#quartz translates

[junk-story]

Atsushi and Me – Tanaka Junichi, Director - Ongaku to Hito Special Edition

This interview is on pages 68-69 of the magazine. Footnotes can be found at the bottom of the text.

At the time we first met, the areas where he was immature as a vocalist were numerous. However, he had a unique worldview. For so-called rock vocalists, sexy vocalizations and a husky voice is becoming characteristic, but Sakurai-kun’s voice wasn’t those things, and it had popular-music-like elements to it. There were some who said his voice rivaled The Checkers.1

But, when I met him for the first time at a yakiniku shop in Harajuku, Sakurai-kun said that he liked Peter Murphy (of Bauhaus). So I think he wanted to combine the best parts of Japanese music with bands like Bauhaus and The Cure’s English dark wave to make a style of music not seen before in Japan. That was the sort of conversation we had. Maybe at that time, he thought what he wanted to do could take shape.

The realization of that was “TABOO”, but after that, a change came about in Sakurai-kun’s self-expression. The apex of that was “Kurutta Taiyou”. BUCK-TICK began to function as a place where Sakurai-kun could vent the love and hate and regrets he was holding about his home and his mother. After that, the color of Sakurai-kun became stronger, and what came from within him, the lust for life and desire for death, things like that became his themes, and their music was also influenced by that. At the time, they often heard the opinion at Victor that “it would be better to write things that are easier to understand”, and if they had, they might have been a bigger hit, maybe even hitting the million-seller mark, but, I suppose it’s because he wasn’t hindered in expressing himself that they were able to continue until now. In the first place, they weren’t even looking for that. And his songs, which came to have these themes at their core, had refined his expressiveness, and he was able to develop himself.

I worked for about 36 years recording Sakurai-kun’s songs, but he left all of it to me.2 “I’m doomed to my fate3, so I’ll sing a number of takes in my best form, and afterward, please use your favorite”, he’d say. I almost never had any requests about the take I chose. This is really an incredible thing. Most singers give me detailed requests, but he didn’t. I guess he realized that other people saw things differently than he did, and if he thought they did, I think he thought it was best to elevate that different expression atop the stage. Also, I think he was considerate about not making others feel bad.

Yes, he was a considerate and kind person. For example, when he was traveling to a big city studio, he was coming by car and got stuck in traffic, so he was also late. At times like that, although many musicians would have come in unashamed, Sakurai-kun was prostrate. “Everyone, truly, I’m so sorry…”, he’d say, and he’d bow his head to everyone all the way down to the studio’s assistant. He was someone who understood general thinking. And, he wasn’t that conscious of his commercial success. He also had no desire for fame. For that kind of person to continue being in a band, and think they want to make a career of it, that’s an extremely curious thing. Well...more than the music, more than the band, I suppose the important thing was that he was doing it with the other members. That’s why he was slow to start things outside of that, and he’d find it bothersome. (laughs) There were also things like that, and his solo album, “Ai no Wakusei”, was outsourced by me to various people, and Sakurai-kun only did the singing for it. Because when he’d communicate directly, he’d start to think about what to say, get nervous, and end up thinking about various things. (laughs)

Even after the band separated from Victor, behind the scenes, I did the recording for a number of songs. This is presumptuous of me to say, but I think I was the only one they could leave to doing it for them. However, what I think now...he would sing five takes, and he wanted to hear from me which of the takes was really the best one. Although I can’t confirm that now...but I’d like to think...that he knew the take that I thought was the best, was the best take for BUCK-TICK.

However, from the start, there were also times where he wasn’t the kind of person who could do that. (laughs) The time from “darker than darkness – style 93 – ” to “Six/Nine” was quite tumultuous. He wouldn’t show up to do vocal recordings. (laughs) This was an era without cell phones, so all we could do was wait, and after 10 hours passed, he finally came. (laughs) When we finished recording the vocals, I was listening and heard they’d driven to Mount Fuji. (laughs) There was everything with his mother, and I imagine he was pushed to a breaking point mentally. But from that, the “death” part of love and death came to expand significantly.

At that time, he was experiencing the chaos of the adult world, and I wonder if he didn’t come to have a hard time knowing what was real. So he wanted to run away from everything; his work and private life were both a mess. He drank alcohol like a drunk, like he was trying to forget reality. To put It nicely, he was pure. He wasn’t a person who could get along well in this world. However, he’d tasted that life, so the lyrics of that time had that reality in them. It may just be what I imagine, but “darker than darkness – style 93 – ” is all real. It’s not something that was made.4 I want everyone to listen to it again like that. And it’s also because of that experience that his love, hope, and kindness of not wanting to die emerged after that. And he started expressing his feelings more honestly.

Therefore, his love for family was incredible. Especially for the daughters. He had something he needed to protect, so he started to want to live. Sakurai Atsushi didn’t abandon himself to despair. I wanted to listen to more songs like that from him. If he had, then maybe a chapter where we met again would have begun. With a man who aged well.

Other than that, what I remember is nothing but stuff when we were drinking. (laughs) Because it was incredible, in any case. The live would end, and from about 11 PM we’d take off. After that, it was typical to spend time at Roppongi’s BOO!WHO?WOO!, and the shop has a small window that you can see the outside from, so you know when dawn is breaking. Nevertheless, Sakurai-kun was lively. Meanwhile, “Waratte ii tomo!”5 starts on the television. And then it got dark outside again. We were drinking that entire time. How much alcohol can a person go on drinking? I remember wondering.

Also, he was a person who was loved by everyone. By that I mean falling in love. When we were returning from London and at the airport counter checking in, the attendant saw Sakurai-kun, got heart eyes, and gave us a seat upgrade, and we were able to have an elegant return trip home because of it. (laughs)

1 Band from the same era (worth checking out!) 2 He allowed Tanaka to call the shots. 3 This turn of phrase didn’t really work well in any way I translated it...but sort of like, “there’s nothing to be done for it” – here he is, all he can do is his best! Like that. 4 Just in case this isn’t clear – he means this wasn’t constructed or fake in any way – this is truly where Sakurai was mentally at the time. 5 A long running variety TV show that was hosted by Tamori. It started at noon, to give you a reference of the time he’s talking about here.

[valvarads]

A bit of gorgeous presentation never hurts. A good medicine for the heart and soul. How about you next? I’ll pass.

[whitmanicwares]

8 new welded pieces up and available on Etsy! $22USD, and feel free to message me if you have any questions or would like to talk about commissioning a piece from me!

See them all HERE!

[diamond-in-the-rough-au]

Rosemary and her brothers (Barlow & Bosco) are just trying to make new friends but unfortunately her eyes are scary to most kids

[mrrkw2viss]

https://www.futureelectronics.com/p/electromechanical--timing-devices--crystals/cm315d32768dzft-citizen-finedevice-1802925

Clock signal, Low-frequency crystals, tuning fork crystals, quartz crystal

CM315D Series 32.768 kHz ±20 ppm 12.5 pF -40 to +85°C SMT Tuning Fork Crystal

[abyssus-aeterna]

月影の闇の中にて煙草を吸ひ乍ら過ごしゝ夜々。

碎けたる紫石英と翠玉の映り、季節の巡り廻り、

拵へ上げられたる性、是より先の傳へは仄暗し。

虛ろの下には、隱さずして堅き化學の深みあり。

殘り物には粗けれど、祭祀的再生には乳色なり。

[Classical transliteration]

Tuki-kage no yami no naka nite tabako wo sufi-nagara sugosisi yo-yo. Kudaketaru shisekieĩ to suigyoku no uturi, kisetu no meguri-meguri, kosirafe-ageraretaru saga, kore yori saki no tutafe fa fono-gurasi. Uturo no sita ni fa, kakusazu site kataki kwagaku no fukami ari. Nokori-mono ni fa arakeredo, saisi-teki saiseĩ ni fa titi-iro nari.

[Modern transliteration]

Tsuki-kage no yami no naka nite tabako wo sui-nagara sugoshishi yo-yo. Kudaketaru shisekiei to suigyoku no utsuri, kisetsu no meguri-meguri, koshirae-ageraretaru saga, kore yori saki no tsutae wa hono-gurashi. Utsuro no shita ni wa, kakusazu shite kataki kagaku no fukami ari. Nokori-mono ni wa arakeredo, saishi-teki saisei ni wa chichi-iro nari.

nights spent smoking cigarettes in the darkness of moonlight:

shattered amethyst & emerald reflections, cycles of seasons,

manufactured essence, the traditions of the future are bleak,

beneath the hollow, the depth of candidly callous chemistry;

so harsh in remains, yet so opalescent in ritual renaissance.

[mistytarot0919]

⌦ .｡.:*♡How it will be the month of July 2024 for you?

Pick a card reading

Hello, everyone! Misty - your tarot reader here✨🔮🌠🃏🌟!

©mistytarot0919 - all rights reserved. do not copy, translate, alter, or repost my work.

Please like and reblog if you find this information useful! 🌸🎀💕

Hello everyone! July is almost here so I guess that everyone is curios how this month will be for them. This is a simple and short monthly guidance reading. Pick the pile that you are most drawn to and scroll down to read your monthly guidance reading for March.

Takes what resonate with you because remember that this is just a general reading and it might not apply for everyone.

Don't forget to like/reblog/comment and follow me! I would really appreciate it because it will help my blog grow!

So let's get started! Enjoy! Pile 1 🕯️🖤❀ Pile 2 🕯️🖤❀ Pile 3

Pile 1‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆

🌴🥥🍹 staying organized and prioritizing your tasks

🌴🥥🍹 networking and building connections with others in your industry

🌴🥥🍹 investing in your personal and professional development

🌴🥥🍹 making time for self-care and relaxation

🌴🥥🍹 staying flexible and adaptable in uncertain situations

🌴🥥🍹 seeking feedback and constructive criticism to improve

🌴🥥🍹 setting boundaries with work and personal life

🌴🥥🍹 celebrating your achievements and successes

🌴🥥🍹 staying positive and optimistic in the face of challenges

🌴🥥🍹 taking calculated risks to further your career

🌴🥥🍹 being a team player and collaborating with others

🌴🥥🍹 staying curious and seeking out new knowledge and skills

🌴🥥🍹 being proactive in seeking out new opportunities for growth and advancement.

