#which comes in at 199 words

[critical-catastrophe]

the end of the world (coming soon)

play begins by deciding the session’s rough length (e.g. “about an hour”) and, by extension, how long it will be before the world ends. the GM privately sets a timer within this range, but does not start it.

next, players create their characters. after a setting has been decided, players note the following about their characters (usage of phones for notetaking is encouraged):

name

description

NPC attachment

a regret

a dream

the GM briefly describes the starting scene and relevant NPCs, reiterating the time limit set by the group before. the timer starts, and play begins. now, the GM’s job is to settle disputes and, more importantly, keep the session on-track. they remind players of their very limited time in-universe and seek to create feelings of urgency through their words. they do not reveal the exact time left.

players act out scenes, with other players or the GM playing NPCs when needed. if a character performs a task based on luck or the will of others, their neighbours play roshambo. the winner gets to choose whether the task succeeds.

when the timer goes off, the end of the world arrives. the GM narrates the deaths of all PCs.

[engie-ivy]

@wolfstarmicrofic 11th: Ardent

199 words

“ ‘Remus Lupin has no ill-intentions, he's just dumb and naïeve, which you can't blame him for, considering his menial upbringing’. ” Mary lowers the newspaper with Orion Black's latest column and shakes her head. “Good lord. I mean, I know Orion Black ardently opposes every politician who tries to take power away from him and his rich friends, but when it comes to Remus, I've always gotten the sense that it's somehow… extra personal.”

“That's because he knows I mean it,” Remus says, as he looks up from the speech he's writing. “He knows I'm not going to stop before the poor have as many rights and opportunities as the rich. He knows I'm coming for him and that I can't be bought.” Remus is standing now and clenching one fist. “Throwing some money at it won't save him this time. I have a vision and mission, and he is right to fear me!”

Mary stairs at him in admiration, feeling proud to be a member of his campaign team.

Lily, however, raises an eyebrow and gives Remus a pointed look.

“Oh,” Remus says, smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of his head. “Right. And I'm also shagging his son.”

[gyu-vinnie]

138, 150, 179 and 199 with gunwookie pls 😩✊

“fuck, i love you so much”/ “you’re all mine”-“hm…”-“say it”-“i’m all yours”/ “i want to fuck you so bad”/ “i want to make a mess of you”

i’m getting major insecure gunwook vibes from this 😼

okay, so maybe pranking gyuvin was a bad idea. just maybe…

okay it was a terrible idea. you and taerae wanted to tease him and be your usual silly selves. what you didn’t know was that gunwook was already not in the best headspace since he woke up. all because of some stupid dream he had the night before where someone took you away from him. he kept telling himself that would never happen, that you love him too much. and well, he was technically right.

unfortunately, you and taerae had no clue about this dream. when he came into practice, the first thing he saw was your head resting on taeraes shoulder and he swears he heard his heart shatter. upon making eye contact with you, he stormed out the room making you and taerae share a glance and start giggling to yourselves that the plan succeeded.

spoiler alert, it didn’t. not even 30 seconds later matthew storms into the room. “y/n, why did i just see gunwook speed walking down the hall in tears?”

the second you heard him say that you stood up. “which way did he go?” matthew shrugged and pointed left. “it looked like he was going towards the bathroom or something.”

you quickly thanked him and started running towards the bathroom. you could hear sniffing, and it broke you heart. “wookie? are you in here?” you asked while making it towards the bigger stall, seeing his sneakers you bought him and recognizing him instantly. “baby, can you let me in?”

you heard shuffling and the door unlocked, when the stall door opened you were met with the sight of a puffy faced, red eyed, swollen lipped gunwook. your eyes instantly widen and you went in the stall, closing the door behind you and locking it.

you turned to face him and one look at his face again made you hug him instantly. “shit, gunwook, im so sorry. i didn’t mean to make you cry. me and taerae were just trying to mess with you.”

you cupped his face, wiping his tear stained cheeks. he didnt say anything, just kinda stared at you. your first thought was that he was mad at you, but his face was emotionless. if he was mad, atleast you’d be able to tell. he looked deep in thought.

“i want to fuck you so bad.” he mutters, it being barely audible. your eyes widened and you frozen. “h-huh?” he moved your hands from his cheeks and pinned them above your head, pushing you against one of the walls.

“you heard me, i want to make a mess of you.” as you back hit the wall you looked up at him with wide eyes. “would that make you feel better?” he nodded and nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, leaving soft pecks all the way down. “just give me 10 minutes…10 minutes and i’ll be fine.”

so that’s what you did, you gave him 10 minutes. well, technically you two are at the 12 minute mark but who’s counting? surely not you at this moment. your are eyes rolled to the back of you head as gunwook pounds into you with his head hung low. the only sounds being able to be heard is the filthy sound of skin slapping, the squelching noise, your muffled moans that are barely audible with gunwooks big hand over your mouth, and the small words he’s whispering as he fucking into you, a single tear still rolling down his face.

“fuck, i love you so much. so so much” me mutters into your ear. though honestly it’s going in one ear and out the other with how fucked out you are. “your all mine, okay?”

you slowly started to come back to your senses as gunwooks thrusts start to get sloppier and your own orgasm approaching quickly. “hmm…” you moan out, he moved his hand from your mouth and started thrust faster, sending you over the edge as you cum on his cock. “say it…say your mine”, he upped his head so he could see you. “i’m all yours”

and the second the words slipped from your mouth, he came. whispering small praises to you and pulling out. “l-let me help you clean” he says shakily as he grabs the toilet tissue and starts wiping.

when you went back in the studio, it was as if nothing happened.

[niki-phoria]

‧₊˚✩ sweet moments with them

‧₊˚✩ heeseung

gn reader (word count 158)

you often find yourself entranced by heeseung. you silently watch as he prepares dinner, hands flexing with every movement. he falls into silence as he concentrates on his task. his eyes narrow as he focuses, jaw clenching just slightly as he continues. 

you don’t notice how long you’ve been watching him until he stops, smirking as he looks at you. “you’re staring,” he looks down with a light flush on his face, failing to hide a smile. 

“i love it when you do that.” 

“do what?” 

“smile.” you can see heeseung’s ears burn as he becomes even more flustered, but you ignore it, walking over to where he’s standing. “i love when you smile like you’re the happiest person alive.” you wrap your arms around his waist, leaning against his back. “because that’s how you make me feel.” 

“shut up,” heeseung mumbles underneath his breath. you chuckle, tightening your grip around him a little. 

“i love you too.” 

other members utc !!

‧₊˚✩ jay

male reader (word count 140)

“babe, come here,” jay calls. you wipe your eyes, hissing at the sting from the onion. jay chuckles as you press the sleeves of your hoodie against your eyes, blindly walking over to where he stands at the stove. “my sweet boy, let me cut the onions next time,” he chuckles. you blink a couple times, trying to clear the blurriness from your eyes. 

“maybe i should let you do everything yourself next time,” you whine. “what did you need?” 

“try this,” jay holds out a piece of chicken coated in sauce. you take a small bite from it, nodding at the taste. 

“it’s good.” 

“good.” jay leans forward to pull you into a quick kiss, licking some sauce from the corner of your lip. you freeze when he pulls away, debating for a minute. “it is good.” he hums.

‧₊˚✩ jake

gn reader (word count 221)

jake gasps, tugging on your hand as he leads you over to a claw machine. “look! they have claw machines!” you laugh, watching as he eagerly swipes the arcade card to play the game. he turns to you, gesturing to the various prizes inside of the machine. “which one do you want?” 

“are you really gonna win me an arcade prize?” you ask. 

“you don’t believe in me?” jake cocks his head, pulling you over to stand in front of the machine with him. “come on, pick one.” 

you shake your head put point out a small fox plush. “there. the fox is cute.” 

you lean against the wall as you watch jake eagerly move the claw, pausing every now and then to adjust its position over the toy. finally, he presses the button, lowering the claw down. to your surprise, he wins on his first try. he kneels down to grab the plush, handing it to you. 

“nice job,” you smile, wrapping your arms around the fox. “thank you.” 

“do i get a prize for winning?” you pull him into a quick kiss that jake deepens when he moves to hold your jaw in place. when he pulls away, he presses a peck against your forehead. 

“thank you for the fox,” you smile. “i love you.” 

“i love you too.”

‧₊˚✩ sunghoon

[idol au] gn reader (word count 199)

“congratulations… (group name)!” you share a glance with your leader as you make your way to the stage. you take the trophy with shaky hands, staring at the audience in disbelief. next to you, one of your members nudges you, gesturing for you to walk to the microphone to say something. 

“ah, thank you so much for everything,” you start. “i especially want to thank park sunghoon. you’re the light of my life. i couldn’t have done this without you.” 

you leave the stage with a small bow, clutching the trophy as you return to your seats. you anxiously wait for the rest of the awards to be given out, sharing small glances with sunghoon every now and then. 

“y/n!” sunghoon cheers, wrapping his arms around you and twirling you around. you laugh, hiding your face into his neck as he sets you down. sunghoon leans forward to press his lips against yours. “congratulations, baby.” 

“thank you,” you laugh. sunghoon pushes a strand of hair out of your eyes, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

“i’m so proud of you.” you bite back a smile, pulling him into another sweet kiss. 

“i couldn’t have done it without you.”

‧₊˚✩ sunoo

gn reader (word count 125)

sunoo sighs, tightly wrapping his arms around your waist as he nuzzles his face into your chest. you chuckle, running a hand through his hair. “bad day?” sunoo groans, hiding his face away even more. “do you want to talk about it?” sunoo shakes his head, shifting a little. 

“no, i just wanna cuddle.” 

“okay,” you whisper, pulling the blankets up over him. “why don’t you pick out a movie?” sunoo nods, moving so his back is pressed against your chest. you wrap your arm around him, resting your hand on his waist. 

after a few minutes, sunoo sighs, relaxing into your hold. “i love you.” he whispers. 

you press a kiss to his neck, tucking his head underneath your chin. “i love you too.”

‧₊˚✩ jungwon

gn reader (word count 153)

jungwon curls further into your arms, laying his head against your chest. you tighten your grip around him, leaning down to press a kiss against his forehead. you can hear jay shuffling around in the kitchen as he makes dinner. sunghoon places a cup of tea down onto the coffee table before sitting on the couch next to you. 

