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late-to-the-magnus-archives · 1 year ago

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Whiskey - a Malevolent fic

Some talk.

Some dancing.

The beginning of a conversation they deeply need to have before things can go any farther.

Fortunately, Parker is good at having this kind of talk.

Part of the Surrogate Series. Written with @sepiabandensis.

AO3

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The cooks liked them.

Parker was, to be fair, really good with people. He’d had to be; the world Parker came from ranked him as a second-class citizen for reasons Sunny found absolutely untenable (could they not see how lovely he was? How honed and elegant?), and had long ago developed a good sense of who had to be bullied and who had to be charmed.

Sunny liked this skill a lot. He also really liked people who liked Parker (with the crucial exception of who-would-not-be-named). The cooks, he decided, would be rewarded well for their kindness when he finally merged with the King in Yellow.

They’d been so fearful at first when he and Parker walked in. Parker had just wanted to know the name of the weird little dried fruits in that nutmeg pastry, and for one terrible moment, everyone freaked out.

Oh, but Parker! Parker. His words were soft but firm; he held his hands up, palms out, to show he meant no harm, and wore a gentle smile, and just… de-escalated the whole situation. Wonderful.

Then he got them talking. Then he got them joking. Before long, instead of just getting an answer about fruit (dried moonberries, expensive because they only grew in Leng and ice and snow, so of course the King would have a steady supply), the cooks were loading them down with not one but two platefuls of food they’d never had before.

Steamed fish! Roasted bird! Breads made from wheat Parker adorably could not pronounce, and his wholehearted attempts got the cooks laughing.

They left with more food than they could eat in a meal (though they sure did try) and a set of new admirers.

Yes. Sunny would reward them when it was time. For now, though, they had other things to do.

Parker really liked Dis. It didn’t feel like the kind of desire Sunny had seen and felt in him for men, but it was a good feeling, a lots-of-smiles feeling, a walking-away sweaty and bruised and proud feeling.

Dis had been surprised and pleased to know they could already do magic. “Shields, too?” she’d said.

“Sunny can toss a good one,” said Parker.

“Can you?” she’d said.

“Nope,” he’d said.

So she spent the next hour teaching him how.

Delightful. Parker was happy. Parker was safe. There was no sign of he-who-must-not-be-named, and if the Princess and her Dark Young were around, well, what of it? Sunny had no history with them, and they didn’t seem inclined to approach.

They sure did watch, though. Wide-eyed, fascinated; sometimes the Princess pretended she wasn’t watching (which Parker said was real cute), but more often, she just sat down and cheered them on as he and Dis sparred. “Get her!”

Parker did not get her, and landed on his ass again, and a good time was had by all.

It wasn’t bad. It really wasn’t; Sunny had time to figure out how to protect Parker at the end of six years so Parker could wander to his heart’s content. Sunny—as the King—could even go with him in disguise. They could adventure. It would be great.

Sunny was content to adventure in the kitchens, in the meantime. The quiche this morning was absolutely fantastic, of course, but I do really enjoy the addition of the scallions in this one, he said. Have you considered caramelizing them as well? I feel that would pair well with the cheese incorporated into the crust.

“Oh!” said the cook. “Oh! Our lord zuggezted zomething zimilar. If you but wait, I can…”

Parker laughed. “Can we do it tomorrow? I really can’t eat another bite.”

“Awww,” said the cooks (so well rewarded).

Parker patted his decidedly flat belly. “Stuffed like a goose. You’re gonna make me round as a pillow.”

Everyone liked that.

Tomorrow, then, if you would be so kind and be willing to accept my humble suggestion, Sunny said smoothly, voice sweet like honey. I am eager to see what you come up with!

“Oh, no, zir, you muzt try thiz before you go,” said the three-headed cook whose name Parker couldn’t quite manage, and offered a tumbler of rich, gold whiskey.

This whiskey was meant for gods. Parker took one sip, and his whole face grew hot. He coughed.

The cooks thought that was so cute, and added another slice of cake to his finally-empty plate.

“No,” Parker coughed. “No, thank you, I really can’t eat any more. Fuck, that was good, though.” His breath was warm.

Promises of such food followed them out as they left, and Parker laughed softly, walking slowly. “How the heck do I say that guy’s name again?”

Feel the way our mouth moves, Sunny said brightly. “Bh-tnnn-kour-noo-aaah. It’s in the back of the throat.”

Parker laughed. “Yeah, maybe when I haven’t had whatever kind of whiskey. Hot damn, Sunny. One sip and… wow. Fuckin’... good.” He rolled his shoulders. His breath was still warm. “You feel that? Damn. Think I must be glowing like a bulb.”

I honestly think I might even feel it, a bit, Sunny purred. It was absolutely phenomenal. I have to admit, I did not have a positive opinion on alcohol before recently. Perhaps it was because you’re much wiser about your consumption.

“Well… I mean, it’s like anything else. You gotta do it right. I’d call this right: you and me, full belly, all good. This is pretty damn—” And he ran right into the King in Yellow, overbalanced, and fell backwards.

Sunny gasped. He hadn’t seen. How had he not? (The whiskey, it was for gods, of course it had affected them both, he was so stupid—)

Hastur caught them with one tentacle. “Well,” he said, voice huge and terrifying and multi-dimensional.

Parker stared at him. “Fuck, you’re big. Stop doing that.”

Sunny gasped. Parker!

Hastur… laughed. It wasn’t a big laugh, but it happened, and he set Parker back on his feet without crushing or throwing or any of the things Sunny feared. “I’m afraid that request is denied.”

Great One, Sunny said, voice nervous. I… kindly let us pass, please. We have done everything you asked of us.

“Indeed, you have.” Hastur tugged Parker’s shirt back down.

Parker shoved at him. “Hands off the merchandise.”

Parker!

“So you've said,” rumbled the King. “It’s all right, Sunny. I find this… amusing.”

That could be taken any number of ways.

Parker just took it in stride. “You’re still too damn big for business.”

The King’s multi-tentacle shrug definitely seemed entertained. “Alas for me. You seem to be mildly inebriated.”

And Parker had to be thinking along the same lines as reward, because he said, “That button corner guy is fucking good. You should give him a raise.”

The mispronunciation startled Sunny into a peal of laughter. Parker joined him.

Hastur did… something. To Sunny, it felt like the gentlest touch—barely there, almost affectionate. “My head chef, I believe you mean?” Hastur said.

Yes, Great One. It came out in a laugh as he began to relax, the allure of the god-liquor and the knowledge Parker was safe and just being there beginning to sink in. We met them a few days ago, when we had some questions about the pastries that came with breakfast. And for tonight, we trained right through dinner, and I thought we would slip in and ask for a plate, but it became an entire production. I apologize for my brashness.

“No apologies required.” Hastur was so different when not in front of people. That touch again; it felt relaxing, safe, and his incorporeal body leaned into it. “You have not argued since you arrived in this place,” said Hastur.

“Argued?” Parker looked confused. “For what?”

Sunny let out a puzzled noise. You made the situation clear, Great One. We have not caused any trouble.

“I hardly mean with others. With one another.” That touch was just a bit firmer. Maybe he was trying to get Sunny to purr.

Whatever it was, it was the closest Sunny ever remembered to feeling whole, and it was glorious. Why the fuck would I fight with Parker?

“Fighting seems to be what your counterparts constantly do.”

Parker snorted. “You mean Arthur’s a bitey little bitch.”

Hastur made a noise that wasn’t quite a laugh this time, but maybe one barely covered up. “Indeed.”

That is… Sunny’s voice wavers, a bit. That seems… strange. I remember Arthur said he and John fought, but… I don’t understand why.

“Do you truly agree on everything?” said the King.

“Pffft,” says Parker. “What kind of a leading question is that? Nobody agrees on everything.”

“Yet you do not fight.” That touch again; Sunny sighed, content as… how did Parker put it? A bug in a rug.

“Why would we?” Parker said. “We’re grownups. Maybe we could teach you how to get along. No more blowing people up.”

That seemed less safe. Parker, Sunny chided mildly.

“No more blowing people up, hm?” said Hastur, still not angry.

“Everybody’s talking about it. Court.” Parker paused. “Huh. Know what? I think I’m drunk. I don’t really have, uh. What do they call it? The blanket between my thoughts and my mouth. A filter. Right now. But I only had one sip.”

“It is intended for beings such as myself, and is potent.”

“Oh.” Parker considered. “The hangover?”

“Likely nonexistent.”

Parker’s shoulders untensed. “Then I don’t give a fuck.”

Parker and I were able to establish respect quickly, Sunny said, low and defensive. He… He is willing to compromise. To work with me. And as such I have afforded the same to him.

“Curious. Had I time…” The King hesitated. “You have both pleased me so far. Know this.”

“We ain’t done any of it for you, though,” said Parker.

Sunny was quiet for a moment. I appreciate you recognizing our efforts.

“I do.” Strange, though; Sunny knew this body language. The great Lord of Carcosa was… tired. Should gods be tired? “You have been the least troublesome aspect of all of this entire adventure. Have you any requests?”

Aside from Parker’s freedom… yes, we have some questions, Great One, but… but later. For those. But we do have one request.

“We do?” said Parker.

“Go ahead and ask,” said Hastur. That touch again; it felt very good. Steadying. As if the King wanted Sunny to speak, which was an incredible concept.

Sunny wanted to speak. Sunny wanted good things for Parker. Sunny dared to want good things for himself. Would… Would it be possible to… just every once in a while… eat with you, and the others, without Larson present? Not every day. Maybe now and then.

“Oh,” said Parker. “Hadn’t thought of that.”

Partners take care of each other, said Sunny softly.

“Thanks, bud,” said Parker, sounding just a bit wobbly.

The King considered it. “An excellent request. I don’t see why not. He’s certainly taking up enough of my time that he has no right to complain.”

He was? Oh, that wasn’t good. Sunny growled a little.

Parker stroked his jaw. “That asshole isn’t touching you again. You’re all right.”

Hastur did… whatever that unseen contact was, and Sunny relaxed, making a sound like a sigh. Thank you, Great One. Thank you.

And out of nowhere (or maybe reading the room), Parker changed subjects. “We saw your kid out there, training. She’s fuckin’ skilled. You must be real proud.”

The King had no face to smile. His eyes were hidden by his mask; but his body language… Pride. Joy. Focus. “Yes. She is remarkable. I have never known a human as worthy.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be,” said Parker, slightly unclearly. “You really gonna answer questions later?”

“Eventually, yes. When you are sober.”

Parker nodded solemnly. “That’s good shit.”

You really are drunk, Sunny said, and now he purred, a happy rumble that vibrated down Parker’s spine. But that’s alright—I am too. I think. Thank you, Great One. I… It is my hope that we will be ready to speak more in a day or two, if your schedule allows.

“We have six years. You have time.”

Parker looked thoughtful. “You mean that?”

“Of course.”

Parker peered at him.

Six years, Sunny said quietly. We aim to make the most of it.

“Good. So do I. Rest well, Sunny, Parker Yang, when you do rest.” And off the King went, hovering, his many tentacles curling and undulating as though he moved through unseen sea.

Parker rubbed his eyes. “Always see gold afterimages for a while after talkin’ to him.”

It is his power, said Sunny proudly. He is pleased with you.

“That could’ve gone worse, huh? Weird, though. Something in there… something was a lie.”

Sunny was in such a good place. He didn’t want to deal with lies right now. There was? he said, tiny.

Parker waved his hand. “We’re good. Don’t worry, partner.”

I won’t, Sunny said fondly. You are a charming man, Parker.

Parker laughed. “Fuck. I’d take you dancing tonight if I could. Hey… we could do that! They got radio here?”

Sunny’s good mood was back. Now I know you’re drunk. How do you dance with a partner that lives inside your head?

“Oh, like… uh. Hm. I can’t sing for shit. They really don’t have radio?”

I don’t believe so. It’s possible that Hastur has recordings, somewhere—I suppose we could dig around the library, but live music is preferred here.

“Then I guess you gotta deal with my tone-deaf… me. I’ll show you how we dance.” And he began to move.

His singing wasn’t great; sort of monotone, more a rhythm than a tune, but his feet… the way he held his body, one arm out as if around a partner, one around his own chest… the way moved his hips, the way his whole spine seemed to curve… Sunny could see it all in the ubiquitous mirrors, and it turned out that Parker couldn’t just fight. He could dance.

Sunny laughed. Parker! What are you—look at us! For fuck’s sake, let me have our voice, would you? I’ll give us something to dance to.

Parker gave him an exaggerated, reflected wink, and then gave him his mouth.

Sunny took over, sliding into bass notes, singing from their chest:

“I can't forget the night I met you That's all I'm dreaming of And now you call it madness But I call it love

You made a promise to be faithful By all the stars above And now you call it madness But I call it love”

Parker turned the dance into something slow and graceful and somehow incredibly sweet, eyes lidded, swaying as if up against someone he could only imagine. “I like that. Works for us, don’t it? It’s all crazy in this place, but you and me? We’re okay.”

He looked happy. Sunny memorized it, the gentle curve of Parker’s mouth, and let himself settle into it. It felt appropriate. Oh, Parker. You seem to be having fun, even without a partner. Perhaps in time we’ll find someone we can dance with, as well. You certainly know how to move.

“Yeah, I can cut a rug. Always could. And what are you saying, without a partner? I got a partner. Right here. Making music.”

Careful now, Parker, Sunny purred. You might wind up seducing me. And there isn’t a whole lot you’d be able to do for that.

Parker spun, hips swaying in a way Sunny found lovely to watch. “Maybe not now, but we’re in a magic place. There’ll be something.”