Monthly affirmation - I face the adventure of life eagerly

Quote of the month - ,,A single rose can be my garden...a single friend my world"(Leo Buscaglia)

Power of love message - Transformation - You use the power of love to move through illusions and shift into awareness

Crystal of the month - Rose quartz - New or renewed romantic love is here for you

Flower of the month - Pink rose

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

Pile 2‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆

💿🎧✮ have faith in the universe and trust that everything happens for a reason

💿🎧✮ remember to practice self-care and take time for yourself when needed

💿🎧✮ be mindful of your thoughts and focus on positive affirmations

💿🎧✮ trust in the journey and know that you are exactly where you are meant to be

💿🎧✮ keep an open mind and be willing to learn and grow from every experience

💿🎧✮ stay grounded in the present moment and appreciate the beauty in the world around you

💿🎧✮ trust in the process of life and know that everything will fall into place at the right time

💿🎧✮ believe in yourself and your abilities to overcome any obstacles that come your way

💿🎧✮ trust in your intuition and follow your heart in making decisions

💿🎧✮ embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and learning

💿🎧✮ stay connected with your inner wisdom and trust in your inner strength

💿🎧✮ remember that you are capable of achieving great things and trust in your potential.

Monthly affirmation -I welcome and nurture the new in my life

Quote of the month - ,,A wise man has dignity without pride; a fool has pride without dignity."(Confucius)

Power of love message - Tolerance - You appreciate other points of view because you sense the love in everyone

Crystal of the month - Rhodochrosite- Be gentle with yourself

Flower of the month - Yellow rose

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

Pile 3‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆

☀️💛🌟 stay true to your values and goals; stay focused and determined in pursuing your dreams

☀️💛🌟 surround yourself with supportive and positive people who uplift and inspire you

☀️💛🌟 practice resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges; trust that you have the strength to overcome obstacles

☀️💛🌟 make time for activities that bring you joy and fulfillment; prioritize self-care and doing things that nourish your soul

☀️💛🌟 be open to new experiences and opportunities for growth; step out of your comfort zone and embrace the unknown

☀️💛🌟 stay connected to your higher self and spiritual beliefs; find solace and guidance in moments of uncertainty

☀️💛🌟 remember that setbacks and failures are a natural part of the journey; learn from them and use them as opportunities for growth

☀️💛🌟 celebrate your victories and accomplishments, no matter how small; acknowledge your progress and give yourself credit for your hard work

☀️💛🌟 trust in yourself and the path you are on, trust that you have the power to create the life of your dreams.

☀️💛🌟believe in your own strength and resilience to overcome any obstacles that come your way

☀️💛🌟keep shining bright, the world needs your light.

Monthly affirmation -I am serene and still.

Quote of the month - ,A high station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace(Tennessee Williams)

Power of love message - Commitment - You dedicate yourself to your beliefs wholeheartedly, knowing that love is the essence of your very being

Crystal of the month - Rubellite- Be gentle with yourself

Flower of the month - Dahlia

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

omg now that you've mentioned it, please tell us everything about rusts watch 🙏🙏

I got two separate asks about this. you're all such nerds and I love you. <3 <3

I'll answer this one here and answer the other one for the night crowd.

but fundamentally, this one is a lot easier to answer! there is an official answer from an interview with the prop master, because the freakiest freaks from the tangential every day carry communities are the watch guys. the watch guys are VERY serious about identifying watches.

pulling some quotes from the link and then I will translate for the non watch people in the audience.

If you are a fan of the first season of True Detective, you might be aware of the immense interest in McConaughey's watch on the show. I recall getting pretty deep into the watch forums myself on this topic at the time the show was on (circa 2014). Some people thought it was a vintage Seiko diver, but the crown was at three 'o clock – so that was out. Others swore it was a Citizen, others still were adamant it was a Rolex. The only certainty was the strap – a black rubber diving strap with a wind velocity indication chart. Needless to say, this was one of the burning questions I had lined up for Lynda.

The Rolex idea isn't as out of character as it probably sounds, because there was an era of Rolex where certain models--mostly the ones originally built for diving--were considered solid working man watches. But it is still, imo, out of character for a guy like Rust in the 90s. The working man era of Rolex is like, 1970s. Watch guys are just obsessed with Rolex.

Seiko and Citizen are are very well known brands but neither have the insane luxury item status or price of Rolex, and tbh, I also assumed he was wearing a vintage Seiko with a Citizen strap. I mean, I watched the show like two months ago so my "also thought" was short lived, but nonetheless. It seemed reasonable. Dive watches in general are over engineered to be tougher than normal watches, so my immediate thought was that, of course, Rust isn't a dress watch guy. Diver + rubber strap means you can shower with that thing on and not have to ever think about the on/off.

but no, Citizen? Seiko? Our man isn't that mainstream. Per the propmaster:

"Actually, the watch he wears is a Lorus Tidal, and it was from my personal kit. I picked that watch because it had a look of something he would have had for quite some time. I think part of the early backstory was that maybe he had a military background, but also maybe he had done other stuff in his past that we didn't know about. I felt the look of the watch was very simple – very classic, but very masculine. Even though it's not the most expensive watch in the world, it's also not the cheapest version of that style of watch. I mean, you can get a Timex from the same era that has almost the identical look to it with the bezel and everything else."

But of course, as mentioned, he's not JUST wearing some period appropriate utilitarian quartz run watch. He has...a fucking wind velocity conversion chart strap on there for some reason instead of the standard stainless steel bracelet. Rubber strap strikes me as reasonable: easier to adjust, more hard wearing than people think, tremendously practical all around. But the wind chart?! He's wearing a fucking wind chart?

WHY. this fascinates me. WHY DOES HE HAVE THAT. if it was a post 2012 watch only, you could argue: crab boat. maybe? maybe crab boat. although, like. unless he's fucking driving the thing, why does it matter? I think rubber strap vs metal strap makes sense, in the same way a quartz/battery run watch makes more sense than some fancy mechanical watch. Rust is a practical guy, at least in the sense of not being fussed about his gear. but a wind velocity conversion chart on his wrist at all times? whatdoesitmean.jpg.

but applying a similar kind of pragmatic reasoning, it might not mean anything at all and this motherfucker just picked the first watch and first rubber strap he found. may I also suggest: he just fucking steals shit occasionally. I have no in story justification for this. It's just a fun way to explain away a lack of curation on an otherwise very precise seeming character. Although I think that's part of the core appeal of Rust: ramshackle and exact at once, in different ways, or maybe just never as put together as he seems. See also: messy ass notebook and his handwriting fucking sucks.

And it is definitely part of Rust's appeal that he leans monastic and ascetic, so I like that none of his gear is too fancy. I like that he can't be fucked about it.

Here's a tidy little top comment on the same article, to emphasize how Watch Guys are about this kind of thing but also to nicely summarize:

I liked a lot, on True Detective season 1, how Rust never changes his watch, the watch works, does what he needs, and nothing more and he doesn't need anything else, while Martin keeps adding pieces to his collection as he moves up in the world, in line with both characters. What I disliked terribly, was that one scene where Rust silences a Casio alarm on his Lorus Tidal, ugh.

A casio alarm. How could they?

But spot on comment from that guy there. Ascetic, like I said: the watch does what Rust needs and nothing more. And yes, Marty's gear upgrades as the show goes on and that's a fun contrast, too. 

final note--it is almost impossible to find this exact model of Lorus Tidal (Lorus RXN53BX8) for a reasonable price now, because the watch guys bought them all in 2014. If you get into an ebay war about this in the next year or so, it's probably with me.

And here's the watch as standard + how Rust actually wears it so we can end this post gazing upon both 95 Rust and 2012 Rust.

[beansprean]

MORE ATLANTIS AU...

ty to @gerandor for the persian translations <3

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1. Full body of Guillermo, dressed like Milo Thatch from Atlantis in jodhpurs and a tank top, sitting up against a mossy rock. The crucifix around his neck is tucked to one side under his shirt, and the strap on the opposite side is shrugged off his shoulder to reveal a small cut under his collarbone. Nandor, dressed in an Atlantic version of his usual outfit in purples and blues, leans in over him, one hand braced on Guillermo's knee, to lick the wound. Guillermo is startled at this, turning bright red.

2a. Full body of human Nadja dressed like Audrey in overalls, boots, and a flat cap. She is lounging on the ground, one elbow braced on her knee to lean her knuckles on her cheek. A voice offscreen asks, "What happened to your sister?" Nadja replies casually, "She's 24 and 0 with a shot at the title next month. In a separate bubble is a smal drawing of Dolly with her hair in twin buns, wearing a sports bra and boxing gloves. 2b. Waist up of human Laszlo dressed as Sweet, in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck. Guillermo, the side of his face visible in the foreground, nervously asks, "...Where did you get your medical license again?" Laszlo looks at him with a confused grin, holding up a shiny metal saw in his hand, and responds, "My what?" 2c. Bust of Colin Robinson, dressed as a mixture of Mole and Vinny in a gray turtleneck, brown fingerless gloves, and leather bomber hat with goggles and a lit flex light, on a striated brown background. He is holding up one finger and explaining, "It's arkose! Appears to be made from mainly quartz and feldspar, so one can presume there was volcanic activity nearby in the last few thousand years that formed it. If the caldera is still present, it's almost certainly dormant based on the strata patterns. In looking at the thickness and statistically likely set of materials we can't currently see, this gorgeous wall of rock has to be at least a 7 on the Mohs hardness scale. Which was introduced in 1812 and is therefore consistent with our 1914 setting." 2d. Repeat. Colin grins, eyes going large and excited as he holds up a lit stick of dynamite and declares, "All this to say, we could dig it, and I would love how time-consuming and tedious it would be, but we're probably better off blowing it up."

3a. Waist up of Guillermo on a foresty background of hanging lichen and persian silk, a satchel slung across his shoulders and an old book titled 'vampyr' clutched to his chest. He has one finger held up in his free hand, looking upwards in concentration as he attempts to speak in persian. He says ما قصد جنگ نداریم, meaning "we don't intend to fight," but mispronounces قصد (ghasd) as کصد (kasd). Nandor, standing in front of him and fiddling his fingers together, grimaces at this and says "Ehhhmm... Perhaps you can just speak in English?" 3b. Full body from behind as they walk away together, Nandor with his hands held loosely behind his back and Guillermo stuffing his book back into his bag. He asks, "Was it that bad?" Nandor replies, "Eeh, I have heard worse. But you speak it through your nose." He then repeats (ghasd) with proper pronunciation, which Guillermo attempts to emulate but pronounces even more incorrectly as گصد (gas).

