#//I read all the poems in German so
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Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries really did a pretty spectacular job with their German characters - the conflict, while centred around a world war and everything, is tragic and nuanced and neither side is demonised! And the actress playing elderly Mrs. Vogt is doing a really solid accent, not at all over the top for once! And her son’s German is a valiant attempt, but miles away from a native speaker’s - and the show adresses that! He’s second-generation and “was always worse [at German] than [his] brother”! And the language is included as something not only worth learning, but in the context of poetry - love poetry at that! And Rilke! And *that* Rilke! Death on the Vine has my whole heart just for that.
But they also fall into that exact same trap that almost every anglo production falls into with German characters - the names are??? way too Scandinavian??? Like the father’s name is Michael, which is excellent! That is super common... but his wife pronounces it [ˈmîːkaɛl], “Mee-ka-ale”, which, no. No. That’s just... Swedish. Look, I get it, “ch” is hard for English speakers, but then just call him “Thomas” or “Johann” - they’re just as common, and have neither the difficult “ch” sound nor an “r” (which is usually a dead giveaway, I can count the native English speakers I know who can approximate a German “r”-sound on one hand). You can get away with “Oskar” and “Ida” just fine, they’re common enough - but also suspiciously common in Scandinavia. And then there’s “Erik”. I’d be perfectly willing to be generous and say his parents just anglicised the German variant “Erich” (which, again, would probably be a monster to pronounce for an Australian actor, even though the name would be *just* the ticket popularity-wise). They appear to have anglicised their last name from “Vogt” to “Voigt” (the mother introduces herself as “Ida Vogt”, even though she seems to be *listed* as “Ida Voigt”? Rather confusing). But then his name would be spelled “Eric”, right?
It’s not as egregious as “Dark” and “1899″ - I spent the first ep of Dark convinced the show was set in Sweden or Norway because the names were so off - but it just. It *bothers* me. (Largely because I instinctly always think that the popularity of Scandinavian names in Germany was a leftover Nazi thing - even though turns out that’s just one of those weird misconceptions that a lot of people have. There is apparently quite clear evidence that it’s not true.) But also in this case because it’s geographically off - these Nordic names are very common in *northern* Germany, but the Vogt family is from the Rhineland, which is emphatically not considered northern. It’s not impossible! But not the obvious choice nonetheless, and this keeps happening! It’s so unimaginative, we have so many stupid names to choose from! I get that “Heinrich” and “Friedrich” are dicey if you don’t have a native speaker on your hands, but... With a British accent, “Horst” seems quite doable, and it sounds kinda funny - at least a good bit more foreign than Eric. Same goes for “Dieter”, “Bernhard”, “Walther”, “Udo”, “Hermann”, “Josef”, all old-timey and strong 20th century vibes, and very common. (And honestly, just go with “Peter”, “Arnold” or “Martin”, they’re pronounced slightly differently than the English variant but you’d have absolutely no trouble teaching them to an actor.) Plus, Nathan Page did quite a beautiful job with Rilke’s first name, so for second generation, “Rainer” could be a contender! (And speaking of Rilke, if you want a northern German name so badly, go with “Malte” just once! Change it up!)
Ida doesn’t nearly grate as much - old-timey female names in German are often hard to pronounce (”Hildegard”, “Annegret”, “Margarete” etc. have the bingo of the ‘r’ sound and the consonant clusters, “Ulrike”, “Irene” etc. have that really conspicuous “r” in the middle as well, and I feel like even easier names like “Louise” can be deceptively difficult to get right). But in the first half of the 20th century, you can get away *brilliantly* with short forms! “Anni”, “Emmi”, “Leni”, “Lene”, “Lotte”, “Hilde” - feels very lived-in, and simple enough to pronounce!
tldr; I love Death on the Vine but for the love of god stop naming every German character Erik.
#miss fisher's murder mysteries#mfmm#death on the vine#this is a pet peeve of mine sorry#but i do love this episode so dearly!#first of all because it's just good; it's spooky and tense and tragic and the phryne/jack hits the perfect ratio of angsty to flirty#but also!! because the germans!!! aren't shouting!! no the only german we hear is one of the loveliest poems i've ever read#and a son calling to his mother </3#you don't understand!! how starved I am!! of international content where the germans aren't yelling!#and where they aren't cold calculating nazi/ scientist/ nazi scientist types#in fact they hit a type of reserve and emotion and melancholy that feels so quintessentially *right*#especially for that period!#i love this show so much#(which is why i'm holding them up to such a high standard. so before anyone yells at me about how their grandpa was named Erik tho:#the names are fine! It's just weird that 70% of German characters who are not openly nazis appear to be named Erik.)#i'm a language nerd#german#Rainer Maria Rilke
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Anyways Nachtgang also Wataei poem.
#it's post-war era wataei#wataei#please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this#it jzst fits so well guys you don't even know#there's some others too yesterday I went and read through some poems and Amalia Nachtgand and Die Namen are Wataei poems#but they're all german and there's no nice translations that really capture the feeling of the originals#which is a shame really
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I feel you — without words —
I know exactly, what's going on with you.
And I could stay this way
forever
Loving you without need to say
it every single day.
And never really touching you
With the unending lonely space and darkness
howling inside of me.
You could be the Sun and I —
your faithful loving Moon
starring at you from behind the Earth
and never going near you...
But I must learn
in the world of words and lies
to be the only one who ever tells the truth.
#have a strong feeling that it could've been better in German#I am so tired (of being unable) to communicate like normal people do: with words and stuff....#why don't you just read my mind baby#after all there's not a single thing there but love for you#poem#poems#poems on tumblr#poetry#original poem#writing#being in love#love#original poetry
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sorry but it came up on my feed and i can't NOT inform you about other related facts you might find interesting because i do!
🌟the Prussian partition trivia under the cut because i have no self control🌟
– basically while the Prussian government weren't the biggest fans of the Poles, even in the early 1800s the German people were neutral or sympathizing with them, providing support and so on.
– in 1830-1831, during and after the November Uprising in the "Russian" part of Poland, the Germans (and other nations who were soon to follow with the Spring of Nations thing) were strongly cheering for Poland. After the uprising fell, lots of Polish people had to escape the country to avoid persecution. On their way to Paris the refugees were welcomed by the German people like heroes, with flowers, dramatic poems and more material means of support.
– by "dramatic poems" i mean the Polenlieder or Polenschwärmerei – a whole poetry genre dedicated to praise Poland and the November Uprising. They're little known today, but I've read a couple dozens (wikipedia says there's around a thousand of poems like this) and they're absolutely wonderful and absolutely dramatic.
