#also to me femininity means emotional closeness and masculinity means emotional distance

[fel-mi-er]

Epel Vs. Romance

Feburary meta post! That means dealing with tha big L-O-V-E. Epel isn't the mushy type, but I'm here to examine his relationship with romance based on what little has been said/shown about it.

Why He Would Front

So! First of all. Let's establish that Epel tries to distance himself from anything feminine. This post is not about his relationship with femininity, but that relationship is relevant to his relationship with romance.

Romance is often seen as a feminine thing. Some examples of this include rom-coms being labled "chick flicks", bodice rippers having a primary audience of 30+ women, and the outdated sentiment that feelings are for women, and "real men" don't care about any of that.

So. It stands to reason that Epel would have a lot to gain by feigning disinterest in romance as a whole. He doesn't want people thinking of him as someone who's romantic-- even without the feminine associations, it's not in line with how he wants to be seen (someone strong and cool, not mushy and sensitive/emotional)

HOWEVER. Epel has also displayed that he may not be as romance adverse (or ignorant) as he may like people to believe. I'm not saying he's secretly some super mushy closet hopeless romantic. But I certainly don't think he finds it "totally cringey" as he's said in the past.

Caught in 4k nakskxHQKEFJKXKXA

So, he does have an idea of what a nice/good relationship would be like for him. He's thought about it enough to have that little daydream, and he seemed happy enough talking about it before he realized he was saying it in front of someone else.

Which brings me to his...

Point Of Influences

He appears to base his ideas of romance on his grandparents (not his parents? that's a separate, more headcanony [read: less supported by the text] post),

as well as movies/books/popular media.

Him using his grandparents as a model/point of reference for what a healthy relationship is like makes sense, considering he is very close to them and has spent a lot of time with them growing up.

Him looking to media follows a running theme with Epel caring about what can be seen on the outside, about public perception. Epel is very concerned with how people see him, and how things look-- not from a physical beauty standpoint like many that reside in Pomefiore, but from a "how would it look if people saw me doing this" standpoint, a "what would people say", kind of way. In some ways he rejects the status quo/social norms, but in other ways he is very much beholden to them. He may not care about things like getting his clothes dirty or what people would think if they saw him doing donuts on a tractor, but he would very much care about wearing a gown, or what people would think if he cried at a "chick flick".

I would posit that Epel has less of a problem with romance itself, and more of a problem with how he himself fits into that romance. It's fine for other people, like his grandparents, but on him it feels awkward and embarrassing.

Which brings me to...

What (He Thinks) His Role Is

Epel's image of the man he wants to be is someone strong, cool, and dependable, that people take seriously. He very much aligns himself with traditional masculinity, and as such he would imagine himself as doing all the traditionally "male" things in a relationship. But more than that is his desire to be strong and dependable. Most of his lines describing romance involve him being strong and protecting his significant other

His view of what he should do/be in a relationship is largely focused on this idea of the big strong man protecting his partner, being someone to lean on, being cool and dashing. He has never been in a relationship before (tumblr will only let me add ten photos to this post so I can't add any more, but it's mentioned in the ghost bride event), but if he were to enter a romantic relationship, he would want to be very chivalrous. He would hold doors open, foot the bill on dates, walk his partner home, hold their hand during scary movies-- etc etc etc. Everything that a guy is "supposed" to do in a relationship, because he bases a lot of his perception of romance on media, and he wants to do whatever will solidify him as "the man" in a dynamic.

He's clearly insecure and defensive about the disconnect between who he is and who he wants to be. He might feel awkward doing romantic things/imagining himself in romantic situations because he isn't where he wants to be yet. I wouldn't be surprised if he wouldn't feel confident in a relationship until he got taller, or stronger, or had more muscles. As things are now, he might feel ridiculous doing those traditionally "manly" things, beacuse he doesn't feel "man enough" to do them yet, and he thinks/knows he looks silly doing them. Though this last paragraph is more speculation than the others (though this entire post is also speculation, just speculation with some examples to support my ideas/headcanons ejfjajjekckakdkfka)

Conclusion

Now, all that being said, I really don't think Epel thinks about romance very often. It's not a concern of his, he's not looking for a relationship or anything, he's genuinely not really the romantic type. I just wanted to examine some of his lines and point out that his take on romance being cringey probably isn't the most truthful, and he might actually secretly like some romantic stories or "chick flicks" or whatever, but it's not something he'd be willing to admit.

Happy (Late) Valentine's Day !! 💕

[egyptian-sun-god]

Desi Girls and Generational Gifts

Yo, my brown girls in the mutuals reply if you feel me on this.

There's so many things that are gender segregated where these are boys things and these are girls things. I mean reply if you guys have also seen in like family functions when there's a bunch of relatives/ family friends there'll be like one corner for the men, once corner (usually in the kitchen/near the dining area) for the women and the children will be in their own corner. I don't know how often that is but it's what I've observed. Rb if you see the same.

Its a bit fucked up how like the women are always expected to serve and like prepare like snacks. Coffee illati tea eduthukunu vaa nu solluvaanga (bring coffee or tea they'd say) in my family to the women. Now this isn't just the hosts, but the guests invited would also step in and go into the kitchen to prepare.

Now I've always felt like nah it's not that bad I mean my parents let me, a girl not do any of those things and continue talking in like the "men's corner" with my brother and the uncles. And then when I went back recently, I realized I only had that experience because I wasn't a "woman" yet. This last month was the first time I'd went back home since Covid so I'm now an adult. And it was completely different.

Being a girl vs a woman in tamil/indian society is nuts. The expectations flip so hard. Stuff I got away with a few years before got me yelled at now. Talk softer, Don't be so rough when you walk, Come and help with the serving etc etc. And it annoyed me so much having to perform traditional indian femininity in front of the men and I was resentful of how my grandmother and aunts and mum would do it without even realizing how fake it felt. It distanced me from them.

I don't know but at a point, I got tired of arguing. I went with it and started acting "traditionally." Fucked up, but I discovered something i actually liked.

After the men would all leave and it was just the women in the house. The conversation changed. It felt freer. The aunties and grandmothers started gossiping and advising the younger women. It felt like I'd stepped through a secret garden with knowledge being instilled in the middle of pressure cooker whistles. The topics ranged from maintaining a household, to marriage in the modern day all the way to grief and loss. I heard nuanced takes of division of labour in marriages, even though some of my aunties had more "archaical" ideas it made sense. It was love in the way they were taught to express it.

An example was when my grandmother and another aunty talked about the grief of losing a husband and how detrimental it was after you ended up having built an identity and been their caretaker for so long. They then compared it to having a husband lose a wife and not able to remarry, which they said was worse. At first I was close to dismissing them becuase I thought this was another one of "oh no , men need women. We have to care for them and be their moms etc." It wasn't though. I mean yeah parts of it were oh look they can't cook they need us. But it mainly circled around the fact that women have social circles where talking about these things are normal. Men don't because of traditional aspects of "masculinity" or in their words, "because he is a man", they can't express these things with their friends. I'll be real, I didn't think they'd pinpoint the issue of setting up men to be emotionally closed off as a justfication. It made me rethink marriage though, and the reason why women are seen as like pillars in marriages.

There was something special in those hours. Something more raw, real. I don't know. Being a brown girl has so many issues with our community and traditions, but sometimes. If I look hard enough, it feels like I'm part of the women that made me. Their struggles generationally passed down to me. But not just the struggles, their gifts of traditional feminity like being emotional. There is logic in the most illogical of their issues.

[denisezd0]

Academic Blog #7

Why does holding hands between two boys feel weird. I think this film has the same question as me. Through this film, I will analyse the problem of gender bias that exists.

The story centres around two 13-year-old boys who have long been very close, but suspicions about their relationship with their classmates have forced them to go their separate ways. When tragedy strikes one of the boys, the other is forced to confront the question of why he is estranged from his closest friend.

How do we define intimacy? In this film, two close friends go to high school together and are confronted with the stigma of female classmates asking "Are you a couple" when they see Leo and Remi inseparable. There are also intangible comments and taunts, but can the complexity of their relationship really be defined by the adult perspective of "couple" or "friends"? Such comments create a different kind of relationship between them. Is intimacy optional depending on age and gender？

Intimacy seems to be something that is not allowed by the public when it happens to boys, and there are more surprised expressions and sarcastic words. I wonder why society has a stereotype that boys should not show weakness and love. When did we start to fear intimacy with others? You can't hold hands, you can't lean on others gently, and when someone approaches you, you should rush back.

Most parents in China will always say that as a boy you shouldn't cry, you shouldn't eat too slowly, and you should choose black more often. Or you are a girl, you shouldn't do some actions, you need to learn to do housework. I have to say I really resent this kind of irrigation education, where do adults get these theories and requirements from. Can these worldly views really be more important than the healthy growth of a child? To this day I still don't understand what gender bias and separation are all about？

The major twist in the film's plot is pushed aside by Leo, Remi chooses one day to kill herself inside her room, leaving behind a dismayed family, and a guilt-ridden Leo. I think as children we should all be the same, there's a lot of things, a lot of things that you recognise and encounter before you even know what they are. Like death or love. Malar believes that intimacy is a necessary part of a fulfilling life. However, we shouldn't take for granted that we know what it is and how to access it. A better understanding of this powerful experience and the many obstacles to its realisation may help us to be courageous in our search for it.

In the film, Leo is so desperate to fit in with the boys that he goes to play hockey, deliberately keeping his distance from Remy, not wanting to be labelled "feminine", but when Remy asks him if he is okay with him joining in, Leo remains silent. According to an article published in the Asian Journal of Kinesiology, "Overcoming Stereotypes of Masculinity in Singapore's Elite Male Gymnasts", the concept of gender is initially learned and ultimately personalised according to what it means to the individual. When you're in love or in a special relationship, you don't care what it is, you just want to simply have him. Remy's proximity makes Leo choose between the public eye and their intimacy, and he loses Remy. Remy's death reminds Leo that he's lost everything, and that intimacy is something many people never get back.

Such a secular statement is not only reacting to the question of whether or not two boys have a friendship with each other, but it is asking why friendships between boys can't have soft feelings. When I was looking for information, I looked for intimacy to show more of the same, cool kids and feminist intimacy, why is it that even intimacy is labelled as gendered. Isn't intimacy needed by all of us? Can't boys have tears between them apart from blood and sweat？

Leo's avoidance of cold violence puts Remi's emotions in a depressing stage and finally, she can't find a way out and chooses to use death to solve the problem. Perhaps death is the fastest and easiest way for teenagers to think of to solve their problems. I hope that we can call on everyone to care more about the mental health of adolescents and give them more ways to solve their problems. Creating a comfortable and relaxing environment while being able to give some reference to the value of releasing emotions. I hope that I will be able to reduce the need to ask questions from a self-conscious point of view and to use universal values to understand a lovely phenomenon that I have not been exposed to.

Finally, I hope that you are firm in choosing yourself and believing in yourself at all the times when unclear choices and confusion arise.

References

Marar, Z. (2014;2012;) Intimacy. United Kingdom: Routledge

Schudson, Z.C., Beischel, W.J. and Anders, S.M. van (2019) ‘Individual Variation in Gender/Sex Category Definitions’, Psychology of sexual orientation and gender diversity, 6(4), pp. 448–460.

Binte Fadzal, I.N.J. and Chung, H.J. (2018) ‘Overcoming the Stereotypes of Masculinity in Singaporean Elite Level Male Gymnasts’, The Asian journal of kinesiology, 20(4), pp. 30–42.

Bernard, D.L., Gaskin-Wasson, A.L., Jones, S.C.T., Lee, D.B., Neal, A.J., Sosoo, E.E., Willis, H.A. and Neblett, E.W. (2023) ‘Diversifying Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology: A Change Gonna Come’, Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology, 52(3), pp. 396–410.

Hart, L.M., Morgan, A.J., Rossetto, A., Kelly, C.M., Mackinnon, A. and Jorm, A.F. (2018) ‘Helping adolescents to better support their peers with a mental health problem: A cluster-randomised crossover trial of teen Mental Health First Aid’, Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 52(7), pp. 638–651.

[princesspandoranil]

I’m sorry I just can’t see Steve with Nancy. Like Steve is the mom. Nancy? A father? I don’t think so. Steve needs to marry a man (Eddie) or an absolute lumberjack emotionally distant (b4 they work on that) and sarcastic werewolf of a woman.

[lizworlds]

❤️ - “  My Love,   is actually  my Twin Flame  “ - ❤️

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐

“ My Love,is actually my Twin Flame “

                            ---written by:  🦂 Zayn Whyaeipi 🦂 

                                                                              8/27/2021

A Twin Flame, (Yin & Yang) often known as a "mirroring soul," is an intense embodiment of connection which is believed to be a person’s other half.

It’s based on the belief that one soul can split into two bodies. A twin flame connection will be both challenging and healing, which has been one of the significant aspects. The love story with twin flames created in the stars (literally). From their previous life experiences to their early physical meeting, and indeed throughout the turbulent stages of their relationship, everything about them was destined on a soul level.

When twin flames meet, either or both of them may be in a relationship with someone else. We refer to this person as a karmic partner. Usually, the Divine Feminine is single, while the Wounded Masculine is in a relationship with another (karmic partner). It can, however, happen in any circumstance. A teacher is the karmic mate of the Wounded Masculine. His/her job is to help the Wounded Masculine prepare for the Divine Feminine.

There will be a significant difference. If you represent the lighter side of the TF (Twin Flame) or the yin and yang dynamic, your light will shine on your twin flame’s lower shadow aspects that are living in that darker, denser energy, as well as the things that your twin flame does not want to face and the things that your twin flame is repressing. The Universe uses the karmic for the highest good of the TF (Twin Flame) Union.

( Image source: https://theworkingsinglemom.com/experiencing-tower-moments/ )

The Wounded Masculine may take a long time to settle this karma and part ways with the karmic partner because of soul/karmic contracts (lessons to learn). This is because karmic energy is heavy, and that he or she is still dealing with it. It’s a powerful sign that he/she further needs healing. Therefore, it shows that he or she is in his or her wounded masculine.

As a result, there’s a good chance things will turn messy. Many wounded masculines will have to go through "tower moment after tower moment" (a period when everything seems to crumble apart) before they fully discover what is best for their highest good.

As twin flames, the energies that come from third parties have a direct impact on their connection. For that matter, all relationships are affected to a degree by third-party or outside energies.

( http://www.thelesbianmafia.com/home/wp-content/uploads/feminine2.jpg )

Many times, the DM doesn’t value the relationship the way DF does. The divine masculine has repeatedly overstepped divine feminine boundaries. Breadcrumbing could also have endured by the Divine Feminine out of desperation energy to unite with her wounded divine masculine. She may have allowed deception, lies, and deceptive behaviors. Perhaps she put up with his/her back-and-forth with his/her karmic partner, anticipating s/he’d change his/her mind and choose her/him.

However, once the Divine Feminine has fully awakened, her intuition is so precise while she’s on the verge of healing. She understands she is worthy of becoming the only one in her divine counterpart’s realm.

The Divine Feminine will eventually realize that she is worthy of someone who recognizes both her greatness and her worth.

She desires to be with someone who treats her with love, respect, honesty, truth, and tenderness on an equal level.

She won't put up with anything less.

She isn't accessible for such nonsense.

It's a matter of all or nothing.

( Image source link:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/855050679224598923/  ) 

We perceive the spiritual dimension as the need for: life's meaning, purpose, and fulfillment;

We know it in the spiritual realm as the ascent of one’s consciousness.

How many Spiritual Dimensions are there?

-3rd Dimension: "The Realm of Pleasure"

The 3rd dimension, We see physical things in our reality that take up space in the 3d or third-dimensional mind. Besides 3d and 5d, several physical objects can appear in 4d and 5d. Since we believe what we see, we believe the 3d only exists because of cultural indoctrination. It’s really restricting and prevents your mind from expansion.

* Ascension of conciousness involves :

(Materialism, Victim mentality, and Control, Status, Ego association, Service to self, Fear-lower emotions, Linear thinking  )

-4th Dimension: "The Realm of Time "

The 4th dimension connects the third and fifth dimensions. We know this dimension as spiritual awakening, and it begins through meditation to open the heart chakra. You can feel present in this realm by placing your hand over your heart. If you’re ever in 4d, you’ll notice that you’re quiet and still inside. You will feel happiness, love, and gratitude. As a result, in order to ascend from the 3rd to the 5th dimension, you must first go through or have at least experienced the 4th dimension.

