#i love multiple translations of poems

[andhumanslovedstories]

hey!! just wondering, is your blog @ from a longer quote/piece of writing, or is it something you came up with yourself? i feel like i've heard it somewhere before, and it would be really useful to know for a project i'm working on!

thanks <3

my url is from Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith, a Tiffany Aching book:

“To animals they were just the weather, just part of everything. But humans arose and gave them names, just as people filled the starry sky with heroes and monsters, because this turned them into stories. And humans loved stories, because once you'd turned things into stories, you could change the stories.”

My blog title "I'm here but once to the marrow of my bones" is a line from a translation of Polish poet Wisława Szymborska's poem, which I've seen called "Attempt" and also "An Effort". Most of the versions you can easily find online have a different translation of the last line ("I’m one-time-only to the marrow of my bones") but I've always preferred the other translation, which is the first one I encountered when I was very young in my aunt's copy of Sounds, Feelings, Thoughts: Seventy Poems.

"Attempt" Ah yes, sweet little song, how much you mock me, for even if I go o'er hill, I won't bloom as a rose. Only a rose blooms as a rose, no one else. That's for sure. I tried to put out leaves, to turn into a bush. Holding my breath--so it would happen quicker-- I waited for the moment of budding as a rose. O sweet little song, you show no mercy toward me: I have a body that's unique, immutable, I'm here but once to the marrow of my bones.

versus this translation

An Effort Alack and woe, oh song: you’re mocking me; try as I may, I’ll never be your red, red rose. A rose is a rose is a rose. And you know it. I worked to sprout leaves. I tried to take root. I held my breath to speed things up, and waited for the petals to enclose me. Merciless song, you leave me with my lone, nonconvertible, unmetamorphic body: I’m one-time-only to the marrow of my bones.

[youjustwaitsunshine]

i love you historical epics with prefaces and footnotes i love you bilingual historical epics with side by side verses i love you historical context i love you endless appendices i love you explanation for the historical text that makes up half the book

[everyday-is-brighter-with-you]

In Jerusalem by Tamim Al-Barghouti - Translated by Anas and Amena, based off Houssem Ben Lazreg

In Jerusalem

We passed by the beloved’s house, but were turned away​ by the enemy’s laws and the enemy's wall.​

I told myself, “Maybe, that is a blessing,” for what will you see in Jerusalem when ​you visit it?

You will see all that you cannot endure, when its houses appear by the ​side of the road.​

And not every soul rejoices when it meets its beloved, nor does every separation harm it.​

For if their meetings pleased it before separation,​ That pleasure is not, after their reunion, guaranteed.

Once you set your eyes on Old Jerusalem one time, your eyes will then see it, wherever you set them. ……………………………………………………………………………….

In Jerusalem is a greengrocer from Georgia, annoyed with his wife, thinking of going on vacation ​or of painting his house.​

In Jerusalem is a Torah ​ and an elderly man come from Upper Manhattan to teach Polish boys its commandments.​

In Jerusalem is an Ethiopian policeman closing off a street in the marketplace.​ A machine gun on a settler not yet twenty.​ A hat greeting the Wailing Wall. ​

​And European tourists who do not see Jerusalem at all.​ You see them taking pictures ​of each other ​with a Palestinian woman who sells radishes in public squares ​all day long.​

In Jerusalem the soldiers marched ​with heavy boots ​over the clouds. In Jerusalem we prayed on the asphalt. ​In Jerusalem ​is…​whomsoever is in Jerusalem…but you.​

And History turned to me and smiled: ​ "Did you really think that your eye would overlook them and see other than them? Here they are in front of you; ​The text,​ of which you are the footnote and margin.

O son, did you think ​that a visit would lift​ off of the city’s face ​the thick veil of its reality, so that you may see what you desire?​ In Jerusalem ​is every young man…​but you.​

It is the deer in the distance whom fate decreed stay out of reach,​ you still chase after her ​ever since she said goodbye with a tear​. Go easy on yourself for a moment, ​I see that you have become weak…​ In Jerusalem ​is​…whomsoever is in Jerusalem…​but you.​"

O chronicler of history, wait a minute for the city’s timeline is twofold: One is foreign, serene, with steady steps ​as if sleepwalking​ And there is another, hidden, masked, walking silently, cautious of the first…​

And Jerusalem knows itself. ​Ask the people there everyone will guide you,​ for every thing in the city has a tongue ​eloquent when you ask it.​

In Jerusalem the crescent becomes more curved, like an embryo,​ bending towards its likenesses over the domes, developing with them over the years a relationship,​ as of a father to his sons.​

In Jerusalem are buildings whose stones are quotations​ from the Bible and the Quran.​

In Jerusalem the definition of beauty is ​a blue octagon,​ on top of it, dear friend, lies a golden dome ​that looks to me like ​a convex mirror in which heaven’s face ​is reflected,​ coddled, drawn near, ​ distributed like aid to the ​needy as they are besieged ​ when they appeal to God ​after a Friday sermon. ​ In Jerusalem the sky is amongst us, ​ we protect it and it ​protects us, ​ and we would carry it on​ our shoulders if Time ever ​oppressed its moons.​

In Jerusalem are dark marble columns,​ the veins in the marble resemble smoke. ​ And windows, high on mosques and churches, taking Dawn by hand to show it how engraving in colour is done. ​

Dawn says, “like this,” ​and the windows reply, “no, rather like this.” ​ And whenever this debate lasts long, they compromise. For Dawn is free outside the thresholds, but​ if it ever wishes to enter ​it is bound to the rules of the windows and their Lord.​

In Jerusalem there’s a school built by a Mameluke who came from beyond the river, was sold at a slave market in Isfahan, to a merchant from Baghdad, who traveled to Aleppo, and gave the Mameluke to Aleppo’s Prince, Fearing the blueness in the Mameluke’s left eye, the Prince gave him to a caravan heading for Egypt where soon, he became the vanquisher of the Moguls and the Sovereign Sultan

In Jerusalem is a scent that captures the essence of Babylon and India​ at an herbalist’s shop in Khan El Zeit.​ A scent that I swear has a language ​you will understand if you listen to; And it says to me when they fire tear gas at me “Don’t worry about them.” And it fills the air again as the gas ​fades away and it says to me: “Do you see?”​

In Jerusalem contradictions are in agreement, ​and the wonders people cannot deny;​ they check them out like pieces of cloth, old and new,​ and the miracles there they touch with their hands.

In Jerusalem if you shake hands with an old man or touch a building, you will find engraved on your palm, ​my friend, lines of a poem or two.​

In Jerusalem despite the succession of calamities a breeze of innocence fills the air, a breeze of childhood.​ And you will see doves flying declaring the birth of a state between two bullets.

​In Jerusalem the rows of graves are lined like they are ​the lines of the city’s history, ​ and the book is its soil. ​

Everyone has passed through here for Jerusalem welcomes all who come to it.​ Walk through it, and read its gravestones in the languages of all peoples of the Earth. There are the Africans, Europeans, Kipchaks, Slavs, Bosniaks, Tatars, Turks, the believers, disbelievers, poor, rich, sinners, hermits. In here are all the peoples that have ever walked the face of the Earth.​

Oh chronicler of history! ​What has happened that you ​have excluded us? Have you found that we are the only ones with no place left for us in the city? Re-write and read again for I see that you have erred.​

My eyes close, then look again. The driver of the yellow car heads north, away from the city’s gates, and now Jerusalem is behind us.

My eyes see it in the right-side mirror, as its colors have changed in the sun before sunset, when a smile surprised me, how it sneaked onto my face, I do not know.​

It said to me after all this pondering: ​ “O you weeping behind the city wall, are you a fool? Have you lost your mind? ​ Do not weep O you who have been excluded from the text of the book. ​ Do not weep O Arab, and know surely that​

In Jerusalem ​is whomsoever is in Jerusalem but…In Jerusalem ​I see no one…but you.”​

-

Original source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVYbsjK4nVA

[mathmusicreading]

@yummysuika @ospreywhite I really appreciate your translation work; can you explain more about shichen timekeeping to me? Because I know a tiny bit of modern Mandarin Chinese, but I can't recognize the shichens as the zodiac animals:

Zi (I don't know "rat", so I actually can't make any argument here.)

Chou (I don't know "ox", but I reasonably could have expected "niu" for "cow".)

