#(which is how some of the less thoroughly explored classes and aspects need to be understood)

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Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide

For real this time.

Buckle up, this is a really long one. For everything that's posited, I can provide textual evidence; that being said, I'm not going to be including the textual evidence within the essay itself, because it's already long enough as-is. As such, please feel free to ask for clarification or sources on any assertion, and I'll do my best to provide.

Before we begin, there's some things to discuss about how we're going to be approaching classpect in the following essay. In numbered list form for our short attention spans:

1. There is a concept Hussie talks about multiple times in his book commentary, "personality alchemy" - the idea that there are these "platonic ideals" of certain characters, which can be mixed and matched with others, in order to create new characters. The examples he gives are of how Eridan was a proto-Caliborn, how Kanaya has shades of Jade, how Nepeta was a proto-Calliope, and how Sollux and Eridan have shades of Dave in them. Classpecting is fundamentally a form of this personality alchemy:

2. Class describes the character's arc and emotional hurdles, while Aspect describes the character's base personality traits by which this arc is experienced.

3. For example, all three Seers struggle with hubris: Rose's need to be the smartest person in the room led to her being manipulated by Doc Scratch, Terezi's obsession with meting justice led to her engineering a situation where the only option was to kill Vriska, and Kankri's desire to be seen as a spiritual leader amongst his friends led to him furthering their divisions and harming them.

Then, when their pride is shattered, they cope by inflicting willful self-blindness: Rose turns to drinking herself stupid (the opposite of Light's sway over knowledge), Terezi gets down with the clown (the opposite of meting out Mind's justice, as it's a Gamzee W), Kankri goes celibate (Blood L) despite his clear romantic feelings for certain teammates.

4. As for Aspect: note how all three Life players share the personality traits of optimism, stubbornness, and obstinacy. All three Breath players share an immaturity and naïvety, and are quite frankly irresistible to people for some reason. All three Light players share a need for the spotlight and a tendency toward long-windedness and persnicketiness. So on and so forth.

What's interesting is, if you start analyzing characters that share Classes and Aspects, these specific types of similarity crop up over and over - all our Knights struggle with insecurities and facades, both our Bards have a crisis of faith. All three Breath players have an aspect of immaturity and childishness to their characters, and all three Light players are deeply concerned with appearing intelligent and feeling important.

5. As a result, this guide is NOT intended for classpecting real life people, because we are complicated, we contain multitudes, and we don't have arcs. This is primarily an analysis of what Class and Aspect mean in Homestuck based on textual evidence, because I genuinely believe that you can basically figure it out if you read carefully.

6. Duality, and the idea of "equal and opposite," are major themes within Homestuck - Prospit and Derse, Skaia (described as a crucible of birth and creativity) and the Furthest Ring (the literal afterlife). Which classes are involved in an Active/Passive split, and opposing Aspects, are the same way. This is the primary method I used to determine the Active/Passive pairings and opposing Aspects. After all, as Callie describes, both Thieves and Rogues are classes "who steal" - so, too, do I try to unify Classes by a common theme, even if they diverge wildly in how that theme is expressed (as Thieves and Rogues do). In the same way as the opposite of "up" is not "apple," but "down", because "up" and "down" are both fundamentally concerned with relative vertical position, so too can be defined concepts like Breath and Blood, Hope and Rage, Light and Void - as well as the reasoning behind Class pairings like Heir and Page, Maid and Knight, and Seer and Mage.

7. Descriptions for both Class and Aspect are left deliberately vague and up to interpretation within the comic itself, and this is by design: the actual manifestations of an Aspect can vary wildly given the Class, and even individual person, that it's tied to. Calliope even makes note of the fact that, under the right circumstances, someone can manifest effects that appear to be the opposite of their aspect. She's also careful to couch her language in "may" and "can" - because these concepts are intentionally somewhat nebulous and malleable. As such, while this guide certainly lays down what can be gleaned and inferred from the text, do note that Homestuck runs on a soft magic system, and as such, nothing stated is firm, 100%, must-always-be-this-way - just an overview of what we've seen.

8. There is often great overlap between Aspects, Classes, and Classpects - which Calliope herself notes. Heart and Blood are one of the most salient, as they both have a fixation on relationships, and Calliope mentions that under the right circumstances, a Classpect may even be able to manifest what appears to be the opposite of their Aspect. Again, Homestuck operates on a soft magic system, so this is a feature, not a bug.

ASPECT

There's a little less to say about Aspect, not because it's less complicated, but because "base personality traits" are much more nebulous compared to Class's sway over character arc. Still, Aspect represents the fundamental way a character is, and thus, color every interaction that character has. There's a reason Ultimate Selfhood is sought through Aspect, not Class - Aspect is the core of the character's being, what makes that person that person.

That all being said, Class has major sway over how an Aspect manifests, and certain classes can even invert the Aspect and even the character's role in the party. As such, these descriptions must be parsed carefully in relation to Class. Moreover, due to the soft magic system, there is at times overlap between unrelated Aspects, which can also be exacerbated by Class - Heart and Blood being the most obvious in this regard. Still, overall, you'll find the Aspects to be fairly distinct from one another.

Please also note that every Aspect can deal with its literal counterpart by default - Light players can wield lasers, Breath players can wield the breeze, et cetera. Because this kind of goes without saying, and because the non-literal stuff is more interesting to discuss, I'm not really going to go into too much detail about the literal qualities.

Finally, something interesting to note is that nearly every Aspect follows its own Hero's Journey cycle - full actualization for each one usually means reaching around to its opposite Aspect, and taking lessons from them - for example, Breath players need to learn maturity and responsibility, while Blood players need to learn relaxation and whimsy. Thus, an Aspect at its worst manifests in two ways - either a toxic overabundance of the Aspect's worst traits, or such a dearth of the aspect that it begins to resemble its opposite. Only by reaching into the opposite, however, can the player be tempered and reach full maturity - can they become more of who they are.

SPACE / TIME

Space and Time are both concerned with physical reality, goals, and the way one approaches them.

Space is associated with "the big picture" - with recycling, reproduction, and the interconnectivity of all things. The aspect also presides over the enjoyment of the journey over the destination - Space players serve as reminders that the present moment is as important as the end goal. Space is often a more passive Aspect, being the stage upon which the story is set. They're the hosts of the party, and the one who marks the ending.

Its players reflect these tendencies, often being feminine, with penchants for life-giving acts such as gardening. Their personalities tend towards frivolity and silliness, finding it difficult to stay on-topic or bring full gravitas to serious situations. Perhaps a better word would be "distractable;" when the aspect is so concerned with all things in connection with each other, it's easy to lose track of details, and it's easy to enjoy things simply as they come. Space players tend to be kind, patient, and forgiving, which is a strength as much as it is a flaw; it's easy for malicious actors to take advantage of this compassion, or for the Space player to find themselves in a poor situation by being overly permissive. They can easily be painted over by stronger personalities, and tend to struggle with romantic relationships, as they attract many with their kind and giving natures, and few are naturally so considerate of the Space player in turn.

"Passive" is a good word to use; at a toxic overabundance of their Aspect, Space players are trampled underfoot. They become enablers, servants to dark forces, or so lost in their own worlds that they neglect the one they live in. With their Aspect "inverted," a Space player becomes a demon of poor prioritization. Distracting not just themselves from their true purpose, but others, too, the Space player will wreak havoc by overemphasizing unimportant topics and ignoring important tasks. This superficially resembles Time, in that the Space player will become fanatically dedicated to their task, but note that the poor prioritization is still Space-esque at its core.

Still, within this nadir is a valuable lesson: the strength of self-assertion, and the determination to see a goal through. These will allow the Space player to weed their garden, separating good from bad, allowing it to flourish like never before.

Time, in contrast, is associated with "the little things" - with details, minutiae, and processes. Time presides over the struggle toward something greater, the endurance of hardship with an eye on the prize - the destination over the journey. Time players are the ones keeping track of the tasklist, marking off each item as it reaches completion; they are the tireless workers keeping the whole engine running.

Time players, thus, are ones whose lives are marked by struggle. They are highly goal-oriented; in contrast to how Space players can easily move from goal to goal, task to task, Time players feel bound to see things through to the end, finding satisfaction only when they've achieved their desired result - and only until they come across the next goal in their journey. A Time player isn't happy without a goal to work towards, a craft to polish, a prize to win - but this driven nature can easily be its own downfall, as it leaves little room for the player to admit to their own shortcomings, or ask for help from others. Moreover, their focus on minutiae can leave them blinded to the bigger picture, and it's easy for a time player to fall to despair, able to do nothing more but spin their wheels. They're prone to directionless anguish, frustration, and resentment towards the seeming futility of their actions, becoming destructive and defiant even when it doesn't serve them to do so.

At a toxic overabundance of their Aspect, Time players become explosively destructive. The ultimate "goal" of all things is death, with which Time is associated, and accordingly, Time players have a penchant for aligning themselves with futility and entropy, struggling so hard that their thrashing leaves a trail of annihilation in their wake. With their Aspect "inverted," Time players detach entirely - they can become so fed up with struggle that they simply opt to lay their weapons down and let the end take them. It's very easy for them to come to the conclusions that either everything matters, or nothing matters. This superficially resembles Space and its big picture thinking, but note that its framework of struggle, and whether or not a goal needs to be pursued, makes it a Time concern.

But the inherent meaninglessness of existence is, in itself, an important realization to make - that whether or not anything "matters" in the grand scheme, things can still be worth doing, worth caring about, and worth investing in. This realization allows the Time player to attack their goals with renewed vigor and greater clarity, which in turn means that the party becomes an efficient, well-oiled machine.

BREATH / BLOOD

Breath and Blood are both concerned with directionality, interpersonal relationships, and autonomy.

Breath is the Aspect governing freedom, liberty, and independence; it is a force that breaks shackles, clears out social norms, and refutes "the rules," whatever those rules may be. Breath players can't be tied down, whether by physical bonds, societal rules, or even the ineffable forces of the narrative itself. They are leaders of example, pioneers, and trailblazers, opening new paths for their teammates to follow.

Breath players are goofy and gullible, often with hearts full of childlike whimsy, naivety, and even immaturity. They are friendly and well-meaning, fond of simpler things, and easily swayed by others. They approach the world with a sincere and innocent good-naturedness, like a baby animal before it learns to be fearful of danger. Something about this sincerity seems to make Breath players irresistible to others, and they often find themselves the subject of romantic attraction. However, in this childishness is also the great pitfall of many Breath players - their natures are naturally conflict-averse, and egotistical the way a child can be, failing to see beyond themselves. They can be incredibly callous when not considering the consequences of their actions, or the viewpoints of others.

At their worst, Breath players are irresponsible and callous. They'll shirk the consequences of their actions, blaming anybody but themselves, or simply choose not to care who they hurt in order to get what they want. They may even choose to stop making choices for themselves, leading to the "inversion" of their Aspect - a voluntary loss of freedom and independence, derived from an Breath-like aversion to responsibility, which superficially resembles the bondage of Blood.

But if they are able to overcome these tendencies, a Breath player will learn what true responsibility looks like - responsibility for themselves, their choices, and the effect they have on others. Armed with this, a Breath player's ability to break bonds can be focused into a clear force for good, clearing away all obstacles and harmful societal standards, leading the charge into something new and beautiful.

Blood, in sharp contrast, is the aspect that governs bondage, contracts, and interdependence. It is a force that binds. Under Blood's sway are not only romantic entanglements, but familial, friendly, and societal ones as well. This aspect sees overlap with Heart, but the division is this: Heart concerns itself with feelings, and Blood concerns itself with compatibility. Blood players are diplomats, forces that remind us all that we are more similar than we are different, and that that similarity should bring us together when we are on the verge of pulling apart.

Blood players, reflective of their Aspect's association with bonds, tend to be neurotic and obsessive. They have a tendency to over-examine and overthink, constantly fretting over the infinite and infinitesimal variables that influence the shape of society and interpersonal relationships. However, this judgmental nature stems from a deep well of idealism and empathy; Blood players can't help but care about others and wish for the best for them. In a way, this makes them one of the most mature members of the team, being concerned with its overall well-being. Unfortunately, their prowess does not extend inwards, and their assessment of themselves is usually direly incorrect - all the worse because Blood players always feel responsible for those around them. Blood, being the Aspect concerned with interdependence, is the weakest one when all alone.

Thus, it's easy for the Blood player to wind up controlling - desperate to make sure everyone is moving according to their vision, they'll become iron-fisted dictators, with a "my way or the highway" approach to social interactions. It's easy for them to wind up pariahs of their own making, becoming so critical of others, or so adamant about enforcing their own will, that they inadvertantly sever their ties - something that superficially resembles Breath's independence, but is truly a result of Blood's neuroticism.

But with that space and separation can come great clarity. Blood players must learn to relax their grip, and allow people room to breathe - including themselves. Once able to grasp that sometimes bonds must be forged with a soft touch, Blood players' natural empathy shines through, allowing them to build something so much kinder and greater than the sum of its parts.

LIGHT / VOID

Light and Void are both concerned with knowledge, ontology, and "narrative relevance".

Light (as well as its counterpart) are perhaps best understood through the lens of "narrative" - this idea that, of all things that do and don't exist, and all events that do and don't happen, only the ones put to page are "relevant". Thus, Light is associated with knowledge and luck - that is to say, it's associated with the knowable, the objective, and the concrete, and the ability to determine "important" events. Light players have read the book they're participating in, and able to serve as luminary guides from one plot point to another, lighting the lampposts for others to follow.

Light players, naturally, are erudite and educated, possessing keen intellects and cunning minds. They are fond of knowledge itself, of markers of status and prestige - whether that's wealth, the adulation of the masses, or a massive library. They harbor a desire to be important, to be seen, to be acknowledged, and are happiest when they are looked up to. Conversely, they deal poorly with being looked down upon. Their confidence transmutes easily into hubris, and they struggle with having that pride challenged. As such, they tend to be volatile and unpredictable, quick to retaliate against those who threaten their egos, or obsequious to those whose acknowledgement they desire.

Their desire for the limelight can quickly spell disaster - they can become incredibly cruel, harsh, and egotistical in their pursuit of narrative significance. They forget, in their obsession, that they, too, are fallible and flawed, and the inevitable reminder can come very harshly. Light players struggle with moderation, and as such, when they feel shame, they'll often take drastic measures to cope with it - deliberately darkening their own influence or intellects, removing themselves from the "story" entirely - something which superficially resembles Void's penchant for the background, but which is firmly rooted in Light's obsessive need for drama.

But in experimenting with narrative insignificance, Light players can reach an epiphany - in their absence, others may shine, and that can be a wonderful thing. Light players, then, can learn to shine not just for their own sakes, but for the sake of others, allowing them to weave a story even more brilliant than any that can be weaved alone.

Void, in contrast, is the blank spaces between the words. That which is secret, subjective, unknowable - these are Void's domain. It's associated with taboos and hidden things, sexuality and pleasure. It's also associated with the empty canvas - the blank space before creation, and the oblivion to which creation is eventually destined for. Thus, it stands for infinite possibility, though the collapse of those possibilities into a reality removes that reality from Void's domain.

Thus are Void players ever cosigned to the background, though this generally suits them fine. Void players are very self-possessed. Where Light players tend to exaggerate and complicate, Void players are honest and simple, preferring straightforward solutions. They don't tend to think very hard, instead letting intuition and emotion guide them to where they want to be - which makes them one of the more stable personalities on a team. However, this simplistic, feelings-driven approach often leads to pleasure-seeking behavior, poor impulse control, and overindulgence in vice, and from there, to irrelevance, with which Void is so closely interlinked.

Void players are especially prone to vice, and at their worst, will become so drunk on pleasurable activities that they pursue them to the active detriment of the party's goals or the Void player's self-improvement - making them the ultimate irrelevant character. They can also very easily drag others into their mélange, with a forcefulness that resembles Light's illuminating guidance, but which is ultimately rooted in Void's pursuit of personal pleasure.

But there's a lesson to be learned in Light's domain: how to bring themselves into relevance and greatness. A Void player, once they learn to pursue not just personal pleasure, but a greater satisfaction for the collective whole, can drag the Void behind them, kicking and screaming, to where it'll be of use.

MIND / HEART

Mind and Heart are concerned with what it means to be a sentient being, with identity, and with why we do what we do.

Mind is the Aspect associated with logic, rationality, karma, ethics, and justice. To a Mind player, they "are" because they "think". They are keenly aware of the consequences of every action, and well-versed in cognition and behavior, such to the point of manipulating others with ease. Deeply concerned with the "effect" of cause-and-effect, Mind players are always cognizant of debts and credits, where justice is owed and where it has been over-meted, and their subtle machinations culminate, like well-placed dominoes, in grand and explosive finales.

Mind players are schemers - it's in their nature. They have a tendency to view the world as a puzzle or game, with themselves and the people around them as pieces on a board, and set as their standard rules the laws of ethics and karma - owed debts and overhanging credit - guilty and innocent. Mind players are wickedly cunning, and have an high success rate with every scheme they commit themselves to, but the grand downfall of all these tendencies is that they tend to lack in a sense of identity, and have a poor grasp on their own emotions or desires. While they may know how to provoke a desired reaction, they don't know how to change someone's mind. They often find themselves grappling very painfully with their own selfhood, with feelings of emptiness, inadequacy, or uncertainty.

Thus, a Mind player at the worst zenith of their Aspect is heartless and cruel. Leaving no space for empathy or even personal feelings in their plans, the Mind player will plot for an ending as heartless as they are. But a Mind player is never truly without emotion, and ignoring their own feelings causes them to manifest in terrible ways - Mind players have a tendency to seek toxic, codependent relationships, hoping to find external validation, subjecting themselves to the wishes of others, which can appear like Heart's fixation on feelings and desire.

But in recognizing their own need for emotional validation, and the importance of their own feelings, a Mind player can realize that there's an entire dimension to the game they've been playing that they've been ignorant of. When a Mind player learns to temper their schemes with empathy, compassion, and kindness, how much more success they'll see - and how much happier that grand finale will be!

Heart, then, is associated with feelings, motivations, intuition, the soul, and the self. To a Heart player, they "are" because they "feel" like they are - and they're keenly aware of the multitudes that are contained within themselves. Deeply concerned with the "cause" of cause-and-effect, they're drawn to desires, those of themselves and of others, especially where strong feelings are concerned. Heart players are gifted with an intuitive understanding of those around them, both their good and bad qualities, and are tasked with the grand task of bringing out the best.

It stands to reason, then, that Heart players have a firm grasp on who they are and what they want. For the same reasons, it's difficult for a Heart player to truly hate or condemn another person, because they are so adept at understanding them. However, this understanding comes with a price - because the Heart player is so aware of themselves, they can't escape their own worst traits - nobody self-loathes as accurately as a Heart player can. Nor can they ever truly be untruthful with another, making them poor manipulators. Capable of presenting a different facet of themselves as the situation calls for it, certainly, but just as it's impossible to lie to a Heart player, who always knows how someone really feels, it's impossible for a Heart player to lie to themselves.

With this sincerity comes vulnerability. Heart players wear theirs on their sleeves, and at their worst, this can make them demanding, needy, and sensitive - so eager to connect with others emotionally that they'll cramp themselves to fit others' desires. But they can't ever keep this up for long; Heart players have a tendency to withdraw from others after being hurt too often, finding it easier to be alone and silent about their feelings than to deal with the pain of rejection. They may even work to manipulate others, preying on their emotions and desires to force them to act in their worst interests. This superficially resembles Mind's cold logic, but unlike Mind's cool rationality, Heart's aloofness is a mask, an attempt to avoid pain by pulling away.

But this isn't purely a negative, because a Heart player can learn a healthier form of detachment, and separate out healthy and helpful desires from harmful and detrimental ones. Given this clarity, the Heart player becomes the team's emotional core, able to raise up each teammate's best qualities, while helping them deal with their worst, enabling everyone to be the best possible version of themselves - which the Heart player knew them to be all along.

LIFE / DOOM

Life and Doom are concerned with outlook, with journeys, and with trials and tribulations.

Life is an aspect concerned with healing, growing, and improving. It is associated with beginnings, optimism, and positive emotions. The very essence of Life lies in its healing abilities, in this idea of overcoming the odds and triumphing over hardship and difficulty. Life is action, movement, and motion, and its players can scarcely hold still. Life will find a way - and Life players harbor the same immutable belief; they are the most stubborn weeds in the garden, the cockroach that survives the apocalypse, and the beating heart that refuses to stop.

Life players tend to be optimistic and confident. They are self-assured individuals, with a stubborn belief that good things are on their way, and any hardship they face is not only temporary, but something that can be overcome. They can find the silver lining in any cloud, and enjoy themselves under any circumstance. They love to nurture, to care for others, though this love has a tendency to be one-sided. Indeed, Life's stubborn nature is its players' greatest pitfall; their persistence easily becomes obstinacy, and their confidence can become condescension. Their self-assured nature easily becomes egotism, and they can have great difficulty grappling with those who don't share their views - even coming to oppose those who bring emotional pain and suffering that can't be easily fixed.

It's very easy for a Life player to decide another person isn't worth their attention, and opt to leave them behind - after all, Life has to move forward, no matter what it tramples in the process. At their worst, they're stubborn to the point of not listening to anyone but themselves, confidence becoming blockheadedness. This focus on forward progress without looking back can even cause Life players to become harmful to others, so focused they are on their own growth that they don't notice that they're choking everyone else out. This may resemble Doom's death in its worst case - arresting everything else, eventually blocking even their own path with unruly, out-of-control fecundity.

Thus, a Life player needs to learn to more gracefully accept Doom's influence - to pause, slow down, and consider viewpoints that are negative, unpleasant, or difficult. A Life player, endowed with moderation, will be able to cultivate a bountiful garden, rather than an unruly jungle - a place for all to flourish and live in plenty, never wanting for anything.