4a. Waist up of Guillermo on a misty background, soaking wet with his tank top clinging to him and his crucifix shining around his neck. Two shadowy figures at each shoulder are holding his arms behind his back. Guillermo struggles against them and shouts angrily, "This was all for a stupid hat??" 4b. Knees up of human Simon the Devious as Commander Rourke, dressed in a green tank top tucked into khakis. He is holding up the witch's skin hat reverently in both hands and turns his face toward Guillermo with an unhinged grin, eyes wide and fully out of touch with reality. He replies, "Did I plan, fund, and retain international clearance for a long term undersea expedition to lands unknown for the sole purpose of regaining access to Laszlo's personal effects that I might take back what is rightfully mine - this witch's clit of a hat? Yes. Yes, I did." Behind him, Laszlo and Nadja stand in shocked anger and resigned irritation, respectively. /end ID

[altis-of-olympia]

I have been a practitioner of Hellenic Polytheism for about nine years, now. In this time, I have made mistakes, I have learned better ways to do things, I have de-constructed the belief that my spaces need to be extravagant, and I have made my practice mine.

In this post, I'd like to pass along a few of these things to whoever needs it.

First - You do not need a fancy altar.

You may see altars on tumblr, tiktok, pinterest, or otherwise showcasing grand altars with statues and candles and bronze offering bowls or platters with chalices and goblets - you do not need all of this in order to be a practitioner.

If your altar is as simple as a bowl you have devoted to a God, then that's okay! My altar to Lord Apollo is a bowl I thrifted and then used for paint water, now full of things I have offered to Him. My Altar for Odysseus is just a jar full of sand and shells with charms wrapped around it with twine. My altar for Lady Aphrodite is a small Tupperware full of strawberries, a jar of rose quartz, and a small chunk of rose quartz. My altar for King Zeus is my most "grand", and it's just a bowl that holds His libations, a separate Tupperware lid for His offerings, my incense holder, as well as a few other things I have devoted to Him. It does not need to be big. It does not need to be grand. It does not need to be expensive. The Gods do not track your piety based on how much money you spend.

They will not be mad at you if you cannot add things to your altar. They will not get mad at you if you cannot have an altar. While, in Ancient Greece, every household had an indoor altar, you would not be punished for being unable to have one. Whether it is a space or an environment issue, it is okay. In College, I got by with an altar in a shoebox that I would hide under my bed whenever I had guests. But the Gods will not punish you for extraneous circumstances, I promise you.

If you cannot have an altar, my favorite shows of Piety were devotional jewelry and prayer. Since COVID, I have had a sun necklace of some kind that I wear every single day. My favorite one I had broke while I was abroad and immediately, I got a new one and devoted it to Lord Apollo. My friend got me a new one for my birthday, and I immediately devoted it to Lord Apollo. My Fitbit, which I wear all the time, is devoted to King Zeus. I have a necklace for Signore Ermetes and a trident necklace for King Neptune. I was allowed to have candles, so I'd dedicate those to my Gods and pray with the candles lit. But the lesson here is that you do not need a fancy altar or an altar at all.

Second - You do not need fancy tools.

My mother gifted me my first tarot deck in the eighth grade, two years after I had started my practice (and I say "started" very loosely - it was a lot of research in the wrong places, but I was doing it in Lady Athene's name nonetheless). This unlocked a new method of worship for me - direct communication with the Gods.

Of course, there are alternatives to tarot. If you can't afford a deck (your deck doesn't need to be fancy, by the way, mine was a very cheap, crude-looking cardstock deck with cards about as big as my hand), you can always use playing cards. Tarot Cards were originally used as a playing card game before they were considered divination tools, and then playing cards took their place. The suites correspond with the houses, and the cards all have meanings, I'm not very well versed in the translation of tarot to playing cards. But I've heard several people say that you can absolutely use playing cards in lieu of tarot.

If you do not have a pendulum, you can use any chain with something on the end of it. Something with weight, but not too much weight. You can create a pendulum board in a notebook by hand, you do not need a fancy pendulum board. You do not need a fancy crystal pendulum when you can simply put a ring on a necklace chain or string!

If you do not have knucklebones, you can use coins. Knucklebones are something that I have only recently started looking into - it was a form of divination in Ancient Greece that was used to help answer questions. From what I've read, it required a statement or question, and three knucklebones were cast. Based on how they landed, you were given a number that would then correspond with an answer or outcome. This can be done with coins and based on how they land (heads or tails), they correspond with a number that then gives you an answer or outcome. This was done with knucklebones! You can also do it with dice!

Another popular form of divination in Ancient Greece was drawing lots, similar to how King Zeus, King Poseidon, and King Haides did to decide who got what domain. You can draw lots if you have several options or can't make up your mind - draw sticks, and based on the stick you draw, that's your answer!

You can also flip coins, cast dice, do bibliomancy - There are many alternatives to tarot or fancy tools that you probably have laying around your house right now. You don't need to buy ten decks. It is okay to have one - it's okay to have none.

Third - Sometimes prayer is enough.

I say sometimes because there may be instances in which you have promised a form of Piety to a God and must then carry through in order to actually receive their blessing. But in most cases - whether you're traveling, have low spoons, are busy, etc - Prayer is enough. Keeping the Gods in your thoughts. In Ancient Greece, to do anything without first thinking of a God was considered Impious. I write this post and think of Lady Athene, and how Her wisdom guides this post. I'll publish it and think of Lord Hermes and how He will carry this message to those who need it. And afterward, I will thank King Zeus for blessing me with a platform that allows me to spread such information to the people.

If you are getting ready for travel, pray to Lord Hermes. If you are in a tight spot and need money, pray to Pluton. If you are struggling mentally and need to get out of a rut, pray to Lord Dionysos. But remember - prayer must be followed up with an offering, especially if you are asking for something. This can be as simple as pouring out your drink as a libation or carrying out an act of devotion. I'll be making a separate post on prayer soon.

Fourth - You do not need a fancy title.

I understand how this can come off as... hypocritical, considering my recent title as a Priestx in Training. But I want to be very clear that I do not mean this in an "I deserve it and you don't," way. Let me explain.

In Ancient Greece, there were a few different titles one could be afforded: You could become a Priest (heireus) or Priestess (heireia) - Scholars theorize that the individual selected for the job would align with the sex of the God, but in modern times this is not the case - by purchasing the title at the highest price. Money was important - You needed to give back to the temple monetarily if you wanted to upkeep it properly. Priestxs led rituals, opened the Temple at the appropriate religious hours, properly handled offerings and sacrifices, prosecuted the Impious, helped those with Miasma atone and cleanse, etc. Priestxs were generally just members of the community when they weren't actively serving their God. You could become a Seer/Manteis - someone specialized in divination and recognizing signs from the Gods, although considered to be much less reliable than, say, an Oracle - and a Seer had a lot of the same ritual duties as a Priest, though, the Priest typically handled these duties regardless. Seers weren't regarded well in some locations, they were considered to be less reliable and needed to build a name for themselves in order to even be considered reliable. Still, they served their community and were considered specialists in divination and were consulted as such. You could become an Oracle, though, this title is very limited in terms of which Gods grant this title. In modern times, you can only become an Oracle for Gods who historically had an Oracle. So, for example, King Zeus and Lord Apollo. But you cannot become an Oracle for Lady Artemis or non-Oracluar deities. This is because roles won't just suddenly pop up in our modern day if they did not exist historically - they would have needed more roles in Ancient Greece due to how widespread the religion was and how hard it was to travel from place to place. But in modern times, with the internet, it is less likely for us to suddenly have a need for a role that didn't exist. Oracles specialize in receiving messages and prophecies from the divine, historically through the environment around them, in modern times it may be through the environment or through dreams, divination tools, and other methods. Do note, though, that these titles existed separately from one another. You could not have multiple of these titles at once, typically not in a lifetime. If given any of these titles, you could not then concurrently serve in another title. You cannot be a Priest for multiple Gods. Seers did not generally serve a specific God, but if you were a Seer for a specific God, you could not be the Seer for multiple Gods. Oracles served one God, you could not be the Oracle for multiple Gods. You may still worship other Gods, but you could not Serve them the way you serve the God you work for.

I may be missing some titles, but these are just the "most popular" ones that I can find.

You do not need a title to be a practitioner. The Gods will not consider you lesser for not being a Priestx or Seer or Oracle - you are a devotee or worshipper regardless. Priests are just meant to be leaders in a community, ritual leaders, protectors of sanctuaries. You can ask them for guiding questions if you have any, they are quite knowledgeable. Seers were considered experts in divination, reliability called to question, but nevertheless consulted. They can be good contacts if you are ever confused on any divinatory endeavors. And Oracles work similarly - though, they may help you understand the message behind your divination more than a Seer would. They are here to serve the community. You are no less than them for not having a title. Not everyone is destined or fated to have a title. Be skeptical when you approach someone who claims a title but do not argue with them on the validity of such titles.

You can definitely work down the path of being granted one of these titles but do not tunnel vision on it. You can work for years to become a Priestx only to be turned away by the God you were serving. I have been working for years to become an Oracle of Lord Apollo only to be tugged onto the path I'm walking now.

If you are new to the practice though, do not concern yourself with titles. Get the basics down before you start moving forward. Research is your best friend. This is a research based religion.

Fifth - Have fun. Enjoy your practice.

While there are rules and constraints to Hellenic Reconstructionism, you shouldn't be bored or unhappy in your practice. You are allowed to bring a new kind of energy to your worship. If you want to perform an act of devotion that is highly specific to you, go for it. I worship Lord Hermes every time I clock into work due to the nature of my job. If your methods of devotion are uncommon or unlike any other devotee or worshipper, that is okay. Make your practice yours, just make sure you are doing so within the constraints of HelPol practices and Ancient Greek worship.

And as usual, make sure you're doing something that makes you happy. It is okay to move away from Hellenismos if it is not serving you.

Xaire, Altis.

[junk-story]

Interview Archive 2, 5.1994 - Ongaku to Hito Special Edition

This interview is on pages 62-67 of the magazine. Footnotes can be found at the bottom of the text.

ISSAY – the aesthetic man who “continues to spin round and round in a dead end with nothing to do”, from DER ZIBET, who debuted in ‘85 as “the founders of Japan’s aesthetic-style rock revival”. Sakurai Atsushi – the aesthetic man of “complete self-deprecation, going mad in any case”, from BUCK-TICK, who debuted in ‘87 as “the first aesthetic-style rock band dominating Japan nationwide”. This will be the first interview between these two. Whether you call it visual kei, makeup kei, aesthetic kei, or Japanese-style decadence kei, this movement became dominant in Japan’s current rock scene before we knew it. Although it’s been analyzed from various perspectives, in a nutshell, I wonder if at the center of this movement is “an exceptionally large desire to escape a difficult reality”. Not liking to look at reality, they seek out a place of repose that’s “somewhere that isn’t here”, and they hide thoroughly within themselves. And while Japan is a peaceful country and they were born during this moratorium [on violence], they are “hippies”. Those who have become the beacons of this are, without a doubt, Der Zibet and BUCK-TICK. With that, a meeting of two giants who rely on each other – but it really suits these two.