Yin (I know "tiger" as "hu".)

Mao (I don't know "rabbit", but to me "mao" is "cat".)

Chen (I know "dragon" as "long".)

Si (I don't know "snake", but now I find it interesting that it sounds like death, like snakes could be seen as evil in Chinese culture similar to how they are seen in the Christian world.)

Wu (I know "horse" as "ma".)

Wei (I know "sheep/goat" as "yang".)

Shen (I don't know "monkey", but I would have expected "Sun" or "Wu" or "Kong" because of "Monkey King".)

You (I know "rooster/chicken" as " ji".)

Xu (I know "dog" as "gou".)

Hai (I don't know "pig/boar" unless "pork" and "pig" are the same "siu".)

I tried asking my parents, but they just starting talking about how the Chinese zodiac is actually a 60-year cycle with the 12 animals and the 5 elements. So are these shichen names the "Pre-Han dynasty semi-descriptive terms"? Is it kind of like the difference between "midday" and "noon" in English? The former is a "descriptor", the latter is a "name", but they "mean" the same thing?

(I tried checking the etymology for "noon" on dictionary.com, so to be fair "ninth hour" is a descriptor, but in Modern English it's not really recognizable as such and so for the sake of my shichen question, I'm calling "noon" a "name".)

Or is this another language/dialect or due to the evolution of language (changing words and pronunciations)?

I was also looking up the Dragon Boat Festival being on the unluckiest day of the year, and it says, "The Chinese name of the festival is pronounced differently in different Chinese languages. Duanwu (端午) literally means 'starting horse'—i.e., the first "horse day" of the month according to the Chinese zodiac." so I was able to get the exact character for "wu". I think it's interesting that Wikipedia says "literally ... horse" but putting 午 into Google Translate yields "midday, noonday, seventh earthly branch, 11 a.m.-1 p.m." It's unfortunate that Wikipedia only says "different Chinese languages" for "Duanwu" instead of specifying them or time periods, but I appreciate it listing different romanizations by country for Cantonese.

Would you say there's any pattern to Chinese writers or English translators using the above terms vs. using "hour/time/head/body/tail of the (insert zodiac animal here)"? Like if one sounds better for a historical fantasy setting, or choosing to use the pinyin in English instead of translating to not be translating literally? ETA: I should have gotten onto a computer sooner. I asked my parents and then you guys because searching "shichen" in Wikipedia just resulted in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_units_of_measurement. But further digging took me to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_timekeeping. I'll probably get answers there (Maybe I'll even be able to explain to my dad why he was thinking of ten stems and not matching mathematically with "60 is from 12 times 5, not 10 times 6" when he was trying to lecture on the 60-year cycle for the Chinese zodiac, lol.), so my apologies for bothering you. I'd still appreciate your thoughts on what was formerly the last paragraph about writing and translation choices!

[spinelskyes]

i’m so stupid in love with you !

ft. chongyun, gaming, venti, xiao warnings: gn! reader wc: 0.3k a/n: i need someone to act like this with me fr teehee

lovesick chongyun, who turns impossibly red whenever you’re around, and who immediately searches his pockets for a popsicle to calm himself down. ah– look, is that steam coming out from his ears? might be your fault, then, because you told him ‘good morning’ with such a radiant smile! give him a couple minutes to recompose himself, then maybe– just maybe, if he can gather enough courage, he’ll look you in the eye.

“hey, um… do you want a popsicle? i got an extra.”

lovesick gaming, whom you quite nearly call ‘mother’ because of how devoted to caring for you he becomes. you complain of the heat? he’s already putting down a plate of freshly sliced apples– never you mind where he got his supplies from! don’t forget to hydrate, or he’ll be whining in your ear about how horrible it is to your body. want a break from his mothering? just say you’re hungry.

“you’re hungry? wanna grab some dim sum? ooh, wait, maybe we can get some char siu!”

lovesick venti, who thinks of every excuse to cling onto you, rambling on and on about the random things he saw while busking. who fills multiple notebooks with sonnets and poems, always with you as the muse. who sighs dreamily as he stares into his reflection in his wooden tankard, his mind replaying that moment of you smiling at him so brightly. (diluc groans, mentally bracing himself for the long night ahead.)

“hey, hey, did you know? they said hello to me today! i win!”

lovesick xiao tries to hide it– and fails. resorts to disappearing in a wisps of anemo every time he gets flustered. yes, even if only the tip of his ears turned red. he’s content with just watching you from afar, like a silent guardian protecting you from any harm. from what verr goldet tells the inn’s guests, there’s always one spot on the topmost floor he frequents, only if you’re there with him.

“you made this almond tofu? for me? …thanks. it’s not bad.”

© spinelskyes. do not repost, translate, plagiarise, or modify in any way.

[featherquillpen]

Gained in Translation

I speak four languages (at varying degrees of fluency) and do translation both for smooth and peaceable family reunions and for fun, with works of literature I enjoy. It's practically a truism at this point that meaning gets lost in translation; in fact, I'm currently reading an excellent book, Babel by R.F. Kuang, in which there is magic powered by the meaning lost in translation. But a topic I hardly ever hear anyone discuss is how meaning can be gained in translation.

Example 1: References

A type of meaning that can be gained in translation is that when you translate from language A to B, you can make references to other texts in language B that the person who wrote the original in language A wouldn't have been aware of. Here is an example from a translation I did of a Pablo Neruda poem:

Yo te recordaba con el alma apretada

de esa tristeza que tú me conoces.

I remembered you with my soul gripped

by the tragic ordeal of being known by you.

These lines in Spanish reminded me a lot of the meme based on the viral New York Times article about how you need to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known in order to reap the rewards of being loved. So I decided to make a subtle reference to that quote in the way I phrased the English translation. This meaning, of course, doesn't exist in the original Spanish; I added it in.

Example 2: Meaningful Distinctions

Meaning is often gained in translation because the target language makes a distinction that the source language does not. The translator has to choose one side of that distinction, and so meaning is gained.

Here is an example from the Spanish localization of the Japanese RPG Fire Emblem: Three Houses. There are two unlockable scenes in which the character Hubert is given a gift as a romantic gesture. Now, I don't speak Japanese, but through reading the analyses and translations done by Japanese speakers, and by checking for consistency in the kanji, I can see that the same word for "gift" seems to be used throughout these scenes. However, in Spanish, there are multiple words for "gift" with rather different connotations, which becomes relevant in the localization.

In Spanish, there is no generic word for "gift" that applies in every situation. There is a distinction made between gifts that are personal, between people who care about each other, and gifts between people who are not close, such as charitable gifts and formal gifts given to a diplomat. The translators of the game had to choose which of these words to use in the Spanish, and they used the distinction to add some very interesting meaning to these romantic scenes.

In each scene, what happens is that Hubert notices the person has a gift and comments on it, thinking it's for somebody else. In these lines, in Spanish, Hubert uses the personal intimate word for gift. Then, when he finds out the gift is for him, and reacts very awkwardly, he switches to a formal word for gift, creating an emotional distance between himself and the romantic token. This is excellent characterization and adds a layer of meaning in translation.

Example 3: Meaningful Ambiguity

Sometimes, the opposite phenomenon occurs, where the target language does not make a distinction that the source language does, and that ambiguity or vagueness adds something to the translation.

I have a Finnish friend who has told me that fiction that plays with gender is often more meaningful for him in Finnish translation than in the source language, because Finnish does not have gendered third person pronouns. Where books like The Left Hand of Darkness or Ancillary Justice have to make a conscious decision about which gendered pronoun to use for characters that fall outside the Western gender binary (The Left Hand of Darkness uses "he" and Ancillary Justice uses "she"), the Finnish translations can just use the default neutral pronoun they use for everyone, and never have to resolve that ambiguity in any direction. My friend has told me that there are some books about non-gender-normative characters that he wishes he'd read in Finnish instead of English because the experience would have felt more authentic in some ways.

What It Means

The reason why I bring all of this up is that the concept of meaning lost in translation is tied to the idea of translation as an act of violence. Indeed, there is a saying in Italian, "Traduttore, traditore," which means "Translator, traitor." I agree that translation can definitely be an act of violence that destroys the intended meaning of a text and warps it to suit the needs of the speakers of the target language. But when we focus only on what is lost in translation, at the expense of what is gained in translation, then we deny that translation can be an act of liberation and power.