* Ascension of conciousness involves :

(Understanding, Aligning with purpose, Synchronicity, Seeking answers, conscious being, more compassion, more connected, expanding consciousness )

( Image source link:  https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/514465957427019990/ )

-5th Dimension: " The Realm of Unconditional Love "

The 5th dimension is the dimension of love. You are in the space of unconditional love. To be in the area of love and light, you must remove any mental or emotional blockages such as fear, rage, jealousy, hatred, guilt, suffering, and so on. It is a very pure sort of love in which there are no boundaries to love. Telepathy is known in this dimension. Time overlaps, giving the impression that everything is happening at the same time.

* Ascension of conciousness involves :  

(Service to others, Purpose based, High Frequency, Abundance, Unconditional Sharing, effortless, Universal knowledge, aligning with the divine, authenticity )

As your soul sought answers, your ascension process began. Your Higher Self is well aware of this, and it is their responsibility to reveal it at the time when you are ready to have your Twin Flame experience and accomplish the ascension process. The Twin Flame experience is something that not everyone has chosen to have in this lifetime.

In this lifetime, not all twin flames are destined to meet. This all depends on your original soul contract and what you both agreed to learn and grow on a soul level.

Our emotional wounds are best provoked by our twin flame. This is because they are a part of us, and we are a part of them. Do not confuse this as being triggered, Twin flame triggers only lead you to a higher understanding of the connection. 

They experience similar wound patterns, and that they are our mirrors, revealing us what we require to heal. Ultimately, twin flame connections assist each person to heal through any difficulty. You’ll probably have a lot of soul mates. Soul mates are about completing each other. This is in line with the idea that with every expansion, some level of tension is to be expected, but then there’s only just one twin flame.  

NOT EVERYONE FINDS THEIR TWIN FLAME, BUT IF YOU DO, IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A TOTALLY LIFE-CHANGING KIND OF LOVE. 

(  If you are reunited, your relationship has the potential to be once-in-a-lifetime. Nothing will ever be the same. )

( Image source link : https://dakotaearthcloud.com/product/marriage-sacred-masculine-divine-feminine/ )

The Divine Masculine counterpart is usually the one who awakens her (Kundalini activation). This can happen when two people communicate and are physically close to each other.

The Divine Feminine, triggers awakening in the DM, in a slightly different way and usually over a period of time. They intensify the divine masculine to connect to the Earth, nature, and the divine.

When your twin flames connect, they forge a connection that both grounds you to the Earth and to nature, as well as opens you up to higher beings and spiritual worlds.

( Image source: https://shop.cosm.org/products/oversoul-poster  ) 

The divine masculine and divine feminine, are both represented in twin flames. Both masculine and feminine energy exist in everyone of us. These energies have a significant impact on how we present ourselves in the world and in our interactions. Work, social expectations, trauma, past relationships, and other factors can lead this energy to be misaligned with our inherent nature, resulting in unnecessary tension, distance, and isolation. In addition, there is still a Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine polarity in same-sex couples.

Masculine qualities: Logic, Reason, Action, Firm, Survival, Loyal, Adventurous, Rational, Strength  ( Highlight:  analytical, competitive, and logical. )

Feminine qualities:  Intuition, Nurturing, Healing, Gentle, Expressive, Wise, ,Patient, Emotional, Flexible ( Highlight:  connection, emotions and flow. )

After the honeymoon stage, "you or your partner will be the one discovering unlikable characteristics, which will trigger anxiety, potentially causing the relationship to fall apart. This resemblance to a mirror is partly responsible for many of the dramas you’ll possibly experience with your twin lover. "Anything we’ve spent our lives ignoring or rejecting is suddenly in front of us," As you get to know each other, you may discover that you share the same traits about your upbringing, including being abandoned, or that you attended many of the same places at the same time.

About two years ago, number synchronicity started appearing for me before I met my twin flame, but I do not know what they are or what they imply. Then, for a week or two, this woman caught my attention because of an interesting event. Our meeting provoked my Dark Night of the Soul, which started the beginning of my (true) awakening journey, although I was in my pre-awakening stage when we met. After meeting her, (my twin flame ) I felt shivers down my spine. It’s bizarre on a cellular level. It’s as though I’ve known her throughout my whole life.

I felt a tremendous connection with her. I’d never really had anybody else before, in ways that I still can’t entirely verbalize.

I instantly recognized her as my wife when I met her, because I could hear those voices inside my head insisting that she was my wife in a previous life and will continue to be in the future. To be honest, I felt an immediate sense of peace; it felt as if I was her home. When my twin flame enters my life, I experience an immediate sense of relief, without knowing why.

The best part about having this kind of connection is having a home with somebody who embraces you for who you are on the inside and allows you to be entirely yourself. Everything clicks, whether you’ve been wearing make-up or just haven’t showered in days, and you couldn’t imagine having it with anyone else in your life like you do with your twin flame.

With my twin flame, her strengths are my weaknesses. We both help each other maintain a sense of equilibrium in our lives. They’re the sweet to my spice, the black to my white, and the yang to my yin. We are mirrors of the same and reflect each other's light or darkness, and this is why, at times, it becomes so difficult. The connection seems to match into my life, and you know it is genuine. It is the most beautiful and magical experience, and by far the greatest gift I could ever receive.

If you’re like most individuals, you’ve spent a significant amount of time praying and hoping for a meaningful relationship to appear in your life. You may not realize immediately that the person is your twin flame, but as soon as you do, you’ll stop seeking unrelated friendships and romances.

You know it’s important when your twin flame emerges. Now that they’re in your life, you feel like the wait is over.

When she’s with me, she makes my world feel bigger. When my twin flame and I are together, life opens up in various ways.

Whatever it may be, this mutual encouragement inspires you to expand your horizons by challenging what you previously believed to be impossible. We may have doubted our ability to achieve our dreams in the past, but today you know you can achieve what you’ve set your mind to. Perhaps because the twin flame energy has pushed us to it. 

Once you know your twin flame has your back, you can move forward with confidence and  they’ll know they have your support with everything. You can strengthen yourself emotionally and spiritually. They’ll improve as a person in perfect sync with your personal growth. You balance each other. You also help them stay aware of the world. They change as you do. They are, in many ways, your other half.

Your twin flame is the male or female version of yourself.

- End

❤️

All the Love - L

[komoryriku]

Queering KH Part 4: Hearts in Tune

Actually KH Finally lol

Pictured: Riku humming Sora’s name in a soft, adoring, wistful voice the way a swooning straight person sighs the name of their beloved of the opposite gender.

Kingdom Hearts gives off so many subtextual signals of queer coding that it genuinely BAFFLES me how people can really believe it is straight. You may be wondering what makes me so confident in that when there has not been anything in the games to explicitly prove any of the characters are not straight, and I will be happy to tell you. It is because in order to believe Kingdom Hearts is straight, you have to ignore WAY too much subtext. To truly believe that Sora is in love with Kairi and only coded to be interested in Kairi, you have to ignore his questioning of what love is. You have to ignore the combined keyblade he shares with Riku. You have to ignore how much the narrative is driving him to understand that Riku is his most important, cherished person. This all goes doubly for Riku who has a coming out story not unlike Elsa’s metaphorical one, in which his love for Sora is his greatest source of strength. You have to pretend the necklace gifting plot point is entirely straight and cannot possibly mean anything homoromantic. You have to ignore the way Sora cries while clutching Riku’s hand compared to his subdued and non-emotional reunion with Kairi- that’s just too much “accidental subtext” for me to confidently ignore lol. Intentional or not, KH is Gay~

Here’s how we’re gonna do this.

So where the hell do I even begin with coding KH? Well- I can’t possibly queer the whole of KH text in 1 summer, so what I plan to do is this:

Give you the tools to understand KH’s coding so that you can code it yourself~

Queer a few major KH scenes so that everyone can see that the proof is in the pudding.

I’m gonna try to break down various scenes to decode them and queer them so you can see what’s at play in KH. Originally when this meta was a single doc, I was only gonna cover 4 scenes. But since I’m breaking it into parts to update at my leisure, I’m gonna just add scenes and meta as I go~

Now without further ado:

How the Hearts in Tune scene is Gay Coded

This shouldn’t be too hard at all.~

This scene is almost too easy. 

The scene opens with Sora bringing Mickey the sound idea he found but as it turns out, one sound idea is not enough. Sora tells us not to worry because he has a friend who is always picking up the slack for him. Likewise, on Riku’s end, he brings his sound idea to Mickey and is surprised to see that Sora’s sound idea is necessary to complete the song. 

Once the sound ideas meet, this beautiful visual plays out in which the 2 sound ideas swirl around each other and the soundtrack title “Dearly Beloved” plays. 

Now, there are several things I want to note about this sequence- heck this visual alone before we move on. 

Recall earlier when I discussed Shiki’s point that blue and pink (likewise blue and red) “go together”, romantically.

I will let the visual of Sora’s sheet music being pink while Riku’s is blue speak for itself. But I will also add how this ties into the yin and yang themes I’m about to discuss:

Yin and Yang

This concept gets its own section because it’s such an influential concept in so many aspects of various cultures around the globe.

Yin and Yang is an eastern philosophy which illustrates the concept of dualism. In short, it is the concept that 2 opposite halves are complements to a whole. The original term in fact translates to dark-bright.  

I am neither a philosophy professor or student so I will keep this as brief as I can and simply encourage you to study up on Yin and Yang at your own leisure. I will however paste this section from wikipedia because I think it is extremely helpful information to have for studying eastern media in general. 

Yin and Yang: husbanded opposing forces. Dark-Light, Moon-Sun, Chaos-Order, Winter-Summer, Negative-Positive.

Female (Yin)-Male (Yang): Yes this is often used in a heteronormative heterosexual context because people are homophobic and believe in gender binaries, unfortunately, but I implore you to consider the concept in more figurative, spiritual, aesthetic themes, especially since Yin and Yang is a much grander philosophy than mere sexuality discourse; it’s about complementary forces creating a whole. 

For shipping purposes, think opposites attract. Think concepts that are traditionally associated with femininity meshing with concepts that are traditionally associated with masculinity. Queer media has a wonderful way of subverting heteronormative Yin and Yang tropes by showing that cis-hetero standards can be hypocritically non-compliant with the complementary concept.

Rather than thinking of this, 2 heteros in love based on being just- the same person with opposite genders:

Think of this, same gendered couples with complementary personalities:

Think about how an aloof scrappy butchy vampire queen attracts an uptight calculating femme princess.

Think about how this goody-goody dumb jock with a martyring hero complex attracts this naughty cunning jock with a self-loathing villaness complex.

And now think about how badly we need more canonical mlm couples in children’s media lol. Oops my finger slipped. But I’m getting ahead of myself lol.

The concepts of interconnected opposite forces are so important and prominent in literature throughout the world, but yin and yang is ESPECIALLY important in Kingdom Hearts because it is a story that explicitly explores Light and Dark forces. It explores how they both oppose one another in catastrophic ways,

and how they complement each other in harmonious ways.

Getting ahead of myself again… But hey speaking of harmony, back to the matter at hand.

Hearts in Tune.

This scene shows a number of romantic symbols. As I was saying before the yin and yang tangent, pink and blue (nee red and blue) are already symbols of romantic suggestion. And in the case of them representing 2 parts of a whole song, these song pieces act as complementary halves, adding another layer of dualism to the scene. Furthermore, the music sheets swirl around each other in a yin and yang fashion. Harmony has been achieved. This lets us know these forces belong together. These forces representing Sora and Riku. They are husbanded together. These 2 hearts in question are part of each other. In fact, Mickey even says so:

Perhaps most damning, however, is that the song in question is “Dearly Beloved”, arguably the theme song for Kingdom Hearts as far as the score goes. I’m sure it goes without say that “Dearly Beloved” is not only in itself a romantic sounding phrase but it is also the phrase specifically said by officiators of weddings to the congregation before the wedding vows are exchanged. “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today…” 

I will also mention that Riku’s dream eater symbol visible in the shot is specifically designed based on a bleeding heart flower, a symbol of passionate love. Credit to Steam for pointing this out here, please follow them and read their posts they are magically delicious:

So almost everything about this scene is aesthetically romantically coded, and I didn’t even mention the fact that Dream Drop Distance’s whole color palette is themed with rainbows, which as I said earlier is absolutely still a gay symbol in Japan. Note the rainbow of colors animating from the sheet music. 

So in terms of the atmosphere of the scene, its already incredibly homoromantic in every way I can think of. But what about the dialogue?

Well lets talk about the dialogue. Dialogue should always been read with care when you’re trying to queer a text. Often a lot of queer messaging in a text is subtextual. This means the text itself may actually say something gay, but you have to read further into it. This is an old method of queer writing designed to protect the writer from getting in trouble for their gay crimes.

Historical aside on this:  If you’ve ever read Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, you may have note that Lord Henry can never just simply say that he is gay, lest Oscar Wilde be charged for homosexuality in 19th century England. Instead, Lord Henry simply tells us he is married to a woman, but makes it clear throughout the text that this marriage is mostly performative and he is not emotionally invested in it whatsoever, going against the puritanical, heternormative ideals of Victorian prudery. Lord Henry is by contrast MUCH more invested in following the life and times of his very close friend Dorian Gray, with whom he shares a hedonistic philosophy in the name of Fin de siècle. Not to be a downer but for the sake of understanding how real this subject of oppressed gay censorship is, despite keeping the homosexual themes as purely subtext, Oscar Wilde was tried and convicted of homosexuality and this book was used against him in court. 

What we are privileged to have today with KH is a cutscene and not just a script. Meaning we have visuals, animation, voice acting, musical cues, etc etc to follow along with to enhance our subtext. 

On Sora’s end of the conversation, Mickey points out that the song is incomplete with just his sound idea alone, and Sora tells him not to worry, as Riku is his dependable friend who will fill in where he fails. The text in the official English translation is:

Mickey: That's strange... Is one Sound Idea not enough?

Sora: Don't worry. I've got a friend out there who will help. He's always 

picking up the slack for me.

This on its own sounds platonic. But note just how affectionate Sora’s voice acting is when he says it. Not only that, he clutches his heart to let us know how close he is to Riku and how much his connection with Riku matters to him. How much confidence he has in this friend he cares so much about. He then closes his eyes after saying it, smiling up in the air blissfully while he waits for their hearts to make their connection and finish the song.

Once it is finished, Mickey remarks that their sounds joined together to make something more powerful. Sora then says looking thoughtful, “Yeah. Two forces are better than one. Right, Riku?”

Following this, Sora leaves to fight the boss.

On Riku’s side, Mickey questions what happened, and Riku looks up thoughtfully, and says tenderly, “Sora.”

Mickey comments “Sora? Funny... Just hearing that name kinda makes me wanna smile.” and Riku tells him warmly, “Yeah. That's how he is.”

Mickey then goes on to say some really shippy stuff:

“Whaddaya know... Riku and Sora. The Sound Ideas you two set free joined together. And when they did, they made a great and powerful harmony.”

Riku then nods and tells Mickey brightly that “Sora can find the brightest part of anything, and pull off miracles like there's nothing to it. It's pretty hard not to smile around him.”

And I would like to pause to look at that line. “It’s pretty hard not to smile around him.” Although Mickey says the same thing, that just hearing Sora’s name invokes a smile, we sense a somewhat deeper meaning in Riku saying it. Why is that? Well, for one thing this game is entirely about Riku protecting Sora and exploring how much Sora actually means to him. This game is continuing Riku’s redemption arc from KH2, but it is also doing something perhaps even more important: it is providing him a journey of self discovery. This test resets Sora and Riku to level 1 so to speak, not just in their powers but even their models revert to variations of their KH1 selves. This helps to underscore Riku re-examining himself and his feelings. 

And then guess what? Mickey makes some even SHIPPIER commentary. He exclaims “Wow! No wonder the music sounded like so much fun. But I bet he's got you to thank for that. Having such a good friend means he could really enjoy it.”

Riku is taken aback by this comment. “Huh?”

Mickey continues, expressing some extremely yin and yang themed sentiments, 

“It's like each of you is holding on to a little part of the other. Your hearts are always in tune, so they're free to sing. Gosh, I hope I can be part of the team someday.”

Mickey did us a wonderful favor and expressed to us explicitly, for those who didn’t understand the romantic coding of the scene already, that Sora and Riku are a good match. Mickey tells Riku that the music sounded like fun in English, that it was a happy, pleasurable time, and tells him that Sora has Riku for a friend which is what must have made it so enjoyable. 

So from this dialogue we get assurance that Sora and Riku are two very close friends, whose hearts are connected, and they are 2 powerful forces that merge into an even greater one. Their hearts are in tune.

Now if this were a scene about a boy and a girl, I doubt anyone would question whether it was romantic. Why should we be asked to look at it platonically just because it is 2 boys? The romantic imagery is clear. 

