#i forget how the idiom goes

[muzzlemouths]

hi friends! is it cringe to write myself a fic for my birthday

[bluelockmaniac]

𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑'𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐙𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐒

୨ৎ ft. itoshi sae x actress!reader (fem)

synopsis. when football star itoshi sae randomly names you as his celebrity crush, the internet goes wild with rumours. what happens when you decide to make a surprise appearance during his next interview?

notes. thanks anon for the suggestion ! the editing process took quite a while bc i had to search for so many synonyms and celebrity-dazzling-type of vocabulary, and just a bit of research & idioms, lol (like tell me why i didn't know what filmography was??).

word count. 1.7k

𝐓𝐇𝐄 first thing that grated on sae’s nerves was the endless string of interviews he had to endure after every victory. the second were the interviewers, who seemed to lack any sense of boundaries or respect of privacy all together. but the third and perhaps most exasperating thing sae loathed were the questions– particularly those who left him completely clueless.

how on earth was he supposed to provide this nosy interviewer with the name of his celebrity crush when he didn't even have one?

besides, sae’s social awareness was practically nonexistent. his mind was consumed by football– matches, practice sessions, training drills, and occasionally, thoughts of his brother. naming a celebrity was as foreign to him as the idea of reconciling with rin.

he had tried to dodge the infuriating question, really. but his attempt was thwarted by the exaggerated glare of his manager, whose expression screamed ‘make. up. any. name’.

the older itoshi sighed, eyeing the lady who had posed the stupid, intrusive question from the side. to the untrained eye, it might have appeared that he was merely stalling, which, in truth, he sort of was. but on the inside, he was actually scrambling to conjure up any random name.

then, as if the goddess of luck intervened, a blurry image of you materialized in his mind. he recalled catching a glimpse of you while riding in his personal chauffeur-driven car.

your recognizable face had adorned a massive, wide billboard advertisement. you looked too striking– too gorgeous– to forget. you were holding a rose perfume bottle next to your shoulder, smiling with such infectious brightness. luckily, his eyes had happened to drift to the bottom left corner, where your name was elegantly inscribed in cursive.

y/n l/n.

anyone familiar with the entertainment industry would no doubt recognize your name immediately. you were a standout actress in hollywood, notably known for your phenomenal acting skills and breathtaking beauty. your filmography– the number of movies you've starred in– was extensive, and your trophy shelf in your large mansion was filled to the brim with numerous awards.

“itoshi-san?” the interviewer prompted again, her pesky voice cutting through his trance as she set her coffee mug on the table. she repeated her question, “there's nothing to be embarrassed about, haha– we’ve all had celebrity crushes at some point. who’s yours?”

sae scoffed lightly, leaning back onto the couch and propping his elbow on the armrest. he hid his face behind his hand, attempting to mask his discomfort.

“y/n.” he muttered, his voice laced with forced nonchalance.

the words slipped from his lips with shame. he knew this embarrassing revelation would literally dominate the headlines by nightfall, and he could hardly brace himself. he actually felt a teeny bit of guilt for dragging you into the main focus of the public’s attention alongside him. by tomorrow morning, his phone would be buzzing with notifications about this becoming the top trending topic on social media.

heck, he could already envision the misleading headlines in the tabloids:

alleged hidden affair: football prodigy itoshi sae and actress y/n l/n rumored to be in secret relationship– what’s really going on?

the interviewer let out an exaggerated gasp, her hands flying to her mouth as she exchanged a gleeful look with the cameraman.

“d-did you get that on tape? this will certainly make the headlines!”

she turned back to sae, who was still averting his gaze awkwardly. “j-just to be sure, itoshi-san… you’re talking about y/n l/n, correct?”

sae mumbled something inaudible under his breath before finally meeting her eyes, realizing it’s better to save face than to prolong his embarrassment live on camera.

“yes, her,” he replied with a shrug, rolling his eyes. he seriously had no idea who you were, what you did, or why you were famous. “she's cute, i guess.”

the interviewer beamed, leaning in enthusiastically. “—absolutely, her beauty is nothing short of enchanting! which of her shows or movies did you enjoy the most?”

so you were an actress, he thought, narrowing his eyes at the woman. he had absolutely no clue about any of your work. resorting to his typical bluntness, he retorted,

“none of your business. shut up.” he turned his head towards his manager, who looked as if he was about to cry literal tears of joy. “this interview is over. let's go.”

a few weeks had passed, and just as sae had predicted, rumours of a secret affair between him and you had exploded across the internet. yet, they remained just that– rumours. neither of you had addressed them… perhaps because there was no need to.

sae had just secured another effortless victory and was now being chauffeured to the interview venue. as he passed the familiar billboard, his eyes wandered, searching for your eyes, only to find that your advertisement had been replaced by some no-name, cheap milk brand’s.

—

as usual, he handled the post-match questions with ease. they were always the same, tedious inquiries: “how do you feel about your performance today?”, “could you describe the pivotal moments in today's match?”, “how did teamwork play a role in the game?”, “one fan asked…”, and so on.

however, this time, the midfielder felt slightly uneasy— the camera crew seemed larger, with cameras on every angle of the room. the interviewer, the same lady from before, appeared unusually excited. her voice was squeaker and she fiddled faintly as she spoke.

finally, she asked the final question regarding the opposition team’s strategies and approaches.

“hmph. we barely broke a sweat today; their game plan was so weak and predictable it was almost laughable. we could have won with our eyes closed.”

she nodded, almost dismissively, as if she couldn’t wait to wrap up the interview and get to the next part of the show.

“incredible, exactly what we’d expect from japan’s prodigious player! now, for all our online viewers, get ready to tune into GoalTalk’s special event! tonight, we're thrilled to welcome a very special guest who will be joining us…”

sae quirked an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued as he watched the crew reposition the numerous cameras to focus on the entrance door, though a few lenses remained trained on him.

“... y/n l/n!”

you stepped onto the platform as soon as your name was announced, waving to the countless cameras flashing blinding lights in your direction. you were dressed in a long, flowing burgundy gown that accentuated your curves perfectly. you exuded elegance; the very epitome of grace.

sae's eyes widened in surprise, tracking your movements as you made your way to the seat beside him.

“fucking bullshit, you’ve got to be kidding me…” he groaned, throwing his head back against the couch’s backrest, his adam’s apple bobbing. 

you let out a soft giggle, settling beside him so that your thighs brushed against his. with a gentle tap on his shoulder, you flashed a practiced smile as he turned to look at you. 

“it’s such an honour to finally meet you, itoshi! i’m actually a huge fan, so you could imagine my excitement when you mentioned i was your celebrity crush in your recent interview.”

he cringed inwardly, having heard similar compliments from noisy fangirls countless times before. besides, you were a renowned actress; for all he knew, your cheerful expressions and excitement could be part of a well-rehearsed facade.

“ah. thanks, i guess,” he shrugged, clicking his tongue before adding nonchalantly, “...you’re a good actress.”

“oh, thank you! i appreciate it.” you leaned in slightly, your smile widening, “hey, you know, i wouldn't mind giving you my number. we could maybe… figure things out?~”

“what–” his leg began to bounce subtly. perhaps it was the effect of being an actress who had participated in a multitude of romance movies and shows– such flirtatious comments tend to slip naturally from your lips.

“you wouldn’t mind, would you? you’re single, right?” you pressed, propping your chin on his shoulder. 

fuck. your face was so close– so close he could understand why people called you stunning. you were infinitely more beautiful than the artificial, edited image on the billboard. your sweet scent of exotic fruit, reminiscent of a hot summer day on the beach, wafted to his nose. his eyes wandered to your cherry-stained, glossed lips, feeling a strange, inexplicable magnetic pull.

but he sighed defeatedly, feeling his manager’s intense yet pleased gaze boring into him. “i guess. don’t expect anything, though,” he dismissed, reaching up to ruffle his reddish hair. everything was alright. he just needed to get through this interview.

little did either of you know– or perhaps you had a vague idea– that social media was already ablaze with an endless amount of comments from hundreds of thousands of fans from both sides, shipping you two together.

you nudged him playfully with your elbow and turned your head, winking at the cameras as you slyly slipped your hand into his. “i’m getting his number, sorry girls.”

he felt his breath catch in his throat, his fingers remaining numb in your grasp. but suddenly, a strange surge of boldness overwhelmed his usually rational senses– he was already doomed, anyway, so why seem like a lame pushover? his hand reciprocated your grip, intertwining his fingers with yours as he leaned in slightly. his lips brushed over your ear as he whispered a few, short words, eyeing one camera directly with a subtle smirk.

you felt your cheeks bloom with warmth at his words. all the cameras in the venue captured the sight of your eyes widening in surprise and the visceral nodding of your head to whatever he had just said.

his words would remain a secret to the public however, even as the internet flooded with speculations and questions, triggered by a sensational headline featuring a photo of the two of you together:

𝑯𝑶𝑻 𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝑷𝑨𝑰𝑹? 𝑱𝑨𝑷𝑨𝑵’𝑺 𝑭𝑶𝑶𝑻𝑩𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹 𝑰𝑻𝑶𝑺𝑯𝑰 𝑺𝑨𝑬 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑺 𝒀/𝑵 𝑳/𝑵 𝑺𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑽𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑯𝑶𝑻𝑬𝑳 𝑻𝑶𝑮𝑬𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹, 𝑯𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑰𝑵 𝑯𝑨𝑵𝑫!

© 2024 bluelockmaniac — do not repost, copy, translate, modify, etc my work on any platform !

[rohirric-hunter]

*props up table on its side between me and wrathful ghost of C.S. Lewis* So the Telmarines and Calormenes must speak a different language from the Narnians and Archenlanders, right? Like, the Narnians and Archenlanders most likely speak English, or something very similar to it, as all the humans are descended from the British Frank and Helen and Aslan probably would have given the talking animals the same language as their king and queen. But the Telmarines and presumably the Calormenes are descended from humans who made their way into the world of Narnia by accident, and most likely didn't speak English, so they would have their own languages descended from whatever languages their ancestors spoke.

