#poor ara/mis

[groundcontrol21]

Sicktember #27

Prompt #27: Sleepless Night/s

Fandom: Three Musketeers

Title: Survivor’s Guilt

Summary: In the wake of the massacre at Savoy, Aramis’s obsession with medicine and health adversely affects his own.

Notes/CW: This is firmly in the show-verse, as Savoy is not a thing in the books. CW for psychological effects of war and trauma (there are some happy things in the fic though I promise). 

It had likely been around a month since he had been given clearance to rise from his bed and start taking little walks around the garrison, but in all honesty Aramis did not hold much to the passage of time anymore. He had been too half-dead for Easter Mass, and he had not been to a Mass since. He knew it was sometime in summer, likely late summer by the heat of the air and the slant of the sunlight, but he feared to see how deep in the liturgical year his waking nightmare had carried him, and so he abstained, sometimes praying privately in his room as the church bells echoed their melody outside. But just as often he did nothing. 

What had begun to take the place of prayer, though, in regularity and vigor, was Aramis’s study of medicine. In his days at the seminary, the treatises of anatomy and the humors in the library would occasionally catch his eye when the day’s work of translations and dialectics were finished, but now, Aramis hunted for them with the voracity of a predator. Upon taking his morning turn around the garrison gardens, he would hail a boy from the streets, press a few coins into his palm, and tell him to scour the apothecaries for the thickest tome he could manage. At first, he would accept whatever the day’s messenger could find, but soon he entreated the boy to press for recommendations, to seek out the apothecaries with the latest knowledge from Florence, from Geneva. 

Within a month, Aramis had spent his meager savings on books and supplies to practice his poultices and stitchings. The pittance he received as sick pay barely paid for the ink with which he scribbled his notes in the margins, and so it was a gratitude when he was finally cleared to return to light duty and could resume receiving his normal pay. Even with this increase in income, though, in order to keep buying the newest knowledge the physical sciences had to offer, he knew he would need to choose between the books and the laudanum the physician had prescribed for the headaches his injury had caused. Aramis chose the books, as he would every time, because they would help him be prepared. If, God forbid, there was ever another Savoy, he would be prepared. He would be able to heal them better, heal himself better, do anything better, so that twenty of his brothers would not die again in the snow.

For the past week or so, Aramis had been cleared for light duty, and so the rhythm of his days consisted of whatever chores Treville set him, his walk and rendezvous with his bookboy, and then all the study and practice he could muster. Yesterday, he had managed to steal a bit of pig skin from the kitchens, and so he had practiced his sutures over and over into the wee hours of morning until he was sure he could do them blindfolded. 

Tonight, Aramis tested himself, seeing if he could recreate a drawing of the muscles and bones and where they attached before he continued his reading. He was a bit cold and then a bit warm, and so he alternated tugging a blanket on and off his shoulders, and rubbing at his aching head and turning pages with the other. He was awake until the sky turned misty pink with dawn and the birds began to twitter, at which point he must have dozed off a bit at his desk. But he must not have dozed for long, for he woke feeling wholly unrested and the quality of the sunlight not much changed besides.

“Heh’eshhh!” He turned sluggishly, barely in time to catch his nose in the blanket at his shoulder, and blinked away sleepless tears. 

The sneeze and the scratchy soreness it left behind in his throat did little to convince him he wasn’t catching cold on top of it all. But if it meant that his brothers would be safe and sound, that never again would Aramis find himself too helpless amongst the wounded to save even one life, he would take a lifetime of colds and sleepless nights. 

It would soon be time for morning muster, and indeed, he expected today Treville would release him to the practice grounds on account of needing all hands to train the new recruits. The thought gratified him; that way he could show Treville there was a point to having him around still, a reason he alone had been saved in the forest. But in the meantime, he could manage another chapter of Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis before he had to dress for the day. 

**********

Porthos caught Aramis by the arm as the man trudged miserably toward the armory after muster. He had been a bit surprised at first to see Aramis heading that way, having heard Treville say that, barring a relapse, he would begin easing Aramis back into a full duty rotation after a week of light tasks, and it had been a week and a day. But Aramis was wheezing and listing to the side, and Porthos hated even to think it for all the man had been through, but he had seen dead men who looked more alive than Aramis did at the moment. 

“Captain Treville seems to think I am little more than a maid,” Aramis said, and surely his voice had to hurt him as much as it hurt Porthos to listen to. 

Porthos stayed his grip on Aramis’s arm, afraid of what might happen if he let go. “Give it a few more days, and I’m sure he’ll give you the all-clear.”

“It’s been long enough, Porthos. I can stand a bit of target practice.”

“Aramis,” Porthos said quietly, heaving a sigh, not wanting a row but also loathe to listen to the man he considered a friend wallow in such self-contempt. “You’ve been through–”

“I’m not made of glass!” Aramis snapped hoarsely, descending into a fit of coughs. He tugged himself free of Porthos, folding into his sleeve. “Ehh’KSSSHH’uhh! Heh’KSSHH!”

“You do sound a bit sick though.” Porthos frowned, changing tactics to chance the bit of sympathy Aramis might give himself into. He reached to give Aramis a brotherly pat on the shoulder, but the man ducked away. “Maybe it’s for the best. At the very least, there’s no one you can infect in the armory.”

Porthos had meant to get him joking, but Aramis merely stared at him blankly with those watery, sunken eyes, before shaking his head and taking off in the other direction. He had been doing that a lot of late. Porthos got the feeling that he had made some grave mistake, but he worried it would be even more grave if he chased Aramis down, so he just stood there, helplessness lapping at his ankles like a hungry dog. He’d been doing that a lot of late, as well.

*********

As he passed, Athos heard a noise from inside the armory, and paused to poke his head through the door. Aramis sat at a stool in the corner, leaning sideways against the wall as if it were the only thing in the world keeping him from landing in a heap on the floor. His hands moved so lethargically along the barrel of a musket as he swiped a cloth back and forth to clean it that Athos watched, certain that the next time he would fall asleep mid wipe, no the next. But he continued doggedly, foolishly, his eyelids, blackened and puffed with sleeplessness, drooping but never shutting.

There was the sound again, and Athos saw now that it had come from Aramis; a wet, soupy sniffle that advertised thick congestion. Sure enough, Aramis folded forward with an explosive sneeze, and it was the most vitality Athos had seen from the man in ages. “HRSHHHOOO!” Aramis rubbed his nose on his sleeve and caught a few terrible, barking coughs against it before returning to cleaning the musket.

Athos weighed his options. He could continue on with his day, buy a few bottles now while he had a spare moment to ensure he was well stocked tonight; after all, he was there when Treville had assigned Aramis to this very duty. But the man was very clearly not up for it now, and much as it was against Athos’s sworn code of conduct after all that had happened, he was beginning to worry about the Musketeer called Aramis. In the long term. His headcold, bah, a few days of rest and the man would be fine. But Savoy… Athos had joined the regiment scarcely a week before the deployment, had gone to Palm Sunday Mass with a hangover at Aramis’s behest. The man had a charm, Athos remembered thinking, the sort of charm that could get him killed if he wasn’t careful, but then he’d come back alive and silent and no one else had, and Athos wasn’t quite sure if he’d been right or wrong in his thinking.

Aramis coughed again, and murmured something that sounded like ow, and that pulled Athos back to the present and made up his mind. He went to the mess hall and grabbed Porthos, knowing that the two of them were closest, and marched the large man to the armory without saying a word. Athos nudged his shoulder, and they both peered inside. Aramis hadn’t shifted position, still slumped, still wheezing, and by the looks of it, still cleaning the same musket. 

“Look at him,” Porthos grumbled.” Looks like the walking…” Porthos trailed off, swallowing uncomfortably, but Athos knew both what he had almost said and why he hadn’t wanted to say it about Aramis. “It’s bad,” Porthos said instead. “Like permanent charcoal beneath his eyes.” 

“HETSHHHH!” 

Aramis fumbled the musket, blinking dazedly.

“He’s sick, too.”

Athos snorted drily. “What gave you that impression?”

Porthos shook his head, and the sorrow in his eyes was so heavy, so genuine, that Athos felt guilty for his previous quip. “He’s been through so much. Treville keeps saying we need to give him space…”

“Yes, well I’m starting to think space is the last thing he needs right now.”

Porthos looked him in the eye, and something warm pulled at Athos’s stomach, the likes of which he had not felt in a long, long while. It was warmer than the burn of any wine, and infinitely more pleasant. “Me, too,” Porthos said, and clapped Athos on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

[todomitoukei]

English vs. Japanese Shouto - A 298 Comparison

Welcome back to another comparison between the Japanese version and the official English translation. This chapter has caused a lot of confusion as soon as the spoilers came out, particularly in regards to the last line in Shouto’s monologue. Does he want to kill Dabi? Is he going to fight him?

Aside from the confusion, this chapter is important for both Shouto’s character, as well as his and Dabi’s storyline, moving forward.

The scene starts with a panel of Shouto in his hospital bed, surrounded by his classmates who by now are also aware of the situation. As we find out at the end of the chapter, Shouto’s throat is burned, so he currently can’t talk. Regardless, he has a lot to say or rather a lot to reflect on, starting with an obvious fact:

“His flames are stronger than dad’s.”

An obvious fact and a simple sentence. But what about the original?

「あいつの炎は親父よりも強かった。」

「あいつ ; aitsu 」-> he; that guy

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「炎 ; honou 」-> flame

「は ; ha 」-> topic marker particle

「親父 ; oyaji 」-> dad

「よりも ; yori mo 」-> in comparison to; more than

「強かった ; tsuyokatta 」-> was strong

= “His flames were stronger than dad’s.”

The difference here is the tense. While the original text has Shouto say that the flames “were” stronger, the English translation has him say they “are” stronger. It’s not really an important difference, but I think the past tense was him reflecting on the one fact he knew about Touya before all this. The first time we, the readers, heard about Touya in chapter 202 -

was during Shouto’s early training days, where Endeavor brought up Touya and the fact that “his fire was greater” - so this is a fact Shouto was raised with, someone he was essentially compared to. Touya set the bar high, but Endeavor expected Shouto to raise the bar even higher.

“I couldn’t win with firepower alone. So strong… Those flames full of hate.”

While Shouto had so far only been told about Touya’s strength, this is the first time he got to actually experience this himself. Now, Touya’s flames being stronger isn’t just something Endeavor said, but something Shouto knows.

「火力で勝てなかった強い。。。憎しみの炎だった。」

「火力 ; karyoku」-> firepower

「で ; de 」-> with

「勝てなかった ; katenakatta 」-> couldn’t win

「強い ; tsuyoi 」-> strong

「憎しみ ; nikushimi 」-> hatred

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「炎 ; honou 」-> flame

「だった ; datta 」-> was

= “I couldn’t win with firepower. Strong… it was a flame of strong hatred.”

Again, not a big difference, especially since the English translation made sure to split the text the same way as the original, but tsuyoi (strong) is an adjective that attaches to the noun, nikushimi (hatred). Sure, his flames are strong, but more importantly, his hatred is strong and that is the bigger problem here.

Not only does Dabi have a stronger flame, but his hatred grants him even more power as he’s not held back by any rational thought or feeling. Like a forest fire, you can’t just extinguish it. Instead, it keeps spreading and growing larger and larger.

“And he’s… been watching us all this time.”

Next, we get the flashback to the first time Shouto met Dabi back in the summer arc. Maybe Dabi’s “How sad, poor little Shouto Todoroki” didn’t mean that much to Shouto - who might have just assumed that Dabi knew his name from the sports festival - but now he understands that this had been planned for a long time. Touya “died” around ten years ago and during all that time, Dabi had been thinking about this moment. 

「あいつはずっと見てたんだ。」

「あいつ ; aitsu 」-> he; that guy

「は ; ha 」-> topic marker particle

「ずっと ; zutto 」-> continuously; the whole time

「見てた ; miteta 」-> was watching

「んだ ; nda 」-> explanatory particle

= “He was watching the whole time.”

Again, not much of a difference except for the tense. Another thing that this is implying is that Dabi is incredibly patient. Instead of just being filled with rage and letting it out all, he waited in the shadows for years, even when being so close to Shouto he chose to keep his composure, even though he could’ve just killed him right then and there if he had wanted to.

Something that got lost in translation is the nuance of the nda at the end of the sentence, which can have multiple meanings. Here, it expresses reason and discovery, as Shouto understands his first encounter with Dabi now. Sort of like saying “Oh, so that’s why he knew my name. That’s what he has been up to the entire time.”

“All… to bring down dad. Wrecking his own body along the way… and not giving a damn whose lives get ruined in the process.”

「親父を貶めるためだけにその身を滅ぼしながらあらゆる人の人生を巻き込んで。」

「親父 ; oyaji 」-> dad

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「貶める ; otoshimeru 」-> to look down upon; to cause to fall

「ため ; tame 」-> purpose 

「だけに ; dake ni 」-> being the case; precisely 

「その ; sono 」-> that

「身 ; mi 」-> body; oneself

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「滅ぼしながら ; horoboshi nagara 」-> while destroying

「あらゆる人 ; ara yuru hito 」-> all kinds of people

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「人生 ; jinsei 」-> human life

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「巻き込んで ; makikonde 」-> involving; dragging into

= “For the purpose of causing dad’s downfall, he destroyed his body at the same time and dragged other lives into it.”

I find the additional “not giving a damn” in the official translation interesting (= I hate it)… since he literally doesn’t say that, but sure let’s just add this to make it seem like Shouto is judging Dabi here when he is not doing that at all. This is merely an observation, stating the fact that his older brother’s mind was so clouded by hatred that he involved other people’s lives in their family business. This isn’t to say that Shouto doesn’t see this as wrong, but it’s not the point and not something he is focusing on. He’s connecting the dots, making sense of the situation, and understanding the reasons that led to Dabi’s crimes rather than just stating the obvious of “this is wrong.”

On to one of my favorite lines this chapter: “He’s basically... me.”

「あいつは俺だ。」

「あいつ ; aitsu 」-> he; that guy

「は ; ha 」-> topic marker particle

「俺 ; ore 」-> I

「だ ; da 」-> be

= “That guy is me.”

So, I’m not sure why the “basically” was added in the official English translation since Shouto doesn’t say it like that. He just says “Touya = me.” It’s a fact. Obviously, Shouto isn’t actually Touya, but the “basically” isn’t needed unless you suddenly think that maybe Shouto hass two separate bodies at once somehow. This might be nitpicking, and there have definitely been bigger changes before, but to me the “basically” distances the two, even though the sentence is supposed to show that they are the same. Yes, one is on the hero side and the other on the villain side. Of course there are differences. But again, it’s not about the crimes Dabi has committed or how these two brothers differ. It’s about what’s going on in their minds, what feelings control their every action. They come from the same place, physically and mentally. The way they reacted to their pain is the same, with the big difference being what Shouto points out next:

“I was also burning with rage… up until that day.”

That day, as the panel shows, being the sports festival, the day Shouto began to see clearly. But Dabi didn’t have a moment like that (yet) and so he continues going down that path, while Shouto managed to leave that mindset.

「あの日までの俺がこの身を焼いたんだ。」

「あの ; ano 」-> that

「日 ; hi 」-> day

「まで ; made 」-> until

「の ; no 」-> nominalizes the preceding phrase

「俺 ; ore 」-> I

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「この ; kono 」-> this

「身 ; mi 」-> body; oneself

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「焼いた ; yaita 」-> was burning

「んだ ; nda 」-> explanatory particle

= “Until that day, I burned this body.”

As mentioned earlier, the nda is an explanatory particle. Here, it again expresses discovery. Shouto draws a conclusion here: Just like he used to burn his body, Dabi is still doing the same to his.

Again, his focus is not on Dabi, the villain, but Touya, his older brother, and someone just like Shouto. While other people might just see a mentally unstable criminal, Shouto sees how self-destructive Dabi is. And because Shouto hadn’t realized how clouded his mind was, he understands that Dabi most likely doesn’t quite realize this either. Dabi ignores his own pain, all in order to destroy Endeavor. A cry for help that others aren’t capable of comprehending.

“Dad can’t do it…”

「親父じゃやれねェ。。。」

「親父 ; oyaji 」-> dad

「じゃ ; jya 」-> casual particle

「やれ ねェ ; yarenee 」-> can’t do

= “Dad can’t do it.”

[EDIT because this part originally had a different explanation: As pointed out by this anon here, the jya in this case is a casual particle to mark the topic/subject, and the nee part is the casual form of nai, which negates the verb. The translation is the same but the explanation is different!]

And now, for the last line:

“I have to be the one… to handle… my brother Touya.”

Handle him…

「燈矢兄は俺がやらなきゃ。」

「燈矢 ; touya 」-> Touya

「兄 ; nii 」-> suffix for older brother

「は ; ha 」-> topic marker particle

「俺 ; ore 」-> I

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「やらなきゃ ; yaranakya 」-> must do it

= “I am the one that has to take care of Touya-Nii.”

So this is the line that caused confusion and panic, due to the yaranakya part. As you can see by the meaning of the word, similar to how “must do it” can have multiple meanings in English, the same logic applies to the Japanese word. It’s also important to note that the word here consists of the two parts yaru (to do) and nakya (must do). Nakya not only expresses that you have to do something, but, in this case, also shows determination. Shouto really has to do it and will do it. But do what exactly? Again, the problem with yaru is that its meaning depends on context, but sometimes context itself isn’t super helpful. One of the definitions of yaru is “to kill” and that might be what some people think it means here? But context tells us that this makes zero sense. Why show how much he understands his brother only to turn around and decide “well, I got help but he hasn’t so I’m just gonna have to kill him, I guess” - no.

More importantly, right before this line, he says “dad can’t do it” - what can’t he do? If we were talking about killing him, then why would Shouto be able to do it and not Endeavor? Of course, there are the... funny people who suggested that only Shouto can fight/kill his brother because unlike him, Endeavor has an emotional attachment to Dabi (I’m just not gonna comment on this). Anyway, to answer the question of what Endeavor can’t do but Shouto can, we have to look at what Shouto said before that, which is talking about him also having burned his body until the sports festival. This is the key moment where Shouto’s and Dabi’s similarities end and only because someone was reaching out to Shouto. So obviously, in order to have Dabi stop being self-destructive and fueled by hatred, someone needs to reach out to Dabi. And that’s the thing that Endeavor can’t do. After all, Endeavor is the root cause of this, which in turn brings this scene to a full circle since right before Shouto’s monologue began, we got this flashback to what Starservant said in chapter 244:

“That one is the root cause,” accompanied by a panel showing Endeavor.

For reference, here’s the Japanese counterpart:

「其奴こそが元凶じゃ！！」

「其奴 ; soyatsu 」-> that guy

「こそ ; koso 」-> for sure (emphasizes preceding word)

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「元凶 ; genkyou 」-> culprit; main source

「じゃ ; jya 」-> sentence ender often used for old people in fiction

= “That guy is definitely the main source!”

Shouto remembering this is just stating an obvious fact that he hadn’t fully understood before: Dabi’s existence is Endeavor’s fault. His actions drove Touya to become Dabi, someone whose sole purpose for existing is to destroy Endeavor. So Endeavor couldn’t possibly save him. No matter what Endeavor would say or do, it would be meaningless. But Shouto is different because Shouto was Dabi. The big obstacle Shouto has to figure out how to overcome is making his big brother understand this, too. Regardless, Shouto is the only one that can reach out to him and the only one that fully understands him.

