: Everyone cheerfully watched Áron as he dipped small bites into the savory goulash. He pronounced long, complicated words and the family laughed, but never at him. They weren't making fun, but rather watching with love as Áron struggled with the words.Hu: Körbejárt a kacaj a szépen megterített asztalon, egyik arcáról az öbölkirály, néha mosolya elnyeli a gúny. Áron elpirulva, de büszkén nézett körbe, megragadva a pillanatot. Nem volt szégyenben. Ez az összejövetel volt a lehetőség arra, hogy önmagát mutassa, hogy belesimuljon ebbe a színes, szeretetteljes családba.En: Laughter echoed around the beautifully set table, the laughter sometimes swallowing the teasing. Blushing, but proudly looking around, Áron seized the moment. He was not ashamed. This gathering was an opportunity for him to show himself, to meld into this vibrant, loving family.Hu: Az este lassan véget ért. A gulyásból már csak a roston sült paprika illata áradt. Az asztalnál előbb csak Áron maradt, aztán a bátyja, József érkezett vissza, hogy megvigasztalja. Józsi Áron vállára tette a kezét és nézte a Duna örökösen változó kavargó vizét.En: The evening slowly came to an end. Only Áron remained at the table, and then his brother József returned to console him. Józsi put his hand on Áron's shoulder and watched the ever-changing swirling waters of the Danube.Hu: "Nem gond, Áron, a szavak nem azt jelentik, amik vagyunk. A tetteink számítanak, és a te tetteid mesélnek rólad." Józsi szavai nyugalmat hoztak Áron szívébe.En: "It's okay, Áron, words don't define who we are. Our actions matter, and your actions speak about you." Józsi's words brought peace to Áron's heart.Hu: A következő családi összejövetelig még sok idő van hátra, de Áron már tudta, hogy meg fogja próbálni újra a nehéz szavakat kiejteni. Az ő idejük lesz majd. Ő pedig ott lesz, büszkén, minden egyes nehéz szóval. Mert ő, Áron, része volt ennek a családnak, része volt ennek a történetnek.En: The next family gathering was still far off, but Áron already knew he would try to pronounce the difficult words again. It would be his time. And he would be there, proudly facing every challenging word. Because he, Áron, was a part of this family, a part of this story. Vocabulary Words:Áron: Áronsat: ültend: végtable: asztalslowly: lassanflowing: hömpölygőDanube: Dunafamous: híresséChain Bridge: Lánchídfamily: családigatherings: összejövetelekPest: pestigrandmother: nagymamaelegant: patinásapartment: lakásdistrict: kerületimarvelous: csodásview: panorámaheart: szívcity: városkitchen: konyhascent: illatinvisible: láthatatlancarpet: szőnyegpermeated: átfontarooms: szobákpronounce: kiejteniHungarian: magyarwords: szavaklaughter: nevetés

The Latest is Up!!!!YOUNG AND ZESTLESS:Helicopter parenting may have reached a new level, if the results of a new poll of hiring managers is an indication. It found that 39% of employers actually try to avoid hiring recent college graduates for roles they're qualified for. Why? Here's one reason: A startling one in 5 (19%) hiring managers said a recent college graduate brought a parent with them to their job interview! And that's not the only thing stopping employers from hiring Gen Z applicants:• One in 5 said that recent college graduates are “unprepared” for interviews — and are often unprofessional.• 53% said that recent college graduates struggle with eye contact.• 50% said they ask for unreasonable compensation.• 47% said they don't dress appropriately for interviews.• and 21% said they refuse to turn their cameras on for virtual interviews.On the other hand, Diane M. Gayeski, a professor of strategic communications at Ithaca College, feels these behaviors aren't entirely their fault, pointing out that due to the pandemic, “young people graduating from college had more than 2 years of disruption in their education as well as their social and professional development.”Fun Facts ✓ Your brain literally heats up when you're stressed. Smiling can cool it down.✓ Blushing is caused by a rush of adrenaline. It's also genetic, so if you're prone to it, it's likely one of your parents is, too.➠ A Dunkin' Donuts customer filed a $100,000 lawsuit, claiming a toilet explosion caused severe injuries and he was covered in feces, urine and debris. (It could have been worse. He could have been hosting the Golden Globes!)➠ A survey found that 25% of women would give up sex for an iPad. (Part of me is like, “Who'd EVER give up sex for a computer device?” And the other half is like . . . “The new one with 5G?”)➠ A report says the number of Americans with blue eyes has declined over 30% in the past few decades. (If you ask me, it's because God ran out, after making Anderson Cooper's!)➠ A study shows that people are more likely to lie and cheat in the afternoon. (Which explains Congress' new motto: “It's two o'clock somewhere.”)➠ A historian thinks he has pinpointed the first-known use of the f-word. (It was Noah – when he realized he forgot the unicorns!)For the 7th year in a row, the Mediterranean diet — a way of eating focused on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fat — is the best overall diet, according to US News & World Report's annual ranking. The Mediterranean diet also ranked first in the categories of easiest diet to follow, best family-friendly diet, best diet for healthy eating and best diet for diabetes, bone and joint and heart-healthy eating. The DASH diet, which aims to lower blood pressure, came second, and the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay) came third. The Raw Food Diet, Herbalife Nutrition and Dukan were selected the 3 WORST diets of the year due to their restrictive nature or reliance on processed shakes and bars, which, in addition to being expensive, are not conducive to sustainable healthy eating habits. And because I know you're wondering, Keto was named Best Fast Weight-Loss Diet.