Sunny laughed. I suppose we could scour the archives for a spell of instant orgasm. Magic appears to work on me.

“See? There’ll be some way.”

Sunny paused. That will be an interesting conversation with Hastur.

“Ha!” Parker spun again. “It’d be funny as fuck, though.”

‘Hello, great one, yes, I was wondering, do you know of any way to help an errant piece of you with no physical body orgasm?’ Sunny quipped. ‘Yes, we’ve tried focusing really, really hard on me transferring to Parker’s dick. No, it hasn’t worked. Oh thank you, Your Majesty, the Unspeakable. Thank you for this orgasm.’

Parker laughed. “Right? Easy!” He did a little shuffle and hummed tunelessly again. He hadn’t stumbled yet. “Fuck, that was good whiskey. Heh. Could give some of that to Arthur and get the truth out of him.”

It wouldn’t even need to be a lot. The man can’t hold his liquor worth shit, Sunny said.

Parker laughed again. “Fuckin’ true. How'd you know that?" Their jaw tensed, and Parker decided to move on. Later for whatever that was. This was for them, now. "Wonder how high this place goes. They got, like… places on the roof to go?”

That there are, my friend. How high do you want to go? We’re allowed free reign. I can’t take you to the tallest spire—that belongs to the King—but I can take you pretty fucking high.

“I wanna go lie down under the stars. Not where anybody can walk on us, or anything.”

I can do that. I’ll lead the way.

And he did. They climbed what felt like hundreds of stairs. Parker commented on the artwork and frippery, and Sunny made a few jokes. Finally, they reached an honest-to-goodness ladder leading to a trap door, which Parker was able to push open and climb through.

Oh, boy, they were high.

The air was still cold with the waning chill of spring, and the moons low hung in the sky. The glittering white stars were bright against the night like scattered pearls on a bed of black silk. Gold railings, barely more than ankle height, looped around the small platform on the roof, and Sunny let out a soft gasp.

“Oh, wow,” Parker breathed.

It’s… It’s so beautiful, up here. Excellent idea, my friend.

Parker stared straight up. He looked out, at the distant dark mountains, at the glittering lake taking the light of Carcosa and turning it to dancing gold. After a moment, he had to wipe his eyes.

Oh, Parker, Sunny said gently. Penny for your thoughts?

“I just… I’m grateful? I never would’a got to see any of this.” He gestured, taking in all of the Dreamlands. “Rich people travel, you know? I was lucky I got to move from Boston to Arkham. Got to go to New York City, sometimes. But this is…” He swallowed.. “Larson made some stupid comment about my paygrade, way back in the beginning, remember? He wasn’t wrong. I don’t… I never thought I’d get to do nothing like this. At least my folks got to see another country, but they left it. Never told me shit about it.” He sighed. “And now…” He sat near the edge, taking in the silvery waves of grass, wind-stirred under the two moons. “Now this. I know it’s been rough. And I’m not lookin’ forward to saying goodbye to you when you join that guy again, but… it’s worth it. It’s all been worth it. I guess that’s what I got to say.”

Parker really felt he’d grieve to see Sunny go.

Parker really felt Sunny would be… missed.

Their throat tightened, and their mouth began to speak.

“Like tiny drops of crystal rain, In every life the moments fall, To wear away with silent beat, The shell of selfishness o’er all.

And every act, not one too small, That leaps from out the heart’s pure glow, Like ray of gold sends forth a light, While moments into seasons flow.

Athwart the dome, Eternity, To Iris grown resplendent, fly Bright gleams from every noble deed, Till colors with each other vie.

’Tis glimpses of this grand rainbow, Where moments with good deeds unite, That gladden many weary hearts, Inspiring them to seek more Light.”

“It has been the greatest honor, my friend,” Sunny said softly with Parker’s voice. “We still have almost six years. I’m not going anywhere soon. I promise.”

“I just keep fallin’ for guys with poetry in ‘em,” Parker muttered. “Must be me making up for not being able to sing. I really liked that. And yeah… six years. That’s pretty good.”

Most people would only be content with a lifetime together, Sunny said gently.

“Sure, but… I mean, I grew up, everybody told me I couldn’t love guys because you can only love girls. I dunno. I guess I’m grateful for anything I can get.”

We carry no such compulsions in the Dreamlands, Parker. The way humans view gender and sex as a binary construct is almost laughable. Here… no one whose opinions are of any merit will demand that of you, one way or another.

“That’s gonna take some getting used to,” Parker murmured. “I might not die alone, huh?”

Sunny gasped. Oh, Parker. It is my intent to remain in your life, even after… after I merge back with the King. I will be part of him, and he will carry my affection for you with him always.

“Shit,” said Parker with deep appreciation.

Sunny spoke fluent Parker, and knew that wasn’t the bad kind of swear. We may even mark you. I would want to keep you safe, close, to elevate you as you deserve—and maybe we will get you a little investigator’s office, down in Carcosa. Even a title. I could arrange that, too.

“Mark me?” Parker swallowed, still staring into the distance. “That’s a pretty big offer, isn’t it?”

You are worth pretty big things.

Parker took a breath. He sounded unsure. “I’d need to know more about that mark thing first. I don’t… wanna lose myself, you know?”

We have plenty of time, Parker. It’s almost a blessing, in its own way. He let out a soft rumble. When we were thrown to Carcosa, I was so afraid. It was happening too fast. And it hurt, to hear he… would not merge with me, yet, but I also… I wasn’t done. For the first time, Parker, I felt like there was more this world could offer me. And I am so glad I get to spend it with you. Everything I’ve seen in the last eight months has meant more to me than… than the whole of this palace combined.

Parker exhaled slowly. “I ain’t sayin’ yes yet, but what’s it mean if you mark me?”

Your soul would be linked to mine until the end of time itself. You would share in my immortality; while you could be killed, you would not age, or sicken, and I would be able to sense you. Feel you. If you needed my aid, or my company, I could go to you; and I could call you if I needed you. Sunny sighed. It is the highest honor a Great One can bestow upon a mortal. You would be my chosen, and I would hold you aloft as a beacon to all.

Parker licked his lips. “Sorta sounds like… fairy tale marriage.”

Huh. I hadn’t thought of that connotation, Sunny mused. I… Suppose so?

“You’re serious. I wouldn’t age?”

I am. If you wished, you could live forever.

Parker fell silent. He studied the Dreamlands, or at least the view tonight—the city moved, after all, so it wouldn’t always be this.

“I was so sure I’d die young,” Parker whispered. “And here you are, talkin forever.”

Sunny dearly wished he had Parker’s hands, or at least one of them. You’re worth forever. I love you, Parker.

Parker shifted forward, legs crossed, head down. Tears slid past their lips. “Never thought I’d hear that, either.”

Oh, Parker…

“I love you too, Sunny, whatever that means. I dunno. This is all new.”

You’ve been in love before, Sunny pointed out.

“Not returned. Changes things up a bit.”

Sunny was definitely drunk. If Arthur didn’t love you back, he deserved…

“Shhh, it’s okay.” Parker stroked his lips. “I think I’m better at talking now than I was. So it’s good. I don’t know about marking, but… six years maybe ain’t long enough, after all.”

Sunny wouldn’t just be missed. Sunny was wanted. He fell silent, and he couldn’t cry, but he could settle in Parker’s mouth and taste the god-whiskey and watch the sleeping world.

And it was very good.

Notes:

Sunny's poem is Iris of Life by Zitkála-Šá.

#malevolent #malevolent podcast #malevolent fic #malevolent fanfic #parker yang #sunny (surrogate)#surrogate series

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terubakudan · 3 years ago

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This may be an old article from 3 years ago, but these cultural aspects/observations still apply even today. And though this is strictly a Chinese perspective, a lot of these everyday life bits are observed in Overseas Chinese communities in countries such as The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. as well as countries heavily influenced by Chinese culture like Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

I've always liked learning about other cultures and making comparisons between how things are done East vs West. Which probably stems from growing up with two cultures and Mom raising me on American movies xD

So the irony is if you asked me how many Chinese, Taiwanese, or Hong Kong actors I know, chances are I know as much as you do xD Like Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, and that's about it. But if you asked me about Western (specifically American and British) actors, then I have a useless brain dump of movie trivia and who was with who in what movie xD

Hmmm, both Taiwan and the Philippines are two distinct cultures but both look up to a certain country and are fascinated by that. In Taiwan's case, Japan and the US for the Philippines. In both cases, this is due to being under the rule of those countries in their history. Taiwan being under Japan for 50 years, and the Philippines being under Spain for 300+ years, followed by periods of American and Japanese rule. To put it simply though:

Taiwan is "mini-Japan with a very Chinese culture".

The Philippines is "former colony of Spain with lots of American influences".

But unlike the author, I've never set foot in any Western country, so my understandings are strictly what I've observed in media, which while it can be accurate, doesn't compare to actually experiencing the culture.

Some further elaboration on most points:

#1 We quite literally use chopsticks for everything. We use it to pick rice, viands, vegetables, fruit, smaller desserts, almost all the food you can think of.

But where do you put your chopsticks when you're not using them? Just put them on top of your bowl or flat on your plate. But do not ever stick them vertically. It's taboo, since it looks like incense sticks, which we use to pray for those who have passed, like our ancestors or during funerary services.

#3 The majority of Asia is obsessed with fair/white skin. In my time at the Philippines, I grew up watching all these Dove Whitening commercials and my classmates often commented on how fair my skin was, how they envied it etc. In Taiwan, girls often say they don't want to 變黑 (biàn hēi) 'become dark'. Japan and Korea too are not innocent of this either (if their beauty/skin products weren't a dead giveaway).

People here at Taiwan often mistake me for being from Hong Kong or Japan (as long as I don't speak Mandarin with my heavy accent xD). A Taiwanese classmate of mine joked that she often gets mistaken for being from Southeast Asia due to having a darker complexion. And while I laughed it off with her at that time, looking back, I now realize she was lowkey being racist. xD

And believe me Filipinas have mentioned literally being told 'your skin is so dark' here in Taiwan, or being given backhanded compliments like 'you're pretty despite having dark skin' and...*facepalms*

My point is, beauty is not exclusive to skin color. People who still think that are assholes.

#5 Not to say we don't have salt and pepper, but yes soy sauce and vinegar are the classic condiments you see on the table, be it at home or at a restaurant.

And if I may add, Taiwanese love their pepper. xD If you ever get to eat at a night market or a smaller "Mom n' Pop-style" restaurant here, some dishes/soups tend to add quite an excessive amount of pepper. Not like anthills, but quite liberally and way more than average. Enough that you see traces of pepper at the bottom of the food paper bag or swirling in your soup. xD

#6 I know this all too well from personal experience. In my years of studying at Taiwan, I always had roommates. 3 in my first school (I graduated high school in the Philippines pre K-12 so I had to make up 2 years of Senior High), followed by 2 in college, with the exception of 1 in freshman year.

My college did offer single person dorms but at around 9000 NTD ($324) per month compared to around 6000 NTD ($216) per semester. Because I wanted to save, the choice was obvious for me xD. But ah, this doesn't mean I don't value personal space, in fact I love having the room to myself, and since both my roomies would go home to their families every weekend, weekends were bliss for me xD

And you don't have to be friends with your roommates (that's an added bonus however), you just have to get along with them. I was quite lucky to have really great roommates all throughout my schooling years.

#9 In the Philippines, we do. Owing mostly to American influences and maybe being predominantly Catholic? xD

#10 *sigh* Chinese parents and parents from similar Asian cultures tend to put too much emphasis on grades, so much that kids could get sent to cram school as early as elementary. This is because what school you get into could literally affect your future job opportunities, and while that's not exclusive to any particular country/culture, I feel it's especially pronounced here in Asia. I'm really lucky my own parents weren't that strict about it. However, if your parents don't point the mistakes out to you, chances are you'll do it yourself, if you're an Asian kid like me anyway. xD It just becomes a habit.

#11 My family is an exception to this. xD We do say 'I love you' directly, but complete with the 'ah eat well ok?', 'don't scrimp on food', 'sleep well' and similar indirect words/actions of affection. We were doing 'Conceal, Don't Feel' before it became popular. xD

#13 I'm kind of confused about this but this has sort have changed over the years in which eye-contact is now more encouraged. But don't stare, especially at elders and authority figures. Sometimes it's just shyness though. xD And I've observed this with my own Taiwanese friend, especially when I'm complaining or ranting to her about something. xD I'm a person who likes to express my opinions strongly, which tends to scare/alienate some of the locals here, as doing so is kind of frowned upon. Thankfully, she does listen and offers her take on things.

#14 Ah this. xD In the Philippines, this is a common greeting known as beso-beso, and I freaked out too when an auntie did that to me. xD Needless to say, Mom lectured me later on what that was. ^^"

#16 Along with #3 another crazy beauty standard. In my view, people always look better with a little meat on them and when they're not horribly thin. Asia still has a loonng way to go with accepting different types of bodies if you ask me. This combined with modern beauty standards has made the pressure for women especially to 'look beautiful' higher than ever.

I know many people love them but please, starving yourself or glorifying eating disorders is never OK just to get this kind of 'ideal' body. I'm not part of the Kpop fandom, but even I think when idols get bullied just for gaining the least bit of weight among other insensitive comments, that's really going too far.

