#a servant of two masters commentary

[goetiae]

Interactions and interconnections between Ciel and Sebastian become truly fascinating when one analyzes these two as eternally connected in an everlasting cycle of effect they have on one another. It becomes increasingly obvious how they are meant to be the focal points of each other's lives because of the growth each go through while being affected by one another. It's incomparable to any other case of character development within the manga.

Ciel begins as someone nearly predisposed to evil, as per Yana's commentary about his father being the reason Ciel is such an "evil" child. He grows even more corrupted within that evilness once he is exposed to Sebastian, a creature of the dark who resolves matters through violence and knows no compassion to human lives.

Sebastian begins as someone who treats mortals around him with a lot of distaste as he is convinced humans are selfish, greedy beings that would step over each other to get what they want. Although, he is not unaware of the metamorphosis that he is about to go through after meeting his peculiar Master.

Having been betrayed by other humans in a multitude of ways, Ciel does not possess the best view on humanity. Sebastian, too, has witnessed the greed and neediness of mortals who he worked with, and thus now finds most humans despicable. Throughout the story, these views are challenged, starting with Ciel's.

Ciel, initially established as withdrawn and apathetic, changes with every new person he meets. His breakdown in the end of the Circus Arc exposes Sebastian to the degree of his trauma, showing him that Ciel believes it's better to be dead than to lead the life he had to endure. His treatment of Sieglinde, who is as much a helpless victim of circumstance as Ciel was, shows a very complicated idea of care that Ciel possesses: he threatens Sieglinde's life and offers her to pick between death and escape, so she can make a good choice and avoid his fate. Ciel is not yet capable of true, vulnerable, open care for others, but he's slowly melting his ice walls away.

Soma and Agni seem to display genuine care for Ciel's wellbeing despite not being obligated to show said care in any way, to which Ciel reacts with avoidance and further establishment of very strict boundaries. Often, we see him being rude to his newly found friends, without a particular reasoning to be so. When Agni dies, what seems to be true intentions of Ciel's avoidant personality seem to come forth: he pushed them away before they could get entangled within his business and, like many others in his life, pay for it. Ciel's care seems a tad more prominent within his treatment of the servants: the story slowly uncovers that he offers them gifts and assistance through Sebastian, such as allowing them to learn how to read or buying them clothes. One could say that Finnian's repeatedly changing clothing is for the convenience of the artist, but it's fair to propose that it was drawn on purpose, too.

Ciel's silent care for the wellbeing of others, especially those in similar circumstances to him and overall disadvantaged children, goes hand in hand with his ingrained violence and harshness. It is possible that it is a traumatic response after everything he has been through. However, we know from Yana's own words that Ciel's upbringing by Sebastian made him a more sadistic individual. What is most fascinating about this is that Sebastian seemed to have gone through an opposite transformation.

Sebastian's gradual exposure to human emotion is undeniable in the manga. As a protagonist of the series who starts off unconvinced that humanity can be good, he encounters consistent examples of the opposite. Agni becomes the most influential person in his life: he gains Sebastian's respect, shows him an example of selfless behavior unseen in mortals the demon interacted with, and proceeds to show him kindness through calling him a friend. After such a formative companionship, Sebastian, now with the weight of new experience, watches Ciel deny incoming human care, having learned from the cruel, heartless butler of his.

Throughout the story, Sebastian witnesses many people that challenge his view on humanity: he encounters mortals that are not the selfish, greedy creatures he is used to. Then, he slowly starts to see Ciel through a caring lens, too. He will never be his father, nor treat him as one, but he discovers empathy within himself that slowly makes its way into his treatment of his Lord. Offering more physical contact outside of necessary, having unnecessarily high concern for Ciel's wellbeing over minor injuries, and Sebastian's growing protectiveness all show that he views him with increased sympathy, as a traumatized boy rather than just a contractee. It is worth mentioning that Ciel, while cared for, does not stop being Sebastian's meal - it is possible that the more Sebastian cares for him, the more prominent the predator-prey nature of their relationship becomes. A caring beast and an adored victim are such an utterly unique combination of character types.

To draw this to a conclusion, Ciel and Sebastian develop in ways that neither seem to be initially ready for: Ciel obtains care for others whereas Sebastian gains care for Ciel. At the same time, Ciel becomes further corrupted by Sebastian and grows deeper into his maladaptive ways of handling his trauma; the latter playing only a partial role in his gradual increase of sadistic tendencies. Sebastian, in his turn, has his worldview challenged because he discovers he cares for his food, for once. He also irreversibly affects Ciel's perception of reality as he practically raised him without being paternal to him. He was the closest to a social example for the young Lord. Now, Sebastian has acquired emotions but hasn't lost the desire to ultimately consume Ciel; he affected Ciel through the formative years of their relationship, but now came to a point where he actually cares about his food, much unlike his initial demeanor displayed. Ciel, in his turn, has grown to care for those close to him, yet he lacks the social skills and emotional intelligence needed to handle such intricate emotions, which only furthers the damage done by his trauma - all because he was raised by a now slightly empathetic demon.

We are yet to see how the two are to handle the newly blooming emotions they discovered. It's undeniable that Ciel grew to care about Sebastian, too. And with that, it would be fair to state, lastly, that their intricate mutual effect on each other is fascinating to witness.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

prince's gambit highlights & annotations

chapter 2

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

With a rabble like this, Laurent’s pretty face wasn’t doing him any favours. Damen must have heard a dozen slurs and sly insinuations before he’d even saddled his horse. No wonder Aimeric had been furious: even Damen, who had frankly no objection to men slandering Laurent, was finding himself annoyed.

“he’s a bitch but he’s OUR bitch” 😤

They would not be riding in a straight line south. Instead, it was to be a two-week journey southwest through the Veretian provinces of Varenne and Alier, their route hugging the Vaskian mountain border. It was a change from the direct route that had been planned by the Regent, and Laurent had already sent out riders to inform the keeps.

already, damen’s involvement in laurent’s life is starting to mess with the regent’s plans. GOOD.

As the night wore on, Laurent had abandoned his deliberate comportment for a relaxed, youthful pose, drawing one knee up to his chest and slinging an arm around it. Damen had found his gaze drawn to the easy arrangement of Laurent’s limbs, the balance of wrist on knee, the long, finely articulated bones. He had been aware of a diffuse but growing tension, a sensation almost like he was waiting . . . waiting for something, unsure what it was. It was like being alone in a pit with a snake: the snake could relax, you could not.

laurent: literally just vibing during a strategy sesh damen: He Is Going To Bite Me So Hard Any Second Now

If Laurent had slept at all, he hadn’t done so in the Regent’s bed.

>:(

Laurent’s pre-dawn arrival and whatever cold bitchy remarks he had made—sharpened by a night without sleep—had been enough to eject the Regent’s men out of their beds and into a semblance of lines.

There was no immediate disaster.

really setting your expectations high here, damen

Laurent looked like a figurehead, eye-catching and useless.

There was going to be a fortnight of this, with a fight at the end of it. Damen set his jaw, kept his head down and got on with the work he had been assigned. He saw to his horse and his armour. He pitched the Prince’s tent. He moved supplies and hauled water and wood. He washed with the men. Ate. The food was good. Some things were done well. The sentries were posted promptly, and so were the outriders, taking up position with the same professionalism as the guards who had watched him in the palace. The site of the camp was well chosen.

damen should have a tv show where he yassifies military camps to his personal standards. like queer eye

‘I heard you were good at carrying tales. And what will you be doing while Jord stops that fight?’ ‘Getting massaged,’ said Damen, succinctly.

“succinctly”

‘Well? Attend me,’ said Laurent. ‘Attend,’ said Damen. The word sank into him. He felt as he had in the training arena when he had been unwilling to go near the cross. ‘Have you forgotten how?’ Laurent said. He said, ‘The last time, this did not end pleasantly.’ ‘Then I suggest you behave better,’ said Laurent.

It was the normal duty of a body servant to dress and undress his master. Laurent accepted the service with the indifference of one long used to attendance. The opening in the brocade widened, revealing the white of an undershirt pressed warm against skin by the heavy outer fabric, and by armour atop that. Laurent’s skin and the shirt were the exact same delicate shade of white. Damen pushed the garment over Laurent’s shoulders and just for a moment felt, beneath his hands, the hard, corded tension of Laurent’s back.

in a theater au, these two would go fucking crazy doing each other’s mics

On the table was the familiar map, weighted by three oranges and a cup. Arranging himself in the chair opposite Damen, casual in pants and undershirt, Laurent picked up one of the oranges and started peeling it. One corner of the map rolled up. ‘When Vere fought Akielos at Sanpelier, there was a manoeuvre that broke through our eastern flank. Tell me how that worked,’ Laurent said.

this is so domestic ahhhhhhhhhh!!!

He caught the wooden practice sword instinctively when Orlant tossed it to him. ‘You any good?’ ‘Yes,’ said Damen.

yes bitch!

‘That’s right. You don’t like fights,’ said Orlant. ‘You prefer going behind people’s backs.’

is this because he breaks up fights and reports to laurent? tf do you want him to do (fiercely defend his prince, i knowww)

‘Afraid to spar?’ said Orlant. ‘No,’ said Damen. ‘Then what? Can’t fight?’ said Orlant. ‘You’re only here to fuck the Prince?’ Damen swung.

“I CAN DO MULTIPLE THINGS”

Damen supposed he should feel flattered that Laurent had set his best swordsmen to guard him in the palace.

they're so "i can't decide" by the scissor sisters

‘You were looking for me?’ Laurent didn’t answer, and Damen couldn’t interpret his expression. ‘What is it?’ said Damen. ‘You’re better than I am.’ Damen couldn’t help his amused breath of reaction to that, or the long, scrolling look from Laurent’s head to his toes and back again, which was probably a little insulting. But really. Laurent flushed. The colour hit his cheeks hard, and a muscle tightened in his jaw as whatever he felt was forcibly repressed. It was not like any reaction that Damen had ever seen from him before, and he couldn’t resist pushing it a little further. ‘Why? Do you want to spar? We can keep it friendly,’ Damen said. ‘No,’ said Laurent.

this might be the first moment where laurent is clearly flustered by damen in a non-disgusted way. the blush!!! i think laurent finds competence very attractive, especially in areas where he also excels. with some people it can just be a matter of platonic respect, but in this case it’s almost certainly hot to him that damen is such an impressive swordsman—even better than laurent himself.