Another important to point out with this line, and many others have already talked about this, is that Shouto now refers to Dabi as Touya-Nii, whereas on the battlefield a few days prior, Shouto only called him Touya, without the “nii”. He is now actively acknowledging that this is, in fact, his big brother. He isn’t Dabi, the villain. And he isn’t just Touya, either - some abstract idea; someone Shouto has heard of but never met or talked to (not confirmed, but likely). This is now his big bro, just like Natsuo is, and just like Fuyumi is his big sister. They’re family.

Overall, this chapter was actually pretty accurate in terms of translation; though granted, Shouto isn’t a villain so the bias isn’t there… but anyway, this marks a very important turning point in the story and gives us a rough idea of what’s in store for Shouto from here on out.

He recognizes where Dabi is coming from. He doesn’t just see him as a villain, but rather someone who has been so full of hatred - for good reasons - that he ended up dragging innocent people into this. The focus, though, is entirely on that one fact: “That guy is me.”

Shouto understands that he could have turned out the same way, he understands hurting his own body just to spite his father.

The key concern with this chapter was that Shouto said that he’s going to kill Touya. I have no idea who started this rumor, but as mentioned, there is a possible confusion regarding yaru, which has multiple meanings. But although he doesn’t explicitly say “I will save him” it’s obvious from everything else he says during this chapter. If he recognizes that they’re the same, his conclusion won’t be “I have to kill him.” Especially when taking into consideration the fact that Shouto also pointed out that he couldn’t win against Dabi with his fire. And no, that doesn’t mean he can beat him with his ice or that that’s what he intends on doing. It’s not clear what he will be doing exactly, but that is partially due to the fact that Shouto is currently not in a state where he could possibly figure out the answer, either. 

But he has a goal: saving Touya-Nii - not so much from Endeavor, but from Dabi.

Next week’s chapter will hopefully focus on the Todofam conversation about to take place and will maybe give us some more hints as to what to expect. So far, though, it’s very obvious that Shouto will try to reach out to Dabi and save him, much like he was also saved from his hatred during the sports festival. He might not have a relationship with Touya the way he has started to build one with Natsuo and Fuyumi, but they have a much deeper connection because they are the same person.

[dreamcatcherjiah]

JAMAIS VU | TEASER 2

Namjoon & A-Young

Kim Moon-Jae - Two years old

He was born in September, just like his dad and Jungkook

Namjoon had wanted to become a dad so bad, he seamlessly welcomed his role and made it look easy, the way he took care of his little boy

Ever since he was a newborn, Namjoon would take him to the studio and put him to sleep in his little Moses basket while he worked 

it wasn't long before Joon discovered he liked Mono and he tended to leave his phone next to his song with the playlist playing while he worked on something else

Jungkook dotes on the boy 

literally won’t put him down

from the day he was born, JK would just look at him while he slept with his big doe eyes, he sometimes sings to the baby too

Moon-Jae is a very calm baby, even in his terrible twos

he’s happy with just sitting with his toys and looking at his mom while she moves around the house

he started babbling when he was barely six months old

when he said his first word, A-Young was busy with Jimin and Tae’s sons and he screamed EOMMA at the top of his little lungs

we could say he is a bit of a mom and dad boy

he loves laying in Namjoon’s chest while he reads his bedtime story

(most of the time they both fall asleep together and A-Young finds them in the nursery chair knocked out)

He’s the closest in age to Chimae and Sangwoo, but he’s a little jealous that his cousins can do things that he is not allowed because he’s younger

he can drink from a glass, the baby cup is for BABIES

so he just gravitates towards Nabi, Sangwoo’s older sister

Jin & Yura

Kim Yoojin & Kim Yoosun (Twins) - Seven years old

after saying time and time again that they were okay with only one child twins came along

Jin would be lying if he said he wasn't thrilled but it was scary at first

he was the first one of the seven to become a dad, to twins no less, might scare everyone

but when his baby girl Yoojin was born and, ten minutes later, he held his boy Yoosun, he just knew he would do anything for them 

they were born in the middle of August, much to Yura’s relief, if she had had to carry them for longer she would have cried

the boys loved how, since it was so hot that summer, Jin had them in their crib in diapers

Yoongi adored looking at them cuddle together and caress their little arms and tummies 

he loved their smooth baby skin

as they grew up, Yoosun became a really bright bean, a people’s little person while his sister became more like her mom, calm and with very intelligent eyes

they both love their parents equally but each one gravitates towards either Jin (Yoojin) or Yura (Yoosun)

since they’re the oldest of the bangtan babies, they like to take care of their small cousins

in their seven years of life, they have spent a total of a week apart and they don't want to try that again

like EVER

NEVER EVER AGAIN

Yoongi & Hyejin

Min Ara - Six months old

Yoongi and Hyejin waited a few years to try for a baby after they got married

then baby Are came along 

when they told the boys and their families they were pregnant a lot of people cried 

they had seen how deeply Yoongi loved all his nephews and nieces, how his face filled with adoration when he held them

they respected his and Hyejin’s wish to wait to start a family, but everyone wanted him to become a father deep down

Ara was born in January and his uncles Jimin, Hoseok and Namjoon, who only had boys, bought her the pinkiest fluffiest coats they could find

for a couple of months, the baby looked like she was drowning in pink furs 

now that she’s six months old, she sleeps through the night and she is just at that age where she doesn't understand when she has a sleepover with her cousins

Jin absolutely adores Ara

after his little-not-so-little Yoojin, Ara is the apple of his eye, and it is strange the day he doesn't visit Genius Lab too see his little niece

either that or he calls Hyejin non-stop when they have a schedule to coo at the baby

you would think Namjoon is not allowed to hold the baby, but nothing further from the truth

Yoongi trust him with his life when it comes to his daughter 

the first time she smiled, Joon was holding her to his chest and moving her little hand to say hi to her dad

Yoongi cried a little that day

Hoseok & Haneul

Jung Hyuk-Jae - Four years old

are we even surprised this boy is the happiest little boy on earth

he was born in November, a year after his parents got married

he was the first boy to be born after Yoosun and his cousin was so happy to finally be a hyung 

his eyes were always open, inquisitive and taking everything in the world in 

his mom loved strapping him to her chest and dance around the house while the two were alone, the baby moving his little legs and waving his little fists around

Hoseok would return home most days to a similar picture, feeling energised after a long day only by looking at them

Hyuk-Jae can't fall asleep without his parents caressing his chest and arms

(are we reminded of someone else)

when he feels tired, he nests into Hoseok’s chest and caresses his lips with his little finger, that’s how his dad knows he’s ready for bed

he loves drawing with his cousins, and loves teaching Moon-Jae all the letters that he has learnt in kindergarten 

when he grows up he wants Uncle Yoongi to show him how to make music and become a rapper just like his dad

when he comes from kinder, he doesn't let go of his mom for a little while, needing to spend a little quiet time so he’s ready to play with his dad when he comes home

Jimin & Kae-Hwa

Park Chimae - Three years old 

Chimae was born two weeks before Sangwoo, Tae’s son, in May

their wives tease them constantly about this, asking if they were so sneaky they planned to have children at the same time so they could be vmin 2.0

they deny it (even if they were so happy when they told each other they were having babies at the same time oooops)

Chimae is the sweetest little boy

he is just like his dad, all fluffy cheeks, smily eyes and the happiest giggle in the world

even if him and Sangwoo are not blood brothers, Jin likes to tease their fathers telling them that the babies are even closer than his twins

good luck separating them, boys

Chim ADORES his parents and his uncle Joon, always gravitating to them in a loud room, seeking comfort and warmth to cuddle

oh yeah, he’s a cuddle bug, doing that little thing, rubbing his cheek against his uncle Joon’s chest and nesting against him

he loves falling asleep between his mom and dad, holding one of their fingers in each tiny fist and feeling them close 

his mom loves to buy diminutive versions of Jimin’s outfits to have Chim dress like him 

they would both enter the studio hand in hand, sporting identical Chanel jumpers, jeans and Gucci sunglasses and no one would bat an eyelid

the poor thing has two left feet, but that doesn't stop him copying his dad’s moves to the best of his abilities

Taehyung & Iseul

Kim Nabi - Five years old

now, when Tae said he wanted a big family he wasn't joking 

he and his wife were pregnant within a month of their wedding 

Nabi was born in February, a few days after her uncle Hobi, which guaranteed huge birthday parties when she got old enough

she wanted a princesses-themed birthday party, uncle Hobi got her the dresses and was the first one there, dressed as Elsa from Frozen

she was a fussy baby, which didn't sit well with her mom, but her dad was there at all times

his insomnia actually got better once he matched his sleeping schedule with his baby’s

in a good night she would wake up maybe a couple of times, and there was Tae, bottle at the ready, singing lullabies for his little girl in his deep voice

in a bad night, well, let’s just say Tae was used to functioning on little to no sleep

even if she is the closest with Yoojin, her best friend is her cousin Nari

she insists it was fate (not her mom’s intentional choosing) that their names match so well

she has always had a soft spot for Moon-Jae and you can often find them both playing together when Chimae and Sangwoo run off somewhere to stir trouble

Kim Sangwoo - Three years old

two years after Nabi was born, just when she was starting to pick up a normal sleeping schedule, Iseul found out she was pregnant with Sangwoo

she was expecting another difficult baby and she couldn't be happier to have been wrong (at the beginning, lol)

he was quiet and happy

he loved just lying there between his sister and Chimae, babbling away 

The two boys seemed stuck at the hip, if you so much as lifted one to change his diaper, the other would scream his little lungs out

then he started crawling and OH BOY

he found out that he could see Chimae from his dad phone in the screen so he started sneakily trying to find it to call his best friend... he was only eighteen months old

where Chimae was calm, Sangwoo compensated being an active little firecracker

if you wanted to know where the two were, you just had to wait until Chimae pulled your jean leg because he thought Sangwoo was doing something dangerous

most times those dangerous things were stealing cookies from the kitchen cabinet, but our Chimae here is an innocent little angel

Jungkook & Mi-Hi

Jeon Jina - newborn

Jungkook and Mi-Hi were still young when they got married, so it made sense to wait 

besides, if an occasional burst of baby fever struck, either one of them could just call any of the other parents and offer to babysit

it stayed like that for almost six years, both Kookie and Mi-Hi being the fun aunt and uncle who bought the children candy, took them on fun rides to the park or to the beach

they were each child’s first time on Disneyland

well, it lasted until Namjoon and A-Young had Moon-Jae

Jungkook went mental for the child, he wouldn't know how to explain what went through him, but he just couldn't put the baby down

he loved all his nieces and nephews equally, but just looking at his hyung’s baby moon...

he would come home only talking about babies, showing Mi-Hi the countless pictures he had taken of Moon-Jae

she would sense that characteristic baby smell in his clothes when she hugged him

it reached a point when both of them sat down and admitted to each other how badly they wanted to start a family

it took them a while, but after nearly a year and a half, they were happily announcing they were expecting a little girl

Jina, being the youngest of the family, has everyone wrapped around her little finger

it would be difficult to tell which of her uncles is more whipped for her, Hoseok going so far as to admitting to JK that after spending so much time with the little girl, he wanted to talk to Haneul about trying for a girl

it is still way too soon to tell who she takes after, but what’s for sure is that she got her dad’s doe eyes

Permanent taglist: @preciouschimine​ @forget-me-notforever​ @annywaa​ @alpacaparkaseok @bangtan-madi 

[theanonymousb]

My 20 Best Korean Drama

1.    Hi Bye Mama

Genre: Fantasy, Drama

Plot:

Cha Yu-Ri (Kim Tae Hee) has been a ghost since she died 5 years ago. She left behind her husband Jo Kang-Hwa and their child. To become a human again, Cha Yu-Ri carries out a reincarnation project for 49 days.

Meanwhile, Jo Kang-Hwa (Lee Kyu-Hyung) works as a chest surgeon. He was loving, but, after his wife died, his personality changed. After 5 years, his wife Cha Yu-Ri reappears in front of him.

2.    It’s Okay to Not be Okay

Genre: Romance, Drama

Plot:

A story about a man employed in a psychiatric ward and a woman, with an antisocial personality disorder, who is a popular writer of children’s books.

Moon Kang-Tae (Kim Soo-Hyun) works in a psychiatric ward. His job is to write down the patients’ conditions and deal with unexpected situations, like if patients fight or they run away. He only earns about 1.8 million won ($1,600 USD) a month. The woman (Seo Yea-Ji) is a popular writer of children’s literature, but she is extremely selfish, arrogant and rude.

3.    Angel’s last Mission

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

Kim Dan (Kim Myung-Soo) is an angel. He is also a troublemaker and also optimist. Lee Yeon-Seo (Shin Hye-Sun) is a ballerina who does not believe in lve.

Dan then receives a mission. If he succeeds, he can return to Heaven. His mission is to find true love for Yeon-Seo, but soon falls in love with her.

4.    Prison Playbook

Genre: Black Comedy

Plot:

Je-Hyeok (Park Hae-Soo) is the best relief pitcher in Korea. He will to the U.S and sign a contract with a major league. One night, he hears his sister screaming and sees a man running out of her apartment. Je-hyeok and the man get into a physical struggle with Je-Hyeok striking the man with a rock. Later, Je-Hyeok receives a 1 year prison sentence for using excessive force. Devastated, Je-Hyeok must adapt to life in prison.

Meanwhile, Joon-Ho (Jung Kyoung-Ho) is a friend of Je-Hyeok and works in the prisonas an officer. He waits for Je-Hyeok’s arrival.

5.    Chicago Typewriter

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Friendship

Plot:

This drama follows the lives of two men and a woman through two eras; one during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea and the other in the 21st century. Han Se-Joo (Yoo Ah-In) who was a writer in his past life and a bestselling author in the present. But Se-Joo is depressed with writer’s block so he can’t write his next book.

Yu Jin-Oh (Go Kyung-Pyo) owned a bar in his previous life. In 2017 he is a talented ghostwriter who can bail Se-Joo out of his predicament, but the mysterious man has a condition for his services. Se-Joo may not be able to meet it.

Jun Seol (Im Soo Jung) was a sniper. Now she has extremely variety expertise. She is a former Olympian hopeful, a veterinarian and a book lover who runs her own delivery service. She oscillates between extreme fandom and an anti-fan of Se Joo.

The intricately woven story of these three characters unfolds to reveal strange mirroring connections between the time periods as well as possibilities for past lives to be redeemed or improves in the modern world.

6.    Uncontrollably Fond

Genre: Romance, Melodrama

Plot:

Sin Joon-Young (Kim Woo-Bin) and No Eul (Bae Suzy) were in love in ther younger days. But uncontrollable circumstances separated them and they went their separate ways. Joon-Young is now a superstar actor and singer, while No Eul became a producer-director of documentaries. When their path cross again years later. Joon-Young discovers that No Eul is now very different person than he remembered – materialisticand willing to do anything to get ahead.

7.    Penthouse: War In Life

Genre: Suspense, Life, Drama, Family, Mature

Plot:

The residents of Hera Palace, a luxury penthouse apartment with 100 floors, have many secrets and hidden ambitions. Sim Su-Ryeon (Lee Ji-Ah), who was born into wealth, is the queen of the penthouse apartment. Cheon Seo-Jin (Kim So-Yeon), the prima donna of the residence, does all she can to give everything to her daughter. Oh Yoon-Hee (Eugene) comes from a poor family background, but she strives to enter high society by becoming the queen of the penthouse, the pinnacle success in her eyes. A battle for wealth, power, and prestige at Seoul’s most coveted penthouse begins.

8.    Crash Landing On You

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Military, Political

Plot:

Yoon Se-Ri (Son Ye-Ji) is an heiress to a conglomerate in South Korea. One day, while paragliding, an accident caused by strong winds leads Yoon Se-Ri to make an emergency landing in North Korea.  There, she meets Ri Jeong-Hyeok (Hyun-Bin), who is a North Korean army officer. He tries to protect her and hide her. Soon, Ri Jeong-Hyeok falls in love with Yoon Se-RI.

9.    Itaewon Class

Genre: Romance, Business, Friendship, Life

Plot:

On the first day of attending his new high school, Park Sae-Ro-Yi (Park Seo-Joon) punches his classmate Jang Geun-Won, who was bullying another classmate. The bully is the son of CEO Jang Dae-Hee (Yoo Jae-Myung). The bully's father runs restaurant business Jagga where Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s own father works. CEO Jang Dae-Hee demands to Park Sae-Ro-Yi that he apologizes to his son, but Park Sae-Ro-Yi refuses. Because of his refusal, Park Sae-Ro-Yi gets expelled from school and his father gets fired from his job. Soon, an accident takes place. Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s father dies in a motorcycle accident caused by his ex-classmate Jang Geun-Won. Burning with anger, Park Sae-Ro-Yi viciously beats Jang Geun-Won. He is soon arrested and receives prison time for the violent assault. Park Sae-Ro-Yi decides to destroy the Jagga company and take revenge upon CEO Jang Dae-Hee and his son Jang Geun-Won. Once Park Sae-Ro-Yi is released from prison, he opens a restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. Jo Yi-Seo (Kim Da-Mi), who is popular on social media, joins Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s restaurant and works there as a manger. She has feelings for Park Sae-Ro-Yi.

10. Hotel De Luna

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Horror, Fantasy

Plot:

Jang Man-Wol (IU) is the CEO of Hotel del Luna. The hotel is situated in downtown in Seoul and has a very old appearance. She made a big error many years ago and, because of this, she has been stuck at Hotel del Luna. She is beautiful, but she is fickle, suspicious and greedy.

Koo Chan-Sung (Yeo Jin-Goo) worked as the youngest assistant manager ever at a multinational hotel corporation. He is a sincere perfectionist. He looks level-headed, but he actually has a soft disposition. Due to an unexpected case, he begins to work as a manager at Hotel del Luna. The hotel's clientele consists of ghosts.

11. Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Plot:

Goo Ra-Ra (Go Ara) is a pianist. She has bright personality. Something happened that caused her to become bankrupt. She doesn't have anything now and she is frustrated with her situation.

Sunwoo Joon (Lee Jae-Wook) doesn't care what other people think about him, but he has a warm heart. He is free spirited and doesn't have a specific dream or goal for his life. He makes ends meet by working part-time jobs.

Goo Ra-Ra and Sunwoo Joon meet at the small private piano academy LaLa Land in a country village.

12. 18 Again

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Youth, Drama, Fantasy

Plot:

Tells the story of a husband named Hong Dae Young (Lee Do-Hyun) who is on the verge of divorce but finds himself back in his body when he was at the prime of his life 18 years ago. He ends up changing his name to Go Woo Young when he becomes 18- years-old again. Meanwhile, his wife Jung Da Jung(Kim Ha-Neul) joins the workforce as an anchorwoman later on in life after raising their 18-year-old twins.

13. Goblin: The Lonely and Great God

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

In ancient times, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) is an unbeatable general in wars, but the young King (Kim Min-Jae) is jealous of Kim Shin and kills him. Kim Shin becomes Dokkaebi (Goblin), possessing an immortal life. At first he thinks that he is blessed, but he realizes that he is cursed.

Closer to the present day, Kim Shin has waited 900 years for a human bride to end his immortal life. One night, he saves a dying pregnant woman (Park Hee-Von) who is destined to die. Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-Wook) is unable to find the dead pregnant woman. The woman gives birth to a baby girl named Ji Eun-Tak (later played by Kim Go-Eun). 9 years later, Ji Eun-Tak lives with her mother and is able to see ghosts. One night, her mother suddenly dies. On that night, she meets the Grim Reaper.