And let me ask you this while we’re still on the subject of Dream Drop Distance: 

According to Riku’s character files, he had previously thought of Sora as a little brother, and tried to be a cool older brother to him. 

He then tells us that this has changed. What did it change to? 

The surface level, heteronormative answer would say it changed to them being merely friends. 

But isn’t that an odd regression? After all, found family is a thing, and that’s a bit weird for him to question since there is no reason for those feelings to change on that notion. If Sora loved him like a brother, that clearly hasn’t changed. Riku clearly loves Sora as deeply, so that didn’t change. The other problem with this phenomenon Riku is dealing with is that there is no reason for him to feel this strange sense of repression we keep seeing over this change. He is constantly holding back on some feelings for Sora but platonic and brotherly feelings are entirely acceptable. What is it that he is hiding? What sort of feelings for Sora would be hidden?

From the Kh2 Novel: 

He really did want to see Sora and talk. But that was impossible with this appearance. The things that mattered the most were what he couldn’t tell Sora. It had always been that way.

What sort of feelings might be systemically oppressed?

This scene is pretty much EXACTLY what I would do to say as explicitly as possible that Riku is gay without being able to say it outright due to censorship. 

[skullsandwineglasses]

The Rebel Princess First Impressions (episode 16)

My first drama of 2021 and my first drama in 4 months. 

AvenueX’s harsh review piqued my interest, especially when she mentioned the high production quality of the drama and the list of talent that was behind the production of the drama. So I went into this drama knowing nothing about the plot, having high expectations for the production, and no expectations about the characters because of AvenueX’s criticism. I’ve always respected Zhang Ziyi because of her dedication to the art and her legendary filmography, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan. I agreed with AvenueX; ZZY has an aura and elegance that’s meant for mature, cold characters, so I was wary of her playing a Mary Sue who’s innocent and doted upon. 

I first saw Zhou Yi Wei when he played Zhao Liying’s classy, composed, protective, and rich older brother in My Glamourous Times. He’s not classically handsome, but there’s a measured confidence in the way he carries himself that exudes masculinity, and that’s also balanced by his more feminine qualities like his quiet, airy voice and his full lips. He also has an intense gaze that feels like he’s looking straight into the soul of whoever he’s speaking to. 

I also watched ZZY and ZYW’s collaboration on I Am an Actor, so I knew that the chemistry would be there between them. 

Okay, so enough preamble. Spoilers ahead. 

First 8 episodes:

I didn’t mind ZZY playing a young teenager. Yes, it does take a bit of getting used to, but kind of like the CGI in The Irishman, but it very soon doesn’t become distracting and you manage to suspend your disbelief. I came in expecting the worse, like an exaggerated caricature, but ZZY actually pulls it off quite well. Since this is a coming-of-age drama, it’s a given that the first few episodes are going to be about a main character who starts off as innocent, naive, and carefree. I’d rather have the main actress portray these young scenes than to have a completely differ actress do this. The first few episodes are meant to anchor you emotionally into the drama and to empathize with the FL. If you introduced ZZY after 8 episodes, you wouldn’t really emotionally connect with her since the trauma that catapults the character into maturity was experienced by the younger actress. So for me, the age was a non-issue. I was concerned that it would be cringey, but it wasn’t. It’s called acting ffs. Why can people play older characters when they’ve never been older, but people can’t play younger characters, even though they were once that age. I forgot how pretty ZZY is though. 

Sure, the FL is a Mary Sue, but I didn’t find her annoying. Maybe it’s because ZZY makes it work. Who knows. Essentially, everyone dotes in her, every man has a crush on her. She’s spoiled, she’s kind. She’s perfect. Her lineage is incomparable and powerful (even if a little incestuous). Not to mention a little corrupt as well. I guess she wasn’t annoying because she doesn’t try hard to be righteous. She has a privileged life and she’s just living with what she’s given. She only asks that she is able to have a love marriage instead of an arrange marriage. Typical, but understandable. 

My complaint is that I didn’t feel any chemistry between her and Zi Tan, the second prince. Unlike Ming Lan and Yuan Ruo in Story of Ming Lan, Awu’s first love just didn’t capture the imagination. Maybe it’s because ZYW’s Xiao Qi stole the show from early on, which made it hard to jump on board Zi Tan’s ship. 

Awu and Xiao only had a handful of interactions, but their chemistry is palpable (ZYW’s gaze is just....ugh swoon). They first meet that night at the festival where she unknowingly insults him and then he saves her and Zi Tan later that night. Then a couple episodes later, he saves her again when she falls off the roof during her escape from the crown prince. They only cross paths briefly 2 times in 4 episodes, and one of those times they weren’t even talking to ech other because she faints, and yet he’s totally taken by her. He’s a goner. But he know she’s out of his league, and so he keeps his feelings to himself, even though he can’t stop thinking about her and stays up at night staring at the moon remembering their 2 encounters. Talk about a slow burn. Insta love shouldn’t work, but again, it does here. 

I like Xiao Qi’s character. He doesn’t speak much, he doesn’t emote much, but he’s not the typical cold, distant, irritable ML from idol dramas. Xiao Qi isn’t afraid to love. He’s tender, gentle, composed, and calm. The sexual tension between him and Awu from when he rescued her to when they consummate their marriage is through the roof. He takes on the role of a husband by taking care of her, entrusting her fully with managing his household, puts her above everything else in his life, and always takes her side. He closes the distance between them while still giving her space, respecting her, and waiting until she’s ready. Even though he initially thought of himself ill-suited for her, once they’re married, he slowly wins her over. Episode 13 is obviously my favourite because that’s when Awu finally warms up to him. 

Honestly, this relationship only works because of the smitten looks that Xiao Qi gave her that night when they first met at the festival. Those few intrigued/amused looks carry this relationship for 13 episodes. And I love how he brings up that night again when he’s caring for her after he rescued her from Helan Zhen. 

Speaking of Helan Zhen, I find it funny how it sounds like Helian Zheng from The Rise of Phoenixes, and it’s played by the same actor too (edit: NOT the same actor. This is Yuan Hong who played Jin Si Yu in TROP, and a more veteran actor than than the one who played Helian Zheng. Should have known that ZZY would pick Justin Hong who has much more acting experience. TBF tho, with the facial hair, they look similar) and has similar costuming. 

In terms of the political storyline, it’s not bad, but it’s not great, so I see AvenueX’s criticism here. I haven’t watched too many political intrigues, but so far, nothing has been overly surprising or shocking. 

The level of acting and production definitely lives up to expectations, although I have noticed some jumpy cuts. Some of the night scenes in the palace also look kind of CGI though, especially the sky. 

General Song is great. The ML always has a loyal sidekick. The FL also always has a loyal maid, and a disloyal maid who betrays her. In this sense, the drama is quite formulaic. 

It’s also nice to see Kara Hui and Angie Chiu act opposite each other. Angie Chiu is obviously speaking cantonese, and it looks like Kara Hui also speaks cantonese when she has a scene with Angie Chiu, maybe to help her get immersed into the scene. 

Overall Impressions: My basic self is only watching this for the romance, which so far has been slow and minimal (but really good). Xiao Qi is completely absent in episode 16 unfortunately, which is about Awu gaining the respect of his army. 

I do think this is a good spot to pause though. There’s no angst yet. Awu and Xiao Qi are at a good place in their relationship, even if they’re temporarily physically separated for now. Emotionally, they trust each other. It’s them against the world. 

But I’m worried about the upcoming episodes. Based on comments from MyDramaList, it sounds like there are going to be misunderstandings by around episode 33ish, which I’m not happy about. I was hoping that it would be similar to Ming Lan and Gu Tingye’s relationship dynamic where they trust each other fully and there are no secrets or misunderstandings, and they work together against the antagonistic forces opposing them. But it sounds like the drama is going, to well, stir up drama between the leads. 

I powered through 16 episodes in 2 days, and only 41 raw episodes have been released. Which means that I’ll probably catch up within the next few days, and then I’ll have to play the waiting game until the finale at the end of February. So I’ll just take a pause now before things ramp up and I get too attached and maybe watch something else before coming back to binge this. 

[septembersghost]

JESS u know i'm not really a tswift fan but every time i hear "shake it off" i think of dean and it makes me...SO happy because of what it MEANS for him, the way he's able to break out of that RIGID conformity of masculinity than john imposed on him, the way we get to see him excited and joyful and not afraid to hide it, from sam or from himself, i just feel like i'm riding high on that moment with him

lol I truly do apologize that this mess of a blog is nothing but wall-to-wall SPN, my pained thoughts masquerading as insights and manifesting as my bad writing, and me being a Taylor stan 😩

BUT

I want to talk about this for a moment! I want to talk about it on two levels, actually, so to start with the real life part - Taylor’s music 100% pulled me from the edge of hurting myself in 2009, if she was holding me back by one hand, Dean was holding the other (where he’d been for four years at that point), like, there are three definable things that I will always point to as being reasons I stayed alive and that gave me consolation at that time. However, in the 1989 era, I felt a distance and had some struggles with her image-wise (which is long and complicated and had little to do with her as a person or an artist, but rather some bad stuff she began to trigger for me, which was not her fault, but was very hard. She’s since addressed these issues, in a piece she wrote last year, and in her documentary Miss Americana, and I cried and yet felt such a sense of understanding and relief about it). But because of those triggers, and because the vitriol directed towards her was absolutely unbearable for me to see around that time, I put a bit of distance between myself and my connection to her during 1989 (yes, I am aware of the irony that her biggest era was the one where I was least present). ANYWAY, I tell you this because...that scene with Shake It Off was euphoric for me in, like, a sign from the universe way. I don’t know how to explain this, but it was as if it said, “it’s okay that you’re not as close to her music right at this moment as you were, because you will be again someday.” It was meant as a cute, irreverent scene, but it had this additional layer of meaning for me (which ties into what I said in that post yesterday, that he seems to cosmically appear and wink his presence to me in other places) that slipped into a very dear place in my head, where I knew it would all come back to me with time. It’s like I’ve got this music in my mind sayin’ it’s gonna be alright...

On the Dean level - I just love his unabashed love of music so much (obviously, this surprises no one given my personal romance with music), and I wish we had even more of it, but it’s an undeniable facet of him and speaks to the way he truly enjoys and feels passion for things, how deeply he experiences things. Music is intrinsically powerful and freeing. The use of Taylor does shatter that conformity and posturing, it has no outside pressure, it’s simply joy. And the thing is, Taylor is seen as such a “feminine” artist (and has been derided for it unfairly), and her perspective as a woman is so valuable, but the power of her music is also in its empathy and humanity stretching beyond boundaries, much like Dean himself breaks far out of his. Shake It Off is a fun bop, but her deep cuts are full of such earnestness, admissions of terrible hurt and troubling mistakes, breathlessness at love, entrancement for storytelling. That’s why it’s entertaining for me to imagine him listening to other songs of hers, because he has such strong emotional complexities and understandings, and feels things profoundly, why wouldn’t her abilities with expressional lyricism speak to him? In the actual scene itself, it is a moment of happiness with the walls broken down, no judgment of himself, no pretense with Sam (and this happens in other instances, ie: him singing with love songs like: Can’t Fight This Feeling, I’m All Out Of Love - no offense, but Dean is actually a total sap), no need to be anything but himself, turn the radio up, kick up some dust as he cheerfully speeds down the road. It is the tiniest scene that I have probably thought too much about.

ALSO think about him and some of those lyrics, it’s about letting go of inhibitions, letting go of people’s assumptions and unkindnesses that have hurt you, knowing you’re awesome and can keep going: 

I never miss a beat, I'm lightning on my feet, and that's what they don’t see (It's what I do, and buddy, I'm the best). 

But I keep cruisin', can't stop, won't stop groovin' (Keep grinding. No matter how much it hurts, how hard it gets. You gotta keep grinding. And that’s how we’re gonna win. And we’re gonna win). 

Haters gonna hate, players gonna play, I’m just gonna shake it off. (Can I give you a little advice? Let it go. The past is - there's nothing you can do about it now, so, it's just baggage. Let it go. You'll feel a lot lighter...I try, every single day).

Just think - while you've been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats in the world - you could have been getting down to this sick beat. (Honey, there ain’t no other men like me.)

IN CONCLUSION: Let him live in that moment forever, I love him, I’m ALWAYS here to ride that high with you and him and Taylor’s accompaniment.

[flameontheotherside]

To Love Yourself = To Love Your TF

If your TF shares the same soul as you as like a spiritual twin in the womb of time and space or God. Obviously by that logic when you love and respect yourself, you are doing so to your TF. Having one in spirit or not living on earth, our roles are a little more defined. I'm assuming we all know who plays what. I'm Devine masculine and Erik is Devine Feminine. This has nothing to do with your gender on earth (just because your female now doesn't make you Devine Feminine every single time) obviously because I'm female and I like being female minus the emotional baggage and periods. I feel comfortable in my body unless I'm in a dress. I might look good but I feel awkward. I don't wear my emotions on my sleeleve and I curse a lot.

Regardless of that stuff, I learned that no matter where you are in your journey, to love yourself is to love your tf and vise versa. Also we are never apart. There so many ways you can be connected. For example I'm sure Erik watch Supernatural. I never seen it before early in 2009. But I had a deja vu or at least I thought so. I was also stoned for the first time but I get deja vu anyway. I probably swore I've seen the show because Erik has and that kind of leaked into my subconscious. I could be wrong, I could be right. It doesn't matter. Its just a probability.

So technically if someone were to tell you to go fuck yourself say:

Right on it! 😋👌

Give yourself a hug. Pat yourself on the back or not on the back. Lmao 🤣.

But seriously. You have to love yourself, respect yourself, care for yourself, stick up for yourself, be the best version of yourself without sacrificing your image. People notice when you're fake. Especially when your fake.

So don't go inventing some new identity. It doesn't work. I used to think this was the right thing to do after every relationship. It never works out. People will always see past your fakeness so be true to yourself. If you feel you have to change who you are, that's not real love. I did it for survival. I chose guys based on whether they could take care of me. I didn't want to be homeless and I didn't want to look like a loser. All of my friends started getting married. I wasn't in it for love. I was trying to keep appearances.

In all honesty since Erik died in 2009, I really gave up.

2 years after I wrote the letter on Erik's birthday. That unexplainable sense that "it" whatever it was, was over. Finished. It wasn't until I met Erik that he convinced that my life didn't have to be over or all about survival. Granted that no one will ever be like your TF but it doesn't mean I have to be alone for the rest of my life. Rick does annoy me but he's intelligent, funny and goes out of his way to not be an asshole. Plus he's also intuitive so I don't feel judged when I talk about Erik. There are other things but its just details.

In the years before Erik's death, it was different.. I really did love.. Maybe too much.. only 2 old exs now still hurt. Of course they were long distanced. I used local relationships just to waste my time consciously and subconsciously. You know, fuck buddies and the occasional loser. Car sex is bullshit. Its the seventh circle of hell especially in South Florida. Forget it. Fucking sucks. Nothing worse. Dont do it lol 😆 😂.

Its just after his death I've never felt the same.

Except for Rick but idk its still not the same...10 years ago I couldn't tolerate him. Now I can but if there was any kind of advice about "attracting" or being close to your twin flame is simply to love yourself. Obviously it took me meeting mine to do this because he's dead. Others in my position I think would agree. Things are slightly different and more challenging.

😘💕 Love yall, good night!

[lordofcrowns]

LANGUAGES: CAPTAIN CYRIL STACY

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: 1  /  2  /  3 + TONE OF VOICE: high  /  average  /  deep. ACCENT:  yes  /  no. DEMEANOR:  confident  /  shy  /  approachable  /  hostile  /  other. [ authoritative ] POSTURE:  slumped /  straight  /  stiff  /  relaxed. HABITS:  head tilting  /  swaying / fidgeting  /  stuttering  /  gesturing  /  arm crossing /  strokes chin  /  er, um, or other interjections  /  plays with hair or clothing /  hands at hips  / inconsistent eye contact  /  maintains eye contact  /  frequent pausing  /  stands close  /  stands at distance.

COMPLEXITY

VOCABULARY:  ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ EMOTION:  ◼ ◻ ◻ ◻ ◻ SENTENCE STRUCTURE:  ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ 

PROFANITY

PROFANITY:  ◼ ◻ ◻ ◻ ◻ [ highly situational - but he generally tries to avoid it ] CREATIVITY:  ◻ ◻ ◻ ◻ ◻ 

BOLD ALL THAT APPLY

arse. ass. asshole. bastard. bitch. bloody. bugger. bollocks. chicken shit. crap. cunt. dick. frick. fuck. horseshit. motherfucker. piss. prick. screw. shit. shite. shitass. son of a bitch. twat. wanker. pussy.

