#using school structure as metaphor for country as a whole | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

myuniversallanguage · 1 month

Text

The Medium is the Message

Language is the code by which we understand one another. It is a formal series of characters and sentence structures unique to our region and upbringing. Many become stuck in a cycle of Ethnocentrism where they constrict themselves to their little bubble. When you travel outside that bubble, communicating with each other can be riddled with misunderstanding. So much is often lost in translation. However, there is nuance to communication. Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan coined, "The medium is the message" (McLuhan, 1964). The medium represents the vessel we use to communicate, while the message is its perception.

Growing up extremely sheltered, I cherished the glimpses of other worlds I caught in different mediums. I escaped to foreign lands in fantasy novels and drawing worlds, unlike my own, in sketchbooks. However, the medium that would change my entire perspective on life was far more subtle than these. It required almost no effort, falling in love with music. Characteristic of love at first sight, I found myself in love at first sound. The difference in the medium of music, I have come to realize, is that I didn't need to understand the language or complex lyrics. There is something innate within ourselves to be moved by vibrations culminated by musicians. I joined a dance team and performed alongside music competitively for over six years. Nothing compares to our innate human ability to dance. While technique can make it into a sport, dancing is primal. We are moved by more than words.

My journey with music began with my father. Collections, car rides, vinyl records, and kitchen karaoke deepened familial bonds. His passion for specific bands and their history facilitated endless conversations about inspiring artists. I vividly remember driving to school with him, wearing out the passenger seat as we rocked out to Boston's self-titled album on CD. It would take the entire drive to get through the whole CD, and the memories I associate with it never fade when I listen back. My love for collecting albums emerged from hand-me-downs of his favorite albums. The first of which was that very same self-titled album. There is a profound pride in holding onto what brought my father solace in his youth. As I grew, that collection metamorphized into a culmination of what ignited the most joy in myself. I now own over fifty records, a handful of cassette tapes, and over a hundred CDs.

Exploring foreign music, however, has allowed me a learning experience that will stick with me forever. Classic bands like Nirvana, Prince, Queen, Boston, Bowie, ABBA, and Journey characterized my youth. They are famous worldwide, not simply within English-speaking countries. That type of fame is almost incomprehensible when considering the various language barriers that must exist for listeners across the globe. I couldn't quite grasp the idea until I popped my metaphorical bubble once and for all. Korean, Spanish, and French music have shifted my worldview completely. Not only do I find myself picking up on the common phrases and lyrics, I don't need to understand a single word to recognize the feeling they bring.

Crying along to a song laced with lyrics I don't recognize was not on my yearly bingo card. Like many in the States, I hadn't realized how much nuance is involved in the songs we listen to. The notes, the rhythm, the composition, the inflection, and so much more can evoke emotions deep within ourselves regardless of language. Our brains have powerful processing abilities that not only allow us creativity to listen to music but to make it as well. The band that has carried me on their shoulder's through my time at university has been Stray Kids. They are a Korean boy group that explores a variety of genres, including songs in multiple languages. Songs written in Korean, Japanese, and English fill their discography. The choreography for the music video of their song "MIROH" was influenced by the Māori culture (Bell, 2019). Regardless of the language or cultural origin, their music contains elements that inspire profound emotions in millions.

With over 30 million listeners worldwide, (Instagram, Stray Kids, 2024), Stray Kids is changing how so many people perceive the medium of music. Their mantra speaks to those who have felt lost or unaccepted, urging a sense of interconnectedness between humans from all backgrounds. "Stray Kids Everywhere All Around the World" is the message and a mission they are successfully pursuing. They have explored genres such as EDM, Rap, Rock, Pop, Lyrical, Grime, and many more niche styles. Their goal is to make music that can reach people of all tastes. Stray Kids' music has covered love, loss, depression, alienation, angst, anger, self-acceptance, and happiness. They work overtime to cover every emotion they have experienced and give their fans a vessel to experience that with them.

I discovered Stray Kids when I needed them most. I had just moved across the country for the first time after 19 years in Chicago, Illinois. There was an emptiness inside me, triggered by so much change in such a short time. Their message and music spoke to me and gave me a safe space to escape my new reality. The connection transcended language. My first listen through their discography left me feeling deeply seen and comforted. "Silent Cry" quickly became my favorite song. I had found a group that longed to connect with their fans and show their appreciation for them. The first few lyrics are sung with pain, "넌 그저 그렇게 아무렇지 않게 넌 웃고 있는데 들리는 네 말에 You always say "I'm okay" 하지만 다 보여 너의 마음속 외로이 흐느끼는 너" (Stray Kids, 2021). Without any understanding of the language, I felt moved by their tone. For description purposes, the translation of these lines is "You, *pretending to be unaffected, just like that* (You) are smiling, but I can hear it in your words. You always say I'm okay, but I can see everything. How your heart sobs when you're alone" (Garza, 2021).

The message is that the members are there to listen to their supporter's silent cry. Even without the translation, I perceived that from the emotions it evoked. Something I adore about the group is if they make a statement like that, it will always be truthful. They have numerous opportunities to connect with fans, including fan meetings and a community posting forum. As an international fan, I have been lucky enough to correspond on multiple occasions with the band members on the community forum. They truthfully listen to their fans and respect them fervently.

Stray Kids changed my life in so many ways. I made some of my closest friends at university through our mutual love for their music. One best friend I made on the day of ticketing for their tour date in Fort Worth. In anticipation of their tour, newfound friends and I shopped for outfits together and even learned choreography for the jumbotrons. The spontaneity of the concert brought us together like magnets. When the tour date finally arrived on March 27th, 2023, we prepared for a grand time. The feeling, however, was incredibly bittersweet. The culmination of our friendship thus far, everything had led us to that very moment.

If I had thought that Stray Kids' music was moving and filled with life before attending their concert, hearing them live blew me away. The live band, the member's incredible vocals, and the mind-boggling choreography they somehow manage to pull off while singing. It was life-altering. Looking back on the videos I captured, I relive the night whenever I need a pick-me-up. Hearing everyone's voices come together and create an electric atmosphere. I felt so at home at their concert with my closest friends.

Another way my life has altered for the better is through my new presence on social media. After beginning what is now an egregiously large collection of albums, inclusions, and other memorabilia, I decided to open an Instagram account. The account would be an outlet for me to meet goals for my collection, make clever reels, unbox my newest purchases, and even make long-distance friends as far as Australia. I never imagined it would grow to over 13 thousand followers in a few months, yet it did. As a Communication major at university, having a successful social media account has been incredibly rewarding. My social media management skills have grown so much, and I have created a plethora of content for my job portfolio.

I have grown in many ways since stepping outside my musical comfort zone. It got me thinking about how there is genuine science behind our retention of music, no matter the language. I found myself the most fascinated in a study done by Rachel Elaine in 2017 on the deaf community. While there are varying levels of deafness, some more severe than others, most deaf people enjoy listening to music. Several sections of our brains allow us to enjoy music for many reasons that are not the lyrics themselves. The Sensory Cortex aids us in feeling the vibrations of music. The entire stadium shook with the rhythms that were created at the Stray Kids concert I attended. The Nucleus Accumbens, Amygdala, and Cerebellum also allow us to attach emotion and memories to our favorite songs. According to Medium.com, "People who are deaf can have this same sort of emotional connection to music. It would just be recognized from the bass notes or beat of the song rather than the (usually) higher pitched melody" (Elaine, 2017). Lastly, the Auditory Complex can take account of the messages created through the listening experience of music. The deaf community can compensate for this process by utilizing sign language and interpreters. My favorite band member, Hyunjin, learned to sign a few phrases to thank the interpreters at his shows and the deaf fans in attendance. He also recently donated roughly $74,300 to The Snail of Love, an organization that supports those with hearing impairments, "by providing artificial cochlear implant surgeries and hearing aids, aiding in their social integration, as well as enhancing public awareness and educational initiatives" (Lim, 2024). It is another reason I feel that they care for their supporters no matter what barriers may exist between them.

The mechanisms we have wired in our brains prove that music is a universal language. It transcends all barriers and connects us in ways nearly impossible to replicate through any other medium. As Marshall McLuhan famously declared, "The medium is the message" (McLuhan, 1964). In the case of Stray Kids and their music, the medium transcends auditory stimulation. Stray Kids music becomes its own vessel for shared experiences, emotions, and universal understanding. By exploring diverse genres, writing heartfelt lyrics, and creating captivating performances, they are speaking to a global audience. Like many of the greats who have come before them, they are reaching a millions of lost souls who are searching for meaning in a world where it is hard to find. My experience exploring foreign music has opened my heart to a world brimming with culture. I would have never immersed myself in so many things seen as "other" in my little bubble had I not ventured into my current music taste. Every day is a new opportunity to understand life from a different perspective. Just as we all bleed the same, the emotions expressed through music are heard deep within ourselves.

Works Cited:

Bell, C. (2019). Stray Kids are back and bolder than ever with celebratory new single “MIROH.” MTV. https://www.mtv.com/news/2xdvoz/stray-kids-miroh-music-video

Elaine, R. (2017, October 23). How deaf people experience music. Medium. https://medium.com/@rachelelainemonica/how-deaf-people-experience-music-a313c3fa4bfd

Garza, J. (2021). Genius English translations – stray kids - silent cry (English translation). Genius. https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-stray-kids-silent-cry-english-translation-lyrics

Götting, M. C. (2021, January 8). Listening to foreign music in the U.S. 2018. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/803372/listening-to-foreign-lyrics/

Lim, M. (2024). Stray kids’ hyunjin makes heartfelt donation of 100 million won to support the hearing impaired. Soompi. https://www.soompi.com/article/1653097wpp/stray-kids-hyunjin-makes-heartfelt-donation-of-100-million-won-to-support-the-hearing-impaired

McLuhan, M., & Gordon, W. T. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. Gingko Press.

Stray Kids. [@realstraykids]. (2024). Following [Instagram profile]. Instagram. from https://www.instagram.com/realstraykids

Stray Kids. (2021). Silent Cry [Song]. On Noeasy. Republic Records.

0 notes

daimonclub · 1 year

Text

The essence of grammar

Children studying grammar The essence of grammar, an article written by a famous scholar explaining the importance, the main aspects and the difficulties of the fundamental structure of any language. Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language. Ludwig Wittgenstein The question is, said Alice, whether you can make words mean different things. The question is, said Humpty Dumpty, which is to be master - that's all. Alice was much too puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. They've a temper most of them - particularly verbs, they're the proudest - adjectives you can do anything, with, but not verbs - however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability! That's what I say! Lewis Carroll Through the Looking-Glass. Usage makes the rules, only afterwards grammarians write books in order to define a certain standard of the language so that to avoid a too rapid and continuous change of the idiom that would cause a real confusion for its users. In other words we can say that grammar is a means to slow down the mutation of a language making possible at the same time the effectual understanding and communication of its speakers. Carl William Brown Why study grammar? Alice had almost certainly learnt some grammar at school. It is almost equally certain that she was bored by it. In more recent times, most school children have been spared the boredom, because the teaching of grammar has been dropped from the syllabus and, unlike Alice, they may well never know the difference between an adjective and a verb. Yet this is an extraordinary and quite deplorable state of affairs. Few areas of our experience are closer to us or more continuously with us than our language. We spend a large part of our waking life speaking, listening, reading and writing. The central part of a language (its 'mechanics', its 'calculus' - other metaphors will do) is its grammar, and this should be of vital interest to any intelligent educated person. If it has not been of such interest, then the fault must be in the way in which it has been presented, or in the failure to recognize its importance within this essentially human activity, language. Man is not well defined as homo sapiens (man with wisdom). For what do we mean by wisdom? More recently anthropologists have talked about 'man the tool-maker', but apes too can make primitive tools. What sets man apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is his ability to speak; he is 'man the speaking animal'.

Importance of grammar Homo loquens. But it is grammar that makes language so essentially a human characteristic. For though other creatures can make meaningful sounds, the link between sound and meaning is for them of a far more primitive kind than it is for man, and the link for man is grammar. Man is not merely homo loquens; he is homo grammaticus. We can see this point more clearly if we look briefly at the idea of communication. Men have for centuries been interested in the language they speak, but only in recent years have they attempted to examine it in an objective or 'scientific' way. Some scholars, in their resolve to look at language without prejudice and preconception, have begun with the premise that language is a communication system and as such can and must be compared with other communication systems. Some such systems are those used by animals. The gibbons, for instance, have at least nine different calls. It has been claimed that bees have a complicated system of dances to indicate the direction, the distance and the quantity of newly discovered nectar. Other systems are mechanical; traffic lights, for instance, use three different colours, but give four different signals (in some countries five, where green as well as red combines with amber). All of these seem to have something in common with language. They all have something to communicate and they all have their own ways of communicating it. Can we say that these communication systems have grammars - and if not, why not? The study of these other systems has not proved to be very helpful in the detailed understanding of language, though it has helped us to see the ways in which language differs from them. The main difference here is the enormous complexity of language, and it is within this complexity that we must look for grammar. A gibbon call has merely a meaning such as 'danger' or 'food', and there are only nine or so different calls. The bees can tell only the direction, the distance and the amount of the nectar. The traffic lights can only signal 'stop', 'go', etc. But the possible sentences of English with all the possible meanings are myriad or, more probably, infinite in number. We do not learn the meaning of each of all these countless sentences separately. This is shown by the fact that many, if not most, of the sentences we produce or hear are new, in the sense that they are not identical with sentences that we have produced or heard before (and some have never been produced or heard by anyone), yet we understand their meaning. There is a highly complex system in their construction, and this complex system differs from language to language - that is why languages are different. Within this system there is a complex set of relations that link the sounds of the language (or its written symbols) with the 'meanings', the message they have to convey. In the widest sense of the term, grammar is that complex set of relations. According to one definition, the grammar of a language 'is a device that... specifies the infinite set of well-formed sentences and assigns to each of them one or more structural descriptions'. That is to say it tells us just what are all the possible sentences of a language and provides a description of them. This is no small task, but one that is well worthy of human study.