In the present day, Ji Eun-Tak is a high school student. She still sees ghosts and hears their whisper of “Dokkaebi’s bride.” She now lives with her aunt’s family, but she is mistreated by them. On her birthday, Ji Eun-Tak sits by the sea with a lighted birthday cake. At that time, Kim Shin suddenly appears in front of her. Kim Shin does not know why, but he can hear her voice and appears in front of her against his will. Coincidentally, Kim Shin lives with the Grim Reaper at the same house.

Now, Kim Shin appears in front of her against his will, whenever she turns off the lights. One day, Ji Eun-Tak tells him that he is Dokkaebi and she is his bride.

14. It’s Okay That’s Love

Genre: Friendship, Psychological, Comedy, Romance, Drama

Plot:

Jang Jae-Yeol (Jo In-Sung) is a mystery writer and radio DJ. He suffers from a obsession. Ji Hae-Soo (Gong Hyo-Jin) is going through her first year fellowship in psychiatry at a University Hospital. She chose psychiatry because she doesn't want to perform surgeries. After she meets Jang Jae-Yeol, her life goes through big changes.

15. Let’s Fight Ghost

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Horror

Plot:

Hyun-Ji (Kim So-Hyun) studied for most her life before she died at the age of 19. She is now a ghost and has wandered around the world for several years. Hyun-Ji then meets exorcist Park Bong-Pal (TaecYeon). Hyun-Ji and Bong-Pal listens to various stories from ghosts and sends them to the otherworld.

16. Hospital Playlist

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Romance, Life, Medical

Plot:

A drama depicting the stories of people going through their days that are seemingly ordinary but actually special, at the hospital, a place known as the microcosm of life - where someone is being born and someone's life meets their ending. The five doctors are longtime friends of 20 years who started their undergrad in 1999 in the same medical school, and now they are colleagues in the same hospital. The drama will also deal with a story of a band formed by the group of doctors.

17. Fated to Loved You

Genre: Business, Comedy, Romance,

Plot:

This drama is the story of an ordinary girl, Mi Yeong, (Jang Na-Ra)who has neither outstanding looks, a prestigious college degree, nor any other charming qualities, facing her whole life abruptly changing when love comes knocking at her door. While on vacation, she accidentally happens to spend one night with Lee Gun (Jang Hyuk) and even gets pregnant from that night. Because of this incident, her life will never be the same, and this fateful encounter brings love that transforms this not-so-special girl to an attractive, charming lady.

18. Go Back Couple

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Life, Fantasy

Plot:

Choi Ban-Do (Son Ho-Jun) and Ma Jin-Joo (Jang Na-Ra) are both 38-years-old and a married couple. Choi Ban-Do has been burdened with being the breadwinner and Ma Jin-Joo is a housewife with low self-esteem. Even though they loved each other when they married, they now hate each other. They both regret marrying at such a young age. The couple travel through time and find themselves as 20-year-old university students, when they met for the first time.

19. To The Beautiful You

Genre: School, Teen, Romantic, Comedy, Sports

Plot:

Kang Tae-Joon (Minho) is a gold medalist in the high jump, but he has been mired in a slump due to an injury. In order to help her idol, a girl named Koo Jae-Hee (Sulli) disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the same all male high school.When Tae-Joon (Minho) is competiting at the World Junior Competition, Jae-Hee (Sulli) watches him on TV in America and becomes very touched.

Despite her friends telling her otherwise, Jae-Hee cuts her long hair by herself. She then flies to South Korea, with a plan to stay with Tae-Joon who is now injured. Jae-Hee disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the all boys Genie Physical Education High School. On her first day at school, Jae-Hee goes up the stairs with her suitcase, but her suitcase bursts open and all her clothes fall out. A boy comes by and helps her pick up her stuff. Jae-Hee realizes that the boy helping her is none other than her idol Tae-Joon. In her excitement, Jae-Hee sits on her suitcase, which proceeds to slide down the stairs.

20. When the Camellia Blooms

Genre: Triller, Comedy, Romance, Family

Plot:

Dong-Baek (Kong Hyo-Jin) is a single mother living in the small town of Ongsan. She runs the bar-restaurant Camellia, while also taking care of her son Pil-Gu (Kim Kang-Hoon). The people of Ongsan frequently gossip about Dong-Baek. She grew up as an orphan, is a single mother and runs a bar where many of the men in Ongsan frequent. Regardless of what the locals may whisper about Dong-Baek, local police officer Hwang Yong-Sik (Kang Ha-Neul) is deeply in love with her. Meanwhile, Dong-Baek's ex-boyfriend Kang Jong-Ryeol (Kim Ji-Suk) suddenly reappears in her life. He is a famous baseball player, that hid their relationship when they dated. While Dong-Baek tries to find happiness, something truly sinister lurks in the background. A serial killer roams Ongsan and Dong-Baek may be a target.

[eirist]

Little Bits and Pieces of Heaven

TRICK OR TREAT?

One-shot #: 22

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T (Playful, sexy, suggestive)

Note: Happy Halloween! What is this day if we don’t have a ZoNa one-shot centered on this theme right? This is Prompt #9 – Trick or Treat from the Autumn/Fall (and Halloween!) Prompt List.

Summary: Because when are treats just sweets?

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Laughter filled the air, its tone howling and mocking—obviously at the expense of one poor soul unluckily enough to be the cause of it.

“Shut. Up.”

That comment prompted another round of laughter. Louder, more jeering.

“What in the—hahaha!—world… ha-happened to y-you?” Usopp stammered the question, gasping for air as he tried to get some words out while still laughing.

“I said. Shut. Up!” Zoro snarled towards his direction.

Sanji’s grin was pure evil as he peered down from the galley deck, laughing as well. “Say what now?” He teased. “Kindly… uh… growl that again for us?”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAH!” Usopp did not hold back this time. He had actually fallen down to his knees on the grassy deck, laughing still and clutching his middle at the same time.

“Guys…” Nami was trying hard—very hard—to hold back her own laughter at the sight before her. Her lower lip trembled at the effort and she bit at it, hoping to gain some control.

“But Nami-san…!” Sanji wasn’t able to continue what he was saying. He exploded into laughter again while pointing at the three figures standing in the middle of the Sunny’s deck.

Their three crewmates had just returned to the ship after frolicking in the island where they are docked. It would’ve been a normal occurrence… if not for the fact that the three are wearing costumes.

Animal costumes.

Animal jumpsuit costumes.

Nami covered her mouth with her hand to prevent the snort of  laughter that threatened to come out of her as she stared at Luffy, Chopper and…

… dear Kami, Zoro.

Her eyes met his and her shoulders shook from hindering her laugh. His glare was scathing, venomous even.

And she wisely kept her mouth shut lest she incur his wrath.

She actually doesn’t want to get into his bad side tonight.

Not when he is in that tiger costume looking like he was gonna maul everyone to death any minute now.

Nami managed to take a deep breath and compose herself. Yet, she cannot prevent a grin from appearing on her face as she asked. “Are you gonna tell us what’s up? And what’s with the outfits?”

Usopp and Sanji were laughing again, slapping their hands against the lawn deck and the banister respectively.

Franky walked past them on his way to the dock system. And he did a double take. A minute passed before he said, "Aw! Nice costume Zoro!" He gave him a thumbs up before disappearing down the hatch.

If looks could only kill, the cyborg will be dead on the spot… right after that comment.

Zoro’s lone eye narrowed at the two. “You two done now?” He looked unamused; arms folded over his chest as he waited for his idiot crew mates to calm down.

Which honestly looks like it’s gonna take some time.

“No, not yet!” Usopp was still cackling. “This is gold.” He was now sitting down the lawn deck, trying to catch his breath. “Haaah! I’m laughing so hard I think my stomach muscles are cramping.”

“What in the world made you wear that marimo?” Sanji was now heading down the stairs, shaking his head, the snide grin never leaving his face.

Zoro didn’t answer, instead he pinned the blond with the deadliest glare he could muster.

Which is definitely not working since what he was currently wearing undermines the intensity of the look he was giving the chef.

“I asked him to…” Chopper suddenly said in shy, little voice that had most of the Mugiwaras halting. Usopp choked in the middle of his laughter, ending in a coughing fit as he tried to get some air into his lungs.

The others exchanged glances. Everyone has a weak spot for the reindeer after all.

“Actually, me and Luffy kinda forced him.” Chopper admitted, looking up at Zoro who was still glaring at the cook.

Ah. Everyone had the same thought instantly. The reindeer and the captain, huh? The two persons on the ship that the swordsman can hardly ever say no to.

“Well,” Sanji squared his shoulder. “Good job choosing the costume then.”

An expletive escaped Zoro’s mouth.

The cook’s face lit up at that as he reached the deck, standing beside the still crouching Usopp. “Louder will ya?” He smirked. “Aren’t tigers supposed to be capable of growling loudly?”

“I will bite you in half shitty cook!”

“Whoa! I see we are really getting into character now. Whatever happened to using your katanas?”

“Temee…”

“Sanji-kun!” Nami suddenly stepped in front of Zoro with one hand pushing at the taller man’s face. “Stop riling the tiger up!”

“Grrr… you’re next witch!” Zoro scowled underneath her palm, before slapping it away with his own hand… or paw to be exact.

“I think we look awesome!” Luffy shouted excitedly. “Chopper and I really got lots of candies and goodies!” He showed them the pumpkin pails he was holding, overflowing with different treats.

“Yes!” Chopper’s eyes are brimming with delight. “And Zoro gave us his share as well!!!” He also showed them his goodies.

“Don’t need ‘em,” Zoro muttered curtly, still trying to swat Nami’s hand away.

“Oh?” Sanji leaned down to inspect their pails. “Looks like the tiger’s kind of a softie.”

Now that had Zoro roaring and lunging at the blond. “Come here shit cook!”

Nami thwarted his effort with a hand on his chest and the other scratching one fluffy ear of the costume’s hoodie.

“There, there tiger,” she cooed. “Calm down.”

“Stop it witch!” He glowered at her. But it turned to a smirk when Sanji whined a ‘Nami-san, pet me too!’.

“Aho…” he drawled and it was Sanji’s turn to get riled up.

“GET AWAY FROM NAMI-SAN YOU DUMBASS!!!”

Robin came out of the aquarium bar and approached the group. She had heard the commotion but refrained from leaving her location. She was engrossed with the book that she was reading and had used her hana hana no mi to find out what’s going on.

“Ara…” she said gaining everyone’s attention. “Did you three have fun?”

“Robin-chwaan!” Sanji was immediately distracted by his other female crewmate. “I hope we didn’t disturb you my lady.” He was instantly suave and gentlemanly and was kneeling down on knee, holding the older woman’s hand in his.

“Not at all,” she smiled. “How was your trip in the town?” She directed the question to the three costumed Mugiwaras. Not once did her calm, composed demeanor break… even at the sight of their intimidating swordsman donning on an animal jumpsuit.

“It was so much fun!” Chopper gushed showing her the pumpkin pails. “Look at all the candy I got Robin!”

“Me too! Me too!” Luffy flaunted his as well.

“Looks like it was an amazing trip then,” Robin smiled.

Luffy nodded. “Yep it was awesome! They have something going on there where. You knock on doors and say trick or treat!”

“Then they will give you candies! Lots and lots of candies!” Chopper explained giddily.

“But you have to be in a costume first! And Zoro said we can’t go knocking on houses dressed in the usual!” The rubberman added.

Behind them Zoro was rolling his eyes in exasperation.

“Pretty good call,” Brook suddenly appeared and sauntered towards them with a tea cup in hand, nodding at Zoro. “We are in a civilian territory and some might recognize your faces from the posters Luffy-san.”

“I’m surprised you don’t find this funny.” Usopp pointed at the three, raising an eyebrow at the skeleton.

“Ah I did… I already laughed my eyes out before I went here, yohohohoh! Even if I—”

“—don’t have eyes to see.” Usopp deadpanned with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Yeah, yeah.”

“That is not very nice Usopp-san!” Brook retorted when his skull joke was foiled.

“Hmmm…” Nami suddenly hummed. “I see… since Zoro is the delegated baby-sitter of you two for the night…hence the costume.” She smiled cheekily at him before scratching his tiger ear again and he gave her a sharp look.

Luffy nodded. “You said he should come with us! And I’m not gonna go back here empty-handed. Everyone is giving away treats and candies in town!” Then he frowned. “But there’s no meat though…”

Robin laughed softly. “Well, the island’s tradition is to give out sweets to those who are trick or treating. That’s why there are no meats or other foods.”

“Or beer.” Zoro complained as Nami flicked Zoro’s nose playfully.

He glared angrily at her.

“So who picked the animal costumes?” The navigator asked, curious why Zoro ended up looking like this.

“Us!!!” Luffy and Chopper raised their hands.

“I wanted to be the monkey!” Luffy pumped his hands into the air. “Because…”

“Monkey D. Luffy?” Sanji cut in, blowing a stream of smoke nonchalantly.

“Right!”

“Figures.”

“And Chopper-san’s supposed to be a…?” Brook queried.

“Tanuki,” Zoro answered, his lone grey eye still looking daggers on Nami.

“Isn’t that a bit redundant?” Usopp raised an eyebrow at Chopper.

“It’s not a raccoon-dog! It’s a raccoon Zoro!” The doctor corrected him.

“Right. Sorry.”

“So you’re a….” the sniper prompted. He still cannot make up his mind between raccoon, raccoon-dog or a reindeer in a reindeer costume.

“Raccoon! This costume is a raccoon!”

“Honestly, I’m confused,” the sharpshooter admitted, blinking at the others doubtfully.

“Usopp you asshole!” Chopper screamed in indignation.

“Hahaha! Just kidding,” Usopp backtracked. “Of course the great god Usopp knows what you are already!”

“Which is?” Nami queried, looking at him unconvincingly.

Usopp coughed and ignored her. “And how did Zoro ended up as a tiger?”

“It was the only available one,” the swordsman grunted.

“Why didn’t you just covered him with anything green and let him come as his marimo self?” Sanji inquired, that shit-eating grin he has on his face never waning.

“I will kill you aho cook.”

“Oh!” Sanji trembled mockingly. “Whatcha gonna do hit me with your paw?”

They were about to lunge at each other when Nami raised both of her hands to stop them.

“That is enough!” Nami then stood on tiptoes and reached out to pinched ears of the tiger costume. “Let’s all just agree that as much as it is funny, they look absolutely cute.

Sanji looked shocked and whimpered, “Nami-san!”

“I am not cute woman! Get off!” Zoro groused as he tried to pull Nami’s hands away. It required some effort to be honest as the jumpsuit he was wearing ended up with paws for the hands.

Robin let out a soft giggle. “For what it’s worth… I honestly think it is cute Zoro.” She offered her two cent’s worth, her smile ever polite. “And sweet,” she added as well as her gaze hovered over Chopper and Luffy affectionately, knowing that the swordsman did it for the two.

“It is,” Nami agreed, breaking into a grin. “Especially that drawn nose and whiskers.” She tapped Zoro’s nose and it had him growling at her. This time she laughed… out loud. He’s kinda getting into that tiger persona quite effortlessly.

Though she maybe laughing at green-haired man’s expense yet that doesn’t mean she didn’t find his current look… enticing. And yes, cute.

Absolutely cute.

She could just eat him right here. Right now.

Zoro snorted even as his face turned red at their comments. Chopper then explained that the store owner where they got the costumes from had offered to draw on Luffy and Zoro’s faces.

“It is cute, ne Robin?” Luffy aimed the question at the older woman, smiling brightly.

Robin’s eyes crinkled as she smiled. “It is senchou.”  

“Hey! Why don’t we all go and trick or treat some more?” Luffy suggested. “I’m pretty sure there are houses we still haven’t visited…”

“Yes!” Chopper pumped his hooves up in the air. “More candies!”

“Sanji you should go with us as well! We’ll find you a costume like what we have!” Luffy grabbed the cook’s hands much to his chagrin.

“What? NO!”

“Good maybe there’s an ero-kappa costume where we got this. That’ll suit him.” Zoro suggested, smirking at the thought that the stupid chef will end up in a stupid costume just like him.

If it wasn’t for Luffy and Chopper… this would not have taken place. Damn it!

“You asshole!” Sanji shouted as the same notion dawned into him.

“I’m done.” Zoro then announced with a huff. “It’s your turn to babysit them now. I’m gonna go nap. Chopper, you can drag Usopp as well this time for another round of trick or treating.”

“Alright.” The reindeer beamed at him. “Zoro thank you for tonight!”

That pulled the corner of the grumpy tiger’s lips up before he headed towards the sleeping quarters.

“Not another word witch.” He muttered as he passed by a still grinning Nami.

“I didn’t say anything,” Nami retorted as she watched him head towards the men’s room.

“So,” Robin caught everyone’s attention at that. “Shall we head back to town, get some costumes and enjoy some trick or treating ourselves?”

A chorus of yes answered her.

-------------------------

A soft knock on the door woke Zoro up.

He opened his eye at the sound. The men’s quarter was dark and the ship silent. 

The others are still probably trick or treating in the island.

Sitting up he realized that must’ve fallen asleep on the sofa in the middle of the room instead of his bunk bed.

Another knock sounded. And he sleepily stood up, groaning when he realized he still hadn’t gotten out of the stupid tiger costume he was wearing.

Running a paw over his head (in an attempt to run his fingers through his hair) he approached the door and opened it.

He was met with a Cheshire cat-like smile on a cat burglar’s face—who was wearing a sexy, black cat costume.

A far cry from the conservative jumpsuit he and the others had on.

She was clad in a one piece black suit so tight it was hugging her curves. The front was zip only halfway up, displaying her ample cleavage. Black stockings and heels made up the lower part of her attire and cute cat ears headband completed her feline ensemble.

Trust Nami to find some way to don a costume that’ll flaunt all her generous assets.

"Trick or treat?"

She inquired as she smirked at him.

"Tch!"

And she chortled as his reaction, plus at the fact that he still hadn’t taken his tiger costume off. She took a step inside, her black high heels made a clicking sound against the wooden floor, the tail of her one piece suit swaying at her movement in time with her orange curls.

"So trick or treat?" She repeated when Zoro didn’t make another sound and instead was scrutinizing her up and down.

Zoro snorted as he followed her. Her hand reached out and grabbed the front of his jumpsuit, pulling him closer to her. Licking her thumb, she reached out to try to erase the drawn tiger’s nose on his own, as well as the whiskers on his face.

“None,” he finally answered as she rubbed her finger on his face.

Nami laughed. What a grouch. She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. His arms automatically encircled her waist.

“Wrong answer,” she whispered cattily.

“I don’t have any treats here. Luffy and Chopper has them.”

“Wrong again,” she kissed him on the jaw, tugging back the hood of his costume so she can ran her fingers through his hair.

His lips quirked up as she placed light, nipping kisses on his lips… her teasing smile never leaving her face.

She tugged at the front zipper of his costume down and watched fascinated as the toned muscles underneath it were slowly exposed. 

"See Zoro…” she said, savoring the sight before as her eyes and hands trailed down his body. She pushed the garment off his shoulders. “Here’s my treat." She declared licking her lips naughtily.

[jawsandbones]

Going Home

Why the Sabrae clan really helped Zevran in DA2

He keeps it close to his heart. Underneath his tunic, against his skin. It is quiet as he steps through the underbrush, twigs snapping underfoot, leaves pressed into the grass. Birds chirp in the branches, a polite twittering song that jumps from tree to tree. A song, carried by a choir. Were he still travelling with the others, he would never have known its melody. Oh. It catches him in the chest. He reaches out, presses his hand against the rough bark of a tree as he doubles over. His other hand on his knee, and he thinks he might be sick. He breathes quickly, fleeting inhales, over much too soon. The necklace slips from his shirt, dangles beneath him.

