#but also like. i had just come off of like four other stories with indian princes in em and i was starting to lose my mind

[leohamatoblog]

More Headcanons I think are 100% valid and I don't care what anyone says:

note: do you guys like the headcanons or prompts/imagines more? i like writing both but i also enjoy your feedback :)

• none of them like milk

• they're all guilty of leaving the seat up on the toilet

• they write notes to eachother on the bathroom mirror after a shower when the mirror is fogged up

• they have a group text with just the four of them and then one with april and casey

• the group text of the four of them is just a bunch of memes and gossiping

• the group text with april and casey is just them bullying casey and dinner plans

• none of them can eat thai or indian food

• while they don't get sick very often, they all get sick within a day of each other

• leo and mikey both have very sensitive skin

• raph does skin care

• donnie has the best skin out of all of them and does no skin care

• they have code words

• they all enjoy musicals

• the first time april had her period around them, due to their heightened sense of smell, all four of them literally panicked because their friend was bleeding out (like full on cold open fire scene from the office freaking out)

• speaking of the office, donnie is a big fan of it and so is leo

• raph and mikey are brooklyn 99 fans

• mikey is the master cook in the house and leo is always the taste tester

• donnie is a very picky eater

• raph can eat literally almost anything

• mikey loves horror movies but he can't watch them by himself

• leo and raph enjoy watching war movies

• donnie likes movies that are based on real events, he loves crime shows

• they all hate broccoli

• they all eat lettuce like it's candy

• since their energy is lower in the winter, they all become more lethargic and cuddlier because of it

• 'i love yous' are rare but not unheard of, they'll say it if one of them is genuinely upset or have gotten hurt in an almost life threatening way

• their ways of saying i love you:

- leo uses praise and/or compliments

- raph does head shoves/shoulder pats

- donnie will say how cool they are

- mikey just says it with no shame

• it's canon that they all have nicknames that they call each other

• mikey always controls the aux when they're driving places

• donnie does directions

• leo drives

• raph is in charge of snacks

• they have similar mannerisms when they're explaining something, they all talk with their hands a lot

• none of them can sleep without hugging something

• leo's big broisms come out whenever his brothers are sad/upset, even when he's mad at them

• raph's little broisms come out whenever he's hanging out one on one with leo

• chronic middle child donnie causes the most chaos in the lair and no one suspects it's him

• since mikey is the baby, he still gets baby treatment well into adulthood when he's upset

• they're all guilty of calling april babe at some point

• they also call her 'ape' just to make her mad

• speaking of april, they're all very fascinated by her hair and nail designs she has done

• she's the one who introduced them to skin care

• leo hates coffee but loves the smell

• raph loves red bull

• donnie can't stand the taste of dr pepper

• mikey lives off purple crush and mt. dew

• splinter still tells them stories

• they can't go to sleep without saying goodnight to each other

#rise of the tmnt #tmnt 2012 #tmnt ask blog #tmnt bayverse #tmnt donatello #tmnt leonardo #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt raphael #ask blog #tmnt 2003 #tmnt headcanons

[shut-up-rabert]

I want to shout this BAD.

Indian. Serials. Or Soap-Dramas. Are. Not. That. Bad.

I mean- I saw people arguing how being a Nagin makes no sense and I was like- so being turned into a shapeshifter vampire with bloody fangs makes sense? Hypocrisy smh.

I can name quite a few Indian shows (the Tv ones, Web series are already appreciated) that actually are amazing! They just fall short when creators choose quantity over quality.

Of course, classics like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Office Office, Byomkesh Bakshi, Malgudi days, Mahabharata and Ramayana get the praise they truly deserve! But here some relatively modern shows that get looked over due to same old Saas-Bahu genre.

Yeh unn dino ki baat hai (90s romantic drama), Har yug mein aayega ek arjun (my favourite criminal thriller), Adaalat (law-crime thriller), Beyhadh (the first season is one the best psychic-romance thrills ever), Ek Hasina thi (romantic thriller + also contains Vatshal Sheth from Tarzan the wonder car and is- chef's kiss).

Also can I say Naagin 1, no matter how much everyone bashes it today, was actually a dhasu show?

Honestly, I can add quite a few to the mix myself. Saraswatichandra? Best Romance I’ve seen till date. Ishqbaaz? Laughing out loud since episode 2. Qubool hai? The one time I like Karan Singh Grover. Laut Aao Trisha. Saubhagyavati Bhava. Bepanah. Starplus Mahabharat. Madhubala. On and on and on. Heck, even Anupama wouldn’t be so bad if it stuck to the plot and not for duniya bhar ka drama. But that’s exactly where the problem arises. All these serials start very VERY promising. They deliver well at the beginning aswell. The starting is what gets you hooked, you hope for something entertaining and they seem rather fit for that role. Sure, the overdramatism is there, but this is India, we can digest that much dhum tananananananana tere na tere na tin.

Things start going south when shows start pulling TRP. All the money hungry producers think that “hmmmm, this looks nice, I can milk it. What can possibly go wrong?” Hint: possibly everything can go wrong.

Lets look at Ishqbaaz for example. Three brother, three different perceptions of love, three distinct love stories. A shining new concept with four rather attractive leads to have the young adult population flocking, isn’t it?

It starts really great aswell. The first few episodes stick to the point very well, excessive delay like 3-4 days for like one person to turn around and shit aren’t there. It’s funny, it’s cute, it shows character arcs brilliantly. You’d expect the main leads to all fall in love, learn something and the show to end , right?

Wrong. It starts going off hinges really fast as soon as Starplus realises that the money making cow should stay. The main lead is suddenly super toxic. Shit like ghar ke bahu bete suddenly staging Agatha Christie level conspiracies and having the same intellect as Batman on shrooms becomes the norm. Drama like chhat se girkar yadaasht chale jaana, sautan ka plan samjhna, aur end m pta chlna ki bhencho sab kiya dhara heroine ki saas ka tha. Yep.

I stopped watching here but the thing is there was a look alike adla badli arc after this, so you can see how bad it went.

Next I watched, Saraswatichandra. I kid you not, it had the BEST setting one could ask for. A emotionally stinted guy coming all the way from Dubai to reject this girl, staying in her house. When everyone thinks they are getting married but they resent each other and secretly start falling in love, no? What more can one ask for? They admit their love and do actually get married while none in the families is wiser.

BUT, they had to add faltu ka natak, so add faltugiri they did. Bina baat ka action, stereotypical portrayal, heroine ki kahi aur shaadi, waha se uska talak, heroine ki sister falling in love with hero, whole family conspiring, kidnapping, yada yada yada, y’all get the jist.

The thing is, this wouldn’t be as bad if the characters still acted wisely in the bizzare situations. Or if the situations made sense. Who THE FUCK breaks their engagement a day before the wedding because they got disowned by their dad? Why did he immediately forget that he’s still entitled to his mother’s stuff? Akal kaha hai teri madarchod?

Producers butcher good storylines for paisa. People with no motivation are trying to kill bahu because they are bad. Police is not doing its job, not because its corrupt but because saas bahu ko khud detective khelna hai. Family drama mein randomly kahi se bhi chudail aa jaati hai even if the show not fantasy based. Vamp mast 16 khoon kar deti hai but still is legally allowed in the house. (Konsa law hai ye bc?) Why is everyone so out of character suddenly? WHY IS EVERYONE STUPID?

So, here’s the issue with indian serials: they don’t stick to the story, nor do they develope the story according to the characters, instead they alter the characters, premise and genre of the soap according to whatever story they think will fetch more views. This makes the whole thing bizzare.

Of course, some norms are always relaxed in dramas and a lot more in fantasy/supernatural dramas, but there’s a limit to how much there should be based on characters/ premise of what you offered in the first place.

Bhabhiji and Happu work as well as they do despite overlooking all the points I mentioned because they refresh their storyline every week and aren’t a continous saga, plus they never took themselves seriously as and always promised to be whacky. This is not true for Ganga, Saath nibhana saathiya, Sasural Simar ka, Kumkum bhagya etc., Prachi suffering by the hands of her stepsister cum co-wife even though she can easily turn the tables by making a police report for bigamy becomes frustrating to witness at one point.

Didi ye kya bakwaas likha hai, seedhey bolo na: Indian serials are indeed good and full of potential, but the producers and writers refuse to see that potential and make us flock to other dramas by diminishing our energies.

#what can i say except I’m sorry #This was asked ages ago #And I JUST found it in my drafts #god #🥹🥹🥹 🫂❤️✨ #sorry suvi #asks

[stolasbewitched]

here's another little analysis of the four bratty kids' songs + poems from the novel. this time some of them are from some research i did, and some are just things that i find interesting about some of the lines. most info here are from tv tropes btw.

augustus gloop

his song is bombastic and band-like, reminiscent of bollywood dance numbers. it's also styled after 40s mambo. it suits his overweightness and love for chocolate.

his song insults him and his appearance more than the other bratty kids' songs, which may be because while the other bratty kids are causing harm to themselves, augustus is causing harm to basically everyone by diving into the chocolate river. those chocolate are supposed to be for everyone around the world.

"nincompoop" is an actual word, and it means "a foolish or stupid person". apparently, the origin of this word is unknown, but it's believed to have come from the latin legal term "non compos mentis", meaning "insane or not of sound mind".

"great scott!" is an injection of surprise, amazement, and in this case, dismay. it was popular in the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, but is now considered dated. the novel was released back in 1964, which suits the period that this phrase would be popular in.

violet beauregarde

her song is funky and jazzy, which is styled after 70s blaxploitation funk. it also sounds like a song you would put in the background while exercising, representing violet's competitiveness.

her song (or rather poem, this part was entirely cut out of the movie) insults her the least, instead telling the story of one miss bigelow. she chewed so much that her jaws widened and expanded, which also symbolises violet's transformation into a giant blueberry. this shows that she is the least at fault for her vices, and that the song is mostly directed towards her mother who controls every part of her life.

veruca salt

her song is very relaxing and soothing, almost as if it's straight out of a beatles album, styled after 60s psychedelic rock. the instrumentals also expresses her luxurious life, utilising indian string instruments usually used to display royalty in indian plays.

the first part of her song talks about how she would meet "a rather different set of friends". while she's an animal lover and has tons of animals as her companions, the friends she'll meet down the garbage chute are garbage.

the second part of her song talks about how her parents spoiled her and turned her into the menace that she is today. after all, "a girl can't spoil herself'. it's fitting that veruca's parents (or dad in the movie) went down the garbage chute as well.

mike teavee

his song is a heavy metal piece, which represents his violent and aggressive personality. it's also styled after 80s progressive rock.

his song blames his parents the most, criticising their hands-off approach to parenting and how they let the tv raise their child instead. as a result, mike becomes very violent and has no sense of imagination. the oompa loompas also yell in some parts of the song, which also represents mike’s aggressive personality.

the oompa loompa also name-drops and references other writers and books in the song. i don’t have a serious analysis for this, but i like to think that they’re recommending these writers and books to mike’s parents to help them raise him better, by reading more instead of constantly watching tv.

the song forgets about mike for most of the song until the final part, where the oompa loompa bring their attention back to him and seeing whether or not they can “get him back his height”. which symbolises how mike’s parents seemingly don’t care about him much. notice how mike’s dad in the movie wasn’t very fazed by how he had shrunken down?

i’ve already talked about this in the previous analysis, but the final line “it serves him right” is very satisfying to hear. especially since mike and willy wonka has been in conflict with each other for the whole movie. schadenfreude, eh?

“gadzooks” is an archaic injection, used when expressing surprise or annoyance. it’s an alteration of “god’s hooks”, the nails by which christ was fastened to the cross.

ok that's all i have to say about the four bratty kids' songs. i spent an hour and a half on this, which is why i'm tagging this under catcf. please check out the tv tropes pages for charlie and the chocolate factory because it is really great, and also another little analysis that i did on the songs that is shorter. this isn't meant to be a serious analysis, i just like to compile all the info i've found on my hyperfixations into one place. hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed writing this.

#stolas’ thoughts #charlie and the chocolate factory #catcf #catcf 2005

[hauntednighttraveler]

The Guardian Chapter 1

For as long as Odette can remember, the sea has been protected by her people. Merpeople. Her parents, King Mitis and Queen Ida rule the Pacific sea. They are a part of the Royal council, which includes the four other Kings and Queens of the Arctic, Antarctic, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. Not only do they guide their people through everyday life, but they also oversee the protection of their people from outsiders. Outsiders, like the cold ones. Vampires feed off the blood of merfolk because of the rush of ‘magic’ their blood gives them. For a short time, those who drink the blood of merfolk are able to wield a variety of magical powers. That rush they feel is like a drug, addicting and dangerous. Once you taste the blood of merfolk and experience that rush of energy like never before, you build up an intolerance to it and need more blood even to get a hint of that magical power you had on your first try. There’s even a black market out there for merfolk blood. Those willing have their blood taken, similar to how humans donate blood, and are then paid a hefty fortune for their contributions. It is heavily discouraged because a lot of merfolk have been trafficked for their blood just because of how lucrative the ‘business’ is.

All of this is just another reason why Odette’s parents forbid her from interacting with humans. Constantly, she is being told that should she come across a struggling human in the depths of the sea, she should carry them to shore and leave. Obviously, she must make sure they are unconscious or can’t see her before she saves them. Her duties are to not extend to talking or interacting with humans at all. This kind of life can be isolating for someone like Odette, who just wants more outside of her palace life. This is why, when she turns 18, she wants to ask her parents for permission to explore the human world.

Y/n POV

My fins float aimlessly in the water as I pace back and forth. Bubbles float to the surface constantly as I don’t stop moving. Today is the day that I ask my parents to let me explore the human world. That’s all I want. I’ll be a good girl after that. They’ll see how good this will be for me. Hitting my fist into my palm with a definitive motion, I propel myself to my parent's chambers.

“Mother, Father.” There’s a slight quiver in my voice as I address them. I bow my head in each of their directions.

“I would like to ask something of you both. I hope you will hear me out before saying no.”

Mother spoke first, “Of course dear. Anything.”

Father nods his head in agreement and with a gruff but loving voice says, “What is it, sweetheart?”

Anxiety sweeps over me, I almost can’t get the words out. It consumes me, making me forget about asking and not upsetting them. However, the other part of me, the courageous and adventurous part of me wills me to stay and gives power to my voice.

“I’m turning 18 soon, as I am sure you’re well aware…”

“Why yes, your big day is coming. Your father and I are so proud of you. Soon you’ll be running this kingdom with your wisdom and grace.”

“Precisely. For my big day, I wanted to ask for something special. Something that will last me a lifetime. I, I want to explore the human world for 1 day. Before you say anything, please just listen. I believe that I can help our people and protect them if I know more about the different types of beings out there. I want an adventure of a lifetime before I rule. I mean, didn’t you guys have an adventure before ruling this kingdom? I want to have stories to tell my family and friends, just like you guys. I promise to be safe and diligent out there. I’ll even bring a guard of your choosing. Please! I haven’t asked for much in life. Please say yes!” I clasp my hands together, trying to calm my breathing down, my eyes squeezed shut from anticipation.

Both my parents glance at each other, worrying in their eyes. The room is in deafening silence. Finally, father speaks.

“We knew this day would come. We’ve filled your mind with endless stories of our adventures and tales. It makes sense that you crave one yourself. We shall agree to your request, however, we have some requests of our own before we let you go. First, you must take Sebastian as your guard.” Father holds his hand up to stop me from protesting his guard pick and continues.

“Second, your trip is to only last no more than 24 hours. After that, we expect you to be home or we will send the cavalry after you.”

“Oh, he’s not joking dear about that.” Mother puts a dainty hand in front of her mouth to cover her giggle.

After giving his wife a side eye and smile, he continues, “ And lastly, we shall go over some ground rules on how to behave in the human world and as well as blending in. We shall go see our trusted sea witch for a potion to give you legs.”