The essence of grammar It is a sad fact that we are very ignorant of some important aspects of speech. We have very little idea of the steps by which men came to speak and, indeed, no accurate assessment of the time at which speech began. At some time in the past man developed his speech organs; these were originally designed for eating and breathing, but became highly specialized for the purpose of speech. We do not know when or how this took place, for the organs are all of flesh and do not survive in fossil remains, and only a little can be conjectured from the shape of the jaw. In any case, if we knew how and when these organs developed this would tell us only how man came to master the sounds of language. It would tell us nothing about the development of the grammatical systems. The evidence for these goes back only as far as we have written records, a mere few thousand years, a tiny fraction of the total time that man has been speaking. We are ignorant too of the neurophysiological mechanisms that make speech, and grammar in particular, possible. We know that speech is normally located in the left hemisphere of the brain, though it is a remarkable fact that if this part is damaged in early childhood speech is still developed. Since in such cases another part of the brain is used it would seem that no part of the brain is especially adapted for speech. There are three characteristics of language that are important for the understanding of the nature of grammar: it is complex, productive and arbitrary. That language is highly complex is shown by the fact that up to now it has not proved possible to translate literary texts mechanically from one language to another, with really satisfactory results. The fault lies not in the computer but in the failure to provide it with sufficiently accurate instructions, because we are still unable to handle this vastly complex system. It has been suggested, moreover, that from what we know about language and the human brain speech ought to be impossible. For it has been calculated that if any of the known methods of computing language were used in the neurophysiological processes of the brain, it would take several minutes to produce or to understand a single short sentence! Part of the task of the grammarian is, then, to unravel the complexities of languages, and, as far as possible, simplify them. Yet total description of a language is an impossibility at present and even in the foreseeable future. Secondly, language is productive. We can produce myriads of sentences that we have never heard or uttered before... One task of grammatical theory is to explain this quite remarkable fact. As we shall see, many grammatical theories have failed in this. Thirdly, language is arbitrary. There is no one-to-one relation between sound and meaning. This accounts for the fact that languages differ, and they differ most of all in their grammatical structure. But how far are these differences only superficial, in the shape of the words and their overt patterns? Some scholars would maintain that 'deep down' there are strong similarities - even 'universal' characteristics, disguised by the superficial features of sound (and perhaps of meaning). It is not at all clear how we can find the answer to this problem. When we discuss grammar, however, we assume that many characteristics of language are shared. For this reason we talk of 'nouns', of 'verbs', of 'gender' or of 'number' and other such grammatical categories. What is grammar? There is a great deal of confusion about grammar because of the very many different ways in which the term is used in ordinary speech. Let us take a brief look at some of them. All of the following I would regard as misconceptions. I. A grammar of the language is a book written about it. The word 'grammar' is often used to refer to the book itself - school children may often ask 'May I borrow your grammar?' It is obvious, of course, that a grammar in this sense means a grammar book, a book about grammar, but there is a real danger that even if this is accepted, it may still be thought that, even if the grammar is not the book itself, it is at least what is in the book. But in this sense the grammar of the language is no more than the grammar as presented by the author of the book. 2. The grammar of the language is found only in the written language - spoken languages have no grammar or at least fluctuate so much that they are only partially grammatical. This viewpoint has been supported by the etymology of the word 'grammar' - it comes from the Greek word meaning 'to write'...

Grammar revision It is enough to comment here that in this sense languages which have never been written down would be said to have no grammar. But this we cannot accept. 3. Some languages have grammar, others do not: Chinese, for instance, has no grammar, and English has precious little. What is meant by this is that English has very few 'inflections' - that each word has only a few different shapes and that in Chinese all the words keep the same shape. Whereas in Latin the verb amo: 'I love' has over one hundred different forms, the English verb 'to love' has only four forms: love, loves, loved and loving (some verbs have five: take, takes, took, taken, taking), and the Chinese word for 'love' is always the same. But this is to use the term 'grammar' in a very restricted sense. It refers to MORPHOLOGY only, which deals with the forms of words, and omits altogether SYNTAX, which is concerned with the way in which words combine to form sentences. But the order of words is a matter of syntax and syntax is a part of grammar. A very important part of English grammar tells us that John saw Bill is different from Bill saw John and that a steel sheet is different from sheet steel; yet in the restricted sense of grammar that we are now considering, these differences would not be deemed grammatical. Grammar is something that can be good or bad, correct or incorrect. It is bad (incorrect) grammar to say 'It's me', for instance. This again is a widespread belief and also deserves careful consideration. Once again, however, notice that on this interpretation it will usually be languages that are formally taught in school or through books that are said to have any grammar. For it is at school or in books that we usually find the criteria for what is good and what is bad grammar. Some people know the grammar of their language, others do not. This is a little more subtle. It implies that a language does not have a grammar until it is made explicit and can be learnt from a grammar book or at school. But there is surely a sense in which knowing the grammar of a language means that you can speak it grammatically. An Englishman might well be said to know the grammar of French perfectly if he spoke it as grammatically as a Frenchman, but had never attended a class or read a book about French. It is fairly obvious from all this that I want to use the word 'grammar' in the sense suggested at the end of the last sentence. It describes what people do when they speak their language; it is not something that has to be found in books, written down or learnt by heart. As investigators, of course, we want to write about the grammar of a language; but writing it down does not bring it into existence any more than writing about biology creates living cells! Within linguistics, 'grammar' is normally used in a technical sense to distinguish it chiefly from PHONOLOGY, the study of the sounds of a language, and SEMANTICS, the study of meaning. It lies so to speak 'in the middle', between these two, and is related in a Janus-like way to both... Among some scholars the term 'grammar' is used in a rather wider sense to include, to some degree, both phonology and semantics, with the term 'syntax' used for the central portion.

The rules of grammar As I said before grammar can be good or bad, correct or incorrect. This might seem reasonable enough. Is grammar not like manners which can and should be the subject of approval or disapproval? This view is very widespread and is, of course, related to the other views that were discussed - that grammar is something that can or must be learnt from a book, and that knowing the grammar of a language means having an explicit knowledge of it. Some years ago, for instance, I lived in Wales and made an attempt to learn the Welsh language. One of my Welsh friends on hearing this commented, 'You'll learn to speak better Welsh than we do - you'll have learnt the grammar.' The implications are clear: there is a better and a worse kind of Welsh and the better kind is to be found in grammar books - it can be learnt and so 'known'. These misconceptions are all mixed together, but the basic mistake is seeing grammar as a set of normative rules - rules that tell us how we ought to speak and write. It is important incidentally to stress the word 'normative', since, as we shall see later, one theoretical model of grammar makes extensive use of rules; these will prove, however, to be descriptive rules (rules that describe the language), not prescriptive rules (rules that prescribe the language). That is, they will be rules that state what we in fact say, not rules that state what we ought to say. Normative grammar teaches us to say It is I instead of It's me, to avoid ending sentences with prepositions, to know the difference between owing to and due to, to use each other instead of one another when only two people are involved, and so on. The authority for these 'correct' forms lies, of course, in the grammar books. They have been drilled into generations of schoolboys, and it is no coincidence that we speak of the 'grammar' schools. In France there is an even more impressive authority, the French Academy, which since 1635 has been the body with the right to decide what is and what is not permissible in the French language. Most of these rules of grammar have no real justification, and there is therefore no serious reason for condemning the 'errors' they proscribe. What is correct and what is not correct is ultimately only a matter of what is accepted by society, for language is a matter of conventions within society. If everyone says It's me, then surely It's me is correct English. (For by what criterion can everyone within a society be guilty of bad grammar?) But we must be a little careful here. It is not simply a matter that whatever is said is thereby correct; I am not arguing that 'anything goes'. It depends on who says it and when. In other words, there are manners even in language. Certain language forms are regarded as uneducated or vulgar; this is a judgement that our society makes. Some forms of language are acceptable in certain situations only. At an interview for a job, for instance, we have to watch our language as well as our clothes. To use certain types of language there would be as detrimental as wearing old clothes. But most of the rules of the traditional grammar that has been taught over the years are not rules of behavior of this kind. They prescribe forms that many of us would never normally use, and, if we do, we feel we are 'speaking like a book'. The best way of seeing that these rules have no validity is to look at the justification, or supposed justification, that is given for them.

Latin and English First of all, many of the rules are essentially rules taken from Latin. Latin was the classical language known by all educated people and was once regarded as the model for all other languages. Even today there are people who say that Latin is more 'logical' than English. In the debate some years ago about the teaching of Latin at school and the requirement of Latin for entrance to Oxford and Cambridge, the familiar arguments were put forward - Latin helped to discipline the mind, Latin taught the students grammar. This latter statement was true in a rather paradoxical way. Since most English grammar teaching was based upon Latin, the students were often at a loss. They could not see why English had the subjunctive or a dative case, but when they learnt Latin it all became clear. Latin helped them with their English grammar, but only because English grammar was really Latin grammar all the time! The rule that we should say It is I is a typical example of a Latin rule taken over for English. The argument (which Read the full article

#book #Chinese #correct #English #French #grammar #language #latin #mind #morthology #phonetics #rules #School #structure #syntax #teaching #universal

0 notes

thepoetcarpenter · 2 years

Photo

The State of Being a Just Society As Understood Through An Age-Old Joke

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. This joke here is so old that we all have heard it since elementary school. In fact, it is probably so old that in time immemorial school children would tell it to each other. And ‘cause of that, there are truths to it. Let’s dissect it ‘til we have an understanding.

In terms of sentence structure, the question is in the past tense while the verb is in the present tense. We do not need to look at the noun ‘cause I think it is just arbitrary that there is a chicken instead say moose or man. The joke here is that the chicken is just crossing the road, then crossing a road philosophically imply that there is a physical and metaphorical road. Trying to estrapolate meanings from a joke and creating principals for our understanding of a just society is now starting to sound like talking into a hat with a magic rock in it in order to prophesize in the power of The LORD. But if it has worked for Joseph Smith it will work for me. And if I succeed at this then Mormonism is absolutely true. But we will leave Mormonism to the missionaries and the apologists for now.

So let’s go back to the chicken crossing the road. Why is the question in the past tense? It must be it has been done before. There must of been the very first chicken that has crossed the road and like the tree falling in the forest someone has witness this very first occasion. Though “cross” is present tense, which implies that it is a journey being taken. And I stress the fact that it is the being here that we want to grasp. So let say it is God here that has seen the chicken crossing. He has already seen it happen while the chicken is still in the midst of the crossing. In other words, he has seen the chicken on the other side already while the chicken is in fact in the act of doing it.

Then what is being implied here when we estrapolate meanings for our understanding of a just society by understanding this joke far removed from the fact that it is just a silly joke on the surface. It is that God has seen this just society already created while it being in the midst of creation. Then we have a thesis. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Then a society is only just in the state of being and not in the state of end. By that I mean, if we really live in a just society, our whole lives from our birth to our death, our country must give us fair and impartial rights and treatments regardless of which time of being we are in. In other words, when we come into existence into this said society ‘til we leave in our death, at any given moment we are in a time of being, and therefore we must get fair and impartial rights and treatments. At no point can the state withdraws from this commitment in absolution. Then if this applies to me as a citizen of the state, than a just society from its inception as a just society must always act accordingly and if it does not otherwise, it ceases to be just and no longer a just society.

However, if we go back to the point that the chicken is on a journey crossing the road, and if we use it in placement of a just society, even a just society is in this journey as well. What does that exactly even mean? It means for a society to be just, it cannot start being just and then by its very existence it is always just. A just society must hold justice to the absolute and in order for it to be just forever, it must then continue perpetually to strive for that perfect justice. In other words, we must hold justice as the highest of our ideals and we must continually put work in trying to achieve those ideals.

Then what happens when the chicken cross the road? It gets to the other side. What does that imply in regard to a just society. It means even when it reaches its ideal of justice at its completion, the fact that it holds justice in the absolute and holds perfect commitment and continual work to this absolution, then even when it crossed the road, it has always been just.

So lets use a different analogy. If our regards for justice, our perfect commitment and our continual work to this absolution and no one notices, it is like that tree that fell in a forest and no one heard. But in truth God has heard that tree fall. Then God has seen our resolution to a just society even when no one is looking. And that is the most important point, we must commit to a just society like no one is looking and only God sees. ‘cause in truth we waver and cut corners in our commitment to justice eventually if no one is looking. Only if we believe and take regard to the fact God is watching, then even when it is easy if we do not commit, if we do commit then that is a just society. In other words, we must always commit to our perfect ideals of a just society no matter the circumstances. That is a just society.

So why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. Then why did the man cross the road? Also to get to the other side. Then why do we build a just society? ‘cause we want to reach that end where we have a society where justice is held in the highest regards. And during that journey there, during the crossing of the road, we have always been just. What does it mean for me as an individual in this just society? We all want to be that chicken that crosses that road safely and successfully.

0 notes

goatedgreen · 2 years

Text

hi guys lets analyse this poem that c!wilbur wrote about Las Nevadas! I’m gonna go through line-by-line then come to a conclusion just like a secondary school poetry analysis essay yass, ill do it under a cut seeing as i think this is gonna get pretty long.

“I am the gilding of the gold” the first line in the poem establishes how c!wilbur view’s las nevadas as a whole, it summarises his thoughts about it both as a “structure” and as its function within the SMP. “gilding” the the process of layering a thin layer of gold over something, in order to give it the impression of being entirely gold, or to add frivolity to the item. something important about the gilding process is that usually, because the gold is so reflective and is very thin, it makes imperfections in the item below it easier to see.

c!wilbur comparing las nevadas to the gilding process shows us two things he thinks, he thinks that the country is in some way fake/ covering up for something, and he thinks that this covering up makes las nevadas appear more valuable than it actually is. I would even go so far as to say that he is comparing c!quackity to the “gold” in this metaphor. c!wilbur could be implying that c!quackity is using las nevadas as a gilding in order to appear more valuable/ more important than he truly is.

“i am the painting of the lily” we all know that lillies can represent grief, so one aspect of this line is fairly straight-forward. Lillies can also represent love, and purity as well, which i think is something that c!wilbur himself feels in multitudes towards c!quackity, he obviously wants to compete with him, this is a form of love itself, but there is also a kind of grief there with their shared history. and this bleeds into c!wilbur’s view of las nevadas, its a grief and love that he feels for his own failure to lead a country. But another aspect of the line is that the lily in question is a painted one. this connotates again, a fakeness that c!wilbur feels that las nevadas holds. the lily isnt real, so therefore las nevadas isnt real, so therefore it isnt as real as any feelings that c!wilbur had surrounding L’manburg, it isnt worth as much.

“i am the crushing of the sand, i am the tirading tide of bland” i combined these lines because in wilbur’s reading of the poem, these lines particularly flowed into eachother in the rythm of the poem. the crushing of sand refers, obviously, to las nevadas’ location of a desert, but could also be refering to feeling “ground down” by ones environment. las nevadas is something of which its immense weight will crush you and overwhelm you. overwhelm with ehat exacty? well we get our answer in the next line: it overwhelms you with how bland it is. the pervasive theme of fakeness carries through to this line too. the consistant bland-ness and emptiness that c!wilbur feels from las nevadas is crushing him, and weighing him down to the point of almost sweeping him away in the “tide”.

“i am the taunting silver light which penetrates and scars the sky” to c!wilbur, las nevadas is an eyesore. it’s an ugly creation which he feels taunted by, and seemingly hates to look at. its invasive.