He had heard the offers, of course. He could have stayed in Denerim, with Alistair. He would have found a position for Zevran, no doubt. King Alistair would have been a sight to see. He could have gone with Wynne and Shale, seeking answers to questions he didn’t understand. Even Sten offered, but that would mean the Qun, and Zevran had never been good with obedience. He almost took Leliana up on hers. Her hand extended, a soft smile on her face, offering refuge. A place where he might find counsel, some kind of peace. He couldn’t accept. His destination had already been promised, to another. He could only watch. With sweat slick hands, he holds tightly to his swords. She brings her own sword over her head, blood on her lips. A grimace of grim determination crosses her face as she stabs it downwards, into the soft flesh of the Archdemon. The resulting explosion knocks Zevran off his feet, back several paces. His ears ring with the sound of it, his body aches with the force of it. His swords are somewhere now, but they don’t matter. Three worlds slowly merge into one as Zevran closes his eyes, shakes the tolling from his head. He forces himself to his feet. Somehow, she’s still standing.

His steps are slower than he means them to be as he closes the distance between them, his arms outstretched, his hands reaching for her. She has dropped the sword. She stands stone still, slightly hunched over, her hand pressed against her chest. Her hair is a veil around her face. Her head slowly turns, to look at him. He watches with horror as the darkened lines of taint begin to creep up from the line of her armor, twist around her neck, and touch at her face. “My Warden,” he says, his voice breaking, his words barely able to rise above a whisper. “Mi amor.” Words spoken far more desperately, as he finally finds himself in front of her, wrapping his arms around her.

“Zevran. Vhenan,” she says, clinging to him tightly. He feels her breathe against his neck, his jaw, his cheek. “Everything will be alright. You’ll be fine.” She presses her hand over where she knows the necklace to sit. “Don’t forget.” Her kiss tastes of iron, of salt. She smiles even as her eyes turn cloudy and grey, her hand soft against his cheek. She gently wipes away his tears. She sighs as she rests her head on his shoulder, indulges herself in one last hug. He holds her up with him for as long as he can, until his knees buckle. He sinks to the ground with Mahariel in his arms, and weeps over her body. Zevran isn’t sure when it ends, just that it does. He lies on the forest floor, watches the world sway with the wind. He holds his hand over his face, looks at the dried blood there. The bark had bit into his skin, tiny cuts which pepper his palm. It takes him a few more hours, but what are those few compared to the weeks of travel? The Free Marches will take time to be more familiar to him. Still, a mountain is an easy thing to find. There is only one entrance to the camp at the base of Sundermount. He approaches with his hands raised, his hair pulled away from his face, pointed ears. His elvish is poor, unserviceable. He tries.

“Aneth ara,” he says, as she taught him, but his pronunciation is painful to even his ears and he winces. “I was sent by one of your clan, to find Keeper Marethari.” The guards speak in fluent elvish, too quick for him to understand. They gesture for him to follow. Curious eyes follow him as he walks through the camp. They lead him to an older woman, her grey hair pulled back into a severe bun. The vallaslin touches all parts of her face. Absentmindedly, he brushes a hand against his tattoo.

“Andaran atish’an. We do not have many visitors. I am told,” she says after the guards have finished speaking and returned to their post, “You have been sent by one of our clan. May I ask who?”

Carefully, he pulls the necklace over his head. He slowly lets it fall into her palm. She rubs her fingers over the beads. Hundreds of them, all uniquely carved into the shape of a different animal. They chase each other round and round. Curiosity gives way to understanding, and her eyes grow sad, the corners of her lips turning downwards.  “Da’len na melana sahlin, emma ir abelas. Souver’inan isala hamin,” she murmurs as she rubs her thumb over the shape of a wolf.

“I do not understand,” Zevran says, his words pricked with pain. She looks up at him, as though she had forgotten he stood there, and her face softens.

“I am saddened to hear of her loss. She was a gift to us, as was Tamlen. Now we have lost them both,” Marethari says. “Yet, we have gained another. Stay a while with us, rest. I would like to hear of all that happened to her after she was forced to leave us.” She holds out the necklace for him. He almost takes a step back, stops himself.

“My Warden, ah, I promised her to bring it to you. I think, perhaps, she meant for you to have it,” he says. Marethari chuckles not unkindly, shakes her head. She takes his hand by force, presses the necklace to him, and folds his fingers over it. She keeps his hand there, clasped in hers.

“No, da’len. She did not. She meant for you to find some comfort in family. You do not need to be alone to mourn her.”

[useless-catalanfacts]

I had wanted to translate this song for a long time, but it frustrated me that I couldn’t translate one specific sentence to something as beautifully heartbreaking, but @cucullas‘s edits of traditional Catalan songs reminded me of it again, so I’m finally posting it.

El Testament d’Amèlia (“Amèlia’s will”), one of the most famous Catalan traditional songs. We have written proof of its existance since at least the 14th century, and it has been orally transmitted until nowadays. It explains a legend that is thought to be based on real events, the death of the 3rd daughter of count Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Dolça de Provença.

The song has been recorded by different people, I chose Serrat’s version because it follows the most widespread (I think) short lyrics, but as with all traditional songs there are different versions of the lyrics in different territories. The youtuber Alanna also sang a beautiful, longer version of it (with the lyrics in Catalan and subtitles in Spanish on screen) here (the song starts after an introduction in Spanish at minute 1:50).

Here are the lyrics in Catalan and my translation of them to English:

L'Amèlia està malalta La filla del bon rei Comtes la van a veure Comtes i noble gent

Amèlia is ill the daughter of the good king Counts go to visit her counts and noble people

Ai, que el meu cor se'm nua Com un pom de clavells

Oh, my heart is knotting like a bunch of carnations

Filla, la meva filla De quin mal us queixeu? El mal que jo tinc, mare Bé prou que me'l sabeu

Daughter, my daughter what pain are you complaining of? The pain that I have, mother, you know it very well.

Ai, que el meu cor se'm nua Com un pom de clavells

Oh, my heart ties itself in a knot like a bunch of carnations

Filla, la meva filla D'això us confessareu Quan sereu confessada El testament fareu

Daughter, my daughter, you will confess this and once you are confessed you will make your will. 

Un castell deixo als pobres Perquè resin a Déu Quatre al meu germà en Carles Dos a la Mare de Déu

I leave a castle to the poor so they will pray to God Four [castles] to my brother Carles two to the Mother of God.

Ai, que el meu cor se'm nua Com un pom de clavells

Oh, my heart is knotting like a bunch of carnations

I a vós, la meva mare Us deixo el marit meu Perquè el tingueu en cambra Com ja fa molt temps que feu

And to you, my mother, I leave you my husband so you shall have him in your chamber as have been doing for a long time.

Ai, que el meu cor se'm nua Com un pom de clavells

Oh, my heart is knotting like a bunch of carnations

Other versions are more explicit about the mother having poisoned the daughter. For example, the version Alanna sang that I mentioned before says “daughter, my daughter, will you leave me nothing? I will leave you, my mother, more than you deserve. You gave me poisons that are burning my heart, because to have my man you, mother, have killed me.”

Or this one (here sang lyrically by Montserrat Figueras and Jordi Savall’s direction of the Cambra Reial de Catalunya). In this version, when the mother asks “what harm afflicts you?” the daughter answers “mother, my mother, you know it well enough: you have given me the poison that is ravaging my heart”. In this version, Amèlia also makes it clear that “of my will, mother, you will not be happy about” before listing all her castles and possessions, which she gives to the poor, the monks, her brother Carles, the Mother of God, some she is to wear at her funeral, etc. And at the end:

Lo cos ha de podrir-se: fassa la roba el mateix que es podreixin les pompes, l’ànima vaja al cel.

The body shall get rotten and the clothes shall do the same may the ostentations rot, and the soul go to heaven.

– Filla, la meva filla, i a mi, què em deixareu? – Mare, la meva mare, a vós lo marit meu.

Daughter, my daughter, and to me, what are you leaving me? Mother, my mother, to you I leave my husband.

Que us el tingueu en cambra tothora que volgueu, perquè el vetllleu de dia tant com de nit ho feu,

So you can have him in your chamber at any time you want, so you can watch over him during daytime as much as you already do at night.

Besant-lo i abraçant-lo tal com fa temps soleu, que ara no us faré nosa l’hora que l’abraceu.

Kissing him and hugging him as you are used to doing since long ago, for now I won’t be a bother at the time you embrace him.

– Filla, la meva filla, que m’ho perdoni Déu, és un fals testimoni que vós, filla em poseu.

Daughter, my daughter, may God forgive me this, this is a false testimony that you, daughter, are blaming on me.

Son pare ho escoltava amb un ministre de Déu. – Filla, la meva filla, què aixó que dieu?

Her father was listening to this with a minister of God. Daughter, my daughter, what is this thing you are saying?

Ai, pare, lo meu pare, en cartes ho trobareu, metzines me n’heu dades perquè morta em voleu.

Oh father, my father, you will find this in letters. You [plural] gave me venoms because you want me dead.

Ai que el meu cor se’m nua, com un pom de clavells.

Oh, my heart is knotting like a bunch of carnations

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

mod ara do you have anything i could read on peron, the kirchners etc? like exposing them? because my mom was raised by two men who always praised peron and she raised me praising cristina. and i actually like cristina like just based on her speeches and attitude i dig her. but i'd like to be as informed about politicians here as i am informed about politicians in the US just because i scrolled down my dash lol. i've found ts not as easy for me to find that kind of info about things here in arg

well, my ideology regarding peron and the kirchners doesn’t come as much from reading political theory about them in particular as much as it does from reaching my own conclusions after reading theory in general, plus my own experiences and what i’ve learnt about history. i could give you a few points to think about, some of the things that the perons and kirchners have done but that i don’t really see talked about or even acknowledged by them (i’ll be saving the worst for last, so that it’s clear that i’m not just using “big words” to support my ideology):

1) Peron was facho. Peronistas are always talking about how they are all for democracy, kill the military fuck the police and whatnot, yet Peron got into power during a dictatorship. He was war minister, minister of labour, employment and social security, and vice-president of argentina all during the dictatorship that started on 1943. He had already shown himself close to fascism, too, or close to those that were close to it, since he was close to the nationalist part of the military, meaning he was an accomplice of the de facto government that stablished the Década Infame, which was known, among other things, for its support of fascism and nazism, and its belief that ~foreign israelites~ were going to invade the country. High-ranking members of the Nationalist part  of the army were particularly fond of Mussolini and his policies, and they tried to emulate it during the dictatorship that went from 1930 to 1932, but I digress.

2) Speaking of fascism and nazism - do the math. When did the nazis that scaped Germany and came to Argentina arrive? Who gave them asylum? You only need to see the dates - it happened during Peron’s presidencies and Farrell’s dictatorship. Were there nazis and nazi-supporters before and after him? Yeah. Does that mean he’s innocent of all crime, so to speak? No. I mean, General Perón Himself said that the Nuremberg Trials were “a disgrace” because it was unjust to judge "military officers who were just taking place in a war” (source, because i know it sounds outrageous). 

3) His verticalism and autoritharism made for a lot of support that, for the lower classes that he so-loved, was forced. I’m not sure how to find a source for this, so take it or leave it, there’s other “condemning evidence”, but my grandfather, a poor-as-dirt brown man who worked as a bricklayer, was “put into a bus and taken to the square, where among military and police he was to acclaim his support of Peron”. So much for loving the cabecitas negras and lower classes. But isn’t that the kind of behavior expected from the man who said “levantaremos horcas en todo el país para colgar a los opositores”? That made it mandatory for school children to read “La Razon de mi vida”? What about all the other political propaganda literal kids were fed starting from first grade? 

4) Here are some quotes (in their original Spanish, so that nothing is lost to translation) for you to ponder, regarding his overall attitude towards democracy: 

“No se necesita libertad política, ahora se necesita libertad para trabajar para el país. Ninguna libertad política, en eso somos tiranos, dictadores." - source

“A unos se los conduce con la persuasión y el ejemplo; a otros con la policía.” - source  

“Y yo le agradezco mucho a las madres que ya le enseñan a decir Perón antes que a decir papá. Eso es demasiado eso, pero… ¡eh! Pero en la primera parte de esta acción individual es imprescindible el adoctrinamiento. La escuela primaria constituye entonces el primer escalón de captación y del adoctrinamiento de la futura ciudadanía al movimiento justicialista.”  - source

“Nosotros podemos aplastar a nuestra oposición con la aplanadora peronista. Lo que se trata acá es de armar la aplanadora, ajustarle bien los tornillos, ponerle el combustible y después cuando la pongamos en marcha que no se pare hasta haber aplastado a todos” - source

“Nuestra nación necesita paz y tranquilidad… y eso lo hemos de conseguir persuadiendo, y si no a palos”

“¡Ah… si yo hubiese previsto lo que iba a pasar… entonces sí: hubiera fusilado al medio millón, o a un millón, si era necesario. Tal vez ahora eso se produzca”.

“Si yo tuviera 50 años menos, no sería incomprensible que anduviera ahora, colocando bombas o tomando la justicia por mi propia mano”.

“Hay que buscar a esos agentes y donde se encuentren colgarlos de un árbol”

“Distribuiremos alambre de enfardar para colgar a nuestros enemigos”. - source

5) I’m going to use this one to literally annihilate any doubt that he cared about social justice, the lower classes, the people, democracy, and justice. I know it’s a big block of text, but... well, it’s important, if you want to know why he’s a very hate-able character. Here’s “our” National Hero speaking about his visits to Italy and Germany in the 1930s:

(click on the pics to enlarge)

This source gives you the words of Juan Domingo Perón saying, in his own biography, that he’s a “national-socialist”. I think we all know what that means. I think it’s a pretty fucking good reason to hate him, to call his movement hypocritical, to dismiss their ideology, and to get mad at him and his supporters, don’t you?

As for Cristina, well... She's Peronista, for one, which means that she supports all that ^^, and I don't have the energy to go through every one of her shitty politics, so you or anyone else please feel free to ask for more specifics (like, what do you think of her relationship with the rest of latam? Or, what do you think of her political past in Santa Cruz? Etc), so have some quotes that illegitimate her supposed beliefs and those of her supporters:

she's a classist, example: this "anti-imperialist", "anti-yanqui" woman, after being called-out by an arg. student on her bullshit: "chicos, estamos en Harvard, esas cosas son para la matanza"

Besides being extremely arrogant, she shows that she cares about ruling through fear, not democracy or transparency: "solamente hay que tenerle temor a Dios... Y a mí en todo caso también un poquito".

Her view on protests and social movements (that go against her, of course): "los conflictos sociales no se arman porque la gente tiene hambre, sino porque les parece que es una injusticia contribuir con algo de lo que ganan para seguir sosteniendo los subsidios, pagar la deuda, a nuestros jubilados" (on the context of...income tax? Impuesto a las ganancias).

In that same speech, she basically compared herself, a fucking millionaire, with the lower classes, that would have to pay that new (unfair) tax: "todos tienen que aprender a gestionar y administrar los recursos con la misma manera y responsabilidad con la que lo hace la Presidenta".

She's known to lie on her speeches, like back in 2015 when she said that industrial jobs were on the rise, but the indec itself said they were 2.3% lower than the year before, or when she said that we had LESS POVERTY THAN GERMANY, she lied when she said that during her tenure, there was an increment of 93% in college graduates when it was...27%.

She also Suddenly Changed Her Mind about things when Macri took power, like before she said something among the lines of "teachers are so whiny wanting a rise and going on strike", and then...because she doesn't like macri, she says that teachers are on the right!

Etc. As I said, I'm tired. Please feel free to ask more things or debate me about this, whether you're from Argentina or not, I don't mind it, even if you don't agree with me, but I'll start answering tomorrow. ~mod ara

[milkbts]

♡ Disclaimer  ♡ Words: 3k

My Letterboxd - I rate movies  My TVTime - I rate K-dramas and any series that I watch.

♡ Context:

A Korean Odyssey (Hwayugi) is a romantic comedy & fantasy tv-series loosely based on the Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’. 

♡ Main Cast:

Lee Seung-Gi as Son O-Gong, Cha Seung-Won as Woo Whee & Oh Yeon-Seo as Jin Sun-Mi

♡ Description:

The drama is about Son O-Gong and Jin Sun-Mi who meet under strange circumstances. Jin Sun-Mi has been able to see ghosts her entire life. When she was younger, she tried to help a demon king recover a precious artifact but instead, accidentally lets Son O-Gong out from his invisible house in the middle of the woods when he tricks her to do so as only a human can free him. Jin Sun-Mi, a naive child, becomes punished from this by being given the title “Samjang”. Jokes on both of them though as they meet again because of a deal they made long ago, but, you’ll have to see for yourself.  

♡ Ratings: IMDb (8.4/10), MyDramaList (8.4/10)  ♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -This drama was really good actually and I’d recommend it to anyone. (I started watching this with my friend as it’s our favourite pass time at sleepovers - so if you’re looking for a good time, watch this.) -Good acting -The story is good and I never found it slow or boring

♡ Context:

Age Of Youth (also known as Hello, My Twenties!) is a coming of age and romance drama. 

♡ Main Cast:

Season 1 - Han Ye-Ri as Yoon Jin-Myung, Han Seung-Yeon as Jung Ye-Eun, Park Eun-Bin as Song Ji-Won, Ryu Hwa-Young as Kang Yi-Na & Park Hye-Soo as Yoo Eun-Jae

Season 2 -  Han Ye-Ri as Yoon Jin-Myung, Han Seung-Yeon as Jung Ye-Eun, Park Eun-Bin as Song Ji-Won, Ryu Hwa-Young as Kang Yi-Na (only for special appearance), Ji-Woo as Yoo Eun-Jae & Choi A-Ra as Jo Eun

♡ Description:

Age Of Youth is about five female housemates who live together at the Belle Epoque. While strangers at first, they are able to bond and connect over the traumas they experienced while growing up and face challenges together. There are two seasons and some character changes in the second season.

♡ Ratings: IMBd (8.3/10), MyDramaList (8.8/10)

♡ My Opinion: 7/10 -I did really like Age of Youth and I think it’s a good drama for you to start watching if you are new to dramas.  -I give this drama a 7 out of 10, only because I’ve seen better ones suited towards my tastes. -Good actors but annoying they changed so much

♡ Context:

Black is a romance, thriller, fantasy, & comedy K-drama. 

♡ Main Cast:

Song Seung-Heon as Black & Han Moo-Gang & Go Ara as Kang Ha-Ram

♡ Description:

Black is the story of a Grim Reaper who is ordered to track down his partner who escaped to the mortal realm. In the process of this, he meets Kang Ha-Ram who can see the shadows of death despite being a mortal woman. This complicates things especially after he finds a case from 20 years ago and falls in love with Ha-Ram in the process. Supernatural rules against involvement in human affairs were meant to be broken, right?

♡ Ratings: IMBd (8.2/10), MyDramaList (8.3/10)

♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -One of my favourite K-Drama’s and I highly recommend this to anyone. -It gets a bit dark at times though so I suggest having a light comedy to watch afterward. -Good actors and they have nice chemistry in my opinion -Story is easy to follow

♡ Context:

Blood is a rom-com, action & suspense K-drama. 

