#so if i'm wrong then i apologize my german followers

[vodid]

"i should probably go to bed" i said two hours ago, proceeding to hyperfixate on german grammar and common phrases so i can incorporate them in my blitzbee fic

es geht.

[marimayscarlett]

What is a Coccolino? What is a Keksi? What is a Lurchi? I have seen it in tags they sound pretty cutesyyy and adorbs 😻 I'm too timid to ask around not being sure who the op is but I been following your blog for a while that's why I thought I would ask you if it's fine by you😽 sorry for the trouble and many questions

Hii hello, please never apologize for asking questions, I love to help 👋

'Coccolino', italian: The perfect coccolino-spokespersons are actually the lovely @dandysnob and @meinewellemeinstrand but I try my best to explain it from a non-italian point of view :D From what I can translate, 'coccolino' means something like 'cuddly/cuddle bear' or 'cuddly' in general, which fits Paul quite well I think 😊 (sorry besties if I translated it wrong, please correct me if I'm wrong/missed something 😗)

'Keksi', german: It's like one version of a minimisation form of the german 'Keks' which means 'cookie'. So 'Keksi' means 'small/little cookie', which kind of has the notion of something sweet and precious for me :3 There's an fitting italian word for it, 'biscottino', which I also learned on here 😊

'Lurchi', german: another minimisation, this time of the word 'Lurch' which means 'amphibian'. I use the word 'Lurchi' (small amphibian) to describe Flake regularly, since he called himself Lurch in the Haifisch making of:

("Ich bin so ne Art Lurch...")

So yeah, Flake is like a cute small amphibian to me. And I know @wizzardclown also uses 'Lurchi' for her adorable goose wife 💚

Hope this helped 😄

[corrpse]

Hello, & welcome to my writing roleplay blog, featuring Mukuro Ikusaba. I would like to state firstly, this series & things to it are infested with triggering content - this does not mean I condone any of it. I expect critical thinking to be used & not an immediate insults of 'you are just as bad! you are an apologist!' I will not out right explicitly write some of these themes featured. However, as Mukuro is subjected to emotional / physical abuse by her sister & mistakes this as romance, it can be quite uncomfortable for most viewers. Mukuro has developed a co-dependency on Junko, she is confused & has had no real relationships outside of her sister. She is a Junko apologist.

I am still learning about the series. Most of my knowledge is based on the anime, reading the wiki, & tidbits given to me by friends. So, please do not compare me to other DR writers or give me negative feedback if I'm getting things 'wrong'. I am here for a fun time & to learn more about a series I've been intrigued by for many years. This is my first time writing a DR character.

Due to the nature of Mukuro's story, along with events molding her into who/what she is, some heavy topics will be featured here. Such as, but not limited to: Death, PTSD, Suicide mentions, heavy depression, descriptive blood/gore, mature language, artistic nudity & descriptive sexual encounters. <- I will be writing Mukuro over the age of 18.

More on mains/exclusives/affiliates: I do not partner with just anyone.I'm very particular about who I tend to have heavy association with, as I personally believe most do it to have a badge of popularity on their blogs rather than genuine connection between the writer & their blog Canon. I apologize if this seems like a wild reach & assumptions, this is from personal experience who used to actively participate in affiliations, etc.

Regarding relationships in the romance department: Mukuro is multiship. But, forming romance with her will be quite a feat. She CAN feel romance toward others, unfortunately it is pushed down & ignored for the sake of her relationship with Junko.

In addition, please do not only approach me on Mukuro for romance plots. I will only do this with a select few - namely, those I am close friends to / associate with in my pinned posts.

A note on blocking/soft blocking/unfollowing: I don't just unfollow or softblock, I always out right block. I don't like being questioned on it, as my reasoning for doing so is such a long list. However, it's almost never personal... If I don't vibe with you anymore, don't enjoy your tone of speaking, overly aggro in your own guidelines pages, try to police people on how they write or what they write (i.e.; saying they should end their life over something fictional... yeah, no.) I will block, too, if you are overly dramatic, meaning, you like to stir the pot for no other reason than to do it & get clout. If you share callouts, or try to tell me who I can & can't talk to. I'm pro-free mind, as in not following the crowd on harassing someone over a callout. I block if you're a person who genuinely believes what media someone likes is a direct reflection on their own views & morals... grow up. I will also block, if I'm just simply not interested in your blog or character.

I think that's all, so here's a little bit about me: My name is Archeon, "Ark", 1995 is my birth year. I am a Polyamorous lesbian who uses primarily masculine pronouns, however I don't care much for what you refer to me to. I've been together with Yuri 6 years as of May 2024... She is my everything. My favorite color is red, my favorite Pokemon are Gengar & Umbreon. I also write a few characters, mostly known for Makima, Dame Aylin, Mei Raiden, Shadow & Dante... Currently, I am casually re-learning & learning the following languages: Spanish, Japanese, Chinese & German, along with going through a weight loss journey - as of typing this, I'm 6 months in!

Special notes** i.    I am against users who create art or feed writing/roleplay responses with the use of AI, or artificial intelligence. Please refer to this post for further info ->    ii.    edits / border is made by me, the heart & knife image in my icon is made by my friend, S.

Thanks for checking out my links & reading this far, I look forward to writing & chatting together. & Please give this post a "like" just so I know this page was at least visited!

[interlagostrack]

I still remember the day, many years ago, that I was watching the Friday free practice for Hungarian GP while doing some homework and this new guy Sebastian Vettel showed up out of the blue and set the fastest time.

I had no idea who he was so I Googled him and I immediately liked the guy. For one he was German like Schumi, my biggest idol in F1. And his F1 hero was also Schumacher, so yeah, we had that in common, too. Also, he was cute! (I was 14, give me a break!) But the best part about this new Vettel guy was that he was different from the other drivers. He was young and cool and he seemed so carefree. I decided that day to follow his career.

Next year, in 2007, he was racing and ok, he was a bit wild and I loved that too. He was cheeky off track and very fast in it.

And then it was 2008 and the Italian grand prix happened and fuck, that was when I knew it. He was truly special. That win was beautiful. It was not only about being fast or being lucky. He showed every one he was super intelligent and technical when he needed to be.

The Red Bull era was a dream. Seb was a bitch, yeah. But he was so passionate, so fast and so smart, it made me love F1 more than ever. I cried with him at every single one of his titles and to this day, that image of him worshipping his car in 2013 gives me chills. It's one of the most beautiful moments I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

I was never sure Ferrari was a good option but as a Schumacher fan I knew what it meant to him so I was super pleased. I believed he could make it happen. Needless to say it was a huge disappointment.

When the move to Aston Martin happened I think we all knew it was the beginning of the end. But at least it was good to see him so happy again.

But in the past few years, even more than his racing career, we all started to see another side of him. Seb started to admit more and more to his mistakes and apologize for them. He became outspoken about issues important to him. On track he was still fast and aggressive but he was more gentle and caring at the same time. It was such a great pleasure to watch that teen grow into this man that he is today. The dad (on and off track) that is caring, just and fun. That knows when to speak up and when to say I'm sorry and when to yell. The guy that cares so much about the others. I thought I couldn't be more proud of him, but I was wrong.

And now we've reached the end of this F1 journey. I'm so glad I've had the pleasure to be here since day 1. I'm so glad I could watch all his achievements, all his glories and set backs. I'm proud of the kid he was and the man he became. I'm so proud of Sebastian Vettel and I'm going to miss him so much.

It's never easy to say goodbye when one of your idols leave the sport. When Schumi left he took part of my love for F1 with him. Seb is taking a big part of it with him too. Formula 1, to me, won't be the same without him, but at the same time, I know that this sport I love is better because of him.

So I just wish him the best and all the happiness in the world in this next step of his journey, it’s been an honour of a lifetime ♥

danke seb!

[sansxfuckyou]

It doesn't translate the best

Summary: Simon has become Klaviers stand in therapist, he's still blissfully unaware of that fact, but one day, one day its really bad and he realizes he might just be this guys last support to safely speak with.

Warnings: Heavy themes, referenced suicide, referenced bullying, check tags for further warnings.

Authors Note: writing bilingual characters is hell, I used google translate for the German bits, reblogs are always much appreciated and let me know my work is good enough for more people to see.

Klavier always came off as just a bit, blunt, to Simon.

He knew when to bite his tongue, when to be quiet, when to mince words, but it felt like he just said what he wanted around the people in the agency. It was still clear that he knew the difference between don't ever fucking say that blunt and ouch, you're not wrong blunt, and was tactful of when to swap between the two, but some things he regretted saying slipped out. He's called Miles a snob, he's called Phoenix an idiot, he's dared to call Athena scary, and he's written heartfelt apologies after realizing he let it slip out.

He just has a lot of thoughts is his head, is the most common excuse people come up

And sure, Simon had taken note of how Klavier kind of, latched onto him in a sense, just spilling his heart and soul onto a silver platter for Simon to indulge; but he paid no mind as he's been told he just has that effect on people. But when Klavier keeps doing it over and over and over, digging a little deeper into his problems each time, he kind of takes to Klavier in a way that he knows he shouldn't stop; he knows he should keep listening to try and sustain. He doesn't like to know about it, but he likes to know people can keep persevering despite whatevers happened to them.

A month of this has passed by now, and Klavier comes to Simons doorstep with a pair of scissors and a comb, clearly shaking.

"Cut it off, please," and something about the desperation in Klaviers voice made Simon agree despite knowing better, the slight crack and pain in the please, it was to much to decline, "I need the ficken release."

"Ficken?" Simon asked as Klavier held out the two items, he took them, gently grasping Klaviers shaking hands for a second to still them, they were cold.

"German for fucking," Klavier sighed, running a hand through his hair, it was long, twirled a bit, loose like silk in between his fingers and it felt like the physical manifestation of his burdens when he woke up.