“i am the remenants of hopes and dreams of all good men that come to die” this could be foreshadowing to whats to come further in the short story. it also represents how c!wilbur thinks of the rest of the people in las nevadas (likely including c!quackity, he once thought of him as a good man)

“i am the surgeon’s chromium dagger” i think the “surgeon” here is referring to quackity, i think the choice of dagger is interesting here. surgeons perform very precise operations that require precise equiptment, yet the surgeon in this metaphor is weilding a dagger, a weapon which is not at all careful or precise. this could represent that c!wilbur feels that while c!quackity is a precise and careful person, his “dagger” that he is choosing to weild, is clumsy and not effective for whatever he is trying to do, its basically going to cause more harm than good for the “patients”

“i am the turgid las nevadas” we finally get a name for the perspective of the poem in the last line, where las nevadas refers to itself as “turgid”. again, doubling down on the idea of las nevadas being needlessly frivilous and fake.. “pompous” as the definition puts it.

c!wilbur views las nevadas as a frivilous, ingenuine, eye-sore, that c!quackity is utilising for his own betterment against all logic and reason. seeing las nevadas makes c!wilbur grieve, both for the loss of his own country, and partially for the president of this new one.

#hitting on sixteen #c!wilbur #las nevadas #c!quackity #dream smp spoilers #blaze.essays

263 notes · View notes

euthym1as · 2 years

Note

hi sorry I don't know if this has been asked/covered before, but I was wondering about more alien! god reader au headcanons?

In particular, I'm interested in how language would work/be translated. Words/sayings that are translated oddly or not quite right.

For example, there's a concept of "face" in Thai (my mother tongue) and I think also in other Asian countries. It's basically like your reputation or how people perceive/think of you. If you were to use in English it doesn't really make sense, ex. "I need to get better marks in school to save face for the family". Or ex. "Laura showed her true face when she snapped at her boyfriend yesterday."

This could apply for any culture really, even North America. I'm just curious as to your take on it :)

OOOH LINGUISTICS BEING FUNKY IS MY JAM OKAY LETS GET INTO IT

- some earth languages, like arabic and vietnamese, are incredibly tonal! which means a reader from any of those countries would often repeat the same phrase over and over again, but get frustrated when in mondstat (based on germanic languages) nobody understands the nuance between both sentences.

- a reader that speaks chinese will have an easy time adapting to liyue's style of writing (bc. based on the same place) BUT liyue's tiny character distinctions may LOOK like a chinese character and,,, not mean it. zhongli is trying to hide the shock on his face because you asked for a shoe sole instead of a steak strip.

- i pity the american that winds up in inazuma. they'll be on the shoguns watchlist before sundown. (this is as an american) the amount of meaning each word has in inazuma, and the history each word holds would befuddle a reader that's grown up around bastardized indigenous languages like cherokee and sioux.

- sumeru has the same etymological root as sumerian tablets, which makes me think the writing style will more resemble hieroglyphics/ mathematical symbols. not to be a nerd on main but maybe sumeru's sentences look like gallifreyan, and you have to take the whole sentence in instead of the sum of its parts. rip to any romance languages based on latin because none of that is helping you here.

- when reader deals with these things, they're well connected enough to have people help them, so here are my designated Language Helpers from each region

Mondstat would have you listen to Fischl's lengthy diatribes to understand the lengthy word structure of Mondstatian sentences. Much like German, Mondstatians often string smaller word roots together to make one word mean a cohesive topic.

Eula would help you with the (quintessentially English) metaphors and turns of phrase that might befuddle an outsider- or even just a commonfolk!

Liyue would have the adeptal lawyer Yanfei explain the ins and outs of Liyuen language (and how it can be used in your favor) because so much of law relies on language! She would make sure that the contractual and thorough nature of Liyuen cultural touchstones would be understood by anyone unfamiliar with the language. The language the land of contracts uses to make their contracts is treasured, and she would guide you through it.

Inazuma would have you guided by two people- Kamisato Ayaka, a native to the Kamisato Estate and all of its history, would personally guide you to all of the places Inazuman regional dialect originated from. She loves this land, and the people she sees, and she values the culture of Inazuma so deeply the two of you sit on the shores of Amakane Island and practice calligraphy of the most important Inazuman values- and maybe the Kamisato crest, too.

The second person to help in Inazuma would be Sangonomiya Kokomi, and she would whisper to you the secrets of a land long gone behind the roar of a waterfall. Something stirs in you when the names of old Greek mythological figures, and you wonder if Time/Kronos is a constant througout universes.

#this took forever bc i got stuck in a ban battle game #keeg speaks #keeg writes #ayaka #yanfei #eula #kokomi #fischl #uhhh #alien reader #sentient genshin #genshin self aware #sagau #asks

103 notes · View notes

decolonizationxabolition · 3 years

Text

Neocolonial Critiques of Settler Colonial Theory: Commentary on "Decolonization is not a metaphor"

So this blog post will be a critique piece (part 1) of the essay “Decolonization is not a metaphor” which is basically an essay that centers the lens of settler colonial theory (there are different theories/frameworks and I will quickly define them in the paragraph following this one) and I have nothing AGAINST settler colonial theory or post-colonial theory at all and I can actually get down with much of what they point out and discuss, but as someone that has been taught neo-colonial theory, I still think that there are some things I would like to pull apart, discuss, and critique (also I don’t want to seem like I am attacking anyone, that is not the purpose of this blogpost). I am also just giving my personal informed opinions on this topic, especially as it relates to the prison industrial complex and the topic of decolonization from a more neo-colonial perspective.

What is settler colonial theory and what other theories are out there?

Settler colonialism - specific form of colonialism whereby an imperial power seizes Native territory, eliminates the people by force, and resettles the land with foreign, invading population. (Red Nation definition)

Post colonialism - the critical academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. (Wikipedia)

Neo-colonialism - a variant of colonialism which does not rely on physical force. Rather, it uses cultural and market influences to create resistances against decolonization and enforce integration into a core imperialist economy (globalization); the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies. (The Red Nation; Oxford Languages)

I would like to think that neo-colonialism is a theory/framework that really pulls apart how our society is currently structured, especially as it relates to capitalism. As the devastating consequences of market influences continue to destroy the land, I would like to think that these things aren’t just a concern for indigenous folks themselves, but basically everyone at this point, especially considering the whole climate change situation. But let us continue on with some of the critiques I have/some thoughts I’ve been having.

“Who is and is not a settler?” and is that as relevant as we think it is anymore?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GFx Studios | BLACK ACTIVISM (@gfx_prints)

instagram

I just want to point out that although white settlers are problematic (I’m talking Jeff Bezos, Zuckerberg, etc.) I also think that who is/isn’t a settler can become irrelevant up to a point and in certain situations. Non-settlers are very capable of upholding settler identity because of their social positionality in any given imperial nation (i.e. defense of privilege/property, access to resources and/or education, etc.). In “Decolonization is not a metaphor”, Tuck and Yang state

“The other forms of colonialism that is attended by postcolonial theories and theories of coloniality is internal colonialism, the biopolitical and geopolitical management of people, land, flora, fauna, and fauna within the ‘domestic’ borders of the imperial nation. This involves the use of particularized modes of control - prisons, ghettos, minoritizing, schooling, policing - to ensure the ascendancy of a nation and it’s white elite*.... Strategies of postcolonialism, such as segregation, divestment, surveillance, and criminalization, are both structural and interpersonal… Within settler colonialism, the most important concern is land…. Settler colonialism is a structure, not an event…

*in using terms ‘white’ and ‘whiteness’, we are acknowledging that whiteness extends beyond phenotype ”

Although I don’t disagree that whiteness extends beyond phenotype, I do disagree with this idea that some Indigenous folks, that are very much at least mixed race or multiracial, get to completely distance themselves from “whiteness” solely based on this consensus that whiteness goes beyond phenotype, especially since there are a lot of Indigenous folks that look basically white. It is very clearly both phenotype and positionality within the hierarchy of capitalism. This is something that is very apparent to me because of the prison industrial complex (which is in fact a structure that is part of the colonial state and is dependent on complex networks, capitalism, and racism). I think that there are a lot of indigenous folks that don’t want to realize that they do in fact benefit from whiteness and colonial nationhood because of phenotype, but I also think that there are folks that don’t want to admit that they also benefit from colonial nationhood because of their class. A lot of this has to do with some folks' relationship with policing; having any type of white privilege, whether that be phenotype or class, has it’s benefits because you suffer a lot less from the structures imposed by colonialism, like the prison industrial complex (especially in the context of the United States). So, let’s talk about what whiteness actually is and how Indigenous, Black, and other POC end up participating in this problematic system unconsciously.

Defining whiteness, white passing, and white privilege

Racial passing - occurs when a person classified as a member of a racial group is accepted or perceived ("passes") as a member of another. Historically, the term has been used primarily in the United States to describe a person of color or of multiracial ancestry who assimilated into the white majority to escape the legal and social conventions of racial segregation and discrimination. (Wikipedia)*

*note~ since this is a Wikipedia source, I will link to the article where it’s sourced from and the sources from there, which are: [a] [b] [c] [d]*

-- successfully white passing individuals may have access to economic security, safety, and the avoidance of stigma

There are white passing folks (which is term used for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian folx) that may not look fully “Anglo-Saxon white” but still have white privilege(s) and participate and reinforce colonial systems from their “perceived proximity to whiteness”, regardless of racial presentation, appearance, and/or identity. This is not to say that white passing folks don’t experience racism or oppression to a certain extent, but they do however experience less of it. Because of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian folks that take up space in the middle and even upper class, they benefit from white privilege because of their social conditions and some folks that are not middle class still have white privilege because of being mixed or multi-racial, since these are all benefits that come from settler colonial nationhood.

In regards to how this relates to Indigenous folks and the prison industrial complex, this article talks about how

“For many multiracial adults, their experiences are similar to those who identify themselves as single races. For example, 40 percent of mixed-race adults with a black background said they have been unfairly stopped by the police because of their racial background. However, only 6 percent of biracial white and Asian adults and 15 percent of white and American Indian adults said they have had this experience.”

and the study that this article talks about I will link here.

However, I also would like to point out that it isn’t just race that drives the prison industrial complex, class also plays a role in this system, and if you so happen to not be low-income or on the poverty line this gives you a perceived proximity to whiteness, regardless if whether you actually look racially Black, brown, Indigenous, or Asian. According to this study,

“Privilege is inherent within any construction of whiteness”

and that

“whiteness can be defined as a set of practices that function to protect and maintain privilege, while others define whiteness simply as the experience of privilege”.

Hence why the term was made for Black folks in the middle class along with other POC. This article talks about how socioeconomic status plays a huge role in a lot of Black folks overrepresentation in the criminal justice system, according to Nathaniel Lewis who conducted a study at the People’s Policy Project. Lewis claims that economic oppression matters first. Lewis found that

“ ‘Though for all but one of the seven models the effect of being in the middle rather than bottom class level was stronger than the effect of being white rather than black.’ In other words, middle-class and rich people were equally as likely to have served more than a year in prison regardless of race, but a poor black person was more likely than a poor white person to do so.”

So I would just like to point out that having money does give you white privilege, especially when it comes to being imprisoned by the colonial state.

Regardless of all of this, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian folks still disproportionately consist of jail populations.

I just want to point out that touching on nuance, especially as it relates to the prison industrial complex and colonialism, is extremely important and should not be ignored or dismissed. I think that instead of trying to police who is white/settler and who isn’t is quite frankly not helpful. I personally think that oppression has a lot to do with race and capitalism together and it is not one or the other.

Since this blog post turned out to be very long, I will be doing my criticisms in parts so this will inevitably have ~to be continued~.

#Instagram #prison industrial complex #decolonization #indigenous #indigenous theory #neocolonialism #settler colonialism #post colonialism #education #accessibility #white passing

40 notes · View notes

studyvibes · 3 years

Text

Hello guys so I thought it would be nice to translate an interview with Maneskin which is originally in Russian.

Thank you @teatrodellavita for sending me the link for the interview ❤️

So to warn you all before you read the translated interview, this is translation everything from Russian to English so all the maneskin answers were basically translated x2 (Italian -> Russian -> English) so there might be some Chinese whisper/telephone effect. Also I struggle with Russian idioms/metaphors so I’ll note them if they are during the interview.

I’ll leave the link here so you can follow the time stamps all of the questions. Also I tried my best making a nice structure which was hard because this whole post was written on tumblr mobile app

https://youtu.be/16NIbGDcycI

youtube

(I’ll be writing in personal notes to explain some parts in italic and bold)

So the video starts with the host making a parody of 80s Italy video promoting a vinyl. I am not sure, correct me if I am wrong, but I think that’s a reference to their New Years special episode. I skipped parts of the host talking because I don’t see it relevant to the Maneskin interview. Also I’d like to note that if you want to compare the host he is similar in hosting style like Jimmy Kimmel, he trying to ask questions with a bit of humour

[2:02] Host: Our guest, the winners of Eurovision: Maneskin!!!

[2:08] Maneskin performing I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE

[4:59] Host: Maneskin!!! *clapping*

Damiano: Thank you

Host: Thank you! Grazie! (Says other random Italian phrases, which I don’t know how to spell)

[5:21] Host: I was informed that on Yandex Music in our country (YandexMusic is a streaming service) you became more popular than Billie Eilish. You are the most popular band/group in the country based on streaming your music.

Host: Tell me how do you feel about Billie Eilish? Are you happy that you surpassed quiet singing woman from America (he didn’t mean it in harsh way more like a joke way)

Victoria: Poor Billie

Damiano: We really like her. There isn’t any competition with her, it’s not that important. But we are happy that our audience is here.

*audience clapping*

[5:55] Host: (said something that I couldn’t hear because of the clapping)

Host: You know, thanks to you we noticed how much in TV and Russia we see rarer and rarer people come/visit in leather and lace

*audience laugh in the background*

Host: And honestly speaking, looking at you we realize how much we miss it, we lack it, you have very very beautiful costumes/outfits

Damiano: thank you very much

Host: it just lacking blue and then a bit we’ll have a russian flag

*audience laugh*

[6:31] Host: what are your thoughts/feelings of Russia? What are your thoughts/feelings of meeting your fans? Where did you go? You are already a couple of days here, what did you like?

Damiano: Very pretty. It is very rare when we could go for walk, we saw the Red Square. The public is very warm so we appreciate/it’s very nice.

Victoria/Damiano (Not sure if this translated part was from Victoria or Damiano): We received a lot of Vodka as gifts

Ethan: and chocolate

Host: In this country you are the first people to receive vodka as a gift. (I think it’s sarcasm because I know a lot of people who received vodka as a visitor/ gifted vodka for visitors)

*audience laughs*

Host: but it’s ok, maybe it’ll become a tradition.