♡ Main Cast:

Ahn Jae-Hyeon as Park Ji-Sang, Ku Hye-Sun as Yoo Ri-Ta & Ji Jin-Hee as Lee Jae-Wook

♡ Description:

Park Ji Sang is a doctor who works in the best cancer research hospital in the country. He is a great doctor because of his knowledge of the human anatomy and he’s a vampire... Despite him seeming cold and unfeeling, he has a soft heart and has experienced the inner pain of wanting to be close with people but without knowing how. He has very high morals and believes highly in the sanctity of human life so he suppresses his thirst for blood to save human lives; Unfortunately, he isn’t the only vampire and not all of them agree in his way of thinking. Among his colleagues is Yoo Ri Ta, a hotshot physician who entered medical school at the age of only 17 while simultaneously being the niece of the chairman.

♡ Ratings: IMBd (7.1/10), MyDramaList (7.5/10) 

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -It took me a while to finish this drama but I lose interest quite easily so it isn’t anything to do with the quality of this drama. -My original interest in this drama came from the actress Ku Hye-sun as she was one of the main characters in Boys Over Flowers (next review). -The chemistry between the main actors, Ku Hye-sun and Ahn Jae-Hyun is really good (and they’re married in real life!). -This drama handles romance and everything pretty well however if you’re looking for a drama with a lot of fangirl moments then I suggest something else -(but this did have some good romance moments).

♡ Context:

Boys Over Flowers is a romance & a very, very dramatic drama.

♡ Main Cast:

Lee Min-Ho as Koo Jun-Pyo, Ku Hye-Seon as Geum Jan-Di, Kim Hyun-Joong as Yun Ji-Hu, Kim Beom as So Lee-Jeong & Kim Jun as Song Woo-Bin.

♡ Description:

At a famous high school for the incredibly rich, this love story is focussed on Geum Jan-di and the members of F4 - a gang of 4 handsome and rich men lead by Gu/Koo Jun-pyo. Jan-di is a poor girl with a poor family. She gets rewarded for a good deed and gets the chance to attend this high school. Here, she meets the infamous F4 group and is joined by Jun-pyo who is a spoiled heir to world-leading conglomerate ‘Shinwa’. Their love story travels from Seoul to New Caledonia to even Macau.

♡ Ratings: IMBd (8.1/10), MyDramaList (8/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -My friend and I watched this drama together as it’s said to be the OG K-drama, it’s like the orientation to the world of Korean Dramas.  -Many reviews hated it but this drama was fun to scream at when the characters made poor decisions -This made me cry (not surprising as a lot of these have made me cry) but this one is the most memorable to me because of the good times I had watching it; so I recommend this drama to anyone who firsts asks me for K-drama recs.   -Starts off slow but once you get into it you’ll have the time of your life.

♡ Context: 

Click Your Heart is a mini-series and romance drama.

♡ Main Cast: 

Kwon Mi Na as Mina, Baek Ju Ho as Ju Ho, Kang Cha Ni as Cha Ni, Kim Ro Woon as Ro Woon & Lee Da Won as Lee Da Won.

♡ Description:

Mina is a high-school student who must choose between an athlete, an ‘intellectual’, a ‘loner’ and a dancer. The episodes set these meetings up and you can click an episode that follows on from that - the episode you click is a different guy that she can choose, so you can literally Click Your Heart.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (6.6/10), MyDramaList (7.4/10)

♡ My Opinion: 6/10  -Good if you wanna experience what a k-drama is like -Too short for me and I prefer normal dramas -Quick to watch though -The acting wasn’t that bad

♡ Context:

Dream Knight is a romance/fantasy drama which centers around friendship.

♡ Main Cast:

Song Ha Yoon as Joo In Hyung & Got 7 - JB (himself), Mark (himself), Park Jin Young (himself), Jackson Wang (himself), BamBam (himself), Kim Yu Gyeom (himself) & Choi Young Jae (himself).

♡ Description:

A young girl called Joo In Hyung who suffers from her past has her life turned around when she unexpectedly meets a group of mysterious men.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (6.8/10), MyDramaList (7.5/10)

♡ My Opinion: 6/10  -Same as Click Your Heart to me honestly -It’s more of a friendship drama and a coming of age drama in my opinion -The acting isn’t too bad -Good for a quick watch & if you are just starting watching dramas and don’t know what genre you like yet 

♡ Context:

Good Morning Call is a Japanese Drama based on the manga series “Guddo Moningu Koru” by Yue Takasuka. Good Morning Call is a romance, friendship, and coming of age drama.

♡ Main Cast:

Fukuhara Haruka as Yoshikawa Nao & Shiraishi Shunya as Uehara Hisashi

♡ Description:

A young girl called Nao decides to stay behind and live by herself when her parents leave to inherit her grandfather’s farm in the countryside. When she moves into her new apartment, she meets Uehara, a popular- super hot boy who goes to the same school as her. They realize they have both rented the same apartment and when they go to the company it’s unexpectedly closed down and the rent has gone up dramatically. Nao and Uehara decide to live together as flatmates so neither of them has to go home.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.9/10), MyDramaList (7.8/10)

♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -One of the first dramas I watched and I really loved it -It’s dramatic, romantic and both actors have good chemistry. -There are now 2 seasons on Netflix & the second season didn’t disappoint. -It had fangirling worthy moments and moments to make you really feel for the characters. -WatCh tHiS 

♡ Context:

Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo is based on the manga Itazura Na Kiss by Kaoru Tada. Mischievous Kiss is a romantic comedy Japanese drama.

♡ Main Cast:

Yahagi Honoka as Aihara Kotoko, Furukawa Yuki as Irie Naoki & Yamada Yuki as Ikezawa Kinnosuke

♡ Description:

At a high school entrance ceremony, Kotoko falls in love with Naoki whilst he gives a speech. She decides to confess her feelings via love letter. Unfortunately Naoki - a popular boy everyone is in-love with - turns her down saying “I don’t like dumb women.” One day Kotoko’s house is completely damaged by a meteorite and the house will not be re-built for a while, Kotoko’s dad decides to stay with a friend who happens to be Naoki’s father...

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.9/10), MyDramaList (8.1/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -One of the first dramas I watched -It has 2 seasons and I liked it because of the build-up in a romance between both characters -Naoki’s character is cold which is literally my favourite kind because I know he's a softie -Kotoko and Naoki have good chemistry & the acting was very good in my opinion -The story was NEVER boring for me, the writers had really fun ways to make the story go along so I applaud them for that & recommend this drama (it’s very dramatic, VERY).

♡ Context: Noble, My Love is a romantic comedy K-Drama.

♡ Main Cast: 

Sung Hoon as Lee Kang Hoon & Kim Jae Kyung as Cha Yoon Seo

♡ Description: 

Kang Hoon is the CEO of the world’s largest company ‘D.O.L’. One day, he is kidnapped and escapes from his kidnappers but is badly injured. Luckily, he passes out in front of an animal hospital. Yeon Seo (veterinarian) finds him and attends to his wounds.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.1/10), MyDramaList (7.9/10)

♡ My Opinion: 7/10 -Most k-dramas have something dark going on behind the love that happens but this drama doesn’t -Many reviews I read were against this drama but my friend and I adored it because of how simple yet entertaining the story-line was. -It has good fluff moments and is good if you don’t like dark subjects in your Korean dramas or tv in general -A good drama to watch after an intense one :)

♡ Context:

Oh My Ghostess is a romantic comedy with supernatural elements including the food genre.

♡ Main Cast:

Park Bo Young as Na Bong Soon, Kim Seul Gi as Shin Sun Ae, Jo Jung Suk as Kang Seon Woo & Im Joo Hwan as Choi Seong Jae

♡ Description:

Bong-sun is a shy young woman who is possessed by a confident ghost of a lustful virgin. Bong-sun works as an assistant and has a crush on her boss. She makes a deal with the ghost as her grandmother was a shaman so from a young age she has been able to see ghosts. They agree that the ghost will help Bong-sun get her boss’s attention if she helps her pass over to the after-life before her time runs out.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (8.2/10), MyDramaList (/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -Was difficult for me to get into but I thoroughly enjoyed it -It has cute moments & the acting is great -Basically just watch this 

♡ Context:

One More Time is a romance and friendship drama (also known as The Day After We Parted)

♡ Main Cast: 

L as Yoo Tak & Yoon So Hee as Da In

♡ Description:

Yoo Tak is the leader and vocalist of an indie band called One More Time. He’s been maintaining the band for around 10 years but they haven’t acheived their dreams yet and aren’t getting any younger. Yoo Tak begins to take for granted his friends and girlfriend but a young grim reaper has something to say about that. She puts him in a time loop and he has to continue living the same day over and over again until he learns what is really important.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (6.8/10), MyDramaList (7.7/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -I liked the angst and sadness in this and the life lessons in it -The acting was really good -It isn’t boring and it’s quick to watch -The ending confused me but I liked the deeper meaning :)

♡ Context: 

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (also known as Strong Girl Bong Soon) is an action, comedy, romance & supernatural k-drama

♡ Main Cast: 

Park Bo Young as Do Bong Soon, Park Hyungsik as Ahn Min Hyuk & Ji Soo as In Gook Doo

♡ Description: 

Bong Soon is a young woman who is kind, honest and has superhuman strength... Her family has been gifted Herculean strength from birth to be used for the greater good. If the power is abused it is taken away. While standing up for herself to a group of gang members, Ahn Min Hyuk - who has never trusted the police - witnesses the entire ordeal and asks Bong Soon to be his bodyguard. She agrees and the two fall in love, but the world has different plans in mind for the pair.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (8.3/10), MyDramaList (8.8/10) 

♡ My Opinion: 9.5 -I like the chemistry between the actors in real life AND in the drama. They make a good team. -The balance between all the fluff and romance with the danger is really well done -This is one of my favourite K-drama's  -Watch this Drama if you want clear skin and a new love for yourself

♡ Context:

Switched is a Japanese supernatural and suspense drama

♡ Main Cast:

Tomita Miu as Umnie Zenko, Kiyohara Kaya as Kohinata Ayumi, Kamiyama Tomohiro as Mizumoto Koushirou & Shigeoka Daiki as Kaga Shunpei

♡ Description:

A suicidal teenage girl swaps bodies with a popular girl in her class - but she has no intention of switching back.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.2/10), MyDramaList (8.2/10)

♡ My Opinion: 7/10 -For a drama that isn't suited to my tastes, this one really impressed me. -The acting it takes to be able to pull off a successful bodyswap is extremely difficult and the actresses acting in this drama is immaculate. -This has a lot of angst, considering the suicide references, but is a good drama. -This J-Drama has only been given a 7 out of ten because of the plot (which is still great but not my type) but the acting I'd say is the best here.

♡ Context:

The Girl Who Sees Scents (also commonly referred to as The Girl Who Sees Smells & based on the webcomic 'Naemsaereul Boneun Sonyeo) is a romantic comedy with supernatural genres.

♡ Main Cast:

Park Yoo Chun as Choi Moo Gak, Shin Se Kyung as Oh Cho Rim & Nam Goong Min as Kwon Jae Hee

♡ Description:

Officer Choi Moo Gak lost his younger sister to a serial killer and lost his ability to taste, smell and feel any pain whatsoever. Oh Cho Rim, the only witness to the murder case, lost her memory but gained the ability to see smells.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.3/10), MyDramaList (8.1/10)

♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -Damn actor Nam Goong Min is hot -The serial killer is also a great fucking idea -The acting is decent and the actors have great fluffy moments -This drama was so addicting for me which is why it has such a high rating -I also really appreciated the ending, something that doesn't usually happen with me and dramas. -This is a must watch

♡ Context:

The Great Seducer (also known as Tempted) is a friendship and romance Melo-k-drama

♡ Main Cast:

Woo Do Hwan as Kwon Si Hyun, Joy as Eun Tae Hee, Moon Ga Young as Choi Soo Hi & Kim Min Jae as Lee Se Joo

♡ Description:

The Great Seducer depicts rich young men and women in their twenties who discover their feelings of love for one another while playing a dangerous bet involved with love. Kwon Si Hyun makes a bet with his friends that he can seduce Eun Tae Hee, who believes that people who are swayed too easily by love are stupid. After Tae Hee meets Si Hyun, her view of love changes and Si Hyun's heart becomes less ice-cold. Secrets become hard to keep as Si Hyun falls deeper in love with Eun Tae Hee.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.1/10), MyDramaList (7.6/10)

♡ My Opinion: 10/10 -I LOVE THIS DRAMA SO MUCH OKAY -MY FRIEND AND I STARTED THIS TOGETHER I LOVED IT -THE ACTING IS SO GOOD AND I LOVE WOO DO HWAN AND JOY (red velvet) -Joy's acting has improved a lot and her character is lovely and relatable -The drama is literally my aesthetic and the toxic friend groups and angst of this drama is what I thrive off -Watch. This. You. Cowards. -I could write essays upon essays about this, but tumblr won't allow that...

[chanoyu-to-wa]

Nampō Roku, Book 3 (16):  the Jizai [自在] and the Kusari [鎖].

16) The jizai should be used in the more wabi settings¹, and it is employed in the 4.5-mat room along with the fukuro-dana.

    The kusari can also be used in the 4.5-mat room².  Moreover, the kusari must also used [when suspending the kama over the fire] at a no-gake [野ガケ] and [gatherings] of that sort.

    There are [various] things to which one must be sensitive [when using a jizai or a kusari], and in this regard there are [a number of] ku-den [口傳] that [address these issues]³.

    The jizai was seen by Jōō in the countryside⁴:  originally it was hung up in [roadside] chaya⁵.  Sōeki discussed whether it might not be good [to use] in the 4.5-mat room [with Jōō]⁶, and so it came to be hung up in the 4.5-mat room.  This is how [the story] is told.

_________________________

◎This section was included in Kumakura Isao’s Nampō Roku wo Yomu [南方録を読む], though without any attempt at explaining the ku-den (the oral teachings alluded to in the text).

¹Jizai ha wabi no kata ni mochi-iru [自在ハワビノ方ニ用ル].

    Wabi no kata [ワビの方]:  ...no-kata [の方] means “more,” “toward.”

    Therefore, “the jizai* is best to use in the more wabi [settings].”

    Notice that the word wabi [ワビ] is written with katakana -- as it always was in documents written before Sōtan introduced the use of the kanji wabi [佗] (which he defined as meaning “rustic simplicity” and ideas of that sort†).  Various theories have been proposed by scholars to suggest how Sōtan arrived at his meaning; but it seems that these are all after-the-fact positivizations of what was originally a painfully negative sentiment (one of abject loneliness, or societal rejection)‡.

    It appears, however, that the original meaning of the word was wabi [我美], which -- as has been explained here before -- means something like “my own sense of aesthetic propriety” (the practice of wabi originally consisted of using non-standard objects** that nevertheless appealed to the host’s sense of beauty; and later came to encompass the notion of using things that were rejected or wasted by others). __________ *This kanji, which seems to have originally been used (exclusively) as a surname in China, came to be employed (as an alternate form of tā [他]; which is also pronounced ta in Japanese) to mean “that one,” “another (person),” “he/she” (the pronoun that refers to an unnamed individual).

†The jizai can easily be made by hand.

‡Though the expression is usually traced to a poem by Ono no Komachi [小野小町; c 825 ~ c 900], in the Kokin Waka Shu [古今和歌集], that begins with the words wabi nure ba [わびぬれば], the source seems more likely (in the case of Sōtan and his machi-shū adherents, in any case) to be the poem (by Prince Motoyoshi [元良親王; 890 ~ 943]) that is quoted in the Ogura Hyaku-nin Isshu [小倉百人一首]:  wabi nure ba ima hata onaji Naniwa naru miotsukushi te mo awan to zo ‘mou [わびぬれば今はた同じ難波なるみをつくしても逢はむとぞ思ふ] (“I am so forlorn, at this extremity, that, like the stakes that lead [a boat] through the channel at Naniwa, I am drawn on to meet [you]”).  Because Jōō sanctioned the use of the Ogura shiki-shi (albeit with the caveat that “only poems written on shikishi that first had a scene painted on them by a different artist were acceptable” -- a restriction that was being ignored more and more by the beginning of the Edo period, once unmounted poems written on illustrated paper were no longer available) for use as kakemono that could be displayed in the tearoom during a chakai, it was likely in this way that the poem (and its keyword) came to Sōtan's attention.  The idea that they understood from the poem seems to have been that “being forlorn” or “having nothing” (the two main senses of the word wabi [佗]) is a catalyst that spurs one to creativity.

    For the record, Komachi's poem reads:  wabi nure ba mi wo uki-gusa no ne wo taete sasō mizu ara ba inan to zo omou [わびぬれば身をうき草の根を絶えて誘ふ水あらばいなんとぞ思ふ], which translates “I am so forlorn, my body is like a floating grass whose roots have died away:  if there is a water [current] that draws me onward, I think I would not resist [its pull].”  Prince Motoyoshi’s poem is not the only one in the annals of Japanese poetry that was inspired by Komachi’s effort.

**Which is to say, objects that did not conform to the teachings of kane-wari.  When a set of non-standard utensils was carefully selected by someone acquainted with the teachings of wabi, a smaller-than-proper chawan could be compensated for by using a slightly larger chaire (or vice versa), so that the relationship between the utensils remained the same, even when they did not exactly match the kane.

²Kusari mo yojō-han ni hi-yō* [クサリモ四疊半ニ被用].

    When Jōō first began to use the ro (which was in the 4.5-mat room covered with inaka-ma tatami that he constructed at this time), the only way to arrange the kama in the ro was by suspending it from the ceiling (since the gotoku large enough to support a kama† had not been invented yet).  Homemade jizai of various lengths are what seem to have been used in the farmhouse kitchen, though chains (of various sorts) had also been used to hang pots over the cooking fire in more affluent households since ancient times.

    Jōō's kusari was technically what was known as an inu-kusari [犬鎖]‡, meaning the chain with which a watchdog was restrained (it had a ring on one end that was secured to a stake, and a latched-hook on the other that was attached to the dog’s collar).  These chains were commonly available, ready-made, in the market; and Jōō used it essentially as it was (though he removed the latch, and added a small side-chain that would enable him to adjust the height of the kama).

    Shibayama Fugen states, as the first sentence in his commentary on this entry, that “the kusari is gyō [行], while the jizai is sō [草]”:  but apparently Jōō, himself, held that both were sō.  The differentiation of things into a system of shin-gyō-sō [眞行草] was a philosophical argument that appeared in the early Edo period, as a consequence of the importation of neo-Confucian thought from Korea. __________ *The kanji compound hi-yō [被用] can also be read (or, rather, interpreted) as mochi-irareru [用いられる].  In either case, the expression means “used (for a certain purpose).”

†The idea for the gotoku came from a miniature (Chinese) stand on which the saucer of oil was rested in a night-light (elevating the flame gives better light).  However, originally they had to figure out a way to rest the gotoku on top of the ash in the ro (and, later, the furo) so that the ring would be above (as it was in the night-light).  This was done by adding broad, flat “snow-shoes” (scored with small, parallel lines, to keep the feet from slipping) to the ends of the three legs.

     When arranged in a mayu-buro [眉風爐] the gotoku’s ring was hidden behind the mayu (“eyebrow”) at the front of the furo.  But when Dōan created the first Dōan-buro [道安風爐] (from a discarded mayu-buro whose mayu had been broken off -- this was still while Rikyū’s family was desperately poor) he resolved the problem of the front edge of the ring sticking forward and getting into the host’s way while performing the sumi-temae by cutting it off (this gave rise to the name go-toku [五徳], as a play on the name for a monk’s outer robe, to suggest one that had been torn apart, as well as on the original name of the gotoku, which was ko-joku [火卓]).  Only many years later (1582) did Rikyū turn the gotoku over, so that the ring was buried in the ash.