‘When I fought Govart,’ said Damen, ‘I had my lungs full of chalis.’ Another slow nod. ‘I’m not sure how it is in Akielos,’ said Jord, ‘but . . . you shouldn’t take that stuff before a fight. Slows your reflexes. Saps your strength. Just some friendly advice.’ ‘Thank you,’ said Damen, after a long, drawn out moment had passed.

it doesn’t even occur to jord that laurent drugged damen before the fight. shows how highly he thinks of laurent, and gives us a hint about laurent’s typical behavior when he hasn’t just been jumpscared by his brother’s killer in chains

‘Aimeric’s not a child lured in with a honeyed treat. He’s Guion’s fourth son. He knows that his being here splits his father’s loyalty. It’s half the reason he joined me. He wants his father’s attention,’ said Laurent. ‘If you’re not here to talk to me about Aimeric, why are you here?’

laurent offering aimeric this, like, annoying your elders solidary… it’s strategic for sure, but maybe that’s a tiny part of it too?

I can’t believe you fear Govart. If you did, you’d never have set me against him in the ring.

WAIT so we’ve gone from “laurent hates me and wants me dead” to “i know you didn’t want me dead” ?? i guess it could make sense, though—laurent would have wanted to kill damen himself, right?

‘Why do you give me good advice?’ asked Laurent. Isn’t that why you brought me with you? Instead of speaking those words aloud, Damen said, ‘Why don’t you take any of it?’

this is like dirty talk to me. yessss consider each other as intellectual equals with mutual incredulity

He knew by now that Laurent never acted precipitously, but always walked away and gave himself time and space alone to think.

oh, that’s what you think? note to self: remember this line. it’ll be funny

[thepotatopixie]

Let's look through some weird-ass fairytales.

Hi, I'm the Potato Pixie, and I like fairytales. One day, I'd like to make comic adaptations of some of the weirder ones, or some well-known ones but the original versions, cause those get weird as hell.

I'm specifically going off from this book, a Barnes and Noble exclusive edition that I got for Christmas in 2015, but the inside specifically lists this as the Margaret Hunts translation from 1884.

So, I'm going to tell you all the broad strokes of the story, any important details, provide my shitty commentary, and how it could possibly be adjusted to a short comic.

My goal is to, when I can, make the characters more human, or give them more character. When I do character designs, and I'll post those as well, give traits and characteristics that aren't conventionally attractive.

Anyways, we're starting with the Frog King!

It's the first one in the book, and I'm interested in adapting it, so we'll go with that!

So it starts with the unnamed Princess tossing a gold ball, which is her favorite plaything, by a well.

Eventually, she tosses it and it falls in the well, and it's so deep she can't see the bottom or her ball.

She cries so much that the stones would show pity, (or maybe she thinks they would, this version very much has spoiled brat vibes) that soon a talking frog comes out of the well and asks her what's wrong. The princess though disgusted at the talking Frog, tells him about the ball, and he offers to get it for her, if she agrees to take the Frog back to her castle, and let the Frog eat with her, play with her and sleep in her bed with her.

The Princess fully intending to ditch the Frog agrees, and as she gets her ball she runs off, and frog croaking and yelling for her

At the castle, the Princess and the King are eating until they hear a knock at the door, and the king questions whoever it could be as the princess is freaked out knowing it's the Frog, and after said Frog asks her if she doesn't remember the agreement they had, the King tells the Princess that she has to keep her promise, and she begrudgingly picks thr Frog up and takes him to the table, to which he seemingly eats off her plate with ease, and she choking down every bite. (Like man that'd gross me out too, the princess is kinda a bitch but like, same)

Eventually, the Frog decides he's full and wants to go to sleep, and the Princess carries the Frog with two fingers by his leg up the stairs. When the Frog insists upon being carried up onto her bed, she gets so angry she takes the Frog and THROWS HIM AGAINST THE WALL.

Nah, no romance, no character development of like a spoiled brat learning to be nice, fucking YEETS the slimy bitch to the wall.

The weirdest part is, THATS WHAT TURNS HIM BACK INTO A PRINCE??? I have the whole scene planned in my head, bitch goes splat, slides down, the bottom half of the shot is like covered by the bed in the foreground and there's like a delayed POOF and then his gets up as a human holding his head.

Anyways, the Frog King (we're still gonna call him Frog) tells the Princess that a witch had cast a spell onto him and no one but her had taken him from the well (So I guess it was the well that was keeping him a frog?? But the Princess didn't do shit, she ran off!! So idk)

And then in the morning as mentioned, a carriage of white horses rolls up, and weirdly the only Named character, the servant Faithful Henry is said that he was so unhappy that his master was turned into a Frog, that three iron bands were laid upon his heart, lest it should burst from sadness.

They get in the carriage, and the Kings son (so like, it's not mentioned at all before that the Frog King has a son, neither the princesses father, and only the princess and the Frog King are described to get in the carriage. They mention that because the Princess agrees to be the Frogs companion and playmate, and that by her fathers will is now her husband, so where did the son come from? They go to the kingdom the next morning, so idk)

The Son thinks the carriage is breaking, but Faithful Henry says it's only the bands upon his heart bursting with joy and happiness that his master has returned.

The End

And that's it!! It's so weird, but I kinda like the lack of romance. And the Princess fucking Yeeting the Frog is great lmao

Also the servant Henry is giving Forbidden Lover vibes? Like how the hell is this dude THAT HAPPY that King is back? And what's up with the random Kings Son??

How do we Adapt this?

So keeping as much elements from the original tale as possible, here's what I got.

The Princess is spoiled, maybe she's got texture issues so she hates slimy things? Eh maybe not, but I am getting "POV The Girl You Think Is Mean Is Really Just A Girls Girl kinda vibes? Maybe I've just been watching thise too much.

Anyways, I'm thinking, take out the Kings son at the end, cause he serves no purpose and only shows up at the tail end, and Princess becomes the Fake Wife of the Frog King so he can be with his servant lover and the Princess can live on splendor or some shit.

[tarnishedinquirer]

Roundtable Hold 2

After meeting Gurranq, I returned to the Roundtable Hold for the first time in a long while. Actually, that's not entirely true. I'd dipped back in a few times, but I hadn't spoken to anyone save Master Hewg and Fia. Diallos wasn't interesting, I had no use for Corhyn's incantations, and I had no desire to talk to Gideon or his bodyguard. Still, it was time.

I was surprised to find D sitting by the table. He said we were comrades-in-arms, a notion I decided I'd let him hold onto. When I asked him about himself, he explained his mission, which I will try to transcribe as accurately as possible:

"I serve the Golden Order. That I might put this crooked land to rights, following only the guidance of the great Elden Ring. Those Who Live in Death fall outside the principles of the Golden Order. Their mere existence sullies the guidance of gold, tainting its truth. And so it is the vermin must be exterminated... Down to the very last."

It was fascinating. The tortured loops of logic in one statement. If the guidance of gold is infallible, how could anything fall outside it? How does something outside of it sully its existence? The existence of an "other" is not a violence against the "self." A truth that has a contradiction is no truth at all, and destroying outlying evidence does not make your thesis any more true. And do not we, as Tarnished, fall outside of Grace? Does not this logic mean we are equally deserving of death?

I didn't bring this up. As a rule, I don't engage in debate with fanatics. They might as well exist in a different world.

He offered me a look at his prayerbook, that he might teach me for a fee of Runes. I politely declined instruction, but not before skimming his incantations and listening to the voice's commentary.

Litany of Proper Death and Order's Blade. Incantations of the Golden Order Fundamentalists, hunters of Those Who Live in Death.

The role of the hunters is to stamp out defiled reason - all for the perfection of the Golden Order.

How can reason be defiled, anyway? If anything the Fundamentalists were the ones defiling reason by mixing it with faith. If you search a holy book for guidance, all you'll find is justification for what you were planning to do anyway.

By now, I had amassed a decent store of Stonesword Keys, so I went downstairs to open the fog gate. Once the key slotted into place, the fog parted to reveal a grand dining hall. This place could not have been used for years, decades, maybe even centuries, yet it looked as if a feast had just been cleared. A clutter of dishes, but not a speck of dust.

A treasure chest in the corner caught my eye. Perhaps there was some new secrets in here?

I examined its contents with interest, but when the voice chimed in, my blood ran cold.

Crepus's Black-Key Crossbow. Black crossbow featuring a long stock. Used for sniping, it has a very long range. Weapon of Crepus, who served the Two Fingers from the shadows of the Roundtable as the head confessor.

The Confessors?! Servants of the Two Fingers? Surely not.

Black-Key Bolt. The intricate spiral tip bores deep, injecting scarlet rot far into the flesh of its target.

Yes. This was them. That wanton cruelty. I felt my blood boil. Were it not for the pacifism charm placed over this place, I would surely batter down that door and slay the Two Fingers myself. No... I needed to be calmer than this. Use my reason, not my rage.

This place is built on dreams and exists in the past. I found this behind a sealed-off gate. It's likely that the Confessors went rogue long ago and this is their only tie to the Roundtable Hold. Besides, the Confessors that imprisoned me were descendants of exiles from the Lands Between. It was a completely different organization, even if it shared common roots.

There was still another fog gate.

Inside is a smoke-filled kitchen. A stew sits on the stove and cured meats hang. It all smells so delicious. I take a bite, and but it turns to dust in my mouth. The meat is back hanging, without a bite taken out of it. Of course. This is fae food. It is made of dreams and memories, not physical reality. This place is but a reflection of somewhere else.

There is another chest here. I open it and find a holy book, for a certain value of holy. It's a prayerbook for the Roundtable Hold's assassins.

The incantations were written in some sort of code, likely using another liturgical text as a cypher, so I had to take the book to Brother Corhyn. He declared it heresy, said it bore no descent from the Erdtree, and immediately set about translating it.

Are not the Two Fingers related to the Erdtree? Don't they speak for it or something? How could that be heresy? And if it is heresy, why was he so eager to translate it? It seems he's a bit confused about his own faith. Putting together his mutterings and the voice's contribution:

Incantations of the Two Fingers' servants, who once served as the assassins of the Roundtable Hold. The assassins were charged with eliminating Tarnished who had strayed from guidance. The assassins were themselves once Tarnished who had strayed from guidance, and they pursued their duty in the darkness that is without grace.

So that's who the Confessors were. It gives them an extra incentive to condemn others when they themselves are condemned. And I assume that all they hunt are given the pirate's choice of sign up or swim home. Those who don't agree, die. Those who do, become Confessors themselves.

The translation seemed to take its toll on Corhyn. I think he didn't realize that this was in fact a part of his own faith. I pity his naivete.

Do the Confessors still work for the Fingers, or have they gone rogue?

Do the even still exist here?

Is there any communication between them and the Confessors beyond the fog?

Where is the real place this palace of dreams is built on?

