#poetic suggestion

[circuscountdowns]

I don’t think the crown works like this. added the full pages

[sky-scribbles]

When I think about Gale and Mystra, I'm reminded of the Greek myth of the moon goddess who fell in love with a shepherd and asked Zeus to place him in an enchanted sleep, so that he would never change. So he would be beautiful and hers forever.

There are different versions of the myth, but this is the one I knew as a kid - and it always made me so fucking sad. And now I see why, because Selene loves Endymion - and her love takes his life from him. A god could not love Endymion as a mortal loves a mortal; she wants his presence to gaze on, to soak in, his body to hold. Perhaps he's a balm to her immortal existence; perhaps his beauty is an inspiration to her - but she does not want him, not all of him, not really. She doesn't want his sheep flock, the evenings where his fingers burn from the cold. She doesn't want his voice, or the lines and experience he'll gather as he ages. She doesn't want to live a life alongisde his.

Selene would say she loves Endymion, and perhaps, yes, Mystra would say she loved Gale. But how can a god love a mortal in a way that a mortal can recognise as love? You soak up his company, you laugh with him, you value his mind and his talent and his deftness with words. His presence is a spot of bright difference in your endless existence. But will you change with him? Will you be vulnerable with him? Will you look him in the eye, as an equal? Will you stroke his cat and put a blanket over his shoulder when he falls asleep reading, make soup for him when he's sick? Would you love him as a person, not a treasure? You can't.

Gale wanted to be loved with a devotion to match his own. Mystra wanted him to live in the enchanted sleep of being hers, something to smile at and hold but never, never to live beside. And she knew - she must have known - how unequal their desires were. She kept him anyway, until she didn't. Until he woke up.

A god's love ruins mortals.

[jadewritesficshere]

Thinking about Eddie Munson who was complaining to the rest of the band about his shoulders and neck hurting post show. One of them convinces him to go for a massage.

Eddie shows up day of and is told to strip to level of comfort and get under the sheets laying on his back, his masseuse will knock before coming in. Eddie has not an ounce of care or shame, strips completely naked. Scars and tattoos on full display. He climbs between the sheets and waits. After knocking and hearing a "come in", his masseuse enters and-

The most handsome man he's ever seen walks in. A bit of stubble on his defined jaw, soft pale lips Eddie wants to kiss, big brown eyes Eddie wants to get lost in, slutty little waist and an ass Eddie could-

He introduces himself as Steve. Verifies where Eddie had said his tension was on the form he hastily filled out. Then it starts.

And maybe, maybe, Eddie is a bit touch starved. He could have anyone he wants, but they don't want him just his fame. Pushes them all away. Only gets close to his band, but they all are busy and have their own people outside of work.

And Steve is just touching him. Rubbing smooth circles into his temple, down his cheekbones towards his jaw. Pressing on parts of Eddie's face he didn't even realize were tense. It's relaxing.

And Eddie regrets not leaving at least his boxers on to help hide that he's becoming hard. Kind of embarrassing, which makes his dick harder- which, that's a lot to unpack right now-

"Hey, relax man," Steve says, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. Eddie can see Steve's eyes dart towards the obvious situation," It's natural. Happens to the best of us." "Does it happen to you?" Eddie blurts out. Eddie wants to shove his face in one of these soft plush pillows and scream, but Steve just snorts a laugh and shakes his head at him. Doesn't even respond as he continues the massage.

Eddie tries to hold back his groans as Steve turns his head to the side and rubs his neck into his shoulders. He can feel the tension leave his body slowly. Feel the knots in his muscles release.

Eddie can't, however, hold back the noise he makes when Steve grabs a hold of his hair and tugs it. Eddie's eyes pop open and he stares into Steve's face, who has started blushing. Steve just clears his throat and let's Eddie's hair go before continuing the massage.

[matenr0u]

Oblivion, the Riku Keyblade: Translation

Oblivion/Bygone Memories

過ぎ去りし思い出Sugisarishi Omoide

Here’s my entry point for a bit of a deep dive into the ‘Riku Keyblade’. I have a few points jotted down about Oblivion, since it’s one of my favourite keyblades, but I’ll start with the name of it.

First it’s important to establish that despite being the Riku Keyblade, it’s actually symbolic of not just Riku alone but specifically Sora’s relationship with him. As the series progresses it gains a level of importance to other characters too, but being a Sora enjoyer I tend to regard Roxas and Xion like two little hamsters that escaped their pen and need to be stuffed back in, so I’m not sure if I’ll overly talk about them.

