#translation is utter madness i tell you. MADNESS

[crepes-suzette-373]

One Piece Magazine Reiju short story

I recently bought One Piece Magazine to read the Reiju short story. I don't know how to share this experience other than just straight up translating the whole thing, but it was utterly hilarious chaos with the brothers trying to cook and it just ended up being a disastrous mess.

I'll give a summary, I guess...

Reiju and her brothers went to another kingdom for a diplomatic discussion, but once they were done, the Germa ships that were supposed to pick them up got delayed by the weather. The bros can't wait so they demand the locals to be given a ship.

Niji/Yonji: "Oh good, they understand. So we don't have to steal a ship."

Well, they did tell the people that Germa will compensate them, but still.

And yeah, the guys were so hungry that they were like "Even though royals shouldn't do menial things like cooking, we're dying of hunger here so it can't be helped."

All writers apparently agree that Niji misses Sanji like an utter dumbass because in the kitchen he out of nowhere says "Didn't we used to have a younger brother called Sanji who likes to cook?"

Yonji says "Yeah, he was kind of lame" and Ichiji says there's been wanted posters of him being spread around.

(Edit: I saw another post saying that the one who brought up Sanji first is Ichiji. To be fair, in the actual text there's no dialogue tags indicating who was talking. It's definitely not Yonji, because it specified "younger" brother. I personally read this as Niji because the sentence was more informal-sounding)

Based on the info they got, Reiju is aware of Sanji's history with Baratie and the Straw Hat crew, and thinks that because he's listed as just a cook on the wanted posters and not "fighter/combatant", he's probably still not much stronger than before.

Ichiji found some pork, labelled to be from Broc Coli. Reiju mentioned that Broc Coli specialises in pig farming and the pigs have been selectively bred to improve the meat quality. Ichiji commented "Oh, it's similar to our lineage factor modification, then", but then the next second he suddenly gets mad about it himself, throws the meat to the ground and was like "How could pigs compare to our Vinsmoke royal family."

Reiju: "You brought it up yourself out of nowhere though? :/"

Ichiji is grumpy and wants to go fishing instead. With the Raid Suit. Don't know how, wasn't explained, maybe he Sparking Valkyrie'd the fishes.

Niji wants to make chocolates, but had a meltdown because the recipe calls for cooking/confectioner's chocolate. He was like "Why?? do you?? need chocolate?? to make chocolate??? If the chocolate is already there I'll just eat that directly???"

(Note: It's not making cake or brownies or anything, it's making something along the lines of chocolate truffles or milk chocolates or other forms of chocolate that isn't just straight up dark chocolate/confectioner's chocolate. He's confused because the final product is still just "chocolate")

Yonji wants to make bread because it looks easy. Reiju decided to try to make something too, and wanted to make tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelettes) because she remembered reading about it in a story book with Sora before.

Reiju's logic: "If a penguin (in the story book) can cook, then even a beginning like me can do it." (so much for Reiju being the rational one)

Yonji starts shouting for help. His bread is a goopy mess and is a total failure. Apparently he didn't add the yeast because the recipe says 3g of yeast, and that's almost 0, so he didn't add any. Reiju tells him to make sure to follow the steps properly.

Ichiji comes back with a giant fish, and is asking for poison check. No poison, so Reiju left him to cut the fish.

Yonji is still having trouble, and he says he had added the ingredients properly this time. The dough is still gloopy and will not firm up even after kneading. Reiju said that maybe because of the exoskeleton, their skin are too cold for the fermentation process to start activating.

Yonji is grumpy and asks if this means he can't make bread. Reiju suggest using hot water to warm his skin, but he's already really disgruntled and says that it's so lame that they have to rely on microorganisms to make bread (well, at least he knows yeast is microorganisms, not just another type of flour).

(Note: This part really does not sound right to me, honestly. Maybe this was just meant to show that Reiju and Yonji have zero knowledge in cooking, but bread dough not firming up and gloopy is usually not related to yeast or fermentation, but the gluten. Most cases that I know of are either caused by adding too much water, not enough kneading, the flour itself is not suitable for bread, or even the dough being over fermented. I've never heard of sticky dough problems being caused by hand temperature.)

(Edit: I've discovered that Japanese bread making guides do mention temperature affecting the dough, but it's nevertheless because of the gluten and not the yeast. This one might a goof on the author's side.)

Ichiji gave up fileting the fish because there's bones everywhere. he dumped all the dead fishes he caught back to the sea. Yonji gave up trying to make bread and tossed the failed dough away (and also threw away Reiju's egg attempt even though it was fine :/). Niji can't find any chocolate, so he has nothing.

They can't do anything except wait until they reach Germa and then just go "AAAAAAA FOOODD" (well, they act cool in front of the servants, but still).

Reiju herself showered and got cleaned up first before going to eat. Seeing the poisoned stonefish served, she wondered how normal chefs handle the poisonous ingredients and so she went to the kitchen to ask.

There was a young cook on cleaning duty that immediately panics, but then a senior cook named Beryl came out to answer her questions. Reiju says old lady Beryl has been there for a very long time, even before the kids were born.

Beryl explains that to treat the armoured stonefish to make it safe to eat is to let it swim in a tank with Ruby Wakame seaweed. The seaweed will absorb the toxins and after 3 weeks, the fish will change from purple to blue, and this indicates that the toxins is completely gone and it will be safe to eat.

An easier method would be to just skin the fish and take out the poisonous organs, but fish skin is a delicacy, and so the chefs would do this so they can serve cuts of the fish with the skin attached.

Reiju makes a comment that cooking must be very hard because her brothers are all picky eaters (not just Niji, apparently), but Beryl says she and the other chefs are happy to adjust the prep to make the food palatable to the boys.

"Ichiji-sama dislikes green vegetables, but if you chop it up finely and mix it with meat dishes such as hamburg steaks, he will eat it without noticing."

Reiju: Is he a toddler?

(Note: Dunno if this is a universal thing, but it's a Japanese thing that when toddlers hate vegetables, the parents would chop up vegetables and put it in meatballs or the toddler's other favourite food so that they can get the vegetable nutrients even though the child dislikes the vegetable's taste)

"Niji-sama dislikes things with complex seasonings, so things like the sauces and such has to be made to be very simple to the utmost extent."

Reiju: That's dumb.

"Yonji-sama doesn't like food with dry texture, but if it's served to him when he gets hungry between meal times, he'll usually eat it."

Reiju: Is he a dog?

(Note: There is a section where Reiju muses that the cooks "safeguards" their meals just like how "Germa 66 protect peace". What peace? In the main series they're fine with siding with whoever, as long as they get paid. This comment doesn't make sense unless maybe she was being ironic/sarcastic here.)

Reiju apologised for bothering the cooks at this time, and Beryl then lets slip that Sanji has been to the kitchens often. When Reiju presses further, eventually Beryl reveals that Sora likes to make desserts often. Sora would say that she hoped to someday be able to cook together with her kids.

Hearing this Reiju briefly fantasised baking together with her mother and Sanji. Knowing it's just idle fantasy, though, she thanks Beryl for telling her all these and helping her appreciate cooking more.

Reiju thinks of Sanji and reevaluates her opinions on him. He's not "just" a cook. People's lives are basically in the hands of the cook, especially on long voyages at sea. She is glad that him having a place as a ship's cook means that he's found good friends who rely on him and trust him.

She then transforms, and uses her ability to suck out the poison from the fish, saying that the cooks are welcome to ask her for help to take out the poison if they need to cook with the stonefish.

#one piece #vinsmoke family #vinsmoke brothers #vinsmoke #vinsmoke siblings #ichiji #niji #yonji #vinsmoke ichiji #vinsmoke niji #vinsmoke yonji #germa 66 #reiju #vinsmoke reiju

[bllk-after-dark]

der kaiser und seine worte der liebe.

the emperor and his words of love.

pairing. michael kaiser x female!reader.

content warning. MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI, lots of german words (translation is available), reader is female but no pronouns used, vaginal sex, oral sex, praise, pet names in german used, not actual fic more small snippets to each pet name

kaiserin. – empress. 

It’s his most used pet name for you, the empress to his emperor. While he would love to call you Frau Kaiser, slap his family name on you, he knows you won’t say yes right now. So he calls you Kaiserin, with a husky voice, that usual drawl in his English coming full force the moment he starts speaking German. It’s a harsh language, but he softens it for you, to see you shudder when he calls you his, against your lips, your neck, your pussy. He will call you Kaiserin when calling you across the room, the word so weird for his fellow Germans, but to you it’s the sweetest thing. 

Frau Kaiser. Mrs Kaiser

schatz/schätzchen. – treasure/little treasure. 

He calls you Schatz rather often, throwing in this particular name randomly, but most times when you choke on his dick, tears in your eyes and your hands gripping his thighs with force. 

“So gut, mein Schatz, so gut”, he will murmur, and you finally understand some of it, after he sat down and taught you. So you just moan, eyes closing and taking in his praise. Michael loves to praise you, be it in English or German, but to you, the words in his mother language are something special. And you especially love it when he calls you Schätzchen; these moments so rare, you’ll never forget them. 

“So gut, mein Schatz, so gut.” So good, my treasure, so good.

süsse maus. – sweet mouse. 

One that he uses when he’s sweet, after several rounds of ravishing you. Pussy drunk, he will praise you, comment and compliment you. You’re limp in his arms, eyes dropping but with a loopy smile on your lips, murmuring how much you love him and he will murmur those confessions of love back. 

“Ich liebe dich auch, meine süsse Maus.” Then he will press a kiss on your temple, an even softer one on your lips and tell you to sleep, promising you he will be there when you wake up. 

“Ich liebe dich auch, meine süsse Maus.” I love you too, my sweet mouse. 

hase/hasi. – bunny. 

It’s not one he uses often and never to express his love to you. No, when he uses Hase or even worse, Hasi, he does it to annoy you. Michael knows you hate it, ever since he made a comment about how horny you are, like a small bunny, jumping and hopping on his dick, and it spiraled from there. You slapped his chest, the orgasm that had been so close disappearing into nothingness. All the other pet names he had turned you on, but something just wasn’t right with that one. And he knew it. Oh how he knew it and abused that fact rather often. 

“Sei mir nicht böse, Hasi, ich meins doch nur gut,” he would goat, trying to placate your anger at him, but it only made it worse. He ends up going to sleep with a dry dick. 

“Sei mir nicht böse, Hasi, ich meins doch nur gut.” Don’t be mad at me, bunny, I only mean it well.

schnecke. – snail.

This one was the worst. You thought it was a sweet one for the longest time, when he called you Schnecke and you would blush, trying to hide your face from him (but that always happens when he talks German to you.) He wouldn’t let you, telling you to keep your eyes on him while he continued to fuck you, trying to make you cum on his dick only. “Komm schon, du heisse Schnecke, du wirst doch nicht wieder so lange brauchen um endlich zu kommen”, he had snarled then and you thought he was telling you what would happen if you didn’t keep your eyes on him. Oh, how wrong you were. You googled the word not long after that, remembering that one word he had often said during sex and you finally found out what it meant. 

The next time he uttered Schnecke, you literally wiggled out of his arms and told him to fuck off, without giving him a reason. No way you would let him continue calling you a snail. 