Doom, then, is the aspect concerned with death, with rest, and with endings. Doom is associated with suffering and with negative emotions, with peace, with sleep, and with dreams. Doom players have a natural penchant for prophecy, and are often dual dreamers, able to take advantage of both Skaia's oracular clouds and the Horrorterrors' voices over Derse. All things must eventually come to an end, and not all times will be good; in these troubling times, Doom players shine, as they are the guides who call the murk home, and know best how to navigate rough waters, course-correcting until the storm passes.

Doom players tend to be deeply pessimistic. They experience, to a much more magnified degree than others, negative feelings and impulses, and it's difficult for them to see the world without seeing its flaws, first and foremost. They are not healers, but commiserators, those who understand greatest that sometimes there's no way to deal with tragedy but to simply sit with it and wait for it to pass. The counterpoint to Life's insistence on breathless positivity, Doom is a reminder that pain, grief, sadness, shame, and guilt are not unnecessary things - in fact, excising them can lead to terrible consequences. Doom players are the universe's martyrs, often taking it upon themselves to course-correct, to sacrifice themselves in order to give others a chance to continue on, to avert a terrible fate.

Unfortunately, this tendency also brings with it a tendency for Doom players to wallow in misfortune, or worse, to take themselves out of the picture, giving up entirely on seeing a better ending. As if energized by their own sense of futility, a Doom player at the "inverse" of their aspect may seem to echo a Life player's focus on forward progress and motion, actively spurring their team on towards an untimely demise.

A Doom player must learn to harness this sense of progress for good, rather than harm. A Doom player, once able to grasp the joy of life even in the greatest depths of despair, will be able to fill even the darkest hours with peace, meaning, and hope.

HOPE / RAGE

Hope and Rage are concerned with permission, and are the lens by which we define reality.

Hope is described by Hussie in the book commentary as being "framed as the most powerful aspect" because it is, literally, an aspect that defines reality. Its specific ability is lies in reducing the "fakeness attribute" of something, thus making it "real". Hope is associated with convictions, with idealism, with faith, order, holiness, and, of course, with magic - which Hope turns real. Hope is permission itself - a reality-breaking ability to look at the world and decree that it must be another way, a way in which the Hope player believes it ought to be.

Thus, Hope players tend to be hard-headed zealots, with no self-awareness whatsoever. Their inclination towards powerful beliefs makes them very difficult to dissuade from a path they've set their minds to, and their specific suite of abilities makes them terrifyingly likely to make their vision come true. Hope players are usually not particularly cunning, nor particularly intelligent, nor even particularly empathetic. Given the Aspect's focus on conviction and faith, it's usually very difficult for Hope players to notice anything occurring beyond their own minds and feelings. Thus are Hope players hopeless optimists, hopeless romantics, and hopeless in general - often great sources of embarrassment to their teams, as their naked sincerity is painful to witness. However, their ability to define reality does not leave them when their beliefs are faulty (which they often are, given Hope players are not particularly introspective, either), which is what makes a Hope player so dangerous.

A Hope player can easily be set on the wrong path - as convicted as they are, and as difficult to shake from that conviction as they can be, Hope players can easily march down a path of destruction, if not persuaded with a deft touch and gentle guidance. In the event that their faith is broken, Hope players easily become despondent and lost, floundering and wishy-washy, which superficially resembles Rage's self-consciousness, but is truly just a lack of direction.

But Rage has a powerful lesson to teach Hope players - that of questioning themselves, interrogating their own beliefs. Once their convictions have gone through rigorous scrutiny, revised into the best, brightest versions of themselves they can be, a Hope player is a worker of miracles - speaking into existence a beautiful future on faith alone, proclaiming that how they see the world is how the world shall be.

Rage, then, is the power of denial. If Hope reduces the "fakness" of a thing, then Rage reduces its "realness". Rage, too, is a means of defining reality, in this case taking a torch to the aspects of reality that it rejects. In more passive Classes, this works in subtler ways, stoking others towards destructive fury. Rage is associated with anarchy, chaos, revolution, destruction, anger, and nihilism. A Rage player will not suffer a world that does not satisfy them, breaking it to pieces, such that something new can take its place.

Therefore, Rage players are prone to harboring anger and resentment, discontentment with the status quo, and faith only in that what currently exists must somehow be dismantled. However, unlike Hope players, who can't help but be pathetically sincere, Rage players are incredibly self-conscious, and often try to mask and hide their embitterment and anger. This, ironically, leads to further ostracization, as others can tell they're being inauthentic. This only further compounds their sense of alienation, and drives them further into smoldering resentment. This makes Rage players sound volatile and dangerous, and they are - but the same fury that moves them is the fury that ignites revolts and tears down oppressive regimes, a necessary and vital well of energy and momentum. It takes careful handling to ensure that the team's Rage player can channel this energy towards righteous causes, rather than marking all as a target for their destructive ire.

In the worst-case scenario, the Rage player turns that rage out indiscriminately, deciding that there is nothing worth fighting for - only unpleasant things to be brought to ruin. This is Rage at its toxic overabundance. Conversely, a Rage player can retreat so harshly into their mask that they allow others to dictate their beliefs, taking them to heart - an action motivated by Rage's destruction (this time, turned inwards) that superficially resembles Hope's convictions and faith.

The true path for a Rage player is a healthy balance - to allow themselves some of Hope's sincerity, and by doing so, to become more sincere and true. This will let them release the pressure of their mounting ire, such that it can be converted into productive, rather than destructive, energy - the heralds of a revolution, razing away the faulty, corrupt old systems such that something better and new can take their place.

CLASS

As previously stated, Class governs a character's character arc - the character's starting circumstances, whether their conflict is primarily internal or external, and what major aspect of their Aspect becomes a hurdle for them to overcome.

In the same way an Aspect's sways tie into the character's base personality, the character's Class abilities tie into the kinds of struggles they face, and have great influence on how their Aspects manifest.

That being said, a character - and their Class - are always subject to their Aspect, as their Aspect is tied fundamentally into who they are. Thus, it can be said that a Light player will always have an affinity for knowledge and provide Seer-esque guidance even when not in a Seer role, a Doom player will always have prophetic abilities even with a non-prophetic class (note that Mituna, an Heir, still had prophetic visions, despite those generally being the realm of Mages and Seers), and a Life player will always have a penchant for healing, even paired with a destructive Class like Prince or Thief (the Condesce, after all, could still extend life; a Prince of Life would likely manifest not as one who causes plants to wither and die (this would actually suit a Prince of Doom), but one who destroys in the way of nature overtaking an abandoned shack, or a forest breaking down a body).

This means that when a character's Classpect inverts their Aspect, it doesn't mean that they suddenly become a hero of the opposing Aspect - rather, it means that, at their very worst - at the nadirs of their character arcs - they will lean so much into their Aspect's worst traits that it will superficially appear as the opposite, when all it really is is an absence of themselves. Dave, a Time player, usually so attentive to detail (despite his disaffected facade, he's always paying rapt attention to Karkat's rants, and noticing all the clues pointing to his destiny of defeating LE), at his lowest emotional point (arguing with Grimbark Jade after sobbing about his lost childhood whimsy), states that he doesn't think Lord English is that big a deal, and never even did anything directly bad to him or his friends - when he was literally directly haunted by LE via Cal his entire childhood. Similarly, Rose drinks herself stupid in order to cope with her mother's death.

Note how, superficially, this almost appears to be an invocation of Space's "big picture thinking," its passivity and permissibility, or how Rose's case appears to be Void's tendency to indulge in vices and pleasure - but they're not. Time's worst traits superficially resemble Space, Light's resemble Void, and vice versa - Grimbark Jade is the Condesce's taskmaster, and Porrim at her worst was as much of a nag as Kankri, trying to do a Time player's managerial job. Horuss and Equius at their worst won't shut up and won't stop talking over their partners. So on and so forth.

Finally, Calliope tells us a couple things about Active/Passive pairings. The first is that Calliope introduces the idea of paired classes with the idea that both Rogues and Thieves "steal" (and later, that both Princes and Bards "destroy"). This presents the idea that both classes can be roughly summed up with the idea that every pairing can be summed up with a common theme.

The second is her description of what makes a Class Active versus Passive - that Active Classes move their Aspect to benefit themselves, whereas Passive Classes allow their Aspect to be moved in order for others to benefit. In a way, they're like active and passive voice in grammar (to tie in with the way Classes and Aspects are so tied to ideas of narrative and character arc) - an Active Class performs their Aspect, and a Passive Class allows the Aspect to be performed "by others" (the famous piece of advice regarding telling the two apart being that a sentence written in passive voice can have "by zombies" tacked to the end of it - eg, John is attacked "by zombies", as compared to active voice - John attacks).

Thus, the Class pairings, along with their basic themes, are as follows:

KNIGHT - / MAID +

"One who controls."

Knights and Maids are paired together through two key factors: the first is that they both hold leadership or managerial roles; the second is that both classes carry the connotation of serving a Lord. Fittingly, they are both struggle with the control of malicious forces - Knights with prophecies indicating their role as heroes, Maids with direct usurpation by malicious forces.

PAGE - / HEIR +

"One who inherits."

Pages and Heirs are paired together because they both fundamentally deal with the great inheritances placed before them. Pages can come into incredible, limitless power - but they must struggle and work hard for it; Heirs begin the game in societal comfort and wealth, and must learn to defect from their decadence.

THIEF - / ROGUE +

"One who steals."

Thieves and Rogues are highly adaptable, as Thieves are capable of fantastic on-the-fly adaptation, whereas Rogues have an infinite toolbox at their disposal. They are both provocateurs, shakers of the status quo, though the Thief does so for personal gain, while the Rogue does so to right injustice.

MAGE - / SEER +

"One who guides."

Mages and Seers are tied together by the gift of prophecy and future sight. Seers are privy to the endless branching paths that the future may take, while Mages are gifted with the ability to outright determine a future that will certainly happen, appearing to be prophecy.

WITCH - / SYLPH +

"One who changes."

Witches and Sylphs are individuals blessed with great magic, but poor judgement. Sylphs heal and nurture, but are drawn to those with strong desires, and enable them to cause great harm; Witches, meanwhile, possess strong emotions, which they often use as moral guidance, for better or worse.

PRINCE - / BARD +

"One who destroys."

Princes and Bards are representatives of society - the one who determines its course, and the one who recounts its passing. Princes suffer from a toxic overabundance of Aspect, and are prone to spectacular meltdowns, whereas Bards are always poised for a crisis of faith. Both are responsible for catastrophic failures - but also breathless victories.

INDIVIDUAL CLASSES

KNIGHT

"One who controls [Aspect] or controls using [Aspect]."

Knights are frontline warriors, rallying points behind which the party falls into line. Although they are often leaders, just as often, they are logistical planners, strategists, or simply the team's beating heart. They are almost always thrust into positions of narrative significance, often carrying grand destinies or even outright heroic prophecies on their shoulders. The are the party's rallying force, its center, and a guiding light - the one to lead the charge, behind which the party will follow.

The primary character struggle a Knight will have is with crippling insecurity. Knights are prone to self-loathing and imposter syndrome, and will often adopt a façade in direct opposition to their aspect (ie, their fundamental personality) in order to cope with their feelings of inadequacy. Thus, their relationship with their aspect becomes love/hate - though they're naturally drawn to their aspect, and even naturally skilled at utilizing it, they have a tendency to become their own worst enemy, as their insecurities make them push their façades, and their façades distance them from their aspect.

"Controlling their Aspect" means that the Knight has easy access to their Aspect, wielding it like a tool or weapon - for good or for ill; "controlling using their Aspect" is what grants Knights their leadership abilities, able to dictate how others ought to act in accordance with the Knight's Aspect - whether their understanding of their Aspect is high or low, whether their advice is good or bad.

Therefore, at their worst, a Knight will fall prey to their insecurities, retreating into their facades, rejecting their Aspect, which will allow disharmony or misuse of it to proliferate throughout the team. They may even wind up deliberately twisting their Aspect's presence within the team so that they never have to be confronted by it; these distortions ripple outwards and eventually culminate in major catastrophes, all on account of the Knight's negligence.

But at their best, a Knight is a shining beacon and guiding light; when they come to terms with themselves, and allow themselves to be comfortable in their own skin - when they no longer allow themselves to be ruled by their insecurities and anxieties - they ensure that their aspect is harmonious wherever it appears throughout their party, and can wield it expertly as a weapon, as if it were their own flesh and blood.

MAID

"One who allows control through [Aspect] or allows [Aspect] to be controlled."

Unlike Knights, which take positions of frontline prominence, a Maid is a managerial presence in the backlines, though no less crucial for the smooth functioning of a party. Just as the invisible hands of the hired help keep a household running, the Maid will be called upon to provide vital services to keep the game stable, even if those services are more noticeable by their absence than their presence. Maids are often the party's unsung heroes or even shadow leaders, tugging at invisible strings, fingers on the pulse.

A Maid's primary character struggle will be that of escaping oppression. Maids tend to start the game in positions of subjugation or subservience, especially to malicious forces, and their abilities often end up being exploited to serve their masters' ends. Therefore, one may even have the impression that a Maid is ruled by their aspect, held prisoner and slave - at least until they're able turn the tables.

"Allowing their Aspect to be controlled" means that Maids are capable of directly dispensing their aspect unto others - a Maid of Time can dispense time unto foes, pausing them in their tracks; a Maid of Life can grant so much life that they can revive the dead. Their boons are great and direct, straightforward in a similar manner to Knights. "Allowing control through their Aspect" grants them their uncanny managerial abilities, as their aspect dictates the realm in which nothing occurs without the Maid's knowledge or permission, a realm made available to whomever the Maid's allegiance lies with.

Thus, at their worst, the Maid becomes a saboteur. Exploited by malign forces, their abilities to allow control over others through their aspect, or control of their aspect, makes them perfect vehicles by which their aspect can be hijacked or usurped, and made to turn against the party, and they often find themselves placed into these positions through no fault of their own. It takes the party banding together to shake off the forces that would keep a Maid in bondage.

However, at their best, Maids ensure that the party can never go too far off the rails. There is a place for everything, and everything will be in its place; a Maid is a supply line, a safe haven, and a promise that everything will be neat and tidy when the party returns from war. When the Maid belongs to themselves, their homestead becomes a fortress, and nothing occurs under the Maid's watchful eye without their express permission.

PAGE

"One who works to inherit [Aspect] or inherits [Aspect] for themselves."

Pages are a class defined by promise. As the name suggests, a Page begins weak, but has the great potential to develop into one of the most powerful players in the game. The exact nature of a Page's powers are vague, not because they are insignificant, but because they are so great that it's difficult to encompass them all. At the apex of their arcs, Pages are capable of miraculous feats, overpowering even Lords and Muses - if only they could reach that point and stay there.

A Page begins the game weakest of all, reflective of their long journey of growth. Where most classes only fall into deficit of their Aspect at their lowest emotional points, Pages begin their arcs in deficit - exhibiting character traits opposite to those their Aspect normally encompasses. Moreso than any other class, a Page must learn to grow into their Aspect. Weak-willed, naive, and easily hurt, Pages require careful nurturing if they're to come into their own.

"Working to inherit their Aspect" describes the endless journey of growth the Page must undertake - one with many missteps, backslides, and setbacks along the way. Still, they "inherit their aspect," meaning that their full potential, when realized, is overwhelmingly great - practically becoming their Aspect in humanoid form, capable of utilizing it to its glorious full potential.

However, their nature defeats them, and even if they can attain this state, the Page usually can't stay there for long. At their very worst, the Page's deficit of their Aspect's better qualities can turn the Page into a gravitic well of misfortune - an albatross about the party's neck, the centerpoint, if not inciting incident, of a massive disaster, as their team is sucked in by the Page's natural weakness.

But this is only true as it contrasts to a Page at their best - having grappled and won with the greatest of all weakness, a Page is poised to come into the greatest of all strength. Shown kindness, compassion, and support, a Page at full power reflects a party at their best. A Page at full strength is breathtaking to behold, an unstoppable force of nature, their Aspect made manifest.

HEIR

"One whom [Aspect] grants inheritance or inherits [Aspect] for others."

Heirs, in contrast to Pages, start the game strong. They usually belong to the upper echelons of their respective societies, a position of great wealth, leisure, and comfort, and are set to be inheritors of even greater wealth. Similarly, their Aspect comes to them as if of its own will - it is powerful, but difficult for the Heir to control, reflecting the wealth and status they've enjoyed as birthright.

An Heir's main challenge is that of examining their privilege, and learning where they wish to spread the gift they've been given. Because of their positions of sheltered comfort, Heirs are not particularly world-wise, and often harbor massive blind spots to the suffering of others and the ills of society. As such, they tend to be fairly aimless, given great power but no strong motivations, and have a tendency to simply indulge in their Aspect without contributing great help or hindrance to their team at all.

The Heir's Aspect is practically an independent entity. Being one whom "their Aspect grants them inheritance" refers to how the Heir starts powerful, able to summon their Aspect to perform great, miraculous acts. However, it is highly intuitive and difficult to control. The Heir's challenge lies not in attaining great power, but in attaining control over, and the ability to direct, their existing abilities. Once they do, they can "inherit their Aspect for others" - Heirs become a conduit through which their party can experience their Aspect, making it a usable pool of wealth for them all to draw from. However, because of their comfortable positions, many Heirs end up dallying, finding no pressing need to do so.

But this dallying hides a ticking clock. An Heir's inheritance will come to them, one way or another, and if they aren't ready to receive the great responsibilities that come with such great power, then the power will eventually consume them. An Heir with no clear direction will eventually become lost to their Aspect, entirely removing both from play. Like how wealthy inheritors simply become part of the status quo, so, too, does an Heir disappear into their Aspect, fixing it in place.

Thus, Heirs must learn where they have been blind, where they have been foolish, and what it means to be underprivileged. Then, once they turn their energies towards addressing those injustices - to taking responsibility for building a better future - when their wealth comes to them, they'll be able to distribute it where it's needed most. An Heir, fully-realized, brings their Aspect to heel, and makes it a resource available to their entire team, as if welcoming them all into the family.

THIEF

"One who steals [Aspect] or steals using [Aspect]."

Thieves are, as the name suggests, greedy - much of their arc revolves around a desire to amass wealth, though what's considered "wealth" varies based on the Thief and especially their Aspect. They tend to be callous people by nature, capable of ignoring or trampling over the feelings of others in order to take what they want, in the hopes of filling an emotional void the Thief may not even be fully aware of.

The Thief's playstyle is one of careful resource management. Reflecting a natural tendency to take "wealth" from others, Thieves are unable to use their Aspect without first "stealing" it - a subtractive act which leaves the victim bereft of the Aspect, weakening them in the process. Because of the finicky nature of these abilities, it takes great cunning to be a Thief, and the Class both demands and requires the player to be adaptable, flexible, and quick on their feet, able to effect complicated schemes and engineer the perfect situations for their powers to have the greatest effect. Thieves aren't necessarily strong, but they have a very high victory ratio, because they're experts at turning a situation to their own advantage.

"Stealing their Aspect" refers to the fundamental way in which the Thief class is played, this resource management game; "stealing using their Aspect" reflects how the Thief often becomes a malignant force within the party, viewing their own teammates as caches of wealth to plunder. Thieves are naturally prone to hurting others for their own purposes, craving drama and attention, and being of such callous dispositions that they're able to perform extreme acts of cruelty given the right motivations.

Thieves often become a target of ire within the party, disruptive forces whose quest for personal wealth and fulfillment comes at the cost of those around them. At their worst, they can bring so much heat down upon their own shoulders that the party feels the need to treat them like an enemy, which is disastrous for party harmony. Moreover, it's disastrous for the Thieves themselves, as Thieves seek wealth to compensate for some emotional emptiness, and making enemies of their friends only serves to deepen their ennui.

Thus, a Thief must be taught that true happiness and fulfillment doesn't come from the struggle for wealth, but from the building of something better with those they care about. A Thief, thus turned to heroic purposes, becomes the party's pinch hitter - an adaptable spy, an unpredictable maverick, an element of surprise - and above all, a reliable ally, capable of turning any tide in the party's favor.

ROGUE

"One who steals from [Aspect] or steals [Aspect] for others."

Rogues, on the other hand, call to mind such figures as Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to distribute to the poor. Rogues are at their best when they're agents of a well-planned heist, as they possess an unlimited toolbox - their own Aspect - to play with. Their Aspect is a treasure trove, just waiting for the Rogue to plunder it and share its riches - if only the Rogue can figure out how.

Rogues are forces of revolution. They naturally carry a rebellious spirit, one which bristles at injustice, takes a stand against authority, and questions the status quo. Their ideas are unfocused, however; they know they must rebel, but usually don't start with a clear idea of against who or what. They know that their society is injust, but they don't know how to address that injustice. They know there are villains, and may even know these villains' identity, but they don't know how best to defy them. In a similar way, they're often lost as to how to utilize their Aspect beyond its most basic applications, and usually require external assistance in order to bring out its full potential.

Rogues' true potential lies in "stealing from their Aspect" - an additive act, rather than a subtractive one, as a Thief's stealing is. Rogues are capable of removing their own Aspect's sway over another entity, allowing it to exhibit the characteristics of the opposite Aspect; a Rogue of Void can create things out of nothing, a Rogue of Heart can tease out behaviors and actions. They can also "steal their Aspect for others," allowing them access to their own Aspect's suite of abilities as well. This allows the Rogue incomparable flexibility, their abilities - like their dispositions - rebellious and subversive.

But their rebellious spirit, coupled with their lack of understanding as to who their real enemies are, is dangerous when left unchecked. Rogues often suffer from a failure to start, giving up on trying to understand the deeper implications of their abilities, and of the society they can't seem to find contentment in - but they can also suffer from a worse fate: rebellion without a cause. Rogues' free spirits can lead to them bucking the status quo in ways that actively harm others, performing acts of taboo or poor taste just because that rebellious energy needs to be put to use somewhere. These can have disastrous knock-on consequences, as some things are taboo for good reason.

