#STILL MISSING JESÚS!

[my-little-random-world]

Isabel: Doña Marta, Miss Fina Valero. Marta: Tell her to come in. Isabel: Right away. Fina: Well, well, well, Marta! The private sale was a total success! You should have seen Carmen; she was walking right up to the clients as they passed through the door. Marta: I know, Astrid Madariaga just called me, all excited, to tell me about it. Fina: They cleared everything out, huh? Marta: What great news! Fina: And why didn’t you come by? I’ve been waiting for you all afternoon. Marta: Because I had to take over my new position. Fina: What new position? Marta: You’re looking at the new director of Perfumerías de la Reina. Fina: What?! Are you serious? Marta: Yes! Fina: What?! Marta: My father removed Jesús and offered it to me. It all happened so fast, which is why I couldn’t tell you before.

Fina: But, but congratulations, right?! Congratulations! What wonderful news, honestly! Because... because it’s good news, right? Marta: Yes, yes, yes. I’m on cloud nine. And for my father to have trusted me... Fina: But does that mean...? Marta: That we’re smoothing things over. Fina: Oh my God, Marta! You have no idea how much you deserve all of this, truly. You’ve fought so hard to get here. You’ve had to break down walls that your brothers, just by being men, can’t even imagine. Marta: I won’t deny that. Fina: And... and what about Barcelona? Is the move still on? Because I doubt your brother will take long to expose those photographs if you don’t step down from the position. Marta: That’s not going to happen. Fina: Why? Marta: Because my father destroyed the negatives. Fina: Are we out of danger? Marta: The nightmare is over. Jesús can’t hurt us.

—Next scene—

Marta: We no longer have to run, and you can stay by your father’s side until his last breath. That’s what you wanted, right? Fina: Yes, yes, yes. Marta: Does that sound good to you...? Fina: Of course, of course it sounds good to me. I felt so guilty about having to leave him. Marta: Well, now nothing and no one will stop us from continuing our lives here. In fact, now with my new position, I’ll make sure no one bothers us in the colony. What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy? Fina: Yes, of course. Of course I’m happy. I’m really happy... But in Barcelona, we were going to live together in the same house and... that’s it, it’s fine! I was excited about it, but it’s fine. Marta: Fina... Fina: No, don’t “Fina” me, Marta. You just said it yourself. Here, we’ll each go back to our own lives, each in our own place. Marta: We’ll find a way. Just last night you were sleeping at my place. Fina: Your place, but in the downstairs rooms with my father, because I thought those were the last days I was going to spend with him. Marta: We’ll figure it out, hm? The important thing now is that you and I are safe. Fina: We’ve really lifted a heavy weight off our shoulders, haven’t we? Marta: I would’ve never forgiven myself if something had happened to you because of my brother.

[eirinstiva]

La aventura del soldado de la piel descolorida and translating love terms

After three letters from Sherlock Holmes, a cup two cups of tea and an alfajor I'm ready (?) to write about The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier, known in Spahish as La aventura del soldado de la piel descolorida (in my copy of Todo Sherlock Holmes) or La aventura del soldado de la piel decolorada.

One of the principal problems in translations is to translate one word into a group of another ones and choose the most accurate for each case. Love as a noun can be translated as it follows:

Amor: affection, romantic feelings, lover, affectionate term. Enamoramiento: romantic feelings. Querido, querida: dear, affectionate term. Cariño: affection, affectionate term. Pasión: strong liking. Aprecio: regard, esteem

And as a verb:

Amar: feel affection for somebody, be fond of somebody, have romantic feelings for somebody. Querer: feel affection for somebody. Adorar: like strongly. Apreciar: be fond of somebody.

The use changes according to times, dialects, gender, even personal experience. That's why every time I go to a store and a Venezuelan person calls me "mi amor" my cold southerner Chilean arse is screaming in panic because I don't use it at all, even with my pets.

Anyway _(:з)∠)_

In the first letter we had "You must put it down, sir, to my real love for your son." was translated as "Tiene usted que disculparme, señor. Cárguelo a cuenta del cariño que siento por su hijo". In this case there's no much difference because cariño is a word used for friends, family and lovers, so this can be interpretated in many ways. Later Dodd said "I was fond of your son Godfrey, sir." which can be translated as "Señor, yo apreciaba mucho a su hijo Godfrey." and still the sense of love is present.

However, in the same letter Holmes call Watson "an ideal helpmate", or "un ayudante ideal" in Spanish. Ayudante is used here as a helper, and it doesn't have the same strong feeling that helpmate that can be used for spouse. Helpmate has a degree of affection that ayudante doesn't have. Ayudante is more used in work or study context, and in my personal opinion it's too cold to use with somebody that has been at your side for so many years. Shame on you, Holmes in Spanish! ಠ_ಠ

This story has something, that little spiciness between James and Godfrey, and in the constants laments of Holmes missing Watson that even translating love as cariño or aprecio you can feel something intense is happening here. To finish this I quote Jesús Ulceroy's comments of this story and the role of Watson in Holmes' work as a detective:

Si sabemos leer entre líneas, nos damos cuenta de que la torpeza de Watson es una figuración, un fingimiento. Un ardid que permite al ambiente relajarse y que agudiza los sentidos analíticos del detective. Pese a todo, Holmes nos vuelve a dar su bofetada al declarar resuelto el caso mucho antes del final del mismo: un final seco y feliz. Un final explicativo. Y un ardiente deseo finamente expresado para que Watson vuelva. ¡Ah, el amor, sus egoísmos!

Translating into English is:

If we know how to read between the lines, we realize that Watson's clumsiness is a figuration, a pretence. A trick that allows the environment to relax and that sharpens the detective's analytical senses. Despite everything, Holmes slaps us again by declaring the case solved long before its end: a dry and happy ending. An explanatory ending. And a finely expressed burning wish for Watson to return. Ah, the love, the selfishness of it!

[saras-devotionals]

Quiet Time 3/8

What am I feeling today?

Sick and tired, oh my goodness😭 my throat is still killing me and I was coughing all night and absolutely freezing and barely slept at all. also just feeling stressed out, it’s the weekend of my spring break and I haven’t done a single bit of work, I feel awful about it and worried I simply won’t have enough time🥲

Bible plan: Healing what’s Hidden

An abundant-life mindset

Relief from trauma doesn’t come by pursuing relief. It comes by pursuing an abundant life. Abundant living focuses on the uncreated, incorruptible, indestructible, eternal life found in God.

Pursuing an abundant life isn’t about claiming a promise of health or wealth. It is about finding purpose and meaning in the life God has given you. It is about discovering a life worth living in the one you already have, as beaten-up and bruised as it may appear.

This has been my main motivation in the past and why I keep going. I continue to make goals for myself and my life so I can keep looking forward to things to live for. And furthermore, God has a promise for us, a plan for our lives, I trust that what’s in His plan is perfect and I shouldn’t worry.

An abundant-life mindset recognizes that no relationship, hobby, drug, or drink will truly satisfy. Later in John, Jesus tells his disciples that only in him will their joy be complete (see John 16:22-24).

This is good to remind myself of because it I can’t find joy in Christ, I’ll find it no where else.

Possibilities are open to you, even now, while you are still suffering. Even now, relief is available to you while you are still struggling. Your future is too valuable, too powerful, and too important for you to miss out on it by running and numbing. Abundant life awaits.

Keeping this in mind, when just thinking about the future opportunities I have in this coming year. God has been so good to me and so there’s no reason why I should be numbing so intensely. I don’t want to be numb, I don’t want to be apathetic, I want to feel everything and know that through everything I have God by my side.

John 10:10 NIV

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Jesús is the only way in which I can live life to the fullest! In terms of my life here on earth and later when I pass on. What we’re given is eternity with Him and no matter what happens here, that’s the goal.

John 16:22-24 NIV

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

This goes hand in hand with prayer and specifically praying in Jesus name. There’s a catch to this in the sense that God will only give and fulfill what is meant to glorify Him, not simply what we think benefits us. Anyways! Either way, our joy is found in Jesus🫶

[miyuhpapayuh]

21. Silk.

"I'm so glad you're here. I haven't seen you, since... Gloria left us." The tears start to fall from both of their eyes.

"I... I'm sorry, I packed up and left. I just couldn't stay here." Moving their hands from her face, she lets them swing at their sides.

"I don't blame you, baby doll. We all needed our time— hell, we still need it. I'm just glad that you came to see us. To see me. I missed you terribly."

"I missed you, too. We've got lots to talk about."

"Yes, we do. Rina, dear, will you let us catch up, please?"

"Of course. I'll let you know when lunch is ready." She heads out and closes the door behind herself.

Stevie sits down in the red recliner that sits next to his, sliding her boots off and pulling out the footrest.

"How was your flight?"

"I hate planes and my nerves were shot, but I made it." She sighs. He nods, fiddling with his wedding band.

"Planes are a death machine, I believe. Every time Gloria and I would travel, she made sure to say that on every plane we'd ever gotten on."

"She loved to travel, man. I remember she took me to Puerto Rico with her, one summer. I ate the best food and got the best tan of my life!," she laughs.

"Yeah?, is that when you learned Spanish?" She nods, twiddling her thumbs.

"Mhm. She made sure to drill it in me. I couldn't go to the pool, until I could have a full conversation with her in Spanish."

"You wanna know something?"

"Always."

"I've sat in front of this window for the last three years and hadn't spoken a word to anyone, about anything. I just watched the wind rustle through those red leaves and cry. Gloria knows I hate crying and she left me, anyway." He looks away from her.

"What made you start talking, again?"

"You."

"Me?," her tone full of curiosity. "Why me?"

"I thought about you and how broken up you were. If that fiery old woman meant anything to anyone, it was you. Oh, she loved you with all her heart." He pats her leg. "I just kept seeing your face in my head and I wanted to see you. I don't even think, I realized that you had left. I was numb to everything. But, I'd gotten tired of feeling that way— it was hard, losing her. She'd been my sweetheart for fifty years and she left me."

"I never thought about how hard this was on you. I was being super selfish and I'm sorry."

It stung, watching him tear up over the only woman he'd ever loved.

"No, dear... it's okay,"

"It's not, grandpa. I should've checked on you. You've been without your heart for three years."

The look in her eyes is one he knows, all too well.

"You're in love, aren't you?" She wipes her tears away and pulls her knees up to her chest.

"How'd you know?"

"You've got that look. What's his name?"

"Roderick." He smiles.

"How long has it been?"

"It'll be a year in May."

"Oh, it's still fresh!"

"In the measure of time, yes. But, I feel like I've known him my whole life."

"She's the most amazing girl I've ever met." Aunt Rina, Jade and Stevie's mom, Victoria, who showed up an hour ago with her husband, Gene, swoon as Rod talks about Stevie.

"Where did she find you? Are there more where you came from?" Jade raises an eyebrow in question.

"Unfortunately, I'm one of a kind, and if anybody found anybody, it was me that found her."

"Hm. La perra afortunada." Jade says, gets swatted with the hand towel right after.

"Ouch, ma!"

"Watch your language, in this house. Lo juro, ustedes pierden la cabeza a veces. ¡Jesús!"

"I was just playing!"

"Well, knock it off! Act like the good Lord gave you some sense." Victoria cuts her eyes at her niece, before looking back to Rod. "You wanna tell them the story of how you two met?"

"I'm always up for that.," he chuckles. "Stevie would kill me, if she knew I was telling it, which makes it even funnier. Last year, I was coming from the cafe and I basically wiped her out—" Mateo cackles, loudly. "It's as funny as it sounds, for real. I got off a few jokes about her being as small as she is and she wasn't feelin' it— she laughed, but she wasn't feelin' it— but, I asked for her number and the rest is history, my friends."

"Wow, you got her mean ass to be nice to you? That's wild." Derrick shakes his head. "She used to beat us up."

"Oh, she definitely gave me a run for my money, in the beginning, but mama ain't raise no quitter. I'm built for it."

"Are you?" Gene asks, amusement laced in his tone.

Rod laughs, shaking his head. "I am!"

"You're not," Stevie says, as she steps into the living room with her grandpa. Rod scans her face, frowning at her puffy, red eyes.