[lostmyshadesanon]

Naoya x Reader Part 1

I don't think it's in my genetic makeup to be able to do pwp. I always got to put so much set up. I can't ever get myself to write smut from out the door. Great respect and envy for writers who can.

Tags/Warnings: Gender Neutral Reader, Broad interpretation of his curse power so time stopping, vulgar language, obviously NSFW, non-con, power play, master/servant play, voyeurism, forced orgasm, reader being horny and distressed for most of this fic once I can get passed the set up. Some of these tags are for part two!

You had always tried to go home before the sun went down. Your friends and family used to tease you about it. Making remarks about you being a scaredy cat or wimp as you'd always carefully watch the sun's progress throughout the day, and leave plans early if they stretched out for too long. But they couldn't know what you know, and you'd long since stopped trying to explain it to them.

You could hear things.

Awful things.

Things crawling around, moaning, and screaming. Unfortunately they weren't bound to the dark, but at least they were drowned out by the noise of the crowds.

It was about that time of year once more where that man would come by and renew the wards placed upon your home to keep whatever produced those noises out. Even though your parents didn't fully comprehend what you could hear if paying that man an exhoribant fee once a year helped you sleep they would pay it with a smile.

This time of year filled you with conflict. Your anxiety crawling though your veins at the tick of clock rung out through your brain counting every second that the wards were running out. While a odd heat curled through your chest at seeing the beautiful man once again.

The man then boy didn't do this willingly. He was training with his father as a kid on how to set up things like the wards surrounding your home. You didn't know why but the mutual contempt you held had been on site. It had started with a comment about his atrocious haircut; him snapping back a comment about your mediocre manners and etiquette and evolved and escalated from there.

He and his father would return once a year to renew the wards on your house. Once his father had confided in you, in a rare time alone, that Naoya was not required to accompany him to do this maintenance any more, but did so willingly.

Because, "It would be against the laws of equilibrium to allow such an uncouth commoner to believe they are still at the same level as one such as me!" He quoted.

You wrinkled your noise is distaste, and before the older man could input his own commentary on what he just quoted. An agitated and haughty noise pricked at your ears complaining non stop about the decor and quality of the house the owner stood in. Your lip was curling before you barrelled towards the source of the noise screaming back rebuttals on how the common folk were not so delicate as to expire when coming in contact with polyester PRINCESS! Unaware of the amused gaze following your exit from the older man you were just speaking to.

Unfortunately your rival with time was able to prove himself the genius he always claimed to be. Slowly outstripping you in both achievements and grades. The first time he brought his grade sheet to compare that out ranked yours, you had to stop yourself from strangling the brat as you seethed with anger as he mocked you the rest of the visit with comments such as, "Oh well we can't expect much from a commoner with such low intelligence to make such important decisions such as this!"

You had never know such motivation as much as what Naoya Zenin provided with his dumb sneering face. You became obsessed with being able to beat him at least ONCE, because even one time would allow you to hold it over him for the rest of your lives.

But even as you racked up achievements it just could not compete with your rival. You reached the honor role, Naoya had been on it the year before. You managed to get a report card with mostly As and a couple Bs. Naoya got straight As. You got into one of the top ten colleges in the country. Naoya got in the top five.

The worst part of it was that your rivalry was pretty much one sided at this point. Sure Naoya still visited to renew the wards but never with the energy and competitive he used to. Of course he'd bring the proof that he had beat every single accomplishment you tried to dredge up, but he was completely relaxed at this point. Face pulled back into a constant smirk and eyes glowing with glee as he treated you like a child he was humoring through a tantrum.

He had chided you one year. "Maybe if you weren't so delusion to think you could stand toe to toe with me, your better. I wouldn't have to waste my time being here. After all your cloud of discontent and jealously weakens the wards and calls those things to you."

Of course the benefit of this so called competition has given you the motivation to achieve that you're not sure you would have accomplished on your own. One night while studying blood had splashed down on your notes surprising you as you wiped at your nose. You had rushed to urgent care frazzled about what was going on. Only to get told that you had a nosebleed from studying to much and caring for your body to little.

It was time to make a change. Time to put aside a childish rivalry and move on to the life it had provided you.

Naoya had been right!

Once you moved on and started taking better care of yourself you noticed the decrease in noise around you. No longer were those things creating sounds around every corner, and distracting you with their whispers, screams, and skittering. It was even getting close to the yearly date to renew your wards but they actually didn't seem as worn down as they usually seemed by this time of year. Maybe you could save the renewal fee for a surprise weekend away instead lining Naoya's pockets for once!

You were unaware that other parties were not so pleased with your new found peace of mind.

---------------------------------------------------

"I haven't received the appointment notice for going to that commoner's aboad this year." Naoya stares at his attendant is disdain as he worked through the paperwork concerning potential clients and cases, before turning away and continuing, "No matter I'm sure the fool has forgotten and will send a notice in a panic." His lips curling back in a sneer with glee. "Make sure to charge them an extra fee for tardiness and express assistance."

Naoya worked through his paperwork before sighing in frustration and snapping, "What!?" At his attendants continued nervous twitching.

The attendant stuttered before stating, "We checked on their home as per usual to check on the ward's state to see if any early intervention was needed..." The attendant trailed off biting his lip in hesitance.

Naoya narrowed his eyes further before slamming his hand down on his desk. "Finish your statement before I have you used as bait in our next curse hunt."

The attendant flinched before rapidly spitting out, "The wards seem to be doing well and may not need a renewal until next year. Along with the individual seeming to be less surrounded by miasma and curse energy and if it progresses at this rate may no longer need intervention from the Zenin household."

Naoya slowly blinked before stacking the pages he was holding neatly and focusing fully on the shaking attendant. Slowly he drawled out, "Are you stating that the commoner may no longer require warding services?"

The attendant bobbed their head hesitantly. The attendant froze while looking at the reaction of the individual he was serving before dropping to the floor in a complete formal bow shaking like a recently beaten dog while muttering quite apologies.

Naoya set his brush down with a quiet click. The attendant stayed still like a deer in headlights praying not be seen. "Well. You fools are know to not unhold the quality that one such as myself can provide. Keep the original appointment date and time. I'm sure the wards will be just the same as they always are. That commoner could never let their obsession with me go that easily. I am after all, all they aspire to be."

---------------------------------------------------

You were having a lovely day! You had just gotten back from college with the glaring notification on your phone that today was the ward renewal day. But just as it was this morning, when you checked before you left, the ward was still running without issue, and not a hint of degeneration in site.

Finally you could go a year without seeing that fox, and save the money for things you actually wanted to buy and not for survival.

You wriggled in glee before heading straight for your room. Your parents were out of the house for a long weekend, and you had left choice toys on their recharging station so you could relax when you got home from school and start this weekend with a bang!

You pretty much threw your bookbag down before tossing off only the essentials as you dived for your bed and squirmed like a worm to your side table to grab your expensive helper that's constant and steady light showed a full charge.

You wasted no time as you slid yourself and your accomplice beneath the covers before spreading your legs and starting the soft whir of the vibrator that echoed across the room before being muffled under the thick blanket. Though your moans and cries quickly took it's place.

---------------------------------------------------

Naoya glared at the front door. Normally his attendant would ring once, and you would throw open the door documents in hand ready to prove yourself lacking again, and he would be ready to throw all your efforts into the gutters where it belonged. Though it was almost charming that you continued to try. If only you had enough cursed energy to see curses themselves instead of just hearing them. Naoya might even bestow upon you the blessing of being considered as one of his marriage candidates. Though he's sure you'd be lacking in that as well.

But today the house was silent. Naoya could see that his attendants were not lying when they said the house wards were still fine and may not need renewing in the future if they remained at their current level. He wasn't sure why that thought bothered him. Maybe because an expected form of entertainment was trying to leave on its own volition instead of waiting for him to get tired of it and throw it away himself like it should.

Naoya could feel his pulse throb at the emptiness of the house as his attendant continued to ring the bell, before the last grating ring finally broke his limited self control and with little care for the damage he inflicted he broke open the door with a careless kick.

He froze one foot into the entryway. Head tilted sharply in the direction of the faint noises he could hear. Motioning like one would brush off a fly to keep his attendant stationed at the door Naoya walked further into your home tracking the faint noises like a hound tracking it's prey. A sly grin spreading across his features.

He was unsurprised by the activity he could see the ghost of under the sheets. Only your face in blatant view eyes closed, mouth open as if you were begging for someone's fingers or cock to occupy it, and legs trembling beneath your sheets. Naoya almost sniffed disdainfully at the noise his keen ears could pick up of your helper. Disgraceful. He deluded himself to wonder if you had left your door cracked just for him because even in your "forgetfulness" you knew he'd come over, after all he is a man of class and dignity who would not have a failing ward to the Zenin name.

Opening the door further he leaned heavily against the door frame hand leisurely trailing down to his pants to rub against the growing bulge while he watched your show. He could wait. After all you wouldn't get out of this encounter without providing your own services as well. He'd make sure of it.

---------------------------------------------------

Your eyes were trying to roll back into your head just as you dug your vibrator deep into your most sensitive point when you noticed what seemed like glowing flecks of gold in sharp brown eyes staring at you hungrily. Your mouth dropped open further in surprise, but even an unexpected voyeur was unable to stop the crest of your orgasm. Your throat closing up in shock to choke off your moans as you erupted in orgasm and shook violently through the aftershocks. School had kept you busy enough you were unable to find time for yourself. The evidence now residing in the soaked sheets.

Before you could recover to scream at the intruder he seemed to blink into existence above you. So fast you couldn't hope to track as a non sorcerer. You barely heard the command, "Don't bite, or you'll regret it."

Before pungent cock was shoved into your open mouth and down your throat. You seized up in shock throat clamping down violently at your sudden lack of air. The man above you groaned from deep within his chest happily as he grasped your skull violently jack hammering his hips into your face as you thrashed against him trying to struggle away to get air.

He withdrew for only a second. "Breath through your noise you stupid bitch!" He demanded before forcing his fingers into your mouth to hook below your teeth to force your jaw wider so on his next thrust his cock instantly hit that back of your throat and down into it.

He moaned contently before staring down at your crying face as you grasped desperately at his thighs eyes wheeling about as you were overwhelmed with the situation of your throat being stuffed full, and learning to breath around the intense rhythm.

Naoya grinned viciously with glee. The part of him that seemed irritated at the seemingly early dismissal due to the lack of appointment being soothed over by your total concentration on him currently. Willingly or not.

As soon as his hands moved from your scalp to your throat your eyes connected with his; out of fear out of some sick sense of excitement? You couldn't tell the difference at the moment, before his hands clamped down on your throat and Naoya threw his head back towards the ceiling. Slowing down to appreciate the sensation of jacking himself off threw your throat.