#17 'If you want to make friends, go eat.' <- I couldn't agree more. In the Philippines we have a greeting: 'Kumain ka na ba?' (Have you eaten?) . Similarly in Taiwan, we have ��飯了沒? (chī fàn le méi), both of these can mean that in the literal sense but are often used as greetings instead. By then which invitation to having lunch/dinner together may or may not follow. Food really is a way for us to socialize and to catch up with what's going on in each other's lives. Not to say we don't have regular outings like going out to the mall, going shopping, etc. but eating together is a huge part of our culture, be it with family or friends.

And while I'm at it, some memes that are way too accurate good to pass up xD

Parents, uncles, aunties alike will fight over the bill xD

Alternatively:

You just space out until your name is called xD

My parents are guilty of the last one. Logic how? xD

#18 True. xD I like giving compliments out to people but I have a hard time accepting them myself, though I've learnt how to accept them much more now than before. We're kind of raised to constantly downplay ourselves so we often say things like 'ah no no' or 'I'm really not that good'. The downside of this of course is that it can come off as somewhat fake. xD

Again from personal experience, that same classmate who made the lowkey racist remark, she was good, she was on the debate team, was a honor student, knew how to mingle with people, but she downplayed herself way too much, while praising me but I honestly thought that she never really meant it from how she treated me. She wanted to keep me around her yet make backhanded compliments at me and she didn't want me socializing with my other classmate who is now my friend. *sigh* It was only after discussing this with one of my roomies did I realize how this 'excessive downplaying' might come off to people like me who more or less grew up with a more 'Westernized' mindset. I'm not saying brag about your achievements but don't be overly humble about them either, which can also be a turn off.

#20 We do tend to be a lot more realistic on how we view things, neither entirely optimistic nor pessimistic. We try to think of things practically and often analyze things on pure logic. A downside of this however, is that Chinese people can be overly practical. Taiwanese for instance don't like to 'find inconveniences' and generally keep to themselves, meaning, they won't help you in your hour of need even when they do have the capabilities. Sounds really harsh I know, but in my 6 years of living in Taiwan, while this doesn't apply to all the people, a lot of them really do only find/talk to you when they need something.

So for some people saying Taiwanese are 'friendly', that's BS xD If you ask me, Filipinos are infinitely more friendly, and again while not all, generally make more of an effort to help you when you need it. I really felt more of a real sense of community during my years growing up in the Philippines compared to Taiwan.

#21 Children do tend to stay with their parents well into college and adulthood, since Chinese families are indeed very family-oriented, in a lot of cases, grandparents often live under the same roof as us as well! And it really does save a lot of money. I see there's a real stigma in the US when it comes to "living with your parents", but that's starting to change especially because of Covid and having more and more people move back in with their parents.

Housing unfortunately is pretty much hella expensive no matter where you go, and Taiwan is no exception. Steep housing prices and the very high cost of raising a child (schooling + buxiban fees, etc.) contribute to a very low birth rate and thus an aging population like Japan. It's not uncommon to see both parents working in Taiwan.

#23 I'm an overthinker myself, but I totally agree with the author that the best is to strike a good balance between these two. Which I guess is why I love drawing or any other related creative attempts, it helps me be more spontaneous or well, creative! I like to remain intellectually or artistically inspired.

#24 Is French high school really like that? xD My friend did watch SKAM France and more or less got a culture shock from what was depicted on the show. I can confirm however that most high schools both in the Philippines and Taiwan require students to wear a uniform, only in college is everybody free to wear casual/civilian clothes.

#26 Ah this is part of our Asian gift-giving etiquette xD We always open gifts later after the event/meeting and in private. Never open them in front of the person who gave it to you or in front of others. This is to prevent any 'shame/embarrassment' that may result both to yourself and to the gift giver. I know this may come off as something weird since some people may want a more honest response or immediate feedback when it comes to gift-giving, but that's just how it is in our culture. You're always free to ask us though (in private) if we liked the gift or not ^^"

#28 I want to say the same goes to drinking, partying, and drugs however xD Those are things which are still frowned upon in our culture. And to be honest, whenever I see those in movies, it does kind of turn me off xD It doesn't mean that we're "uncool" or "boring", we just think that there are much better or healthier ways of "having fun".

#31 Is this true in France?! Man I would kind of prefer that instead of people being on their phones all the time xD This kind of goes with #20 in that Chinese are overly practical or logical, and don't read fiction as much as nonfiction. My Taiwanese friend is an exception though, she's a bibliophile who loves the feel of paper books compared to e-books, and it's a trait of her that I like a lot. Both the Philippines and Taiwan however have a huge fanbase when it comes to manga and anime though.

I'm all for reading outside of "designated reading" at schools especially. Reading fiction improves your vocabulary too, and can be quite fun! It helps you imagine and really invest in a world/story, and if you ask me something that I feel Westerners are better at, they're more in touch with their emotions and creativity, and are thus much more able to write compelling or original stories. Believe me, I've seen a fair amount of Chinese movies that rip off Western movie plotlines xD

#33 Nothing much to add on here..except that since I'm a "weird" person, Mom often jokes that she got the wrong baby from the hospital. xD

#35 True. While I agree with the care and concern that your fellow community can give you, the downside of this is we tend to only hang out with our own people, e.g Chinese with Chinese, Taiwanese with Taiwanese, etc. I've seen too that it's especially hard to make friends in Japan and Korea as a foreigner. Not only is there the language barrier, but the differences in culture too. In a way, Asians can be pretty close-minded on getting to know other cultures or actually making friends with people from other countries. I know this all too well being half-Taiwanese/half-Filipino, being neither "Filipino" enough nor "Taiwanese" enough. xD It's more of people here being too used to what they're comfortable with.

#36 Oh this is something I feel that Chinese students and other students from similar cultures should really improve on. xD How will people respect you if you don't speak your mind?

I felt bad especially for my Spanish teacher in college, granted it was an introductory course (Spanish I and II) but the amount of times that our teacher had to prompt a student to recite/speak even with clear hints already made her (and me too) extremely frustrated. The thing is, these are college students, I personally feel they don't have any reason to be so shy of speaking and technically by not doing so they're slowing the pace of the class too much and a lot of time is wasted.

Unfortunately you can't always be very vocal with your thoughts and opinions in most Asian cultures. I would say strive for that, but at the same time, play your cards well, especially if you're in a workplace setting.

If you made it to the end, thank you for reading and here's a cookie! 🍪 I'm not perfect and there's bound to be something I missed so please let me know if you spotted anything wrong. Feedback/questions are very much welcome and please feel free to share about your country/culture's differences or similarities!

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yuhimananimegurl · 4 years ago

Text

Sebastian Meets Ceil’s New Yorker Cousin

Oh my lord, I’m watching black butler and i just had this vision! What if Ceil had a cousin from New York, and Sebastian is so confused when she comes in using our little New York lingo lol

You were on your plane to London to visit your cousin Ceil Phantomhive in his mansion. It had been a long trip but you were so excited to go there. As a child you always wanted to go London, or at least Paris. So when you heard from your mother that you could visit him, you screamed “YASS!! LETS GOOOOOO!!!!” So you can imagine the smile plastered on your face. If anything some people you saw, were a little freaked out at how big you were smiling. You were a very likable person, so you made small talk with people next to you, in front of you, and even behind you. You even had this particular flight attendant who would always cater to you. And yes, the people in your isle noticed it too.

When you arrived you were in awe. It was so beautiful! You had never imagined such beauty in just one place. New York was nothing like this. But you still missed it regardless, after you were greeted by a man a little too formal for your liking when getting off the plane. Even though it had been 4 years since then, when he offered to hold your hand ‘for the steps are gravely steep madam’ you swatted his hand and said “Don’t touch me! cOrOnA vIrUs!!” He was very confused while you silently laughed at your own joke.

When you were down from the plane, and out of their somewhat of an airport, you were so confused on how the hell you would get to the manner. So of course, even as people still wondered what the hell your doing, you asked Siri for google maps. Some people were confused, and some were scared, when your little ‘thingimabob’ started talking back to you!

When you finally reached the manor you were like “BITCH?! HE IS ONLY THIRTEEN! NOT EVEN MY CONDO IS HALF AS BIG AS THIS! WHAT THE HELL?!” And of course saying it the weird way New York taught you to say it, your pronounced it as ‘hail’.

You kicked the door open and screamed “I’m here bitches!!” You saw Ceil and this strange tall ass man, standing right next to him. Before you even greeted Ceil, you turned to this man with a visible WTF face, and you said “Oh HELL NO! Who is you?!” And of course Sebastian was so confused he didn’t even answer. Instead he whispered to Ceil “Is this even our guest?” Ceil sighed. “Welcome cousin! I see you are very bright today! And for clarification, this is my humble butler Sebastian.” “BITCHYOUGOTABUTLER?!” You blurted out. Sebastian had no idea why you were talking like this, so out of plain curiosity he asked “Excuse me, I do not mean to intrude, so my apologies, but why do you speak like.. well... that?” “Oh my lord. It’s cause I’m from New York. teehee.” ‘Interesting’ he thought. He was in so much confusion it hurt when you said, taking this weird thing out of your pockets “Yo my cousin got a fuckin BUTLER! Bish I am poor as hell, like money went YEET. I’m done I can’t even.”

“What is a yeet?!” he almost sobbed. “Again I’m from New York. That’s just how we speak.”

He was hurting, from the confusion he had throughout the whole day. Between you say this “Um chile anyways so” to you looking at the tea’s he made and replying with “What the hell? Oh uh uh. This is why I brought Taki’s and some Pepsi.” he almost cried when you pronounced hell, as ‘Hail’. “Young Master, i really do not understand, this so called ‘Modern Lingo’ that your beloved cousin is using.” When he looked at you, you were on your phone screaming at it saying “YUHHH GETT INTO IT OIKAWA!!!! AHHHHH KAGEYAMA!! OH MY GOD ITS THE GIANT SALT SHAKER!!!!!!” You were practically screeching.

Over the next few months you were staying there, he learned to love that about you. The fact you didn’t care what they thought, the fact you payed no mind to those who stared. You weren’t as enthusiastic as you were on your first day here, but he definitely wouldn’t say you changed at all.

He always greeted you in the mornings by your preference, ‘The My Hero Academia intro’. He caught on pretty fast, what a ‘Weeb’ was, and that you were a major one.

This particular night, you were sleeping and he came to check on you. He knocked but you hadn’t answered, so he assumed you had been sleeping. As he walked in, he saw you on your bed balling your eyes out, with your knees to your face. He was the most worried he had been in quite a while, although he hadn’t a clue as to why. After all, you were only his Young master’s cousin. Correct?

“Mistress? Why are you crying?” he asked in concern. You were to busy crying to realize he had walked in, so as you lifted your face up you jumped before, wiping your tears and assuring him you were fine. Of course he didn’t believe you, he wasn’t blind, you know? You know? More like Yuno Gasai! Ok I’m gone. He walked over to your bed. and sat down beside you. since he had no idea what was happening he assured you “If you do not wish to tell me, you can keep it to yourself. I shall respect that.” You and the Black Butler grew close over the few months you stayed in the manner. “So please, trust me when I say, it is okay to cry. Do not allow me to stop you. Please, let it all out.” And with those final words you were sobbing, in his arms while you both lay on the bed, while he was gently rubbing little circles into your back. Needless to say, you both fell asleep in each others arms. Something Sebastian rarely does, is sleep, so this was something that never happens.

When you woke up, you were cuddled into his chest, while his arm was wrapped around your waist, pulling you into a slight hug. A tint of red crept upon your face, as you lay there silently cuddling into his embrace.

Although you would have loved to stay in the butlers arms, you had checked the time and it was 8:15... Which meant... “I only have fifteen minutes to get ready for class.” You whispered quite annoyed. You had gotten up as quietly as you could, and slipped on your slippers. the black butler must have been EXTREMELY ULTIMATELY ULTRA SUPER ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLY tired, if he didn’t even budge. Honestly you were lowkey surprised, he didn’t wake up yet. So you made your way to the bathroom to get ready, and you quickly did your hair, and put on a white shirt with the prospect I think that’s what it’s called of Isaiah in the back, and the words written in rainbow “GOD GOT ME”.

As you walked out of the bathroom, you heard Sebastian groan, to soon realize how ‘late’ it was. i don’t know, he just has that sense okrr?

“Oh my goodness! Why the hell am I up this late? What if the young master needs me?” So to tease him you said, “Yeah you are pretty late. If i hadn’t woke up I would’ve been mad late to online class Sebby...” You said with a disappointed duck face. He learnt what it meant when you used ‘mad’ in a sentence. Disappointed in himself he said “Mistress! My deepest apologies! I have gravely failed as a Butler. I am immensely disappointed in myself..” Sebby I was kidding. I don’t give a damn if i’m late to class anyways. I hate them, they mad annoying.” Even so! How could the young master forgive him! He slept in and had failed his duties as a butler, he cannot explain how sorry he is an- “Oh my god Seb it’s not that big a deal! If he gets mad, i’ll shut him up. I feel like smackin him on the head today anyway.” You interrupted his rant.

“Even so, please accept my apology.” He bowed. “Yeah yeah, i accept. Now get the table ready I gotta show my face on camera. It’s the least you can do. And i’ll ask Mey-Rin if the little ass is sleeping. If he isn’t i’ll take care of him. If he is.. I got a little surprise for him...” You stated mischievously. “Gladly mistress.” And with that he was off, to get everything ready for you in the living room you spent most of your time in.