– the one with the final line going:
When this night ends finally and sun rises anew,
Sons of Poland, remember, the Germans were with you.
oh fuck.
i love and i'll always love baby!Lud and Feliks interactions (ask me about my headcanons)
– ughhf why am i rambling so much, another thing is that after the unification of Germany and implementing standarized rights, independent courts and the parliament, it turned out to be Difficult to bully the Polish people because no German would dare to go against the law! Therefore we know a number of funny situations when the Poles would exploit every loophole in the German law and the Prussian authorities trying to get them anyway (implementing new anti-polish laws lol at some point)
– just google Drzymała i'm not gonna tell this story
– i live in the post-prussian-partition Poland and we still remember the saying that goes "there are still courts in Berlin" – because you could always sue the Prussian official that was bothering you and the judgment would be fair.
– not so long ago i've read a great paper about the Prussian attempts to ban the song Boże, coś Polskę, which was at the time aggressively used by people protesting in the Russian partition. When the officials told the archbishop of Poznań to ban it, he politely disagreed and there was this long exchange of letters with the archbishop going "the song is not in the slightest revolutionary, it's just about loving the land where you live :)" "the text is literally about liberating Poland from tyranny" "fair. as a compromise we can stop singing that one line :)".
– It did end up in the court. The court told them it wasn't bannable. The Prussians tried a court appeal. They managed only after the chad archbishop died, only for a few years.
sorry for infodumping on you ohmygod. it's not personal i promise. here's a scene:
Gil: Feliks stop drawing dead black eagles and do something useful or you're not getting din–
baby!Lud: You can't do that.
Gil: I can't do what.
baby!Lud: Drawing isn't forbidden, and you said one should always follow the rules. You can't punish him.
Gil: <- now he has to find an argument that will convince the kid. Or give up 🚹
Learning about the Polish situation after the partitions is so funny because you learn that after one of the Uprisings when everything from language to culture got banned in the Prussian part of the Annexation, (it got banned everywhere but let's ignore that for a moment) some Germans started to get interested in that because "why is it banned"?
And I just imagine the situation where poor Gilbert is just sitting in his study or just some office space doing paperwork maybe, and teenager Ludwig just comes in and is like:
Ludwig/Germany "I wanna learn Polish"
Gilbert/Prussia "You what now?"
It's the greatest revenge of Feliks.
#...it turned out long i'm so so so sorry.#but i'm such a fan of early poland-germany relations#AND THE POEMS. IF YOU CAN READ POLISH OR GERMAN PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT THE POEMS#historical hetalia#i always feel guilty tagging this where the post is 99% history and not at all hetalia#ness cinematic universe#deep poland lore#hws poland headcanons#hws poland
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Top Recommendations for Norse Pagans that aren’t Problematic.
There is a lot of books by people who are racist and part of far right side of Heathenry and I’m going to try my best and list the books I have that helped me on my path that isn’t problematic and have questionable intentions. Books and YouTube channels.
Anglo Saxon Socerery and Magic by Alaric Albertson. He is very knowledgeable in his work and path especially on runes which includes the rune poem to make your own interpretation and witchcraft side of things. He even talks about the Elves which I appreciate because not a lot of Norse authors talk about them. It’s more Germanic than Norse but I can’t see any problem adopting certain aspects since they are very similar. I will say he does take himself a bit serious at times but his information is so good and worthwhile. I have not read his first book on Travels through middle earth but it focus on more the pagan side.
Poetic Edda and Prose Edda: it’s what every Norse pagan needs. It’s the foundation of Norse paganism not bibles but myths and tales that can help along our journey. There is tons of translations, but my favorites are Dr. Jackson Crawford Poetic Edda and Anthony Fawkes Prose Edda. But look into other sagas as well like Volsung which Dr Jackson Crawford also wrote about.
Beowulf. More of a Germanic tale but again includes it has roots of Germanic sorcery, traditions, religion like the concept of Wyrd (Fate), the runes, and values within his society like loyalty and mythical creatures. Again there is many translations even Jrr Tolkien did a incompleted version of Beowulf but I think Tom Shippey finished that version I could be wrong. Nonetheless explore more than one, the oneI have is by Seamus Heaney.
Grimm Fairy Tales this mostly German Folklore but it’s still quite important to learn about in German folk magic, creatures and entities in German folklore tends to be very real to the practitioner in their spellwork.
The Way of Fire and Ice by Ryan Smith a very progressive outlook in Norse paganism, he talks about creating communities in Norse paganism and calling out and denouncing Nazis in the community how Norse Paganism is inclusive and how to be open to all types of people. But he has a beginner approach to the deities, beliefs, values within Norse paganism.
Look into a lot of academic sources that’s where you will find a lot of information on Norse paganism and religions.
Tacitus Germania - A Roman historian talking about the Germanic tribes their culture and customs.
Saxo Grammaticus history of the Danes
The Viking Way by Neil Price it goes good in depths about magic in Scandinavia like Seidh
Dictionary of Norse Mythology a quick guide to northern myths, if you are trying to find a specific god and you don’t have time to look up in a book it’s in there with great information to each one.
Children of Ask and Elm: History of Vikings by Neil Price on Scandinavian culture during the Viking age
Some YouTube Channels
The Norse Witch: Bente lives in Germany and their channel encompasses all of Norse paganism more around magic. They do interviews with other Norse witches of folk magic like Icelandic and Danish. Even gives good book recommendations and advice on general spellwork as well!.
Dr Jackson Crawford he is an author but he also has a YouTube channel. He was a professor in Colorado on Norse culture, mythology, and language and now is a full time YouTuber. He did a series of videos on the runes which are more historically accurate. Discusses the myths and the language and what do they mean. Jackson Crawford isn’t a Norse pagan nor he doesn’t care if you are one but just letting you know he isn’t coming from a pagan perspective.
The Welsh Viking also like Jackson Crawford but still has really great knowledge on Viking culture.
De Spökenkyker who is a channel that focus on German Folk magic living in Germany who is a practicing German Folk Witch.
Please feel free to add on any recommendations that are helpful and useful to the Norse pagan Community!
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God it really does hit when like. So many people have died, and many will continue to die.
I have met such kind Palestinian people here and have seen so many stories. Although the sheer number of requests is quite overwhelming...
I also have sort of decided to only focus on a few. Tamer Aldeeb's campaign mainly. He needs help. He is in danger. I pray he stays alive. That poem he read in passing over the destroyed house of someone who lost their entire family... absolutely heartbreaking. It will stay with me. I am sure of it. Where has the humanity gone?
All I can really do is say...
Donate and Share.
This is the least we can do.
In fact, I would appreciate it if my good friend, @cataphractastrophe could make a small contribution.
He needs help. I am spotlighting @tameraldeeb 's campaign because he needs help, I want him to have a way out, and I never want to experience the grief of losing him.