"Follow me," Simon stated simply, leading Klavier into his apartment, it was a bit messy, but it looked perfectly fine at the same time, he layered the mess just right, an illusion. Klavier was grasping his upper arms tightly, they were bare, he was lacking his usual flair, dressed very differently than usual; thick pants, a vest, a t-shirt, no accessories, "I like your outfit, although I must ask, why lose the flair?"

"It's a facade, I know you wouldn't care if I dropped it, I presumed at least," Klavier said as he dropped his hands from his arms, stuffing them in pockets to hide the fact they were still shaking furiously despite knowing he was safe here and no one would judge him, or expose him, or ruin him.

"I don't care, I'm flattered you think I'm safe enough to drop it around me though," Simon said as he grabbed a towel, draping it over Klaviers shoulders, the blonde dropping his vest so the towel would rest easier, "do you care if it looks good?"

"Just get rid of it," Klavier said as he stared in the mirror, Simon stood at his side, combing through hair until it straightened enough, and he brought up the scissors slowly, "there, leave that much."

"Okay, you're not allowed to get mad if it doesn't like good," Simon said, angling his scissors and loosely cutting clumps around that length to try and let it keep a bit of body in the process, the visible relief in Klaviers form as it stopped shaking and stopped tensing was comforting to see he was doing a good job, "is there anything on your mind?"

"I-I've been... nicht so kind to mich selber lately," Klavier said, the shake in his form returned as he reached to grip the edge of the sink, fingers spread, scabbed over cuts between digits starting to tear again, the mix of German words had Simon somewhat confused, "und, and the noose came out again."

"Again?" Simon asked as he gently ran a hand through the cut chunk of hair to loosen it up.

"Ja, grade ten, bullies, barely survived, my perseverance was lacking at the time," Klavier said, using his words in such a way it only chipped at his form of self even more, Simon noticed, he trimmed the back nice and short, large clumps scattered as they fell to the floor and Klaviers shake eased up again, then he spoke, "and they knew, they knew I was suffering and they wanted so bad to see if they could push me to die Kante and they won Simon, they won, sie beat me, sie, sie-" a shaking sob shattered his speech as raindrop tears fell from the edge of his jaw.

"Your survival proved them wrong Klavier, they won the battle, but you're winning the war, can you repeat that for me?" Simon asked gently, he rarely got to use this style of manipulation, but he was doing it for the good, he needed to drill it into Klaviers head that he is winning.

"Sie, they won the battle," Klavier said staring intently at the blood oozing from between his fingers, weakness, he stifled a sob, another clump of hair came down, "but I'm winning the war."

"You got that?" Simon asked as he finished the trimming on Klaviers hair, brushing down the blondes neck with the back of his hand, he felt a shudder before Klavier nodded, he caught the red on the Germans face in the mirror, it faded out fast when he rubbed away the dampness of the tears.

"Danke, for lending an ear and helping me just, let it out," Klavier said as he turned to Simon, finding a warm expression in place of the usual cold and stoic one most people see, "Ich bin bis über beide Ohren verliebt."

"Translation?" Simon asked as he tossed the towel to the side, Klavier following him in lockstep, the lack of burdens freeing; Simon sat on the ground in front of the couch, Klavier sat on the couch beside him to an extent.

"It really doesn't translate at all, directly at least, trust me," Klavier said as his face heated up again, completely regretting what he had let slip out, even if Simon didn't understand a single syllable, it was still something he didn't like letting out, even on paper.

"Could you try to twist it just a bit so I could understand then?" Simon asked, gently nudging Klavier, who instinctively reached to run a hand through his hair, he still could, it was just a lot shorter and the way he awkwardly changed the way he usually would was clear.

"Do I have to?" Klavier asked, glancing to Simon pleadingly.

"Yes," Simon said, tone dead.

"I... I'm head over heels in love with you Simon, fuck, I, I get it if you want me to leave now, I'm sorry, I just-" Klavier couldn't continue, shaking again, crying just a bit, Simon sat beside him and the blonde leaned into him.

"No, I don't want you to leave, I don't ever want you to leave until I can be sure you can keep fighting your own war, and now I really don't want you to leave Klavier," Simon said, wrapping his arms around the lithe frame, weaving his fingers with Klaviers, the crust of drying blood coming undone and stinging, he rested his head on the blondes, "promise you'll keep talking to me about these things?"

"I-I promise," Klavier said, going to unwrap Simons arms despite his form still shaking and tears still spilling, "I should be going now."

"Didn't you hear me? I'm not letting you go until you're calm, I don't want you to go home in a bad state and just end it," Simon explained, speaking softly so he wouldn't hurt Klaviers ears, he got a soft nod before the blonde relaxed just a bit in the tight and comforting grip.

[conquerthenight]

Hello- I just wanted to let you know that when I sort of casually decided to search the Rebecca The Musical tags on tumblr and then I saw you're one of the people who made the Rebecca The Musical playlist on youtube and oh my goodness I was so excited, I actually texted my wife in the middle of the evening to tell her, it felt like when you find out a celebrity is on tumblr! I've been listening to the playlist nonstop for the last month or so- like all of my work has been done to it, I listen to it when I exercise and I'm just really impressed by the quality of the singing and the translations etc. Discovering it really made up for not getting to see the musical in London. My personal favourite songs are You'll Never Be A Lady, Alone Again, Bottle of Memories and Mrs De Winter Is Here (and I also have a fondness for anything with Jack Favell in, he's just delightful). I love how all the characters sound- like how I can imagine them all perfectly from how strong each character comes across in how they're sung, Mrs van Hopper is so brash and obnoxious and Ich is so anxious and sweet and Mrs Danvers is such a queen and you even made me quite like Maxim, who I was always kind of indifferent to in the book. I can't imagine how you had the time and energy to do the whole thing but I'm also so very grateful that you did because I love it so much. Anyway, sorry to send this out of the blue, I just wanted you to know how much I'm enjoying your creation! (oh and especial thank you for putting the lyrics online too!)

Oh my god oh my god oh my fucking god it’s 3 am and I’m crying tears of joy!!!! Thank you so so much, I am so over the moon that you loved Fanbecca enough to write such a sweet message. I’m shaking so much I’m so happy!!!

The person who sang Ich is actually me. That’s my (very obviously American 😂) voice you were hearing. I’ll admit, “Bottle of Memories” was NOT my best vocally, so I’m surprised that was your favorite, but I’m so glad you liked it. My friend Daytona was Maxim and he was also the one who did the editing and uploading of all the videos. I’ve gotten multiple messages from people who have said that he got them to like (or at least sympathize with) Maxim after previously not liking the character. That to me is a huge testament to how dedicated he was to the whole role. Our Danny is definitely a queen, I adore her. She also put her entire soul into this project. She’s German singing in perfect English and I just can’t hype her up enough.

This is the first time anyone’s commented on our Favell and Van Hopper (fun fact, our Danny had to step in as Van Hopper for “I’m An American Woman” because we did last minute rewrites to that song and our original Van Hopper and the understudy we had on standby weren’t available). Both of them absolutely slayed, I absolutely HATED “You’ll Never Be A Lady” until I heard her sing it. The guy who did Favell has actually been part of Fanbecca since Daytona and I finished writing the first draft of lyrics back in early 2019. Mrs. Van Hopper was also part of an earlier draft in 2020. Both of them came back for the final drafts and I cannot thank them enough.

Also, I never got to see Rebecca in London either. Couldn’t afford it and I live on the wrong side of the world so I spent my time on Tumblr and the casts’ Instagrams to see what I could of it. I also got my hands on an audio and that cast was incredible. Lauren, Richard, and Kara my absolute beloveds 🥰.

Thanks again for your ask and your follow, and my apologies for the rambling in my response XDDD

[archduchessofnowhere]

Were they just honoring the exact same family members when they named Reichstadt and FJ or...Sophie gurl please.

JGJGHJSJK you know this idea actually crossed my mind, but basically yes, it just happened that the Habsburg's name pool was as big as their gene pool. But this actually is an interesting question, so let's take a super brief look at Habsburg naming!

As frustrating as it may be for us that everyone on this dynasty had the same three names, there was a logic behind it. Historian Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger in her fantastic biography of Empress Maria Theresia puts it best:

In the House of Habsburg, Christian names were always chosen from the same limited reservoir of saints, in ever varying order. The aim was not to stamp children as one-of-a-kind individuals but to mark dynastic identity and continuity.

While Stollber-Rilinger is specifically talking about the mid 18th century, some decades before the world turned upside down and many things changed forever, this naming convention kept being truth for the Habsburgs until the end of the dynasty. For example Franz Josef's son Rudolf was named after Rudolf I (1218-1291), the first king of the Romans from the House of Habsburg. The intention of marking Rudolf 's "dynastic identity and continuity" was clear. On top of that, it was also very usual to name a child after their godparent(s), who were often family members. It's not surprising, then, that most male members of the House of Habsburg in the 19th century were called a combination of Franz, Ferdinand, Karl, Josef, Ludwig, Otto or Leopold.

With that overview on Habsburg naming done, let's move on to the two cousins in question: Napoleon "Franz", Duke of Reichstadt and Franz Josef I.

From left to right: Archduke Franz Josef, future Emperor of Austria; Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt; Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, future Duchess of Aumale.

As I said before, I don't know that much about Reichstadt other than the very basics, so I apologize beforehand if there is something wrong here, since I'm not in the loop of which are the best sources about him. In the same way, if there were any particular naming conventions in the House of Bonaparte, I'm not aware of them. That being said, let's look at the King of Rome's names!

Reichstadt's full name was Napoleon François Charles Joseph. Napoleon obviously after his father, a no brainer in my opinion: Little Napoleon's birth was basically a statement that the Bonaparte empire was here to stay. Then we have "François" whose German version would become in the name he would go by during his lifetime. This was after his godfather, his maternal grandfather Emperor Franz. "Charles" was in turn after his paternal grandfather Charles Bonaparte. Finally "Joseph" came from his second godfather, his uncle Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain.