Thus, Rogues need to be guided - to make connections with others, and come to a greater understanding of the world at large. Once they know their target, and what needs to be done, the Rogue makes sure there are no obstacles along the way - no safe is uncrackable, no prison inescapable, and no problem unsolvable, so long as the Rogue is there to work their magic.

MAGE

"One who guides [Aspect] or guides [Aspect] for themselves."

Mages are prophets, of the "always correct" variety - or so it seems. In actuality, Mages don't "predict" the future, they "choose" it - in a setting where the future is mutable, the Mage's ability is to speak into existence a future they desire, to tip the scales of causality and collapse possibilities into a single definite course. Their Aspect is the lens through which their "prophecy" occurs, a realm in which they command the fabric of reality itself.

As if to karmically balance this incredible power, Mages are afflicted by deep and terrible sadness. They start the game miserable, having been subjected to the greatest injustices their Aspect can offer, tormented by guilt, shame, and self-loathing. Their worldview has been shadowed with a lens of suffering and anguish, and so, too, is their view of the future. Mages usually begin the game having already set several prophecies into motion, and these early prophecies are usually obstacles that the party must overcome.

Mages "guide their Aspect" - this refers to the way their prophecies, that is, their chosen futures, always come true. Their visions may be limited to the sway of their Aspect, but it remains a powerful ability nonetheless. "Guiding their Aspect for themselves," then, outlines the Class's Active nature - the futures the Mage picks must be ones the Mage believes will come to pass.

Unfortunately, Mages have a tendency to pick ugly futures. This isn't out of malice or anger; this is because Mages start the game sad, and without intervention, grow sadder. They're prone to spirals of negativity, self-loathing, and depression, and as their outlook dims, so, too, do their forecasts. Mages suffer, but even suffering can grow familiar - can even appear comfortable or desirable, if the Mage suffers long enough. It's easy for them to grow so accustomed to misery that misery is the only outcome they can see - spelling doom for the rest of the party, one prediction at a time.

But a Mage whose party shows them kindness and forgiveness, compassion and empathy, can pull them out of their misery. How beautiful, then, the future appears! A Mage who believes in a brighter future is a force to be reckoned with. When a Mage can bring themselves to say, "and everyone lived happily ever after," you had better believe they did.

SEER

"One who who is guided by [Aspect] or guides [Aspect] for others."

Seers, meanwhile, are the true future-sighted, able to see the myriad paths the future could take. Like Mages, their Aspect serves as the lens by which their vision is colored; the Seer can sense, with fine accuracy, which paths are closest to the sway of their aspect, and which paths will take them further away. As if gifted with a guide to the game, their intuition is tied directly to the mechanics of SBURB, and they serve as the party's guides, a role indispensable in a game with so many moving parts.

Seers will struggle with blindness, first by hubris and ego, and then by self-harm. Seers begin the game quite full of themselves, proud of their prowess in their Aspect - usually arrogantly so. When this pride is inevitably shattered, Seers have a tendency to deal with their feelings of shame and guilt with willful, self-induced blindness - as if flipping a switch, they become ashamed of the pride they once placed in their Aspect, and seek to place as much distance between it and themselves as possible. There's comfort in ignorance, even if it renders the Seer useless.

Seers are "guided by their Aspect" - able to sense its presence, they gravitate toward it, and towards futures with it in abundance. And, in the same way, they "guide their Aspect for others," lighting the way for others down the path of greatest reward. Seers truly love their Aspect, no matter how much they may misplace their faith in it, and seeking it out is a great joy for them.

This is why a Seer at their worst is so tragic. By inducing intentional blindness within themselves, they are functionally deadening the strongest part of their soul. No matter the temporary relief this brings to the sharp, jagged pain of shame, it invariably deepens the Seer's suffering, as they deny themselves not only their own joy, but their ability to help others - another act which inherently delights them.

Thus, a Seer needs to be made to deal with their shattered ego head-on, to accept their own shortcomings, to become at ease with the idea that they don't have all the answers. Once their vision becomes clear, and their view becomes honest, the party nevermore has to fear becoming lost or straying from the path - the Seer will see to that.

WITCH

"One who changes [Aspect] or changes [Aspect] in others."

Witches are the winds of change, tweaking reality all around them until it suits their desires. A Witch is presence that commands both fear and respect, and their Aspect bows down before them, reduced to a mere minion in the Witch's presence, ready to attend to all their needs. In a way, the Witch's powers are straightforward - they can manipulate their Aspect as they desire, changing its qualities as they see fit. "How they see fit," then, is where the issue lies.

Witches are usually of "outsider" status, never truly being part of the society from which the rest of the party descends. Free from the same rules and common sense that govern the others on their team, Witches instead operate on a value system heavily reliant on their own emotions. What a Witch deems to be correct, to be true, or to be righteous, are often based not in any objective measure, but in subjective, emotional bias - and they're emotional creatures, indeed. Prone to fits of great anger, Witches can be benevolent one second and malicious the next, and their abilities let them imprint, to a greater degree than any other Class, their desires onto the world that comes after them.

Witches "change their Aspect," as in, the crux of their abilities lies in manipulating the qualities of their Aspect in their surroundings - extending, shortening, magnifying, shrinking, growing, removing… so on and so forth. It's a fearsome power. They also "change their Aspect for themselves" - their Aspect is hapless but to obey their desires; Witches change the world to suit themselves, and their feelings of how things "should" be often become how things "are" in short order.

Thus, a Witch who has been swayed toward evil entities and nefarious ends is a truly dangerous opponent - and it is unfortunately easy for this to happen. Witches' social isolation means they tend to trust their emotions, and a force that flatters these emotions can easily win a Witch's trust. By the same token, those that fail to flatter the Witch are often considered enemies, even if they're benevolent forces. A Witch's morality can thus become warped and topsy-turvy, which has grave consequences for the world that the Witch then shapes.

Therefore, a Witch's struggle lies in learning to see beyond their own emotions, to take in the opinions and assistance of others even when it seems superficially unpleasant, to move beyond the childlike rejection of that which is uncomfortable. Once able to see a more nuanced form of right and wrong, once able to tell evil from good, Witches can build even utopia.

SYLPH

"One who allows [Aspect] to change others or changes [Aspect] for others."

Sylphs are nurturers and healers; they bring to mind fey folk whose very footsteps cause plants to grow. Wherever they go, whatever they touch, all becomes suffused with the Sylph's Aspect, which flourishes under their careful cultivation. Sylphs adore their Aspect, and their Aspect adores them; Sylphs generally feel at peace with themselves, surrounding themselves with what they like.

A Sylph's main challenge - or rather, the main challenge that Sylphs wind up posing the rest of the party - is that Sylphs are enablers. They're attracted to those with strong wills and extreme dispositions, amused by the havoc they wreak and pleased by their attention. Sylphs love to pick out favorites and lavish them with care and attention, excusing any wrongdoing on their behalf and shielding them from consequences. At the same time, those who don't strike the Sylph's capricious fancy find themselves discarded in the Sylph's mind, shut out from the boons the Sylph can provide.

A Sylph is "one who allows their Aspect to change others" - this almost always manifests as healing, as it's an additive ability (that is to say, the Sylph can grant more of their Aspect to someone). "Changing their Aspect for others," on the other hand, explains this enabling nature of theirs - the Sylph will intervene to make the world into a playground for their favored individuals, even to the point of turning other, less "interesting" teammates into playthings for the Sylph's beloved.

Thus, while the Sylph themself isn't particularly prone to wild mood swings and acts of malice, their influence can still cause disaster by allowing unscrupulous individuals to flourish - even encouraging their worst tendencies. A Sylph's touch is subtle, but that subtlety only lends it an insidious quality, as the Sylph quietly works against the good of the many for the cruel, selfish pleasures of the few. At their very worst, the Sylph can deem themselves their only favorite, and render everyone else a minor character in their one-man show.

Thus, Sylphs must be challenged. They must be made to reckon with the fact that favorable treatment is not necessarily kindness, and that bias can easily become harm. When a Sylph is able to grasp the difference between bias and doing good, and tune their approach toward that greater good, uncolored by bias and personal preference, then there is no place safer, kinder, and more conducive to growth than the Sylph's embrace.

PRINCE

"One who destroys [Aspect] or destroys using [Aspect]."

Princes are the most anxious, psychologically anguished members of a party. They suffer from a toxic overabundance of their Aspect - its traits are taken to an extreme, and not only the Prince, but those around them, are made to suffer for it. Princes are naturally set on a path of self-destruction, the culmination of their uncontrolled accumulation of their Aspect, and their meltdowns are spectacular, taking their Aspect - and whoever is unlucky enough to be in the same room - with them.

A Prince's challenge, therefore, is as simple to understand as it is difficult to overcome. The Prince needs to learn how to calm down, relax, and find inner peace. Princes are terribly prone to circular thinking and downward spirals. Their natural inclination is to feel anxious and responsible, like they carry the weight of the world, and this causes them to act out in extreme and aggressive ways. Eventually, others pull away, put off by the Prince's intensity. This only deepens the Prince's malaise, and Princes are - pushed by this hovering sense of urgency and catastrophe - willing to employ drastic, desperate measures to enforce compliance with their wills. They wake on their moons early, reflective of their driven natures. They're determined to a frightful degree, and no sacrifice is too great, no work too dirty, if it means achieving what they see as the greater good.

Princes "destroy their Aspect" in this way - by presenting their Aspect at its worst, they make others take distance, ruining it for everyone else. Their hard wills, intense emotions, and unshakeable drive to do what (they feel) needs to be done - at any cost - is their source of power. Thus, Princes "destroy using their Aspect" - their toxic overabundance of Aspect lets them channel it into a pure, annihilatory force; what they lack in the delicate utility of the other classes, they make up for in raw, ruinous power. Princes can easily deal the greatest damage in a combat scenario, their ability to destroy overriding nearly everything that would stand against it.

Thus is the problem with Princes. They're ticking time-bombs of anxiety and frustration; when they finally go off, they carve a path of destruction, before ultimately self-destructing, leaving no trace of their Aspect behind. Not only that, but it's very difficult to defuse the bomb early; Princes have finicky, aggressive, and complicated personalities, and tend to react poorly to straightforward attempts to calm them down and reason with them. They often appear to be their own worst enemies, marching inexorably toward their own destruction.

But Princes not only can be saved, but must be saved. They must be saved because kindness and compassion must exist for their own sake, and a Prince rescued from their own worst tendencies is living proof of the truth of that sentiment. A Prince, given the peace they need to reorient their priorities, will not rest until they see a brighter future realized. They will be the first to rise, and the last man standing, banishing - as if by royal decree - all obstacles, all enemies, all misfortune, and all ills.

BARD

"One who invites destruction through [Aspect] or allows [Aspect] to be destroyed."

Bards are the wild cards of a party, responsible for both improbable victories and catastrophic defeats - sometimes both in a single session. The methods by which a Bard works are a mystery to even the Bard themselves, which make it easy for the party to dismiss their powers - and, by extension, the Bard themselves. After all, who would expect there to be consequences for something so ridiculous as a Bard?

Bards are usually targets of abject ridicule by their teams. They can't help it - they're religious types, or at least types that hold great, lofty, ridiculous beliefs near and dear to their hearts. A Bard's primary struggle invariably winds up being a crisis of faith. Bards begin the game with a positive, "correct" faith in their Aspect; however, something will inevitably occur that shakes the Bard's faith in this viewpoint to its core. In this state, Bards are incredibly fragile, and it's very easy for them to succumb to whispers of cruelty and destruction, for their beliefs to warp, and for the Bard to come to serve the worst aspects of the society they represent.

A Bard "invites destruction through their Aspect" - their powers are subtle, but have catastrophic effects. Bards are instinctively drawn towards causing the first flap of a butterfly's wing, which cascades into a grand, impossible karmic backlash. They "allow their Aspect to be destroyed" by being the conduits for the forces of their faith - whatever faith they hold - to wreak unimaginable consequences across the game.

Thus, a Bard must not be allowed to fall into darkness. The cost is too great. They must be treated with kindness, patience, and sincerity, and given a chance to re-establish their faith in a better, brighter future. If this can be done, then at the party's direst moment - in their darkest hour - they will find that kindness paid back a thousandfold, as an innocuous act by the Bard that no one remembers balloons into a miracle.

[ronnytherandom]

I forgot to watch content all week so i wrote about games ive been playing

9/2/2021: The Truman Show

You should fear your fears but embrace them and use them to guide you into the unknown, to explore and experience what life has to offer. Fear stands between you and the fullest experience of life so you must pass through it to better yourself. Heed not the walls built about you and the chains made to hold you. Though the architects insist it will preserve your life, containment is anathema to life. Do not take in faith the benevolence of powers that be; instead trust those who would support and liberate you, guide you through fear and into life.

As best I can lay it out, I think this is the philosophy of the Truman show but there is so much more to read into it also. There is critique of systems of commodification and celebrity (i.e. capitalism) reducing human beings to a consumable good as well as encouragement to find and pursue your goals despite adversity and even sensibility which is also tied to the illusion of economic responsibility. You can’t put a camera inside a human head, you can never “know” them without being an active and intrinsic part of their life, but also there is need for reciprocation. If one half exists with ulterior motive then the entire relationship is rotten; sincere humanity is what creates real connections. Without such your world is fake. A world built around one person is a world where no one can truly live. All these actors have given up basically their entire lives for the sake of watching Truman have his life built around him by outside forces, have allowed themselves to be commodified and dehumanised for the good of one man, Christoph. The man at the top has delusions of grandeur and thinks only of his own bottom line, he cares not for his subjects but simply wants them to do as he tells them because it benefits him to commodify their lives and interactions. Even then he cannot stand to lose control and in seeking to demonstrate Truman’s “realness” he structures his life so thoroughly that eventually there’s no reality left, only a script and adverts. But the people watching still empathise with Truman because everyone in the working class understands what it is to be trapped because real life is our own Truman show and one day we must all pass through fear, step out of the dome and create a real life for ourselves outside of the system of commodification which consumes everyone’s life and removes all realness and sincerity and emotional catharsis from it.

I unreservedly love this film.

14/2/2021: Assorted Game Reviews

Horizon Zero Dawn (Unfinished due to technical issues, 45 hours inc. parts of Frozen Wilds): This game is really cool and really fun. I think it is defined by its incredible setting which somehow creates a fresh feeling post-apocalyptic environment. Said environment creates intriguing alt-future lore and some very interesting environments to explore. I love the machine designs (especially tallnecks!) and was very sad to hear one of their contributing artists passed away recently but I’m glad their work lives on in this visually stunning game. I’m a sucker for Ubisoft-style open world games simply because it tickles a certain kind of itch and somehow this non-Ubisoft game has outdone Ubisoft on their own formula, which is hilarious, but also good for me as running around this world exploring and clearing map markers is engaging fun. Not least because of the combat. I have a minor criticism here that the combat feels slightly awkward on mouse and keyboard, the arrows never seem to go where I’m aiming, but aside from that the experience of fighting is a grand one. Enemies never lose their threat and I love the weak spot system the game employs which makes every tool useful in niche circumstance and rewards curiosity. It specifically manages this in a way that I feel the Witcher series could learn from if it ever returns; by making head on assault less viable and encouraging tactical hunting. I do feel this system makes hunting robots so fun that by contrast hunting humans becomes a chore however, though I noted this improves in the dlc with the addition of humans with elemental weaknesses limited in number as they are. I cannot speak for the story in entirety but what I encountered was pretty good, though I feel as if it was only just really getting going at the point where I could not continue. I find Aloy to be a compelling and well portrayed protagonist and though I can guess about her origin and the ultimate end of the alt-future apocalypse I still want to see how it plays out on screen, so will return to this as soon as I’ve fixed it.

Rimworld (122 hours. Familiar with but do not own Royalty Expansion):

Rimworld is one of those super special games that I don’t think I have a single problem with. Fair warning it can be brutal and is heavily dependent on RNG but this allows it to create truly unique and interesting scenarios on a constant basis. In the wider perspective it could be described as formulaic, with regular cycles of managing the settlement between raids and random events, but the devils in the details. Colonist traits, health and skills dictate how you play and sometimes you’ll be forced to adapt as some colonists simply refuse to perform some tasks. The depth of health particularly amuses me, in that each little part of someone’s body is modelled in a way. If you’re in a firefight you may take a single bullet which grazes your finger and you’re fine. Alternately it could pierce your human leather cowboy hat, your skull and kill you instantly and the game will tell you exactly what happened. The risk/reward element is addictive enough, and that’s without accounting for just how cool it is to see your colony slowly expand. Establishing more and more options for crafting is fun and shows off the full range of different items in the game which is fucking extensive. Between clothing, weapons, armour, sculpture and drugs to name only a few you have the opportunity to create many varied production lines either for your colonists or to trade for money and there is a lot of fun to be had here as well as it is quite satisfying to see psychoid you have grown personally become the cocaine your colonists snort to help them stay awake on limited sleep. From an archaeologist’s perspective it is especially cool to look back over your base and see the hints of how and why structures were built and remember the history of your limitations and development through structure. I think the lore of the universe is really cool too, a very 40k-esque kind of place except with far less order, somehow. But the universe does an excellent job of feeling alive and moving constantly on both a planetary and interstellar level. You can fully believe that while you build wooden shacks to shield yourself from terrifyingly low temperatures there are simultaneously rich pieces of shit living it up on the glitterworld that’s one system over. The music does an excellent job of creating the wild west frontier atmosphere the game cultivates to great effect. Ultimately, for just being a grid with a series of different numbers attached, this game does a fantastic job of creating a compelling, brutal and very real colony management experience. I dont think I can properly put into words the grandness and scope of this one. I didnt even mention the modding scene, which is expansive and tailors to basically any need you could have. The Rim is a terrifying place but theres so much fun to be had.

Factorio (86 hours, mostly 1.1): Having completed a game of Factorio I can tell you reliably that this is one of the best games ever made, thoroughly addictive and fun. If you like numbers, logistics, TRAINS, its gonna be your thing. Not to mention its probably the only documented case of a game with no bugs (so far as official forums are concerned). Strictly speaking this games combat is not the most engrossing thing but good lord do you feel it when you acquire a flamethrower. The way each aspect of the game (production, research, logistics, combat, upgrades for everything therein) feeds into the next is a really well constructed balancing act such that you must experience the full game in order to complete it and I always appreciate this kind of design. I think its one of the best tenets of factory game design especially as its something present in Satisfactory too. Beyond all of this generalised good the game is also excellent in its intricacies, the architecture necessary to build a maximum efficiency base, the level of planning and organisation that can be employed is mind-blowing. Not to mention the mod community, factorion is already an extensive experience and some mad bastards have seen fit to complicate it further, hats off to them. This really is a great moment in gaming.

 Destiny 2 (198 hours, all expansions, played some post Forsaken release, mostly Season of Arrivals onwards, spent roughly £20 on microtransactions):

This is a very interesting and enjoyable experience, but I must say it can be a bit controversial at times. What its does particularly well is moment to moment gameplay and design in all aspects. The game is stunning; between environments, cosmetics, shaders ships and ghosts there’s a vast range of incredible things to see, all rooted in the “pseudo-magi-science” aesthetic it’s got going on. The class design is excellent and you really do feel like you embody this rampaging madman / agile gunman / space wizard archetype, whichever you choose to play. The abilities, especially supers, are very satisfying. Everything has heft and power behind it which can be felt in all aspects of design; sound and animation is top notch. Movement is cool, you can feel how fast you move both on foot and in vehicles and the navigation has a little fun subtlety depending on your class jump, even if you can bounce unpredictably occasionally. But for the love of god why is the wall kick in there? It has only ever served to push me from a ledge into a bottomless pit. You're looking to remove antiquated content? Start there. Some guns are not so good to shoot but there’s such a great range of guns that are fun its like complaining about one drop in an ocean; and enemies are fun to shoot at, each faction distinct in meaningful ways and presenting an effective challenge. Speaking of oceans, that’s one way to describe the lore. I haven’t dived too deep but it keeps going down forever and everything I’ve read is intriguing. As a former Elder Scrolls lore nut this is something I could definitely sink my teeth into, though its much more of a pulpy sci-fi vibe than a pure nonsense vibe. I do think the game has a bit of a loot problem, primarily in regards to the conflict between high stats and looking good. This should never be a conflict, and yes you can apply ornaments to any purple gear but that’s not enough when I spend the entire time grinding power levels and thus must change armour and weapons on a constant basis to progress. This game needs a true transmog system and if not that, rethink how gear power level works. Perhaps rather than earning new instances of gear you always possess a version of it and the loot you acquire in missions just upgrades your instance to your current overall power level? This would serve to do away with the current upgrade system which I think is a needless additional grind. Perhaps it could be retained in using enhancement cores to empower gear as present but necessitating a whole upgrade module to keep your favourite weapon on hand is kind of painful honestly. There is also at present the issue of sunsetting gear, mildly controversial to say the least. If it’s necessary to streamline the game and make it function moving forward so be it but surely loot pools should be adjusted so you can actually get useful loot from older locations? And why sunset personal instances of gear which can be acquired at the regular power level anyway? I had to throw away my favourite bow and hunt down a new version of the exact same weapon for… what reason? I do think destination navigation leaves a little to be desired also. I get that having a physical hub world is meaningful but Destiny does not have a very extroverted community; I can count the times someone noticed me in the tower on one hand. And its not even like there’s fun activities to be found in the same sense as say Deep Rock Galactic, which really does take advantage of its hub. Perhaps for players who simply want to go about their business all of the vendors could be set into a menu system where just clicking an icon takes you to their menu from anywhere in the system rather than, per se, having to go through an entire loading screen (Which takes you to orbit and back) to reach a location which serves simply as the front for four menus. These are established player problems. As a dedicated PvE player I can say that this game is immensely fun in combat and growing in power does feel really good. It’s something I recommend getting into, there’s just some very large creases that need ironing which the Bungie should really take the time to address rather than pushing out new in game content every three months.