"Hey ma, hey dad." She heads over to her parents, kissing their cheeks.

"Hey, honey. You look beautiful."

"That's your twin, I swear." Her grandpa adds.

"They're both gorgeous, so it works." Gene replies.

"Abuelo, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Roderick."

He stands up, standing almost eye-to-eye with the older man, extending his hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir."

"Likewise, son. I've heard a lot about you. You can call me Jorge." Giving his hand a firm shake, he gives him a warm smile.

"Good things, I hope."

"Very good things, son. You've got yourself a dime."

"I'm forever lucky to have found her," he glances at her, watching her blush, profusely.

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

After lunch, the photo albums are spread out and everybody's currently ripping into Stevie about how chubby she was.

"Look at those cheeks!" Jade points to a picture of Stevie. She had to be around two or three years old, her curls were tossed all over her head and she was sitting on the lap of her favorite person, her grandma.

"Ugh, I was ugly." She laughs, leaning back into Rod.

"The lies. You were the cutest baby I've ever seen." He rubs her thigh and presses his face against her arm as she sits on his lap.

"Oh, you're a slick one." Aunt Rina points her finger at him, laughing to herself. Stevie playfully rolls her eyes.

"I'm innocent." He winks.

"Mhm. I'm keeping my eye on you." She playfully threatens.

"Ooh, look! I haven't seen these pictures in years!" Jade flips the page and points to the black and white pictures of her grandparents, looking like something straight out of a movie.

"Aw, y'all were sharp! When was this?" Stevie asks her abuelo.

"This was after church, one day. Gloria wanted ice cream really badly, I could never say no to her, so I drove fifteen miles to the nearest parlor and got her, her favorite ice cream. Anybody know what it is?”

"Pistachio!" They all say in unison, laughing.

"Fifteen miles?! That's some love." Derrick shakes his head. "We'd have to go in on gas money, together."

"Oh, brother." Jade says.

"That's a little triflin', don't you think?" Rod asks.

"How?"

"It's fifteen miles. That's not much."

"You'd drive that far for Stevie?" Derrick questions.

Rod laughs. "I'd drive around the world for her."

"You'd never ask for gas money?" Mateo asks.

"Nope. Men don't worry ‘bout things like that. If she offered, it'd be a different story, but I'd never ask and never stress over it."

"You've got you a good one." Uncle Don nods in Stevie's direction.

"I know, right." She cheeses.

The front door opens and closes. "Dad!," a female voice calls out.

"In the kitchen!," he yells back.

"I'm so sorry, I'm late. The traffic out there is terrible—" rounding the corner, Stevie's aunt Isabela and cousin Adrienne walk into the spacious kitchen.

"Stevie, hi!" Her aunt rounds the table and leans down for a hug. "Ugh!, you get prettier, every time I see you."

"Cut it out! How've you been?"

"I've been good— not as good as you, I see." She darts her eyes towards Rod, who's growing used to being the center of attention.

"This is my boyfriend, Rod. Rod, this is my aunt, Isabela." They shake each other's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, dear."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Adrienne, are you gonna come and speak?"

"She doesn't have to." Stevie says, abruptly. "It's totally fine."

"Hey, everybody....Hey, Stevie." Adrienne replies, sarcastically, moving the phone away from her ear. "So nice of you to join your family, again."

Stevie blinks. Rod wraps an arm around her waist, sensing the hostility in the air. Gene takes a mental note, chuckling to himself.

"My boy," he mumbles to himself.

"Usually, I'd stoop to your pathetic level, but I'm not gonna do it."

"And, why is that?" Adrienne folds her arms across her busty chest.

"Because, you're simply not worth it. Go take your phone call and stop talking to me."

Adrienne stomps away into the living room, leaving Stevie to roll her eyes.

"You two have never gotten along," her grandpa points out. "Why is that?"

"She's rude. It could've been cool, had she not said what she said. That wasn't necessary."

"No, it wasn't. I'm sorry." Isabella apologizes.

"Aren't you tired of apologizing for her behavior? She's too old for that."

Sighing, Stevie excuses herself, heading down the hall to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna kill somebody, before I leave." Washing her hands, she opens the door and comes face to face with Adrienne.

"So... you finally get a man and decide to show your face, huh?" The malice in her voice is as thick as the blood pumping through Stevie's veins.

Blowing out a breath, Stevie walks past her, back down the hallway. Adrienne grabs her wrist and pulls her back. "I'm talking to you."

"Don't touch me." She grits, roughly smacking her hand away.

"What's your problem, bitch?" Stevie's eyes widen at the word that ever so, carelessly flies out of her mouth.

"Excuse me?," Rod comes around the corner and zeroes in on Stevie cracking her knuckles, quickly getting between the two.

"Move, Rod. She wanna call me out of my name! I swear, I'll beat your ass in this house. It's never an issue."

"You talk a lot for someone who hasn't swung yet."

Stevie pushes against her brick wall of a boyfriend, trying to get past him.

"Stevie, what's going on?" Her mom and aunt Isabela come into the hall and throw puzzled glances at each other.

"Adrienne's lost her mind. Calling me a bitch and making comments, like she knows me."

"I do know you! You're a flake! You show up, when it's convenient for you, like now. How long has it been since you've been down here?"

"Convenient for me?," taking all her strength, she moves Rod aside. "I'm not here for me, Adrienne. I'm not here for you. I'm here for my grandpa. I'm here to properly mourn my grandma. I'm here to see my family. I'm not here to get into these stupid ass arguments with you— got me showin' out in here. It's always some bullshit with you, why? Why do you always have to be up my ass? Weren't you the one that went ghost on everybody, after she died? That was you, right?" The hot tears that stream down her face catch her off guard.

"Stevie.," her mom touches her shoulder, making her flinch and rush back into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

Rod immediately heads towards the door, softly knocking on the old fashioned, wooden door. "Stevie.."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Victoria asks Adrienne, whose smug grin hasn't faltered.

"Getting her to see that she's the issue. She dipped on us, right? This was hard on everybody and she left."

"Oh, please!," Jade comes in, "you don't remember how you showed your ass, after the funeral? How you left and nobody could find your stupid ass for a week?!"

"Who was talking to you?"

"Who cares? Why won't you take accountability for your own actions? You think abuelo wants to hear you in here bitching about shit that don't concern you? Get you some business and stop bothering Stevie."

Adrienne gets in her face.

"And, if I don't? What are you going to do?"

"Keep it up. You'll definitely find out." Aunt Rina pulls Jade back into the kitchen, while Adrienne is pushed out the front door by her mom.

"Stevie... Please open the door." Rod pleads for the third time, finally hearing the lock click and seeing the door crack open.

Sliding in, he closes the door behind himself and pulls her into a hug, sighing roughly as her raspy sobs break through.

"Shh.... I gotchu."

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

After an hour or so, Stevie emerges from the bathroom and heads into the living room, not even caring about her overly puffy eyes.

"I think we should check into our hotel now. Sorry about all of that, earlier.”

"Hotel?," abuelo asks, "you didn't come all this way to stay in a hotel, doll."

"Well, it's not just me, here. I didn't know if it was okay with you, if the both of us stayed."

"You never asked, neither. Your boyfriend is family now. He's just as welcome as you've always been." Him and Rod bump fists, making her crack a smile.

"Really?"

"Do you know how big this house is? Your aunt Rina and her knuckle-headed kids, including Don, stay here from time to time and remember, this was your home, at a point. You stayed here many summers."

"I know, I know."

"I'd be quite offended if you didn't stay."

"Okay, fine! We'll stay, old man."

He laughs.

"Good. You need help getting your bags out of the car?"

"If y'all don't mind," she pokes her lip out, catching her older cousin’s eyes, who blows out a breath.

Rod smiles and kisses her forehead, before leading Derrick outside.

"Come sit, sweetheart."

Plopping down on the soft cushion, Stevie sighs. "Is she still here?"

"No, she left like, an hour ago. Nobody wants to be around that energy for too long." Don answers.

"I'm not apologizing for her, but I am sorry. You didn't deserve that." Jade adds.

"I've been through a lot of things that I haven't deserved. I'm starting to think, that's a part of life." She shrugs.

"Things like what?" Mateo asks.

"You don't wanna know. Trust me."

Stevie watches them come back in, hauling the suitcases inside, head upstairs and into the room. She stands and heads up, sliding away from the doorway as Derrick exits.

"Thanks, D."

"Of course." He pulls her into a side-hug, before walking away.

Stevie walks into the room and looks around, a faint smile gracing her lips.

"This was the room that I used to stay in, when I'd visit in the summer." She giggles at the red floor lamp.

"If there's one thing about my grandma, she never matched when it came to furniture." She walks over to the bed and unzips her suitcase, pulling her clothes out.

Sliding up behind her, Rod wraps her up in his arms. "Are you okay? Truthfully."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm still mad at her, but I'm fine." He presses kisses to her cheek.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Everything," she turns around in his hold, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

"I could eat this for the rest of my life." Rod blurts, before eating another spoonful of cremita de maiz, a Puerto Rican version of cream of wheat.

"It's good, huh?" Gene chuckles, biting into his darkened toast. Stevie shakes her head, cutting into her pancakes.

"I don't like cream of wheat, but the sugar and cinnamon is enough for me to not mind it." Aunt Rina pats Rod's shoulders.

"I like him. Keep him."

"I plan on it." Stevie concurs.

"Mornin', mornin'.," Derrick enters the kitchen and grabs a green apple out of the fruit basket on the kitchen table.

"Good morning, man." Him and Rod slap hands.

"Morning.," Stevie scrunches up her face as Derrick kisses her forehead.

"My girlfriend's comin' through, later. I thought I'd be nice and take y'all out. There's this club out in West Hollywood, Silk, that's always jumpin'."

"It'd be fun to let my hair down. I'm up for it! Baby?" She turns to Rod to see how he feels.

"You know I'm with whatever you with, mama."

"It's settled," Derrick announces with a clap of his hands, "y'all better not punk out on me like a couple lames."

"Ain't nobody finna punk out, meathead," she flicks him in the temple.

"You lucky you my cousin, I'd put ya lil ass in a headlock."

"Cut it out, you two," Rina cuts into the pair's back and forth, "y'all are not twelve years old anymore."

"She started it," Derrick pouts.

"I didn't start it. You started it."

"¡Ya!," she nips the impending back and forth in the bud, "Do I have to ground your grown asses??"

"No, tía."

"No, mama." They respond simultaneously. Rod has to chuckle at how quickly she gets the two adults together.

After breakfast, Stevie and Jade are in the living room sprawled out on the sofa, with Rod kicking it on the floor right below Stevie's head.

She gasps seemingly randomly, making Jade look up.

"What's up?"

"I don't have anything to wear tonight! Nothing nice enough to step into a club named Silk at least."

"You know what that means right, cuz? Shopping trip!" She does a little shimmy at the idea of going to the mall. "I hope you grew out of that awkward phase from high school, because you will not be walking in the club with me dressed like Lisa Turtle."

"¡Chíngate!"

That sends Jade into a giggle fit. "I'm just kidding, Alaina." She pinches her cousin's reddened cheek.

"Who the hell is Lisa Turtle?", Rod speaks up, genuinely confused.

"You never watched Saved by the Bell??", Jade asks.

"Do I look like somebody that watched something called Saved by the Bell?", he retorts jokingly.

"Fair," she says with a laugh, "well, my girl just could not dress. Walked out the house looking like the 80's threw up on her every morning. I'm talking big shoulders, loud ass colors and patterns, them big ass bows in her head, mom jeans", she visibly shudders at the memory, "and kitten heels when she was feeling herself, but my boo got it together, though."

"Damn baby girl, you were out here on your Madonna shit?", he ends with a Windex laugh.

"Like a virgin!" Jade sings, falling into another laughing fit at her own antics.

"You can kiss the fattest part of my ass, Jade!" Stevie throws a pillow at her head making her laugh even harder.

"Ehhh, I'll let Rod handle that, babe."

"I need a new goddamn family," Stevie says under her breath, readjusting her position on the couch.

"Oh please, you love us."

"Debatable." Jade's jaw drops, and it's Stevie's turn to laugh. "I'm just kidding, Lorena." She mocks her earlier sentiment.