I find this naming very interesting, because Napoleon was creating a dynastic identity, rather than continuing it. And by throwing Emperor Franz's name in the mix, he joined the identity of his new dynasty with the Habsburgs.

Now let's look at FJ's name!

Sophie and Archduke Franz Karl's firstborn was named Franz Josef Karl. Were did these names came from was surprisingly harder to check than Reichstadt's names, because all the biographies in English that I checked on the Archive just straight up skip his baptism? I had to look for information about it in András Gerő's Hungarian biography of FJ using a machine translator. As I suspected, Emperor Franz was also the godfather of this grandson. In fact, old Franz full name was "Franz Josef Karl" so my guess is that all of FJ's names are after him.

At the time of his birth Franz Josef was several people behind the throne of Austria, yet given that there wasn't much hope in Crown Prince Ferdinand producing an heir, that he might one day succeed was not out of the realm of possibility; perhaps naming him exactly like his imperial grandfather was intentional. In any case, it followed the conventional naming rules of the House of Habsburg. By the way, the future Emperor of Austria was always just called "Franz" or "Franzi" amongst his family, he chose to ascend to the throne by the name of "Franz Josef" because he also wanted to be associated with Emperor Joseph II. Yet another example of Habsburg names marking "dynastic identity and continuity".

Now to finish the ask let's address the elephant in the room, the reason why are we looking at the names of these two cousins in particular instead of literally anyone else. Could Reichstadt had been, in fact, FJ's father?

Rumors about Reichstadt and Sophie being too friendly had in fact been going on even before Franz Josef was born. However, I think pretty much no one believes that him being the future emperor's father is possible. Let's look at what one of Reichstadt's biographers, Octave Aubry, has to say about this:

It has been asserted that Reichstadt was the father of Franz-Josef. The contention does not stand investigation. The friendship between the two lovers did not begin until after the birth of Sophie’s first child. As for her second, Maximilian, who was to be born in July, 1832, and to die in Mexico, such a filiation is not at all impossible. But in that direction everything is conjecture. If the two lovers themselves knew, they kept their secret. They loved each other: that is the only thing certain.

I've only read some fragments of this biography very superficially, but just by this you can tell that Aubry not only believes that an affair indeed happened, but also that he totally ships Reichstadt and Sophie lol. So if even him, who I believe is one of the main biographers to held the belief that they were more than close friends, doesn't buy into the rumors, then truly there isn't any evidence to back this up. About what I think about Max potentially being Reichstadt's son I already answer it in another ask.

Finally, I wanted to note that Reichstadt was very fond of his little cousin Franz Josef. He would often play with with him, and took him in his walks with Sophie. I found in Aubry's biography this very touching moment between them from when Reichstadt was already on the verge of death:

He asked to have little Franz-Josef brought to his room, for the lad’s charming ways delighted him. He stroked his hair repeatedly, and showed him little objects that he thought would amuse him and then finally held him in a tight embrace for a moment, dreaming. The child looked up at him, earnest, bored perhaps. His nurse came for him and his big cousin released him with a sigh.

I like to believe that Reichstadt was happy to share names with the cousin he loved so much.

[ausmaeandern1102]

240524 2226

ya, it is very sad that i am unable to apologize for things quoted or cited without the intention of meaning, being the same, or enjoying dark allusions that may have been present in the cited or quoted things.

it is also very sad that i cannot know whether or not i will receive support in a matter that is clearly at least my own will, while not receiving this support will completely nullify any my own will.

it is very much unlucky for me that i must remain unwilling to further explain the latter most important things that i found, which i was so kind to ⚁ ⚄ put on my funny keyboard in this silly fashion, and it should have been cubes, but i could not find any in unicode; i don't want to have my simple heart ripped out by public in this case, but i can assure that if my original hope i started with would have found a forgiving estimation enough as to have been deemed at least believable, that, then, i can say, that my hope has grown the same way it has started from 0 to what it started with, but i might as well say doubled.

so i am very happy, even though, i did not write. and even though i made these or those allusions, most of them grazed unintentiously, wandering alone in a world which is against me, and the others might also be reevaluated, considering the happiness i feel for being able, having the time, to map out, to myself, or having found, a perfect fundament, maybe the only, for a lasting relationship, be it though, by chance, or misfortune, deprived of the necessity to function in this world.

feeling my stability would have been, ironically ironically, tremendously enhanced, 𫠈 has been actually the most troublesome part of the last days. so i also put it on the keyboard, in order to have it available, not needing to find a word for it, but i fear i must, once, say, what it means, and i guess it has something to do with contagiousness; but, otherwise, i'm happy with living in dreams and not being able to change my ⻅, my house situation, so i also got this now, on the keyboard. fine.

ya, i don't know why i write this, the following, i made up some new signs, which i also will basically not release, they only there to help me refocus my mind, or remodel,, it. and maybe i could expand on these signs. yes. good. also could expand on my english, make it more floating and withstanding, yet, would be against my former yinxiao and weixiao,, english, yes, blind belief and demonstrative.

still, noone ever was christian, yet it means and meant and means something, any kyo is far superior, and rounder, in its capacity and potential and comprehensiveness. and the others are plainly and easily knowable and simply wrong, wrong a 100%, flat everything, flat all, flat any relation, flat all time.

ya, idk why i wrote this in english, surely took a lot of time finding words. and while at least seen from a sun## way, in german 18a( eld yixiao is no circle, and being able to stand still and remain silent would have been the prerequisite to being socially acceptable, while the world had an open window, at least seen from the laotian laodeng laomeng point of view, and the yet at the forementioned time remaining and ever-remained unanswered question of the future of mankind, which would be the question of q39 / e5, .... be it the silent silent silent gaota of ok/dv bunthaarig simple language, or be it the influence of tripled languages, which is new, with the siyingkou, where the ability to remain calm, yet juggulating, within double fields seems to have been ....

ya, ist ja auch egal. mir fällt auch nichts ein. ach so, und ständig diese flutschbrotschweine aus dem internet, von ihrem flutschbrotgeheimdienst, und ihrem space travel, die dann transportation erfinden, für die gender rights, und die sich mit ihrem klingelhandy wohl einen spaß zu viel erlaubt haben.

aber bevor's jetzt wieder los geht, und der flutschbrotgeheimdienst seinem geschäft hinterhergeht, aus jedem winkel jeder möglichen lüge zum sieg zu verhelfen, um ein bißchen einfach caraobinne zu bleiben, wertlos in allen punkten und ohne verdienste für gar nichts, einfache kichernde tiere, die sich die mehrheit erstohlen haben und die wahrheit gleich doppelt besiegt haben, die wahrheit, die sie nie hatten, und einen hübschen staat sich bauen wollen, auf dem weg zur weißheit, nach jerusalem, und zu einem zustand, wo niemand mehr zwischen robbery und robbery unterscheiden kann, aber es ist eben noch immer der LHA, der untertier ist, zu 100% krankmacht, und gar nichts anderes kann, keine überlieferung hat außer runterfallen und seinen sequenzen, und auch keinen ölschlüssel jemals haben wird, und keinen einfachen verstand, und auch keine liebe.

tya. also ich weiß auch nicht, ob ich den text lustig finde, wenn faktisch ich dem ganzen nur ausgeliefert bin, und wenn sie alle nur walisisch sprechen wollen, usw usf.

ya, this very sad.

[gabrielutau]

I'm creating my website right now, I was adding some links from the VBs I uploaded on MediaFire. And going through the voicebanks, I eliminated A LOT. Of the 15 voicebanks I had, I got rid of 9, and I feel… I made the best choice ever hahaha The Gabriel Kuratorane's discontinueated voicebanks are Chinese - CVVC Chinese - VCCV English - X-SAMPA Japanese - VCV【Sad Append】 Japanese - CVVC Multilingual Portuguese - VCCV Spanish - VCCV Castellan Spanish Spanish- Lineas nJokis Costa Rican Spanish I want to publicly apologize for my low quality in the voicebanks, I always wanted to give the best quality possible, but I have never achieved my goal, I am very sorry for having done such a bad job, and now I fully recognize it. The voice banks that are uploaded still doesn't have the necessary quality that I'm looking for, but I leave them since they are the best that I uploaded on my Mediafire page. The 5 Gabriel's voicebanks I left available for public use are listed next Last part English - Arpasing English - CZloid's German - X-SAMPA Japanese - VCCV Romaji French - VCCV X-SAMPA Japanese - VCV Thank you so much for you support and following, I'll do my best to improuve and right my wrongs in this topics. Have a great night people.❤️

[goji-pilled]

Okay @princekirijo you want an essay? Well here it is now, or as I like to call it Felix's "Asumari is great and this fandom has no fucking taste" rambling and infodump. Congrats fellas, thanks to Prince you ALL get an asumari essay. But before that I'll try to give you a rundown of Mari and Asuka. 

(I'm also so sorry for putting this long ass post on everyone's dashboard)

(Spoiler warning for Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time!!)

Alright on one hand we have Mari Illustrious Makinami. Her whole deal? She's a walking ray of sunshine, literally lol. Unlike any other character in the Evangelion franchise she doesn't suffer from her trauma, she's quite literally the only healthy and functioning human being, she's just slightly leaning towards "batshit crazy" with the stunts she pulls 🤷‍♂️. Other than that she just loves living, she loves being with people, she keeps moving forward, stays positive and decides to live life to it's fullest even after she experiences loss and multiple apocalyptic events (Second Impact, Third Impact, etc.) and she really just embodies the joy of living. That's all there is to her, or at least all we know.

On the other hand, we have Asuka Langley Shikinami who is... well it's hard to explain what she is to be honest. She's part-German and part-Japanese and part of a line of clones specifically made with the purpose to pilot an Evangelion and later on be used as a sacrifice to trigger another Impact (ITS COMPLICATED I KNOW-) Asuka is, unlike Mari, very much suffering from her trauma. She doesn't have her parents and has a very deep seated belief that she's completely alone, which she says doesn't matter as long as she can pilot the Eva. She also very much wants to fight and kill angels all by herself, and it's seriously messing with her when she can't achieve that.