When it was around 8:20 you had already been informed of Ceil. And as you thought... He was sleeping... You had already set up a Bluetooth system in his room, so he could listen to pre-recorded music, like a normal person. So of course you went in, set it to the highest volume, and connected your phone. And on the speaker you OBVIOUSLY played the... Monsters Inc. Ear Rape...>:)

As the music blasted you heard Ceil scream “OH MY GOD Y/N!!! LEAVE ME ALONE YOU LITTLE WITCH! UGH!! TURN IT OFF YOU IDIOT!” You were bawling your eyes out, literally CRYING from the fun you were having. While Sebastian ran over to see what was happening. When he saw you laughing and heard his young master scream at you to turn it off, he knew it was one of those ‘prank’ things you do.

After that situation, you were on google meet talking shit about your corny ass teacher Mr. Y/T/N, to your friend Y/F/N. When Sebastian saw this, he was ever so bold as to whisper in your ear “You shouldn’t talk about people behind their backs..” You blushed so hard. “Um.. well.. I mean I was..” And then you realized. “SEBASTIAN MY CAMERA IS ONN!!!!!!” You rushed to turn it off feeling extremely embarrassed. He chuckled “Oh I know darling...” Realizing what he said, he worried he over stepped a boundary. “So.. I’m your darling now?” He came to a conclusion he actually had over stepped your boundary. As he was about to apologize you said “Tonight, I don’t give a fuck if Ceil needs you. I want you in my room by 8:00.” Shocked, now he was the one who was blushing now. “But-” He was cut off. “That... Is an order.”

“Why yes Milady. What kind of butler would i be to disobey an order? For I am merely one hell of a butler.”

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wellwornwornwell · 5 years ago

Note

Your thoughts on Ivy Style website please...

Lately, quite mysteriously, I’ve been inundated by questions. You, my dear, anonymous aficionados of aspiration, have apparently rediscovered my humble website and now confront me with a slew of incredibly pressing questions about what you can and cannot press.

I won’t lie, it reminds me of better times. Once, this here blog was thought of as one of the top… fourteen thousand tailored #menswear editorial tumblrs in the world. I was invited to no parties, solicited for no interviews, and won little acclaim. But there’s just something about a long-since-bankrupt listicle linking to your post of a long-dead fascist. #menswear was built on dopamine, because no one was dumb enough to pay money.

And yeah this all stems from, like, I don’t know, sixteen like-minded iGents who got a chuckle out of half-baked jokes and over-saturated photography? We could laugh together at the soon-to-be-Hypebeasts as they wore shoes they couldn’t afford by labels they couldn’t pronounce. I guess maybe it was nice just to have a scapegoat? When the whole world dresses like shit, it’s cool to feel above it all. The lines are drawn and the concepts easily grasped. I’m right and they’re wrong. Imagine the satisfaction of knowing you were the real tastemaker. One of the few to survive the fads.

But that’s the thing about fads, they come and they go. People grew and went on to do incredible things like launch brands or have sex. The accepted concept of dressing well shifted from coat and tie to pseudo-goth kids wanting to die, and almost overnight we were left behind. Sure we adopted new weapons to fight the waves of misguided progress. Double down on elitism they said, write with an irony that extends the benefit of the doubt, they demanded. We must shield ourselves from the realities of what people actually care about – what’s important.

And so we were left completely out-of-touch on what is cool. What the masses wanted. Chided by nostalgia and protected by a smug sensibility that we were always right – that our cashmere blends were better and our pocket configurations more sacred – we fled inward, to places and people who would extend a silent, knowing nod. We were right, and always have been, never mind the fact our thinking and approach were so misguided that the very foundation of our pulpit, tumblr, was bought and sold for pennies on the dollar. Our dread was always existential, but our champagne has never been colder.

Our approach to clothing and the world have been outvoted. The nays have it. None of this is real and we are either woefully off track as humans or doomed to be a forever punchline of wannabe rich assholes. But it could be worse. I could have gone through all of this and still be on Ivy Style Dot Com.

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cursekept · 2 years ago

Text

sukha - stories.

character details:

though a priest, sukha isn’t your typical sort of holy man. the archons of teyvat may have his faith, but if asked to choose between them and a glass of mondstadt’s finest wine, he would find the answer to be the latter. at least, in the short term.

he can be found welcoming people of all walks of life into his humble church --- be the journey to the city too far, they need refuge, or they simply wish to have an honest conversation with a man that is not only about fire and brimstone.

story 1:

“ what is justice to the faithful ? ”

this is this very question that the people of fontaine seek to answer. in a country where justice and faith are intertwined, where does one draw the line ? by the hydro archon’s decree, all shall be judged for their crimes and even gods cannot escape ( in theory ), therefore it should go without saying that the law is the same as the church’s commandments, as scripture and that which is preached.

and what else should the church evangelize beyond the law ?

sukha tired of a question that should’ve been so simple to answer --- justice is not always salvation.

story 2:

the job of a priest is to guide the faithful and connect them to their god, but that is not the only way in which he helps those that have lost their way. there is not always a simple answer. in fact, sometimes that answer is of the supernatural sort, and when one is blessed with the ability to see spirits, should it not be logical for them to help ?

sukha does not remember when he gained the ability to commune with the dead, he can only ascribe it to his cursed lineage and maybe a bit of a joke played on him by his patron archon. after all, there is nothing that strikes fear into him more than a ghost.

his first true exorcism was completely accidental. a young girl had been afflicted with some disease during his time in fontaine, when he was still known as venadas, and no matter how hard her parents tried, they couldn’t find anyone capable of curing her. thus, they turned to the church, praying with all their hearts that their dear daughter would recover.

on a home visit to perform last rites as the parents had accepted their daughter’s death, venadas notices something odd about the girl. or, rather, the specter that seemed to stick her like a burr. curious, he called upon the power of his vision to offer his blessing. the girl began to spasm, much to the shock of her parents and venadas, but that was not all that occurred: the spirit began to separate itself from her as her screams pitched higher and higher.

then, it all stopped, the being’s essence now held in venadas’ palm. fontaine’s first exorcist only had this to say, contrary to the way this apparition shook him to his core:

“ please, be at peace. ”

story 3:

there are few rules which one must follow while staying at sukha’s church. don’t disturb the other patrons, steer clear of the pantry, do not even think about touching any of the ceremonial wine, and please don’t vandalize the scripture. but those were all secondary to one:

don’t enter the mortuary-chapel, especially not at night.

if asked, he’d say that it should be obvious that you shouldn’t poke around where dead bodies are stored. if pressed, there is no answer that he could give without divulging the fact that the place is haunted by vengeful spirits.

story 4:

he doesn’t speak much of his home or his curse. it’s a sore subject for him, having been treated as an experiment for his more pronounced traits. his people so desperately wanted a cure that they dared to bribe them and then tear them from their families upon refusal. even the survivors succumbed to the curse that took ancient khaenri’ahns eventually.

for his people, he would’ve done anything if not for the reality of it: a child hardly ever survived the poking and prodding of khaenri’ah’s scientists.

when he arrived in fontaine, he turned to the hydro archon and the rest of the seven in the hope that putting his faith in them would lessen his curse. after all, his people had had no god. surely, the protection of one could provide him with salvation.

but for the people of fontaine, that which occurs in the courtroom is a ritualistic spectacle, their laws are their scripture. there is no deliverance for those who were born in a godless land or allow themselves to give in to temptation.

still, he persisted, working in a house of the hydro archon who demanded those who break the law, even when they confide in a place of forgiveness and absolution, be taken into custody. by her decree, members of the clergy were to guide the people down the righteous path and weed out those that did not. there is no such thing as a confession made in complete confidence.

the inquisition rests on no one.

story 5:

sukha has done much to survive. when the ideals of fontaine’s archon became too much to uphold when a friend came to him to seek guidance after stealing to feed his family, sukha --- then venadas byström --- decided to leave to pursue his supposed faith elsewhere. his travels took him to snezhnaya where he, as a holy man, was immediately discovered by the fatui. after all, preachers have no place in a military state where the god has chosen to reign as a mere monarch.

in exchange for his life, he offered the fatui the most hallowed of secrets: that which remains between people and their gods, between patron and priest. from that day on, he became permanently tied to snezhnaya’s clandestine operations.

his travels did not end there. in the land of sumeru, venadas, now sukha, sought answers. through happenstance and the faulty illusions of a weary traveler, he was discovered by a researcher with a special interest in the people of khaenri’ah. in exchange for not only keeping his secret but letting her conduct research on him / hear his stories of home, she would do all she could to help him understand and possibly lift his curse. in the end, they weren’t very successful. lifting the curse would kill him.

at one point, she asked why he didn’t just cover his eye with an eyepatch to keep from exhausting his energy. all sukha could really say that he just didn’t like wearing one since people always asked about it and it obstructed his sight, that with that eye covered, he can’t even see spirits ( which wouldn’t be an issue if not for his profession ). as a parting gift, she designs an apparatus to help him conceal it.

once sukha arrives in mondstadt, a taste of diluc ragnvindr’s wine and knowledge of the church in springvale now lacking a presiding priest, gets him to decide to settle down for a quiet life that is only interrupted by the occasional meeting of the fatui within its walls.

displeased with their actions, sukha in turn leaks information to the network diluc is part of as indra’s net, a supposed group though it consists of one rather pathetic ( in his own opinion ) priest in springvale.

the haunting of springvale church:

of all the ghosts that flock to sukha, what he has come to refer to as the goat man is by far the most horrifying. this creature takes the form of a bipedal, monstrous goat with dark fur and curled horns. there are several protections set up around the church using techniques from sumeru and liyue, but for some reason, the goat man always finds a way to slip through and will not be appeased until he is presented an offering.

an offering would be no issue normally, however, he seems to have a taste for the sacramental wine which sukha keeps for mass and for the days when the said masses are going by particularly slowly.

the goat man isn’t even all that threatening. it has no means of becoming corporeal. that does not change the fact that it still disturbs sukha greatly.

vision:

sukha has a complicated relationship with his vision. he’s from a godless land, yet he caught the attention of an archon that is set on punishing the guilty. for what reason, he doesn’t know, only that his vision appeared in his hand the moment that he was officially welcomed into priesthood at the age of eighteen and accepted his faith as more than a means to alleviate his curse.

priesthood --- the moment that everything had been leading to, when he’d now had the ability to hear the worries of the faithful and ease them, to cleanse them of their sins as their archon’s proxy.

but priesthood turned out to not be exactly what he’d imagined when he realized how tight a leash the inquisition held him and his fellow ministers. nowadays, his focus is on the teachings of barbatos in mondstadt.

#❛ out. ✦ / ❝ ( be at peace. )#❛ s. ✦ / ❝ ( assembling their philosophies from pieces of broken memories. )#[ had to cut out some lore since my friends don't write those ocs anymore ]

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mrbronzeskull · 8 years ago

Note

Lmao answer them all and good luck ;)

I’m reblogging this, sans readmore, as it was brought to my attention that for at least one person, everything under that just didn’t show up. I humbly beg forgiveness for putting such a huge chunk of text on everyones dash.Spacey, you cheeky sod. I swear this is like the second time you’ve done this. (I both love and hate you for it) Here we fucking go: THIS TOOK AN HOUR AND A HALF TO DO