I engulf both my parents in a bear hug. Tears of joy almost escaped my eyes. Ecstatically, I thank my parents.

“Thank you thank you thank you! You guys are the best parents. I promise to be safe! Especially if I have Sebastian.” My words are laced with nothing but excitement.

Sebastian is one of my parent's most trusted guards. He doesn’t say much, just a grunt and a nod here and there. But that won’t stop me from having the time of my life.

#paul lahote #paul lahote x reader #paul lahote x y/n #paul #lahote #twilight #Twilight series #twilight saga #stephenie meyer #stephanie meyer #werewolf #werewolves #mermaid #xreader #The Guardian #guardian #forks washington #shape shifter #quileute #Quileute tribe

[mylifeinfiction]

Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

Jade the fighter. Jade the survivor. Jade the final girl.

Now that's more like it. This is the slasher book I was hoping for from the get-go; the slasher book My Heart Is a Chainsaw had all the potential to be through-and-through, yet didn't become until the last minute. With Don't Fear the Reaper, though, Stephen Graham Jones gives us that glorious slasher promise from page one, and rarely lets up throughout that fantastically violent, messy finale. And best yet, he never does so by sacrificing who Jade Daniels is, or the world she's living in. Jade is - throughout most of this book - a completely different character, but never in any way that SGJ betrays her. Instead, she's different because he allowed her to grow through her experiences and the traumas she lived through in the first book and the four years separating it from this one. If My Heart Is a Chainsaw made Jade Daniels a final girl, then Don't Fear the Reaper proves she deserves the title. Her final girl status is no fluke, no glorified embellishment, it's who Jade Daniels is down to her very core. And rather than excitedly running into what that title bestows with naive excitement, as she did in Chainsaw, Reaper finds her begrudgingly accepting it despite wanting to put the horrors of this world - the horrors of this life - behind her for good. Unfortunately for her, with the amount left unresolved at the end of this book, one's led to believe (hope) that's not happening anytime soon, and Jade's time as a final girl is going to culminate in gloriously gory fashion come time for the final installment in The Indian Lake Trilogy.

The major negative aspect of the book would have to be the history teacher and his subplot, especially the direction it takes in the end. I'm sure it'll be utilized in an interesting/effective manner in the final book, but unlike some of the other teases throughout this book, it just feels too awkward and unresolved for its own good, here. There may be more, but none significant enough to gripe about when the positives are so abundant. Other than Jade's magnificent character work, we get a concise slasher set-up this time around; the storm-of-the-century, an escaped serial killer, a town's blood-soaked black sheep returned. All of the action takes place over ~36 hours, and each of the plot's beats throughout serve SGJ's slasher goodness. And thankfully, the supporting characters don't only serve to drive Jade's final girl destiny forward (though they definitely do that as well), but are given great scenes of their own to shine apart from Jade's spotlight, and also work to bring some emotional and thematic heft to this otherwise straight-forward narrative. Unlike the first book's horror theses that ended each chapter, we get a different type of school paper - ones that serve the story more than just on a purely thematic level. Instead of just being overlong slasher-theory (eventually serving merely as slasher fan-service), they provide backstory and fill out some of the occasionally vague aspects of the core story.

Best of all, though... we get violence. While Chainsaw had an epic, overwhelmingly brutal finale and an abundance of fantastic horror-centric ideas throughout, its action felt seriously lacking in its middle ~200 pages. Reaper doesn't have that problem, delivering effective doses of the good shit throughout. And while there may not be anything here quite as epic and all-out batshit crazy as the Lake Witch Massacre, the end of Dark Mill South's time in Proofrock - especially that amazing video store scene that kicks it all off - is insanely enjoyable in its exhausting brute-force and vicious unpredictability.

9/10

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

#booklr #don't fear the reaper #Stephen Graham Jones #book reviews #new books #my heart is a chainsaw #book review #2023 #2023 books #horror #horror books #slasher books #books #fiction #reading #readers of tumblr #Library Books

[zerohour1974]

Looking back at old stories

It’s strange I have been looking at some of my past writings which was on a very old CD now some of it is good, some is bad and some is just god damned awful it’s unbelievable.

For every semi decent idea there is a lot of awful stuff. Now I admit a lot of these were written when I was a younger man. Which can be a double-edged sword because for one I was willing to try writing styles I had never done for good or bad but equally some of it has the maturity of a complete idiot.

However one thing I can say is I did have some degree of creativity, which is a shame because its something I lack in my adult life. I really seem to lack any imagination when it comes to things nowadays.

The tragic thing about my writing is I take a lead character that normally is about as dimensional as a circle, yet their companion has a much more interesting story without trying as they actually have a modicum of personality.

I will give a few examples from my own stories…

Blades Edge – A Blade Runner universe story, which starts following Tjuana who lives in the Nevada desert with several escaped replicants helping them survive and escape. Half way through the opening chapter I introduce a character by the name of Kyle who we know is a replicant. Now I am sure you are now saying they both seem on a similar level.

However I’m the author and I know Kyle has a much deeper back-story than Tjuana who has the depth of an average puddle. Kyle is a Nexus replicant but unlike most of his contemporaries he knows he is and just wants it to end.

His life span is limited four years he has been told but because he has no desire to live the drugs designed to destroy him do not kick in. So he gets more and more twisted and bitter and goes in search of answers.

He discovers his lack of wanting to live is stopping him from dying. For the drugs to work you need to want to live beyond your life not embrace death. Making him kind of unique.

The story was to take him off into the desert, out there he realises without people to interact with, and his life has no meaning. He realises Tjuana was trying to get him to understand that. The idea was he would get back explain it to her and die in her arms after realising his life was worth living… Irony.

Where as I had no idea where I was taking Tjuana I was going to have her discover a new type of Nexus replicant but it was nowhere as deep as Kyle.

Ok so that one you say…

Second entry – Wavecatcher

One there is no reason it should be called that as the actual Wavecatcher ship which is the initial opening chapters disappears after two chapters or so never to be seen or heard of never again so its pointless calling it that.

Roger Fishman is pulled onto a spaceship while looking at a star from his window and is dropped off on a planet a bit later only to discover he was sent away to Earth many years ago as he has a kingdom to restore and rule. Yep I said not all of it was great.

One of his companions is Riverwind. He is a native Indian type companion so he has much more back-story and he is a trusted warrior and fighter with many battles to his name. I even had him a wolf companion called Shadow in a side story. He had lost his family to war and he had dedicated himself to right the wrongs done against him. He was spiritual and a warrior and actually had depth.

Roger on the other hand was just a throwaway character to get the story flowing even though he was your main character as he had zero depth, and to be honest I don’t think he really shows any redeeming qualities. However I think I was hoping to address that in Wavecatcher 2, which was never finished.

I also seem to like making my deeper character being some sort of problem.

Vampire Dawn - Yep VD not the best acronym for a book I know that now. As the name implies the main story is a local group of vampires are trying to create a day walking vampire using the underground levels of a mental hospital called the Derian Institute (Also in my Asylum story).

Now our lead was Rebecca Flint who was trying to seduce, cajole or get Dr Paul a leading gene research Professor to join the project. The story was not great and its pacing was all over the place.

However the guy claiming victims while in the first chapter doesn’t say much we discover he is Ashwin. He was a victim to a vampire woman and he has become the most reluctant vampire in existence.

He is not particularly fond of the taste of blood. He was the total opposite of the typical vampire. He was awkward, not great with social skills, considered quite normal looking, definitely not attractive and the institute were using him to get victims for experimentation.

Obviously this was why they used Ashwin because no one in a million years would suspect someone as dull as him. So it was nothing short of wonderfully ironic.

But once again Ashwin was interesting meanwhile Rebecca (Becky) was about as exciting as a wet Tuesday in Swindon.

Looking back at some of them, could some of them be saved? I’m sure they could. Will I ever do it? Probably not.

I just no longer have the creative angles I had when younger. It’s a shame as some did have potential. Could I have made something from these thousands of words of total waste of hard drive space?

As I have said before I have started many things but actually finishing anything I just don’t do that with my creative stuff.

The only set I finished was the Ways, which was a three-part story following Maya Di Martini who walks between dimensions weaving a path between worlds using gates. Part 1 I introduce the wolf Jade. Part 2 Maya loses Jade, but ultimately finds her at the end. Part 3 Maya returned home to see the family and settle down. I actually completed a trilogy

Then I lost a hard drive and Part 3 has now gone. I wrote Parts 1 and 2 many moons ago but it took me over 15 years before I finished Part 3. Then I lost it again as the file is gone.

I have been through all my archive discs and various CDs, DVDs and Hard Drives and nope the file no longer exists.

So for all I actually finished a story and I sent it to a few people not one person has got an actual copy of the full trilogy. Or if they have no one seems to be able to return it to me.

Irony is such an amazing thing…

#waffle #old stories #bad writing #good writing #indifferent writing #creative writing

[bmpmp3]

like 70% of the media i consume is stuff targeted toward women and girls with an emphasis on romance so this edition of Dara-Talks-About-Tropes-For-An-Obscenely-Long-Time might be a little niche but like, i’ll basically look into anything with brown characters in it and one thing i’ve noticed with brown leading men in particular.....damn its like a 50-50 chance they’re a prince of india or a fictional stand-in for some kinda amalgamation of like india and like 15 other countries and like.... im half indo guyanese so im a little separated from the actual country of India by like a century or two but i feel like. there can’t be That Many indian princes, right? there can’t be that many.........

whats the deal...well i mean i know whats the deal, having ur leading man be some kinda rich or powerful guy is common for being a popular fantasy and also a very good deus ex machina if you run into a roadblock in the story (fix ur plothole with money) and as to why specifically brown leading men in particular are never just normal rich guys and are all fantastical princes of far off lands, well, insert image of Orientalism by Edward W Said here, but like..... damn man at this point the sheer amount of indian princes is getting out of hand...i roll my eyes into orbit when i see ambiguously brown prince of fictional mystical foreign country #34874329843 but im not so sure its that much better when they choose a real country..... a while ago i was mildly roasting the mysterious-brown-guys-named-zero trope (i SWEAR its a THING i’ve seen it at LEAST thrice) before but like when i talked about how i care about my brown kings this isnt what i meant!!!

and i mean dont get me wrong i still want my brown leading men in absurd leading man tropes, im hoping this is less of a problem now but i remember when i was a lot younger i would like play some english original romance games and all the white boys were allowed to be absurd in fun ways like im a super handsome doctor and im a super genius and i know how to beat up 10 men with my pinkie finger and my parents are dead so im going to avenge them and im a great cook but im scared of the dark and my favourite food is popcorn like yknow you could make a random generator outta that and it rules but then the dudes of colour would be relegated to normal guy whos kinda nice and his route is rushed and unrelated to whatever crazy plot is going on..... the lady options (both ladies of colour and otherwise, although i also noticed a lot of things were especially dismissive of the women of colour) had the same problem.....im not sure if this is a universal take but if im reading a piece of romance media marketed towards women and girls 80% of the time i want something ridiculous and fun..... your brown leading man can be a mountain biking vampire witch from the future if you just try................

anyway im still unmedicated and a mess but what im trying to say is theres so many fictional indian princes in romance media. i could be a half indian prince too. you wouldnt know until its too late. watch out. dont turn your back.

#was reading a manga called madame petit the other day #it was actually not bad it handled a lot of things surprisingly well #and neelam as a character kind of rules i kind of care him. a lot. #but also like. i had just come off of like four other stories with indian princes in em and i was starting to lose my mind #this was one of the better indian princes ive read tho #it is wild that no one just makes their brown leading man like a normal rich guy.... #well actually not a romance thing but once i read a book called we were liars #pretty good i liked it a lot #except i did have a loaded gun on it at all times every time they described gat as 'strong coffee' #im giving it the benefit of the doubt that its just going for like the feeling of strong coffee like the warmth and strong flavour #but im watching you. im watching you #but yeah he was just a normal rich guy or moreso hes related to someone who married into a rich family so he probably has money #you can have a normal rich guy....... he doesnt need to be a fantastical prince..........

[rae-blogging]

Okay Indian serials what the actual fuck (Tw mentions of assault, violence, cursing maybe?)

First, the basic storyline of every fucking indian serial ever: A misogynistic man (he is forever droning on about how women are not trustworthy, fickle, horrid things like...get help?! All characters around him are concerned and will once in a while say deep stuff like: That's not true 🥺😢 and immediately give up when he goes on a tragical journey to the past and generalises all women because his mother/ex/best friend fucked him/his father over) and a woman who makes him believe all women are bitches except her. The dude can be a horrible person in general, but he'll usually be unrealistically rich for someone who goes to work four times during 400 episode run of the show, he is a wrist grabbing, hand tugging, forever irritable, childish, immediately jumping to conclusions jerk whose only 'redeeming quality' is that he doesn't assault women, sure he'll come close a few times and it's supposed to make the audience empathise with the plight of the otherwise perfect female lead I suppose (I say otherwise perfect because, she has not one flaw except being too selfless which is not even a flaw, she cooks like a MasterChef, she may or may not be well educated but she's woke and kind and attentive and intelligent, so much gone to waste because of her I can fix him phase she'll forever be stuck in) but it only makes the viewers irritated (when I say viewers I'm simply projecting my views on anyone who'll listen). Anyway, you sit through the show because the leads are good looking and have great chemistry to the extent that it makes you feel iffy just watching the serial with your mother even though the closest they came to boning was the male lead zipping the female lead's sari's blouse (people have done that for me and I'm sorry but the most excitable thing that happened was my skin getting scratched). Anyway you watch the show, it's horrid and has gone completely off tracks, you wonder if the writer's are mixing it up with another show (s), the characters are inconsistent and mean (except the female lead and yet she frustrates me the most, like girl be a bitch to people who deserve it please), tracks have gone haywire and you've had your fill of the show when the news comes: a 20 year leap. You are horrified. Never again will you put yourself through this. Two days later you're invested in the story of new characters with the same names and perhaps the same faces and the same storyline. You're trapped in the Indian serial maze.

But for real though, when the male lead keeps talking about how much women suck or whatever, does no one ever question if he's gay like...? Maybe he's giving subtle hints by being an ass! It seems probable, also talks of rape ahead so - I just think it's strange that when women are assaulted by men in these shows, they're told to lean on other men (father, brother, boyfriend, best friend whatnot) for comfort, their uneasiness is not taken into account because women can't survive alone, they need men to rely upon wtf?! For men who underwent a trauma, it takes entire ass series for them to be made to understand the same, other than the forced marriage storyline which definitely always hurts the fem lead more, he's not once put into a corner and made to confront his fears forcibly. I'm not trying to pit two traumas or anything against each other, it's just so entrenched in our society to disregard women, because they barely have any chance to recover from their pain, sure maybe the guy puts his jacket around her and fights for her but that doesn't mean the pain goes away, yet she's back to normal just two episodes later because no show has the time to explore and explain justifiable fear in women especially androphobia, because it's a romantic show ofc, bit men they get a 200 episode show to have it dawn upon them that while their trauma is valid, it's not okay to actively hurt women (especially fem lead lol) and we as spectators call that a redemption arc, idk I just find it wrong, the utter dichotomy with the way we deal with these two things.

I know most shows are shitty copies of that one show that has parallels with Pride and Prejudice (*cough* ipkknd *cough*) but it sucks that we don't allow characters to flesh out, it's often the fan demands that ruin shows here tbh, like that weird kidnap sr scene in ipkknd or stretching Bepanaah beyond the finite episodes it was supposed to air for. I wish we could have a fixed plotline and number of episodes for once, unaffected by what viewers wanted so charcters could be consistent, it really gets on my nerves when characters do a full 180 for no reason, going completely against what their character was, I hate the way they handle trauma and how violence is almost always a normal thing between couples and it's okay as long he guiltily looks at the bruises on her arm/wrist later and apologises when she's asleep (Yes, I'm talking about you Beintehaa), as long as the guy is good looking and doesn't really rape the woman, he can be the anti hero but he's the protagonist and everyone around him cannot hold him accountable to his actions no matter who they are (Looking at all dadis and nanis who forcibly get their kids to marry and then pout when they see their grandson being a dick), I get that shaadis are pavitra and stuff but not when that bs gets this sadistic (every FL who sticks around in the forced marriage because of their family members, literally sit down and at least tell them you made a sacrifice for them?!)