Now we get to the more interesting parts (hopefully this so far wasn't too confusing, then again it's Eva and even I can't fully wrap my head around it all LMAO)

In the second Rebuild movie (Evangelion 2.0 You can (not) advance) we get introduced to both of them, Mari's introduction scene (in the original English dub) has her pilot an Eva and singing about how she'll take the world on by herself, while in the third movie's (Evangelion 3.0 You can (not) redo) opening scene she's piloting the Eva again but this time it's together with Asuka (in her own Unit 02 though) and during that Mari sings about how wonderful it is not to be alone. It's nothing big yet, but it's a really cute detail me thinks,,, you know what else I love about them? They bicker and they banter and it's genuinely so fun to listen to shskdhsuwj

(For a quick catch up: During the end of 2.0 Shinji (the protagonist) triggers another apocalyptic event, the Near Third Impact, and was only stopped due to Kaworu (the guy in my pfp) stepping in. Also between 1.0/2.0 and 3.0/3.0+1.0 are about 14 years (without Shinji bc he's like comatose) where A LOT happens AND we learn in 3.0 that Eva pilots don't age physically bc of "The curse of the Eva"... honestly Eva is wild lmao)

Okay okay I'll get back to it!

So one thing that happens is that Asuka during 2.0 develops a crush on Shinji (girl why-), unfortunately things take a turn for the worse. Asuka had volunteered to be the testpilot for a new Eva (Unit 03), she seemed happy at the time and it was a really sweet build up with the "I can smile, I didn't know I could still do that."-line. And then? Then it turns out the Ninth Angel had infected Unit 03 (Angels are basically the Kaijus they fight using Evas btw). The thing goes on a loose and Shinji is forced to fight it (With Asuka inside mind you), he refuses and his father uses an autopilot to destroy Unit 03. And boy did it destroy the angel, well it and it crushed Asuka between its jaws (you can actually hear her scream btw haha pain :)).

Asuka survived though, but the whole incident cost her her humanity and she ended up becoming an angel herself/she took the place of the Ninth. But despite that, there's one person who keeps believing in Asuka's humanity, who fiercely believes Asuka is still a human and tells her as much.

Yep, that one person is Mari and she keeps holding onto that belief until the very end when Asuka uses her last resort, which is using the power of an angel (Doing so was a guaranteed death sentence btw). Mari's own words (in the German dub) were, "Princess, you're giving up being human…" AND IT MAKES ME SO EMO GOD FUCK

While I'm at it, Mari and Asuka are a fucking killer combo as a team. They rely on each other for support in combat, listen to the other's orders and advice. Especially in Asuka's case it's kind of a big deal that she so openly relies and counts on Mari's support. Like these two trust each other with their damn lifes!!! Holy shit!!

Guess what though, they also have nicknames for eachother. Mari always calls Asuka "Princess" or "(Your) Highness" while Asuka calles Mari "Four-eyes" / "Four-eyed chrony (idk how you spell that tbh RIP" Even better though, in the German dub Asuka calls Mari "Brillerella" as in a combination of "Brille" (German for glasses) and "Cinderella",,,,Cinderella and her Prince,,,Brillerella and her Princess,,, man, that was a gay fucking move of the translation team. Spoiler: I owe them my life.

Funfact: There's exactly two times throughout the Rebuild movies where Mari uses Asuka's actual name. These two times being when she watches Asuka "die" and be used as a sacrifice for Gendo's selfish plan and when later on she begs Shinji, "So please the Princess… Asuka needs your help!" And the best part? That wasn't even the first time she did that. The mentioned line came from 3.0+1.0, but she did that too in 3.0 with the, "At least save the Princess!" line (although her tone was much more...pissed, like she was really angry lol)

Remember the crush Asuka had on Shinji? Well due to the Unit 03 incident a whole lot of other shit got mixed into that and her feelings for him in general became really bitter (understandably so). Now Mari being who she is sometimes teases Asuka about said old crush but she really does want Asuka to get closure and sort that mess out. 

As an example for the teasing, in 3.0 there's a scene that goes like this (please imagine Mari with a literal :3 face while saying that):

"Unit! Are you back in the game?"

"I'm on it, your Highness. But first things first, how was our little puppy (Shinji)? Did he sit like a good little boy?"

"He's exactly the same! Same stupid face talking mayhem!"

"That goofy face of his, that's what you wanted to see? Riiiiight?"

"Shut up! I went there to bat him one!... And I feel better!"

There's also a very short bonus manga that was released in Japan for Thrice Upon a Time's release that has Mari trying to convince Asuka to come with her on the mission to get Shinji, given everything that follows, it's just another thing to prove my point. And the final bit relating to that is this:

"Feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I do feel better."

That's the exchange Asuka and Mari have after they talked to Shinji, it's nothing special but I think it's really sweet and this time Asuka actually sounded like she was feeling better instead of when she was screaming after she nearly broke pretty thick glass with her fist (If she had hit someone with that much force she definitely would've broken something omggg #violentimpulsesgang)

To get back on track though: I already mentioned it but during the second half of 3.0+1.0 Asuka "dies" (and honestly that entire scene is worth its own in-depth post because its just one huge parallel to The End of Evangelion), the point is: You can tell that the loss of Asuka honestly hits Mari hard. Not only because of how Mari screams Asuka's name but also because of her expressions. They're pained, like really fucking pained and Mari even apologizes to her that she has to fall back due to the fact that she's injured AND because eveything is going wrong.

After the events of Evangelion 3.0 these two got seperated from eachother, Mari was with WILLE (the organization both of them are with) and on board of Wunder (the ship WILLE basically operates from) while Asuka was in a Village full of (Near) Third Impact Survivors. When they do meet again it went like this:

Asuka, barely back, comes to the door and calls, "I'm back." And within seconds of Asuka stepping into their room after the door opens Mari already runs towards her, arms wide open and she says, "Welcome back, your Highness! Good job. I missed you so much!" And she says that while she literally nuzzles into Asuka,,,like,,,what the fuck gay people real!!! 

Best part? Asuka clearly has enough strength to push Mari completely away if she were uncomfortable, but she doesn't. Asuka merely wanted enough space to look at the room (because Mari managed to horde even more books lol) and play her game. During their entire renunion Mari keeps hugging her, and part of me thinks that perhaps deep down Asuka actually enjoys the feeling of physical affection.

Before we get to the last point though, let me say that Asuka and Mari have scenes in 3.0+1.0 that parallel Shinji and Kaworu's from 3.0. (Fyi Kaworu loves Shinji (yeah, like that, and 3.0 was basically them being gay as fuck for an hour) so like...do I even need to explain? 

And then of course there's also this, the "Take care of yourself, Princess…" line. That is the last time Mari talks to Asuka and as much as that line alone already is so much, it's Mari's expression in particular that kills me. Because this? This soft, almost bittersweet expression she has, as she basically says goodbye? Because she knows Asuka will finally be happy and safe? It just makes me feel so much actually. Man.

In the end it's a fact that Mari loved Asuka, wether that is interpreted as platonic or romantic by someone is up to them. But it is a fact that Asuka was loved enough that someone wanted to hug her, was happy to see her, to praise her, was hurt by her loss, wanted her to be safe, that someone told her "Take care of yourself…" Asuka was really and honestly so loved that someone would tell her, "I missed you."

But Asuka? Asuka was too hurt, too wrapped up in her own head to actually see how loved she was by Mari (and other people) that she genuinely believed she's completely alone and always will be alone.

It makes the "Take care of yourself" line hit even harder to me, because it's not only Mari's goodbye, but it's a goodbye during the one time Asuka allowed herself to be vulnerable and admit what she really wanted.

And honestly? All of this? Its makes me feel so many things and I just love them  so much man.

[lov3nerdstuff]

Hi Kay!

I just wanted to take a moment and say how deeply moving (and overall comforting) I find your writing to be! I've gone through almost the entirety of your masterlist twice in the past month alone and have found myself returning more often to the pieces of literature/poems your reference sometimes. (Especially that one poem by Benedict Smith! I've read a few more by him because of you and they're just wonderfully lovely 💛 so I'm eternally thankful to you for including it.)

I may be wrong in assuming, but I believe you may have studied/are currently studying a degree involving literature. I hope this isn't too foreward of me but I was wandering if you have any other works of literature that you'd recommend? (I'd love to read anything you recommend from poems to plays 💛) I'm slightly embaressed to say but the works I've read are quite limited to a highschool level and since I'm currently studying Pharmacy, there are very few people who can recommend me such moving works. :)

I also feel like I should apologise for writing such a large ask, so please accept this apology as well hehe 💕🥺

Sincerely,

Bek 🌻

Hey there Bek 💚💕✨

First of all... I'm incredibly sorry for how long it took me to reply to this ask, I know you sent it weeks ago and I'm honestly just ashamed of myself for only replying now! I've been taking a bit of a Tumblr break again, or rather a break from literally everything, and I guess not having written anything in a while made me feel guilty whenever I opened Tumblr, so... All I can say for myself really is that I'm sorry you had to wait so long! Again, I never ever ignore anyone, I promise! It just sometimes takes a while for me to reply 😅🙈

Now, I'm so happy to hear that you've been enjoying my writing! 🥺🥰 Hearing that it's comforting and inspiring to you is honestly such a relief and indeed does make me happy more than I can say 💚 It's so cool that you're checking up on all the references I make aaahhh 🥺🥺🥺 I love it 😁 You're always more than welcome, love! I don't think I could stop including references to literature, culture, history and the science around it even if I tried 😅☺️

And yeah, I did study classics and newer literature as a minor for my undergrad degree 😄 But tbh I still work with literally a lot even now (I'm in grad school for media and cultural studies) even though it's technically not something I've been properly taught ☺️ I'm just a nerd who likes to learn on her own, and with media and culture you can pretty much delve into almost anything you want 😂😅🤷🏻‍♀️