“Komm schon, du heisse Schnecke, du wirst doch nicht wieder so lange brauchen um endlich zu kommen.” Come on, you hot snail, you won’t take so long again to finally cum.

schnucki. – sweetie.

After the fiasco with Schnecke, you ended up googling all the possible german pet names Michael could use, since he wouldn’t teach you those. Reddit helped you with that, and so you came across all possible pet names, some of them sweet, others you hoped he would never use. One of them was Schnucki, or worse, Schnuckiputz. There was no literal translation to English, so you asked on Reddit and the amount of answers you got… yes, it was better he would never use that one or else you would straight up leave. And while the internet said it was a silly name for sweetie, after spending a longer time with German-speaking people, this was just a nightmare. It was an abomination. And of course Michael was so stupid and call you Schucki after stealing a sweet kiss. 

You turned and left him standing. Maybe you should just go to Isagi, he seemed like a sweet boy and would never call you snail or bunny or- 

Schnucki. Literal nightmare word for sweetie, like no, who decided that this was a good idea. Don’t even get me started with Schnuckiputz.

anne. so uh... it happened. i'm a kaiser fucker now. so ashamed of myself writing this because i actually speak german and let me tell you, writing dirty talk (or at least attempting to) in german hurts my soul and i will never do it again. that's a lie, i will do it again because i can actually speak german. in general, most pet names in german are just cringe and i will never use them but michael definitely would xD

#blue lock #blue lock smut #michael kaiser x reader #michael kaiser x female reader #michael kaiser #michael kaiser smut #bllk michael kaiser #michael kaiser x you #blue lock x reader #blue lock x female reader #blue lock imagines #michael kaiser imagines #↝ anne 🏛️

[moongirlcleo]

Sting x Fem!Reader

summary: Hello, I like your work! I would like to request for nsfw with Sting (I'm crazy about him) and a fem Y/n. I see Sting with some kind of daddy vibe and maybe makes Y/n nice (≧◇≦) . Sorry, this is my first request and I do not know how to do it correctly and accurately CW: usage of the word "daddy" and "baby girl" smut, creampie A/N: Aw don't worry! It's all good :) I Hope you enjoy this

You jokingly called Sting 'daddy' one morning before he left for a quick mission with Rogue as a way to make your man smile. You didn't realize was the entire time Sting was gone, his mind was thinking... He wasn't sure when the thought of you calling him 'daddy' while he fucked you started playing in his mind, but he wasn't mad about it in the slightest. In fact, the second he got home he was going to enjoy making you call him that.

And that's what he does.

No sooner does he walk through the door, Sting's lips are on yours in such a way it leaves you breathless. "Miss me that much?" You smile into his lips as you return the gesture. "Somethin' like that. Let's go upstairs," came Sting's reply, voice husky and filled with desire. It makes your heart skip a beat, as he picks you up and walks you straight to your shared bedroom above his office. Sting gently lays you on the bed and makes quick work of our outfit.

"Aw, I liked that one," you whine with a playful pout. His eyes twinkle with mischief as he looks you up and down.

"Don't worry, daddy will buy you a new outfit if you're good."

Heat rushes to your face as Sting smirks down at you, his fingers already finding their way into your center.

"Oh fuck..." you breathe, biting down on your lip. It takes you a few moments to realize the connection between your little joke this morning and his reaction, but when you figure it out, it's like all the dots connect.

"Ya like that?" Sting asks, pumping you slowly. "Want more of me?"

You nod, looking up at him.

"Tell me, then. Tell me what you want, baby girl."

"Please... fuck me daddy."

The lust in Sting's eyes grows as he growls and removes his fingers from you, licking them clean with a grin.

"Good girl. That's what I like to hear. Now, turn around and let daddy fuck you."

The blush in your cheeks blooms as you do what he says. You can't help but feel incredibly turned on at how the blonde is acting, and you're moaning within seconds of Sting pushing his throbbing cock into you.

The snap of his hips find a steady rhythm. His hands grab your hair, the way you love and it causes you to moan sinfully.

"You feel so fucking mmfh- so good on me like this baby girl."

Sneaking a peak back at your man, you see the arousal in his features and the pink tinge in his cheeks as his movements become more erratic. Utter perfection.

"Harder," you beg. "Please, daddy."

It takes everything in Sting not to come right then and there. Between your begging and calling him that just does things to him he never could've imagined.

A few more thrusts and he's spilling into your tight hole, biting down on your shoulder as he does which only spurs on your own release.

He pants and gently pulls out before peppering you in sweet kisses as he always does after sex. With a grin, Sting looks at you.

"I want you to call me that more often, princess."

- ©2024 moongirlcleo do not repost, copy, translate, or modify

#fairy tail #fairy tail fandom #fairy tail headcanons #fairy tail headcanon #fairy+tail+x+reader #sting eucliffe #fairy tail smut #moongirlcleo

[seelestia]

Hello! I absolutely adore your works <3

I was wondering if I could request xiao, kazuha, venti, heizou's reactions to the reader being adorably clingy. Fluff please 🙏

Thank u if u write this!! 💓

★彡 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋.

❝𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝.❞

SUMMARY. in which you're feeling clingy and your significant other happens to be your victim.

CHARACTERS. xiao, venti, kazuha, heizou.

GENRE. rainbow sprinkles fluff, teeny tiny bits of crack, established relationship.

CW. use of pet names.

THOUGHTS. hello there, apologies for taking a while but ty for the request! it's vv cute, hehe. i love your mind sm for this, mwah mwah <3

✰ masterlist.

Judging by the disbelief on his face, XIAO is, needless to say, speechless. Even after all this time, you still leave him stunned with how you utter such... embarrassing things so bluntly. He grumbles lightly when you lay your head on his shoulder, "What has gotten into you this time?" He says that, but the way he begins to lean into you betrays him. It may not be a kiss or a hug — but seeing how the Conqueror of Demons allows himself to rest against you like this speaks volumes of his love, doesn't it? His soft side is reserved for you only, of course.

Ah, VENTI is more than happy to relish. Your lover can be quite the thespian, so don't be surprised when he seizes the opportunity to tease you. He grins, "You seem particularly enamored with me today~ Not that I mind, of course." Whether it be a gentle serenade, a kiss on your cheek, or resting your head in his lap; whatever you ask for, he'll provide it all — as long as it doesn't concern Mora since he, may or may not have, spent it all on some Dandelion Wine yesterday, ehe! (You're not mad, right?)

KAZUHA wastes not another second before fulfilling your request with a kiss. He does it so swiftly at that too; it takes you a moment to process that he has already knocked you off your feet. "Will that suffice? If not, then tell me what you want, love." He asks while chuckling, presumably at the agape look on your face. You're not certain if he means it playfully or accommodatingly — but does it matter which one? Kazuha is willing to give you more, either way.

Uh-oh, there goes his train of thought; gone out of reach when your voice snaps him back to reality. "Did you know that you disrupted an officer's shift just now?" HEIZOU shakes his head with a sigh, albeit a fond one. With a finger gently placed on the button of your nose, the corners of his mouth crook up into a simper, "But lucky for you, I don't do shifts and you're cute. Well then, how may I fulfill your needs?" As much of a distraction you can be at times, Heizou doesn't seem to mind at all — intuition may be his best friend, but you will always come first.

─ ⊹ ⊱ ・・・・・・☆・・・・・・・⊰ ⊹ ─

✰ TAGLIST: @meimeimeirin — [ fill this form to be a part of my taglist! ]

© SEELESTIA, august 2022. do not repost, plagiarize, translate nor claim as your own.

#genshin impact #genshin #genshin x reader #genshin x you #genshin scenarios #genshin imagines #genshin fluff #genshin headcanons #genshin fanfic #xiao x reader #venti x reader #kazuha x reader #heizou x reader #seelestial.inks

[judesmoonbeauty]

Yves Kloss - Act 2 Ch. 11 - Dramatic Summary

Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate. Please expect grammatical errors. Cybird owns everything. Feel free to re-blog, but please do NOT post my translations elsewhere. Also, feel free to ignore my random commentary. I know this Master List is delayed, but eh, it was my first translation project, and I had no idea of what I was doing.

Please note: Only his common route and Dramatic route are translated/summarized.

Alt translations are marked as ///

T/L notes are notated at the bottom of the post with***

???: “Since you have sublimated into a rose that will not wither then you must’ve known a very strong love”.***

???: “But love is a curse that drives people crazy. The stronger it is the more it becomes a poison that eats away at you.”

???: “Jealousy, possessiveness, fear, madness, love is never just a beautiful emotion.”

Emma (inner thoughts): I suddenly remember the words someone uttered to me in a dream. I understand their meaning, but when I met Yves I learned so much about love, and I would protect him with my life. I don’t think this love is a curse for me, and I can’t imagine being unhappy with this love. 

Emma returns to obsidian palace without incident and reports to the princes what happened. Leon -the ever valiant hero- decides to go get Yves. He says that Chev can remain at the palace as the ambassador in the meantime. 

Chev chimes in and says that he isn’t going to be told what to do. Ragna then offers to show Leon the way to Yves. Emma asks Leon to let her come. She’s been taught how to defend herself and doesn’t want to sit still and look pretty. 

Leon agrees so long as she promises not to do anything brash. Since they can’t leave a right then and there he tells her go change. As she’s getting ready she notices how terrible she looks, and as soon she starts feeling down she holds the earring again. She chants to herself that they are going to save Yves and after slapping her cheeks, she leaves the room. 

In the corridor the sound of her footsteps are met with a resounding “CLUNK”. 

Gil: Good evening, little rabbit.

*FLASHBACK*

After Yves and Emma split from each other Yves drove a separate carriage alone to intercept Horst at an abandoned  village he usually stops by on his way back home. He touches the plait Emma braided for him to have courage. He stops the carriage when he notices how eerily silent the peddlers street that he’s traveling down is. Soon the carriage is shot at by flying arrows and a swarm of men carrying weapons emerge from the shadows of the buildings. When Yves tries to escape with the carriage, there is a huge flash of light. 

*FLASH BACK ENDS*

Gil asks Emma if she’s going out. Emma has many questions for him, but chooses to make Yves priority. She says yes and excuses herself. As she walks past him he gently picks up her hair to look at her earring. He asks her if she has anything she wants to ask him.

Though perturbed by his ability to seemingly read her thoughts, she makes up her mind to ask if he has anything to do with Horst and company’s actions? Gil asks her what she thinks. 

She says at first she thought so, but Horst’s actions were that to assassinate them. However, now that Tanzanite, Achroite and Ruby are forming an alliance Gilbert wants to avoid as much trouble as possible. Killing Yves though he hates him wouldn’t make any sense. Gil says that if she knows that much, then why ask?

Emma recalls Gil’s words when he hurled his cane to Yves neck - “I don’t do favors for people I don’t like”. Em wonders what triggered him to say those words. Gil seems to read her mind again. He says that it wasn’t intentional just that he let his words slip because her king put him in a bad mood. 

Emma reason’s within herself that Gilbert did speak those words intentionally because he didn’t want to take the trouble to kill Yves himself, so he incited Horst to do it with those words. He is determined to kill the last member of the Kloss family without directly doing so. 

Gil: Shouldn’t you hurry?

He asks her while smiling.

Emma: “What?”

Gil: “If they didn’t get him the first time, they’ll get him the second time. I hope you make it.” 