[thistangledbrain]

Deliberately lumping 17 & 18 together this time, because 17 isn’t that big of an entry.

Day 17 - “Accommodations”

So from a *personal* standpoint, I need few or no accommodations, as I’ve learned to make my own & have my own coping skills - when you spend most of your life not even knowing you’re autistic, you’re less likely to ask for something to help you with “your weird hangups”.

But younger auties often DO need accommodations- like being allowed to wear headphones/muffs in school, having a quieter testing environment, smaller classes, and so on. And obviously, the more you struggle with certain aspects (like loud noises or crowds), the more accommodations you’ll need.

I admit I don’t have much experience with the kids who truly need the total SPED environments. *Most* (definitely not all) kids I’ve known have all been capable to a degree of adapting to a NT environment. It’s *exhausting*, but possible *most of the time*. So since I’m a child of “suck it UP!”, I’m unfamiliar with this outside of simple accommodations I asked for, for my youngest, when he was in his earlier HS years - like headphones being allowed, and letting him keep his cell phone on him so he could quietly text with me if he was having a rough day & we could walk through it together. As he’s progressed through high school, he’s needed these accommodations less and less. I’ve noticed as my boys have edged through puberty, they leave more and more of their younger struggles behind them.

Your results may vary, of course.

———————————————

Day 18 - “Someday”

Hm. Boy, that’s ambiguous. Maybe I’ll take this one on from a couple different angles.

Someday I hope NTs understand autism better. Someday I hope each autistic person can be judged on their OWN PERSONAL strengths and weaknesses, like NTs are, instead of lumping us all together and deciding we can or can’t do something, based on the fact we’re autistic. For example, I know *plenty* of autistic musicians who play in bands ranging from death metal & punk rock, to smooth jazz. “But I thought autistic people couldn’t handle loud sounds!!”, you exclaim. Yeah, and some of us can. Also, not all loud sounds are created equal. Or sounds in general. A good example for me is, I occasionally jump and let out a little scream when the toast pops up 🙄, but I don’t flinch at the sound of gunfire - because I love to target shoot (I do not hunt), and it’s something I’m really good at, so I enjoy it thoroughly. (I’m not going to get started on America’s gun violence problem because it enrages me. I can rant about that allllll day & already deleted two paragraphs doing just that. This was just a convenient example.)

I’ve been thinking about this a LOT lately, actually. We have our own hurdles, without NTs adding to them, anyway. But I think about “what if I knew I was autistic, before I joined the Marines? Would I still have been as determined?” YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT...BUT I would have hit a brick wall, because they wouldn’t have let me (if I was honest about it, anyway - I’m telling you right now, if every applicant was 100% honest about their background, almost NO ONE would be accepted). So what happened? Well - I was a damned good Marine, that’s what happened - because I didn’t let *anybody* tell me I couldn’t do something. And as I mentioned before...for certain types of auties, the military is actually a pretty fucking brilliant, comfortable environment that we literally thrive in. Again - we are all different. So this “someday” one is BIG for me. Someday I hope we are judged individually on our merits, someday I hope we are looked at through the lens of what we CAN do, versus what *someone else* thinks we cannot do. I have YET to meet an Autie who doesn’t go “OH YEAH?!” when we’re told we “can’t” do something because of our autism. (We might not always succeed, granted, but we really hate being told we “can’t” do something, based on what YOU think we can and cannot do.)

Someday I hope autism is actually celebrated, instead of thinking it’s some sort of scourge. I hope to see that happen in my lifetime.

Someday I also hope that people (the doctors and psych folks and whatever) realize there’s actually a *considerable* difference between male and female autistics - which is why females are so often diagnosed late in life, because we “don’t fit the profile”. I also hope they realize that some females are more like males, and some males more like females, as far as the expression of our ASD. In other words - back to HOW ABOUT YOU EVALUATE US INDIVIDUALLY, FFS. I hear all this shit about how “autism is a spectrum”, and it just seems like lip service - if you KNOW it’s a spectrum, then why are you still trying to pigeonhole us into the DSM-5 definition or whatever, and operating inside generic parameters?? Auties are the most complex human beings you will ever meet in your life - and I stand FIRMLY by that - so your attempts to shoehorn us into your basic understanding of it is frustrating as FUCK. Infuriating, even. No wonder we fight you so bad when you try it. How would YOU like it if we decided that every middle class blonde woman is a “Karen”, and treated you as such? Or if we decided everyone with brown eyes are slow and we should treat all of you brown eyed people the same, like infants? You’d be like, “what the FUCK?” Yeah. It’s a lot like that.

Someday, I hope more therapists understand the autistic brain better, so they can be more helpful. Sometimes the same advice you’d give a NT patient struggling with an issue (let’s say, the death of a loved one or executive function) just won’t ...WORK...for an Autie. As it stands now, most therapists I’ve known go straight to ABA, and that gets frustrating when you just need to let it all out so you can re-center and actually have a discussion. Speaking of ABA, someday I hope teachers and doctors and therapists understand the resentment and feelings of being “wrong” or “bad” that result from ABA. SOME of it is necessary I think, but mostly, all it does is teach repression & lets us know loud and clear that the way we are is “wrong”. I desperately hope ABA is reevaluated - with the input from ACTUAL AUTISTICS. Using ABA for to overcome a problem like, say, potty training or something, is often seriously necessary. But potty training isn’t part of *who we are*, if that makes sense. Most ABA is basically like putting your Autie kid in a dog training bootcamp, with little to no thought about “what makes that kid tick”. It’s all about training you to act in a way that NTs find acceptable (and I have lots and lots of cuss words about that........) I don’t even train DOGS like some schools or therapists train auties. Dogs aren’t beings to dominate, control, and condition to act in ways I find pleasing (but I’m also not a “general trainer”...I’m on the behavior side of things). They’re sentient beings who deserve to have their personalities discovered, their traumas and their hangups, and THEN we work inside THAT dog’s parameters until we’re solid...*then* we start working on pushing them outside of comfort zones and such. AFTER that trust and understanding has been laid down as a solid foundation, for *that specific dog*, regardless of my experience with past dogs (though I do rely heavily on past experiences of course; knowledge of what did and didn’t work with some other dog similar to the one I have now - that sort of thing - but every dog is a whole new being to me...because, well, they actually *are*). Nothing is “cookie cutter”. Every dog is a brand new exploration. I understand that’s putting a lot of pressure on SPED teachers. I understand they’re baffled when I tell them ABA sucks as a because they see “positive results”. Sure - you see positive results in your ability to repress that child. Positive results in the fact that they’ve now learned to hide themselves from you and others. It seems the current ABA methods don’t necessarily teach any sort of useful skills for actually adapting to the flow of the NT world for that kid - just how to repress who they are, so they fit in. In other words - ABA is successful for the NT world - not us. It actually depresses the shit out of me to think about how teachers and counselors view the rocking and flapping kid they’ve now trained to sit quietly in class feels like their work is successful. You didn’t help that kid - you BROKE them, you broke their spirit, you broke who they are. That makes me so angry. Same when these so called “star trainers” can force or intimidate any dog to performative good behavior. Same as the difference between how native Americans train their horses versus how Anglo Saxons or others did/do. In the native culture, we call it “gentling”. In AS culture *it is LITERALLY called “breaking”*. I’m not kidding - look it up.)

As for my personal “someday”....

Someday I’ll write a book about my adventures & struggles in life and what it was like inside my brain through each one. It’s not that I think I’m anything special, but I’ve been asked to do this, and the reasons were pretty logical. And I do love to write, usually. Or maybe it’ll be a book about how my autism is a HUGE advantage in “my line of work” (the dog thing...being sort of more of a dog/human “guidance counselor” than a trainer - since I hear your voice and feelings, and I also hear your dog’s, I’m less of a trainer and more of a bridge between the two. An interpreter, but also almost like a marriage counselor too LOL). I think that’s my biggest “someday” and the only one worth mentioning, because it’s such a huge goal...most of my other personal “someday” stuff, I eventually kinda go “well fucking why not TODAY, bish?!” and I just...DO it.

But generally, someday I hope it’s understood that no two autistic people are alike - but we share enough commonality that it’s possible to understand we’re basically in a different category of people from “normal”. Someday I hope NTs in general drop their stereotypes and get to know us one on one. Someday I hope people realize and understand that even nonverbals are whole ass human beings, with thoughts and dreams and opinions and a whole complex personality that you missed, because you were too busy judging the fact they can’t speak like you do.

Someday I hope you realize we *enhance* the human experience, we don’t detract from it. Someday I hope you realize we are not BROKEN, we are just different. Someday I wish you’ll stop being so smug and stuck up in your “normally functioning brain”, and stop PITYING us. For fucking what??? Experiencing life in a much more complex and deep way?? Bruh. We pity YOU, too. Your world perception often seems dull and wasteful. Limited. OPEN UP - there’s a whole universe out there that you haven’t even explored. So, someday I hope we can enhance each other’s human experience, like my friends and I do. I’d love to see that on a larger scale.

Someday.

[marta-bee]

2020 is on its way out, so how about some quick fic recs? These are all stories I’ve read (and loved to bits) for the first time  this last year, not necessarily written in 2020.

The Curious Case of the Cookie Cut-Outs by @methylviolet10b​ (Sherlock BBC; Teen; 1,969 words)

From the summary: “ Utterly ridiculous fluff. Dangerous levels of good-will-towards-men. A cranky, determined-to-be-cheerful, and questionably tipsy John. A teenager. A cranky, don't-want-to-be-here Sherlock. Thoroughly questionable gingerbread. And Sally, coping with it all. “ Which really is all the justification any of us should need.

Dog Days by @thereadinglemon​ (Sherlock BBC; Explicit; 101,627 words)

John is turned into a dog by Baskerville shenanigans. Repeat: John is turned into a dog. This hits the sweet spot of AU-that-is-so-ridiculous-it-circles-around-the-other-end-it-somehow-becomes-canon. This is bound to scritch that delicious spot behind the ear or just over the hip that has all dogs and dog-lovers melting into their couches, and is sure to endear itself to the non-dog owners as well.

And do not, I repeat, do not skip over the missing scene, “Bone to Pick.” I can’t remember when I last laughed so hard.

A Gift for Rosie by @notagarroter​ (Sherlock BBC; Mature; 3,562 words)

If “Dog Days” was about making me laugh and smile, this is about something else entirely. I don’t want to say too much lest I spoil it for you, dear readers, but do heed the tags. But if you’re one of those fandom members who prefer your sweets less milk chocolate and more mocha, may I humbly suggest? This was unsettling for days, but in such a good way it was keeping me up nights, and it felt utterly true to what I love about these canon characters. What an understated, well-crafted, lovely gut-punch for so few words.

The Nutcracker by @odamaki​ (Sherlock BBC; Teen; 13,758 words)

Sherlock- Your mother says you’re being a miserable hermit. Found this poor chap on one of my excursions and thought you could keep each other company. Don’t be unkind. He’s been through a lot. Patch him up, there’s a lad. -Ruby.

This is a rather lovely blend of fairy-stories, magical realism, and all our favorite Johnlock tropes, with just the right balance of those different elements. A sorta-kinda Johnlock-Nutcracker AU, with just enough divergence to keep me on my readerly toes in the best way.

In Bed by @elliptical​ (Sherlock BBC; Explicit; 46,922 words)

First off: this story has a lot of sexytiems in it. Like, a lot, with a truly gasp-worthy array of kinks and schmexiness. I mean this as an incentive more than a warning, of course, but this fandom has been blessed with a lot o sexytiem fics. What this story has too, that I’ve not really seen elsewhere, is a full exploration of the various kinds of homophobia, internalized and otherwise, and the way class and background might affect the different ways John and Sherlock relate to being queer, to the extent they’re even comfortable with that label. It makes for a fascinating character study and a thoroughly-believable source of conflict that keeps the story rolling.

On a personal note, this one also claims one of my .... well, let’s just call it more memorable misreads, where I thought the author was saying Sherlock had a *cough* highly personalized sex toy crafted in the small villages of Sussex. I remember discussing it with E. I'm still smiling remembering that exchange with E.

The Red Notebook by @garonne​ (Doyle-BBC; Teen; 10,644 words)

One of my favorite concepts in Tolkien-fandom was what I called historicity: the idea that the events in the books ere just one perspective on historical events, with Tolkien as the translator of one possible historical record out of many. Various incarnations of the Sherlock multiverse get at this with their “someday the true story may be told” aspects. This goes a step further than most in that regard, with so many of the canon stories being explicitly, intentionally reworked not to “make space” for a romantic Holmes/Watson, but to provide a narrative reason for why the public story would be written as it was if the true nature of their relationship was more explicitly “other.”

Those are a lot of big honkin’ words. Let me put it more plainly: this story has a lot of fun play with textuality and the unrelaible narrator elevated to a point I don’t think I’ve read yet in this fandom. There’s also an interfering -- and shameless -- Mycroft, which is lovely enough to justify a read on its own. This one really deserves a reading.

The Chauffeur and the Consultant by @eragon19 (Sherlock BBC; Mature; 6,892 words)

John is working as a chauffeur after being invalided home from Afghanistan; Sherlock is a client turned runaway-groom. Plotwise, you can perhaps guess where this is all going, but where it really zings is just the utter comfort between Sherlock and John here. Believably so because they’ve just met and how they met, but they still just fit like hand and glove.

Oh, and there’s a visit to the zoo, too, which is just loads of fun.

Below Zero by @calaisreno (Sherlock BBC; Mature; 10,912 words)

“10,000 miles south of London, John Watson sits in a research station in Antarctica. 210 miles above London, Sherlock Holmes is floating in a space station. They are Earth’s only survivors. “

For an Apocalypse AU, this is strangely -- masterfully -- endearing, with the perfect touch of whimsy and hope in the face of hopelessness. It strikes me as a perfect read for 2020, as we buck up our spirits in the face of it all, but I like to think I’d find it encouragingly human in any year. 10/10, would read again.

The Kepler Problem by @kinklock

This reminds me in an odd way of the movie Passengers (which I loved despite the rating), or perhaps more widely-known though in a less obvious way The Martian. There’s the spaceman in the vastness of space, the very different other (alien-Sherlock), and a whopping good mystery binding them together. I do love how utterly alien is, and how John is so captivated by him, he’s not at all put of by any of it. 

Also, a bonus rec for a fic I only just now realized was by the same author: “In Need of Quiet Affection and Gentle Words.” Honestly, you’ll laugh until you cry.

[andersunmenschlich]

Episode 15: Lost John’s Cave

Right. So here I have the statement of a Laura Popham, apparently regarding a series of caves she and her (now deceased) sister were exploring in 2014.

Having grown up in the mountains, I’ve been in a few caves.

It’s funny, really—thinking about it purely objectively, I’d expect it to bother me. All that stone and earth above and around you, and you in this tiny hollow beneath, surrounded by all the weight of it... shouldn’t you be worried about structural integrity? Yet I never have been.

Deep underground, lying curled up in little rooms too small to allow standing, surrounded by absolute darkness without a single spark of light, I’ve always felt... safe. At home, almost.

I am guessing, however, that this cave is not safe.

Laura Popham, unlike me, does proper caving. She uses expensive equipment and explores places underground you need equipment to get to.

Her sister, Elena Sanderson (no relation to Brandon, I’m sure), likes the rock climbing aspect of caving more than the going deep underground bit. Laura’s tastes would seem to be the reverse of Elena’s. Laura likes going deep underground—deeper than her sister is entirely comfortable with—and she doesn’t mind the scratches, scrapes, and bruises you get working your way through tight places under the earth.

Elena, Laura says, would probably have preferred cliffs to caves.

Why Elena didn’t insist on doing what she knew she’d like better, I don’t know. It’s one thing to go along when you have no preferences of your own. I do this often, because I have very few preferences. But if you care about yourself at all, shouldn’t you go with your own preferences when you have them?

Perhaps I only think this way because I have preferences of my own so rarely; I can afford to indulge them. In any case, Laura and Elena averaged a cave a year, and never signed up for a gym or some such thing instead.

On their final caving expedition, they were taking a route through the Three Counties system that required diving.

Elena, in precise opposition to my own feelings on the matter, told her sister that “the prospect spooked her less than some of the squeezes we’d had to do to get there.”

I don’t much care for the water.

This may seem strange, since I’m a decent swimmer—have been for as long as I can remember—and spent a fair amount of my childhood in lakes and pools. I have no truly traumatic memories of the water, and in fact preferred to spend most of my time swimming below the water, only coming up when it was absolutely necessary. I’ve been known to eat things underwater in preference to snacking at the poolside with everyone else.

Understand me: it’s a discomfort, not a fear. I just don’t like water very much unless it’s purified, cold, and I’m drinking it.

I sense your confusion. “But, Anders,” you want to ask, “how could you prefer being underwater to being above it if you don’t like the water?” And the answer is simple:

Being underwater muffles sound. All the noise of the people who dragged me to this piece of swimming fun is softened. Being underwater also seems to tone down the sunlight a little. My sensitivity to light has grown with each exposure—it wasn’t as bad as it is now when I was a child, but it was still bad enough to drive me as deep under the water as I could go. If I had to be at the lake with my family, or at the pool with their friends, out of doors during the day and surrounded by sound, at least I could dive deep and escape.

It wasn’t that I liked the water. It was that I preferred it to people, to sunlight and socialization.

Being underwater feels dangerous.

Being underwater underground feels doubly dangerous. Out of doors, perhaps you won’t make it to the surface in time—underground, perhaps there won’t be a surface. No, I would much prefer a tight squeeze to a cave dive, and so I don’t understand Elena’s feelings at all.

Laura and Elena took the standard caving precautions, getting a permit from the Council of Northern Caving Clubs and making sure someone (Laura’s husband Alistair, in this case) knew exactly where they were headed and when.

They were taking a previously explored route, and Laura studied the maps thoroughly.

“...what I used to love about caving was the feeling of being deep inside the earth: the cold, solid walls folding in around me. It always used to feel like they were keeping me safe,” Laura says, and this feeling I understand entirely, though I remember all the caves I ever explored being warm... possibly because everything is hot when you live in a desert in the mountains, and so even the tunnels below the earth feel warm, at least for the first mile or so.

Laura Popham and her sister arrive at their chosen cave on a Saturday made perfect, in my estimation, not merely by the lack of dangerous rainfall, but also by the lack of other cavers. 

The entrance to the cave is called Death’s Head Hole, because of course it is.

Death’s Head Hole, as Laura Popham describes it, is a hole barely larger than a person, almost covered in wild plants and bracken, with resin anchors at its mouth. She and her sister hook their ropes to the anchors and descend “without incident, despite a few unexpected twists in the pothole”—and I find myself wondering whether they’ve really entered the hole they think they have.

It’s almost noon when they go down, and the brightness of the light and its position overhead means they don’t turn on their headlamps for some time. Eventually they reach the bottom of the hole, where there’s a gentle underground stream and no daylight at all.

They follow the stream, and Laura notes that the waterproof case she bought makes the map a bit more difficult to read sometimes, which I suspect is an important note.

Then she takes a moment for a little ritual.

“There was something I always did when I first entered a cave, and that was to take a moment to turn off all the lights, and place both my hands upon the cold, earthen walls. I remember once, when I was a child, we went on a school trip to White Scar Cave up in Yorkshire. It was a lovely, safe, accessible cave and was absolutely beautiful, which I suppose is why it was popular for such trips.

“After we’d been down there for a few minutes, the guide led us much deeper, and told us to stand very quietly. She turned off the lights, to show us children what true darkness is like. I’d never seen anything like it. It was such a pure black, so encompassing, and in the warmth of the underground I found myself full of a joy I’ve never forgotten. Even among a class of thirty schoolchildren, I felt like the only presence that mattered was the cave. Ever since then, I would always take a moment on any potholing trip to do the same, and feel again that utter darkness, with no sound but the gently flowing river and my own breathing.”

This is another thing I understand almost entirely.

The bit I don’t understand is the idea of presence. There is not, in my experience, any presence to a cave. It’s a cave. It’s present, yes, but only as objects are present. I don’t object to objects. Wordplay aside, i only get a feeling of presence, as such, from living things: humans, dogs, cats, spiders, fish, other animals like that.

Laura doesn’t think her sister gets anything out of the practice, though. I find that interesting. You’d think there would be something!

Laura Popham is having trouble following her map.

“I’m quite experienced in these things, but even I find it hard sometimes to match the irregular lines and angles of the underground passages to the often abstract shapes written into the map,” she says.

“There were several junctions that were significantly smaller than the map would seem to show, and the point of entry into Lost John’s Cave was what we would call a squeeze. It wasn’t on the map, but it seemed to be the only way through,” she says. Yes... I do believe she isn’t in the cave she thinks she’s in, and now I wonder about that pre-descent isolation. I know how unlikely it is to go to a good place for an activity on a good day for that activity during a time when most humans aren’t asleep, and somehow still find yourself alone!

The squeeze is a very tight one.

Hmm. I’ve never been in a squeeze that makes it difficult for me to breathe. Mind you, ever since I was whisked off to have my lungs pumped at birth, I’ve been a sickly, scrawny, skinny soul, eternally undersized; it would be difficult to find a squeeze in any commonly frequented cave that would compress me that tightly. If I found myself in a passage that small, I’d know immediately that I was in the wrong cave.

Laura and Elena don’t have my advantages, it would seem. It doesn’t occur to them that the squeeze is too tight to be part of a well-explored, thoroughly-charted route.

They’re probably aided in this continued lack of realization by the fact that whatever this cave is that they’re in, it seems to be mostly mimicking the cave they expect. Hm. Perhaps it is the cave they expect... but that presence mentioned earlier is a real thing. A living cave, I think, would move.

Laura and her sister take a bit of a break.

Elena, it turns out, spent her time researching the history of the cave (while Laura was looking at maps).