GIVEN PROPER RELIGIOUS CONTEXT 

christ on a bike. christ on a cracker. damn. goddamn. godsdamn. hell. holy shit. jesus. jesus christ. jesus h christ. jesus h. roosevelt christ. lord have mercy. jesus, mary and joseph. sweet jesus.

THIS OR THAT

contractions or enunciation?   straightforward or and cryptic?   jargon or toned?   complexity or simplicity?   finding the right word or using the first word that comes to mind?   masculinity, neutrality, or femininity?   formalities or abrasiveness?   praise or equivocation?   frankness or lies?   excessive or minimal hand gestures?   name-calling or magnanimity?  friendly or blunt nicknames?

◈ IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ◈

DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME HEARING OR UNDERSTANDING YOUR MUSE?

almost always  /  frequently  /  sometimes /  rarely  /  never.

DOES YOUR MUSE’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK?

almost always  /  frequently  / sometimes  /  rarely  /  never.  

WOULD YOUR MUSE INITIATE CONVERSATIONS?

almost always  / frequently  /  sometimes /  rarely  /  never.

WOULD YOUR MUSE BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS?

almost always  /  frequently /  sometimes  /  rarely  /  never.

WOULD YOUR MUSE USE “WHOM” IN A SENTENCE?

yes /  no  /  only ironically.

YOUR MUSE WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE? 

but /  though  /  although  /  however /  perhaps  / mayhaps.

HOW DOES YOUR MUSE END CONVERSATIONS?

walk away /  ask if that’s everything  /  say that that’s everything  / give a proper goodbye / tell their company they’re done here  /  remain quiet  /  they don’t.

HOW DOES YOUR MUSE ADDRESS OTHERS?

titles /  first names / surnames / full names /  nicknames. [ pet names ]

WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR MUSE BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK?

upper /  middle /  lower.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR MUSE SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS? 

accent /  vocabulary  / tone  /  level  /  politeness /  brusqueness /  it doesn’t.

Tagged by: @ofthesilverlining​ & @windup-dragoon​​ ( Thank you both! )

Tagging: @manawalls​ @noscean-scholar​ @finalvalor​ @verdandir​ @coeurlfist​ @windupzenos​ @wanderlust-spirits @alinteau​ @amurr-reha​ @tay-ffxiv​ @alun-ura​ @cuffles​ @menphinasbow​​ @varae-ver-you-are​ @cero-tia​ @thebratcat​ @smolcatte​ @heathenfrolic​ & anyone else interested!

( As always, no pressure to do the meme - but if you would like to do it, here is your excuse! Please feel free to use me as your tagger even if I didn’t mention you, I’d love to read more of these! )

Continued Cyril ramblings under the cut.

I have one (1) brain cell at this time so instead of eloquently worded information and thought provoking headcanons, you - my dear and most sincerely appreciated reader - get a bulleted list.

Okay here we go.  ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Cyril is, in any situation, quite formal in his vocabulary and sentence structure. This goes hand in hand with formal mannerisms and carrying.

Typically, the only real vocal indication of hostility - or otherwise less than noble intentions - is Cyril growling. His tone, manners, and vocabulary will remain composed, even if he’s quite literally in the act of something unsavory.

Cyril typically speaks slowly, which can either put people at ease or instill the exact opposite feeling. Naturally this depends on the dynamic, but it’s a common thread that Cyril’s voice goes from being a soothing presence to a terrifying one.

In most scenarios, there is precious little emotion present in his voice - which can sometimes make him sound disinterested or unimpressed. That can either be an asset or a detriment, depending on who he’s talking to.

Most of his emotion - if he deems to show any - is present in his body language and, in conversation, displayed primarily through eye contact.

How Cyril speaks to someone is almost wholly dependent upon the dynamic between the two. Whether he’s stoic, gentle, invested, impatient etc will all depend on who he’s speaking to.

No matter the situation, Cyril’s voice always retain one feature that many will speak of: it’s loud. Or at least, it feels loud.

Cyril has a very authoritative demeanor and tone, and he does not allow people to speak over him. Because of this, he’s usually able to drown out others and command attention.

When speaking to crew or giving orders, all emotion will typically drain from his voice. This is the loudest and perhaps the most impatient he can sound - though whether or not the most intimidating is likely a matter of opinion.

The alternative for the most intimidating Cyril can sound is how he speaks when riled. While still formal and - until things begin to get violent / he loses his temper - quite calm and collected, he will snarl and growl low in the back of his throat to convey that he’s not playing around.

Full-fledged anger does not inherently mean he grows to be particularly loud - but his words and tone will be more aggressive and authoritative, similar in some ways to how his voice sounds when commanding the crew - but mingled now with unpleasant emotion. Most of his anger is conveyed in his actions, ie lashing out at others.

Genuine curses are rare. Typically foul language is reserved for use as a term / pet name to talk down to another.

Cyril never stutters or stammers his words - and he hates when people fumble over their words in such a manner. It’s common for him to blatantly ignore people until they can speak “properly” to him, without stuttering. In some cases he’ll cut people off and demand they start again, or repeat it until they can talk without fumbling. 

Eye contact is important to Cyril, especially in conversation. It’s also typical for him to get up in someone’s face to make sure they’re looking at him when they’re speaking. ( Again, very dependent upon dynamic, but still worth mentioning. )

Thank you for reading! 🌹

[thewordcollector2]

71+ Unforgettably Priceless Friendship Quotes, Proverbs, and Messages in Different Languages

Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem بسم الله الرّحمن الرّحيم… In the name of Allah (God), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Assalaamu 'alaikum السّلام عليكم… Peace be with you

Hi, Readers :). When you think about the word "friend", what comes to mind? I bet you think of someone who is near to your heart. But how does someone achieve that status of being dear to you? This is usually accomplished with an acquaintance who remains unswervingly* devoted, sincere, loyal, and trustworthy with you over a period of time. The kind of person I'm referring to is an individual who is there for you under all circumstances, no matter how difficult. A gem like that is rare nowadays, so be grateful if you've found someone who TRULY knows what it means to be a friend! Having given my definition of "friend", I'll give you some dictionary definitions of this word in the next paragraph, InshaaAllah إن شاء الله (God willing).

*unswervingly adverb = in a constant and steadfast manner; "an unswervingly loyal man" (The Free Dictionary)

The following are some of the meanings of the noun "friend" from four online dictionaries:

"A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts." (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)

"A person whom one knows; an acquaintance." (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)

"One attached to another by affection or esteem." (Merriam-Webster)

"A person you know well and regard with affection and trust." (RhymeZone)

"A person with whom you are acquainted." (RhymeZone)

"One closely attached to another by affection and esteem." (Wordsmyth)

Here are some synonyms of the noun, "friend": "alter ego", "amigo", "buddy", "chum", "crony", "familiar", "intimate", "pal", "sidekick", etc. Two of its antonyms are "enemy", and "foe". (Wordsmyth)

Seeing that we've established the meaning of "friend", let's examine some meanings of its derivative "friendship":

"A friendship is a relationship between two or more friends." (Collins COBUILD Dictionary)

"You use friendship to refer in a general way to the state of being friends, or the feelings that friends have for each other." (Collins COBUILD Dictionary)

"If you have someone's friendship, they are your friend." (Collins COBUILD Dictionary)

"The emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being friends." (Oxford Dictionaries)

Etymology:

friendship (n.)

Old English freondscipe "friendship, mutual liking and regard," also "conjugal love;" see friend (n.) + -ship. Similar formation in Dutch vriendschap, German Freundschaft, Swedish frändskap. (Etymonline)

Okey doke. Let's dive into some memorably precious friendship quotes, proverbs and messages in different languages, InshaaAllah إن شاء الله. Happy reading! :) ;)

Side note:

Please feel free to share, and reblog this post if you appreciate it, InshaaAllah إن شاء الله. Thanks heaps (a lot)! :)

Abbreviation key:

masc. sing. = masculine singular

fem. sing. = feminine singular

(ms.) = masculine singular

(fs.) = feminine singular

(m) = masculine

(f) = feminine

Arabic Quotes and Proverbs about Friendship

Sadeeq al-jamee' laisa sadeeqan li-ahad صديقُ الجميعِ ليس صديقاً لأحدٍ.* ~‎Aristu أرسطو

aw أَو / or...

"Sadeeq al-kull laisa sadeeqan li-ahad صديقُ الكلِّ ليس صديقًا لأحدٍ." ~‎Aristu أرسطو

"A friend to all is a friend to none." ~Aristotle

*Literal meaning: "The friend of all isn't a friend to anyone."

"As-sadeeq al-mukhlis kanz kabeer الصّديقُ المخلصُ كنزٌ كبيرٌ." / "The faithful friend is a great treasure."

"As-sadiiq al-haqiiqiyy ni'mat min-Allah الصّديقُ الحقيقيُّ نعمةٌ من اللهِ." / "A true friend is a blessing from Allah الله [God]."

"As-sadaaqah bilaa thiqah hiya zahrah bilaa raa'ihah tayyibah الصّداقةُ بلا ثقةٍ هي زهرةٌ بلا رائحةٍ طيّبةٍ." ~Laure Conan لور كونان

Friendship without trust is a flower without perfume.* ~Laure Conan

*perfume noun = a pleasant smell (Oxford Dictionaries)

"As-sadeeq huwa ash-shakhs al-ladhee yamnahu-ka kaamil al-hurriyyah li-takoon 'alaa tabee'ati-ka الصّديقُ هو الشّخصُ الّذي يمنحكَ كاملَ الحرّيّةِ لِتكونَ على طبيعتِكَ." ~Jim Morrison جيم موريسون

"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself." ~Jim Morrison

"As-sadaaqah tabda'u 'inda-maa tash'uru anna-ka saadiq ma'a al-aakhar wa bidoon aqni'ah الصّداقةُ تبدأ عندما تشعر أنّك صادِق مع الآخرِ وبدونِ أقنعةٍ." ~Zakaria Yassine زكرياء ياسين

"Friendship begins when you feel that you are genuine with someone else [another] and without masks." ~Zakaria Yassine

Important:

Google Translate was used for translating some French, German and Spanish friendship quotes and messages into English.

French Quotes and Proverbs about Friendship

"L'amitié sans confiance, c'est une fleur sans parfum." ~Laure Conan

"Friendship without trust is a flower without perfume." ~Laure Conan

"Au besoin on connaît l'ami." / "When need comes one knows one's friend." ~Proverbe français (French proverb)

"Ami de tous; ami de personne." / "Everybody's friend is nobody's friend." ~Proverbe français (French proverb)

"Mes amis sont ma richesse." ~Emily Dickinson

"My friends are my estate [wealth]." ~Emily Dickinson

"Même les meilleurs amis doivent se séparer." / "Even the best of friends must part." ~Proverbe (Proverb)

"C'est dans le besoin qu'on reconnaît ses vrais amis." / "It is when in need that one recognizes his real friends." / "A friend in need is a friend indeed." ~Proverbe français (French proverb)

"Qui se ressemble s'assemble." / "Those who resemble each other will get together." / "Birds of a feather [flock together]." ~Proverbe français (French proverb)

"Mieux vaut être seul que mal accompagné." / "Better to be alone than accompanied badly." / "Better be alone than in bad company." ~Proverbe français (French proverb) / Pierre Gringoire

"La vie est plus douce quand on est entouré de vrais amis." / "La vie est plus douce quand on est entouré par de vrais amis." / "Life is sweeter when you are surrounded by true [real] friends."

German Quotes and Proverbs about Friendship

"Gehe nicht hinter mir; ich werde vielleicht nicht führen. Gehe nicht vor mir; ich werde vielleicht nicht folgen. Gehe einfach neben mir und sei ein Freund." ~Albert Camus

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." ~Albert Camus

"Mein bester Freund ist der, der das Beste in mir herausbringt." ~Henry Ford

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." ~Henry Ford

"Es gibt nichts Wertvolleres auf der Welt als wahre Freundschaft." ~Thomas Aquinas

"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship." ~Thomas Aquinas

"Ein Freund ist jemand, der dir die totale Freiheit lässt, du selbst zu sein." ~Jim Morrison

"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself." ~Jim Morrison

"Guter Freund kommt ungeladen." / "A good friend comes uninvited." ~deutsches Sprichwort (German proverb)

"In der Not erkennt man die Freunde." / "Freunde erkennt man in der Not." / "Friends are recognized in need." / "A friend in need is a friend indeed." ~deutsches Sprichwort (German proverb)

"Wenn ein Freund bittet, so gilt nicht morgen." / "When a friend asks, tomorrow does not count." ~deutsches Sprichwort (German proverb)

Miscellaneous Friendship Quotes and Proverbs in English

Hadith* on friendship: The parable (lesson) of a good friend and bad friend

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Verily, the parable of a good friend and a bad friend is only that of a seller of musk and a blacksmith. The seller of musk will give you some perfume, you will buy some, or you will notice a good smell. As for the blacksmith, he will burn your clothes or you will notice a bad smell."

*Hadith حديث = saying of the Prophet Muhammad مُحمّد (PBUH)

Source:

Saheeh al-Bukhaaree 1995, Saheeh Muslim 2628

"Being alone is better than having an evil companion; and having a sincere companion is better than being alone." ~Unknown

"Having just one good friend is better than having a million fake friends who pretend to like you." ~Unknown

"A friendship is like a ship on the sea; it needs to stay afloat. If a friendship is one-sided, it will most likely sink in the sea of friendships." ~Unknown

"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood." ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~Bernard Meltzer

"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends." ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"It seems they had always been, and would always be, friends. Time could change much, but not that." ~Winnie the Pooh

"Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" ~C.S. Lewis

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." ~Oprah Winfrey

"Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I'm glad for that." ~Ally Condie

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes." ~Henry David Thoreau

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." ~Muhammad Ali

"In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends." ~John Churton Collins

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." ~Walter Winchell

"True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable." ~David Tyson

"Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart." ~Washington Irving

"Anybody can sympathise* with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success." ~Oscar Wilde

*sympathize (also sympathise)

verb

To understand and care about someone's problems.

To support and agree with someone or something.

(Cambridge English Dictionary)

"Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit." ~Aristotle

"A good friend is a connection to life — a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." ~Lois Wyse

"A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down." ~Arnold H. Glasgow

"The real test of friendship is can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple?" ~Eugene Kennedy

"A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad." ~Arnold H. Glasgow

"One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention." ~Clifton Fadiman

"You can always tell a real friend: when you've made a fool of yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job." ~Laurence J. Peter

"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow." ~Alice Walker

"Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together." ~Woodrow T. Wilson

"There comes a point in your life when you realize who really matters, who never did, and who always will." ~Unknown

"A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be." ~Douglas Pagels

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same." ~Elbert Hubbard

"A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out." ~Grace Pulpit

"One true friend adds more to our happiness than a thousand enemies add to our unhappiness." ~Marie Dubsky

"Most of us don't need a psychiatric therapist as much as a friend to be silly with." ~Robert Brault

"Friendship isn't a big thing — it's a million little things." ~Author Unknown

"Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty." ~Sicilian Proverb

"A good friend is cheaper than therapy." ~Author Unknown

"If a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it." ~Edgar Watson Howe

"The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend." ~Henry David Thoreau

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." ~Elisabeth Foley

"There are big ships and small ships. But the best ship of all is friendship." ~Author Unknown

"The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word, and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you've had." ~Author Unknown

"I like friends who, when you tell them you need a moment alone, know enough not to stray too far." ~Robert Brault

"The language of friendship is not words but meanings." ~Henry David Thoreau

"Cherish the friend who tells you a harsh truth, wanting ten times more to tell you a loving lie." ~Robert Brault

"Our most difficult task as a friend is to offer understanding when we don't understand." ~Robert Brault

"As a friend, you first give your understanding, then you try to understand." ~Robert Brault

"A true friend is forever a friend." ~George MacDonald

"Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most." ~American Proverb

"The tender friendships one gives up, on parting, leave their bite on the heart, but also a curious feeling of a treasure somewhere buried." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"A bosom friend — an intimate friend, you know — a really kindred spirit* to whom I can confide my inmost soul." ~L.M. Montgomery

*kindred spirit noun = A person whose interests or attitudes are similar to one's own. (Oxford Dictionaries)

or...

a kindred spirit/soul phrase = someone who likes or cares about the same things as you do (Macmillan Dictionary)

"Hold a true friend with both your hands." ~Nigerian Proverb

"Yes'm, old friends is always best, 'less you can catch a new one that's fit to make an old one out of." ~Sarah Orne Jewett

"Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough." ~African proverb

"The recipe of friendship: 1 cup of sharing. 2 cups of caring. 3 cups of forgiveness and hugs. Mix all of these together to make friends forever." ~Unknown

"A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow."