[7:04] Host: Tell me, a bit, for all of us who know you after the Eurovision. How was the band created? Who first joined the band. Am I right that Thomas, Victoria, you *pointing Thomas and Victoria* you first then Damiano joined? Tell us

Thomas: We went to the same school, and during that time we met each other. Then Damiano joined our band and then we made the band. A lot of different people came to us - we were looking for a soloist and drummer

Victoria: and during that time Damiano joined us.

Victoria:We choose Damiano because he was the only who could actually sing

Thomas: and then later Ethan joined the band. We found him *pointing at Ethan* on Facebook

Host: So you wrote something that you are looking for a drummer right? How did it happen? What did you write, what to write so I can join you as the 5th member with accordion

*audience laughing*

Ethan: Accordion is a bit difficult instrument *audience laughing* to use in rock music, but you can send us your resume, we will look at it.

[8:35] Host: We have a question from our band called ‘фрукты (Fruits)’ which is performing already 10 years. So the question is: you, just like the band Fruits, started from street performing, right? Like outside nearly at the streets of Via de Corso in Rome?

Damiano: Yes

Host: When you performed outside did you already wear the same costumes/outfits? How much as an estimate did you earn a day? It’s very interesting, a lot of bands will travel to that street, to repeat your journey.

Victoria: We dressed worse

Damiano: We dressed the style of hippie, but we earned a bit of money. One time, one boy came up and dropped for us 20 euros. It didn’t matter on the day, and one time a guy/young man came up and dropped 50 euros in to our box.

*Host pointing at himself proudly, audience laughing*

Victoria: So it was you!

Host: Oofcourse

Victoria: We thought we saw your face somewhere before.

*audience laughing*

Host: Of course guys, I left the boutique and thought hmmm what do I do with useless money, ofcourse.

[9:50] Host: Also about the band Fruits I just can’t not say it, Damiano, when you turn to your profile, *asking camera men to move the camera close up to the soloist of the band Fruits* *we see her side profile* I think during your childhood you both were separated, you look so alike. Damiano, maybe you have relatives in this country.

Damiano: *Damiano laughs*

Damiano: Maybe

*continues laughing*

Host: maybe, maybe

Damiano: It is possible, my dad was in Russia. *Damiano starts to laugh more, audience and laughing and clapping, camera goes on the soloist of the band Fruits smiling looking shy/embarrassed*

Host: She has the exact same story, her mother was visiting Italy

[10:23] Host: I can’t stop talking about your costumes/outfits (positively). And that you returned us faith/hope in Italian music in our country, which we really really love here, but also faith/hope in rock music. You are a group which uses more than one guitar and doesn’t used a drum machine and suddenly became very popular that we grateful for you because the word rock appeared and returned thanks to you.

Host:It is clear that you love rock music which is now considered the past rock and know the history of rock music. If you were offered to be able to go to a concert from the past, from any band, where would you want to go? Each one of you

Damiano: maybe the performance of Queen, would’ve been fun to see

Host: Victoria, which band and which performance?

Victoria: hmmm...possibly David Bowie, his tour.

Host: Ethan?

Ethan: If it was possible to return in the past, I would’ve traveled to the Woodstock

Victoria: he has has there contacts/ connections

*Damiano imitates smoking and laughs*

Host: oh I can’t repeat that after you

Host: and Thomas?

Thomas: I would go to the 70s for Jimi Hendrix

[12:00] Host: Where do you buy your clothes? Like from the basics, so I arrive to Rome and I have more than 50 euros, thank god, and I want to buy clothes. Where do I buy the clothes?

Maneskin (I wasn’t sure who’s comment the translator translated): just in the stores

*audience laughing*

Damiano: There is nothing funny *Damiano smiling* It’s true *He starts laughing*

Host: I’ll be honest I haven’t been in Rome for a very long time. But it’s in vintage stores right?

*Maneskin agreeing*

[12:30] Host: I have a very important moment, it is that you for the first time..mm.. finally brought back what we all missed and exactly that is bright and beautiful, outlined dignity male makeup on stage. Speaking of this..... talking veryyy slow so they can translate them quickly... speaking of this, I have a small favour/request ... *he kinda goes of track for a second* who does the make up, do you do it yourself?

Maneskin: no no

Damiano: no we have makeup artists, actually one makeup artist, very talented, well done. Between all of us, Victoria is best as makeup.

Host: Yeah, but with Victoria it’s understandable, it’s clear that she start trying makeup sooner than you did.

Host: I have an offer, imagine you don’t have your makeup artist and you have a person who urgently needs makeup applied. I would like to ask if you, Damiano, and the member could apply the makeup on my face? I honestly don’t know what you need to apply to makeup *he is opening palettes of makeup*

*Damiano stands up walking towards the host

Host: (in English) Thomas if you wanna, you know help, please.

*Thomas joins Damiano*

Host:(back in Russian) Victoria you can hint them

Translator: She (Victoria) said that you (Host) choose the wrong helpers

*audience laughs*

Host: Yeah? Then come join

*Victoria and Ethan join*

(Ok here it goes messy cause they are all talking and the translator instantly translates so I might have mixed up)

*Victoria points at some makeup product (can’t see which one)*

Host: This one?! Victoria...

Damiano: wait, I’ll go first, first add a bit of eyeliner

*Damiano applies eyeliner under the eye of the host*

Victoria: you started under the eye, you should’ve started from the top

Host: *joking* I’ll also always start with this line

*Victoria smiling shakes her head, audience laughing*

Damiano: Its the type of makeup you wear when you go grocery shopping

*Audience is laughing, host tries not to laugh while Damiano is applying eyeliner on him*

Host: I was actually planning to go grocery shopping

*Thomas and Victoria start applying eyeshadow on different parts of hosts face*

Host: Sto-wha- already other parts being applied?

*Audience laughing*

Host: Ok guys... but..

Host: Ethan is it ok? Your the only one I can trust in this group

Support host in the background: he’ll need to be returning home (as a joke implying he needs to look decent when he leaves the studio)

*Victoria applies makeup on the host lips*

Host: Also lips?! Hmmm

Ethan: you look good

Damiano: close your eyes *applies upper eyeliner*

Damiano: (in English) I don’t know what I am doing

Host: (in Russian) you don’t know what you are doing? No, that’s too late to tell me.

Damiano: (in English) that’s why we have a makeup artist

Host: (in Russian) no, wait, now your make up artist will say why am I even needed by this band.

Ethan: just a final touch *applies eyeshadow on the tip of the hosts nose, and walks away with two thumbs up*

*host laughs and then picks up mirror to look at the work*

Host: not bad guys, to be honest, not bad.

Damiano: (in Italian) No it’s true, look how pretty he is, very pretty

Host: guys I want to tell you one thing: never fire your make up artist

*audience laughing*

Host: Thank you for your visit and we are very grateful for your performance

Host: And what can I say, we are waiting here and with the whole company will to you concert. Grazie mille

————————————

Ooooooff that took wayyyy longer I planned, it was hard because I had to relisten some parts to know who actually said, like it is easier when it’s only one person cause I get to translate quicker.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this translation, if you have any maneskin interviews in Russian or German (warning: my German is a bit ruff from lack of practicing) which you would like me to translate, message me :)

#maneskin #måneskin #maneskin interview #thomas raggi #damiano david #victoria de angelis #ethan torchio #maneskin damiano #maneskin thomas #maneskin victoria #maneskin ethan #Youtube #my translations #my post

37 notes · View notes

darkpurpledawn · 3 years

Text

ladling out a bowlful of hubris as I do the fanfic asks game even though I’ve been taking a writing hiatus this whole spring and summer

thank you for the tag @heavens-bookshop!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

14. I tend to leave shorter stuff (<2500 words) on tumblr, but I have several works on Ao3 shorter than my longest tumblr ficlets

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

143,641. someday I’d like to write a fic that’s longer than that. baby steps

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

...it’s pretty much all Good Omens. back in early 2019 I wrote a few bits and pieces of (MCU) Thor fanfic, but GO is the only thing I’ve published!

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Anthony J. Crowley, Retired Demon and Airbnb Superhost (3k, G)

Exactly what it says on the tin, in fake review format

A Visit to the Pet Shop (2k, T)

Outside POV of the herp supply store owner who encounters Crowley and Aziraphale

In Mixed Company, Or the Corporate Retreat of Heaven and Hell (52k, M)

Continuing the trend of spelling the whole fic premise in the title. it delights and amuses me to no end that this one is included in the collection “Fics in which Gabriel doesn’t suck”

Come Adore on Bended Knee (and Other Ways to Make an Angel Rejoice) (5k, M)

Friends to mutual blowjobs speedrun, Christmas edition

There Were Angels Dining at the Ice Cream Parlour (2k, T)

My first fic from back in the heady summer days of 2019

All of these are from the time the fandom was just straight up bigger, but looking at patterns among my own fics it seems like weird formats, smut, and very long and specific titles tend to do well, all of which Checks Out

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try! I feel like a goof writing replies, but I am super grateful for them and I do attempt to respond, albeit erratically. I don’t usually reply to comments that are just a few words or emojis, not because I don’t appreciate them, but because I feel a little obnoxious writing a thank you that’s longer than the comment??? idk I’m probably overthinking it

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

SO when I first started writing fanfic, I thought I was going to write all unresolved pining historical fics all the time, and accordingly, my first chaptered fic, A House in the Country, is a melancholy 1920-set slice of life in which Aziraphale and Crowley take a trip to the Lake District and pine for each other. I don’t think it’s super angsty but it ends on a somber note

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I was going to say no, but then I remembered one of my absolute favorite things I’ve written is technically a Good Omens/Macbeth crossover

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope!

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes, inclined towards “lots of foreplay and then a weird but hopefully suggestive sequence of metaphors, all in some kind of Uncertain and Forbidden Situation”

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No I keep my fics locked in my fic safe and u can’t have em

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!!

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope, not yet

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

Aziraphale/Crowley, definitely. Also shoutout to Hermione/Ron and Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy...apparently my type is Person Who Excelled At Formal Education/Redhead, And They Argue A Lot

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

hey hey hey I am going to finish both of my Good Omens WIPs! I do have an unpublished horror comedy WIP that I’d like to post around Halloween but am completely stuck on because I can’t decide what it should be rated, so I may use parts of that for other things if I can't pick a tone

15) What are your writing strengths?

*Mike Wazowski voice* These are the jokes, kid

I’d also say I can write sexual stuff that is not repetitive and dialogue that sounds in character. Oh, and I genuinely enjoy writing titles and summaries!

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

besides…not writing…

On a structural level, I have a tendency to take too long getting to first plot beats and then rush endings. On a sentence level I think I have a terminal case of Dependent Clause Disease that genuinely interferes with clarity

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

No real thoughts other than whenever I am reading an old book and someone says something in gratuitous French or one of the 12 expressions I know in Latin I feel very Smart bc the fifth grade snob lives within me

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

It’s been so interesting seeing responses to this question from people who have been writing fic since their early teens or childhood! I didn’t write any fanfic before 2019 or any fiction at all except for school projects. I wrote maybe 1k words of Thor fanfic that summer and then went straight on to Good Omens

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

In Mixed Company, for sure. I’m hopeful that when I finish current WIPs it’ll be Lest They Be Flatmates though!

tagging @lenore-is-lost and @mllekurtz if you'd like, and anybody else who sees this post!

#fic writer asks #long post #good omens fanfic

26 notes · View notes

lettrespromises · 4 years

Text

PLAN À TROIS.— TODOROKI, BAKUGOU.

A.N:

❝ dear reader,

why hello it is i, nikki, back at it again. this post was specifically written thanks to @sasukelore’s big brain, meaning that this one is for the boys with the booming system, top down, AC with the cooler system😔✊🏻. it’s my first attempt at writing smut (which means it’s a direct ticket to hell) so please bare with me, i hope you’ll like it! if you have any feedback, please feel free to send it to me! also, my requests are open for business hehe.

sincerely yours,

nikki.

P.S: “plan à trois” has a double meaning— it means “threesome” in french but it also literally means “a plan involving three people” which is the core of the story, both literally and figuratively. ❞

Genre: Smut. (All three of the characters have been aged up.)

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of drugs (but no actual use of drugs), unprotected sex (please use a condom), nudity, spanking, choking, cunnilingus, blow-job, temperature play, threesome, dirty things.

Word count: 6.5k (she’s a big girl, don’t be shy.)

Letter object: One hotel. One gala. One mission. One person to take down. Three heroes. You and Shoto have to play the perfect fake couple to gain your enemy’s trust, the only thing is, Shoto has no clue how to behave as a couple. The unexpected help comes from Ground Zero who seems a bit too impatient and eager to show Shoto how to really treat a lady.

Metaphorically speaking, the heroes are seen as the predators and the villains as the preys, it’s always been that way— an eternal game of hide and seek, which only ends in binary results, either victory or loss. The latest news concerning the hero world had put this little game to a halt: the hushed rise of the anti-quirks drugs were concerning. The enemy was everywhere and nowhere, it was all whispers, a thread of ‘who said what’, mere illusions replaced authentic clues. The rules of the game had been changed into a paradox where the villains became the predators and the heroes were deemed as the preys.

The rule of silence, which could have easily been personified as the ringleader of this dystopic scenario, was cruel— anyone could be suspected of being a link of the drug chain. But fret not, if you were suspected and voices started to echo around louder and louder, a little bit of hush money was the price to pay to reinstate the rule of silence. Anyone could be a culprit, even (or mostly) into the highest spheres of society. Those who are worshipped in an agnostic way, they were on top of the social food chain and, perhaps even, on top of the drug chain. These elites have been very vocal about their will to suppress the almighty authority pro-heroes possess— feeling threatened for their own sake and their own inferiority complex, they were willing to play dirty to be able to rule the country with an iron fist.

The corrupted elites still remained as elites and enjoyed their mondane occupations— galas being one of them. It was a dream opportunity for you as a pro-hero, a room crowded with highly potential culprits served on a silver plate with a cup of champagne to serve as the cherry on the cake.

Stealth missions were highly dangerous if you didn’t have a cover good enough, and treading on the playground of influential people could possibly cost you your career as a pro-hero, but if you managed to succeed, you were bound to bask in glory. Keeping a realistic cover is the number one check on the list entitled “how not to blow up your whole mission and be hated by the rest of the country.” Luckily enough, your agence had already done all the dirty work for you and sent you everything you needed— a flawlessly cut evening attire, a shockingly well-done fake ID and a full file regarding the background of your character, all down to the tiniest details. And I cannot emphasize enough “all” the details...