She leaves him running.

***Sublimated- to change form, but not essence. It is another term for sublime. Azel is stating that because she has achieved the highest sense of her love, it’s like a rose that won’t wither.

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#Yves Kloss #Dramatic route #IkePri Yves #ikepri #ikemen prince #gilbert von obsidian #ikepri gil #ikepri gilbert #ikepri azel #Azel is a sparkly unicorn #Love that mid drift tho #Yves Kloss Act 2 #cybird translations #ikemen prince translations #ikepri translations #Yves Kloss translation #Ikemen Prince Act 3 #IkePri JP Spoilers

[esotl]

Performance - Act 5 (Part 13)

Writer: Akira

Season: Spring

Characters: Tomoya, Hokuto, Makoto, Adonis, Wataru, Nazuna, Shu

Translation Directory

It's true that there aren't many outright depictions of, say, swordfights to the death, but love can be pretty brutal depending on the story.

It's "Romeo and Juliet". I don't think it feels peaceful at all.

Location: Concert Hall (Theatre)

Nazuna: Hahaaa, that's so unreasonable... Well, it is Wataru-chin, so I guess he was convinced it'd work out somehow and held the performance as planned.

Though something about what you said made me a little worried. Will everything be alright?

Shu: Hmph. Your concerns are unnecessary. While it may be said that anyone can make a mistake, the idea of Wataru fumbling on stage is inconceivable.

In fact... Having Wataru substitute the roles in this way is far more appealing than letting those philistines play them.

You may not have noticed, but some of the lines in the prologue - particularly those of that lovely, energetic child - were uttered by Wataru instead.

Hidden in the shadows, secretly reciting the lines.

Nazuna: What, really? I did think it was strange when I heard that Mitsuru-chin was going to ad-lib whatever he wanted.

I figured he could follow the basic outline to an extent, but just couldn't remember everything about it...

But if Wataru-chin's following him, that's a bit of a relief.

Shu: Hmph. Even though it's your cute teammate's lines, you can't even distinguish whether or not it's actually him saying them?

I understood right away, you know. Some of that child's lines were oozing with frightful sensuality.

It's the right way to do it as a performer, but as a result, it slightly lacks his childish purity.

Nazuna: Right. Just by listening to those things, I can tell you're a weirdo.

Makoto: Haha. But it feels kinda good to know there are those kinds of techniques at play.

It'd probably be a bit boring for a boy to talk about love the whole time.

Adonis: I'd like it, I think peace is good.

Nazuna: I wonder about that... It's true that there aren't many outright depictions of, say, swordfights to the death, but love can be pretty brutal depending on the story.

It's "Romeo and Juliet". I don't think it feels peaceful at all.

Tomoya: "Ahhh, someone help~!"

Nazuna: Oh? What's happening? Right after I said that too, I'm feeling uneasy!

Tomoya: "This way, Romeo-sama! Let's hide in these shadows!"

Hokuto: "I refuse - I shall neither run nor hide. What do I have to be ashamed of, under this full, starry sky?"

Tomoya: "Listen to me! Look, those guys with bows and swords are going to catch up to us!"

Hokuto: "Aah, how accursedly constraining! My heart is jailed, deprived of food and whipped without end!"

"Why, God, do you chastise me such!"

Tomoya: "Shh, quiet! They'll find us if you make noise!"

"Why on earth did you say something like that at a ball? It’s only natural you’ll be beaten and chased out for it!”

Hokuto: "What do you mean, "something like that"? I simply said what I had to!"

"I simply condemned those Capulets, who turned their backs to heaven and committed shameful deeds!"

"That was my only purpose in attending that worthless révélerade! I sought justice!"

"Unlike that foolish lot, I did not come to flutter wings of love!"

"These wings will fly towards the kingdom of heaven, for the sake of enacting justice!"

Tomoya: "I told you to quiet down! I understand how you feel, but who would be happy about being criticised right to their face?"

"Of course they'll get mad! Furthermore, you thoroughly ridiculed them at a ball organised by the Capulet family, of all people!"

"It's the same as landing a direct hit on a monster!"

"It's no wonder they got so worked up, you're just lucky you weren't killed on the spot!"

"I'll be in big trouble if you die right now, so hurry up and run..."

"Huh?"

Hokuto: "What's the matter? I apologize for dragging you, who has nothing to do with me, into this mess... Truly, were I to have anything to be ashamed of tonight, it would be that alone."

"The enemy is after me, so should I attract their attention, you could..."

"Hm?"

"What are you looking at...? Is there somebody on the balcony of those damned Capulets' castle?"

Wataru: "......"

Hokuto: "Aah, that's...?"

"You, tell me, did I get struck by an arrow and die without realising? I see an angel!"

Tomoya: "No, that's not an angel... Ah, it's Juliet-sama. Why is she still on the balcony?"

"Originally, she should've been at the ball for a while now."

"And that's how the fated lovers... how Romeo and Juliet meet."

Hokuto: "Fated... lovers? Juliet...?"

"Ooh, how remarkably vibrant her beauty is!"

"Like a jewel adorning a noble's ear, far too sacred to belong to this world! The elegance of a snow-white dove among a flock of ravens!"

Hokuto: "Aah, I spoke of her beauty so easily, yet do I truly understand the meaning of the word?"

"Oh, my mouth, my eyes! They say nay! For tonight is the first time I've witnessed and praised true beauty!"

Wataru: "...Who are you, making such a fuss? Your face is hidden beneath the night's mask of buffoonery."

"Aah, and yet, what is this heat filling my chest?"

"Mother! Nurse! Forgive my playing around! It seems as though I've accidentally nodded off and missed the ball!"

"The sun is rising! Look, you see! In that spot, the sun tinged with warmth and brightness!"

"You, who has combined night and day - who are you? I am Juliet!"

Hokuto: "I... I am Romeo! I am Romeo, who was born to meet you!"

Tomoya: "...Oh, it seems things are somehow forcing themselves to follow the original plot."

"It's in a different place, but the meeting scene happened~ and it seems they both fell in love at first sight like they should?"

"But, in that case, why did the future we saw before feel the way it did?"

"Juliet especially, I wonder why she was so aggressive?"

"Will the reversi spell cause some kind of development that was originally impossible...?”

[Directory • Chapter 7]

#enstars translation #ensemble stars #wataru hibiki #hokuto hidaka #tomoya mashiro #nazuna nito #shu itsuki #makoto yuki #adonis otogari #enstars #ensemble stars translation #performance! the tragicomedy of romeo and juliet

[brunchable]

Part III - Divine Magic || Doctor Strange x f!reader.

Word count: 3.4K

Genre: Enemies to Lovers. Adventure. Action. Young Adult.

Warning: References to Multiverse of Madness. Mild profanity.

Brief Chapter Summary: You visit Kamar-Taj to learn more about your mysterious powers.

Strictly do not: claim, repost, copy, translate my stories anywhere else

A/N: GUYS 'All I ask' Has reached 1K notes oh my goodness! Thank you so much! I honestly only had intentions of posting that one story and then disappearing. I never expected it to have so much love, thank you so much! Because of this, I'm posting Dirty Laundry Part 2 and Chapter 3 of Dandelions to spoil you guys. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I love every single one of you, thank you so much for enjoying my stories <3

Dandelions - Part III: Divine Magic

•••

Christine’s wedding had to end early for safety reasons because of the havoc that Gargantos’ left in the city. While Eric waited for you to return, he paced around your vehicle and chewed his nails while he waited for you to show up. Even though he knew you possessed certain abilities, he was extremely concerned about your safety since he was aware that you had no clue how to even properly use them. 

It’s been almost three hours since, and he’s very tempted to call your father. You might get angry at him for it, but what other choice had he got when he couldn’t contact you?

In front of him, golden sparks began to form in a circular motion, Eric's eyes widened, and his brain began to malfunction as he frantically tried to come up with a place to hide. He bumped into your vehicle while his legs were teetering as he fled to the other side of your car. He could only think of the worst, especially after a monster attack. 

Eric’s head peeked behind the hood of your car. You stepped out of the portal, giving someone the finger, “(Y/N)? Is that you?” Eric’s voice sounded little, he couldn’t recognize you now that your hair colour had changed.

You spotted his head, his hazel almond eyes squinting at you, "Yes, it’s me.” 

Eric sprung to his feet and hurried over to give you a bear hug, which came crashing like a wave, “I’m so relieved that you’re safe. You had me so fucking worried, you were leaving me no choice but to call your Dad.” 

Even though you and he fought like cats and dogs sometimes, there was no denying that you treated each other like siblings you never had. Eric was adopted into your family after your aunt, Eric's mother, tragically gave into her sickness when he was young. He wasn’t always this protective, but after you were resurrected, and now being three years younger than him, Eric changed.

"I'm okay," You wrapped your arms around his torso and patted him on the back to comfort him, “Please tell me you actually didn't.” You drew back, displaying a worried expression on your face.

“No, but I was going to—hold up.” Eric paused and looked you over from head to toe, “First of all, your hair–?” 

“Shhh!” You shushed him before he continued further, “Let’s talk about this at home. You drive, you got the keys right?” 

"Um." He uttered, and Eric's brows began to twitch, he immediately started patting himself down and checking all of his pockets.

"Eric?" You stared at him with narrowed eyes as you observed him.

Eric's face lit up when he found the keys in the deepest crevice of his pocket, "Found it." 

•••

You sat in the passenger seat scrolling through the web for any news of a new super human, while Eric was bopping to 'Love's Train' covered by Bruno Mars while both of you were stuck in traffic.

"I need you to please believe, please believe~ I. LOVE. YOU. BABY~ (Y/N) hit it." Eric, who sounds exactly like the singer, belted over the stereo, his eyes shutting while he began to drive. Your eyes pan towards him while gawking, but you sing with him anyway.

"If you are that special lover and love keeps you tied to another, that's the way it goes on love's train~" You sang and snapped your fingers to the beat.

"Ye' don't need no, ye' don't need no ticket to ride~" Eric made his voice nasally, his shoulders vibing to the beat of the music.

You laughed at the way he goofily sang the part and continued scrolling down your feed. A new post by the Daily Bugle was posted four minutes ago and you read the title:

“New superhero? Or a new super menace? ” The article's title states, with a photo of you in the sky, a line of contrail leaving your feet and hands.

Eric glanced at you, then did a double take after seeing a ‘wtf’ look plastered on your face.

"Geez, you look ugly.” Eric chuckled.

“It could be worse... I could be you.” Your mouth blurted out almost instantly.

Eric’s mouth hung open, befuddled, chuckling at how quickly you responded, “I honestly don’t get how your brain comes up with a comeback that quickly— anyway, what did you see?”

“J. Jonah Jameson’s idiotic article, New superhero? Or a new super menace? Earlier today, New York City was attacked by a giant octopus, drawing the attention of Doctor Strange and another…. Can you guess it? It’s not a bird, it’s not a plane, it’s actually an unknown superhuman— It goes on, blah, blah, just leave it to Doctor Strange, he knows what he’s doing,” You blew a raspberry, “He was knocked out for half of the fight, I bet that quack paid Jameson to say nice things about him.”

Eric smirked when you mentioned Doctor Strange, “He seems like a nice guy.” 

“Who Jameson? What are you drunk?” You looked at him judgingly.