You couldnt breath, you couldn't think, your blood was thundering through your ears and it was all you could focus on. Along with the stink and musky smell of the man above you that had invaded you entirely. You could still feel the after effects of your prior orgasm along with a similar new heat coursing through you.

Your vision was turning black you could barely notice when the cock down your throat started to pulse. So far back you couldn't even taste anything before finally you started to choke desperately for air when your passageway was cleared of the obstruction.

You were too busy jerking and heaving for breath, your vision still greyed out to feel the covers being removed from yourself. You did scream as much as your destroyed throat would allow when your mechanical companion was turned up to max setting and shoved violently into the tip of your most sensitive nerves.

Your body unable to comprehend the violent swings between pleasure, distress, and lack of oxygen gave up differentiating and violently crossing the wires. Making the pulsing ache in your throat to feel the mirroring throb of your sex as the arrogant and sadistic man dug it into you. Your hind brain desperately tried to get you to claw yourself away before a large cold palm slapped you viciously across the face stunning you further and rocking you back into the vibrator.

Sending you over the edge raggedly screaming as your brain lost the fight for oxygen leaving you passed out in a puddle of your own fluids and a smug Naoya wiping his hands off across your skin to rid himself of your pathetic fluids.

Naoya tucked himself away before wandering your home carefully replacing the wards with weaker versions that would have you crawling back to him to replace. After all he can't lose such a good cock sleeve before he's used it up throughly and grew bored of it first.

---------------------------------------------------

Part One

Because I actually ran out of character space on the document.

So sorry this will have to be split into two parts.

I will try to get the second part out as soon as possible but my schedule a little hectic right now.

Thankfully the second part has way less plot and a lot more smut!

🎉🎉🎉🎉

Happy Birthday Felix! @teyvat-writer

Not so anonymous 🦊 Foxy-anon

P.S. He's probably OOC and I apologize for that I running purely off wiki articles. Also the typos.

[frogprinceofspades]

http://kck.st/3MNUSyf

^^^^^^^

Also look at my Merlin Enamel Pin Kickstarter

[megashadowdragon]

Jaguar & Tezcatlipoca's Reunion Photo Tour!

Commentary: You can consider this a spiritual successor to Babylonia Omake: Jaguar Man's Último Adios.

"

Jaguar PELIGRO!!!

Commentary:

You thought I was out of Jaguar Memes? You're wrong! I just saved the best for last.

As a loyal minion of Tezcatlipoca, Jaguar Man joining up with Quetz is kind of like the pet (or No. 2) of the villain shacking up with the protagonists for an episode. It's a cute change to the dynamic, but you know it can't last because that mutt's only really doing that out of convenience until the status quo kicks back in.

So Quetz treating her with suspicion is pretty justified. They've been enemies for an entire mythos and she knows that Jaguar's only trying to kiss up to her because her usual boss isn't around.

Likewise, I'd like to think that Jaguar wouldn't mind getting a good hit in on Quetzalcoatl before scampering off back to the Throne and the Court of the Smoking Mirror. At least, that's how I like to regard their dynamic.

This comic and its punchline were partially inspired by this X-Play sketch. Anyone else remember X-Play? Good times.

The title of the comic is a reference to "Mi Ultimo Adios", the final poem of Filipino writer and national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

While Cabron technically means "male goat" in Spanish, it is usually used as a catch-all expletive/insult. Please don't recklessly say it in public. I wash my hands of the mater.

Jaguar puts the (True) label after her boss' name to further distinguish him from how his four fellow creator gods Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochti and Xipe Totec are alternatively known as the White, Blue, and Red Tezcatlipoca respectively.

Tony the Tiger and Star Trek references. Couldn't resist. Sorry.

We'll be going back to the regular schedule after this strip. I hope you enjoyed these back-to-back marathon miniseries!

Do you guys prefer to call not!Taiga "Jaguar Man" or "Jaguar Warrior"?

"

orojuice commentary More Primeval Villain + Cat Archetrope Adventures! Had this idea since LB7 dropped, but I could never get Georgios to look right for the lead-up panel. That is until I remembered that CE of his. Finding that red waterfall background was also a huge boost since initially, I just placed a blood splatter on the final camera shutter background before the last panel would show the same background before that but without the duo. Much more fun this way. For Quetzalcoatl. According to the 8th Anniversary FGO interview with the creators, the giant robotic ghost that Tezcatlipoca summons for his NP sometimes? Apparently, his illustrator Shou Tajima was given complete freedom to do whatever he wanted for the Sun God's Third Ascension so long as he followed the specifications for the first two. The robotic ghost was his initial submission for that. And yes, this Third Ascension Tezcatlipoca was always that big. Nasu and the other creative heads liked it a lot, but they couldn't find a way to feasibly program it into the typical three Servant line-up. Mr. Tajima was asked to make a more typical Third Ascension in its place. However, while they couldn't have it in the game as a playable sprite, they did model it for use in Tezcatlipoca's First and Second Ascension NP sequences. So if he had, theoretically, transformed into that to fight Quetzalcoatl in this comic, he could've produced roughly this much blood.

spacebattles comments

Mash: Jaguar Man! Tezcatlipoca!

Fujimaru: D-D-Did you just take pictures of a m-murder?

Georgios: That's the scary part, Master. I didn't.

Fujimaru and Mash: Huh?

Georgios: Those pictures you're looking at? All of them were taken at the same spot at roughly the same time. It was supposed to be a photo of them enjoying their day in the city. Then, when I took more shots, I got those images. (shudder) The whole thing just creeps me out. I'm thinking of brining my camera to a temple to have it cleansed or something along the line.

Mash: What could this mean, Senpai?

Fujimaru: I'm not s-

Jaguar Man (passing by): Oh boy, nya! I can't wait to go on that hiking trip! Just you and me, Tez!

Tezcatlipoca: Yup! Just the two of us in the woods! No one to bother us as we enjoy ourselves! Wait, what about Coatl?

Jaguar Man: Nyot to worry! I sent her on a wild goose chase across the Sahara Desert!

Tezcatlipoca: Ha ha! What an idiot!

Fujimaru, Mash and Georgios: …

Georgios: Umm … guys? Do you think that my camera could have been taking photos of the future?

Fujimaru: Georgios? For our remaining sanity, please just drop the subject.

Georgios: But-

Mash: Senpai said to drop it.

[frodo-with-glasses]

I've had one ask for Artist Commentary, but what about Second Ask? XD (If you're still down to answer!) Could you do "Well done, good and faithful servant" (the one where Frodo recalls all Sam has done for him and confirms to the Gaffer that he gave "perfect satisfaction") with 1, 3 (Frodo' expression looking down at Sam while thinking of the feats above), 6, 11, and 20? Thanks! :D

I’m trying to come up with a pun between “ask” and “second breakfast”, but it’s not happening. X-D Let’s go!

(Read the whole comic here!)

1. What made you want to draw this scene?

Oh please, you KNOW how weak I am for Frodo and Sam 🤣 Any time these two are being cute I’m gonna want to draw it.

But I do admit this little pause to reflect isn’t actually in the book. I made it up. Tolkien is very frugal when it comes to writing emotional responses, so in canon, Frodo just answers the Gaffer’s question immediately without a second thought.

But I wanted Frodo to sit there and think about it for a second. I wanted to linger here, savoring the emotions of the journey and how far these two have come. I wanted Frodo to look at Sam and feel the weight of everything this lovely, humble little gardener has done for him.

Which brings me neatly to:

3. What does [character’s] facial expression mean/what’s going through their head?

Oh man, what isn’t going through Frodo’s head right now?

I don’t really think there’s a coherent thought in there except “where do I begin?” I think the entire Quest is flashing through Frodo’s mind at once, playing like a loop film, and all he can do is look at Sam and feel this sudden wave of emotion and affection and gratitude that he can’t express.

It’s not that he wasn’t grateful before. I’m sure, once he began to recover, he did nothing but heap praise and thanks upon Sam. But here, at home, in the Shire, talking to Sam’s father, everything is recontextualized; suddenly Frodo has to summarize a year and a lifetime’s worth of servitude and companionship and comfort and loyalty and courage and utter devotion—in one sentence—to someone who saw none of it, someone who will never understand the true depth of what Sam has done for him.

I think there’s a bittersweet tinge to that, looking at Sam and knowing that it’s their secret; that even if they tell the story over and over, the experience will forever be theirs and theirs alone. There’s something intimate about that. No one else will ever know the tedium and the misery and the grief and the suffering and the love and the victory and the joy quite the way that they experienced it. No one else will ever understand. They are alone in this; but they are alone together.

And as Frodo looks at Sam, he finds that Sam is looking back up at him, with a soft and humble and almost questioning expression. “Did I do all right?” he seems to ask. “Was it enough?”

And the humility of it blows Frodo away. How on earth—after everything they’ve been through, everything he’s done, everything he’s sacrificed—how on earth could Sam possibly think he is anything less than an utter venerable saint?? But that’s just it. Sam don’t think he’s a saint. Sam don’t think much about himself at all. All he wants to know is if Frodo is all right, if Frodo is satisfied with his service, if Frodo thinks he did well, and he’s hanging on his words with all the eagerness of a loyal hound dog hoping for praise from its master.

“Sam, my dear Sam,” Frodo thinks, “where do I even begin?”

6. What is your favorite part of this piece?

Mmmmm yes LOL

Seriously, this whole comic turned out great, and it’s really hard to pick a favorite part. But if I had to choose, I think I’d say Frodo and Sam’s little smiles after the big panel are my favorites. It was very important to me to get their expressions right—it needed to be subtle, warm, bittersweet, and full of unspoken love—and I think it speaks to how much my art has grown in the past year that they turned out so well. Especially Sam’s face. Just. Ugh, I want to hug my boys.

11. What did you learn from drawing this?

I got great practice drawing wrinkles, using crosshatching (surprisingly distinct from hatching!), arranging stuff in the panel in a way that draws the eye where you want it to go, and playing with different “scales” of my art (from teeny tiny all the way up to normal-size). I also learned how to draw spiders, because…

20. Quick! Random fun fact!

…this comic was the first time I’d ever drawn Shelob LOL

ARTIST COMMENTARY ASK GAME!