Now, it's not forward at all to ask me for literature recommendations! 😁😃 I truly love recommending stuff!!! I have a few up my sleeve, even though you've probably heard of a few already, for obvious reasons: A lot of what I truly enjoyed reading was something Tom Hiddleston has worked on in one way or another! It's truly a magnificent guideline for picking new literature... Just look up the literary origins of his films/shows/plays and you will be in for quality literature most of the time! I don't think I've ever mentioned it on here, but me reading High-Rise (JG Ballard) because I heard Tom would be partaking in the film adaptation was actually what sparked my love and passion for literature!!! Yep, it's that good. Now on to the recommendations though 😁(This... got rather long):

Plays

Anything by Harold Pinter really, but for obvious reasons you'll find a lot of additionally fun stuff for Betrayal, which is lovely and truly funny if you're in on the kind of humour btw

Medea by Euripides (a classic, but I love it nonetheless... You can find translations in almost every language) ((and pls stay away from Seneca's Medea, because ugh... Euripides is far better AND the og story, as much as anyone can say that for Greek mythology)

La Bohème by Puccini (I know, this is technically an opera, but if you read the libretto it's honestly just like a play... And if you're up for it, the og story is in prose and written by Henri Murger... It's better than the opera, but oftentimes more difficult to find) ((this one is hilarious and basically explains an entire cultural subgroup in the 19th century)

Faust by Goethe (many people hate it, but I LOVE this one!!! It's also been translated into any and every language, and it's so interesting philosophically!!! It's also referenced SO freaking often literally everywhere, and the operas and ballets based on it are always my fave) ((there's technically Faust I and Faust II, but you're good to go just reading the first one)

Anything by Shakespeare, obviously... Though I do love me my Hamlet like every other literature enthusiast (Yes, I can do that one famous soliloquy in act 3 scene 1 by heart as well...)

Poetry

Again, anything Shakespeare for the win, but I LOVE the sonnets and keep a copy of them with me most of the time (Yes, I own multiple copies of the sonnets...) ((My faves are 116 and 91, but there's always so much truth to be found in there!!!))

A lot of the stuff William Blake wrote is amazing, though you have to pick carefully with him if certain religious motives aren't your thing... I love The Tyger, which is an individual poem, and the collection of works called Tyger, Tyger which does have many good ones and a few ones that are a little more on the mediocre side

Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas (I know this one by heart as well... It's beautiful, and there's a version of Hiddleston reading it on YouTube, which gives you even more goosebumps than the poem does anyway)

Invictus by William Ernest Henley (same for this one, also read by the one and only) ((I love to read this when I'm feeling down or powerless))

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot (This is another wow piece with many quotable lines and truths... I love it a lot and keep coming back to it! It's also a great example of how literary modernism tried to condense the complexity and passing of time and history into a single frame that had to be intrinsically poetical in nature... As in, this poem could've been a short story in any other period, but modernists loved to make everything a poem so here you go)

Der Zauberlehrling by Goethe (This one sucks in all English translations I’ve found, poetically speaking, but in German it’s such a fun piece! If you’ve ever seen the Disney ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ with Mickey Mouse or listened to the orchestral piece by Paul Dukas, then this poem proves very useful in truly understanding either! But again, the English translation should only be taken for informational value... The German one is also worded hilariously)

Prose

Short edited by Alan Ziegler (This is a collection of short prose forms that honestly is a must for me... I love this book to pieces and have had it for years now! It’s an international anthology, so you’ll find more and less famous authors from all around the world represented with short stories, prose poems, short essays and just curious and interesting snippets of writing! I draw a lot of inspiration from this book)

High-Rise by JG Ballard (As mentioned above, I owe this book part of my personality... I don’t think I would be the same person without having read it. It’s not necessarily full of wisdom, but if you’re interested in a different kind of portrayal of the human condition, then this is the read you need to take a look at)

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (This is another piece that changed my perception of literature, even though this is a more ordinary and ‘fun’-value read... It’s one of my favourite books and it’s endlessly entertaining! So if the classics are a bit heavy for you, this one is perfect for casual readers as well! Its value really does lie more in the realisation of how fun literature can be, and the freedom you have as an author... So really, I could recommend everything by Moers, his style is amazing both in the German original and in the English translation. Yes, I’ve read both.)

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (This is comedic gold, stylistic gold and generally a bloody perfect book. Also a ‘fun’-value read, but it also does a magnificent job at showing you what you can do with literature, and how well-developed characters are supposed to be written)

The Penguin Book of the Undead (Penguin Classics) edited by Scott G. Bruce (This book is basically an education on fifteen hundred years of supernatural encounters and how culture wrote, used and perceived them. You get introductory texts for different periods and social groups, explaining how and why ghost stories were written and used, followed by passages of the prime source texts (eg. ancient necromancy shown on The Odyssey). Really, this book is just for cultural history nerds)

The Earthquake in Chile by Kleist (This isn’t necessarily one of my faves, but it has helped me understand what studying literature and culture can do for you. In case anyone remembers my insistence in Wicked Game that you gotta know what a pomegranate symbolises... this novella is such an instance where this knowledge would prove useful. Generally, it gives many opportunities to think about privilege and circumstance)

The Symposium by Plato (You’ll probably not want to read the entire collection of speeches tbh... But the concepts introduced mainly here and in some of Plato’s other work are well worth looking into! For example, the ‘double being’ introduces a concept that in modern fiction is called soulmates... Just sayin’)

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Do you have any sort of, words of encouragement, for a Greek-American who is struggling to learn Greek? My family is pretty connected to our heritage but I was never taught to speak Greek. I am an adult now, and I know I'm at an incredible disadvantage trying to learn a new language. The most discouraging thing is when I try to pronounce a word with a sound that isn't really in English (like γ) and I KNOW I am not saying it right, but no matter how hard I try I can't pronounce it correctly.

Hello! I'm very sorry for delaying this answer for some days, but as we see here, Zeus was fucked this week 😅

I will pin my answer so you can see it when you return, and the rest will be under the cut.

I believe there are MANY reasons for hope in this situation. Of course it feels very discouraging that you don't know the language already and you might feel left behind in this process. Plus, learning a new language is not an easy thing to learn. But worry not!

You are grown, and that means you can learn a language better and with more consistency and discipline. Have trust in your skills as an adult. What is more, you have grown up around Greek speakers and you will pick up certain things faster.

You are not alone in feeling this way. Most of the world has to learn a second language (and a third, as it's usual for many) and that would be the language most dominant in the wider area. Almost every person in the West who is not an English speaker has to learn English and learn it well, otherwise we feel embarrassed every time we try and form a sentence. For example, we apologize to each other about our accents in English German and French, even though we speak Greek.

Surely there are some differences between your situation and ours, but I mentioned this to show you that most people will be very understanding with accents because they have the same struggle. I mean, I'm not going to make fun of someone for having an accent in Greek when I sound like a demented chicken in German, despite taking years of lessons 😵 I have more confidence in my English but even now that I'm writing to you in this language I have to quadruple-check my sentences and phrasing. The amount of times I apologized in advance for my accent to English speakers is higher than my credit.

I relayed your situation to other Greek speakers and non-English speakers, and ALL agreed the accent is not anything they would pay attention to and told me to write you that you shouldn't feel bad about that. I did that because I knew they would have words of encouragement for you. And it turns out they believe exactly what I'm writing in this answer.

Accents are natural. You cannot expect not to have an accent when you have been speaking a different language all your life. Beating yourself up for having difficulty with the Greek pronunciation is like beating yourself up for something normal like walking or laughing when hearing something funny. You lack practice with the pronunciation due to circumstances beyond your control. You are doing what you can to change that, and every small win is worth celebrating!

I found this post the other day:

The notes? The likes?

And NO disagreements in the comments and reblogs for OP’s statement! Look how many thousands are supportive in this! (And that’s a small fraction of people who understand accents are natural.) And some of the responses:

Sure, some mention they have met native speakers who made it more difficult to feel comfortable with their accent and phrasing. But those people are assholes in general, and not the people you want to surround yourself with. If a relative expresses disgust about your accent remind them you didn’t have any control of how much and how well you were taught Greek when you were a kid, and then tell them that if they are a true friend and relative to you, they should support you in your journey. And even if you had some control and chose not to learn, you are learning now. So they should leave their resentment behind because, honestly, what do they have to lose from you learning the language better??

For the embarrassment you feel for yourself: you wouldn't make fun of a Greek for having trouble with the “r”, "s", “ch”, and possibly the "h" when speaking English, so extend that kindness to yourself when you speak Greek. Not to mention that with enough practice and time you can nail the accent!

Worst case scenario, if the accent never leaves, that's no problem whatsoever. Anyone who thinks badly of you for your accent is probably a PoS and they don't deserve your time. No matter where you are from, if they make you feel bad for having an accent in Greek, block them from your mind forever.

But chances are that (from experience) if anyone laughs with how you said something, I guarantee they are not laughing at you but because of how strange the sound or phrasing was. The person doesn't think badly of you because of this. Making mistakes of any kind when learning a language is very natural and it's something everyone must accept. If you are not willing to make mistakes and expose your language vulnerabilities to people who know the language better, might as well not try improving at all.

If anyone corrects you, they are not doing it out of pity. The majority of Greeks do it because they are very happy you speak the language and want you to be even more fluent. Like, they are doing it as an act of backing you up, they are feeling like they are giving you that extra XP to reach the next level! Others - like me - get that rush of happiness when they get to share their language with others 😁

I remember a guy on Tiktok who was learning Greek and ordered a coffee "without sugar" in a Greek cafe but instead of saying σκέτο ("without") he said σκατά ("shit"). I mean damn that was funny! I remember it weeks after I saw the video of him telling that story and it always cracks me up. Do I still appreciate him the same as before and follow him? Absolutely! He just had an unfortunate - and funny - incident, not something that lessened his integrity as a person.