Ugh there's so much to say. And I know I'll still watch this shit because as stupid as it sounds, I can't sit through kdramas and Cdramas because they often make me insecure about how I look, and I can't sit through an hour long episodes each where I can't actually skip scenes because that'd mean losing out on the story (ya hear that Indian serials? I can skip 6 episodes and we'd still be on the same track).

Anyway, that was it from this exhausted Indian serial viewer ig.

#rae rambles #desiblr #desi tag #desi #indian dramas #indian serials #indian serial update #edkv #ipkknd #bepannah #beintehaa #namik paul why won't you just marry me already #so i don't have to watch your shows again and again #and feel angry all the time #also can you please play a human character for omce I'm dying 😭

[artsy-hobbitses]

I'm getting very curious about Malaysia... what's it like there?? Culture, living conditions, etc.

Pretty loaded question!

Off the top of my head, some specifics:

- Very much a melting pot. Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnicities mingle pretty freely, interracial marriages are not uncommon (I’m quarter Chinese on my mum’s side) and the modern Malaysian slang is often a mishmash of Malay, Chinese and Indian words. You have a choice between public, vernacular (usually caters to a specific race ie. Chinese/Indian as a stronghold of the language/customs, however I had Malays friends who went to Chinese Vernacular schools) international, private and religious schools (mostly for the Muslim-Majority Malays). Public holidays are designated for all three major races (big ones are Eid, Deepavali and Chinese New Year) plus more specific ones in Sabah/Sarawak for the indigenous population, and it’s normal for say, Malays to be invited to a Deepavali gathering or for Chinese to be invited to Eid open houses. We’re usually chill about it like that.

- Despite this, racism exists. It’s not loud and proud like in western nations though (except for your occasional Malay nationalist politician) it tends to be more of the passive-aggressive sort. Some parents discreetly warn their kids about not being friends with [X] race at school, some house rental listings with single out [X] race, though we’re coming to the point that we’re not bothering with Asian decorum anymore and publicly shitting on that behavior. On a historical aspect, the potential reason it takes on a more subtle, passive-aggressive tone here was that on 13 May 1969, sectarian violence broke out between urban Chinese and Malays in Kuala Lumpur due to unrest over the general election, and this resulted in the deaths of 600 people, mostly Chinese (My mum lived through this time at the heart of the incident). Basically the nation’s been scarred and has feared a similar event ever since, so those spouting open racial violence get slammed down pretty quick and “Remember 13 May” has often been used as a warning for whenever tensions flare up. Or when politicians want us to keep our grumblings down. We tend to have a don’t-rock-the-boat mentality here on the basis of trying to keep the peace for everyone—-it doesn’t always work. Malay Privilege/“Ketuanan Melayu” is a thing you’ll hear often from some sections of Malays here, who tend to argue that since they’re technically the original inhabitants if the land (don’t quiz ‘em about the Orang Asli), they should get more rights than the others.

-Living conditions vary. I live in Selangor—the state surrounding the Capital Kuala Lumpur—-which has the highest density of denizens. Here, it’s pretty modern. My husband and I rent a two-story terrace house, my parents who are a little well-off have their own bungalow. Places like Penang, Perak and Johor also tend to be more in the modern side. You’ll find more rural areas and kampungs as you go deeper into the heart of country (Pahang), the East Coast (Kelantan, Terengganu) and the country’s rice bowl (Kedah, and by extension, Perlis). This is within the Peninsula—-Sabah (I lived here for about four years) and Sarawak have a combination of modern and rural areas and tend to take life at a much slower pace than the Peninsula states (They also want none of Peninsula’s religious tension bullshit). My father’s kampung is in Pahang, and while I was never close to my paternal grandparents, I do have fond memories of cooking outdoors and plucking rambutan bunches from the trees they grew.

- Wet. Very wet. Monsoon season/‘Musim Tengkujuh’ at year end interspace with mid-year. Fucks with the income of local fishermen who are barred from going to the ocean on the account of rough waves, Flooding is an annual occurrence for rural areas, though we get flash floods in cities too. Common enough that “check for crocodiles” isn’t a weird request when you come back to clean your homes from mud and silt. (Houses near flood-prone areas will employ walls or be built on stilts to withstand the floods).

- 9 Sultans for 9 states, they take turns becoming the Agong (Chief Sultan I guess?) every five years. They’re mostly there the same way the British monarchy is. Don’t really play a big role in politics unless there is a need for them to decree something when politicians can’t work things out between themselves.

- Political leapfrog. It’s. A thing. A politician you see from one party today can be a member of another party tomorrow. It’s gotten so bad they’re considering legislation to punish it. We do call them literal frogs (Katak) when they do this (Sorry frogs, you deserve better!)

- Food. All the fucking food. Melting pot = all the deliciousness. There’s no culturally appropriating cuisine here, everyone’s eating everyone else’s stuff with great gusto. Roti Canai/Chappati (Indian) for breakfast, Nasi Campur (mixed rice, mostly with Malay dishes) for lunch and Wantan Mee (Chinese) for dinner is an example of the food culture trip you go through on any given day. You’ll have Malays who adore Chinese food, Chinese who adore Malay food, and no one fights when they’re eating, that’s all there is to it. Places like Penang are a haven for food and people will make trips just to eat there.

- Islam is the main religion. However, it’s not strictly enforced in most cases, I’d dare even say that we’re quite secular, to the teeth-gnashing of the Facebook army. I’m a Muslim who doesn’t wear a headscarf (except on special occasions), I know Muslims who rescue and keep dogs (My hunter grandfather apparently caught and kept a Dhole as a house guard way back), and I know some who’re LGBT, albeit somewhat discreet about it.

- Speaking of LGBT, the country is not friendly to the community, but neither is it as hostile as sections of the US tend to be about it. As an example, gay conversion therapy isn’t really a thing there (presumably because that would entail the govt admitting that there’s enough gay people to require it at all), workplaces generally do not have a policy targeting people based on their sexualities, like you’ll find butch ladies serving you drinks at Starbucks and gay men working with local theatre productions, and violence against LGBT members is pretty rare (though I imagine this is more because most people here mostly do not want to kick up a fuss in public, what more a fight, and just judge from a distance). Basically, the majority of the public will tolerate LGBT existence—whispering behind their back——until there starts to be a call for rights.

- Good degree of English command. English is understood, if not spoken, by a lot of us here from cab drivers to stall owners, so you won’t be hopelessly lost if you decide to visit. A big majority of us are at LEAST bilingual (In my case, I speak English and Malay, and can understand some Arabic). Quite a number who come from interracial marriages are trilingual.

- Cheap healthcare. There’s a reason we’re one of the top destinations for medical tourism. You have a choice between private and government hospitals which provide a form of universal healthcare. Govt clinics/hospitals offer subsidized healthcare and meds to all members of the public, and most doctors will start out in government hospitals before moving to private practices (like my sister-in-law). Uninsured, a trip to a normal clinic for a consultation will set you back maybe twenty to thirty bucks, fifty if you need meds or a small procedure like stitches. I do have insurance but have never used it for doctor visits since the amount is pretty trivial. I have, however, used it for a hysterectomy surgery + 1 month hospital stay at a private hospital which set me back about RM30,000-RM40,000 (USD7000-USD9500) which I managed to get covered. Ambulance Fees are like, RM200 (USD47) for private hospitals and RM50 (USD12) for govt hospitals. Consultation fees, blood tests and X-Rays go as low as RM1 (24 Cents) in govt hospitals. If you get hurt here, we got you covered.

And that’s just off my head! If there’s something specific you’d like you know, feel free to ask further ouob

#inbox #long post #Malaysia

[thebreakfastgenie]

First Line Meme

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories. see if there are any patterns. then tag your favorite authors.

@quolant tagged me in this literally months ago, but I don't think I ever did it, and I really want to! If I did it then, eh, whatever, I can do it again!

This is a mix of published works and WIPs, and it's actually not my last 20, because there is no good way to count that (based on when I started them? When I last worked on them?) but for the most part they're all fairly recent. Start Over is older and Fortune Cookie Wisdom is a couple years old but they're significant and I wanted to include them.

Published

Campfire (The West Wing)

When he’s eleven, his parents decide he’s old enough for summer camp.

The Emergency Room (The West Wing)

Josh didn’t remember getting in the car.

The Apple (The West Wing)

Donna stepped off the elevator, taking extra care not to slosh her coffee.

Chianti (The West Wing)

It’s two weeks after the snowstorm that blanketed New York City.

Fortune Cookie Wisdom (The West Wing)

Toby curled his fingers into a fist and knocked, the soft leather of his glove cushioning his knuckles from the hard wood of the door.

Start Over (The West Wing)

New Hampshire had been a whim, South Carolina had been a dream.

Life Cycle: A Play In Three Acts (on hiatus, NOT abandoned) (The West Wing)

It starts in an emergency room in Madison, Wisconsin.

WIPs

By Any Other Name (MASH)

The call comes the first week of September, when the leaves are just beginning to yellow and a cool breeze is chasing away the last days of Indian Summer.

Friends Like These (working title) (MASH)

Hawkeye sleeps through breakfast.

A Late Thaw (working title, aka Donna Moss Fic 2) (The West Wing)

In Massachusetts, she almost lost her nerve.

Home (MASH)

His son turns up on his doorstep unannounced, with a look in his eye and papers in his hand, and Daniel doesn’t have to ask what they are.

Family Reunion (working title) (MASH)

The telephone would have woken him, if he’d been sleeping.

Sometimes You Do (working title) (MASH)

The first people he sees by choice are Harold and Alice Gillis.

When Toby Met Josh (working title) (The West Wing)

Toby reclined against the wall, which was painted a lovely shade of bland.

Untitled, unpublished, but complete fic (Star Trek TOS)

Kirk sat at the table in his stolen, Klingon-decorated quarters, mulling over the events of the day.

Whatever Happened to Mandy (working title) (The West Wing)

Leo finds her mid-afternoon, while she’s looking for Josh.

Four Days (The West Wing)

The light in Toby’s office is on.

Strawberry Fields (working title) (The West Wing)

The night the president was shot, Ruth was making strawberry tarts.

The First Four Years (MASH)

Erin loses her first tooth in a piece of strawberry shortcake on the Fourth of July.

Seeing Ghosts (working title) (MASH)

When Trapper John McIntyre got back from Korea, he kissed the ground.

Untitled Airplane Fic (MASH)

The first thing he notices when he steps onto the plane is that it’s warm.

I don't see a lot of patterns. When I looked at some of my earlier works, that I chose not to include, I often started with dialogue. This is something I prefer to avoid now. I think the biggest pattern is that the first line is often fairly short, followed by a more detailed second line, but I didn't include any of those second lines. It's a pretty even mix of including character names or not, which was actually surprising because I often feel I go several paragraphs without mentioning the POV character's name. I also prefer that the protagonist's name not be the first word, although it is in several of these examples.

If you have any interest in or questions about any of these please don't hesitate to ask, I love talking about them!

I'm just tagging a few people I know are writers, no pressure! And if you write but you didn't get tagged, please do it anyway and tag me!!

@onekisstotakewithme @nimuetheseawitch @genderqueer-klinger @jessbakescakes @hufflepuffhermione

[x0401x]

Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #6

Feel free to message me about possible corrections, and please consider supporting the creators by purchasing digital copies of the official releases: Novel || Manga || Fanbook. In case anyone is feeling generous: Ko-fi | PayPal. ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*

← Previous || Index || Next →

Moonstone’s Charity

“The moon is beautiful, huh!”

By the time that we exited the Shiseido Parlor, it was already completely dark outside. The moon loomed a faint blue, as if overlooking the night view of Ginza. Putting his coat back on, Richard silently averted his eyes when I looked back at him with an “isn’t it”. At any rate, I had gotten wholly used to eating out with this guy on Saturdays after work. It was worth making him puddings as payback, I thought.

“Speaking of which, the stone you sold to today’s customers was a ‘stone of the moon’, wasn’t it?”

“Please call it ‘moonstone’. There are other rock specimens that are referred to as ‘stones of the moon’. Confusing the meaning of the words is deplorable.”

“Is that so?! Aight, I’ll take it to heart.”

Today’s customers were the parents of a naïve young lady, and the goods they bought were a moonstone jewelry set for her. It seemed that the young lady, who still had childish facial traits, was going to get married, so her parents ordered a necklace from Etranger for her to take along when the time came. Bearing a rainbow light over a milky blue color, the cabochon-cut moonstone was combined with white diamonds for the necklace and bracelet. It overflowed with a soulful beauty, almost as if it had borrowed the glow of an aurora from a Scandinavian sky.

Apparently, the moonstone, which was also one of the June birthstones, had been familiarized as a power stone since the distant past, and was renowned especially as a stone that celebrated the well-being and fortune of women. Having the commemorative jewelry delivered to her as a surprise, the young lady had cried until her eyes were bright red, but she recovered by way of a sweet royal milk tea, expressing gratitude to her parents with a sniffling nose. I believed that there were several forms of joy depending on each person, and what I had witnessed today was unmistakably one of them.

Even as we headed to the parking lot where Richard’s jaguar was, the moon followed us from the gaps between the buildings. As I walked while looking up and repeating, “It��s really pretty, so pretty”, Richard seemed exasperated.

“‘The moon is beautiful’, huh. Are college students not familiar with anecdotes of their own country’s literary figures nowadays?”

“Don’t they read that stuff? I’m in the faculty of economics, so there’s lots of people with names written in horizontal characters on our textbooks. Like Marx Weber or Mankiw.”

“What about Futabatei Shimei or Natsume Souseki?”

“I’ll ask you back: have you read them?”

“Yes.”

Uwah. As I cried out, the gorgeous jeweler sighed. “Honestly, today’s youths,” he said.

I ended up laughing at him without thinking.

“What is it?”

“You say ‘youths’ but you’re pretty young yourself.”

“I merely disagree with the worldwide trend of thinking that classical literature is an enjoyment for old age. The world, matured by the various interpretations of our ancestors, is deep and wide-ranging, as well as something that envelopes our hearts, just like stones.”

“Feels like the part where stones come up is ‘just as expected of Richard-san’.”

“I will take that as a compliment.”

“I am complimenting you. I have the feeling that I get smarter when we talk.”

“For you to be the kind who is satisfied with just ‘having a feeling’, my existence must be a harmful one.”

“I shall take this to heart... Aah, by the way, in sociology or some other class, I heard that the phrase ‘had a feeling’ has increased too much in pop music. Why is that? I guess it’s because, when they assert, ‘I can be strong!’ instead of, ‘I have the feeling I can be strong, I find myself inwardly wanting to retort with a, ‘Nope, nope, it’s not like that’ and the mood cools off.”

“Unfortunately, I have not studied the trends of modern Japan’s younglings. But if we are to speak of such things, even the power invoked by stones is a matter of ‘having a feeling’.”

“Is it okay for a jeweler to be saying that?”

“We are already out of business hours. Besides, this is not a negative subject in particular.”

Having arrived at the parking lot, Richard glanced at me and folded his arms lightly. He was a beautiful man from the top of his head to the tips of his toenails, like a doll made of moonlight. I was used to looking at his figure, but beautiful things will be beautiful. I could look at him without ever getting tired and it would put me in a good mood, just like the moon.

“W-What? What’s up?”