Ichikawa: I’ve had pending questions for when this interview happened for a long time, since I was working at a certain other music magazine, but now that we can finally do it, somehow I’m still feeling shy.

ISSAY: Hahahahaha.

Ichikawa: First, I’ll start with the perfunctory questions.

ISSAY: The story of BUCK-TICK and DER ZIBET’s formation?

Sakurai: Hahahahaha.

Ichikawa: Hahahaha. I’m tired of hearing that sort of talk already.

ISSAY: Alright then, how we first found music? (laughs)

Ichikawa: (Ignoring him1) Sakurai, around what point did you learn of DER ZIBET?

Sakurai: Around when I was 19 or 20, wasn’t it? I’d come to Tokyo from Gunma, and during the time I was living together with a friend, I borrowed a tape from someone and listened to it.

Ichikawa: Was your first “Violetter Ball (Murasaki no Butoukai)”?

Sakurai: Yeah. I thought it seemed good and listened to it. And then, by chance, I was passing by Eggman in Shibuya...and it was written there, “DER ZIBET LIVE!”. I thought, “I wonder what sort of feel it’ll have, this is my chance” and bought my ticket for that day. That was the first place I watched them…

Ichikawa: Der Zibet are decadence at its finest, aren’t they.

ISSAY: Yeah. We’ve been told by those around us to tone it down. (laughs)

Sakurai: By the way, ISSAY-san, you were singing with a mask on.

ISSAY: Really? ...That’s not great! (laughs)

Ichikawa: (laughs) The first time you saw them it was that sort of live?

ISSAY: ...I think it wasn’t that sort of pantomime pantomiming, at the time at least.

Ichikawa: What hairstyle did he have?

Sakurai: The same as now, I think. Yeah, like that.

ISSAY: Was it black? I think maybe it was red. Red or green, one or the other.

Ichikawa: (laughs) This guy, he was giddy2, wasn’t he?

Sakurai: No...well, I thought he was cool…

ISSAY: I’m glad! (laughs)

Ichikawa: Hahaha. Did you listen to Der Zibet after that too?

Sakurai: I think after that was around the time when I had first started with BUCK-TICK, not yet as the vocalist, but as the drummer.

ISSAY: Oh?! Atsushi, you were the drummer at first?

Sakurai: Yeah.

ISSAY: I had no idea. (laughs)

Sakurai: After that, while we were touring around during our indies era, at Nagoya’s ELL, DER ZIBET’s video was playing. I thought again that they were cool. Then, when we came back from touring, among our few (laughs) fans, there was a kid who loved DER ZIBET, and they gave me that video. I watched it again and again in my room like I was devouring it.

ISSAY: You watched it again and again! (laughs)

Ichikawa: What parts of Der Zibet did you like? Don’t worry; just be honest.

Sakurai: Hmmm, well I’ve performed vocals as well, so that’s where my eyes go, don’t they. ISSAY-san was cool.

ISSAY: (laughs) See~?

Sakurai: It wasn’t just singing...the added value of his performance on the stage was really impressive.

ISSAY: We were trying various things at that time. Like where I’d sit on top of a stepladder and sing, or I’d have an enormous clock.

Ichikawa: Wahahaha. You’d go onto the stage holding candles.

ISSAY: Not candles! A lantern. All four of us wore black coats and appeared on stage holding lanterns.

Ichikawa: You did as much as you could underground, didn’t you.

ISSAY: When I think of it now, I wonder if was Japanese gothic. (laughs)

Sakurai: Hahahahaha.

Ichikawa: Is this guy embarrassed, I wonder?

ISSAY: No no. (laughs) Well, performing something itself isn’t really embarrassing. Just, when it’s said right to your face...that is embarrassing, a bit. (laughs) There’s a kind of embarrassment when someone says, “A long time ago, we all went to this picnic, right?” and they bring out a picture of you from your high school days, right? It’s embarrassing.

Ichikawa: So Sakurai, you felt there were some commonalities with Der Zibet, right?

Sakurai: …...Hmmm…...how can I say this – I felt like they were a young boy’s words. There’s a boy who has his own world and there is a girl who yearns for him in it, like that? Yeah, it may have a girlish perspective to it. Or it could be like a so-called father complex.

Ichikawa: Sakurai, you’ve had a complex about your lack of personal worldview as an artist, on that note.

Sakurai: Because I still can’t express myself in words, I haven’t gotten to that point yet. The person named ISSAY-san who has already achieved it is right before my eyes…

Ichikawa: Then, the heart of a young girl longs for him, and he also ends up a father figure – a person having difficulties, and you are too. (laughs)

Sakurai: (laughs) I envy him, that’s the kind of feeling I have.

Ichikawa: The first time ISSAY saw BUCK-TICK was in London in ‘88, wasn’t it. This was while Der Zibet was recording “GARDEN” and BUCK-TICK “TABOO” respectively, and you performed in a foreign country.

ISSAY: That was my first time seeing them live. However, the first time I met them was at the public TV recording of Meguro’s Rokumeikan.3

Ichikawa: That was the time that SION, Der Zibet and BUCK-TICK all were recording on the same day. When you went to the dressing room, they were there and you became acquainted?

Sakurai: (embarrassed laugh) Yes.

Ichikawa: Was that around the time BUCK-TICK debuted?

Sakurai: Yes, right around the time we debuted.

Ichikawa: When you went to the dressing room, there were these boys with their hair straight up.

ISSAY: That’s right. But they were such good kids. (laughs) Atsushi and Imai were adult-like, but the two on rhythm (Anii and Yuuta) really talked to me a lot. It was just a “We’re BUCK-TICK!”, “Oh, hello” sort of exchange, but. (laughs)

Ichikawa: Sakurai didn’t speak?

ISSAY: He said, “I’ve been to see one of your concerts once.”

Sakurai: (embarrassed laugh) Is that so?

Ichikawa: The Sakurai of that time was a guy that consistently didn’t talk. Right before their debut, when I was doing my first interview with BUCK-TICK, Sakurai and Hoshino, they were a fleet of silence, the two of them, you know? Despite their gaudy hair standing straight up. (laughs)

Sakurai: (laughs) Waah, we were useless guys.

Ichikawa: Well, you were eyewitness to BUCK-TICK’s live in London.

ISSAY: There was a message from Atsushi in my voicemail. “I heard you’re going to London to record around the same time as us, so if you can meet up, let’s meet”, something like that.

Ichikawa: Sakurai, what are you embarrassed about?

Sakurai: Nothing, nothing. (laughs)

Ichikawa: You’re blushing like a schoolgirl, you know. (laughs)

Sakurai: ……...(laughs)

ISSAY: Hahahahahahaha. So, I heard that BUCK-TICK was going to perform live there, so I went to watch them with the other members [of DZ].

Ichikawa: I think I can ask this now, but, performing live in London was tough, wasn’t it?

Sakurai: Yes, it was tough. But, well, it was just a rush of performing and coming back home. I didn’t think I could perform sober, so I don’t remember it, but. (laughs)

Ichikawa: Just drinking up like crazy before the show. (laughs)

Sakurai: Yeah.

Ichikawa: Sounds desperate. (laughs) Were Der Zibet your only Japanese audience members?

Sakurai: It looked like there were a number of exchange students as well.

Ichikawa: Wasn’t it embarrassing with Japanese people being there?

Sakurai: And they were in the front row. (laughs)

ISSAY: Right. I was thinking that they may have come all the way from Japan to see them. I thought, “Wow, BUCK-TICK is awesome.” (laughs)

Ichikawa: Bottom line, what were your impressions from the live?

ISSAY: I thought they were doing their best. (laughs) They had a lot of spirit. I think it was the ending, that was amazing. Like BOOM, BOOM.4 It was like, “ooh, they’re really doing it.” (laughs)

Sakurai: Hey, that’s something you’d say about a sports player. (laughs)

ISSAY: It felt like you guys were like, “Listen to this, you bastards!”

Sakurai: We might have seemed like nasty guys. (laughs)

ISSAY: No, not at all, there wasn’t a feeling of nastiness to it; you were greeting them with smiles and properly did the MC in English.

Ichikawa: MC!!!

ISSAY: In the middle, speaking English got troublesome so he ended up speaking Japanese, but. (laughs)

Ichikawa: Woooooow. (laughs) This guy who can’t even speak for the MC in Japan, there’s no way he could do it over there, right?

ISSAY: Hahahahahahaha.

Sakurai: Right. It was impossible.

Ichikawa: But this is a nostalgic story.

ISSAY: Yeah, nostalgic. But I remember stuff from that time.

Sakurai: Me too. And I was glad you came to our dressing room.

Ichikawa: Thinking about it, both BUCK-TICK and Der Zibet recorded internationally as a one-time thing.

ISSAY: For us, it’s because when we go there, we end up making dark stuff. Like, the dark and extremely heavy “GARDEN” that was so heavily criticized by the people invested in it, when we listened to it in London it seemed normal. You don’t think it’s dark at all.

Sakurai: That’s right. Ichikawa-san also completely disliked our “TABOO”, so. (laughs)

Ichikawa: Well, when you go to London, it suddenly ends up feeling quite frightening, doesn’t it? And artists need to have a strong sense of themselves.

ISSAY: I ended up having the constitution for it, undoubtedly. I had fun, being in London. Wasn’t that the case for you?

Sakurai: Certainly mentally speaking, it was very comfortable.

Ichikawa: But Sakurai, you’ve been on vacation to Hawaii before.5 (laughs)

Sakurai: That place is totally harder. (laughs) There’s this obsession of like, if you don’t go outside you’re missing out...(laughs)

ISSAY: Aah, I get that! (laughs) Well, did you end up going outside?

Sakurai: I did end up going out.

ISSAY: Did you swim in the ocean?

Sakurai: I did. (laughs)

ISSAY: Isn’t that nice~, that you swam in the ocean~? (laughs)

Sakurai: Hahahaha.

ISSAY: Let’s go next time, it’ll be fun. Let’s go, let’s go. (laughs) Last summer, for the first time in 15 years, I also went to the ocean, sooo (laughs)

Sakurai: What sort of fun? (laughs)

Ichikawa: Decadent people going for a swim in the ocean. (laughs)

ISSAY: After that, we’ve met in passing a number of times. Definitely, I think it was when we were coming back from touring in Nagoya or somewhere, but we were refueling our gas in the parking area off the highway and (laughs) these guys with long hair came in. I was thinking, “Huh? I’ve seen these guys before”, and there was the bassist. He went, “It’s BUCK-TICK!” (laughs) And from the back, making an extremely embarrassed looking face about it, came Atsushi. (laughs)

Ichikawa: Wahahahaha.