“No! Doctor Strange.”

You guffawed and threw your head back, “I don’t think so.”

“Why not? He looks presentable, intelligent, cultured, not to mention smokingly handsome and way older than you—everything that ticks your boxes.” Eric reasoned with the intention of teasing you about how you literally flirted with the man by playing hard to get. 

You lifted your hands and counted your digits,“He’s also condescending, conceited, and arrogant. Everything that doesn’t tick my boxes– I would NEVER date a man like him.” You crossed your arms and slumped in your seat, "Not after he made me look stupid when he stood me up."

"Is that really the only reason though?" Eric raised his brows and glanced at you. 

"Psh–Yeah, what other reason would I have?" 

•••

When you finally got back to your apartment, the first thing you did was get into a steamy shower to wash the filth and old blood off of your skin. You wrapped a towel over your body and stood in front of the mirror, wiping the steam away while staring at your now, silvery white hair and wondering why it wasn't reverting back to its natural colour.

It wasn’t like this during the first and second times you tried using your powers, ‘Maybe I should just sleep on it later, at least it looks good.’ You think to yourself. 

You dressed yourself in an all black outfit, topped with a half turtleneck, long-sleeved crop top, and for your bottoms, you wore your high rise jeans and paired everything with a black blazer coat to make yourself look sophisticated. The outfit looked good with your new hair, you felt cool–no, you looked like a dangerous woman. 

You rushed to the kitchen, where Eric had already lined up the first aid kits, “How many cuts and abrasions do you have?” He asked as you jumped to sit on the counter.

“I got one here, here, and here.” You pointed at your eyebrows, nose, and hand, “I’m pretty sure there’s more, but it’s fine, just cover the ones that are visible.” You took some of the dressings and cut them into small pieces, as Eric dabbed an antiseptic over your abrasions, you hissed as it started to sting.

“Sorry— So what are you going to do about your hair?” He asked.

“I'll dye it if it doesn’t go back to normal tomorrow morning, I can’t go to work like this. I don’t want anyone to know, apart from you.” 

Eric nodded, "I know a good hair salon–"

"Who said anything about going to the hair salon?" You tilted your head, eyes squinting.

"You want me to help you dye it ourselves, don't you?" Eric sighed, carefully sticking the small band-aid above your eyebrow.

"Pleaaase." You bat your lashes at Eric while pulling a cute smile. 

He stared at you with a dead-pan expression, trying hard to resist your adorable face, "Tsk. Fine! But you owe me some Korean barbecue afterwards. "

You pulled a victorious smile, "Of course! Anything for my favourite cousin!" You patted his arm hard.

Eric’s dead-pan expression brightened in a snap and smiled sheepishly, "Really? I'm your favourite cousin?" 

"Yeah, after Mandy." You joked and slid off the counter to get going to meet the wizards of New York.

"Wha–You guys don't even get along well!" 

•••

You ubered your way to the Sanctum Sanctorum, using Wong’s very professional business card with the Sanctum’s address written in it. You wondered why he even has a business card when he’s not a businessman? You lifted your fist to knock on the door, only for it to open before you on its own, “Automatic doors huh? Talk about fancy.” You lazily entered the place with your hands inside your coat pockets, it was quiet, dark and full of cult-ish artefacts that either looked ancient or cursed. 

Little to your knowledge, Stephen quietly hovered down from upstairs, his cloak billowing through the air as he descended. He had a coffee mug in hand that he was trying not to spill.

“Psh, not part of a cult my ass.” You muttered to yourself as you approached an object with ninja-looking spikes hanging from it,“This place could use some light–”

“Don’t touch that.” Stephen's thunderous baritone voice warned you, but it was already too late. You were already touching it when he unexpectedly spoke behind you, it prompted you to scream out of fright, causing the metal spikes to collapse all over the table.

“Jesus–” You were overcome with panic and frantically struggled to stop the spikes from clanking down on the table simultaneously. You made an effort to put things back together, but it ended up breaking apart once again despite your efforts.

Stephen let out a muffled groan of annoyance, “If you could just leave it now.”

“What was that?!” Wong came running down the stairs and saw the mess, “Oh no, not again.” He had a tone of genuine dismay in his voice while he hurried towards the mess and made his own feeble attempts to clean things up.

“Again?” You asked dumbly.

“Yeah, first Thor, then one of our apprentices, and now you–” Stephen paused and turned to Wong, “I told you we should encase that in glass, I’m not spending twelve hours trying to put that thing back together.”

"Even with magic?" 

"Yes, even with magic, you can see how flimsy they are." Stephen now directed his annoyance towards the object, before scanning you from head to toe and clearing his throat,"Anyways, let’s get you to Kamar-Taj, the kid's waiting for us." 

"Hang on, hang on. Don't I need a travel visa to go to Nepal?" You asked seriously as the two men hopped into what looked like a library.

Wong and Stephen exchanged perplexed glances at each other, "We have never used a visa..."

"So you’re basically residing there as illegal aliens?" You questioned and displayed a sign of disapproval by crossing your arms.

"What—No! Just get in here, that is not important!" Using his hand, Stephen beckoned for you to hasten up and join them.

"Excuse me? I don’t want to go to jail, I am not going there without a visa. I'm a law abiding citizen–" 

"Alright, that's it." Stephen sucked air through his teeth and clicked his tongue in reaction to your defiance. After that, he opened a portal directly beneath your feet, which caused you to fall into the library of the Kamar-Taj.

"AHHH!" You landed face first on the wooden flooring with a loud thud as you fell from the ceiling, "Oof—You know, I'd say go to hell, but then again, I never want to see you." You gave him the evil eye.

Stephen scoffed, walking past you while you got up on your feet. He leaned his hips on the edge of the table while watching you get up and drinking out of his mug, "The feeling is mutual."

"Hi (Y/N)," America waved at you cheerfully, she was clearly delighted to see you again.

"Hi– sorry I don't think I got your name." You smiled at the girl, approaching her while you dusted yourself off.

"America Chavez!" Her eyes smiled. 

"Nice to meet you, America." You smiled back at her and took the seat beside her.

"I love your outfit, you look so cool in all black, especially with the white hair." She complimented you, staring at your hair that you did up in a ponytail.

"Yeah, if you're going to a funeral." Stephen muttered behind the rim of his mug before taking another drink.

Your smile disappears when you hear Stephen’s irritating voice, "Your funeral if you use that portal trick on me one more time."

Stephen huffed through his nose before a short chuckle,"What are you going to do? Blow me with your powers?" 

Your face scrunches up in disgust, "Ew no." 

Stephen furrowed his brows as he came to realise what you were thinking about,"That's not what I meant–"

"Well he actually just buried himself on top of some random apartment, so technically there was a funeral." America said innocently, causing your face to contort into a horrid expression. 

“Well that’s morbid…” 

Stephen nodded with brows both raised, “Wow, for once we agree on something.” He pulled a sarcastic smile and got up to make room for Wong.

Wong walks in carrying a layer of books stacked up on top of each other and drops them all at once on the table in a loud thump, disturbing the dust particles to fly into the air. You could tell that those books haven’t seen the light of day for a long, long time.

“Okay, this is all the books about Divine Elemental Magic. You might want to read some of them.” Wong presented the books with his hands, huffing lightly. 

You stared at the books in front of you, looking quite unsure whether you wanted to read them or not, “I have a question, how did you know that what I have is this ‘Divine elemental magic?’” 

“Come closer, my child.” With a wave of his hand, Wong motioned for you to get out of your seat and approach him. 

Wong merely raised his hand, and as it got closer to your face, you closed your eyes out of fear that whatever he was going to do to you would be painful. However, he only lightly tapped the region between your eyebrows where a symbol of Divine magic shone magnificently with a brilliant white light. 

You slowly opened your eyes, thinking, ‘That was it?’ 

"Give yourself a good look." When Wong saw the glowing symbol on your forehead, he motioned for you to look at yourself in one of the mirrors. He then said, "I can see that without needing to lay it bare."

Stephen and America watched, their attention drawn by the spectacle that was unfolding before them. Stephen was truly amazed that he had lived long enough to witness magic of any kind, let alone speak with someone who practised it.

“B-but why me? My family has never mentioned anything about the use of magic.” You furrowed your brows, “I don’t even know how to use it or if i’m brave enough to face the answers.” 

“Baby steps, (Y/N), you won’t find answers just like that.” Wong snapped his fingers, “But I can tell you the origins of where your powers came from, it’s actually my favourite one.”

“Oh can I stay to listen?” America raised her hand and Wong nodded.

"A long long time ago….”

The Mighty Cagliostro came face to face with a sorcerer of darkness that was reeking havoc by using the forbidden black magic to become more powerful— you see, power mixed with greed is like a disease that all sorcerers must overcome. 

This particular sorcerer referred to himself as "The Voudoun," and he was infatuated with power. He wanted people to worship him as a god and kneel down before him. His fixation caused him to transcend Cagliostro's strength, which left Cagliostro with no choice but to seek for a solution. Cagliostro had to make it his purpose to find the Book of Vishanti since there was darkness, pestilence, and death wherever he turned.

It was general knowledge that the only way to defeat black magic was if you had all the nine elements of magic: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Ice, Blood, Spirit, Light, and Darkness. 

There is an ancient creature that is said to possess all nine elements, which is called the nine-tailed fox; they say that it's so powerful that it could flatten mountains, create tsunamis, and drain the life force of whoever it chooses. Cagliostro was given this monster as the solution to his mission by the Book of Vishanti.

Cagliostro set out to find this creature in the northern part of Asia, in a mysterious bamboo forest that had a mind of its own. Despite the fact that this creature was born from light, it has a reputation for being impish due to the fact that it lived for centuries. 

It was already aware that he would be coming and was aware of his goals, but it intended to put him through a test to see whether or not he was worthy of it, giving him any of its time. The fox assumed the appearance of a beautiful woman and made an attempt to entice him with her charms. Cagliostro did not yield to its influence or give in to its seduction. Despite the fact that his old classmates teased him often for training how to resist temptation back then he always knew that one day, his life may rely on his ability to do so.

The fox couldn't believe that this meer human wouldn't bend to her charms and rejected her attractiveness, her ego was hurt, and she retaliated by calling The Mighty Cagliostro a cheater and they got into a dual, Cagliostro knew that the creature was more powerful than him so he never fought back. You can't beat a river into submission so they say. He just avoided her until she got bored of attacking him, which worked. Eventually the fox agreed and she joined Caliostro to defeat The Voudoun. One thing lead to another and yeah—

“Long story, short, The Fox defeated The Voudoun, and she locked him up in a pocket dimension, never to be seen again.” Wong finished telling his story, and you snickered from time to time as you felt Wong was getting lazy and uninterested in the ancient Sorcerer's love life that was somewhere in the story.

"So what happened with Cagliostro and the fox lady after that?" America asked, bringing up the subject Wong didn’t want to even elaborate on.

"The fox, well, she has never met anyone like Cagliostro, and during the course of her journey with him, she fell in love with the man. She was immortal and because she did not want to live a life without him when he got older, she decided to become a human. However, in order for her to do that, she needed to get rid of her powers, and as a result, they were blessed with nine children, each of whom represents each one of her powers.” Wong explained further to satisfy the child’s curiosity. 