I was raised in a bicultural household speaking both English and Spanish, and when I translate between these languages, it makes me feel empowered and proud of my heritage. It feels insulting to me to claim that when I translate, I can only ever deplete the meaning. That is not true. Every translation requires a translator, and we are more than thieves and traitors. We are more, even, than archivists, trying to minimize loss and decay as much as possible. We are creatives and inventors who can add something beautiful and meaningful to the text via our translations.

[hier--soir]

may + june + july reads

the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde by r. l. stevenson [★★★★]

"Though so profound a double-dealer, I was in no sense a hypocrite; both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I laboured, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering."

: ̗̀➛ a london lawyer, mr utterson, investigates strange occurrences between his old friend dr henry jekyll, and the evil edward hyde.

: ̗̀➛ a horror classic! coming in at a sweet 96-pages, it was easy to smash out in an evening. and despite the brevity of the text and the fact that it's over a century old, i found it insanely compelling and indeed pretty chilling at multiple points.

: ̗̀➛ there are some ridiculously funny lines in this. i believe he named the evil character hyde just so he could drop this banger: "'If he be Mr. Hyde,' he had thought, 'I shall be Mr. Seek.'"

: ̗̀➛ henry jekyll my sweet summer child, you flew way too close to the sun with this shit.

: ̗̀➛ "You must suffer me to go my own dark way." BARS.

babel: an arcane history by r. f. kuang [★★★★★]

"The poet runs untrammelled across the meadow. The translator dances in shackles."

: ̗̀➛ opening in the year 1828, a young boy from canton is orphaned by cholera and brought to london by a mysterious professor. he is trained in latin, ancient greek, and chinese, in preparation for the day he will attend oxford university's royal institute of translation - babel. the tower is the world's center for translation and silver-working, the magical craft that has so far brought unrivalled power to the british and supports the empire's ongoing colonisation of the world. but what happens when it is discovered that britain is pursuing an unjust war against china, and robin realises that serving babel means betraying his motherland.

: ̗̀➛ this book left me absolutely speechless. upon starting it i was immediately ashamed at how long it had taken me to pick this up considering all the hype. serious thanks to @seventeenpins for recommending this to me recently, you are the best for putting me onto this.

: ̗̀➛ beautifully crafted, incredibly intelligent, great central characters. i don't even know how to put into words what i felt about this one. and as someone who consumes a fair amount of translated literature [see: my love of ancient greek and roman classics] it tickled my interest around the biases and intricacy of translation so perfectly. you need to read it. please.

: ̗̀➛ have to include: "It should have been distressing. In truth, Robin found it was actually quite easy to put up with any degree of social unrest, as long as one got used to looking away."

: ̗̀➛ have to include #2: "So then where does that leave us? How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?"

: ̗̀➛ and absolutely cannot not include this iconic PBS diss: "He greatly enjoyed Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, though he could not say the same of the poems by her less talented husband, whom he found overly dramatic."

paradise rot by jenny hval [★★★★]

"But my dreams are full of apples, and in the dark my body slowly transforms into fruit: tonsils shrinking to seeds and lungs to cores. I dream of white flowers blossoming under my nails, as if under ice. Then my nails break, opening up like clams and in the finger flesh there are little sticky fruit pearls."

: ̗̀➛ jo is in a strange new country for university, living in a house with no walls, a roommate with no boundaries, and a home that seems increasingly more and more alive.

: ̗̀➛ so much piss in this one folks.

: ̗̀➛ jenny hval is a norwegian musician and this was her debut novel, and it was bizarre and haunting and disgusting and made me cringe and feel squeamish at many points, and yet i read it in one fell swoop. it grips you for 120-odd pages and when you're done it feels like you've been spit out disoriented.

mrs s by k. patrick [★★★]

"When she is not around, I invent her. When she is around, I invent her. It is not her fault."

: ̗̀➛ an australian butch lesbian travels to england to work in an elite boarding school, where she meets mrs s, the headmaster's wife. over a hot, restless summer, the two engage in an affair.

: ̗̀➛ i enjoyed this one decently enough. the writing style grew a bit tiresome, and the storyline seemed quite laissez-faire, but overall yes i enjoyed it. what can also grow tiresome for me is the woman-on-woman affair when one of them is married to a man - but maybe i've just read too much queer lit with no foreseeable happy ending lately, idk.

: ̗̀➛ the way the dialogue was structured [or perhaps, unstructured to a painful extent] was not my cup of tea at all.

: ̗̀➛ i was really tickled by her living in an annexe so close to the school nurse, who is very religious. the dynamic gave way to great passages like this: "I imagine her, at night, sending prayers my way, so sweet as to be malicious. In each of our interactions there is always the feeling that I would do better under her God. I don't mind her God, so tangible. The sexy Jesus in her bedroom. His body I too would die to have. Not just the chest but the legs, a footballer's legs, complex with muscle. Even those sad, raised palms. Brazen in their injuries. Such glamour." like hello??? incredible.

grey dog by elliott gish [★★★★]

"You called me a dirty little beast, and I have become as dirty and beastly a woman as there ever was."

"What is that quote from Othello, what Emilia says about men? They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; They eat us hungerly, and when they are full, they belch us."

: ̗̀➛ a 'literary horror novel' set in 1901 about the unmarried and almost 30 'spinster' ada byrd who accepts a teaching post in a small isolated town. she wants to be rid of her past, one 'riddled with grief and shame', but upon witnessing strange and grisly sights, ada begins to believe that something ancient and beastly is behind all the peculiarities in this little town. her confusion deepens, and ada's grip on what is reality, delusion, or traumatic memory, begins to blur and fail.

: ̗̀➛ body horror, gore, the horrors of being a woman, witchy business, descent into madness, women longing for women.

: ̗̀➛ because the entire text is written in first person diary entries, i found that it sometimes failed to establish a creepy atmosphere. although this issue was more prominent for me in the first half, while in the second half the diary entries acted as a great insight as to how unhinged she was becoming. slay.

: ̗̀➛ imo this is simply what happens to a woman when she is raised by a heinous father and ends up an adult surrounded by too many sexy older women!

the sleepwalkers by scarlett thomas [★★★]

"How many eyes can one storm have?"

: ̗̀➛ still reeling from the chaos of their wedding, evelyn and richard arrive on a tiny greek island for their honeymoon. it's the end of the season and a storm is brewing on the horizon. they check into the villa rosa, which has a peculiar owner named isabella, and everyone wants to talk about the famous sleepwalkers, a couple who stayed at the hotel recently and drowned.

: ̗̀➛ saw a tagline that coined this as 'patricia highsmith meets white lotus' and i'd agree. good mystery thriller with some action.

: ̗̀➛ this one was a touch slow at first [it's told in letters, dictated audio recordings, from different perspectives, etc] but ultimately gripped me and i thoroughly enjoyed the drama and mystery. newlyweds that hate each other's guts? yeah, bestie, i need to know why.

: ̗̀➛ i really got into some of the takes showing how evelyn and richard viewed each other. this really stuck with me: "I read infrequently, partly because every book change me, right down the level of my DNA. I didn't want to be changed so often. But you were able to hoover up contemporary culture without so much as a little belch afterwards. You just carried on being you."

: ̗̀➛ also let me fucking tell you, there was a line in this book that made me drop my kindle and GUFFAW in shock. page 88, HELLO. evelyn girl you kill me.

the drift by c. j. tudor [★★★]

"These days death had been laid bare for what it really was. An ending. Often brutal, seldom fair, rarely kind."

: ̗̀➛ a thriller-esque, horror-esque book about a deadly infectious virus, and the attempted survival of three seperate groups trapped in isolated circumstances in the icy wilderness. [this one is so hard to describe sorry]

: ̗̀➛ the book is told through three different pov's. i normally despise this but i actually didn't hate it in this case, although i did have favourites.

: ̗̀➛ boyfriend asked me to read this when he finished it and then watched me from across the room the almost whole time, pretending not to be staring whenever i looked up. and he was right, it was fast-paced, had some good twists and turns, and was enjoyable, albeit very different from what i normally read.

what have i done? an honest memoir about surviving post-natal mental illness by laura dockrill [★★★★]

"Put me out of my misery. I feel like a killer on the loose. I need to turn myself in."