“I mean that people can become strong just from ‘having a feeling’. The power of belief is namely the force of human beings who seek hope even in a small gleam. Is that not a wonderful thing? On nights like these, when we ‘have the feeling’ that we are being protected by the light of the moon, people are sure to be in some sort of calm mood.” Saying this, as if to copy me or something, Richard looked up at the night sky above the buildings of Ginza and murmured, “The moon is truly beautiful.” He then smoothly got on the jaguar’s driver seat. I followed him on the passenger seat.

Still, this car’s seat base did an exquisite inclination no matter how many times I sat on it. It felt like a chair sticking to your body.

“Well, are you okay with dropping off at Takadanobaba?”

“Thank you. By the way, should I reply with the ‘I could die now’ already?”

Richard’s face at that moment was a spectacle. His mouth and beautiful eyebrows distorted as if to say, “Haah?”. His eyes stared dangerously at me.

“I mean, isn’t that the context? Futabate Shimei and Natsume Souseki, right?”

“I love you”.

Apparently, the literary masters of the Meiji Era had racked their brains about to how to translate a sentence that didn’t originally exist in the Japanese language. This would be a standard drinking party talk. Well, I didn’t know if there was a standard for all kinds of drinking parties, but just recently, during a drinking party we held with a group of men from the Department of Letter’s Faculty of Japanese Literature, we got fired-up over that topic. “Girls like this kind of talk, so you guys from the Faculty of Economics should also keep it in mind every once in a while,” they told us. Futabate Shimei used “I could die now” as a code for “I am yours” and Natsume Souseki used the anecdote “the moon is beautiful, isn’t it” as what was claimed to be a good anecdote for “I love you”. We were thankful for the trivia. That being said, none of the members who attended the drinking party had girlfriends, so I had thought there would be no opportunity to use this trivia, but to my surprise...

Richard, who had been stiff for a moment, exhaled with a loud “haaah” and turned the engine key. The body of the iron machine shuddered.

“That was terrifying.”

“So even you got freaked out! I can say some Japanese-like things too.”

“I will proceed to kick you if you say the same thing again. Be quiet for the time being.” Richard pulled the car out of the parking lot from backward, and as he stepped onto the accelerator and we got out into the street, the car trundled on with us in silence for a while. After we had passed four or five buildings, the beautiful jeweler opened his mouth again, “These words are not meant to be spoken lightly. A sentence taken out of context is like a lonely stone removed from a bracelet. In what kind of situation did people say, ‘The moon is beautiful’ or under what circumstances did they think, ‘I could die now’? What matters is the process until things arrived to that point, and not scraps of words. In the past, during the times when the people of this country were not as filled with imported mentalities as they are now, they probably understood this very well.”

“Hey, why’d you think of reading Natsume Souseki?”

Richard didn’t respond. I’d known for a while now that there were lots of things this guy didn’t want to answer, but his silence at the question was unexpected. Was something up?

Something related to moments when he might feel like saying things such as “the moon is beautiful” or “I could die now”.

It was clearly not a topic that I should pry too much about. Pretending to have found something interesting out the window, I put on a smile with no particular connotation. Leaning my body against the window, I looked up at the sky. “Ah, I can still see the moon.”

“You do not say. Is it beautiful?”

“Yup, but you’re more beautiful.”

Richard’s hand instantaneously glided in a swift motion. He pressed the car stereo switch. What played at an explosively loud volume wasn’t the Finnish rock that I had listened to before. It was a sutra in an ethnic-sounding female voice. That was all I could say. What was this? As I asked in a loud voice what language that song was in, he said it was Bengali. Was it an Indian song then? I couldn’t talk to him unless I shouted in one breath.

“HEY! IF I PISSED YOU OFF, SERIOUSLY, I’M SORRY!”

Richard’s mouth moved in the form of an “I cannot hear you”. It seemed he wasn’t in the mood for conversation. But he didn’t look angry. The corners of his lips were smiling just slightly. Like he wanted to say that this was so stupid it made him laugh. He appeared a lot more relaxed than when listing up the names of those literary figures, so I became kinda happy.

When I got out of the car, the southern country atmosphere was gone at once. At the roundabout in Takadanobaba, Richard took off with the jaguar as soon as he said goodbye. As the same old habit, for whatever reason, I ended up watching him off until I couldn’t see him anymore.

As I looked up the blue moon was floating in the black sky, unchanged. This was also a matter of “having a feeling”, but this emotion I was feeling today at this moment was a definite form of happiness too.

Honestly, the moon was beautiful tonight.

#housekishou richard shi no nazo kantei #housekishou richard #jeweler richard #the case files of jeweler richard #richard #nakata seigi #richard ranashinghe de vulpian #richard ranashinha de vulpian #jr short story collection #tsujimura nanako #yukihiro utako #novel #my translation

[horanghaechan]

Dream in a Dream (M)

pairing: Prince!Ten x Princess!You

word count: 6k

warnings: written in 3rd person, mature content, fluffy, ten being the love of my life

synopsis: The Four Great Kingdoms took turns to maintain the peace of a planet called Mahabhuta. However, when minor rebellions threaten its stability, two kingdoms seek an alliance. But, hearts could never be war weapons. What to do when one of them is already committed to another?

Inspired by indian/turkish stuff and Avatar lol

[a/n]: since he (and his smile) was the reason i started stanning nct back in march 2016 (lol) i decided to post this here, the original version is in portuguese and posted on my fic site. happy bday, phonphon, you deserve the world.

also, english is not my first language so any grammar/etc mistake please let me know!

First of all, a small glossary so you don’t get lost:

The cycle of the Great Kingdoms of Mahabhuta takes place by:

Kingdom of Prithvi (Kingdom of Earth)

Kingdom of Apas-Jal (Kingdom of Water)

Kingdom of Agni (Kingdom of Fire)

Kingdom of Vayu (Kingdom of Air)

However, there is Akasha (Heaven, "vacuum"), by which all other kingdoms are "subjected". Akasha’s laws override any other law, as they were enacted prior to the division of Mahābhūta.

The hierarchy in each kingdom consists of:

Samraat and Samrajni – emperor and empress;

Maharaja and Maharani – king and queen, used formally for the heirs of the throne;

Raja and Rani – king and queen, used informally with the heirs of the throne.

Some words used by the characters and their meanings:

Evet: an informal way of saying “yes”;

Nei: an informal way of saying “no”;

Shokran: “thanks” said from peasants to monarchs;

Shukriya: “thanks” said from monarchs to peasants;

Olum: interjection of astonishment, incredulity.

Om Shanti: good luck.

Findi: petname, which can mean both “love” and “sweetheart”, normally related to married couples.

  ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼

Border between Vayu and Prithvi, Apas-Jal Era.

 Some carriages and soldiers crossed the bridge across the border of the Kingdom of Prithvi. Everyone there was fully aware of what they were doing, but no one hesitated. Keeping Maharani of Vayu happy was the only thing they were looking for.

“Rani Y/N are you sure that Raja Chittaphon will be waiting for us?” Ipek, Y/N’s chaperone and personal maid, asked worriedly.

“Evet.” Y/N nodded. “It’s our only chance.”

“Samraat Bhima will be horrified when he notices that you are missing.”

“He will.” The princess smiled. “But he’ll eventually understand that I had to.”

“Everyone will be delighted when you get married to Raja Chittaphon, right?!” Ipek smiled when she noticed how the girl’s face lit up at her question.

“Hopefully so, Ipek. That’s what I’m aiming for.” Y/N sighed, biting another smile. Remembering Chittaphon always resulted in moments like that, where everything melted and she became a puddle of love.

She still shivered like a fool when she remembered when they met.

 Flashback on

Jala, Kingdom of Apas-Jal, 3 years ago

The corridors of the Palace of Jala were huge and very confusing. There were no separated doors, let alone identification by floors or wings. Y/N walked blindly through them, because she couldn’t remember where they assigned her rooms earlier.

“Well, I’m sure it’s not here.” One of the doors opened and a boy came out of it, on his back, wearing a typical outfit of the monarchs she knew.

“Olum!” Y/N froze on her place.

“Oh, are you the owner of this room?” He turned to her, drawing her attention to the pair of amused chestnut eyes that stared at her.

“Nei, nei. I’m lost.” She confessed. “I thought the floor was empty.”

“They told me that the Kingdom of Agni would be on the third floor, according to the cycle, but I confess I’m having trouble counting. Is it the third excluding the ground floor, or the third from the ground?” The boy smiled and she felt her heart flutter.

She absolutely adored smiles.

And... Olum, that smile was out of this world!

“Well, guess I’m twice wrong, then.” she blushed.

“You’re not from Agni, I suppose.”

“Nei. I’m from Vayu.” She extended her hand, indicating the ring of the Compass Rose, which was the symbol of her kingdom. “I ended getting lost...”

“Ten, from Agni.” the boy showed his own ring too, a ruby ​​sun adorning his hand. Only monarchs wore such rings. “Maybe if we go back where you came from, we’ll be able to find your chaperone.”

“Y/N, from Vayu.” She bowed, understanding now with whom she spoke. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Maharaja Chittaphon.”

“Olum, it can’t be!” Another lovely smile painted his thin lips. “Maharani Y/N Vatavaran?” Ten sounded excited. “I spent years trying to get to know you!”

“Really?” Y/N raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

“Indeed! Did you think that you could remain incognito forever? All kingdoms are curious about the Heiress of the Air.” he signalled for them to start walking. He couldn’t touch her until they were officially introduced. “I suppose you make your debut at tonight’s ball?”

“My parents decided that it’s time for me to seek popularity.” She nodded. “I’m a little afraid, you know? Balls have always seemed too formal.”

“And they are.” Ten agreed. “But as soon as we are introduced, I’ll ask for one dance, and I hope you’ll save me a page on your card.”

“As I don’t know anyone, you’ll have them all.” She laughed.

“Perfect! So I won’t have to keep company with the Apas.”

“Don’t you like water?”

“I don’t like anything that puts out fire.” Ten joked casually, and then realized that the princess was puzzled by his comment. “Don’t worry, the air tends to spread it. I really like the air.” The same amusement gleam flashed through those chestnut eyes.

Y/N also had made up her mind: she liked the fire a lot.

End of flashback

 Closing her eyes, Y/N waited for the right time to relax. When the antelope’s hooves stopped, she knew it was near.

“Maharani Vatavaran, we have arrived.” One of the soldiers tapped the carriage window twice, breaking the silence. “Maharaja Bhumi is waiting for you.”

“I’ll go down. Shukriya.” Y/N smiled. “We’ll meet tomorrow, Ipek. Watch out for any strange movements, pay close attention to the air! As we are in Prithvi you may feel weaker, but just focus on the atmosphere.”

“Evet, evet. Now go, we have no time to waste!” Ipek rushed her.

“Off I go.” Y/N smiled. “Wish me luck.”

“Om Shanti.” Ipek raised her hands to her face, crossing them in the shape of a bird and touching her forehead between them, a gesture of undoubted respect to Her Highness.

Y/N got out of the carriage and came across Bhumi, Prithvi’s heir. They had become very close friends when they were in Jala, because Bhumi was Ten’s close cousin. Adding up to their escapade, Varaha, capital of Prithvi, was extremely close to Akasha – if all went well, they’d need just two days to arrive there.

“I’m glad you made it!” Bhumi hugged her. “Ten must be on his way.” He signalled for a carriage behind them. “If they saw Vayu’s carriage we might have had problems, so I thought it is better to use mine until we get to the house.”

“Thanks for helping.” She thanked him, getting into the car.

“You know my weaknesses are love stories, Y/N.” Bhumi laughed. “I asked some guards to take the road to Akasha and they reported that it is in perfect condition. I separated two stops, one in Urvarak and the other in Chattaan; if you manage to reach Chattaan tomorrow by the afternoon, Akasha is just an hour away, so you can rest and do everything at dawn. I estimate that by lunchtime you’ll be married.” Bhumi gave her hands a soft squeeze. “Om Shanti, cousin.”

“Thank you, dear. But can’t we go straight to Chattaan?”

“It’d be very risky and a tad tiring. If other guards notice a strange movement on the roads, it’ll be warned to my father and everything will go down the drain.”

“Then we will follow the pace of normal travelers.” Y/N nodded. “Ipek is following in a carriage with some of my guards, but there is nothing that indicates my presence or relation to me. Do you think they are in danger?”

“If there’s nothing of yours with her, then I don’t believe so.” Bhumi waved a hand, dispensing bad luck. “As soon as they reach Urvarak, if they wish, they can go up in the air and proceed directly to Akasha, without stopping by Chattaan, or just taking a short rest. But, in my point of view, it’d be a little risky, no? Since your father will notice your disappearance in a few hours...”

“I’ll talk to Ipek, then. It would be really good if we had someone waiting for us in Akasha.” Y/N stared at the road. “How long does it take for Urvarak?”

“If you leave this morning, you’ll be there before sunset. That, of course, if you stop to eat and everything.” Bhumi loosened a belt that held his royal attire. “We will be near Varaha in a few minutes, but I’ll drop you off at home and go to the palace. You need to be aware because only Ten knows where it is.”

“Do you think he hasn’t arrived yet?”

“I don’t know how it went with the guards at the border, even if I let them know he was coming.” Bhumi sighed. “In times of crisis, things get chaotic.’

“I hope we don’t make this a bigger problem.” Y/N sighed.

“Love inevitably creates problems, baby.” he laughed. “But, a Maharaja has always been able to choose his wife and vice versa. I don’t see your marriage as an affront to Mahabhuta’s balance, but exactly what Apas-Jal and Agni wanted to do: an alliance. So, if we are to have an alliance, let it be real and auspicious.”

“Ah Bhumi, dear, you’re so good with words.” Y/N laughed, trying to relax.

                                                     ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼

The house consisted of Prithvi’s standard architecture, with various stone details and spearhead adornments. After hugging and thanking Bhumi four more times, Y/N quietly entered the house, dressed as an ordinary Vahara citizen. It was very good that Bhumi had chosen a normal property instead of a more luxurious and aristocratic house.

She put her bag in the living room and walked to the bathroom, desperate to shower and do her hair. It could be the height of futility, but Y/N did not want Ten to see her sloppy and dirty. All those times they met when she was air bending were enough... They, in general, involved a lot of dust and dry leaves.

“Of course Bhumi would do that.” Y/N sweetly smiled when she found cinnamon essence in the bathroom. This was, in the best description, Vayu’s “official” smell.

While the water in the bathtub heated up, Y/N stretched out a lacy mid-length dress and a cloak. She had brought, in addition to that outfit, another white dress – which she would wear the day she arrived in Akasha – and a dark green dress.

Y/N smoothed the velvet piece and smiled a little. She was starting quite an adventure, but couldn’t find the slightest regret for what she was doing. For sure, if she had to choose, she would do everything again and again.

 After washing up, Y/N was braiding her hair when she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. She felt chills down her spine, but because the house had only one floor, anyone who entered it would make enough noise for her to prepare before she could cross the room. Awareness spread through her and she held tight on her hairbrush and a small hand mirror – since there wasn’t enough time to look for any other weapon.

“Y/N?” Her name came out loud in a soft voice, almost like velvet.

“Ten!” dropping all objects, she ran to him.

The couple hugged each other, trying to make up for all the one-month longing in those few seconds. A never-ending month in which Ten had heard about the arranged marriage; he and Y/N did not have much chance of communicating; and in which each other’s world seemed to get off track with the possibility of not being able to be together as they wanted to.

“How are you? Did you arrive safely?” Ten caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, loving how Y/N’s eyes closed at the slightest touch.

“I got scared thinking the house was invaded, but now I’m fine. And yes, I arrived safely thanks to Bhumi’s assistance.” she smiled.

“Sorry, I heard the water and decided it’d be respectful to wait.”

“There’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” Y/N blinked, wickedly.

“I know.” Ten brought his face close to hers. “But I thought we had agreed not to do anything else until the wedding?!”

“To look doesn’t mean to touch.” She lifted her chin, voice dripping challenge.