ISSAY: I was like, “Oh, it’s Atsushi!” (laughs) Besides that, we also met up in front of Nakano Sun Plaza when Peter Murphy had a concert there.

Sakurai: I remember that well.

Ichikawa: Because events like that are few and far between, right. You guys live withered lifestyles like retired old men. (laughs)

ISSAY: Definitely. (laughs) Events that move me are few and far between. But look, I was moved at first when I met up with Atsushi, I was like, “It’s Atsushi~!”

Sakurai: Hahahahahahahaha.

ISSAY: Atsushi, you’re a homebody too, right?

Sakurai: Going by car from a metropolitan area to a suburb is okay, but getting to the point of leaving my room is difficult.

Ichikawa: This guy would probably be happy if you came over to his room to hang out. (laughs) You would just be idling away the time, though.

Sakurai: Well, there are no enemies from the outside there. (laughs)

ISSAY: You get tired of it right, the stuff that comes with going out.

Sakurai: Yeah, it’s tiring. I wonder why that is.

ISSAY: Because people other than you are there. (laughs)

Ichikawa: Wahahahahahaha.

Sakurai: Hahahaha. 100%. (laughs)

ISSAY: Thank you very much.6 (laughs)

Sakurai: For me, even though I’m at this age, I still happen to get embarrassed and scared about it. I want to go to Toukyuu Hands7, but I can’t, things like that. (laughs)

ISSAY: I can’t go either, you know. (laughs)

Ichikawa: Sakurai, what do you want to go to Hands for?

Sakurai: My light bulbs burnt out, so to go buy more. Places like supermarkets don’t sell them, they’re a special kind. In the end, I had someone else buy them and bring them to me. (laughs)

ISSAY: Right? I do that too.

Ichikawa: That’s no good, you guys. (laughs)

ISSAY: For me, there was a time where I wanted a takoyaki set, so I sent the manager to buy it for me.

Sakurai: Ah, I bought that too. The one from Toukyuu Hands, right? (laughs)

ISSAY: Ah, really? Next time, let’s have a takoyaki party, just the two of us. (laughs)

Sakurai: We’ll do it, we’ll do it. (laughs)

ISSAY: A dark, decadent takoyaki party. (laughs)

Ichikawa: While listening to the Sisters of Mercy.

Sakurai: Hahahahahahaha.

Ichikawa: I’m coming too.

ISSAY: Please do. (laughs)

Ichikawa: So, in “Masquerade”, the song you costar on in Der Zibet’s “Shishunki II”, it became a “decadent duet between teacher and student”.

ISSAY: Weren’t you the one who planned that? (laughs) But, that really was extremely fun. (laughs) And the finished product is quite interesting.

Ichikawa: Like the way the qualities of your voices are so similar.

ISSAY: Right? (laughs) Like, there are many parts where you can’t tell if I’m singing or if Atsushi is singing, even for me.

Sakurai: That’s been said a lot.

ISSAY: I was surprised by that. So, if you listen to how Atsushi normally sings, it’s completely different from me, right? But, when we happen to be doing a part in the same artistic style...you know?

Ichikawa: By the way, ISSAY, what do you actually think about the music BUCK-TICK is performing?

ISSAY: I haven’t listened to all of it completely, so I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s interesting. It’s weird, isn’t it? There aren’t guys performing that kind of music on major labels, are there? So I’m really happy about that, and that it’s so well received. I think that’s a really good thing. From the time they came out, I’ve thought, “This went major. That’s great!” (laughs) Even though the things they perform are quite often actually grotesque.8

Ichikawa: I think the people at Victor who gave them the OK are great too. Here are these “amateurs” with incomprehensible lyrics who didn’t know the fundamentals of their instruments, so you get a lot of weird sounds. At an average record label, they would have ended up getting the boot.

ISSAY: Normally, most likely.

Sakurai: I think so too. (laughs)

Ichikawa: If I’m speaking frankly, and I’m still thinking this, but I can’t help wondering why they were sold on BUCK-TICK.

Sakurai: Fufufufu.

ISSAY: Me, I somehow understand. I suppose the melody was easy to follow and that had a lot to do with it. I don’t think it’s necessary at all to persist in that, but as an element of their work that’s easy to accept, I wonder if it wasn’t a big part of it. Although their lyrics seemed muddied, and although their hair was done like it was. I think their melodies were amazingly alive. I wonder if they really felt that.

Ichikawa: Well, if Der Zibet had also debuted four years or so later, maybe they would have sold big.

ISSAY: Hahahaha. I wonder. (laughs)

Ichikawa: But you know, on the point of how what we call aesthetic kei or visual kei’s “weird sounds” movement gained a following in Japan, I think BUCK-TICK’s contribution is huge. Especially when you think about how aesthetic kei is currently flourishing.

ISSAY: I think so. You’re great, Atsushi!

Sakurai: (laughs) Not at all, the me of today wouldn’t be here without ISSAY-san.

Ichikawa: You guys are so creepy. But lately, the number of lovable “aesthetic fools” are getting increasingly scarce, aren’t they?

Sakurai: Because fashion comes first.

Ichikawa: Stylers9 are born on after another, but it’s just the shape of one. In the amateurs, in indies, and on major labels too.

ISSAY: Hahahahahaha. Styler (laughs)

Sakurai: (laughs) What is that exactly, a styler?

Ichikawa: Hm? Someone who personifies STYLE10.

Sakurai: Hahahaha. What a great way to say it.

Ichikawa: In the middle of the ‘80s, there was an underground aesthetic music scene centered in Shinjuku, and it was nothing but fine fools, wasn’t it?

ISSAY: It was, it was. Jean Genet11 was doing well.

Ichikawa: (laughs) There were no bands that I think a major label would be willing to spend production and advertising costs on thinking like, “This will sell!”

ISSAY: That’s right. But it’s because they had power.

Ichikawa: That underground power, it comes from a scene that has a sad history where, regardless of how good they were, their values were different from the above ground, and for this reason alone they were not recognized, right?

ISSAY: But isn’t that how it ends up in the world?

Ichikawa: Der Zibet is also still the odd one out among that group – because even while ISSAY’s “aesthetic of spinning circles in a dead end” stands out, the sounds have also been properly done.

ISSAY: It was still weird though. (laughs) However, we really were criticized for it. At the time we first put music out, it was written about as “kayou rock”.12 If you had slightly melodious lyrics, you’d quickly be branded with that.

Sakurai: We were as well. (laughs)

Ichikawa: But now there are no fools. And that’s regrettable. Because as I see it, rock is pulled along by fools. It improves the expression and the like.

ISSAY: Well, but…

Ichikawa: Guys like us need to keep going, is what I’m saying.

ISSAY: That’s what you meant. (laughs)

Sakurai: Hahahahahaha.

Ichikawa: I’m asking this right at the end, but ISSAY’s solo album production project is actually now going on in secret, but of course, Sakurai Atsushi, I think you must be obligated to participate in it in any case, right?

ISSAY: Hahahahaha. Will you do it?

Sakurai: I’ll do it!

1 This is literally noted in the text, lol. 2 This could also be “restless” or “flippant”, but those fit less well to me. 3 A live house in Tokyo. The internet tells me this show was on January 17th, 1988. 4 Onomatopoeia translation hard. 5 I felt this transition was weird in English, but it’s clear in Japanese at least that he’s implying London shouldn’t have been comfortable compared to Hawaii. 6 This is basically the first time in the whole interview that ISSAY speaks formally, and it’s for exaggerated effect. Very opposite of Sakurai, who has been 100% formal. 7 Now just “Hands” – a home center store for housing and lifestyle products. 8 “Egui” means a lot of things, but it’s apt for B-T’s music: dark topics on emotional things, taboo social subjects. 9 I spent like 5 minutes trying to figure this out before reading on. He made this word up. Sakurai and Issay didn't know what he meant either. Thanks for keeping me on my toes, Ichikawa. 10 “Style” was written in English here. 11 This appears to be a reference to this playwright’s style of work more than he himself. 12 Better Japanese music historians may know more than me, but this seems like the pre-Band Boom name for this kind of music. THE ALFEE, for example, is listed as one of the founding groups of this sound on JP Wikipedia.

[inkievoid]

just a crush || S. Summers || request

Content Warning: None!

Word Count: 400+

Authors Note: thank you so much for the request anon! Hope this is short and sweet enough for you.

Sitting after classes in the library for tutoring sessions wasn't something uncommon for Scott. He took pride in his work and ability to lead others or teach the youth of today. Wanting nothing more than to have the kids be the best version of themselves wherever they may go in their lives.

"Hey, Scott?"

But even the sharpest of minds have distractions. His eyes wandered behind the dark tint of ruby quartz, a half smile gracing his lips as you approached through the entrance. Carrying yourself with the beauty you've held since you were both students. He couldn't help but admire you up close. Too intrigued by the papers in your hands you're shuffling through.

"I gave my kids their exam today..." Your voice trails off in his ears, too busy taking in the details of your features. Thick lashes fluttering with the shiest of glances and lips moving as you continue to drawl on.

He's always held a certain kind of fondness for you, ever since you arrived at the Institute all that time ago. Too sweet to be thrown into a world so unforgiving as the life of a mutant. You caught his attention quickly, taking orders without issue and being diligent about every meticulous detail.

It's easy to say his crush came easily and only got worse after you decided to stick around. Becoming a part of the team after finishing school and an official Literature teacher for the Institute at that.

"So, would you mind helping me?" His eyes shifted, blinking behind his shades. Arms crossed over his chest as he cursed internally at himself for letting his brain move too far off again. Hearing the lump slide down his throat as he swallows, a single nod follows.

"Run that by me again." Scott instructs, watching you glance back at the tests in your grip and back to him. A slight expression of confusion on your face.

"I want your opinion on determining who needs tutoring? Some of these tests are a mess with the new material and I just need a second opinion." He nods, thankfully understanding this time.

"Of course, I'll go get us some coffee, and we can talk it over." You smile at his agreement, clutching the papers a little tighter to yourself. Stepping over to the table with Scott's own papers already set up. He moves over, pulling a chair out of you across from his usual spot, like the gentleman he is

"Okay, sounds like a date." He huffs out a breath, silently laughing to himself almost as he pushes your chair in.