“how is he?” sunghoon asks. 

“his cough is still pretty bad but he’s been keeping some more food down.” sunghoon nods, adjusting the blanket so it wraps further around jungwon’s body. 

“that’s good,” he hums. “you know, he’s not usually like this.” 

you brush a hand through jungwon’s hair when he stirs a little, trying to lull him back to sleep. 

“like what?” 

“all… relaxed. he doesn’t really let us take care of him. i’m glad he has you.” you bite back a small smile, continuing to play with the strands of jungwon’s hair. 

‧₊˚✩ niki

male reader (word count 237)

niki wraps his arms around your waist, holding you against his chest as he continues to play. you’ve been watching him for hours as he skillfully navigates between the different buttons on his controller. you wait for him to finish the round before turning back to look at him. 

“niki?” 

“hm?” 

“can i play a round?” niki nods, leaning over your shoulder as he hands you the controller. 

“you’re really gonna let him play on your rank?” jake raises an eyebrow from his spot on the couch. niki shrugs, looking back at him. 

“why not?” 

sunghoon scoffs from next to jake. “you don’t even let us log onto your account in case we drop your rank at all.” 

“y/n’s my boyfriend. if he wants to play on my account then he can.” 

“are you sure?” you ask. niki moves so his chin is on your shoulder, hands hovering over yours. “i’m fine not playing.” 

niki shakes his head. “i don’t care about the rank. i love you. if you want to play a round then go ahead.” 

you hope niki doesn’t notice how flustered you are as you lean over to press a quick kiss against his cheek before turning back to the screen. his hands move from yours to rest on your waist as he watches you join a round. “thank you.” 

niki leans down to press a kiss against your shoulder. “anything for you.”

[petite-madame]

Fan Fictions inspired by my art

You’ll find below fan fictions inspired by some of my artworks. This list doesn’t include Big Bang, Reverse Bang or Fandom Trumps Hate collaborations. All the stories below were written kindly and spontaneously by the authors. ❤ Of course, this list is incomplete, it only includes the most recent fan fictions.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you ever wrote something inspired by one of my artworks (the ones posted at Petite-Madame, not my side accounts)

List under the cut...

- BBC SHERLOCK

Johnlock (Sherlock Holmes/John Watson)

Morning of Epiphany by Innerspectrum (Sherlock Holmes/John Watson - General audiences -  Birthday fluff - 221  words -   Sherlock wakes up his normal grumpy self, expecting the usual boredom, until realizes otherwise... ) - ARTWORK

A spoonful of Johnlock by Asterisko (Sherlock Holmes/John Watson - General audiences - Cuddling & Snuggling, sleepy cuddles, fluff, sharing a bed - 440  words -  John and Sherlock spooning in bed, from John's and Mrs. Hudson's POV.) - ARTWORK

A Thousand Words by Silvergirl (Sherlock Holmes/John Watson - Mature - The Empty Herse infill - Johnlock freeform -  ~ 768 words - Standing there behind the just-closed door of the train, his palm flat against the glass and his face a study in naked sorrow and regret, was Sherlock.) - ARTWORK

Mystrade (Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade)

Cello by janto321 (FaceofMer) (Greg Lestrade/Mycroft Holmes - General audiences -  Fluff, domestic fluff - 465  words -  Greg comes home to hear Mycroft playing his cello.) - ARTWORK

You are the only one who sees me by Mimisempai (Greg Lestrade/Mycroft Holmes - General audiences -  Fluff, established relationship - 1081  words -  Greg comes home early from work and surprising Mycroft, he discovers something new about his lover...) - ARTWORK

The music of your heart soothes the wounds of mine by Mimisempai (Greg Lestrade/Mycroft Holmes - General audiences -  Emotional Hurt/Comfort, established relationship, tenderness - 1036  words - Greg has only one hurry, being back home with Mycroft. Mycroft, has only one haste it is that his lover comes back to him.) - ARTWORK

Playing in the Dark by InnerSpectrum (Greg Lestrade/Mycroft Holmes - General audiences -  Established relationship - Implied/Referenced Character Death - 360  words -   Greg awakens to music in the dark house and is reminded Sherlock is not the musician in the family...) - ARTWORK

Misc

Compositions by afteriwake (Mycroft Holmes/Molly Hooper - General audiences -  Pregnant Molly Hooper - Dead Sherlock Holmes - Developing Relationship - 654  words -   Mycroft is composing a lullaby for Molly and Sherlock's son.) - ARTWORK

- MARVEL

Stucky (Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes)

The Life of Bucky Barnes by Stephrc79 (Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes - Mature -  Fluff, angst, recovery Bucky, post CATWS, PTSD, etc...- 292 199 words -   The ongoing story behind the pictures from the Instagram The Life of Bucky Barnes.This work is a series of ficlets that tells the story of each picture. As each chapter progresses, it will encompass one or two of the images, how they appear chronologically. These are inspired works for petite-madame with her blessing.) - ARTWORKS

Gold, Silver, and Virtue by Gfawkes (Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes - Explicit -  Angst, mutual pining, smut, fluff, suicide attempt, alcoholism, getting back together, happy ending, etc... - 35 664  words -   Bucky hesitated, his nerve faltering for a moment. When there was no reaction from the silver-haired man, he unzipped his jacket, wrestling with the dog tags, pulling them out. They clinked together and fell against the zipper; a siren’s calling meant for one man only."This bike belonged to Captain America. So either you’re a very shrewd collector of rare vintage superhero paraphernalia, or you’re hiding something.” In which the Captain doesn't return after the time jump into the past, but he does return to the Soldier.) - ARTWORK

- GOOD OMENS

Ineffable Husbands (Aziracrow - Aziraphale/Crowley)

Falling by sugarplumanderson  (Aziraphale/Crowley - General Audience - Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Feels, Comfort/Angst - 2,345 words - An angel is Falling. Aziraphale and the heavenly host are witnesses. Aziraphale can't bear to watch the angel go through this on his own, so he intervenes.) - ARTWORK

[turtletaubwrites]

Numbers Game Extras ~ Suitor Dossiers

Hello, stars! Thank you so much for your patience for Chapter 32. It's almost done, but it's a big one! I was planning to put these into the chapter as well, and I still might, but I figured I'd share some details about the suitors since you have all been so patient and kind! I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to know who your favorite is! This post includes a poll to share who you'd like to see more of during this little game. 9 guys is a lot, lol. I want to make sure that I give special attention to yours faves! (Not changing their motivations though, so I hope you like what I have planned for them 😈🤭)

!!! SPOILER WARNING !!! ~ If you haven't read Part 31 yet, I highly recommend finishing that first before looking at the dossiers.

Image descriptions are located at the end, as the dossiers are on images.

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What's this?

It was rare to find trash on the ground at the Oak Roots Estate. Curiosity got the better of you, and you picked up what looked like a brochure.

Oh...

Are you fucking kidding me...

Image Descriptions: Alternating images and text in the form of a brochure shows each of the nine suitor's faces with some personal details, and a quote. The format is laid out with snooty cedar leaves, the sun shining through trees, soft greens, exaggerated font, and images of arrows (as in bow and arrows).

Dossier Text: Each picture includes the phrase "Which hunter will claim her?" The final picture also includes the phrase, "Make your bets now!"

Giberson

Age: Couldn’t Recall

Height: Misplaced Measurements

Birthday: August 14th

Title: “Warehouseman”

Favorite Food: Rye Whiskey

How he plans to win: “I’m sure the lovely lady and I will have a delightful time. You don’t get to be my age without learning a few tricks.”

~

Ichiji

Age: 21

Height: 186 cm (6'1")

Birthday: March 2

Title: Prince of the Germa Kingdom

Favorite Food: Strawberries and Whiskey

How he plans to win: "I’m a Vinsmoke."

~

Niji

Age: 21

Height: 185 cm (6'1")

Birthday: March 2nd

Title: Prince of the Germa Kingdom

Favorite Food: Blueberries and Scotch

How he plans to win: “She’s coming with us. If I don’t win, there’s two more Vinsmoke’s.”

~

Yonji

Age: 21

Height: 194 cm (6'4")

Birthday: March 2

Title: Prince of the Germa Kingdom

Favorite Food: Green Peas

How he plans to win: “I wouldn’t mind ending up with a woman like her, so I’m gonna turn her into a princess.”

~

Iceburg

Age: 40

Height: 199 cm (6'6")

Birthday: January 3

Title: President of the Galley-La Company, and Mayor of Water 7

Favorite Food: Curry Made by an Old Friend. A Drunk, Old Friend.

How he plans to win: “Mm, well... I suppose I’ll win because I know her best.”

~

Fukaboshi

Age: 24

Height: 604 cm (19’10”)

Birthday: February 4th

Title: Prince of the Ryugu Kingdom

Favorite Food: Abalone Steak

How he plans to win: “I hope that she carries peace in her heart. If she does, I will stop at nothing to earn her love.”

~

Cracker

Age: 45

Height: 307 cm (10'1")

Birthday: February 28th

Title: Sweet Commander of the Big Mom Pirates, and the Minister of Biscuit

Favorite Food: Biscuits. Dislikes Kimchi and Carbonated Drinks.

How he plans to win: “Easy. I’ll outdo them all.”

~

Katakuri

Age: 48

Height: 509 cm (16'8½")

Birthday: November 25th

Title: Sweet Commander of the Big Mom Pirates, and the Minister of Flour

Favorite Food: Doughnuts. Dislikes hot ramen.

How he plans to win: “I will win because I must.”

~

Red Haired Shanks

Age: 39

Height: 199 cm (6'6")

Birthday: March 9

Title: Emperor of the Sea

Favorite Food: Kimchi Fried Rice and Lobster. Dislikes Blueberries.

How he plans to win: “Just gonna show the cutie a good time.”

~

End of Image Description.