#palestine#free palestine#gaza#gaza strip#gaza mutual aid#palestine mutual aid#palestine gofundme#palestine gfm#vetted#gofundme#mutual aid#donate#donate reblog share#signal boost#tamer aldeeb#tameraldeeb#gazaunderattack#all eyes on rafah#all eyes on palestine
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Hi friends! Inspired by @librarycards I wanted to make a post celebrating Women in Translation Month! Anglophone readers generally pay embarrassingly little attention to works in other languages, and that's even more true when it comes to literature by women, so I will jump at any chance to promote my faves 🥰 Here are some recs from 9 different languages! Also, I wrote this on my phone, so apologies for any typos or errors!
1. Trieste by Daša Drndić, trans. Ellen Elias-Bursać (Croatian): An all-time favorite. Much of Drndić's work interrogates the legacy of atrocities in Europe, particularly eastern Europe. Trieste is a haunting contemplative novel centered on an elderly Italian Jewish woman whose family converted to Catholicism during the Mussolini era and were complicit in the fascist violence surrounding them in order to protect themselves.
2. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, trans. Anton Hur (Korean): A collection of short stories that are difficult to classify by genre–speculative fiction in the broadest sense. The first story is about a monster in a woman's toilet, which sounds impossible to pull off in a serious, thought-provoking manner, but Chung does so easily—these are the kind of stories that are hard to explain the brilliance of secondhand.
3. Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy, trans. Tim Parks (Italian; Jaeggy is Swiss): Another all time favorite! The cold, sterile homoerotic girls' boarding school novella of your dreams.
4. Toddler-Hunting and Other Stories by Taeko Kono, trans. Lucy North (Japanese): I think I read this in one sitting. Incredibly unsettling—these stories will stay with you. They often focus on the unspoken psychosexual fantasies underscoring mundane daily life.
5. The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, trans. Katrina Dodson (Brazilian Portuguese): I think Lispector is the best known writer here, so she might not need much of an introduction. But what a legend! And this collection is so diverse—it's fascinating to see the evolution of Lispector's work.
6. Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga, trans. Melanie L. Mauthner (French; Mukasonga is Rwandan): Give her the Nobel! Mukasonga's books, at least the ones available in English, are generally quite short but so impactful. Our Lady of the Nile is a collection of interrelated short stories set at a Catholic girls' boarding school in Rwanda in the years before the Rwandan genocide. These stories are fascinating on many levels, but perhaps the most haunting element is seeing how ethnic hatred intensifies over time—none of these girls would consider themselves particularly hateful or prejudiced, but they easily justify atrocities in the end.
7. Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962-1972 by Alejandra Pizarnik, trans. Yvette Siegert (Spanish; Pizarnik was Argentinian): Does anyone remember when my url was @/pizarnikpdf... probably not but worth mentioning to emphasize how much I love her <3 Reading Pizarnik is so revelatory for me; she articulates things I didn't even realize I felt until I read her words.
8. Flight and Metamorphosis: Poems by Nelly Sachs, trans. Joshua Weiner (German): Sachs actually won the Nobel in the 1960s, so it's surprising that she's not better known in the Anglosphere. Her poems are cryptic and surreal, yet deeply evocative. Worth mentioning that this volume is bilingual, so you can read the original German too if you're interested.
9. Frontier by Can Xue, trans. Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping (Chinese): Can Xue is another difficult-to-classify writer in terms of genre. Her short stories are often very abstract and can be puzzling at first. I think Frontier is a great place to start with her because these stories are interconnected, which makes them a bit more accessible.
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🎵 Pretty woman, walking down the street, pretty woman, the kind I’d like to meet, pretty woman. 🎵
Let’s go!! Time for 💎 Pet 💎
- ‘Ancel was a virgin the first twelve times he has sex. The thirteenth time, it lacked all plausibility’ - What a way to start a story and give insight into the world Ancel lives in.
- You would be SHOCKED how much us redheads get the “does the carpet match the drapes” question from total strangers. Ancel is really living the authentic ginger experience. 😂
- In the times of ancient Greeks and Romans, redheaded slaves were more expensive because they were rarer. In that way, Ancel was designed perfectly to align with his character. Love that choice by Pacat! ♥️
- Ancel has a goal and I respect it, and he’s never once tried to hide it. It’s pretty clear that his love of expensive things comes from having very little at the start of life.
- It’s interesting to gain the perspective of a character detached from the thought of sex being emotionally significant. A first night was everything to Erasmus, and sex is hugely tied in with intimacy and emotional connection for Laurent. Jord and Aimeric fell in love while having sex. Whereas sex, to Ancel, is a means to an end. It’s literally his job.
- Love the implication that pets have their own hierarchy and contracts are fiercely competitive. They have their own little community.
- Ancel uses everything he has to his advantage to incredible effect. He’s pretty, witty, and talented. Whenever he walks into a room it’s like that scene from ‘How to Lose Friends and Alienate People’ where Megan Fox walks through the middle of the pool. Lol
- Now this may be the deeply ingrained European stereotypes I grew up with, but in the same way Laurent is French and Damen is Greek, Berenger is 100% German.
- You always get the sense that even though Ancel is bold and daring, he’s still tiptoeing and walking on eggshells. He completely reinvents himself for every new master he has.
- Haha Isagoras! - very on the nose and I love it
- It makes perfect sense that Ancel can’t read and cares little for long epics and poems. I’d be willing to bet though, that he has an amazing memory because of this. Uneducated does not equal unintelligent.
- Love that Ancel’s there all wide eyed like “yes! Please teach me to ride!” while internally he’s like “ew ew ew”. Don’t blame him. Horses are terrifying.
- I like that Berenger does find out Ancel is faking his interests and tells him that he doesn’t have to pretend. From there, Ancel is clearly more himself and more comfortable.
- In addition, although he’s a creature of habit, Berenger is actually really sweet 🥺🥺
- “Luxury suits you” “hell yeah it does.”
- I am so fascinated by Ancel and Erasmus existing in the same social sphere, and Ancel wondering why Erasmus doesn’t use the fact he’s beautiful for power, and dammit I’m going to have to write that fic, aren’t I? 😭
- Ancel and Berenger are mismatched but that’s what works so well about them with Berenger negotiating and Ancel naturally drawing attention to himself. They make up for one another’s differences.
- Ancel giving Berenger fashion advice, and Berenger ignoring it every time in favour of ✨another brown jacket✨
- I’m also liking the implication that Ancel enjoys being a pet and gaining attention for power because he knows what it’s like to be powerless. I personally like to think that he saw Nicaise’s situation and somewhat understood to a certain degree. I can imagine he would’ve been quite young when he started too.
- Fun fact! Ancel’s fire performance is actually reminiscent of a real dance! It’s a Polynesian art called Siva Afi and was traditionally a war dance, except instead of burning cloth on the ends of the baton, there are burning knives. Very cool! 🔥
- Ancel 🤝 Kris Jenner - all publicity is good publicity and I will make billionaires out of a scandal and watch people be jealous.