"Or the one of New Mum having champagne and cake with the girls. Another doing 'date night' two weeks before her six-week check, like, 'Yes, we still have sex!' Mum is fitting back into her clothes; Mum is making papier-mâché piggy banks; drinking enough water; shaving her armpits; reading a bedtime story; going to a gig; playing peekaboo. Mum is keeping up with her favourite TV shows; reading the Booker longlist; being a good friend; making a healthy yet tasty cost-effective-probably-vegan meal; recycling; giving baby massage; sterilising. Mum is getting rid of her pregnancy knickers when they are the only knickers she truly likes; doing her taxes; walking the dog; donating to charity; freezing bananas; learning Japanese because why not? ... Oh look! Mum is abseiling down the Shard and still finding the time to express and write a blog about the whole experience."

: ̗̀➛ a memoir about a first-time mum's experience with post-partum psychosis, and her survival.

: ̗̀➛ this book was a heart-ache of a read. honest and raw and devastating and uplifting. often very very funny -- "People told Hugo, 'Don't go down the goal end, mate; it's like watching your favourite pub burn down.' Oh ha. Ha. Ha." -- i couldn't put it down.

: ̗̀➛ the end did start to feel a touch self-helpy which isn't necessarily my bag of tricks when it comes to non-fiction, but those inclusions felt warranted and fair after such an in-depth depiction of everything laura had gone through.

: ̗̀➛ serious mental health trigger warnings for this one. there is plenty of humour, but it gets very dark.

the death of jane lawrence by caitlin starling [★★]

"She dreamed of tearing out a rotted pit inside of him where his martyrdom resided."

: ̗̀➛ in an alternate version of victorian-era britain, jane shoringfield is seeking a marriage of convenience that will allow her to continue working, with all the benefits of being a married woman, and she finds this in dr augustine lawrence. however, he has one condition - she can never visit lindridge hall, his family manor outside of town, where he himself will sleep each and every night. but on their wedding night, an accident strands jane at the door in a rainstorm, and in place of her husband she finds a terrified, paranoid man who cannot tell reality from nightmare. by morning he is himself again, but jane knows something is terribly wrong at lindridge hall.

: ̗̀➛ i picked this up looking for a fun, spooky little read, but am sad to say that i absolutely did not like it. the characters were fickle, the plot twists were unsurprising and revealed poorly, and the storyline was all over the place. sadge!

: ̗̀➛ sold itself as a gothic ghost horror, but didn't live up to that at all [for me!] heavily inspired by crimson peak, and it doesn't care if you know it.

: ̗̀➛ also - when your 'independent strong female' mc marries a guy who lies constantly and makes up bullshit and every time she confronts him he boo-hoos so she forgives him immediately cause he really is a nice man?? womp womp.

: ̗̀➛ also also - way more cocaine in this than i expected.

my book rating system is as follows:

★ = i felt pure contempt the entire time

★★ = yeah it's a book

★★★ = i liked it!

★★★★ = good fucking book, damn

★★★★★ = blew my dick clean off and i'll throw a tantrum if everyone i know doesn't also read it and love it

if you want to share a book you love with me, please do! i am always looking out for new recs.

[dumpster-diving-rat]

How I think random bsd characters would tell you they love you (dating and not dating)

Edgar Allan Poe

-When you're not dating him, he's afraid to tell you about his feelings, practically admiring from afar whenever you two are together

-One day, whilst you're at his house, he hands you a book

-Whether or not you want his ability to be used is up to you, so I'll give you two versions here

-You get put into the book, there, you see a letter, in it is a confession of his feelings, if you looked around, you would notice you were in your favorite place, whether that's a place you've dreamed of going, or a place you've been to

-Once you get out after reading the confession, he is quite embarrassed, but tries to act normal

-The only reason why he didn't tell you in the book himself, was because he was too scared to see your reaction in real time, so he wrote the note for you to read while in the book

-If his ability was not used, it would be a book of love poems, confessing his love for you with many words, describing how he loves you with quite the description

-You can tell by the look on his face, in which he finally showed, that he was lovestruck

-He had fallen hard for you, and didn't plan on letting those feelings go

-However, when you are dating him, he shows his love similarly, but still different

-You will hear him say 'I love you' of course, but, sometimes he does it in ways you never thought he could do

-Did he learn different, slightly hidden ways to say I love you? Perhaps, but only for you, because he knows you'll find it, even if you don't understand it

-He gave you a few new love poems, he gives you different ones every week, but what you weren't expecting was at the top of every page, there was the same dots and lines -Wondering what it was? Well, it was morse code for I love you, but not just that, different variations of I love you. It seemed to be a different way of saying it every two pages. Such as 'I love you so much' and 'I love you more than every star in the sky'

-He did it all in morse code, just so you may or may not know it, even so, you'd have to translate it if you did know it

-He does give you some gifts outside of poems, but they have to do with what you like, such as flowers, or art supplies if you're an artist

-Yes, he's not the best at spending well, he spends a lot of unnecessary money, but he gets it back in a day or so, which makes him not care about all of that

-He loves you with his entire heart, and he reminds you with all of those weekly poems, and gifts

Ranpo Edogawa

-Before you started dating, this great detective had his eyes on you -He shared some snacks with you, to every other detectives surprise

-He's even asked Fukuzawa multiple times to let you go to cases with him, even if you hadn't asked to go with him

-Asking for you to go on cases with him was practically his way of getting closer to you, which was what he wanted

-One day, you went candy shopping with Ranpo. While you two were in the rain, standing under an umbrella, Ranpo suddenly said "I love you" to you. Of course it caught you off guard, I mean, you both weren't really speaking, and it was just so sudden

-Cue the prolonged eye contact moment, because he actually opened his eyes, and stared at you

-You two continued walking back to the agency in the rain after a small talk. Wait, are you two holding hands now? Absolutely, yes you are, and Ranpo was happily grinning

-Now, when you're dating him, he is a bit clingy, and is probably demanding hugs (and kisses if you want those too)

-He probably says I love you at least 20 times in one day, mainly while he is getting held by you

-Ranpo will share a few snacks with you, but doesn't really get you many gifts

-I'd say gift giving isn't really his love language, I'd say it's physical touch, and probably even words of affirmation

-He just want to be held and praised for his work, while he tells you he loves you (and that he wants more affection, like the clingy person he is)

-He just wants to be lazy with you all day, sleeping, and eating snacks

Kunikida Doppo

-He didn't exactly expect to fall so hard for you, but, you fit a lot of his ideals, and he just didn't know what to do of it

-He would gift you things that you like, probably slightly smaller things, but still things you like or want

-There's a book you want? Well, surprise, he bought it for you, but it's 'no big deal'

-Dazai found out immediately, and would tease him so much for his little crush, and would talk about how his ideals would make you 'run away'

-Kunikida's face was almost always a slight pink around you

-One time you got close to his face to take a look at his eyes, because you were a bit interested in them, and he turned the reddest shade of red anyone could ever see

-If you ever complimented him, he would stop functioning, even if he never acts that way towards anyone else

-Because Yosano couldn't go shopping unfortunately, (she actually could but Dazai and Yosano ship you and Kunikida together, so she acted like she couldn't) she recommended you go with Kunikida, because he had good time management, and you and Yosano never knew how to keep track of time while shopping together. Thus, you asked him, and he agreed, hesitantly (if you listen closely, you can hear Yosano and Dazai snickering and whispering with each other about you two practically going on a date together, and high fiving each other)

-You and Kunikida did your shopping, while he made sure you didn't over spend, and made it back on time

-Before leaving, and putting your bags in his trunk, he asked if he could tell you something

-Then, he confessed. Saying how perfect you were, and how you were the ideal person for him. He asked you if you wanted to go on a date sometime as well

-He looked a lot happier for the rest of the day when you were both back at the agency

-Dazai and Yosano knew something definitely went down, because it seemed like you were slightly flustered, and Kunikida looked happier than his usual stern face

-"Sooo Kunikida, how'd your little date go with name hmm?" Dazai then got pummeled by Kunikida

-When you're dating Kunikida, you won't always hear an I love you at the ADA (if you choose to work there)

-However, he does message it to you when checking up on you, and does say it while you're both at home

-You'll most likely hear it at least once or twice a day

-He does still give you the small gifts, like I mentioned earlier, but will give you flowers too, and you'll see them mainly when you two go on dates, it's your anniversary, or Valentine's day, which are classic, but it's sweet nonetheless

-He doesn't do that much physical touch, but if you ask for a hug, a kiss, or practically anything, he will do it, just not in public

-You can hold hands in public with him, but that's pretty much the only thing he will do with you in public

-He just prefers to keep it more private, but maybe if it's not so crowded, he'll kiss you, or hug you, whatever you want, really. Just know you have to be the one to ask, because he won't do it

-Consent is everything to Kunikida, and he will always ask for your approval before doing anything that has to do with physical affection with you

Dazai Osamu

(TW: there is one mention of suicide, if that makes you uncomfortable, you could just skip to the dating part, or you could skip this in general)

-Oh. My. God.

