Tag: Anonymous

Mood: going through your writing at the end of a long day, the moon bright outside, cup of tea in hand, finding more comfort in words than in the cosiest blanket (the blanket helps, nevertheless)

I’ve had this ask in my inbox for more than a week, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be finding a non-overwhelmed reply anytime soon, so I’ll answer like this.

I want to say – 

– it’s words like these that can mean the world. It doesn’t matter how insignificant you think they are. They arrive at a creator’s physical and mental address, always do.

– it’s words like these that artists, writers, creators think about before bed, during the darkest and most own-work-hating hours, when no line or word or anything seems in place.

– I personally think that if a creative work makes you feel or think something, it’s amazing. If it manages to do both, it’s brilliant. And when the creator receives feedback on what their work did to someone else?

It feels as if, for that little precious moment, the world is alright and your work shakes the universe at least once – and a tiny bit wonderful, even.

My friend’s birthday is on Friday the 13th, this month.

See, there is this one really mysterious saying that nobody knows where it came from. It goes a little like – 

“To be a warlock’s enemy is the greatest horror
But to be their friend is the wildest honour.”

I am not saying that you might want to present this saying to your friend. I am also not saying that if they seem really amused for some reason, or grin in that certain way that has always sent shivers down your spine, that you should consider yourself very lucky and very protected. Then again, I am also not saying that if they give you a really confused look, you might want to prepare for a long night. After all, you never know what new parts of a person can awaken on a birthday.

But I am not saying any of that. I wish them an insightful birthday and both of you a wicked October. 

Do you have a favourite german idiom? (+ literal english translation maybe )

One? Just one? No, my friend. I cannot do that.

I can, however, do more than twenty, and I can do them in alphabetical order based on the most important keywords involved in them. Not all of them are idioms, some are just things people like to say in certain situations, but all of them are amazing or interesting in their own way. (t. =  literal translation, m. = meaning)

abwarten und Tee trinken – t. to wait and drink tea, m. just wait and see

Wo man singt, da lass dich nieder; böse Menschen haben keine Lieder. – t. Where there’s singing, settle down; bad people don’t have songs. m. this is not exactly a typical saying, but an old piece of wisdom my grandmother always quotes.

Ich bin fuchsteufelswild! – t. I am foxdevilwild!, m. I am so goddamn angry right now

Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung setzen – t. to move heaven and hell, m. German equivalent for “to move heaven and earth”, but more badass

das ist ein Katzensprung – t. that is a cat’s jump, m. something is just a tiny distance away, only as far as a cat can jump!

auf den Keks gehen – t. to walk on someone’s cookie, m. to annoy someone, but much sweeter (get it? Okay, sorry.)

da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen – t. you can take poison on that, m. you can bet your life on that, it will definitely happen (how morbid, I love it)

die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt – t. (the) hope dies last

das Leben ist kein Ponyhof – t. life is no pony farm, m. life is tough and no fun, suck it up (a very German saying, also good for anyone that’s not into horses)

es ist noch kein Meister vom Himmel gefallen – t. a master has never fallen from the sky, m. to master something you need to practice 

hinterm Mond leben – t. to live behind the moon, m. to be away from reality, lost in dreams, or not up to date with trends

hier spielt die Musik – t. the music plays here, m. usually said to get someone’s attention when they are distracted, often sarcastic or annoyed (or is that just me…)

in einer Nacht-und-Nebel-Aktion – t. in a night-and-fog-action, m. doing something secretly, away from the public, hidden (oooh spooky!)

jetzt haben wir den Salat – t. now we have the salad, m. look at this disaster that we now have 

sich freuen wie ein Schneekönig/Honigkuchenpferd – t. to be happy like a snow king/honey cake horse, m. to be very very happy (isn’t this cute?)

nicht alle Tassen im Schrank haben – t. to not have all cups in the cupboard, m. that someone is crazy (obviously, with that many cups missing…)

das kommt mir spanisch vor – t. that seems Spanish to me, m. that something is suspicious or strange, because apparently emperor Karl V. once imported court etiquette from Spain that nobody understood and got confused by, amazing?

Was für ein Teufelskerl! – t. What a devil’s guy! m. a bit old-fashioned, but still cool; describes a really awesome, brave, or otherwise attention-pulling man

viel hilft viel – t. a lot helps a lot

den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen – t. to not see the forest because of all the trees, m. being unable to see the big picture because of distracting details

mit allen Wassern gewaschen sein – t. to be washed with/in all waters, m. someone who knows every trick in the book, is mischievous

Zieh dich warm an! – t. Dress warmly!, m. this is a threat. no, seriously, means that someone should prepare because you’re gonna do something very unpleasant to them soon

es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter, nur falsche Kleidung – t. there is no bad weather, just wrong clothes, m. Germans are used to rain and it’s no reason to not do what you are supposed to be doing

Kommt Zeit, kommt Rat. – t. Comes time, comes advice. m. over time, a solution or advice will be found/appear

Those are all for now. Thank you for the ask, and let me know if you’d like more.

I follow you on twitter and from what I’ve seen you like Latin? And I just wonder why? My four years of Latin class were absolute hell but I love languages so maybe I’m too biased and I’m actually missing out on a cool language

Dear anonymous,

I do not like Latin. I adore Latin with the passion of Catullus’ poems and the same pathetic pining. 

Latin is not easy fall in love with, but when you learn to adore it, it brings you more than just one new world. 

I am not an expert in Latin considering the historical side, since my teacher that taught me from sixth until tenth grade did not touch ancient history much, while my teacher in eleventh and twelfth grade was a radical catholic priest that preferred to criticise Roman authors on our curriculum for their stories about orgies, openness about sexuality and general indulgence in life (honestly, we are talking about Latin. Come on. You really shouldn’t be surprised) and hated me for being the only atheist in class. So for any information on history, I’d recommend you one of the excellent ancient history blogs on this website. Also, look up Greek history as well because as far as I know, linguistic and cultural kleptomania of all things Greek was about as hip in ancient Rome as were ideas of conquering the entire world (and the word is Greek, too). 