WIP Update I hope you liked this little tease! Chapter 32 is 8300+ words already, and I still have a few more outlined scenes to finish, including the smut. If y'all didn't crave the smut every chapter it would have been out by now, lol. There's a lot going on at the Oak Roots Estate! 🌲 Life is lifeing, but I have received word that the major factor keeping me from my usual writing schedule is fading, and I'm so happy because this story dominates my brain, and I miss all of you so much! Thank you for your patience, I can't wait for you to read the next update! See you soon! Lynna 💜✨

Author’s Note: All of the character details above are from Oda, except for the quotes and the missing details for Giberson. I found them on the One Piece Fandom Wiki if you’d like to go check out more about the character’s history. I live on that site, and have to give those fans the credit for compiling all those details! I already spend hours searching for specific parts in the anime for things like lines for speech patterns and such, I’d be lost without the wiki!

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

| numbers game masterlist | turtletaub fanfic masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 |

[bijoumikhawal]

The only detailed description of feminine pulchritude from post-biblical Jewish sources comes from the sectarian community at Qumran, the description of Sarah's beauty in the Genesis Midrash 20:1-8. As pointed out by M. H. Goshen-Ciottstem (1959-60), this appears to be the only residue of a Jewish wasf tradition. There is in the Talmud (TB Ketubot 17a) allusion to the custom of singing about "the beautiful and desirable bride," kallah na ah wahasudah, which traditionally included description of bodily traits. The sources, however, do not specify which physical charms of the bride were described. Such a custom, ordinarily repugnant to feminine modesty, was intended to increase the groom's desire for the bride. And this is precisely the purpose in the Genesis Midrash, as the quasi-bride (Sarah) is made to appear desirable in the eyes of a quasi-consort: How. . . and (how) beautiful the look of her face. . . and how fine the hair of her head, how fair indeed are her eyes and how pleasing her nose and all the radiance of her face . . . how beautiful her breast and how lovely all her whiteness. Her arms goodly to look upon, and her hands how perfect... all the appearance of her hands. How fair her palms and how long and fine all the fingers of her hands. Her legs how beautiful and how without blemish her thighs. And all maidens and all brides that go beneath the wedding canopy are not more fair than she. And above all women is she lovely and higher is her beauty than that of them all, and with all her beauty there is much wisdom in her. And the tip of her hands is comely (N. Avigad and Y. Yadin, 1956, English section, p.43).

This detailing of Sarah's charms is a midrashic elaboration of Gen 12:14-15, a passage which, quite naturally, piqued the interest of the rabbis (cf. L. Ginzberg, I, 222f). In answer to the question why the wasf tradition found expression only in this particular midrash, Goshen-Gottstein suggested that it was perhaps excluded from "official" or "higher" literature and allowed to remain only in such an extracanonical document.

[...]

An anthology of "Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs" has been presented by S. H. Stephan (1922) based on Dalman's Paldstinischer Diwan and on Stephan's own collection of Palestinian folk songs. Comparison of these early Palestinian songs (i.e. the biblical Song of Songs) and those in use some twenty-five hundred years later, "shows a striking resemblance between the old and the new, both in the expression of ideas and in the grouping of words," according to Stephan (p. 199). Stephan disavowed the defense of any theory and professed to "let each word speak with its own force, unchained and unchanged"; he hoped that no one would be offended by the breadth of treatment in his paper. The following observations and conclusions were drawn by Stephan from his comparison of Canticles with the folksongs of his day (footnotes and citations of Arabic omitted):

There is no doubt whatever about the general idea of these poems, which is the same as that treated of in Canticles—the mutual love of the sexes. In monologues and dialogues are described the reciprocal love and longing of the male and female for each other.

To him "she" is altogether a charming and beautiful maiden. She is of good family (7 2) for he calls her the prince's daughter. Her stature (7 7; 2 14) is like a palm tree. She is beautiful, sweet and yet terrible (6 3), fair as the moon, bright as the sun (6 9). Her feet (7 1) are beautiful. Her face (2 14) is comely, "pars prototo": Her speech and voice (2 14;4 3) are sweet. Her odours (3 16;4 10,1 2-1 4) are aromatic, full of the fragrance of all spices and sundry powders of the perfumer. Although her complexion (1 5) has been bronzed by the sun, which has burnt her face (1 6), she is nonetheless fair, attractive and beautiful. Our contemporary songster is so much absorbed by her charms that he calls her his life. The raven black hair with its attractive curls and locks (4 3;6 6) is coloured with henna for the wedding night and appears to him like purple (7 5;6 4).

The hair and the dark eyes, with which she has ravished his heart (4 9), so that he cannot but cry out, calling her the fairest amongst women (1 8;4 9;5 9 and 1 7;6 4), are her most striking features. Both Canticles and the folk-songs praise her dove-like eyes (4 1;1 15b); yet we in our turn go a little farther, and ascribe to her doe-like or gazelle-like eyes.

Her lovely cheeks seemed to the old bard to be a slice of pomegranate (4 3;6 6), yet we consider them nowadays like apples, white and red, or like roses.

When Canticles compares her teeth (6 6) to a flock of white sheep coming up from the washing, our present songsters are inclined to liken them to hail-stones or to silver. Her lips are considered nowadays not so much as a thread of scarlet (4 3), but more as delightful roses in full blossom, as sweet as honey or sugar (4 11). Her mouth is like the best wine (7 9); and her throat has the same attribute of beauty, though it may be compared now and then to amber.

Her breasts, seemingly the most attractive part of her graceful person, are to the old singer like wine (1 2;4 10), even far better (4 10;1 2). We consider them as pomegranates and rarely as clusters of grapes (7 8). But in common parlance "the groom may take one breast for a cushion and the other as an eider-down quilt."... His love for her inspires him to describe her with a variety of pretty appellatives, common to both periods, such as dove (2 14), roe (3 6) an enclosed garden,a spring shut up, a fountain sealed (4 12); a garden fountain, a well of living water (4 15). He is captured by her beauty; first he considers her fair,and then as spotless (4 7). Yes, to him she is at the same time a rose in a flower garden (2 1) and a proud horse (1 9).

It is not usual to enumerate the attractions and charms of the man. So we have in our contemporary songs comparatively few ditties which deal comprehensively with the beauty of the male.

The bride describes him as "white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands" (5 10). His form and countenance are excellent (5 15) and therefore the virgins love him (1 2). His flowing locks are bushy and black as a raven (5 11). His cheeks are as a bed of spices (5 13). His mouth is very sweet, altogether lovely (5 16). His hands are gold rings set with beryls (5 14). And last, but not least, his stature is like the cedars—nowadays like a palmtree (5 15)— and his belly is like ivory overlaid or set with sapphires (5 14). Such is her friend and her beloved (5 16), a handsome youth, who is sure of the sincere love of maidens (1 2). To him she said in olden times: "Draw me and I will run after thee" (1 4). She may hear today just the same words from his lips.

He calls her sister, bride (4 9) and friend (2 10). She in her turn calls him her beloved (54;1 7;2 3;5 8), and her friend (5 1; 29). The words "friend, beloved, graceful, fair" and half a dozen synonyms are used equally for both sexes. All these expressions are taken over into the mystical and spiritual terminology of the Sufis.

While in the Canticles the man is compared to a deer or a hart, in our days it is the wife to whom these attributes are solely applied. The palm tree and the bird are common to both parties.

The erotic motives in all songs, old and new, are numerous. We shall dwell on them only enough to show the common ideas of both periods. The tatooing of hands and arms is common to both sexes. But the fairer sex, especially the fellahat and badawiyat permit themselves to be tattooed even on their belly (5 14b) as far as the mons. There are two colours, red and blue, used expressly for this purpose. The use of the mandrake (7 13) as an aphrodisiac is still known in Palestine, but it serves more for that purpose in Upper Mesopotamia. The nuptial couch (1 16) is often mentioned in our songs.

[[Inset note; the tattooing is of interest to me as SoS 5:14 describes the flesh of the arms and loins of the male lover as gold and ivory encrusted with gems, the latter specifically with sapphires- though this is sometimes also translated as lapis. This may be purely metaphorical, but I will remind people that the tattoo prohibition was originally applied to funerary tattoos, and it's expansion to all tattoos is Rabbinic, and not even all Rabbinic Jews follow that. Additionally the color of gold and ivory imagery reads as a man with tanned arms and pale legs from working outdoors, with the gems representing pigment; possibly a tattoo, but other body art is possible. Stephan seens to agree with me here that the imagery is connected, though he references women's tattooing and not men's. I am not familiar with the specifics of Palestinian tattooing, but in Egypt, while tattoos were historically feminine, plenty of men got tattoos as well.]]

She pretends to be love-sick during his absence: neither of them can sleep for longing to be with the other. Yet he asks her acquaintances not to wake her up before she wishes (2 7). What is said in Cant. 86, that love is fire, is in full agreement with our ideas.

Nature, with her unrivaled beauty, has made a deep impression on our poets. The moonlit night, the stars, flower gardens and orchards, wells and springs, flora and fauna, and even minerals have their place in our folk-songs. The beloved girl is likely to be compared with them all: the proud horse, the graceful doe or gazelle, the lovely dove or birds in general. Even the sun, the full moon, Orion with Pleiades are not as strange metaphors as they would seem at first sight. Flora's daughters are almost all numbered among the similes applied to the female charms. The mountains and the valleys have their roles; nor are even the earth and the stones forgotten. Wind and weather, as well as the seasons, must do their utmost to please the beloved one. And Nature as a loving mother will surely deign to help her on all occasions required. . . .

Such is our idea of the charms of Nature. We love her in our own way; now and then we fear her; but all her beauty we ascribe to our own sweethearts.

pg 55-59

The Descriptive Song (Beschreibungslied, Arabic wasf) Horst saw in 4:1-7, 6:4a, 5b-7, 5:10-16, 7:1-6. The Thousand and One Nights also employs the wasf. The content of the Descriptive Songs of the Canticle, Horst noted, is a series of more or less detailed descriptions of the bodily features of the bride, or, more rarely, also of the bridegroom. The parts of the body are treated in order, either beginning with the head (eyes, hair, teeth, etc., as in 4:1ff, 6:4a, 5b-7, 5:10ff), or, as in 7:1ff, from admiration of the dance steps to the description of hips, vulva, breasts, neck, eyes, nose, head, and hair. Horst conceded that one might regard the Descriptive Song as a special kind of Song of Admiration, but, because of the lack of the "exclamation" peculiar to the Song of Admiration and the special "Sitz im Leben" of the Descriptive Song, it seemed justified to regard the latter as a distinct form.