-He will tease and flirt with you, and only you once he falls in love with you

-He does practically everything for you, sometimes even without asking

-You accidentally cut your hand or finger? Dazai is already there with bandages, and is cleaning your wound

-Probably kisses your wound as a joke, while flirting with you in the process

-You don't think he's being serious, in fact, you know he can't be

-But, here you are, helping him with paperwork, in his living room

-He isn't doing much, it's more like you do almost all of it, and then he finishes the rest of it

-He walks up to you once you're done and sitting on the couch, and sits next to you

-He gives you a hug, while flirting and giving you random words of affirmation

-While he's hugging you, he stops doing his flirting, and looks right into your eyes

-You get confused at his change in demeanor, but before you can say anything, he says 'I love you'

-You ask if he's being serious, to which he stares at you again, with a serious face, which you don't really see often

-"Honestly, how could you not tell? I've slowed down trying suicide. Did you not notice that?" Dazai is still staring at you, and now you're starting to realize it all

-"You've become such an impact in my life, angel" Yes, he did just give you a new nickname, and he will never stop calling you that from now on

-Dating him is barely different, he gives you every ounce of love he can

-I see his love language as physical touch, and he would cuddle you basically everyday, hugging you, giving you many, many kisses (unless you don't want that, he will respect that, as will every other character, so don't fret)

-He loves to lay on you, or rest his head on your lap, he's surprisingly clingy

-He says I love you almost every second, and you will hear it everyday, as well as see it on your messages everyday too

-You will get gifts often, and compliments everyday

-The gifts are typically stuff you like or want, as well as things like flowers

I hope you enjoyed this, if you have a request, you can comment it, I don't have an ask box, and idrk how the ask box works, so just comment or message me ♡

[midnightorchids]

omg only 300? u deserved a million your hcs are soooo good!!! this is super self indulgent but can i have jason x poet hcs? thank you!!

This is so kind, I’m so honoured! Also, this was such an amazing request, I absolutely adore it. I had such a wonderful time writing this, I hope you enjoy!

- Many midnights dates, where you both stare at the moon and read passages from your journals

- You always recite your poetry to Jason

- And Jason listens intently when you share your craft, always mesmerized by your calming voice and your ability to add life into the old, yellowing pages of your note book

- Your shared apartment is scattered with books, many of which carry flowers that Jason brought home for you

- So many hand written love letters

- Jason admires your writing and often scribbles some of your poetry onto his belongings

- You stay up most nights, writing and working on new pieces, he reminds you to take breaks

- He brews you a hot cup of peppermint tea and then carries you into his large arms to tuck you into bed

- He kisses your forehead and reads your favourite stories to lull you to sleep

- He has all of your poems memorized and often recites them for you, putting on a dramatic show for your enjoyment

- Lots of classical music, where he gently sways you around your living room, spinning you every so often

- Multiple shared kisses in the back of the local library

- Before Jason, a lot of you writing was melancholic, heart wrenching and sad

- But as your relationship with Jason progressed, you often found yourself writing about love and romance

- He made you feel alive and it translated into your work, you still wrote your grievous stories from time to time, but with Jason as your muse, you didn’t need to write about sadness often

- Hand kisses for when your fingers ache from typing and writing all night

- Jason always gifts you a new journal at the beginning of every month

- In return, you write him a poem, just for his eyes

- Oh and last but not least, he calls you sweetheart because you referred to him as such in a poem once and he fell in love <3

[puckspoetry]

DPS: Stolen Stares

Neil and Todd have some very obviously queer undertones and throughout the film are hinted at to be in some form of relationship (Anderperry shipper here!!) so I thought I would explore it.

So, as Todd’s impromptu poem is forced out of him by Keating, the camera stops and stares at Neil who is looking up at Todd with an expression nobody can describe as other than love. This scene is the first time we get a glimpse of Todd’s free and artistic side (even if it is forced out of him by Keating). Todd’s impromptu poem forces a cascade of creativity from him and eventually leads to him becoming more comfortable around the other Poets - especially Neil. Todd stands there open and vulnerable as he has just revealed his artistic nature and Neil stares at him with an obviously love struck expression on his face. We already know from previous scenes that Neil loves Todd for all he is when he tries to read his poem which ends in them chasing each other around. However, Todd stands at the front of the class now completely raw and instead of chastising or humiliating him, Neil stares longingly. Neil’s state demonstrates how much he truly appreciates Todd as he has now had a new side revealed to him. This adds to their relationship, some creative depth and complexity as Todd slowly unravels himself to Neil. Neil is basking in Todd’s vulnerability as it is a time where Todd has shown who he truly was and what he genuinely has a passion for and Neil loves every moment of it.

To compliment this, Todd is utterly awestruck at Neil’s natural talent for acting. Throughout the film, we see droplets of Neil’s passion as he shares it with Todd. Todd watches on as Neil engages with what makes him happy. Neil’s passion for acting is squashed by his father on multiple occasions which inevitably takes its toll on Neil. However, by pushing through Neil takes his place on the stage and performs his little heart out to a loving audience. For a brief moment, we see Todd giving Neil a very similar stare that was previously shown in the impromptu poetry scene. Neil’s undeniable radiance lights up Todd’s world and he has no choice but to be amazed by him. Neil has shown all sides of himself with Todd but he often opts for a happy-go-lucky facade to hide him feelings about his future and his father. But by being someone else entirely on a stage where little people actually know you, Neil gets to live a free life which translates to his uncontrollable smile. Todd can very evidently understand and acknowledge this and he has no other option but to watch on in awe as Neil lives his true passion.

In conclusion, that was my very convoluted way of saying they love seeing each other happy.

~

I don’t even know if this one makes any sense. Anyway I love them.

[yuri-is-online]

You Simple Vile Monstrosity: Rook and the Flowers of Evil

My other two dumb history posts have at least a semblance of fun fact to them, but this is mostly going to be literary analysis and some theory. There's some interesting stuff here sure, but I don't really think it adds much to the overall landscape of twst theories. But it does make Rook make more sense to me so I am making this post anyway.

So without further ado, if you are like me and enjoy reading twst theories, you might know that the beginning lines of Twisted Wonderland are something we have been debating the meaning of since the game came out really. While I think we have been closing in on their true meaning as Chapter 7 progresses along, the phrase "Flowers of Evil" can actually refer to something specific: a french poetry collection of the same name (Les Fleurs du mal in french) by a poet name Charles Baudelaire originally published in 1857. The collection was extremely controversial, but today it is highly lauded and has inspired several other literary works, including a manga series by Shūzō Oshimi of the same name. I found out about the poetry collection while working on this request and finally finished reading it... and another essay by Baudelaire for reasons we can talk about later on in the post. For now let's talk poetry.

Beauté! 100 Points!

I don't speak french, so I read an English translation done by Aaron Poochigian that does contain the original french text in the back half of the book. The Flowers of Evil is split into seven-ish parts: The Flowers of Evil (just containing "To the Reader"), Spleen and the Ideal, Parisian Scenes, Wine, Flowers of Evil (again but with 12 poems this time), Revolt, and then Death. The sections are more or less organized by the subject of the poems, Spleen and the Ideal is the largest with Baudelaire musing over what the ideal concept of beauty is while Wine deals with getting drunk (on wine mostly if you can believe it.) One of the things that jumps out very quickly about Baudelaire's work is that his concept of beauty is almost synonymous with his concept of evil. He writes a lot about maggots eating corpses, about decay, he has a few poems that talk about vampires appearing to be the highest form of beauty but really being husks of rotted flesh; it's all very much about this acceptance that evil is a part of life and human nature, so therefore there must be beauty in it. The concept of "ideal beauty" must by it's nature be divorced from the concept of "morality." When Rook talks about the potential for Leona or Malleus to kill him and how beautiful that would be, I think he means the act of destruction itself would be beautiful. The circumstances surrounding it and the consequences of it are irrelevant to the concept; this is also why while he initially says he cannot find the crimson lotuses in GloMas beautiful Deuce accuses him of doing just that after everything is said and done. He cannot find beauty in Rollo's actions, but the visual and the fight are beautiful because of the effort he and the other students put in to stop them. And perhaps most importantly, it's why he is willing to drink Vil's poison and look upon what is supposedly ultimate ugliness and say "In this moment you are the fairest of them all." Because how could an act born out of such raw and genuine emotion be anything but?