“I think you may want to start digging up your family tree, (Y/N).” Wong added. You couldn’t answer him after all of the things he dumped on you.

“I don’t know where to start… ” You muttered, trying to remember if there was a time when anyone from your family mentioned anything about this.

“If you’re confused, you can start by asking questions and reading those books.” Wong advised and began wondering why, despite getting the first step to getting your answers, you look so confused.

•••

Wanda will never come to terms with the fact that she was indeed living in a nightmare. Every day, waking up in this anguish just increased her longing to discover a world where everything she had ever wanted existed, her sons. Every day, she woke up in this misery where they weren’t in her arms. They were the one thing that had any significance. She had nothing left to lose in this world, seeing as how everything she had was now already gone from her. 

She would not stop at anything in her pursuit of the things she believed she rightfully deserved. The Darkhold had shown her the truth, and now she wondered why she should continue to suffer in this world when there was another where she might be happy.

When Wanda's phone began to ring on the nightstand next to her, it distracted her from the things that were occupying her mind. She answered the phone in a monotone voice and said, "Hello? I see. I always knew that he’s a very intelligent man, I had no doubt that he would figure it out. I’ll be ready for him.” After hanging up the phone, Wanda turned her attention to the horizon as she waited for Strange to pay her a short visit.

•••

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#enemies to lovers #stephen strange #benedict cumberbatch imagine #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x you #marvel x you #benedict cumberbatch x reader #benedict cumberbatch x you #doctor strange imagine #doctor strange x you #doctor strange #doctor strange x reader #dr strange x reader #dr strange x you

[jinxthejubilee]

My Thoughts on Obey Me: Season 2, Episode 1

Wow. Where do I even start with this one?Welcome back to the anime, everyone! Where nonsensical plots are abound. Let's take a look and analyze this episode!

Warning: Spoilers for this episode!

Right off the bat, I knew what kind of madness I was in for.

First off, nice callback to Episode 1 of the first season with the name boxes. It completely took me aback for a second.

I wonder how long they were stuck like that. Considering that they were standing in one place, I assume that they were in a somewhat brainless state for a while. But they recognized themselves that they were transformed, so we know that they were aware of it.

I love how done Satan looks in this shot. It just brings me so much joy.

It was a bit cruel of a punishment, I'm not gonna lie. You're body and mind are stuck in a rectangular body, and you could only communicate in a few words related to school and test work. An utter nightmare!

Leave it to Mammon to make money out of anything.

I can't tell if he was actually trying to help, or he was just trying to make easy cash. Probably both?

Honestly, the boys didn't need to do this. They could've just walked away, but they just stood there and played along.

I'm more surprised that Lucifer thought that plan was solid. Like, dude, no. What kind of idea was that?!

Apparently, the joke we English speakers missed when Belphie was saying "I mith them," was that in Japanese, he was actually saying "It hurts."

I saw that from the comments, so I might be wrong, but the person explained that "ita"i (ee-tie) and "aitai" (ai-tie) are two very different things.

"Aitai" is "I miss them."

"Itai" is "It hurts."

The more you know!

I love this shot! It's so cute! 💗

Again, they really didn't need to subject themselves to this. Look at them! They're hurting themselves because of us!

Beel looks like a sad chipmunk. Why are his cheeks puffier than the others?

Okay, so a couple of things.

First of all, when did Mammon have time to make these? He obviously had planned to sell these and used his bros as guinea pigs to see how others would react. So how did he get these made?

Second, how did Mammon know his brothers would want these? Was he just waiting for the right time to bring these out?

The name "Miss 'em," too. Did he make up that name on the fly, or did he actually think on it?

Third, Satan's plush has cat ears on it. Adorable.

Fourth, what is that price?!

I know that Grimm is just gold coins, but how does that translate to real life currency?

I looked into what 10,000 Grimm in Japanese currency is, and apparently 10,000 yen is $74. 42 in American currency.

I mean, that's better, but still! Almost $75 for a plush? As someone who makes plushies herself, that better be some pillow sized, high quality plushies, Mammon!

Fifth, did Mammon know that Lucifer wasn't gonna fall for it? There's no colorized version for him.

And finally, if I had to pick one plush, I'd probably go for the pink one. That, or the gold one.

It always astonishes me that these guys are the rulers of Hell. Let's just let that sink in for a minute.

Also, yay! The next shot is of the side characters, the first time we see the side characters together! They all look great!

Another image that I never knew I needed.

Ah! There's Lucifer and Belphie's plush! The purple and light blue ones are super cute.

So Mammon purposefully designed Satan's with cat ears. Maybe I'm reading to much into details, but if he did, that's really sweet!

Solomon, I had no idea that you such glorious eyelashes! Asmo's taught you well.

Also, don't call Luke out for this. You would do the same thing!

Although, again I ask, why are Luke and Simeon exempt from wearing the school uniform?

The almost evil laugh Mammon has in the background, he's gone mad with power!

All of the promotional material for the Miss em's made me laugh so hard. The romance movie, why?

You know, I'm not surprised at all that Mammon bought this gold mansion, I'm more surprised that he hasn't tried to get one before.

The fact that he did all of this, just to distract himself from missing us. That's just, so...Mammon! He went above and beyond for this one.

He's so extra! I love it! I love him!

Lastly, we need to talk about the end theme. It's so catchy! I wonder when the full version will come out.

I love the end theme art as well. The screen with Beel and Belphie splashing around in the water is my favorite. They just look so happy!

Anyway! That's all from me! I know that it's been a while since I've done one of these, so I thought that this would be a good way to get back into it. I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless. With that being said, I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I'll see you later! Byeee! 💗

#my thoughts #obey me season 2 #obey me anime #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me asmodeus #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphie #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me luke #obey me simeon #obey me solomon #obey me shall we date #obey me! shall we date? #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me! one master to rule them all #obey me! #obey me song #obey me angels #obey me brothers #obey me demons

[i-came-i-saw-i-loved]

Veni Vidi Amavi Part 9

Pairing: Doom Guy x Reader

Reader type: Gender neutral

Song:

Warnings: Smut. Just. Smut and fluff y'all.

An: So umm. I didn't plan this until a different chapter but it happened anyways lol. So there is smut here. Or lemons. Whatever you want to call it. It's not horribly explicit but still there. I know I can't stop anyone but if you're under 18 I'd appreciate it if you don't comment on that bit of the story. If you do I'll honestly probably just block. I'll mark the start of it with 🐦 and the end with 🐝. And I don't think this story is gonna be much longer. Maybe a chapter or two to finish it up but. Ya. And I plan on making a Halo fanfic as well if anyone is interested lol.

Veni Vidi Amavi

-"Je vous souhaite d'être follement aimée."

-Andrē Breton, Lâmour fou. (Mad loves)

Translation: "My wish is that you may be loved to the point of madness."

"The things you do to me. Oh the things you do to me." The words though uttered. Seems to yell. To scream. To cry out to your very soul.

His eyes on yours. Intense and alluring pull every inch of you to him. His hand leaves yours. Pulls away blankets and rests you on his lap. The ease of it is a reminder of the strength he carries well. His calloused hands follow your thighs. The skin left bare from the lack of clothes.

Your body shivers and burns from his look alone. His touch unravels something inside you bit by bit. Flynn looks to you with reverence. As if you were the holiest thing on Earth.

"How do I begin to tell you." His voice wavered. His head falls to your chest. His hand trails up to your back. Fingers following the line of your spine. He pulls his head back. Cheeks flushed and eyes glossed.

"I thought I had been damned to an eternity of loss and pain. To lose one thing after the other." He pulls your hips flush to his.

"I was scared of losing you." His voice broke. "Scared of losing the one thing that has brought me peace." Your heart aches at this. This seemingly unbreakable man sits before you. Vulnerable and open. Spilling his heart to you.

You press your lips to his. Draw in his breath as if it were the sweetest perfume. Your hands cradle his jaw. A kiss to his lips. Their corners. To his fluttering eyes and the tip of his nose.

"If anything. I was scared of losing you Flynn." Your lips over his. "You deserve the world and more." Another kiss. " There is no mortal plane that can keep me from you." You pull away from him. "If you fall, I will follow. Hell will fear my name. No man nor God will keep me from you."

You find yourself falling. Flynn's arms fall to either side of your head. Obscuring the outside world.

He looks to you. Eyes darting side to side before finally stopping. A simple.

"You mean that?"left his lips. A soft laugh. Your arms around his neck.

"If I didn't. I would have never said it."

A gasp leaves your lips when his finds your neck. A trail of kisses along your jaw. Your neck. To the exposed skin of your collarbone.

A whimper left you when teeth nipped the sensitive skin. You felt his body tense, relaxed, and promptly he nipped you again.

Flynn rose. Kneeling on the bed. His hands smoothed up your thighs and gripped your hips. Where he pulled you close. Your face burned. A noise left your lips as his hips rolled. Your hands cover your mouth. Carefully Flynn pulled your hand away and lent forward to speak in your ear.

"I want to show you what you mean to me. May I?" He leaves a kiss just below your ear. You shiver. Stutter.

"I. I've not. I mean." Your heart pounds in your chest. Your body is screaming with want. A thing you have yet to experience before. This type of heat. Need. Truly. You trusted Flynn with this like no other.

He pulls away quickly. A brief moment of "Did I do something wrong?" Flutters through your thoughts. Flynn's face is the most stern you've seen. A loon that gives you butterflies for all the right reasons.

"We don't have to. Not if you don't want to." A hand splays over your stomach. "I won't think any less of you. And know, I won't do anything you don't want me to."

You knew you chose right in trusting him.

"I've never done. This. Before. I." You pause. "I want to. I just. Don't know how." His face softens. A grin followed it.

"Mhm. That's the best part. I show you. Let me lead. This is for you. Not me." He leans over you. Kisses you. Hellbent of tasting every bit you have to offer.

🐦

He taps the hem of your shirt. Bunched up just below your waist. Still covering what privacy you had. Or what little there was as firmly pressed to him as you were.

"You first." It comes out quickly and without thought. With a mischievous smile and a boyish laugh be obliged. Pulling his shirt away to lay bare before you. To let you watch the push and pull of muscles beneath scared skin. He laughs again.

"My eyes are here." Your face burns. Then. "May I?" He taps the shirt again. Sitting up you allow him to pull it away. Baring almost everything to him.

His eyes darken, a hungry look overtakes them. And he swallowed thickly.

"Oh how I'll devour you." It's growled out as he leans forward. Leaving a trail of pink marks along your skin. To your chest. Taking his time there to make your body arch and hips roll into the air. The sounds and noises you make spurring him towards something. Feeding some sort of insatiable hunger.

He trails downwards. Kissed your hip. Watches as the muscles there twitch of their own accord.

His eyes look at you. Bright beneath dark lashes and a heavy brow. Flynn's body is almost lying flat against the bed. Most of it hanging off until.

A noise leaves you as he moves swiftly. More quickly than your eyes can follow. Flynn is now kneeling on the floor before you. Your legs propped on either shoulder. He presses his lips to the inside of your thigh. Draws close to the place you need him most. Then goes to the other thigh.

He breathes deeply. As if winded. You were no better. Gasping and whimpering. Sounds to fuel him further.

His fingers curl around the band of your underwear. He looks to you.