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…” Amongst the myriad of details (and some of them were completely unnecessary, I mean, was your favorite fruit really important?), one of them was impossible to ignore. “Shoto Todoroki, really?” His name rolled off your tongue for a reason, you were supposed to play his pseudo fiancée for the night. Your thumb brushed the surface inked with his name, unconsciously wishing that if you were brushing hard enough, his name would disappear and so would your almost wilted high school crush on him.

Your silent complains were cut short, the sound of someone knocking on your door stirred you from the invasion of your thoughts. Then the knocking sound echoed once more. “Just a second!” Has anyone heard of the concept of patience? Waiting a few seconds for someone to open the door isn’t a inhuman task. Eventually (although it could’ve have been funny to let this mysterious person fume because you purposefully took too long), you opened the door to your hotel room and it just felt like you had welcomed a storm in. Much to your surprise, there were two surprise guests, two U.A alumnis just like you— Shoto and Ground Zero.

“Well, shit, were you planning on letting us fucking die in the hallways, woman?! What the fuck took you so goddamn long, ha?” When I mentioned a storm earlier on today, I meant Bakugou Katuski— his annoyance was transcripted upon his face through the frowning of his eyebrows and the wrinkle sitting between them. “It’s good to see you too Bakugou, glad to see you missed me after all this time.” His hands were shoved in his pockets, clearly not keen on listening to your sarcastic remarks nor wearing a tuxedo for the night. “Tch. Keep your smart ass talk to yourself, dumbass.”

You had indeed let a storm invade your hotel room. But unbeknownst to you, you had also welcomed a hypotizing breeze, the polar opposite of Bakugou, and apparently future fiancé for the night: Shoto Todoroki. His facial expression reflected nothing but pure serinity, a signature stoic face which radically clashed with Bakugo’s scowl. Todoroki was so discreet, almost blending his presence with the newfound silence. He was wearing an evening suit of his own, aquamarine was his color after all, it was a known fact since your high school years.

“Y/N, as you may be aware, I am here for the stealth mission. Bakugou is going to accompany us just in case something goes wrong. It was a last minute change, but considering the household names who are going to attend this gala, too much precaution is better than not enough.” Ohh, so that was the reason why the angry gremlin was here. Although, you wondered how Shoto felt about the two of you acting as a fake engaged couple, was he still serene about that? “Yeah, while you two fake lovebirds will be busy eating each other’s faces off, I’m gonna be around to check if there is any intell on these anti-quirk selling bastards.” Each of his word was accompanied by a hand gesture pivoting between you and Shoto and, of course, the same old look of annoyance plastered upon his face. You and Shoto, on the other one hand, appeared a bit surprised at the use of “fake lovebirds”, it just hasn’t sunk in yet... Denial, perhaps?

“Speaking of kissing and shit— you, half and half bastard, do you still have a fucking stick up your ass or do you know how to act in a relationship?!” His interrogation was accompanied with a daring glance thrown in Todoroki’s direction and an eyebrow lifted just to emphasize the characteristic of his question a bit more. A bold question which immediately found its answer from the mouth of Todoroki, needless to say, you felt this remark coming. “Bakugou, you’re the last person here who could pretend having the knowledge necessary to provide relationship advices.” You couldn’t help but let a laugh escape at Todoroki’s remark highlighted by its bluntness, although you quickly changed your mind once you felt Bakugou’s stare landing on you with such rage causing you to hush your laugh by biting your thumb.

“Ha?! What the fuck did you just say, half and half bastard? Use that fucking mouth for yours for good measure and let’s see if you can kiss Y/N correctly. I won’t let this mission be blown up by your stupid ass.” This time, there was a hint of amusement in Bakugou’s voice, it was hard to distinct if he asked that because he truly cared about the mission or if he just wanted to push Todoroki out of his comfort zone. But the ghost of a smirk drawn upon his face seemed to support the second hypothesis.

“Guys, just a second here. I understand why we have to take care of our cover but it’s not like Todoroki and I are going to kiss all night long.” Your gaze alterned between Todoroki and Bakugou, it became impossible to hold your gaze on a fix structure due to how flustered you felt, and soon enough, your cheeks were quick to adopt a rosy tone. “Y/N, are you scared of kissing me by any chance?” You secretly hated the obvious tone of concern in Todoroki’s voice, he was willing to do anything to make this mission a success but also make sure you were comfortable around him. “N-No! It’s just… I don’t mind it.” What a miracle, you finally managed to look at him in the eyes but the blush on your cheeks was as lively as ever. “Then damn, if you don’t mind it just fucking kiss already we don’t have all night, dumbass.” You could tell by Bakugou’s body language that he was growing more and more impatient by the second, his arms were crossed over his chest— he was getting pissed.

Todoroki captured your attention once more when his index brushed the surface of your skin right below your chin while his thumb was carefully set upon your jawline. His orbs shone by their gleam of reassureance, his eyes met yours, as a silent way to ask your for permission and you fluttered your lids shut as an answer. As if it was some kind of second nature to him, his other arm compassed your waist in order to bring you close to him. His lips finally touched yours. Each one of his actions was so soft, you could barely feel them yet, you felt like you were floating on a cloud. His lips were melting ever so perfectly with yours, as if your lips were the sole one which could fit is, you couldn’t help but to hum as the carefulness of his lips overwhelmed you. The kiss was shy, experimental, and yet so agonizing. He was temptingly and agonizingly slow, which only made you crave for more. However, given the lack of oxygen, you had no choice but to (relanctutly) break the kiss. You opened your eyes and basked in Todoroki’s beauty, still in awe at what just happ—… “Oi! Have you ever kissed anyone before, Icyhot? Fucking hell, what was that?!”

Of course this was bound to be expected— the angry gremlin in his natural behavior. You and Todoroki exchanged a look which held a thousand questions before you felt your wrist being caught by a much warmer palm, and eventually, you were yanked straight into Bakugou’s chest (not that you were complaining.) “Open your damn eyes and look, this how you fucking kiss a woman, dipshit.” The sound of his voice roaring against your eardrum made you flinch in the nicest way possible. Bakugou naturally made himself at ease all while maintaining his gaze upon Todoroki who was looking at him in return with a noticeable disdain in his eyes.

Bakugou was challenging him in a way, he perfectly knew that Todoroki was observing his every move, hence why he took the liberty to let his palm roam over the curve of your derrière as a way to taunt him. However, the taunt didn’t last too long not to make you feel uncomfortable. He quickly settled one of his hand on the small of your back (to maintain you as close to him as humanly possible) whilst his other hand was set upon your neck. He didn’t waste any more time and went straight to business.

Bakugou’s kiss was, as expected, a vivid contrast compared to Todoroki’s kiss. While Todoroki’s felt hesitant, caring, sweet… Bakugou’s kiss was rough around the edges and his sole purpose was to make your knees weak. Once he crashed his lips upon yours, he immediately swiped his tongue over the surface of your bottom lip, demanding immediate access to your mouth. You knew better than to upset Bakugou so you pleased and allowed his tongue to explore your mouth— your tongue was at his mercy for a few instants before finding a steady rhythm for you two. His presence was overwhelming— his smell, how close you were to him with nowhere to escape, his mouth, his tongue, everything caused you to rightfully let a moan escape into the kiss. At the sound of it, Todoroki’s eyes widened while Bakugou smirked into the kiss, he knew he made a point. You, in return, started to tug at his blonde hair— the rough atmosphere of the kiss affected your actions as well. Just prior to breaking the kiss, Bakugou’s teeth dug into your bottom lip and applied a few pressures while you were looking at him with pleading eyes to continue. Once he got what we wanted, he ended the kiss with a surprisingly soft peck upon your lips.

With his hand still settled on the small of your back, Bakugou turned to Todoroki’s direction and offered him his biggest smirk to show his secret victory. You were left breathless by the kiss, a series of uneven hot breaths crashed down onto Bakugou’s skin.

If anyone were to walk in your hotel room, they would be able to feel and even touch the graduating tension in the air which almost felt agonizing. The tension was mostly radiating off of the two men, a silent battle for dominance had been declared through glances, holders of pure will to outbest the other.

Todoroki observed the scene on his chair, and unbeknownst to him, Bakugou had indirectly offered him the best seat in the room to watch the manifestation of his talents. An almost inaudible sigh left Todoroki’s lips which translated into a sign of discontentment. “Y/N, come here.” The tone was strict, cold even, and you felt obligated to do as told.

Detaching yourself from Bakugou’s embrace (you could tell he didn’t want to let you go judging from how his palm lingered on your back), you stepped away and made your way to Todoroki, a quizzical look noticeable in the reflect of your eyes. “What now?” You asked. Todoroki gestured to his lap and you knew what it meant, it was a speech without any word necessary.

Paradoxically enough, Bakugou stared at the scenery in front of him in pure silence, and although it was very unlike him, he was mimicking Todoroki’s actions earlier on- he wanted to witness how Shoto was going to respond to his own deeds.

You placed your hands over Todoroki’s shoulders to gain stability before sitting on his lap, it was a foreign feeling, but goodness, it was already addicting as hell and you were not interested in finding a cure. Both of Shoto’s hands crawled on the same spot where Bakugou’s hands used to linger just a few moments ago, you understood rather quickly that he was using his own methods against him. You were the center of Todoroki’s attention, his gaze graced your frame and he was loving the sound of your uneven breath, he wondered if he could make your respiration even more irregular.

He paid no mind to mind to the silent Bakugou who was already fuming in his corner as Shoto delivered a succession of pecks on the delicate flesh of your neck, and you tilted your head just enough to let him play on a wider surface. He traded the pecks for a few daring bites on certain areas, he needed to find your weak spot. “A-Ah... Shoto!” the sound of his name rolling off your tongue coated in such bliss was enough for him to curve his lips into a smirk.

It was a brief moment of peace before he dug his teeth on the same spot and you failed to prevent any whimpers from coming out by biting your lower lip. He knew you were restricting yourself, prisoning these beautiful sounds of ecstasy, and he didn’t like any of it. He focused on your lower lip and rubbed the oh so soft surface with the pad of his thumb to prevent your from biting it, and thus, keeping your sounds of pleasure to yourself.

“Don’t be shy, love. I’m pretty sure both Bakugou and I can agree on the fact that the little sounds you’re making are too divine to be hushed. Will you be a good girl and let us hear the sounds you’re making?” It was as if his voice was coated with honey, just his voice alone was enough to make you feel weak, and if you paid enough attention, you were pretty sure he purposefully blew a fit of cold air onto the skin of your neck. “Yes, please... I’ll be good, so good.” From that moment you knew you were at his mercy and he enjoyed every second of it. “You’re such a good girl for us.”

And so he continued, but it was rougher this time, a harsh contrast compared to his hesitant kiss from just a few moments ago. His teeth dug into the flesh of your skin harder this time, the sole purpose of leaving a mark on your crimson colored flesh was haunting his mind. To accomplish said purpose, Todoroki alternated between biting motions and a few swipes of his tongue on the newly bruised skin. The whimpers coming out of your mouth shamelessly only added fuel to his fire. He knew what he was doing, and you knew just how sensitive this particular area could get.

Once he judged it was enough, he delivered a few pecks on the love bites, a way to kiss his art into your skin. “You’re so perfect, love, so perfect with my name written over your skin.” He whispered between kisses. Your head was thrown back, fingers grasping at the roots of his hair, your mouth agape- your whole body language testified of the addictive effect he had on you.

Such bliss couldn’t last for long, and quickly enough, another voice was being heard, a roar even. “Oi, oi, oi! Don’t even think for a single fucking second that you can have her all to yourself, half and half bastard.” It was almost a miracle that Bakugou had observed you in silence, but as expected, patience was nowhere near his forte. He had already crossed his limit long before you sat on Todoroki’s laps. Bakugou’s eyes were strictly focused on your frame, he was completely under your spell after observing how your chest would rise and fall unevenly to grasp any ounce of oxygen.

Your knees felt weak already, you could only stare at Bakugou and silently ask him to continue, to make you feel even weaker, to make you experience pure bliss. You wanted to say his name, it was right on the tip of your tongue, but as you observed his figure reducing more and more the space between the two of you, you just admired him in silence.

“Hah? What’re you looking at, brat? You want more? Is that it? You want fucking more? Say no more.” You should’ve known that the wicked smirk plastered upon his face was a pre-indicator of what was bound to happen. He lifted you off of Todoroki’s lap, the latter frowned a bit at the lack of your presence on him, and carried you to the bed before dropping you on the mattress. Todoroki was quick to follow from behind and stood right next to Bakugou, his hands already busy taking off his jacket and unbuttoning the first button of his evening shirt. “I’m sure that Bakugou and I can find a little agreement. After all, we can share, correct?” Todoroki’s rhetorical question found its answer once Bakugou let a discreet chuckle escape from his mouth after throwing his jacket God knows where and messily undoing his tie. “We’re gonna take real fucking good take care of you, baby girl.”

You were refraining yourself from already touching you, it took all the strength in the world not to give in to the most passionate temptations. But deep down, you already knew you were bound to be overwhelmed by pure bliss judging by how they were looking at you. You could only hum in response, unsure of how your voice would have sounded under the heavy influence of desire.

Bakugou made the first move, after all, his poor soul felt left alone when Todoroki overwhelmed you with pecks and bites. He crawled over you, his knees were on each side of your waist, his hands however, assured total domination- his right hand clutched your wrists now pinned above your hand while his left palm settled by force on your throat, needless to say, the pressure was already applied on your windpipe. “You wanna’ play that game with me, hah?! Let Icyhot have all of you to himself and I got fucking nothing in return? Babygirl, I don’t watch, I fucking play.” It was too ferocious to be qualified as a whisper, and yet, when Bakugou pronounced the last bits of his sentence right in the shell of your ear, you felt like you were floating in pure bliss. “Answer me.” His grip on your throat felt a bit tighter. “P-Please... Ju-Just do whatever you want... With my body.” The lack of oxygen felt agonizing, you were deprived of fresh air and you were laying on the bed while Bakugou exuded pure confidence and domination, an aura so thick, you wished you could’ve touched it. “That’s my babygirl.”

As Bakugou’s lips crashed onto yours, forcing its tongue into your mouth while maintaining the right amount of pressure on your throat to offer you a panorama of new sensations, Todoroki had already gotten rid of his shirt. If you paid close attention, you could see shy flames on his shoulders, he was absolutely adoring the scenery unfolding before him. Everything about you filled his senses, the sight of you giving in to Bakugou was nothing short of divine, the whimpers leaving your mouth in cascade whether the reason was the lack of air or the fierceness of Bakugou’s intentions was the sweetest melody he had ever heard. Everything was perfect.

You felt the oxygen become one with your body again once Bakugou broke the kiss and allowed his hand to travel from your neck down to your chest, but his eyes were never leaving yours. He wanted to watch you come undone under his touch, he swore it to himself.