"Tell people how it is, be real and be honest. If you see something wrong make sure you speak up. Being this way will naturally eliminate the snakes and fakes." ~John Maiorana (Giovanni)

"A friend will fight for the truth, not distort it for their personal gain." ~Shannon L. Alder

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly." ~Proverb

"Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends." ~Aesop

"The rich knows not who is his friend." ~Proverb

Spanish Quotes and Proverbs about Friendship

"Tener buenos amigos es una bendición de Dios." / "To have good friends is a blessing from God." / "Having good friends is a blessing from God."

"Una amistad sin confianza es una flor sin perfume." ~Laure Conan

"A friendship without trust is a flower without perfume." ~Laure Conan

"Amigo en la adversidad, es amigo de verdad." / "A friend in adversity is a true friend." ~Proverbio español (Spanish proverb)

"Cada quien con su cada cual." / "Everyone with his own." / "Birds of a feather flock together." ~Proverbio español (Spanish proverb)

"Amistad fuerte, llega más allá de la muerte." / "Strong friendship transcends death." ~Refrán (Proverb)

"Amigo sin dinero, eso quiero; que dinero sin amigo no vale un higo." / "A friend without money, that I love; money without a friend is not worth a fig." / "Friendship is worth more than money." ~Proverbio español (Spanish proverb)

"Amigo de muchos, amigo de ninguno." ~Aristotle

"A friend to all is a friend to none." ~Aristotle

"La verdadera amistad es inmortal." / "True friendship is immortal." ~Proverbio (Proverb)

"Al amigo su vicio." / "Love your friend with his fault." / "Your friend with his vice* [bad habit]." ~Proverbio español (Spanish proverb)

*Synonyms of "vice": "shortcoming", "failing", "flaw", "fault", "defect", "weakness", "weak point", "deficiency", "limitation", "imperfection", "blemish", "foible", "fallibility", "frailty", "infirmity", etc. (Oxford Dictionaries)

"Cultivar una amistad verdadera requiere mucha paciencia, mucho tiempo, mucha dedicación y mucho esfuerzo." / "Cultivar una verdadera amistad requiere mucha paciencia, mucho tiempo, mucha dedicación y mucho esfuerzo." / "Cultivating a true friendship requires a great deal of patience, time, dedication and effort."

o / or...

"Cultivar una amistad verdadera requiere mucho tiempo, paciencia, dedicación y esfuerzo." / "Cultivar una verdadera amistad requiere mucho tiempo, paciencia, dedicación y esfuerzo." / "Cultivating a true friendship requires a great deal of time, patience, dedication and effort."

"Ten muchos conocidos y pocos amigos." ~Anónimo

"Have but few friends, though many acquaintances." ~Anonymous

"La alegría se multiplica cuando se comparte entre amigos pero el dolor disminuye con cada división. Eso es vida." ~R.A. Salvatore

"Joy multiplies when it is shared among friends, but grief diminishes with every division. That is life." ~R.A. Salvatore

"Sal de la vida es la amistad." ~Juan Luis Vives

"The salt of life is friendship." ~Juan Luis Vives

"Los amigos de verdad son familia sin certificado de nacimiento." / "Real friends are family without a birth certificate."

"Un amigo en la vida es mucho. Dos son demasiado. Tres son imposibles." ~Henry Brooks Adams

"One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible." ~Henry Brooks Adams

"La vida es mejor con amigos de verdad." / "La vida es mejor con amigos verdaderos." / "Life is better with true friends."

"La verdadera amistad resiste el tiempo, la distancia y el silencio." ~Isabel Allende

"True friendship resists time, distance, and silence." ~Isabel Allende

"La amistad verdadera perdura para siempre." / "True friendship lasts forever."

"La verdadera amistad es como tinta imborrable." / "True friendship is like indelible ink."

Note:

indelible ink noun - ink that cannot be erased or washed away (TheFreeDictionary)

Arabic Friendship Messages

"Shukran 'alaa sadaaqati-k[a] شكراً على صداقتكَ. Anta raa'i' أنتَ رائع!" / "Thank you for your friendship. You rock!"

Note:

"If you're talking to a female, the pronunciation differs a little. It'd be 'Shukran 'alaa sadaaqati-k[i] شكراً على صداقتكِ. Anti raa'i'ah أنتِ رائعة'." (Quora)

"Sadeeqee shukran li-wujoodi-k[a] fii hayaatee صديقي شكراً لوجودِكَ في حياتي." / "My friend [masc. sing.], thanks for your existence in my life." / "My friend, thanks for being in my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Sadeeqatee shukran li-wujoodi-k[i] fii hayaatee صديقتي شكراً لوجودِكِ في حياتي." / "My friend [fem. sing.], thanks for your existence in my life." / "My friend, thanks for being in my life."

"Sadaaqatu-k[a] min naw' fareed ‎صداقتُكَ من نوعٍ فريدٍ." / "Your [ms.] friendship is of a unique kind [type]."

aw أَو / or...

"Sadaaqatu-k[i] min naw' fareed ‎صداقتُكِ من نوعٍ فريدٍ." / "Your [fs.] friendship is of a unique kind [type]."

aw أَو / or...

"Sadaaqatu-k[a] hiya shai' fareed صداقتُكَ هي شيءٌ فريدٌ." / "Your [ms.] friendship is something unique* [extraordinary, one of a kind]."

*something unique = a unique thing

aw أَو / or...

"Sadaaqatu-k[i] hiya shai' fareed صداقتُكِ هي شيءٌ فريدٌ." / "Your [fs.] friendship is something unique [extraordinary, one of a kind]."

"Yaa sadeeqee, anta sham'ah tuneeru hayaatee يا صديقي، أنتَ شمعةٌ تنيرُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [ms.] are a candle illuminating [lighting up] my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Yaa sadeeqee, anta sham'ah tudhee'u hayaatee يا صديقي، أنتَ شمعةٌ تضيءُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [ms.] are a candle illuminating [lighting up] my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Yaa sadeeqatee, anti sham'ah tuneeru hayaatee يا صديقتي، أنتِ شمعةٌ تنيرُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [fs.] are a candle illuminating [lighting up] my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Yaa sadeeqatee, anti sham'ah tudhee'u hayaatee يا صديقتي، أنتِ شمعةٌ تضيءُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [fs.] are a candle illuminating [lighting up] my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Yaa sadeeqee, anta ash-sham'ah allatee tuneeru hayaatee ‎يا صديقي، أنتَ الشّمعةُ الّتي تنيرُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [ms.] are the candle that illuminates [lights up] my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Yaa sadeeqee, anta ash-sham'ah allatee tudhee'u hayaatee ‎يا صديقي، أنتَ الشّمعةُ الّتي تضيءُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [ms.] are the candle that illuminates [lights up] my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Yaa sadeeqatee, anti ash-sham'ah allatee tuneeru hayaatee يا صديقتي، أنتِ الشّمعةُ الّتي تنيرُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [fs.] are the candle that illuminates [lights up] my life."

aw أَو / or...

"Yaa sadeeqatee, anti ash-sham'ah allatee tudhee'u hayaatee يا صديقتي، أنتِ الشّمعةُ الّتي تضيءُ حياتي." / "O my friend, you [fs.] are the candle that illuminates [lights up] my life."

"Uhibbu-k[a] fillaah[i], yaa sadeeqee أحبّكَ في اللهِ، يا صديقي." / "I love you for the sake of Allah الله [God], O my friend [ms.]."

aw أَو / or...

"Uhibbu-k[i] fillaah[i], yaa sadeeqatee أحبّكِ في اللهِ، يا صديقتي." / "I love you for the sake of Allah الله [God], O my friend [fs.]."

Asdiqaa' hattaa an-nihaayah أصدقاءُ حتّى النّ��ايةِ / Friends until the end (m) / Friends to the end (m)

aw أَو / or...

Sadeeqaat hattaa an-nihaayah صديقاتٌ حتّى النّهايةِ / Friends until the end (f) / Friends to the end (f)

Asdiqaa' ilaa al-abad(i) أصدقاءُ إلى الأبدِ / Friends forever (m) / Friends always (m)

aw أَو / or...

‎Sadeeqaat ilaa al-abad(i) صديقاتٌ إلى الأبدِ / Friends forever (f) / Friends always (f)

English Friendship Messages

"True F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Fight for you.

Respect you.

Include you.

Encourage you.

Need you.

Deserve you.

Stand by you."

Prayer for a Friend

Stores don't sell,

I must confess,

the joys of life

that cheer and bless,

but friends and prayers

are priceless treasures

beyond all monetary measures –

and so, my friend,

I say a prayer

that God will keep you

in His care.

Helen Steiner Rice

"In life there are friends. Good friends, great friends, best friends. But you are my forever friend, InshaaAllah إن شاء الله. Thank you for being you."

"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart. I'll stay there forever." ~A.A. Milne

"Forever friends"

"My friend, thanks for tolerating my idiosyncrasies* and crazy habits. You might not know this, but you helped me find happiness in being the person who I really am."

*idiosyncrasy / idiosyncrasies noun = A mode of behaviour or way of thought peculiar to an individual.

'one of his little idiosyncrasies was always preferring to be in the car first'

Synonyms: "peculiarity", "quirk", "eccentricity", "oddity", "foible", "whim", "whimsy", "caprice", "vagary", "twist", "crotchet", "mannerism", "fad", etc.

(Oxford Dictionaries)

"You, my friend, are one of a kind."

"Thank you for your friendship. You brighten up my life!"

"With you, I can be honest and lay bare my heart.* Nothing else can come close to the beautiful friendship we share."

*lay bare idiom = to reveal or uncover private information or feelings (Merriam-Webster)

"You blur the lines between family and friends because you are both for me."

"I would rather thank you regularly for being a wonderful friend in every way, than belittle our friendship by saying thanks only once a year on Friendship Day. Thank you."

"Thank you for being a FRIEND."

"Thank you for making me laugh when I'd almost forgotten how to." ~Pam Brown

"Thank you so much for being a part of my life. Without you, life wouldn't be so wonderful."

French Friendship Messages

"Merci pour ce cadeau que tu m'offres chaque jour : ton amitié." / "Thank you for this gift that you offer me every day: your friendship."

Note:

"Generally, colons, semicolons, exclamation points, and question marks are all preceded by a space." (Yabla French)

"Être ami avec toi est l'une des choses qui me rend les plus heureux dans la vie." / "Being friends with you is one of the things that makes me happiest in life."

"Une véritable amitié est rare. Je suis tellement chanceux de t'avoir comme ami !" / "True friendship is rare. I'm so lucky to have you as a friend!"

"Les fleurs de l'amitié ne se fanent jamais. Merci d'être mon ami." / "The flowers of friendship never fade. Thank you for being my friend."

"Je n'arrive plus à définir ce qu'est l'amitié et la famille parce que pour moi tu es à la fois ma sœur et ma meilleure amie." / "I can not define friendship and family anymore because for me you are both my sister and my best friend."

German Friendship Messages

"Danke für deine Freundschaft. Du bist klasse!" / "Thank you for your friendship. You rock!"

"Vertrauen ist Mut, und Treue ist Kraft." / "Trust is courage, and faith is strength." ~Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

"Die Erde kann vergehen, die Sonne kann verblassen, doch wahre Freundschaft, soll uns nie verlassen." / "The earth can pass away, the sun can fade, but true friendship, should never leave us."

"Manche Menschen sind wie ein Spiegel, der uns hilft, in die verborgenen Winkel unserer Seele zu schauen. Schön, dass es dich gibt!" / "Some people are like a mirror that helps us to look into the hidden corners of our soul. It's great that you're there!"

"Manche Menschen machen die Welt besonders, indem sie einfach da sind. Du bist so einer." / "Some people make the world special by simply being there. You are one of those."

"Freundschaft, das ist eine Seele in zwei Körpern." / "Friendship is one soul in two bodies." ~Aristoteles (Aristotle)

"Freunde sind wie Sterne in der Nacht! Auch wenn man sie nicht sieht, weiß man doch, dass sie da sind!" / "Friends are like stars in the night! Even if you do not see them, you know that they are there!"

"Schön, dass es dich gibt." / "It's great that you're there." / "It's nice that you are there." / "I am glad that you are there."

"Schön, dass es dich gibt. Danke für deine Freundschaft." / "It's great that you're there. Thank you for your friendship."

Spanish Friendship Messages

"Gracias por tu amistad. ¡Eres genial!" / "Thank you for your friendship. You rock!"

"¡Gracias a Dios, soy bendecido/a y afortunado/a por tener un amigo como tú!" / "Thank God, I'm blessed and fortunate [lucky] to have a friend [m] like you!"

o / or...

"¡Gracias a Dios, soy bendecido/a y afortunado/a por tener una amiga como tú!" / "Thank God, I'm blessed and fortunate [lucky] to have a friend [f] like you!"

"Tener amigos como tú es una bendición. Gracias por tu amistad." / "Having friends like you is a blessing. Thanks for your friendship."

"Como las estrellas, tu amistad nunca deja de brillar." / "Like the stars, your friendship never stops shining."

"Cree siempre en ti. Cree siempre en mí. Cree siempre en nuestra amistad." / "Always believe in yourself. Always believe in me. Always believe in our friendship."

"Tu amistad es algo único." / "Your friendship is something unique [extraordinary, one of a kind]."

"Te quiero* mucho. Eres mi mejor amigo/a." / "I love you very much. You are my best friend."

*"Literally translated to, 'I want you', 'te quiero' is most appropriate for expressing love to family, close friends, or significant others."

(English to Spanish Raleigh)

"Te quiero así de mucho." / "I love you this much."

Amigos hasta la muerte y más allá (m) / Amigas hasta la muerte y más allá (f) / Friends until (till, 'til) death and beyond

"¡Qué alegría saber que existes!" / "What a joy to know that you exist!"

Amigos por siempre (m) / Amigas por siempre (f) / Friends forever / Friends for ever

o / or...

Amigos x* siempre (m) / Amigas x siempre (f) / Friends forever / Friends for ever

*x = por

o / or...

Amigos para siempre (m) / Amigas para siempre (f) / Friends forever / Friends for ever

Extras

Spanish Pronunciation Notes:

a = ah e.g. amigo/a

e = eh e.g. caliente

i = ee e.g. pimienta

o = oh e.g. frío/a

u = pronounced like the "oo" as in "soon" e.g. universidad

"G" is pronounced as an English "h" when followed by "e" or "i". Examples: gente = hehn-teh, gato = gaht-oh

"H" is always silent and never pronounced when it appears alone. Examples: hecho = echo, hora = oh-ra

In Spanish, the letter "h" has no sound. The digraph "ch" is pronounced like the "ch" in the word "chair".

"J" is always pronounced as an English "h". Example: jugar = hoo-gahr

"Qu" is pronounced as an English "k" when followed by "e" or "i" (pronounce the 'u' otherwise). Examples: que = keh, quotar = quoh-tahr

"Ñ" or "ñ" is pronounced as "enye". Example: baño = bahn-yoh

"Ll" or "ll" is pronounced as the letter "y". Examples: llenar = yeh-nahr, olla = oh-yah

The Spanish "z" is pronounced differently in Spain than in Latin America. In Spain, it is pronounced like the "th" in the English word "think". In Latin America, it is pronounced like the letter "s". Example: zanahoria = sa-na-oh-ree-ah

Sources of Pronunciation Notes:

2 Simple Rules to Help You Pronounce Spanish Words | TakeLessons

Spanish pronunciation of "h" and "ch" | 123TeachMe

Consonant: z - Study Spanish

7 Ways to Be a Genuine Friend

"You have to be a friend to have them."

― J.M. Richards

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let's get the facts straight, in order to be someone's friend you need to know how to be a true amigo/a. Here are seven ways to be a genuine* friend, InshaaAllah إن شاء الله:

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

― Oscar Wilde

1. Always try to be yourself. Let your friends see you for who you really are. Don't be a phony (fake). Show them your true personality. Don't act one way in front of them, and another way behind their backs. If they can accept the real you, then you'll be able to have more meaningful and lasting friendships.

"One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say."

― Bryant H. McGill

"There is as much wisdom in listening as there is in speaking--and that goes for all relationships, not just romantic ones."

― Daniel Dae Kim

2. Be an active, caring and responsive listener. Try to listen to your friends carefully, interestedly and understandingly. And, always make an effort to give them constructive feedback and sound advice.

"Perfection is a goal that will forever remain impossible for any human being to achieve. Therefore, the only achievable goal is to only strive to become the best that you can possibly be."

― Edmond Mbiaka

"I think people who have faults are a lot more interesting than people who are perfect."