"May I?" His voice is raspy. And if possible, the deepest it has gone. It rolls over you. Your body shivers. He says nothing. Doesn't move. Waits until you speak.

You nod your head.

He does nothing.

"Yes. Please. Yes." Three words has him moving. Drawing the last article of clothing downwards slowly. Achingly so.

He looks to you as the clothing is disregarded. Tossed into the darkness of the room somewhere. His eyes trail downwards as he pulls your legs over his shoulders once more. Drags you closer by your thighs.

A heavy hand rests just above your navel. Pressed firmly. But gently against you. The other is wound around your upper leg. Trapping you.

You could feel his breath against you. Hot in the coolness of the room.

"Again. Do you want this?" He rasps. You almost cry. Kick a leg against his back.

"Flynn I swear to any god. If you stop now." He laughs.

"Is that a yes?" You cry out in frustration.

"Yes that's a fucking-" You cut off with a keeping cry the moment his mouth is on you. Hot and heavy. The feeling is the most pleasurable thing you have felt in this life. Your legs shake. Part as he licks upwards. Swallows and sucks.

"Flynn. I." Your voice is high and breathy. The air in your lungs catches as you roll your hips. Pulling back and away from this intense feeling.

Flynn pulls you close. Hums against you. You could move nowhere. Do nothing against the intensity he is giving you.

Something is building quickly. Winding tightly within you. Tears form in your eyes. You're speaking now. Babbling mostly. Your rising. Falling. Rising.

"Flynn!" His hand finds yours. Holds it tightly. Shaking and trembling then.

Release.

Fire rolls over you. Heat so hot you feel as if you're burning in the sun.

Slowly you cool down. Flynn is still holding your hand. Your body shakes and trembles. Gasps leaves your lips. Your chest is rising and falling from the rapid breathing.

Flynn rubs your hip with his thumb. Speaking softly.

"I'm here. It's ok. You did good. Really good." He crawls over you. Presses a wet kiss to your neck that has you laughing.

"You still with me?" He asks. You hummed in response. Looked up at him.

The Slayer. Thee Slayer had a lovesick look on his face. Lips curled in a crooked smile. Eyes soft. Filled with nothing but fondness. Love. For you. All for you.

A kiss. Then another. Another. Again and again.

"You taste sweeter than I imagined." You laugh. Swat his bicep.

"Oh you thought about that huh?" He laughed.

"Mhmm. And more. About you. Me. This bed. The wall. " He leaned in close. "Maybe the large window over looking the stars." You flush. His hips roll over yours. Clothes rubbing against the oversensitive skin. He grins again.

"Can I?" He asks. You say yes before the word fully formed as a thought.

Off is his clothes. Swift in motion.

Even out of the amor he is big.

You could feel it press into you. Glide against your skin. Hot and heavy against you.

"Please" You gasp out. "Please." A soft hum.

Your hips are lifted. A pillow is olace beneath them. Flynn guides you close. Presses into you. The first bit has you gasping. Wriggling on the bed. Flynn stops you. Holds you still. Presses further.

Full. Your full.

Above you Flynn is becoming undone. Moans and pants leaving him. Words whispered. Uttered. Into your ear.

"Feel so good."

"Sing for me."

"Sweet. So sweet."

His movements are slow. Pulling. Pushing. Carful not to harm you. Smooth fluid motions. Rocking to and fro.

"Look at that." He uttered. "Taking all of it. So good. Your to good for me."

You could say nothing. Do nothing more than let him move you how he see fit. Your eyes close. Open.

Hand over mouth. Biting your lip.

Flynn growls from above you. Your hands pulled away. Up and over your head. Both of them held in one of his own. The other one your hip.

"None of that. Let me hear you. All of you. Let me hear how good I'm making you feel."

His hips snap and your body jolts. You cry out. Back arching. Legs shaking.

"Fuck." Flynn curses. Swears. "Can't hurt you. Won't hurt you." His hand leave yours. Despite this you can't find it in yourself to move them.

His hand travels downwards. Over your chest. Your stomach. Down until he reaches the most sensitive part of you. Fingers moving deftly. Smoothly.

All of it makes you come undone again.

Flynn follows shortly after. Hips still moving until they stop. Pressed into you as his arm moves under you. Brings you up by your shoulders until he sits back. His head pressed into your neck. His own body shaking as he pulls down from his high.

🐝

He speaks sweetly. Curses. Pulls away from you. Presses a kiss to your lip.

He falls back to where the blanket had bunched up. Still holding you close. His hand in your hair. Trailing down to your back and rubbing soothing circles.

"You did good. So good for me. You know that? " The two of you rest there for what felt like hours. Till the room cooled and chilled your bare skin.

Flynn pulls from you and you shudder. Whimper. "S'alright." He whispers to you. Flynn rises to the bed. Grabs a blanket to wrap around the both of you to keep the chill away as you go out the door and down the hall.

You look down. Giggle.

"What has you laughing?" Flynn asks. A tinge of amusement in his voice.

"I can see your butt." You giggle again. Press your face into the crook of his neck. Breath him in.

You felt his hand smack against your own. Despite the blanket as a barrier it stung a bit. Flynn laughs. Then opens the door to the wash room.

The blanket fall from the both of you.

The water is warm as the two of you sink in. Flynn's arms are wound snugly against you as he sits. The water is up to your shoulders. It hits him at his chest.

Flynn is messing with something around you and you wonder what it is until you feel a cloth touch your back. Cleaning the skin. He does this everywhere. Your back. Legs. Between them. Your stomach. He tosses that cloth and gets a new one when he washes your face.

Soft touches. Decadent almost. As he cleans. Soft swoops along your cheeks. Your jaw. The place right behind your ears.

Throughout it Flynn is muttering praise. Telling you a manner of things. Slowly. Ever slowly you find yourself falling asleep. Your body growing heavy and wearing. Your eyes flutter open and closed.

Sleep one and you fell forward into Flynn. Who said nothing. Just wound his arms around you. Pressed a kiss to heated skin. A mutter of words in a language you did not know.

#doomguy x reader #doomslayerxreader #flynntaggartxreader #doomguy hot #doom slayer #flynn taggart #doom eternal #doom #vini vidi amavi

[jokertrap-ran]

[Memory Piece] 5★ 暴走スクータ: Reckless Scooter Translation

Will and Tell, the Princes of Kenal, the Country of Movies, were on a scooter motorcycle heading for their next shoot. They find a troubled Gerald along their way. Having been found by fans and running late for his own shooting session, Will gives Gerald a suggestion...

*Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut

In one of the prosperous streets of the Country of Kenal, where everyone who passed through was filled with joy…

A scooter motorcycle zips past with a reverberating roar.

Gerald: AHHHHH!!

Will: Ahaha! I thought horror wasn’t quite the style of hot-looking guys, but your screams are brilliant indeed!

Gerald’s screams overlap with Will’s delighted laughter.

━━━━━━━∘◦ ✰ ◦∘━━━━━━━

A little while ago.

Gerald: I’m so sorry for inconveniencing the two of you.

Gerald’s shoulders slump in embarrassment as he sits on the back of Will’s scooter.

Will: Hm? Don’t worry about it. It was pretty interesting to watch.

Tell: Sneaking around under the shadows was totally something someone suspicious would do.

Gerald: Ughhh… That was so embarrassing…

Gerald had been snuck onto the street during one of the filming intervals, only to soon be discovered by his own fans who soon gave chase.

While hiding in the shadows of the building, Will and Tell chanced upon him and rescued him from his predicament.

Tell: Gerald, you are a star. You should be more aware of your status.

Will: Why don’t you practice your skills at disguising yourself? You can take one of my SFX makeup artists.

Gerald: S-SFX? No thanks…

Gerald: Although… Is it really alright for me to be riding along with you? Aren’t the both of you headed to the studio?

Tell: There’s still quite some time left before the actual filming begins, so I don’t see why not.

Will: Yeah, so don’t worry about it.

Will: But it’s a pity that I can’t test my new piece of work on my brother now!

Tell: Hey! What mischief have you plotted this time?

Will: Oh, come on. Don’t be mad. Didn’t I just say that I’d put it off?

Will waved his hand, turning a blind eye to Tell’s sharp gaze.

Will: Let’s hurry to Gerald’s next shooting location.

Will: I want to hear screams filled with utter terror today!

Tell: Will? Don’t tell me…

Before Tell could stop him, Will had already stepped on the accelerator with a grin. With a resounding roar of the engine, the scooter zips at full speed.

Gerald: UWAHHHHH!?

Tell: Hey, Will! Don’t you dare throw him off!

Will: Ahaha! Hold on tight, Gerald!

Gerald: Director! S-Slow down!!

Will: All good, all good! I’m used to it!

Gerald: I’m not! AHHH!!

This evening saw the joyful laughter and the screams of Gerald, the White Rose of Romandia, reverberating through the streets of Kenal.

The people of Kenal watched in wonder at this curious spectacle…

The END

#夢100 #yume100 #translations #yume oukoku to nemureru 100-nin no oujisama #夢王国と眠れる100人の王子様 #otome #Memory Piece #Tell #Will #Gerald #Ishida Akira #Tomokazu Seki #Uchida Yuuma #内田 雄馬 #石田 彰 #関 智一

[four-loose-screws]

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 9 Section 6

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

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———————————

Chapter 9: Dragon's Gate (Section 6)

Eliwood, who’d just barely managed to escape, looked up at the charred remains of the Dragon’s Gate and said, “...What happened?”

Beside him were Hector, Lyn, and Elbert, as well as the siblings Ninian and Nils.

He took a moment to confirm that everyone was alright, then breathed a sigh of relief.

But he had not a second longer to relax.

“Grrr…! An utter failure!! That Nils! If only he hadn’t gotten in my way…!”

Now that the ceremony he’d long waited for had literally gone up in flames, Nergal’s anger reached its peak.

He glared at them with eyes full of hatred, then disappeared again into a teleportation circle. 

When he reappeared, he was next to Ninian and Nils. “...Come, you two!!”

“No!!”

“No way!! We’d never go with you!”

Nergal forcefully grabbed the two siblings.

Eliwood raised his voice in anger. “Stop, Nergal!!" He tried to unsheath his rapier as quickly as he could to attack Nergal - but he could not. Though his rapier should have been in its sheath, it was not.

The instant he looked around to figure out where his rapier had gone, he heard the sound of a blade stabbing into flesh.

“I cannot… let you do that!”

“Huh…!?”

Eliwood’s rapier was in Elbert’s hands. And the blade was stabbed deep into Nergal’s side.

“...You fool… I could never be defeated by the likes of you…”

“...As I said. I will never… allow you to do as you wish…!”

“...You… have outlived your usefulness… Guh…!!

Nergal cast a spell, pushing Elbert off of him. Then he looked down at the rapier in annoyance, pulled it out of his body, and cast it aside.

That seemed to have used up the rest of his power, as he disappeared into a teleportation circle alone, and left Ninian and Nils where they stood.

“Father!!” Eliwood rushed over to him.

Elbert warned his son, “...Eliwood, do not put your guard down. He will appear again…”

“I know. But, right now…. let’s get off this island… and return to Lycia.”

“This is… the end for me. …Eliwood, I leave… the rest to you.”

After being kept in confinement for so long, his body was weak, and his face was so white he looked as if the life once within him was gone. After everything he’d been through, his strike back against Nergal seemed to have squeezed his last bit of energy out of him.