From tiktok again: An American girl wanted to pronounce γύρος correctly when ordering it, and she was mumbling to herself on camera: “yeero, yeero, yeero!!” When her time to order came she shouted “May I have a gairow? FUUUUCKK FUUCK FUCK I SAID IT WRONG” 🤣

Another example is Athena from the Bachelor 2! She has given some gems throughout the show because she doesn't know the language that well, but everyone still loves her because she spreads positivity and is so cute!! If we, as viewers, disliked her it would be because of her character, not because she doesn't know the language well. And if some of the other girls in the show don’t take her seriously is because she laughs too much and mentions feta too often, not due to her Greek level of literacy. Athena, even when she is hurting someone else’s feelings, is always so genuine and you just can’t be mad at her!

I really can’t stretch enough how people laugh at the mishap, not the person! Please don’t feel discouraged if you ever see a Greek laughing with the pronunciation of an English speaker when it comes to Greek words (which I have done as well) because we never laugh at the speakers. We don’t even know them! We might laugh at one mistake but then instantly want to become this individual’s friends because we think they are amazing (see the three examples I mentioned above, the sugar guy, the gyro girl and Athena). Because that’s the normal thing to do; laugh at fun stuff and not judge people for their small mishaps. (In a casual setting, and not to an uncomfortable degree ofc!)

There are so many things to a person other than their accent and the accent becomes old news really fast. What remains is how the presence of a person makes you feel and if they are a good individual. If an English speaking friend says yatakai instead of γατάκι that opens the way for sooo many jokes! Greeks will laugh, do some YATAKAAIIII screams - ninja style, and then continue being friends with that person!

Greeks makes these mistakes as well... A Greek once said "arrive arrive" (φτάνει φτάνει) instead of "enough" when an English speaker was filling his glass. A Lower English degree caught fire that day 🤣 I have many bad examples of Greeks’ mistakes in English but I can’t remember a lot. But I’ve seen many videos of Greeks mocking themselves for how they sound in English. You can take a look at Tsipras’ (our former prime minister) mistakes on youtube if you are feeling brave 😂 (Ο Τσίπρας μιλάει Αγγλικά)

So, own your possible mistakes, laugh at them and move on because everyone makes them and we better have some good while we are struggling!

(( For the record, we are not making fun of Tsipras because of his accent, but because 1) he doesn’t know γρι English and yet he rarely brought a translator with him in international meetings with world leaders, 2) he could absolutely not hold a conversation with negotiating or discussing 3) he didn’t take steps to improve or fix the situation (like bring a translator). 4) Instead, he chose to torment us all with mind-numbing hours of reading English texts and making other world leaders struggle to explain to him what they meant for the nth time and meetings move at a snail pace.))

Alright, now that I cringed with the memory of Tsipras speaking English, I’ll go though the recommendations for improving the Greek pronunciation.

1) Go to my resources for learning Greek (#learn greek) where I have many videos where you can hear the sounds individually or withing other words very clearly. Easy Greek on youtube has excellent videos about pronunciation!

2) Seek practice as much as possible. Some Greeks switch to English when they hear an English accent to make the conversation smoother for the other person. If Greek speakers insist on talking with you in English tell them that you would wish to speak in Greek. I've seen that people often mirror the accent of the native speaker when they speak to one, so this might work for you as well with hours of practice. If no Greek speakers are available to you now, you can find Greek Americans online – or go to their festivals – and start talking to them.

3) Listen to Greek podcasts, songs and shows. (In my blog you’ll find them at #greek youtuber #podcast #greek tv #greek movie #short film #greek music). You know when you hear a catchy foreign song and then it’s stuck in your head and you say all the words perfectly without even knowing what it means? Well, this helps with pronunciation!

4) If you had Spanish in school or have Spanish friends mimicking the Spanish accent might help you. (Our accents are extremely close! The Spanish are the best at Greek pronunciation, and vice versa!)

5) Find sounds in your native language that sound close to the sounds you want to say in Greek. In German lessons I had trouble with “ch” in certain words because I made it sound like χ and it was horrible. My Greek teacher told me to remember how χ sounds in χήνα (it sounds a bit flatter) and make that sound when I encountered “ch”. It worked actually!

To people who have English as their native language I often suggest they remember the sound of w for γ because, although not used the same in the word, at times they have the same intensity. Γ is pronounced more “to the front” of the mouth, so if you can bring that sound forward in your mouth you’ll be very close, if not accurate, to γ. (But don’t bring it too much forward, sometimes it can sound like a “y”, unless you are saying a word where γ sounds like “y”).

Greeks pronounce σ more closely to “sh” than to “s”, so you also might want to keep that in mind since σ often distinguishes the Greek accent in English for me :p

That’s all! If you have more questions or want to tell me anything else about your experience with learning Greek, feel free to send another ask or a DM!

[whosaskingwrites]

Fickle Love (Akaashi x Reader x Bokuto)

A/N: So this was supposed to be for Akaashi's birthday...whoops. But its here now lmao ngl I just kinda wrote with no idea in mind and this is what ended happening so yeah. Hope you enjoy and happy late birthday to Akaashi 💞

Details: 7.8 pages 2,758 words

Date: December 8th, 2020

Warnings: Mentions of poly relationships I guess, angst if you squint, Gn! Reader not really a warning but I didn't know where else to put it

Theme: Akaashi wasn't the best when it came to love. Having a habit of ignoring you and burying himself in work. Leading you to turn to Bokuto which leads to some revelations and a question for Akaashi.

Love was a fickle thing Akaashi knew. People fell in and out of love all the time so he never trusted love. He didn't want love he wanted to avoid it. Avoid the heartbreak he was positive would follow. But instead he met you a bright-eyed student in his class. It took almost nothing for you to mesh yourself into his life completely and making yourself comfortable like you belonged there.

It took even less time for you to weasel your way into his heart and make yourself comfortable. Only a year after you'd met and he asked you out deciding that love may not have been as fickle as he thought.

Four years later and he knew he had been wrong love was indeed fickle and his proof was in the sight across the street from him. There you stood hands clasped around Bokuto's as he kissed your cheek. He waved before running off and Akaashi rushed home preparing for the worst.

A few hours later you slipped through the door "Keiji? I'm home!" You called hearing the soft pads of feet come up to you. Love was fickle he knew you were going to lie when he asked his next question "Hey Y/n. What did you do today?" You suprised him though. Only after you'd gotten over the shock of being called Y/n and not darling.

"I went to lunch with Bokuto today," You said happily slipping off your coat and hanging it up. He certainly didn't expect you to be honest about what you did today. He loosened up a tad bit in response "Oh? Why?" You laughed at his question "Bo needs contact with us you know that. But you haven't been answering his calls so we went shopping and I filled him in on how you were. Afterwards I treated him to lunch as a thank you," You smiled up at him eyes bright with nothing hidden.

"Yeah? Did you guys hold hands so he wouldn't lose you?" He joked and you shook your head "He grabbed my hands at the end of lunch because I promised him I'd bring you next time," you had laughed remembering the incident. Relief flooded him then no of course you weren't cheating on him that'd be insane. You were as loyal as Bokuto was plus he couldn't keep a secret to save his life and neither could you. He relaxed as he realized how wrong he was to assume something.

"Im sorry," He said suddenly while you tilted your head in confusion. "What for?" You had asked before Akaashi leaned down and pressed a kiss to your forehead. "I forgot to give you your welcome home kiss," He rolled off casually hiding the fear he'd felt earlier. This fear had only continued to grow as the days went on but it was his fault anyway.

_______________________________________________________

"Keiji are you free today?" "No I'm busy," "Oh...Okay," 

"Keiji we haven't gone on a date in weeks!" "Im not stopping you from going out somewhere," "I want to go out with you though,"

"Keiji-" "Im busy Y/n,"

Two weeks this cycle continued as you walked to Akaashi's at home office. Two taps against the door and you opened it "Kei-" His eyes snapped up frustration was on his face but he took a breath before it faded. "What?" You sighed turning to leave again "...Im going out to lunch with Kotaro again. He says hi by the way," You left the room quickly and Akaashi blinked 'Kotaro?' Surely you meant Bokuto but there was no way you two were on a first name basis it'd only been a few days since the last lunch.

His eyes landed on the calender and he froze what had only been a few days to him was actually two weeks but still too short for a first name basis. You'd only know Bokuto for a few months and he'd known the male for years and still never used his first name.

He sighed returning to his work. He'd question you when you got back from lunch he didn't have the time to right now. Nor did he know your location so going to find you was like a needle in a haystack. A very big bustling city of a haystack and the needle being you with a slightly bigger needle in the shape of a volleyball player next to you.

He continued work for a few hours before his office door was thrown open. He expected many things when he looked up but he didn't expect Bokuto. But what got him was the fact that Bokuto was furious it was a look he'd never seen before on him. The glare he had on his face was enough to make Akaashi freeze. 

He knew Bokuto was typically happy like a dog but right now he felt fearful since now he staring down an angry German Shepard who was defending their owner. It was silent for a long moment before Bokuto spoke. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Akaashi felt his blood turn to ice at the tone Bokuto used.

"W-what?" He cursed silently at his own stutter Bokuto would latch onto the weakness he showed. "Whats today Akaashi?" Bokuto had asked in that same icy tone. It was so razor sharp and cold that Akaashi was convinced the room cooled and ten degrees.

"...Its December 1st Bokuto-san," He elected to answer the question instead of ask why Bokuto didn't call him Keiji. Based on the mood Bokuto was displaying he didn't expect to be called Keiji. However supplying the date only seemed to rile him up more as his glare sharpened.

Akaashi shivered involuntarily at it "Are you forgetting something?" He barked out and it was then that Akaashi realized Bokuto hadn't blinked yet. "No," he was confident in the answer. Your birthday wasn't until b/d and his was in four days. Bokutos had already passed but said male wouldn't have been mad at him. Sad maybe but not mad.