“It turns out, little devil, I’m not so magnanimous.” He pressed his lips to hers, savouring the longing. The last time they saw each other they had to be quick, because it was at the reunion of the kingdoms, and although they could not participate actively, the heirs had an obligation to be present.

Ten circled her waist, breathing in the cinnamon and melting on Y/N’s tongue. Her whole body was on fire – almost not so figuratively – when they were together. Even though he knew they couldn’t waste time, he delighted himself with a few bites on her neck, fighting the urge to take the kiss further.

“I swear I can’t wait to be married.” She whispered. “Then I won’t need to count our minutes together.”

“Soon.” Ten winked. “We are leaving this morning, right?”

“I think it would be ideal. Bhumi said that we can get to Akasha in two days, or we can cut some time, but we would not have Ipek anticipating any problems. It’s up to you.” She shrugged.

“We’ll do what is best at the moment, findi.” Ten smiled. “This nickname gets better and better just because it reminds me that it should be used by married people.”

“You are very keen to remember that we will get married.”

“In Agni, marriage is one of the best things that could happen to anyone, you know?” He let Y/N get out of his arms. “You can’t blame me for this.”

“I don’t blame you, but your excitement is so evident that it makes me look disinterested… And you know I’m not.”

“It’ll show up as soon as we have tied our strings.”

Y/N smiled at the mention, because the wedding rite in Akasha had, as one of the main points, to use strings. Each kingdom had its specific ritual, and they should be performed according to the bride and groom’s wishes (and the place they were in, regardless of their nationalities). When Y/N was learning about kingdoms and their cultures, she never imagined that she’d marry in Akasha, let alone with their celebration. She couldn’t wait to put it into practice.

“How’s the situation in Agni?” Y/N asked as she folded her clothes.

“Kinda stable.” Ten sat on the bed and removed his boots. “Dad thinks it’s a matter of time before it spreads to other regions other than the capital”.

“I hope nobody gets seriously hurt until we get this solved.”

“For now there was nothing.” he nodded. “Just two fires in abandoned houses. The big problem is that this affects the population indirectly; after all, you never know when they will start attacking them. Psychological terror is the worst weapon.”

“Do you think we’re going to make it worse by getting married?” Y/N swallowed.

“I think...” Ten looked at her, a small smile adorning his beautiful face. “That love is a force far greater than greed and power. If two prosperous kingdoms tied by love, and nothing but love, fails to reach everyone’s heart, then no alliance between two other kingdoms will change reality.” He held out his hand, looking for hers over the velvet dress. “I didn’t lie when I said I would set the world on fire if something hurt you, findi. It only takes one word and we return to our kingdoms.”

“No!” she denied fervently. “I won’t give you up. I only worry about these rebellions...” She shrugged. “But I love you, Ten. You know that, right?”

“Always.” he nodded. “Why don’t we rest before leaving?!”

                                                     ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼ 

The two of them really tried to rest, but the growing tension and adrenaline from their escape were too much. Long before planned, they were already on the road, heading towards Urvarak.

“It’s amazing how, despite the night, everyone lives normally. Look at how crowded the road is!” Y/N commented, surprised. “The Kingdom that never sleeps, really.”

“We have a stop in forty minutes. If you’re cold, I can stop to get the blanket from the trunk.” Ten, the gentleman he was, offered.

“I’m fine, findi. If anything, I can hug you and I’ll be warm soon.”

“If you don’t want to be attacked by my kisses, I advise you to stay away.”

“What if I want?” She raised her eyebrow.

“Seriously Y/N, I don’t know what to do with you!” he laughed. “We’ll definitely take the air route and get married as soon as possible.”

“It’s amazing how shy I still am with your flirty banters.” Y/N sighed, because in spite of being bold, that was not quite how she felt.

Sometimes she managed to keep on her carefree persona, but her feelings for Ten always made her embarrass herself. It summed up in a fool, enchanted by any movement or word spoken by him... Especially when they were addressed to her. Olum, how difficult it was to remain serious at public parties! Both of them needed to behave as if they didn’t like each other more than the “necessary”, as if they had priorities and not wished to spend every second together. Thanks to Bhumi, they were able to get away often and make some time to ease their longing.

“Ah, Rani Y/N,” he clicked his tongue. “why does this shyness never appear when it should?” His chestnut eyes flashed in a playful glow.

“Stop it, Ten!” She laughed, shyly. “but, I must confess, I don’t regret you being the first. In everything.”

“It would be a little too late to regret it, you know?” Ten pinned. “However, that does not diminish the pleasure of listening to your confession. I hope that, in addition to being your first, I’ll also be your last.”

“If we get to Akasha really fast...” She batted her well-trained lashes, like a she used to do when trying to manipulate her father into thinking she was sweet and innocent.

“It’s decided! At the next stop I’ll look for antelopes and tomorrow afternoon we’ll be married.” Ten shook his head like an indignant little boy.

“In my suitcase I have a Vayu scroll and I will make sure that it reaches Ipek as soon as possible.” Y/N winked at the groom.

“What a helpful wife I got!

“Olum, you can’t even imagine.” She grinned.

                                                      ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼

The innkeeper explained to them how to get to the antelopes in two stops. They had thirty minutes until there, and the horses were losing their pace along the way. Fear not, Y/N thought, since she already had everything worked out in her head!

Probably, her father would be finding out about her disappearance at that moment, and then he would start searching the palace and the gardens. Then, when he didn’t find her, he would request searches around the city. Then, the Royal Guard would issue a search warrant to all kingdoms, and perhaps Chittaphon’s parents would warn Vayu of his disappearance as well. Then they would finally come to conclusion of what happened to the two heirs, and if they were as smart as Y/N hoped, they would march to Akasha.

Only that it would be too late.

Because she’d be married!

Perfect.

The antelope route was really the best option.

“Maybe I can bend some air so the horses can rest. I can make sure no one notices that they’re floating...”

“You schemed.” Ten laughed. “I don’t know why I thought I wouldn’t do it.”

“Perhaps you’re so excited about the escape that you didn’t pay close attention.” She joked. Everyone knew how much Maharani Y/N loved to turn things into schemes. “Well, if my plan is right, we have about fifteen hours to get married and consummate it, avoiding, even if improbable, it to be nulled.” she laughed. “Therefore, we indeed have to take the air route.”

“Amazing, findi.” Ten winked.

                                                      ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼

Akasha was a wonderful city. Y/N visited there only twice: when she was born, and when she reached her adult age, so she had to seize her title of heiress. She remembered the big trees, especially the cherry ones, the colourful houses, the bright and clean streets, the undeniably blue sky... There never seemed to exist bad weather in Akasha! When they stopped in front of the temple where they would celebrate their wedding, Y/N’s heart raced. It was a large and flowery place, like a cottage, with symbols of the four kingdoms and their specific plants. Two carriages (one with her guards and the other with his) were waiting for them in the parking lot. Impatient, Ten grabbed her hand and they both entered the temple, drowning in emotion and adrenaline.

“Ready?”

“Always.” she smiled.

Ipek, who had been instructed to organize everything, was talking to two monks and the celebrator. As soon as she saw Her Highness, she ran to help her get ready. They couldn’t waste a second of the day!

The typical ceremonial dress Ipek got was cream coloured, adorned with gold accents, and a dark green – almost black – velvet cape that made the costume extremely elegant. From the bar to the knee, the lines formed spirals and points that resembled the starry sky or some forest/landscape seen from above. Her hair was braided with gold threads and cherry blossoms, because they were the symbol of Akasha. At her hands, in addition to the jewels she was supposed to wear, temporary ink tattooed the main crests of the four kingdoms extended from the wrist to the elbow, to indicate the union of these nations. On her feet, more drawings, up to the height of her shin. She should be barefoot, connecting to the nature and the land, as a sign of balance.

“Raja Chittaphon is ready.” Ipek returned to the salon where Y/N was dressed. “Now we just need the ornaments on the face and you can go!”

“I’m anxious.” Y/N exhaled. “Let’s get on with it soon!”

“I promise it will be very quick.”

After Ipek used powder from shiny stones and glued three diamonds above her left eyebrow, Y/N was ready.

Ipek and two guards accompanied her to the decorated courtyard, where those responsible for marrying her had started the blessing in Ten, preventing him from seeing her. Y/N watched, with her racing heart, the black and gold velvet suit he wore, a single cherry blossom attached to the left side of his chest.

“We’re ready.” The monk guided her to the entrance of the hall.

After a short speech in Akasha’s dialect, one of the monks began to play a harp, while Y/N crossed the room towards Ten, not knowing how to react to the prince’s brilliant and hypnotic gaze.

When they faced each other, the monk handed them a small vase with coloured sand. According to the ritual, the sand symbolized “the union of two different points in the name of something greater” in this case, love, and each one should pour a little of it on a plate, so that the mixture of colours creates a new one: their colour. Y/N watched wordlessly as a lilac originated from the mixture.

“Now hold hands.” The man responsible for the ceremony instructed. “This is the thread of companionship. For Akasha, you are one, but this does not mean that you should forget who you were before the wedding. One hand is tied to the partner’s, while the other is free to remind you that there is room for both to grow together and individually.” He tied the ribbon on their fist. “Still united, we will recite the vows and walk towards the end of the celebration.”

Y/N and Ten repeated each word very calmly, although their hearts were desperate for the end. After washing their feet in the water of the main river, Kundalini, to purify their bodies in this new phase, the couple still had to plant a tree as well, symbolizing their growth. And, to the sound of “Under the laws of Akasha, I declare you husband and wife”, several fireworks were lit. Ipek started the party by playing a soft melody over two lovers, and the people present continued with the dance. The newest couple stared at each other, laughing.

“I think this is our cue to escape... Findi.” The nickname now sounded a thousand times wicked in Ten’s voice. “Let’s go?”

“I was counting the seconds.” Y/N nodded, intertwining their fingers, as they still had one hand joined.

                                                      ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼

Ten undid the first tie of Y/N’s dress quite slowly. He had done it a few times, but at that moment, it was too special to ruin it in a hurry. They were finally married. He no longer needed to be quick with Y/N. Now they had all the time in the world to love each other as they deserved.

“Do you need help?” Y/N frowned.

“No, findi. I just want to... Take it slow.” The light entering the room made his eyes even brighter. “Because you deserve to be adored, from head to toe. Quietly. Every inch.” To demonstrate his words, he raised her fist and glued his mouth to it, running his tongue lightly over her soft skin.

“Ten...” She breathed weakly, it tickled.

“What?” He smiled. “‘Ah Ten’, ‘more Ten’, ‘please, Ten’?”

“Pretentious rake.” Y/N shook her head, feeling her heart explode with joy.

“Your pretentious rake. Your favourite rake. Yours, for eternity.”

She closed her eyes at those words. She was his, too, since the damn smile he gave her in the hall of Apas-Jal’s palace. Olum, how could one live with so much love inside them?! And how lucky had she been to feel that and be reciprocated?!

I’m staying up

I don’t wanna come down from your love

Ten pulled her close, melting his mouth on her neck, biting and sucking like he knew she liked. He wrapped his arms around her, throwing the damn tie to the floor. Y/N smelled extremely well, having washed and removed the tattoos she was supposed to use for the wedding ceremony. His fingers tangled in the fabric of her nightgown at the mere sound of her quiet moan, trying to go easy, to remain chill. He didn’t want to go fast. He had to stay calm.

“Let’s go to the bed, huh?” Y/N suggested, knees buckling from all those emotions.

“I tell you I want to take it easy and you urge me to go fast...” He shook his head, carefully guiding her to the huge mattress. “What should I do?”

“You can start by kissing me here.” She signalled from her collarbone to the valley between the breasts. Ten smiled. “Or, you can let me take off your clothes...”

It’s not that she didn’t want to be worshiped from head to toe, but if her calculations didn’t fail, someone from the Kingdom of Vayu would arrive in Akasha by the end of the afternoon... And if the wedding wasn’t consummated, they could be in trouble. She and Chittaphon never took more than thirty minutes with sex, because there were always too many people around and if they were five minutes late, someone would miss one of them. It was unfair that their first time since married had to be rushed too, but they would have a whole life together.

But, Y/N should be grateful. At least they were together.

“What are you thinking?”

“Schemes.” She joked.

“ Now, now, Rani Y/N, that was an unfortunate answer.” He started unbuttoning his shirt. “Guess I’ll need to be a little cruel this time. I don’t want you thinking about anything other than my mouth and my fingers on your body.”

“Or your dick.” Y/N smirked, satisfied with the provocation.

She closed her eyes and felt Ten’s lips come down over her shoulder, paiting small bites. With her legs spread, he found space to rest between her thighs while devouring each centimetre of the princess. Her calculations were forgotten as soon as his fingertips went up the hem of her dress, sliding down the inside of her thighs, making her shiver. He reached her underwear and touched her clothed womanhood.

“I want you to do that again.” Y/N moaned.

“Do what?”

“You know what.” She gasped when he brushed her swollen spot.

“I don’t know,” He commented wickedly. “But I have an idea of ​​what it is… And for that, I will finally need to take your clothes off.” He couldn’t believe that after months he’d be able to see her completely naked again.

Rather than feeling shy, Y/N was more than willing to throw the sleeping dress away. They never had much time to get rid of all their clothes, so she was also counting on Ten naked. It had been a long time since she had had such a privilege to see him like that. And the view was always a spectacle!

She sat up suddenly, leaving him a little unbalanced, but grinning. Y/N started pulling on her nightgown anyway, not caring if she would tear it up. Ten could bent fire, but what burned inside her was pure lust. He would have a hard time controlling his wife, especially if he continued to look at her as if she were a work of art. But as soon as the fabric passed over her head, Y/N didn’t have time to absorb the intensity of his eyes. Ten pulled her by the hand, kissing her urgently.

With the princess in his lap, he got rid of his shirt and tried to open his trousers’ button. To give him enough space, Y/N stepped back a little, noting a new detail in his left arm: there were two lines near the elbow, one thick and the other a little thinner. Unlike the wedding tattoos, those lines seemed permanent.

“What is it?” She asked curiously.

“In Agni, every married man should have this tattoo. It is like a ring that we never take out or lose.” Ten looked at his arm. “Women should have these lines on their ankles, but since you are not from Agni, I thought it best not to ask you to tattoo it.”

“I want to!” She cut him off. “I’ll do it, if you want me to.”

“Really?” Ten smiled. He was always touched by Y/N’s loving manner. She was his best companion, in any situation. Even when they could get in trouble, Y/N would not leave him alone. She preferred that they’d get scolded together than to leave him. “Then, as soon as we wake up, I’ll ask the monk to arrange everything.”

“I think I will have a charming ankle.” She stretched out one leg, moving close to where Ten wanted her most. “Oh, oops...” Y/N smirked, faking a shy laugh.

“Findi, findi.” He shook his head, matching her smirk.

“Let me make up for the distraction.” Y/N moved away as she lowered her hands to his pants, finishing unbuttoning them.

“Your wish is my command, findi.”

We’ll get lost together

Let me flow

Ten swallowed hard as soon as he felt her mouth kissing his abdomen. Y/N was not ashamed of trying to please him. She was always receptive and creative, making each time something very unique and very special. Unlike what was expected of an Air Princess – known for being more reserved and a little cold. Y/N had fire inside her. She burned like him… Burned with him. For him.

With her delicate fingers, Y/N removed Ten’s pants, and began her exploration on his belly, playing with the fine line of hair up to the underwear he was wearing. It was unusual for her to dedicate themselves so much to foreplay, but she was loving seeing Ten so mesmerized by her movements. Very gently, Y/N took him with one hand, going on with a lazy back and forth motion, just to make him double hard and more desperate. Her eyes found the glowing chestnut globes and she smirked, causing a burst of pleasure to break inside Ten, who moaned loudly.

That was enough for him. Blast trying to prolong the moment! He needed Y/N and he needed her now. Pulling her by the chin, they came face to face.