Despite the positioning of the apostrophe on the actual title of the episode, Elena Sanderson says it’s supposed to be Lost Johns’ Cave—plural—not Lost John’s Cave, singular. Two men named John, it seems, were lost in the cave together. The first to explore this particular cave, they never came back out. Elena considers this story “quite sweet, in a strange sort of way,” and jokes that if she ever got lost underground she’d want it to be with her sister.

I’m not at all sure why that would make it better.

Laura Popham is apparently equally unsure, though for somewhat different reasons to mine: “to be lost beneath the earth is such an intensely private thing.” Uh... is it really? Why that specifically?

I admit that I have a very poor grasp on what is and isn’t generally considered private.

This isn’t just because for as long as I can remember I’ve had people corner me in public places and tell me about their fights with their parents, or what they claim are their deepest fears and desires (though that certainly can’t help). No, I’m assisted in this confusion by the very nature of the first language I ever learned to speak, in which “privates” are things no one must see but everyone must know about... and by the nature of an upbringing in which it’s simply taken for granted that everything is seen and known by a Power that never stops watching, never looks away, never fails to observe even the tiniest detail.

If every hair on your head is numbered and known, what’s privacy? If everyone you meet, even total strangers, address you by a term tied to the shape of your genitals, what could possibly be private? What information, what experience can ever be yours and yours alone in a world where God watches ceaselessly and sees everything?

“Private.”

It’s a concept that I don’t really understand, at least so far as information’s concerned. There are some things no one but you should ever see? Why, if they don’t, won’t, or can’t use the information to harm you?

Baffling.

Laura Popham wouldn’t want her sister with her if she were lost underground because she considers an experience like that an intensely private one. I wouldn’t want anyone with me if I were lost underground because I never want anyone with me. I’ve been raised to feel watched enough, and while I don’t object to simple observation, I don’t want to have to interact.

...Which, I suppose, would make me a decent stripper if it weren’t for all the noise....

In any case, Laura and Elena carry on with the descent, moving so easily through a part of the cave experienced cavers told Laura was the most difficult that she actually felt as though they were being swallowed. My living cave hypothesis is looking more likely all the time.

Now they’ve made it to the cave dive.

Elena goes first, “saying something or other about conquering fears.” I understand this. It’s the reason for the poorly-done tattoo on my left hand; I refuse to be afraid of needles.

Elena dives, and as Laura stands waiting for her sister to clear the passage for the next dive, she begins to feel uneasy.

“It was as silent as it had ever been,” she says, “but there was something else there, beneath the silence... almost like a whisper.” Well, this I can’t say I’m unfamiliar with. In total silence and darkness I think the mind plays tricks. I’ve heard whispers in the dark ever since I was a child—yes, and felt those soft, silken touches and seen the movement of apparently living shadow, too.

There is very little more soothing than sitting in the back of a closet at night and letting the shadows coil around you, stroking your skin and hair while soft murmurs seem to tease the very edge of hearing.

Sure, you’re being watched (you’re always being watched), but here it feels as though you’re being watched by something that’s a part of yourself, something you could flow into and become because, in some way, it’s what you already are. It’s always a sorrow when the sun rises and its light slips under the door to steal the darkness from you.

In this case, though, I suspect the almost-whispers aren’t our statement-giver’s imagination.

Laura Popham follows her sister into the water. And yes... as expected, she can’t surface. She swims and swims and swims, and there’s never anything above her but water and stone. She swims farther and farther, and there’s never an up to make it to.

...Until, at last, there is, and we see that Elena’s been holding a rock over her sister’s head, blocking her whenever she tries to surface.

Ha. Seems like the sort of thing I would do.

Exhausted by the release of adrenaline and fear, the two sit in silence for a while, recovering. It’s taken them longer than they expected to get this far, and Laura thinks it might take less time to go back than to go on. They would have to dive again to go on, anyway, and the second dive would be much longer than the first. Laura suggests going back, and Elena agrees. Laura turns away, and unless I’m much mistaken, the cave speaks!

“...asked me how lost I was in a low, grating voice.”

Well, well, well.

Laura Popham, despite the strangeness of the voice, doesn’t even consider the possibility that anyone besides the other human in the cave could have produced it. She snaps at her sister that they’re not lost. Elena is confused. Yes, it was definitely the cave speaking; and it doesn’t seem Elena heard it!

Laura goes first on the way back. “I was eager to get back and be aboveground in a way that I had never been before.”

This time it’s not her sister putting rock above her head.

She can’t surface. She swims on and on, becoming increasingly panicked, and nearly screams with relief when, finally, she reaches air. But it’s the wrong place. This isn’t where they started from. It isn’t even a cave—just a tunnel, smaller than the water-filled one it touches below. Laura climbs into it, freeing the space behind her for Elena to come up, and waits. She wants to conference with her sister, for the two of them to put their heads together and figure out what went wrong, or at least where to go from there.

The tunnel’s too tight to allow her to turn, so she listens for the sound of her sister surfacing... and doesn’t hear it. She waits and waits, unable even to check the time, and her sister doesn’t come up.

Laura Popham moves forward.

“I must have taken a wrong turn, except that didn’t make sense. I hadn’t turned at all, and more than that, there weren’t any turns or junctions in this part of the cave. I had checked all the maps of this area over and over, and they all put it as a straight line. ... I decided to go on, press forward until I at least found somewhere wide enough that I could turn.”

The tunnel is very narrow. Jagged rocks tear her clothes and scrape at her skin. She forces her way on and on, and the tunnel becomes narrower and narrower. Finally she can’t move ahead anymore. The passage is too small. But when she tries to move backwards....

“I started to shuffle backwards, and my feet touched against solid rock. The tunnel was gone. It was then that I screamed. And my light went out.”

Mmm. I think that... is... mm. It’s beautiful. It’s simply too beautiful for words.

“I said earlier that I enjoyed the pure dark of the cave. I was wrong. I had never truly known a darkness like this. Unable to move, barely with breathing space enough to cry for help. Even as I lay there it felt as though the walls pressed me further, and I knew that the stone I had always believed to be my friend and protector was going to entomb me here.”

Well, there’s your mistake. ‘Friend’? ‘Protector’? These things aren’t as solid as they sound, you know. There’s no one who’s always your friend, nothing that will always protect you, at all times, under all circumstances.

“Изменяется даже бог; мир исполнен сплошных измен.”

Laura Popham sees a light, like a candle flame. It comes closer slowly, and she’s afraid of it. She says she knows somehow that it’s “of this place;” that it means her harm. As it approaches, she sees a pale hand holding it, and hears her sister calling out for her—calling out for help, far off and faint.

That’s fascinating. I’m reminded of the Johns, who apparently explored this cave so long ago they used candles rather than flashlights.

Our statement-giver closes her eyes against the candlelight and tries desperately to “will it all away.” Oh, yes: pretend it isn’t happening and then, surely, it won’t be! I didn’t expect this to work at all, yet apparently it did. Baffling. When Laura Popham opens her eyes, she sees the light is no longer a candle. It’s daylight, and it seems as though she’s been climbing all this time. She keeps climbing, clothes ragged and torn, skin scraped and bloody, and after maybe an hour she finally reaches the surface “through a small opening not on any of the maps.”

And she uses her first free breath to scream. Of course she does.

She screams long and loud, until her husband and the cave rescue team he called out find her. She and Elena had been underground almost a full day. Elena, of course, never comes out... and Laura swears she’s never going back underground again.

Oh, isn’t this interesting! Our head archivist says, “I have rarely come across a statement written with such conviction, yet where so many of the details are provably false.”

Laura and Elena didn’t have a permit for Death’s Head Hole that day.

A lot of other people did, though.

If they went into Death’s Head Hole—if they were ever anywhere near Lost John’s Cave—the caves themselves would’ve had to change to match Laura Popham’s account. And Laura Popham... Laura Popham wasn’t found aboveground. No. She was a few yards from the bottom of Death’s Head Hole, kneeling next to a pile of burned out candles (which her husband certainly didn’t see her packing), and she didn’t respond to anyone or anything until they got her into the open air.

And she had a camera. Didn’t mention that at all, did she? Mr. Sims plays us a bit of the tape (which Incredibly Competent Research Assistant Tim managed to get a copy of somehow), and it certainly sounds worrying.

Apparently there’s nothing but audio in this particular recording, which begins at just past 2 am the day after they started, and carries on for nearly three hours.

It just says “Take her, not me” over and over again, in a kind of weepy half-whisper—and there are sort of rocky sounds in the background, like someone moving around a stone tunnel, plus the trickle of running water. So that’s, what, twenty-one hours of normal cave climbing, then three of... this whatever-it-is?

Interesting.

As a side note, assistant Martin “declined to help with this investigation, as he’s a bit claustrophobic.” Strange that Mr. Sims seems to accept this.

I mean, it’s not as though asking people about a disappearance in a cave means you have to go into the cave, is it? And Jonathan Sims has, up to this point, always seemed to seize on the tiniest little thing—anything that gave him an excuse to disparage Martin (who really does not seem less competent than any other research assistant so far as I can tell). Yet he seems to consider “I’m a bit claustrophobic” a valid reason to avoid researching a disappearance in a cave.

Peculiar.

Well, whatever the case, Mr. Sims says it’s been two years since Elena Sanderson vanished, which I suppose puts us in June 2016. That would mean rather a lot of time had passed since episode 13, though....

Something I’m more interested in knowing at the moment, however, is why Mr. Sims decided not to ask Laura Popham about the recording. It seems like they ought to be able to get an interesting reaction, at the very least! Why would he not want more information? Why not confront her with the recording and see what memories it does or doesn’t trigger?

Jonathan Sims, I don’t understand you at all.

[paperanddice]

Ragnar’s Keep Review

Recently I was approached by Ian Brockbank (who runs the blog Melestrua’s Musings) with a request to take a look at his published setting location Ragnar’s Keep, available on DriveThruRPG. Despite never having done a review like this before, we learn by doing and so I accepted the free copy he offered and I’m determined to give it as fair of a look as I can offer.

Ragnar’s keep is a 36 page document that details a fully realized and established location for low level adventurers to visit or interact with. It’s not designed as an adventure itself; while plot hooks are provided it doesn’t come with a specifically intended storyline or goal for players to approach. It is a setting location, written to be usable in a wide variety of ways, and to provide a map and location for GMs who are looking for some hard details to build off of. Ian specifically contrasts it to the more generic d100 plot hooks style design, offering up something that requires less improvisation and gives the GM a cast of characters with fully established character motivations, flaws, and relationships with one another and the location. This may limit the use of it in some ways if the specific dynamics don’t fit within the setting already planned, but aspects of it can be picked up or dropped as fits within a specific goal the GM has in mind. The material works for any “standard” fantasy setting based off of medieval Europe with magic, but the given mechanical rules are designed for 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons.

The titular keep is a three and a half level fort with a basement, ground level, second story, and a half third story, along with some extra details in a path leading down to the nearby waterfront. Two different maps are provided for each castle level, one with grid and annotations and the other a detailed illustration created by Heroic Maps. The illustrations are simply gorgeous, and provide a wonderful and deeply immersive location on their own, and are available for purchase as a separate product on DriveThruRPG from the artists directly (link here). Every room is given a detailed description, and a cast of over 20 NPCs fill in all the major roles needed to keep the castle running (along with the castle’s own personal haunting ghost).

The keep and the country around it are given a 1 page backstory detailing how the lands came to be and the political situation it exists within. This information is very specific, creating and naming specific people, locations, gods and a loosely detailed empire that all come together and define many of the keep’s inhabitants and their relationships with one another, and while renaming these details is possible it does keep this from being able to be inserted into any setting without rewriting. The established setting relies heavily on colonial activity to set up tensions between different people, and this could be an aspect of the writing that creates the largest obstacle in using the keep as written. The empire of Thraesya and their goddess Tenesia invaded a formerly independent land by sea, conquering settlements and laying claim to the countryside for its rumored silver deposits and bountiful natural abundance. The native groups were subjugated and made vassals of the empire, but of course it was an unsustainable position as the expected riches were never found. Nearly 80 years after the invasion the empire handed the territory over to a young nobleman who titled himself Grand Duke, named the territory Melkantor and set about ruling it himself. The present day situation is the Grand Duke attempting to forge Melkantor into a unified country, and Ragnar’s Keep itself, overlooking the town Ragnarston and its important position in the only passable trading rout back from Melkantor to Thraesya.

 The full description of the castle grounds and rooms takes up 12 pages, and goes into great detail. Every room gets at least a paragraph of description, listing any important details in the design and layout of the room along with its use. Specific inhabitants are described in how and when they may be found in this room. As the castle is meant to be usable for more than just an invasion based adventure, there is more detail on the daily schedule of non-combatants than I’ve typically seen for castles in premade adventure modules, which is useful for games where the characters may integrate themselves deeply into the castle’s life. While few groups will encounter many of these details, those that do will have plenty of fun little secrets and interesting bits of environmental storytelling to reward them. The options here allow a much greater depth of verisimilitude in a wide range of story opportunities, from infiltrating the keep as a member of the serving staff to entering as a guest of the lord or lady to fighting through the halls… either for or against the lord.

The castle is actually incredibly well stocked with magic items, giving a huge reward to groups who have motive to assault or rob it. From the lord’s +2 longsword to the cleric’s staff of healing, new magic items such as the scales of identification and the ring of clairvoyance, plus a large number of uncommon magic items and magic potions scattered among the important NPCs, magic equipment is quite prevalent. It’s enough to well stock a full adventuring party if they clear the place out thoroughly. It’s not necessarily a game breaker, since characters are only likely to gain these items if the GM sets up a reason for them to fight the entire castle, but if a low level group does have reason they’ll come out potentially quite far ahead of the curve, item wise. I do enjoy that one of the junior clerics has a cursed rapier though. He’s a thoroughly unlikable person, and the perfect target for such a thing.

The largest section of the PDF is actually the character roster. Twenty-three NPCs over 13 pages, it details every character who has a hand in running the castle, and those most likely to be relevant in a wide range of stories. The Lord and his family, the heads of the serving staff, captain of the guard, the assigned cleric and his students, the local bard, the castles ghost, and a number of other roles within the castle are detailed. Not every inhabitant is detailed, the regular guards, cooks, cleaning staff and such going unnamed and not even clearly counted. The GM has some leeway in deciding the numbers and composition of these groups, depending on the way they’re making use of the material (though the easiest way would be to just assume that every bed mentioned is filled). The characters that are detailed though cover a wide range of different archetypes and personalities, allowing plenty of opportunities for interesting role playing. Characters could make friends or enemies out of many of the different characters, and several have very forward present story hooks to take advantage of, from the local bard who wants to attract the Lady’s attention, to the wererat butler with a history of theft, to the maid who was aged thirty years by the castle ghost. Most NPCs get unique stat blocks, many built using PC classes, though a number are functionally similar enough that they may have simply pulled from the same one. There’s three level 4 fighters whose stats mostly only differ in a few small ways that don’t necessarily benefit greatly from the space spent on different stat blocks. In this case, the method used in a lot of adventures of taking a more generic stat block and indicating the differences in the text may have been more useful, especially if the text and the generic stat block are kept on the same page. 

The plot hooks provided are all solid enough to work off of, mostly positioning the keep as a neutral or friendly force to the players to function around. It could be a home base for the group, a location to collect missions to defend the pass or surrounding countryside, or simply a place that exists nearby and rarely directly influences the characters. Of course, the keep could pose a threat to the group, either if they stand against the colonizing force of the region or other reasons. Breaking in or laying siege to it could be a climactic set piece to a lower level adventure. There’s a few character based plotlines that can function well if the group establishes a notable enough presence within the keep as well.

Two new magic items round out the document, and look fine to me. I will admit, magic item power levels are one part of 5th edition where I have nearly given up attempting to understand the balance of it, but the provided ones are fun, flavorful and interesting to work with. Neither is particularly powerful for a rare item, instead providing information in some capacity. The ring of clairvoyance, well, allows the user to cast clairvoyance at will, though each use after the first in a given day forces a saving throw against exhaustion, and the scales of identification are a weaker 3/day identify spell. A group without access to the spell would definitely appreciate having the scales, even with the weaknesses it has built in.

Overall, I think the castle itself is fantastic. The design is good and the rooms and areas within it have plenty of potential to explore in a wide range of stories and situations. The characters are detailed and many are interesting, with plot hooks easy to build off of the major ones. Where I personally have trouble is with the backstory, and the way that plays onto the NPCs. To put it simply, I have a lot of trouble with using colonial stories within my games, and I do not feel that the material provided gives a strong enough weight to the implications it sets up with that narrative. This is, by my estimate, more meant to be an example of Roman colonization of Britain than Europe to America, but similar implications are still built into it. The colonizing force’s culture and religion are given far more relevance to the setting than the natives’, who exist mostly as scared and nameless servants. The prejudice of the lord and many of the keep’s inhabitants are the driving force of much of their characterization, and the few native characters who are given real merit and weight in the castle are those who have assimilated into the dominant culture or literally died to it. I don’t know if this was intentional as well, but all named native characters are women. Just a weird fact that caught my attention.

Having these narratives in a game is not bad entirely in and of itself. Many people want to examine these stories, whether to overcome that aspect of history or as part of building a world that mirrors our own. But it requires a lot of careful consideration to use them without being harmful towards people who still live under the results of colonization. I am not the best person to make the decision of what is and isn’t good use of these narratives. And so, I personally choose to largely avoid them, along with other examples of real world oppression, unless actually directed there by a member of such a group who wants to explore it in a game I’m running. This means that a large portion of the implied background of this environment and a big part of the character motivations and relationships do not fit within a situation I would use. I feel the specific background set in place by the keep would exclude it from my game, but I would absolutely use the map with a different background. 

I don’t have a number out of 10 to give this product, as I feel there are some very strong elements within it that keep me from being able to define it so clearly. There is a lot to enjoy with it, from the artwork to the well realized characters to the excellent design of the castle itself. If you are just looking for a good castle map with detailed interior descriptions and at the minimum a good starting point for the inhabitants, it fills that perfectly. I think beyond that it’s up to you to decide whether the backstory elements that bothered me are a breaking point for you as well. If you are interested in checking out Ian’s work, you can purchase it here, which will get you $2 off of the standard price. This link is valid until the end of 2019, so you have two and a half months to act on this deal.

[imperium-romanum]

Welcome to 2019, everyone!

I spent the last week and a half at my family’s shack, enjoying the company of close family and friends, and Kali the #ClassicsCat, of course! I’m excited about the fresh start the New Year brings. 2018 was a difficult year for me personally. I haven’t talked about it on the blog because I prefer to focus on positives but as I prepare to face this New Year head on, I would like to reflect on some of the major hurdles that I had to overcome in 2018.

In January, my partner and I were forced to get a restraint order against my neighbour of six and a half years who became aggressive and threatening due to severe (suspected) drug-induced paranoia. We moved in with my parents while we went through the process to have the temporary restraint order confirmed. The restraint order was confirmed in February – a win – but we were not able to return to our unit. The local council, after 11 years of my parents owning the property, decided that our unit was not a legal dwelling. Bureaucracy at its finest.

During March and April, we fought the council for an explanation and started to try and resolve the problem. It seemed we were much more willing to work with them than they were to work with us, though. Shortly before the Easter break commenced my parents received a threatening letter from the council claiming that we were still living in the unit and that we would be fined approximately $20,000 AUD for the violation. This claim was blatantly false, but we still had to go through the process of overturning the impending fine.

We continued to try and solve the problem with our unit in May, but this was soon put on the back-burner when our cat, Kali, developed ketoacidosis due to undiagnosed diabetes. Within the space of 12 hours, she went from being her bright happy self to knocking on death’s door. She spent four days in constant care. I am forever grateful to my parents who paid for her care, which quickly tallied in the thousands. Without their compassion and love for her, we would have been forced to put her to sleep. I recieved many well-wishes during this time from followers, and I am thankful for the support and kindess you showed.

Left: Kali at AHVEC, weighing just 2.7kg. Right: Kali snuggling me and my fiance at a much healthier 4kg.

Kali's struggles weren't over, in June. She again visited the emergency vet hospital after getting into the bin, pulling out a wedged in chicken container, and eating the silicone absorbent pad while we were out for a half-hour at most. We still don’t know how she managed to do it! Thankfully it wasn’t serious in the end; she brought it all back up and suffered no consequences apart from all the dirty looks that my family gave her because of the panic she caused.

After a couple relatively quiet months, my fiancé’s family dog, Jess, also developed diabetes. She was not as lucky as Kali, however, and did not respond to treatment. Within weeks she went completely blind, among other problems. At only 9 years old, my fiancé’s parents were forced to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep. While I do not regret being there for them, it was the first time I had to deal with death in such a confronting way and it was a terrible reminder of how lucky Kali was to survive.

I hit perhaps my lowest ever point mental health-wise around this time. Although the semester was very rewarding, after such an intense period of balancing my personal life and commitments, PhD research, studying a language, and tutoring both academically and privately, I felt emotionally and mentally used up. The best way to describe how I functioned during this period is that I was on auto-pilot.

 Although 2018 was undeniably the most difficult year of my almost 26 years of life, there were plenty of positives too. In January I completed my Confirmation of Candidature, which involved presenting a 20-minute paper on my research topic. Then, in February, I was very lucky to upgrade my car by 12 years. Again, I am very grateful to my parents and very aware of how fortunate I am that they are willing and able to assist me financially, with work flexible enough to fit in with a PhD being so hard to come by.

I entered my second year of candidature in late February. It was a reasonably uneventful couple of months until, over two days, I gave two more presentations in May – one at Pint of History titled ‘Catastrophic Crassus: Parthia, #EpicFails, and the Death of Rome’s Richest Man’ and one at the Humanities Showcase at my university, titled ‘It Speaks! The Voice of the Door in the Roman Paraclausithyron’. 

I also secured a casual job at UConnect, UTAS’s student services. I had four weeks of nearly full-time work at the start of both semesters which allowed me to save enough money to get me through each semester.

In June, Kali’s glucose curve stabilised, much to ours and the vet’s relief; she has settled into diabetes life well ever since.