- The kiss being the first implication that Berenger actually does desire Ancel. Ooh boy, you ain’t hiding that much longer.
- The kiss is also the catalyst for Berenger ending the contract, and I can imagine that Ancel is so confused as to what he did wrong, not realising the circumstances behind the decision. 😞
- It’s absolutely wild looking back on the garden scene from a different perspective and realising that absolutely no one wanted that mess to happen.
- “You’re old.” - once again, ouch.
- Ancel being annoyed at seeing the lords go and ‘coddle’ Erasmus serves to highlight the wildly different appeals Ancel and Erasmus have as pets. Bold and daring vs. Sweet and modest. They would be unstoppable as friends. Shit, I’m really going to have to write that fic now, or read one that hopefully some talented person out there has written already 🙏
- Love that Ancel doesn’t rat Berenger out to the Regent - the Regent doesn’t even want him, and I’m sure Ancel is faintly remembering Nicaise mentioning that he’s “too old” 🤢
- And then the big reveal that Berenger was trying to protect Ancel as he supported Laurent’s bid for the throne; and Ancel realising that Berenger does, in fact, like him. Callback to “isn’t everyone looking for someone to be loyal to?” Sensational.
- I also, for my personal brain rot reasons, need Laurent and Ancel to strike up a bargain by which Ancel listens to all the pet gossip and rats out to Laurent which of the masters are disobeying the new laws of underaged pets or are undermining the new monarchy and union. All in return for a little coin of course 😉
- Ancel and Berenger: what a great little mismatched but perfectly matched pair! Really enjoyed this rendition of pretty woman! 😂
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the german anon is so fucking funny lmao. tell me why they're speaking in the most stilted way, like they're writing a poem 100 years ago? and they use both the formal and informal you to refer to you. It's cracking me up. German anon I respect you but I never wanna read that stuff in german again it sounds so weird (as someone whose first language is german as well lol)
Denn ich dachte: „Hey, wäre es nicht lustig, wenn jemand das sehen würde und nicht herausfinden könnte, warum?“
Ich bin so froh, dass es dir aufgefallen ist. Und ja, ich bin ein Dichter von vor 100 Jahren. Ich wurde hierher teleportiert, um mich Männern mit großen Titten zu widmen.
- EMS 🇩🇪
🤝Silas’s tits uniting us all no matter what time period we live in🤝
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update I now have a good (as in, I like his work) opinion of Rimbaud, and my French isn't as rusty as I thought. winning!
got a brand new (1970s) copy of all of Rimbaud's works from the library. love and light I will use it to brush up my french
#[.txt]#It's not good enough for me to speak it at all but it's decent and serves me well so I can read these poems#without only looking at the translated text#Im better at german than I am at french tbf. I feel like id do better if I had people to practice conversation with in either language. alas#I dont know people who I would ask to speak to me in french or german I'm too much of a perfectionist for that :/#that being said uuh. Mediterranean moment im sitting on a balcony reading poetry and watching the sea and the cipressi...#saur true
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Please a humble request! Can I have relationship HC’s with König! Much appreciated 💜💜💜
hehe of course ♥️
character(s): könig, gen!reader
warning(s): mentions of anxiety, könig's got it rough
könig is very much the shy one in your relationship. it takes him quite some time to feel comfortable engaging and asking to do certain things. he'll often beat around the bush or wait for you to make a move.
he needs constant reassurance. the poor man overthinks everything. if you look at him the wrong way he'll probably cry in the bathroom because he'll think you're mad at him. he is always worried there is someone much better than him out there that you'll leave him for.
he has absolutely no experience with relationships. no one ever liked him growing up, and the one time he asked a girl out he was purposely led on, manipulated, and then made fun of. after that, he found himself too scared to even attempt to flirt, never mind ask anyone out.
könig is so unbelievably touch-deprived. no one has ever touched him romantically in his life and the last time he was held or comforted by someone was as a young child, so small things like a hug or hand-holding will make his entire day.
he is a very large man- i imagine him to be 6'9 or so-, and of course that draws a lot of unwanted attention to him. people will sometimes stop and ask him tall he is or just stare. he feels much more comfortable with you by his side if he ever goes out. having you there to squeeze his hand and silently reassure him that he is okay means the world to him and makes life a bit easier.
he likes to be held, even if it's hard because of his large size. he likes resting his head on your thighs or your chest and having you pet or play with his hair :)
an ideal date for könig would be going to a botanical garden, when it's not busy that is, or going somewhere with lots of plants or wildlife. he knows a lot about nature and likes to tell you random facts about animals or plants he sees.
he likes to write you romantic poems and letters, he has a hard time telling you how he feels (he gets very very nervous and embarrassed) so instead, he'll slip you a paper with something he wrote and will go in the other direction. for your birthday, he wrote you a very long and elaborate letter in a card and was beat red and fidgeting as you read it.
he can be quite romantic at times. he likes to set up little candle-lit dinners at home and share an expensive bottle of wine with you.
könig is a huge nerd, he is a big fan of all things fantasy. lord of the rings, dungeons & dragons, etc. it was one of the many things he got picked on for growing up, and because of that, he kept it a more private interest until he felt comfortable enough talking about it with you. you'll randomly ask him questions about it just to see his face light up and to hear him talk.
likes calling you schatz (treasure) or liebling (darling) :,)
he taught you some german once thinking it would be fun to have you learn, but it makes him so flustered to hear you speak it.
#könig x reader#könig#könig cod#könig modern warfare#konig x reader#konig#konig headcanons#könig headcanons#call of duty#modern warfare#call of duty modern warfare#cod#modern warfare 2#modern warfare ii#codmw#mw2#call of duty modern warfare 2#call of duty modern warfare ii#codmw2#codmwii#call of duty headcanons
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Hey cj fandom! It's currently the 29th of January, which means that yesterday was the last day of the week long strike for Palestine. I apologize for not making a more official post for this earlier. I just wanted to come on here to try to sort of give ideas for what you can do to support Palestinians that should either not require money or just a small amount, and that I have personally done before.
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For boycotting, there is an app called "No Thanks" (Here's a link to my original post) that tells you whether something is on the boycott list just by scanning the barcode. Very easy to use and it should be available on most phones.
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For more information on propaganda and anti-Palestine talking points, I recommend reading Advocating for Palestine. It's a very short booklet, about 16 pages, and it comes in English, Arabic, German, French, Spanish, and Mandarin.
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One way to get your voice heard is by contacting your representatives. Emailing, calling, anything to get their attention! The way to contact them will depend on which country you live in. For Americans, if you don't know who your representative is, use the congress find-your-member website, put your city/state, and a list of members will pop up with their info!