What were you doing when you were busted & blushing?! "Foolin' around in the back of a Jeep with another guy and a cop shines his light in the back window! Oops." "I got caught skinny dipping by the police. The cop spotlighted us as we walked out of the water and told us, "We have decency laws in Iowa!" "When I was a teenager, I thought I hung up the phone after talking to my sister-in-law. Turns out I didn't hang up and she heard my renditions of belting out*NSYNC songs. pretty embarrassing back in the day when it wasn't cool for boys to be listening to boy band." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What it's like to attend a major tech conference like the Web Summit? Well, in this episode, I'll be sharing my personal experiences from the event. Despite all the controversy and big tech companies dropping out, the turnout was massive! I'll be discussing my networking strategies, like using the event app to connect with people and finding a quiet area for meetings. I'll also open up about my struggles with social anxiety at networking events. Plus, I'll emphasize the importance of business cards and share some interesting interactions with industry professionals.LinksJoin The WBE CommunityTry PodSqueezeDM me on TwitterTimetsampsFinding Success at Web Summit (00:01:23)Tiago discusses his experience at the Web Summit tech conference, including controversies, ticket acquisition, and preparation tips.The Overwhelming Nature of Web Summit (00:02:33)Tiago describes the overwhelming size and structure of the Web Summit, with multiple pavilions, talks, booths, and an app for networking.Networking and Scheduling at Web Summit (00:06:38)Tiago shares his strategy for networking at the conference, including using the app to connect with people, scheduling back-to-back talks, and finding a quiet meeting area.Blushing and Social Anxiety (00:10:31)Tiago discusses his experience with blushing and social anxiety, how it affects his interactions, and the potential connection to anxiety or phobia.Awkward Networking Events (00:11:29)Tiago talks about feeling awkward during networking events, particularly when approaching people and breaking the ice.Interactions and Insights from Podcasters (00:12:20)Tiago shares his interactions with podcasters and people in the industry, discussing the struggles of podcasting, learning about Spotify's role, and offering help and advice.The card is an effective networking tool (00:19:31)Tiago discusses how he used his business card to approach someone and make a connection.Offering a discount on the card (00:20:18)Tiago explains how his business card also includes a discount and information about his product.The podcast has a strong and supportive community (00:21:03)Tiago expresses gratitude for the listeners and mentions the active community of indie makers who support the podcast.

Do not try to savethe whole worldor do anything grandiose.Instead, createa clearingin the dense forestof your lifeand wait therepatiently,until the songthat is your lifefalls into your own cupped handsand you recognize and greet it.Only then will you knowhow to give yourself to this worldso worthy of rescue.- Martha Postlethwaite, “The Clearing”Journalling was my first formal practice. At the age of seven, I opened a spiral notebook with a sunflower painted on the cover (I adored that notebook) and thereafter wrote into the headwinds of my growing years with inexplicable regularity. I smudged the creases along the pinkie line of my left hand through dozens of notebooks. Many of my most formative experiences spilled out over the page, and those that didn't felt passed by like landscapes framed through the window of a moving train.In retrospect, I see how writing was a kind of communion for me — a small clearing in the thicket of daily life where I could tend to my heart in private while cultivating the beginnings of the spiritual practice of paying attention. It taught me about ritual and rhythm, and also about vulnerability and meeting our creative edges with fortitude.My writing practice went dormant at the threshold of adulthood. At the time, if you'd asked, I would have pointed to a kind of transmigration from the written word to yoga and meditation as primary vehicles for inner inquiry. I still believe to every practice there is a season, but over the years I've also questioned if, subconsciously, I put my pencil down to distance myself from the unabashed loops and sweeps of my puerile penmanship.Elif Batuman recently published an essay entitled “I'm Done Worrying About Self-Plagiarism” in which she explores the concept of diachronic writing (as in, writing wherein the growth that is intrinsic to the process is actually reflected in the form rather than edited out): “what if we don't try to erase, from a given text, the fact that a writer was changed by/during the act of writing?” By understanding former iterations of our practice, our work, ourselves, as layers over time, we can recognize the presence of a trajectory, an evolution — and we can also study how those layers relate to each other (hello Internal Family Systems). Which is all to say: where are all your journals tucked away?Michelangelo was once asked how he would carve an elephant: “I would take a large piece of stone and take away everything that was not the elephant.” Perhaps this is the work of any practice (or sadhana, from the Sanskrit root meaning “to sit with truth”). We stay with our subject. We commit our attention and learn the craft of our practice — and, in time, a natural chiseling away of what isn't essential begins to occur as well as the emergence of what is.[For your consideration: Michelangelo began apprenticing at the age of 13. He carved David out of a piece of discarded marble. He was known to work tirelessly, often for 18 hours a day. He also said “faith in oneself is the best and safest course.” These details seem not insignificant.]Keeping company with a large stone is daunting, no doubt. Barack Obama said “nothing is more terrifying than the blank page” (likely a hyperbolic statement given his access to the nuclear codes, but nevertheless…). If we are choosing to expand as humans, our return to any creative edge will almost certainly stir the classical hindrances of insecurity, self-criticism, and doubt. I am not Michelangelo, we may state the obvious. What if I can't find my elephant?We are not the only ones. Here's Errol Morris, a 58-year-old giant of contemporary documentary filmmaking, as recently quoted by David Marchese in the New York Times:“I think my whole life has been dominated by feeling like I'm a fraud of some kind… How is my work different than painting by numbers? Is it that different? Thinking you're a fraud may be similar to thinking that you don't know what you're doing. I don't know, really, what I'm doing.”Working with self-doubt demands sincere courage. First, we have to grow very tired of avoidance as an alternative. We have to remember that the source of our perceived inadequacy is not our ostensible failures, nor is the solution in striving for perfection. Fear doesn't necessarily dissolve with time, but it can be recast. It can sharpen our sense of focus as we lean into and develop trust in our practice over time.Anne C. Klein, a professor and lama in the Nyingma tradition, frames the invitation like this: “To recognize all practices and experiences as backlit by the sun of their own great completeness is to find a horizon that never narrows.”I found myself not long ago unpacking a box of old journals on the floor of a new house. Holding them in my hands again, I was reminded of the significance of my earliest practice — the dignified instinct to create a clearing in the dense forest of my growing years. Blushing and messy as they were, and are, those entries contain small moments of coherence, of song, of light.The Guest House is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Guest House at shawnparell.substack.com/subscribe