On to the name: I like the sound of the already established translation, ‘Passing Memories’, but I find ‘Passing’ is a word much too vague compared to ‘Bygone Memories’, so as a personal preference I’ll refer to it with my own interpretation unless someone more fluent in Japanese demonstrates another name that rolls more easily off the tongue.

Anyway, let’s get into the meat of this thing and how I reached this conclusion.

EN: Oblivion

JP: 過ぎ去りし思い出Sugisarishi Omoide

過ぎ去りし = Sugisarishi = Bygone/Long ago/Departed

思い出 = Omoide = Memory/Memories 

過ぎ = Too much/Passed/Past

去りし = Gone

Bygone Memories

Generally you can think of the meaning like, ‘a keyblade representing our shared memories of the distant past.’

Another interpretation more specific to the breakdown of their relationship could be, ‘our fond memories which have been left by the wayside.’

An example of how this phrase is typically used: 

過ぎ去りし日の思い出 

Memories of bygone days

I wonder if the keyblade’s name is a contraction of this phrase.

I don’t get the feeling that 過ぎ去りし思い出/Sugisarishi Omoide implies literally confused/forgotten memories as much as the EN name Oblivion does; moreso a nostalgic, or melancholy, reflection on good times between two people which occurred long ago.

I think both the EN and JP names can be interpreted to suit Sora and Riku’s connection to this Keyblade well, but there’s some nuance I’d like to get into.

忘却 Bokyaku is the term used in the JP name for Castle Oblivion — 忘却の城/Bokyaku no Shiro (Castle of Oblivion) — this word translates much more literally to Oblivion, a state of confusion or having forgot, than 過ぎ去りし/Sugisarishi, which is more like ‘long since passed/departed’. 

For this reason I get the idea that the keyblade was named Oblivion in EN because it sounds badass, still gets the point across, and goes well with Oathkeeper (which also has some liberties taken in the translation, presumably because that too sounds cooler to a western audience*).

There is a similar example within Kingdom Hearts’ usage of the word ‘memories’, too. In contrast to 記憶/kioku which is used for Memory’s Skyscraper — and sounds closer to, plainly, ‘one’s own memory/recollection’ —, the term 思い出/omoide usually denotes a memory or memories shared between people. It has a much more reminiscent tone of fond memories (or, perhaps, a particular memory?) shared with another, which fits well with the purpose of this keyblade and adds a bit of nuance that the EN name Oblivion lacks.

*You can also see this reflected in KHIII Oblivion’s default shotlock, named ‘Bladefury Eclipse’ in EN and ドーンエクリプス/Dawn Eclipse in JP. The JP name is much more meaningful to Sora and Riku and it’s a shame this was cast aside for cool points. ‘Dawn’ is written right there in kana, why didn’t they use it?

Meanwhile the shotlock ステラインセプション/Stellar Inception — which is shared with its sister keyblade Oathkeeper — remains identical in EN and JP.

I have Thoughts about the item required to obtain Oblivion in KHIII, known as Proof of Times Past in EN, but for now I’ll offer a simple translation.

EN: Proof of Times Past

JP: 過ぎ去りし証 Sugisarishi Akashi

Certificate of the Bygone

Or, ‘Evidence of Long Ago’

This one checks out, but some EN players seem confused about this certificate being called Times Past while the keyblade is called Oblivion. Hopefully my translation notes on the JP name shed some light on it.

And the item description:

EN: “A certificate awarded to those who have endured the most difficult trial of them all.”

JP: 「険しい戦いを制した者に贈られる証」

`Kewashii tatakai o seishita mono ni okurareru akashi'

“A certificate awarded to those who have overcome an insurmountable battle.”

Not much to add here either, but as a game dev myself I really enjoy the tiny gameplay detail of Sora literally being rewarded with Bygone Memories for pushing through ‘an extremely difficult conflict’— if you’re familiar with other Sora & Riku centric KH analyses, you can probably see where I’m going with this, so I’ll save that tangent for another day.

That about wraps up this part.

A final note for those who subscribe to the necklace theory: Bygone Memory — as in, a singular fond memory shared between two people long ago that may have since been cast aside, is an equally valid translation of the JP name.

This is just a fun little rant into the void, if I missed anything or made any mistakes, feel free to add on to it.