― Spike Lee

3. No one is perfect. This is earth! We all have faults. Know that you have faults, and that your friends have faults too. And, learn to live with them. Some of them can be fixed and some of them can't be fixed. C'est la vie! ('That's life'; 'Such is life' in French) If you do something wrong, take the blame. Say your sorries, and try your best to learn from your mistakes.

"Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it all into words is all that is necessary."

― Margaret Cousins

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

― Marcel Proust

4. Appreciate your friends. Show them your appreciation. Let them know that you value them. Here are some simple ways of doing this:

Write them a kind note, letter, or email.

Give them a surprise call to let them know you haven't forgotten them.

Make something special for them.

Compliment them about their successes. But please don't flatter them, as flattery is insincere.

Show them signs of care and affection.

Do something sweet and thoughtful for them.

Give them a small gift to let them know that they mean something to you. You can be creative in this area, as it's the thought that counts most!

Verbalize it! Let your friends know how grateful you are for them. Tell them how much you prize (appreciate) their friendship.

"Tell people how it is, be real and be honest. If you see something wrong make sure you speak up. Being this way will naturally eliminate the snakes and fakes."

― John Maiorana

"Honesty is the best policy."

― Benjamin Franklin

5. Be honest and frank (direct) with your friends, but please remember to be polite too. If your friends ask for your opinion on a matter, give them a sincere one. Don't lie to them. Tell them the truth that they need to hear, but say it tactfully (politely).

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up."

― John Holmes

6. Be caring and helpful to others. Use your God-given abilities to do something good for your friends. Be genuinely thoughtful towards them, and look for ways that you can help them. When you help others it makes you healthier and happier.

"To keep the Golden Rule we must put ourselves in other people's places, but to do that consists in and depends upon picturing ourselves in their places."

― Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Treat others how you want to be treated."

7. Treat your friends as you'd like to be treated. That's the Golden Rule! If you follow this principle religiously (regularly, constantly), you're bound to have successful long-term friendships.

*genuine adjective = (of a person, emotion, or action) sincere.

Synonyms: "sincere", "honest", "truthful", "unhypocritical", "meaning what one says", "straightforward", "direct", "frank", "candid", "open"; "artless", "natural", "unaffected", "guileless", "ingenuous"; informal "straight", "upfront", "on the level"; informal "on the up and up"; informal "dinkum"

(Oxford Dictionaries)

Did this post enthral (captivate, intrigue) you? If so, you may also want to read, "Arabic Word: Saadaqa", InshaaAllah إن شاء الله. Here you go, buddies:

https://thewordcollector2.tumblr.com/post/19550376816/arabic-word-saadaqa

Sources and Further Reading:

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/unswervingly

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unswervingly

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=friend

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/friend

http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=Friend

https://www.wordsmyth.net/?ent=friend

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/friend

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/friendship

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/friendship

https://www.etymonline.com/word/friendship#etymonline_v_29856

https://www.brighthubeducation.com/learning-spanish/30877-proverbs-and-sayings-on-friendship-in-spanish/

https://www.superprof.us/blog/the-best-ten-quotes-from-the-iberian-peninsula/#4-isabel-allende

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/433323-la-verdadera-amistad-resiste-el-tiempo-la-distancia-y-el

https://www.enkiquotes.com/friendship-quotes-in-spanish.html

https://mjcodez.tumblr.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/536038

https://books.google.tt/books?id=wTwQDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT340&lpg=PT340&dq=Amigo+sin+dinero,+eso+quiero,+que+dinero..+in+English&source=bl&ots=9kDxY1IM0S&sig=4SqduB-HImS8HlvoxIxIR37vXiI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizla_rmsPfAhUNuVkKHcAiAi8Q6AEwBnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Amigo%20sin%20dinero%2C%20eso%20quiero%2C%20que%20dinero..%20in%20English&f=false

https://www.ailmalaga.com/top-5-spanish-proverbs-friendship/

https://books.google.tt/books?id=P_GkCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT117&lpg=PT117&dq=Quien+tiene+un+amigo+tiene+un+tesoro+(A+man+that+has+a+friend+has+a+treasure)&source=bl&ots=0iiTHRFeeS&sig=vU_I9lVa1SDVYTvAEY_V6KSRyMM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjglPmj58ffAhXKxlkKHQgOBYoQ6AEwDnoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=Quien%20tiene%20un%20amigo%20tiene%20un%20tesoro%20(A%20man%20that%20has%20a%20friend%20has%20a%20treasure)&f=false

https://books.google.tt/books?id=9LcGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=Al+amigo,+con+su+vicio,+meaning&source=bl&ots=gRU6lzEimZ&sig=WWRkl3OdqvVMECp-OBlc8ZYDFc4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhs9mC2PLfAhWQtlkKHZI9BWIQ6AEwF3oECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=Al%20amigo%2C%20con%20su%20vicio%2C%20meaning&f=false

https://www.spanishplayground.net/spanish-quotes-friendship/

https://www.euroresidentes.com/entretenimiento/frases-citas-imagenes/20-refranes-cortos-sobre-las-amistades

https://www.keepinspiring.me/quotes-on-friendship/

http://sourcesofinsight.com/friendship-quotes/

http://www.quotegarden.com/friendship.html

https://www.frasess.net/frases-cortas-para-amigos-y-amigas-3.html

https://www.serenataflowers.com/pollennation/friendship-messages/

http://www.orkugifs.com/es/amistad.html

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-french/rock

https://www.proz.com/kudoz/english-to-german/linguistics/573351-sophia-you-rock-you-re-my-best-friend.html

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-say-Thank-you-for-your-friendship-You-rock-in-German-Is-Danke-f%C3%BCr-deine-Freundschaft-Du-bist-klasse-the-correct-way-of-saying-it

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-say-Thank-you-for-your-friendship-You-rock-in-Spanish-Is-Gracias-por-tu-amistad-Eres-genial-the-correct-way-of-saying-it

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-say-Thank-you-for-your-friendship-You-rock-in-Arabic-Is-Shukran-alaa-sadaaqatik-a-%D8%B4%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%83-Anta-raai-%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%AA?

https://www.italki.com/question/457675

https://m.facebook.com/MadinahArabicTuition/photos/a.10151510339920659/10156188349980659/?type=3&source=48&_ft_=mf_story_key.10156188351830659%3Atop_level_post_id.10156188351830659%3Atl_objid.10156188351830659%3Acontent_owner_id_new.286005100658%3Athrowback_story_fbid.10156188351830659%3Acall_to_action_type.MESSAGE_PAGE%3Apage_id.286005100658%3Aphoto_id.10156188349980659%3Astory_location.4%3Astory_attachment_style.photo%3Apage_insights.%7B%22286005100658%22%3A%7B%22role%22%3A1%2C%22page_id%22%3A286005100658%2C%22post_context%22%3A%7B%22story_fbid%22%3A10156188351830659%2C%22publish_time%22%3A1528107966%2C%22story_name%22%3A%22EntStatusCreationStory%22%2C%22object_fbtype%22%3A266%7D%2C%22actor_id%22%3A286005100658%2C%22psn%22%3A%22EntStatusCreationStory%22%2C%22sl%22%3A4%2C%22dm%22%3A%7B%22isShare%22%3A0%2C%22originalPostOwnerID%22%3A0%7D%2C%22targets%22%3A%5B%7B%22page_id%22%3A286005100658%2C%22actor_id%22%3A286005100658%2C%22role%22%3A1%2C%22post_id%22%3A10156188351830659%2C%22share_id%22%3A0%7D%5D%7D%7D&__tn__=EH-R

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/624481

https://xn--sgb8bg.net/

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-translate-the-French-quote-Lamiti%C3%A9-sans-confiance-cest-une-fleur-sans-parfum-in-English-Is-Friendship-without-trust-is-a-flower-without-perfume-a-correct-translation

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-translate-the-Spanish-quote-Una-amistad-sin-confianza-es-una-flor-sin-perfume-in-English-Is-A-friendship-without-trust-is-a-flower-without-perfume-a-correct-translation

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20190109131711AA3IreM

https://www.italki.com/question/458926

https://www.englishspanishlink.com/learn-spanish/games/congratulations.htm

https://quotabulary.com/famous-french-quotes-about-family-friendship

https://termbank.com/en/french-english/ami%20de%20tous;%20ami%20de%20personne

https://www.elearningfrench.com/french-friendship-proverbs.html

https://abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2010/10/26/the-parable-of-a-good-friend-and-a-bad-friend/

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/indelible+ink

http://www.modele-texte.fr/message-amitie.php

https://termbank.com/en/spanish-english/cada%20quien%20con%20su%20cada%20cual

https://study.com/academy/lesson/german-proverbs-about-family-friendship.html

https://www.dict.cc/german-english/erkennt.html

https://www.smsmich.de/sprueche/Freundschaft/index.shtml

https://french.yabla.com/lesson-Punctuation-in-French-390

https://thewondrous.com/best-thank-you-quotes/

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/real-friends

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-translate-this-Arabic-quote-As-sadaaqah-tabdau-inda-maa-tashuru-anna-ka-saadiq-maa-al-aakhar-wa-bidoon-aqniah-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%91%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A9%D9%8F-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A3

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/life-is-better-with-true-friends.3539549/#post-17989952

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/life-is-better-with-true-friends.3539554/

https://www.italki.com/question/459753

https://www.englishclub.com/ref/esl/Sayings/Quizzes/Money_2/The_rich_knows_not_who_is_his_friend_887.php

https://www.lexico.com/definition/hadith

https://dict.leo.org/forum/viewUnsolvedquery.php?idThread=1051541&lp=ende&lang=en&idForum=1

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sympathize

https://www.lexico.com/definition/perfume

https://www.lexico.com/definition/vice

https://ponbee.com/you-make-me-happy-quotes/

https://www.lexico.com/definition/idiosyncrasy

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lay%20bare

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/thank-god-im-blessed-and-fortunate-to-have-a-friend-like-you.3544560/

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20190204205952AA6VAJO

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/o-my-friend-youre-the-candle-in-my-life.3545851/

https://www.wordreference.com/enar/reverse/forever

https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/te%20quiero%20asi%20de%20mucho

https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/te%20quiero%20mucho

https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/mejor%20amigo

https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/mejor%20amiga

https://www.englishtospanishraleigh.com/blog/te-amo-vs-te-quiero-differences-in-i-love-you-in-spanish

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/cultivating-a-true-friendship.3549548/

https://www.italki.com/question/462815

https://www.exitoysuperacionpersonal.com/frases-de-alegria/

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/59699-joy-multiplies-when-it-is-shared-among-friends-but-grief

https://takelessons.com/blog/how-to-pronounce-Spanish-words

https://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/pronunciation_h_ch

https://studyspanish.com/pronunciation/listen-and-repeat/letter_z

https://www.lexico.com/definition/genuine

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/19884-be-yourself-everyone-else-is-already-taken

https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-care-and-maintenance-of-friendship/

https://lifestyle.allwomenstalk.com/effortless-ways-to-show-someone-you-appreciate-them/

https://onlinecounsellingcollege.tumblr.com/post/182944809256/how-to-be-genuine-in-relationships

https://www.lexico.com/definition/kindred_spirit

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/a-kindred-spirit-soul

Guys, this is where I leave you for today. I hope that you relished reading this entry, InshaaAllah إن شاء الله! Many thanks for reading it. I appreciate it. Take care, so long. Wassalaam 'alaikum والسّلام عليكم (and peace be with you)! :) :-h

Cherish your time with your family and friends,

Sam سام.

Post Script:

Thank you to all the people who genuinely help and support me! :) You matter and you make a difference. Please make sure you remember that, InshaaAllah إن شاء الله.

[thecharmingknightemma]

♚ Do you agree with fandom interpretation of your character? (roast the fandom again please I have popcorn)

not even remotely.  lmao okay first I need to explain something to attempt not to sound like a really bad judgy person: when it comes to princess Emma, for me only my version of her can be possibly, realistic, because it’s the only realistic results that can came from the premise I see. Now that doesn’t mean I can’t respect that other people can have different ideas of how princess Emma is, but it can never feel real to me because those ideas come from a different interpretation of David and Snow, of the circumstances around Emma and that led to Emma, of how they’d react to what they have been through and what they’d teach her, on how her personality would respond to the outside world. Those interpretations are always valid, but they are not mine, and therefore I can’t agree and I can give you a thousand reasons why Emma for me would be a different princess than most fanon versions of her starting from what would led her to be this way instead. But I’m also aware that it all depends on my interpretation of every single thing involved in her life and my view of her isn’t superior, it’s just the only one that works for me. 

I’ll put the rest under read more because whoops I may have a lot to say

Here are some common things I see that I absolutely understand where they are coming from but could never be true to me: -a princess Emma who is a serious, suave, normal classic princess. It’s extra rare in OUAT for the original fairy tale princesses to act in a classic noble-woman kind of way to begin with. Emma, the daughter of former bandit and now queen Snow White who has lived among regular people and who had drilled in her head that their people are important, and of David, formerly a stable boy, who fought against the unspoken rules of royalty like shutting up and accepting an arranged marriage, who has seven dwarves, a wolf and who knows who else being part of her parents council, who would have been taught to defend herself to be prepared to fight just in case, who would be certainly taught to speak up because her opinion and emotions matter, who has been shown and has seen from the beginning of her life that love wins, that she has all kinds of reasons to be happy and hopeful and grateful, would NOT be modest, would not be super serious, would not be a snob or unaware of her people’s struggles, and since even when it comes to Emma Swan her nature was to joke around and be happy as soon as the world gave her a minimum amount of reason to be that way, princess Emma has even more reasons to be that way. Her personality would be so encouraged by a loving, supportive family who wants her to respect others but also to express herself, to enjoy her life, the happy moments, and to find humor in everything. And David and Snow even speak in a different way from nobles like Kathryn, I doubt Emma would be too formal. It’s not that less loud, enthusiastic princess can’t be cool, I actually really like Kathryn, and Aurora may have been more ‘classical’ and out of her depth when it came to fighting but she still did everything she could to save Philip and to avenge him later, she was simply inexperienced and that’s not bad, but I cannot imagine Emma, with the family she has, her instincts, and what people around her would want to instill in her since young age, being the same kind of woman they are.  -a princess Emma who hates ballgowns and balls and everything stereotypically feminine. Emma Swan, who has all reasons to favor comfortable easy clothing and lives in our world where often dresses and pink are associated to being weaker (?), still likes to wear stereotypically feminine things and to wear makeup and curls or styles her hair whenever she has some time off from her savioring. Even in s1, yes, when the sheriff election happened and she didn’t plan to have to run after criminals, she wore a cute skirt. Why would princess Emma hate them when she clearly likes the aesthetic and she hasn’t been raised with ideas such as ‘femininity is weak you must be distance yourself from it and prove you are different from other women’? Now, if you tell me she has problems with tight corsets because they are uncomfortable, that’s cool. Otherwise it just seems like she must be ‘special’ and therefore doesn’t like ‘girly’ things because ‘girly is inferior to masculine’. Still speaking stereotypically here, of course. Snow didn’t have to dislike dresses to be strong or special, she dressed depending on what she had to do. I believe Emma would be the same, with just some initial rebellion as a kid against girls until she grew up enough to realize she was being stupid. After that, she wears dresses when she can, she also likes comfortable riding clothing, she likes flowers, she likes colors, she likes the looks she gets when she wears low cut dresses, she likes to take care of her hair... When it comes to Emma Swan specifically and to different versions of her, I feel there is some hidden misogyny involved in wanting Emma to hate innocuous things to prove she’s ‘different’ and ‘stronger’.    -helpless princess Emma: I can’t even. This is also what the Evil Queen’s wish brought to life. It’s already explained in my first point here but it bears repeating. Can you imagine two parents who were shown over and over that you must be prepared for everything because they will have more enemies come after them, enemies of them as royalty or for personal reason, leaving their only daughter completely unprepared, needing someone else to fight for her? After they had to learn the hard way, as fast as possible, and were at disadvantage for it? Emma would be trained from the beginning.  -judgmental princess Emma, I get it, David and Snow were still less than welcoming to Killian - though I felt it was more due to his behavior than him being a pirate - but at the same time I cannot imagine being raised by someone who was a bandit and another person who technically committed treason by acting like a prince, and those two clearly never judged Ruby for being a werewolf, and so on, and to grow up to be immediately against people due to what they are. I feel Emma would have all the reasons to trust her instincts and to want to make sure someone is bad before treating them as such, while simultaneously wanting to avoid being manipulated and mistreated.  -submissive Emma when it comes to men: I feel like I don’t really need to explain why when in the past I read CS involving a princess Emma who was all innocent and inexperienced I closed the page.  -a princess Emma who has to deal with ARRANGED MARRIAGES BECAUSE HER PARENTS TRY TO FORCE HER TO MARRY PEOPLE LIKE I’m sorry but this is not even a matter of different perspective and respecting other people’s view of characters. David and Snow would never force Emma to marry someone, David and Snow suffered like hell because David was meant to marry Abigail due to king George’s choices. David and Snow love Emma. David and Snow would not do that to Emma.  -just... a version of Emma that is so randomly ethereal and more similar to how real life past princesses are described in our world? when ouat woman are so real, with their flaws and qualities and opinions and motivations, and it just seems not to fit in a colorful family like the one Snow and David were going to have, dwarves and Granny included. 