The Descriptive Song regularly has a brief introduction, either an affirmation (4:1), or a comparison (6:4a), or a rhetorical question (7:2a), or a general admiration of the beauty of the person praised, corresponding to the introduction which occurs in the Song of Admiration. It may, however, as in the case of 5:10ff, impose the detailed description on a general description. A concluding line may be lacking (as in 7:1ff), or maybe based on the introduction (4:7, 5:16b).

The two choral introductions of 7:1 and 5:9, according to Horst, point to antecedents in wedding celebrations. According to 7:1, the Descriptive Song is sung about the bride as she performs her dance. The Descriptive Song,according to Horst, has been combined with other pieces which sing of the search for the missing lover, his rediscovery, and union with him. Here one may think of a marriage custom which echoes the cult drama of the myth of Tammuz and Ishtar.

The Descriptive Song, in Horst's view, may have had its originin such wedding customs as the song during the bride's dance, but in the course of time was used separately and applied to other things, such as the bride's ornaments, or even in a modern example (cited by Dalman, 1901, 112)for the description of a lost knife. Horst cited 3:6-11 as an example of a mixed form of Descriptive Song and Song of Admiration. A song fragment with a beginning similar to that of 3:6ff is 8:5a.

pg 67

The hebdomadal division of the Canticles, corresponding to the Hebrew wedding week, proposed by Bossuet in 1693, was taken up again by Ernest Renan who noted (1860, 86) thesimilarity of the Song to modern Syrian wedding poetry and the custom of seven-day wedding festivals among Arabs at Damietta in Egypt and in certain localities in Syria. In 1873 a scholarly German consul in Damascus, J. G. Wetzstein, published a study of contemporary marriage customs in Syria (1873), describing the seven-day festivities during which the spouses were enthroned on the threshing sledge, crowned as king and queen, and descriptive poems (wasf, plural awsaf) praising their beauty were sung in their honor. War songs were also sung and the bride performed a sword dance (cf. J. G. Wetzstein, 1868, 105f, n45). See below pp. 143f.

[...]

Two decades after the publication of Wetzstein's articles, K. Budde applied the material to support the theory that the Song is a collection of poems sung at peasant weddings (1894a, 1894b, and in his commentary, 1898). The crux of the argument is that customs are tenacious and that the peasant weddings of Syria described by Wetzstein may be presumed to have persisted for centuries, even millennia, and thus they throw light on the origin and purpose of the Canticlesas folk wedding songs. The descriptions of the bride and groom in the Song resemble the Syrian wedding wasf and the Shulamite's Manhanaim Dance (7:1ff) was related to the sword dance performed by the bride (although there is no mention of any sword wielded by the Shulamite). This explanation of the Canticles, as reflecting ancient Syro-Palestinian village wedding songs in which the groom and bride were king and queen for a week, was widely acclaimed and accepted as solving the riddle of the book, and it dominated discussions of theproblem for more than a quarter of a century (cf. Rowley, 210n4).

Criticism and reservations with regard to this peasant wedding hypothesis were many and varied. W. W. Cannon, e.g., commented (1913, 29): "It is an enormous assumption that these wedding ceremonies described by Wetzstein as taking place in Syrian villages near Damascus in 1861 were necessarily the same in weddings in Judea more than 2000 years earlier, or at anytime." It was pointed out by several critics (cf. Rowley, 211n5) that the bride of the Canticles is never called "queen," as would be expected in accord with Budde's hypothesis. C. Gebhardt (1931, 12) likewise disputed the relevance of Budde's assumptions and denied that the wedding customs of Syrian peasants, being of hybrid origins as the result of numerous invasions, could have any bearing on Jewish poetry.

Hilma Granqvist in her study (II, 137n) found no evidence of a "king's week" in local weddings and little to suggest the existence of such a custom in other writings on Palestinian wedding customs. It has also been objected that the war songs of the Syrian weddings are missing among the Canticles and that the extent of the collection is insufficient for a seven-day songfest. Answer to the latter objection has been that the Canticles are only sample selections. It could also be observed that in folk singing a few words can be dragged out and repeated for a long time. The Arabic wasf, or descriptive song, was not limited to marriage celebrations and Dahnan (1901, xiff) adduced some prenuptial examples. Accordingly, a number of critics have concluded, following Herder, that the Canticles are simply a collection of love lyrics rather than wedding songs. Rowley (212nnl-7) cited several distinguished representatives of this view and expressed his own inclination to agree. "I am not persuaded that the marriage-week theory is soundly based, or that the songs had anything to do with a wedding occasion. They appear rather to be a series of poems in which a lover enshrined the love he gave and the love he received."

141-144, Song of Songs (commentary) by Marvin Pope

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 213. brb x oc

a/n: idk why but some gifs aren't loading for me so im sorry for repeating them(comments and reblogs are super welcome and encouraged!)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: none uwu

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/164/165/166/167/168/169/170/171/172/173/174/175/176/177/178/179/180/181/182/183/184/185/186/187/188/189/190/191/192/193/194/195/196/197/198/199/200/201/202/203/204/205/206/207/208/209

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-

Rooster (05:02)

Okay,so you know you have to let me know everything from the second you see Bea,right?

Mav (05:02)

Yes, I know.

Rooster (05:04)

Listen,I just want her to have a good day there, okay? And we need to talk about it to make sure that happens.

Mav (05:04)

I understand, Rooster. I won’t lose sight of her.You know that.

Rooster (05:05)

You also won’t try to do anything,right?

Rooster (05:07)

Right??

Mav (05:09)

Explain what that means, because I don’t know what that means.

Rooster (05:11)

I mean, I know you and your creative ways to make things "interesting." Just…just keep things straightforward, okay? I don’t need any surprises when it comes to Bea's well-being.

Mav (05:12)

Rooster, I promise I won't do anything crazy. I know how important this is to you. You can trust me to keep things professional and focused on taking care of her. :) 

Rooster (05:14)

Alright, Mav. I trust you. Just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. Thanks for looking out for her.

Mav (05:15)

No problem, Rooster. She'll be in good hands. 

Rooster (05:17)

I will. Catch you later, Mav.

Mav (05:18)

Take care, Rooster.

He sighs heavily, dropping the phone on the side table and rubbing his eyes with his fingertips, “Okay,” he whispers to himself, rubbing his temples now, “Okay!” he pushes himself up to the fridge while checking on Nicole who was happily having her breakfast on the high chair.

He was awake before Bea, he didn’t have it in him to wake her up right now especially considering she was just going to the base after lunch. He could make their breakfast at least, he could let her sleep in their bedroom while he worried himself with everything.

Nicole chewed her banana puree while following her dad with her eyes, Jack and Eleanor doing the same by the chair’s legs as Rooster poured himself coffee and paced. And paced. And paced.

Why was he so nervous?

He swirls the coffee inside his mouth as his brows lower, trying to think if there was anything he didn’t tell Beatrice about the base, anything Mav wouldn’t tell her either unless prompted about it. He hummed, licking his lips once the coffee was down his throat, before turning to Nicole, “Well,you won’t be able to go Nikki.”

“Aah?” Nicole let out, her eyes wide and her face scrunching in confusion as she tried to make sense of her father's words.

Rooster gave her a small smile, leaning down to pat her head gently. "Yeah, Nikki, you can't come to the base with mama." He spoke to her as if she could understand every word, which, in his mind, she did.

Nicole's brows furrowed further, and she let out a soft whine, her little hands grasping at the tray of her high chair. "Mama?" she asked, her eyes searching his face for more information.

He chuckled softly at her attempt to communicate, nodding in response to her question. "Yes, Daddy's going to the base, and later mama is going to visit daddy there, for a little bit.."

Nicole's expression turned contemplative, as if she was trying to process this new information. She was still too young to truly understand, but her dad's expression was immediately mirrored by her: eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed.

“You cannot go there.” he gently pokes her nose with a small smile, “Well…not yet,well, you did go there but…that was then. You were much smaller than this and you were with mommy. And right now,baby girl, right now mama has to go alone for a little bit, then you’ll stay with your nonni,hm? Sounds fun,right?’

Cue to the gentle smacking from his daughter,chewing the banana with her eyes still locked on him.

Rooster shook his head, his nervousness easing slightly as he focused on his daughter's innocence. "Yeah, I know, it's a lot to take in, Nikki. But don't worry, mama will be back, and you'll have lots of fun with nonni." He reached out to wipe a bit of banana from her cheek, chuckling when she tried to grab his finger.

After a moment, he straightened up and took a deep breath, determined to keep his worries in check. "Alright, let's finish breakfast, and then I'll start getting things ready for mama's visit to the base. Gotta make sure everything goes smoothly," he said, more to himself than to Nicole, but her wide eyes seemed to follow his every movement, absorbing every word.

He heard,however, Beatrice’s light footsteps above his head. As much as he tried, she wouldn’t stay in bed for long. Jolene trotted down first, stretching by the kitchen’s door and yawning before greeting her pups and him inside, with Beatrice following closely.

His wife was still rubbing her eyes, the braid she often slept with was a bit tousled but remained together during her entire slumber. Beatrice hummed quietly, smiling sweetly at him even with her eyes closed, “Hey…” che croaks, “Mo’nin’...you didn’t–” a yawn, “Wake me up?”

Rooster's heart warmed at the sight of her. He walked over to her with a soft smile, gently brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Morning, sleepyhead," he said, his voice tender. "I didn't wake you because you needed the rest. We're just having breakfast here, and then I'll fill you in on the plans for the day."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but admire the way her eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing those beautiful, sleepy yet warm green  eyes that he had fallen in love with. Jolene, sensing the attention had shifted from her, trotted over and sat by Beatrice's feet, wagging her tail and looking up at her with adoration.

Rooster's gaze remained fixed on Beatrice. "How did you sleep?" he asked, his tone gentle. He wanted to ensure that she was well-rested before they delved into the details of the day ahead. 

Not because he was worried.