Elbert no longer had any strength left to survive.

Eliwood would realize that soon as well. But he could not immediately accept it. After his long journey, they’d finally been able to meet. The fact that their meeting would be so quickly followed by their parting nearly made his chest tear open from sorrow.

“Please hold on! Mother… she’s waiting for you in Pherae!”

Elbert chuckled. “Ah yes, Elenora. She’s probably going to get mad at me again…”

Elbert pictured his beloved wife’s face, and his expression softened.

He’d been born and raised as the son of a marquess, then met Elenora and had Eliwood… His life was flashing before his eyes.

“Eliwood… Tell your mother… I’m sor…” Elbert’s words were cut short.

“No… Please don’t die… Father… Open your eyes…” Eliwood, unable to accept the truth in front of him, shook his father several times.

But Elbert did not respond.

Elbert, Marquess of Pherae, breathed his last, and vanished from this world.

“Fatherrrrrrrrr!!!"

Eliwood’s cries of grief echoed through the shrine like neverending raindrops falling from the sky.

#fire emblem #fe #fe7 #fire emblem 7 #the blazing blade #the blazing sword #fe7 the blazing blade #lyn #lyndis #eliwood #hector #nintendo #gba #gameboy advance #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe7 novelization translation

[recklxssabandon]

Image of Tomorrow//Minami & Aja

@ajathings

Minami was dressed for murder, glamour and all the sin in between. When Aja stepped out of her rideshare, Minami had earned the stare Aja gave. “Well, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had someone to impress.”

It was a feeling that Aja was well accustomed to, stemming all the way back to college freshman years. But here, far from home, being led by the hand into the unknown, the feeling was turned on its side. At home, she knew the hidden gems of Manhattan, and she was the one who led the uninitiated by the hand to discovery.

And a gem it was. Nothing she had seen in all of her years of touring New York nightlife could have prepared her for the space inside. Dark with the sparing lights of a starry night, populated by a sparing few who were lucky to know the secret.

Aja was one of six to experience this. Minami had taken the curator and made her a rarity of Shinjuku nightlife’s patrons. The mystery poured into her eyes and ears and curiosity bubbled within her, thudding against her chest like and expectant heartbeat. She wore her smile with ease.

“Well, I am the uninitiated party here,” Aja replied, impressed with her surroundings. “So, surprise me.”

Aja began to count the drinks. One and counting.

Minami flagged down one of the wandering black clad staff and ordered an old fashioned. Something sweet to sip on, she decided tonight was not a night for drinking; it was for savouring.  

She took the glass and leaned close to Aja, smelling the scent on her neck whether she wanted to or not. A tremor went through her chest, blooming across her back, a shimmer of nerves. 

“We’re about to see Wave perform. She is really extraordinary, a musician primarily. But also the originator of a vast, fictional universe. She refers to herself as a war poet, her compositions are homages to epic battles of her own creation.”

Minami’s eyes gleamed in the low light and it was an effort not to place her cheek on Aja’s bare shoulder.

“She has never done an interview that I know of, and is almost impossible to locate outside of her work. Some say she is quite mad.” A one shouldered shrug. “But there is no one who plays quite like her.”

As if the cue had been given the sonourous thump echoed through the empty space. It was the sound of the end pin of a cello being set down forcibly in the middle of the shallow pool stage.

The person holding the neck of the instrument was a tall woman with short black hair and eyes. She was perhaps fifty years old, and what would first have passed for a pair of elbow length black opera gloves revealed themselves to be tattoos. The cellist’s arms had the appearance of being dipped in a dark maroon ink. 

She gestured out and around to the few gathered patrons with an open gesture, holding the cello bow in her other hand.

“What is it that scares you?” She uttered starkly into the gloom, and Minami leant close to Aja’s ear to translate the words;

“I used to be so very fearful. Until I found out how large this world truly is...”A wicked smile, the eyes glittering. “...And not just this world. There are many. But tonight I am here to tell you about only one, at only one time...”

The bow became part of the theatrical shrug. 

“We are but human, we must do one thing at a time. Tonight, we hear of the first great battle of the war. On one side is a slate grey city of fumes and machinery, and on the other side a swathe of red soil and rock. the tectonic movements of war machines is unstoppable. The air is thick with steel and missile. The ground a murmuration of blade on blade.”

Wave swung the bow horizontal to the string.

“Ladies and gentlement, The Battle of East Drey.”

And Wave began to play. The water stage in which her feet were submerged expressing every single vibration by an unseen mechanism.

It was incredible, but Minami’s gaze barely departed from the side of Aja’s face. 

When the composition came to an abrupt stop there was a long silence before the surrounding patrons broke out in a polite applause. Wave retreated from the stage and the house lights glowed a little brighter once again. 

#take it easy with this thread if your brain is elsewhere x #ajathings #Image of Tomorrow

[milfmacbeth]

what got you into classic literature and mythology in the first place? i want to read more of it to get better at analysis but i can never figure out where to start :(

hi anon! i’m not an expert in the slightest so take all of this with a gigantic heap of salt

i got into classic literature by being a pretentious smartass who wanted to look Sophisticated™ and somewhere down the line i discovered that classic literature is actually fun and worth reading for more than just bragging rights. that being said, i think the issue with getting into “classic literature” might be that the definition is so broad as to be meaningless. seriously, dante’s divine comedy and jane austen's pride and prejudice can both be called “classic literature” so i’m going to break this down a little to be more specific. 

here’s how i started or how i think you could start: (essay under the cut)

the classics (as in literature from ancient greece and ancient rome)

start with homer. seriously, i see no point in starting anywhere else. i started with the iliad which took some convincing because i expected it to be boring and incomprehensible. what did i get? one of the best fucking stories i ever read, filled with blood and death and tragedy and love. it’s beautifully written and so so worth reading. although i feel obligated to mention that "graphic depictions of violence" doesn't begin to describe it. homer isn't content with telling you that a character died, homer needs to tell you the exact angle at which a spear pierced a characters liver. it's a book about the horrors of war, after all. i read the robert fagles translation which is excellent and which brings me to my next point: i cannot overstate the importance of a good translation. with most ancient greek and latin stuff, you have the luxury of multiple translations and trust me, it’ll take you like three sentences to figure out whether or not you vibe with a specific translation. online previews are your friend!

(and if i may rant for a bit, the iliad should be mandatory reading on this hellsite and anyone who wants to act like they know what they’re talking about because they read a patrochilles fanfic once can fight me)

classic literature (as in anything older than a few decades that we as a society still give a shit about)

this can be anything which makes it really difficult to recommend stuff but here are some starting points 

when it comes to english literature, you can never go wrong with my good friend billy the bard (shakespeare). my faves are macbeth (witches! prophecies! a mad king on a downward spiral!) and hamlet (ghosts! depression! one of the rawest monologues i’ve heard in my life!). but you can literally just pick any play and go with it. 

as for getting some media analysis practice in. i really liked ray bradbury’s fahrenheit 451 and george orwell’s 1984. they’re filled with Themes and Metaphors. they’re both short and they’re both about as subtle as a neon sign on fire. they are practically hitting you over the head with how much the curtains are not just blue. fahrenheit 451 has a more hopeful tone whereas 1984 is as bleak as it gets. 

[spoilers] 1984 ends in such complete and utter defeat of the protagonist, i wanted to throw that book across the room when i finished it and i had to stare at a wall for a few minutes to process what the fuck just happened. good times!

as for media analysis, you can practice with literally any story. the classics just happen to be more thematically intricate than your standard hollywood movie. it just comes down to trying to figure out how a story works. does it work? if not, why? what was the author trying to do and did they succeed? i think the tv tropes wiki is a really good resource that explains tropes in layman’s terms and provides examples for each. 

mythology

this one’s tricky because there are so many mythologies. if you’re just getting into it, i’d start with the big ones (greek, roman, norse, egyptian)

the big ones usually have primary sources:

greek: iliad, odyssey, theogony

roman: metamorphoses, aeneid (i think)

norse: prose edda, poetic edda

egyptian: ???

if you want something a little more accessible, there’s a lot of books recounting the same stories for a modern audience. i personally love neil gaiman’s norse mythology because it first introduces you to the gods and then recounts the most important stories from the prose edda and the poetic edda. i’m usually a slow reader but neil gaiman somehow has the magical ability to make me rip through his stuff in a day or two. highly recommended!

and i only quickly rifled through roger green’s tales of ancient egypt but i really liked what i saw.

on the slightly more obscure side (irish, japanese, persian myth, just to name a few) you can probably still find some primary sources. the first few paragraphs of wikipedia will tell you where to look.

anything more obscure than that takes a special kind of masochist. (i’m researching slavic myth and it makes me want to kill)

so yeah, i hope this was somewhat helpful. there is a lot of classic literature and myth. i haven’t read nearly enough of it but if you consider me qualified to give advice (big mistake) then my asks and dm’s are always open.

#anon i am so sorry if you expected a straightforward answer #but i can't not ramble for paragraphs on end if asked about something i care about

[the-nysh]

Also sorry I’m being a pest but something I realized (or at least came to a very personal conclusion) when reading the manga is that Saitama is a edgy emo kid. And a hypocrite/liar (because he is an edgy emo kid). Which is why I like Genos’ appraisal of him and why I cherish their relationship very much. As I said in my last ask, Genos for a big part of the manga emulates and serves as a conduct of Saitama as a character. In a way, Genos is a translator of Saitama as a person and a hero. And through Genos, plenty of times, I learnt Saitama is not unfeeling, and he does NOT take the hero job just for fun.

Now that Im older than Saitama, and caught up with the manga after stopping for a few years. I just started noticing more and more that Saitama is just like a typical sensitive but dulled 25 year old kid that says big shit on his “dead” feelings and his purpose. He is unreliable. But not necessarily because of the reasons everyone has been talking about these past few chapters, but because through Genos, ONE and Murata often tells us things Saitama won’t admit about himself, mainly: he is unfeeling and second, he is a hero for “fun”.

Like yeah, he gets “bored” so “poor me I’m so strong I don’t feel anything” (which is the kind of thing I would’ve say pre-therapy when I was younger, if I were as strong as he is). But… very pretty early on he shows he cares. From the crablante situation to Mumen Rider against Deep Sea King, to worrying about Genos very early on in the manga. Saitama SAYS things. Talks utter shit. But he has always SHOWN something entirely different. And Genos always sees that :,) Saitama is wise, ethical, tenacious and heroic. But if we got to see that so obviously… the other characters wouldn’t be able to shine, and the trope of the hero that doesn’t get recognise takes on a whole ‘nother level, if the readers get wrapped up in the plot and aren’t able to recognize Saitama for his wisdom… isn’t that hilarious? That we laugh at him getting a C rank but collectively ignore that which Genos was always able to see and remark upon. If Saitama as a character has to suffer for everyone else to be in the spotlight, AND we get to laugh and be mad that Saitama is always effing late then… maybe that’s why it’s meant to happen. For everyone to ignore Saitama’s subtle development and then act all surprised when we get to know that he DOES notice that he always arrives late and that it DOES weighs in his mind…

I can see what you're saying. :') The things Genos notices about Saitama allows even the readers to appreciate the subtleties of Saitama even more, for the things even HE doesn't notice about himself (or downplays).