The rest of the morning is full of more laughter and embarrassing childhood stories.

Around 3pm, the girls decided to make their excursion to the nearby shopping mall, letting the boys play video games on Derrick's PlayStation.

They traversed almost the entire mall looking for the perfect dress for the evening, but nothing was tickling Stevie's fancy.

That was until they came to a boutique at the very end of the mall, Luxe.

The dresses in the window were stunning enough to have them both make their way inside.

They both skim through the racks, loving everything they saw, when Stevie shrieks.

"Girl, what?? You saw a rat?"

"No, fool! I found the perfect look for tonight."

"Let me see it!"

Stevie holds the pale blue 2-piece set against her body.

"Ooh, bitch! That's hella fly. Rod's gonna have a fit!"

"He'll have to deal because I'm getting this."

She finds coordinating platforms and gold jewelry to complete her look.

When they get back home, Rod tries to peek in her bag to see what she bought, but she swats his hand away.

"Move, nosy rosy."

He puts his hand over his heart in fake shock. "I can't see it?"

"You'll see it tonight," she says teasingly, popping up on her tiptoes to reach his lips, pecking them.

"Hey, hey. None of that nasty shit.", Jade pipes up.

"Don't be a hater all your life, boo. There's someone for you, too."

"Piss off!"

"Awww, is the widdle baby upset?", she pinches her cousin's cheek.

"Ay, be nice." Rod quickly swats her backside, making her jump.

"Well, looky looky. Somebody finally got Miss Smart Mouth in check, huh? I like you more and more everyday, Roderick."

"Don't you have anything else to do??", Stevie grumbles, annoyed and slightly embarrassed.

"Nope! I can get on your nerves all day, cuz," Jade says cheerily.

Stevie rolls her eyes, heading upstairs to put away her purchases.

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

Later that evening...

Stevie's putting the final touches on her look for the night. Her usual ringlets are bone straight and pulled into a high pony that grazes the top of her behind.

The makeup she wears is subtle with nude, glossed lips, wispy lashes, and matte, bronzed skin. Her legs look a mile long in the gold platforms that complement the gold hardware in her outfit.

Feeling diva-ish from being in the City of Angels, she pops on a pair of slightly oversized, baby blue shades to complete the look.

She pokes her head in Jade's room to see if she's any closer to being ready.

"We have got to cut this out," Stevie remarks as she takes in Jade's outfit for the evening. Same fit in a dark green.

They've been inadvertently dressing similarly since they were young. They always joked they could read each other's minds.

"Ooh, girl, we look cute though! And I love that your extra ass is wearing shades at night. You've come a long way, Turtle."

"Whatever! The boys are waiting. Let's get downstairs."

Walking downstairs arm in arm, Rina spots them first.

"Well, if it isn't the Bobbsey twins! You two look gorgeous."

They graciously thank her in soft voices.

Derrick and Rod look up from their conversation, and Rod feels his throat tighten.

"Damn," he mumbles before thinking.

Derrick, on the other hand, looks like he wants to throw a sheet over them as if they'd just passed out in a Baptist church.

"Yeah, you girls look beautiful. Now go change," he says in all seriousness.

They immediately hit him with the same "you got me fucked up" face.

"You can go somewhere always tryna be somebody daddy. I already have one, and I barely listen to that fool." Stevie's the first one to speak up. Rina has to keep the water she's sipped from spewing all over the counter at her niece's bluntness.

"Mama, you see how short those skirts are!", he resorts to trying to get Rina on his side, "One wrong move, and now I'm fighting every guy in the club."

"Derrick, these girls are grown! Let them be."

"But, ma--"

"That's enough, Derrick. Quieres hijos, tienes que hacerlos."

Derrick mumbles something unintelligible under his breath.

"What was that??"

"Nothing." He can feel the heat from the sandal preparing to meet his face, so he tightens up quickly.

"That's what I thought. Now--" The sound of the doorbell cuts her sentence short, and Derrick pops out of his seat to answer, knowing it's his girl, Roxanne.

He opens the door, and a stunning young woman with a pixie cut, clad in a form fitting, bright red, three piece suit appears.

"Hi, baby." Her voice is soft, almost shy as she greets him, throwing her arms around his neck. The kiss they shared is chaste since his mom is present, but sweet all the same.

"Hey, Miss Rina."

"What's going on, Roxanne? You look beautiful."

The beauty thanks her and they fall into a short conversation.

"Alright, you babies go on and have fun. I know I will," she says slickly, winking at the group.

She gives them all kisses, Rod included, and sends them on their way.

Pulling up to the imposing, brick-faced building, they're faced with a throng of young men and women chomping at the bit to get behind the velvet rope that'll grant them entry to the hottest nightclub in the city where the DJ's selections can be heard down the block.

"I thought clubs back home were hard to get into, but this is something else!", Stevie remarks as she looks at the line of people wrapped around the corner.

"Don't even sweat it, girl. Let's go," Jade responds, and they follow her with confused, yet intrigued looks.

The solid, 6'0 bouncer looks up as he hears the click clack of the girls' heels approaching him.

"'Sup, Jade," the man with intricately braided hair greets her.

"Hey, boo. How you livin'?"

"I'm straight. You know Gin in there asking for you."

"Is he now?"

"Yup. His section's on the second floor. You and your people have a good time." He unclips the rope and allows them through.

"Thanks, babe." She lightly pats his chest as she walks through.

"Damn, cuz," Stevie pipes up as they walk into the building, "you might be too damn cool for me."

"Cut it out. I just know a few people."

"And who the hell is Gin??", Derrick asks after seeing her interaction with the club's bouncer.

"Do not start that shit with me, D. I didn't come here to argue with you. Now I know there's a Cosmo with my name on it. Y'all drinking?"

She receives scattered affirmations, and they head to the bar.

California Love starts playing as Jade leads them to the second level she was directed to earlier, and she, Derrick, and Roxanne immediately start rapping along flawlessly.

Stevie bops along to the infectious rhythm, while Rod looks like the out of place New Yorker he is.

"Bruh, tell me you know this song," Derrick says when he takes in Rod's stiffness.

"Can't say that I do, playa."

Derrick & his sister's jaws both drop at the revelation.

"How do you not know about the goat?! This song is everywhere!", Jade exclaims in disbelief.

"The who??"

"Please don't get him going on this east vs. west shit. We'll be here all night," Stevie intervenes.

"Babe, the goat, though??"

Stevie gives him a look that warns him to quit while he's ahead, which he does.

The music continues with the latest in hip-hop with the drinks that keep flowing.

The girls down shots while rapping to Whatta Man. The tequila runs through their veins and loosens them up.

"What's up, stranger?", a smooth voice sounds, directly behind Jade.

She turns face to face with the handsome gentleman, whose decked out in a lime green, silk Versace blouse with sparkling diamond adornments from his fingers to his ears.

"Hello, Elgin." She remains impassive while the flock of women present look like they want to yank out her hair.

"I've been tryna hit you up all week. When are you gonna stop playing with my heart, gorgeous?"

"When you stop wearing crop tops on the red carpet," her quick wit causes her to blurt out.

Stevie & Roxanne are watching the exchange with their jaws making friends with the floor, as Jade casually brushes off the man whose song is playing in the club as they speak.

He takes the playful dig in stride, and tries persuading her to come with him so they can "talk", which she politely declines.

"I don't think so, pretty boy. I'm here with my people."

"Do not sweat us! We good, boo."

Stevie nods along in agreement. "Yeah, girl. We got them two knuckleheads back there."

Jade shakes her head with a chuckle, turning back to her admirer, who has a smirk on his face.

"You have ten minutes to convince me why I should give you the time of day."

"I don't even need that long, ma." He extends his arm for her to take, and she does, following his lead.

"She something else, isn't she?"

"I need to take a page or two out of her book. Don't tell her I said that, though." The remaining girls share a laugh.

"Ay, why y'all let my sister run off with that negro and his S-Curl?"

"Derrick, relax! She's a smart girl. She's not going anywhere if she doesn't feel safe," Stevie speaks up in defense of her cousin.

"Well, she has 15 minutes to show her face again or I'm setting it off in here."

"Okay, dad, sheesh. We need to get some more liquor in you."

"Yes!" Roxanne agrees wholeheartedly, only her reasons are a bit more...selfish. She knows he'll put a dent in the headboard with the right amount of brown in him.

While her cousin canoodles with an R&B heartthrob, the truth serum running through Stevie's system has her feeling extra touchy with her own.

Nobody serves as the soundtrack while she winds her hips against his, her hands traveling across any part of him they could reach.

She spins herself around to face him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You know what I think?", she asks against his lips. Her words are slurred and heavy with lust.

"Hmm?" The Henny has hit him in the best way, and Stevie's hands are sending sparks through his whole being.

"I think," she pauses to kiss his slightly parted mouth, "we should get outta here."

"What about Derrick?", he asks, really only halfway concerned.

"He'll figure it out."

With that, she hooks her finger in the front of his belt buckle and leads him through the crowd of people, outside to the fresh, night air.

They hail the first cab that rolls up to the club, ambling into the backseat. Rod barely gets the address out before she's in his lap sucking and nibbling on the sweet spots of his neck. The poor cab driver simply shakes his head with a chuckle, minding his business.

He has to stop her when her hands get to trying to unbuckle his belt.

"I will fuck you up in the back of this cab, Vie," he warns closely in her ear.

She licks the shell of his ear. "I dare you," she whispers seductively.

"Alright now," the driver sounds from the front, "I don't want you youngins to mess around and catch a charge over some hanky panky. Trust me. Save all that for when you get home."

Listening to the older man, Stevie reluctantly moves herself off Rod's lap, opting to sit closer to her passenger side door. That doesn't stop the sensual, fleeting touches between the two of them.

They nearly run out of the taxi once they reach their destination. Stevie ducks down near several rocks where Rina keeps a spare key hidden underneath one.

It's quiet as a church mouse as they enter, so they try their best to creep to their room undetected.

They're almost successful until Stevie's platforms finally get the better of her, and she loses her balance reaching the top of the stairs.

She squeals in shock, but she's caught by Rod's strong arms before she can hit the ground.

Staring at each other in silence for a moment, Stevie bursts into a fit of giggles, and in his attempt to quiet her down, Rod finds himself laughing too.

"Babe, your aunt is gonna come out here and beat our asses. Shhh." He puts a finger to her lips for emphasis.

She nods as if she agrees, but a few giggles escape her still. So, he scoops her up, carrying her the rest of the way. He uses his foot to close the door as quietly as he can.

Setting her gently on the bed, he takes her ankle in his hand to remove the offending, yet sexy footwear. With her legs gapped, he notices her smooth, glistening womanhood. He shoots her a questioning glance which she responds to with a wink.

Yanking her down to the edge of the bed by her ankle, he pins her legs back into the mattress and latches his lips onto her clit.

Her breathy sighs and gasps have him straining through the thick fabric of his jeans.

She pops the buttons on her top and uses a free hand to roll her nipple between her fingers, increasing the euphoric feelings.

The fact that she's pinned down and essentially forced to take this tongue lashing intensifies the feeling tenfold. Her hands run over his waves. Her almond acrylics running along his scalp send tingles down his spine, and he groans against her.

The familiar coil in her lower stomach tightens, and her thighs begin to quiver signaling her impending release.

She has to throw her hands over her mouth to catch the long moan threatening to fly from her lips. Her nectar flows freely into his eager mouth, but that doesn't stop him from slurping her like she was a glass of ice water in the summer.

Her hands find the top of his head in an attempt to push him away, but he's relentless.

Finally, he pulls away from her over-sensitive bud with an obscene pop, and she closes her legs putting her hands between them.

"Shit," she breathes, trying to bring herself down.

"You tappin' out on me already?", he taunts her. "You was talkin' big shit earlier."

While he's talking he pulls his pants and boxers down to his ankles in one swift motion kicking them off. "Now, put that ass up," he commands, smacking her thigh.

She rolls over, putting a deep arch in her back just how he likes it. He bunches her skirt up around her waist and sinks his entire length into her heat, eliciting a drawn out curse from the both of them simultaneously.