“Mmm…fine.” she whispers, hugging his torso and pressing her cheek to his uniform, smiling when his cologne immediately enters her nose, “I was really tired for some reason…”

“Well,” he begins, wrapping his arms around her waist  “We did have a long week,gorgeous. It was all the tiredness from that…”

“Hmmm…you are so warm.”

He chuckles softly, propping his chin on top of her head, “I made your breakfast.”

She let out a content sigh, the sound muffled against his chest. "You're spoiling me," she murmured, her voice still heavy with sleep. His chest moved with a knowing chuckle and he kissed the top of her head.

“You deserve to be spoiled.” he whispers against her ear, making her bury her face into his chest even more, “You know that.”

She’d stay there longer were not for her stomach growling, almost like she had a xenomorph inside of her, begging to come out. Beatrice reluctantly pulled away from Rooster's embrace, giving him a soft smile as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Alright, let's have breakfast then. What did you make?"

Rooster flashed her a mischievous grin, his eyes twinkling as he holds out his hand for her to take. "Ah, that's a surprise, my love. You'll just have to wait and see." He took her hand and led her to the table, where he had even placed her favorite mug there, waiting for her.

Nicole smiled once she saw her mother and Beatrice’s sleep disappeared briefly so she could greet her daughter properly,”Hi, cutie,good morning- oh you got banana on you.” she grabs a napkin and gently dabs on Nicole’s cheeks, wiping what was left of the fruit off her skin.

Rooster joined the conversation while plating Bea’s breakfast. "She’s been eating nicely too," he commented, his eyes soft as he watched the interaction between Beatrice and Nicole.

With a warm and grateful smile, Beatrice settled into her seat. Her heart swelled as she picked up her favorite mug, feeling the familiar texture of the handle against her fingers. Rooster had thought of every little detail to make her morning special. “Mmm, you made me a cappuccino.”

“I did.” he turns just in time to see her doing a happy,yet sleepy,dance on her seat, “I even added marshmallows in it.”

“Thank you Roos.” she whispers, slurping some of the milky foam on top with her eyes closed, “You are such a great cook.”

As Rooster approached her with a plate of breakfast, Beatrice's eyes widened at the sight. The aroma wafted to her, and her stomach responded with another growl. "Wow," she exclaimed, genuinely surprised and touched by his efforts. "This looks amazing. How did you even have the time to–"

“I have my ways.” On her plate was a delicious spread of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, toasted bread, and a colorful array of fresh fruits. It was a breakfast fit for a queen. “And I wanted to prepare something that could fill your stomach today,I know you are going to the hospital before going to the base. Dig in, gorgeous."

Beatrice couldn't resist any longer. She picked up her fork and eagerly took a bite of the scrambled eggs. They were perfectly fluffy and seasoned just the way she liked. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste, and when she opened them again, she was met with Rooster's adoring gaze.

"Thank you," she said, "This is wonderful…but where’s your breakfast?"

“I had some toast with coffee, some bacon too, you know I don’t eat a lot before going to work.” he smiles,holding his head up with a fist, “...So…I wanted to talk to you.” his wife looks up with her cheek stuffed, like an adorable chipmunk, “About today.”

“Oh,” she swallows, washing it down with her cappuccino, “Okay,what is it?”

Rooster leaned back in his chair, his gaze steady on Beatrice as he took a deep breath, his expression serious yet gentle. "I know you're heading to the hospital before going to the base today," he began, his tone calm. "And I just wanted to make sure you're okay with everything. You know, visiting the base and all."

Beatrice's brow furrowed in confusion, her fork momentarily forgotten. "Of course I am. It's just a short visit, like we planned Roos.," she replied, offering him a small smile.

Rooster nodded, his gaze never wavering from her face. "I trust you completely, Bea. I know you can handle anything. But I also,” he holds her hand with his, touching her knuckles gently, “Know that I don’t want to overwhelm you. We went there,illegally, once at night and you were only there whenever I came back…it can be different now.”

Beatrice felt a surge of warmth at Rooster's concern. His hand holding hers was comforting, and she gave him a soft look,tilting her head a bit, "Roos, I know it might be a bit different now, but I promise you, I can handle it. I’ll only see what goes on then I’ll go back home, Mav will be with me at all times."

She didn’t need to know his conversation with his uncle moments before, just so she’d be truly okay in there.

She smiles more, tilting her head the opposite way, “Is there anything else bothering you?’

Rooster's gaze held hers and he squeezed her hand gently, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on her knuckles. "It's not that I doubt you, Bea. It's just… well, I want to make sure you're comfortable and not overwhelmed by your surroundings.”

Beatrice nodded, her smile softening as she fully understood where he was coming from. He was just that sweet. "I appreciate your concern, Roos. And I promise you, I'll take care of myself. And if I somehow feel overwhelmed,I’ll go home."

“Driving?’

“...yes?”

“You can call someone, like Michael, or even Leo. You don’t have to drive all the way there…”

While she understood his worry, she just gave him a confused smile, “Brad,I can drive.” she whispers, “I’ll drive myself to see the twins today,I also will drive Nikki to my parents…so…I’ll be okay driving.”

He chews his lower lip, then looks away for a second, “I know,sorry,” he rubs his eyes with his thumb and index finger, “I don’t want to be overboard with my care and worry for you,gorgeous. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. You know?”

She only smiled wider, ‘Nothing will happen while I’m there.” she says, “I’ll be safe, Maverick would never allow anything to happen to me…okay?’

He takes a while to reply, but he does bring her hand to his lips, pressing a noisy kiss to the back of it and nuzzling her fingers, “Okay.Yeah, you are right.”

Her smile stayed, even as she leaned forward a bit, her voice gentler, “You don’t have to apologize for worrying about me, Roos. I know it comes from a place of love, and I love you for it." she kisses the tip of his nose, “Because you are just that sweet,”

“I did get inspired by you every day.”

“And unbelievably smooth.” she adds, giggling at his slowly growing smirk, “But really,I’ll be okay, even if Ev did tell me to not go…I’ll be fine,it’ll be fast,I’ll just show up, then poof!I’ll be gone.”

“...I know.”

“You sound sad.”

“Well,I am kinda sad.” he huffs, leaning back on his seat to cross his arms over his chest, meeting her green eyes, “I do miss you a lot when I’m away, so I hope that I can at least catch a glimpse of you, gorgeous. I don’t know if I’ll be able to touch you or even hug you, but man I do wanna see you.”

And he says that with a sigh, a deep,enamored sigh. Her cheeks turn red and she immediately covers them, giggling to herself, “Stoooop,oh gosh,” she looks over at Nicole who’s too busy mashing her banana to pay attention, “Nikki, your dada is making me blush!”

“Aaa?” the baby asks, stopping the constant slapping to look over at Beatrice, “Dada?”

“Yes, dada is making me blush, what do you have to say about that?”

When Nicole's attention shifted to the conversation, Rooster's heart melted. "Yes, Nikki," he chimed in, his voice light and filled with affection, "Dada is just telling Mama how much he loves her."

Beatrice's cheeks remained flushed, but her smile grew wider. She leaned in, pressing a quick, tender kiss to Rooster's lips. "I love you too, Brad. And I promise I'll be careful today."

He returned her kiss, his own lips lingering for a moment longer. "That sounds like a plan, gorgeous. And you know, if anything happens, you can always count on me to come running."

Beatrice laughed softly, "I know you will, Brad, but everything will go smoothly!’ she returns to her breakfast, “You’ll see! Is Mav going to be waiting for me somewhere or do I just…go inside the base?”

God she was adorable.

Rooster's heart swelled with warmth as he watched Beatrice when she asked about Maverick and his expression turned thoughtful for a moment. "Well, Mav mentioned he might meet you near the entrance. Just keep an eye out for him," he suggested, a playful glint in his eyes. “He knows when to meet you. He’ll be there on time.”

"Speaking of time," he said with a soft sigh, "I think it's about time for me to head out, gorgeous."

She pouted a bit, her gaze turning slightly disappointed. "Already?"

Rooster leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I know, I know. But I’ll be back before you know it. And remember, I'll be counting down the minutes until I can see you again."

Beatrice's smile returned, albeit a bit wistful. "I'll be counting too, Roos."

With one final exchange of affectionate glances, Rooster gathered his things and stood up as he got ready to leave,kissing Nicole on the forehead before walking away. Beatrice stopped by the door, fixing his uniform and watching as he got ready to leave.

He drops his sunglasses over his eyes and pauses by the open car door "Hey, gorgeous?"

She blinked at him, still leaning against the door  "Yeah?"

He walked over to her, his hand finding hers once again. "Just promise,promise me that you'll take care and that you'll call me if you need anything, okay?"

Beatrice's heart swelled at his concern. She reached up to cup his cheek, her thumb brushing over his lips. "I promise, Brad. I'll be safe, and I'll call you. You take care too."

Rooster smiled, his eyes holding hers in a tender gaze. "I will, gorgeous. See you in a few, okay?"

“Okay.”

With one final lingering kiss, he reluctantly let go of her hand, his fingers brushing against hers as he stepped back. "Love you," he said softly, keeping his eyes on her as he walked backwards to the car.

"Love you too," Beatrice replied, her own voice filled with affection. She watched him walk towards his car, waving to him one last time before the garage doors opened and he was out of her sight.

[angelosearch]

Just some stuff about writing lately.

I am doing a challenge this month to try and write 32k words before my 32nd birthday. It's going pretty well. I am about 64% done, but I only have four more days that I will be able to work towards it so... I might spend all day on my birthday writing (not the worst thing tbh!!).

I was expecting to write a bunch of one-shots this month because I've been busy, but I've basically only been working on Chaos Theory. I do have to start putting in some work toward my Bingo card though!

It's so strange. I was looking at one of my "older" (as in, written in January) fics recently and I am already seeing that my writing style has changed. I am focusing more on detail. My chapters are getting longer. I am using more dialogue, but fewer dialogue tags. I'm introducing more OCs.

The way I write has changed too. I jump around a lot more now. I am more willing to write through a part and then come back to edit it. I am also really enjoying writing scenes that are toward the end of the fic and saving them for later.

HOWEVER, I am getting so nervous about my plot (Chaos Theory) as time goes on. I feel like I am getting so long-winded and repetitive. I fear what I have planned doesn't make sense. I wonder if what I am doing is contrived and too convoluted. Of course, I want to keep writing, I just have very little faith in myself aaahhh!!!