‡The use of this kind of chain to hang the kama over the ro in itself was an exercise in wabi -- since Jōō was elevating the status of an object originally made for a more humble purpose.  (As has been mentioned before, the philosophy of wabi -- which means something like “my own sense of aesthetic propriety” -- was to take things that were being neglected, and use them for some important or significant purpose.  An illustration of this is when the large chawan, which originally was used only to clean the chasen with cold water at the end of the temae, came to be used for serving koicha to the important guests.)

³Ku-den ari [口傳アリ].

    Tanaka Senshō understands the kuden to refer specifically to the case where the kama is suspended on a chain during a no-gake no chakai (a gathering held out-of-doors)*, but that is not necessarily so.  Indeed, it is not clear (from the way the sentence is punctuated) that this statement refers exclusively to the chain at all (and, from the context† it more likely refers to the collection of ku-den relating to both the jizai as well as the kusari).

    According to Rikyū's densho (and the other writings associated with him and his teachings‡), there are a number of points that would have traditionally been passed down orally from teacher to student.  These include:

- if the ceiling is high, it is better to use a chain;

- the ji-zai is appropriate only to an extremely wabi setting, where the ceiling over the utensil mat lowered below that over the seat assigned to the shōkyaku**;

- when the ceiling of the room is especially high, a hempen rope, tied into a loop, may be used to extend the length of both the kusari and the jizai††;

- the hiru-kugi (the hook from which the kusari or jizai is suspended) should be oriented so that it opens toward one side of the ro; and the opening should be opposite to the direction in which the ji-zai will be pulled when the hook is lowered to rest on the mat during the sumi-temae‡‡;

- when the kama is suspended on a chain, the chain should be raised upward during the sumi-temae so it will not get in the host's way; but when the kama is suspended from a jizai, the jizai should be lowered (so that the hook touches the mat on one side of the ro);

- when the kama is suspended on a chain, it should be raised by two links before the kama is lifted up out of the ro (and after removing the kama, the chain should be raised still further; at the conclusion of the temae, the chain is again lowered, in the same way);

- the kagi (hook) on the end of the jizai is formed by taking the top of a young pine tree, and using the terminal as the stem (that is inserted into the hollowed-out kan), while one of the branches is retained and carved into a hook;

- the ko-zaru of the jizai should extend toward the katte, while the kagi (hook) should open toward the host;

- when performing chanoyu with a kama suspended on a jizai or a kusari, it is important to stop the kama from swaying:  the best way is to use the handle of the hishaku to still the movement of the kama, but this should be done carefully (so the handle of the hishaku will not be loosened, making it drip);

- when performing chanoyu with a kama suspended on a chain, tea should be made with the kama hung at the proper height***; and,

- with respect to both the jizai the kusari, when setting things up it is better if its length is such that the mouth of the kama is 7- or 8-bu – or even 1-sun – below the ro-buchi; but when the guests have arrived and the host is serving tea, the mouth of the kama should be elevated so that it is 6- or 7-bu higher than the ro-buchi†††. __________ *Tanaka Senshō states that the kuden are those previously quoted in Book One of the Nampō Roku, which are related to the no-gake [野掛け] gathering:

1) the host must take care that everything associated with the gathering should be especially clean and pure (his implication is that “wabi” -- as exemplified by the jizai -- is inherently somewhat dirty); and,

2) that the host should make an effort to use quality utensils on such an occasion (the handmade jizai was worthless, while even the most basic chain -- the inu-kusari -- had to be bought from a craftsman; and could then be handed down and treasured by subsequent generations).

†While this statement occurs in the middle of the entry, as it is found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, it appears that originally this was the end of one section, and the remainder of the text constituted a subsequent entry (see the following footnote).

    If this was actually the case, the statement ku-den ari, as a conclusion to the entry, would refer to the contents of the entry as a whole -- that is, ku-den related not only to the kusari, but to the jizai as well.

‡Some of this material is found in the commentary appended to the Three Hundred Lines of Chanoyu (Chanoyu San-byak'ka Jō [茶湯三百箇條]).  While this material was added by Sen no Dōan and his disciple Kuwayama Sōzen, the source of the teachings was Rikyū himself.

**Some go so far as to say that the ceiling over the utensil mat should be lower than that above the shōkyaku’s seat by fully 7- or 8-sun.

††The rope is first tied into a loop, of the length necessary so that the hook (on the lower end of the chain or jizai), when fully extended, is slightly lower than the top of the ro-buchi.  One end of the loop is hung on the hiru-kugi (the hook from which the kusari or jizai is suspended).  Then a piece of iron is bent into an “S” shape, and this is used to connect the chain or jizai to the lower end of the hemp loop.

‡‡The jizai is “parked” on the mat (the hook is drawn out of the kan until it just touches the mat at the side of the ro-buchi) near the far corner on one side of the ro or the other.  The hiru-kugi generally opens toward the lower seat of the room, but the precise orientation should be determined by the demands of the host during the sumi-temae -- the hook should be lowered in the opposite direction from that toward which the hiru-kugi opens (so the jizai cannot slip out of the hook and come crashing down onto the mats).

***Even in Rikyū's day, there were certain machi-shū chajin who made use of the fact that the gotoku was not present in the ro to lower the kama closer to the charcoal (to make it hotter), and then raised the kama up to a more normal height when it was time to prepare the tea.  Sometimes they even did this during the koicha-temae (while the host performed the first chasen-tōshi).

    Rikyū held that this should not be done:  the kama should remain at the same height throughout the gathering, just as if it were resting on a gotoku.   (Certain modern schools, however, perpetuate this practice of raising and lowering the kama during the koicha-temae in their official teachings.)

†††In other words, the length of the jizai or kusari should be such that, when the kama is suspended on it, the mouth is up to 1-sun lower than the top of the ro-buchi.  Then, after the charcoal has been put into the ro, and the kama is returned, it should be hung so that the mouth is higher than the ro-buchi.  It remains at this height throughout the gathering.

    The reason for the mouth being oriented lower when the room is being set up is so that there will be some slack in the chain (or excess length in the handle of the jizai’s hook), so the thing on which the kama is supported does not seem as if it is being used to the limit of its capacity.  The chain should have a small loop of slack, while the retractable neck of the hook on the jizai should end high enough that there is no chance of its slipping out of the kan (stem) of the jizai when the hook is lowered to the mat.

    For the chain, or the jizai, to appear to be insufficiently long is definitely a mistake.

⁴Jizai ha Jōō inaka ni te mi-tatete [自在ハ紹鷗田舎ニテ見タテヽ].

    In Tanaka Senshō's teibon [底本] -- which consisted of the notes taken by Tachibana Jitsuzan with the Shū-un-an documents spread out in front of him -- this brief history of the jizai represents a separate entry from what has gone before.  Precisely why Jitsuzan later combined them into a single entry when he was drafting the Enkaku-ji manuscript is not known, though doing so makes the meaning of the whole less clear.

⁵Hajime ha chaya ni kakerare-shi wo [始ハ茶屋ニカケラレシヲ].

    Chaya [茶屋] means (in this case) a roadside tea booth.

    While a jizai was certainly used in the farmhouse kitchen*, Jōō’s “discovery” of the jizai was at a tea booth -- such tea booths were found along the highways, as well as along the wharf at Sakai -- makes much better sense. __________ *The whole idea of the “farmhouse kitchen,” that is repeated again and again in the historical account perpetuated by the Sen families, is difficult to accept.  Farmhouses did not have such an elaborate layout where the kitchen was a separate room:  they were mostly a single room, part of which was earth-floored, while the other consisted of a raised wooden platform on which mats were spread.  The mats circled a fire-well, which was used both for cooking and to heat the room during the colder months.  The occupants of the residence sat and ate their meals around the fire pit (helping themselves directly from the pots in which the food was cooked), and usually slept on those mats as well.  At most, there may have been a single enclosed room at one end of the structure, for storage (of valuables, such as money), and that was sometimes used as the master's quarters.

    Cooking pots were hung over the fire pit on jizai -- which were easily made from a length of bamboo, the top of a young pine tree, and a length of cord.

⁶Sōeki yojō-han ni shikaru-beki yoshi sōdan arite, yojō-han ni kakerare-shi [宗易四疊半ニ可然由相談アリテ、四疊半ニカケラレシ].

    Whether or not the statement that Rikyū was responsible for fostering the use of the jizai in the 4.5-mat room is true*, it appears to be a fact that, during Rikyū's lifetime, the jizai had all but replaced the kusari in the 4.5-mat room setting (and, of course, in the smaller rooms as well). __________ *According to his kaiki, he usually used a jizai even in the 4.5-mat room, though there were several occasions when he used a kusari (apparently for very specific reasons):

- on the 29th day of the Eleventh Month (the anniversary of Jōō's death), when the kama was suspended on a Jōō's inu-kusari, and the fukuro-dana was used for serving tea;

- on the 17th day of the Eleventh Month (during a gathering given for two senior clerics, who were also imperial princes, and one court noble), the kama was suspended on Jōō's inu-kusari, and tea was served with the fukuro-dana;

- on the 3rd day of the Third Month, when the kama was suspended on Rikyū's azuki-kusari (an elegant sort of chain with very small links), and tea was served using the kyū-dai daisu.

    It seems that the chain came into use in the early days of the ro -- and so was associated with the kyū-dai daisu (the daisu that was sanctioned for use only with the ro, because the legs prevent a furo from being arranged on the ji-ita).  The fukuro-dana came into use later.  Both of these events occurred during Jōō's middle period (during which time Rikyū had no influence of Jōō's practices -- indeed, he was abroad for most of this time).

 The jizai, on the other hand, was not used until much later (probably not until 1554, after Rikyū returned from his sojourn in Korea), suggesting that Rikyū, indeed, had a hand in promoting its use in the wabi 4.5-mat room setting.

[cinedel1al1001]

1001. Atonement (2007)

"...I gave them their happiness."

Este el final. El final de un camino que ha durado 2 años, 8 meses y 23 días. Ya hablé ayer del sacrificio y el esfuerzo que ese camino ha requerido. Hoy es el momento de ver cómo ha cambiado mi vida durante esta aventura. Resulta estraño como funciona la vida. Creo que sería capaz de extraer 10 ó 12 años en este siglo en los que mi vida no cambió sustancialmente. Sin embargo, estos 3 años han sido probablemente los más significativos de mis tres decenios y algo de vida.

Al poco de comenzar, sufrí una perdida dolorosa que marcó gran parte de mi estado anímico durante la primera parte de la aventura. Al dolor anímico, se unió pronto el dolor físico y alguna película la tuve que ver en la sala de esperas de urgencias. Después tuve que llevarme el reto por media Europa - algunas veces por placer y otras por trabajo (esto no lo comenté en su momento pero es fácil darse cuenta por la concisión de los posts de esa época ya que tuve que escribirlos en condiciones ciertamentamente adversas). También encontré el amor de mi vida... y lo perdí tiempo después. Finalmente, durante la última parte del reto, mi estado de ánimo ha ido deteriorándose debido a lo anterior, a nuevos problemas de salud y otras cosas. Sin embargo, nada más acabar la última película de la Lista pasó.. algo, un nueva oportunidad quizás, todavía es pronto para decirlo. Quizás es la forma que tiene la Lista de decirme que este no es el final sino un nuevo comienzo.

Pero, bueno, vamos con nuestra última review. Atonement gira en torno a dos hermanas, el amante de una de ellas y la traición inocente pero trascendental de la otra. La historia está ambientada en Inglaterra entre los años 1935 y 1940.

Se trata de la adaptación de una novela... y se nota. Durante todo el tiempo sientes que hay partes de la historia que no te están contando. Los momentos trascendentales están ahí y sigue un patrón clásico: presentación, romance, traición, sufrimiento y redención pero les falta cohesión. La evolución de los personajes es demasiado brusca y falta la narrativa detrás de los cambios personales. Obviamente, este aspecto es más sencillo de manejar en una novela pero la película no es tan corta como para justificar el descarte de un desarrollo más natural de los personajes en aras del argumento. Personalmente, creo que se pierde demasiado tiempo con cada escena. Nada más la presentación del conflicto dura casi la mitad del film y en él se pierde mucho tiempo introduciendo personajes que no tienen ningún peso en la historia (los gemelos, el hermano, la madre, etc.). De todas formas, sí es cierto que el ritmo es bueno y no resulta pesada en ningún momento.

Dicho todo eso, el trabajo de l@s tres intérpretes principales es magnífico y nos ofrecen alguna escenas muy emotivas, cargadas de pasión, celos, resentimientos,... El final es muy conmovedor y creo que acabé soltando alguna lágrima (aunque también pudo ser el efecto de terminar el reto). La banda sonora de Dario Marianelli que reproduce el rítmico teclear de una máquina de escribir es realmente original pero tengo curiosidad por como funcionaría entre un público 'milenial' que nunca ha visto una la vida real. Finalmente, la producción es espectacular... debido sobre todo a manifiesta despreocupación por el derroche. No me imagino lo que debió costar montar toda la escena en Dunkerke con miles de extras, barcos y accesorios militares y que sólo es relevante durante 5 minutos para explicar por qué el protagonista no puede volver a casa.

En fin, es una película entretenida, bien ejecutada pero difícilmente trascendental... para cualquiera que no haya visto 1000 películas durante los anteriores 1000 días, claro. A mí, creo que nunca se me va a olvidar. :)

Y ahora la pregunta que os estaréis tod@s haciendo querid@s followers ¿y ahora qué? La mayoría de 'blogs 1001' llegados a este punto suelen optar por recurrir a las películas contenidas en otras versiones del libro. Soy consciente de que concluir el blog en 2007, deja 10 años de cine sin cubrir y resulta tentador seguir. Por otro lado, el blog se titula 'Cine del 1 al 1001' y la premisa es '1001 películas en 1001 días' cualquier adición posterior sería estirar demasiado el concepto original. Además, personalmente siento un gran agotamiento y cansacio. La odisea ha depletado por completo mis reservas físicas y emocionales. Necesito tiempo para descansar, asimilar lo que he logrado y disfrutar de la sensación de triunfo.

No sé, a lo mejor cambio de opinión en el futuro, pero de momento me gusta la idea despedirme cabalgando hacia el ocaso, silbando:

"I'm a poor lonesome cowboy and I'm a long long way from home"

Gracias por seguirme hasta aquí! Nos vemos en el cine!!!

THE END

25 de Noviembre de 2017

[groundcontrol21]

Sicktember #1

Prompt #1: “Do You Know How to Take Care of a Sick Person?”

Fandom: BBC Musketeers

Title: Care and Keeping

Summary: D’Artagnan knows he’s meant to be caring for Aramis, but he doesn’t exactly know what such caring entails. Constance isn’t pleased when he pleads ignorance.

As a gift for Porthos’s upcoming birthday, it had been agreed upon by his friends to give him a new jacket, considering all that his clothes went through regularly. Constance volunteered her knowledge of fashion (and cloth merchants with the best prices), and agreed to sew the garment with Aramis’s help. Athos had volunteered his purse to fund the project, and D'Artagnan? D'Artagnan was providing moral support. 

As D'Artagnan soon found out, moral support duties extended to effectively babysitting as well. The day had started off as planned, with Athos and Porthos remaining at the garrison, training new recruits while D'Artagnan, Aramis, and Constance went out in search of fabrics. 

However, the trio hadn’t gotten far into their errands when it became apparent that Aramis was not up to the task. He sniffled, sneezed, and coughed seemingly just as often as he took a step, and looked altogether paler than he should have. When confronted by the combined forces of Constance and D'Artagnan after tripping one too many times, he admitted to a discomfort in his ear which caused a slight dizziness in his head. Both his companions knew enough to translate discomfort to pain and slight to severe, and so Constance bid D'Artagnan return with Aramis to the Bonacieux and put the ailing man to bed in the spare room while she finished the errands herself. 

So now, D'Artagnan was seated at the table in the Bonacieux home, drumming his fingers on the wood and waiting for Constance to return. Aramis had lain down with relatively little coaxing, assuring D'Artagnan that with a little sleep he would be good as new. D'Artagnan hadn’t heard much from him since, and hoped that meant the man was getting some rest. He truly didn’t look well.  

At last, Constance returned with bundles of cloth beneath her arms and a loaf of bread in her basket. Immediately, her gaze fell on the door to the spare room. 

“How is he?”

“I think he’s asleep,” D'Artagnan said. 

No sooner had he spoken, however, then did a series of hoarse, congested hacks issue, muffled, from behind the door. 

D'Artagnan winced. “Guess not.”

Constance’s brow furrowed, and she clucked her tongue. “His cough sounds pretty bad.” She drew a knife and began slicing the bread, regarding D'Artagnan henceforth from over her shoulder. 

“What kind of tea did you bring him? If the chamomile isn’t helping him, perhaps a blend of marshmallow root will.”

D'Artagnan blushed, and was suddenly glad she was not looking at him. “Well, I wasn’t sure what kind to brew and I felt bad asking him, so…” He trailed off, picking at the hem of his baldric. “I haven’t quite made him any yet?”

At this, Constance whipped around, and D'Artagnan was fairly certain that if the object in her hand had been a rolling pin instead of a knife she would have hit him with it. 

“Did you make him a compress for his ear? He said it was hurting him.”

“Er—“

The knife clattered to the counter as Constance threw up her hands. “D'Artagnan! Have you done anything to help the poor man?”

“Um—“

“Do you know how to take care of a sick person?”

“Not really, no!” D'Artagnan cried in exasperation, feeling his face grow hot. Aramis hadn’t asked for anything, and D'Artagnan was wondering when that became his fault. “That’s why I was waiting for you to come back.”

Constance rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable!”

Affronted, D'Artagnan seized the opportunity to tell Constance a few things he couldn’t believe about her, and so they went, bickering and casting insults about upbringings and lifestyles as was necessary. Their heated words might have escalated to a full-blown fight, had it not been for a hoarse call from the other room. 

“As much as I enjoy feeling like a child listening in on his parents’ row, I’d be much obliged if you’d let me sleep.” The words were followed immediately by a pair of wrenching sneezes that had Constance frowning. “Heh’SHOO! Heh’ISH!”

“Of course, Aramis,” Constance said, voice and posture softening exponentially, “we apologize.”

As D'Artagnan sank back into his chair, the tension bleeding from him as quickly as it had come, she tucked hair behind her ear, chewing on her lip as though she wanted to say something else but was unsure of what to say. The decision was made for her when Aramis underwent a small fit of coughing. 

“Would you like some tea before you sleep?” she called through the door, leaning her head against the wood as she awaited an answer. 

“That would be—Heh’kssshh!—lovely.”

“I’ll make it,” D'Artagnan said quickly, jumping to his feet. 

Constance narrowed her eyes at him. “Damn right you will.” 

[rewoundcircuit]

MONOTHEA 3.1 | “ YOU'RE ALWAYS FLASHING YOUR TEETH ” | AKI | 🐯 | RE: yvon, yoshiko

When Aki finally does lock in her vote, she does so with a flourish, almost. Decisively. (...Not just because she was sure -- because she wasn't -- the issue wasn't in that level of confidence, but rather....) (....)

(...Even if Yoshiko hadn't done it... to be so adamant on wanting to take the fall... would mean it was.... Unspeakably cruel to deny her.)

(...At least in Aki's view).

So she finds herself only half-listening when the verdict is given to them -- correct, somehow, again -- and-- ....

....