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?I don’t exactly get physical with folks so I have to assume it was my ex, several months ago.2. Are you outgoing or shy?Shy, Bi and ready to die3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?@gpumidnazora, some day.4. Are you easy to get along with?I guess so? Not very argumentative, very quiet, tell bad jokes.5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?I’d like to think so.6. What kind of people are you attracted to?All of them. More feminine aligned folks usually but super masc folks and androgynous peeps have totally taken my breath away too. Less general note, nerdy folk who I can obsess over something with. 7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?I mean, I’m in one now and while it does have a massive issue because of distance, I’d like to think we can tough it out.8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?My girlfriend.9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?A little, I get flustered easily if im not super close with folks.10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?Fuck, uh, myself? I often have super deep conversations that I should probably talk to a therapist or someone about just aloud to myself. But if that isnt an acceptable answer, @gpumidnazora takes the cake.11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?“Oh hell, I thought I said hi when I got home and was all like ‘huh, she hasn’t replied, guess she’s already asleep” after I goofed up on letting my gf know I got home on time.12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?OH! I got one from just this morning! Let’s Face It I’m Cute by 11 Acorn Lane.Aside from that I’ve been all nostalgic lately so Mr Brightside by The KillersTeenage Dirtbag by WheatusGoodbye Stranger by SupertrampEverytime We Touch by Cascada13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?Yes. Please do. I’m a big sucker for this. Or any physical affection really. 14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?Miracles not so much but its real hard to not think of things as lucky or unlucky for me15. What good thing happened this summer?I got plenty of hours at work! 16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?Nope. No. Nuh. There’s two girls it might be and neither of those would be a good choice.17. Do you think there is life on other planets?I mean, it’s literally either that or we are completely alone in the entire universe. Which seems far more terrifying to me. So yeah. But I’m always thinking like microbial or basic life, rather than you know, aliens replete with UFOs and such.18. Do you still talk to your first crush?Nah, havent talked to her in years.19. Do you like bubble baths?I almost always shower, too big for the bath really.20. Do you like your neighbors?Fuck dude I dont even know my neighbours21. What are you bad habits?God, what isnt? Nail biting, snacking, bad sleep schedule, shower delays, then too long in the shower, generally messy22. Where would you like to travel?Canada, Tokyo, America, Brazil, Europe, New Zealand. Anywhere with snow23. Do you have trust issues?Yes? I’m not all that open. Until I am and it’s like BAM HERE’S MY ENTIRE LIFE STORY which is too much typically.24. Favorite part of your daily routine?Jerkin’ it just soooo right. Kidding. Mostly. Anytime cuddling my cat while catching up on Youtube videos is great.25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?My back. just all of that. Beats out the chewed nails and the flab and the face any time.26. What do you do when you wake up?Regret27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?Darker. But I’m such a shut in so that aint happening. Least it looks alright next to my paper white sister28. Who are you most comfortable around?Myself. Or my good friend Emily Mac, the @keepingitreluctant that you all know and love29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?One, and boy that was a fucking nightmare of a time.30. Do you ever want to get married?Not really? I mean, tax benefits are nice but I don’t care for it much.31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail?Nah, or at least it’s the shittiest ponytail ever, though my hair is the longest it’s probably ever been.32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?I’d take a spin with pretty much anyone because dang most of them are hella good looking plus all that money you could earn through scandalous details afterwards. 33. Spell your name with your chin.zxzbnldyu. Perfect, nailed it. Funnily enough it’s pronounced ‘Ashley’34. Do you play sports? What sports?I played, emphasis on the ‘ed’, soccer (football) and tennis and fencing!35. Would you rather live without TV or music?TV, easy. I listen to music way more than I watch TV.36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?Who hasn’t? Though I have an awful habit of fallin in love with folks when I see them if they catch my eye. All the time. Everyone just looks so dang good and cute.37. What do you say during awkward silences?I’m more of a creator of awkward silences than an ender. Yay for being bad at simple conversation.38. Describe your dream girl/guy?Aw jeez. I mean I’m tempted to earn brownie points by just describing my lovely girlfriend. But if I had to draw up an ideal, I guess just a real sweet cutie who’s down for cuddling and playing games, preferably nice and short, all adorable and fun sized! Short hair is a plus.39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?I don’t shop often. So I guess Robinsons bookshop, EB games and Zing? is that the name of that store filled with ‘nerdy’ junk that’s like partnered with EB?40. What do you want to do after high school?Fuck man I went through high school not knowing and I still have no idea41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?I give so many second chances. Multiple. But it does depend on the action. If you hurt me, no matter how much or how often, I’ll let it slide (possibly because I have 0 self respect) but if you fuck with my mates or are just a despicable person in general I will only give you a couple chances.42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?I’m almost always pretty quiet. but if i go silent mid conversation it probably means I’m trying to turn something that just got said into a really lame dad joke.43. Do you smile at strangers?yes and no. If I’m interacting with them or like they pass by and its only the two of us I’ll happily put on a (hopefully not creepy) smile but I won’t have a smile plastered on my face walking through a crowd.44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?Space. Definitely. 45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?At the moment, the need to get to work46. What are you paranoid about?People finding out about the murders This and that, usual dark secrets.47. Have you ever been high?Yup and it was eh, I laughed at all sorts of junk but I got serious cottonmouth and had all sorts of gaps in my memory, even worse than normal which was scary.48. Have you ever been drunk?Plenty of times and I think I’m probably 50/50 on if i threw up or not.49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?Recently? I did get Maccas for dinner and pretend that I wasnt hungry when I got home after a rough day at workLess recently I fucked up in a life changing way that no one else knows of and I don’t know what to do about that.50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?Black51. Ever wished you were someone else?Again, who hasn’t? 52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?Add a couple zeros to the end of my bank balance would be nice. But physically? Clean up my fucking back. 53. Favourite makeup brand?Afraid I really don’t know anything about any of them enough to make a judgement call. 54. Favourite store?Zing (im sticking with that name, fuck it) is fun to just chill in55. Favourite blog?God so many, you are all too great!56. Favourite colour?Turquoise 57. Favourite food?A good steak is hard to turn down58. Last thing you ate?Rice and mince.59. First thing you ate this morning?A caramel Up&Go to wash down some pills.60. Ever won a competition? For what?I’m more of a second place kinda person. Or was. It’s all been going downhill for a while in academic or sporting respect.61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?I almost got suspended/expelled after a particularly nasty and widespread tidbit rumour went around about me.62. Been arrested? For what?Nope.63. Ever been in love?I think so. I’m the kinda guy to say it pretty early. 64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?Uh, I took my girlfriend of the time out to a roller skating rink, I couldn’t skate for shit and I couldnt look her in the eyes without turning away and blushing. Let alone hold a conversation. But afterwards she was kind enough to deign to grant me a kiss in the parking lot.65. Are you hungry right now?Nope, I’m good.66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?I talk to you guys just as much as them nowadays. But I would say I’m closer to them than anyone on tumblr, no offense. 67. Facebook or Twitter?Uh I have both but don’t use them.68. Twitter or Tumblr?Tumblr hands down, this is like my only social network platform69. Are you watching tv right now?Nope70. Names of your bestfriends?Emma, Emily, Hayley, Imogen, Lucinda, Ebony71. Craving something? What?Getting intimate with a guy, just accepting my bisexuality recently has kinda kicked that into overdrive. And now I’m blushin.72. What colour are your towels?We’ve got white, black and turquoise72. How many pillows do you sleep with?One73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?Not in about 10 years.74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?I wouldnt have a clue how many stuffed animals from when I was younger are still tucked away in the house75. Favourite animal?Meerkat.76. What colour is your underwear?Black77. Chocolate or Vanilla?Vanilla78. Favourite ice cream flavour?probably vanilla79. What colour shirt are you wearing?Black80. What colour pants?No pants!81. Favourite tv show?Brooklyn Nine Nine or Bojack Horseman82. Favourite movie?Iron Giant? Road to El Dorado? Spaceballs? Something nostalgic83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?There’s a second?84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?Mean Girls85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?Uh, fuck I dont remember the names. The lovely lesbian lass. She was great.86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?Bruce.87. First person you talked to today?My girlfriend88. Last person you talked to today?Verballly, my mum, text wise, my girlfriend89. Name a person you hate?Donald Motherfuckign Trump, I mean hating trump is as common as breathing air as it should be but man he’s such a fucking disgusting cunt.90. Name a person you love?My parents.91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?God I have spent many an hour dreaming of socking Trump right in that bullshit spewing mouth92. In a fight with someone?Not currently. Or at least, the feud is still open and so old it isn’t a fight anymore.93. How many sweatpants do you have?Two?94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?Two?95. Last movie you watched?Moana 96. Favourite actress?Ellen Page is up there for sure97. Favourite actor?Chris Pratt98. Do you tan a lot?Ha, most of my body isnt aware what the sun is99. Have any pets?Boy do I. 2 cats and 5 dogs. 10 chooks.100. How are you feeling?A tad tired.101. Do you type fast?Pretty average 102. Do you regret anything from your past?HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA My memory is a whole lot of regrets floating in a void of forgotten moments.103. Can you spell well?W-E-L-L104. Do you miss anyone from your past?A past best friend of mine.105. Ever been to a bonfire party?I’ve hosted a couple and been invited to one106. Ever broken someone’s heart?I doubt it. Not exactly the type. (devastatingly good looking and/or callous)107. Have you ever been on a horse?Yup, wasn’t the thing for me108. What should you be doing?Sleeping?109. Is something irritating you right now?Well I’m now being inundated by regretful thoughts so that’s a bother.110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?Nah. 111. Do you have trust issues?I feel like this was already asked. But yeah, I would say so.112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?I haven’t cried in literal years. I don’t have a clue.113. What was your childhood nickname?It’s always just been Ash114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?Yup, I’ve been all over the place115. Do you play the Wii?I have, but its been a hot minute116. Are you listening to music right now?Yeah, I had Let’s Face It I’m Cute up for the link and it just played a whole bunch of electroswing music on youtube, now on The Noisy Freaks by Freak Orchestra at least I think thats the name and band, I’ve never heard it before117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?sure118. Do you like Chinese food?Probably not my favorite, but it’s nice119. Favourite book?Too many man, way too many. 120. Are you afraid of the dark?Not really.121. Are you mean?I don’t think so. I’m a weak willed pushover and generally benign and quiet122. Is cheating ever okay?Ugh, it’s not exactly commendable but like anything, it’s all circumstance123. Can you keep white shoes clean?I have white runners, which remain clean by the virtue of me never exercising.124. Do you believe in love at first sight?Not actually, but like i said before I get infatuated on sight all the time.125. Do you believe in true love?Not really.126. Are you currently bored?Buddy, my existence is being bored.127. What makes you happy?my pets.128. Would you change your name?I wanted to change my name to Seth when I was younger after years of “ashley is a girls name’ 129. What your zodiac sign?L1BR4130. Do you like subway?Yeah. it’s normally pretty tasty.131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?I mean, I’m currently dating and so is she so that would be a mess, but I doubt much would come of it.132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?Ok im 90000% sure this was already asked.133. Favourite lyrics right now?“No matter what I conjure it could not help me deflect/ The angry death, of every hopeful thought/ that I might be a lover or a fighter…”134. Can you count to one million?I suppose I could. Like I have the capacity. But I’d get bored and give the fuck up without good reason to do so135. Dumbest lie you ever told?fuck me, I lie, alot, it’s my go to defense. Which is bad. but whatever. Probably the one where I skipped tennis training and claimed that I was going to extra french lessons instead, which was immediately called out by the French teacher.136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?Closed. keep the cat in and the dogs out137. How tall are you?175 ish cms, which is 5′10″ i think138. Curly or Straight hair?Straight, despite threats of it getting curly should I let it get longer than a college cut.139. Brunette or Blonde?Wait is this asking preferences. fuck. Uh, Brunette? I’m not fussed by hair colour. though I’d probably avoid redheads just because my mum and one sister are redheads 140. Summer or Winter?WINTER141. Night or Day?Night142. Favourite month?October? it’s got my birthday!143. Are you a vegetarian?Nope144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?Milk145. Tea or Coffee?meh, not fussed either way146. Was today a good day?sure! I got to start work 2/3 hours later than normal after a fucking killer three days.147. Mars or Snickers?Mars? I dont eat a lot of either148. What’s your favourite quote?I dont really have one off-hand149. Do you believe in ghosts?not really.150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? “Captain Thomas Kelly, from the forty-sixth Precinct, said; ‘It looks accidental. Grant may have suspected that his familiarity with Damien place him above danger, but a hungry python does not quibble about such niceties’”I know its more than a line, but that’s a hilarious quote.

#long post #long as fuck post #ask list #spaceoutdreamer #ask

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the-girl-without-a-face · 8 years ago

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Don’t Go, Snips

STAR WARS

Summary: .Ahsoka is about to leave the Order. Will Anakin let her go or will he convince her stay?

Words: 1674.

Warnings: Spoilers for SW: The Clone Wars Season 5.

AO3 | Wattpad

MASTERLIST

Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Plo Koon, Master Mundi, Master Windu and Grand Master Yoda were in the large room that held the meetings of the Jedi Council. Ahsoka stood in front of the semi-circle of Jedi Masters around her.

"Ahsoka, I'm so sorry about everything," Anakin said, his voice coming slowly as if he was trying not to let the memories of the recent events fill his mind and take over his thoughts.

Ahsoka nodded.

"You have our most humble apologies, little 'Soka," Master Plo Koon touched the palms of his hands in the front area of his torso, showing he was truly sorry. "The Council was wrong to accuse you."

"You have shown such great strength. And resilience in your struggle to prove your innocence."

"This is the true sign of a Jedi Knight," said Master Mundi.

Master Mundi's voice came strong, "This was actually your Great Trial. Now we see that. We understand that the Force works in mysterious ways." Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to finish. "And because of this Trial, you have become a greater Jedi that you would have otherwise."

Ahsoka looked down at Master Yoda when his voice sounded, his lips showing a small smile to the young Togruta. "Back into the Order, you may come."

"They are asking you back, Ahsoka," Anakin stepped forward, gesturing to the Jedi Masters of the Council. He looked at Ahsoka, deep in her baby-blue eyes with his piercing gaze. "I'm asking you back." He reached into one of the pockets of his belt and retrieved her Silka beads, and offered it to her, his hand barely holding them, eager for her to accept it.

Ahsoka looked into his eyes for a second and then back at her Padawan braid and back to Anakin's eyes. He smiled at her, beaming at her for what was happening to them. It was what he had promised. He promised he would prove her innocence, bring her back to the Jedi Order. He did and now all she had to do was attach the end of her headpiece to the Silka beads that was being offered to her.

Anakin and Ahsoka looked at the thin object in his hand, but his eyes returned to observe her. She dueled her thoughts and made her decision, reaching her hand out to her Master's.

Former Master's hand.

She held his palm with her right hand and closed his fingers over the braid with her left. Then a painful expression took over her features as she turned to face him again, tears welling up in her eyes. The shocked look in his face almost brought her to spill the tears right there.

"I'm sorry, Master," she took a step back, her voice was thick with emotion, coarse as she almost-whisperly pronounced them, "But I'm not coming back."

Then she looked down, turned and walked out of the room, leaving a shocked Jedi Council and a lost Anakin Skywalker, who still had his hand held out, behind. The young Jedi Knight widened his eyes briefly before looking down for a second and then walking to find the Togruta.

The walking soon turned to a running, which turned to a full-sprinting race to the girl that was leaving the Temple.

Obi-Wan was about to follow his former Padawan before Plo Koon placed a restraining hand on the ginger man's shoulder. Even Master Yoda frowned and looked concerned for the young Padawan. He closed his eyes and shook his head, disappointed by Skywalker's attachment, but more than that. He was disappointed on the Council, for letting a mere suspicion deceive them all.

"Ahsoka, wait!" Anakin shouted as he ran to her.

The big statues in front of the Jedi Temple made a shadow over Ahsoka as she walked between the last pair in order to leave the Temple. Her eyes glued to the image in front of her, a pained expression in her face, as she tried to compose herself to talk to him before leaving.