[kc-drama-fanatic]

The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020)

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Transmigration

Main Actors: Ding Yu Xi, Zhao Lu Si, Zhu Zi Xin, Sheng Ying Hao

Plot: Single-since-birth screenwriter Xiao Qian gets transmigrated into her screenplay while fixing her script according to her ML's actor's requirements. She ends up as a side character, the 3rd princess Qianqian, who dies soon in the plot, and not wanting to die, begins acting against the plot to survive. The ML, rival prince Han Shuo, is supposed to kill the 3rd princess on their wedding night, but his attempts to poison her fail miserably. The mismatched couple now have to navigate their marriage; as well as dodging her death, Qianqian tries to keep the plot on track while simultaneously changing its events irreparably. 9/10

Relationship: The main couple are absolutely adorable when they're not being idiots and are simply Idiots in Love. I know we hate the miscommuniaction trope, but I will make exceptions when the results are funny, and these two are very funny most of the time so they get a pass. Also, it's difficult to explain transmigration so FL gets a pass for not communicating that LOL. 8.4/10

Characters: The cast are all interesting characters with plausible backstories and motivations, including the antagonists. Most of the characters experience growth in various ways, which is always a plus. The leads' right-hand servants were my favourites, with their not-so-quiet rivalry and sassy commentary to their respective masters. There is one braincell among all the characters and they're all playing hot potato with it the majority of the time. 9/10

Favourite Quote/Scene: Honestly, I don't have one--there were far too many rolling-on-the-floor-wheezing scenes.

Final Thoughts: A great crack drama with a decently done plot and message, cute relationships, and endearing characters. Not too slow at only 24 episodes, and it explored an interesting take on male/female hierarchies, with a major point of contention between the rival cities being the difference in being male-dominated vs female-dominated. 8.9/10

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Mid-series review of The Red Sleeve (Ep 11)

This drama is so weird to me because it's really good and very serious and then silly or illogical. I feel like it could have been so much better!

Like one of the things I liked the most was when Deok-im is told/realizes that they've been grooming her to be a concubine, without her agreement, the whole time. That is interesting as a story and a commentary on court maids' ability to make choices in their lives, but it doesn't actually match at all with what we've seen so far. The Crown Prince and Deok-im almost always met accidentally. It would have made far more sense if the court ladies were "accidentally" pushing them together and arranging little meet-cutes if this was their master plan. And come on, they have a whole secret organization I'm sure they could pull it off.

Some of the court drama stuff, the character Hong Deok-ro with his two-facedness, and the King Grandpa/Crown Prince relationship is AMAZING and I just wish that the rest didn't pale in comparison.

For example: Princess Hwawan just comes off as screamy and stupid. What exactly does she think will happen? Grandpa will defy nature and live forever if she deposes the Crown Prince? Is the other heir going to let her live in the palace forever? How is constantly offending the Queen helpful at all to her cause? And I know, some people are just stupid, but she has advisors and her son seems pretty bright.

And Deok-im always being the secret solution to everything. She's the king's favourite servant, she has secret messages tattooed on her, she knows how to fly signal flags, on and on. She is basically magic at this point. The Crown Prince trying his best to endure despite being hobbled by his circumstances is way more interesting (to me at least).

Anyway, I generally like it, but I don't think this is making my top 12.

[the-archlich]

Do we know why Cen Hun was despised? Do you think he deserves his negative reputation?

There's very little recorded. I think Sima Guang collected it all pretty well.

ZZTJ 80 discusses the execution of one Zhang Song.

Sun Hao was suspicious of anyone who seemed to be better than him. One such target of his suspicions was the Palace Attendant and Prefect of the Palace Secretariat, Zhang Shang. This Zhang Shang was the grandson of Zhang Hong. He was skilled at rhetoric and debate, and his petitions always resulted in discussions, so Sun Hao gradually began to hate him. At one point, Sun Hao asked Zhang Shang, "In drinking wine, whom do I take after?" Zhang Shang replied, "Your Majesty has 'the capacity of a hundred goblets'." Sun Hao said, "You know very well that Confucius was not a king, and yet you compare me to him." He became suddenly angry, and ordered Zhang Shang to be arrested. More than a hundred people, from the nobles and chief officials on down, came to the palace and kowtowed before Sun Hao, asking that he forgive Zhang Shang's offense. So Sun Hao at first spared Zhang Shang from death and merely exiled Zhang Shang to Jian'an commandary to build ships, but he soon had Zhang Shang killed anyway.

Sima Guang and Hu Sanxing elaborate in the commentary, in which they try to resolve certain contradictory accounts. This is where Cen Hun is relevant:

(Zhang Hong served under Sun Ce and Sun Quan, as seen in the part of Zizhi Tongjian dealing with the reign of Emperor Xian of Han. The 孔叢子 has this story: "Lord Pingyuan of Zhao was drinking heavily together with Confucius, and he urged strong wine on him. Lord Pingyuan said to Confucius, 'It has been said that Emperor Yao could drink a thousand 鍾 of wine. You yourself can drink a hundred goblets, and from what your disciple Zilu claims, he can drink only ten vessels himself. Since all the worthies and sages of old were skilled drinkers, Master, what is your excuse?" A 觚 “goblet” is a kind of wine vessel, which can hold two 升 of wine. Sima Guang's commentary in the Textual Analysis states, "The Annals of the Thirty Kingdoms states, 'Cen Hun and the other officials smeared their heads with mud and begged that they might suffer death in place of Zhang Shang. So Zhang Shang was able to avoid the death sentence, and was instead exiled to Guangzhou.' But I follow the account of the Biography of Zhang Shang in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (at the end of the Biography of Zhang Hong), with some additions from Master Huan's Records of Wu." As for what I (Hu Sanxing) believe, it was Zhang Shang's skill in dealing with people that allowed him to attain a position so close to Sun Hao, but it was that same skill which also brought on Sun Hao's rage against him. The people who pleaded for his life must have been Cen Hun's followers. The Annals of the Thirty Kingdoms must have been correct about this as well.)

If Sima Guang and Hu Sanxing are correct about Cen Hun and his adherents trying to save Zhang Shang, then he had at least some redeeming qualities. Wu's secondary chancellor Wan Yu was a very similar figure.

ZZTJ 81 provides the story of Cen Hun's death as the Jin armies drew close to the capital. This follows an account by Gan Bao who I don't generally trust, but the SGZ account doesn't really provide any details and Gan Bao's version (unlike his various supernatural tales) is not difficult to believe.

Sun Hao had a favored minister, Cen Hun, who was deviant and sinister, fawning and flattering. He held a position as high as the Nine Ministers, and he delighted in engaging in all sorts of plans and projects, so he was a great scourge and brought suffering to many.  When the Jin soldiers were about to arrive at Jianye, several hundred of Sun Hao's palace servants kowtowed before him and said, "The northern army is close at hand today, yet the soldiers will not lift their blades to fight. Does Your Majesty not know why this is?"  Sun Hao asked them, "What is the reason?"  They replied, "It is all just because of Cen Hun."  Sun Hao merely told them, "If it is as you say, then I shall have my slave apologize to the people!"  The crowd replied, "Indeed!"  And they all rose up to go arrest Cen Hun. Sun Hao kept sending men to pursue the crowd and stop them, but by then the crowd had already butchered Cen Hun.

Credit belongs to @fuyonggu for translating this some time ago. That's someone who really doesn't get enough appreciation.

[mogai-sunflowers]

MOGAI BHM- Belated Day 18!

happy BHM! today i’m going to be talking about seminal Black authors! there are way too many to fit into one post, so i’m choosing a few for this post and including more resources at the end for looking further into the subject!

Phillis Wheatley-

[Image ID: A fuzzied portrait-style painting of Phillis Wheatley, a thin Black women. In the painting, she has a somewhat stoic expression on her face, and her hair is up in a crown of braids. She is wearing a pair of dangling earrings, a pearl necklace, and an off-the-shoulder, puffy-short-sleeved white gown. End ID.]

Phillis Wheatley was perhaps the very first Black person to become a famous writer in America. She was enslaved, but her owners believed she was exceptionally smart, so they taught her to read and write. Phillis began writing poetry at a very young age, and at the age of 13, she published her first poem, called “An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of that Celebrated Divine, and Eminent Servant of Jesus Christ, the Reverend and Learned George Whitefield ...”, or the Whitefield Elegy, which elevated her to national fame.

Phillis was rejected by many publishing houses in the North because she was of African descent, so she went to London publishing houses instead. There, she met with many noted abolitionists and activists of the time, including Benjamin Franklin. By the age of 18, she had published 28 poems. Her poem anthology, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious, And Moral” was the first collection of poems ever published by an African-American person. 

Phillis was deeply religious. She often incorporated biblical themes into her writing, and she wrote many elegies, poems about notable people, and poems about her employers. She also wrote poetry about slavery in America, and combined biblical commentary with poetic depictions of slavery to decry the institution. An example of this is her most well-known poem, “On Being Brought From Africa To America”.

It is now believed that Phillis Wheatley wrote around 145 poems, though not all of them were published. She has been both heavily criticized and heavily praised by Black literature critics, but the significance of her poetry and her efforts are undeniable.

Olaudah Equiano-

[Image ID: A color portrait-style painting of Olaudah Equiano, a thin Black man. The painting has a brown background. In the painting, he is wearing his hair in the style of George Washington’s hair, and he’s wearing a two-layered, red, buttoned overcoat over a fancy white turtle-neck. End ID.]

A contemporary of Phillis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano was born to Igbo heritage in West Africa. When he was only eleven, he was kidnapped into slavery. After a few years of travelling with his master, learning the mariner’s trade and being sold a few more times, he was allowed to purchase his own freedom, and after he did so, he moved to London, where he joined the abolition and anti-slavery movement active there. There, with a friend named Ottobah Cugoano, he advocated fiercely for the end of the slave trade.

In 1789, Olaudah’s abolitionist efforts culminated in his publishing of his autobiography, called “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African”. This book was a narrative and exploration of his experiences during his kidnapping, selling, the Middle Passage, and his few years of being enslaved. This autobiography became very popular, and it ushered in a new genre, dubbed the ‘slave narrative’ genre, wherein Black people wrote narratives of their experiences with slavery. This genre helped sustain and advance abolitionist movements.

His narrative was internationally popular. It went through nine editions in some places, was translated into many languages, and became a huge part of abolitionist scholarly work. When he died in 1797, Olaudah hadn’t gotten the chance to see any British action against slavery, but he nonetheless was pivotal in inspiring such action, even posthumously.

Maya Angelou-

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of Maya Angelou, a thin Black woman. In the photograph, she is smiling and her hair is held up in a checkered head scarf. She’s wearing a fancy, intricately patterned dress with flower patterns and checker patterns. End ID.]

Born in 1928, Maya Angelou was many, many things- a singer, an actress, a director (Hollywood’s first Black female one), a teacher, an activist, and a dancer- but she was most famous for her writing. Maya was a humanitarian civil rights activist who worked with both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and her writing was a beautiful example of her deep drive for justice. In her civil rights work, she was the northern coordinator of Dr. King’s SCLC.