For the Australian representatives, use this website for the list of members, and for Europe there is a website called Voices in Europe for Peace that helps you get in touch with officials from your country. (It also has template you can copy and paste which is pretty cool!)
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Now for E-SIMS! I'll be honest about this one, I don't know much about how these work exactly, but!!! I was given a link to this tweet that has a pretty good step-by-step of how to get E-SIMS to people in Gaza who need them! Though from what I've seen, they take about a month to activate and be used, so just a warning.
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And, of course, the once-a-day click to help the UNRWA, who have been helping Palestinian refugees for many, many years. This one is especially important right now, as many countries have cut funding to them (more on this post)
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One of the most important things you can do right now is listen and learn. Listen to Palestinian voices, uplift them, read their poems and stories and look at their art. Remember that they are human too. They are still alive! Don't forget about them, please.
#chonny jash#free palestine#i tried to put options that dont require money#since i know that there are a lot of younger folk in this fandom#remember that you can make a difference!#dont let the old people make you think your voices dont matter!
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König x Reader Headcanons
this is my first post!!!! im so excited!! i have had an extremely annoying day and just wanted to write these down to cheer me up a bit- hope you guys like them as well :) some of these are self indulgent so forgive me. im writing my könig fic but its taking a while since finals are upon me :/ Warnings: NSFW at the bottom, I put an indicator before :)
He is an extremely active listener. If he’s standing and you are talking to him, he has his feet pointed towards you and his head ducked down a bit so he can hear you better since he’s so tall. Nods along to whatever you say and generally has attentive body language
Remembers the smallest details from any conversation. You tell him a story about your childhood pet and months later he will casually say the pet’s name in another conversation. It always takes you off guard a little
When he realizes he likes you, he panics. Writes frantically in his journal for about 3 hours about it.
You catch on to his little crush pretty quickly, given how he lingers near you more than anyone else and gets shy at the smallest interactions
When you finally confess to him that you feel similarly he is so incredibly happy but flustered. Had to take a cold shower that night to calm himself down
Gives you little gifts all the time (one of his love languages for sure). A drawing he did, a flower he saw on the side of the road, some candy he brought from home, etc
Also collects anything you may gift him. Hoards them and protects them like they are living and breathing
Goes through them on nights when you two have to be apart. He can be extremely sentimental
If you are an artist in anyway, he is your HYPE MAN. Hangs up your drawings/poems/photographs, whatever it may be, in his little dorm room
He melts if you cook/bake him something homemade. Like seriously might get choked up. He loves the smell of baked goods, it always makes him feel right at home. You always try to bake him something on his birthday and he is over the moon about it
Protective but knows you can handle yourself most of the time. Despite his introverted nature he will defend you loudly and aggressively if he senses that it’s necessary
He loves any little weird quirks you may have. You love the smell of clean laundry? He thought it was so cute when you would sniff the shirts coming out of the dryer
OH OH OH LOVES THE THING WHERE YOU HAVE ONE HEADPHONE AND HE HAS THE OTHER AND YOU LISTEN TO THE SAME MUSIC AND JUST HANG OUT. oh man
Accidentally bumps into/knocks you with his hands or arms soooo often. He’s a big boy who doesnt quite have spatial awareness sometimes
He feels so bad everytime it happens and just cradles your face in his hands and apologizing so rapidly (it never really hurts but you like the attention so)
If you dont know german he will give you a “german word of the day” and will say it to you the entire day in context until you guess what it means
Is so excited when you guess right
Not gonna be into PDA it’s too much for him. He’s just constantly your shadow 24/7 in public. The most is having a hand on your back or shoulder so you don’t get lost in a crowd
In private however. Clingiest boy alive (his other love language is physical touch)
Lives for you laying your head on his lap. Plays with your hair or traces your features while he talks to you about his day or a book he started reading
Has the most expressive eyes in the world
I headcannon him as ginger, his hair slightly shaggy (haircuts give him anxiety so he does it himself when it starts to get in his eyes) and wavy
light freckles on his cheeks and across his nose!!!
With his blue eyes he is truly such a picture of beauty
He isn’t super weird about showing his face to you. When you start hanging out outside of work duties he doesn’t wear it, and appreciates that you dont bring attention to it
Sometimes you make a little comment about him being pretty and his face is on FIRE but he just quietly says thank you and has a little smile on his face
Compliments you shyly but often, will not make eye contact with you when he says it
Writes you super heartfelt notes that he will leave you to find because he can better express himself that way
Don’t get me wrong though he has his moments where he can be very very cocky!!
For example: right after a successful mission when he is still riding the adrenaline rush, he is much touchier with you even in front of others
If you need him to reach something he loves that and gets a little power trip. Teases you and makes you jump to get it from him a bit
If he notices that he made YOU blush, wooo boy he loves to tease you. “Did you like that, hmm?”, with a sickly sweet smile
NSFW BELOW
The first time was extremely soft and slow and sweet. He was very eager but very unsure of himself. Didn’t know where to put his hands. You had to guide him and reassure him and he didn’t last very long but it was sweet
He whimpered the entire time
After that, he slowly gains confidence and learns what works for you two
Still likes for you to be in control mostly, with rare soft dom moments
Will try almost anything once!!
Loves praise. Too insecure for degradation and absolutely can’t degrade you either
Loves to eat pussy sooooo much… You have a bad day? He’s on his knees in the shower with one of you thighs on his shoulder. Its your birthday? He got you like 9 presents but the finale is cumming on his tongue 4 times
He fucking growls sometimes when he’s overstimulated and its the greatest thing to grace your ears
Says “I love you” like a chant when he’s cumming in you
Wants to see your face the whole time
Ironically he is great at making eye contact in the bedroom
He has the sexiest thighs in the world
#konig#konig x reader#call of duty#call of duty modern warfare 2#send me YOUR hcs i would love to hear#könig#könig x reader
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Rosekiller Headcannons:
Pt. 2
Pt. 1
Some of these are my own and others are ones I agree with so if some seem familiar that’s why lol. Enjoy!!!!!! Gosh I love them so much. I need like a semi canonical fic of them stat.
* I like to think that Barty was the sweetest of souls when he was younger, but the constant abuse from his father and the cold world damaged him a lot. He also is bipolar so ya know…. Uhhh… yeah…😅
* Barty has long and slender fingers and it would always drive Evan nuts when Barty would wear rings on his hands and nervously play with them
* Barty also developed a tick/constant habit of darting hit tongue out of his mouth to wet his lips. Evan never learned why he did it but found it oddly endearing.
* I feel like Barty couldn't fall asleep without like a million pillows. Unless he had Evan. He would have the best sleep of his life when he slept with Evan.
* Barty will Call Evan Dimples
* The Infamous Three™ know French so they talk in it when they want to say shit about other people.