Le Chasseur D'Armour, The Hunter of Love

Baudelaire wasn't just a poet, he fancied himself a critic and wrote multiple essays, the one I read for this post is The Painter of Modern Life. Which is actually a collection of several but they are all related, and I was directed to them by this wordpress post. In it, Baudelaire muses over how things can be both beautiful and ugly, and why:

"Beauty is made up of an eternal, invariable element, whose quantity it is excessively difficult to determine, and of a relative, circumstantial element... which severally or all at once, the age, its fashions, its morals, its emotions."

He was talking about fashion plates that depicted outdated costumes, but his point was more or less that if you strictly look at the design of the costume they look ridiculous: ugly. But when you take into account their historical value (these particular plates were all from the around the time of the French revolution) they become exceedingly important: beautiful. He also mentions in this same essay the importance of not just taking into account the opinions of so called "masters" and sneers at people who think they understand what is beautiful just because they have seen a painting done by a professional:

"... to declare that Raphael, or Racine, does not contain the whole secret, and that minor poets too have something good, solid and delightful to offer... that we might love general beauty, as it is expressed by classical poets and artists, we are no less wrong to neglect particular beauty, the beauty of circumstance and the sketch of manners."

In chapter 5, while helping Vil judge the auditions for VDC, Rook gives every audition 100 points because, well, in his mind they are all an example of perfect beauty specifically because they are the work of amateurs, and that is no less valuable to him or less worthy of praise that the work of the master. Now granted he clearly does value professional quality (he did have reasons for voting for Neige other than being a massive simp. Valid ones even if loosing does sting) but that's only in the context of strict rules and guidelines. When Rook is asked for his opinion, while he certainly does believe there is an absolute, academic definition beauty, he doesn't place any value on where that beauty comes from. Baudelaire muses over how human life "accidentally" puts mysterious beauty into the world, and the true appreciator of beauty must make himself not strictly a poet but:

"...an observer of life, and only later set himself the task of acquiring the means of expressing it... For most of us... the fantastic reality of life has become singularly diluted. [But he] never ceases to drink it in; his eyes and memories are full of it."

I strongly dislike suggesting in these posts that xyz is "the definitive reason" for why a character acts the way that he does, but I do think it is very interesting how well this describes Rook's ethos. He thinks of himself as a hunter, but in order to do that he needs to observe. Sure he takes it to exceptionally extreme lengths, but it makes him one of the most lively members of the NRC cast. Baudelaire is right, there are a million things about life we miss on a day to day basis wherein true beauty lies, but Rook sees all of it. His eyes, memories, camera, and secret photo albums are fit to burst with it.

My Noble and Beautiful Flower of Evil

I mentioned the opening text at the beginning of this post, and I stand by my interpretation that the phrase "flower of evil" it uses likely is not a specific reference to any of the poems themselves... beyond the obvious note that it is a collection of poems about finding beauty in, well, evil and most of the characters are based off of villains.

But there was something that started gnawing at me when I read the introduction to my translation, which was written by a poet named Dana Gioia. It was a very well written summary of Baudelaire's life and the significance of his work, but it mentioned a connection that I have seen brought up in twst theorizing before: Edgar Allen Poe.

You see, Baudelaire was obsessed with Poe. To the point that (according to the introduction) "He considered Poe a sacred martyr for art and referred to him as 'Saint Edgar.' In his morning devotions, Baudelaire prayed first to God and then to Poe."

I have nothing to say on that (because really what could you) but the point that Gioia wanted to make in that introduction was that Poe had a massive influence on Baudelaire's writing style. He wrote multiple essays on his work and translated them into French because he felt like Poe deserved the recognition, so while Gioia used this to argue that Poe's influence on Baudelaire shouldn't be underestimated...

I can't find the post, but someone was talking about how Malleus's mother's name Meleanor is very similar to "Lenore" and I recall people sort of brushing that connection off. I don't that name is a coincidence. I think the poem "Lenore" might very well have been something thought about when constructing her character, and that the themes in Poe's work might be very relevant to the overall story of Twisted Wonderland.

Something about ravens and telltale hearts just feels like they fit; maybe we have got it all wrong and Yuu's visions aren't coming from the mirror in Ramshackle, but the floorboards.

Semi- Unrelated Fun Facts:

If you read the name Baudelaire and thought to yourself it sounded familiar, you might have be thinking of the Baudelaire children from A Series of Unfortunate Events. This isn't exactly a coincidence as the author of the series admits to his writing being heavily influenced by Charles Baudelaire to the point he actually wrote the afterword to the translation I own.

Dana Gioia is the former Poet Laureate of the state of California, something that deeply confused me. Apparently the Governor of California appoints someone to a 2 year term and they travel around the state to promote poetry and literacy which is apparently something that 46/50 U.S. states and D.C. does to????

My glorious motherland of Pennsylvania is not one of these states, apparently we only ever appointed one, then eliminated the position entirely after he retired, and then started just. Handing out ones to people in individual cities and counties. Which is so par for the course here I don't know why I am surprised.

One of the first things any college level literature course will try to drill into you is that you don't examine the life of an author when examining their work. It might sound silly, but I think Baudelaire is a great example of why that's important. The man was addicted to drugs and sex, refused to get a "real job", lived off his inheritance from his wealthy father and eventually whatever money he could convince his mother to send him his entire adult life, and had her use her political connections to bail him out of legal trouble multiple times.

If I thought too hard about that it would make his lines in "Skeleton Laborers" (Nothingness is treacherous.//Even Death is a deceiver.//Alas, forever and ever,//work may be awaiting us) fall terribly flat, which I think does them a disservice. The man was very talented and I am glad he wrote them because I felt very seen when I read them.

Baudelaire opened his publication with a note to the reader, but he made it a full poem entitled "To the Reader." I liked the ending stanza so much I used a version of it to title my blog, and eventually my current masterlist: (Boredom! Moist-eyed, he dreams, while pulling on//a hookah pipe, of guillotine-cleft necks.//You, reader, know this tender freak of freaks-//hypocrite reader-mirror-man-mytwin!)

Likewise the title of this post is also taken from part of a poem, "Hymn to Beauty" (Beauty, you simple, vile monstrosity,//I cannot care about your origin,//provided that your gaze, smile, feet show me//a sweet infinity I have never known.) I think that fits Rook's ideals rather well, don't you?

[thehusbandoden]

Can you do todoroki x f!reader when reader is self conscious

Sorry this was so short + took so long!! I hope these are what you wanted, and if not then don't be afraid to reach out to me! Have a good day love, and stay safe out there! <33

Todoroki Shoto x F!Self conscious! Reader

General info:

Genre: fluff/comfort (seems to be all I've been writing recently 😅) \\ wc: 600 \\ female reader

It is going to take a lot of time and patience to teach Shoto that you're not joking when you tell him you're self concious.

He just cannot understand that such a perfect, and gorgeous angel like yourself can feel that way.

After multiple conversations with you, Midoriya, his mom, Fuyumi, and Ururaka, he finally understood and knew how to help you.

He comforted, validated, reasured, complimented, and held you whenever you needed him to.

No matter where or when, if you told him that you needed him, he's running to get to you.

Very very sweet, and won't interupt your rambles, even if some of the things you thought were absoulutely not true, or made him tear up.

Will not tollerate any teasing or bullying towards you.

He's quiet but deadly. He'll start with sending cold glares, and when the idiot still doesn't take the hint he'll lower the tempature, still glaring at the person as he slightly steps in front of you. If they push him too far he will growl at them- and it is terrifying. The farthest he's gotten is freezing some idiotic third year in his spot before pulling you away for some cold soba.