Maya had a traumatic childhood, which she expressed through her most famous work, the one that promoted her to national and even international fame amongst circles of writers, called “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”. In this autobiography, she spoke of her childhood, including the trauma behind how her love for language developed. Maya was a contemporary of another massively famous and important Black author, James Baldwin, who convinced her to write “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” after she returned from living in Cairo and Ghana with her son.

Maya Angelou wrote other autobiographies as well- 6 all totaled. These biographies depicted real-life experiences with racism, sexual abuse, sexism, and other deep issues, which have made her autobiographies somewhat controversial to some. In her final autobiography, titled “A Song Flung Up To Heaven”, she discussed the span of four years in which so much racial violence, including the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, had such a deep impact on her and the Black community in America. She spoke about how difficult it was to express that pain, and the impact those events had on her.

Maya Angelou was also an incredibly accomplished poet. Her poetry, including volumes like “Just Give Me A Cool Drink Of Water ‘Fore I Diiie”, was very diverse- she wrote about Black beauty and Black pride, womanhood, Black womanhood, social justice, Black American experiences, sexuality, and anti-war activism, and her poetry is perhaps best known for its unabashed celebration of Black female power. 

Maya Angelou also wrote several children's books throughout the 1990s, including “My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, And Me” and “Mrs. Flowers: A Moment Of Friendship”. She has won many Pulitzer Prizes for her work, and is one of the most prolific and influential Black female writers of all time. She passed away in 2014.

James Baldwin-

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of James Baldwin, a thin Black man with short greying, curly black hair. In the photograph, he has his head rested in the palm of his hand and the other arm laying on a table in front of him as he sits, looking to be deep in thought, in front of a crowded bookshelf. He’s wearing two watches and a denim button-up short-sleeved shirt. End ID.]

Born in 1924, James Baldwin grew up in poverty in Harlem. Having always had a passion for Black justice, he grew up feeling like an outsider due to being a Black gay man. Throughout his life, he would write about the intersectionality of Blackness and sexuality, long before terms for the concept of intersectionality were outlined.

Baldwin is most famous for his earlier works, which he published during the 1950s and the 1960s, the heart of the civil rights movement. Baldwin did work closely with notable civil rights activists. His two first novels were two of his most famous- Go Tell It On The Mountain, a semi-autobiographical work about his childhood and Black issues, and Giovanni’s Room, a book that was ahead of its time for depicting the white world but especially for depicting the struggles of a bisexual man. Around the same time, he published his first collection of essays, titled Notes of A Native Son.

He published another book of essays, called Nobody Knows My Name, in 1961, which became a huge part of Black civil rights movement literature and is known for exploring interracial dynamics and relationships during the time period. This theme, coupled with themes of sexuality, also dominated a second book of his, called Another Country.

Baldwin, who lived in Paris for awhile in later commuted back and forth between America and Paris, embraced an outsider’s position. He was able to gain an outside view of America through living in Paris- he felt that he could not truly be a writer in America due to the stress of always having to look over his shoulder and the suppression he faced in the field as a Black gay man. His work reflected an international view of American racial dynamics.

An article about Baldwin on Black Muslim separatist politics, published in a newspaper in the early 1960s, was turned into a best-selling Baldwin work called The Fire Next Time, undoubtedly one of Baldwin’s most famous works. James Baldwin is also known for his plays- one of which, Blues For Mister Charlie, was performed on Broadway.

Throughout his life, James Baldwin forged a unique path for himself, exploring the realms of Black masculinity and Black sexuality and gender- which both ostracized and elevated him. Today, he is rightfully considered one of history’s most influential and seminal Black writers, and he remains the paradigm for Black gay male literature.

Toni Morrison-

[Image ID: A color photograph of Toni Morrison, a heavier Black woman with long, thick, greying dreadlocks tied back in a braid. She’s sitting at a table with her hands folded, and she’s wearing a loose grey cardigan over a black shirt. End ID.]

Undoubtedly one of the most famous, influential, and seminal Black authors of all time, Toni Morrison is perhaps most well-known for her fierce exploration of Black issues in her work, including colorism, slavery, misogynoir, and Black relationships and love. Black culture and storytelling was very formative in her childhood, and influenced the content of her work. An alumnus of Howard University, a famous HBCU, she taught there for several years. In 1993, she won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In 1970, Morrison released her first book, a novel called The Bluest Eye. A bold novel about beauty standards in the Black community, it told the story of a Black girl who wanted deeply to have blue eyes and was heavily influenced by white beauty standards. This theme of body image issues among Black girls and how colorism affects them, was also echoed in a much later (2015) Morrison work entitled God Help The Child. 

Some other seminal works written by Toni Morrison are Beloved, Song of Solomon, and Jazz. Beloved, which won a Pulitzer Prize, tells the tragic true story of an enslaved woman who tried to escape but was recaptured, causing her to kill her infant daughter because she wanted her to escape a lifetime of slavery. Song of Solomon, a tale from the perspective/narration of a Black man trying to find his identity, elevated Morrison to national fame. Jazz, a 1992 novel set in the 1920s, was about passion and violence during the time period. 

Toni Morrison has also written several childrens books along with her son, as well as essays and speeches, the latter two of which have been compiled in such volumes as “What Moves at the Margin: Selected Nonfiction” and “The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations”. In 2005, Morrison won the Coretta Scott King Award for her book Remember, which chronicled the lives of Black children during the fight for school integration during the Civil Rights Movement. In 2019, after passing away at the age of 88, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor.

Amiri Baraka-

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of Amiri Baraka, a thin Black man with an afro and a beard. In the photograph, he has a stoic expression on his face, and he’s wearing a black cloak of sorts with a necklace over his garments. He’s standing at a podium crowded with several microphones and gripping the side of the podium. End ID.]

Born in 1934, Amiri Baraka was for decades one of the most prominent Black voices in American literature, especially as it pertained to civil rights and racial justice. After attending Howard University, an HBCU, and spending 3 years in the Air Force, he began publishing very incendiary works, like his essays and poetry, which spoke fiercely about racial pride and racial justice, and were often very difficult for white audiences to engage with.

In the 1950s, he aligned himself with beat poetry and beat poets like Allen Ginsburg and Jack Kerouac, and in the 1960s, he became more radical, aligning himself with Black nationalism and the Black Power movement. He is well-known for his poetry about Black politics, which was critical to the literature of the Black Power Movement. In 1965, he ushered in the Black Arts Movement by founding a studio theater for Black artists in Harlem.

Amiri Baraka aligned himself more with third-world movements during the 1970s. His plays and poetry expressed his desires, and though he remains controversial to this day, he is also undoubtedly one of the most important Black writers from the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power eras.

Summary-

Phillis Wheatley, the first famous Black American writer, wrote large amounts of poetry during the 18th century, and was propelled to national and international fame

Olaudah Equiano, a contemporary of Phillis Wheatley, helped largely to promote British abolitionist politics through his internationally famous autobiography which he published in 1789

Maya Angelou was a multitalented singer, dancer, actress, and most famously a writer whose poetry and memoirs detailed civil rights and Black existence in America

James Baldwin was a Black gay man who was active in the Civil Rights Movement and wrote seminal works about Black sexuality

Toni Morrison, who won the Nobel Prize in 1993, explored Black womanhood, Black culture, Black community dynamics, and Black sexuality through her prolific novels and writings

Amiri Baraka was a controversial, nationalist Black artist who wrote incendiary essays and poetry about Black identity and Black power, and helped found the Black Arts Movement

tagging @metalheadsforblacklivesmatter​ @bfpnola​ @intersexfairy​ 

Sources-

https://www.britannica.com/art/African-American-literature/Prose-drama-and-poetry

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/phillis-wheatley 

https://npg.si.edu/blog/phillis-wheatley-her-life-poetry-and-legacy

https://slaveryandremembrance.org/people/person/?id=PP003

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olaudah-Equiano

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/maya-angelou

https://www.mayaangelou.com/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Toni-Morrison

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/amiri-baraka

https://poets.org/poet/amiri-baraka

https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Baldwin

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/james-baldwin-s-sexuality-complicated-influential-n717706

[pamphletstoinspire]

Commentary on the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St. Mark – Chapter 12

St. Mark, the disciple and interpreter of St. Peter (as noted by St. Jerome.) according to what he heard from St. Peter himself, wrote at Rome a brief Gospel at the request of the Brethren (fellow Christians), about ten years after our Lord's Ascension; which when St. Peter had heard, he approved of it, and with his authority he published it to the Church to be read. Baronius and others maintain, that the original was written in Latin: but the more general opinion is that the Evangelist wrote it in Greek.

First, Christ proposes to the scribes the parable of the vinedressers, who kill the son of their master, who was lord of the vineyard, and claim the vineyard as their own. Second (v. 13), when the Herodians ask whether it is lawful for Jews to give tribute to Cæsar, He replies: Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and render to God the things that are God’s. Third (v. 18), He proves the resurrection to the Sadducees. Fourth (v. 28), He teaches that the greatest commandment is to love God with thy whole heart. Fifth (v. 35), He asks in what way David calls Christ, his own son, “Lord.” Sixth (v. 38), He warns His disciples to avoid the practices and avarice of the scribes. Finally (v. 41), He teaches that the widow who gave two mites to the temple had given more than the others.

And he began to speak to them in parables: A certain man planted a vineyard and made a hedge about it, and dug a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it to husbandmen; and went into a far country. 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant to receive of the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 Who having laid hands on him, beat him, and sent him away empty. 4 And again he sent to them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and used him reproachfully. 5 And again he sent another, and him they killed: and many others, of whom some they beat, and others they killed. 6 Therefore having yet one son, most dear to him; he also sent him unto them last of all, saying: They will reverence my son. 7 But the husbandmen said one to another: This is the heir; come let us kill him; and the inheritance shall be ours. 8 And laying hold on him, they killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. 9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those husbandmen; and will give the vineyard to others. 10 And have you not read this scripture, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner: 11 By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes. 12 And they sought to lay hands on him, but they feared the people. For they knew that he spoke this parable to them. And leaving him, they went their way. 13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians; that they should catch him in his words. 14 Who coming, say to him: Master, we know that thou art a true speaker, and carest not for any man; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar; or shall we not give it? 15 Who knowing their wiliness, saith to them: Why tempt you me? Bring me a penny that I may see it. 16 And they brought it him. And he saith to them: Whose is this image and inscription? They say to him, Cæsar’s. 17 And Jesus answering, said to them: Render therefore to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. 18 And there came to him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying: 19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, that if any man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.