If you've made a decision click the link below to get a copy of Pastor Steve's book “The Christian Walk” I've Made a Decision Wave Church | Wave Conference | […] The post Stop Blushing | Josh Kelly appeared first on Wave Church.

Cherri has a chilling nightmare. The mysterious creature visits Eve while she's experiencing sleep paralysis. Alex freaks out when she finally gets to meet Eve ... and gives her a mini makeover! We're discussing episodes 56-58 of Eaternal Nocturnal by Instantmiso! JOIN INSTANTMISO'S PATREON: patreon.com/instantmiso JOIN MY PATREON FOR EARLY ACCESS: patreon.com/girlwonder EATERNAL NOCTURNAL IN 33 MINUTES (Recap Podcast Episode): https://soundcloud.com/user-35260934/eaternal-nocturnal-in-33-minutes-the-ultimate-series-recap-deep-dive?si=9271d4aec2b846248232a49a41af6835&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing LATEST INTERVIEW WITH INSTANTMISO: https://soundcloud.com/user-35260934/qa-with-instantmiso-creator-of-eaternal-nocturnal-sirens-lament?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH INSTANTMISO: https://soundcloud.com/user-35260934/all-about-sirens-lament-with?si=e8138a59da224dc6b4a4013fa5fe7fb7&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing SHOP WEBTOON - SIREN'S LAMENT: https://shopwebtoon.com/collections/sirens-lament MUSIC CREDIT: Isabella LeVan https://www.instagram.com/isabellalevan https://open.spotify.com/artist/3mHmktHG4sbkGsCORnaNT3?si=Nx2DvyOGQyatxudvD3ik9Q Connect with Girl Wonder:  My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/girlwonder My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTk-JbxxAnf5TKyeCchNRHA twitter.com/girlwonderpod instagram.com/girlwonderpodcast Email: girlwondersquad (at) gmail (dot) com Buy me a coffee: http://ko-fi.com/girlwonderpodcast

Investigating the precise moment that sexual intercourse functions as betrothal. With practical implications. Also, a story of terumah and chuppah. [Who's Who: Yochanan Ben Bag Bag] Plus, the modesty of clear language and addressing difficult (sexual) topics directly.

Vagina. Clitoris. Vulva.    Blushing or uncomfortable? Let's talk about the layers of silent shame that impedes you from talking about your body comfortably. You'll hear my personal journey (and recent growth in freedom) as we unpack getting more free, why it matters and how to take steps forward.   You were designed to walk in freedom and joy, living integrated mind, body and spirit. Join this chat and gain insight to take one more small step toward more freedom.   Resources Mentioned: Growing Desire Challenge Related Episodes: Pleasure Series Pt. 2: Female Anatomy, Orgasm 101 and Guiding Your Husband to Your Pleasure with with Dr. Jennifer Degler Episode 93 Pleasure Series Pt. 3: Your Orgasm Questions with Dr. Jennifer Degler Episode 94 Your Wonderful Female Body Series Start Here Healing and Growing through Sex Therapy with Tish Hedger Episode 103     You're Invited: Keep learning with Francie! Join the Discipleship Circle group mentorship. This is a SWEET community of women, connected with the purpose of seeking God's heart for their reclaiming a redeemed view of sex and sexuality. Inside the circle, we will explore and discover the good news about God's heart for sex. Learn more here: Discipleship Circle   Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music: Spotify Apple Music YouTube Connect with Francie: Receive Francie's weekly newsletter  Website Instagram