(Actually, I don't know if the text ever establishes that the Calormenes are human. They could be something else; Narnia and Charn both have denizens that seem to be nearly indistinguishable from humans while not being humans, and there are thousands of pools in the Wood Between the Worlds. But for the sake of this argument let's assume they're human. Actually for the sake of this argument if they're not human they're even less likely to speak English. So it doesn't matter.)

Like, yeah, I know that Canonically they all speak English because C.S. Lewis thought this sort of question was a stupid thing to consider while inventing a fantasy world, but I follow a different school of thought and I think it's fun to consider the lingual barriers. Most characters we meet are some sort of royalty or nobility, but consider Shasta learning really odd English from Bree and Hwin, who haven't spoken it in years, and Aravis, who learned it as an elective in school and only knows a really stilted, formal version laced with cultural misunderstandings. His tutors try to train it out of him, to no avail, and when he becomes king he's always saying idioms he translated literally from Calormene and he has just the weirdest pronunciations of some things.

The four Pevensies learn Calormene and possibly Telmarine because they have to be able to speak to the other world powers and never quite forget it -- like their other skills that they learned in Narnia it fades somewhat the longer they stay in England, but also like their other skills it comes back quickly at need. When Peter goes to study at university his professors are amazed at the speed with which he picks up Arabic, and equally baffled by some odd cultural assumptions and seeming nonsense that he brought to the discussion.

Most Old Narnians speak a fair bit of Telmarine -- if they're of the sort that can pass as human it's useful, but even if they can't evesdropping and spying is an essential part of how they've survived this long -- but in their own hidden communities they never stopped speaking their own language. There are many factors in why they trust the fleeing Prince Caspian, but one of them is the fact that he speaks English -- awkward, rudimentary, unpracticed English, but English nonetheless. Someone taught him the language of Old Narnia, and he speaks to them in their own tongue, respectfully, like no Telmarine any of them have ever heard.

IDK. I just think it would be coo-- *Wrathful ghost of C.S. Lewis knocks the table over onto my head and I fall unconscious immediately*

[cressidagrey]

Dust off your Highest Hopes - Part 3 (The End)

Summary:

Eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves, goes the idiom. 

When Solana hears an admission from the High Lord of Day, she’s ill-prepared for it. She doesn’t believe in fairytales any longer, but maybe there was a happily ever after for Solana and Helion somewhere.

Warnings:

Mention of Rape, Mention of Domestic Violence. It's all in the past, it's non graphic, but Solana is still dealing with it.

Notes:

This was supposed to be a one shot. One day I will find a way to be less wordy.

(thanks to @tsunami-of-tears for the super pretty dividers!)

Solana would have preferred nearly everything over having this discussion right now. But Helion was there, kneeling in the straw next to her…one massive broad hand touching her gently. So gently, always so gently. 

He was intimately aware of the strength in his broad muscles and he had never even hurt her accidentally…had never laid a finger on her in anger, even if she probably had deserved it more than once. He was trying to calm her down, trying to make it better for her and she…

“I am sorry,” she managed to bring out before she sobbed again. 

Solana wished she wasn’t as broken as she was. She wished she could give him everything, give herself to him…she wished she could…she could love him, but she couldn’t. 

“Gods, Solana, you don’t need to apologise,” Helion whispered. “Tell me what happened.”His warm, massive hand drew circles over her back. “We’ll make it right. It’s us. We can make everything right.”

But could they make this right?

She tried to find the words, but they stuck in the back of her throat, her breathing coming in short gasps. She couldn’t find the words, she didn’t know how to make him understand. She didn’t want to hurt him. That was the last thing she wanted to do. But somehow it felt like she was a prisoner and regardless of what direction she turned, she would stay stuck and she would hurt him even when she didn’t want to hurt him. 

Helion made a soft noise, calming her like she was a spooking Pegasus. In any other situation, it may would have amused her. 

In this one…In this one, it only made her sob more. 

“It’s alright,” he soothed her. “Take your time. What’s wrong, sunshine?” He coaxed her, the pet name falling from his lips. 

She adored that stupid pet name. 

And so finally…finally she pressed her face tighter against Clodagh’s mane and whispered the words that she didn’t want to say. 

She couldn’t stomach to lie to him. She just couldn’t. 

“I heard you,” she forced out. “I eavesdropped, I shouldn’t have. I am so sorry,” the rest of her words poured out of her, even when she didn’t want to. 

She could feel Helion’s hand freeze on her back and she expected him to withdraw, but he didn’t. 

He inhaled, his breath shaky. ”Oh, sunshine,” Helion said, his voice soft. “I didn’t want you to hear that like that.”

So he had meant her. She had known it before, but to have his outright agreement to her face…another sob forced its way out of her throat. 

“Is that why you are crying?” Helion asked her, his voice weak. “Because you don’t…Because you think I would force you to…”

What?

“I will never force you to do anything, Solana,” Helion told her fiercely. “I will never expect anything of you. If you say you aren’t interested, then we’ll forget today ever happened. I will never mention it again if that’s what it takes.”

That hadn’t even crossed her mind. 

She had never even thought that Helion would force himself on her.

It was just…

“I…” she tried to find the words and she failed again. 

“Take your time. It’s alright,” Helion encouraged her softly. “Whatever you need, Sunshine,” he promised her. 

And then finally, she managed to look at him, managed to bring these words over her lips. 

“You deserve better than me,” Solana whispered. Because that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it?

He deserved somebody who could love him. Somebody that could be with him in every way and not…not her. Not her, who knew that she was traumatised on a good day…that had near nightly nightmares that left her in cold sweat and vomiting…not her, that… who was terrified to even share the same bed as him. 

“What?” 

“I can’t…I can’t love anymore. I don’t know if I ever could. He took that from me and I can’t…” Her heart was fluttering in her chest as she admitted that. 

“Solana, you’re one of the smartest people I have ever met, but this is the most idiotic thing you have ever said,” Helion snapped. “I am supposed to believe that you can’t love anymore?” he asked her sharply, golden eyes mustering her. “Then what do you call what you feel for Elain? Or for Lucien? For this Court?!” Helion challenged her.  “What about Cyane? Gil? Xavi and Rupert? What about Zia?” Her friends…their friends. “Wouldn’t you do everything for them?” Of course, she would. That wasn’t even a question. 

“What about your mother and your brother?” Helion continued and she snorted, her crying shortly interrupted by that.  

“I don’t love them,” she told him weakly. Half the time she hated her mother for what she had done to her…what she had put her through…and her brother…the less was said about that, the better. 

Helion snorted. “Sure, that’s why you tried to get between me and your mother, even while your ankle was broken,” he pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “That’s why you begged me not to do anything permanent to her, even when it was her fault that your ankle was broken in the first place.”

It hadn’t been her mother’s fault. Well, not really…it had been her own fault. Khion had grabbed her and she had overreacted…and well, that ankle had been the victim of her trying to get away. 

Khion had believed that her mother’s agreement to marriage between the two of them had been the only one that had mattered….he had made that calculation without Helion. 

(She was still relieved that Helion hadn’t actually slit Khion’s throat for it…the political ramifications of that would have been a nightmare. Or her mother’s throat for that matter. Though the screaming could have been heard echoing through the whole of the Sunray Palace. It took an awfully long time for Helion to lose his temper, but once he did…once he did, it was like a volcano erupted.)

“That’s not…” she started, but Helion just fixed her with a glare 

“What about Meallan and Clodagh?” he shot back. “You want to tell me, you don’t love them either? What about their baby? Don’t tell me you don’t love the Baby Pegasus,” something like teasing entered his voice at these words. “You’ll break their heart.” 

Said Baby Pegasus took that moment to put his little black head onto her lap, demanding head scratches, just like like his father did. 

“It’s so adorable,” Solana said weakly, as she scratched under his forelock.

It was so damn adorable.

“I know…I know that Castor hurt you,” Helion said quietly, as he reached out to pet the Baby Pegasus with her, his hand covering her own. “And I am so fucking sorry that I didn’t put a stop to it years before. I don’t know every detail and I know that he took so much from you. But don’t you dare believe that he made you worse in any way, Solana.” 

She swallowed. 

“He was the monster. Not you. You were only his victim,” Helion promised her earnestly. “And I don’t ever want to hear you say anything like this again, Sunshine.”

It was her that pounced on him in response, that tucked herself against his chest and his arms came around her body as she cried against his chest. 

“I don’t know if I can be what you need,” she admitted weakly. 

Somehow that was easier when she didn’t need to look into his face. Helion didn’t hesitate to rub her back…press a kiss against her hair that she knew must look like an absolute bird’s nest. 

“You have been everything I needed, everything this court needed for decades, Solana,” Helion promised her. “Everything else…we can figure out everything else. I promise.” He pressed another kiss against her hair. "I love you," he whispered. "And you don't need to say it back. Not right now. Just know that...There is nobody I would rather trust as my wife and Lady.”

She froze at these words, leaning slightly back to look at him and he mustered her, a hand coming up to cup her cheek. 

 “Are you seriously proposing right now?” she whispered, her voice shaking. He couldn’t be serious. Right?!

But the grin that took over his face told her a different story.  “I did make you cry,” he said as he wiped her tears from her cheeks. “I think that means that I owe you an apology gift…I suppose I could find more pearls somewhere, though why should I if there is a ring waiting for you with your name on it?”

“So yes,” Helion agreed. “I do not wish for you to be my Mistress. I want you to be my wife and the lady of this court. The title that goes with all the work you have already been doing for years, with all the respect that goes along with it.” She swallowed at these words. 