"Ahsoka! I need to talk to you!"

She stopped, and turned around as she heard him reaching her. He sighed, which worried her about his health. He never took it seriously, which frustrated Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Padmé greatly.

"Why are you doing this?" He still breathed deeply.

"The Council didn't trust me. So how can I trust myself?" She half turned away from him, embracing herself.

"What about me?" Anakin touched his hand to his chest. "I believed in you, I stood by you."

"I know you believe in me, Anakin," her eye markings furrowed, "And I'm grateful for that. But this isn't about. I can't stay here any longer," her eyes switched between Anakin and the entrance of the Temple, "Not now," until she finally crossed her arms over her chest and turning away from him.

"The Jedi Order is your life. You can't just throw it away like this," he said, exasperate, "Ahsoka, you are making a mistake."

Ahsoka looked at him again. "Maybe. But I have to sort this out on my own, without the Council and without you." And then completely turned her back to Anakin.

"I understand, more than you realize, I understand wanting to walk away from the Order," Anakin's words began strong, but ended in a whisper, a murmur. A confession. One that Ahsoka already knew. And upon her next words, Anakin's face was pure shock.

"I know."

Tears welled up in her eyes, her internal conflict very evident through their powerful Force bond. And then she walked, away from the Temple, the Jedi Order and Anakin himself.

But he wouldn't let her go that easily.

He realized at that moment that Ahsoka Tano wasn't the snippy, little Togruta he once met in Christophisis. No, now she was a mature, responsible, fierce woman. He was surprised he only noticed it now, but he just couldn't let her throw her entire future away like that.

So he ran across her and stopped right in front of her, making her stop as well.

"If Barriss was confirmed innocent right now, would you trust her?" He shot, his voice calm, with a hint of despair only one that knew him well would know. Ahsoka did.

"Don't do this, it's-" She tried to say, but he didn't let her finish. He knew that if he could prove his point to her, maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't go.

"You lost your trust in her when it was proven she attacked the Temple, right? But if right now she was proven innocent, you would forgive her. You would regret ever doubting her. You would humbly ask her to forgive you for not trusting her."

"It's not the same thing!" Her eyes showed hurt and disappointment. She was too young to be experienced in war, suffering and pain the way she was. And that hurt Anakin.

"It's precisely the same thing," his eyes dug deep into hers. "The Council only accused you when there was proof against you. Before that, it had never crossed their minds that you might have been the one to plan the attack. They forgave you when we proved you're innocent. Now they humbly asked you to join the Order again, they regretted ever doubting you."

"You trusted me the whole time, differently from them," she pointed, crossing her arms.

"I trust you, Ahsoka. But the Council works with facts and you know as well as I do that the Force can be misunderstood sometimes. They barely trust me," he contra-pointed.

She hesitated. It was quick and even took her by surprise, but Anakin saw it. And that was all he needed.

"I can't go back. I was thrown out of the Order in a mere second of doubt."

She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her upper arm. "Ahsoka, don't go. Please."

"I can't stay," she avoided looking at him, so she remained with her back facing the Temple once again.

"I can't let you leave."

He pulled her in a tight hug, taking her completely by surprise. "Please, come back. Ahsoka, you're more than just my Padawan. You're my sister, Snips." Anakin felt her tense at his words, not expecting to hear them.

"Anakin," she whispered while circling her own strong arms around his torso, burying her head in his leather clothing. "I actually always thought of you in a parenting way."

Anakin chuckled lightly, "I'm not really that old, you know."

"Yes, but it doesn't change what I meant."

They remained in each other's arms for an indefinable amount of time, until Anakin broke the comfortable silence.

"So you'll come back?" he asked, eyeing the Padawan braid that rested in his gloved hand. He was almost afraid to ask, which he realized there was no reason to when he saw the smile on her face.

"Yes, Skyguy. After all, who would drive you crazy?"

She reached for her braid and attached it to the end of the headpiece. Its light weight and gentle touch on her lekku was something very familiar, something she didn't know her heart ached for. It made her feel complete, at peace, at home.

The Master-Padawan duo made their way back to the Jedi Temple, huge smiles plastered on their faces. Obi-Wan and Plo Koon stood nervously on one of the main corridors, waiting. When Ahsoka and Anakin entered their vision rate, they both sighed, relieve flooding through their veins.

"Ahsoka. It's so good to have you back," Master Kenobi said, noticing the Padawan braid in its rightful place.

"Lil' 'Soka, welcome back," Master Koon nodded.

"Thank you, Masters. Master Skywalker convinced me to stay," she eyed him by the corner of her eye.

"You just couldn't leave me, Snips," he said. And it was true. Ahsoka stayed because of him.

She would never say it out loud, though she hoped he knew it deep inside.

Anakin clapped his hands together, gathering everyone's attention, including some Jedi that walked by that part of the Temple. "Anyone hungry?"

"Do you ever stop eating?" Obi-Wan asked, following Anakin to the mess hall.

"You never know when your last meal will be," he argued.

"After all, the Senate can suddenly join the Separists and turn the Clone Army against the Jedi, killing everyone here," Ahsoka joked.

"You never know."

Plo Koon only chuckled and followed them, thinking about what kind of food they'd find.

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transcriptroopers · 8 years ago

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Officer Ranks: Army

Not to be outdone, finally: the officer ranks! Everyone is fascinated by officer ranks for some reason. Somehow that little birdie or star seems like just the glamour and shine your character needs. But how DO officer ranks stack up? Is lieutenant colonel or colonel the higher rank? How do you address a group of officers? There are FOUR fucking types of generals?! Military ranks are different across the branches and internationally, but if your story features the U.S. Army, here’s a breakdown of officer ranks and rank etiquette. Reminder: Ranks in the army follow a numerical pattern, so if you’re ever not quite sure what the name of the higher rank is, you can reference them by nomenclature. E-series: E stands for enlisted. This refers to soldiers from private to sergeant major. Read the E-series post here! O-series: O stands for officer. This refers to soldiers from second lieutenant to general. W-series: W stands for warrant officer. This refers to soldiers from warrant officer 1 to chief warrant officer 5. W-series post coming soon! In ACUs, (army combat uniform) the rank is worn in the center of the chest via a velcro patch. In class-A uniforms, the rank is worn on the shoulder. Please keep in mind that I won’t be having a “titles” section for this post because officers are all addressed the same way: sir or ma’am, sir or ma’am. From the lowest to the highest officer. Nice and easy. Please also keep in mind that I was enlisted, so inevitably I view officers differently than others. I encourage folks who were officers to add their experiences to the post. O-1: Second lieutenant This and the next rank always trips everyone up. They think that FIRST lieutenant would be, you know, first. But you’re wrong. Sorry the army isn’t logical. Second lieutenants are brand spanking new officers. They’re fresh out of school and ready to hit the ground running. Or tripping. They’re often the butt of jokes because they’re relatively new to the real army, but they’re are put in a position of power right away, and that can cause some mischief. Second lieutenants usually hold a platoon leader position, meaning they help running a platoon alongside the platoon sergeant. O-1s are technically a higher rank than even a thirty-years enlisted sergeant major, but because they’re the officer equivalent of privates, they’re usually humble enough to realize they don’t know everything and to ask for help if they need it. If you need an officer rank to be chill and who’ll be hanging out with your lower enlisted, use an O-1, maybe an O-2. They’re expected to be near lower enlisted anyway since they’re your platoon leader, so it makes more sense than to have your privates hanging out with him rather than like, a colonel. joke titles: butter bar O-2: First lieutenant How to remember that first lieutenant is the higher rank: because second lieutenant is a second place lieutenant and first lieutenant is a first place lieutenant. In other words

He was number one. First lieutenants usually hold the same role as a second lieutenant, aka a platoon leader. They’re promoted automatically from second lieutenants after eighteen months. There’s really no significant difference between the two LTs other than pay, but a first lieutenant might be a company’s XO, which I will explain in the intermission. O-3: Captain People are often surprised to learn that captain is actually fairly low on the officer hierarchy. This is the last in the line of “company grade officers,” or officers you’re likely to find around a company. First lieutenants reach captain automatically after four years of enlistment. Captains are usually company commanders, making them in charge of three to five platoons. They run the company alongside the first sergeant. In the medical corps, people who enlist with completed medical degrees who go in to be doctors or surgeons enter automatically at O-3. This is usually the highest officer rank you interact with on a daily basis as a regular enlisted soldier, and how captains act can vary drastically. Your captain might’ve been in for five years and he might’ve been in for twelve years. He might be really chill or have a stick up his ass. It’s completely unique to your commander. Either way, an enlisted soldier would almost never fuck around with a captain like they might with an O-1. There’s just like...that line of professionalism you don’t want to cross. joke titles: First lieutenant, second class (their rank is essentially just two first lieutenant ranks combined)

O-4: Major This is the rank where you stop ranking up automatically, (majors require at least ten years time in service) and it’s also a sort of weird rank. They usually act as either a staff officer or as an XO in a battalion. Honestly, this rank is kinda...forgettable to me? As far as enlisted are concerned, the battalion commander outshines them in importance, and the company commander outshines them in relevance. I’ve never personally really interacted with majors that much except when they need me to provide information for their XO duties or they’re filling in for the battalion commander in his absence. it doesn’t help that O-4 is usually the rank where officers officially lose their chill. If you want your enlisted soldiers to have an officer around they don’t particularly care about, make them a major. A note: Major is when officers start being seen as “field grade” officers, at least until you reach General. also known as: gold leaf, light leaf ---- Intermission! Officer ranks aren’t that much more fun than enlisted ranks, so here’s a little rank etiquette to tide you over. • In a lot of these descriptions I say things like “___ are usually ___.” That’s because while most ranks are usually associated with a position, there’s exceptions to everything. Captains are usually company commanders, unless they’re in medical. Majors are usually battalion XOs, unless they’re a staff officer. If you aren’t sure what you want your officer to be doing, your best bet is to 1) choose their MOS, and 2) google that rank and MOS and see what comes up. If you’re really stuck, just stick with what I wrote here.

• I can see you referring to officers by their rank if you’re in a room that’s full of officers. This is one reason I specifically call lieutenants LT; I worked with a lot of LTs but we were often in close quarters with higher ranked officers and I wanted them to know I was addressing them instead of having every officer turn their head toward me because I said “sir” and there’s like six sirs in the room. I say L-T as in the letters; LT when written is usually just pronounced lieutenant, the same as SPC is just pronounced specialist, etc. • Officers do go through basic training when they first sign their contract. After that they go to OCS, or Officer Candidate School, for twelve weeks. • XO means “executive officer.” They’re basically like an administrator for the unit; XOs wind up sorta picking up the slack wherever it’s needed. They take care of the unit’s paperwork and supply stuff and maintenance stuff and basically just a lot of paper pushing nonsense gets shoved off onto the XO. They’re pretty important to keeping things running smoothly, but they often wind up falling wayside because on the outside they look extraneous. • Tip to remembering the order of the general ranks: Be (Brigadier) My (Major) Little (Lieutenant) General. • Addressing officers in groups: Mixed gender: ladies and gentlemen Only men: gentlemen Only women: ladies This is the only context in which it’s acceptable to say “ladies” in the military these days. Just referring to a group of female soldiers as ladies may result in you getting chewed out. I know this is a very binarist way of looking at officers, but in the modern army the binary is all they know. Feel free to invent another title in your military if necessary! Alright, shake it up; let’s get back to it!