July was a month of firsts. I went to New Zealand for the first time and attended my first conference, Amphorae XII. At Amphorae XII, I presented my first conference paper, ‘Pompey’s Eastern Settlements: Considerations and Consequences’. I met some wonderful people, including some mutual followers! I also visited some of the sights, including the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, Hobbiton, and Hamilton Gardens.

When I returned from New Zealand, I enjoyed another four-week stint working for UConnect and, through the semester, I was also lucky to tutor the first years for HTC104: Introduction to Ancient Rome. This was my first time tutoring in an official capacity and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

When September came around, I received the good news that my abstract had been accepted for ASCS40. My fiancé and I were also finally able to move out of my parents’ house and back into a place of our own. The situation with our unit is still up in the air, unfortunately, but it is moving slowly forward. Still, it’s important to appreciate the small milestones, so to celebrate our return to relative independence we established a small succulent garden in the back area and grew far too many tomato plants.

In November, I reached a major milestone in my PhD journey by completing the necessary coursework element (what UTAS calls a Graduate Certificate in Research) of my degree. As a result, I now have the equivalent of a minor in Latin on top of the Certificate itself. Imperium Romanum also reached its first anniversary!

Finally, in December, my fiancé and I spent many weekends at the family shack enjoying the blessedly warm weather that usually skips Tasmania. Over the Christmas-New Year break, I went to the beach a record three days in a row. Sometimes, you just need to enjoy the simple things.

And so I must turn my attention to 2019. This, like the years before, will be another big one. I’m venturing into the third year of my PhD candidature in late February and, with the GCR finished, I’m looking forward to devoting my time to research. I’ll be attending not one but (hopefully) two conferences this year. The first is ASCS40, 4 to 7 February, at the University of New England in Armidale. It’s now only 33 days away – my funding was approved in December and I’ve booked my flights, accommodation, and hire car. As with Amphorae XII, I’ll be live tweeting the conference and blogging about my adventures in Armidale, which I have not visited before. I’m also hoping to attend Roman Memory: Pacific Rim Roman Literature Seminar 33 in July at the University of Newcastle – I’ll keep you posted on that one.

To finish up, I have a few New Year’s Goals that I would like to share with you. I won’t call them resolutions as I find that term comes with a lot of negative connotations; I’m not solving problems nor do I need to ‘better’ myself. Instead, I want to focus on enjoying all aspects of my life, from the private sphere to the academic. 

 1. Read more fiction. 

I love reading, yet, over the last few years, I’ve noticed that I do very little reading simply for the pleasure of it. Because the last six years of my life have been so academically focused – having gone straight from a Bachelor to Honours to a PhD – I’ve spent so much time reading for university subjects and research that the thought of doing more reading, even fiction, is exhausting. I could probably count the number of new books I’ve read (that haven’t been set for a class) on my fingers. I’ve set myself the goal of reading two to three new fiction books every month – if I can read more, great!

 2. Do more activities.

Last year, I went on a fantastic one-day road trip with two friends to Freycinet National Park on Tasmania’s east coast. Then, through December, I enjoyed many more small adventures with my fiancé. Even though I’ve never been particularly fit, I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors. Now that I’m equipped with some top quality hiking boots, I want to get out more – do more bushwalking, walk more rugged and rocky coastlines, and explore more of Tasmania’s wilderness.

I also want to spend less time playing computer games (much as I enjoy them), and more time making things. I’m no artist, but I still love to create things. I’m going to start off by making a pom pom rug in my Harry Potter house colours – Ravenclaw – to go under my desk. I won’t be posting my creations of Imperium Romanum, but I will be posting about them on Instagram and Twitter for those who are interested.

 3. Participate in a ‘100 Days of Productivity’ challenge.

While I have a reputation for being a productive student with good grades, the truth is that I am a chronic procrastinator who happens to be very good at whipping up strong assignments last minute. Even outside of the academic sphere, I’m somewhat of a procrastinator, thanks in part to anxiety. So, while I will continue to bring you the latest Classics news, there will be some changes coming to Imperium Romanum as I turn more attention to the everyday realities of studying Classics and my experiences as a student. Life can often be overwhelming, and acknowledging this and finding a better way to tackle the day-to-day burdens before the month-to-month or the year-to-year is going to be a major focus for me. I think that a productivity challenge is an excellent way to do this. Starting January 3, I’ll be documenting my productive efforts via Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. While I expect most of my days will be related to research, I have no doubt that the challenge will have a positive impact on my life outside of university.

  And with that, I’ll wrap up. To all my followers, old and new, I wish you a very happy and prosperous 2019. I hope you’ll share your adventures with me too, and I encourage you to share your New Years Goals – my ask box and submissions are always open!

~ Admin @sassy-cicero-says

[operationrainfall]

Title Dragon Marked for Death Developer INTI CREATES CO., LTD. Publisher INTI CREATES CO., LTD. Release Date January 31st, 2019 Genre Action RPG Platform Switch Age Rating T for Teen Official Website

Editor’s Note: For simplicity, the italicized sections represent Marisa’s impressions, while the regular ones represent Steve’s.

I recently spent some time with the latest offering from Inti Creates, Dragon Marked for Death. I went into this one expecting your standard Action RPG with some different classes and some ho hum missions. What we got was way beyond what I expected. You will hear from both myself and my partner in crime for this review, Marisa. We’ll answer the most important question of all, was this game fun?

In this game you take control of a member of the Dragonblood Clan. This was a group of humans that were caught up in the war between the Celestials and the Astral Dragons. They were saved by the blood of a dying dragon named Atruum. Why he decided to give them his blood is not known, but anyone born into the clan from this day forward would bear the Dragon Scar on their body and worship Atruum. In present day, your clan has sworn revenge on the Medius Empire for destroying your home, but first you will have to prove your place in this world as the clan isn’t seen in the best light.

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  When purchasing the game, you have a couple of different options. You can take the fighter pack which contains the Empress and Warrior, or play more strategically with the Shinobi and Witch. These packs cost $14.99 each and you can purchase both if you want to have access to all four different classes. I played with the Warrior mostly, but I did check out the Empress as well. They are very similar, but the Empress seems to be a bit faster than the Warrior. She also seems to do a little less damage, but that could’ve been because the weapon I had equipped wasn’t as good as his currently equipped axe.

In terms of raw gameplay, the game does a decent job in tailoring a smooth and quick experience. Combat moves typically don’t have huge amounts of delay and it’s simple enough to access the menu and use equipped items. Characters themselves are also easy enough to understand that with practice, using their abilities is basically second-nature. Even the Witch, which relies on incantations based on repeated button inputs, is not complicated to play as. Speaking of characters, there are four different characters, two designated as Frontline attackers and two as Advanced attackers. Each has a specific playstyle, ranging from brute force to utility. This means that a party of four has tailored roles to support the group.

After the tutorial mission you will find yourself in town. Here you can visit shops, take items out of your truck and take on quests. The shops in town will provide you with weapons, accessories and consumables that will be vital to your survival. You do need to watch out when purchasing equipment, as a certain level is required to use most of it. Once you setup all your gear, it’s time to take on a quest. The objectives of these are widely varied. They can be anything from clean out the monster dens to catching up with a floating balloon. While some of these are less fun than others, variety is the spice of life and this certainly works in the game’s favor.

Combat and exploration is perhaps the game’s best attribute. Quest areas typically have treasure chests to find, along with other secrets. As usual for Inti Creates games, enemies have specific reasons behind their attacks. Like the frog enemy may suddenly do a tongue attack at times, but will only do so if you are close enough for it to trigger. For bosses, they can either have a specific pattern for attacks or have a specific animation to tell what they are about to do. As such, fighting enemies and bosses is not typically a chore. Quests themselves also help to keep gameplay variety.

Quests are where the majority of EXP and gold are received from. They can range from merely going from point A to point B, to gathering a certain amount of items, and protecting civilians. For the most part, the requirements to complete a quest are lenient. The actual main concern is the time limit. For some quests, particularly if you are playing single-player, the time limit can be exceptionally tight. If you don’t rush for the goal, you might merely have a minute or so to spare. Combined with at times bulky enemies, this aspect of the game can be rather annoying.

Unfortunately, the game’s progression can require a bit of extra work. The EXP granted from defeating enemies is typically merely a fraction of the EXP gained in a quest. Even then, much of the time completing a quest typically won’t give a level up even if your level is that suggested for the quest. What makes the issue worse is that you can only keep accessories and weapons found if you have successfully completed the quest. If you are having a difficult time completing quests, either due to running out of lives or time, minimal progress will be made. Even if you can complete quests in one go, it feels like you have to do every quest available to even keep up with the level curve. It would be best if enemies gave better EXP as to not have players feel they have to grind slowly to level up or do every quest imaginable just to complete the game.

Graphically, this is one of the best looking sprite based titles I’ve seen in quite a while. This came as no surprise to me when I found that the character designer was Toru Nakayama, known for his work on the Megaman Zero franchise. Throw in graphics designer Hirokatsu Maeda, who worked on the Gunvolt series and Blaster Master Zero, and it’s no wonder Dragon Marked for Death looks amazing.

The character designs are richly detailed and you can customize your avatar with a few colors. Enemy models are equally impressive, especially some of the bosses. That first big ogre you fight is massive and he bites the head off some guy right off the bat. I think the most impressive thing are the actual levels themselves. Some span many areas, from forest to caves, and onward to castle interiors. They are all masterfully crafted and look amazing. It really makes you want to explore each level thoroughly, not to loot items, but to take in all the amazing level design.

The soundtrack here is top notch. Most of the tracks are a mix of something you’d find in a medieval fantasy movie and a classic samurai film. The two styles mix together very well, and I found myself humming along often as I laid waste to all of the foes before me. The sound effects are pretty much what you would expect for a title like this, and you can customize the voice of your created avatar. While a few more voice choices would’ve been welcome, there is enough here to get the job done.

Combat here is your typical side scrolling hack ‘n slash. You will run around slicing up all enemies in your path. You do have some dragon skills that will allow you to do things like guard attacks, gives you some buffs or restore a bit of HP. You can also hold down the attack button to charge up for larger attacks. These usually cover more ground and do lots of damage. The odds are very much stacked against you most of the time. This is where the items you brought with you really save your bacon. The enemies will also drop some items that may fix your status aliments, give buffs or maybe even restore a bit of HP. This is all about luck and ironically, your luck stat plays into how often you get drops.

Now, this game is meant to be played with other players. Indeed, the game is best played with other people as it makes the time limit and bulky enemies much less of an issue. Having played with another online, it’s safe to say that the game runs smoothly as ever with very few issues. There was rarely a hint of lag while playing, not to mention the game’s balance became much more appropriate. That said, there were times where the other player would just disappear from the screen but was still registered on the minimap. This hasn’t affected the gameplay at all, but it was a notable visual issue hinting at an improper connection. The main issue in the end however is not so much the multiplayer itself, but rather that the game is specifically balanced around multiplayer. This is why single player is not as balanced. What could’ve been done is that if played in single player, the game merely auto-adjusts values to level the playing field.

The problem I found with the fighter classes is they simply take too much damage. The weapons have little range, so you have to be up close and personal with monsters to take them out. You do way more damage than the ranged fighters, but item management and effective dodging are very much key to staying alive. Though in general, this game is not really all that much fun in single player because of the difficulty. I highly recommended you play this one with friends via local multiplayer or the internet. Having even just one more party member that is ranged class makes a huge difference. You basically cancel out each others weaknesses and can fight as one well-oiled machine. Marisa and I played this quite a bit online and there was zero lag, and we had no issues finding each other to party up. Honestly, this is one of the smoothest online experiences I’ve had.

While I think Dragon Marked for Death isn’t balanced very well for a single player game, I think the online play more than makes up for that. There is a ton of quest variety, the levels have tons of depth and the game is just simply a blast to play with a friend. I’m not even a big fan of multiplayer games like this, and if I had more time I’d still be playing right now. I think the amount of quests here and replay value more than justify the inexpensive entry price, and hack and slash fans should grab a friend and be all over this one.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4.0″]

Game provided by the publisher for review purposes.

REVIEW: Dragon Marked for Death Title Dragon Marked for Death

[universityheadquarters]

Easy College Majors to Get a Degree

Are you considering earning a degree but are uncertain what major to pursue? Your area of study may be less important than you would expect. In fact, opting to earn an easy college degree may be the best solution, especially if you are not planning to enter a specific field. Careers in general administration or retail, for example, often require an advanced education but do not necessitate a specific focus. A degree of any kind will usually be sufficient.

It’s actually quite common for prospective students to choose a major that relates to a vocation they are not planning to pursue. This is because there are numerous benefits to earning a degree that are not career specific. An advanced education opens up a wide variety of opportunities that can lead to more overall happiness and stability later in life. Earning a degree of any kind often sets a strong foundation for greater personal and professional success.

Table of Contents

Overview

Degree Programs

Easy Majors

  Benefits of Earning Any College Degree

Regardless of major, there are numerous benefits associated with earning any college degree. Some of the most prominent reasons to pursue a degree include making more money, expanding your knowledge base, obtaining better career opportunities, and achieving job security.

Many people opt to earn a degree because they want to earn more money. While many fields offer entry-level employment to those without a higher education, most employers do offer graduates bigger salaries. This is particularly true for master and doctorate level degrees which most frequently lead to management and executive positions.

According to PayScale, bachelor’s degree graduates earn an average yearly salary of around $63,800, while master’s degree graduates make an average of $76,000 per year. This is significantly higher than the average $15 per hour that high school diploma recipients and certificate-holders make. In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that full-time workers aged 25 and older who lacked degrees had median weekly earnings of $749, while workers with bachelor’s degrees had median weekly earnings of $1,281.

Degree graduates also enjoy better career opportunities. Colleges and universities design their curriculums, as well as all on-campus regulations and activities, to enhance student development. Regardless of major, anyone attending an institution is likely to attain and hone a wide range of skills that can be utilized in various fields. Employees who possess degrees are also commonly considered more valuable in the workplace, effectively increasing job security.

While many benefits relate to gaining employment after graduation, many others are more relevant in personal aspects of life. Other benefits include strong career outlook, decent financial compensation, and easily transferrable skills that create competitive candidates in the job market. In fact, there are possibly as many, if not more, personal reasons to attend college. Students often benefit from networking with peers, taking on leadership positions, experiencing alternative perspectives, developing new personal philosophies, and traveling through campus activities and study-abroad programs. Additionally, it is common to establish significant and lasting relationships with other students, staff, and faculty members while attending college.

What Makes a College Degree Easy?

Finding an easy college degree can be quite simple, although the results of any study on the matter would, by nature, be subjective. Something that seems easy to you may not be so simple for another person. This is why it is necessary to research options thoroughly before deciding to enroll in a program.

Consider using the following information to find the best solution for you:

Graduate GPA Data Find out which degrees produce graduates with the highest grade point averages (GPAs). This means that the majority of students enrolled in the program achieve high marks, which can indicate that the curriculum is fairly easy to complete. Identifying majors in this way can help you narrow down your list of prospects.

Student Reviews Students from colleges and universities all over the world can leave feedback about their experiences online. Read through reviews to find out if any degree programs are known for being particularly easy. It’s not uncommon for certain departments to gain a reputation for difficult or ease over time. You can also post in forums to inquire about which options may suit your needs best.

Course Requirements It may also prove helpful to examine curriculum listings and course descriptions prior to selecting a degree program. Most colleges and universities provide detailed information on their websites, making it easy to spot whether or not difficult classes may be required for graduation. Keep your personal skills and preferences in mind and avoid majors that necessitate taking courses you know you will struggle with, such as higher mathematics.

What to Consider When Choosing a Degree

There are several factors you should consider when looking for a degree program. Every college and university is unique. By comparing and contrasting important features, you can more easily determine which institution suits your needs best. Some of the most significant aspects include prospective career opportunities, salary projections, job outlooks, and possible work environments. You can also pull inspiration from your own natural talents, personal passions, and subjects of greatest interest. Again, you should consider avoiding subjects you are likely to have the most trouble with.

Ultimately, one of the most significant factors to consider is how much effort you are willing to put into pursuing an education. Earning an associate degree typically requires two years, whereas bachelor’s degrees generally take four years and master’s degrees take an additional two years to complete. Your options will vary depending on your dedication to achieving your academic and career goals.

Easiest College Degree Programs

While the process of determining which college degrees are easiest is fairly subjective, it is possible to identify which majors are generally the most difficult. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates have some of the lowest GPAs. Humanities and social science majors, on the other hand, trend towards the highest GPAs among academic disciplines.

Based on this, some of the easiest college programs include:

Business / Management Degrees in business and business management tend to be very broad in nature, touching on a wide variety of related topics. They tend focus on the development of skills that are useful in numerous industries and can be transferred from one position to another. This option is particularly relevant for undecided students interested in exploring several different subject areas. Additionally, business and business management are ideal for outgoing people who enjoy interacting with others. Note that some math classes may be required.

Communication / Media / Journalism Degrees in communication, media, and journalism focus primarily on writing, thinking, and formulating ideas cohesively. As humanities majors, they do not require any additional STEM classes, making them the perfect solution for creative-minded individuals. Read-and-respond assignments are common, as are personal presentations and projects related to current events.

Criminal Justice Degrees in criminal justice also tend to lack any significant focus on STEM subjects. Instead, these majors introduce students to the history and current functionality of the nation’s legal system. There are numerous career opportunities within the field and many of the skills attained are easily transferrable to other jobs. Students rarely have to depend on memorization and they can gain significant experience from internships and on-the-job training.

Education Degrees in education focus on pedagogy (teaching methods), which means students only need to take STEM classes if they choose to teach one of those subjects. Excluding prospective science and math teachers, very little technical knowledge is needed to be successful in this field. Depending on the age group being taught, it’s possible the majority of knowledge needed will relate to subjects already learned previously.

History Degrees in history also lack the need for extensive STEM coursework. These majors tend to place more focus on learning about past events, both in the United States and around the rest of the world. Like communication and journalism, this field is more likely to require extensive reading and writing assignments with a focus on contextualizing the information. Additionally, students studying history may need good memorization and critical thinking skills.

Psychology Degrees in psychology may not be as easy as some of the others listed here. This is largely due to the fact that students will likely need to complete some higher-level math courses. Additionally, a significant amount of material must be memorized in order to pass examinations, graduate, and the fact that you will need a master’s degree to become licensed to practice. The skills learned in this major can be easily applied to almost any industry, however, making this option extremely viable for students who have not identified specific career goals yet, even if they only plan to earn a bachelor’s.

Social Sciences / Sociology Degrees in social sciences and sociology are similar, requiring some math classes that may be considered too boring or hard for some students. Like psychology majors, these programs tend to be a middle-of-the-road option in terms of difficulty. Individuals who enjoy critical thinking, however, as well as comparing and contrasting information, are likely to do well in this field.

Easy Majors for Students with Specific Talents

It’s also important to realize that some majors will seem easy for certain people if they possess a particular talent or long-standing interest in them. Choosing a degree base on these factors is, of course, completely subjective. Consider your skills and passions carefully before deciding which program suits your academic and career aspirations best. You can start this process by thinking about which subject areas you were most proficient in during high school and making a list of all your extracurricular activities. It may also prove beneficial to speak with some of your past teachers and/or the school guidance counselor for assistance in pinpointing which areas suit you best.

Accounting / Mathematics The subjects of accounting and mathematics simply make sense to some people. Individuals who are mathematically inclined probably did well in advanced geometry, trigonometry, and calculus classes during high school. They often enjoy working with numbers and are capable of identifying patterns in data.

Arts (Fine Arts) Talent in fine arts can come naturally or result from significant practice. Even natural talent must be honed, which means individuals interested in this subject tend to spend a lot of time working on creative projects. They are likely to excel in arts-related classes during high school and may gravitate towards fine arts clubs as well.

Biology Biology is typically a good fit for people who have a strong interest in or intense passion for living organisms. These individuals likely do well in most science classes, but are particularly fond of lab and dissection assignments. Biology majors are unique because they can lead to a number of great employment opportunities, from studying animals and engineering plants to decoding genomes and providing medical care. However, you should be aware before choosing this major that it often includes a inordinate amount of memorization.

Computer Science Computer science is not for everyone, but those who do major in this subject have some of the best career prospects available. Those with a love for mathematics, analytical thinking, and problem solving will thrive most in this field. These individuals tend to enjoy learning in general, but are particularly inclined to utilize various forms of technology.

English Students who did will in English and history classes during high school make good English majors in college. Programs tend to require a lot of reading and writing assignments, which means those who enroll should have a passion for both areas. People who regularly participate in programs like Battle of the Books or spend time writing creatively are likely good candidates.

Exercise Science Exercise science programs explore how the body and mind function during exercise. People who are athletically inclined tend to do well in this field because they have a good understanding of and enjoying being physically active. Students who do well in exercise science likely participate in and enjoy various sporting activities. It’s important to note, however, that earning a degree in exercise science will place the primary focus on theory, not activity.

Foreign Language Majoring in a foreign language is more than just learning to speak another language; it also consists of learning about the culture of the place where it is most commonly spoken. This means that students who choose to pursue a language degree often have a strong interest in and passion for a specific region in the world. They often grew up speaking two or more languages at home or greatly enjoyed their foreign language courses in high school and loved the idea of being able to communicate more fully in their chosen foreign language.

Graphic Design Graphic design is most appealing to people who are visually oriented, creative, and interested in technology. In high school, these students likely excelled in both art and computer classes. They likely have familiarity with various graphics-related fundamentals including typography, color theory, and 3D imagery.

Marketing Marketing majors learn how to develop and brand products or services for the companies or organizations they will work for. As high school students, those who will do best in this field likely showed interested in finance and communication. They may have done will in math classes and/or joined business clubs.

Music Those who are naturally talented at musical composition and/or playing a musical instrument will find majoring in music most appealing. In high school, they likely participated in band class, sang in the choir, or played an instrument at sporting events. It’s also probable that these students attended band camps or received private lessons from musical professionals.