“I miss you,” The distance between their mouths became even smaller. “around me.”

The kiss began sweet, slow, but charged with lust. Both were already familiar with the delicious sensations that any scarce touch between them provided, but nothing compared to the anxiety build during foreplay. It was very, very good. Their bodies were tickling and hot, their hearts beating fast and their minds remembering all those times when they were together.

How glorious it was when they met.

It was a different, more intense sensation. Y/N didn’t understand why she wanted to cry and laugh out loud, like a crazy girl. The tossed their underwear out, surrendering to the bubbling desire. Ten put her hands on his shoulders and smiled warmly, making the frenzy an act of zeal. He leaned down to kiss her again, and from there, it was automatic. Y/N’s hip followed its own will and moved, showing exactly what it was looking for. The kiss became wet and some moans escaped not so quietly. Ten’s husky voice was the turning point for the princess.

“Come here.” He asked in a whisper.

Ten turned her on the bed and stood over her, waist between her legs. He entered without warning, fast and strong. A louder than expected groan left her throat, earning a chuckle mixed with a grunt from the prince. Y/N brought her hands to his back, dividing her attention between his shoulder blades and his dark, silky hair. With a love bite at the junction of her neck and shoulder, Ten started to move. Slow and intense, but picking up as the seconds passed by. Y/N already knew what to do to please him, so she devoted herself to his neck, trying to occupy her mouth with something other than “Oh, Ten” or scandalous moans. He grabbed one of her thighs and wrapped it around her waist, managing to reach deeper. Then, he was thrusting hard and fast. Y/N rolled her eyes and arched her back, forgetting about the whole world.

This was perfect.

Her stomach churned with several knots of pleasure, the peak of her orgasm reaching its maximum when Ten grabbed her face and kissed her urgently. Y/N felt the spasms in every cell, not knowing if she was able to enjoy her climax and kiss Ten at the same time. The prince continued to dive deeper until he too reached his release, making her want to get there again. Y/N slipped a hand to her swollen spot and began to rub it, tightening her muscles even more and listening to Ten’s sexy growls. And it worked.

Don’t ever let me come down from your love

From your love, from your love

                                                      ☼ ⸛ ☼ ⸛ ☼

Ten examined his wife’s ankle, amused by the way she didn’t try to pretend that the tattoo was a “big deal”.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t want to tell me that this was common in Agni.” She lowered her dress’ skirt. “It looks rather cute on my ankle, doesn’t it?”

“You look rather cute, indeed.”

“Not me, the tattoo you didn’t want to tell me about!” She grinned.

“Are we going to talk about this again?” He hugged her, placing a sweet kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, anyway, for accepting. I love you.”

“My pleasure.” Y/N waved her hand. “Love you more.”

Ten offered her a glass of water and a cookie, because she hadn’t eaten breakfast in her desperation to get the tattoo. The monk finished cleaning the room and excused himself, but as soon as he left, Ipek hurried in.

“Rani Y/N! Rani Y/N!”

“What is it, Ipek?” Y/N disengaged herself from Ten’s embrace and stood up.

“Samraat Bhima is here... And he didn’t come alone.” Ipek pointed to the window.

When she pulled the curtain, Y/N could see Vayu’s flags extending across a large part of the street, accompanied by some of Agni’s. She turned to Ten in a mixture of concern and joy. It was time to announce to the kingdoms what they had done. And to hope that love would be enough.

“Olum, findi, it looks like we have some nations to win back.” She grinned.

And hand in hand, they went out to face the nations of Air and Fire.

#ten scenarios #ten smut #nct scenarios #nct smut #wayv scenarios #wayv smut #superm scenarios #superm smut #nct ten #wayv ten #superm ten #ten chittaphon #chittaphon x reader #happytenday

[quirkysubject]

This is a German music journalist's recollection of meeting Queen in March 1973.

It offers an interesting glimpse into how Queen’s PR worked in the very early days, before the first album was even out.

~~~

From Underground to Mainstream

A cloudy day in London, 1973. It’s March, and the weather can’t decide between spring and winter, and of course it’s raining. I have an appointment with Paul McCartney at the office of his publicist, Tony Brainsby. He also looks after Cat Stevens, and he’s promised me a photo session afterwards. 

Ten o’clock on the dot I’m at the office - you don’t let Paul McCartney wait. Unfortunately, the same doesn’t apply the other way round… His publicist apologises profusely: “He’s still in Scotland, the plane from Edinburgh hasn’t landed yet. No reason to worry… he’ll be here eventually. In the meantime, why don’t we listen to the tapes of a new group. They have been finished just tonight. If you like it, you can interview them until Paul comes in.”

Tired, pale and a little narrow-faced*, the four gentlemen Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor were sitting on a sofa in the office. More than six months of hard work in the studio lay behind them. For April 9th, they’ve a gig planned at the legendary Marquee Club - home and birthplace of many stars - where they intend to present their album to the English music press. And now I was going to be the first journalist who had the honour to listen to those songs? Brainsby had no only piqued my interest, but also my vanity. Soon, Keep Yourself Alive was hammering from the speakers. Pure, hard, driven rock. Brainsby didn’t have to say anything else. It shreds - and Paul McCartney is almost forgotten. 

I wanted the interview and explained to the guys that we always need photographs for BRAVO. Brian immediately agreed to take me and the photographer to his home - to Feltham**, where he had a basement room. He lived there with his cat, showed us the table where he had built his own guitars, and a desk full of books. May studied astrophysics and was preparing his PhD thesis, which he would, with some years’ delay, eventually hand in. We then drove to the noble borough of Kensington with John*** and Freddie. They rented a shop with another friend, and sold Indian garments, incense sticks, silver jewellery, and other arts and crafts. They only gave up the shop completely in 1975. With Freddie, John, and Brian, we had a unique photo session, which wouldn’t have been possible in this way a only couple of months later. 

By the way: I did meet Paul McCartney eventually, in the afternoon. There had never been a ten o’clock appointment, he said. It seems like the clever Brainsby had tricked me with an ancient PR ploy to get publicity for a band that was still at the beginning of its career, and which would only take off as Queen about a year later. I wasn’t upset about it. Not even when the editorial office wasn’t interested in my newcomer story and didn’t want to print it, or when those brilliant photos disappeared into the archives****. 

My gut feeling was: Those guys will make it. Be patient, Siggi. Patience was what distinguished BRAVO in general, and the editorial office in particular in the seventies. In addition to that, there was a good intuition for up-and-coming groups and trends, like green fingers for talents, and a very keen eye for the English and American market. But in contrast to today, we had one significant advantage: BRAVO set the trends. If you didn’t make it onto our pages, you didn’t stand a chance. 

This predominant position offered room for experimentation. Apart from the obligation to write about the groups that topped the BRAVO charts and were the most popular among our readers, there was also the little extra on top: We were free to find out what the kids out there wanted and what not. And this principle worked with Queen as well. A couple of small reports first as a trial run, then a page in early 1974, when interest had been stoked by the first hit Seven Seas of Rhye, and later colourful spreads, home stories, posters, Queen had to be featured almost every week - success bred its own success. BRAVO got all the stories it wanted, was allowed backstage during tours, into the dressing rooms  - privileges that many colleagues could only dream of. Because those four never forgot our meeting in Tony Brainsby’s office.

~~~

* ”schmalgesichtig” - I’m not sure what it’s supposed to mean. Perhaps something like sour-faced.