“I’ll take the bottom half. Icyhot, I don’t give a damn about what you do, just don’t fucking interrupt me.” His eyes were already set on the prize, your heat in all its glory. Shoto said nothing in response, you were the holder of all his undivided attention. As Bakugou took a firm grasp of your thighs, opening the way to his newfound purpose, Todoroki took over the top half of your body- he started by planting a succession of pecks from your lips down to your collarbone, passing by your neck, and each kiss was amplified by the cold air he was blowing on the surface of your skin. The contrast in temperature cause you to allow a few whimpers to escape, you already knew you craved for more, it was a way of manifesting it.

“You won’t need that, will you, love?” He said while pointing at your shirt, as his index was already hooking the fabric. It was a rhetorical question of course, you simply answered by humming. Your silent response was the only thing necessary for Shoto to send your shirt flying somewhere in the room. He continued his trail of kisses down to the valley of your breasts, the same cold air following him as he went.

Bakugou, on the other one hand, had already gotten rid off your skirt, but not before letting his palms explore the generous cheeks hidden underneath it, and eventually, leaving a slap right on this area which caused you to yelp in surprise. The pad of his thumb was already brushing against the surface of the fabric, oh what a pleasure it was when he felt the sensation of humidity coming through your underwear. A sensation so good, so addicting, so divine that it brought a sly grin to his face. “Already so wet for us, babygirl? You’re not wasting your damn time, hah?” Your skin was burning under his touch, you could already feel the chills running down your spine and he hadn’t even taken off your underwear yet.

Todoroki took the strap of your bra between his thumb and index, and much to your suprise, he used the right amount of his quirk to burn the fabric and applied the same treatment to the other strap. Before you could even protest about the poor outcome of your bra, he planted his lips on your own to keep you quiet. Now, he focused his attention to your breasts and the bits of clothing left which prevented the upper half of your body from being fully exposed. He took the opportunity given by Bakugou who had gotten rid of your underwear which made you arch your back to unclip your bra. There was nothing stopping him now. He let his gaze fell on you, so full of adoration, while he leaned down and caught the last piece of fabric remaining of your bra between his teeth. His eyes held so much envy, so much desires which reciprocated in the reflect of your own orbs.

Shoto threw your bra out of his mouth, and there you were- your body bare in all its glory. “Fuck, you’re so perfect...” He whispered right against your chest, causing you to let out a sigh you didn’t even know you were holding. He used his mother’s inherited side to trace the contour of your breasts, he knew he was going to earn a moan in return and he was so please to hear such a sinful melody at the clash of his cold fingers against your burning skin. His thumb and his index worked in harmony to twist the bud of your nipple and overwhelm it by Shoto’s cold touch while his tongue delivering hot saliva on your skin was already doing wonders on your other breast, a perfect balance between cold and hot which made your arousal erupt even more and someone was quick to notice...

“Oi, doll face, focus on me, not on this goddamn fucker. Don’t you feel so fucking good when I touch you like that, hah?” His burning jealousy amplified the voracity of his deeds. Every single one of his touch served the purpose of pleasuring you, but also outdo Todoroki’s touches. He needed to be the best at everything, including making you melt under his touch. You struggled to keep your eyes open, the desire to close your eyes and let your body attract all the attention while basking in pure bliss was too strong and yet, Bakugou’s voice roared into your mind, you couldn’t help but lay your eyes on him through half-closed lids.

Once he knew he was the bearer of all your attention, he put his body and mind to work. Both of his hands planted your thighs on each side of his body, you felt too weak to move under his touch and did not dare resist the pressure. You whined in advance because you knew what was coming- and boy, did he look good with his face buried between your thighs.

One long, sharp, vertical lick was all it took to let yet another moan escape your lips once more, and to Bakugou, it was the best reward. The heat of his tongue responded to the heat of your core, it was pure harmony. He licked the your core over and over again, tasting you, loving you, worshipping you even. One time he left lingering kisses to the side of your core, another time he was left licking motions all over your folds because your taste was the best thing he had ever felt. His motions echoed to your whines and moans, he was sure of hearing a sinful melody each time his tongue entered in contact with your skin.

“Keep making these noises for me, don’t be fucking shy.” His hot breath on the center of your heat embraced perfectly the succession of his actions, “Y-Yes... P-Please, I want... I need more.” Bakugou couldn’t help but let a low chuckle leave his lips, in response to your needy attitude, he left a harsh slap on the surface of your butt, to which you whined loudly in response. “Such a fucking filthy mouth you have there, hah?” He smiled to himself, knowing perfectly that what he was about to do was bound to leave you as a whimpering mess. Without any warning, he slid two of his fingers inside your core, and fuck, you were tight. His thumb was brushing against your sweet bundle of nerves which had already been cherished by Bakugou’s tongue earlier.

You clutched the sheets of the bed to release some of the buildup pressure inside, it was as if a tornado, a volcano and a firework were exploding at the same time in your stomach, each of them resulting in a series of whimpers and moans at the overstimulation. Your lids were shut close already, yet, they kept fluttering over the invisible crimson touches left by both Todoroki and Bakugou.

Speaking over Todoroki, he was tasting you in such a different way as he started to get the grip of Bakugou’s mechanic. His mind kept roaming and roaming, he knew that just one mark on your neck was not quite enough and he needed to beat Bakugou at his own game- he positioned himself right over your right breast and blew a fit of fresh air, causing him to smile at himself for being the reason of such a reaction, and dug his teeth into your flesh. Motivated by the the way you kept tugging at his hair, he kept biting the same area over and over again until sucking your flesh just enough to create yet another love bite over your breast, such an intimate area, isn’t it? And now his whole name was written on it.

“B-Bakugou... I can’t take it... Ahh! Anymore, please, please...” His fingers weren’t enough anymore, you were pleading his name, begging him to become one with you because you were unsure as to how you were going to keep the unleashed pressure within you ruin you. “So eager for my fucking cock, aren’t you?! You’re gonna count with me each inch entering your fucking cunt, got it?” You were willing to do anything at this point- Todoroki’s bites and his cold touch, Bakugou’s fingers and tongue, it made you fill dizzy but you knew, deep down, you were slowly approaching a pure state of bliss. “Yes... Yes I will.”

For his own purpose, Bakugou took his fingers off your core and flipped you on your stomach so you could be on all fours. You were giving him the view of worthy of a masterpiece: the crimson colored marks on your butt cheeks, the vivid rosy tone of your dripping core, oh he wanted all of you. “Love, don’t you forget that I’m here too, right? Open your pretty mouth for me.” You did as Todoroki preached, opening your mouth for him to stick his index in there. “Suck.” he commanded, to which you obliged by creating hollows in your cheeks and embrace his finger around your tongue, this feeling was beyond perfect, beyond the wildest fantasies his imagination had to offer. He could only let his subconsciousness roam about how his cock would feel around your perfectly pouted lips.

Bakugou’s hands gripped your hips tightly, his fingers turning white in the process while your flesh adopted a reddish tone in response. With the use of the pad of his thumb, he spread the pre-cum leaking all over his length, and so it began: the first inch. “One.”, it sounded more like an order than a statement, “...One.” you echoed, your response didn’t come quick enough to Bakugou’s liking, making you earn a harsh slap on your cheeks in return. Then another inch “Two.” , another faint sound coming from your lips “T-Two...”, yet another slap on your abused flesh. And so it went on, the process remained the same- another inch, another whisper escaping your mouth between sobs, another spank.

On the other side of the bed, Todoroki was stroking his own length at the sight before him. You were on the brim of tears, and Bakugou didn’t show any mercy regarding your current state. “I’m sorry, her mouth is going to be full soon, she won’t have room to count out for you.” Bakugou grunted in response to Todoroki’s taunt. His strokes became gradually faster, like a crescendo if you will. His other hand, however, was placed right underneath your jaw to give you some support and your mouth was already open in anticipation for what was bound to happen.

With his hand to keep your jaw steady, you welcomed Todoroki’s lenght into your mouth and he automatically let a groan as the tip of your tongue caressed his sensitive tip. You imagined how rewarding it must have felt for them to hear your own moans and whimpers because hearing Todoroki’s moan felt like a blessing to your eardrums.

Your tongue circled around his cock, your hand was pumping his length, and Todoroki wondered if this is what heaven looked and felt like. Your whimpers were hushed by the presence of his member in your mouth, but somehow, even these half silenced sounds of pleasure sounded even better to his ears. He felt his lids shut close under the miracle work of your tongue while his hand lingered in your hair to motivate you to keep going.

Bakugou, frustrated by this change of plans due to Todoroki’s own personal pleasure, slid the entirety of his phallus into you abruptly. The shock caused you to remove Shoto’s member from your mouth momentarily to catch your breath and release yet another whine before pleasuring Todoroki again. That came as a surprise to no one, not even Shoto himself, but Bakugou’s pace was rough and almost animalistic.

The sound of his testicles clapping against your flesh testified of the pace and yet, it felt so enticing. Bakugou was not so vocal, but he did leave his fair share of grunts as he buried himself into you more and more until reaching your cervix. It was too much, your core was burning, hell your whole body was on fire. The tears that threatened to fall had put their threat to execution, you knew you were close, the overstimulation was getting the best of you leaving you in a whimpering, trembling mess.

You continued to stroke Shoto’s length with your tongue, but his need to take control took over him. The same hand that rested in your hair suddenly took a firm grasp of your hair and he thrusted himself into your mouth and from there, his grunts became more repetitive. Truthfully, it was the only push he needed to bring him over the edge, the previous work of your tongue had put him under a spell. A spell he never wanted to wake up from. He knew what was coming, you felt it too but how the tip of his phallus was tickling your throat deeper and deeper.

Shoto didn’t even notice the small flames making their apparition on the blades of his collarbone, meaning that it was finally time for him to cum. He set your mouth free and hinted his length towards your chest, letting the drips of cum color your skin, and allowed the most magical moan to leave his already parted lips in satisfaction. “Love, look what you fucking did to me. You’re so beautiful, so beautiful with my cum all over you.” Your first instinct was to fill your lungs with oxygen, something so common yet it was cruelly needed. You looked through your lashes at Shoto with pleading eyes while he looked at you with a glimpse of adoration in his. His digit was carefully wiping the excess of cum leaking down your chin to place it right into your mouth. He could only stare in awe at the sight of you tasting him. He felt so full, and fulfilled. He was finally at peace, soaking in pure bliss.

The grasp Bakugou was holding over your hips became even harsher, which you though was impossible just a few seconds before. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He grunted, trying to keep his volume at bay by digging his teeth into his lower lip but it was all too much to be contained. He knew his climax was close, so close that he could picture it if he closed his eyes just for a second. Bakugou’s name fell on your lips like a forbidden prayer, his name had turned into the only thing you were able to say. “I-...Ah! Inside, inside, fuck, please...”, you felt a wave of pleasure taking over your body, a pleasure so intense, no word could have done it justice. Oh well, that was the sole indication he needed to hear before digging his nails into your sides, causing you to arch your back and bite the sheets, already preventing the cascade of whimpers from echoing in the room. “Fucking hell... Cum with me, now.”

With one last thrust, Bakugou came within you, his face was facing the ceiling as he came undone with you. His cum slid within you and in return, your body thanked him by letting your own juice flow all over his length.

Silence invaded the room. No more grunts, no more moans, no more cries. Pure silence inhabited by the uneven breaths of three protagonists who had just touched heaven by the tip of their fingers. Three victims of passion.

Bakugou pulled out of you, earning a whimper in return at the sudden feeling of vacuity. Your legs were shaking, and you secretly thanked every God for allowing you to stay relatively steady on all fours for this long and be able to endure the bestial-like pace of Bakugou. Needless to say, you were panting, you mouth was agape and you were crying for air. Your body immediately crashed onto the mattress, the soft feeling of the sheets enveloping your skin after reaching heaven made you feel as if you were floating on a cloud.

Bakugou and Todoroki shared a look, a small grin even, before crashing down onto the mattress next to you. You were unable to move, your mind was comparable to a wild blur as a result of your orgasm. A rush of words flew through your air but absolutely none of them was powerful and meaningful enough to qualify how you were feeling. At peace? No, not strong enough. Full? Nope, did not carry enough meaning. It was a unique feeling, worthy of all the praises in the world.

Todoroki draped an arm over your waist and left a trail of kisses upon the flesh of your shoulder, a silent way to thank you for allowing him to experience heaven in a rush. Bakugou, on the other one hand, was facing your back and allowed his index to draw invisible patterns on the skin of your back. Paradoxically enough, the silence carried more words and emotions than an actual speech. Until...

“So... Um, about the mission?”

570 notes · View notes

prozach27 · 2 years

Note

If the metaphors in the bible were useful at helping people be good, there would be good catholics. Instead, there arent. If you join a group that is outright destructively hostile to queer people, you dont get to complain when people are wary of you. You've chosen to identify with a political structure that wants to do harm to them - you DO identify as a threat.

Saying something broadly like “there are no good Catholics in the world” immediately shows me that this isn’t meant to be a rational discussion but one that’s likely stemming from past pain, and for that I’m really sorry. I would’ve agreed with you once. Reality, like any topic, is more complicated.

Like I’ve mentioned before, organized religion can and should be critiqued - especially Catholicism. Blind faith or dogmatic worship raises a million red flags for me. I was treated horribly by the church as a young queer kid growing up in catholic school due to religious zealotry, and it led to a long period of atheism and lashing out at religion. In my specific case though, I slowly realized this was because of how religion as a whole made me feel about myself and my community rather than it being because I didn’t believe in God, and so I was reacting in anger. While in an LGBTQ organization, I ended up working with a Lutheran pastor on several events she was hosting - specifically one called the shower of stoles, showing the stoles (those fancy-looking and colorful shoulder wrappings priests have) of LGBTQ people in faith who’ve been silenced or removed from the church in order to highlight the enormity of the issue and to “bear witness to the huge loss of leadership that the church has brought upon itself because of its own unjust policies.” Things like this made me slowly start to realize I’d been treating Christianity as a one-sided villain, and with time and repeated programming from this Lutheran pastor that was embracing LGBTQ life, I began to feel as though there were some religious people I could let my guard down with (warily).