20 Now there were seven brethren; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no issue. 21 And the second took her, and died: and neither did he leave any issue. And the third in like manner. 22 And the seven all took her in like manner; and did not leave issue. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise again, whose wife shall she be of them? For the seven had her to wife. 24 And Jesus answering, saith to them: Do ye not therefore err, because you know not the scriptures, nor the power of God? 25 For when they shall rise again from the dead, they shall neither marry, nor be married, but are as the angels in heaven. 26 And as concerning the dead that they rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke to him, saying: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You therefore do greatly err. 28 And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all. 29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said to him: Well, Master, thou hast said in truth, that there is one God, and there is no other besides him. 33 And that he should be loved with the whole heart, and with the whole understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole strength; and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices. 34 And Jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. 35 And Jesus answering, said, teaching in the temple: How do the scribes say, that Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself saith by the Holy Ghost: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool. 37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord, and whence is he then his son? And a great multitude heard him gladly. 38 And he said to them in his doctrine: Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes, and to be saluted in the marketplace, 39 And to sit in the first chairs, in the synagogues, and to have the highest places at suppers: 40 Who devour the houses of widows under the pretence of long prayer: these shall receive greater judgment. 41 And Jesus sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the people cast money into the treasury, and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And calling his disciples together, he saith to them: Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury. 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all she had, even her whole living.

Commentary: Saint Mark - Chapter 12

Verse 1. Planted a vineyard. Greek ἐφύτευσεν, i.e., plantavit, as the Latin interpreter translates at Matthew 21:33. The verb pastinare in the Vulgate here is especially used of vines. It means to dig the soil of the vineyard, and prepare it for planting vines. So the word repastinare means to dig up vines when they are sterile. A method of planting vines is explained in Columella (lib. 3 cap. 13).

And dug a lake (Vulgate), a receptacle into which the must pressed from the grapes might flow. The Greek is ὑπολήνιον, i.e., “vat beneath the winepress,” since ληνὸς means “winepress.” Hence the Arabic translates, “and dug a winepress in it”. So, too, Matthew 21:33, where the same expression, torcular, or winepress, means not only the actual press itself, with which grapes are crushed to extract their juice, but also the vat or receptacle beneath the press in which the grape juice was received. This last was said to be dug, or, as in Isaias 5:1, to be cut out.

Verse 14. Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar? Or shall we not give it? That is, “dost Thou advise us not to give it?” They ask in this way so that they might accuse Him of a serious crime, that He not only conceded or permitted refusing to pay taxes to Cæsar, but also advised it. The Greek and the Syriac have, “is it lawful to give the census to Cæsar or not? Should we give, or not give?,” i.e., ought we to give or not to give? Arabic, “Teach us whether it is lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or shall we not give?”

Verse 33. And to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices. Holocausts were sacrifices in which the whole victim was burnt and sacrificed to God by fire. This is what God says, I desire mercy and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts (Osee 6:6). (See commentary.) This young man tacitly assents to the saying of Christ, and condemns the scribes, who preferred sacrifices, which yielded profit to themselves, to mercy and the love of neighbor. And this was why they bade children say to their parents, when they were in need, corban, i.e., “oblation,” meaning: “The thing that I was to give to you, O father, I have vowed and offered to God, and, therefore, it must be given to Him and not to thee” (cf. Matth. 15:6).

Verse 34. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. Thou art not far from the way of salvation, for the love of God and our neighbor is the pathway to heaven. Again it means, “Thou art not far from My Church, by which, militant here on earth, we go to the Church triumphant in heaven. Still, as yet thou lackest faith to believe in Me as the Messias, the Savior of the world, and to obey My commands, so that thou mayest indeed become a Christian. And if thou wilt be perfect, leave all things and follow Me, as the Apostles have done.” When, therefore, He says, thou art not far, “He shows,” says Victor of Antioch, “that he was still at some distance,” and that he ought to reach forward to the things ahead, “and seek diligently for the things that were yet wanting unto him.”

Verse 38. Who love to walk in long robes (Vulg., stolis). The stola was an elegant garment, flowing down to the heels. Hence the scribes wore it for the sake of ostentation. “Do not imitate them,” says Victor of Antioch, “nor, casting your eyes upon their external appearance, declare that they are happy and fortunate. All these characteristics are instruments of a certain proud ostentation and a ploy to capture human praise, whereby they gain the reward of useless honors among men.”

Verse 40. Who devour (Greek οἱ κατεσθίοντες, i.e., who openly and completely consume and lick up) the houses of widows, both by reason of the sumptuous feasts which they ask of them, as well as by the gifts and money which they avariciously extort from them under the pretext of offering prayers for them. “When, therefore,” says Bede, “the hand is stretched out to the poor, it is wont to help prayer; but those men passed whole nights in prayer that they might take from the poor.”

These shall receive greater judgment. A severe sentence of God, and a heavier condemnation shall press upon the scribes in the day of judgment, because by a pretence of probity they are aiming at wrong-doing; and being clothed in the garments of God, they are fighting on the devil’s side. “Simulated holiness is a double iniquity,” says S. Chrysostom (homil. 74 in Matthaeum). Also because the scribes tried to pass off their avarice as piety and had painted it with the color of religion, says the Imperfect author on Matthew 23:6.

Verse 41. How the people cast money. Aes, (Vulgate) or "brass", i.e., all sorts of money, whether brass, gold, or silver. For the first money was made of brass; hence all money was afterwards called “brass,” even when made of gold or silver.

Into the treasury (Vulg. gazophylacium). This was a chest into which donations were cast by the people, and kept for the service of the temple, and for supporting the priests and the poor. For gaza is a Persian word signifying riches, and φυλάττειν means to keep. Hence, also, the porch in which the chest was kept, was called by the same name. Thus it is said in John 8:20, These words Jesus spoke in the treasury (gazophylacio), teaching in the temple. So Bede.

Verse 42. A certain poor widow cast in two mites, which make a farthing. Not as if one mite made a farthing (quadrans), as Euthymius understands, relying on Matthew 5:26, but rather two mites were equivalent to one farthing, as is here clearly expressed. For a farthing was the fourth part of the smaller Roman as, or baiocus, and ten small asses or ten baioci made a denarius, that is a Spanish reale or an Italian Julios. Therefore, a quadrans or farthing was one and one-quarter quatrinus, since five quartini make a baiocus, and consequently a mite was one half a quatrinus plus one-eighth of a quatrinus. The Belgian farthing was what is commonly called there een negemanneken, one half of which was a mite, in the vernacular een myte and a half, which is the smallest and least valuable sort of coin. (See commentary on Matthew 5:26.)

Less accurately, Bede understands a farthing (quadrans) to mean a quarter part of a shekel, that is, one Julios or reale; for a shekel weighed as much as four Julios.

Verse 43. This poor widow hath cast in more than all. For although per se, and other things being equal, the greatest and best alms or offering is that which is most, yet, per accidens, when other things are not equal, the greater alms and offering is that which is given or offered with the greater sentiment of charity and religion, or piety. For God does not so much regard the gift as the disposition of the giver. Again, the greater gift is not that which is of the greater value and worth considered in itself, as that which is the greater and more difficult in respect of the giver. This widow, therefore, in giving a farthing, gave more than all, because she gave all that she had, although it was necessary for her life. And she would have given more if she had had more. For she trusted in God, that He in return would be even more generous than she had been, and provide henceforth for her needs, according to the saying, “Give God an egg [ovum], and receive a sheep [ovem].” Others truly gave of their abounding superfluities, as Christ here says. As Titus of Bostra says on Luke 21:3, “With such magnanimity and devotion did she offer two mites, that is, all that she had, as if she counted her own life as nothing.” Paul gives the a priori reason (2 Cor. 8:12), For if the will be forward [prompt], it is accepted according to that which a man hath, not according to that which he hath not. Victor of Antioch, too, says on this passage, “For God does not so much consider the greatness of the gifts, as weigh the greatness and alacrity of the mind.” And Bede, “He weighs not the substance, but the conscience of the donors; nor does He consider how much there is in the sacrifice made to Him, but rather from what means it is offered.”

For, as S. Thomas, Doctor of the Church says (Summa, Secunda Secundae, q. 32, a. 4, ad 3), since the widow gave more according to her ability, therefore, it was the greater affection of charity which was valued in her. S. Ambrose thought the same (lib. 2 Offic. cap. 30), “The two mites of that widow surpassed the offerings of the rich, because she gave all she had; but they offered only a small portion of their abundance.” Whence he infers, “The disposition, therefore, makes the offering poor or valuable, and sets their true price upon things.” He expresses the same thought in his book On Widows (midway), saying, “A coin from an insignificant person is more copious than a treasure from the greatest, for not what is given, but what remains is weighed.” Hence he concludes further on, “What is appreciated, therefore, is not what you throw in reluctantly, but rather how much you contribute with devotion.”

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[quodekash]

OUR SKYY 2 IS HERE ITS FINALLY HERE THIS IS NOT A DRILL

first lemme make myself an ice tea and then we’ll get into the ridiculous commentary (which will probably be entirely keysmashes but anyway) 

fingers crossed for something benchopper 

also i find it rly interesting that the series i finished with when going through all the our skyy shows is the one that theyre start with 

also also idk anything about the order for our skyy but i do know that there’s no way bad buddy isnt the final one 

ICE TEA HAS NOW BEEN ACQUIRED, NOW WE SHALL COMMENCE THE COMMENTARY (that a lot of you seem to like, why do you like my commentary) 

literally shaking what the hell

STOP IM GONNA CRY, HE HAS HIM AS HIS LOCK SCREEN???? 