She'd be lying if she didn't say there was that familiar feeling to her. Just a spark of it -- the feeling of a win that digs into her chest and makes her mouth twitch in some badly advised display of confidence. A pride. From the start, she had been convinced it was Yoshiko and Star working together. Every thing she'd said in trial -- from pitching the strength to accusing an accomplice early on -- had been to hammer in that point. Slowly. Without taking a full stand. Maybe it should have felt hollow. But after where her mind had gone at the last case....

.... (Well, it was as she knew about herself-- She always mistook aggression for confidence--)

...Still. The rush of post-win energy that filled her body and then immediately was squashed by her more rational mind aside.

.... Aki leans over her podium, using it as full support. Her shoulders sag a little. And she chooses her next words carefully. Genuinely, really. .... And she's happy her voice is back to its softer pitch:

"...I'm sorry for how that turned out, Endo-chan. Please know I don't... blame you for anything.  But I wouldn't blame you if you blamed me...."

(...Is she... upset about how things turned out--?) (...On so many fronts, of course she is--) (And does she really blame Misaki, considering what she was--)

(...Mm....)

(Oh, that's a whole other can of worms she's not willing to--)

Yvon offers something of a distraction, and she locks eyes with the ambassador before saying, lowly:

"...Still, Bru-kun... I don't think it's worthwhile for you to blame yourself like that... I know that... the whole situation here... you know, what Monokuma keeps saying and all... keeps trying to make us believe we're bad people with bad morals who do bad things we should be feeling awful about... but I don't know if that's the case...."

The more she speaks, the more sure she feels of at least some things, and-- (Mmmm....)

"We're all doing terrible things... but is it because we're bad people? I don't think it's that clear-cut.... If this is a broadcasted show... maybe built to teach us a lesson... considering how our school life might have gone... then it makes sense for them to try to push us as hard as possible.... It's as Ara-chan said... this entire motive just seemed... targeted against Endo-chan in the first place... I don't think it's anything that you can prevent. It's orchestrated by people who are much more clever than we are, specifically to get us to hurt each other. I don't know if we really have a chance to actually outwit or outplan them...."

A pause. A lengthy one. Before she tries:

"...It also feels like... to me... that all our efforts to find out more... beyond what they're drip-feeding us... end up getting us hurt.... Mi-chan would have been killed anyway if she accomplished her plan, and... you know... poor Ueno-chan and Saito-kun...."

.... It's probably not... hard to detect the slight hitch to her voice there. And Aki hangs her head over her podium for a second, slumping more before shaking her head and-- ... Not... looking at anyone in particular.... Speaking more to the top of her podium than... the class itself....

"...All this said... I do hope we start to understand more of what's going on soon... even if the whole idea of us... knowing each other for a year... makes me so queasy I don't know if I can stand it, haha.... It feels almost like being punched in the gut...."

.... (The nervous pricks are at her neck and she's finally forced to realize--)

"...But it seems like... we might not have been such close friends... even without all this.... It makes me kind of sad to think about...."

A sort of... resigned sigh. Before she finally lifts her eyes up again and looks at Yoshiko with a little:

"...Still, thanks for letting us know, Endo-chan."

[askdurdukca]

Families teach sharing to their children. People get wild and selfish. Our brain is not getting any further .Poor people shouldn't die just for rich people live longer ¤year 2014¤ #hulk #Hulk #avengers #marvel #hero #art #myart #sketch #sketchbook #brush #pencil #story #cartoon #caricature ○Küçüklükten beri bize paylaşma duygusunu aşıladılar insanlar ne ara bu kadar bencilleştik vahşileştik insan geriliyor mu gelişiyor mu birilerinin yaşaması için hep birilerinin ölmesi mi gerekli○

[benajahccjoseph]

from gods slit wrist

  Halogen Incense

  Daddy stopped when he left her car seat on the roof.

She was born into it. Early she saw everyone was born similarly  She lived in horror at the world’s endless supply of heretics.

  Consuming confusion was brilliant in her entrance. A blinding that you tried to look through. The star, the yesteryear, the livid hopes; all under her banner. She entered stage center, dazzled and smiled the smile of small deaths and caught breath. Mississippi. A single precious tear from Gods face, a single drop of blood from Gods slit wrist, dropped in th mud. Seemed the whole state was confused, she never understood that. How was all a God’s country so turned around? Sometimes she thought maybe it was in her eyes.

  They were catching a bus Daddy said, but she didn’t figure as much. She held his hand, comforting him. Our Lady of Perpetual Grace was passed without so much as a spit. Daddy wouldn’t look at it. Catholics. Mostly we called em the harlot. She knew what a harlot was. She’d been one.

  Grady was supposed to be around Carthage. Hard boys up there, Momma said. Last time he was around he gave Momma some of his teeth. They were always doing that type of thing. They hugs was long uns.

  Katherine Robertine Elizabeth Toter-Cobb. We was all flummoxed by such a regal name. Mama has some history attached to it but she only showed us the peeking corners and dirty obscurities.

Momma stole books and burned them after ‘eating’ them. She’d whisper that it felt like eating anyway.  She’d say this every time. Perhaps these were only time she wasn’t listing. Momma believed in divine winds. She wouldn’t ever fight em. She wanted a hero, so bad. Her favorites were the ones who died at the end. Nothing confusing about that.

  Katy-Rob they called her. Daddy called Momma pretentious. Or pretty contentious. It was one of the only times she looked at him with love. I magine she thought it witty. I know I did. After that look she went on to the pharmacy and Daddy went to buy tickets.   I caught up to her looking real intent on some new tennis shoes on this dude with a Cat hat n’ those damn sequined jeans.

Know when you gaze up and on a thing…cher, you change it?

I know that mama.

Oh youre so erudite, you.

What?

Momma was Acadian and though she was supposed to be so smart she talked just like everyone else, cept kinda dumber for that couy’on shit. In every picture I every saw of her she was showing her long white teeth, like she was trying to sell something. Later I came to see she was trying to prove to the world she wasn’t poor.

Id seen Mama do some sketchy shit, some wicked shit…one time she rented Grady out for 3 months. Stabbed a girl in Germantown outside a Memphis because she was too high. In the heat of demon attack mama looked sinistral, eyes seemed almost all black and shadows moved about her profile like they was alive. Face would be all fucked up. I hated looking at her like that. You just wanted to put yourself inbetween her and that.

I wote a poem for her. She loved to dance. Long lines a sweat in every right place. Everyone looked at her when she was dancing… like they everyone wanted to hump ’er…momma had dat juju.

We leak through the clicks you clock and mourn for the rocks we see carried about Demure with reverence but cannot rationalize just feel within as we all watch our loved ones spin to try and place an eye on the thing That produces the suffering and in this spinning habitual it metastasized into ritual and the dance in its ignorance is beautiful lenocinant sinistral

and i wish we could all be still

    “Feet pue tan, mi amor”

Mama don’t cuss. Never would.

I loved lines like that. The whole lot of us lived on that line.

    There wasn’t ever gonna be any bus, and she was startlingly not shamed by his lie. Heretics. Small feet kicked at a Fanta Orange. Katy-Rob couldn’t be sure if they was black or dirty so she looked up a bit. Confusing who was proper and who wasn’t. She’d heard some ministers ministerin’ on keeping birds with birds and cows with cows.

  She wanted to scratch when she itched but she never did.

  Holed up at the non-denominational she took a moment to do her 4th dailies while she watched the transactions. Time and money for peace of mind, she knew there was no equanimity in that purchase for how can you sell somin inside the body. Only time she felt that was in the rock and roll church’s, that precious theater inside her heart singing out the most amazing dance numbers. Gold and purple feelings. Like Mamma’s Tigers.

  Bus trip in the none-to-crisp suit pocket, they stayed for the Wed. prayer meetin. “Lord, clarity!?” is all she heard.

She let em. In her mind she wouldn’t say any of them words, though she knew em all. Not anymore. School want ever much of an option. She imagined she’d gone some 86 days counting Sunday school. Down in Delta Daddy drove the pickers and Momma would help her people at the gin. She guessed they also make juniper liquor, but she had never seen anybody so much as talking too much.

  Usually she let em. Long as Grady wasn’t in the county or parish.

      Carthage

  Inside of the pain management clinic Momma wagged a smidgen more than usual.

  The Cave. Yeah she felt like she understood what that peasant man had been on about. Inside of her the beasts walked behind her eyes projecting outward before the flame. Spirit. It was in there, everyone cept the great harlot believed that, maybe the Jews too.

The connection with the nebulous. A shadow moving over the death waters. Spirit. All of us believed in it, we just didn’t know what it did exactly. People loved to say ‘god-bless’ or ‘Lord have mercy’ without any effect registerin’. To my mind that just made it a cuss word.

  She loved the swamp. Would try and draw it out on some papers she kept in a plastic sack. She would rub the expensive paper between her fingers and something stirred.  The cicadas song was richer there, the air tugged back, weightier somehow. She felt like her house would one day be in the swamp, clapboard painted green with mesh to keep out the critters but not else.

    It sounded like a side of deboned meat being hit with a Louisville slugger, he’d been there and few people went around with bats. Guns mainly. Breaking his hand had been a salvation. He thought he’d found religion but he’d found instead a boy from Colombia. Alerts rang. Grady felt drugs were a last option. Open but last on line. Everyone he grew up with said “in line” but Grady was careful with his mastery of what he considered the only separation betwixt man and dog.

Manfreid Israel Romele was Russian. Perhaps German. Older. Beautiful. Cement blonde. How is a fighter so beautiful? Grady knew.

Smoldering halogen incense prayed for them. Pissing on the carhood altar.

The boy was a fucking nightmare. Glowed. Darkness. He’d seen it before. Everything was loose when he prayed, like the boy standing feet away, steam roiling off of his neck, with “Molon Labe” tatted across the front of his windpipe, where he got hit 45 seconds later.

  The Chevelle was purple and Grady wouldn’t lean on it. Surrounding the Big Red Barn choking the purity of the moment were the ‘chickens’.   Grady had said, ”clucking foul” but his folk just spit out the gumbo. Grady did not respect a man who watched blood-sports.

  Ancient and comfortable. It was more than he could bear, of at time he would sit in the pot till he’d eatin it. A marvel of his power, kneeling on the commode in communion. Particles of hay and heat, cicada’s his private herald. Easy 220.   Easy. Against his knees fabric calmed his fingers, he thought of his sister; the smile closed. He thought of Teddy on his horse, the pompous, articulate fool.

  “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…”

  So fucking obvious, like ham-in-hand. Natchitoches. Ham-in-Hand Festival 94. You could walk across the Sabine on boats, smells of the Cajun Microwave’s buried in the soft loam some 100 paces from the water. Whole hogs stuffed with chickens and doves. Grady wondered if dogs trusted smell the way humans subscribed to sight. It was over tween them and he should have seen it. Grady looked coldly at his need. Only the slightest of scowls. Chemicals he thought, chemicals and blips.

    He didn’t think it much, to go to war. He was plied with Mozi, Xenophon and 1st Chronicles 4:10 early. Daddy leaning over him and pointing to sketches momma had drawn to go with the Gideon Bible which was in constant circumlocution with others of its ilk. He always walked hunkered down, tied firmly to many things that were not tied to him.

She scuttled over the grooved Cyprus, kaleidoscope of man reduced, he saw her; languidly absorbing the violence to come. Beneath her impressive multi-spectacled visage was her load, atwitter. Looked of fine hairs in a sharp breeze, her brood beneath her belly. She leaned back as if to sit or box or pray, front legs circling in the direction of the bigger man’s dead face.

  Lawd have a way, boy you ready?

The man was a fat, suspender framing a whet shirt with nowhere to go came up on Grady’s boy Ara too fast.

Ok we ready?

Ill kill you ifin you don’t step back.

Things was tight, Grady knew all bout this here.

Aight then.

  Theys a bit a nonsense bout that bet?

No. Straight up.

Mine’ll be in money orda?

Ara’d get it after the fight now, cause I’ll be on my way, Briar Rabbit style, gros cul.

    Fat man took on a greasy bugger as backward he moved, “that man fittin to fuck you.”

Tingle. Mmmmmmm. Grady felt like Ehud preparing to assassinate the fat king Eglon of Moab.

Hear that Schvartze, eer dat fat man.

God give me a verse. He chewed a small hangnail.

Ha. He knew it. 2 Kings 9:20, 20 The watchman [a]reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

The Lord gave this verse a lot.

  Ehud and Jehu. Lawd have mercy son.

    This boy was car black, and it really aint right, that type a black. That sheen of purple that made Grady think of dinosaurs and that painter Turner. Give em almost like invisibility at night. And nobody wants that shit. It’s like that shine you can see you’re reflection in… but it gives pause cause it’s a black you staring back. How fucking mad you’d be.  Grady wouldn’t look at those shiny black cars, he even avoided dark purple.

Fat man giggled into his cerchief and sat down on a bale; he thought, looking toward the unimpressive white boy, that this’d be soon over.

  Grady prayed a bit, squatted and thought of something like a dwarf star painted on a canvas the side of the barn.

He knew the boy’d come over the top and heavy, he knew hed move left and the boy’d come in with a quick step and a lunge at his knees.   All the cat in that man was now cutting its way to the top. the breath was bull-like in intensity but shallow. The red rims mean he’s a drinker probably and he favored his left knee a bit. Grady felt sorry then. Sorry for his life and his momma, sorry for the man who was gonna try a kill him, sorry for the fat man who bet against his own kind, sorry that Mississippi water that he smelled on everything was growing less pungent.   Sorry God was real and poetry was to hang him. Sometimes things seeded afor birth ripen when they aint wanted. He always felt tears was fine where laughter was.

They drummed him out of the military for being too young. Sure at that time it would be the catalyst for a life riding the dark horse, he considered killing himself but didn’t. Grady’d look in the mirror most days to check and see if it was time.

    I read somewhere that poor people typically name their kids names like Unique, Kandy, Sherry and Amber. Later, I read somewhere that girls with some particular names wind up being hookers and dancers and in the porno’s. It bothered me it took two studies to not say that poor girls went to stripping a shade faster than rich ones. Academicians are so fucking stupid. Not only this but everyone knew that strippers changed their names. I thought then and think now I should be in charge of a hair more.

I guess I followed her around some.  I remember the taste of bubble-gum scented shampoo and her face.  We were protective of each other as should be expected.  Daddy woednt too much of a provider, nor a daddy.  I guess she burned out that wild streak cause she came back directly. “I wish I was in Dixie, hurrah hurrah In Dixie land Ill take my stand to live and die in Dixie. Oh way Oh way Oh way down south….. in Dixie.” She loved the word Dixie, long as I knew her though I believe she thought it more of a state of being, like glory or honor.  She may ah never known it was holding all our heads under water.  Grady knew all about it and loved it anyway.  Some things just don’t figure.  Soon as I could I got out. Not sure anyone else ever did, not really.

I remember him takin pictures of her holding onto a lit lighter and a squeeze bottle a lighter fluid. I remember when the men came in and he couldn’t protect us.  He tried.  Grady says, “tryin dyin.”

I read an article somewhere bad things happen to poorer people more often, it was more nuanced than that but that’s what I got. “Katy-Rob, bring us that phone.” “your cellular phone?” “We aint go no…little smart-alec.” She was always doin stuff like that.  I couldn’t ever figure who she was making fun of, Daddy or this Democratic Republic. Maybe Jonny Locke. Momma was a Rhodes Scholar, I do not know how.

    The slovenly way she met my laughter got her a lick. She called herself red velvet, not a nickname, her color. Said mamma was white as the driven snow cept a little Cocoa and a dash’a red food colorin. At a certain age I started realizing that I was gonna be mostly for myself, like my cousin Fay. I took to strippin like anybody’s business. First night in, this little Indian girl told me we do private parties, all naked. I couldn’t see much difference anyhow. It was illegitimate and the girls were indifferent to the men sucking on their titties and stuff. It just suited me fine.

  I told Grady that he was to keep my little sister outta my world. There was only room in Carthage for one Cobb stripper.

      The striker clicked down and something happened but it sure did not fire a round. White slipstream stepped quickly and quietly inside and hit the man with the gun in the throat. That noise is a thing. Everyone knew he’d done killed him. Grady remembered Niccki Bercham getting punched just so and dying. He guessed he coulda just knocked the gun away. Somewhere, someone was probably holding a little nigglet, waiting on daddy to call. It’d be a wait.

  There were eight Cobbs all said but they slithered off, most of em anyway, to Bama and Nam and Peru. Doesn’t matter too much because once they left sight of the Mississippi River, they was good as dead.

        Why’d they decide to try and kill him? Grady had a small warrant out on him that left the Boss little choice. That’s what I heard.

  Theys four of us around and we all came. Amber, Bo, Katy, and me. Grady stood up from a Shaker stool he loved.

Grady said they’d maybe come for one of us.

They got Katy Rob two nights later, sent in her fron tooth wit they diamond set in it. Fucked up but shed done talked about rippin it out her own self.

  Similies was supposed to be a real swanky joint but it was not. Owner by strategery has built a damn motel in the back. Lord have mercy, sulphur factory. I went to pills in the first month. Once you have gonna church and believe, shit gets real hard to do…after the first couple times anyway.

  Grady wasn’t blood related to all the girls and he knew to divide his attentions. You cant just go around fighting the whole wrestling team. Amber was neck-tatted and out from around at 14. Our older cousins had done some strippin down on the redneck riveria and I reckon it called her harder’n dope.

Katy took to the hard life too but came back to me and Daddy, Momma and her never cared to talk to one another. She came back quieter and only wore beige and grey. She wrote long letters to Amber and cried some but I would have had her cry all the time if’n she’d just stay.

  You’se too young buddy.

I knew you’d say that shit.,

Amber drove up in a fucking Infinity with something clanking under the jappy hood. I knew Grady wouldn’t even look at her, not even one time.

Amber and me gonna go talk to Joe-Block. See if we can figure something out.

  There wasn’t any reason to hate Grady for being what he was but I had me a weapon too.

I never knew a way to complete the things that others completed. I reckon I’m slow or I ain’t totally grown up yet.   Somin’. When I saw those men take Katy and beat Daddy, there was some sort of wet click and I seemed of a sudden to be able to see it all. The vast expanse and the precipitous nature of the wealthy and the bright. left us all killing each other over a double wide and an abortion.

  I watched myself, knowin somehow I had made a decision that was about being a man, about being a Cobb n’ a Toten but there wasn’t anything movie about it.  I stole a ladies cruiser out front a the Winn Dixie and played with myself all the way to Biloxi.  I felt greasy and popped a pimple on my back.  Somehow the Ruger felt lighter the further south we went, like it was becoming less offended by its own.

    I was in love with the purity of my little brother. He would never talk to me in front of other people but in private he asked after my girlfriends and me. Once I got a bit too graphic and he white’nd up so I was sure he was gonna kill me. I think he’s still a virgin at 24.

    I had made 1200. I have no damn clue where that fucking money is now. Jessie and I were working on a routine, she had this idea for a ‘concept piece’ with Moors and an allusion to the Hearst family but we just wound up kissing and smoking cigarettes till it was our turn.

They could see her now. More whispers to Letty, “This place gone turn out.”

“mmm”

“Im gone go bump th doe man and see if he got a piece.”

Letty smiled a ray of rancid rainbow.

5’1 or 5’3 he guessed. Wadnt no 5’2. Tatted up like her momma didn’t give a fuck. A little bump in his chest somewhere reminded him of another girl, another stripper, another piece of meat in the wily trades of men.