"Oh really? Then tell me why Y/n is at my place crying because you forgot that today is your anniversary," Bokuto had stepped towards him in anger and Akaashi took in involuntarily step back in fear. "They're at your place?" Akaashi asked and Bokutos jaw clenched.

"Yeah. And they are going to stay there until you sort yourself out," Bokuto growled turning and slamming the door closed with enough force to crack it. Akaashi stood frozen for a few extra moments trying to regain his composure after being afraid. He shook his head as he processed Bokuto's last sentence.

No you'd always come back to him, even if a fight had broken out between him and you, you would always come back. You had to come back he was your fiancé and the wedding was going to be in the upcoming w/f/s/s so he continued to work shaking off his encounter with Bokuto that had manage to worm a tiny bit of fear back into his heart.

__________________________________________________

Akaashi didn't fully leave his office again until December 5th. He'd left it plenty of times before then but only for something quick eat or the bathroom or something to drink. In these moments he never bothered to look around the place but now on his birthday he did.

He expected to be greeted by your sparkling voice like you had done for the past four years but instead the house was silent. "Y/n?" He called out walking around the house was still perfectly clean. The last time he could recall hearing you was on the first with the vacuum running and the patter of your feet running around.

Since then he realizes the house had been silent except for his movements. As he walked into the dining room something glinted on the table in the early morning light. When he turned to look he froze there was your engagement ring. The thin band of silver sat there almost mockingly on a yellow sticky note.

He picked up the note and written on it were a few simple words. 'They aren't coming home - Bokuto' his brain filled in the missing words Bokuto had told him a few days ago "Not until I fix myself," he mumbled thumbing at the sticky in his hands. He knew what Bokuto meant he'd been borderline ignoring you for weeks to work.

Thoughts of your anniversary had left his mind but he didn't think it was that bad until right now. Forgetting had been the final nail in the coffin for you but he still had a chance. You weren't gone forever just temporarily misplaced. He rushed to shower and go buy flowers his brain running a mile a minute trying to figure out how to get you back and apologize.

He felt nervous and he was unsure of why until he remembered where you had taken up residence. Bokuto had never been scary to him, just a bright ball of happiness but the fear Bokuto had instilled in him a few days ago had lingered, and he was about to walk right into the lion's den.

__________________________________________________

He couldn't see you as he approached the door. Maybe you were tucked away upstairs or in a place the windows didn't show but he'd seen Bokuto. The male was pacing clearly on edge and definitely dangerous but Akaashi would have to face him sooner or later so with a shaking hand he knocked.

Only half a second later the door swung open and Bokuto stood there mouth set in a hard line. Akaashi fought to supress the shiver that wanted to trail up his spine. "Is Y/n here?" He asked and once again cursed himself for sounding so meek. It was just Bokuto he wouldn't hurt him the man couldn't even hurt a fly! Although that sentiment didn't hold much when he felt like he was staring down the loaded barrel of a gun.

"Yes," Bokuto answered after a few beats of silence. His eyes raked over Akaashi's form judging him and seeing if he was ready to have Y/n back. "Can I see them? I'd like to talk," He was definitely playing with fire when Bokuto looked back up at his eyes. "About what?" He asked lowly Akaashi noted that Bokuto was staying quiet which meant you had to be downstairs. "I'd like to apologize for ignoring them and forgetting our anniversary," Bokuto nodded once before swinging the door closed.

He blinked in mild suprise "Bo-Bokuto-san?" He questioned wondering where he went wrong that warranted the door being closed. He was about to knock again when the door opened revealing you. Your h/c hair was slightly messy and e/c eyes half lidded in sleep.

What Akaashi didn't like was the MSBY jersey that swallowed you figure. The number 12 emblazoned on the front and long enough to cover your thighs. He couldn't tell if you were wearing pants but he hoped you did. You never walked around his house like this unless it was after a fun night but he couldn't assume things. Not now and he especially couldn't accuse you of cheating when Bokuto was on the staircase right behind you.

He could see that the golden eyed male was poised to attack when the conversation would start heading south. You tilted your head in confusion "Hello Akaashi," You had mumbled and he did flinch then. No pet names or his first name no, you had decided on formal. "Hi darling," He whispered the pet name but you merely shook your head.

"Why are you here?" The genuine confusion on your face made Akaashi feel a lot worse about everything. "Im here to apologize and seeing as its my birthday id like my present from you to be going on one date with me," He said slowly "Please," was tacked on as an afterthought. You turned your head eyes meeting Bokuto's and Akaashi hated the jealousy that crawled up his spine when his eyes softened.

"Um actually Akaashi I wanted to talk to you about something," Your hands had balled into fists tightly gripping the hem of the shirt you wore. A nervous habit you had whenever something scared you. He felt his heart drop in response to those words and you shook your head. "No no! It's nothing bad- well I guess that depends on how you feel about it," You were quick to try and sooth him and Akaashis heart swelled at the fact that right now even if you weren't getting along you still worried about him.

He didn't even realize you had led him inside until he was on the couch. His eyes trailed over you figure as you sat across from him. The shirt rode up enough exposing part of your thigh and Akaashi could see the hem of a pair of shorts. They followed their path until his eyes rested on the new gold band around your ring finger. It was decorated in a series of small gems that were the same blue as his eyes and he took a deep breath.

"What is it?" He lightly questioned when the silence began suffocating him. Bokuto was behind him somewhere he felt the stare being burned into his back. The second this conversation possibly turned south Bokuto was ready to jump in. "Well...I was wondering how you felt about the two of us becoming um...three of us?" You looked down afterwards hands nervously ringing together.

"...three of us?" He wanted more clarification were you implying a kid or something else? You hummed meeting his eyes before they flickered to the male that was behind him 'oh' it pieced itself together then. You were implying a poly relationship with him and Bokuto. He must have been quiet for too long since your hands began rubbing at your sides.

He scrambled for an answer he knew he was unbothered by it but this was...The two of you were only a few months away from getting married and you wanted to add Bokuto into the mix? Now of all times? He took a shuttering breath as he thought.

"Well...I guess I have to call the restaurant and tell them to change the reservation for three people then," he offered a small smile and your head whipped up. "Really?" You whispered and he could only supply a nod. 

"Yeah now when I'm busy with work the both of you can harass me into taking a break," it was a poor attempt at a joke but you had laughed anyway. He heard a chuckle from behind him as well and he breathed out a sigh of relief. "Keiji are you sure? I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything...," you trailed off and he smiled "im sure but are you sure about Bokuto? Hes a little chaotic," He asked "Hey!" Bokuto had an immediate reaction to the accusation.

You laughed reaching out and taking his hand "So is it a fancy dinner place?" You asked as Bokuto came over to take your free hand. He watched your thumb move back and forth across Bokutos hand a comforting gesture and he noticed the minute shake of Bokuto's hand. Unconsciously he reached out with his free hand and took Bokuto's which seemed to startle him slightly as wide gold eyes met his.

Akaashi gave a light squeeze and Bokuto settled with a sigh. "Its the restaurant I originally proposed at so yeah I'd go with fancy," he answered after a second. "You're making me get dressed up for your birthday dinner? Despicable really," you dramatically sighed and he found himself laughing. "Well I suppose we don't have to go since you've already given me the best present I could ask for today," He smiled tilting his head to the side and looking at Bokuto who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with a look of concern on his face.

"You alright Bo?" He looked up at the unfamiliar nickname eyes meeting Akaashi's once again. "M'fine just...I don't own a suit," He said quietly. The silence that stretched afterwards for a long moment before you broke it. "Kotaro what do you mean you don't own a suit you're a professional athlete!" "It wasn't an issue until now!" He shouted back love was fickle yes but as he watched you and Bokuto interact he knew

It was fickle but he wouldn't trade it in for anything.

[drowningisinevitable-retired]

[meta] If you character were the champion or offspring of a mythological deity, which would it be and why?

[meta] You've posed me a question that I've literally spent days pondering in an attempt to get the answer just right, and I already know that I haven't, so this is going to be long. And ramble-y. And I apologize.

The idea of choosing any mythological deity is hard, so I decided to narrow it down a little bit. I'm sticking with Hellenistic mythology because that's what I know the best, but Celtic or Germanic would have also worked really well; after all, the Tuatha De Danann are often considered fae in this day and age, and the nix, from an etymological standpoint, is related to Germanic folklore. Still, I'm best with Greek mythology after going through that phase and still technically going through that phase, so here we gooooo.

I think, for starters, it's important to consider that, in Greek mythology, nymphs are already considered the children of deities. Often minor river deities, in the case of naiads, another name for nixies or freshwater nymphs. Many of the ones with names had cult-like followings in Ancient Greece, and, while not deities, they were seen as incredibly important. Many were the handmaidens of other goddesses, like Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

So, the question of Mina being the offspring of a mythological deity is kind a given. Take your pick of any minor river god, and there were plenty of them. For big names, she wouldn't be the child of Poseidon; wrong type of water. Ares, as a god of war, might be a good choice for a hunter, but while strategic and, at times, militaristic in her line of thinking, Mina’s not warlike at all. Apollo, among many other things, was thought to be a god of truth and knowledge, as well as music, all things that Mina really values. She easily could have been the daughter of his and another nymph, and she might have spent her days laying by the river, playing the lyre and tricks on unsuspecting mortals that walked past her.

But... I don’t think she would have been the daughter of Apollo. I’m more inclined to just believe she was the daughter of some minor river god and be done with that because, at the end of the day, even though Mina’s devoted her life to her dad’s cause, paternity isn’t the most important thing about her; it’s what she’s chosen to do with her life. Mina isn’t the kind to stay still. She wouldn’t be good at just singing by the river for the rest of her many, many years. I think that she would have been the champion of a god that travels, that explores, that hunts. I suppose that what I’m saying is that I think Mina probably would have been one of Artemis’ handmaidens. Constant travel, constant hunting of beasts, constant company (something that she’d refuse to acknowledge she wants but is something that she desperately craves). There’s also the fact that hunting communities like that are things that she knows well, as is surviving out in the wild. 