WE’RE LITERALLY LIKE TEN SECONDS IN AND IM ALREADY FILLED WITH TEARS 

IM SORRY, IT’S BEEN THREE FREAKING YEARS??? WHY WERE WE NOT AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION 

ok so judging from the intro, it’s nlmg first, and then simm, then THE ECLIPSE MY BOYS AAAAAA, AND THEN VICE VERSA, AND THEN MSP HEGUERIHBGKREJB, im literally vibrating with excitement rn help, and then abaab, AND THEN BAD BUDDY GERJHBGUKREJBKGURBJ, AND THEN 1000STARS 

ITS LITERALLY HAPPENING IN FRONT OF MY EYES RN AND I STILL CANT BELIEVE THIS IS REAL 

HOLY BAJOOLIES 

HE HAPPY

HE;S SO FREAKING EXCITED TO SEE HIM 

NO STOP IM GONNA CRY AGAIN 

palms hair is so freaking pretty what the hell 

i sense a sponsorship

palm is so happy to see him and he’s trying to be sweet but nueng is moody and i guess i get why but also pls just be happy to see him again 

okay they are happy now yayyy 

yup i was right theyre sponsored by suzuki thats kind of hilarious 

damn, two sponsorships within like ten minutes of each other, they really went all out 

CRYING AGAIN, THAT’S PERFECT 

well that guy was confusing. ‘you guys are soulmates and youre fate but also you cant be together but you will be but you wont’ 

HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT THEM, NUENG WAS ABOUT TO SAY HE’S DECIDED TO STAY IN BANGKOK AND FINISH HIS STUDIES THERE RATHER THAN OVERSEAS 

bRO HAS A SWORD?? I WANT A SWORD 

also like oh shoot they might be about to die 

but also just imagine walking around every day with a sword 

the power 

id never like actually hurt anyone with it and id probably rarely take it out of the sheath 

but seriously. sword. its so cool. 

not cool that theyre probably about to hurt nuengpalm and probably that poor woman 

holding hands and running for their lives, absolutely nothing new here 

heh i paused it at a funny moment 

he’s such a good bodyguard/protector/boyfriend/whatever ghrjgbhr 

ill show you what happens to heroes. they wake up in historical clothing. 

why are the roles suddenly reversed 

and why is palm the only one with knowledge of the present time and the only one without a clue about whats going on in this au  version of events 

DAM OKAY THAT WAS QUICK 

see, at first i was pretty sure he was faking it cos it didnt make sense that only palm was aware of the present, surely it would be both of them, but then he confused me, but its fine cos he remembers him YAY 

IM SORRY, LITERALLY ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS THAT ONE TIME IN BBC MERLIN WHERE MERLIN GAVE ARTHUR AN ORDER 

ALSO PALM IS LITERALLY JUST DOING WHAT NUENG DID AND ITS SO FUNNY 

wait this entire thing is a complete repeat of the series just switched and historical

their first major interaction was being introduced via parent sending child to work for the other child 

their second major interaction was at the pool, and in this version its by the lake 

their third major interaction is the master making the servant eat with them because ‘theres too much food for me to eat by myself’ when really its just bc he wants to spend time with him 

wait please let chopper and ben be in this historical version of life 

phum is there 

surely its plausible to think that benchopper could be there too 

i freaking love these two 

IM SORRY????? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT 

NOOOOOO I WAS WRONGGGG

NOOOO CONFLICT 

its okay tho theyll iron out the conflict, its fine 

see, they figured out the conflict 

well that was wonderful but it is now 1am so i need to go to sleep 

goodnight folks! im gonna spend the next 24 hours Thinking About Them 

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 1 Match 9

More info below:

Unnamed Field Marshal:

Debuted in Halo: Reach

A Field Marshal present at the Fall of Reach, he would have a few different encounters with Noble Team during the campaign. The first would be at Visegrad Relay, where the Field Marshal and two of his Zealots would ambush Noble Team as they attempted to get the communications relay back online. Much later in the campaign, at the tailend of the Seige of New Alexandria, the Field Marshal would snipe Catherine-B320 through the head from a nearby Phantom as Noble Team attempted to reach a fallout bunker. Finally, just as the Pillar of Autumn was prepped to leave Reach with Noble Team offering anti-air support, he would kill Emile-A239. His attempts to prevent Noble Six from reaching the mass driver would ultimately result in his demise.

Additional commentary: There's another Field Marshal that helps kill Noble Six in the final cutscene, but I'm pretty sure that's a different one, unless killing the Field Marshal in game isn't canon and he's able to escape.

Avu Med 'Telcam / The Bishop:

Debuted in Halo: Glasslands

Born May 29th, 2485, he served as an interpreter of several human lanugages and reached the rank of Field Master before his resignation from the Covenant military. Even after the Covenant's end, he still held faith towards the Forerunners being gods and considered Arbiter Thel 'Vadam an "indfidel" for saying otherwise. Now leading the Servants of the Abiding Truth - an ancient order of monks that predate the Covenant - 'Telcam sought to incite insurrection against the Arbiter, going so far as to ally with ONI. His terms were that humanity cease to "blaspheme" the divinity of the Foreruners and stop involving themselves in Sangheili affairs once the Servants took over, although even after ONI agreed he still questioned what their true plan was. Still, he began meeting with them on New Llanelli for weapon shipments. Later, Jul and Forze 'Mdama would seek his audience, leading him to launch a plan with them and Buran 'Utaral to retrieve 'Utaral's ship from the shipyard and hide it close to Mdama state. Meanwhile, unbenknowst to him, Kilo-Five - the same ONI team he was conducting meetings with - sabotaged a plan he had with the ship Piety and stole a Huragok from him. They were able to convince him it was Kig-Yar pirates responsible and an angered 'Telcam wrongfully set his vengeful sights on Venezia as a result. Then, at another meeting on New Llanelli, Jul 'Mdama would be captured by Spartan Naomi-010 - having followed 'Telcam there under suspicions of who he was getting weapons from. After this, 'Telcam would meet with Professor Evan Philips - one of his ONI contacts - on Sanghelios, being unaware that one of Philips' secret objectives on the planet was to gather intelligencer on his temple.

Suddenly, Jiralhanae terrorists would launch an attack, causing 'Telcam to aid in killing them. This sudden attack made 'Telcam decide to begin his own attack on Vadam state earlier than originally planned. He led the assult from Unflinching Resolve, where Jul 'Mdama's wife - Raia - joined him, searching for her lost husband. His religious fervor soon became a hindrance to his own plans, as he sought to avoid damaging any Forerunner relics in the area. As the assault continued, Unflinching Resolve became damaged and 'Telcam ignored warnings that it needed to retreat, causing it to be shot down. Crash-landing on the Vadam shoreline, 'Telcam would led the survivors to join the rest of the attacking force on the coast to avoid capture. It was then that 'Telcam gained more allies, as the news that the Arbiter was allowing humans to help fight off 'Telcam made some keeps previously indecisive in the civil war choose to side with 'Telcam. However, this was still not enough, as the UNSC Infinity arrived and began destroying several ships. Still holding value to ONI, he was abducted by Kilo-Five to ensure his survival, being taken away by them in Port Stanley. At the same time, the AI onboard took the cover of a Kig-Yar shipmistress, so that no one involved would realize it was ONI aiding in destroying some of the Arbiter's ships. This even fooled 'Telcam, who asked of Sav Fel, an actual pirate that actually stole from him a different ship, the Pious Inquisitor. Finally, when most of 'Telcam's forces were defeated, Port Stanley would retreat and drop 'Telcam off at New Llanelli.

Now lacking in ships following the failed attack, 'Telcam would put out a reward for Pious Inquisitor's return. Shipmistress Chol Von would seemingly take up the offer, only to plan to double-cross him and take the ship for herself. However, ultimately a scuffle between herself, Kilo-Five, and human Insurrectionists would cause the ship to be destroyed. Meanwhile, 'Telcam established a new base on New Llanelli. Some time later, he met once again with Kilo-Five, exchanging information with them. Feeling responsible for the death of Raia and Jul's disappearance, 'Telcam would take on their eldest son Dural 'Mdama as an apprentice, who would go on to become a leading member of the Servants and work directly under 'Telcam. 

When Jul reappeared to establish a new Covenant, the Servants would refuse to join up, continuing their own operations. By Janurary 21, 2558, ONI would decide 'Telcam was no longer useful to them alive. They would send SPARTAN-G059 to assassinate him on New Llanelli. After going through his forces, the Spartan would fight 'Telcam on directly. The end of the struggle would come from a single pistol shot to the head. 'Telcams final word was the iconic: "Wort."

[gerec]

Unusual Fic-Specific Asks

For your choice!

1. Time After Time for "AU-gust Challenge 2022" (chapter 16)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40745934/chapters/103736442

What happened in the future with our spies? (Did they overthrew Red King/were they caught/something else?)

2. BTS for "All of You and All of Me"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4603068/chapters/10489371

3. Perspective Flip for "The Master of Charlton Park"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14165595/chapters/32651223

Sorry for the delay replying to this ask! We've had a couple of graduations in my household so it's been quite busy :D

Time After Time: Send me a timestamp sometime in the future after the end of [that fic], or sometime in the past before the story started, and I’ll tell you what happened then

For this ficlet 'Spies and Assassins' from the AU-gust Challenge 2022:

I loved this verse when I wrote it (with Charles and Raven going undercover as spies in Erik's court) but I didn't have a solid idea for how this would end. There's two ways this could go, and it depends if Erik really is as bloodthirsty and irredeemable as he seems (the other way being that *something* external is making Erik act the way he does). I'm leaning towards Erik being a true tyrant, but that Charles develops feelings for him anyway and struggles with his mission to assassinate him. I think...Charles is ultimately betrayed (someone within the rebels turns him in to gain favor with Erik, or it might even be his own stepfamily that does it) and in order to protect Raven, he allows himself to be captured so she can stay hidden/get away. Erik keeps him locked up and taunts him every time he takes over another city or kills an enemy General, until Charles can't justify his own inaction. He makes everyone think that Erik died in his sleep, then wipes Erik's mind and escapes with him from the castle....

2. BTS: I’ll write a DVD commentary about my personal favorite passage from [that fic]

For All of You and All of Me

It's tough picking a favorite passage from this fic but it might be this bit of back and forth between Charles and Erik in chapter 2:

“You…brought me breakfast.”

Erik grins, the expression wide and toothy, the one Charles has seen him use only on the rarest of occasions when he’s truly pleased with himself. “Pottage; you should eat it while it’s hot. There’s bacon and eggs too, and I had the cook include some fresh raspberries, since I know they’re your favorite.”

Charles pulls himself up until he’s sitting against the head board, narrowing his eyes and folding his arms across his chest. “Why are you doing this, Erik? What do you want?”

His husband feigns ignorance at Charles’ accusation with a shrug, which only serves to infuriate him. “Not hungry? That’s fine. I can have the servants make you something later if you want.”

“You are being very…conciliatory,” Charles intones, shooting a pointed glare at Erik, though it appears to have very little effect on the king. “Do you need my help with the English Ambassador? Did you insult the Lady MacTaggert’s lineage again?”

They've just woken up after an incredible night of passionate sex, which is the only one of the few things they have going for them in their arranged marriage. I just found it kind of hilarious that Charles' spider sense immediately starts tingling because Erik is being nice to him for once, and he suspects (rightly) that his husband is up to something. It's the push-pull, love-hate dynamic between these two that I was hoping to explore more of in later chapters, before I got sidetracked by so many other WIPs ugh...

3. Perspective Flip: I’ll write a scene from [that fic] from another character’s point-of-view

This one I'm still working on, and I'll post separately when its finished!

Unusual Fic-Specific Asks for Authors