"As if I'd be so lucky." Your eyes lit up, turning your head to look up at him. Feeling the heat of his stare and now, a smug smirk, looking down at you. Making you look away almost immediately, a newfound sense of flustered nature filling you with a sassy sigh as you swat his hand on the chair's back rest.

"Shut up, Summers..."

All content on this page is fictional and I do not condone the acts I enjoy in a fictional sense. I don't consent to my work being reposted or translated.

[bubbleddisasters]

Stupid Shit I’ve done/Gotten myself into by accident/been dragged into as Twisted Wonderland Characters:

—————-

Ace : Heard my sister screaming bloody murder downstairs and didn’t do shit because I assumed she was watching a horror movie. Turns out there was a fire in the oven.

Bonus: Sniped my friend in the eye from across the Cafeteria with a Ketchup Packet, Meant to hit his glasses, but he repositioned them at the last second.

Deuce: Answered Maine four times on a Historical Geography test and was wrong all four times.

Cater: Threw my phone out of the window in a panic after seeing one of my Idols followed me back.

Bonus : Accidentally convinced a transfer camper from Wales I was from London after I quoted something in the accent to myself in the showers and was too awkward to tell them I wasn’t when they struck up the conversation.

(I am from America, and the camp is in America.)

Trey: Accidentally created a puddle of Dark Red Icing and Stepped in it four times in a row while making a cake at 2 am.

Bonus : Befriended and helped out the owner of a French Bakery down the street when they started out, they ended up becoming really popular (rightfully so, her stuff is amazing) and now I either get free shit and/or Friends and Family Discounts.

Riddle : I have read the dictionary on multiple occasions out of sheer boredom.

Bonus: I once read the bible and marked down verses. Im not religious I just needed to win an argument.

Leona: Slept through an earthquake and 3 ambulances coming to my house bcs my sister was hurt.

Ruggie: Waited for families going inside to pass by and asked them to hold the door for me so I could sneak into a VIP rooms for free food. (Usually only at fancy hotels but luckily this strategy is flexible when your 5’2 with a baby face.)

Jack: Used to Smash open large rocks containing Crystals or Quartz at the beach as a kid, and now I have a large collection of them.

Bonus: I have extremely good hearing, to the point I hear into the negative decibels up to -15 - -20 (according to the audiologist this is rare but i literally don’t know shit about audio and decibels) so my old dormmates used to try and bribe me to tell them what I heard about certain things or themselves.

Bonus 2: Almost got shot by an illegal hunter while in the woods with my sister.

Floyd : Cracked my skull open at the pool, lost consciousness for a few seconds and woke up in the water calling for help, then got confused on why I was calling for help.

Bonus : A Sea lion once came up to me while I was scuba diving and did little circles, bumped its snout on my mask and just followed me the whole time in a very gleeful manner as a temporary homie.

Bonus 2: Apparently ate / took bites of my moms library books as a little kid (????) according to the librarian.

Jade: Taught myself to untie my hands with my hands behind my back, tie by hands behind my back with my hands behind my back, deciphered, translated and memorized a fictional hieroglyphic language, Read from Act 1 to Act 6 of Homestuck, and accidentally discovered how to disguise Chocolate Ice Cream as Pistachio; all within the span of 2 weeks. (I had covid and was A-Symptomatic)

Bonus : Lived in the Woods for 7 months (in total), had a large bag of mica and Almost Drowned in a tent when there was no moving water nor rain. (Basically, I was asleep, Woke up underwater, nearly went back to bed, then shot out of my tent screaming “My Tent Titanticed!” )

(It was like 3 am don’t judge me)

Azul: Somehow ended up with $2200 dollars in $100s in Monopoly at the end of the game. Also have been stuck between two identical twins while talking with both and boi that shits TRIPPY. (I also almost died with them later but it was fine)

Bonus: I lived on a middle of fuck knows where island during the spring and summer up until covid, yet I absolutely despise eating fish or Shellfish, and the smell often makes me nauseous.

(Bonus 2: I love shiny things, but very specifically fancy looking keys. I also had a weird obsession with signing a shiny contract after watching Ariel. Another tiny thing Is I own a Flotsam and Jetsam Scarf which I chuck around when Floyd or Jade pisses me off ingame.)

Kalim : Got distracted by a cool leaf while at a fancy resort in Xatapa, Mexico, and waddled off from my parents and explored around to try and find more, somehow managed to get extremely far and ended up lost in a whole different city for 6 hours while trying to find my way back.

Bonus 1: I had an obsession with Kiwis for awhile as a kid, and our neighbors house had a Pangium tree that reached over to our yard. (It was planted before either families moved in so we didn’t know) I thought it was some kind of strange Kiwi and ate one. I didn’t like it and was like “Oh maybe its not ripe” and waited 3-5 months then tried it again, same reaction, repeat process one more time.

I went to my parents out of curiosity and asked them what it was, and so after some process I am unaware of but I think my mom brought one of the fruits somewhere, we discovered what it was.

Pangium contains Fatal amounts of Cyanide if not properly prepared. I was fine but for the love of anything please don’t try eating it like little me did.

Bonus 2: I’ve Almost died more times than I can count on both hands and feet. Im not an heir or something fancy I just have wackass luck.

Jamil: Once had to talk my sister out of jumping off a tour boat because our cousin dared her to.

Bonus : Managed to make French Toast in the middle of the woods with Dehydrated Milk, Cinnamon, Three Eggs I stole, and a loaf of bread we got once a month. Also made 3 kinds marinated chicken in the middle of the woods.

(My Cooking Style is literally “just trust me bro.” I’m like Lilia except it actually works and is edible)

Epel : Whenever we went applepicking at my Grandfathers house, I’d climb into the trees and throw or pass the apples down. Sometimes I actually wish I could sit in trees more often shits comfy.

Bonus: My Mom was a Champion Horseback Rider as a kid, and sometimes took us to this Ranch I shall not name for my own privacy, but I’d run around with this group of kids and this one herding dog like a damn movie protagonist, sometimes go riding horses, or the one time we stole a tractor and near crashed it (THE REGRETS I STILL HAVE-) etc.

The WHIPLASH from that to going back to a whitewashed Northeast suburban town is insane.

Rook: My Cousins and I, and sometimes the kids at the priorly mentioned ranch, would play the most intense games of manhunt (basically really intense hide n seek at night) ,

I mean wearing camo if you had it, alliances, little dollar store walkie-talkies, code words, binoculars, climbing in trees or hiding in bushes/tall grasses/Hay to “scout”.

I hid in a large pot/vase more than once and another time on a roof, and (ONLY ONCE, DO NOT DO THIS IM STUPID) under a car.

I still remain the top in last man standing points. Mostly bcs I’m stingy with rescues but shhh

Vil - Accidentally poured a lot of liquid eyeliner into my eye, was literally crying out Eyeliner for 30 minutes. Also taught myself to run and jump in heels as a kid because I thought it looked cool in movies.

Ortho : Unknowingly was Hacking my Elementary School Databank for several years,

I genuinely thought it was normal to go on the school website, press a few buttons and be able to find a friends address if I had a playdate and needed to tell my mom where the house was, a parents phone number if needed communication with my friends parents , and mostly ignored the other general info.

I didn’t even know I did this until my dad told me a few months ago that I almost got suspended for it but by the time they found out it was the end of my last year there. ;—;

Edit: I feel I should elaborate that my dad had somewhat recently told me that I almost got suspended for that in elementary school, but all that happened 5 YEARS ago. Hence why I was so surprised because I was never told back then.

Idia: Accidentally acquired both a Nahida and Eula in Genshin and was genuinely annoyed at the time, they are now my most powerful DPS’s…

Bonus : I own a shit ton of original Japanese first edition Pokemon Cards my cousin gave me, (they are probably worth more than me which is neat), and I have a giant pile of Pokemon plushies I have infact fallen asleep on or in on multiple occasions.

Bonus 2: I was playing Breath of the Wild, and my very first thing I did after getting off the plateau was beeline for the castle. I actually got all the way up and took out 2 blights but the Wind one kicked my ass.

Bonus 3: Got confessed to and asked out by a guy I did not like nor knew very well, and I panicked, said “Maybe, Sorry no.” And ran into a wall. Also have crawled through a chute to avoid an awkward situation as a kid (do not recommend its dusty and definitely not safe)

Bonus 4: Once didn’t sleep for 5 days.

Malleus : Accidentally attended a Private Party and a Private Funeral in the same week. I was not invited nor knew anyone present. Stayed there for most of it because I was too nervous to say I wasn’t supposed to be there. Whoop.

Bonus: Got nicknamed the “Trip Curse.” By my Old Dormmates because everytime I went on a trip with them everything seemed to go to shit or get hella chaotic.

Bonus 2: Another camping one: Once woke up at night with a shit ton of fireflies just chilling in my tent. It was serene but also I genuinely thought I was hallucinating for a few minutes.

Lilia: Literally will hang upside down anywhere I can, its so fun bro.

Bonus : I know an extremely large amount of useless historical information, and once genuinely realized I know more about poison than what flour and eggs are used for in baking.

Silver : Once befriended a wild horse ( Im like 90% sure he was a Chestnut).

I called him Clover the Dog like horse because he was honestly just a golden retriever in the body of a horse.

This is great and theres alot of sweet moments, but then theres the times you have a giant horse galloping full speed at you for attention or trying to nudge you affectionately and nearly pushing you into a creek in the process.

Sebek: Got groundstruck by lightning once. Also I am often told I have a loud voice.

Che’nya : a good friend of mine and I have an inside joke at school where if we see eachother through a window (my school has alot of indoor windows for some reason?), we’ll text the other “Behind you.” Or “To your left.”

——————-

Theres more things I can think of but I have run out of characters and this is getting too long, so ye!

[loud-n]

What's up with Roshar's Money and Why is Sapphire so Valuable

I recently started my reread of Stormlight Archive to prepare for book 5, and coincidentally, this happened at roughly the same time the cosmere rpg started kickstarting. So, reading TWoK and the beta rules of the rpg at the same time, a few things happened to come together. For one, the rpg had this table:

I thought this was very interesting. I hadn't ever seen anything like this (though, checking coppermind, a similar chart has been available since an interview in 2018 that I wasn't aware of). It's a nice way for me to contextualize just how much money Shallan throws around at the beginning of TWoK (for example, based on remarks from Yalb in chapter 3, we know that a week's wages for a sailor is roughly one ruby mark/firemark, or 10 diamond marks/clearmarks), and while it seems like it might be simplified for gameplay purposes, it's also broadly consistent with the other sources.