Very protective over you- if you can't tell ^^

Daily compliments, especially targetting your insecurties/the things you're most concious about.

If you ever need space away from him he'll give it to you, but if it's any longer than three days he's going to come into your dorm room and figure out what's wrong.

Always sending you gifts with adorable hand written love letters, poems, and sometimes a long list of everything he loves about you.

If he ever accidently hurts your feelings he'll feel terrible :(

Will not stop apologizing weeks after you've forgiven him.

Puts special effort into calling you by a few of his favorite petnames: beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, and princess.

Reminds you daily how much he loves you + how gorgeous you are.

He'll spend hours telling you how much he loves and appreciates you, and will go over every single thing.

If you don't want to go somewhere, do something, talk to someone, or even see someone- he'll make it happen.

On mental health days when you just really need to take a break he'll call Aizawa to explain why he's not in class- and he actually understands; and lets it happen as long as you two aren't abusing it.

When/if you feel like doing absolutely nothing, he'll take care of you. He'll cook, clean, feed, and comfort you until you feel better.

After spoon feeding you yes, he spoon feeds you he'll pull you into his side/chest and smother you in soft, loving kisses.

If you want to hear his voice he'll softly tell you a story, talk about how much he loves you, or tell you about his day.

If you want silence, he's good with that too.

In general, he is super loving and supportive, caring and supporting you every single step you take.

He's always there when you need him, and he refuses to let someone talk bad about you, let alone let you listen to them.

He loves you a whole lot, and he honestly thinks that you are litteraly the best person in this universe.

He loves you to no end, and he refuses to ever give you up.

~~~~~

Shoto's masterlist | Navigation

You can tip me here <3

Reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated <33

~~~~~

Do not copy, repost, nor plagiarize my work. Ask before you translate or use my work in any way -minus reblogging.

[goldtracing]

APH Russia – Headcanons I

I would like to point out that I originally wrote this before 24.02.2022 and didn’t publish this until now due to current event. Now I have decided just to go ahead these are low-budget anime characters that I’m talking about and f anybody who links this to ongoing geopolitical events

Is surprisingly proficient in German and French. Both were court languages of his at the one or the other point in history, his German also being spread amongst the wider populace and influencing Russian. Speaks both languages with a bit of an accent, yet if he puts enough effort in it, his accent can be nearly untraceable.

As for other languages – he is also fluent in Tatar and Mongolian, although in the later he is far better with speaking and listening than writing. This is also the case with all the other languages spoken in his territory. This is due to his past under the khans. As for English and Chinese – with both he tends to be on the very formal side, with his speech precise and usually devoid of slang and abbreviations. It is because he learned much of those two languages from literature or also scientific reports.

When it comes to Russian he can be very eloquent, having a preference for puns and other plays of words. Can and will criticise others for their grammar, although if he is public and in a formal setting, he would be more tactful and quiet about remarking it.

Has a penchant for literature and opera and plays. Visits the theatre regularly and knows all the ballets by heart. Personally keeps a small notebook where he critiques and rates books and performances. Sometimes he sends them in to a newspaper or an online site.

Writes poety in his free time and sends some of them to his sisters or humans that are close to him at the time. Can also recite all of Pushkin’s poems in his sleep.

Aside from that, he has a love for fairy tales. Not the sanitised, censored versions that Disney and the Grimm brother’s have made so popular, rather the cautionary tales as they were actually intended, The brutal versions where people suffer and suffer and suffer.

Else has written multiple essays and the human condition, often taking characters for classics to elaborate on his points. These are texts that near nobody has seen. Ivan has split them up and hidden them on his various properties.  

Has taken formal dance lessons in ballet and the classics. Loves to dance at balls and is surprisingly elegant while doing so for somebody his size. However, he really shies away from dancing tango, salsa and other dances where both partners get really close and even handsy with each other. If at all, he would have to be really close to his dance partner to even contemplate to doing the Latin American dances.

Other than that, he is also good when it comes to folk dances and possess enough stamina to dance dances such as the Barynya for hours. Has the appropriate leg muscles and flexibility.

Surprisingly, (or not) his dancing skills translate into his fighting style. Can go on for hours without taking any enhancements or sleeping, all while remaining smooth and precise in his movements, like they been choreographed and practised time and time again. He can make difficult movement seem easy.

For centuries he favoured combat with a sword. One of his favourite ones was a curved sabre – a kilij – that he stole as a war trophy from Turkey when the latter was the Ottoman empire. Later, he evolved to be a crack shot with the pistole – he got caught up in a lot of duels when they came into fashion. During the WWII, he was part of a tank crew. Due to the tight space of the T-34, he often suffered sore joints and cramps in his muscles. Also developed an especially thick skull during this time, both literally and metaphorically.

Ivan has participated in the making of multiple movies as an advisor. He makes sure that historical films are historically accurate. Seeing that Russia is big on war movies, Ivan has a lot to do.

Additionally, he is quite a patron for the arts. He has multiple oil paintings in his old mansion. Personally, he paints either an impressionist art style or in the vividly coloured art styles that are native to Russia, such as Gzhel, Khokhloma and Zhostovo.

Adding on to that – there is nothing in his homes that is really plain. He has a sense for the aesthetically pleasing and even opulence. The woodwork is carved and whittled, the ceramic adorn with paintings and the metal work ornate. His living surroundings might have been a bit plainer during Soviet times, however I think he would have pulled a few strings that would have allowed him to keep his old possessions.

[dearfriendicanfly]

Yesterday began a global general strike for Gaza. Today, the strike continues in light of today’s UN General Assembly vote on a humanitarian ceasefire. I am spending today making posters to submit to Artists Against Apartheid, who have released multiple posters for people to print and distribute in their local areas, as well as a wheat pasting guide in their toolkit section. I’m also going to leave my own link to a folder with PDFs and PNGS of all versions of the poster, as well as PSD and Procreate files that can be edited directly, and a copy of an image description like the one below. Feel free to redistribute these posters however you like, but I must ask that you include an image description for accessibility when reposting/posting your own version. I encourage my fellow artists to close up shop to honor the strike and spend today doing the same.

In honor of Refaat Alareer’s work as a translator, many people have been translating “If I Must Die” into their own native languages. The blank version of this poster is meant for people to add their own translations of the poem.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. 🇵🇸

[Alt text: a black and white poster of the poem, “If I Must Die,” by Refaat Alareer. Around the image is a keffiyeh patterned border. The main image shows a black background with a drawing of a white kite and the poem in all caps. The second image is the same poster, but with OpenDyslexic font used for the text for accessibility purposes. The third is a textless version meant for others to add their own translations of Alareer’s poem in honor of his work as a translator. Transcription:

If I must die

you must live

to tell my story

to sell my things

to buy a piece of cloth

and some strings,

(make it white with a long tail)

so that a child, somewhere in Gaza

while looking heaven in the eye

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—

and bid no one farewell

not even to his flesh

not even to himself—

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up

above

and thinks for a moment an angel is there

bringing back love

If I must die

let it bring hope

let it be a tale

— Refaat Alareer

Martyred 12/6/2023

End alt text]

[transbutchblues]

tagged by @cattus-catos :) thanks

last book i read : The Communist Manifesto by Engels and Marx. it was over a month ago but i’ve been feeling weird so i haven’t been able to actually finish a book since then.

a book i recommend : Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, my favorite book. it’s so beautiful. everyone should read it.

a book i couldn’t put down : so many! i’d say Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott, an absolutely amazing book exploring collective and generational trauma through the presence of ghosts while also being sometimes funny and lesbian. it’s so good i read it aloud to my mother then offered it to my grandparents. as well as Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg, which opened entire new paths for me.

a book i’ve read twice : so many books but let’s say Anne Carson’s Antigonick. one of my favourite ancient greek play translations/retellings.

a book on my tbr : Aristophanes’ plays. i don’t like comedies so i keep procrastinating, but i really need to read them at some point.

a book i’ve put down : The Hera of Zeus : Intimate Enemy, Ultimate Spouse even though i absolutely loved it, because i borrowed it at the uni library and then had to give it back before finishing it. and now said library is closed for the summer. but also some other academic books that are interesting but too tiring to read right now.

a book on my wishlist : @nicosraf’s Angels and Man - i absolutely loved the first book, it’s incredible, it’s one of my favorite queer books, but i still haven’t found the time and money to buy the second one.