[gingermintpepper]

hi, i haven't read the iliad and the odyssey but want to - do u have a specific translation you recommend? the emily wilson one has been going around bc, y'know, first female translator of the iliad and odyssey into english, but i was wondering on if you had Thoughts

Hi anon! Sorry for the somewhat late response and I'm glad you trust me with recommendations! Full, disclosure, I am somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to translations of the source text of the Iliad + Odyssey combo wombo, which means I tend to prefer closeness in literal verbiage over interpretation of the poetic form of these epics - for that reason, my personal preferred versions of the Odyssey and Iliad both are Robert Fitzgerald's. Because both of these translations (and his Aeneid!) were done some 50+ years ago (63 for his original Odyssey tl, 50 flat for his Iliad and 40 for his Aeneid) the English itself can be a bit difficult to read and the syntax can get confusing in a lot of places, so despite my personal preferences, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking to experience the Iliad + Odyssey for the very first time.

For an absolute beginner, someone who has tried to read one or both of these epics but couldn't get into it or someone who has a lot of difficulty with concentrating on poetry or long, winding bits of prose, I fully and wholeheartedly recommend Wilson's translation! See, the genius of Emily Wilson's Iliad + Odyssey isn't that she's a woman who's translated these classics, it's that she's a poet who's adapted the greek traditional poetic form of dactylic hexameter into the english traditional poetic form of iambic pentameter. That alone goes a very very long way to making these poems feel more digestible and approachable - iambic pentameter is simply extremely comfortable and natural for native english speakers' brains and the general briskness of her verbiage helps a lot in getting through a lot of the problem books that people usually drop the Iliad or Odyssey in like Book 2 of the Iliad or Book 4 of the Odyssey. I think it's a wonderful starting point that allows people to familiarise themselves with the source text before deciding if they want to dig deeper - personally, researching Wilson's translation choices alone is a massive rabbit hole that is worth getting into LOL.

The happy medium between Fitzgerald's somewhat archaic but precise syntax and Wilson's comfortable meter but occasionally less detailled account is Robert Fagles' Iliad + Odyssey. Now, full disclosure, I detest how Fagles handles epithets in both of his versions, I think they're far too subtle which is something he himself has talked at length about in his translation notes, but for everything else - I'd consider his translations the most well rounded of english adaptations of this text in recent memory. They're accurate but written in plain English, they're descriptive and detailled without sacrificing a comfortable meter and, perhaps most importantly, they're very accessible for native english speaking audiences to approach and interact with. I've annotated my Fagles' volumes of these books to heaven and back because I'm deeply interested in a lot of the translation decisions made, but I also have to specifically compliment his ability to capture nuance in the characters' of these poems in a way I don't often see. He managed to adapt the ambivalence of ancient greek morality in a way I scarcely see and that probably has a hand in why I keep coming back to his translations.

Now, I know this wasn't much of a direct recommendation but as I do not know you personally, dear anon, I can't much make a direct recommendation to a version that would best appeal to your style of reading. Ideally, I'd recommend that you read and enjoy all three! But, presuming that you are a normal person, I suggest picking which one is most applicable for you. I hope this helps! 🥰

[hardwiredd]

i think a friend was tryna ask me if i would have sex with an ag-500r if i got one, and it got me thinkin; like ideally yes i want that thing so bad i have a physical need to at least touch and rummage that thing. but also that's like $600 at MINIMUM and if i damage her when i get her just bc i wanted to yoinky my sploinky i think i would actually be found dead in 5 different rivers

[tsunael]

(Count)down to Dawntrail. 6/27

You've ruined peaches for me.

- Circa after 'Endwalker' but before 6.1.

- cw: for (ahem) suggestive themes.

-> Forever inspired by this. <-

--

"If you could have anything at this very moment... what would it be?"

She paused, and he could sense her rifling through the many possibilities this life had to offer. Finally, she looked up from her bandaged hands. "... A peach tart."

He had to laugh. "You're not serious."

But she was-- though she wore a sheepish pout. She was a woman grown, still she loved her girlish treats. "Alisaie told me about the peaches in the market when last she was there. Beautiful, pink peaches... Yanxian imports, I imagine. They would be in season..."

Her voice trailed off as her mind wandered home-- far, far away from from her quaint hospital room and the bitter cold of The Northern Empty.

"I had hoped you would ask for something a bit more... substantial," he could not help but tease. "I’m afraid of the look your nursemaid might give me."

She tittered behind her hand. "You would simply come through the window again regardless."

"-- And you would do well to keep it locked, else a thief in the night may just steal you away."

He brought out her smile, though it fell rueful as her voice drew soft, marred by a cynical edge that did not suit her. "After all that has happened..." She drew out a deep sigh before craning up to look him, her eyes, searching. "... I would welcome it."

--

It was there at the apothecary where he espied the peaches Tsuna had spoke of. An imported bushel brought welcome color to the otherwise drab, frozen plaza. He took one in hand to turn it over, and caught himself admiring the soft, ripe weight of it.