So I kept reading until I got to this line:

"Emeralds were the most valuable, for they could be used by soulcasters to create food." (The Way of Kings ch. 3, pg. 72 on the trade paperback)

This line lays out explicitly that the soulcasting traits of a gem are the primary way (or at least a very significant one) that these values were assigned. This makes a lot of sense: the ability to soulcast food is the key component that allows Roshar the kind of military structures it has, and would provide an extremely valuable way to compensate for issues with harvests that might come with Roshar's 'temperamental' weather patterns.

(some major oathbringer spoilers below the cut)

I then wanted to know how this translates to the other types of gem. Many of these make a lot of sense: amethyst can be used to soulcast metal, which is important and difficult to obtain on roshar (coppermind notes that this may also be the only way to get aluminum on Roshar); ruby, smokestone, and zircon are all used as part of infrastructure for food preparation and waste management (and rubies seem especially common in the fabrials we've seen); garnet, heliodor, and topaz all provide less vital (though still useful) and less valuable materials; and diamond can be used to soulcast quartz, glass, and crystal, none of which are particularly valuable (especially given easy access to even light with stormlight and danger from highstorms making windows difficult and less valuable).

However, one gem caught my eye here.

Why is sapphire so valuable?

Sapphire's soulcasting can produce translucent gas or air, which seems a bit redundant with smokestone, a stone we know is regularly used. To my knowledge, we don't see any characters ever use soulcasting powered by a sapphire (please correct me if I'm wrong, I may be forgetting or confusing an instance with smokestone). So unless there's something we're missing or something to come, it doesn't seem like sapphire's value is because it is especially useful in soulcasting.

If this isn't the case, I can think of three possible explanations for why sapphire is worth so much:

Sapphire is less common. We know that obtaining emerald is a major part of the Rosharan economy and a significant reason for the continued occupation of the shattered plains at the start of the series. This might also be the case for sapphire: greatshells with sapphire gemhearts may be less common or more difficult to farm, making sapphire more scarce and thus more valuable.

Sapphire is especially useful in fabrials. So far, we've only seen one fabrial using sapphire that I can remember: the soul-harvesting dagger used to kill Jezrien (Oathbringer ch. 121). Even this may not be a specific trait of all sapphires, but rather due to the fact that sapphires are associated with Jezrien and the windrunners. I think it's possible and maybe even likely that sapphires are the gems used in half-shards, since none of the examples ever specify what gem is used and Taravangian states that the spren within could have graced a knight radiant (Oathbringer ch. 100) - possibly an honorspren trapped within a sapphire. This may also have been Taravangian lying, though.

The value is somehow associated with Jezrien and the Windrunners. This one seems the most far-fetched to me: at the start of the series, the knights radiant are not viewed especially fondly, and I doubt the Windrunners would have enough staying power to change the value of a gem. The idea that it may be association with Jezrien seems to me to have more merit; Jezrien seems to generally be elevated to a point beyond the other heralds.

Based on the information we have, I think that my second proposal has the highest chance of being at least partially correct. Association with Jezrien seems far-fetched, sapphire being especially scarce seems like something too far off course to get significant confirmation of in-text, and fabrials are one of the elements of the world still being developed in universe that we also don't have a lot of extra information about.

If any of this is going to be answered, I honestly think it might come through the rpg: the first wave of releases will include a world guide with canon information that might shed some light on these elements less important to the actual story, and the rules will also detail a lot of information about fabrials that could answer my questions about half-shards. Until then, though, I'm just going to have to sit here and wonder (and keep a special eye out for mentions of sapphire on my reread for anything I missed).

[tojiwrd]

3: fate is fickle ; gojo satoru

pairing gojo satoru x fem!reader

summary when satoru breaks off your engagement, you understand and accept it. but when he marries someone else, you don't understand because he didn't want to be tied down.

content warnings drinking, reader being referenced to as a party animal, nanami being soooo fine lol, mention of drugs but nobody does it, mention of death, gojo being meannnnnn and weird

word count 3.1k

a/n thank you SOO much for the support i luv u guys <33 interaction is always appreciated i love talking to u guys also first part is set in the past j in case there is any confusion

send requests ↞ prev next ↠ to be added to taglist

When Gojo Hana, Satoru’s first wife, had come up to him after going to the bathroom for only a short of three minutes with a baffled expression, he wasn’t sure what to expect. 

Her lithe fingers curled themselves around his biceps as she found home between his thighs. Satoru’s mind was fuzzy, especially after three drinks and four shots, and that merely intensified the feel of her skin against his. It was her expression that he wasn’t sure if he was imagining to be tenfold more worried than it truly was, which pulled his lips into a straight line before he asked, “You okay?”

“Satoru,” she started, a small crack in her voice and Satoru leaned back against the chipped wood of the high table. “You know L/N Y/N, right?”

It was funny, and Satoru realized it was funny because he let out a small, nervous chuckle as his wife dropped your name, that all it took was a mention of your name to get his muscles to tighten like he was going to war. He had gone through every single opportunity for Hana to find out about you—not your existence, because there was hardly anybody within his circle that didn’t know of you—and come out of it unscathed (translation: Hana remained unaware). This couldn’t be any different, though she’d never outright mentioned you before. 

He remembered when Hana sat across the quartz tabletop, writing down name after name in delicate cursive, and asked about the L/N family. He’d stiffened, but only momentarily, before he said something along the lines of of course, father would have it no other way. And that, for the time being, was true because there was no way his father wouldn’t want your family to be there after so many years of working together. Satoru wanted to ask Hana, at that moment, if she was sending out invitations addressed to family but he held off until later to make it not seem suspicious. She’d said, ‘Of course not! I want them to be personal and meaningful.’ Satoru felt as though he was ready to change her mind, but how could he argue with something as sweet-intentioned as that?

“My father worked with hers,” he replied, pushing away memories. “Why?” he asked hesitantly. 

There was no suspicion on her face, just curiosity, and Satoru hated himself at that moment. 

“I think I saw her in the bathroom?” It felt as if all his senses perked up and heightened at her words. Fuck. “She was with another girl. I don’t know her name—brown hair, brown eyes, and… about this tall?” Her hands raised up to demonstrate how tall Reina was. He knew exactly who his wife was talking about because if you were out, Reina was with you. He’d always joked how both of you came in a package, and even Suguru only informed one of you about a party and when the other asked him if they were invited, he always said you both always come together.

It had been ages since Satoru saw either of you, but it was hard to forget how Reina always fought for you when you were his girl. And he was glad you still had her because she wouldn’t leave you abruptly, figuratively packing up all the pieces she left in your life in an instant like he did.

“I wouldn’t know,” he coolly said. 

Hana’s lips curled into a small frown. “Her friend said something about how all I know is Y/N’s dad and yours work together.”

“Well, not anymore but yeah.” He feigned indifference, though every nerve of his body felt as if it was on fire. He noticed how her frown only deepened, and he asked, “Were they mean to you or something?”

Hana, sweet, precious fucking Hana, instantly shook her head before she paused and looked down at his chest, as if cowering away from his gaze. “Kind of? I don’t know, maybe she was offended that I only knew her because of your dad?” When she realized she was implying you were being righteous, she took her hands from his arms and raised them in surrender. “I mean, I don’t think she’s, like… a bitch or anything! I might’ve heard them wrong.”

Satoru tried to stop himself, he truly did. But he had to ask. “They still here?”

When she nodded and subtly pointed to the table you sat at with Reina, he couldn’t stop his neck from immediately turning in your direction, a haze of confusion and animosity behind his eyes. Not because you were being rude to his wife, but because he had to be in your presence after months. With his wife. It was truly a miracle that Hana hadn’t noticed the entire emotional turmoil behind his eyes as soon as your name was brought up, which is why he turned to meet her eyes once again and said, “She won’t bother you again, love.”

“You look especially happy today,” Reina commented as her body slithered into the passenger seat of your car. 

She was right, you did look happy and you felt it, too. After the conversation with your mother—the unmangling of a burden of emotions between mother and daughter—you felt as though a weight had finally been lifted off your shoulders. The small conversation with Satoru felt like a faraway memory, one which your mind didn’t feel the need to unpack and decode anytime soon because, as Reina had said, he was a taken man. He had a girl at home, and that scratched away any possibility of you and him ever being anything, even friends, because you were engaged to him at one point.

Did that fact hurt? To a whole different level, but you weren’t going to let it tear you down like it had over and over again in the past few months. 

“I’m just happy to be invited to the biggest club opening of the year in Kawasaki,” you replied, giggling as you began driving to the location. This was a date you marked on your calendar months ago in big bold letters that said ‘PARTY CLUB LEVITATE.’ It was mere seconds after you opened the dark papered invitation with gold embossed lettering inviting you to a new club, Levitate’s opening. You had dressed yourself in leather pants that hugged your skin perfectly and a shimmering silver halterneck top that covered everything it needed to and just that.

You and Reina glossed over the fact that both of you would be drinking, which meant neither of you would be in condition to drive back. And, even though there were a few people from your circle who would be there, too, it was a hard guess to assume who wouldn’t be drinking. 

That was a bridge to cross later because as you stepped through the large gates, flashing your pearly whites as you said your name to the security guards, you were overtaken by the instinct to let go completely loose. Within a blur of moments, you’d downed five shots and you were nursing a glass of—what the bartender said was—a fucking expensive glass of hennessy. 

Once you deemed yourself buzzed enough to go onto the dance floor and find Reina, your hips began moving off their own accord. You loved letting go. The music reverberated off the newly-done walls, a sheen of excitement running through the air as everybody had large smiles plastered on their faces. You and Reina’s arms were on each other's shoulders as you both let the heavy thrumming take over. 

At one point of the night, many drinks and dances later, you were sitting comfortably on the high chair in front of three bartenders who made small talk and recommended drinks. They recommended the ‘sinner’s delight’ to you which was a combination of fuck-knows-what, and you had to admit it was delicious. Reina was still on the dance floor, taken with a man that had been giving her googly-eyes all night, and you were merely trying to catch your breath. 

“Hey, stranger.” You heard someone say as the bottom of the chair next to yours scraped against the floor, indicating they were sitting next to you. You, your mind hazy, turned to your side and were stunned to meet a pair of familiar dark eyes. 

“Geto…” you trailed off, and he shook his head as a small smile overtook his lips. 

“I’m out of here if you want, trust me. If you—y’know, don’t wanna talk.”

It was your turn to shake your head, and you did it with vigor. “No, no. Stay. I’ve actually been meaning to get in touch with you.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. You were planning on getting in touch with Geto, you just weren’t thinking about it to the point you’d actually go through with it. “It’s just been crazy hectic recently.”