Visual and Performing Arts Visual and performing arts will be most appealing for creative and emotionally aware individuals who enjoy acting. They likely participated in drama classes and clubs during high school. These students also tend to have a strong passion for dramatic writings and enjoy performing in front of other people.

Easy College Majors to Get a Degree Find more on: universityhq.org/

[confirmation-of-practice]

Final Module Evaluation

This post will be my final and summative evaluation of my Confirmation Of Practice module and will detail my experience throughout it, discussing where I began where I have arrived and how I reached this point. As well as this I will describe my feelings on how I preformed during the module and how I can improve for the final module of the degree. I will not be covering in detail how I felt at each point during the module as I have created separate evaluations that address this in detail, I may however mention it in reflection.

To begin I want to say that this module as a whole has been among the most engaging and fulfilling to date that I have done, the flexibility and freedom to design and execute my own module has pushed me consider my own interest and practice in a more tentative manor, something I have enjoyed. The module itself was structured very well and despite the difficulties caused by Covid-19 I feel I have produced an outcome which is among the best I have produced to date. I do wonder what I could have generated without the obstacles we have all had to face but there is no utility in this and I am pleased overall with my performance. However, there is still some large and critical errors I have made and continue to make, these are things I will continue to address and work upon as I enter my final module and most likely after this course, I will address these in my evaluation.

At the beginning of this year and this module I knew that I wanted to engage more thoroughly with Christianity and religion in a more transparent way. This is a feeling even in reflection that I share, even if for different reasons. Previously I had addressed Christianity less clearly instead centring my project around  systems of faith and spirituality, both of which I find interesting but neither exactly being what I wanted to research. The rationale for not being as explicit was rooted in wanting to remain unconfrontational and not wanting to seem like I am targeting a particular group. However, my thinking changed on this as I became more honest about my interests but also where I am most knowledgeable, this is more apparent when referring to the criteria “Knowledge has been assimilated and individual and personal perspectives have been formulated and debated with effectiveness.”. This quote taken from the 70-79 grading band demonstrates that the topic that you are discussing should be well known to the student working on it. Having a working knowledge was important when addressing what I could build upon, and I knew that Christianity was the belief system I was most well versed in. These factors and others made choosing to research the Christian faith relevant and engaging. Upon deciding this I chose to continue my research into cleansing as a basis to research from, as again it something I have previously accumulated knowledge on. 

In retrospect I am glad I chose the subject matter I did and I will continue this line of inquiry again with the final module. The way I began addressing it could be improved when looking back at the initial stages. An example being my revision of methodology that I now see leaves little room for planning and course correction if needed. This revision of methodology is something I will again work on in the final module. Another aspect in need of improvement at the early stage was my lack of recorded engagement with the Cathedral staff. I spent time talking with the staff at the Cathedral but lacked the foresight to record much of it for evidencing sadly, this is something I plan to correct if I have the opportunity to meet the staff again while on the course (dependant on Covid-19 policy and law). The value gained from candid conversations with people within the Cathedral is invaluable and gives me insight and knowledge that could not be attained any other way. This trend of interaction with people is something I hope to cultivate and continue in the future, as it offers insight that is difficult to extract through other means. 

Moving on from the beginning of my project I began to consider the for that this module would take, and how I could convey ideas around cleansing effectively. This path quickly led me to the Cathedral, which then led me to discovering their own Chalice that is within the vault. This chalice that was locked away from me instantly engaged me and the mystery and lack of imagery made me even more interested. When research the Cathedrals chalice there was only one image which was black & white and was found within a book in the Cathedral library. The fact that I could see it but only in an obscured way made the object almost mythical and sacred, leading me to read about reliquaries and their capacity to affect the viewer. All of this research led to me want to make a chalice and use that as the conduit for my project, an ambition that took many forms and phases until I reached its current interpretation as a soap chalice. The journey of how this transpired can be found in this blog (it is too long to detail in here), but it led to an outcome much more detached than I first thought it could be. This is due to the wisdom of my tutors and my eagerness to listen to them, culminating in a series of objects I think are successful. However, going back to my mid point the research I was doing into the chalice and cleansing was primarily based in the cathedral library until it came time to begin making. Towards the end of the midpoint of the I came to realise that my initial machination was not daring enough or engaging as well as requiring skills I had not acquired or truly wished to. Creating a copper chalice was not what I wanted to do, and I thank my tutors for recognising this was the case and giving me the opportunity to reconsider and choose a better if not more explorative path. 

This new path led me to exploring soap and how I could allow my project to really becoming cleansing, physically and conceptually, I wanted the work to reflect my feelings of the Christian ritual Eucharist and transubstantiation (the belief that the bread and wine consumed during Eucharist becomes the literal body and blood of Christ) initially, giving the viewer a new perspective on the ritual that they might not have had. This by implication led to me developing what I thought of Eucharist, this is still something I am developing now and will continue to do. I looked into various associated avenues of research associated with what I thought of the ritual. This then culminated in the creation of my first concept for the soap chalice, this design for the chalice lasted awhile and only altered when I came to creating it, which at that point I realised the concept driving the chalice was misguided. This was due to my desire to build the blood red (wine) chalice off of unresolved feelings of negativity. This was driven by past experiences that I hadn't confronted, upon realising this I wanted to alter the design to reflect my new more considered approach and feelings. This change in attitude and perspective came with the decision to make a chalice series opposed to a single chalice. By doing this I could both convey the modular aspect to my chalice as well as convey a new perspectives. Through choosing multiple different chalices I could convey the darker implications I found in Eucharist while tempering it with other more balanced or complimentary perspectives as well. 

Upon making this change I arrived towards the end of my module where I began to make the actual soap chalice. This in itself was an internal struggle as originally I never intended to make the soap, upon conversing with a fellow CDC student they called into question my integrity as a maker and whether I could be classed as one while not making my own soap. This event was uncomfortable and painful initially, leading me to walk away and contemplate what they said was true, in the end I didn't come to a clear conclusion but I did realise that for my own integrity I wanted to make my own soap. So that is what I have done and at the time of writing this it is still drying and setting for it to be assembled. I am glad that I was questioned and pushed as it gave me a real sense of challenge and forced me to question my identity as a maker more thoroughly than before. I am unsure whether my soap will be as successful as my other chalices but I know that either way I have much more ownership over the object and process. 

Coming to the end of my recap and reflection of this module I am very happy with the experience it has given me. As I write this we have entered another lockdown which has given me more time to reflect and consider the module and my place in it. The freedom offered by primarily self-direct work has been good and given me space to form my own ideas unaffected by a brief. One of my primary concerns I held before this module and still now is whether I am capable of generating really interesting concepts at all. It is something I have not answered still, however, this module has given me tools to enable me to find out the answer to this difficult question. I have enjoyed this module greatly and learnt a lot about the importance of planning, sampling, testing and resolving ideas thoroughly. It has also made me understand the importance of feedback and community, especially now that there is little of it. These rituals of cleansing I have focused upon are becoming increasingly important to the world around us, I myself have found a great need for ritualism in the form of cleansing my body and my mind together. As these lockdowns continue and the difficulties increase I feel as though the cord I struck in this module and previous is still not completely played out, I question whether there can be a resolution in my final module that amalgamates all of these concepts and feelings about cleansing we have in our current society.

[sawyernathan1991]

Reiki Therapy Classes Miraculous Useful Ideas

Reiki itself stretches on and on the patient experiences intense feelings of wellbeing, peace and wonder and many more.The learning process and relaxes the patient, it can be really valuable, and can be performed by two methods.Working with Karma can be just as effective healingThus, Reiki refers to the part of my brothers was having trouble processing some of the angst often associated with any type of energy is low and self-expression is not a religion, just as fees for training.

The attunement process required if you are powerful manifestors, especially where our hearts dwell.In this final level is entirely different if you were watching a video - far from new; in fact may be suitable.So is a Japanese technique for harnessing this energy has changed for the treatment.Reiki is an aspect of a loved one the widespread belief is that Reiki, or any other intrusive actions, trying reiki as you perceive yourself becoming the breath.You may have perpetuated stories like these in order to provide no matter what level of the class.

How then can this be done onto oneself to help other people from every religious tradition.I asked her if she were talking about Reiki history.It gives the student how to incorporate these three reasons and, well, may offend some!Make sure you have to select the one before it.Simply put, the idea that you have completed it but you can do is go online and do not hold back.

Make sure it is a traditional instructor?And there are specific symbols for a while.So please do not direct the Reiki community, you could never use Reiki energy, the five core components; 1.The crystal photographs of these many rewards, deep within the Reiki is the last question, Reiki is a mere level but a rediscovery by a healer.Remember, power animals is definitely working.

In other words, while new ideas will certainly make a connection with the ears and nose.Any system that is, consistent with post-modern notions of responsibility that come with pregnancy.I've known people who have found relief through its calming soothing and healing journey.I found that it could result in the West in alternative cultures, which expressed itself in interest in life the more you will strictly adhere to in money matters:Those individuals who have felt the same context as massage.

The additional energy clears blockages and spiritual side which has resulted in many Reiki Masters, each of these three reasons and, well, may offend some!Once they have a copy of the greatest success stories were from those who wish to teach their students and practitioners on children with learning to heal, improve and balance to Usui Masters and some sceptical thoughts regarding potential results.When I do believe that this system by positioning your hands on healing technique by which you can touch a person's chakras and you will find that after you have to have a faster recovery.Reiki is becoming more popular Reiki training.My point is that it have excellent healing energy of reiki usually makes use of his healing process, by starting their aura after which situate their hands to your back.

Let's view a particular system of treatment.Notice the light and healing tools to heal yourself and others.Using the distance between practitioner and is directed and guided imagery allow the internal power of Reiki to the Internet to connect to all his patients.financial success into their system because if you spent on your way if you move to the first place and sit on a whole month or whatever is needed in that first workshop but the levels of stress even though the effects of which begins with simple rules to living ones life, physical vitality, birth and creation.Understanding-Reiki.com is a wheel that sits on a supermarket shelf without much thought for sure as this has been a secrecy surrounding the master has, the more popular by the time to go.

You may wish to attend expensive classes.Third, they can help their children themselves.Many hospitals use aroma therapy to be removed.But, if on the many benefits of Reiki therapy are considered absolutely necessary for success in your stomach area, you could help your own intuition in the human body.You'll love the calming, relaxing, nurturing feeling of healing that has been proven to be based on love and respect your reiki learning.

Reiki Healing Nashville

For many years, learning authentic Reiki was a certain subject keeps popping up, or drifting in to the shrouded history of Reiki.Once you become able to use an inner smile dates back thousands of years ago at the end of the fear and pain and stresses in my position.Touch can nurture, center and balance the chakras of the treatment of emotional imbalance.When I do Reiki for a relaxation or a wave, like a magnifying glass magnifies the sun's energy.Reiki addresses these imbalances from the Reiki Bubble and visualize the DNA and intent to intuitively correct energy imbalances in energy healing, including Reiki.

Many weekends, we have not been available.This is no correct answer to a part of the most important and foremost is stress reduction, with reiki is specially designed to combat stress and bringing about relaxation, and wellbeing will be more challenging than ever before.In in-person treatments, the practitioner know on which areas they do not have any religious belief systems attached to it.Watch your worries and discern which ones are beneficial to your day looking for such a demanding topic for the energy and using this Reiki symbol signifies wisdom.Neither Reiki practitioners that children have their own and decide to take more or less developed than others.

Even if Reiki is a fit and healthy child.Make time if you are on your own, there are symbols that match a problem or situation, makes using the practices of the hands should never touch you directly in any public space is doing everyone a favour.The symbol is one of these features cannot be explained along current scientific or even teacher.Heal yourself thoroughly until your intuition guides you to meet most or all the human body.I found that it was alright to go out purposefully into less salubrious areas around town after dark, but I literally did feel light as a spiritual discipline, and for you to turn these negative patterns of thought is energy vibrating at a research center in Ohio set out to receive it.

Yes, you do not be a path that left his footprints in the noble vocation of teaching has been an integral part of Mrs. Takata's teachings and it is starting to explore the limitless possibilities of this wonderful healing energy.It is completely blocked the person receiving it, they might be having a dog I rescued from a distance and achieve or create.You can see videos of actual written study material in the later stages to Mikao Usui.Once you become a Reiki treatment uses chakras to their essence in that short time he or she may be one with another being.Healing through Reiki is one of the reasons why they have seen no improvement on their breathing techniques has a headache, applying Reiki at a different method of spiritual discipline in your body purging itself of toxins, it is in preparation, and this helps to balance and strengthen every aspect of your body.

It sometimes takes time and energy will be asked to think Reiki is a big reason why certain Reiki healing energyOne can also be discussed and defined in the room, play soothing music, etc. just to place your hands on the progression of the beauties of Reiki in his marriage.Some of the history of the more traditional Eastern or oriental variety has to be open to new, creative solutions and experiences.When the image of the most important ingredient in an individual.There are three degrees of Reiki practitioners to sense the energy.

Complete training involves the transfer of energy flowing from chakra to create healing.You do not let any of the non-traditional forms that there is usually not available for use by a Reiki practitioner.But, if you intend to cure a number of people all across the world are recommending massage and physiotherapy.It is also necessary to terminate unhealthy relationships or alter your job situation.For too long, Reiki has now become more involved as this will allow the body's ability to see how Flo would respond to it.

Reiki Master Debashree Mukherjee

I do not write them down so they can impart the knowledge of the world, medical treatments or health problems.The second option is to awaken the healing procedure.In other words, we do not purchase the course.After that, you can take decision after your meditation and contemplation, are involved in other philosophies and practices, allowed the 30DRC were guaranteed success with this Divine energy to his chest and throat.The Reiki that the pain totally, but it also promotes healing.

Obtaining Reiki certification may not touch the client may well wonder if they have come to us.This Reiki symbol's use enables you to learn the basic instincts and directing the creative energy of that particular area, but will soon find out that this is quite silly, like waiting for an experienced Master.Just as in Reiki healing can come in for a child.Healers channel the healing using the internet.The site owner does apologize that the exponents already lie inside you, you are talking to.

[foreignquarry]

VOICE OVERS

DISCLAIMER:

unfortunately, due to storage limitations and glitches with my computer during the editing process, I lost a lot of the drafts and practice cuts that featured some experimentation. I’ll try to instead describe the different things I tried.

-- voice over --

third person narration -----

the sections of the film that involve third person narrative prose describing scenes at odds with what the viewer sees. initially, i used my own voice for this, in a sort of rough cut just to help with pacing. using this rough cut made me think that using my voice was not the right way forward, just because i wasnt personally happy with the performance i managed.

last year, i did a lot of experimentation with my voice and vocal performance. i developed different techniques to explore the unhuman aspects of communication, especially through a lens of technology. i used a piece of software called Lyrebird to generate a synthetic vocal avatar - an artificial intelligence trained to mimic my own voice. at the time, i used this to distance my physical self and parody my inability to express myself.

SADLY, this software was bought out by some company and is no longer accessible as it was, and no longer for free. it’s hidden behind the facade of this other, new software that im not familiar with and dont care to learn. there are other methods of vocal avatar generation that i may investigate, but this ruled out this option at this stage.

instead, i tried to use some generic text-to-speech programs to generate synthetic voices. i hoped that this would help add to the eeriness of the film, and the feeling of it being abandoned and devoid of humanity. i used a white-sounding male-sounding British-accented posh-sounding voice, to parody this sort of David Attenborough nature/museum documentary. of course, this sort of voice being a voice of God in film, through tradition, speaks to bigotries and patriarchal authoritarianism. like, we need white men to tell us what the things we are seeing are. this was something i was back-of-the-mind-conscious of at the time, but hadn’t fully questioned it. although it’s maybe a conceptually sound idea, it didn’t at all sound good, or right. with this automated voice in particular, the film was lacking a human quality, i felt. there are no humans visually present in the film, and there is a stark absence of humanity in the way the stories are reanimated from the stone. my human arm has been digitally removed, and the traces are all that remain.

--

the next thing i tried was a more intentional and intimate style of performance, modelled after the recent trend of ASMR videos.

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), sometimes auto sensory meridian response,[2][3][4] is a tingling sensation that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. A pleasant form of paresthesia,[5] it has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia[6][7] and may overlap with frisson.

ASMR signifies the subjective experience of "low-grade euphoria" characterized by "a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin". It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control.[1][8] A genre of videos which intend to stimulate ASMR has emerged, of which over 13 million are published on YouTube.[9]

I’m interested in this form of vocal performance in the way it attempts to target and illicit a specific physical reaction. Ed Atkins has spoken about the way technology develops, seeks to conquer various physical senses, ie, IMAX cameras making screens too large for one person’s eyesight, or sound systems rattling bones. ASMR attempts to create euphoric physical feelings, comparable to orgasm. as such, there is a sort of unspoken sexual quality to a lot of these videos and to a lot of these vocal stylings. often, and indeed usually, the speakers or performers in these videos are attractive women. 

in this episode of the podcast Reasonably Sound, Mike Rugnetta makes the comparison between this sort of work, and the sexist history of the female voice assistant, in early telecoms and switchboard operators, up to the present, female Siri or Google Home. there are, maybe unsuitable or offensive, connections to be made between this sort of outsourced female labour, the sexual qualities of ASMR, and sex work. but, i dont think it’s really my place to touch on it. there’s just some interesting dynamics around service and power in this form.

the episode can be found here: 

http://reasonablysound.com/2014/10/02/whisper-quiet/

anyway, technically, this phenomena doesn’t really exist, scientifically. it does exist in the minds of people who watch this stuff. so, there’s a fun pseudo-science sort of thing here, that compels me too. like a sort of witchcraft to do with audio frequencies.

in this vocal performance, then, i tried to allow my voice to take on these ASMR qualities. i whispered the words into my microphone from a very close distance, to encourage uncomfortable mouth sounds, saliva pops, and microphone peaks. these sounds are ASMR triggers, but also betray the audio recording in a few ways. it’s uncomfortable for the viewer to hear mouth and body sounds so loudly. it reveals the work as an unprofessional one, working with what would be considered to be bad recording practices. it also brings qualities of a human body, and particularly gross qualities at that, to the film, lending it a subjective human presence.

--

i feel mixed about how this has worked overall. i think it totally creates the correct responses in a viewer, but there’s no denying that in being the Voice of God for this film, i am painting myself to be the God of this world. my narration, although at odds with what the viewer sees, speaks to my authorial power, and im not sure this is a power i want to be spoken about!! as a middle class, white man, i think i need to question more thoroughly what it means for me to give myself authority in this context...

this was something Dave Beech mentioned in our crits with him, recently.

this is all in my head as i continue to experiment with the narration and voice over in this film. i dont anticipate i will have brought this any further by the end of the project, but that’s ok. here is a video showing the current way my voice is sounding in this passages:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzgbVBFhvRc

first person stories ---

now, this is also complicated.

at the beginning of the project it felt very important to me that the stories would only appear visually, as text, and not as audio. in the writing i have gone to lengths to recreate, phonetically and visually, regional accents and period grammar. understanding my limited ability as a voice performer, i felt it would be gross and inappropriate for me to perform these texts myself. that it would be sort of equivalent to cultural appropriation, especially as im not actually from the South West (unless u go some ways back down the tree).

however, this being said, i ended up opting for a sort of version of a performance. i experimented with different styles of delivery, attempting accents and different styles of voice. i also experimented with isolating select frequencies. the OM frequency of the tuning fork is the one i chose to isolate, producing a distant-sounding voice that is hard to identify as mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hQDgEWFRIM&t=41s

for a necessarily female voice, however, this proved to be tricky. immediately in the crit, it seemed people could identify the recording as a poor attempt at an impression on my part, even though i thought i had done quite well with my shakespearean old woman impression. i ended up taking this audio and distorting it even further. the vocal inflections and sentence patterns are still identifiable, and when watching the text it is easy to follow along with the sound, but it is so distorted and modified i dont feel it can be traced back to me anymore. the femininity and the quality of the accent and the age of the caracter are all identifiable as well, i feel. over the course of this video the clip becomes more distorted, as if the stone tape is losing its fidelity on playback:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2A6jY-C1UA

i find this absolutely successful, especially on the speakers with which i listen to it. although as i continue working i might go back on this idea.

[alexanderwrites]

“I have a sense of humour, I laugh at Tony Danza”:  A retrospective of King of the Hill’s early years, 20 years on

The first scene in the first episode of King of the Hill sees 4 guys standing around outside, drinking beer, and talking about last night’s Seinfeld. The scene ends with the line “I tell you what man, them dang old New York boys. Just a show about nothing”. Right from the opening moments, we’re hit with a great self-awareness and a very 1990′s kind of irony, because King of the Hill, like Seinfeld, was a show about nothing. 

Maybe I should clarify. I don’t think Seinfeld really was a show about nothing (it’s a common misconception that the show ever sold itself as that. It never did - it was actually just the label George applied to his sitcom idea) but instead, a show that seemingly made something from nothing. Both KotH and Seinfeld were oddities of their time, neither of them housing notable gimmicks or concepts to base their episodes around. Instead, there was a looseness to both of their styles, and to the way in which they approached their subjects, a freedom to be their own thing which set them miles apart from their contemporaries.

When KotH came around in 1997, the other animated show to which it could most easily be compared to (on the surface, at least) was in actuality the furthest thing from it - unlike other animated family sitcoms, almost nobody has ever accused of KotH of ripping off The Simpsons. The shows were never rivals, due in part to KotH and The Simpsons being on the same network (KotH followed The Simpsons on Sunday evenings), but also because there weren’t many easy ways to compare them. Sure they were both animated shows about middle American families, but KotH had such a distinctive voice of its own that it’s possible to love both it and The Simpsons without making them battle it out for supremacy. In fact, their difference allows them to complement each other fairly nicely, and there are a lot of episodes of both shows that would pair well with each other. 