She had never demanded a title for the work she did. That had never even crossed her mind. She wasn’t Helion’s second in command either. She was just…She was just Solana. 

“So marry me,” Helion said, golden eyes sparkling. 

“Helion,” she said weakly, her mind coming up empty with reasons why she should turn him down. 

“Marry me,” he repeated. “Marry me, and I’ll show you that you can love. That you haven’t lost that ability.”

A heady offer. 

“Turn me down because you are not interested. Turn me down because you don’t feel for me like this. But don’t turn me down because you think you aren’t good enough. That you can’t love me like you think I deserve,” he continued.  “Marry me and make me the luckiest male alive, Solana.”

She swallowed. 

She wanted to give in. She wanted to do nothing more than to give in to him at that moment. 

So what was stopping her? 

Could Solana be selfish enough to saddle him with a wife who maybe could never love him like he deserved? 

She could try. She could try and learn and hope and pray and...She could become who he saw her as. 

“I’ll need time,” Solana warned him hesitantly. “I…I need…I don’t know what…how much I can take," she begged him to understand, expecting him to pull back, but he didn't. 

“We’ll take it at your pace,” Helion responded immediately, a smile blooming on his face. “I can be patient for the things I really care about.” He could be. She didn’t doubt that for one minute. 

Solana nodded.  “Alright,” she agreed. 

Helion stared at her, hesitantly. 

“Alright?” he repeated carefully. 

“Yes,” she agreed, a smile stretching over her face. “I’ll marry you. I’ll be your wife. I’ll be the Lady of this Court.”

Not an I love you. Not yet. Not when she was still unsure. 

But she trusted him and she adored him and she wanted to be his wife. Wanted to be the Lady of his Court. That counted for something, right? 

She was crushed against his chest in response, and her hands curled themselves in the shirt he wore, breathing in that scent of lemongrass and sandalwood that always clung to him. 

Meallan’s massive head came down to snort warm air against them, and she couldn’t help but laugh wetly at him, wiping away happy tears as she lifted a hand to pet him. 

“Finally got what you wanted, didn’t you?” Helion asked him with a laugh as she leaned her head against his shoulder and watched him pet Meallan as well. “Though you were the one who managed to surprise us all with your baby.”

Meallan whinnied, the sound happy and proud as he ducked his head to lick at his child, much to their amusement. 

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Helion wondered. 

“I have no clue,” she admitted weakly. “Meallan came to get me and then I had a crying fit…I didn’t check.”

A crying fit that was now leaving her utterly exhausted, as she curled up in that straw next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. 

A quick check later, they had their answer:  “We’ll need to figure out a name for you, sweet girl,” Helion said with a grin, patting her neck.

“Well…” Solana drew out hesitantly. 

“You already had a name?” Helion asked her, turning towards her, and she shrugged. 

“Well, Clodagh picked,” she said quickly, making Helion laugh. Clodagh had picked. After Solana had read name after name to the mare. 

“Of course, she did. What did she pick?” he asked her. 

“Niamh,” Solana answered with a smile. “It means freedom.”

“Niamh,” Helion repeated thoughtfully. “It’s perfect,” he agreed and she hummed her agreement, leaning against his side and watching as Niamh gained her feet on wobbly long legs, to drink some more milk. 

And Solana…Solana was suddenly exhausted, her eyes drooping, even as Helion pressed another kiss to the crown of her head. 

“You should rest,” he told her softly, but she shook her head. 

“I have a full diary today,” she protested weakly. Maybe if she drank some black tea…or she went and saw a healer for a pepper-up potion…maybe…

“Elain can pick out the new porcelain on her own,” Helion said drily. 

“Already replacing me?” she quipped and he snorted. 

“Sure, Solana,” he agreed. “If that makes you take a break, always. Everything else you were planning on doing today was correspondence, was it not? They can wait a day longer for your answer,” he promised her. “But you need to rest, sunshine,” he said as he gained his feet and before she could as much as protest, he had pulled her into his arms and winnowed, straight in front of her rooms. 

She glared at him, but he just ignored that as he opened the door to chivy her inside. 

“What am I even supposed to do?” Solana complained, swallowing back a yawn. 

“Take a nap. Rest. Read some. Pick out a dress to wear for Dinner,” Helion said easily.  

“High Lord!” Zia suddenly gasped and Solana looked up to find her handmaiden at the door of the bathing chamber, a towel falling to the floor that she had probably been stocking up. 

“Zia,” Solana said calmly, just as Helion leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his thumb gently smoothing over her cheek. 

“Rest. I’ll see you this evening,” he whispered, so quietly that only she could hear it. 

It made her shiver, as she watched him leave, closing the door behind him. 

“A bath, please,” she said weakly, as suddenly, the reality of her situation set in. 

She had said yes. She had agreed to marry Helion. She had agreed to be his wife. She had agreed to be the Lady of this Court. 

Somehow the latter was the one thing that worried her the least.  

Zia stared at her, still frozen in place. 

“Did he hurt you?” she asked Solana then, her voice flat. Zia had seen the evidence of nearly everything that Castor had done to her. Zia had snuck her Pain Relief Potions and had smeared Healing Salve over the worst injuries. 

“No, Zia,” Solana answered truthfully. 

Zia didn’t seem like she believed that, but still went and filled the bathtub and then helped Solana undress, mustering every inch of skin she bared, fully expecting new bruises to appear. 

“Helion would never do anything of that sort,” Solana said quietly. She was sure about it. She didn’t think Helion had it in him to ever raise his hand against her. He wouldn’t do anything of that sort. Not like Castor had done. 

No. 

With Helion…she was terrified of something else. Terrified of the fledgling feelings that she had, much different than the immediate, blinding besotted adoration she had felt for Castor thanks to the Mating Bond. 

With Helion…with Helion, her love for him had grown out of simple affection for him, his character and his personality. 

She knew him. 

None of his bed partners had ever taken any harm from his affections. 

So…maybe she wouldn’t either? Maybe it would be fine? 

He was willing to give her time. Willing to wait. 

That was more than she ever had before. 

She thought about it as Zia helped her into the bathtub and started washing her hair. 

“If he did…” Zia started quietly. “If he did, we would make sure he didn’t do it again.”

Solana had a sudden strike of affection for her handmaiden. 

“It warms my heart that you are thinking about committing treason for me, Zia, but I swear to you, Helion has not laid a single finger on me,” Solana said, with some affection. “We had a difficult conversation,” Solana admitted quietly, as she washed away the tear tracks on her cheek.  “These are just happy tears.”

“Happy tears,” Zia repeated as she started combing out Solana’s thick dark brown hair and she nodded.  Happy Tears. 

Very happy tears. “Has the new dress I had commissioned arrived yet?” Solana asked, mentally going through her wardrobe, trying to think of something suitable to wear to tonight’s dinner. She didn’t want to wear something she had already worn numerous times before…and she definitely was not going to wear anything blue, which was the colour of the house she had been born into. 

Yellow and Gold would be the obvious choice, of course, the colour of the house of Karim, of Helion’s family. 

But she would prefer something that was…new…without…

“The pink one with the gold embroidery around the waist?” Zia asked her and she nodded. “Yes, it has.”

The pink one would suit her well…it was sleeveless, made out of layers upon layers of gauzy fabrics in a rosy pink. Her waist would be cinched in by gold embroidery, which would also be picked up on the straps…maybe some dangly earrings... 

“I’ll wear it for dinner,” Solana decided as Zia started to wash out her hair. 

“Dinner,” Zia repeated. Granted it was a Friday, which would make today one of the more formal dinners in the Sunray Palace…not taken in private but in the dining hall, with staff and members of nobility that had places on the council. Still, that dress would still be considered over-dressed even for that. 

But…

“The High Lord has an announcement to make,” Solana said carefully and Zia’s motions stopped for a moment before she continued. 

“An announcement,” Zia repeated and Solana couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Will you repeat everything I say?” she asked her with some amusement and Zia wrapped her hair up in a towel, before meeting Solana’s gaze. 

“That kind of announcement?” Zia finally asked with a smile taking over her features and Solana’s blush was all the confirmation Zia needed. “Happy tears?” Zia confirmed once more and Solana nodded. 

“We aren’t finished with primping then,” her friend said with a grin. “I think the pink dress will do very well…There are some dahlias blooming, maybe some in your hair…”

She should have known that it would mean that Zia wouldn’t let her leave before every inch of her body was gleaming. Granted, she got to dose off, while Zia primped and plucked and massaged warm oil into her skin…until she smelled like roses and orange blossoms, and her hair was artfully arranged, fat dahlias tucked in around the twist that kept her hair up. 

Solana wasn’t even sure from where Zia got the gold shoes that matched her dress, as she tightened the laces of the bodice. Kohl lined Solana’s eyes, and gold shimmer dusted her skin. 

All in all, there had been balls she had attended into which she hadn’t put this much work. 

A knock at her door, just as they were finished pinning up her hair. 

“Come in!” she called, unsurprised when it was Helion.

“You can leave us, Zia,” Solana said quickly and her handmaiden shot her a wink before she left the room. 

“Did she stop thinking I would ravish you?” Helion asked with a bemused grin. “And left us along in a room, even though we are unmarried… Scandalous.”

“We’ll be scandalising this whole court anyway,” Solana said pointedly. “I do not think that us staying alone in a room will be any more shocking than what we will be doing soon.”

Even though it was her bedroom. And that Helion saying the word ravish was making the palms of her hand sweat. 

She stood and Helion held out a hand for her, which she took, linking their hands. “As always, you are correct,” he told her, drinking her in.  Even just that…just that simple touch of his hands in her was lighting something underneath her skin that she didn’t…that she couldn’t quite place. 

“You look beautiful,” he told her quietly, earnestly and she smiled at him, nearly not noticing the ring that he slid on her finger with ease. 