There was a sad smile on his lips, and you could imagine he was probably thinking that by recently, you had to mean just about a year which clearly meant you were lying. You were lying, but you also felt you had every right to since you and Geto became friends through Satoru, and Geto was always going to choose Satoru if he had to. In fact, he did choose Satoru because from all the posts you saw on Instagram, they were still as thick as thieves. 

“What have you been up to?”

Your mind was blanking, it was a combination of the alcohol and reconnecting with your past, but you tried to go through your timeline since the last time you truly talked to Geto. “I’ve been looking to start a company—or something, I’m not really sure—and my father was helping until… Well, yeah. Right now, though, I’m just helping my mother out with papa’s company and getting stuff in order. Reina and I are actually doing this thing where we read twelve books a month, too, so—” You cut yourself off, realising you were rambling and you felt your cheeks warm up when you noticed Geto was hanging onto each of your words. “I don’t know. Anyways, how about you?”

“I’m sorry. About your dad. I know I wasn’t there for you but—”

You raised your palm, attempting to stop him because you didn’t wanna get too deep into the topic of your father. “No, I know. You called, texted, sent letters, Geto. You don’t have to apologize.” He looked forlorn, and your fingers instinctively reached up to place themselves on top of his own to reassure him. “Trust me.”

Geto took that with as much stride as he could, and attempted to make normal conversation with you. He told you about his art gallery which you knew was picking up since the last time you met him. He asked you for your opinion on some pieces he was looking at, and you tried to give him your best advice. And even though you knew he hadn’t meant to scroll through his camera roll of paintings and accidentally scroll past an image of Satoru and Hana, your lips still curled into a frown because it reminded you he was friends with not just him, but Hana, too. Hana was Geto’s friend the same way you were his, through Satoru. Geto masked his mistake by immediately giving you a backstory of one of the artists, and it did get you interested, but not too distracted from your new realization. 

“Suguru! You made it.” Your head snapped up and you thanked every God above for the intrusion of the new voice. Geto locked his phone and looked up at the same time as you at the blond man whose eyes were crinkled up showing the tiniest hints of a smile. “And you.” His gaze shifted, landing on your figure that was leaning against the table. “Glad to see you made it too.”

You remained silent, unsure of how to respond to a stranger as charming as him. 

“Of course, I did, Nanami,” Suguru said, rolling his eyes lightheartedly.

A lightbulb flickered in your mind and you were instantly on your feet. “Oh, god. I’m L/N Y/N, thank you so much for the invite. The opening is great.” You were standing across the owner of Levitate, and you couldn’t help but drink every feature of his in. He was tall, and if you got any closer to him, you were sure his figure would cast a shadow over you instantly. 

He laughed. “I’m Nanami Kento.” He bowed slightly, and his hand reached out for yours and his fingers gently lifted it up before he grazed his lips over your skin. “The pleasure’s all mine, of course.”

Geto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and you realized it was probably because neither you nor Nanami were pulling away from the other. You cleared your throat, mustering up an awkward smile as you slid back onto your seat. Your eyes still remained on him, and his remained on you and you found yourself slightly burning warm under his gaze. 

“I gotta go, duty calls,” Geto said over the silence though the music was still going on. He flashed his phone screen that displayed an incoming call from his assistant before he wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into a side hug. It wasn’t much—not the bone-crushing huge the two of you used to share—but it bloomed a sense of familiarity within you, and you could sense Geto felt the same too because he smiled slightly. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

You nodded, overcome with a sense of joy that only occurs after you reunite with somebody that has done you no wrong. 

Nanami bids him goodbye, too, before he slides into the seat Geto was occupying.

“Are you liking the place so far?” he asked, hands gesturing to the surroundings. “I wasn’t sure if I should invite the area’s biggest party animal because you’ve seen many of these kinds of places. But I can at least expect an honest review from you, right?”

You gulped at how he referred to you as a ‘party animal’ and you knew that people had begun seeing you that way over the past few months, too. You weren’t sure if it sat right with you, but you didn’t have anything particular against it. 

“Hmm,” you hummed, trailing a finger over the wood of the table, feigning serious thinking. “I think you could change…” You paused, noticing how his brow went up at your words in curiosity. “Everything. It’s trash.”

He narrows his eyes before he lets out a laugh, and you follow along. His hand lightly covers your knee as the two of you laugh a little too obnoxiously over a joke that was hardly funny, but you blame the ‘sinner’s delight.’

“I thought I’d have to close this place down, no joke,” he said, still between bits of laughter.

You smiled. “Hey, don’t do that. This is my new weekend spot, I’d hate to have it taken away.”

His eyes turned warm and he tilted his head at your comment. “Yeah?”

You nodded, ignoring the feeling of his hand against your knee. “Yeah, to the point you’ll have a drink named after me.”

He blew out a breath as he called the bartender over and whispered something into his ear.

“What was that? You order drugs or somethin’?”

“Oh yeah, the code is strawberry and pickles if you want some.”

“I’m glad to know this place has options, then.”

“No, but I just ordered you a drink you’d like.” When you pointed at your half-full glass of ‘sinner’s delight,’ he shook his head and said, “This one’s not on the menu. Just for you.”

Gojo Satoru always hated meetings.

He hated having to prepare what he would say, and hated even more whenever the conversation didn’t go the way he’d prepared. It wasn’t good that he saw meeting his father as a meeting, but that was what it was. An extremely rage-filled meeting that he was never prepared for because he had no idea what his father would say. 

“Listen, Satoru.” Oh, Satoru was listening, alright. “Mrs. L/N isn’t backing down. I fear she’s taking selling the company off the table.”

“Probably because you told her you didn’t want to buy it and just have it.” Satoru knew his words held bite to them, but that was the only way his father would realize that he can’t merely get whatever he wants. And also because he couldn’t stand talking about your family at all as the memory of the last time they had dinner was still fresh in his memory.

“I said I wasn’t paying the money she asked for, not that I wasn’t paying at all.”

“Father,” he said, letting out a strained breath. “You have to ask, not demand. And I’m not talking about this anymore—it’s not my problem and I’m not getting involved in it.

When Satoru walked out of the office, he realized that he was being harsher on his dad than he ever was. Hana seemed to realize the same, because she froze up when he opened the door and caught her standing a few feet away, probably having heard the entire short conversation. 

He brushed past her, giving her a small smile, towards their shared bedroom but she followed while saying, “Satoru, darling, are you okay?” She followed him to the bed where he laid down, fingers rubbing at his eyes as he tried to alleviate some of the tension away. “Talk to me, Satoru. Are you upset with your father?”

Of course. Of course he was upset with his father because when was he not?

“Hana, please—”

“No, Satoru.” She cut him off and he could barely inhale at her tone. Rarely had she sounded so curt with him, and everytime she did, he wasn’t sure how to pull her out of it except for leaving her alone. He hadn’t been able to figure out the specifics, despite it being many months since they’ve been married. “You’ve been acting off for the past week, and it started after dinner at the L/N’s. Did something happen?” “No.”

“Then what is it?”You. It was you who he couldn’t get out of his mind. He couldn’t forget how you’d once and for all, completely solidified that you and him were over. He couldn’t forget that he could’ve tried harder. He couldn’t forget that he could’ve explained everything. He could see that you were still seeking closure, and he knew he should give it to you but he couldn’t have. Not unless he wanted you to fall down the path of having to heal all over again. Because of him.

[akhret]

Bastet

Offerings

Water, milk, teas, coffee, beer, wine, gin, tequila, vodka, fruity drinks

Meat, bread, fruits and vegetables, spices (saffron, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper), onions, grains, lettuce, chocolate, cakes and pastries. Any healing herbs and plants, or those used in medicines, would be acceptable like aloe vera, lavender, garlic, echinacea, chamomile, and ashwagandha.

Any perfume would be acceptable to her, but kyphi, frankincense and myrrh, dragonsblood, sandalwood, vanilla, cedar and catnip are all great incense, candles, or essential oils. The fire itself can also be an offering to her.

Cat toys, treats, and herbs that are safe for your cat that get them riled up like catnip. While she's not going to eat your cat treats (lets make that clear), the act of treasuring your fur baby is enough for her.

Crystals and stones like carnelian, sunstone, fire quartz, citrine, garnet, jasper, rubies, rhodonite, black tourmaline, onyx, obsidian, malachite. Any jewelry is acceptable, too.

Red linen or the color red.

Lady Bast was first seen as a lioness goddess, so figurines of lions would be acceptable, as well as figurines of cats (she became associated with cats later on). She was also associated with the ichneumon, the vultures, and the ureaus (based in epithets) so you can offer her items like these, too. Along with statues and figurines of her, the sistrum, the menat, ankh, or maat.

Devotional acts

Singing and dancing! Lady Bast has epithets that associate her with joy, drumming, and she can often be seen holding the sistrum. You can play the sistrum for her, or play other musical instruments. You may even start learning how to play one, if you don’t know how to already.

Running. Lady Bast is known as ‘the swift one,’ so running is a great devotional act. As the Eye of Re, she’s a protective deity, so exercising in general would be great.

As the Mistress of jewelry, you could take up the craft of jewelry making. Or you can learn about how to make perfumes, too and/or make them yourself.

While it wouldn’t translate this way back then, she’s known as ‘the one with many faces’ or ‘the one with many forms,’ which, historically, would translate to the ways she could be perceived- whether taking on another goddesses name as an epithet, or changing into different forms (cat, lioness, human, etc.),- nowadays, though, you could translate this to acting. This could be done by being an actual actor, voice acting, cosplaying, etc.

It’s believed that her name may mean ‘she of the ointment jar,’ though this is only speculated and the actual translation is still unknown, but you could learn about medicine, healing, or even go the route of helping others in this domain. As an enforcer of the laws of maat, taking the route of law and justice- or learning about it- could be a great devotional act, too.

Signs

Signs of Bast could include seeing her scared animals of symbols like cats, lionesses, vultures, ichneumon, cobras, the menat necklace, the sistrum, or items of royalty. She’s known to be a part of the ‘cat distribution system,’ so she may even start sending you stray cats.

You may start hearing music with a really good beat that you cannot help but sing along with and tap your foot to.

You may have better intuition about people. Cats are very intuitive, watchful, and she’s also loosely connected to water (inundation), so you may start catching on how people act around you. She’s a protective deity, as well, so those who need to be out of your life are going to see their way out if they’re not good for you.

Cats are really good at setting boundaries, too (they will bite you to let you know to leave them alone!), so you may notice you’re becoming better at setting boundaries.