He dropped coin for two of their best. Its twin sat alongside the boxed piece of tart he picked up at The Last Stand– two treats among the other foodstuffs in his satchel. Depending on who he asked, he either carried with him an odd lunch, or a meagre supper.

In his eagerness to move onto the next errand, he wasted little time in the partaking of his impromptu purchase. It barely fit in his hand, with blushed, taut skin that had been thoroughly loved by the Eastern sun. So ripe was it that its sweet scent availed him before he could even drag lips over the velvet cleft of it.

As soon as he felt the soft plunge of his teeth into flesh he understood why it was that she desired it so. The sweetness was immediate, overwhelming– the resulting tartness was a stimulating chase. There was nothing quite like it. How long had it been since he sought out such sweetness for the pleasure of it? Too long, he surmised. His jaw ached from the nectar.

Still, he savoured the bite. And the next, and the next.

His thoughts fell to her doing the same: her lips wrapping around the gentle curve of it. He imagined her mouth dripping, teeth skimming across skin, her tongue lapping at the excess…

Before he knew it, his heart began to race as if he were a thief at market. Before he knew it, he had hit stone.

His tongue still sang from the taste, but he found himself wanting more. Chasing the taste on his fingers wasn't enough, though he ended at the base of his thumb to thoughtfully chase the remnants that had dripped. Every drop was swallowed with a greed he hardly knew. 

He took a step back and thought of his poor, jogging heart, and of the treat purchased a bell ago. Why had he come here? Gone through this trouble? She was still on his mind– and more, he wanted her on his lips.

Ridiculous, he grimaced, inwardly chiding himself. Arousal was gripping the back of his neck in the middle of the Sharlayan markets.

At some point he would have to admit to himself that he wanted her; wanted her near him, beside him, beneath him. Eventually he would need to come to terms with the fact that he loved that woman in every conceivable way a man could.

[captainjonnitkessler]

There's a certain type of person who's like . . . "Well, atheists/skeptics are joyless close-minded assholes. I mean, OBVIOUSLY religion/superstition isn't LITERALLY real, only an IDIOT would think anyone was taking it LITERALLY, you only believe that people mean what they say because you're only familiar with Christianity, everyone ELSE is using religion as some kind of extended metaphor for humanity or just believing in things for funsies"

And it's like . . . a) that's frankly more insulting than anything I was probably saying and b) if you also don't believe something is literally true why are you getting so mad that I am saying that something is not literally true

[apocalypsegay]

mouthwashing has become the only piece of media i can think of off the top of my head where you get to play from a rapist's POV that doesn't feel voyeuristic as fuck and for that alone it's incredible

[biblicalhorror]

Why do so many people hate Travis so much. He's literally just if some guy was one of the girls

[shadowlinktheshadow]

i took matters into my own hands and created this:

some things about this au that have been floating in my mind:

spirit (i dont know what to call him in this au 💀) hangs around lookout landing or whatever trying to learn more about zonai tech

while purah and robbie are focused on more advanced and "futuristic" tech with zonai material, spirit is thinking of something more modern (t r a i n s)

idfk what to call the quest, but it's a side adventure (which means it's not a main quest, but it's bigger than a side one)

also idk about how it would work out, but im thinking he'll give you build idea/pointers for what he wants and you have to go build it (gives you 100 rupees for your hard work)

Once you finish building a prototype he'll ask you for something more complex (gives 100 rupees + a meal?)

And finally once you finish the final build, it'll cut to some dialogue and then you can ride his train (300 rupees + first time free admission)

hudsons company helps with building the tracks

there'll be stations around towns of hyrule and he'll take you there for only 20 rupees (just find a station to unlock it)

this makes absolutely no sense gameplay wise because you can just teleport anywhere but TRAINS

(this is for clothing but) just a botw/totk-ified royal engineer outfit

[mazeyphaedra]

i have a webweave post abt the like. changing/corrupting force of devotees in spyre but IDK what to title it and i want it out of my drafts!! before next ep

[livmorbid]

You are not like everyone else. You are uniquely and unapologetically you. EMBRACE IT.

[mothlover69]

I did a couple of these thingies :3 blank under the cut

[cogentsummoner]

obviously you have to name other characters in /reader fics or shit gets confusing fast. however. im getting so nervous about naming this character who's the readers daughter because in my head im just like.

[maanvinderpilania]

music while i write poems

hello to my poetry and music lover. i'm back here with another music suggestion and it's related to something that i love the most that is writing poems. the songs in the playlist are the classical ones with piano, orchestra, violins. i will keep updating this playlist with new music whenever i discover some beautiful symphonies but for now let's listen these and write as much poetry we can and if you are in your tortured poets era then it's a must!!