His nails dig into the soft flesh of her hips as he grinds in and out, allowing her to become accustomed to his size.

Not pleased with the low groans that make it past the barrier of her lower lip that's been tucked between her teeth, he takes her ponytail and wraps it around his hand, pulling her flush against his chest.

"Let me hear that shit, princess." He licks the sweet spot near the base of her ear, mimicking her earlier teasing.

His strokes become merciless, filling her to the hilt.

"Oh, fffuck! Baby, you're so fucking deep! Shit!" Her eyes roll to the back of her head while he continues to bring her closer and closer to the edge, his heavy hand coming down on her ass at different intervals.

Her head swims as she teeters back and forth in the space between pleasure and pain.

His hand moves from her hair to her neck, pulling her back up when she slumps forward. He feels her walls pulsate around him, and he knows she's right there.

The combination of his thumb applying the perfect amount of pressure and his filthy words of encouragement in her ear send her gushing all over his length, with his own release following shortly thereafter.

Heavy breathing soon turns into soft snores, as they collapse into the covers.

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

The throbbing pain in their heads wake them up, at the same time. By the sheer grace of God, their bodies are covered up with the thick blanket.

Stevie looks around the room, shaking her head at the way their clothes are thrown about.

"Jesus," Rod sits up, looking around as well, slightly laughing to himself.

She glances up at him, giggling as he bends down to smother her with kisses. She playfully pushes him away and jumps up from the bed, in search of his t-shirt.

"I gotta pee.," she grabs the shirt off the floor and yanks it over her head, rushing across the hall to empty her bladder.

After washing her hands, she opens the door and squeals at the sight of Derrick. Thanking God that her shirt comes below her knees, she pushes him out into the hallway.

"You scared me!," she whisper-yells.

"Oh yeah?, you two horny toads scared me, last night!," his volume a little louder than hers, "how am I supposed to keep an eye on you, if you're hailing cabs back here and not telling anybody?!"

"Derrick, you weren't in charge of 'keeping an eye on me'," she laughs. "I'm sorry that I left y'all, last night— wait."

"What?" His voice goes back to normal as her eyes zoom in on the trail of deep red hickeys on his neck.

"You had sex last night, didn't you?"

"Yeah, well, I'm grown." He blinks.

"So am I!," she thumps him in the temple, pushing him out of her way. "Got me feeling bad and shit."

"Well, you should feel bad. You still left me." He turns her back around.

"Mm, right. You were worried about wittle Ol Stevie, while Roxy was chewing on your neck like a piece of candy. Get out my face, boy."

"If you two don't get out this hallway and shut up.," aunt Rina emerges from her room, hair all over her head.

"Sorry.," the speak at once, not taking their eyes off her appearance.

"What?" She asks.

Stevie smirks, crossing her arms. "I guess we're not the only ones who had some fun, last night."

Derrick grimaces at the instant mental pictures, flooding his brain. "Gross. I'm going back to bed." He excuses himself, slamming his door shut.

"Go back to bed, Alaina.," Rina scolds with a laugh.

Stevie slides back into her room, crawling back into bed to cuddle with Rod, whose gaze is on the window, straight ahead.

"Hey," she kisses his shoulder blade.

"Hey.," he nuzzles his chin against her hair. "Thanks for bringing me out here. I enjoyed myself."

"You're officially part of family vacations, now." She laughs. "I told you, they were gonna love you. Hell, they might ship me back to New York and keep you hostage."

"You're corny, vie."

"And, you love me!"

@ghostfacekill-monger @sheabuttahwrites @blackerthings @thegifstories @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @harmshake @honestpreference @cecereads209 @abeautifulmindexposed @mauvecherie-writes

[akilliosacheron]

well jenkins won my poll from a while ago so i guess its my time to talk about jenkins. lemme kinda go back to the beginning about it.

So, Season 12 is when i started being a blaseball fan. I officially on the site roll up to the canada moist talkers on the election sunday that the big siesta starts so im out here like what the fuck is going on while my pal corvoda is a decent bit more interested than i am at that point but i digress.

I miss the coffee cup and related events and i finally start showing my face in the discord, i think i got started on jenkins because i had stumbled across some of the blaseball rp twitters and wanted to join in, so i picked a blaseball player who didn't have a twitter at the time which was jesús and jenkins and i picked jenkins.

there is a message specifically telling me that jenkins doesnt get much love compared to other players on the team and lemme tell you, i took that PERSONALLY.

the first couple things i learned about jenkins was assorted stuff from their wiki. Flaming eye, gamer, and from greer's wiki i think i learned that jenkins and greer were.... something. relationship something.

after a while, i took a crack at making a jenkins interp that combined two other interps i had seen, big lizardy jenkins and mostly humanoid jenkins and ended up with salamander jenkins, eventually switching over to leopard gecko jenkins.

the thing that both entertained me and made me sad is that nothing ever really happened to jenkins. this player who i loved so much didnt recieve a stat buff till late expansion, despite being active with the same stat total since s4 election. sure they got crows mod but rarely did they play in bird weather just cuz of how weather works.

if i can be salty a little bit, i've always had a weird relationship with greer because of how much we focus on her. i know buff greer was funny and it definitely is super funny dont get me wrong but jenkins was a great pitcher until the stat creep hit. we still has to spend several elections on greer because she was a fan favourite. i feel in my heart that if it had been jenkins in that feedback there probably wouldnt have been as much of a push to get them back and idk that always scared me.

its not that jenkins was truly irredeemably bad at the time but compared to a player like greer? if we had to choose between greer or jenkins in something i know greer is winning and that does weird things to my brain sometimes idk i will digress again

jenkins being an active player vs kennedy trevino tyvi who are (were, in tyvi's case) fuckin dead is a wierd space to be in too. especially now that jenkins is on the tacos in new era i rotate between happiness that the tacos like them and deathly fear that theyre going to misconstrue something about them because jenkins is just so specifically Talkers-fied that you really had to be there for the jenkins conversations to understand jenkins' vibes. Its one of those things that like, jenkins was an s1 talker, they had all this time on the team so you just Got the vibes.

my sad thing about jenkins on the tacos? i feel like i cant talk about them anymore. my jenkins is talkers jenkins and i dont know the tacos and i am afraid. this is not my jenkins good anymore this is a whole other jenkins now and i think.... thats really the thing thats fucking me up about this new era. but at least jenkins is doing okay last i checked.

uhhhh lemme actually say some fun headcanons here... Jenkins has a math related degree in Orb Studies and can determine the exact salt content in food just by licking it. they eventually get a pet gecko named Adkins.

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Suddenly There Aren’t Enough Babies (WSJ) The world is at a startling demographic milestone. Sometime soon, the global fertility rate will drop below the point needed to keep population constant. Fertility is falling almost everywhere, for women across all levels of income, education and labor-force participation. The falling birthrates come with huge implications for the way people live, how economies grow and the standings of the world’s superpowers. Some estimates now put the number of babies each woman has below the global replacement rate of about 2.2. The U.S. long ago passed that level. South Korea’s rate, the world’s lowest, was once unimaginable. In high-income nations, fertility fell below replacement in the 1970s, and took a leg down during the pandemic. It’s dropping in developing countries, too. India surpassed China as the most populous country last year, yet its fertility is now below replacement. “The demographic winter is coming,” said Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, an economist specializing in demographics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Canadian wildfire smoke chokes Upper Midwest for second straight year (AP) Smoke from Canadian wildfires has prompted health warnings across the Upper Midwest and Montana for the second year in a row. Fires raging in British Columbia and Alberta have filled the skies with haze over parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday, lingering into Monday morning. Unhealthy air pollution levels mean everyone in Minnesota should stay indoors and avoid heavy exertion outdoors, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said in its first statewide air quality alert of the season Sunday. Scheduled to end at noon Monday, the advisory was extended until 11 p.m. for southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities metro area.

Persistent Brazil floods (Reuters) Devastating and ongoing flooding in southern Brazil is forcing some of the half million displaced residents to consider uprooting their lives from inundated towns to rebuild on higher ground. Two weeks after the onset of torrential rains, the Guaiba River running by state capital Porto Alegre is rising again, having passed the all-time high. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the streets of dozens of towns have turned into slow-moving rivers. Just in the area around Porto Alegre, where four rivers converge to form the Guaiba River, researchers estimate nearly 3,800 square km (1,500 square miles) were flooded. That is more than the urban footprint of the Washington DC metro area, which includes 10 counties in two adjacent states. With hundreds of thousands of families fleeing the floods, the disaster—which has killed at least 147 people, with 127 still missing—could touch off one of Brazil’s biggest cases of climate migration in recent history.

Orcas sink sailing yacht in Strait of Gibraltar (Reuters) An unknown number of orcas have sunk a sailing yacht after ramming it in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain's maritime rescue service said on Monday, a new attack in what has become a trend in the past four years. The vessel Alboran Cognac, which measured 15 metres (49 feet) in length and carried two people, encountered the highly social apex predators, also known as killer whales, at 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Sunday, the service said. The passengers reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder before water started seeping into the ship. After alerting the rescue services, a nearby oil tanker took them onboard and transported them to Gibraltar. The yacht was left adrift and eventually sank. The incident is the latest example of recurring orca rammings around the Gibraltar Strait that separates Europe from Africa and off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and northwestern Spain. According to the research group GTOA, there have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on ships in the region were first reported in May 2020.

Xi’s visit to Hungary and Serbia brings new Chinese investment and deeper ties to Europe’s doorstep (AP) When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hungary last week, he arrived to one of the few places in the European Union where his country is considered an indispensable ally rather than a rival. By the time he left on Friday, he’d secured deals that provide fertile ground for China’s plans of economic expansion in Europe. After meeting with nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday, the leaders addressed a small group of select media in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, announcing the formation of an “all-weather partnership” that would usher in a new era of economic cooperation. Hungary has courted major Chinese investments in the belief that the world’s second-largest economy is essential for Europe’s future.

The man leading Russia's war in Ukraine is out in a surprise shake-up (NBC News) The man in charge of Russia’s war in Ukraine has been fired. Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s now-former defense minister, attended Putin’s recent inauguration ceremony and Russia’s Victory Day parade last week, but was removed from his post just a few days after. Shoigu’s firing was surprising due to his popularity and close ties to Putin, and marks the biggest shakeup in Russia’s military hierarchy since the war in Ukraine began. His replacement is Andrei Belousov, a 65-year-old civil economist who’s served as Putin’s deputy prime minister, economic aide, and minister of economic development. The Kremlin said Belousov was chosen for the post because military spending is becoming more integral to the Russian economy. According to one intelligence expert, “the defence minister, especially in time of war, is essentially an administrator, there to ensure that the military has the men and materiel it needs,” which makes the economist’s appointment “an unexpected but logical choice.”

Facing Russian Advance, a Top Ukrainian General Paints a Bleak Picture (NYT) Ukraine’s military is confronting a “critical” situation in the country’s northeast, facing troop shortages as it tries to repel a Russian offensive that has been advancing for several days, a top Ukrainian general said on Monday. Russian troops surged across the border last week to open a new line of attack near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city after Kyiv, capturing at least nine settlements and villages and forcing thousands of civilians to flee. “The situation is on the edge,” Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, said in a video call from a bunker in Kharkiv. “Every hour this situation moves toward critical.” His bleak assessment echoed those of other Ukrainian officers in recent days, that the country’s military prospects were dimming. In addition to being outnumbered, the Ukrainians face critical shortages of weapons, especially artillery ammunition, and $60.8 billion worth of arms from the United States—approved three weeks ago after months of congressional gridlock—has barely begun to arrive.

U.S. and Taiwan navies quietly held Pacific drills in April (Reuters) The U.S. and Taiwan navies conducted joint drills in the Pacific in April that, officially, did not take place, four people briefed on the matter said, as the two militaries boost cooperation amid rising Chinese military threats. Washington and Taipei have been expanding their military cooperation in recent years amid almost daily Chinese incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone and drills by Chinese forces near the island. U.S.-Taiwan military engagement, including visits and training, are kept low-key and are often not officially confirmed because of China's objection to any military contacts between Washington and Taipei. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, which the island strongly rejects.