[imaginetyzx]

"won't you just let me hold you" with you and kara... much love, reigenquest

GRRR UASGASIOFFOASOIGSAFSI jason ur gonna pay for this

edit: the line from the prompt takes a LONG TIME to get in there bear with me i have brainrot

It’s been about seven short months since I met them. How often does anyone meet a set of six brothers, let alone sextuplets? One in particular always stood out to me. The bizarrely shaped shades, the essentially greaser-like leather jacket, the absolute nerve and guts to flirt with people even when you know nobody likes you. Maybe I’m going off a little bit, but my point stands.

I won’t drop the L word yet but god do I like Kara. It’s predictable, I know, my thing for hopeless flirts, emotional people with emotional secrets they have yet to reveal to their soulmate since they haven’t found them yet, all that jazz.

Anyway, after MONTHS of being pestered by my friends, I’m asking The Question tonight. It took weeks to figure out how I wanted to go about it, and in the end I decided to go out of my comfort zone and do something more extravagant. I’m gonna dress up nice and sing outside the goddamn window, because fuck you, Romeo and Juliet is a good story, aside from the ending. It somehow took even LONGER to pick a song to sing, I wanted to pick a song I both knew all the lyrics to and one that also fit my voice range well enough that I’d sound less like a dying cat when singing.

I was torn on what to wear, unsure if I should dress masculine or feminine. So, I compromised with myself. I tucked my ponytail into a beanie, only leaving my thin bangs visible. I put on a knee length pencil skirt that had thin white stripes on black, and my knee-high black boots underneath. On my torso, I wore a mostly plain t-shirt with a skull on the chest pocket and my favorite black jean jacket over it. Yeah, it’s still winter, but the fit. I put on various kinds of jewelry including one of my many pendants around my neck. I begin my walk to the Matsuno House, with only my purse on me. In my purse is my fully charged cell phone, with a karaoke version of Hesitate by The Jonas Brothers on youtube. Don’t judge me, this song make’s me cry without fail.

After talking to myself for several minutes, I can see the house in the distance. Their mother and father are out tonight, so I luckily don’t have to worry about THAT embarrassment. I pull out my phone to text the youngest brother, Todomatsu (as he is the only one who actually has a phone of his own).

[txt.tyz]: hey, is he still up?

I stare at my screen waiting for an answer. I didn’t want to tell any of the others about this, but in order to plan everything well, I had to inform Totty of this plan. Not that I mind, though, he would’ve figured it out anyway, he’s just that clever.

[txt.td]: yup, the only 1′s up are him, me n choromatsu-niisan somehow. i doubt u will wake them up too since the song ur singing is on the quiet side

[txt.tyz] ahhhh ty totty ;-; im almost there

[txt,td] ;3 id wish u good luck but u rly dont need it

-totty is offline-

BITCH? What does THAT mean? Asshole.

By now I’ve reached the house. I stand outside, looking up at the window, where I see Todo peeking out the window. He gives me a thumbs up and he leaves my field of vision. I feel goosebumps show up on my skin when Kara opens the window and stands on the roof, closing the window behind him.

“W-what’re you doing here so late?” He says, and I blush. I’m not good at being smooth.

“i-uh-well i-just listen.” I manage to spit out while taking my phone out, pressing play, and setting it down on the mailbox.

“Kiss the tears right off your faceWon’t get scared, that’s the old, old, old meI’ll be there time and placeLay it on me, all you’re hold, hold, holdingTime, time only heals if we work through it nowAnd I promise we’ll figure this out”

I can’t even keep eye contact with him while I sing, out of pure embarrassment. I can’t believe I’m even doing this. I can’t believe I let my friends talk me to into SINGING to him.

“I will take your painAnd put it on my heartI won’t hesitateJust tell me where to startI thank the oceans for giving me youYou saved me once and now I’ll save you tooI won’t hesitate for you”

I haven’t noticed it because I refuse to look directly at him while singing, but Todo and Choro are both peeking through the window, watching it all go down.

“Pull me close and I’ll hold you tightDon’t be scared ‘cause I’m on your sideKnow there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for youPull me close and I’ll hold you tightDon’t be scared 'cause I’m on your sideKnow there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for youI will take your painAnd put it on my heartI won’t hesitateJust tell me where to startI thank the oceans for giving me youYou saved me once and I’ll save you tooI won’t hesitate for you”

As I hear my voice fading away to signify the end of the song, I look at him and-holy shit? Is he crying? Does my voice sound that bad?

“Oh my god dude I-was I that bad? I’m so sorry, I could never compare to your talent but even so, I wanted to do something special-please don’t cry!” I plead to him. I immediately grab my phone, shoving it in my purse and looking at the ground.

“I’m so sorry I’m sorry I-” I continue to apologize, not noticing that hes slid off the roof and to the ground in front of me. Just as I go to look up at him instead of seeing a slightly distant figure, I see his face for a brief moment before he wraps his arms tightly around me and my eyes meet his jacket. He smells like cheap men’s cologne. Of course he does. I’m frozen in place, unsure of how to react to this. Does he feel bad?

“Oh, my angel..” He says, pulling away slightly. “You beat me to it.”

I freeze again. I can’t find words to say, until I hear Totty yell, “I TOLD YOU SO!”

“You mean…you-the-” I stutter, visibly blushing.

“Yes.” He plainly states.

“So you-”

“Yes.” He repeats himself.

“…so…will y-” I start to speak until he silences me by connecting our lips for only a moment, but damn why can’t it be longer. I guess it IS late, after all. He envelops me in his arms and strokes my hair.

“Won’t you just let me hold you?” He sing-songs the question, eyes closed and clearly not planning on letting me go yet. That is fine by me, sir. I give, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around his torso.

After a minute or two, I yawn. It’s pretty late.

“Ah, we both need our beauty sleep, don’t we? We can continue tomorrow.” Kara grins and lets go of me, still standing close.

I nod. “O-okay…I’ll come back tomorrow?” I question him. He nods back, turning to face the house but still looking at me.

“Til then, my angel~” I hear him coo as he walks into the house.

My face flusters, and I shit you not, I run home because I have so much adrenaline in me.

(AHHHH,,,THIS HURT ME PHYSICALLY BUT TWAS WORTH IT)

[nadziejastar]

I think a big obstacle that I don't see acknowledged to Lea and Isa becoming romantically involved is that Japanese culture is even more conservative regarding LGBT issues than Western culture is. SE has only had a few LGBT characters in their entire history, and they're all relatively minor. I hope that Isa and Lea can break the mold and I think that them being both supporting characters and adults makes it more likely, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I definitely don’t have my hopes up either. I think KH3 did everything it could to intentionally eliminate all the intimacy between Lea and Isa. Skuld seemed to be thrown into the mix for that purpose. Even if they hadn’t sabotaged it in KH3, I still think the relationship would have been more implied that outright stated. Because like you said, Japan is even more conservative than the West regarding such depictions. I can compare the situation with Lea and Isa to a few other pairings and how they were handled.

There’s Yosuke and the main character (Yu) from Persona 4. Yosuke was going to be a romance option. Voiced dialogue still exists in the files (including dubbed!), but the option was completely removed by the time of release. The fact that even a more niche series (well, at the time) like Persona felt too afraid to put an optional romance between two guys in, shows how taboo this topic is, especially in Japan. And KH3 was much higher profile and had a much bigger budget than P4. So, it was not that surprising to me to see how Lea and Isa got treated. It was like déjà vu. Doesn’t make me less annoyed by it, though.

I also think they heavily altered Yosuke’s personality in the final game to cover up any suggestion of same-sex attraction. In the final game he mostly acts like a frat boy stereotype. Constantly hitting on any girl, and making sexist and homophobic remarks. They were really overcompensating. It was very annoying actually. And it only made him seem more closeted. In his Social Link, the dialogue was incredibly well-written and I loved his personality. This pairing was handled so similarly to Lea and Isa. Here’s why I think so:

Yosuke: Oh yeah, I’m Yosuke Hanamura! I’m his friend. His partner, y'know.

Marie: …Partner? You mean like a close friend?

Yosuke: Heheh, that about sums it up. Er, what’s your name?

They’re very close. Yosuke constantly refers to himself as Yu’s “partner”.

Yosuke: I haven’t changed addresses since before we moved to Inaba.  I mean, I might get a text from someone. …It’s hard to call, y'know? If I called people just to tell them my number changed, they’d get annoyed. And some of them never planned to text me anyway…Oh but hey, don’t look at me like I don’t have any friends! ……Though to tell you the truth, I don’t remember what we all used to talk about. Can’t really call ‘em friends…

He did not feel close to any of his old friends.

Yosuke: It’s only with you guys that I talk seriously like this. I dunno why, but I feel like I don’t have to lie…Especially with you. You’ve already seen the worst of me and all. But well… thinking about it now, if someone had to see that, I’m glad it was you.

He opens up to you in a way he doesn’t with anyone else.

Yosuke: So, you ever invited a girl in here?

“I haven’t.”

Yosuke: Haha, maybe you’re more of a man’s man than I thought.

> Yosuke seems happy…

He’s happy that you are a “man’s man”.

“I will soon.”

Yosuke: Seriously!? That mean you’re working on someone!?

> Yosuke is keyed up…

He gets anxious if you say you’re bringing a girl over.

Yosuke: M-Man, kids sure are mature these days…Well, my first love was in first grade, too! I’ve always been ahead of my time. But, well… I don’t really need that in my life right now. It’s just not the time…I have something I need to do before that can happen…

He said that he was not interested in dating right now. He’s working on sorting out his feelings, since the girl he liked before was murdered. Yet in the rest of the game, they have him constantly hit on every girl and act desperate to get a girlfriend. It was so weird. It felt like deflection, in the same way Skuld was with Lea and Isa.

Yosuke: When the murders started, I got excited…I thought there was finally a point to me being in Inaba…I thought I could forget Senpai was gone… and the fact that I was such a loser…I jumped at the murders and never once thought about what I was doing…I… didn’t even take the first step…I’m sorry…Saki-senpai. I’m sorry… Yu.

He starts crying after opening up to you. There’s an option to hug him. Around the waist too. He says it’s for girls, but still accepts it. That was what he needed. You are the one who helps him sort out his feelings.

Yosuke: This town I hated so much? Now, I love it. There’s still nothing here, but I have family and friends… and you. The important things are never far off… They’re all around you.

He mentions family and friends, hesitates, then mentions you separately. Does that mean you’re more special to him than a friend?

I just did what I thought was the best thing at the time. For Roxas, for Xion, for the Organization—and for Isa. But most of all for me.

It reminded me of this. Axel mentions everyone else, hesitates, then mentions Isa separately. Not Saïx, Isa. Was Isa special to him?

Yosuke: I always wanted to be “special.” I thought my life’d finally have meaning if I was “special” to someone. That’s why I was really excited when got my Persona. But I really didn’t need it… It’s not what you have or what you can do…Just being born, living your life… Before you know it, you’re already special to someone.

“You’re right.”

Yosuke: Yeah… Like you… You’re special to me, you know?

Yep. Yosuke wants to be special to someone, and he says you’re special to him.

“That’s not true.”

Yosuke: You just don’t realize it yet. You’re already special… to Chie, Yukiko… and me.

When Yosuke said “special” it stood out to me. This was before I found out that the romance option was taken out. I don’t pick up romantic vibes between male characters that often. I don’t wear shipping goggles. Their relationship simply seemed romantic to me. “Special” is not a word guys will use with each other very often.

Because it is very intimate. If the writers have a character say that another character is “special” to them, it almost always will seem romantic. Especially between two guys. And I did get those vibes. When I found out he was supposed to be a romance option, I wasn’t surprised. So, after all this intimate bonding, how does their arc end?

Yosuke: I didn’t realize it…When I called you “special,” I thought some more about it. I think of everyone, I wanted to be acknowledged by you the most…So…I want you to hit me! Give me a good one. Knock out all this crap inside of me. I want to be equal with you. I want us to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. So c'mon…

By…getting in a fist fight? Two guys were getting just a bit too close and intimate with each other. Yosuke used a taboo word. “Special”. Now he has to be beaten up for it. Otherwise it’s just too GAY, ya know? And that’s NOT okay. The message is if a guy is too intimate with another guy, he needs to “man up” and get some sense knocked into him. Sad, really. In the deleted dialogue, there was a romantic confession. Yosuke says he likes you. The Japanese word for “like” is the one specifically used romantically. To me this is the ultimate display of the writers chickening out.

And that’s how Lea and Isa’s arc felt to me, too. There was all of this dialogue suggesting there was something very intimate and special between them. Then in KH3, we get a girl shoehorned in out of nowhere. Apparently Saïx was doing “everything for” her, despite having zero emotional capacity. And Lea also wants to “clobber” Isa now, not free his heart. It felt so contrived in order to create emotional distance between them, so any hints of romance would be gone, gone, gone. It felt like the writers were panicking and going “No Homo!” They were so desperate that they wouldn’t even let the real Isa get saved from being a vessel. That’s how afraid they were of Lea and Isa’s natural chemistry and special intimacy together. Pathetic.

Then there’s Ike and Soren from the Fire Emblem series. Lea and Isa reminded me of them. You have the more confident, “masculine” one in Ike and Lea. And then you have the calm, quiet, “feminine” one in Soren and Isa. They have a hard time opening up to anyone else. I think Isa even kinda looks like Soren. They both have that penetrating stare, indicating high intelligence. And they have soft, delicate features, indicating vulnerability underneath the surface.

They both act cold outwardly, but Soren is described as a very empathetic young man. And I think Isa was, too. I love this ship. I think this is the direction they were originally trying to take Lea and Isa’s relationship. This pairing is HEAVILY implied by the story. But it’s never made explicit. Why do I think it’s romantic?

Soren: Curse you! Why won’t you let it go?! I have no one to rely on but you! If I tell you and you turn on me… I… I… I could no longer live.

Ike: That’s why you have to tell me, Soren. You wouldn’t open your heart to anyone else. So if I didn’t so something about it, you’d probably be in pain forever.

Soren is totally emotionally dependent on Ike. And Ike is tender and soft with him in a way he isn’t with anybody else. There’s just a level of trust and intimacy that is unique to them.

Soren: When the sage died, no one would help me. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find food. I was dying. You were the only one who helped. You and your father. That’s why you’re my friend. My…only friend.

This is the localized text. Even in the first game, the they tried to remove any romantic intimations. They added a reference to Ike’s dad for no reason. And plenty of people still choose to see Soren and Ike as just friends. I think it’s more than obvious the writers intended for them to be more than that. But many people don’t want to see it. And it was kept ambiguous for that very reason.

Soren: When the sage died, no one would help me. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find food. I was dying. Only you held your hand out to me. That’s why…only you are special to me…

This is a translation of the original Japanese dialogue. There’s that word again. “Special”. This word cannot be overstated. It conveys a VERY different message than “friend”. That’s why they thought it needed to be changed.

Soren: “There’s only one place for me to be, Ike… and it’s by your side.”

Soren is described as “the boy always at Ike’s side” by other characters. The story demonstrates again and again that they are inseparable. If Ike and Soren achieve A-level support, there is a paired ending. Ike has this with no female character, and Soren has this with no other character.

Axel: I think you can be inseparable even if you’re apart. It’s like, if you feel really close to each other. Like best friends.

Lea and Isa were inseparable, too.

Ike: Listen, lady. This is a shop, and I’m a customer. What’s so sweet about that?

Aimee: Oh, such cold words… My hero plays hard to get! You’re only making me more interested.

Ike: Will you let go of my hand? Please?

There’s a running joke about Ike avoiding a persistent female admirer that Soren has to save him from.

Gatrie: Not those flowers… THOSE flowers!

Ike: …Gatrie, we’re inside. There’s nothing here but the temple handmaidens.

Gatrie: Exactly! It’s like a whole new species of girl lives in Begnion! Everyone in this palace is drop-dead gorgeous!

Ike: …

Gatrie: You know what I mean, Ike? Tee hee! Say, which one strikes your fancy? That buxom lass with the chestnut hair is… Hey, Ike? Ike?