The goal is to finish Chaos Theory before September. Stretch goal - I would LOVE to publish the final chapter on Squall's birthday. It is hard to say how much is left seeing as I've been going slower lately. I think we'll end at about 150K words, which would put us halfway through right now.

Oh also I have had 199 kudos on ao3 for WEEKS and it is killing me haha. LET ME BREAK 200 ALREADY!!!!

Anyway, this is just some rambling!!

[wannaeatramyeon]

hihi!! i thought this was funny and wanted to tell you😭

i was telling my friend about Goo and how i would absolutely marry him and they said that he needs their blessing. i asked what he can do to get their blessing and they said he needed to write them an essay about how much he loves me so, to entertain them, i wrote them an essay from Goo's perspective about why he wants to marry me with a 20 minute timer. it was 584 words in the end and I worked a miracle.

Moral of the story: Goo got the blessing😭so uhhh you can always write your way into someones life??

This tickled me, just imagining the unhinged ramblings from Goo POV mixed with your own. Drop it please.

Inbox clearing time! Non fic requests answered: 6. (Check it - plus my fave Lookism arcs!)

To the non-anon anon that I have not included and I don't know what to do with your message - No, I won't hold your hand while you poop. Good luck with that.

Really?? I feel so... unhinged and nonsensical (even more so than usual) when I rant. Seriously thank you for reading!?!!?

PTJ did somewhat write women with more of a personality in his Life As A Loser Series so it seems more of a shame that he's lost his touch and catering much more towards teenage boys with his current series.

Which. Fine. Action manhwa - great. BUT if your target audience are teenage boys then yknow, wouldn't it be even BETTER to write some strong badass women so these impressionable youngsters realise that not all girls need saving, and oh look. Girls are human too. With their own ambitions and flaws and imperfections, just like everyone else.

If you must make them simp, form a harem. Also. FINE. At least give them something beyond that.

Hey Black Anon! Sorry again for how long it took me to respond to your ask before, and hope it's going much better for yourself since your last request.

I'm muuuuch more responsive with DMs so if you ever wanna come out of anon - come shout at me in my DMs!!

HTF s2 is really... something. Completely lost the meaning of HTF and Viral Hit. Don't blame you for dropping it. Alas, the Taehoon grip on me is still going STRONG.

LOL. Me in a similar position, wondering if I should get into JJK.

Can I... recommend some of my fave arcs if you ever do decide to read Lookism? The ones I like are generally more story driven.

Vasco's backstory (prepare the tissues) - 52 - 57

Johan + Zack + Mira backstory (cult warning, another sad arc) - 132 - 138

Goddog (another pretty sad arc with Johan) - 199 - 213

Jacedichi Files (silly crime solving with Burn Knuckles) - 215 - 218

One Night (Johan + Jace!! Fun action) - 258 - 262

Jake Kim (PLEASE READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE) - 302 - 318

Workers (2A) (Rescuing Sinu. Honestly, I cry almost every time. Read Jake Kim's arc to appreciate this!) - 372 - 392

Let me know if you ever get into it!!!

Me??? Mine????? I cannot write that guy so thank you - that means A LOT to me! I will try harder to write a decent Eli (that doesn't devolve into ranting about his current direction).

Thank you for reading and being so friggin CUTE!! 💖

I feel a vaguely threatening tone from this.

Like something Goo would recite before walking into a darkened warehouse with a crowbar 🤔

Baby there's nothing noble about this, but it is actually more satisfying than my normal job lol (lolling through tears).

Thank you so much for reading!! My single braincell has been firing quite well with these ideas.

Anon. Honestly this is adorable, I've screenshat this for a pick me up ahhhhhhh 🥹

My dear 🕊️ anon, thank you for reading my DG fic! I also feel very little for DG but I will admit I am coming around to him.

YES!!! I LOVE the idea of someone getting close to James Lee in his younger years, and him being soft for the reader.

And then I also like angst so let's bring those 2 things together. Heh.

Eeeee I also added that Remember fic to my list of faves that I have written.

Please. I also have a list of fictional men I am unwell over. Let's start a support group! 🫠

[fumblingmusings]

I haven't actually followed the strips in ages and only see bits in pieces pop up now and then, but does Matthew call Arthur an older brother? I remember Matthew was the one taking care of Arthur when he fell apart after Alfred left but then there are times where they don't seem very close at all? Alfred and Matthew in fanon are usually portrayed as having a very close friendship while canon has the more typical 'no one else knows how to piss me off like you do' sibling relationship.

Ooooh yeah let's get our sources out for this one lads. Except not the April Fools'/Halloween Specials I'm too tirrrreeeed and I genuinely don't think there's anything in them regardless. Please excuse odd image formatting - go follow the links to read the strips in their full context!

The very early strips from like 2011 England and Canada did not have much of a relationship at all, but then we got a few Canada focused strips in like 2015 ish which kind of shed some light on what their dynamic is.

I can only find three references to Arthur being a father - and that's in the strip's title, not actually anything anyone says. Otherwise it's kind of implied with the toy bear metaphor but even then...

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 193; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 204

The other is - of course - from Cleaning Out the Storage. Thanks Alfred for that one. It still isn't the F word but whatever...

Cleaning out the Storage

In the strips set in the modern day, Canada just calls England England (or jackass in his head in one of the older strips... which is fair). Canada has never called England big brother, instead consistently calling Arthur Mr England.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 196; Fly Canada Fly (Also 'I'll leave the caring of his heart to you' WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH T_T)

It's the same for Oz, who hasn't even said England's name yet, but it's harder to say what he thinks of his relationship to England him since A) he's far more informal in his manner of speaking and B) has far fewer appearances.

However, they still are family I think even in modern day? I can only do logic by association here really. Canada and England explicitly call each other family when Mattie is a baby as well as some of the 19th century strips too. England getting custody has him say: 'from now on I'll be your family' and Canada gets very excited at the thought of a family.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 192

Matt and Alfred are called brothers (more than even) far more consistently.

Fly Canada Fly; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 199; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 178;

When Canada is introduced to Australia, England says that he wanted to introduce the newest member of their family to him. He's defined as a 'sort of' younger brother.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 201 (I like how Arthur tells Oz off - not because he's wrong but because it's rude... poor Canada...)

Zee is the blessed exception! He calls both England and Canada big brother fairly consistently.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 269; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 414; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 227;

Mattie has, as far as I can recall, never had the B word come from his mouth regarding to Arthur. He does however refer to him as family.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 181

So you have Matthew who apparently fine with calling Arthur the equivalent of Sir, Zee who merrily calls both Big Brother, and Arthur who doesn't correct the boys either way (extrapolate what you will from that insecurities all around methinks). And yet Arthur and Matthew don't refer to each other as siblings in return. Arthur doesn't call anyone his brothers aside from Wales, NI and Scot.

And Alfred. Which ended badly so... that kind of tracks actually. Like literally Arthur rejects anything too informal because it like... triggers him??? Or something. Trauma flashbacks right here.

The Battle for America

So one sided familial relationships all around??? I think the more likely answer is Matthew and Arthur are simply less open with those terms than say Alfred was or Zee is; I assume the translation from Japanese is much a term of endearment as it is an actual declaration of relation.

So, in some ways Matthew and Arthur's relationship is not the same situation as whatever Alfred and Arthur have going on, as there's no explicit on page declaration of 'I'm not your little brother' like we got from Alfred or 'It's not like that at all' from Arthur (that strip in Africa where that soldier says he can't believe they're related and they both say no they aren't [in their own ways]), so until then... Schrödinger Sibling.

I quite like that they don't really put a name to it. It just is. They're family, sure, but beyond that... shrug. And that thing (cough cough colonialism) can't really be boiled down to one term. Everyone's relations are in such flux and beyond just one word to define it.

[ailendolin]

Thanks for tagging me @viola-halogen!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

199 at the moment. Which is a little insane.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,054,233

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, I mainly write for BBC Ghosts, Yonderland and Bill (2015) and Horrible Histories. I have posted a few Loki fics recently as well because the new season came out and inspired me but it's back to Ghosts now.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. When Sorrow Sang (6,806 kudos - The Witcher)

2. Helpless (2,215 kudos - Thor Movies)

3. For The Best (2,190 - Stranger Things)

4. Here With Me (1,952 - Thor Movies)

5. A Moment (858 - Loki Series)

All those fics were written for large fandoms so it's no surprise they gained more attention than, say, my Six Idiots fics)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely! Fandom thrives on interaction and the reason I post my fics online is because I want to talk about my favourite characters with other people! That's how I have found my closest fandom friends :)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Mhm, I think my Capvers fic Missed Chances probably fits that bill. Also Attentions (Kendall/Ellis of Woolworth), my 1917 fic God is not here and my Hornblower fic Cast aside.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Since most of my stories end on a happy note, it's hard to pick just one out of the 199. I think I'll go with my Thomas-centric fic The Storyteller because it focuses on Thomas finding his place in his family through storytelling and ends on a very heartwarming note. The same goes for Renovations.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't so far, thank the gods. I honestly don't get why people would comment hateful things on something other people share for free. If you don't like something, just close the tab and move on. It's as simple as that.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No and I never will. I have alluded to it in some stories if it was necessary for the plot (like in Compromise which was all about Thomas and Julian needing different things from their relationship) but I have no intention of ever writing it in detail because it's just not my cup of tea.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I do - very rarely because I like to stay true to canon as much as possible. Crossovers or alternate universes often don't work for me because too much gets changed and the characters often become unrecognisable in the process. But I am very fond of my Button House Museum AU which is essentially a crossover between Ghosts and Night At The Museum where Button House is an old museum that comes to life every night thanks to ancient Stone Circle magic.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Does not exist apparently

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Have I? I don't think so. I have collaborated with an artist before for an event but that's it, I think.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I don't have one all-time favourite ship because I don't move on from fandoms. Once I love something, I love it with my whole heart. There might come a point where it stops consuming my every waking thought but it will always stay with me. Some of my oldest ships are Janeway/Chakotay from Star Trek Voyager, Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill from Stargate SG1 and Mulder/Scully from the X-Files.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have had a third installment for my The Pacific series Moments of a Different Past planned years ago. A part of it is already written and I know exactly where I want the story to go but I'll probably never finish it which makes me a bit sad.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh this is difficult. I'd say conveying emotions and writing fics that feel like a warm hug? At least that's what people tell me they like about my stories - that they almost always end on a warm note and make them smile.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue, probably. Getting the voices right. English is my second language so dialects etc. often go straight over my head. Writing in a second language can be quite frustrating in general because you're aware your knowledge is limited and you keep catching yourself using the same phrases over and over again but don't really have the skills to shake it up a little.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm honestly not a fan of it. I think the odd word or phrase here or there is fine but as a reader, I find it very tedious to have to go to the end of a fic/chapter for the translation all the time so it's something I personally try to avoid (both when reading and writing).