Palestinians mark 76 years of dispossession as a potentially even larger catastrophe unfolds in Gaza (AP) Palestinians on Wednesday will mark the 76th year of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel, an event that is at the core of their national struggle. But in many ways, that experience pales in comparison to the calamity now unfolding in Gaza. Palestinians refer to it as the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. Some 700,000 Palestinians—a majority of the prewar population—fled or were driven from their homes before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israel’s establishment. After the war, Israel refused to allow them to return because it would have resulted in a Palestinian majority within its borders. Instead, they became a seemingly permanent refugee community that now numbers some 6 million, with most living in slum-like urban refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In Gaza, the refugees and their descendants make up around three-quarters of the population.

In Gaza, a hidden threat could kill Palestinians even after a cease-fire (NPR) As Palestinians venture back into areas of Gaza that have been obliterated by months of combat, international organizations and aid groups say there’s a hidden threat: unexploded ordnance. The rule of thumb, explosives experts say, is that 10% of munitions do not detonate on impact. That means an estimated 7,500 metric tons of live munition may be scattered throughout the Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations. “It’s everything from mortars, artillery shells and grenades to improvised rockets and bombs and missiles,” says Mungo Birch, head of the U.N. Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the Palestinian territories. “One of the most dangerous times is when people return home.” These weapons could continue to kill and maim Palestinians even if a cease-fire eventually ends the Israel-Hamas war. The U.N. estimates it could take 14 years to make Gaza safe from these bombs.

How Hamas Spied on Palestinians (NYT) The Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has for years overseen a secret police force in Gaza that conducted surveillance on everyday Palestinians and built files on young people, journalists and those who questioned the government, according to intelligence officials and a trove of internal documents reviewed by The New York Times. The unit, known as the General Security Service, relied on a network of Gaza informants, some of whom reported their own neighbors to the police. People landed in security files for attending protests or publicly criticizing Hamas. In some cases, the records suggest that the authorities followed people to determine if they were carrying on romantic relationships outside marriage. The documents show that Hamas leaders, despite claiming to represent the people of Gaza, would not tolerate even a whiff of dissent. Security officials trailed journalists and people they suspected of immoral behavior. Agents got criticism removed from social media and discussed ways to defame political adversaries. Political protests were viewed as threats to be undermined. Everyday Gazans were stuck—behind the wall of Israel’s crippling blockade and under the thumb and constant watch of a security force. That dilemma continues today, with the added threat of Israeli ground troops and airstrikes.

[bongaboi]

Sevilla: 2022-23 UEFA Europa League Champions

José Mourinho sprung a surprise with his team selection by opting to start with Paulo Dybala, despite the forward missing their previous four games with an ankle injury, and he quickly repaid the coach's faith by helping to create the first chance of the game. The Argentinian slipped in Zeki Çelik, whose low cut-back was fired at goal by Leonardo Spinazzola, drawing a parry from Yassine Bounou.

Dybala's second significant involvement proved more decisive as, in the 35th minute, he darted on to Gianluca Mancini's incisive through ball and calmly slotted his finish across Bounou. Sevilla had shown little to that point but, having come from behind to win the trophy in their last three Europa League finals, they soon looked a different proposition.

Youssef En-Nesyri's glancing effort was dealt with by Rui Patrício before a second header from the Moroccan striker skimmed the roof of the net. The Spanish side went closer still deep into first-half added time when Ivan Rakitić's raking shot cannoned back off the post.

José Luis Mendilibar made a double change at the break, introducing Suso and Erik Lamela to inject more creativity into their play against a Giallorossi outfit that had kept five clean sheets in their previous seven Europa League matches. Roma's reliable defence was soon breached though, 37-year-old Jesús Navas whipping in a right-wing cross that Mancini could only deflect into his own net under pressure from Lucas Ocampos.

Now it was Roma's turn to respond and they so nearly led again. First Bounou denied Tammy Abraham in a goalmouth scramble before Roger Ibañez sliced wide then Abraham's replacement, Andrea Belotti, also failed to hit the target from Lorenzo Pellegrini's clever free-kick. Sevilla, for all their dominance in between, could not fashion a winner inside 90 minutes either with two shots on target from their 16 attempts outlining their lack of a cutting edge.

That trend continued in extra time and though neither goalkeeper was called into action during the additional 30 minutes, penalties were almost avoided when Chris Smalling's looping header struck the bar deep into added time in the second period.

Bounou – a penalty-saving expert and Morocco's match-winner in their World Cup round of 16 triumph on penalties against Spain – lived up to his billing in the shoot-out, saving from Mancini with his legs and touching Ibañez's spot kick on to the post. Gonzalo Montiel, who scored the decisive penalty for Argentina in the World Cup final, had the last word here too, sweeping in a re-taken effort to ensure Sevilla were crowned for a record seventh time.

[khazadspoon]

Still can’t believe I missed Jesús off… but Rowdy is the official Rawhide champion which is understandable.

But no love for the cattle??? None for our gay uncle Scarlet? …he doesn’t get much screen time so yeah that makes sense but still.

[cor-ardens-archive]

are there any spanish language movies you’d recommend? i love your film related posts <3

Thank you! I don't watch a lot of movies but I do love them. 

Your request is a little vague, so I had to go with whatever popped into my head - which, of course, means this list is reflective of my particular tastes. Some of these are quite brutal and may contain common triggers, please look them up if that's an issue for you, or send an ask about a specific film. I put an asterisk (*) next to the ones I wish to rec the most.

Argentina:

The Headless Woman/La mujer sin cabeza, dir. Lucrecia Martel *

XXY, dir. Lucía Puenzo

Esteros, dir. Papu Curotto

Chile:

The Wolf House/La Casa Lobo, dir. Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña *

Colombia:

Embrace of the Serpent/El abrazo de la serpiente, dir. Ciro Guerra*

Flesh of Your Flesh/Carne de tu Carne, Carlos Mayolo

Pure Blood/Pura Sangre, dir. Luis Ospina

Guatemala:

La Llorona, dir. Jayro Bustamante *

Mexico:

Y Tu Mamá También, dir. Alfonso Cuarón *

Poison for the Fairies/Veneno para las hadas, dir. Carlos Henrique Taboada

Alucarda, dir. Juan López Moctezuma

The Exterminating Angel/El ángel exterminador, dir. Luis Buñuel (of course his other works are also highly regarded, but this is the only one I truly like. also, I know Buñuel was Spanish, but this film is Mexican.)

Satanic Pandemonium, dir. Gilberto Martínez Solares

Tigers Are Not Afraid/Vuelven, dir. Issa López

Spain:

Pedro Almodóvar's entire filmography: Bad Education/La mala educación, All About My Mother/Todo sobre mi madre, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, The Skin I Live In, Volver etc etc beloved <3

Guillermo Del Toro: Pan's Labyrinth/El labirinto del fauno, The Devil's Backbone/El spinazo del diablo

Jesús Franco: Vampyros Lesbos, The Obscene Mirror

Anna and the Wolves/Ana y los lobos, dir. Carlos Saura (I have yet to watch more of his works, but they seem very interesting to me)*

Anguish/Angústia, dir. Bigas Luna *

The Holy Innocents/Los santos inocentes, dir. Mario Camus

Who Can Kill a Child?/¿Quién puede matar a un niño? , dir. Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (I still need to watch The House That Screamed, which I will soon!)

[REC], dir. Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza

I really need to watch more movies in Spanish, especially from countries that are completely missing from the list. :/

[polkadotpatterson]

*Slams hands on table* Jenkins Good (my beloved) for ask meme please thanks im not biased at all. I love all the other ones you've done so far love learning what other people think of blaseball players :D

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh thank you so much! I hope you don't mind some of these Jenkins Opinions lol

favorite thing about them: They came to the Talkers from an alternate universe in S4 and just. never left. It was ages before they even got a brief dunk in the Shadows. They weren't the original Jenkins but they've become such an integral part of the team and I can't imagine it without them! also I admire their skill at gaming

least favorite thing about them: I still miss Original Jenkins and I wish we’d had more time with them, though I'm also quite attached to Alt Jenkins now

favorite line: well, one time they got rid of their cannon in exchange for some very cool greedy lucky socks, and everyone was very happy about this

...ok for an actual serious answer, they got to pitch three games against Dot, all of which were close and one of which they won, and I'm very proud

brOTP: Greer! Are they also dating? Maybe. But they're definitely close in one way or another. I also think that Jenkins and Jesús are Alt Solidarity despite coming from different universes, because for a long time they were the only two people on the team who really understood what the other was going through. and Jenkins is the unofficial slightly older fourth member of the teen squad due to also being a dork who plays video games and does food crimes

OTP: also Greer. relationship goals: someone who will eat the uncooked KD noodles so you can just eat the cheese packets

nOTP: ok I have some very specific thoughts about Jenkins and Dot, namely that Jenkins has a bit of a crush on them but nothing's ever going to happen there due to Dot being aroace. side note but I also think Greer has some kind of a weird crush on Dot and that's part of why she acts Like That towards them. She has big “I had a crush on a girl and didn't know how to deal with it so I just sent her a note that said GET OUT OF MY SCHOOL” energy. but then Greer and Jenkins end up together and they both get over it and it's all cool

random headcanon: I have a very messy tangle of thoughts about Jenkins and how they have to live up to two different Talkers star pitchers, one of whom is their alternate self... I think for the most part they're pretty chill and laid-back and just have fun pitching, but part of them really feels the need to prove themself because they can't just be Good, they need to be better

unpopular opinion: people don't do enough with Friend Of Crows Jenkins. I think they deserve to go absolutely feral and unleash an army of birds upon anyone they want to

song i associate with them: idk

favorite picture of them: I love all of your Jenkinses, especially the one of them with the birds

[linipikk]

Ursula was always right

except for the Basilisk story, that one was GREAT

HAND IS THE ONLY MAN I RESPECT BC HE IS A jOK BUT ALSO GENERALLY QUIET, BLESS HIM

...Can THEY adopt us now?

I reaaaallly dislike this whole ordeal

if they marry my magda I'm fucking rioting again, burning their damn rathouse and church and make sure they cant rebuild again I Fuckinmg SWEAR

-

not to be that gal, but italian men are a plague

-

I would love for my magda to travel with these two other rascals because they are funny and they are leaving Teassing and I want her far away from marriage

-

WAIT A SEC--- does the boof gif Andreas chooses from the library to Mags is her first specialty thingy ?!?? damn......

-

preach

--

i know a crazy motherfucker when ui see them, god bless andreas, I missed you

-

CASPITAAAA

Jesú.....

--

WHy do they come back to the grief, chief?, this maze is KILLING me/US

chief...

--

Okay pythonise tell me your secrets

-

So.... burning churches, still up in the table, got it

and this, dear children, is what radicalized me in the first place, trust no one, Burn churches, I don't care

like thjis man is really out there like "I was afraid that they knew our saints were really pagan gods" while my second thought and the reason I go to the shrine all the time is bc Diana is soothing to me personally ??? really bad job 0/10

-

me, out there on my own cruzade to keep Magda from marrying some guy

he really went through it, but at least his posture got better??

im gonna miss this old man

Excellent game

--

You know? i think ...i somehow played it wrong, like, I didn't see all the plotlines through, things I had no idea like the monk and sister's affair or half of the mini puzzles, also, I discovered basic things way later in the game. I also regret some of the decisions about the mural. But I try to understand that that's exactly how the story is. and I get why the game is like that. I want to replay it, but I better wait some time for it, to forget the story enough.

Still, I wish I had met everyone more in the first Act and I wish I had acted worst sometimes. it just speaks volumes about the replayability of the game,.. and how much it makes you like the characters. I already miss Andreas and Magda.

So I am playing Pentiment bc life is like that and

preach!

i want this one on my gravestone

Oh No I am ATTACHED

Meet my Swiss half artist half rapscallion Andreas

i think we are not gonna survive this one, chief

committing hearsay, as I do ...I guess

my brother in Christ, you and me both

he is also a medic because If we are on this journey together, dear Andreas, we might as well do it as plausible as possible

LMAOOO if you know anything about me know that I am all three of this , like for real

you and me both, king

i mean, this sentence makes so much sense to me that it stops being funny to be fucking hilarious

ARE WE ROBBING A CHURCH!?? is that what we are doing???

sister Margarete, i hear you and i feel you

Im gonna destroy this man's whole career

tell him, let's make both our lives miserable!!