He lifted up her hand for her to look at the diamond that twinkled from her hand, surrounded by setting that made it look like a perfect, glittering mid-day sun. 

“A perfect fit,” Helion said, consideringly. “I did expect nothing else though,” he teased her, and she laughed, an unbelieving sound that escaped her throat at the feeling of this ring on her hand. 

Her old ring…it had felt like a shackle, so thick and heavy that it strangled her. This one was strangely light to wear…a beautiful ornament, nothing more or less. 

“Do you like it?” Helion asked her, nearly bashful and she smiled. 

“It’s beautiful,”  Solana promised him, reaching up with one hand to cup his cheek. He leaned into her touch.

“I brought you more jewellery…if you wanted to wear it,” he told her quietly, pressing his lips against the palm of her hand. She nodded her agreement with a smile, trusting his taste in jewellery. Whenever there was a formal occasion she had to attend on his arm, he went down into the vault and picked something for her to wear. 

It had surprised her the first time. Nowadays, she was used to it. 

Though, he had never picked something like this for her…something like the dangly earrings with suns that she slipped through her lobes…like that heavy necklace nestled in velvet. 

“Will you put it on me?” she asked him and he inclined her head, as she turned her back towards him.

The necklace came to rest against her chest, a fat diamond resting in the hollow of her throat…yellow gold spikes falling down to rest against her clavicles. 

It was beautiful. 

Though she couldn’t help the shiver as Helion’s fingers brushed against the back of her neck and then the quiet snick as the necklace closed and he pulled his hands back. She didn’t want him to pull back. She didn’t…

His thumb brushed down her biceps over her elbow…she couldn’t help the shiver that worked down her body. 

“Helion,” she whispered, craning her head, to look at him. 

“May I?” he asked her quietly and she swallowed. 

“Yes.”

His mouth lowered to her.

Solana had thought she knew how it would feel. What to expect. 

But this…this was completely different. This was…This was everything. This was weak knees and fireworks, shivers and goosebumps and everything else. This was just the softest brush of lips against hers. Nothing more. Nothing less. 

Just that. Soft and sweet and gentle and innocent and…

He pulled back from her and she couldn’t help but stare at Helion in wonder. 

One corner of his mouth ticked up in a smile. 

“Alright?” he asked quietly. 

She managed a nod. “Yes,”  she responded weakly. 

“Think you can live with being kissed like that every day?” Helion teased at her and Solana swallowed. Every day? Just this? 

“I…I think I can,” she agreed, making him smile. 

“Let’s go see Lucien and Elain before dinner,” Helion said easily and she grasped his arm as they left her room.

By the time, Elain had pounced on her in a fierce hug, her knees were at least no longer wobbling. “Congratulations!”  she gushed. “I am so glad it’s you!” Elain said brightly, catching her hand in both of hers. A second later, she did a double take. “Helion didn’t waste any time, did he?” she asked with a laugh as she spied the ring.  

“Why should I?” Helion gave back drily and Elain laughed as she let go of Solana, only to hand her off to Lucien. 

He hugged her too, less outwardly jubilant, but no less earnest. 

“I wish you two every happiness,” he said quietly, earnestly and she swallowed. To have him say that…even when he had every reason not to, with the history between his mother and Helion…it meant a lot to her. 

“Thank you, Lucien,” she said softly and he inclined his head.  

“There isn’t enough love in this world,” he told her seriously, and she couldn’t help but smile at that. 

“Ready to scandalise this whole court?” Helion asked her and her smile brightened into a grin.  

“Always,”  she promised him, taking his arm when he offered it to her. 

It wasn’t the first time she entered the Dining Hall on his arm…it wasn’t the first time he pulled out her chair for her and made sure that she was settled before sitting down on his own throne-like chair. 

It wasn’t even the first time he remained standing, waiting until the crowd quieted. 

And Solana surveyed the crowd, her eyes catching on her mother and her brother on one of the tables down the back of the room. 

Her eyes took in friends and acquaintances and foes…took in everybody that had seen the spectacle she had been once and had done nothing to help her. 

All of them would have something to say about their news. Some would be happy that Solana was chosen, others would be upset that it wasn’t their daughter who had snared the High Lord. She imagined others would be furious…

But as she leaned back into her chair, straight backed, her face betraying nothing…something inside her calmed. 

It didn’t matter what anybody thought. 

The only ones whose opinion really mattered already knew. 

She could feel Helion’s gaze on hers and she turned her head towards him, meeting his eye. A minute quirk of a brow, Are you sure?, and a brilliant smile of hers in response, Yes. 

He turned towards their Court. 

Their Court. 

“Two bits of news tonight,” Helion said, his voice effortlessly carrying through the cavernous space. “After 3000 years, Meallan and his mate, Clodagh, have gifted us with another foal. A filly named Niamh.”

Applause and cheers rang out, with Solana clapping politely as well. 

“Secondly,” Helion paused for a moment, dramatic as ever and Solana bit back her amusement. “Secondly. I have decided that it is time for me to take a wife.”

The hall was quiet enough that one could have heard a pin drop. Solana silently picked out the males who were already planning on offering up their granddaughter daughter or sister to Helion on a silver platter. The ones that would think that marrying off a female in their lives would give them access to the very top of the Day Court.  

“Has he gone insane?” she heard Rupert, Helion’s second in command, hiss, from somewhere to her right. 

“I have asked for Lady Solana’s hand in marriage and she made me the happiest male in this court when she accepted,” Helion’s voice rang out, even and true, for one moment freezing every single member of the court. Maybe she should have looked back down the hall and seen what her mother and brother would think about this, but Solana could not care less at that moment. The only thing she cared about was Helion, who held out his hand for her to take. 

She took it. 

“My future wife and the Lady of the Day Court!”

The reaction was immediate.

Cheering broke out from the servants' table, so loud that it drowned out anything else.

Solana felt the weight of hundreds of pairs of eyes upon her, judging, questioning, and speculating.

The nobles were shocked. She had expected no less, so there were more smiles and applause than what she had counted on.

Some smiled, some smiles even earnest and believable. Some smiles were polite, clapping…hiding their distaste, offering their congratulations through gritted teeth. Others scowled openly, offended by the unexpected turn of events. Solana could practically hear the cogs turning in their minds, calculating the implications of this marriage on their own positions within the court.

But amid the chaos…Solana’s focus remained unwaveringly on Helion. On his hand in hers…warm and stead, a grounding presence amid the chaos around them.

As long as they were together…they could withstand anything. 

Solana had found her Happily Ever After, after all. 

[extraordinarilyextreme]

Zeng Shunxi's Goodbye to Fang Duobing

Original video on Weibo:

去岁初夏逢君¹盛² Last year, at the beginning of summer, I met the flourishing you. 今朝花落²梦方醒 Now, as the flowers fall, Fang wakes from his dream. 故事到此收笔 This story has since reached its end, 但人生还长 But life still goes on, 江湖路远 And the roads of the jianghu stretch far. 意气江湖正道³安 The spirit of the jianghu lies in following the correct path; 风华正茂⁴是少年 At life’s blossoming is the youth. 愿将来的方小包 I wish that the future Fang Xiaobao 经历风雨⁵ Will forge through wind and storms 不忘少年初心⁶ Without forgetting the original aspirations of his youth. 走遍人间 Even after walking to the ends of the mortal world, 仍有他路可寻 There remain other roads that can be sought for. 山高水长见日光⁷ The mountains are lofty and the rivers are long; everyday, may you see the light of the sun; 始终不忘少年样 And from the beginning to the end, may you not forget your younger self. 前路存知己⁸ The road ahead harbors the one who knows your heart, 江湖有相逢 for in the jianghu, there exist reunions. 于道各努力⁹ Work hard on every path you take; 千里自同风⁹ Even separated by a thousand li, he and you are buffeted by the same wind. 方多病 Fang Duobing, 希望你不服众望¹⁰ I hope you will not disappoint everyone’s expectations, 成为下一个传奇 And become the next legend.

Detailed explanations (footnotes) under the cut!

Any mistakes are my own.

1. 君 is a formal and literary way to say “you.” It can also be used to refer to lords, monarchs, rulers, etc. 

2. Note the juxtaposition of 盛 “flourishing” (also: splendorous; vigorous; blooming) and 落 “falling” flowers.

3. The 正道 can also be understood as the “orthodox path.” In Buddhism, it is the right way: it is the path of correct principles and of doing the right things.

4. 风华正茂 is an idiom that simply means “in one’s prime.” I chose to invoke imagery that would call back to the beginning two lines about flowers.

5. 经历风雨 is an idiom that means “to go through thick and thin.” 

6. 初心 is a commonly invoked theme in such coming-of-age stories (which this thematically may as well be, for FDB) and translates literally to “the heart at one’s beginning.” For FDB, it would mean keeping his principles of justice and goodness in mind, no matter what he goes through.

7. 山高水长 can be an idiom that describes one’s personality and/or character. This line can also be understood as praising FDB’s noble and optimistic/positive character (见日光: seeing sunlight; sunny-dispositioned; always looking on the bright side).

8. 前路存知己 is very similar in phrasing to a line from Tang Dynasty poet Gao Shi’s 《别董大》 (Farewell to My Friend Dong): 

莫���前路无知己 Worry not, on the road ahead, that you will lack someone who knows your heart. 天下谁人不识君  Beneath these skies, who will not know your name?

If you watched 《说英雄谁是英雄》 Heroes (2022), this line will probably be familiar.

9. These two lines come from the end of Song Dynasty poet Zhou Xingji’s 《送友人东归》 (Sending My Friend to Return East), which I believe laments the pains of a long-distance friendship. The lines that ZSX has quoted here essentially encourages FDB to continue working hard on the life path he has chosen, despite how the sadness of separation can feel unbearable, for even if he and his friend (LLH) are a thousand li apart, they will ultimately reach the same goal and destination.