He has no interest in admiring pretty women.

“Hey, Redhead over there!” Axel turned at the sound of the voice, scratching his head.

“What, Larxene. I’m Axel. Got it memorised?”

“I can’t just remember over ten names all of a sudden, can I?”

“Yeah, I guess not.” Axel watched as Larxene ran up to him.

“How is it? Does the coat suit me?” Larxene did a twirl in front of him. The coat always changed to fit the wearer. It was a perfect tight fit, as expected.

“It’s fine, I guess.”

This feels like it was put in for the same reason Ike’s scenes were. Sure, Aimee is clingy and obsessive. And Larxene is a bitch. It doesn’t prove they’re disinterested in women or that they’re in love with their best friend. But in addition to everything else, it presents a strong argument. Axel isn’t interested in admiring pretty women.

Soren—An officer in the Greil Mercenaries. A cool-headed realist who has deep trust in Ike, but will rarely open up to any other beorc or laguz.

Isa—A quiet and cool-headed youth. Though he does come out of his shell when talking to his best friend Lea, toward others he is distant and untalkative.

Like Soren, Isa is described in terms of his relationship to Lea. He only comes out of his shell for him. There’s a level of intensity to their friendship that is unique. I am sure Isa was dependent on Lea emotionally, like Soren was with Ike.

Soren: Ike? Ike! This can’t… It can’t… What am I… If you’re not here, what am I to do?

If Ike dies in the first game, Soren has a special reaction.

Soren: “Ike… Please live… Even if all the cities burn, and the seas swallow Tellius… You mustn’t die… Not you…”

And another in the second game. He cannot bear to lose Ike. Sounds like some Shakespearean sonnet, too. That just doesn’t sound like something you’d say about someone unless you were in love with them.

Micaiah: Your heart is frozen, but I feel a warm core trying to melt through that ice. I see… You have someone you cherish very much. Someone you rely on.

Soren: Do not presume to understand me, you ridiculous girl. You have no idea who I am and what I can do. None at all.

His heart was frozen, but Ike was able to melt through the ice. Soren cherishes him and relies on him. He doesn’t appreciate hearing it from others, because Ike is his weakness. Soren’s entire character arc revolved around Ike.

Saïx:Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.

Much like how Saïx says he lost his true purpose as soon as Axel left Organization XIII.

Ike: Soren, don’t cry.

Soren: Cry…? I’m … crying?

Ike: You’re so smart, and yet you’re completely hopeless at normal stuff. Look, come here.

Soren: P-please don’t treat me like a child. I’m not that…

Ike: Come on.

Soren: …

Ike: Sheesh, you’re such a pain. I’ll come over there.

Soren: [breaks out crying]

Another scene that involves hugging a crying person. A very intimate act. Soren opens up about his dark past. He pushes Ike away when he tries to hug him, saying not to treat him like a child. But he accepts it, too. It’s exactly what he needed and wanted. This scene is referred to in the official fan book as “the moment where their two hearts become one”. I think a scene like this is what they were absolutely terrified of happening in KH3.

Axel: Hey, I’m not about to tell you ALL my dark secrets. Got it memorized?

It all comes down to the degree of intimacy. Axel doesn’t express his deepest feelings to Roxas, Xion, or anyone else. And he doesn’t want to. He’s more than happy to avoid heavy issues like his past. He’d prefer to keep things light and fun, just enjoying their company.

Axel: As long as we remember each other, we’ll never be apart.

Roxas: Ha ha, wow, Axel. That sounded ridiculous.

Axel: What? I thought it was pretty deep.

When Axel made his comment, the other two thought it was awkward. Roxas laughs and says he sounded he sounded ridiculous.

Xion: Don’t worry, Axel–we got your hokey speech memorized.

Axel: Just checking.

And Xion said his remark was hokey. And I don’t think either of them were out of line with their comments. I completely understand why they teased him. It was because his statement contained a lot of intimacy. It sounded like something you’d say to, well…a lover. To them Axel’s remark came out of nowhere. And it kind of did. Because for the most part, his comment wasn’t really directed at them. Sure, he never wants to forget them. But he had someone else on his mind before he said it. He only spoke his thoughts out loud to cheer them up. But even they could recognize that the comment didn’t feel appropriate for them.

Day 118: You Changed, Not Me

Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It’s a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don’t feel like it anymore. It’s strange, but I’m content with just missing what’s gone. I’m not the one who changed. You did.

Roxas and Xion remind him of his past. But unlike with them, Axel DOES want to share his memories with Saïx. Badly. He wants to connect emotionally with him. But Saïx has no interest in having an emotional relationship. Because of this, interacting with him is incredibly painful for Axel. So painful that he’s more content with just missing what’s gone rather than subjecting himself to continual rejection. Saïx is the only character Axel acts like this towards.

Axel: So you don’t need a heart to have something that you can’t bear to lose then. If that’s true, then I guess the closest thing that we Nobodies have would be memories of our past. It’s the memories that create the things that we don’t want to lose.

Even though Saïx rejects him, Axel is always careful not to open up to anyone else about his past. He never does, even in KH3. And yet, memories of his past were the one thing he felt like he couldn’t bear to lose. The same memories that he longed to share with Saïx. Axel desires intimacy with Saïx and nobody else. He can’t bear to lose his memories of the past—of Isa.

Axel: Love is what happens if there’s something really special between two people.

Roxas: You mean, like, if they’re best friends? Inseparable?

Axel: Well, you can care about your friends, I guess, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

There’s that word again. “Special”. And again, it conveys a VERY different message than “friend”. It’s a very taboo word when used by men towards other men. If men can’t be special to each other in a video game about hearts, light, friendship, magic, love, and Disney Princesses, then they’re pretty much out of luck I guess.

[mentallydatingahotcelebrity]

Loki - Victim of Abuse or Just Bad Parenting?

This is in response to this post here, and a conversation I was having with @vesperazylra

Loki sticks out in Thor (2011) considerably; never exactly belonging to Asgardian society or his brother’s circle of friends.

But I don’t think this has anything to do with their culture. Let me explain:

Asgard appears to be a society that thrives on the golden age ideal that men were the defenders of the home and women are the caretakers, only called to fight in the direst situations or in defense of their children; both are expected to be nurturing, however.

But this doesn’t mean that there can’t be different sides to Asgardian men. They can be Casanovas and romantics (as demonstrated by Fandral), laconic, insightful, and slight (Hogun), they can be witty and affectionate and family-oriented (Volstagg), they can be wise, authoritative, commanding, with knowledge of magic (Odin), and they can be bold, proud, self-confidant, and war-loving (Thor).

And obviously there can be variations of the women, too.

Sif: bold, proud, skilled in battle, brave, selfless; well-balanced between masculine/feminine.

Frigga: wise, assured, manipulative, authoritative, nurturing, instructive, with knowledge of magic; feminine while at the same time not not appearing weak.

Brunhilde/Valkyrie: bold, proud, arrogant, self-confidant, war-loving; strongly masculine over feminine.

Eir (the healer in TDW): nurturing, insightful, instructive, authoritative, wise, precise; a touch more masculine than feminine (given how she speaks and carries herself).

So if there’s not a problem with their culture, where IS the problem?

Parenting. Parenting is the problem. Now hold that thought.

Parenting is an issue, for sure; but so is the fact that, like Sif, Loki is perfectly balanced between feminine/masculine. Hiddleston’s fault. (but in a good way and wonderfully done, bravo!) He projected himself into that aspect, in my opinion: being masculine while at the same time feminine-- a well-rounded man. Gotta admire that balance; very rare (and probably why we all adore the stuffing out of him).

Back to Loki:

Like Sif, society doesn’t exactly understand what to do with Loki. He’s too masculine to be a woman (obviously, he’s male) and too feminine (studies magic, has a “place” that ranks under Thor) to be a “manly man” or whatever. So they kind of just mesh him in with them and hope that he fits-- which leaves him feeling completely out of place because the only person to get him is his mother (useless, she’s not a peer, she’s an authority figure) and Sif, who hates him because they get on one another’s nerves (probably because they’re very similar: misfits trying to fit in. She reminds him that he doesn’t really belong as hard as he tries, and he reminds her that she won’t belong, no matter how much she wants to).

This means the problem isn’t Loki-specific. Sif, a woman in Asgard, has the same challenges (wanting to be a warrior, something uncharacteristic of her gender, as Loki does with magic, something uncharacteristic of his gender). So where does this lead, then? Obviously, Sif has no emotional/mental/identity collapse. Why? I think the answer is parenting.

Unfortunately, we know nothing of Sif’s parentage, but I can bet you that it’s far more wholesome and accepting than Loki’s is. I also think it has to be high-ranking, given that she and Frigga seem to be the only females in Asgard remotely warrior-like. (We’ll ignore the Valkyrie because they weren’t established until Ragnarok and tbh that really pissed me off; don’t add elements in at the 9th hour, writers, it Looks Bad.) Sif always has a sense of direction/purpose, even when she’s struggling to hold her hard-earned place:

“I have everything under control!”

“Is that why everything’s on fire?”

“And who proved wrong all that scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?”

“I did!”

Where Sif thrives from denial of accomplishment, Loki suffers.

Both are chastised, teased, disapproved of in their circles, yet Loki is the one to come away injured every time without fail.

The only way this happens is through fault in the parent-child relationship. Obviously, Sif had parents who told her to follow her heart as much as she could, and were there to support her in her desires (Thor said “all who scoffed”, not “your parents’ scoffing”, remember).

I think that as Loki grew into maturity he had almost solely the encouragement of Frigga and the other sorcerers/esses who taught him (because, c’mon, there are other magic practitioners in Asgard, don’t be daft now; Eir’s a sorceress, though with healer-centric powers). 

Odin, I’m sure, praised him when he was a child with the basic “lovelies” “marvelouses” and “well dones” that all parents bestow on young children. But I think as Loki moved from childish play to youthful study, Odin related more to Thor, a promising warrior-in-training and the future king after him, than with Loki: budding master sorcerer who would one day replace Frigga with all her knowledge of magic and the hidden paths between the realms.

And, if we consider Hela in this mix, perhaps Frigga loved Loki because he reminded her in certain ways of Hela before Hela fell from grace; and for the same reason, Odin distanced himself from the baby he’d taken in. 

Odin’s close relationship with Hela poisoned her; turned her into nothing more than a weapon if annihilation and desecration. Perhaps he feared the same for Loki? After all, we try to learn from our mistakes and being a parent must be the hardest task in the universe, especially in a universe where one’s children are more likely than not to have mystical powers.

As how Loki didn’t touch Odin in the Treasure Vault for fear of injuring him with his newfound frost giant powers, perhaps Odin feared being close to Loki would injure him with his [Odin’s] political ideals and hopes for peace, and so left the little boy to Frigga’s care. Never for a moment supposing that Loki --unlike headstrong, independent Hela (typical first-born)-- greatly desired his father’s praise and recognition.

Loki’s problem isn’t Asgard’s society, because they were perfectly fine with meshing him in; his problem isn’t with his ethnicity, because in the end Thor proved he learned Jotuns weren’t just cruel monsters “you can’t wipe out an entire race”; it’s a problem with parenting.

His mother loved him and expressed her pleasure in his accomplishments. His father loved him, but never expressed that he was proud of him. And, from the end of Thor, never announced such sentiments to Thor, either. We see this when Thor puts into words what Loki attempted in actions:

“I want to make you proud, father.”

“You have already made me proud.”

*cue surprised, quietly pleased light in Thor’s eyes*

Thor might have been insensitive to Loki, but he was also insensitive to Sif (trying to take credit for her success as a female warrior), to the rest of the Warriors Three (saying he brought them to good things and without him they wouldn’t have got there); Thor’s just brash and headstrong and essentially ignorant of what he’s doing because he’s determined/relentless in his liveliness and doesn’t understand that his boisterity, isn’t appreciated by everyone.

Odin, on the other hand, did what he did with full knowledge. From the beginning of Thor we saw that Odin, in fact, loved Loki; but obviously something happened between that point and Loki’s adulthood. Again, Odin didn’t seem to have much interaction with either boy (typical of monarchical settings realms over); but Thor survived because he’s independent and doesn’t really desire gratification (just like Hela), while Loki suffered because he desires acknowledgment, and the feeling of being seen, more than loving what he does all alone, like Sif. Everyone could tell Sif she’s wrong, but her drive to be “one of the best warriors in all the realms” is enough to keep her motivated to continue regardless of outside opinion.

So, in the end the problem is Loki’s psyche, and Odin’s [also, I have to say, Frigga’s] Parenting. Some people, like flowers, need more attention than others.

Another observation I’ve made is that Loki’s is an artistic/violent personality, a trait common among the fine arts: writers, musicians, painters, poets, performers. They tend to be eccentric, self-destructive, emotionally-based, passionate, and craving of praise-- They derive personal pleasure from being told “this is good, now make more”. All of this, Loki is. It’s simply his nature. (As he says in TDW “satisfaction’s not in my nature” a trait common of the fine arts: he cannot be satisfied because then he would cease to learn, to grow, to, essentially, be; because satisfaction means completion-- as a writer myself I relate to this strongly-- satisfaction means he is as good as he is ever going to get, and that is impossible when there is always more to learn.)

I’m not trying to exonerate Thor of anything, I’m just trying to say that it’s unfair to blame him for all Loki’s problems. There’s only so far that something is someone’s fault before the person suffering can take joint blame for not doing something to rectify it. If Loki was having problems, he should’ve said something to someone, Thor or Odin or Frigga-- Frigga certainly would’ve listened (though I think Thor would’ve listened too). 

Anyway, enough of my rambling.

[whentherewerebicycles]

hi friends harry tour is over and my brain is my own again, which means i’m now starting course planning in earnest. here are some thoughts i’ve been having on day 1 of planning.

what if the theme of my fall LGBTQ lit class was tenderness?

ive been thinking a lot about harry styles lately (could you tell? lol) and about his ‘treat people with kindness’ slogan. on one level i love it a lot bc he’s a mainstream male pop act who seems to be genuinely pretty invested in non-toxic masculinity and who chooses to center traditionally disparaged feminine-coded values in his branding. on another level though it leaves me longing for a degree of emotional complexity and ambivalence that mainstream pop can’t always communicate. (i mean of course people form more complex emotional relationships to pop culture but you know what i mean, it’s a mass-market product.) anyway going to that queer femme punk-ish show in austin right after was making me think about how one of the things i really value about those kinds of smaller, more localized, DIY/independent kinds of queer & femme art is that they can foreground kindness, intimacy, love, etc., while also exploring how emotionally knotted & complex & exhausting those experiences can be. like how vulnerability can be something you choose to be but very often it is also something other people make you, vulnerability that is violent or dehumanizing.

i was thinking that ‘tenderness’ is the word i would choose over kindness. because tenderness can encompass kindness -- it can invoke a cluster of ideas around taking care, being careful, being gentle with yourself and others, cultivating empathetic openness to the world. but it can also evoke those more complex feelings of hurt: a tender spot can be a bruise or a vulnerable place where someone’s hurt you before. it might be an old wound that’s healed over but still hurts, something you might want to shield or guard (that MUNA lyric: but baby, a bruise is only your body / trying to keep you intact). tenderness can also evoke discomfort: a tender subject is a sensitive matter, a sore subject, something you’d rather not discuss that keeps coming up again and again. tender subjects is often a subject that must be negotiated repeatedly, in ways that can feel exhausting, draining, depleting. and tenderness is something that people experience differently depending on how they are situated in the world and in relation to others. (i feel like we could REALLY dig in here around the idea of what makes tenderness different from, say, politeness, civility, or bland forms of sensitivity. tenderness and defensiveness; tenderness and discomfort. theres so much we could read & discuss right now about queer artists whose work explores powerful, turbulent, sometimes terrifying emotions -- rage, passion, grief, a sense of agonizing helplessness -- while also practicing radical forms of tenderness, and sometimes coming up hard against its limitations.)

and finally i like that there is something small about tenderness -- something small and close to the body, close to feeling. kindness allows for more distance; it connotes less risk, and so at times it can feel like benign benevolence or a one-way relationship. but tenderness is about bodies in worlds, about the feeling self responding, reacting, protecting itself, shielding others, reaching out, making tentative contact. tenderness is intimate, private, personal, but it is also social. it is about bodies in worlds, about our relations to ourselves and to others: we feel tenderness for, we are tender with, the people and things we care about.

PLEASE REC ME YOUR FAVORITE WORKS OF QUEER/FEMINIST ART, MUSIC, LIT, & FILM THAT EXPLORE TENDERNESS, HAVE TAUGHT YOU TO BE TENDER, OR INSPIRE FIERCE TENDERNESS IN YOU