Brother Piero really sitting on my painting classes at uni slaughtering us

he is also my new best friend

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

I've always find the way we use honorific in Spanish vs honorifics in English interesting and how does that translate in school.

Like, in Spanish we use Don and Doña following the first name, so for example if someone I don't know wanted to be respectful towards me they would call me Don Víctor, not Don [Surname]. In school, however, we mostly just call the teachers by their first name, no honorifics needed, some of the teachers I remember were for example Pablo, Belén, Antonia, Leonardo, Joaquín, etc. There were some that required us to use the honorifics, but those were usually old-school (when my parents were small and before that the honorifics adressing teachers was mandatory), I only came across one, my tutor and maths teacher in 6th grade was Don Jesús.

And then we get into English teachers. For German and French teachers we just used the same way as speaking with Spanish teachers (although to be fair in my school they were mostly Spaniards themselves, for example I had three French teachers, two of them were Spanish and the third one was Belgian (Flemish if I'm not mistaken). But, for English teachers, and I'm not sure if this happened only in my school or if it is normal in all schools, we use a weird mix system. This was probably cause there was more chances of an English-native teacher teaching you (I had, apart from Spanish teachers, British, Irish, Statian, Canadian, Jamaican and Ugandan teachers), and they might've been uncomfortable with just not using honorifics. So, we did use Miss and Mister (we didn't use Mrs tho), normally followed by the first name. For example, some of the teachers I remembered were Miss Carol, Miss Diana, Miss Patricia, Miss Laura, Miss Natasha, Mr Kayson, Mr Farayi, and Mr Brian. But, still, there were some teachers that insisted on using the classic honorific + surname formula, for example I had a Mr. Goggin and a Mr. Brown. And then, there's Miss T., probably the most unhinged person I've ever met. She always smelled like tobacco, looked like she was high, and moved in an erratic way, I loved her. Well, she was a new yorker, but her parents were Russian; her surname was Tsvetkova, which was very difficult for Statian kids to pronounce, so she shortened it to just the T. When she came to Spain, she insisted on calling herself Miss T, and so we did.

So yeah, I find all of that super interesting, and I would love to know if in any other countries and cultures there was also this difficulty translating a way of using honorifics from language to language.

[leonstamatis]

for blasetober today: i am cheating a little bit! i don’t have. a lot of thoughts about shells/shelling, but i do have some residual feelings about pothodot of the snackrific fame! (thank you jamie for putting them in an enclosure. we’re out here.)

--

They don’t talk about it. When it comes up on the radio, Dot reaches for the dial and turns it off. When it comes on the television, they change the channel. There is no discussion, really, to be had. Either Pothos is one day going to stretch out a hand and trap somebody in the exact same hell she spent so much time in, or she isn’t.

She could talk about the way it feels. She could say that there is something inside of her, something that used to be alive, that pulsed red and vibrant and vicious but exists now as a withered husk, that she didn’t know it was even missing until it came back under an onslaught of legumes. But she doesn’t want to, and Dot wouldn’t want to hear it, anyway.

The thing is, Pothos isn’t going to do it. There is an infinite world of possibilities out there, if she would just reach for it, and maybe that should be exciting. But Wyatt Pothos has spent her life being made into something else by infinities. It gets old after a while. And they both already have plenty to worry about without any of that.

The “not talking about it,” though, as perfect as it is, only lasts about three days. Three days of York Silk tastes the Infinite! on every single screen and every airwave they come into contact with, no matter how hard they try to avoid it. Three days of not talking to York at all, because Jesús has that covered anyway, and what could they ever even say? Three days, and then.

“You didn’t tell me that could happen,” Dot says, over dinner of all things.

Their feet are in Pothos’ lap on the couch, and they’re holding a plate full of pizza. And Pothos has one hand on their shin and the other on the remote and maybe it’s the best time, if only because every other option is terrible.

“Well,” Pothos says, holding the tip of her tongue between her front teeth and drawing the word out as long as she can, “that would be because I didn’t know.”

Dot’s toe taps against Pothos’ knee. Their eyes are still on the television, expression carefully neutral. “You didn’t know.”

“We didn’t get a manual.” Pothos wraps a hand around Dot’s ankle and strokes the pad of her thumb against the bump of bone. Delicate, gentle, just like the words she’s saying. “We thought it was over, just like everyone else.”

A moment of silence hovers between the two of them. Dot takes a bite of their food and Pothos shifts her weight a little bit, fighting off pins and needles in her leg. No need for more reminders of how it felt to be trapped inside a coat closet for years. Her legs have fallen asleep more than enough to last her until the day she dies, whenever that may be.

“But it isn’t.” Dot finally looks at Pothos, one eyebrow raised in what might as well be a question mark. “And you could do… that.”

“I won’t.”

There’s no hesitation. Pothos doesn’t know how it works, and she can’t say for sure that she’s right. But if there’s anything she can do to stop it, she will. And if she can’t, Dot will leave, and she won’t stop them.

“That’s a big promise to make.”

“Yeah, well,” Pothos shrugs. “I’m making it.”

Dot’s mouth presses into a thin line. But they nod, and then they turn their attention back to the television screen. “So. Do you think Jack is going to get a rose at the ceremony?”

Pothos can’t stop herself from smiling, however small. “Absolutely not. Their one-on-one was horrible.”

[whumpasaurus101]

Collab part 5!!!

oOOO yaaaa!!! Part 5 y'all!! Also huge huge thank you to @jordanstrophe for helping me out, letting me whump yo boy and diting!!

Gabriel and Walter belong to the most amaizing @jordanstrophe !

Pheonix Masterlist / Gabriel's masterlist

previous

CW: Stabbing... a lot... / tbh that most of it- / Creepy whumper/

Once the half-hour had gone by, Gabriel started worrying. What could have happened?! Did Walter’s car break down- or worse, maybe he had crashed it. Oh shit! Then he’d be left with Mateo and Pheonix! No! I-

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a soft knocking on the door. Who the hell could that be? He slowly crept towards his doors, Walter’s words haunting him, “All those mean people out there, and then the manipulators! You shouldn’t trust Pheonix!” He slowly brought his eye up to the door’s peephole and flinched back as he saw Mateo’s angry face.

There was more knocking, “Abre la Puerta! Apurarse, hurry! Open up!” Gabriel was confused by the different language but he quickly opened the door. Walter wouldn't be angry at him for letting Mateo in, right? Mateo was his friend!

Gabriel was sent stumbling back as Mateo barged through the heavy door. “Jesús, took you long enough to open a fucking door!” Gabriel flinched, “I-I’m sorry.” Mateo waved his hand with a grunt as he scrolled through his phone, muttering nonsense under his breath. Gabriel opened his mouth but closed it, Mateo seemed pissed off enough.

Eventually, Mateo looked up from his phone and looked Gabriel up and down, “My boy has run off. I miss him.” Gabriel gulped, “Do you- um- do you know where Wa-Walter is? He- he said he was going to the shops to-” He was cut off from Mateo raising his hand again. It was quite infuriating being totally honest.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, he went to the shops. Listen, he’s running late and he wants me to… mind you until he returns.” Gabriel found himself slowly taking a few steps backwards until *thud* his back hit the wall. He had hoped Mateo hadn’t noticed. But boooooy had he noticed.

Mateo grinned and took a step forward, soaking in Gabriel’s fear as he tried to step further, through the wall. Mateo let out a soft chuckle, putting his hands against the wall, leaving him like a trapped animal. He leaned right in front of Gabriel’s face, “Why so scared, hm?” Gabriel could only manage a couple of shaky breaths. Mateo traced his fingers against Gabriel’s cheek, his cold metal rings sending a shiver up Gabriel’s spine, “Snake got your tongue?”

Gabriel whimpered and Mateo grabbed him by his shirt, “Enough sweet talk mi príncipe” He was dragged into Mateo and Pheonix’s room and shoved to the rough carpet. Mateo towered over him like an eagle with its prey.

Then it hit Gabriel -no, not physically hit,- Mateo couldn’t hurt him! Walter would kill him if he did! And surely Mateo wouldn’t hurt a hair on him now! He grinned. Mateo did a double-take on him, “Dame Fuerza, what the hell is so funny, huh?” Gabriel smiled, “Oh nothing, just a funny thought came into my head.” Mateo rolled his eyes and retrieved something from his back pocket.

He flicked open his switchblade with a smirk, “Guess you will have to fill in for mi amor, let’s see what he sees in you!” Mateo took his knife and slowly cut the fabric of his shirt. Gabriel looked up at Mateo with wide eyes and grabbed Mateo’s wrists without thinking. Mateo growled, “Hands off! Unless you’d rather me chop them off.” Gabriel gulped.

As Mateo continued, Gabriel squirmed. Walter was going to be angry about his shirt. He wouldn't hurt him, he couldn't- He let out a scream as Mateo plunged the knife into his shoulder.

“GAHHHH! FUCK!” Mateo chuckled, “You alright there, cariño?” Gabriel tried to shove Mateo off of him, but it was useless. It was impossible to get Mateo off of him! He couldn’t breathe, he needed space, needed air, needed some peace!

The knife was slowly dragged down Gabriel’s abdominal as he let out yells and shrieks of pain. Mateo made a hum of disapproval, “Hmm, you’re very loud, that’s alright though, I don't mind that one bit.” Just as he started dragging the knife once more, Gabriel let out a gasp, “WAIT!”

Mateo rolled his eyes and snapped, “What?” Gabriel -thankful for the break- took several breaths before blurting, “Walter! He- he’ll kill you if he finds- finds out what you have done!” That seemed to make Mateo pause. “If you stop now, he’ll just be angry! Please! Just-” Mateo was sick of his bullshit, yanked the knife from his shoulder and slapped his wound.

He let an ear-piercing scream, clutching his shoulder. Mateo sighed, “I’m getting bored anyway, let’s try something new.” Gabriel started shuffling backwards, “Please, just listen to me! Walter is going to get so angry.” Mateo backhanded him hard, “Cállate! Will you shut the fuck up about Walter for two seconds! Jesús!”

Gabriel let out a sob, he couldn’t tell who was going to get into more trouble, him or Mateo. Wow, there he was again thinking about Walter. But Walter couldn’t be mad at him! He had no choice but to let Mateo inside!

Mateo chuckled, “Dios, I don’t know why I gave you to Walt. I mean, look at you.” He rubbed his bloodied hand against Gabriel’s tear-stained cheek, making him flinch, “Wh-what do you mean?” Mateo chuckled, “Los siento, I forgot he hasn’t told you yet.” Gabriel gulped, “T-told me what?”

Mateo stood up and wiped his bloodied hands in Gabriel’s torn up t-shirt, “Your car, didn’t you find it quite strange how it just… suddenly broke down?” Gabriel gulped, “I-I mean, it was an old car but I-” Mateo chuckled, “Oh sweet naive boy.”

Gabriel’s breath started picking up and now his wounds were excruciating, “N-no.”

“Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes. That morning, while you were asleep, I fiddled with your engine.” Gabriel looked at him, eyes widened in fear, “Wh-what?” Mateo smiled and shrugged.

“Oh, you know, I just fiddled with a few wires and… ‘tweaked’ it a bit! It travelled as far as I wanted it to go and then boom, that night Walter texted me telling me that he got you. My plans never fail me, Gabriel, keep that in mind.”

Gabriel was in shock. All along -all along Gabriel had blamed Walter for his kidnapping, but it was mostly this bastard’s fault! How the hell did he know where he lived?!

Mateo -who clearly saw his fear- chuckled again, “I have my people. Up, come on, sit up on the bed!” Gabriel scrambled to his feet and walked to the bed, he looked at Mateo who nodded and he neatly sat on the edge of the bed. His back was straight and his arms were neatly folded on his lap. It was his position he sat in at the piano as he tried to recall different pieces.