So, yeah, That was very, very long, and I hope it made sense! As always, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[atziraphale]

About me

Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you all!

I really prefer not to share my name on here, call me Ef, my pronouns are he/him and I am a boy, I'm gay and in a happy and healthy relationship.

I'm 25+ years old and I've been running this sideblog since the Good Omens series was released in 2019.

I speak English, Italian, French, Swedish, a little bit of German and a little bit of Icelandic; feel free to contact me in any of these languages.

As stated in bio: NSFT HERE IS NOT TAGGED. Nothing is tagged, I mostly reblog fan arts, pics and gif sets, but there might be some light nsft stuff. Please, if you are a minor, do not interact with me, i cannot physically check all your blogs to block minors.

About that part: I do tag the post I make, I try to be as specific as possible, but reblogged post will not be tagged. Again, please do not interact or follow me if you are a minor.

I DO TAG SPOILERS FOR EVERY NEW SEASON WE GET AS good omens spoilers, but I won't post about leaks (past, present and future). If the OG post is already tagged as good omens spoilers I usually won't tag it, if it is not tagged as spoiler in the original post, then I'll add it manually, so don't worry, no untagged spoilers 💛

If I do something wrong please feel free to correct me and I'll do my best to address the issue; I'm okay about being called out, I'm okay to apologize and correct my mistakes and I'll not make a fuss about being in the wrong, I promise, so please do tell if I'm handling something the wrong way without any second thought.

Feel free to ask anything and I'm sorry in advance if the reply won't be immediate!

Have a splendid day, thank you so much for listening!!

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes

Still recovering from the injuries when they rescued Samantha and Maxine, Soap and France er- John and Francine sits out on the next mission and enjoys a little rest and recreation. Comfy right?

Chapter 8 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Previous Chapter : Alex - Just Like Old Times

"Experiment 001"

John 'Soap' MacTavish

Task Force 141 - Off Duty

London, United Kingdom

John barely passed the Physical Test and he was excited that he made it just in time with their next mission. But what he didn't expect was that he was already too late to tag along. They were headed to an Augustus base from a lead they got from Alex, who actually convinced the whole local militia to join his cause. He noted not to underestimate him despite the lack of limbs as that was his specialty back in the CIA.

Now, with enough time and approved Rest and Recreation, he can't believe they're driving to London. He didn't know how it happened but a few nudges and teases from France and they were actually driving his trusty jeep on their way to a local coffee shop she wanted to visit.

"You seem happy for someone who sits out in a fight." Soap commented as France's hair blew softly as the jeep sped across the empty highway.

"Well, I can't force myself out there, might as well enjoy the little freedom from the gunfire and chaos." she cheered, raising her hands openly like a tourist or someone from a music video. Soap rolled his eyes toward her behavior but when he thinks of it, he might use some relaxation himself.

"So, we're really driving to London for coffee? We could've just brewed some back at the base, you know?" he informed, eyes turning to the road. 

"Oh come on Soap! Live a little! It's the relaxing background I'm looking for, the one that yells "Rest up Francine and shoot tangos later!"" she teased, Soap was still not convinced about this, he's all too focused on work, living up to the 'elite' part of the task force.

Soap continued driving and couldn't help but momentarily turn to her, how she shook her head when her hair got in the way, how she giggled at the bumps on the road and how she badgered him with a lot of questions. All of those things he seemed to like. She even told him to slow down so she could take pictures of the view and show them to Maxine when she finally remembers her, along with a few selfies with Soap.

~

"So, Soap, this is your vacation? On your phone with a cup of coffee?" France crossed her arms as she sat in front of Soap. The Scottish looked at him, brows raised.

"Don't call me Soap out here. And I'm actually checking German news channels." he informed while not batting an eye on her.

"Really, what should I call you then, Dove?" She joked, while Soap remained unamused.

"John." he muttered.

"Really?! You don't really look like a John. Maybe... a James.. James MacTavish? Sounds better." she mused as she looked at the problematic mohawk man as he keeped raising his phone looking for a signal.

"Hey check your phone. Do you have reception or something?" Soap finally looked at her and turned to the direction she's looking at. A young woman was raising her phone just outside the cafe.

"What is she doing?" France pointed out and Soap was rendered speechless. Moments later the phone exploded into an EMP blast shattering the café windows causing the two to cover under the tables.

"Shite." John muttered and looked at France who was inches near him. France's hands were covering her ears as the ringing continued.

"Come on! Let's leave here before our ears bleed!" Soap roared, enduring the pain of the ringing as he pulled France to safety. People scattered around looking for a spot to stay which was just a few yards away from the phone. Everyone stood still and murmured as the person holding the phone crippled in pain from the said blast.

Francine forced herself off of John's strong grip and winced as she reached the blast zone, enduring the mental pain as she tried to rescue her. John took a while before he helped her up as his ears started to bleed from the ringing. Halfway through safety the phone exploded and the screeching stopped.

911 immediately responded assisting the three of them as well as those who suffered from injuries because of the blast. While being tended from behind the ambulance, a tall red-headed lady with a slick leather jacket introduced herself to them, flashing her INTERPOL badge.

"Hi. I'm sorry you got caught on the crossfire." she apologized, her tone was strict yet calming.

"Aye. It's alright ma'am. We're kinda used to it." John chuckled and Francine nodded. 

"This is kind of my case. Can I ask you for details surrounding the event that just happened?" she blindly fished her notebook and pen from her back pocket and the duo honestly told their story.

"Oh. Thank you very much. um Mr and Mrs…?"

the two of them looked at each other.

"Oh no no no. You've got it all wrong maam!" Francine quickly interrupted.

"Aye. There's no way I'd ask this woman out." John added causing them to argue and bicker like old people.

"Okay Okay. I'll address this differently. You two don't have to fight, okay?" she scolded as she answered her already ringing phone.

~

The sun was already setting when they drove back to the base. The ride was cold and quiet and the two of them didn't say a word after they bickered back at the city. Soap momentarily checks in on her while driving but France just crossed her arms and blasted music through her earphones.

John tried to talk to her about it but he hesitated, her body language was enough to tell him that she didn't need any bothering from him today, or maybe ever. So instead of saying words, he quickly turned to a small path just before the Base's entrance and drove seriously.

"Hey hey hey Mister, where are you bringing me?!" She motioned to eject herself from the car by detaching herself from the seatbelts.

"Oi Oi! Calm down. I just thought you needed a breather." he hit the brakes. They were at a small elevated area just below the river that ran behind their base. Francine slowly calmed herself down enjoying the beautiful view as John exited his jeep and walked to a tree stump.

He sat down and faced the river, the moon illuminated his hair and half of his face while France slowly descended from her seat and looked at his blue eye glow as the moonlight hit his face. 

"Cigars aren't allowed at the base. And we're still technically outside." he winked and offered her a light, a sneaky smirk escaped from his perfectly shaped mouth. 

Francine gulped.

"I don't smoke. Thanks." she gestured a no at the Scot and slowly walked toward him as soon as he turned back.

"Mmhmm.. Suit yourself." he teased as he huffed the cigar and released smoke from his mouth, pouting his lips and looked up at the sky. Francine fell quiet, but she could hear her heart thumping, telling her to say the words she wanted to say the moment they met. But she hesitated, there's no time for admiration in the middle of war. She inhaled deeply and sighed.

"This view looks spectacular." she mused, John just chuckled and puffed another breath of smoke.

"What's with you women and beautiful landscapes? Sometimes I don't get it. Like, it's just water and the sky." he complained. Francine smiled telling herself that it's a different view she was referring to. 

'The spectacular view I'm referring to is you, John MacTavish.' she smiled and told herself.

Task Force 141 Base - Lobby

Soap and France just got back inside the base and Shepherd was already looking for them. Word has it that their involvement from events that occurred earlier today alerted the General and called them into briefing.

"Agent Ryder, I believe you've already acquainted yourself with these two members of the force?" Shepherd introduced.

"Yes. It's Mr. MacTavish and Ms. Winters." the redhead nodded to them as a greeting.

"Good." The general seated himself and let the Agent begin talking.

"The case earlier was that of a Jane Doe, an American who used her phone to create a long lasting EMP blast capable of destroying nearby signal receptors at a set range. Coincidentally, one of your members also reported a bigger machine capable of doing bigger blasts back in Germany. While this may be purely coincidental, the interpol assigned me to further investigate this phenomenon as part of my job as Anti-Terror Weapon Division." she briefed, Shepherd had already talked to his higher ups and they already assigned her as part of a joint operation. 

"Furthermore, Our team wants to quickly eradicate traces of such weapons in order to restore peace and order across Europe." she added. Soap nodded in agreement, he was one of the few ones who witnessed the weapon's power and would like to take part in destroying such machinery. 

"Well Ms. Ryder. We have already discussed this. Welcome to the 141. These two will escort you around, make sure you feel comfortable and well fed with all the data you need." he muttered and shook hands with her. She nodded and thanked him as Soap and France gave her a quick tour of the base.

The tour consisted of mostly France talking, she actually got close with Agent Ryder quickly, and Soap was just there following like a dog. And he hates dogs.

"It's good to have someone like you in a place full of men. It eases off the pressure." the Agent thanked her as they dropped her off her quarters. France smiled and held her hand.

"Don't worry. These men may look tough, but then you get to know them, they're actually sweeter than us. Right, Soap?" she turned to him. 

"What are you talking about?" he easily dismissed rolling his eyes, looking everywhere but their direction.

"See?!" France giggled and Agent Ryder laughed along.

"It's a pleasure to be part of this team. Call me Alexandra. Alexandra Ryder." She said.

"Welcome to the 141, Alexandra." France shook hers and smiled. It may feel like a simple handshake but Soap felt that it was going to be an alliance that's going to last for a long time.

Next Chapter : A surPRICE Visit

Notification Squad, my beloved

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