** He either misremembers the place, or Brian had taken him to his parents house.  

*** It’s more likely that’s Roger, given the fact that they drive to the market.

**** as far as I know, those photos haven’t appeared in the meantime. So a trip to the BRAVO archives might be worthwhile...

~~~

Siggi Niedergesäß in: Teddy Hoersch, BRAVO 1956 - 2006, pp 378-381.

My translation.

#bravo #early queen #my stuff

[disasterfandoms]

After Action Argument, Part One|| A Trent Sawyer and Full-Metal Oneshot

Co-wrote with @bravo-four-seal-team

A/N: So this was formed while headcanoning about Full-Metal and Trent’s friendship and their crazy asses with @bravo-four-seal-team​ and it eventually became writing a fic on how we thought this would go. This is long, so I divided it up into 2 parts.

Summary: Missing scenes from 2x21 and 2x22 encasing Metal’s concern for his brother’s mental health and sanity. Aka Metal and Trent argue for eternity with some fluff at the end.

This is the first piece of work in a series I’m working on on AO3 called “The Medic and The Rambunctious Brothers.” There are two OC’s in this, but one is only explicitly in the story.

TW: Talks of death, talks of a land mine, war, deployment, blood, being in an explosion, talks of suicidal thoughts, talks of therapy, arguments

Taglist: @himbohondo, @a-kate3, @rebelwrites, @thegirlwhoisalwayswriting, @supervalcsi, @jayhalsteadfan-2417, @mrsmarvelous1995​, @chibsytelford​

Of course, of all missions, this was the mission he would step on a landmine. The mission where they were busting ass to save Ray, to get the guy who was responsible for the bombings that took out Clay. 

He stood still as soon as he felt something underneath his foot. Dammit. Jason walked a couple more steps ahead of him before realizing he was frozen. “What?” he asked, staring at Trent.

“Felt something under my right foot,” Trent paused, taking a deep breath, “I’m pretty sure it’s a landmine,” he finished, looking at Jason as his eyes grew wide. He imagined that everyone else was also feeling the dread flowing freely through their veins when he said it, but Brock and Metal was behind him. 

Of course Metal was on this mission with him. Amelia was going to kill him if he killed her brother because he stepped on a landmine. Of course, Amelia might kill him for stepping on a landmine anyways if she ever hears about it. He mentally makes a note to talk to Metal about not telling this story to her later.

“That’s no bueno, boys,” Sonny said, crouching down to see the mine below him and snapping Trent back to reality, “Landmines are the sharks of the dirt.”

Full Metal has carefully made his way to stand in front of Trent, boring his eyes into Trent’s, looking for any sign of where Trent’s head is at. He didn’t like the look he saw, though, it generally means Trent’s made a decision he was going to regret.

“Don’t have time for this, I’ll figure it out.You guys keep going.” Trent said, and Metal immediately glared at him. Like hell he was leaving his brother behind. 

Luckily, Jason read his mind. “Not gonna happen Trent,” he immediately shot down Trent’s idiocy, but god his friend was stubborn.

“Go, I’ll make it safe myself.” Trent tries again, adamant that they all needed to get out of there, to go get Ray and finish the mission. He wasn’t going to leave Ray stranded because he was the idiot who’s most likely going to get blown-up in India.

“Like hell you will, Trent. I’ve seen you open a beer bottle before. Now, letting you do surgery on a bomb, probably gonna turn us into wolf food,” Sonny stated, while both him and Jason squat down to the ground to figure out a plan.

“Don’t make me laugh Sonny, I’m literally on a mine,” Trent said quickly, with an edge in his voice. Metal glared at him, still not believing his friend would be so stupid to actually think they’d leave him behind, and angry at Sonny for making jokes about it.

“T we’re not going anywhere, don’t even think about trying it again,” Metal said with the most menancing voice he could muster, but worry seeped through with every word. Jason was working with Brock to figure out a way to save Trent, so Metal focused on Trent and whatever the hell is going on in his head.

“Metal, if I die in this fiel-”

“No. we’re not doing that,” Metal interrupted him, stopping him in his tracks,”You’re going to be fine, T. We’re gonna get you off the mine safely, go get Ray, and then go home and you can tell Mellie anything you want,” 

“You all should be going and getting Ray anyways, Metal. You have time to get him and still get the HVT.” Trent insisted, not understanding why they don’t see that Ray is going to be easier to save than him at this point. He’s made his peace, though Amelia would be pissed, with dying in this field. Metal shook his head and started to speak, but was interrupted:

“Guys we got an incoming!” Sonny yelled from his spot as security. Brock and Jason continued to work on saving Trent, while Metal got down and focused on the enemy at-hand.

“Boss I’m sticking out like a hooker in Church here,” Trent quickly stated, starting to panic about being the reason they’re gonna be spotted. Jason quietly counted down, then both him and Trent laid on the ground, keeping themselves hidden and not being blown up at the same time. 

Once the enemy had driven away, They all stood up carefully, Trent nodding a thank you to Jason and Brock. They then continued their mission to get their brother and bring him home.

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

They eventually found Ray, and were rescued by Indian forces. Tension between Trent and Full-Metal was thick, and the guys had decided to go to a place to drink some beer and relax before going to bed. Full-Metal had pulled Trent to the side, to their barracks in the compound, a room one door over from where Bravo was.

Metal was pissed, but he was also worried for his friend. Once he got Trent alone, he began to tear into him about the decision he made out there. Trent stood across from him, with his arms wrapped across his own body.

 "What the fuck was that Trent?! Telling us to go? You'll make it safe?! Tell me exactly how the fuck you would make it safe" Metal loudly lashed out, his feelings his bottled up spilling over.

Trent sighed, “Metal will you shut up, it all worked out fine"

"Trent! It ain't fine! We coulda been burying you! I don't want to give a damn death notice to your family, to my sister! Because my death would be next!"

“You’re exaggerating."

Metal threw his hands up in the air, his volume growing increasingly louder with every reply, “Trent, take this seriously! Can you just stop for one minute to think about how your death would affect your damn team? Ray probably wouldn’t forgive himself because you were there for him, Jase would blame himself because he lead you into that minefield, and who the fuck are they gonna trust with their bullshit? The new medic?”

Trent chuckled a little bit, now sitting on his bunk and shook his head, “Metal I am alive with only scrapes, bruises and sore muscles. And so are the guys! We’re okay, Metal.” He attempted to reassure the Master Chief, but it only seemed to make him angrier.

"We are okay because of a slim chance of luck! Trent, luck runs out! It's scrapes, bruises and sore muscles now, but what about next time? I never want to hear that self sacrificing Bullshit again! Ok?" He tried, desperately to get his friend and one of the most talented medics he knew to understand where he was coming from.

"You’re taking this out of proportion, Metal.”

“I’m taking this out of proportion?!”

“Yes!”

“For the love of god Trent!”

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

Brock, Jason, and Sonny were sitting in the common room, listening to the argument in the next room, each of them incredibly confused as to why Full-Metal is yelling at their medic, especially given the circumstances.

“You know, I didn’t even realize just how close Full-Metal and Trent were,” Jason commented, trying to converse with their team as if they were spectators of a football game.

“Who is that yelling, and what happened to Full Metal?” Sonny jokes, and they all chuckled.

“Metal called him T at the minefield. Trent doesn’t let anyone call him by anything other than Trent,” Brock piped up, and they all looked at each other, trying to figure out what that meant.

“Well, I mean, Full-Metal did give us the keys to Trent’s house so we’re able to check in on him and go there if we needed, that should have been our first clue.” Sonny commented, trying to make what they were hearing make sense.

“But who’s Mellie, and why would Trent want to tell her anything?” Jason asked, still confused as to what the hell was going on.

“Maybe his daughter? I thought he’d tell us he had a kid before Full-Metal, though.” Brock supplied, suddenly wanting popcorn as if they were watching a soap opera unfold.

“I wish we could hear Trent’s arguments back to him, though. It’s like trying to piece a puzzle together without all the pieces,” Sonny tried to make the expression work. The two other men just laughed at him, and shook their heads.

At this rate, they’ll be surprised at just about anything they learn about Trent.

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

“I get this is war Trent, but there’s a difference between casualty of war and being a damn martyr. You and I have both seen it. Hell, Adam acted like a damn martyr when he tackled a guy with an S-Vest!” Metal’s pacing at this point, getting frustrated at how stubborn his best friend was.

“Adam was doing what he thought he needed to to save us, Metal. And I was doing the same, if we had all been blown up no one would have gotten to Ray.” Trent pointed out, trying to stay calm. He knows his friend is just worried about him, he’s used to his rough ways of being a good friend by now.

"Adam did the one thing he told everyone not to do! Trent, we had enough people; Jason and Sonny could have continued while Brock and I got you out that situation. That's the only other option, all stay or split off. Get it through that thick skull of yours!”

"You’re taking this too far Metal," Trent warned, getting frustrated that his friend brought up Adam.

"I have seen enough friends die, T. I don’t need to lose another.” Metal said, desperately hoping his friend understood that he was scared for him.

“Scott, you didn’t lose me! I’m fine! In that moment it was my problem to fix, the team needed to focus on Ray because he was in a lot more trouble than I was.” He felt his voice getting louder, but at this point he didn’t care that he was yelling at his friend, who just so happen to be a Master Chief, and could technically reprimand him.

“Bullshit, Trent. We go home as one or we don’t go home at all. You know that, asking any one of us to leave you behind is self-sacrificial nonsense.”

"One life is better than two, you and I both know that"

"That's bullshit! When you have the option to save someone you do that! There's no other options!" Metal was just angry now, angry at Trent for acting like this, angry at Jason for whatever he’s teaching his team, and angry at himself for not realizing Trent really thought anyone would be okay with sacrificing himself.

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

“Are they ever gonna be done fighting?” Jason asks, starting to get exhausted and incredibly sore from the op. He was cuddled up on the couch now, trying to drown out their teammates yelling at each other in the next room. He was interested earlier, but he didn’t know how long those two will argue.

“I’m gonna go see if they can shut up so we can get some shut-eye” Sonny announces, slowly trying to stand-up, making painful knows as his body protested.

“Good luck buddy, Metal’s scary when he’s angry,” Brock drowsily spoke, falling asleep with Cerberus on top of him.

Sonny goes into the next room and popped his head through the door opening, “You two done with this pissing contest you got goin’ on here? Some of us need our beauty sleep before Mandy inevitably finds a target package for us to go after the 24 hours before we leave the island from hell,”

Full-Metal turns to him and gives him the look that Sonny imagines is what Metal’s victims see when they have nightmares in the eighth circle of hell. Sonny quickly left, and briskly walked out of the line of fire.

“Get ready boys, we’re gonna sleep in here tonight,” he told them, and they groaned.

This is not how they imagined tonight going.

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

“Metal, if we had all been blown up by the mine then all 6 of Bravo, and yes I’m counting you as bravo so deal with it, would have died in that field. Sending you all away at least gave us a fighting chance. And Ray has a family back home that can’t afford to lose him.” Trent reasoned for the millionth time. Neither of them were getting anywhere, and both of them just wanted to resolve this and go to sleep. Trent was lying in his bed at this point, while Metal was still pacing.

“Newsflash, Trent, you have a family and a girlfriend who would be crushed by you dying too.”

"My family would be fine! Ray has a wife and two kids at home!"

"Trent will you listen to yourself! Go out there and ask them all if they would leave you to die! I guarantee you that they will say the same as I have. They’re your brothers, they don’t want to be here without you.”

“Metal, it was the only decision that made sense! You mean to tell me that Blackburn wouldn’t have told us to ‘work the problem’?”

“That’s a suicide mission, you idiot, not working the problem!”

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

Ray and Blackburn walk by the common room, hearing the arguing still occurring through the walls. He then sees three of his operators all asleep in chairs, and decide to order, Ray to wake them, while he dealt with those two idiots inside to call it quits for the night.

He entered, and made his arrival clear by a raising his voice and saying, “Hey! Both of you, quit arguing. It’s too late for this, you need sleep before Mandy finds the HVT so you’re prepared.”

They both nodded, and everyone piled in to sleep in their beds, and Cerberus in his cage.

They sleep, hoping this is all over, but oh how wrong they were.

#trent sawyer #full metal #scott carter #sonny quinn #ray perry #jason hayes #brock reynolds #seal team oneshot #seal team #writing series #this is so long i'm so sorry to anyone who reads this

[afroherbalism]

"Emma Dupree (1897-1992) was an influential black herbalist from Falkland and Fountain, in Pitt County in North Carolina. She was known locally as “granny woman.”

Because she prays, she brews herbs. Because she brews herbs, she heals. Because she heals, she is the undisputed sage of Pitt County. They say her home remedies can quiet a colicky baby, cure a mean cold and scare lice off a hog.

"All that we see, everything that is growin' in the earth," Emma says, "is healin' to the nation of any kind of disease."

She was the daughter of freed slaves and grew up on the Tar River. She was known for her work with native herbs: Sassafras, white mint, double tansy, rabbit tobacco, maypop, mullein, catnip, horseradish, and silkweed.

Here is an excerpt from an article published shortly after her death:

"From the time she could walk, Emma felt drawn to the land. She would roam the woods, plucking, sniffing, tasting weeds. She grew up that way, collecting the leaves, stems, roots and bark of sweet gum, white mint, mullen, sassafras in her coattail or a tin bucket. She'd tote them back to the farm, rinse them in well water and tie them in bunches to dry. In the backyard, she'd raise a fire under a kettle and boil her herbs to a bubbly froth, then pour it up in brown-necked stone jugs: A white-mint potion for poor circulation; catnip tea for babies with colic; tansy tea - hot or cold - for low blood sugar; mullein tea for a stomach ache. Mixed with molasses or peppermint candy to knock out the bitterness. Her kind of folk medicine dates back centuries. In the 1600s, African slaves brought root-doctor remedies to America. Indians and immigrants had cure-alls, too. In some rural areas, scattered herbalists still practice."

She was born on July 4, 1897, the seventh among 18 siblings, Emma Williams Dupree grew up on the Tar River and was known in her family as "that little medicine thing" because of her early understanding of herbs.

Her parents, Pennia and Noah Williams, were freed slaves farming in Falkland, NC.

She told an interviewer in 1979 that her mother remembered being "on the porch of the old Wooten's farm home when freedom came. She was 16 when Mr. and Mrs. Wooten walked out on that porch and told her she was 'as free as they were, but they loved her just the same.'"

She was married for one year to Ethan Cherry, a farmer. She divorced him and remarried another farmer, Austin Dupree, Jr., who was born in 1892. Emma and Austin moved to Fountain, NC in 1936 and had five children, whose ages in the 1930 U.S. Census are indicated in parentheses: Lucy (12), Herbert (9), John (5), Doris (3), and Mary (1).

They remained married until his death at age 90. She died at home, at 3313 N. Jefferson St, Fountain, on March 12, 1996. She is buried at Saint John's Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, in Falkland,NC.

Emma Dupree's "garden-grown pharamacy" included sassafras, white mint, double tansy, rabbit tobacco, maypop, mullein, catnip, horseradish, silkweed and other plants from which she made tonics, teas, salves and dried preparations. These were cultivated in her yard and gathered from the banks of the Tar River. She told Karen Baldwin that she grew a special tree in her back yard, which she called her "healing berry tree."

She explained, "Now that tree, I don't know of another name for it, but it's in the old-fashioned Bible and the seed for it came from Rome." She also told Baldwin of being an especially alert baby: "They said I was just looking every which way. And I kept acting and moving and doing things a baby didn't do. And I walked early. I was walking at seven months old, just as good and strong. When I got so I got out doors, I went to work. I was pulling up weeds, biting them, smelling in them, and spitting them out. And folks in them days, they just watched me, watched what I was doing.

Awards and Recognition

In 1984, Dupree was awarded the Brown-Hudson Award by the North Carolina Folklore Society, recognizing her as an individual who contributed significantly to the transmission, appreciation and observance of traditional culture and folk life in North Carolina.

In 1992, Dupree received the North Carolina Heritage Award, lifetime achievement recognition for outstanding traditional artists in North Carolina

NOTE:

Here is a link to a video of Mrs Emma Dupree being interviewed by students of the ECU medical research department. This video is Produced by the office of Health Services Research and Development, School of Medicine, East Carolina University.

It is 40 minutes long.

Link: https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/58575?fbclid=IwAR1e22I8_vRfvzI0nZXDBT8XG7Z-4DgiNykjqsbPD8hoD2Aw8haC2uI8vvo#details

Source;https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/ncpi/view/5581

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Dupree

---

Herbalist, 94, Lets Nature Heal

by Paige Williams Feb 20, 1992

Before her came African root doctors and Indian medicine men. People believed their mystical potions could cure body and soul and sometimes they could. Some modern medicines still use herbal derivatives. Few old-time herbalists like Emma are left in North Carolina. Hospitals first forced her kind out of business. Death is finishing the job. Emma Dupree's hanging tough, though, pushing 10 decades. She takes the tonic, see. Drinks it like water. She jumps out of her chair, props fists on her waist and swivels her hips Hula-Hoop style. She holds both hands out flat and squirms her wrinkled fingers all around, crossing and uncrossing, like she's making a million wishes. No arthritis there.

"There's something to that stuff," said her granddaughter, Sandra White.

Joe Exum, town grocer, keeps a Crown Royal bourbon bottle under the front seat of his pickup truck. It holds the slimy remnants of Emma's tonic: oily brown syrup that looks like tobacco spit, stings the nose like paint thinner and tastes like pine tar smells.

"I'd pay $50 for a bottle right now," Exum said. "Two swallers and it'll knock the sore throat right out." He's waiting for Emma to brew another batch. She stewed her last at Christmas. She used to make the tonic right steady, every day almost, the way she learned 80 years ago, when the woods first called her.

Pitt County borders the Pamlico River 80 miles east of Raleigh. Its largest town is Greenville, the county seat, population

44,972. One of its smallest is Fountain, population 445, founded in 1900 on the western rim. Emma Dupree was Emma Williams then, a 3-year-old growing up the daughter of freed slaves on a farm 9 miles east in Falkland, where she was born the Fourth of July, 1897. Emma was the knee baby, second from the youngest of seven girls and four boys, and always hanging on her mama's knee. Early on, Pennia and Noah Williams knew she was nature's child. From the time she could walk, Emma felt drawn to the land.

She would roam the woods, plucking, sniffing, tasting weeds. She grew up that way, collecting the leaves, stems, roots and bark of sweet gum, white mint, mullen, sassafras in her coattail or a tin bucket. She'd tote them back to the farm, rinse them in well water and tie them in bunches to dry. In the backyard, she'd raise a fire under a kettle and boil her herbs to a bubbly froth, then pour it up in brown-necked stone jugs: A white-mint potion for poor circulation; catnip tea for babies with colic; tansy tea - hot or cold - for low blood sugar; mullen tea for a stomach ache. Mixed with molasses or peppermint candy to knock out the bitterness. Her kind of folk medicine dates back centuries. In the 1600s, African slaves brought root-doctor remedies to America. Indians and immigrants had cure-alls, too. In some rural areas, scattered herbalists still practice.

"It's dying out," says Charles Reagan Wilson of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. "People more and more rely on modern science." Pitt County's got both. Modern medicine and Emma Dupree. Her school was God's school; her classroom, the land. While the other children played, she picked herbs. Sometimes she caught the other children talking about her: "There comes that ol' rovin' gal. Reckon where she goin' now?" Yet they always followed her.

When Emma was about 20, she married Ethan Cherry, a farmer. It lasted about a year. The story goes that Cherry went one wisecrack too far about how many women it takes to satisfy a man. Emma whacked him with a chair. Knocked him out cold. Then she divorced him. "He wasn't no good husband." She married another farmer, Austin Dupree. They moved to Fountain in 1936. Old age killed him in the the early 1970s. He was nearly 90. Of Emma's five children, only Doris, 66, is left. She lives next door to Emma's little white-and-green house on Jefferson Street, a longtime magnet to the afflicted.