Once I felt comfortable with who I am and around religion, I ended up switching to the best university in my town, which was a private catholic one. I expected hatred and repeated bigotry. Instead, what I found was a community genuinely eager for my presence and excited for what I had to say. Younger millennials and gen z in the Catholic Church, in my experience, overwhelmingly abhor homophobia (and often transphobia) and are vocal against it in the church. Within a year in that environment, it became crystal clear that everyone just… didn’t have a problem. There was still the administration though, right? Well, the administration went out of their way to spend hundreds of thousands on building an LGBTQ center while I was there, and leading priests on campus actively sought out queer voices and uplifted them. I eventually became president of the LGBTQ group on campus, and priests would once in a blue moon come to meetings just so they could stay informed on what issues need their support - and our faculty advisor was a lesbian faith leader in the community. For my senior event, I even got this catholic university to use its money to put on a raging drag show in the center of campus, and had the pleasure of seeing the Vice President of student affairs along with a priest slip drag queens some dollars during business hours lol. My commencement speaker, Fr. James Martin, has written EXTENSIVELY on how unfairly the LGBTQ community is treated by the church, and meets with bishops (and even the pope) about how the church needs to modernize and embrace queer and trans members of the congregation. He went from being an influential catholic in the church to dedicating his entire career solely to embracing the LGBTQ community, and is repeatedly attending speaking gigs throughout the country to spread this message.

I used to earnestly believe all Catholics - and all Christians generally - were horrible people because of how I was initially treated by the church. As I was re-exposed to religion as an adult, however, it became clear to me that like any organization, judging the people for the leadership lacks nuance. Ever since warily re-entering Catholicism, I’ve been radically embraced by my churches and congregations, and have been exposed to countless fellow members and leaders who are just as concerned about homophobia and transphobia in the church as I am and are actively working to try and change it. Rather than maintain distance and write off Catholicism outright, I feel glad to have a chance to use my experiences to make the world a little brighter for kids growing up queer - by being a part of the church once more, I can serve as a representation that being queer doesn’t contradict believing God loves you, and I can also lend my support to any events or issues I come across that seek to further counter harmful stances the church takes since hurtful messaging no longer hits me the same. By all means, there will always be sects of Christianity and Catholicism that are focused more on hatred and causing pain, but there are so many more that really do take the metaphors in the Bible to heart and genuinely try to do their best to achieve it, and by painting in such a broad stroke, you run the risk of not getting to see that little touch of beauty in the world.

#tw Christianity #I would’ve completely agreed with you once but I’m so grateful lived experience has proven me wrong #nobody needs to re-enter the church based off of their own experiences and for many they may not find comfort in it even if they did #but saying anyone who returns to it with their own viewpoints and ability to critique harmful structures is a threat #really turns this in to a boogeyman scenario where we can dehumanize an entire group based on how some act #which ignores what I find to be the most powerful thing - the overwhelming support for the lgbtq community in a lot of Christian spaces #and the whole thing is so funny because again I’m not some religious zealot at church every single Sunday without fail #but it does get tiresome that this kind of vitriol is always unnamed and faceless within the queer community to just further isolate #queer folks who’s journey with religious trauma leads them to return to their original spaces with a wary eye #too queer for religion too religious to be queer lmao #long post

2 notes · View notes

cynthiaandsamus · 3 years

Text

Custom Toonami Block Week 73 Rundown

Code Geass: Lelouch and co. are still stuck in China and Xingke’s flipping out because the Chinese assholes are gonna kill the Empress and go with someone less problematic for their political marriage to Britannia’s creepily overaged prince. However Lelouch pulls out a Knightmare that’s basically the Twink version of the Gawain and busts everyone up as well as pulling a Father Cornello on them and letting the people know they’re all elitst 1% assholes that don’t care about them, which I suspect all countries probably know about their leaders but it sucks to hear it in a recording so riots show up all over China and CC Geass Flashes Anya to take her out so Britannia has to back out because the Chinese Hierarchy are now the least popular people in the world. So Xingke gets to be with his Empress and joins the Black Knights but Dietard wants the Empress to marry someone on their side so they can basically do the asshole move Britannia just tried to do but for them. All the girls are like ‘hey no’ and Lelouch is like “Oh hey Tamaki buddy, let’s go talk and get me the fuck out of here” so before Lelouch actually has to give Tamaki more lines and elevate him beyond the Black Knight’s Yamacha Shirley calls and Lelouch just straight up asks Shirley about love in a weirdly forced series of circumstance. But Shirley’s like “Yeah don’t fuck with love, don’t you love anyone?” and Lelouch is like “Yeah I do, Nunally!” and I don’t think that’s at all what Shirley meant but it does mean Lelouch sees that fighting for something beyond politics is powerful and agrees to not marry off the twelve year old girl, so that’s good. Lelouch decides to return home while they hunt down the Geass cult which is in China for some reason despite that being one of the like two places on earth Britannia doesn’t control and the Geass Cult largely being a Britannian affair. Meanwhile Sayoko is basically a Lelouch Vtuber at this point with her insanely accurate Lupin III mask of Lelouch and kisses Shirley so Shirley’s a little bit more gay than she was before and is not sure how to feel about that. When she’s about to tell the real Lelouch he kisses like a girl, Anya and Gino show up because we’re retreading the whole ‘sleeping with the enemy at school’ thing from the first season except with way less interesting enemies. Also the preview for the next episode is Lelouch dramatically talking about enemies finding out he’s Zero overtop footage of Shirley and Milly absolutely naked in a batthouse scene so I think we know what kind of episode that’ll be.

Inuyasha: The Panther Demon filler concludes with everyone meeting at the site where the Panther Master is being revived behind a strong barrier, if only someone just got a barrier upgrade to their sword, oh wait. But yeah everyone manages to free the hostages so even though Kagome’s jewel shards revives the Panther Master he’s still a zombie without a sacrifice which is weird since Naraku managed to completely revive the Band of Seven with one jewel shard each from skeletons and the Panther Lord has three shards so idk the rules here but yeah he steals the souls of his own men to revive and is Wind Scar Proof because he just is. It’s pretty cool to see him shooting his claws and lightning and shit but he’s too big and slow for it to be much of an interesting fight. Sesshomaru’s about to go full demon which would be interesting since we haven’t seen his full demon form since he lost his arm but in a neat bit of character development, Tenseiga calms his rage and tells him to use it instead. You get the feeling Sesshomaru only goes full demon when he flies off the handle and forgets about speed and strategy so him opting to not repeat the mistake he made against Inuyasha is pretty cool. Anyway Tenseiga heals the souls of the Panther Demons and drains their energy from the lord so he’s back to Zombie Cat Man which Inuyasha can Wind Scar because that’s what happens to villains on this show, all Wind Scars all the time. The Panthers don’t wanna fight anymore since their boss just killed them and tell Inuyasha to tell Sesshomaru the feud is over and they’re going back to the West. Honestly this is basically the same backstory they gave Kirinmaru in Yashahime so it’s funny for them to say they’re going back to the same place Kirinmaru is from, wonder if it’ll ever come up in Yashahime since most filler seems canon there.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Yusuke and Kuwabara continue the assault on Tarukane’s compound and basically plow through the lower demons easy since they’ve been fighting minor deities up to this point. It’s always pretty cool in Shonen to just have a few rounds to show how much power creep the heroes have had where certain things just don’t bother them anymore. Toguro murders a Chimera which has an oddly similar backstory to Nina from FMA and he seems really bummed about it but he’s like “Hey we’re both monsters made by humans telling us to do shit, so sorry for killing you bro”. And Tarukane basically sees Toguro is the next boss and is like “Yup time to scam some people off of this” and he sets up a betting ring for how far Yusuke and Co will get into his compound. This is kinda neat because it puts Tarukane in the weird position of betting against his own guards and hoping Yusuke will make it all the way to Toguro and then lose after everyone else has seen how awesome Yusuke is and bets on him. And funnily enough Sakyo’s in on the betting and he’s watched anime before so he knows to bet on the plucky teenagers with weird powers. So yeah Yusuke and Kuwabara finish plowing through the demons while Hiei kinda stalks them and remembers getting his eye surgery and wanting to help his sister but it’s kind of against spirit world rules for demons to just go plow through humans even if they’re scumbag humans so now Yusuke and Kuwabara have to go fight the Triad of boss demons Toguro has under him before Hiei busts in and just murders everyone for kidnapping his bird-loving jewel-crying little flower of a sister.

Fate Zero: So Kiritsugu can break Kayneth’s Terminator 2 Gaara defenses with rib bullets that just say ‘no’ to using magic and fucks his arrogant ass up. Saber and Lancer do some combo shenanigans to stab Caster right in the book and disrupt all his hentai tentacle demons but the book heals so idk why he can’t just make more. Kirei fucks up Maiya and Iris but didn’t double tap Maiya and DID double tap iris but she’s got Saber’s bullshit healing scabbard on her which no one knows about so Saber’s like “uhhh why are you healing” and Iris can’t tell her so she’s basically “Uhh internet?” Lancer comes in to save Kayneth’s worthless ass and tells Kiritsugu to stop being a dick to Saber because she’s pretty dope. But as usual for an early Fate encounter, no one dies and nothing of terrible consequence happens despite it being teased a couple times. I’ve noticed a trend with Fate that it really doesn’t like killing characters early so you’re basically guaranteed to have the first 2-3 major battles have a zero net gain/loss. Rider in UBW was probably the subversion to that since it happened crazy fast and anticlimactic but even that wasn’t till like ten episodes in.

Konosuba: So we finally meet Wiz the big booby Lich and Kazuma learns a new skill, both fun things. Also the gang gets a house to stay in after escapades with an army of haunted dolls and the most “I need to pee” in a horror setting since Corpse Party. But yeah, good progress this time honestly, the living in a stable gag was getting kind of old so Kazuma’s a bit stronger now and they have a home base so that’s pretty cool. Also Wiz is a Demon General or some shit but no one cares cause there ain’t no money in murdering busty zombie waifus.

Sailor Moon Crystal: So turns out Minako is Princess Serenity, except everyone who knows anything about Sailor Moon or indeed plot structure knows Sailor Moon is Princess Serenity, that’s like the Luke I Am Your Father of this series. But still turns out Minako has been guiding everyone with the power of video games but also thinks the power of friendship sucks and she’s gotta go do everything alone. This makes things super awkward because Mamoru’s pretty sure he was in love with the Princess but likes Usagi, now instead of running with this interesting thread of a reincarnation falling in love with someone new we’re gonna do the reveal that Usagi’s the princess and the whole ‘till death do us part’ part of marriage was just a metaphor and you’re stuck with one person no matter how many times you reincarnate. But yeah, Minako fights the bad guy on top of the tower but he has Naraku’s Barrier now and Minako doesn’t have the Red Tessaiga upgrade yet so she needs the power of friendship but this barrier is friendship-proof and this fight is basically a bunch of kids on the playground making up increasingly stupid powers that negate the other powers the other guy just made up. Anyway Tuxedo Mask shows up and is like “Holy shit Sailor Moon I love when you kiss me and kick ass, go get em sweetie I’ll hold your flower” and they kiss and Usagi has learned that if she just pretends she got this the power of her confidence will beat the bad guy. Unfortunately she does not got this and Tuxedo Mask has to pull a Piccolo and throw himself in front of the blast.

Durarara!!: So now that we’ve had our climax for the arc we have a six month timeskip and everyone’s just kinda living life, Mika and Seiji are being clinically insane together, there’s cops harassing Celty to the point of mental breakdown (normal cop stuff) Shinra’s dad’s in town, Namie’s become Izaya’s secretary for blackmail shit, you know, normal stuff. Also there’s a katana-wielding maniac going around slashing people and Anri’s being bullied and sexually harassed to the point of mental collapse, normal stuff.

#ooc #Toonami #Custom Toonami Block #Code Geass #Inuyasha #Yu Yu Hakusho #Fate Zero #Konosuba #Sailor Moon Crystal #Durarara!!

5 notes · View notes

usagichanp · 4 years

Note

lexthan

*rubs hands together* I was hoping someone would ask me that

This is gonna be a long one folks.

General:

Rate the Ship -

How long will they last? - Life long partners, babey.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - I think they had crushes on each other for a while. They didn't officially say "I love you" till a few months into their relationship, but they thought it sooner.

How was their first kiss? - I wrote a lesbian Lexthan version of their first kiss, though I don't think canon Lexthan's first kiss was like that. I imagine it to be not really planned out; just like they're talking to each other in the car and lock eyes, then slowly lean in and kiss. Since they've had kisses before, it's not a catastrophe, and it's actually fairly soft.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Ethan. Wrote a whole ass fic about it.

Who is the best man/men? - I know who the best man is in my fics (it's my man Marsh, for those who have read it), but idk about the canon Ethan's best man. Maybe Danny (the Smoke Club Boy) but I'm not sure if they'd be friends enough to be his best man. He might not have one.

Who is the bride's maid? - Hannah. Duh.

Who did the most planning? - Ethan, but Lex chipped in too. Tom might help as well if asked lol

Who stressed the most? - Ethan. Though their ceremony isn't big, he still wanted it to be a good memory down the road (it was)

How fancy was the ceremony? -

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

First they had just a courthouse wedding where they signed the papers, then had a tiny wedding ceremony with only close friends. Even if they could afford a proper wedding (Canon Lexthan prolly couldn't afford it) I don't think they'd want a big affair anyways. It's be exhausting.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Lex's mom. Obviously.

Sex:

Now we're getting to the good part lads

Who is on top? - Ethan is a fucking switch. You can't convince me otherwise. He tops maybe like... 60/40 or 65/35. But when Lex tops, she tops bitch.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Ethan likes instigating things since he's a horny teenage boy, but it Lex doesn't want to, he stops. Sometimes Lex instigates, but usually when she does she's in the mood to top.

How healthy is their sex life? -

Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

I'd give it a 7.5, depending on the situation. While they try to tone it down around Hannah, when they have alone time they'd totally go for it. Ethan's glovebox in his car has a box of condoms in it at all times. What can I say, as I said before, they're horny teenagers

How kinky are they? -

Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

They don't like seeing each other hurt so they wouldn't like BDSM. They're not vanilla but nothing too crazy- blindfolding, light bondage (aka tying hands up with rope or cloth), scratching, light spanking, pegging

How long do they usually last? - It depends on how much time they have to have sex. They've done quickies in bathrooms or whatever before, but if they have all night then they're pretty good at prolonging it.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - Absolutely. It is said in multiple fics (I think?) of mine that Ethan makes sure Lex has the same amount of orgasms as he does. Always.

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

They certainly can have slow, soft, romantic sex, but Ethan is also 100% capable of rocking Lex's world so hard she can't walk right for a week. (That happens in my first fic, Cassieopia, albeit off screen)

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -

No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

1) I fucking love that metaphor 2) They don't get much physical affection at home, so they fucking love snuggling and cuddling- whether it be after sex or just hanging out. Sometimes they cuddle as a form of stress relief after a shitty day.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - 2, maybe 3.

How many children will they adopt? - I think they might prefer to have children naturally, but in my California series they gain custody of Hannah when she's 12. Does that count?