10. I thought it was interesting that he uses 服 and 望, because the phrasing is very similar to LLH’s letter at the end of the series, when he apologizes to DFS (终有服君之所望): “I have failed you ultimately.”

[melliotwrites]

Why was Anthony’s part in I Breath In, You Breath Out changed from his little “Do you love him or just what his last name implies?” to him not coming in till the end?

Good question! The new B-section in I Breathe in, You Breathe Out is a callback to Hao's I Want Song (which of course nobody knows because it wasn't part of the reading, but the reprise is meant to underscore Hao's character development -- he goes from wanting to avoid the past and not get too attached to any one place in his first song, to caring deeply about Józef and the ranch and wanting them to know him in what is basically his last song.)

Someone in the rehearsal process (maybe our director? I forget) pointed out to me that it is super rude for Anthony to intrude upon Hao recounting all his sweet memories with his boyfriend by asking if he really loves him. I think part of this adjustment process was that I didn't realize how powerful the I Don't Know You Anymore + I Breathe In, You Breathe Out double-whammy was until I saw them performed. Hao is really Going Through It™ at this point in the show -- the last thing we want to hear is Anthony questioning whether or not Józef is in love with him, or whether Hao loves Józef. It came across as insensitive at best and funny at worst, which is not where we wanted to land in that moment.

I did love "Do you love him or just what his last name implies?", but it felt a little overwritten for the moment -- I decided it was a kill your darlings situation. A lot of this overall reshaping of the Ghost Story script was sublimating themes that were explicit in our first draft to make the story smoother (and make the piece more complex and interesting!) We know the musical is about race and identity, but when a character says "Well, how does your race and identity play into that?" it means the story... collapses, for lack of a better word. I sometimes liken it to seeing the edge of a metal skeleton through a beautiful fabric creature-- yeah, I know the writers have a message they want to give me, but I also want to believe that they didn't and I figured it out all by myself. This is what "overwritten" means to me -- written defensively and awkwardly, to prevent misunderstanding, instead of as a complicated, delicate compact between the writer and the audience, assuming good intent on both sides.

So, the main impetus behind that edit was to make that moment a little more soft, subtle, and gentle. Sure, Anthony is doubting whether Joey likes him (and whether he likes Joey,) but we thought if he didn't ask those questions directly, he can have a more complex relationship to the past couple than just "figuring out what love is." Now, seeing Hao regret not discussing his past with Józef allows him to realize he's avoiding the same thing with Joey -- and that he might not have as much time as he thinks to figure out if he loves him. The similarities between their relationships, pointed out in the final verse, allows Anthony to believe Joey loves him -- but the B-section tells him what he has to do about it, and encourages him to test that love (and be ok with walking away if Joey can't handle him being honest about his cultural background.) This take on that moment also lead more neatly into The Ballad of Jimmy July, which didn't exist before.

There were also some minor lyrical things I never felt were quite perfect in the last B-section; I didn't want to be misunderstood to be endorsing the opinion that Only People In Love Can Have Sex with the "feels like a chore" line; obviously consenting adults should be able to have sex with whoever they want, and one kind isn't better or worse than the other. And for some reason rhyming "stew" and "you" always bothered me -- the reason "stew" was in there at all is to adapt a Chinese idiom (basically "those in love can survive on water alone"), but it always felt awkward to me, especially for its important placement as the second-to-last line in the B-section. Sorry for getting granular with it, haha! Writing lyrics is hard and one detail can fix or topple a whole song. Hope that's interesting!

~Mel

[lightsaber-dorphin]

I’ve been thinking about how Mando’a has a lot of glottal stops and how people probably wouldn’t pronounce them correctly when speaking quickly. I had the idea of an “accent” Mando’a speakers develop if they rush their words a lot.

Usually mispronunciating glottal stops would make a Mando’a speaker harder to understand or make them sound rushed and harried. But sometimes people, like, get good at it. When that happens they are said to have “soldier’s accent” (“joh’ika* be verde” or “joika be verde”). It’s not joh’ika be verde if the person is tripping over their words and can’t be understood.

Despite the name, it is most often seen in restaurant cooks, nurses, etc. after busy shifts. The work rush version usually goes away once the person gets to sit down and breathe. Long term joh’ika be verde develops gradually when someone spends most or all of their time in an environment where speaking quickly is encouraged, even outside of rushes. That version is more of an “accent” and seen in soldiers and holonet gamers.

Outside of the expected settings, joh’ika be verde gives the impression that someone has never relaxed or had a normal conversation. In casual settings it’s considered hashing the vibe.

Idioms I made up from this:

“Gar jorhaa’i sa gar kih’ru’cuyi o’r akaan” / “You sound like you were just in a war” as an equivalent to “you look like you just went through a war.” (I added kih/small to ru’cuyi/were for kih’ru’cuyi/‘recently were’ because there’s no “just” or “recently.”)

“digu gar betene” / “forgetting your sighs” as an equivalent to “tripping over your words”

*there wasn’t a Mando’a word for accent, so I added the diminutive to joha/language

[baileys-3]

CHAPTER 10 NOW ONLINE on AO3

Ahhh... I'm so excited today... and I'm so happy... and I have such good news for you!!!

I have a beat reader. The wonderful himynameiscookies wrote to me yesterday and offered to help me. You may remember that English is not my native language and I work with translation programs. They are great, but not everything is translated perfectly. And there are problems especially with the spoken language and idioms etc. But that's what himynameiscookies is now there for, correcting everything again and ensuring that you have the perfect reading experience. So that all the weird words and expressions disappear. And what should I say. She corrected until midnight yesterday and so you can look forward to the first chapter that was beta read. Ah, and it reads so much better now.

A little SneakPeak for you:

Lucy is woken by a knock on the door. She pulls a pillow over her head. Shit. What time is it? Where is she? What day is it today? But it doesn't really matter because she just wants to go back to sleep.

And then it all comes back to her. And a loud shit escapes her. A very loud shit. She throws the pillow somewhere and jumps out of bed. At the same moment, the door opens, and Tamara is standing in the doorway.

"I was just about to wake you up. You overslept, didn't you?"

Lucy almost falls over her own shoes. How the hell are they ended up lying around here?

She only mutters an "I hit the snooze on the alarm " and then storms into her bathroom. Shit. Shit. Shit. If she's late today, she'll be the laughingstock of the day. She can already hear Nyla and Angela. They'd tease her about it for the rest of her life. And then Tim-Mr-on-time-is-a-hour-earlier-Bradford. He will never let her forget that. Although she might be able to convince Tim in another way to forget that she's not on time. Nonsense, she can still make it in time. But in terms of Tim Bradford punctuality, she'll definitely be late. Forget it, Lucy. Don't think about how you can convince Tim now, step on the gas.

She turns the tap on. Too hard, of course so the water splashes everywhere. Great, now she can clean the whole sink.

She hears suppressed laughter behind her.

"It's not funny."

"Yes, it is. You should have seen the look on your face when I walked in the door."

She turns towards Tamara and raises her index finger. "I need support now, not a lesson. Make me some coffee, please. With looooots of caffeine."

Tamara is still laughing but crosses Lucy's bathroom and opens the connecting door to the living area. "All right. For one thermos? Or two?"

Lucy has finally managed to pour water into the toothbrush cup and put the toothpaste on the brush.

"Two. Two is better."

Then she puts the toothbrush in her mouth and starts scrubbing. And although she knows that multitasking sucks, she goes into the bedroom and opens her wardrobe in search of something to wear. Of course, the toothpaste is now dripping everywhere. What a mess. So back into the bathroom and over the sink.

Then she hears Tamara's voice again. "Must have been a long evening last night."

Lucy now tries to speak while brushing her teeth but fails. So, she takes the brush out of her mouth for a moment. "It wasn't that long. But I think I had a few too many shots."

"Ah. I see. Soooo. Who else was there?"

She decides to put the question to the back of her mind, at least until she finishes brushing her teeth. And since she is not answering right away, Lucy sees from the mirror that Tamara appeared in the bathroom again with raised eyebrows. She rinses her mouth and wipes herself with a towel.

"The usual ones."

She goes back into the bedroom and looks for something to wear. Showering is no longer an option. Tamara follows her to the room, of course so she can grill her more about last night.

"And who are the usuals?"

Lucy rummages through her things as she lists them all.

"John and Bailey, Angela, Nyla, Aaron, Celina and Tim."

"Ah. And did you have a nice evening with Tim."

[atzfilm]

hey bee!! i finished reading project omen yesterday night and have come two years late to the party to pick your brains for lore and give you a somewhat hysterical review because my gOSH it was incredible (i also read the kraken and ch_i san and your writing is so chefs kiss UGH)

firstly i'm literally in awe that you produced over 40k of AWESOMENESS the whole thing was so good shdfuhhaidu like the feels and the details and yunho and gi being matching koi and yeosang highkey seducing people and HWA best believe i was crying at that bit

every single bit of the worldbuilding and the characters u gave the atz members you ate sO HARD

you actually ripped my heart in two because. the best friends to lovers and then joong's angsty confession of how he's afraid and him falling to his knees in front of reader?? reader seeing the same anguish in his eyes when he saw hwa again?? I WEPT

also wooyoung's wings are literally amazing. him cradling her with them almost unconsciously when they come out and them coming out when he came I WAS SCREECHING OMG

and the thing about how joong doesn't understand human idioms, he's literally so cute, like the bit where reader is like 'only god knows' and he's like 'yes i do know, anyways - '

ERM AND JOONG'S DOUBLE DICK I UH UM (it was perfect. the way he's like a reptile so he has a reptile dick. perfect. delicious. also his biting reflex when he comes. even more perfect. plus him being cold blooded too.)

ok so time for me to pursue the lore: i'm assuming gonggi is jongho because he's mentioned to be the youngest, so what is he god over - i know gonggi is that game with the rock things, is it something related to that?

does san exist in this universe?

also, i know they have their human forms but joong is mentioned to have green hair and woo to have orange, can they change the appearance of their human form's hair to be natural colours or is it just like that?