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I honestly don't remember. Perhaps Digimon? Or Yu-Gi-Oh? Though tbf I've daydreamed fics even before I knew what fanfiction were or even thought about writing them down, so if we were to go that far back, it would probably be Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Oh, that's so hard to say because I pour my heart and soul into every fic I write. That being said, I am very fond of the multi-chaptered fics I've written, so Grace and This place (I never thought would feel like home) are definitely among my favourite BBC Ghosts fic. The Sound of Voices Two and The Rivers Between Us for The Pacific are two fics I also love to go back to and re-read. Sometimes, it's not a specific fic but rather the universe that connects them that I have created. My Yonderland fics fall into that category and it's always a joy to return to it.

Tagging: @magicaltear @ginevralinton and @i-am-a-world but as always no pressure💙

[odaclan]

Were the infamous skulls actually “skulls” or “heads”?

Some time ago, I was browsing the Unification/Azuchi-Momoyama volume of Kadokawa’s educational manga series on Japanese history. In a rather unique move, the scene of the presentation of Azai and Asakura’s heads depicted the whole heads gilded in gold instead of the usual skulls.

Indeed, the Shinchoukouki describes the heads as 首 kubi, which is the term used to usually mean heads. The description of the skull had come from the Azai Sandaiki, which mentioned that the heads had been “stripped of the flesh” before the lacquering.

The Azai Sandaiki was considered not entirely reliable, and the Japanese encyclopaedia labels it as more of a book of fables and folklore rather than a certified historical account. It makes sense that whoever worked on this manga then thought that maybe the heads are just heads based on the Shinchoukouki.

However, just because the Shinchoukouki doesn’t say “skulls”, doesn’t mean that they aren’t skulls. There are various words for “skull” (髑髏, 曝頭, 曝首, etc), but they’re not necessarily daily vocabulary that people would normally use at the time. 

So, if the Azai Sandaiki is not wholly reliable and the Shinchoukouki wasn’t clear, were they actually skulls or heads, though?

I personally believe that the answer is “skulls”.

Here is why I believe that it makes more sense for the heads to be cleaned down to skulls before lacquering and gold leafing them: 

The Azai father and son and Asakura Yoshikage were killed around September-October of 1573. After which, the heads were put in public display in Kyoto, where they were probably exposed to the weather and perhaps animals or insects. 

Asakura Shikibu no Daibu brought Yoshikage’s head to the Ryūmonji in Fuchū [...] Nobunaga entrusted Yoshikage’s head to Hasegawa Sōnin, who brought it to Kyoto, where it was put on exhibition. (The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga, page 198)

Nobunaga sent the heads of the Azai, father and son, up to Kyoto, where they were put on display at a prison gate [...]  (The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga, page 199)

This narration is corroborated by the existence of a letter Nobutada had sent, describing that Asakura’s head was being delivered to Kyoto for presentation (the letter was sent before the Oda army defeated the Azai).

While there’s no description of how long were they put on display for, it’s quite likely that they were going to be there for quite a while. These head displays were meant to serve as a proclamation of achievement and/or warning, after all.

By the time of the 1574 presentation, the heads had probably already deteriorated, and shall we say it’s not going to be a pretty sight? 

It has been argued that what Nobunaga did was a form of the head presentation ceremonies typically done with enemy heads post-battle. This ceremony highly values aesthetics, and it’s demanded for fresh heads to be washed, perfumed, and even decorated with makeup. 

Even supposing it actually isn’t a formal “head presentation”, the three heads were being displayed in a banquet. Skulls are going to be much more presentable than deteriorated heads (surely we all know zombies look horrible), and so I consider it to be the more likely option. 

Not to mention that there is also the additional possibility of the heads wearing down to the bones naturally, precisely because of having been exposed to the elements. Perhaps, then, when the Oda vassals retrieved them from their “display” in Kyoto, they were already turned into skulls.

[sircarolyn]

tagged by my friends @meluisart and @riversofmars

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

i have 181!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

297,205

3. What fandoms do you write for?

cabin pressure and doctor who mostly in the niche of gallifrey

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Somewhere in Space (199)

this is how i see you (178)

An (Un)expected Meeting (96)

the spark before the dark (come a little closer) (70)

Beneath the Milky Twilight (69)

5. Do you respond to comments?

i try my very best to but sometimes they fall through the cracks and i forget

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

idk, i do a lot of hurt and varying degrees of comfort. probably these would be my top three:

and you, my love, are gone

my heart is returned to sister winter (or any of the horrible hercolyn advent)

all of these bones, they get stacked so high

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

honestly don't know haha maybe the zurich au fic? maybe some of my early CP works? man, i just write melancholic, introspective one-shots. idk

8. Do you get hate on fics?

put it this way, i have fics with 0 hits so, no. i am in no way writing fics in fandoms that are popular and that is fine by me

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

write, yes. post, no. usually whatever my pairing of the week is, which is usually femslash

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

not really, i'm not really one for them. i've written a couple in my time but nothing recently that i can remember

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i refer you back to point 8. i am not even remotely relevant enough, nor do i write ling enough fics that anyone would ever consider stealing them

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nah, i'm too much of a control freak to not do it all myself. the closest i get is the vrcu <3

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

herc/carolyn. they are and always will be my everything. they are and always will be there for me. vaduz will always and forever be burned line for line into my brain

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

my fantasy CP au - that was so fun and lovely but i think it's lost to time alas

16. What are your writing strengths?

character. i feel i can get a good grasp on characters and write them convincingly

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

repetition, and in fic, editing (bc i never do). i think i have a tendency to get too introspective too

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

eh, whatever. i wouldn't do it myself

19. First fandom you wrote for?

warrior cats probably, or doctor who. i think warriors though lmao

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

can i give multiple?

the first one i think of is woke from a dream in which you'd left me, which is a post-canon counter-measures fic which turned into a beast. and literally no-one has read it and if i'm campaigning for you to listen to the series and you don't want spoilers, don't read it, but yeah. i like it. i acheived all my aims with it

the second is it's a wonder we keep going without you, which is a unity fic, though honestly looking at it my flowers for tardises series rocks and all those fics are great, especially the last two as well

i also have a fondness for hold me to the light, which is an arthur shappey fic and fits a lot of truths that i hold to be true about him in it

tagging @magicofthepen @theresa-of-liechtenstein @malcolm-f-tucker @stoppablethetramstory <3

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 199

Faith: A particular perspective

The word “faith,” “iman” in Arabic, in the framework of descriptions or from the point of view of science and epistemology, comes from the root “emn ü eman,” which means to be safe from fears, to believe, to promise, to trust, to procure the safety of others. It is a word that has the meaning of being safe and sturdy. Believing in God, attesting to His existence, making a confession in the conscience and making a proclamation from the heart, these are some of the meanings that are conferred upon this word from the point of view of linguistic tradition.

A person who puts faith in God is called a “mumin.” A mumin is the attester and representative par excellence of all the characteristics that we have seen above—here we could also talk about the issue of the relationship of deeds and faith, and whether deeds are included within the description of faith, but for the moment we shall not dwell on these topics. Mumins are indeed heroes of attestation, proclamation and representation with their common sense, their ability to see and perceive, their pure intellect that has been enlightened by revelations, their vast and objective comprehension, their strong and encompassing vision, their fastidiousness and sensitivity in matters of responsibility, their determination and resolution against evil, their pursuit of greatness throughout their entire life and the safeguarding of these high ideals, the ability to keep alive their feelings, awareness and will, their curiosity that leads to the penetration of the essential meaning of things and their deep understanding in interpreting phenomena, their believing and trusting in God and being known among people as people of trust, their attestation to the existence of the Just One and their ability to always stay true to Him, their being known as people who can be trusted with anything and being remembered as people of credibility to whom one can turn at all times, their being remembered thus and being accepted by the all as thus, their being the means for the remembrance of God and also being understood as people who direct those who around them toward Him. They are heroes of attestation, proclamation, and representation, in the true sense of the word.

Even if every believing person is not a hero of faith and Islam to the same degree, it is clear how significant the feeling of belief is for each individual. For a start, this feeling is of the highest value in the nature of humanity, with regards to creation. Even though those who do not believe try to be fulfilled, satisfied, or more precisely, try to find distraction, they feel themselves to be in a vacuum. All time and space is a vacuum for them, today and tomorrow are all the same. Such people feel this vacuum deep down in their soul, they voice the smothering feelings that turn to senseless ravings thus:

All is emptiness; the ground is a void, the skies are a void, the heart, the conscience is a void; I want to hold on, but there is no where in sight to hang on. 

And a believing soul, giving expression to the chilling nature of the denial of truth and any attempt to conceal it, yet at the same time, expressing the peace that faith promises, simply calls out thus:

A rusted heart which has no faith is a burden for the breast. 

A votary of the heart who is determined to dissolve the corrosion of these rusted hearts, on the other hand, will say: “Genuine pleasure, enjoyment without pain, happiness with no sorrow is possible only within the sphere of faith and its truths,” so “those who want to enjoy the pleasures of life should enliven it with faith, adorn it with the deeds that God has prescribed for humanity and protect it by avoiding deeds that He has told us not to commit,” for “when one manages to direct oneself toward the path of eternal life, however miserable and troublesome one’s life may be, as one considers this world to be the waiting lounge for Heaven, one accepts everything contentedly and gives thanks” . Such people would enlighten our horizons with their healing words and cause our hearts to feel the magic of faith.