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Lex forces Ethan to learn how to change diapers. That being said, Lex isn't half bad at changing them either, since she helped change Hannah's when she was a child.

Who is the stricter parent? - They're not exactly strict parents, but both Lex and Ethan can definitely scold the kid. ("hAnNaH! tHaT bEtTeR bE fUcKiNg fLoSs!!!!!") That being said, both take care to not be abusive to their child, especially Lex. She doesn't want to be like her mom, so she tries to keep her temper in check.

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Ethan has good reflexes, and has stopped his kids from falling and hitting their chin on a playground structure more than once. (Fun fact! That happened to me when I was 3. I fell from a steel elephant shaped jungle gym at a German zoo, hit my chin on a steel bar, and bit through my lower lip/knocked 3 teeth out. I still have the scar years later lol)

Who remembers to pack their lunches? - Lex. Though the lunches aren't always the healthiest.

Who is the more loved parent? - I think they're both loved, but maaaaaybe Ethan a bit more.

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? - Neither would attend PTA meetings out of the goodness of their hearts. If Lex or Ethan would go to a PTA meeting, it'd most likely be because they wanted to yell at a teacher or principal. They might go seperately or together depending on the severity of the issue.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Ethan wouldn't admit he cried, but he did. So did Lex.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Oh bitch, Lex and Ethan both said fuck the law. If it was just like, an overnight jail cell for some stupid misdemeanor, they might try to break their kid out. Otherwise, Lex would probably the one paying the bail because Ethan would try to punch the cop in the face if the cop talked shit about Ethan's kid. That reaction is not exclusive to cops.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Neither of them are exactly 5 star chefs, but they can hold on their own. Lex is better at cooking breakfast and Ethan is better at cooking dinner- but if he's exhuasted from work, Lex can cook dinner for him.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Neither are picky. Both of them grew up young scrappy and hungry just like their country without really the chance to be picky. They had to take what they could get.

Who does the grocery shopping? - Lex. She's good at calculating totals in her head. I wrote that in an unrealeased fic.

How often do they bake desserts? - Rather rarely. Perhaps on special occasions or to bond. Ethan has ruined the kitchen with his kid trying to bake a cake for Lex at least once. Maybe more.

Are they more of a meat lover or salad lover? - Meat lovers, babey. Fuck that fancy plant bullshit.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Ethan. I wrote that in the proposal fic.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Depends on what you count as "going out". Lex likes going to McDonalds, but Ethan is the one who suggests eating at actual restaurants.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Ethan, but both have had near misses.

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Both had fairly messy rooms as teenagers so they're not super anal about having sparkling clean rooms. That being said, when someone comes over Lex does try to tidy the place up a bit. At least enough to make it seem like they have their shit together. Ish.

Who is really against chores? - Ethan can be a bit of a lazy bones sometimes, but Lex isn't exactly a huge fan of chores either. However, she is used to doing chores since she practically raised herself and Hannah.

Who cleans up after the pets? - They take turns. Both hate it.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Ethan, because he doesn't want to incur Lex's wrath.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Lex. As I said above, she actually actively cleans the house beforehand. Not to the level of that freaking out mom from the comedy video who's name I can't remember tho.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Ethan. He has a nack for finding random bits of money. Score.

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Lex, though both take relatively quick showers to save water.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - They actually like doing it together. It's nice to get some fresh air, and they enjoy each other's company.

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Ethan goes over the top, partially to annoy Lex. You know that Christmas tree Chris Pine vine? Yeah, Ethan would fucking do that.

What are their goals for the relationship? - Live a better life together than they did in Hatchetfield. White picket fence and California dreams shit.

Who is more likely to sleep till noon? - Ethan, but Lex is known to sleep till 3 in the afternoon if she's really tired.

Who plays the most pranks? - Ethan. That's literally canon.

I can babble about them all day lol

#Lexthan #Black Friday #lex foster #ethan green #I'll reblog this later with links to my fics #thank you!!#asks

28 notes · View notes

gretchensinister · 3 years

Note

I'd like to know more about Avenger Stuff, Fanfic Dammit, and Grad School as a horror movie noodling, please!

Avenger Stuff:

I have no idea what the overall plot of this was supposed to be, but what I have is about Natasha and it looks like it would have been about her leaving the Russian group (forget what they were called) and becoming an Avenger and having to find new ways of thinking and structuring her entire life outside of a system that she’d been in since she was a child. Notably, it was last edited 7/6/2014, which was the summer after I left grad school for good.

Most of what I have:

“Clint,” she says into the phone pressed between her ear and shoulder. “I could eat nothing but tacos for two weeks.”

“And that’s a good thing, right?” he asks.

She scans the small apartment SHEILD’s set her up with one more time. “Nothing would happen.” Clint isn’t the person she should be talking to. She doesn’t know if the person she should be talking to exists. At least his voice sounds the least strange out of anyone she could be talking to right now, even if they are speaking in English. “Nothing would happen if I dyed my hair blue, nothing would happen if I got a cat, nothing would happen if I went to bed as soon as it got dark and woke up as soon as it got light every day.”

“Those things would affect you, though, right?” Clint sounds wary, and she can’t blame him. She sounds wary when she talks to herself in her head, now.

She has several responses to Clint’s question, but none of them reflect her new reality, or at least not all of it. She tells him this.

“Do you want to meet up later? Maybe for coffee? They’ve got me doing all this paperwork—thankfully, I’m finally done with all of the forms that related to you. Those were complicated.”

“Sure,” she says. Why not? Nothing will happen.

Fanfic Dammit:

Last Edited 4/26/2009 (Spring of sophomore year of college)

I did not want to be a fanfic writer at this time.

This is a Labyrinth fanfic that was obviously going to put a college-aged Sarah in reunion with Jareth, but it begins with Sarah and a friend in the middle of a cross-country roadtrip that they’re taking on a whim. Sarah laments that the boys she’s dated have all turned out to be losers, she and her friend have this conversation that I and one of my best friends had in college that was like “wouldn’t it be easier for us if we weren’t straight/could date each other” except more explicitly (spoilers for real life: me and that friend DID both turn out to be queer, but still not interested in dating each other), Sarah almost crashes the car because an owl flies at it. Now, this Sarah has been to therapy that has convinced her that her Labyrinth adventure wasn’t real. But after this almost crash she gets out and yells a wish to remember if it was real, and she does, all at once. Got stuck because I needed to get the friend to know what happened and probably thought I had to write the plot of Labyrinth out again in summary.

It’s surreal to read this because I feel like I can see my “genuine voice” beneath a number of layers of what I guess I thought writing was supposed to be like, but who knows, maybe I’ll say the same thing when I look back on this year’s stuff 12 years from now. It’s just…not an approach I would take anymore, and not a setup I would use.

Grad School as a horror movie noodling:

Fragment from Oct 2019. Main Character is invited to a prestigious party at a castle. It’s weirdly cold inside and desert-hot outside. People periodically disappear. It’s unclear if this is voluntary or not, and why it happens. MC feels like an outsider, but wants to be there, but wants to not want to be there. I COULD NEVER WRITE THIS as a whole story, and here’s why: I don’t like writing weird situations where there’s no explanation of how this is happening, especially in a modern setting, which I intended this to be. So immediately I start questioning like, who thinks this castle party is prestigious? How long does MC think she’s going to be there, and why? Who’s paying for this if it’s supposed to be months-long, and why can MC leave her life for months at a time? Doesn’t she have friends or relatives to do a reality check? She’s supposed to be at least as smart as me so why would she accept any of this? And as a writer I KNOW it’s an ~extended metaphor~ but I guess that means grad school still exists in this world? This one stopped because as it is, it’s in my LEAST FAVORITE GENRE (of the spooky types). (Deleted comments about published writers and their popularity in this genre that I hate.)

Anyone can still send me asks with titles of my WIPs!

#rambling #it's all about grad school #marypsue

1 note · View note

herefortayloronly · 3 years

Text

evermore first impressions 12/19

i think this is the perfect use of this meme for the situation we found ourselves in once again.

i don’t really know how to preface this. it’s a freaking taylor swift album. i’m here for it!! and disclaimer: i’m not doing like an in depth lyrical analysis on this post because i’m dumb. i’m just talking about how i feel about each song. here’s the rankings because i wrote a lot and i feel bad for making you guys read my nonsense.

don’t be fool by how low i’m placing some of the songs. i love them all so much especially marjorie, tolerate it and willow. champagne problems and coney island are slowly climbing but definitely gonna take some time but all the songs i place above them are too good. also, i literally just listened to the bonus tracks as i’m writing this little part so i’m not ready to rank them yet but right where you left me is probably gonna end up pretty high based on first impressions!

and here’s a little surprise folklore ranking.

willow: i am absolutely obsessed with the piano or maybe it’s the glockenspiel in this song. i think i saw someone said, if folklore is for fairies then evermore is for witches and i think this song is a great example of that.

champagne problems: you know, when i first listened to this one i thought of my best friend who’s in a really long committed relationship and she talked to me about how she doesn’t want to get marry yet. and for some people that would be a red flag. to be in such a long 5-6 years committed relationship and not want to get marry. but really it’s not about not wanting to get marry or not wanting to be with your person forever, it’s about the fear of the things that come after marriage. and she talked about being scared of divorce, her parents got a divorce because their relationship was really toxic and she saw how it really affected her mother. i think it’s very reasonable to have this fear about the next step of your life, i mean who doesn’t?

gold rush: i’m very happy we got a booty popping song in this album lol. i was literally thinking before the album came out, i hope we get a “horny on main” type of song that was missing on folklore. this song really delivers. And while I think this song is super fun, i can see the cynical and almost realistic side of this side. like no body wants to compete for someone else’s affection. that feeling of jealousy would be unhealthy.

‘tis the damn season: god anything with an electric guitar is just like GIMME MOREEEEEE!! Something about this song reminds me so much like a classic late 2000s soft rock song. Like the guitar sounds like something switchfoot or the fray (one of my favorite artists of all time btw) or john mayer would do but never did.

tolerate it: i’m almost sad that this is a first impression post because this song is slowly growing on me. i just think the piano is absolutely beautiful on this song. and the story of doing everything you and trying your best to be the perfect partner and you think it’s still not enough for that other person and at the same time maybe it’s all in your head.

no body no crime: i mean a true crime song hellooooooo? this is going to be an instant classic in taylor’s discography i believe. i’m a little disappointed that haim isn’t singing in the song more but i still think this is a perfect song. such a classic country pop song.

happiness: this one is probably gonna take me a minute. i feel like i’m still working through so many other songs that this song is getting put in the back burner. which sucks because i love the story of acceptance and as much as you want to hate this other person, you also want to remember and to be remembered for all the good times. and i love the bridge in this song, like no matter how many times you try to make the other person the bad guy, you know there’s no point in doing that because it’s gonna cause you even more pain.

dorothea: i don’t know why every time this song comes on i just want to put my arms up and sway. i love how it feels so breezy and easy and very relaxing. this song kinda reminds me of seven. it’s almost like hey remember our youth, remember the time when we just do whatever we want and friendship comes easy and we don’t have this cynical outlook in life. and the cynicism comes from dorothea being this big star and experiencing life outside of this town and this group of friends that she had.

coney island: something you guys don’t know about me but i love romance novels. and a lot of books i read are basically couples losing that love the relationship once had and are getting a divorce and eventually learning how to love each other again. and this song perfectly encapsulate those stories hahahaha. like neither of the narrators in this song hates each other. they just feel very indifferent about each other and wondering where did that love and magic go.

ivy: of course this song is about infidelity but i see it as a metaphor for trying to protect this precious relationship. i see a lot of similarity of this song with other songs like i know places and dancing with our hands tied. i also love seeing everyone’s interpretation of this song!

cowboy like me: best song on the album. hands down. first: the sound. i love how it sounds like it’s straight out of a dive bar. and taylor’s vocals (i feel like i didn’t talk enough about her vocals in this album), it’s so smooth and velvety. i also love the metaphor! guys i love a song that has a good metaphor. y’all know that’s why i love miss americana and the heartbreak prince so much. i love this imagery of two “cowboys” who spent their lives with the wrong people and playing the field and they ended up crossing path. once they crossed path, they fell in love. i love this song so much!

long story short: this song is so much fun. even though i really appreciate the deep and dark takes on how she’s feeling about 2016, i’m glad she’s able to kinda still have fun with it.

marjorie: i’ve said this before, my grandmother (from my mother side what a coincidence) passed always nearly 3 years ago and she was the only grandparent i knew all my life. i have such a big attachment to her. she babysat me when i was baby up until i was 5 and going to school. my parents worked a lot so she was kinda like another parent to me. she sang to me. she told me stories. i would play dress up with her clothes. out of all of taylor’s songs, this one really hits close to home. despite this song being very sad, there’s also a sense of joy. i take this song as more like celebrating someone’s legacy and your memories of them.

closure: i’m actually glad i’m writing this part for this song after i saw the zane lowe apple music interview. i think the mentions of loyalty in the interview is also very prominent in this song and in no body no crime. they address both extremes of loyalty. no body no crime you’ll do anything for your friend. in closure, that loyalty is broken. i love the emphasis on it being “your” closure. it has selfish intent and only meant to absolve one party of any guilt.

evermore: when taylor said that joe played the piano beautifully, she was talking about this song! i was actually worry about this song being just another exile. and while exile was very good, i felt it was just another good song, like it didn’t really stood out to me in folklore. but they really switched it up for evermore. when the tempo changed, i literally thought something was wrong with the song or it suddenly changed to a different song when i heard it the first time. but oh my god. literally chills. such a great use of justin’s higher register and i actually favored his higher register than his lower. the chaotic nature of the bridge and then bringing it back down at the end really allowed the song to open up. so if you guys don’t know, my favorite collab taylor has ever done is the last time. evermore is coming for her throat!!

so to talk about evermore as a whole, i think this album has the most interesting sounds and lyrics and musical structures in taylor’s entire discography. the imagery is so visceral, it’s almost too much to handle like there’s a lot things going on. and the storytelling is just as sharp as ever.

now to compare this album to folklore. i don’t really want to Hahahaha but I feel like it’s almost inevitable when you label this album as folklore’s sister album and releasing it so close to folklore. they’re pretty on par with each other. i think folklore works as a one cohesive album, you can listen to it top to bottom. it’s also more familiar and easily digestible. evermore can be a little harder to get into despite the fact that it does have more upbeat songs. i think evermore feels like there are a lot ups and downs emotionally but all the songs convey such a strong emotion. it’s less digestible because there’s a lot of strange tempos and structures that aren’t in your normal pop songs. i personally favor folklore more because i love the simplicity but i think each song just flows into the next beautifully but evermore is still a gorgeous album.

#evermore #first impressions

2 notes · View notes