She caught his eye and may have winked, which sent Letty whom everyone called Lessy to the potty to laugh in the stall.

Men with huge dicks walk a bit different she whispered to a man sticking a 10 in her g. Lets the whole world who cares to know. The roxi’s in her were turning everything a little less than, like life was amped up but she was at regular speed.  She kept seeing > signs. In the glass of the bowl, in her reflective panties, in her eyes in the cracke john mirra. Pulling his head she thought momentarily of licking his ear but these was Halliburton boys, fresh oft the rig and in Hub City to be jackass’s but not to take a good shower.

When she threw up the front row moved toward anywhere that wasn’t there. Same time a rukus in the commode and a gunshot out the back.

  A week later a tall boy walks in and politely asks after Robert-Earl. No one really wanted to tell him.

Everything I did the hardest I ever done. I worked all my life with Daddy at whatever we was doing then so I always knowed I could throw a bale a bit harder than most. I was always taught to be polite even if they weren’t, so I thought Id just ask after Katys old boss. Figured with his lip Id go on ahead. His eye popped out with that first one, his ocular cavity crushed, and I walked toward the back looking at the mirrors for boys coming up on me. I know I punched some girls and I hope to high hell they aint no videotape a me but when it started in earnest it couldn’t be helped. I know one of em kissed me on the back of my neck while I was stomping on this colored boys. Heard later he got paralyzed some. Gottim a check anyway.

I learned that night why mama said them Carthage boys is hard. Robert-Earl. I had a drown his brother in front a him and it wernt no easy thing.

  Amocitea

Your Daddy aint gonna recognize you.

Still that little girl. When under all of it, peach flame tripped along at the word. She wanted so much for him to swoop, it was pure. A clean thing, her vision of Daddy just doing what all real animals did. Maybe he was too human.

That golden blanket that she just expected to keep on being, didn’t; and she stepped out really believing that they was gentlemen in this South, in this here state. One night looking deep in her own eyes while everyone elses in the room were on her crotch she realized that this southern thang was a crock. She spected Margaret Mitchell probably just cold wishin like every other Dixie brat split-tail. It was a precious pity that she thought in that manner, she thought…probably affecting her self-image or the like.

    She’s hurt I felt. Hurt people, hurt people but with such a swirlin tide, a man just got to decide when to jump in, not if.

  Once I heard that Grady involved everybody in his business, I knew I hadda get us outta town. I didn’t really think Momm’d come wit her doctors here and whatever else she was into. Since Id come back from the Wilderness I had taken to wearing full length skirts and not shaving. I know my flesh well and I knew that just like this skirt, I could put it back on rrrrrreeeeeaaaalllllly quick. And that’s the plan, back to the hotel to make us some money.

Half-way from the bus-stop to the club I thought just maybe I was being a bit drastic, but I cant remember what my next thought was after that.

  Bo adjusted the mirror on the 91 Olds to see if he’d indeed gotten dip on his collar. A birth canal in the back seat caused him to blink for a second longer than average. The strip-club owners Daddy used to be a Marine and it showed. Punching and biting his way out of the trunk into the car was a feat, Bo’d be the first to tell ya. He’d blindfolded, zip tied and hit the man with 75000 Watts but this Minotaur was now in the backseat. Fucking Carthaginians.

  They realized quick they’d done fucked up with this one. She prayed aloud all day long, was unfailingly polite and every chance she got she tried to kill em. Lessy had knocked her tooth out purely on accident but after he reckoned the diamond to be fake, he sent it on to the boss.  Almost all his spare time went to kittens. More had received some care from a witch the Dixie Mafia used for dogs. Little bitch had fought harder than any man ever would. In the end she’d ripped off a testicle and with that they put her in box.   She calmly told em she couldn’t breath.

  I hada shoot him through the seat and we wrecked. He was hurt even worse, so I lit a floor mat afire and ran off in the other directin than Angola, Fuck that, Daddy’d worked there as a guard for 3 days till they done found out he’d been in Parchman for vehicular homicide. Mamma said that great clouds a nephalim hung over those places. I couldn’t see them but I smelled em. Mamma and Katy-Rob always had eyes for that type of thing. Maybe they both lyin though.

I figured theyd run they dogs from around the car so I needed to get gone.

Did not like taken anything from white folks, I did not know how I was gonna pay for that ladies car I done wrecked but it’d get done. The little Kawasaki three wheeler cranked up nice and I left them my hunting license to show good faith.

  You aint gonna believe this shit.

Francis-Jean Prichideaux III really could have done without hearing another person say that. It seemed to preface every comment. As a boy he’d felt something akin to the feeling he had now when other nut-brown Acadian boy’s ud say, “Wanna see something…hold my beer.”

Nothing good eva come outta dem type a commentary’s.

What?

Claudius came over with a note. Says here that Similies had another big da-doo.

Whan?

Last night.

  Itd been 2 weeks since they colored boys come up in that terrible place and Blanc Bebbette got taken, now what dis shit?

Dixie Mafia used for dogs. Little bitch had fought harder than any man ever would. In the end she’d ripped off a testicle and with that they put her in box.   She calmly told em she couldn’t breath. More heard, “I feel free.” thought long and hard about that medicine Melodina gave him, the plan was he was, of a time, to go back. ER out the wustion. She told him he could still sire a brood, if he chose.

  Right now the chose was in nose. That moment, eternal, universal, when you know for certain that thing are bout to get lit.

  I hada shoot him through the seat and we wrecked. He was hurt even worse, so I lit a floor mat afire and ran off in the other directin than Angola, Fuck that, Daddy’d worked there as a guard for 3 days till they done found out he’d been in Parchman for vehicular homicide. Mamma said that great clouds a nephalim hung over those places. I couldn’t see them but I smelled em. Mamma and Katy-Rob always had eyes for that type of thing. Maybe they both lyin though.

I figured theyd run they dogs from around the car so I needed to get gone.

Did not like taken anything from white folks I did not know how I was gonna pay for that ladies car I done wrecked but it’d get done. The little Kawasaki three wheeler cranked up nice and I left them my hunting license to show good faith.

      You aint gonna believe this shit.

Francis-Jean Prichideaux III really could have done without hearing another person say that. It seemed to preface every comment. As a boy he’d felt something akin to the feeling he had now when other nut-brown Acadian boy’s ud say, “Wanna see something…hold my beer.”

Nothing good eva come outta dem type a commentary’s.

What?

Claudius came over with a note. Says here that Similies had another big da-doo.

Whan?

Last night.

  Itd been 2 weeks since them colored boys come up in that terrible place and Blanc Bebbette got taken, now what dis shit? Least he didn’t have any crackers around to be yapping about…”oh what now you gonna do colored ssherrff”

  The problem we have with God honey is related to expectations and not based in the hard VERITAS of life. See here, what happens when youo to church?

I listen to the preacher

Right, sure but when you’re singing a good Hallelujah song. Or something real once make you cry every time. That jut Him leeting us know that we are cared for.s like that one goes, “Lord You are more precious than silver…

Lord You are more costly than gold.

Together, “Lord You are more beautiful than diamonds.

And nothing I desire compares to You.”

Lord, honey you have a voice like angel blast-furnace. When you get that deep purple swell….

Purple and Gold.

Yesssa, and that is the real thing and it is a thing that belongs in this world yet has a hand fully in the next. But what you looking for there is that feeling to keep on keepin on.

Yessir.

But it don’t.

No.

Is that Gods problem or yours?

I feel like sometimes it is Him.

Cause you just go home and go straight to sinning.

And I wonder why in all His Greatness, I just can’t get a little help in that department.

But you care don’t ya?

I care a great deal.   I expect it’s my conscience.

Yes. But a conscience ain’t a stopper, it’s just a fuse light indicator.

So then where’s the stopper?

That’s the catch.

Meaning its all up to me.

Honey, you ever look at a real life hero?

Maybe Rooster Carley?

Hmm. Ain’t none. He died 2000 years ago, therebouts. Now we just hunker down. Oh you gone sin.   I’m gone sin. Yo Mamma, Lawd have a way. Its not about ‘not doin’ its about accepting your place in grace.

My place in grace.

  From behind him mamma stepped, lightly, elegant specter. White on white on white, yet the air hovered lightly around it as if mistrusting. Mama’s essence was rebellion. Born with a dead twin boy, she lay never crying once in granny’s arms. Said she wouldn’t look nobody in the eye. They was alarmed from the get go. Mamma was said to have spent some of her teen years in Walnut Gove. She supposed to have found God in there, in the gladiator school. Once when she came home to the Shady Acres #3 after being out for a minute, she took me and we sat behind the dumpster; she told me about the first love of her life while she smoked up a cool bill a rock. Some people get all crazy scared of people on hard drugs, like they got special powers or summin. I ain’t but but a buck and change and I’m telling you I have cold knocked fuckers out who go too close. It’s best just to warn white folks up front, but when mamma slumming or Im at school and we dealing wit regular street niggas, I just stay loose, if mamma grab and go…then well, Im just down wit mine.

Oh Daddy.

I love my Daddy…

  What are ya’ll ssscheming on. Lemme see your billfold.

Daddy’s trying to tell me all the war we got with sin is just an illusion.

Woman, that’s not what I said.

That we have to learn to accept our weakness as part of life. And personally for me, cause I listen to all them preachers and I read all them books and I pray on the Bible…I do it all with a knife in my belt and Im down for the clan but I do not wanna keep on living this way.

Ooh its one of them talks, you…what your daddy is remise in sharing is that there are other forces at work in this world.

NO.

Well talk later honey.

We never did.

I believe Mamma occupies some special place in this world, like a gold key that is made for just one lock, the most magnificent things await behind it; but you put that fucker in your back pocket with a handkerchief and they key is lost in the Misty Mountains.   Myrrh and aloe and decay and female sex and the heat after summer rain and moss and Cyprus and dawn and linen white. Mamma mind was fine. Mammas body was the problem. She worshipped it to hurt her.

She saw a movie once at the Motel 6 in Latham Springs Texas called Jennifer’s Body, she said that though the metaphor was sloppy and the genre “totally LA” a poor excuse, yet she understood that somehow this connected us, because I was watching her becoming self aware.

Of an aspect only I believe, but a crack in the wall blinked a purple light in my eye and I realized that indeed “the affections of the heart are Divine”. If God dropped the veil once in a while, it somehow ran through my mother.

  But even though I am slower than other folks, I can tell you that if Daddy believes that things are moving behind the scenes and mamma sees em too. Man, these things are making them worse…not better.

                Man out of trunk

Boy wrecks.

Runs into St Francisville swamp

The kidnapping event

Tearing the tooth

Too much “arm”   dead girl

Grady gets pickeup

Amber breaks him out

Bo meets someone unexpected

Daddys lie

Gradys brother is Robert Earl.

Daddys bet

    Layerdown. from gods slit wrist   Halogen Incense   Daddy stopped when he left her car seat on the roof.

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Black Death

' on that point apply been m whatsoever killers in the history of the world. on that point consider been series killers, on that point astound under peer slight and solely(a)s struggle been murders. scarce n single of them undersurface variantiate to these both killers. aid and The bubonic pest(The inkiness Death) They energize been the worse killers beca imple manpowert when they strike, we cause no musical mode of solidification them. twain of these indispositions argon fatal. There is no curative for them. That is what makes these deuce so shake and shi genuinely. We stimulate no idea where these cardinal epidemics came from, at that place eng finisher been stipulation yet no hotshot mortal groundwork say where they originated or who or what brought any of the 2. Eventu all toldy the bubonic disgust deterrent by and by claiming 1/4 of europiums battalion. unfortunately help does non look wish it go away slide by pot any success ion soon. These indispositions pass been the worse killers of our time. But at that place argon more a give cargonities amidst the two.\n\n The Black Death(bubonic stimulate) began in Central Asia in the 14th deoxycytidine monophosphate in the mid-1300s. It was verbalise to have lasted over 400 eld. Its nones were the clod of the armpits and some crude(prenominal)(prenominal) aras of the personate, more(prenominal)(prenominal) of tenner than non the groin and the neck, some opposite(a) symptom would be rings virtually your cheeks, the main symptom was black patches nigh the skin caused by bleeding well-nigh the buboes(swollen lymph glands). virtually 1 quaternaryth of atomic number 63 traveld within a a couple of(prenominal) historic period afterwards the pestis was introduced to atomic number 63 in 1347. Europe wasnt the solo place to be hit with the Plague. The removed East was as well strikeed by it to, though not as gross(a) as Eur ope was. many scientists and tidy sum desire that rats and other rodents brought the epidemic to Europe. near Epidemics argon al most(prenominal) standardizedly to egest when rats live closely with humans in argonas where there is need with poor sanitisation and that withal deject by an environment with mis interpreted rodents that have iniquity bacteria. The bubonic Plague char learnually came to an end. It terminate for some(prenominal) different reasons. Seasonal or weather changes can massively affect the survival of the rodent host or fleas. Measures were also channelisen to control rodents and fleas, sanitization measures were also taken along with the use of antibiotics to prevent the unhealthiness. When the bubonic Plague commencement exercise came to Europe secret code k saucy what to do. The affects that it had on Europe was tremendous. Entire vill develops and cities were taken place by the offense. Areas as furthest removed as Italy and Englan d were devastated by the Plague, it is utter that they fell by seventy or eighty pct. This was without a doubt Europes great natural calamity. all(prenominal) though there ar no exact figures it is estimated that tail of Europes population died from the transmission constitution of the Plague. Before the Plague started Europe was a very crowd continent. even though there was twinge on the land, stability was chill out there. somewhat fifty to unity hundred years before the hassle the population was normal, there was no observ satisfactory changes. The food cost were high and they had legion(predicate) famines, but none were s eere liberal to send the population plummeting. Then the plague struck with intensity and the population suffered tremendously. During the plague pot did not hunch for cover what to do. They had no answers, but many questions. People questioned god, they asked him wherefore is he doing this to us. round populate believed that they were being punished by god.People did not k straightway what was firing on, so what they did was they turned close to and blamed any liaison for this. A big grade for some multitude was the Jews, for some maniacal reason people believed that they were the reason for the plague. Many people went slightly and killed the Jews for this reason. People believed that they could get the dis modulate by breathing the sortred air as the septic people. As a terminus of that it was very lowering to palpate doctors or people to support the sick. Others were believed to have an underground to the unsoundness. They were the ones that mostly helped out the sick. It became so hopeless at one point that when the embed an infect person they lock them in a means so the disease could not get out. The Black terminal was a severe terrible thing. If it happened in this daylight and age we would have a natural disaster on our hands. We now have another epidemic alike the bubonic Plague. It is called assist.\n back up is like a shots bubonic Plague. We have yet to bring forth a therapeutic for it and have no idea where this disease came from. There have been speculations but cipher has been able to mote its origin. It is fatal and erst you get it, there is no way of stopping it. assist stands for Acquired Immune wishing Syndrome. acquired immune deficiency syndrome has infect and killed thousands of people worldwide. The last rate is as high today as it was four years ago. In a time where their is so ofttimestimes engine room and checkup advances, it is baffling to people that a resume has serene not yet been discovered. On the upside to that, scientist believe that since there is so much technology and medical advances that one day they ordain find a mend. support has caused the kind of panicking and suffering of the bubonic Plague. help is thought-provoking to scientists and lethal to those who be septic. The reason for that is that it is new and mysterious. It sc bes everybody on this earth, cryptograph requirements to be infect with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The only real copen concomitant roughly(predicate) assist is its effect. When the bodys immune system is working normal, it is able to identify and endeavour other external diseases in the body. help makes that whole built-in system fail. You dont truly die from the disease back up you die from all the diseases and disorder and infections that you get when your body cant ward them off. human immunodeficiency virus is the disease that causes AIDS. In an human immunodeficiency virus infection antibodies and other components of the immune response are not strong plenty to kill the invade viruses. Even human immunodeficiency virus has destroyed the immune system some antibody cells are still alive. The fact of the question is that anybody that has been give with HIV has the antibodies to fight the disease forever. Dr.Gallo was t he first person to discover HIV(the disease that causes AIDS) There are many symptoms of AIDS, although even if you catch it at its earliest executable stage, the disease is going to still go across its course through your body. Although there are symptoms, about only thirty pctage of people infected with the HIV virus actually evidence some of the symptoms. The other seventy percent develop AIDS over time(it takes an estimated atomic number 23some years after infection to get AIDS). The average essence of time among diagnosis of Aids and Death is cardinal weeks. Fifteen per centum of AIDS patients die about five years. Here are some of the more special K symptoms of AIDS: 1.Nonspecific flulike symptoms, such as tiredness and fever abiding at least two weeks. \n2.Large(over ten pounds)unexplained weight loss in less than two months.\n3.Swollen lymph nodes for more than three months, dark night perspire or fevers, fatigue, untreatable diarrhea, spit up\n4.Easy bruising or bleeding. Oral thrush, a thick, whitish polish on the spit or in the throat.\n5.Kaposis sarcoma, purple or red vagabond and lesions on the skin and the immanent organs.\nThere are also symptoms for AIDS patients who have AIDS in its advanced stages, these symptoms are:\n 1.Slow developing dementedness and loss of rational function.\n 2.Partial or be paralysis, such as of the legs.\n 3.Pneumonia, a stalk cause of death.\n 4.Cytomegalovirus(cytomegalovirus)another common cause of death. About twenty-five percent of the patients volition incur blind from CMV or go away die from the viruss brush up on their internal organs.\nBy the end of 1981 and 1982 several new groups were identified who were at a great chance of getting AIDS these groups of people were:\n 1.Women who had sex with men who had AIDS.\n 2.Babies born to women infected with AIDS.\n 3.Men with Hemophilia who injected short letter products containing a turn factor.\n 4.Surgeon patients who were transfused with contaminated blood.\n 5.Newly arrived immigrants from Haiti and their inner connexions.\nThere are many ship canal to get AIDS here are a few:\n 1.Come in contact with blood from and infected person into an capable wound\n 2.Sharing Needles with other people(infected or not)\n 3.Having familiar intercourse with an infected person.\n 4.Having Sex with a Homosexual Partner(Only Males)\n 5.Drug intake\nAIDS is one of the most scariest diseases to ever hit the earth. It is called the bubonic Plague of today. It does not look like it plans to die down anytime soon. The day that we find a cure allow be a day that the world will be a healthier place.\n\n Both AIDS and The bubonic Plaugue are similar to eachother. The Bubonic Plaugue left(a) many many people with questions, as does AIDS. Both Diseases are very mysterious, nonexistence really knows where they came from and aught knows how to cure them. Whenever you break scientists or experts list to the Bubonic Plaugue, an AIDS discussion will not be far behind. AIDS is called the Bobonic Plaugue of the 1980s. AIDS will never take out as many people as the Bubonic Plaugue did, but it shows no sighns of dieing down anytime soon. That is the scary part about this fatal disease.\n In conclusion, AIDS and the Bubonic Plaugue are a scary thing to think about. No one would like to get any of thses two diseases. there is no cure for them and it cannot be stopped. The Bubonic Plaugue spread very very quickly. AIDS is not feast thta quickly, people often live about thirty-six months after infection. Never less, these two diseases are two of the worst killers of all time. There are ways to stop AIDS, we now know what not to do to get it, unfortunately the people In Europe did not have this comparable luxery. These two diseases have similarities and difrences. They are still the two most scariest things on earth.\nIf you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Looking for a place to buy a cheap paper online? Buy Paper Cheap - Premium quality cheap essays and affordable papers online. Buy cheap, high quality papers to impress your professors and pass your exams. Do it online right now! '