---- O-5: Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonels are usually the highest ranking officer most soldiers are going to see. You’re usually going to see them serving as battalion commanders, usually making them in charge of between four and six companies. They run the battalion alongside their sergeant major. It takes about fifteen years of service to reach this rank, and only about 70% of majors are even eligible. As a result, lieutenant colonel is a rank that most people probably won’t see until their mid thirties, if not early forties. Company commanders report directly to their battalion commander, so it’s not uncommon to see a lieutenant colonel surrounded by a bunch of captains, especially during a brief. Battalion commanders are typically the ones making the decisions for the whole battalion, so if you ever have some privates complaining about orders coming down from high, it’s safe to have them blame the lieutenant colonel. It’s acceptable to call a lieutenant colonel “colonel” or when talking about him by saying “the colonel,” but for the sake of clarity it’s probably better to say the “BC,” or “battalion commander.” joke title: colonel light (as in, a light version of a colonel) O-6: Colonel This is where my knowledge of officers gets a little shaky because even working at battalion, I didn’t interact that frequently with O-6 and above. Colonels are usually brigade commanders, meaning they manage between three to six battalions. They need at least twenty years of service under their belt before they can even be promoted to this rank. That’s because colonels are in charge of literally thousands of soldiers, and they don’t have time to be busying themselves with the little people. Usually when a battalion is getting worked up about a higher up’s visit, it’s going to be from the brigade colonel, as he’ll make the rounds in the companies in his battalions to make sure everything is up to snuff. Colonels work with a command sergeant major, but they also will often be surrounded by battalion commanders, aka lieutenant colonels, and majors, as majors will often be staff officers for the brigade level as well. Colonels themselves can also work as division-level staff officers. A note: Colonel and above is usually what enlisted are referring to when they say “the brass,” meaning, “the really high-ranking officers who are really important.” joke title: full bird (due to their rank being a spread eagle) O-7 Brigadier General Behold: the start of the generals. Brigadiers are also called “one stars” because their rank is...get ready for it...a star. Despite their rank title they’re basically the XO of a division, although they’re called “deputy commanders” instead. There can only be 150 one stars for the entire army. It’s an extremely competitive position and achieving it is very difficult. Something like one percent of all officers can make this rank. The president of the united states has to recommend you, if that’s not enough pressure. I don’t believe there’s a minimum time in service/time in grade, (although you’ve already been in at least twenty years to become a colonel, so what’ve you to lose at this point?) and because there’s such a strict limit, you can basically only even become a one star if someone else in a one star position retires or is promoted while you happen to be qualified. So even if you’ve done everything right your entire career, you might not reach this rank before the army forcibly retires you. O-7 and above is where you start referring to officers as “flag officers.” Flag officers are often referred to by their actual rank or as “general,” although “sir/ma’am” is still acceptable. Flag officers are often the ones who work at the pentagon and similar jobs. joke titles: one star, Baby General O-8 Major General The “two star” general. These guys are usually division commanders, making them in charge of about 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers, and something like four to six brigades. As far as the modern military goes, I think “division” is about as high as most people bother learning. Tbh most don’t even bother learning brigade level, but it’s not uncommon at all to find a soldier who has no idea who his division commander is, which can make for a great scene if you have some two star yelling into some poor private’s face and he’s just like “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!” and the private’s just wide eyed like, “Uh...no???” (yes we are SUPPOSED to know who these people are...do we? Nah...) There’s only 99 major general slots for the entire army, and it gets even worse from here. joke titles: two star, Mini General. O-9 Lieutenant General The “three star” general. These guys command a corps, (pronounced “core”) which is between like two and five divisions, so anywhere between like 20,000 to 60,000 soldiers. This is basically the highest level of, for lack of a better term, the “actual army.” Beyond the corps you’ve got mostly a bunch of officials who aren’t really involved in combat or deployment and they just work sorta on running the army itself. Barring an exceptional circumstance, this is probably the highest ranking officer any given soldier will ever meet, and even then it probably wouldn’t be in person. There’s only 43 lieutenant general slots for the entire army. joke titles: three star, Lil’ General O-10 General The toppest dog that ever topped: the grand four-star general. O-10s are a big damn deal, and yet, I have almost nothing to tell you about them. I have never met one. I’ve never even SEEN one. I have no idea what generals even DO tbh. Can you blame me? There are NINE of them in the entire army! I do know they’re appointed by the president, (although the appointment has to be approved by the senate) and they’re only allowed to retain the position up until 40 years of service or at age 62, although with multiple waivers they can remain a general until age 68. I know they work in the pentagon and do other government work. I know they interact with the president and have a hand in discussing tactics and handling strategical geographic placement of troops. Obviously they’re consulted more when war is on the table, when there’s a real-time need to sort out where you’re going to put boots on the ground in other countries. I know they’re the ones overseeing deployed divisions and figuring out where they should be going and what they should be doing. I know they usually hold the position of the chief of staff, (which is a position all soldiers are expected to know and i will do an original post on one day) but that’s a purely administration position and has no realistic pull over the army itself. I guess generally (get it? generally?) they’re just a very old, very important dude. joke titles: four star, full general, O.G. (As in O-General)

Now, what everyone REALLY wants to know... What about five star generals?? What about the general of the army??

Fun fact: four star generals are pretty much where the ranks realistically end. Guess who’s going to copy and paste this section from a previous ask? This guuuuyyyyy. Now, what most people know of as a general in the military has a rank of four stars, and that’s typically your highest rank. There have been ceremonial ranks bestowed upon generals in special circumstances and/or for outstanding service, and they’ve been crowned “five star general” or “General of the Army.” There hasn’t been one in literally decades because its purpose is almost completely ceremonial. So promotion from four star general to five star general would be a very tremendous ceremony indeed, partly because it hasn’t happened in ages and partly because it only happens for the purpose of it being a tremendous ceremony. There have only ever been five generals of the army The story us lower enlisted were always told is that the U.S. had an inferiority complex about sending a four star to meet with other world powers, so they created the five star rank and the title “general of the army” for the sole purpose of impressing other nations. But that’s just from the PNN, or Private News Network, and I don’t encourage you to recite it as fact (but it would be nice flavor text for a story amongst soldiers shooting the shit). There is TECHNICALLY a rank above General of the Army, which is General of the ArmIES, (informally a “six star general”) but it is practically not a real rank and has only ever been held by General Pershing (who is a big damn deal in the army btw look into that dude) and George Fucking Washington, and posthumously at that. Basically, as far as modern military is concerned, a four star general is the highest rank. This post freaking kicked my ass today so I really hope it’s got some info in it you guys can use. Look forward to my warrant officer post in the near future, and in the mean time get writing those officers!

-Spc. Kingsley

#writing advice #military advice #officers #ranks #masterpost #long post

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classicallyelegant · 6 years ago

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Am I really boring anyone out there......is this story too far fetched to be considered ‘real’? I don’t understand but OK....I will just have my escape world and you can come if you want......

IT’S THIS AGAIN?!

Matt and I watched Maxey and Joe leave. I was happy at first….she was doing this to help me….but then upset he took her away from me. Joe always was one to get his way though; I could never top him there! Matt seemed amused by the whole thing as he led me back to Derek. At least one of us was! Derek questioned us only a little then he got down to the work we had to do and Matt left. I only told him enough to get by. I don’t think everyone needs full details at the moment. I wish I hadn’t had to tell Maxey as much as I did. I still cringe I had to tell her that Joe came on to me and told me he loved me. It’s not that I’m embarrassed so much….at least, not by Joe….I just don’t want her to see this as some reason to further reject me. I hope she realizes I had nothing to do with this.

Anyway, Derek had Dustin and I both work for a while, then Dustin needed a break. He left and I hung around to see what else they needed me for after I went to get snacks for all of us. That’s when Rena showed up. Ugh! I get tired of her, but she is the boss so I let her lead me to her office. She was all smiles until she got me away from everyone then comes the questions! I don’t have time for this and I will not tell her any details. What is her deal anyway? I’ll bet she’s questioning me because of Katie and that only makes me angrier!

“Why are you keeping tabs on what I do? It happened after work so it doesn’t concern you.” I know why, I just think you should say it!

“You’re really taking all of this the wrong way….” Yeah, figures she would try to cover for her. She doesn’t want to help me as much as help herself to me. That’s not happening though! Only Maxey could do that and she’s with Joe right now!

“I don’t know what you’ve been told, but nothing that happened will affect me that way, so now” I step towards the door. “Good day to you!” I move her with my hand and walk out. Why not just say you wanted something out of me for Katie? I am tired of these games they seem to want to play! I shake her out of my head as I make my way back to the booth. Wait….isn’t that….voices? MAXEY! DUSTIN! What is he up to now?

“LEAVE HER ALONE!” I scream. They both look up. He stands to show me he has a script in front of him while she’s holding one in her hand.

“Alejandro! It’s the show…they’re doing a scene.” Derek chimes in behind me. Well, I feel dumb. Derek hugs Maxey and takes Dustin out. We’re all alone and she tells me she was looking for me. If only I could fall into her arms…..

“I’m really sorry about that, Maxey. I thought Dustin was up to no good and I was trying to save you.”

She smiles as warmly as always. “It’s OK. As long as he got his scene done, I’m not going to say much. I wanted to see you about Joe.”

“Uh oh….did Joe do something while I wasn’t around?”

She impulsively giggles. “Yes and No really, but the point I wanted to get at is that he is very much in love with you. He said that he tried for years to tell you but you always saw things as a joke.” Oh Maxey! Why can’t you be the one instead of him? Don’t you see how in love with you I am?

“He made everything sound like a complete joke. He would tell me things but I never took him seriously because he would usually laugh afterwards.” I shrug my shoulders as I tell her.

“I see. Well, I suppose that’s for the two of you to hash out. He told me to tell you that he was going home but that he would see you later. I really need to go find Matt now.” See me later? He’s going to hold me to that? I mean, I told him I only agreed because she was right inside! “Derek said you have a scene coming up, so I hope all goes well.” She starts to slip out the door.

“Maxey, Princess, I’m….”

She turns back, looking very concerned. “Is something bothering you, Alejandro?”

“No, it’s not bothering me, I just….” I pull her to me because I just have to hold her! “Can I ask you something?”

“OK??”

“Do you ever think of me?” I’m searching her eyes.

“Of course, I kind of have to since you’re here.” She swallows very hard before she answers.

“Are your thoughts romantic at all?” Please say yes! Please say yes! She looks unsure but…oh please tell me yes!

“That’s enough!” We both look to see Matt beside us. He puts his arm between us and around her. “Don’t question her like that.” He pulls us apart and takes her away before I can say anything. AGAIN?! Why does he constantly come in to block me? That guy is seriously getting to me with the way he won’t let me get too close to her!

“Alejandro? You alright? You look distracted.” I look to see Derek waving his hand in front of my face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Matt just took Maxey away.”

“He was looking for her, so it’s only natural. We have a bit more to do then you can have a couple days off. Won’t that be nice?”

“Days off? What’s that?” I laugh but I can’t help thinking I wish those days could be spent with her.

“I wouldn’t know as I almost never seem to have such myself!” He laughs and brings me back into the booth. “This scene should cool it for you on this show. Got any others lined up?”

“Not really. I’m still new to all of this but it’s getting to be fun even when it is a lot of work.”

“Yeah, you are new but I would say you’re off to a running start. I’ve only heard good things about you around here, so it’s only a matter of time before you move on to bigger things.”

“Goodness, man! I wasn’t looking for something like that but thank you.” I’m humbled. “Hearing you say that means a lot. I don’t know that I want anything bigger right now….the way I see it, only one thing will make things brighter for me and she was just taken away.” I run my hand through my hair and bring my head back.

He puts his hand on my back. “Still with her, huh? Maxey is quite the girl but she’s not the only one here. Sure, she may be the most beautiful but she has her guys around her.”

“Aww c’mon now, Derek, you know I can’t just give up on her. I see what you mean and it’s not the first time I’ve heard it but that is my goal! Somehow I just have to win her heart! Ever since I first saw her….I can’t get her out of my head! If only Matt would let me spend time with her....but he’s determined to get between us!”

“Alejandro, even if you do get to be closer to her, Matt is not going to go away. He has been there before you, he will be after you. Those two are bound to be together one way or another!”

“But don’t you ever get frustrated by the way he is always hovering around her? You said you had a crush on her too. Doesn’t he make you angry?”

“Are you kidding?” he laughs. “You’ve seen Matt! He would wipe the floor with me! He does look after her a lot, true, but they adore each other! It’s written all over them though it seems even more pronounced now. For quite a while, they both tried to hide their feelings but it’s much more open now that she’s pregnant. Try as you might, you will never have her without him!”

“There has to be a way to get her away from him. After all, Rod is her boyfriend, how he is I’ll never understand, but he is. She wasn’t always attached to Matt, was she?”

“Pretty much, yes. Matt was working here when she came along and they just gravitated to each other. Several shows had them cast together and then they live right across from each other. If Matt didn’t have Russ, I dare say Maxey would be his next choice….and vice versa, if Rod were gone, Matt would be Maxey’s first go to.”

“You’re not helping this look any better.”

“I’m not trying to! I’m trying to give you a more realistic view of this.”

>sigh< “I would still rather wait in line for Maxey than accept anything of Katie. I’m tired of her and her games!”

“Where did that come from? Katie is not a bad girl to have the attention of. I know she doesn’t exactly compare to Maxey, but there are worse things in the world.” He sits in his chair and I lean against the soundboard.

“Dude, she’s annoying! Always bossing me around because I’m younger. She knows how I feel about Maxey and she seems to just dig at me every chance she gets! Plus, Matt told me he and Maxey were led to believe there was something between Katie and me. I told him that is not happening!”

“She did that? That doesn’t sound like her.”

“She’s been doing stuff like that! I’m tired of it!” He puts his head down like he’s really thinking something over. Did he really not know? Maybe I shouldn’t have complained to him like that. “Hey, once this is finished, you have something else lined up?” Better change the subject quick!

“Huh? Oh….no, not really. Once we get your scene here, I’m done for today. Dustin will be back tomorrow, so I’ll go see if anyone needs me I guess.”

“I’m sure someone will find use for your expert touch.” I pat his back.

He looks up at me and smiles. “That’s nice of you to say but we shall see. Now, ready to finish up? It’s a quick scene really.”

“Ready when you are!” His smile gets bigger, so I go and finish this show. He waves me goodbye and since I don’t know for sure where Maxey is now, I leave the place. At the moment, I don’t feel like facing Matt or I would go looking for her! When I step out the door, there is Joe again! All cleaned up and changed with a huge smile on his face. “What do you want?”

“You sure are forgetful in your old age! I told you I only agreed to meet them if you came out with me again!” He smiles while moving his head to one side.

“And I told you I didn’t agree to that. I only said OK because Maxey was right inside.” My voice betrays my anger a bit more than I meant.

“Look, Alex,” he comes to take my arm. “Let’s not split hairs here. We may not have had the best reasons for our agreement, but we did agree to it, so here I am. I’m holding up my end….are you running away from yours?”

“I don’t run away unlike someone else I know!” I pull my arm away from him and start to walk off. He puts his hand in my chest.

“Wait! You don’t get to talk to me like that and walk away. You are the reason for my leaving so if you want to act like you’re so high and mighty, when will you face up to that fact? Huh?” I can see he is fighting tears here. UGH I never could stand to see him cry!

>sigh< “Alright! No tears, OK? I never could stand that. Where do you want to go?” I glumly ask.

“Can’t watch me cry? Well, that’s good to know but If only you saw how many nights I cried myself to sleep over you! It doesn’t matter now.” He shakes his head and takes my arm again. “You’re here and I want to make up to you what I did last night.”