Evan knows German but rarely uses it.
Barty knows Italian and oh boy, his Italian. Evan got so hard the first time Barty started talking in Italian that he thought he was going to cream his pants. Barty talks in Italian when he drinks which is Evan's worst nightmare since Barty becomes even more flirty when drunk. Every time Barty calls him "mio amato" (my beloved), Evan MELTS (he stills swears he is straight™ and not completely in love with Barty).
When Barty wants to talk about Evan without being pried on, he talks on Italian. Reg knows Spanish and they make it work.
* Barty is Scottish and Evan is French.
* Barty picked up a bunch of languages by the age of 15 because his father decided it was mandatory for his son. (Crouch Sr. canonically knows around 200 languages)
* barty loves the snow. he could spend hours out in the cold without a warming charm if it weren't for his friends getting onto him about him possibly getting sick. he loves sledding down the hills at hogwarts, racing his friends to see who wins. he always does. he also likes snowball fights, building a snowman, and making snow angels. it was something him and his mother cherished so he likes to bask in those precious memories when he can.
* conversely, evan hates snow. his faces crinkles up at the sight of it. he makes sure he bundles himself up and uses warming charms as much as he can. most of the time he sits watching his friends enjoy the snow, throwing snowballs at each other. then barty just shows up with that damned smile of his, his eyes full of wonder at the snow falling down. barty will shoot him a grin just before he throws a snowball. sure, evan hates the snow, but he does genuinely appreciate how happy it makes his boyfriend.
* it is a matter of fact that Barty and Evan spoiled each other constantly, with materialistic things or with kisses and hugs.
* Evan’s birthday is June 20th
* Barty loved to doodle. He would sometimes just grab a marker or something and gently and carefully draw on Evan’s hands or arms. Whichever was easiest to doodle on at the time.
* Barty is secretly a book worm and could talk for days on end to Evan about what he reads.
* Evan isn't much of a reader but he will read anything if Barty suggests it to him, because he absolutely loves seeing him ramble. Barty will also annotate books for him when he borrows them. Don’t get him started on the love poems.
* Barty is so smart. But like in the doesn't need to try smart - tests come easy to him sort of smart
* Evan is completely and totally scared of all bugs ever, and he has to get reg or barty to kill them when they get into the dorm. Barty will sometimes terrorize him by bring the bug really close to him in his hand. Evan screams bloody murder every time. Barty gets such a kick out of it lol.
* When someone asks Barty if he wants something to eat, he’ll say ‘you’ in a deadpan tone (mainly to Evan)
* Evan is possessive as fuck, he will actually glare anyone down that even looks in Barty's direction and will proceed to plan a murder.
* Evan was just a little bit more unhinged than Barty was at Hogwarts. But after school, and after he was a legal adult, Barty let loose and they were both unhinged together!!😁
* Barty and Evan share beds a ton, and the first time it happened was because Barty was having a hard day and Evan snuck in and held him through the night,
* Barty also has nightmares and instinctively looks for evan when he wakes up; Evan is always there
* Barty secretly proposed to Evan when they were 16. No one knew about it. Ever. And no one could ever tell because they almost always both wore rings. So they were engaged until Evan died, because they never got to get married because of all the “no gay marriage!!” In the 70s/80s
* I like to think Barty fell first but when Evan fell for him too Barry’s love grew deeper once he had him. So basically he fell first and he also fell harder.
* Barty never holds people's hands, he just wraps his fingers around their wrist. Friends or Lovers.
Evan has no idea why, maybe it's a preference or something?
Barty actually does it to check if the person he's with has a pulse and is real, a small reassurance for his anxiety
* evan has blue eyes, and barty collects sea rocks or flowers when they match the color perfectly. He’s kinda like a crow that way. He will find things that remind him of Evan, or that make him think of him, and he will give them to Evan. He keeps every single one.
* Barty has deep emerald green eyes.
* Evan adores it when Barty runs his fingers through his hair. He gets shivers down his spine every time.
* They both actively tried to summon ghosts
* Evan has like really bad circulation so he's like ALWAYS cold. And Barty is always a furnace
* Barty would often just bite Evan’s shoulder. Evan eventually go a tattoo of Barry’s bite marks on his left shoulder.
* Harley Quinn and Barty Crouch Jr. are interchangeable and you cannot convince me otherwise.
* Like, “what’s that I should kill everyone and escape? oh sorry, it’s the voices… I’m kidding!!! that’s not what they actually said.”
* Evan would often put his hand on Barry’s throat and Barty lived for every second of it. The Horny Bastard.
* I just know that Barty and Evan had so many dramatic break ups over the pettiest things
* They did it so they could have hate sex🤣🤣
* Barty would always tell Evan that he hopes that he would die first. He always said he never wanted to live in a world where Evan wasn’t in it….
* The skittles(Barty, Evan, Reggie, Panda, and Dorcas) all made an unbreakable vow that only death would do them part… and it did…
* Everyone thinks that they can’t stand each other when in public, but alone, or just with their friends, they are literally unbearable
* Evan wears baggy clothes and Barty wears tight clothes. Fight me on this.
* Also Evan has the sluttiest waist known to mankind.
* The fist Slytherin party that Evan actually danced at, he was so insecure. So Barty convinced him that no one was looking at Evan and that they were just looking at Barty. And after a few drinks, Barty had convinced Evan of that and he just let lose. And holy shit were they hot together. Kinda like the song by Sabrina carpenter if u know what I mean….
* Like, Barty would say “They aren’t even looking at you Ev, they’re looking at me.” Then Evan would say, “But I don’t want them to look at you Barty.”
* Evan took his shirt off a few times at a couple of party’s and literally all eyes were on him but he didn’t care cus Barty was there, Hands tightly secured to his waist and glaring at anyone who even glanced at Evan.
* Barty is a pyromaniac, and when that happens only Dorcas and Pandora can settle it. Evan can too but he usually just enables him🤣
* When Evan goes missing it doesn’t take Barty long to figure out he is dead. It totally sent him off the deep end and caused him to put all of his devotion into the only thing he had left, Voldemort.
* Also, once he found out Evan was dead he went straight to Pandora. She was the only one of their friends would would even think about talking to him. He was miserable, he wouldnt leave his room at Pandoras house for days.
* I am also completely convinced that Bartemius Crouch Sr had Evan assassinated after he found out about him and Barty.
* Like you know how canonically moody was trying to take him prisoner, but Evan was fighting so damn hard that Moody had to kill him. I think that was his order along. You can’t convince me otherwise. that is what happened.
* When he is posing as Moody, Barty finds out about this and kills his dad because of it. And also because of the god awful abuse. Duh.🙄
* Also, a little before torturing Alice and Frank Longbottom, Barty tried to obliviate himself so he would just forget Evan and Regulus because the pain of losing them was too much. In his attempt, because his emotions were so high, he messed it up and he went insane. This also caused him to hallucinate Evan and Regulus. The hallucinations of them were the ones who convinced him that Alice and Frank killed Evan. (Barty already knew how Regulus died.)