With regards to its content and essence, faith is a fruit which has been picked from the realm of life and presented to our souls; it is the heavenly river of Kawthar, from which our hearts have been made to drink, a meaning soaked in by the lips of our hearts, a monument of divine light in our hearts, shaped by the ruler and compass of meaning, feeling, conscience and understanding. Heroes of faith who repair and restore their hearts and feelings with faith and understanding have already discovered the secret of turning their world of the mind into the heavens; they have entered the route of eternal happiness and have been freed from all other quests. Since “there is always the existence of a spiritual heaven in faith, and a spiritual hell in blasphemy and sins … then indeed, just as faith carries the spiritual seed of the Tree of Heaven, so too does blasphemy store the spiritual seed of Hell” 

In fact, if a soul has taken wings by means of faith, it will not loiter in any other doorway, nor will it stoop so low as to beg from another; a person with such a soul will not bow their head before anyone else; they will act bravely in the face of everything, to the degree of the strength of their faith. Indeed, “faith is both light and power. Those who attain true faith can challenge the universe and, in proportion to their faith’s strength, be relieved of the pressures of events.” This is because “faith leads to testifying to God’s uniqueness, this testimony leads to submission, submission leads to putting oneself in God’s hands, and this last leads to happiness here and in the hereafter.” Such monuments of faith use their hearts like spiral staircases that lead to the realms beyond the heavens and with this, they beat their wings in the direction of the angelic heights where angels and spirit meet. At times, the angels and spirits whisper things in the ears of these people, and at times they present the spirits with garlands of comprehension and become people of distinction in that realm. And if such people have been able to deepen their faith with learning and have adorned that learning with spiritual tastes, then, indeed, it is then that they start to fly to horizons that even angels yearn for; they are always on the look out for destinations that Lord would approve of … spending their time with those deserving in Heaven and dreaming of the “highest Heaven.” To be of a value great enough to be lifted to the highest Heaven with the light of faith and to attain a value befitting Heaven is the destiny of those who have faith; to stoop down to the level of dark denial and to become one of the people of Hell is the unfortunate end of the blasphemer; the latter is a topic unto itself, but it would take too many pages to make this analysis here.

Those who can see people of faith with their particular depths, remember God through them. Those who feel their breath find life as if they have been visited by Messiah and those who listen to the voices coming from their heart become intoxicated on the wine of the words, as if they have reached the company of the Sultan of Eloquence. Indeed, a soul which has completed its garments with faith and what faith promises is no longer in need of anything else. Through being elevated toward God, such a person is still powerful in weakness with the will of God, rich through His wealth in their poverty, and despite being small, is one of greats. This is due to the fact that such people depend on the eternal will of their Master when their powers of choosing and will are not sufficient. They trust in His will upon matters which surpass their abilities; when shaken in matters of this life, they take refuge in the orchards and gardens of life eternal. When the anxiety of death envelops their horizon, they throw themselves onto the open climate of eternal life. Faced with matters which they cannot resolve with their intellect and understanding, they resort to the glowing climate of the Qur’an, which finalizes the solution. They never experience despair, never feel emptiness; they never come face to face with everlasting darkness. Their experiences and lives are like a song of pleasure and they turn their face toward the Creator with thanks, just like bountiful ears of corn.

Perfect people with faith are not dependant solely on their own consistency or personal states; such people open up to everyone with a prophetlike resolve, embracing everyone and binding their life to the earthly and otherworldly happiness of others to such a degree that they will neglect themselves and live like a friend of the Prophet; scattering light onto their surroundings with the internal light that is like a candle, and maintaining a route which at times may be contrary to personal benefit…indeed, such people always look for places that are dark, like the night. They fight with darkness and oppression, always burning, as they burn, they feel the pain inside, and while their heads may be bowed, neither the continuous glow of their flame, nor the gradual expiration of the flame prevents such people from enlightening others.

Devotees of faith who have managed to raise their flags at the entrance to the way of faith tread the whole world in one bound. They reach the heavens, hold conversations with the stars … they are in contact with the sun … they befriend the moon … and they walk through large stretches of space, toward the “Perfect Companion.” As they walk, their faces are always looking at the ground in humbleness and their breath is that of humility. Indeed, it is as if they have donned feathers taken from the wings of angels, they soar at inconceivable heights; but neither the dizziness of such heights, nor the fact that they are on a par with spiritual ones confuses their thoughts—the purest of the pure. Their heads are always inclined toward their breast, with the feelings of Prophet Adam, with a neverending sigh and hope on their lips, they are like a red rose of the deepest hue. And they glow with varying colors when they turn toward the Just One, as if they are looking toward the sun; when they feel His majesty; they sweat like dewladen leaves of the morning. It is as if they have heard the sounding of the Sur, the fanfare of the Judgment Day.

Those who watch such people find a window through which to gaze upon All-Clement in all His actions, to turn toward eternity and to transform their worlds into nests of love. They display a variety of lights in the darkest night, in those nights where one awaits the dawn and in gardens swept by autumn. They present bunches of roses and flowers to those around them gathered from the emotions in their breasts.

Such people sometimes shape their feelings with majesty and benevolence, they sometimes cool their scorched breasts with tears; their tears flow as if to make the path more welcoming to their wishes and expectations, and they experience approaching happiness with the hope and faith that these aspirations will soon come true. They are always ready to go beyond distances, in accordance with the vastness of their faith. They keep time with the rhythm of their heart, making wings for their reason with feathers from the wings of their heart; they overcome in one step the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in which reason and earthly comprehension are embroiled, and they reach the apex of the world of meaning.

The adherents of truth are always at peace, even when they are surrounded by motifs of grief and sorrow. They do not suffer long from grief, nor are they familiar with unending sorrow. With their bond to God and their intimacy with Him they are able to break the grip of grief with ease; they smother sorrow in its own sorrowfulness and if they have troubles, they adorn them with “sacred sobriety” and watch the pink hues of the spiritual beauty without distress, binding anguish to pleasure, and pain to the glory that is promised by trouble. They are able to transform the groans of pain to joyful sighs, and even when they are most distressed they are able to recite poems of happiness to those around them with the language of their hearts. When they capture the essence of this way and thus sanctify their first breath, with their second breath they bind their hearts to their minds, making their intellect speak with the tongue of the heart and making their voices heard even on the remotest stars and beyond, thus making all the spiritual ones listen to these calls to prayer, a song not heard before. Even believers can hear and enjoy them; as long as the believers keep their horizons free from the stain of sin.

[sleepingdeath-light]

since this is still something of a debate…

re: silent readers, fan creators, motivation and interaction

Since I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about this lately, and have seen a fellow writer get hate for talking about it, I figured that it was about time to throw my hat into the metaphorical ring.

Interaction is a massive part of fandom as a whole because in the end we’re all just a bunch of nerds all obsessing over the same characters and media in our own little community. Like a nest of overly excited rats, or something equally strange. And interaction can come in many forms depending on which platform you’re using — and for this post I’ll be referring back to AO3 and Tumblr because that’s what I use.

On AO3 you have a few ways of interacting with an author whose content you enjoy — with some being anonymous and others being much more preferred and important to authors. Of course there are hits, which are encouraging of course but you have no way of knowing if someone clicked on and finished your fic or if they mis-clicked and immediately left; it’s completely ambiguous. Kudos and subscriptions are the other big ones and are a good form of encouragement for writers because they tell you who enjoyed your writing and give you an idea of who would want to return (even if subs are usually anonymous as well). Finally there are bookmarks and comments which are the best kinds of interactions to receive in terms of motivation because they can provide actual praise and feedback, telling a writer who enjoys your writing, what they enjoyed or where to improve.

I know that waking up to a flurry of comments makes my day more than checking on stats and seeing a couple more kudos — and it makes me more likely to continue writing for those fandoms.

And for posterity’s sake, here are my AO3 stats as of the 27th of February 2023 (for context I have 31 fics up at the moment):

22k of my word count came from fics posted over the last month that I got feedback for — which also account for 7 of my total comment threads.

Now let’s look at Tumblr — where your options for interactions are following a creator, leaving an ask, liking, reblogging or commenting on specific posts.

There isn’t a metric for tracking how many people have seen a post on Tumblr, obviously, so the closest thing we have are likes. And that is how I treat them — a track of who has and has not seen each thing I post — as opposed to a proper interaction. They’re nice, of course, but they’re sort of insignificant when you think about sharing content and such — especially when you get to bigger fandoms.

Asks are an amazing way to give feedback to a content creator as well as to send in requests if they accept them. That way even the more anxious of readers can participate and interact — which is great! But they tend to get clogged with demands, threats and hate if you leave anon on at the wrong moment — which I and other writers have experienced.

Reblogs and comments are probably the best way to motivate a writer — which I can absolutely corroborate. Even if you don’t think the post you liked will fit the theme of your blog, you’re welcome to create a sideblog just to reblog things you like. Nobody’s saying that it has to go on your main!

Now let’s look at all of that in real terms by comparing two of my side blogs: this one (@sleepingdeath-light) and my most recent (@sleepingdeath-bboys).

This blog (light) was started in 2021 and has 615 posts up as of now. I have 43,960 notes and write for 115 different fandoms. 2081 of you follow this blog and most of my interaction is through anonymous asks (over 200 right now) and likes with very few reblogs and even fewer that have any feedback with them (maybe 5 total off the top of my head).

My Baynton Boys blog was started at the end of January 2023 and has 49 posts up. i have 199 notes and write for 6 fandoms with a focus on characters played by a single actor (extremely niche). I still receive more likes than anything else but the margin is incredibly small as I also receive a large amount of tagged reblogs and requests from the other amazing writers in the fandom (@/jamiewintons and @/pink-booty-butts mainly, who you should defo follow if you’re interested in Mat Baynton content btw!).

I have written over 22k words and counting for the latter account because l feel so much more motivated and appreciated by the people I am writing for.

I have posted a few headcanon sets for this account in the same time period because I am massively lacking in the motivation to do anything else.

So in case you were ever up for debating it; interaction matters when it comes to any type of content creator. We’re not robots, we’re people giving you content for free — and it’s nice to know when people enjoy it. Like actually enjoyed it (especially if you were the one who requested it!).