“You think this will be an easy task?” I say as we walk together.

“If I didn’t love a challenge, I wouldn’t have fallen for you!” He smiles and puts his head on my arm.

“Why did you anyway? When did you?”

“Aww, we have plenty of time to get into all of that. We have more important things to focus on right now.”

“Like what?” I lift my eyebrow.

“You falling for me!” His grin is so bright! “I want to see you look at me the way I saw you look at Maxey earlier.”

I laugh. “Good luck with that but I don’t think you can do it!”

“Maybe I can and maybe I can’t but I intend to give it all I have. The longing you had for her! The tenderness in your gaze…..I’ll find a way somehow!” He saw all of that? If he saw it then why can’t she? Does she see it? Hey! Maybe that’s what it is! She does see it but she can’t react because of Matt and Rod. That would explain why she gets so nervous when I do manage to get close to her. Maybe I do stand a chance here!

“You got awfully quiet all of a sudden.”

“What? Oh! No, you just got me thinking.”

“About?”

“Oh I can’t tell you all of my secrets.” I smile as we seem to stop in front of a restaurant. “Is this where you’ve been leading me?”

He looks up then at me and smiles again. “Uh huh…we should go in.”

“But isn’t it early for dinner? What if we stroll around a bit first?”

“You have something in mind?”

“Well, there’s a park just a bus ride away.” I shrug.

He looks skeptical at first, but he agrees to it, so off we go to the bus. We sit close together and I have to say, it’s nice to be able to see Joe again. We used to do things together all the time when we were in school. I admired him, but I never looked at him in any romantic sense….matter of fact I don’t think I really looked at anyone that way until that lazy evening at the hotel. That night, EVERYTHING was turned on its ear for me!

#My Story

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blackchurchpost · 7 years ago

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With "A Letter to My Brothers," Prophetess Beth Moore Will be Remembered in Church History With the Likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Graham, Anne Graham-Lotz, and Other Church Leaders

I think I can speak for many of us when I say we are neither interested in reducing or seducing our brothers. —Beth Moore

Beth Moore came out of her prayer closet one day and wrote a document akin to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail.” By the grace of God, she showed the courage of Billy Graham, the eloquence of Martin Luther King Jr., and the authority and fierceness of Anne Graham-Lotz.

I long for the day—have asked for the day—when we can sit in round table discussions to consider ways we might best serve and glorify Christ as the family of God, deeply committed to the authority of the Word of God and to the imitation of Christ. —Beth Moore

One of the reasons the letter is so great is because she was extremely careful not to do the whiny, pity-party thing that unfortunately is so common in some women. No, she stood flat-footed, if you will, and delivered with authority what the church needed to hear. Beth Moore, all of the pain you have endured has brought you “to such a time as this.”

Here is the document that will be read in church history books long after Beth Moore has left her death bed.

A Letter to My Brothers

Dear Brothers in Christ,

A few years ago I told my friend, Ed Stetzer, that, whenever he hears the news that I’m on my deathbed, he’s to elbow his way through my family members to interview me about what it’s been like to be a female leader in the conservative Evangelical world. He responded, “Why can’t we do it before then?”

“Because you know good and well what will happen,” I answered. “I’ll get fried like a chicken.” After recent events following on the heels of a harrowing eighteen months, I’ve decided fried chicken doesn’t sound so bad.

I have been a professing Evangelical for decades and, at least in my sliver of that world, a conservative one. I was a cradle role Southern Baptist by denomination with an interdenominational ministry. I walked the aisle to receive Christ as my Savior at 9 years old in an SBC church and exactly nine years later walked the aisle in another SBC church to surrender to a vocational calling. Being a woman called to leadership within and simultaneously beyond those walls was complicated to say the least but I worked within the system. After all, I had no personal aspirations to preach nor was it my aim to teach men. If men showed up in my class, I did not throw them out. I taught. But my unwavering passion was to teach and to serve women.

I lack adequate words for my gratitude to God for the pastors and male staff members in my local churches for six decades who have shown me such love, support, grace, respect, opportunity and often out right favor. They alongside key leaders at LifeWay and numerous brothers elsewhere have no place in a larger picture I’m about to paint for you. They have brought me joy and kept me from derailing into cynicism and chronic discouragement amid the more challenging dynamics.

As a woman leader in the conservative Evangelical world, I learned early to show constant pronounced deference – not just proper respect which I was glad to show – to male leaders and, when placed in situations to serve alongside them, to do so apologetically. I issued disclaimers ad nauseam. I wore flats instead of heels when I knew I’d be serving alongside a man of shorter stature so I wouldn’t be taller than he. I’ve ridden elevators in hotels packed with fellow leaders who were serving at the same event and not been spoken to and, even more awkwardly, in the same vehicles where I was never acknowledged. I’ve been in team meetings where I was either ignored or made fun of, the latter of which I was expected to understand was all in good fun. I am a laugher. I can take jokes and make jokes. I know good fun when I’m having it and I also know when I’m being dismissed and ridiculed. I was the elephant in the room with a skirt on. I’ve been talked down to by male seminary students and held my tongue when I wanted to say, “Brother, I was getting up before dawn to pray and to pore over the Scriptures when you were still in your pull ups.”

Some will inevitably argue that the disrespect was not over gender but over my lack of formal education but that, too, largely goes back to issues of gender. Where was a woman in my generation and denomination to get seminary training to actually teach the Scriptures? I hoped it would be an avenue for me and applied and was accepted to Southwestern Seminary in 1988. After a short time of making the trek across Houston while my kids were in school, of reading the environment and coming to the realization of what my opportunities would and would not be, I took a different route. I turned to doctrine classes and tutors, read stacks of books and did my best to learn how to use commentaries and other Bible research tools. My road was messy but it was the only reasonable avenue open to me.

Anyone out in the public eye gets pelted with criticism. It’s to be expected, especially in our social media culture, and those who can’t stand the heat need to get out of the kitchen. What is relevant to this discussion is that, several years ago when I got publically maligned for being a false teacher by a segment of hyper-fundamentalists based on snippets taken out of context and tied together, I inquired whether or not they’d researched any of my Bible studies to reach those conclusions over my doctrine, especially the studies in recent years. The answer was no. Why? They refused to study what a woman had taught. Meanwhile no few emails circulated calling pastors to disallow their women to do my “heretical” studies. Exhausting. God was and is and will always be faithful. He is sovereign and all is grace. He can put us out there and pull us back as He pleases. Ours is to keep our heads down and seek Him earnestly and serve Him humbly

I have accepted these kinds of challenges for all of these years because they were simply part of it and because opposition and difficulties are norms for servants of Christ. I’ve accepted them because I love Jesus with my whole heart and will serve Him to the death. God has worked all the challenges for good as He promises us He will and, even amid the frustrations and turmoil, I would not trade lives with a soul on earth. Even criticism, as much as we all hate it, is used by God to bring correction, endurance and humility and to curb our deadly addictions to the approval of man.

I accepted the peculiarities accompanying female leadership in a conservative Christian world because I chose to believe that, whether or not some of the actions and attitudes seemed godly to me, they were rooted in deep convictions based on passages from 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14.

Then early October 2016 surfaced attitudes among some key Christian leaders that smacked of misogyny, objectification and astonishing disesteem of women and it spread like wildfire. It was just the beginning. I came face to face with one of the most demoralizing realizations of my adult life: Scripture was not the reason for the colossal disregard and disrespect of women among many of these men. It was only the excuse. Sin was the reason. Ungodliness.

This is where I cry foul and not for my own sake. Most of my life is behind me. I do so for sake of my gender, for the sake of our sisters in Christ and for the sake of other female leaders who will be faced with similar challenges. I do so for the sake of my brothers because Christlikeness is at stake and many of you are in positions to foster Christlikeness in your sons and in the men under your influence. The dignity with which Christ treated women in the Gospels is fiercely beautiful and it was not conditional upon their understanding their place.

About a year ago I had an opportunity to meet a theologian I’d long respected. I’d read virtually every book he’d written. I’d looked so forward to getting to share a meal with him and talk theology. The instant I met him, he looked me up and down, smiled approvingly and said, “You are better looking than _________________________________.” He didn’t leave it blank. He filled it in with the name of another woman Bible teacher.

These examples may seem fairly benign in light of recent scandals of sexual abuse and assault coming to light but the attitudes are growing from the same dangerously malignant root. Many women have experienced horrific abuses within the power structures of our Christian world. Being any part of shaping misogynistic attitudes, whether or not they result in criminal behaviors, is sinful and harmful and produces terrible fruit. It also paints us continually as weak-willed women and seductresses. I think I can speak for many of us when I say we are neither interested in reducing or seducing our brothers.

The irony is that many of the men who will give consideration to my concerns do not possess a whit of the misogyny coming under the spotlight. For all the times you’ve spoken up on our behalf and for the compassion you’ve shown in response to “Me too,” please know you have won our love and gratitude and respect.

John Bisagno, my pastor for almost thirty years, regularly said these words: “I have most often seen that, when the people of God are presented with the facts, they do the right thing.” I was raised in ministry under his optimism and, despite many challenges, have not yet recovered from it. For this reason I write this letter with hope.

I’m asking for your increased awareness of some of the skewed attitudes many of your sisters encounter. Many churches quick to teach submission are often slow to point out that women were also among the followers of Christ (Luke 8), that the first recorded word out of His resurrected mouth was “woman” (John 20:15) and that same woman was the first evangelist. Many churches wholly devoted to teaching the household codes are slow to also point out the numerous women with whom the Apostle Paul served and for whom he possessed obvious esteem. We are fully capable of grappling with the tension the two spectrums create and we must if we’re truly devoted to the whole counsel of God’s Word.

Finally, I’m asking that you would simply have no tolerance for misogyny and dismissiveness toward women in your spheres of influence. I’m asking for your deliberate and clearly conveyed influence toward the imitation of Christ in His attitude and actions toward women. I’m also asking for forgiveness both from my sisters and my brothers. My acquiescence and silence made me complicit in perpetuating an atmosphere in which a damaging relational dynamic has flourished. I want to be a good sister to both genders. Every paragraph in this letter is toward that goal.

I am grateful for the privilege to be heard. I long for the day – have asked for the day – when we can sit in roundtable discussions to consider ways we might best serve and glorify Christ as the family of God, deeply committed to the authority of the Word of God and to the imitation of Christ. I am honored to call many of you friends and deeply thankful to you for your devotion to Christ. I see Him so often in many of you.

In His great name,

Beth

Because of some of the things Beth Moore brought out in her “A Letter to My Brothers,” the president and owner of the parent company of BCNN1, Daniel Whyte III, led by God, took the liberty to change the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed.

Baptist Preacher and Gospel Light Society President, Daniel Whyte III, Updates the Apostles’ Creed to Better Reflect Important Details of Jesus’ Resurrection

Daniel Whyte III, who happens to be a Baptist preacher, but who, for nearly thirty years, has read the Apostles’ Creed in family devotions with his wife and seven children, has taken the liberty to update it for the first time in hundreds of years.

According to the Lexham Bible Dictionary, “The Apostles’ Creed seems to represent some form of what the early church called the ‘rule of faith.’ The early Christians were guided by the ‘rule of faith,’ the Holy Spirit working in community and individuals, and the authoritative Scriptures. Before the ‘rule of faith’ was called such, there were general references to the teachings and traditions of the apostles. It is these core teachings that make up the Apostles’ Creed. Signs of these ‘core teachings’ are seen as early as the New Testament book of Hebrews, which speaks of a need for Christians to grasp and embrace the basic concepts of faith so that they can move into deeper parts of their Christian faith, while at the same time realizing how essential it is that they never depart from a core belief in the real and living Christ. The Apostles’ Creed represents a set of uncompromisable core beliefs for Christians. The Apostles’ Creed, like all creeds, functions like a filter for orthodoxy; it indicates what is and what is not ‘Christian.’ It is a public profession of belief in historic Christianity.”

Whyte made the change in the Apostles’ Creed because he believes the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ should be included in the historic Christian affirmation. He states, “Perhaps the most important aspect of the post-Passion record are Jesus’ appearances to His followers. Obviously, Satan and the enemies of Christ did not want news to get out that Jesus had risen from the dead. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:14, ‘If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and our faith is also vain.’

“Thus, all of Jesus’ appearances after His resurrection are important, including His appearances to Mary Magdalene and the other women, His appearances to the disciples, and His appearance to over 500 brethren over the course of the 40 days following His resurrection. The record of these appearances in the Gospels and as recounted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 are important because they are eyewitness proof that Jesus was indeed alive in bodily form after His crucifixion.”

Whyte goes on to say, “The resurrection is a vital part of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the one thing that universally sets Christianity apart from all other religions. We follow a Savior, Master, and Teacher who is alive. We, and the world, need to be reminded of that. A statement describing Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances should be included in the Apostles’ Creed because it is a part of the Gospel message. If we’re going to name Pilate, let’s name Mary Magdalene, the other women, the disciples, and the over 500 brethren.”

He recommends that all parents have family devotions (which used to be called “family altar”) each day. For those who have little children, Whyte urges parents to teach their young ones about the faith using this ancient statement of Christian belief.

The updates to the creed are in red and underlined below:

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead;

He was seen alive by Mary Magdalene and the other women, the disciples, and over 500 other brethren; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

Amen.

– BCNN1 Editors

With “A Letter to My Brothers,” Prophetess Beth Moore Will be Remembered in Church History With the Likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Graham, Anne Graham-Lotz, and Other Church Leaders was originally published on BCNN1 - Black Christian News Network

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