* Regulus told Kreature to tell Evan and Barty how he died, knowing they would keep his secret. And they did until they died.
#harry potter#marauders#the marauders#dead gay wizards#dead gay wizards in the 70s#regulus black#dorcas meadowes#pandora lovegood#evan rosier#barty crouch jr#barty crouch junior#barty x evan#regulus and evan and barty#barty jr#barty crouch sr#mad eye moody#wizard#hogwarts houses#hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry#rosekiller headcanon#headcanon#rosekiller#engaged#engagement#they both die at the end#they are all dead#I love them so much Oml you don’t understand#rose killer#Barty loves the snow#Barty is a bitter
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Bayverse drift, crosshairs, and Sideswipe
W cybertonian crush who calls them nicknames in other languages that they don't know? Like, Mein liebe (my love) , Mahal ko (my love, again), hermoso (Handsome), Liebling (Darling), beaue (Lovely)... Just any sweet nicknames in a language he doesn't know shit about??
Reader just loves telling the mech their feelings straight up, and the darling doesn't even know
What would his reaction be when he's informed of the translations?
Hellloooo, sorry for the wait! I hope this is what you were looking for and expecting. Request are still open if you like what your read or have a request. Enjoy :)
Pairings: Bayverse Drift x Reader, Crosshairs x Reader, Sideswipe x Reader
Warnings: Poorly translated languages(sorry in advance),
Drift - Mein Liebe(My Love) and Liebling(Darling)
You spent most of your time on Earth in the German countryside, considering you arrived right after WWII. So in time you learned the language, and with the many different drivers you’ve had, you’ve experienced and heard many different things, but the sweet nicknames your long term German driver gave to their lovers just so happened to stick with you.
“Mein Liebe!”
After jumping out of the driver side door and into their lovers arms, the image was sweetly sickening, but how you longed for your turn.
You remember when you received the message from Optimus about other autobots being out there. You were with the same driver, and boy had it been a long time. The children were crying in the back as your radio transmitted the message.
“Warum ist Ihr Radio durcheinander? Dieses Stück Schrottauto!!”
Their hand coming to smack down on your dashboard, what the fuck. In that moment you transformed, throwing the two adults out and holding the small children. Your feet stuck to the concrete of the highway, and their words hit hard, you were no piece of junk. You sat the children down, giving them a hard look before transforming and leaving.
You may no longer be in Germany anymore, but you still spoke like it. A thick accent when speaking and along with the occasional German words, but with the group Prime had configured, everyone was different. Especially this one bot, Drift. He also had somewhat of an accent, and was all about tranquility and whatnot, kinda the opposite of you. You remember the first time you called him Liebling.
He and Hound were getting into it, something about a flower in the wind, loyalty and fear, some haiku. When Hound threatened to drop a grenade down his throat over it, Drift pulled his swords and started on about threats when your servos grabbed at his shoulder plating, pulling him towards you.
“Liebling, cool it yah! He can’t comprehend such great poems.”
Optimus then started on about something. Drift dropped all arguments and just looked towards you, a smile coming from you and you both just looked back to Optimus.
The second time just happened was when you were both battling in london. He was in the blast radius of a con attack, being thrown back and you witnessed it. Running over to help him, your processor not being able to pick between german and english curse words before you made it in earshot of him.
“Mein Liebe! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where does it hurt?”
Your servos move him around as he groans. He was too dazed to fully recognize what was going on, He had only picked up on Meine Liebe, that was new. A foot soldier that had been with you since the battle laughed a little. Your optics moved to look at him, a concerned look.
“‘My love’, what are you two in a relationship?”
This must have been what shook Drift from his daze. My love, you have been calling him My love, he felt honored.
“Well, It was easier to say when he didn’t know what it meant, soldier”
Your optics moved back to look at Drift. He was smiling at you, his body seemed to relax.
“I'm honored to know you call me that, My love.”
Now it was your turn to smile at him, He finally knew your feelings.
Crosshairs - Mahal ko(My Love)
Crosshairs was no shy bot, so when you showed up. He felt the urge to question you, make sure you weren't a ‘backstabbing con’. Which with the circumstance of your arrival it made sense. You had taken your time with showing up, but once he saw you transform, and the nice placement of the autobot symbol on your chassis, he knew you were somewhat okay. He found you interesting, the way you didn’t speak like the rest, the way you were just something else, it was kinda fascinating to him. You were fascinating to him, and that nickname you gave him, it sounded special, far too special for him. He didn’t do research, opting to just let you tell him when you're ready, and boy did it happen.
Minding your business, he makes some sort of gun, when it all blows up in his face. With an upset noise he turns around. Waving his servos around like it was nothing.
“It's okay Mahal ko, you’ll get it next time.”
The words of encouragement just weren't enough to get him to go at it again, instead his optics landed on you and in an instance, he had some questions.
“What does that even mean? You say it often, but not to anyone else. You calling me a name or something, cause if so i’ll,”
He cut himself off, you were simply just smiling at him and he was threatening you. You optics closed, you trusted him far too much.
“You are just something else,”
Your voice was so sweet, never weavering, never sounded bitter, he simply couldn’t get enough.
“If you wanna know so badly, It means my love.”
“My love, do you have some feelings for me or something?”
You smiled, he was so clueless. He stared at you, optics steady scanning your face for lies, but there were none.
“Nah, I don't believe you. What is this for you?”
“You're always asking what's in it for you.”
“Because there’s gotta be something, ain't no way you aint getting something outta this.”
“Nothing in this but you, your feelings.”
He stops, he always says let's use words but this time he was out of them. Your feelings really took the words outta him.
Sideswipe - Hermoso (Handsome)
With the rise in autobots showing up after Primes message, bots from all around the world and universe were showing up. One of the bots from around the world was you, coming from South America. You’d traveled around the world, but there was something about Spanish that just sat right with you. It felt so normal, so when you developed feelings for the bot you were constantly paired up with, you just got used to calling him handsome. It just wasn’t in english.
You two were cornered in a run down building, it was a two on four moment. You two were bumped back to back. You loaded your fusion cannon before speaking.
“How are we doing this, Hermoso?”
Your optics narrowed as you tried to pinpoint where they'd come from. Your servo lifting up your cannon. He laughed at your question, you could hear the smile in his voice.
“However, we must.”
He leaned his helm into the back of yours, almost to reassure you that the two of you will survive this.
“Hey, I’ve got a question, just in case something happens.”