Mateo smiled, “You know what I would always threaten my boy with?” Gabriel shook his head quickly, eyes glued to the room’s cream rough carpet. Mateo knelt down right in front of him, he traced his hand up Gabriel’s shin, “You see, I have a snake, a beautiful one indeed. Her name is Aurora which mean’s ‘dawn’. She and Pheonix had an… interesting greeting. Another fun thing I do is, I test his stillness.”

Gabriel looked at him. “I’d put fish oil all up along his leg. Then I’d set Aurora down on the ground, after several minutes she’d find her way up his leg. She’d slowly slither up his leg. At the start, he’d flinch at the feeling of scales against his legs. But you see, the more Pheonix moves, the more danger he puts himself in. It would get worse for him as she would travel up, and up, and up.”

He slowly trailed his hand up Gabriel’s leg. When Gabriel flinched, Mateo was brought away from his trance and laughed, “Ahem, anyway,” He drew back his hand, “Aurora then would wrap around his neck.” Gabriel took a shuddered breath, trying to relax himself, was Gabriel just experiencing the tiny amount of the Hell that Pheonix has to go through every day?

Mateo sighed, “Hmm, it's a pity Aurora’s not here at the moment. Who knows, maybe you can come over to my house one day and we’ll see if Aurora likes you or not.”

He can't hurt you, he can't hurt you, he can't hurt you, he can’t- He jumped as Mateo snapped his fingers in front of his face, “Hey idiota, did you hear me.” Gabriel nodded, “Y-yeah” “Good. Now, I'm feeling quite peckish, you hungry?”

“Y-yes.” Mateo cocked his head to the sighed, “Hmm, no manners?” Gabriel’s chest burned in anger. He swallowed down his humiliation and spoke, “Sorry, yes sir.” Mateo smiled, clicked his tongue and ruffled his hair, “Atta boy! We’ll go to the restaurant we were at last night, I heard they do a killer french toast.” He threw Gabriel one of Pheonix’s spare shirts which he put on.

Gabriel’s stomach grumbled at the thought of food. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as he thought.

Oh, it was… It started off fine, they were escorted to Mateo’s stupid ‘v.i.p’ booth and were given menus. Gabriel didn’t dare look at it, he heard Mateo order Pheonix’s food for him so he decided to leave it to Mateo to do it.

After several long minutes, Mateo smiled and took off his reading glasses, gently placing them on the table he looked at Gabriel with a smile. Gabriel shifted awkwardly in his seat, he wished he could build up some confidence.

“So tell me, how long have you been playing the piano for?” Gabriel fiddled with his hand awkwardly over the table, “Well, I learned when I was young and I have been playing ever since.” Mateo smiled, “Interesting. And what’s your favourite piece?” Gabriel softly chuckle to himself as the memories came back to him

“It’s kind of basic but probably Winter from The Four Seasons or Moonlight Sonata.” Mateo nodded, “Basic but classics.” He then looked down at Gabriel's fidgeting hands and frowned. He looked around, no one. He quickly grabbed his steak knife which the restaurant always gave him and plunged it straight into Gabriel’s palm. The knife went straight through to the table. Gabriel let out a shrilled screech.

“Come on now, another thing I teach Pheonix is to never fidget. People fidget when they’re nervous. And if your nervous, the people opposite you know they can stop all over you.” Gabriel went to pull out the knife. Mateo smacked it away, “Mierda Jesús! Are you that dumb!” Gabriel looked up at him quickly with tears streaming down his face. “You never take out an object you have been stabbed with, luckily, I think they have a first aid kit here for the chefs, I’ll be back, don’t go anywhere.”

He stood up and before leaving, he leaned right down so he was whispering into Gabriel’s ear, “I wouldn’t run if I were you, Noah is guarding the door.” He then patted his shoulder roughly and left.

Gabriel let out several sobs and then just broke down. The pain. So much pain. He couldn’t take it! He missed Walter! Walter- piano- he looked back down at his hand. This wasn’t good. He flinched as a heavy first aid box was stopped right in front of him. Mateo shoved him over and sat right beside him, “Give me your arm.”

Gabriel hesitated at first, but once Mateo raised his eyebrow he quickly handed his shaking hand. Mateo studied the wound, “Hmm, easy, I learned this in scouts when I was a boy.” He then looked at Gabriel, “Oh how the times have changed.”

Without wasting any more time, he took out multiple cotton balls. He counted to three and quickly took the knife out, he pressed hard against the gash with the cotton. Gabriel let out a cry. “Hush now, you’re being so good for me, almost finished.”

After a few minutes, he took off the cotton balls and threw them into a plastic bag which he would later dispose of. He took the skin glue then and caught Gabriel looking, “It’s better not to look mi Querido! Makes the pain worse.”

Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut and looked away, hearing Mateo chuckle. Mateo poured some glue along his wound and squeezed the skin together, making Gabriel wince. He then wound a bandage tightly around his palm. “It’s not as bad as it looks, really You're just making a big deal over nothing!” Gabriel squeezed his eyes tighter as tears fell down his face.

Suddenly Mateo’s phone rang, “Jesús, este hombre, no se relajará!” he answered it with a snappy tone, “What?!”

“Mateo! How is my boy doing? I hope he’s behaving himself!” Mateo looked at the sobbing Gabriel who had curled up on himself. “Yes, he’s all good, we just are relaxing. He’s being good, but he’s missing you... A lot!” He heard Walter chuckle to himself happily, “Good, good. Well, I have your boy and we’re on the way.” Before Mateo could ask where the hell he had found him, Walter hung up.

He looked at Gabriel, “Alright, sorry mijo, looks like french toast will be a miss today! Walter will be back soon!” Gabriel perked up at that. Walter! Walter!!! Safe! No more pain!

Back at the hotel, Gabriel gazed longingly out the window. His heart fluttered when he saw Walter’s car pull up outside the hotel. He looked to Mateo who rushed to the window and sighed, “Bien, let’s go, rápido!” He was dragged out of the room and down the hotel stairs, Gabriel wanted to cry as all of his wounds rubbed against his shirt -well, Pheonix’s shirt.

Before he could restrain himself, the minute Gabriel saw Walter, for the first time, his heart jolted with relief. He ran up to him and hugged him tight, not realising that he was crying. He hugged him as tight as he could. He couldn’t even feel the pain anymore. Safe, he was safe. Never leave me again, please.

---

taglist: @as-a-matter-of-whump @milk-carton-offical

@yesthisiswhump @kixngiggles @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi

[chthonic-cassandra]

Hello! I'm trying to make a list of dracula adaptations to watch, and I was wondering, which ones are your faves? Are there any you'd advise not to waste my time on? Thanks!

Oh, this is the best ask, thank you! I love talking about this.

I always say that these are the five Dracula movies which will give you the clearest sense of the arc of adaptation the story has taken over time:

Nosferatu (dir. F.W. Murnau, 1922)

Dracula (dir. Tod Browning, 1931)

Dracula/Horror of Dracula (dir. Terrence Fisher, 1958)

Dracula (dir. John Badham, 1979)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)

However, this is not the same as a list of my favorites! I think that all of those are pretty essential viewing for a comprehensive understanding of the world of Dracula adaptations, even though I virulently hate the Coppola, and would happily bestow on you all the permission needed not to waste your time on it, despite it being tremendously influential.

My alternative list of weird personal favorite Dracula adaptations aside from the above (Murnau and likely Badham’s films would make their way onto a comprehensive list of my favorites) would be the following:

Nosferatu (dir. Werner Herzog, 1979) - my first Dracula, my favorite Dracula, and also my favorite film period. Watch it watch it watch it.

Drácula (dir. George Melford, 1932) - made on the same sets as the Browning film, with Spanish-speaking actors who came in and filmed after the cast of the English version were done, this film as a fascinating comparison to the iconic Browning/Lugosi film, and better done in almost every way, solving many of the English version’s plot holes.

Count Dracula (Jesús Franco, 1970) - Franco was a Spanish B movie director who made tremendously trashy films but also made some inspired casting choices. He lured Christopher Lee into playing Dracula again for this by promising him the chance to actually say some of the speeches from the books (Hammer films never let him do this), and somehow also got Klaus Kinski to play a visionary wordless Renfield. The movie itself is a mess, but how can you care?

Dracula (dir. Bill Eagles, 2006) - this is a very odd BBC film that changes the plot around dramatically but somehow still retains the essence of many the characters, who are charmingly cast, especially Lucy, Mina, and Jack. It’s weakened by a really badly played Dracula, but is a lot of fun for fans of the book.

If you want to go into the depths of the weirdness, I recommend you try:

Blood for Dracula (dir. Paul Morissey, 1974) - this Warhol-influenced oddity is impossible to truly describe; it’s full of strangely placed (but sometimes intensely hilarious) humor, very graphic sex scenes, and just...strangeness. Warning that there are some very weird and rather tasteless sexual assault scenes, but if you’re up for the weirdness, it is not to be missed.

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (dir. Guy Maddin, 2002) - this is the silent film ballet Dracula. It doesn’t always work, but it is certainly going for something.

I have not yet managed to see Dracula in Istanbul or this apparently crazy Czech film called Jonathan (in which, according to my reading, the vampires are a metaphor for capitalism), so cannot speak to those.

As for what can be skipped...you will miss out on very little if you skip Van Helsing, Dracula 2000, Dracula Untold (which is not even really a Dracula adaptation proper), or the newest BBC Dracula. 

I admit to getting the 1968 Mystery and Imagination Dracula, the 1974 Dan Curtis/Jack Palance Dracula, and the 1977 Louis Jourdan Dracula confused at times, but there is good reason for that; none of them is especially exciting or original, though each do have their good moment (and their fans, who I hope I am not too sorely offending here!). If you are choosing one of those three, I would go with the 1977; Louis Jourdan gives an interestingly understated performance, and they have some interesting Renfield-Mina interaction that other versions don’t have.

Once you watch The Horror of Dracula, you’ll have a sense of whether or not you like the Hammer film style, and you should know from there whether you want to watch the rest of them. 

Have fun!

[thequeenkrys15]

His Woman

This fic is dedicated to Miss Nadia, aka @flamediel​​

First off, I would like to apologize to you Queen, because this took much longer than I imagined, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

About a month ago, Miss Nadia underwent a lot of unnecessary hate for no reason. Really all hate is unnecessary, but it was hate nonetheless. I would like to remind everyone who reads this fic that it there is never a good reason to be malicious to someone, and that it is always better to spread positivity. In my eyes, we are all kings and queens and should treat each other as such. 

Miss Nadia, please know that to me, you are awesome. You are amazing, and marvelous and every positive word in the dictionary in every language. You are a queen, an empress a GODDESS, and if anyone tells you differently they can kick rocks because they’re peasants and queens don’t have time for peasants. And if no one has said it today, I LOVE YOU! And so does this man right here!

Pairing: Zabdiel de Jesus x Nadia!Reader

Word Count: 2950

Warnings: Slight Angst, Smut, 18+, minors DNI, protected sex (no glove, no love), fondling, fingering, oral (female receiving), fluff, and google translated spanish

Without further adeu, Miss Nadia sweetie, enjoy!

Dating a musician was hard for anyone, especially when that musician was in a famous band like Nadia’s man. CNCO was often doing promo and concerts, sometimes it was hard to find time. And it didn’t help that the two of them were in a long-distance relationship. Some of the guys trying to hit on her in Cairo were so rude. And Nadia could only imagine all the women making themselves look “too available” for Zabdiel. But alas, he always made sure to silence her insecurities. “You’re the only one for me, Nadia, mi amol”, he would say in that thick Puerto Rican accent that always made her swoon. They always Facetimed each other every day and flew out to see each other when they could. They say time apart makes the heart grow fonder, then the two of them must be infatuated, because Nadia and Zabdiel were in love.

           Time seemed to align perfectly for Zabdiel and Nadia. CNCO got some vacation time to relax, and Nadia saved up enough sick days and vacation days two get a whole two months of paid leave. How would the two choose to spend this newfound time? Why with each other of course! Zabdiel put everything in motion the second he knew she was coming. He wanted this time off to be stress free and be filled with love and romance for his woman, Nadia. The next two months were about to be the best she has ever had.