The way you say he talks shit but shows his merits in other ways...ahaha, well lookie there - now that's a parallel he shares with Garou, and even how Tareo is able to see the good things within Garou that he denies about himself too. :')) (Including being inspired by him as his personal 'greatest hero'....sound familiar?) :D

But as for your last point....I feel like those Saitama subtleties were far stronger during the King talk he had after the tournament arc. Where we already knew this feeling was weighing on his mind, but waiting to see what becomes of it. I feel like it shouldn't have taken (past the point of no return) everyone he loves literally dying for him to have these second thoughts again. It's.....it could have been done in less drastic ways, you feel? Without sacrificing everyone else for the point to sink home. ;o; It becomes super unfair to him after the fact, even. For now, we can only see how strongly this weighs/scars on his mind from now on. :'))

#opm #saitama #genos #bohemian-suho #replies #i could def sense the parallels you spoke of

[slowtravelingcat]

The Kilcher Homestead in Homer, AK

Sunday, June 27th, 2021

CAL - This week in the Room of Beds, the large, bald one and I enjoyed our regular routines for nearly 5 days in a row. Each morning Michele begrudgingly arose from one of the two beds, pushed open the curtains, and started her day. I spend most of my days on bed #1, where I creepily hover in the background of video calls while staring right into the web camera. Once I get bored, I move to bed #2 where I watch the most fascinating activities through our 3rd story window. I am starting to arrive at the conclusion that a room can never really have too many beds.

When the weekend finally rolled around, I braced myself for the extra attention that I knew I would surely receive, however, to my complete and utter surprise, Michele suddenly up and left. She had a very small bag in tow, so I estimated that she would be gone for one or two nights at the most. 

Before I knew it, Sunday evening was upon me and I had really started to miss her. Just as I started to lose hope, I heard the unmistakable click of the door unlocking. I tried to contain myself, but instead, I let out a series of meows so emphatic, that the large, bald one dropped her bags and ran to greet me. 

MICHELE - The weekend started with a mad rush to get onto the road to Homer at a reasonable hour on Friday afternoon. I finally left Anchorage by 5pm and enjoyed the entire 4.5 hour drive doused in sunlight. You gotta love the Alaskan sun. 

Upon arrival, I carefully followed the instructions to my tiny cabin on the Kilcher Family Homestead. You know are going deep into nature when the directions only reference a series of hills and forks in the road. When I finally get to the end, I am facing a magnificent yurt overlooking Kachemak Bay. The yurt belongs to Stellavera Kilcher, one of the eight children who own and run the 600-acre homestead. Later I’ll learn that she has appeared on a Discovery TV show about her family and is an aunt to singer, and songwriter Jewel. 

I wait patiently in front of the yurt, per my instructions. Also, I really have no choice in the matter, it’s not like I can just pop over to Starbucks or something. Eventually, Stellavera calls, apologizing profusely for being late to meet me.

Around 10:30pm I finally get settled into my cabin, with plenty of daylight to spare. The view from this property is stunning and I stare lovingly out the front door until I can barely keep my eyes open.

The next morning I was treated to a tour of the homestead where I learned about the charter of the land which is to provide opportunities for personal and spiritual growth for the community. The family crest is a series of symbols that translates into stewards of the land for the church. Stellavera tells several charming stories about growing up on the homestead and surviving winters in Alaska. 

Next, I head into town to enjoy a quaint farmer's market and a stroll on the Homer Spit. I found a little sweater store called the Better Sweater and wanted to buy everything there. After what felt like an hour I finally settled on the perfect sweater and the shop owner asked if I lived somewhere cold. “No, definitely not!” I say and we both laugh as I pay my $99 for my Alaskan sweater souvenir. For a late lunch, I bought some fish tacos from a truck called the Tickled Pear and found a nice piece of driftwood where I watched the boats mosey back into the harbor from the bay. 

Later, back at the homestead, I walk down to a private beach and feel like I am the last human on the planet. I try to take a few pictures, but my camera can not fully capture the moment.

For dinner, Stellavera cooks me and 2 other guests a small feast of salmon, sweet potatoes, and wild greens from her front yard. 

The next morning I do not want to leave. Eventually, I drag myself back up to Anchorage forging my way through the weekend traffic. When I arrive home, Cal is very happy to see me. He always brings a ray of sunshine to my day.

#cats #digital nomad #slow travel #travel

[firstumcschenectady]

“Destruction and Peace” 1 Samuel 15:1-3, 8, 10-17, 24-25 and Psalm 146

This church is blessed with a deep commitment to learning and growing. We all come with our own background and experiences. Some of which involve degrees in religion, theology, or divinity. Some of which involves running for dear life from church and everything like it for most of a life, and not being as well read. Which is to say, wherever you might be, that's fine! Nerds are welcome here, and … non-nerds? Is that what they're called?

So, anyway, this church that loves to learn has been lucky enough to have the Carl Lecture fund which allow the church bring in speakers to help us learn more. The most recent Carl Lecturer was Bishop Karen Oliveto in May, and that was a delight. In 2017 ago John Dominic Crossan lectured here, and like Bishop Karen I'm still fan-girl-ing over it.

A few things “Dom” said that weekend have reframed the Bible for me, and quite often when I read a text I'm struck again by the truth of it all. The biggest reframing was in thinking of the Bible as containing two streams of thought.

They are often intertwined, they are both holistic, and they are both prevalent throughout the Bible. One of them he called the covenant stream and characterized as being a punishment/reward system. In that stream the people were told what to do, rewarded if they did it, punished if they did not, and judged by their obedience.

The other he called the stream of distributive justice and it begins in the Bible with the distribution of rest called Sabbath and continues to be concerned with the fair distribution of the things people need so they can live full and abundant lives.

Both streams are found throughout the Hebrew Bible, both are found throughout the Christian Testament, and most people of faith focus on one of them and find the other to be of less value. John Dominic Crossan himself prefers the sabbath and distributive justice stream and finds within it the description of the God he knows. Turns out me too.

Today we got a text from each stream, and one of them is pretty distressing, at least to me. In 1 Samuel God tells the people to destroy one of their enemies in a “holy war” which means the complete and utter destruction of every living thing in their village. Our translator makes this horrifically clear by saying “do not spare them and put them to death from woman to man, and from infant to nursing baby, and from ox to sheep, from camel to donkey.”

This. Is. Horrific.

I want to puke.

Then, it turns out, they only killed MOST of the living things, but kept the leader alive and some of the livestock claiming they wanted to sacrifice the livestock to God. And this story, in our Bible, says that God was REALLY REALLY mad about this because when God says “kill them all” you are supposed to “kill them ALL” and not most, and this is used as a reason that Saul is replaced as the king of Israel.

ARGH. I'm going to give us just another moment to be horrified by this, and then I'm going to soften these blows a little bit. Ready?

There are a few things to bring into reading this text. The first, which may well help, is that it is probably not historically true. This is a story that would have been told for a long time and written down well after the fact and in other cases where we read about destruction like this and are able to verify it – the destruction never happened. The second piece is that 1 and 2 Samuel are super pro-David propaganda and this story seems created to establish David's authority by diminishing Saul's, which is another reason to inherently distrust it. The third, and final, softening on reading this text is the reminder that the Hebrew Bible as we know it was written down in the aftermath of the Exile when people had experienced unprecedented death, destruction, trauma, and horror. The primary question of the people as they were writing down these stories was “why did this happen to us?” And this story seems designed to answer “this happened to us because we were unfaithful and God punished us.”

A whole lot of people believe that bad things happen because God punishes them. I would say most of those people were raised in the “covenant stream” of reward and punishment – and may not even be aware there are other options. And, indeed, this story fits fully into that stream. God expects obedience, punishes disobedience, there is nothing anyone can do about it – not even the prophet Samuel.

So, if you haven't noticed yet, I pretty much hate this text. But, if this text reflects about half of the Biblical tradition, I am probably better off acknowledging it exists and dealing with it than just wishing it away, right? I appreciated Dr. Gafney's reflection on this text that it “illustrates the difficulty in teasing out the human and the divine in scriptures.” TRUE THAT. I also appreciated her reminder that the ways we see power and authority function in the world impact how we think about the power and authority of God. In places where there is a monarchy, it is particularly easy to think of God as a monarch, and to think of hierarchy as normal and appropriate. The Bible was written during a whole lot of monarchies and hierarchical systems, and it makes sense that that humanness would invade the perspective of the text.

We also have today a text from the other stream – the one about distributive justice. And it is a breath of fresh air. I also appreciate that within it I can hear regular and repeated themes of the Bible, because this too is Biblical and deeply rooted. Those who would claim that God is all about punishment and rewards may have a hard time making sense of texts like this one.

The Psalm starts out seeming a bit simple. Someone is praising God. If you've read the Psalms you might be tempted to say “what else is new?” It then moves on to establishing that God is worthy of trust in a way that people are not. And then it talks about WHY God is trust worthy and worthy of praise and the source of hope and joy. The reasons are pretty standard order too: because God created all that is, because God is a God of justice who brings justice to the oppressed, because God is the one who feeds the hungry, because God is compassionate and sets prisoners free, because God helps people see, and lifts up those who are bowed down, and loves when good things are being done, and cares for the stranger, and takes care of the vulnerable orphans and widows, and confuses and confounds those who would do harm.

Nothing new there, those are repeated themes in the Bible. But note that they are universal. God isn't just caring about those in covenant relationship with God, God is caring about everyone. God is inverting the social order and taking care of those with the least capacity to take care of themselves. Which means that the normal social order isn't as God would have it be, and THAT would mean that those doing well aren't being rewarded and those doing poorly aren't being punished. Instead both of those reflect a need for more JUST distribution and God is working on making that happen.

Now, as I mentioned, I have a STRONG preference for one of these streams of thoughts and ways of understanding God. I'd go so far as to say I think one is “right” and the other is “wrong” or as close as I'm willing to get to using words like that about God.

But, dear ones, I think the best news is the reminder that these two streams of thought, these two fundamentally different worldviews, are hanging out together in the Bible. Neither dominates the other. Sometimes, they intertwine so well we can't tease them apart. They are in there together, coexisting for about 3000 years now.

(Here is the twist, it feels like it may come out of no where, but I've been building this whole time.)

And, beloveds of God, if these two different streams of thought have coexisted in the Bible for this long, and fed various people of faith, and been experienced as holy, and sometimes even supported each other – then I'm pretty sure we can survive the next US election.

I adore that the Bible feels free to contradict itself with different versions of the same story and even different basic conceptions of who God is and how God is. I love that there is space for the fullness of humanity and the fullness of the divine, and I actually love that teasing out which is which is so hard. Because it deserves to be hard. And we learn while we try. And our disagreements usually teach us a lot we need to know.

John Wesley famously said, if your heart is with my heart, give me your hand. May we be people whose hearts are with others' hearts, even if we disagree. May we be people of peace.

Amen

August 6, 2023

Rev. Sara E. Baron  First United Methodist Church of Schenectady  603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305  Pronouns: she/her/hers  http://fumcschenectady.org/  https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

#thinking church #progressive christianity #fumc schenectady #first umc schenectady #schenectady #umc #sorry about the umc #rev sara e baron #Dr Wil Gafney #Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church #John Dominic Crossan