You thought he’d ask how you wanted your sent off to be, and that's what filled your head before his question. You wanted him to be the one, the one to carry you, the one to remove your autobot symbol, the one to give your last words. You were taken out of your thoughts when he started talking, a light hearted tone.
“What’s Hermoso mean and why do you only call me that?”
You felt him lift up his swords and turn his helm to look over his shoulder plating. You laughed, just like you would if he told you a funny joke about brother.
“It means Handsome, and why only you, because you’re handsome, Harmoso.”
You turned around to face him, a smile on your face as he turned around on his skates to look at you.
“You clever bot.”
A smile appearing on his face as well, you simply nodded and closed your optics.
“I like it, now I’ve gotta have one for you.”
“Aww no need for that.”
You started moving back, the silence from no cons was starting to get worrying.
“Of course there is, you gave me a cute nickname, I gotta give you one back.”
“I'm sorry, are you reciprocating my feelings right now?”
He shrugged at you, before skating off. He was reciprocating your feelings.
Hound - Beaue(Lovely)
Hound had his shotgun pointed at Crosshairs helm, all the autobots were on the ship, and Crosshairs was kinda bullying the humans.
“Come on, let's use words.”
You reached around and placed your servo on the gun, pushing it down while whispering something to Hound.
“Beaue, let's calm down now.”
The group disperse, you and Hound, and the rest in pairs. You don't remember what you were looking for, but you just remember Hound clearing his throat.
“Huh, What’d you say?”
You tear your optics from whatever you're looking at to him.
“I said, what does that name you keep saying mean? Is it someone you're looking for.”
You laughed, placing your servos on your hips as you looked around.
“I'm not laughing, I wanna know. If I can help or not.”
“It’s not someone I'm looking for. It just means lovely. It's what I call the people I like.”
You got closer to him, you thought about touching him, placing your servo on his shoulder or arm, but with such high tensions from surroundings you decided against it. So you decided you’d explain what like meant in this scenario.
“Like, love, hints why its ‘my love’”
“You like me? Hard to believe, when there's a war going on.”
He turned around and continued to walk.
“Well war doesn’t stop love Hound.”
You laughed, and continued to follow him. You could further explain when you guys weren’t on some enemy ship.
#transformers#bayverse#transformers bayverse#drift x reader#crosshairs x reader#sideswipe x reader#hound x reader#tf drift#tf sideswipe#tf crosshairs#tf hound#transformers x reader#tf bayverse#tf x reader#stars writings
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George Orwell: The Prevention of Literature
George Orwell:
The Poet & The Prose Writer
There is a whole series of converging reasons why it is somewhat easier for a poet than a prose writer to feel at home in an authoritarian society.
To begin with, bureaucrats and other ‘practical’ men usually despise the poet too deeply to be much interested in what he is saying.
Secondly, what the poet is saying — that is, what his poem ‘means’ if translated into prose — is relatively unimportant, even to himself.
The thought contained in a poem is always simple, and is no more the primary purpose of the poem than the anecdote is the primary purpose of the picture.
A Poem
A poem is an arrangement of sounds and associations, as a painting is an arrangement of brushmarks.
For short snatches, indeed, as in the refrain of a song, poetry can even dispense with meaning altogether.
It is therefore fairly easy for a poet to keep away from dangerous subjects and avoid uttering heresies; and even when he does utter them, they may escape notice.
But above all, good verse, unlike good prose, is not necessarily and individual product.
Certain kinds of poems, such as ballads, or, on the other hand, very artificial verse forms, can be composed co-operatively by groups of people:
Whether the ancient English and Scottish ballads were originally produced by individuals, or by the people at large, is disputed; but at any rate they are non-individual in the sense that they constantly change in passing from mouth to mouth.
Even in print no two versions of a ballad are ever quite the same.
Many primitive peoples compose verse communally.
Someone begins to improvise, probably accompanying himself on a musical instrument, somebody else chips in with a line or a rhyme when the first singer breaks down, and so the process continues until there exists a whole song or ballad which has no identifiable author.
Prose
In prose, this kind of intimate collaboration is quite impossible.
Serious prose, in any case, has to be composed in solitude, whereas the excitement of being part of a group is actually an aid to certain kinds of versification.
Verse — and perhaps good verse of its own kind, though it would not be the highest kind — might survive under even the most inquisitorial regime.
Even in a society where liberty and individuality had been extinguished, there would still be a need either for patriotic songs and heroic ballads celebrating victories, or for elaborate exercises in flattery; and these are the kinds of poems that can be written to order, or composed communally, without necessarily lacking artistic value.
Prose is a different matter, since the prose writer cannot narrow the range of his thoughts without killing his inventiveness.
But the history of totalitarian societies, or of groups of people who have adopted the totalitarian outlook, suggests that loss of liberty is inimical to all forms of literature.
German literature almost disappeared during the Hitler regime, and the case was not much better in Italy.
Russian literature, so far as one can judge by translations, has deteriorated markedly since the early days of the revolution, though some of the verse appears to be better than the prose.
Few if any Russian novels that it is possible to take seriously have been translated for about fifteen years.
In western Europe and America large sections of the literary intelligentsia have either passed through the Communist Party or have been warmly sympathetic to it, but this whole leftward movement has produced extraordinarily few books worth reading. Orthodox Catholicism, again, seems to have a crushing effect upon certain literary forms, especially the novel.
During a period of three hundred years, how many people have been at once good novelists and good Catholics?
The fact is that certain themes cannot be celebrated in words, and tyranny is one of them.
No one ever wrote a good book in praise of the Inquisition.
Poetry might survive in a totalitarian age, and certain arts or half-arts, such as architecture, might even find tyranny beneficial, but the prose writer would have no choice between silence or death.
Prose literature as we know it is the product of rationalism, of the Protestant centuries, of the autonomous individual.
And the destruction of intellectual liberty cripples the journalist, the sociological writer, the historian, the novelist, the critic, and the poet, in that order.
In the future it is possible that a new kind of literature, not involving individual feeling or truthful observation, may arise, but no such thing is at present imaginable.
It seems much likelier that if the liberal culture that we have lived in since the Renaissance comes to an end, the literary art will perish with it.
The Falsification of Reality
But however it may be with the physical sciences, or with music, painting and architecture, it is — as I have tried to show — certain that literature is doomed if liberty of thought perishes.
Not only is it doomed in any country which retains a totalitarian structure; but any writer who adopts the totalitarian outlook, who finds excuses for persecution and the falsification of reality, thereby destroys himself as a writer.
Unless spontaneity enters at some point or another, literary creation is impossible, and language itself becomes ossified. At some time in the future, if the human mind becomes something totally different from what it is now, we may learn to separate literary creation from intellectual honesty.
At present we know only that the imagination, like certain wild animals, will not breed in captivity.
Excerpts from the essay, "The Prevention of Literature" published in Polemic, January 1946
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