           After getting off the plane in Miami, Nadia was overrun with happiness and joy, and just in a few moments, she would see the love of her life. As she approached Baggage Claim, it’s like the world stopped. Zabdiel had been searching for Nadia for the past 15 minutes, and once his eyes locked with hers, a huge smile spread across his face. It started as a sprint, and then a full-blown dash as they ran to each other. When the two finally had their arms wrapped around each other, a wash of calm and clarity overcame them both. This felt right, this felt like love.

“Hola mi amol, estoy tan feliz de que estés aqui”, he whispered into her ear.

“I missed you so much, baby”, Nadia cried into his shoulder happily.

           Zabdiel and Nadia broke apart after a few more minutes, wiping their eyes and walking hand in hand, grabbing her suitcases, and striding out of the airport. The two headed to his car and put the bags in the trunk. Zabdiel opened the door for his woman, and the two of them climbed in and started their ride home.

“Te amo mi cariño”, he kissed her hand.

“And I love you”, she said sweetly.

Nadia knew that these next two months were going to be a blast.

 Time Jump

             These two months were going nothing like Nadia thought it would. Don’t get her wrong, Zabdiel was treating her like a queen in every sense of the word, from feeding her fruit, to afternoon massages, to late night lovin! When it came to Zabdiel, Nadia was on cloud nine, but it was something else that was bringing her down more than usual: the fans. Now in the beginning, the CNCOwners were ecstatic about the relationship Nadia had blossomed with Zabdiel, and for the most part, they still are. There are positive messages in her inbox from the fans all the time, and they always lift her spirits when she’s down. But lately, somethings been off with them, or at least some of them. It started when Nadia was giving weekly updates to the fans about what Mr. de Jesús was up to. Even though the band was on break, he still did somethings band-related, like producing music. Sometimes when he’s in his element, she likes to get a video of him because she knows the fans would love the content. Or when you catch him doing something cute like playing with Appa, she knew the fans would swoon. Even though most of the fans were showing her love, some were showing her hate. Like HATE, hate. Like hate to the point where they were telling her to kill herself. Like, who does that? At first, she didn’t pay them any mind, because of course there were always the nay-sayers. But the comments started getting worst, like to the point where they were making her cry. She couldn’t believe there were people like this on the internet. She tried to keep this from Zabdiel as long as she could, this time was supposed to be about them, not some asshats that were trying to bring her spirits down. But of course, Zabdiel knew his woman way too well for her to keep a secret like this.

           Zabdiel had just got home from a dinner run when he walked in and noticed the apartment was eerily silent.

“¡Nadia, estoy en casa!” he shouted through the home to place her. She didn’t respond.

           He placed the food in the refrigerator and went in search of his girlfriend, finally finding her in the bedroom.

“Nena, ¿me has oído? Why didn’t you respond?”

           He turned her around in the bed, just to find she was crying her eyes out.

“¿Por que estás llorando? What happened?”

           Still trying to save face, Nadia pushed it aside to change the subject.

“Everything’s fine honey. What did you get to eat?” She was totally lying in his face, and Zabdiel was not having it.

           Before Zabdiel could ask again what had her in distress, her phone lit up with a notification, and before she could redirect his attention, he snatched her phone away.

“What is this, Nadia?” he tapped on the notification.

“It’s nothing Zab. Please don’t open---”

           But it was too late. He had opened it, and what he saw made him bubble with anger. Countless negative comments on her social media degrading her, berating her, calling her names and how she was worthless. One he scrolled past literally told her to kill herself. Are they serious? He could not believe that his so called “fans” were the ones harassing her like this. Oh, he was going to put a stop to this once and for all.

“¿Por cuánto tiempo ha estado sucediendo esto?” he asked in sorrow.

“Zabdiel, please.” She just wanted to forget about it, but he wouldn’t budge.

“How long, Nadia.” His tone was firmer, and because she knew he wasn’t going to leave it alone, she conceded.

“A few weeks.” She sighed. He huffed in frustration but spoke to her in a soft tone.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked in curiosity, not understanding why she would keep something like this from him.

“Because I didn’t want you to worry, okay? This time together was supposed to be about us, not some mean fans. I just shouldn’t have let it get to me so much.”

           At the sound of her blaming herself for this nonsense, Zabdiel wrapped Nadia up in the tightest hug he could muster, quieting her claims.

“Escúchame mi amol. None of this your fault, and I am sorry this has happened. Those are not my fans; they are just evil people with nothing better to do. I’m gonna put a stop to this in the morning.”

Nadia tried to protest, but he shushed her concerns, leaving no room for discussion. He kissed her forehead.

“If this happens again nena, you have to tell me so I can fix it. I can’t help if you don’t let me. Okay?” he held her face in his hands as she nodded, showing she understood.

           He kissed her lips tenderly, savoring the taste of her. It started off slow, but the kiss grew hungrier, more primal than anything before. His tongue slid into her mouth, dancing around each other, until Nadia’s tongue gave in to his, accepting his dominance.

“I’m gonna make you forget all about them hermosa” he whispered into her ear.

           He laid her down on the bed as he began to kiss under her jaw, moving toward her neck and shoulder juncture, suckling her pulse point. She moaned, knowing that tonight was going to be a long one. His hands held her waist, as he slid her shirt up, exposing her stomach. He kissed and nipped along the sides her tummy, forcing her shirt up. He pulled away for a split second, finally pulling her shirt off, getting frustrated with the fabric. He was mesmerized by the way her breasts looked in her black bra; he was practically salivating at the mouth.

“Eres exquisita” he leaned down to kiss her neckline, traveling to her cleavage, nipping at the rise of her left boob, and then the right.

“You have too many clothes on” Nadia said as she slid her hands under his shirt, desperate to feel him as he was feeling her.

           He pulled away to get his shirt off, as Nadia threw her bra across the room. Zabdiel was back on her in seconds, sucking her left nipple into his mouth while he fondled the right breast in his huge hand. His warm mouth was doing wonders for her body, and all the pleasure she felt was shot straight to her core. He kissed the valley in between her breasts and down her stomach, knowing exactly where he was headed. Undoing her zipper, he worked her pants off her body and tossed them to the side of the bed, leaving her in her black underwear. He sniffed between her legs, nuzzling her nub which sent a jolt up her spine.

“Hueles dulce” he sighed as he pulled her panties off her body, leaving her bare.

           He pulled her legs over his shoulders, gripped her thighs, and licked a long stripe up from her slit to her pearl, making her gasp.

“But you taste even sweeter.” Zabdiel was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

           If there was one thing people knew about Zabdiel, it was that he had an oral fixation. He always had something in his mouth, whether it was gum, a lollipop, or in this case, her pussy. And he was an expert with his tongue, knowing just where to lick to get his woman stimulated. He licked in between her lips, just so she could get a feel for him. He then licked at her clit, drawing her favorite star pattern, sending her to another galaxy. Nadia was a moaning mess, her hand flew to where his head was, physically telling him not to move an inch. But Zabdiel wouldn’t dare, he was enjoying this just as much as she was. Knowing that it was him causing his woman so much pleasure, made him painfully hard in his pants. But his woman had to cum first.

“Do you want more, my love?” Nadia was gasping for air, nodding her head frantically, but that wasn’t enough for him.

“Usa tus palabras, hermosa” he breathed into her core as he licked down her slit.

“Yes! Baby please, I need more!” she begged, desperate to chase her high.

           Zabdiel inserted his middle finger into her hot channel, and then his index, massaging her inner walls. He found that one spot inside her that made her back arch, hips rising off the bed. This action made Nadia’s eyes roll in the back of her head; she was gripping the sheets for dear life, whining. She was so close, he just needed to say it. And he knew it too.

“It’s okay nena, I got you. Dale” he sucked her pearl into his mouth, hard.

           That one word and one action, lit her body on fire. Her orgasm was explosive, mind and body in the clouds, she didn’t think she would ever come down. Zabdiel worked her through her orgasm until she returned to earth, drinking up everything she had to give him. He sat up, and peering at his face he looked like a glazed donut. He hopped off the bed for a split second, getting his pants and boxers off in one push. Nadia would have had to seen it a thousand times, but she will never get tired of seeing just how magnificent Zabdiel’s penis was. She reached out to grasp it, but Zabdiel pushed her hand away, leaning over her.

“No nena, tonight is about you. Relájate” he said as he nestled in between her thighs.

           He kissed her first, slow and sensual, pouring out all his emotions in one action. He leaned over to the side to grab a condom out of the night drawer. Once he put the condom on, he lined himself up at her entrance, and ever the gentleman, he peered up at her to make sure she was okay. Holding on to his biceps, she nodded, and he eased the head of his cock into her tight channel, taking the breath out of both of their lungs.

“Carajo nena. Eres tan apretada” he gasped into her ear.

           Once fully seated, he took a minute to let her adjust. No matter how many times they’ve had sex together, his girth always took her by surprise. Zabdiel could feel Nadia hips moving slightly against his, signaling him to move. He drew back his hips all the way, leaving only the tip in to tease her, then he slammed himself back in, to the hilt. His thrusts were slow, making love to her through his actions.

“Eres perfecta” he whispered into her ear as he kissed her neck.

She felt euphoric in every sense of the word; not only was he making her feel good physically, he was also making her feel good emotionally. Every stroke he took pulled all the negative comments out of her mind and replaced them with deep and utter bliss. She was on cloud nine, but she needed to get to the moon. She wanted to forget, and Zabdiel was the only way how.

“Faster, Papi” she pleaded, begging him to take her pain away.

           It was like a switch flipped inside his head. Nadia knew if she wanted a different side of Zabdiel, a more aggressive side, that was the one word that would do the trick. “Domdiel” appeared in a matter of seconds, gripping her hips harder, and his strokes started matching the speed of a jackhammer. Nadia felt him everywhere, from her neck down to her core. She knew there would be bruises in the morning, but she didn’t care, all that mattered was this moment right now.

“Papi, I’m close!” She held on to him for dear life, nails running down his back so hard they almost broke skin.

           Zabdiel was in the same boat, as his thrusts were starting to lose their rhythm. He reached down between her legs, drawing a nice figure eight on her bundle of nerves, sure that it will help her reach a final high.

“Cum for me, Nadia.”

           That was all it took. Her body arched and convulsed off the bed. She screamed out in pleasure as her orgasm washed over her. A white-hot light flooded the back of her eyes, leaving her in a state of pure ecstasy. Zabdiel wasn’t far behind, getting three more pumps in before he stilled, spilling himself into the rubber. He collapsed onto her, but she didn’t mind, welcoming the warmth. After a few seconds Zabdiel got up and retreated to the bathroom to throw away the rubber. He returned to Nadia with a washcloth in hand, leaning down to clean her up, being mindful that she was still very sensitive. When he was finished, he tossed the rag into the laundry hamper, and crawled into bed, snuggling up to his woman.

“Te amo, mi vida” he whispered as he drifted off to slumber.

“Te amo, mi cariño” she said back as sleep overcame her.

           In that moment, Nadia felt at peace. Not anger, not sadness, just simple peace.

Time Jump

           When morning came, Nadia found herself in bed, alone. Finding Zabdiel’s discarded shirt, she slipped it on and made her way to the living room, in search of her boyfriend. The sight that she came across almost made her cry. Zabdiel was on the couch with his phone in hand, going completely off on the fans that were spewing hate towards her. He said that he was disappointed and angry that some of his so-called “fans” would go so far as to hurt his woman intentionally. He also said that true fans would want to see him happy, and that if they were real fans, they would either show you two some love, or just simply be quiet. He saw Nadia out of the corner of his eye and decided to end the video there.

“Ahora si me disculpas, voy a salir con mi mujer.”

           He motioned for her to come sit with him, so she did. He placed her on his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know. I could have gotten over it.” She said as she leaned against his chest.

“You shouldn’t have to. Tú eres mi mujer, and I’m not gonna tolerate any disrespect, no matter who it’s from.” He kissed her on her forehead.

           The two stayed like that for a moment, just basking in the peaceful silence, until Nadia spoke up.

“So the day has just started, what do you want to do?” She looked into his eyes.

“How about my woman decides for today?” He gave his signature dimple-filled smile.

“Your woman? I like the sound of that!” She cheesed as they hugged each other tightly.

           Yeah, their relationship was hard sometimes, but being his woman, makes it all worthwhile.