a favourite book from childhood : a french book collection on ancient greek myths called Saga of [Hero’s name] : greek mythology in 100 episodes. The ones on Odysseus and Theseus are the very first books on greek myths that i remember reading, when i was about 5 or 6.

a book you would give to a friend : Gideon the Ninth from The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir. this is so good. lesbian necromantic science fiction, absolutely hilarious but also tragic. i should probably have put it as the book i reread because i read it exactly 4 times in 6 months (and did the same with the two following books. before writing a analysis document on it.)

a book of poetry/lyrics you own : Anne Carson’s translation of Sappho’s poetry, If not, Winter. and Ocean Vuong’s two poetry books, Time is a Mother and Night Sky With Exit Wounds. as well as Richard Siken’s Crush. or Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal, the first poetry book that i enjoyed. all amazing works!

a non-fiction book you own : Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson (lots of Anne Carson here. maybe i have an obsession), an exploration of love in ancient greece. i read mostly pdfs of non fiction books or i borrow them from the library.

currently reading : too many books…. Lucan’s Pharsalia, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi, a french translation and commentary of Catullus’ poems, multiple retellings of ancient plays,…

planning on reading next : the Iliad! i really want to reread it, i keep thinking about it. the first time i read it it only took me 3 days but this time i want to annotate it. also, Female Masculinity by J. Jack Halberstam. and multiple academic books about Antigone.

tagging : @hiemihymni @olympianbutch @khaire-traveler but no pressure!

[h1mmel]

About the 7s visual novel's characters and their symbolism

Taking a break from fanfiction to infodump about my favorite thing ever, which is symbolism in etymology! Sit down because this is going to be a long one... and if you read the whole thing I applaud you and also would love to talk about your thoughts!

Lin Zhaoyu

The origin of her name is actually stated in game itself, coming from the Book of Odes- a Chinese poetry book. Meaning literally, "morning rain," it is taken from the following poem. The letters that make up her name are bolded.

蝃蝀在東、莫之敢指。

女子有行、遠兄弟父母。

朝隮于西、崇朝其雨。

女子有行、遠兄弟父母。

乃如之人也、懷昏姻也。

大無信也、不知命也。

Here is the translation of the poem:

The part about her being untrue to herself in marriage rings very true.

Li Sushang

The symbolism of Sushang's name is connected to that of multiple other characters, despite the literal meaning of it sounding quite simple on the outside. You might see her name via MTL written as "plain clothes," but it's a stark oversimplification of something that's partially lost in translation.

素 (Su) refers to plain silk which has not been dyed, or white silk.

裳 (Shang) is a dress.

The first letter of her name is shared with her mother. Between Sushang, Suyi, Lingshuang, and Su Mei, there is a correlating theme of clothing that I will touch on in each of their sections.

Qin Suyi

As she had amnesia, Suyi does not remember her birth name and was gifted a new one by Fu Hua. Following the trend of how she named Su Mei, her name was also taken from the book of odes. The word Suyi appears in two different poems- again, I've bolded it as written in both.

揚之水、白石鑿鍪。

素衣朱襮、從子于沃。

既見君子、云何不樂。

揚之水、白石皓皓。

素衣朱繡、從子于鵠。

既見君子、云何其憂。

揚之水、白石粼粼。

我聞有命、不敢以告人。

And the translation:

The second poem:

庶見素冠兮、棘人欒欒兮、勞心慱慱

兮。

庶見素衣兮、我心傷悲兮、聊與子同歸兮。

庶見素韡兮、我心蘊結兮、聊與子如一兮。

And the translation:

From the second poem, you can see the references to grief in regard to clothing. While Suyi and Sushang both have the same literal translation of their names, "plain clothes," Suyi's name also carries an additional symbolism. The second letter of her name, 衣 (Yi), refers to a robe instead of a dress, so her name refers to "a robe of colorless silk." This specific term is used in certain contexts to refer to mourning garments, as it is customary to wear white while mourning in some parts of Chinese culture.

This theme of dye is continued in other contexts, where Suyi is known among the Seven Swords as "The Blade of Ink-Dyed Incense." Additionally, her Xuanyuan sword, while known in English as Ebonstyle, is also referred to in Chinese as "Ink-Dyed Incense"- but the word for ink used is different between the two. (It is not letting me copy/paste Chinese words right now so, source: trust me bro)

To delve into my personal thoughts, I think it's so clever that Sushang is "a dress yet to be dyed," while Suyi is a mourning garment, since Sushang still has a long life ahead of her, and Suyi has passed on. Anyways please hit me with a car.

((fun fact: the last letter of Suyi's name, Yi, is shared with Raiden Mei (Yayi), hence why her name comes through MTL as "bud clothes" sometimes 😭😭))

Su Mei

We actually do not know Su Mei's birth name either! She was given a new first name by Fu Hua, and was going to be given Zhaoyu's last name (Lin), but chose to take her mother's surname instead. The reason as to why she chose (or was recommended by Fu Hua) to change her name while still remembering her birth name is unclear.

At Zhaoyu's recommendation, her name also comes from the following poem of the Book of Odes:

It is not letting me highlight the text :,) so the part of the poem that is her name is "margin of the water." Mei specifically refers to where the bank of a river meets the water.

Fun fact: Her surname Su is shared with the MANTIS Su! It is said in legend to also be the surname of Xuanyuan's descendants.

At a time where Filial Piety was of the utmost importance, her changing her surname to take her mother's surname is significant. To change your surname from your father's name could be seen the same as disowning him. At the time, women did not change their names to that of their husband when getting married, hence QIN Suyi vs LI Shen or LIN Zhaoyu vs MA Feima.

While not significant to her name itself, she continues Sushang and Suyi's clothing theme. Her ability revolves around being able to see the threads of fate and predict things that may happen. Hence, it is said about her that anything she says will come true. It's never mentioned in the text, but if you zoom in up close to this art of her, you can actually see her threads surrounding her.

From the threads plus her hair color, it makes me think of the legend of "The Red String of Fate," which is ironic being that she says she does not love anyone.

Cheng Lingshuang

Yes, she does share a surname with Cheng Lixue, but no, they are not related. Lixue was named by Fu Hua, and her surname comes from the philosopher Cheng Yi, and a saying about his disciples waiting for him in the snow, hence Lixue- Snow. Their names are so similarily themed that it's likely not a coincidence on Hua's behalf, but it's more of a homage than them actually being related.

Lingshuang means ice frost. It does not come from the Book of Odes.

To continue the talk on Filial Piety, Lingshuang is the only character to not go by her surname, either in character or on her actual dialogue name tag. She's only referred to as her full name twice, once when she is introduced as a baby, and twice when Senti is beefing with Sushang and low-key throwing shade on her master's name. Lingshuang is a character who ignores societal rules, and Filial Piety is no exception- she has no reason to care about her family or her father, so she disregards her name.

Any instance of her name being translated as "Ling Shuang" is a following mistake on HYV's localization team. (I did personally email them and they fixed it 😭😭😭) It was because the translators did not receive the context that she doesn't use her surname, so they assumed how her name was separated by first and last, as Chinese names don't have spaces between the two. If you spell her name with a space in the middle I will show up at your house at 3am.

The theme of clothes continues from her kid's as she has a loom in her house which she uses to make silk. She says that honing her fingers in such a way is also a way to hone her martial arts.

Ma... Yanqing, Feima

Ma Feima means "the horse is not a horse." He changed his name to this after getting married because he hated his past identity. It comes from "Bai Ma Fei Ma," a Chinese grammatical paradox that does not make sense in English. Don't ask me to explain it because I can't, but it means "the white horse is not a horse."

Ma means horse, and is also the most common surname within the Chinese Muslim community (specifically the Hui people.) It is used often in reference to the prophet Muhammad.

Yan means swallow, continuing Hua's bird theme.

A lot of his names and titles relate to horses. He really likes horses. A lot.

Jiang Wanxi & Wanru

These two get the smallest part because they aren't developed enough for me to GAF (I'm sorry 😭) basically their names come from a poem in the Book of Odes, which is funny since Hua isn't even the one that named them.

I hope if you read this that you enjoyed this session of Fun Facts With Mel and please tell me your thoughts. I also definitely forgot something so I might go back later and add things. Thank you for reading!