Herbs' earthy aroma herbs brewed day and night. Their warm earthy aroma filled the whole house. Emma poured her tonic up in glass vinegar jugs and canning jars and kept it in a pantry off the kitchen. Somebody was always knocking on the front door. Emma would fetch it: "Now you take this with faith because it's not me. I'm just the instrument." She never set a price. People paid what they could, sometimes $5, sometimes $30. "It was a common thing for people to literally be waiting in line," said White, 38, the granddaughter Emma raised. People sought advice, too. They'd bang on the door, pull her aside: "Can I talk to you?" Fountain's own Ann Landers. "You can tell her a problem and she can work it out so it don't seem so bad," White said.

Some, she couldn't help. Once, a young girl dying of leukemia and weary of doctors showed up at Emma's door. Emma suspected it was hopeless. Still, she couldn't say no. She gave her the tonic. "I don't want to make her sound like a saint," White said, "but she tried to help everybody." Emma won't take the credit. "Whatever your talent, whatever you is, you come with it," she said. "When you come into this world, God's done fixed you with what you got to do." To townspeople, she's "Aunt Emma."

In December, they made her grand marshal of the Fountain Christmas parade, all two blocks of it. She waved from the back of the long white limousine borrowed from the local funeral home. Only the best for the sage of Pitt County.

Source:https://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/herbalist-lets-nature-heal/article_3b0e06d1-4af9-5567-93ee-bc4b50d5867f.html

[bookofjin]

Commentary on the Water Classic: India

[After a few passages on Fengyi, also known as the Elder of the He, we move back to Kunlun which is equated with Anavatapta from Indian traditions. We then change to more tangible geography as we cross the Congling mountains (usually called the Pamirs in English) and down into the lands of Tianzhu.

One of the sources used in this part of the commentary is the Buddhist monk Faxian of Chang'an who travelled India from 399 to 412. After his return, he wrote down his recollections of his journey in his Records of Buddhist States, also referred to as the Account of Faxian. This book is still extant and has been translated to English by James Legge. In many ways Faxian's account is the original Journey to the West.

Given the nature of the source material that would have been available, it is perhaps no surprise that this part of the commentary is heavily focused on the life of the Buddha, a topic I have to admit to knowing very little about.

The He River河水sets out from the north-eastern corner [of Kunlun], bending to follow its south-eastern flow to enter into the Bo Sea渤海[6].

[6]The Classic of Mountains and Seas says: To the south is precisely the vortex of the longitudinal pinnacle, also called the vortex of the central pinnacle. It is three hundred ren deep, none but Fengyi has his capital there.

The Wrapped Map of the Earth says: Fengyi regularly drove a cloud chariot harnessing two dragons. The He River河水 also sets out from the mountain of Yangyu Hill Gate陽紆陵門 [?], and then pour into the mountain of Fengyi.

The Account of the Majestic Son of Heaven says: The Son of Heaven [I.e King Mu of Zhou] travelled west, and arrived at the mountain of Yangyu陽紆, where was the capital residence of the Elder of the He, Fengyi. This was none but the Hezong clan. The Son of Heaven then submerged a jade tablet and jade disc as formal gifts to him. The Elder of the He then disclosed to the Son of Heaven a map showing the standards, and hence observe the Son of Heavens treasures and receptacles. Jade fruit, jadestone pearls, torch silver, gold grease, etc., all were displayed by the Map of the He. The Elder of the He used is as a formal gift. King Mu saw the map, and soon after then led the way on the westward inspection tour.

Verily there lived Fuxi. He received the the Dragon-Horse Mapat the He, with the eight trigrams. For that reason the Instructions' Historical Sequence says: The Map of the He is the starting point of emperors and kings. The map displays the Jiang江 and the He河, mountains and streams, and the provinces and regions' divisions of the countryside. Later Yao had an altar at the He河, received the Dragon Map, and made the Records of Grasping the He. Coming to Shun of Yu, Xia, and Shang, they all likewise received it.

Li You's Meng Ford Engraving: Immense and unending the He River, going to court in the sea, straight from the Central Province, what the Dragon Map is.

The Master of Huainan says: Formerly when Yu ordered the vast rivers, and arranged supplications [at] Yangyu陽紆, perhaps at this place. Gao You considered it to be Yangyu陽紆 which is the Marsh of Qin秦藪, incorrect.

Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: Anavatapta阿耨達 is a grand mountain. On its top there is a great vortex water. The palace halls and many-storied watchtowers are particularly great there. The mountain is precisely Kunlun Mountain崑崙山.

The Account of the Majestic Son of Heaven says: The Son of Heaven ascended to Kunlun崑崙, observed the palaces of the Yellow Emperor, and the raised mound which was the grave of Fenglong. Fenglong was the Duke of Lei雷公. The Yellow Emperor's palace is precisely the palace of Anavatapta阿耨達. From its mountain sets out six great rivers. West of the mountain is a great river named the Xintou He新頭河.

Guo Yigong's Broad Treatise says: The Gan River甘水 [lit. “Sweet Water”] is east of the Western Regions. It is named the Xintao River新陶水. The mountain is west of the state of Tianzhu天竺. The water is sweet [gan], for that reason it is called the Sweet Water. There is rock salt, white like water's essence. When greatly battered, it breaks, and then they use it.

Kang Tai says: From Anxi安息, Yuezhi月氏, and Tianzhu天竺 until Qienadiaoyu伽那調御, all admire this salt.

Shi Faxian says: Going beyond Congling蔥嶺, [you] have already entered the region of North Tianzhu北天竺. From here follow the peaks to travel south-west for fifteen days. Its road is difficult and obstructed. The cliffs are imposing and the defiles steep. Their mountains are only rock, with walls standing up a thousand ren. When approaching them, [your] eyes are blurred. [If you] wish to advance, then [you] throw [your] foot into nothingness. Below there is a river, named the Xintou He新頭河. In the past people chiselled the rock to pass through a path and provided leaning ladders. Altogether [you] crossed over seven hundred ladders. Having crossed, [you] step on suspended cables to pass by the He河. The He has two cliff-sides, the distance between them is in all eighty paces. Cut off by nine interpreters, Han's Zhang Qian and Gan Ying both did not arrive.

I have investigated the various histories and accounts. It is precisely what is spoken of as the region of Jibin罽賓. There is a slope of boulders and rocks. The road narrows to the remainder of a chi. Travellers by horse or on foot grasp each other, and cable bridges pull on each other, for a distance of 20 li. Just then [you] come to the Xuandu懸度 [lit. “Hanging Crossing”]. The obstructions and defiles are perilous and harmful, it is not possible to completely tell about them.

Guo Yigong says: West of Wucha烏秅, there is the state of Xuandu懸度. The mountain creeks are not passable, [you] pull ropes and then cross. For that reason the state obtained its name. Its people are mountain dwellers. They farm in between the rock walls, and pile up rocks as homes. The people join their hands and drink, what is spoken of as “monkey-drinking”. They have white grass and short-step horses. They have donkeys but not cattle. Thus they are Xuandu懸度.

Shi Faxian again tells: Crossing the He河, you readily come to the state of Wuchang烏長. The state of Wuchang烏長國 is precisely North Tianzhu北天竺. At the Buddha's coming to the state, the Buddha left behind a footstep here. His step being long or short is in a person's innermost thoughts. Arriving at the present it is still like this. And the rock where he dried his clothes still exists.

The Xintou He新頭河 again flows south-west, bends and then flows south-east. Passing by the central Tianzhu天竺 states, the two banks are level earth. There is a state named Pitu毗荼[Bidha] where the principles of the Buddha rose up and flourished. Again it passes by the Punaban He蒲那般河. On the He's河left and right sides, there are twenty sangharamas. This river passes by Motouluo state摩頭羅國 [Muttra], and then goes down to combine with the Xintou He新頭河. From the He河 and westwards are the various states of Tianzhu天竺. From these and southward, these are the Central States中國, the population are many and abundant.

As for the Central States中國, their clothes and food are similar to the Central States中國. For that reason, named them as the Central States中國. From the nirvana and onwards, the acts by the sagely and multitudes, the principles and standards of awesome observance, have succeed each other and not been broken off. From the Xintou He新頭河 arrives in the Southern Tianzhu南天竺 state[s] till it reaches the Southern Sea, is 40 000 li.

Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: The Xintou He新頭河 passes the various states of Jibin罽賓, Jianyue犍越, and Mohela摩訶剌, and then enters into the Southern Sea南海. South-east of Anavatapta Mountian阿耨達山 there is a river named Yaonu遙奴. A little east of south-west of the mountain there is a river named Sahan薩罕. A little east there is a river named Hengqie恒伽. These there rivers set out together from a single mountain and together enter the Heng River恒水.

Kang Tai's Account of Funan says: The source of the Heng River恒水 therefore is north-west of the pinnacle, and sets out from within the Kunlun Mountians崑崙山. It has five great sources. The various rivers with their divided flows all are caused by these five great sources. The Zhihuli Great Jiang枝扈黎大江 sets out north-west of the mountains, and flows south-east to enter the Great Sea大海.

The Zhihuli枝扈黎 is precisely the Heng River恒水. For that reason Mr. Shi's Treatise of the Western Regions has the entry of Hengqu恒曲 [“Bend of the Heng”?]. North of the Heng恒 there are four states, the most western one's head is within Hengqu恒曲.

There is the state of Juyinahe拘夷那褐國. Faxian's Account says: The Heng River恒水 flows south-east, and passed south of the state of Juyinahe拘夷那褐國 [Kusinagara]. North of the city is a space between two threes where is the Xilianchan He希連禪河 [Niranjana]. At the edge of the He河 the Generationally Venerated One at this place, with his head north, achieved parinirvana. And the place where they divided his relics.

Zhi Sengzai's Affairs of the Outer States says: After the Buddha's nirvana, the heavenly people [or “people of Tianzhu”? 天人] used a new white cord to wrap the Buddha, used fragrant flowers to provide and furnish for a full seven days, and put him in a golden coffin. They issued out and set out for the king's palace, crossing a small river. The river's name was Xilanna醯蘭那, and the distance to the king's palace could have been three li. North of the palace, they used sandalwood as firewood. The heavenly people each used fire to burn the firewood. The firewood was completely not burnable. Dajiaye [Mahakasyapa] returned back from Liusha流沙 [lit “Moving Sands”]. He had not fully shouted in grief when his feelings moved Heaven and Earth. Following that, the others' firewood did not burn, but self-ignited. The king collected the relics, using gold to make a ladle [?]. Measuring he got eight hu, four dou. The kings of the various states and the divine king of the heavenly dragon each got a little more or less [?]. They purified themselves and returned to their home states to construct shrines to the Buddha. King Ashoka erected a stupa at the place of the Buddha's nirvana, a pair of trees and pagoda. Presently nothing remains. These trees are named sala [teak] trees, and their tree flowers are named salakha. These flowers are coloured white like frost and snow, their fragrance having no equal.

Zhu Zhi's Records of Funan says: From the state of Linyang 林楊國, the distance to the state of Jinchen金陳國 by foot route is 2 000 li. Travel is by chariot and horse, there is no water route. All the state affairs are Buddhist. There was a man of the Way who instructed when he went beyond to be cremated. They burnt him on several thousand bundles of firewood, assuredly he was seated within the fire. Then they changed to display him within a stone chamber. Following from that for more than sixty years, the corpse was like before and did not decay. Zhu Zhi saw it with his own eyes. In all cases gold is tough and ever remaining, and truly its light is forever-lasting. When the relic stupa is seen, lasting as Heaven and not decaying, it is said [his?] knowledge of the insubstantial was devoid of ends, one whose great awakening is difficult to measure. Its river flows chaotically to pour into the Heng恒.

The Heng River恒水 again goes east to pass north of Pisheli City毗舍利城. Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: Pisheli 毗舍利[Vaisali] is the state of Weixieli維邪離國.

Zhi Sengzai's Affairs of the Outer States says: From the state of Weixieli維邪離國, the distance to the Wangshe City王舍城 [lit. “King's House City. Rajagriha] is fifty yojana, the city's circumference is three yojana. Weijie's House維詰家[?] is south of the greater city's inner palace. The distance to the palace is seven li. The structure and roof is ruined completely, you only see the place where it was.

Shi Faxian states: North of the city there is a great forest with a double gallery, the Buddha stayed at that place. It was originally the home of the woman Amrapali, she gave it to the Buddha and erected a pagoda.

Three li north-west of the city is a pagoda named “Lay down Bows and Arms”放弓仗. Upon where the Heng River恒水 flows there was a state. The state's king's lesser lady gave birth to a flesh fetus. The greater lady was envious of her, sand told her “what you have born is an omen of misfortune.” They immediately put it into a wooden box, and throw it into the Heng River. Downstream [another] state's king was roaming and looking around. He saw that by the river there was a wooden box, opened and looked into it. He saw a thousand little boys upright and correct, and unusually handsome. The king took and reared them, and thereupon they became tall and great, and very brave and strong. Wherever they went on campaigns and invasions, there were none who not either were destroyed or submitted.

Next they wished to invade their father-king's home state. The king was greatly anxious and troubled. The lesser lady asked: “Why are you anxious and troubled?” The king said: “That state's king has a thousand sons who are brave and strong without compare. They wish to come and invade my state, this is why [I am] anxious.” The lesser lady told him: “Do not worry. Only to the west of the city build a tall tower. At the time when the thieves come, set me up on top of the tower. Then I will be able to hold them off.”

The king did like she had told. When the thieves came, the lesser lady spoke from on top of the tower to the thieves, stating: “You are my sons, why have you turned around and made rebellion?” The thieves said: “Who are you, who say you are our mother?” The lesser lady said: “You all, if you do not trust [me], fully open your mouths and raise your heads toward [me].” The lesser lady immediately used her two hands to rub her breasts. Her breasts made five hundred paths [each], and all fell within the thousand sons' mouths. The thieves understood this was their mother, and immediately laid down their bows and arms. Father and mother were made to think carefully, and both became pratyeka-buddhas. Now their pagodas still exists.

Later when the Generationally Venerated One perefected the Way, he announced to the various disciples: “This is the place where I in former times laid down bow and arms”. Later, when people had understood it, they at this place raised a pagoda, and for that reason named it so. The thousand little boys precisely the bhadrakalpa's thousand Bhuddas.

Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: Within Hengqu恒曲 next east is Sengjiashannaijie City 僧迦扇柰揭城, where the Buddha went down the three roads to the state of Precious Stairs寶階國[?].

Faxian's Account says: The Heng River恒水 flows south-east, and passes south of the state of Sengjiashi state僧迦施國[Sankasya]. The Buddha from Trayastrimsa went east down the three roads of precious stairs, and made his mother discuss the dharma at the place. [Afterwards], when the precious stairs had disappeared, King Ashoka at the place of the precious stairs made a pagoda. Afterwards he made a stone pillar. On top of the pillar he made an image of a lion. There was an outer Way with few truths. The lion made a roar. The terror brought their hearts to sincerity.

The Heng River恒水 again goes east to pass Jibinraoyi City罽賓饒夷城[Kanyakubja]. The city to the south is connected to the Heng River恒水. Six or seven li north-west of the city, on the Heng River's恒水 northern bank, the Buddha made the various disciples discuss the dharma at the place.

The Heng River again goes south-east to pass north of the state of Shazhi沙祗國. Setting out from Shazhi City's沙祗城 southern gate, east of the road, [is where] the Buddha chew on a willow branch and stuck it into the ground. It grew to a height of seven chi, and did not increase or diminish. Now it still exists.

The Heng River恒水 again goes south-east, and passes north of Jiaweiluowei City迦維羅衛城[Kapilavastu] where was formerly the palace of the Pure King. Fifty li east of the city there was royal garden, in the garden there was pool water. The lady entered the pool to wash and bath. Coming out on the northern bank, she went twenty paces. She turned east and raised her hand, was dragged up by a tree, and gave birth to the Heir-Apparent. The Heir-Apparent fell to the ground, and moved seven paces. Two dragons spewed out water to bath the Heir-Apparent, and thereupon completed a well-pool from where the multitude monks draw nourishment. The Heir-Apparent, together with Nanda and others, beat the elephant in a contest of strength [?]. He shot an arrow into the ground, now there springs forth a river from which travellers are supplied with drink.

Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: Three li north of the city upon the Heng River恒水, is the place where his father the king welcomed the Buddha, where was built a stupa, and was built an image of the father embracing the Buddha.

The Affairs of the Outer States says: The state of Jiaweiluoyue迦維羅越國 presently no more has a king. The city's pool is wasted and dirty, and only is an empty place. There are upasakas with the family name Shi, perhaps twenty or so families. These are the sprouts and progeny of the ancient Pure King, for that reason they became the four families and resided within the old city. When they became upasaka, they for that reason placed highest a focus on advancement, and still have their ancient manners. That day the stupa was ruined completely, the King of Tiao條 [?] took care of and put in order a single stupa. The King of Sihetiao私訶條 [?] sent out things to help complete it. Presently there are twelve people of the Way residing within it. At the time the Heir-Apparent had just been born, there was the marvellous tree that pulled up the queen. The tree was named Xuhe須訶.

King Ashoka used blue-green stone to make an image of the Queen pulling up and giving birth to the Heir-Apparent. Formerly the tree was not and then it was. Later the various sramana took the old tree and planted seed from it. They spread out and turned over carrying on until the present. The tree branches are like in the past, and still shelter the stone image.

Also at the footprints from where the Heir-Apparent walked seven steps, today a pattern is seen there. King Ashoka used blue-green stone to take hold of both edges of the footprints, and then used one long blue-green stone to cover it. The people of the state in the present day regularly uses fragrant flowers to provide and furnish, and still see the feet's seven shapes, the patterns separate and clear. Now though there are stone covers, they are nothing unusual. Some people repeatedly have used several layers of kapok. The layers covers and stick to the top of the visible stones and even more improves their clarity.

At the time when the Heir-Apparent was born, there were dragon kings occupying the left and right sides of the Heir-Apparent, spewing out water to wash the Heir-Apparent. There was one dragon that spewed out water that was warm, and one dragon that spewed out water that was cool, and thereupon completed two pools. Now there is still one cold and one warm.

When Heir-Apparent had not yet set out from his home in the previous ten days[?]. He set out and went to the royal fields where he sat beneath a jambu tree. The tree god used seven treasures to offer to the Heir-Apparent. The Heir-Apparent did not accept. At that point he thought only of his wish to set out from his home. The distance from the royal fields to the palace was one ju據. A ju in Jin speech is ten li. The Heir-Apparent hence in the 3rd Month, the 15th Day, set out at night from his home. The Four Heavenly Kings came to welcome him, each held up a horse foot. At the time the various divine and heavenly people were filling up on the sides [?], and within the emptiness scattered heavenly fragrant flowers. At that time then he arrived at the Henanmoqian River河南摩强水, then at the edge of this river he began to be a sramana.

The Henanmoqian River河南摩强水 is north of Jiaweiluoyue迦維羅越, the distance between them is ten yojana. This is river is in the state of Luoyuezhipingsha羅閱祗瓶沙國, the distance between them is thirty yojana. The bodhisattva was temporarily passing by. The King of Pingsha瓶沙 set out to see the bodhisattva. The bodhisattva at Pingsha瓶沙 in due course resided within the Lounaguo Garden樓那果園 for one day. At sunset, he readily left to lodge at Bandabochou半達鉢愁. “Banda” in Jin speech is “white”. “Bochou” in Jin speec is “mountain”. The distance from north of White Mountain to to the state of Pingsha瓶沙國 was ten li. At the next dawn he readily left. At evening he lodged at Tanlan Mountain曇蘭山, the distance from White Mountain was six yojana. Then he went straight to the pattra tree. The pattra tree was north of Yuezhi閱祗, the distance to Tanlan Mountain曇蘭山 twenty li.

The Heir-Apparent was aged twenty-eight went he set out from his home, and thirty-five when he obtained the Way. These words differ from the classics, for that reason what is recorded is not the same.

Zhu Fawei says: The state of Jiaweiwei 迦維衛國 is the state in Tianzhu天竺 where the Buddha was born. The exact centre of three thousand suns and moons, and twelve thousands heavens and earths.

#shuijingzhu