That being said, English is also not my only language, so I had an idea about what more extended grammar was expecting me. And that was a blessing. Now, I’m not saying that English doesn’t have difficult grammar at times – I learned it as my second language, and the start is always rough. But let’s face it: English has one article (the), nouns barely change when put through different cases, the list of irregular verbs is short and even with an at times confusing syntax, tenses are built on a few existing verb forms, and your verbs only have two different suffixes to mark person and singular/plural (-s for he, she, it or none at all). English is also the mad scientist trying to attain immortality of languages because it has puzzled itself together from parts of other languages and a huge part of it (at least one leg, the jawline and probably the nose that it keeps putting into other languages’ businesses) is rooted in Latin.

Latin… has a different word ending for nouns in every different case. It has five cases compared to English’s four, and if you add in prepositions, the real fun starts. I can’t go into detail here because I’m here to convince you and not deter you from the language, but Latin means memorizing and sometimes more so than in English. Skipping the grammar or not learning all of it? Not an option. And let me tell you, I was a tutor for Latin for a little while, and nothing – no translation – will yield to you and open up under your fingers if you do not know your grammar. 

But here’s the thing, my friend.

Latin is not only beautiful and brutal with its ancient works going from light-hearted shenanigans to heartbreaking love to gods so grand and wars so terrible that we still shiver before them today.

Latin feels like home.

If you can read this post, then you know English. I don’t know what other languages you speak, dear anonymous. But our world is veined with Latin. It flows in our science, in art and literature and I cannot imagine an earth where Latin has never been because history, culture, nothing would be the same. Learning Latin is coming home because it’s always been around you, waiting for your call, for you to reach out for it, back in centuries and across time. 

They say Latin is dead. I say, you can’t kill something that’s immortal and has more than eighteen different words for “to kill”, but never bothered to create something that means “yes” or “no”. Latin is not one old god but many at once and nothing can kill an army of old gods.

And then, its literature and art, its entire heritage, is so varied.

Latin can be sophisticated. It can be scientific, poetic, funny, witty, short or long, and you can have it because it’s probably already in your life.

Not to mention how many other languages will whisper your name as soon as Latin walks by your side. Spanish, Italian, French, Romanian, Portuguese, and don’t get me started on all the loanwords in English, German, Dutch…

I can write about Latin for eternities, because I burn for this language more than I do for real people, but let me show you how much Latin you already know, and how lovely it is.

You know audax because you know what brave means. You know bellum because you too have waged war and been a rebel. Maybe you’re afraid of beasts, but you know that they are all only beastiae, only animals inside. You care, so the word carus comes to you as naturally as those dear to you do. You’re not always strong, but fortis waits for you in comfort and effort and fortitude, so choose what you need. With ignis, you become fire. With mors, you take death out of immortality. 

In conclusion: Learn Latin and be the the warrior of art, science, literature, culture, history and languages you want to be.

Your stories made me cry

“I don’t understand,” frowned the child that had been listening to the storyteller all night. “My dad always said that you shouldn’t say things that make people cry, because you’ll make them sad.”

The storyteller smiled. “Yes. Your words shouldn’t be spoken or written with the intention to hurt someone. If the words of a story make the reader cry, it should be because they hurt for the world that you have created, because they sob their soul out for the pain of growth and change that your characters suffer through.

Do not hurt them – let them love together with your creation, and let them laugh and cry and live with it. Let them feel your story.”

Could you please write a fluff/smut kagehina ? Because i wanna heal my broken soul after watching the newest hq ep ;; ;;

When they first fall asleep in their new bed, the whole house smelling foreign and weighing heavily with silence, the still-unopened moving boxes dark shadows against the wall, that is when Kageyama pulls Hinata closer and buries his face into the soft hair of his neck. “I hope you won’t regret this,” he says.

“Good night,” Hinata chuckles and takes Kageyama’s hand, pulling it over his waist so he can press it against his heart to fall asleep under his boyfriend’s touch.

When their first attempt at cooking goes horribly wrong, the fire alarm screeching above their heads until Kageyama figures out how to turn it off while Hinata throws away the burnt pasta sauce, that is when they sit on the floor together and hold hands, staring at the speckles of tomato all over the tiles. “I’m sorry it’s not perfect,” Kageyama says.

“We can just order pizza,” Hinata smiles and kisses his cheek before he gets up to find a towel. They clean the mess together.

When there’s been a week of barely seeing each other, for the first time ever, their hands not having touched since Sunday and the calender now whispers seven, seven days, when their lips haven’t found each other’s warmth in what feels like years and there’s a fight about something so small and so stupid that it brings tears to Hinata’s eyes and a loss of words into Kageyama’s throat, that is when Kageyama opens his arms to hug his boyfriend until he stops crying. “I wish I was a better person,” Kageyama whispers into Hinata’s hair. “I’ll fix this.”

“We’ll be okay,” Hinata says into his chest. He wipes his tears and lifts himself up on his toes to kiss Kageyama, soft, smiling despite everything. “People fight. I still love you, idiot.”

And when they’re curled up on the couch afterwards, hands laced up as if the roots of two trees had found a way to hold each other up through the storm, that is when Hinata says:

“You know that you’re enough, right? Stop asking me if I regret this. I don’t. I won’t. You’re the best thing that I’ve ever fallen in love with.”

That is when Kageyama doesn’t ask another question, and lets Hinata kiss him until the tears in his eyes die and the warmth inside his chest embraces all of him.