FINALLY, THE CLIFFHANGER AT THE END??? bro i'm going to cry thank you so much for blessing tumblr with your writing brb i'm going to think about this for the next 9-10 working years

hiii!! no worries about coming two years late, it took me a few weeks to answer your ask so we’re even asdbfjasdnf. first!! thank you sosososo much for enjoying project omen and my other stories! it makes me happy that it’s still being read even after all of this time <3.

AHHH the part with hwa, i think i actually teared up a bit writing that part ;; i get emotional thinking about it AND THANK YOU!! it’s crazy because i did not expect to write So Much of it.. let alone 40k i’m not sure i’ll ever be able to do that again omg

THANK YOUUUU

best friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes ;; i love it soso much and i’m a sucker for the angst and the struggling feelings UGHHH i love it so BAD

PLEASE!!! that’s one of my favorite things about his character, i love him being very clueless when it comes to idioms that the reader mentions </3

little to say about this point SADJNKFASNDF if you read any of my other fics it’s definitely a trademark !!

gonggi is jongho!! his “power” or ruling is air!

honestly and i know people may hate me,, san does exist but i truly forgot to mention him in the fic … I KNOW. i reread it later on and i was like no way did i forget to add san in here… DKFMS

they can change their appearance! i don’t quite remember and it’s been a while since i read it myself, but i’m pretty sure it only changes when they go back to their true form? since wooyoung hasn’t changed in a while, his hair is brown in the beginning but slowly goes back to orange once he lets his “true” form out.

THANK YOUU!! i’m so happy you enjoyed it as much as you did :<

[invested-in-your-future]

Yang mentioned Terminator. Does that mean there are scary movies Remnant in your rewrite? How does that work?

There are movies, yes, and some movies would coincide with our pop culture - especially ones not reliant on our specific history.

With robotics being a thing and Atlas heavily pursuing mechs and all that, that's, like, one reference that makes the most sense, imo.

If the public wasn't afraid of the idea of androids and AI, using Penny to sow discord like Cinder did would not have worked.

The movie was popular everywhere but Atlas, where the populace was less than lukewarm at the idea of their technological advances being made a boogeyman.

In my rewrite, Vale basically had Remnant's equivalent of Hollywood.

Yang also referenced horror before this, so yeah - scary fiction exists but with a few caveats - there are quite big differences in terms of fictional works in our world and Remnant:

Horror is expected to have a happy ending, which is a departure from our understanding of the genre. There's still the sense of thrill of seeing people struggle against unbeatable monster, but in the end of the day the genre also ends up representing the idea of prevailing against unbeatable terrors no matter what - if there's a monster in Remnant's horror fiction, then that creature will always be defeating before the story ends.

Fairytale and mythological movies are basically the Superhero genre of Remnant - Remnant is a society obsessed with legends and myths. There are likely entire movie and book franchises based upon various mythological events and folk stories. Having superpowers? That's commonplace in Remnant with Semblances and Aura. Reliving something legendary? Now that's exciting - everyone wants to feel like a hero.

War movies don't see much in terms of production resources or money - (because Ozpin's circle is not interested in society glorifying war), but a niche indie scene of war movies thrives all over the world with lo-fi visual effects, theatre props, and stuff like that.

Specific historical events are considered off-limits - nobody is going to make the movie about The Third Crusade (at least in Vale as there's a law forbidding depicting the atrocities there) or Mistral's lost fourth city. It's a hotly debated topic because some argue outright not even referencing those events would make the public forget why they were so horrifying in the first place (case in point - a large portion of the population doesn't really know what The Third Crusade means now beyond it having become a popular idiom)

Faunus actors are still uncommon - Some parts of Mistral or Atlas would likely outright refuse to screen movies starring them. While there's a considerable effort lately to change that, as far as acting goes, Faunus thrive in theatre - in Faunus communities, there's even a genre of spoken plays with the intent of preserving, recapturing, and recreating surviving parts of their lost culture and mythology.

Overall, I don't think horror or any "darker" fiction would be a no-no in such a setting - if anything, fictionalizing terror helps us get more desensitized to them. Think about it - what's scarier - the monsters nobody talks about or the monsters, while horrifying, get defeated weekly on TV?

[historyherstory]

The first scene that comes to mind when I think of HHS is our girl riding up to the group of officers on horseback on the morning of the invasion. You just know that nobody that was there would ever forget an entrance like that.

Also I love a good slow burn, since they tend to seem more believable to me (and especially considering the couples' respective temperaments and the war they're currently in lol). Keep us in suspense and cook us like frogs in hot water, slowly turning up the heat, and it'll be gooooood.

That aside, I adore every Ron/Ellie interaction bc he always puts her back up and he can take her sass where another man might bristle. Apart from them, my favorite scenes are always with her and Roe and Harry, since they both bring out different sides of her; it seems like she can be more vulnerable and wistful with Roe, while Harry gives off a bit of big brother energy. Seeing her mentally fence with Nixon and discomfit Winters is always fun, too.

The combined tension of "Please don't shoot me" juxtaposed against the cavalier, nearly blasé acceptance of their presence, as she just shows up with the sunrise is one of those scenes that I really enjoy from a perspective of "How can I tell you about this person without saying it all" I'm glad it comes to mind for you, too!

I think at least one little 🐸 is going to try to jump out of the pot but, at that moment it may be they both land in the fire and the heat goes way up? Am I mixing too many idioms here? But, a point well made.. Once she commits to something, Ellie is ruthlessly decisive but getting her to get to that point is going to be a marathon. Fortunately for us, Ron's got the legs to commit to that kind of race. (Author omnipotence here means I'm cackling..I can't wait for you to see what's coming.) ((additional author note I have just been reminded that Ron was a track runner in his youth so this is even funnier in retrospect))

Harry is definitely a really congenial foil to her, which honestly surprised me. I had originally anticipated their dynamic to be less trusting? and honestly, less present. Harry had other opinions though so here we are.. Thank you so much for answering! I loved reading your thoughts on this and hearing about what stands out to you. It's so fun (and honestly, gives me some good feedback on how to frame scenes going forward).

[lieutenant-amuel]

since you write your stories in English, do you have any tips or stuff you’ve learned?

Hm, I’m not sure I have any tips to share?

Anyway, the thing I would advise to the non-English writers who write in English is to write in your native language first and then translate it into English. It takes longer to finish your work but it also allows you to put your thoughts together better. I always write like that, which is why one chapter of my fanfic usually takes me around one month, but I prevent myself from making many silly mistakes because in this case I also have more time for editing and thinking the plot through again.

I don’t know how the writing process goes for other writers but when it comes to me, my first draft, written in my native language, is extremely bad. This is nothing but a base for the future detailed-written chapter, so when I start translating, I fill all the gaps with better descriptions and smoother action scenes. I wouldn’t be able to do it if the chapter was originally written in English. I suppose this is because I’m still not fluent enough but no matter what the reason is, this is just the easiest and the most reliable way to write fanfiction for me.

However, I once wrote three drabbles about my original characters that I posted only here, on Tumblr, and they were written without “preliminary preparation.” I wrote all of them in English right away because they were short and kinda local if I can say so.

(and of course it doesn’t apply to my posts on Tumblr. Now when I’m writing this I write it in English, translating everything in my head and writing it down right away. So, my English when I chat with my foreign friends, my Tumblr English, and my fanfiction English are three completely different things)

I think I’d also advise to store somewhere (either in your head or create a separate doc where you can write them all down for the future reference) all the idioms you use in your fanfiction? I mean, idioms is a very specific language thing, and in my opinion, it makes your writing a lot more lively and natural language-wise. I swear once I learnt the idiom “to make someone’s blood boil”, I just started using it everywhere XD

(and an interesting thing is that writing all the metaphorical scenes/lines is a lot easier in English? Perhaps this is because I think my metaphors sound ridiculous in my language because I straight up know what they mean, whereas in English, I can let nature take its course, because yeah, my brain functions differently, I have no idea whether I can put those words together, forgive me.

A fragment from my fanfic, which I think sounds fantastic in English (at least there were two people who complimented it), but I sincerely have no idea how to say it in my language without sounding fake:

"That unforgettable feeling of the flames melting into your skin and spreading the burning pain from deep within your body. So, the only thing left for you is to scream. But you can't. As your lungs are squeezed by a suffocating embrace of smoke that doesn't let you take a single breath of fresh air. Yes. That's impossible to forget. But I have no desire to talk about it with anyone."

Another way to make your writing more natural, especially when you write dialogues, is to use more colloquial/slang phrases. I wouldn’t say that I’m very good at this myself, because it requires to know a certain language very well so you can sound like a native speaker. But you know, the more I watched some movies/TV shows in English, the easier it was to catch some common phrases that I could use both in my creative writing and casual speech (I swear you guys use the word “stuff” and the phrase “you know” almost in every sentence XD)

To conclude this part: write in your native language first so you can put your thoughts together better, have more time for editing, and generally make your life easier. Use more colloquialism, including idioms and slang, so your writing sounds more lively and feels more natural language-wise.

As for the things I’ve learnt, I finally understood English tenses (or at least got a clearer picture of them). You know, it’s hard to get the hang of them when there’s only three of them in your native language and the way the English tenses are explained in the school books literally makes them sound unnecessary a lot more complicated than they actually are XD

I’ve learnt a few new words (that I now use literally in every chapter :’D), I know a lot more about English punctuation. The things I still struggle with are conditional sentences (specifically the type 3, but you know) and neither and nor? I’m not sure what’s wrong with them exactly, but they confuse me sometimes. And the famous English articles, I hate them with all my might <3

I think I’ve generally improved my English because I feel a lot more confident when I write in this language (although, really, I’m not the one to judge, writing ridiculous mess with confidence is not that difficult :’D). When I wrote my first chapters, I maniacally checked every sentence, every word (because I also had no beta reader), and reread what I’d written zillion times. I’m still careful with what I write but I don’t feel that nervous about it anymore.

Those are basically the only things I can say, hope I’ve managed to answer your question!

[st-satia]

I have been thinking about nations and languages and this is something I think makes sense:

Nations don't need to learn languages that are native to their land or that are the official or defacto language, it is their native language after all. What can change is a dead or extinct language. After the last speaker dies maybe they can retain it but they may mostly forget it or only retain basic vocabulary if they don't use it, just like how we can forget a language we learned if we don't practice it. Maybe Antonio has forgot Romandalusi and wouldn't be able to hold a conversation nowdays, but if he sees a text, he could understand it with no problem and practice it enough to remember more (but in the way a human would, not with nation-magic-shenanigans).

In a similar vein, languages change over time, slowly but surely yet not at the same pace geographically, but since it's an “unpatched” version of the same idiom with a sintaxis that they spoke on a daily basis at the time, I don't see them struggling like we do now with centuries old texts, even some archaism may split every now and then, specially in older nations.

But what happens with non-native languages that are widely spoken due to large immigration? I am a bit torn on this, but I side that at first, when the immigrant community is not so prominent yet or it is recent, a nation won’t be automatically fluent, they will have to lear the old-fashioned way. But as time goes on, they can get certain level of automatic fluency depending on the numbers of said community. Possibly Alfred didn’t spoke any Polish or Cantonese at the middle of the XIX century but that changed by the turn of the century. Yet, since over time some communities become assimilated and further generations are less likely to speak the language their ancestors did in the old country, maybe his fluency on Polish faded a bit, and his Cantonese was slightly replaced by Mandarin.

Nevertheless, Nations are an interesting hypothetical species to ramble on.

[mi-i-zori]

Those are really good points !

As a French person who speaks English on the daily for fun (talking, writing, reading out loud…) and is also probably gonna use it for work, here are a few funny things I noticed happening to me pronunciation and vocabulary-wise, as well as to other people.

• -s and -th sounds can be really confusing and easy to swap when talking or reading out loud. They sometimes feel like tongue-twisters. Depending on how tired I am, or how long I’ve been reading, something like « The somber forest » can become « Ze thomber forest », or « The somber foretht », or something like that. Pretty funny when it happens once, but for me it’s usually followed by a general struggle to pronounce the following sentences or words correctly, which is increasingly frustrating the more it happens.

• On a similar note about -th sounds ; many French people pronounce it « à la française », which ends up with them replacing them by -z sounds. I think it goes with the French accent in general.

• French idioms are really funny, because we don’t fuck around with the images. When someone just woke up and says « j’ai la tête dans le cul », literally « I have my head up my ass », it means they’re still not really awake yet and pretty tired still. Last time, I said « le panneau ne pas déranger qui pend à la porte, c’est pas pour les chiens ! », which literally translates to « the do not disturb sign on the door isn’t for dogs ! » ; the « isn’t for dogs » part meaning that the object is here for a reason, in this case the sign asking people to not disturb the person in the room - we say this as a passive-agressive reaction to someone disrespecting obvious rules or not caring for the existence of something (bikes not using the bike lanes right next to them, people not caring about what a sign says, etc…).

Personally, I like literally translating some French idioms into English (or vice versa) when I want to convey a silly or strong image ; but I also sometimes don’t realise that I’m doing it, and end up being like « wait, that doesn’t sound right, is that a French/English one ? » and laugh about it. Bonus fun if people are actually confused by it.

• You know that feeling when you want to use a word, and it’s on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t remember it for the life of you ? Well take that feeling, and apply it to people who fluently speak multiple languages (or are actively learning one, maybe !) and have that word in every language they speak except the one they’re currently using.

• One thing I’ve noticed between French and English is that we have words that sound pretty similar. Me or my friends who also speak English almost fluently sometimes accidentally use an English word that’s really similar to its French counterpart in a sentence. Sometimes I notice it right away, sometimes it takes me a few seconds, and I try to use the correct version according to the language we’re using to make sure I understood it well.

• On a similar note, French and English have very similar words in spelling, and it can be easy to forget how to spell it properly in the language you’re using. Example : the word « language » in English is « langage » in French. In the same context, we can also use « langue », « tongue », like in English too. In French, to get the sound -gh with a vowel, a lot of words are written « gu(vowel) », but some others ditch the -u after the -g and still use the same -gh sound. So I often switch the spelling of similar words like « language » and « langage » between English or French - even as I’m writing this now, the French word « langage » looks weird to me lmao.

• Also on a similar note, some words in French and English are the same when it comes to their spelling, or sound very similar to each other, but do not have the same meaning, which can end up being confusing sometimes. Take the example « flexible » in English - here you have an adjective usually used for someone who has a wide range of movement in their joints - like « wow, you can actually touch your toes without bending your knees ?? You’re so flexible ! ». In French, that same word « flexible » is used for an object you can bend easily, or for someone who is willing to be accommodating despite the rules - when talking about a person’s flexibility though, we say that they are « souple » instead (which can also be used for someone who is okay with bending some rules to accommodate others, honestly, but I’m pointing out how « flexible » isn’t really used for someone’s physical prowess). There are many examples like that, and it’s easy to confuse them.

That’s all I have in my mind right now. Please remember that those examples are based on my own experience, and things can be different for other people.

Though please, if you’re writing bilingual (or more) characters, please don’t make them go greet someone in their mother tongue if that person doesn’t speak said mother tongue. It’s pretty tiring to see this kind of example used to clearly state to the reader/viewer that the character is bilingual.

Use the accents instead, or quirks in languages. Or, if you really want them to speak in their native language, do it in a critical situation (like swearing when they’re in trouble/danger), when they get frustrated (speaking in another language is tiring and not as easy as it might seem sometimes - I know that when I get angry or want to vent, it’s sometimes easier to do so in my native language, much less frustrating than getting stuck and not being able to express the emotions I want to get out properly - or when I get stuck in one language, I switch to another, which can result in a weird mix I guess lmao). It can also be when they want to insult someone without them knowing, or when they can’t find a word so they revert to their native language to be like « damn, what’s that word already ? ».

A while ago, I had found a Tumblr post describing how you can write a bilingual character, which included points I have already mentioned. I’ll have to see if I can find it again, it was a really good post.

Hope this little addition helps, even if it ended up leaning more towards grammar and vocabulary than accents in the end. I guess I saw « French » in OP’s post and was like « !! :D ». Thanks for sharing your post in the first place OP !

Writing Character Accents in Fiction

Hey there, thanks for the question! I speak English as a second language; most English speakers I encounter aren’t native (yes, including fictional people); thus, this is a concern I’ve explored personally when I write. 

I think the core principle regarding accent writing is this: it shouldn’t be distracting. 

For the same reasons why Stephen King prescribes the basic dialogue tag “said” rather than fancier alternatives like “whispered”, “shouted” or “screeched”, dialogue must be first and foremost easy to read. It must flow like a real conversation – the pace and tone are a lot more important than how specific words are being pronounced by the character. 

Focus on what effect the accent has:

Using adjectives to describe their voice in general. Different types of English (American, British, Australian, etc.) will give off a different vibe, also partly dependent on how your character speaks in general:

Lilting: Having a smooth rise and falling quality; sing-song like. Welsh accent is often described as singing. 

Posh: from a high social class. This is the term generally used to describe the upper-class British accent.

Nasal: this happens when the sound goes through somebody’s nose when they’re speaking. North American accents are more nasal than, say, British pronunciations. 

Brash: harsh, loud, indicative of sounding a little rude. 

Slur: speaking indistinctly; words merging into one another.

Using metaphors.

Her voice was cotton and fluffy clouds. 

When he spoke, the ‘r’s scratched the insides of his throat. 

Mentioning their accent with a brief example(s). 

“Would you like to drink some wine?” she said, though her Indian accent gave extra vibration to her ‘w’s and ‘r’s, making the words sound more like ‘vould you like to drrrink some vine’.

“I want some chocolate.” His syllables were choppy and ‘l’s rather flat, saying ‘cho-ko-lit’. 

Some Tips:

Don’t phonically spell out everything. Perhaps give a few examples in the beginning, but stick to standard English spellings. 

Pay attention to word choice, slang, and colloquialisms. 

An Australian person would say “tram”, not “trolley; “runners” instead of “sneakers”

A Canadian may refer to a “fire hall” – what Americans call a firehouse or fire station

If your character comes from a non-Enligsh background:

Use vocabulary from other languages. 

“What time was the exam, ah? Two o’clock? Jiayou!” → putting “ah” or “la” at the end of sentences + Jiayou means “break a leg” in Singlish. 

“I can’t believe that 4-year-olds have their own SNS accounts now.” → “SNS” is short for “social networking service”, a term used to refer to social media in Korea. This would a subtle difference – even though it isn’t technically Korean at all!

Transpose grammar from different languages. 

For example, in French, plural nouns take plural adjectives (whereas in English, you would speak of ‘white cars’, not ‘whites cars’).

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

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💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

[freenewsreport]

Luther: The Social Media Maven Behind Keezy.co – The Secrets to Success!

When it comes to making waves on social media, few names command attention like Luther social media maven Keezy co. If you've ever wondered how to harness the full power of platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter), you're in for a treat. Luther has turned Keezy.co into a social media powerhouse, blending marketing expertise with the magic of engaging content. Want to learn how he does it?

Who is Luther, the social media maven behind Keezy.co, and why should you care? Well, if you're looking to up your game in the social media world, Luther is a prime example of how to do it right. Keezy.co, a brand that started small, has now grown into a recognizable name—thanks to Luther’s incredible ability to engage audiences, spark conversations, and stay on top of the latest trends. You could say that Luther "hit the ground running," and hasn’t looked back since!

How Did Luther Become a Social Media Maven?

Let's start with the big question: How did Luther, the social media maven behind Keezy.co, rise to prominence? Was it luck or strategy? The truth is, it was a mix of both. Luther had a keen eye for identifying trends early, but more importantly, he knew how to capitalize on them. He wasn’t afraid to experiment—something a lot of people avoid for fear of failure.

For Luther, every social media post was a stepping stone to better engagement. He started with consistent posting, learned what his audience loved, and never shied away from adapting his content. The result? Keezy.co became synonymous with creativity and authenticity.

What Makes Keezy.co Stand Out?

Keezy.co’s success lies in its ability to stand out in a crowded market, and this is largely thanks to Luther’s approach. Luther uses idiomatic expressions and casual language to keep the tone light and engaging, making the brand relatable. When someone says "the ball’s in your court," it’s Luther giving his audience a nudge to take action. Keezy.co's posts often feel like personal conversations rather than marketing messages. It’s this casual but effective style that keeps the audience hooked.

Luther’s Key Strategies for Keezy.co’s Success

Consistency is King – One of Luther's core strategies is consistency. He doesn’t post once and disappear. Keezy.co is always present on social media, ensuring its followers never forget about them.

Engagement is Everything – Luther goes beyond posting by actively engaging with the audience. He doesn’t just respond to comments; he asks questions, starts discussions, and makes the audience feel valued.

Creative Content is Non-Negotiable – Keezy.co’s content is always fresh, creative, and tailored to the audience. From witty captions to eye-catching visuals, Luther knows how to keep things exciting.

Why Idiomatic Expressions Work on Social Media

You might be wondering, why use idiomatic expressions like “let’s hit the nail on the head” or “it’s a piece of cake” in social media posts? Luther, the social media maven behind Keezy.co, swears by these phrases because they add an element of familiarity. They make your brand feel more human, more relatable. And let's face it, no one likes stiff, corporate language on social media. The casual, conversational style breaks down barriers and builds trust.

Examples of Luther’s Idiomatic Magic

"We’re hitting the ground running with our latest release!" – Keezy.co used this idiom to introduce a new product, making it sound like an exciting adventure.

"The ball’s in your court—time to make a move!" – By turning a classic idiom into a call to action, Luther keeps things playful but direct.

Mastering Transitional Phrases for Smoother Content

Luther's posts flow seamlessly because he knows how to use transitional phrases. Words like "meanwhile," "on the other hand," and "as a result" keep the conversation going. Without these, content can feel disjointed. It’s like starting a story but skipping the middle—people lose interest fast. Transitional phrases help glue the story together, ensuring your audience stays engaged from start to finish.

Transitional Phrases Luther Loves to Use

"On top of that" – Keezy.co often uses this phrase to introduce a bonus feature or perk in their posts.

"As a result" – When discussing how a new strategy increased engagement, this phrase perfectly ties the cause to the effect.

Dangling Modifiers: What Are They and Why Should You Avoid Them?

Now, let’s talk about something every writer fears: the dreaded dangling modifier. This is when a descriptive phrase doesn’t quite match the subject of the sentence. For example: "Running through the forest, the camera fell out of my hand." In this sentence, it sounds like the camera is running through the forest. Yikes! Luther, the social media maven behind Keezy.co, avoids these blunders to maintain professionalism, even in informal posts.

How does Luther avoid them? He reads his posts out loud. This simple trick helps catch awkward phrasing that can confuse readers. Luther knows that clarity is key on social media, where attention spans are short.

Why Informal Language Works for Keezy.co

Keezy.co’s brand voice is approachable and laid-back. Luther understands that social media isn’t the place for formal, business-like language. Instead, he keeps things conversational, often incorporating exclamations like "Wow!" or "Guess what?" This informal tone invites followers into the conversation, making them feel like they’re chatting with a friend rather than being sold something.

Avoiding Repetition in Content Creation

Have you ever read a social media post that repeats the same point over and over? It’s boring, right? Luther avoids this by mixing up his vocabulary and keeping each post fresh. He might use synonyms, idiomatic expressions, or even metaphors to keep the content lively. It’s all about variety—repetition is the quickest way to lose an audience.

How Luther Balances Engagement with Sales

One of the trickiest aspects of social media is finding the balance between engaging content and promotional material. Too much promotion, and you’ll alienate your audience. Too little, and you won’t make any sales. Luther nails this balance by subtly incorporating promotional content into engaging stories or helpful tips. Keezy.co’s audience gets value from the posts, even when they’re being nudged toward making a purchase.

Conclusion: What Can We Learn From Luther?

So, what’s the takeaway here? Luther, the social media maven behind Keezy.co, has mastered the art of engaging audiences while growing a brand. His use of idiomatic expressions, transitional phrases, and informal language makes Keezy.co feel like a friend rather than just another business. By avoiding repetition and dangling modifiers, Luther ensures that each post is fresh, clear, and inviting.

[fendsworld]

A Coin Has Two Sides, Mine Has Three: My Medusa of Perceptions

CHAPTER 1

The Old Testament of Living: A Guilt-Tripping Story

It's easy to demonize human gratification for ease and comfort when we talk about life in mundanity. To buy the idea that regardless of today's gift of advancement, we must opt to kindle the roots and deny the savor of its fruits. While this is equally idealistic and nostalgic, there may be peeks in the idea we must consider.

To a degree, it was never just a matter of predilection but of life's demand. In this fast-paced world, you could feel slowed down. Perhaps, with the pressure, it comes in terms of your ways and means. Nevertheless, there's a staggering tag and pull of going where, why, and how. Comfort is a luxury, and not everyone can afford it. Which makes people differ in their paces and graces. There's a cost for a 6 that's the reality. We pay to exist. We live through rates. And we fill our cups. There's no other way around. Unless, of course, if privilege is your cherry on top. Which is unfortunately, is not served at every diner.

Another thing is romanticization in the guise of denial as an untackled facet. While we are all entitled to unsubscribe to popular opinion, lapses in this kind hint at a slippery slope of stagnancy; that in one way or another impedes collective ascendance. A rejection of modernity and an embrace of tradition that screams patriotism of some sort without utter intention. Others may argue that this is a capitalist take. But truth be told, it goes beyond the confining bounds of that, but of mindful inadvertence and a pose to challenge innovation per se. Which raises a question, what for, then? Why must we castigate a lending hand? Because it’s a splinter-in-the-toe ego thing? 

In a practical sense, inevitability should be weaponized to good use; a rear mirror to potentials and possibilities. That if pursued becomes a catalyst to development. As we all know, is an economy’s pivotal component. Hence, to disregard this very fact speaks the same utterance of self-sabotage and impediment vis-à-vis. A pledge to regression.

CHAPTER 2

Melancholia and the Glimpse of I

On a lighter note, if we're not to cast our issues unto the very essence of welcoming change, there's also something to reminisce about as we move forward. Say the easier times. The simpler life. How things are supposed to be and how they used to make us feel. Besides, moving forward doesn't mean forgetting, right? It only means moving with whatever comes along with openness and utmost acceptance.

To stir an aroma of nostalgia, I remember when I was a kid, I used to be fond of reading. I loved everything 'lit': short stories, myths, riddles, idioms, you name it. Whenever we'd go to the market, I’d always ask to be brought something to read. And when I turned into a young teen, I started collecting teen mags like Candy and Total Girl magazines. I loved waiting for every month's issue. Who the magazine cover would be and the exclusive freebies it would come with. It's such a joy to see the new magazine's issue on a rack whenever I go to the mall because I know one's coming home with me. Not long enough, I also started reading the book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid counter: Dork Diaries. And so, as some Wattpad books. From that, I resorted to reading novels and self-help books. I just so happen to have a slump, I am still battling up to this date. 

The print really helped me a lot through life. It gave me a safe space. Another world to live in. An escape from whatever pains me. It was a home back then. A solitary comfort. And my piece of adventure. There's so much more to say, but I think that this could describe enough. Sometimes, I wish I still had that yearning in me. Because I feel like I lost it. But I believe, sometime around, I’d get it again. I'll feel it again. There's just a lot going on right now that I am still yet to care about. Hasta Mañana, then.

CHAPTER 3

Mellow Blues Played on Sundays

Growing up with shelf-long people in my early years influenced how I view life and how I opt to experience it. The old always felt warm. The old always felt good. But the old is bound to be replaced. And it’s the way to go. Nevertheless, there’s a chokehold of comfort and peace to rest in the caress of it. And perhaps, a glory it owns.

Before print was used for entertainment, it once served as people’s compass. To life’s how, what, when, and where. It did a lot more than it is credited for. It was, in a way, rudimentary to people’s lives at a time. In which, it was needed more than it is now, prior to the conquer of revolution to mankind. It fed people. It taught people. It helped people. And beyond. Although the rift and shifts the phenomena call, it is still yet to prove it that will never die. But perhaps has to constantly thrive. Manic as it sounds, it coughs difficulty and wheezes effort. But it does not deny, it succumbs. And it pars with good grace. A merit we can warrant it for.

Perhaps people would say, the industry it creates as it accommodates change is far-fetched sedentary, unreal, and half-as-good. Which I beg to disagree. As I don’t think, it should be taken as that. As it’s merely obligated but hence as purposeful and productive, just less the proclivity it holds. Nevertheless, substance goes beyond the structure. And the riff-off is unintentional and not inherently dismissive. It’s just that, it’s time-bound and corollary. As how human life is designed to be. Humanity tied in a string of incessant changes. To end, this is not a rival but an attempt to survive – by book or by crook. And the saving happens when we cherish and remember.