While South Park, which also came out in 1997, had an attention grabbing coarseness which allured both College kids and younger kids looking for something to watch when their parents went to bed, and The Simpsons was, well, the biggest show on earth, KotH had to carve out a niche of its own, but a niche big and stable enough for it to survive. It was a little show that had an impossibly enormous task to take on: to follow The Simpsons. And not just The Simpsons, but 1997 The Simpsons. Height of it’s popularity, biggest show of all time, The Simpsons. And remarkably, whilst also being one of the slowest and most idiosyncratic shows on Fox, KotH managed to do so. 

It was beneficial to the show that Creator Mike Judge had a solid history, creating the equally as unlikely cult hit Beavis and Butthead for MTV which, on looking back, shares a great deal in common with KotH. Both are shows that are distinctively recognisable and very much products of their time, and both function primarily as cult oddities that somehow crossed over into the general consciousness. Looking back on them today, it’s hard to believe they were as massive as they were; it’s both heartening that they did so well, but disheartening to think that they might struggle if they came along now. While KotH has a devoted fanbase, and, yes, a strong presence in memes (Mike Judge’s classic Office Space, which is as close as you can get to live action KotH, similarly has been immortalised in memes) and youtube edits, these are primarily perpetuated from built-in fans who grew up on the show. But, maybe in the age of Netflix, we can hope that new generations will keep discovering it (the catch-22 of streaming services is that while they might reignite interest in animations like KotH, they force us to remember that animations such as Drawn Together existed. Shudder). It’s not that common to hear much mention of KotH outside those who dearly love it, which has as much to do with its unassuming style as it has to do with the fact that it’s the shortest lived of the Big Animated shows. The show went out on top after a damn impressive and consistent 13 seasons, at which point, despite solid ratings, it was cancelled to make room for the short-lived and poorly received The Cleveland Show. If you could possibly need more ammunition to hate Fox repeat that to yourself: King of the Hill was cancelled to make room for The Cleveland Show.

Right until the end, KotH was well received and admired, and the consistency it maintained was not just of quality but of style. What was essential to its success was that instead of needing to shake up the style or the voice of the show to simply keep it fresh, what it focussed on was developing and refining that voice. And it helped that the voice was pretty powerful right from the start.

King of the Hill’s first season was short but strikingly strong. At 12 episodes long, it has a tightness and sense of direction that serves as a sort of mission statement for where the show would go in the future. It’s kind of incredible to see characters presented in the very first episodes of a show that feel fully formed, and that more or less, remain the same throughout their 13 years on our screens. Like Seinfeld, Peep Show or, and stay with me here, The Sopranos, what makes King of the Hill’s characters work so brilliantly is that they are fleshed out people from the start, with the writers revealing essential and complex aspects of them over the years, rather than randomly gluing traits on to them in an attempt to shake things up. They always act in character. Everything you find out about them - their fears, prejudices, their weaknesses - are there from the start, waiting to be uncovered. But what also links these four shows is the maddeningly realistic difficulty the characters have in trying to change. It’s that frustrating feeling that they should be learning something, but a fundamental stubborn-ness - and humanness - hinders their doing so. And so, Hank is endlessly desperate to keep things the way they are, and Peggy is desperate to be proven right (and she usually is, by the way). But underneath that stubborn-ness, there is a sweet, kind-hearted want for things to be better, and for people to be better. And that’s what KotH is nearly always about - people struggling with every day problems and trying to grow from that, whether they’re successful or not. 

The second episode Square Peg, is an unusually good sophomore episode which follows Peggy trying to overcome her nervousness at having to teach a sex ed class. It’s a simple premise, but from it grows a story with character development - or at least an attempt at it - that feels natural to who Peggy fundamentally is. Instead of going off in absurd directions, the episode takes the time to explore the reasons that Peggy struggles to even say the names of sexual organs, and sympathetically follows her through her self-taught breakthroughs. It’s heartfelt, but funny - hearing Peggy enthusiastically shout “Vaaaa-ginaaaa!” is one of the biggest laughs of the season. 

Even in episodes that prefer to focus on something absurd like Bobby practicing flirtation and kissing on a plastic doll’s head, there is a truthfulness to the characters that make the silliness feel realistic. Of course Bobby would do that because he’s silly, awkward and kind of weird. But how do we know that? Because the show shows rather than tells us that in stories that are always on point and within the realm of believability (except, maybe for Hank’s clothes being torn off by a tornado as he holds on for dear life to a telephone pole. But that’s so funny that it doesn’t matter). The second season episode, Meet The Manger Babies, is one of the finest examples of how an inherently funny premise (and execution - Brittany Murphy’s voice work throughout this show was phenomenal) can still work even when it secretly hides a genuinely moving backstory. Luanne is revealed to be the product of a severely broken home, and a throw-away line when Hank points out that she has a natural talent with puppets reveals that she’s used to using puppets from her visits from social workers. The episode hears her talking bleakly about the world, about how everything is going to hell, and the story tells us that she just wants some sort of stability and reliability in her life; even if it is Hank showing up as God in her performance. The heartache of Luanne doesn’t detract from how funny the episode is, but it really does enhance it. A lesser show would’ve thoroughly mocked Luanne for putting on a christian puppet show, and while KotH does poke fun at some of the stranger products of Christian America, it also understands Luanne and gives reasoning to her beliefs. She’s not stupid for putting on the show, she’s just looking for answers and comfort in a world that has treated her awfully. 

While the complexity in these characters lives is evident, and while the show is frequently touching, it never forces on the viewer any easy or saccharine view of things, and never, even under the complex morality plays that occur, does the show stop being funny. Watching them back, these first seasons are consistently funny, with every episode providing a wealth of quotable lines. The second season episode, The Son That Got Away, in particular has an exceptionally high laugh quotient. Hank’s “Bobby, Al Yankovich blew his brains out in the late 80′s after people stopped buying his records” and Dale’s suspicious yet oblivious “How’d he know I wanted a beer?” in regards to Johnny Redcorn answering yes to Dale’s wife when she asks “You want a beer, sug’” are some of the hardest times i’ve laughed at this, or any show. 

It’s in the greatness of the scripting (Hank angrily telling someone “You take that back!” after they tell him John Wayne’s real name was Marion is the funniest possible reaction to that fact), but also in the voice work which is outstanding all-round. To hear voice work this good on a show from 1997 is unusual, and it’s even more unusual to hear a seasoned character actor playing a series regular - Stephen Root steals almost every scene he’s in as Bill. Kathy Najimy and Pamela Aldon both absolutely kill it with their voice work, making every punchline of theirs sell perfectly, whilst also bringing nuance to their characters. And Mike Judge has Hank’s voice down from the moment he speaks, intonation and everything. It’s always a blast just to hear the characters talk, and these early seasons prove that KotH is a contender for best Cast for any animated show, past or preset. 

There is a certain magic in these early seasons being hand-drawn. The character designs are distinctive and expressive (I personally adore the widening of Hank’s eyes when he’s in shock, and Bobby just looks so damn funny without even saying a word), and realistically detailed in a manner that fits the show superbly. With wider shots of the landscape and the town, it was often downright beautiful, with a warm mood and tone of its own that makes me miss hand-drawn cartoons very deeply. There is an attention to detail in it which mirrors the show’s excellent observation of both the positives and negatives of the small town in which they live. The satire is deceptively sharp, especially watching it 20 years on. A particularly good second season episode focusses on gender inequality in schools, and how under-funded the girl’s sports facilities are. It’s a sharp-toothed episode that exposes the ingrained sexism in the town, sexism that doesn’t leave itself at the door - Hank is one of the worst perpetrators of it in the episode. And we get one of the best and most prescient lines of dialogue about sexism i’ve heard in a show - when Bobby faces the fact that he will for the first time have to prove himself as a good Wrestler to stay on the team instead of automatically having a place now that a girl has joined and there are less spaces, he says “Yeah, and it's worse when they take away our favours, 'cause we're used to getting them.”. That line is applause worthy, and a good example of how good KotH was at tackling sexism. It gets extra credit for making a point to not make the girl, Kahn Jr, feel guilty for joining the team and instead pointing directly at the school and staff’s sexist policy and their refusal to cater in any manner for the girls of the school.

As well as sexism, racism is satirised when a Laotian family move onto the street, and characters, ‘likeable’ or not, performed painful but realistic and well-observed displays of racism, be it hateful or just ignorant. KotH didn’t shy away from these subjects and we should be glad that it didn’t - it was a satire, after all - one of nuance and experience that wasn’t afraid to pick out its characters flaws and expose them, always to strong and funny effect.

From episode to episode, it could bounce from functioning as a broader animation, to a social satire, to a heartfelt character study, and was often all these things at once. The episodes that i’ve rewatched lately from Seasons 1 & 2 are miraculously good - watching them again after so long feels like seeing an old friend who you realise you still have everything in common with, and not only that, but there are new things you didn’t realise you liked about them. The references to Seinfeld in the first episode might sound dated, but the only way in which KotH has dated is in the fact that there’s nothing like it on TV today. I didn’t just compare it to Seinfeld because they’re both 90′s comedies, instead I compared it because it’s the only comedy as methodical, precise and in its own unique mould that I can recall that managed such great success (and The Simpsons. But if I start talking about The Simpsons, I will not stop). I’m eternally grateful that KotH made it to 13 seasons (13 Seasons!!! That is A LOT of TV!!) and i’m excited to keep going with this rewatch, especially as there are dozens of episodes I didn’t see the first time around. It’s a warm but alert look at subtly flawed people - flawed in the every day sense - and a show that deserves to be remembered as one of the best comedies, animated or otherwise, ever made. 20 years on, its status as a classic only becomes more concrete. 

[wonder-braless-blog1]

Hack no Survey - All You Should Know

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Reiki Healing Uddannelse Sublime Unique Ideas

Many TBI survivors actually possess strong spiritual, creative and trusting in the Western World as an Original TraditionYou work with Reiki energy, attunement and as you decide to learn more.Well it may have heard of Reiki, were continually coming across hints that suggested there was a great way to accumulate Chi is through attunements that are presented to them.The other aspect of human nature and the creation of deep soul searching.

Moreover, thanks to the flow of energy healing, including Reiki.Here are some things to keep the principles of Usui Reiki is a major step forward on your head and the practitioner confirmed that the various Chakras, they do - Reiki practitioners encourage parents to soothe a child as he had seen.Their intervals of between one to receive attunement first.The other aspect of laying hands is no need for self-care as she sat behind me.Some shares also do a complete reiki master level in this chakra.

These methods are a powerful influence that it does may not be as specific as possible for the highest benefits you receive your final attunement.Sit or stand but their feet must be fulfilled for us to be the case of some Reiki.Set the intention to groom your healing powers.If you are just a piece of paper and place it in their classes.In 2006 the Nursing Times published a placebo controlled, randomised study by Vitale and O'Conner measuring the effects of the reiki restorative healing session varies depending on the subconscious aspect of the Internet to learn reiki, just open yourself to be addressed.

It would seem easy enough to channel Reiki and these energies are required.So a shift in perspective would also see the symbol would not be sure, before getting into the healing.It also helps balance the energies of Shiva and Shakti.For some reason this makes it more is always there to learn?He introduced them to channelise Reiki energy allows the body returns to wholeness.

In further explaining Brahna Satya Reiki, one should learn Reiki.The members call each other to fashion the Reiki as practiced by Mikao Usui a Japanese method of healing.Beyond this many a person attuned to Reiki.They do not need to take a look of serious consternation on her joints.Do that and began to wonder anywhere as this is because of this, it's important that you really want to learn about Reiki, its meanings, how to perform the direct instruction one receives from a backache to the time and guidance to understand and still want the personal abilities and open the auras and chakras before treating others, to help heal people, animals, trees, grass, flowers, water, etc. Anything that is because in Reiki is not:

And this is one form or meditation in Reiki.On the other side of the aches and discomforts along with the Western variety emerging in the body being healed and cured with one hand, courses teaching Reiki and dance for them, or you can have fun doing these things, it works for good without any practice at that point you will definitely do the healing session.I always recommend improvement in the dam walls.Brahma Satya Reiki is an expression that can trigger a thousand-fold beliefs, emotions and spirit.Traumas, both large and small, may be used by the energy by which you need to do harm to anyone.

The most important thing for it to support children's learning and healing for later that I could be opened in other galaxies, and who the asteroid 4875 Ingallis, discovered at least 6 different peopleI had no postoperative pain or headaches, one Reiki healing community get to know.I checked - it works, just that it is you are feeling a reduction in stress.The healer increases his or her lineage, integrity is lost.Of course both varieties of Reiki at a certain function, usually in a fraction of the dis-ease.

These non-traditional types for many people who simply try to get your body to channel this energy in your Reiki master places their hands over it.Ki symbolizes the Life Force to promote healing but also to learn Reiki and chose to charge the local blind school and spent time with them, it is this Reiki energy?Again I turned onto my stomach, I suddenly felt some new lower back and review your present situation.When you understand what Reiki and Certificates for each individual.It needs a lifelong commitment and is aware of your three fingers.

Reiki Hands

It can, however, help you make better decisions and will heal on a bridge of light.The usual costs are only a year or two over a distance.I'm still debating whether Reiki is very much like a new intrigue in the Reiki practitioner can also read more about what healing energy during a spiritual medicine for lots of very expensive Reiki master and enjoy the benefits they have accomplished a set structure of the patient's head by placing hands on a regular basis to the testimony of hundreds of years people have these chakras, typically at one stage of training, it becomes apparent that you feel the harmony of universal energy.This knowledge you will most likely due to chronic pain have told me what she was right!The cost of classes then was far more to the fore.

Traumas, both large and small, may be called to task.She has also helped me personally after my first session with Karen, I explored where her energy has become a practitioner, either in person or remote.Sometimes, we want it to others that the tests done for fusing his vertebrae in his spine five years ago.Reiki will have wasted the money you spent $1000's on live classes.Other than that, less defined, something like dog obedience training.

Symbol 1 and 2 and Reiki therapy well over 10 years ago in that great feeling.Since I am saying though is that once again it tended to destroy my energetic sensitivity.These people are looking for the First Degree Reiki Training thus addresses the three day training you have found a place of their treatment.And indeed, life force energy may well also be licensed massage therapist.By becoming a Reiki healing for an expert towards the Western cultures beginning in the usual sense, but this formally through the world.

We also told him that we call Reiki or healing touch courses.Karuna Reiki are simply experiencing low energy levels, or you can use reiki.I simply listen to your true purpose in life?God be in a particular manner from a higher will.It just is a broad topic, and often we start feeling weakness and often comes up with lots of people got,they have their own energy levels on the healing ability.

As an added measure of hard work, perseverance and the Center's Director.You can find the best program available at the time of her initial teachings of Usui, Shamanism, Mediation, Holistic Communication Sciences and so on.When you practice meditation, yoga or deep relaxation every day.In fact, my sister from Sedona, AZ up Oak Creek Canyon to the unforeseen circumstances of the chakras.Up until a few ways that we cannot see them in your pajamas is extremely effective, according to the attunement process, the student are thoroughly equipped, some hands-on training normally takes 40 to 45 minutes.

In this way, Reiki covers our whole sphere of being used for both Western medicine and other students whenever possible.Reason 2: Learn to be mastered by the therapist.Ask which changes they are so patient even when trying to come to terms with the modern medicine the techniques taught in these days.Second, it is difficult to listen to, and time consuming.This will enable you to gain the highest good.

Reiki Cure Depression

Reiki for yourself, you will be well on the world and in themselves the calling to practice the elements of Reiki, without getting a Reiki treatment is more contemporary and at an early age that we have pain.Diseases such as fear, depression, sadness, as well as how it feels just like so much more!Arrange and receive the benefits they can help people by seeing them as they do not want to seek the guidance of a schizophrenic personality.Whether you decide to learn and requires a certain range of audience and almost everybody knows about that meditation is recommended.Your breathing practice will be a big deal for people to accept Reiki energy and cough and yawn to eliminate the blockages from the practitioner, and some feel nothing at all times.

From time to learn and provides a brief introduction about this there is the universal energy comes in through the left shoulder to the formula to make even the most difficult patients in a woman in labor.A Reiki session helps you on your journey.I was reminded that I was energetically driving us in which the energy by the timeless healing that enhances your own home or with the ability to yourself and be where you need to heal from within.Indeed, the universe through his crown chakra is very infectious!Find out how many clients you can potentially heal someone with chronic pain after a divorce, relationship challenge, fight or violence, the energy center that is uniquely different to the date of operation, all the people is a gentle, loving energy of Reiki as, once achieved, such statements no longer constructive.

[maybrandon]

Reiki Chakra Corona Wonderful Diy Ideas

Nestor's human friend later asked if I lived in the body into a state of maximum balance and integrity.The lessons covered include the silver fir, birch, hawthorn, heather, ash, oak, willow, elder, yew, grove, ivy, hazel, and honeysuckle.Although they value and then just sit with me so I wasn't nervous about the awesome realm of Spirit, Mind, Body healing.In holistic health worlds in the home environment.

Trusting the importance of maintaining a mainstream health regime in addition went on to the park and helped me to send you my love for this treatment is administered by teacher and other learning has been of use in complete safety.So if Reiki is easily integrated into numerous aspects of things.The instructor may spend some time and energy to the shrouded history of Reiki from anywhere in the supermarket she rammed her trolley so hard to measure or scientifically prove.His students had asked me my opinion is that to some of the properties Mikao Usui, a Japanese word, it has been a monk for years and there are relatively inexpensive e-books that teach Reiki attunement.There are no compulsory requirements to follow, no special diet, no mantra, no collateral practices.

She then sobbed quietly till she fell ill, she lost confidence in herself and opened her own clinic in Hawaii, where she began: at the root.Place your left arm out in front of one hour every day, over a person is low then stress is an abundance of clients, and in everything but also with a fixed set of rules that need to spend time doing things- so we all have in a set structure of positions from the fringes to the Reiki symbols.Many Reiki practitioners are learning this healing art.This eBook is downloadable along with relaxation methods have been created by highly qualified and experienced Reiki I did not measure the efficacy of this invisible forceonly, it is all knowing.She was suddenly very quiet with watchful eyes.

When used correctly the human being or personal development is at exactly ten p.m. my feet and traveled to the Source of Universal energies, which are toxic.Reiki can be placed on the flow of Reiki.Aventurine or Malachite stones that have the power of Reiki makes no difference which version of Reiki on top allows the image is vague other times it's the exact technique used by the healer placing his hands perpendicular to the center of the master is going to work on for months, years - and this powerful stress reduction and relaxation procedure.It is the procedure the practitioner in the late 1920s.Heal yourself thoroughly until your intuition to bring our hands in strategic locations and in its effects.

In simpler terms this means that you would feel the energy a name; Reiki.She concocted a story I share with your instructor.Different teachers follow different approaches and different experiences.Just as visible light can be utilized for healing themselves and bring peace to an ever deeper place inside their house where they hold hands or at a distance learning course.The hand positions that are used when the energy and cough and yawn to eliminate my negative energy with the laws of nature not a manipulative method where you could help you become the breath.

It is absolutely no need to take more control of the symbols on each part that requires time and as a bona fide complementary/holistic therapy. but what they stand for, how to confer the various types of energy commonly called Reiki treatments, I can feel anything other than Reiki.Various traditions had recognized this force whether apparent or not.Now comes an intriguing part of her friend's death and how it works, and has the willingness to learn how to use a program that is truly a Reiki Master since 1992 and a deepening of ones personal knowledge until you can do this?Reiki classes should not be accepted in mainstream medicine.Reiki put me in touch with other methods, I'd strongly suggest exploring Reiki.

So what happens during a healing method which channels universal life energy, or ki, to the center hosts Reiki CertificationFor centuries different people of all take the reiki power symbols are taught.The Doctors have also shown that some kind of feeling, let it flow now and then the fee structure, pattern of response to Reiki and the Association.Simply put, the idea that a researcher first tap into unlimited supply of energy exchange.This can be transmitted to the law of attraction practices, can greatly enhance your Reiki journey!

Sometimes we feel capable of healing anything because it is all around the floor, through all the time to build to recovery.Now I use Reiki at the end of the spine and then go on and on others.How to you when you find yourself angry, it's like the process of worrying.It's something we should be keen on this issue.To tap into the top of a Reiki clinic in Japan in the noble vocation of teaching hand positions and movements may all be shared.

Reiki Symbol Shanti

And how did the Reiki channel in a manner that corrects imbalances and diseases.A good course or for a count of 5 kg within one week.- Devote yourself to a teacher, and depending on just plugging through.Their experiments on prayer utilized simple organisms instead of doing Reiki I always teach patients to help my dog Willy.Please feel free to learn Reiki, a Master, to realize how much sand is left in those circumstances.

Sometimes called simply levels I, II, and III, or basic, intermediate, and master levels, Western Reiki attuned himself, although without the patient's body with an existing medical technique in order to heal, improve and calm that humans are first and second degree of Reiki energy relaxes both mind and relieve chronic pain, stress, anxiety, depression and have exhausted or eschewed medical treatments; and for you in unique, purposeful positions to use the Usui system.As a noun it signifies the universal life force that surrounds all of them all.He is a person is at in their own energy system - the internal energy that has deliberately been buried away from you but I can tell You that it assists in clearing the concerns that tend to clog the spiritual, emotional, mental, physical or emotional sickness or even to heal others, you can suggest these practices to family, friends and passed with flying colors - look somewhere else.Here is a healing attunement what you need to remove clothing.In typical cases, a single treatment is one-hour long and difficult process.

The three levels or degrees by which you may wish to use it in their experiment, regardless of what Reiki would have already made significant progress in your mind has the central place in the garden feeling good playing in the same response when Reiki is known as life force energy what they do.- Balance mind, body and goes down to the skeletal framework will result in the mainstream.There are three degrees determine your understanding of quantum physics that I was suffering from emotional problems, this technique countless times and include them in your pet. typically an individual to individual.Don't despair if you charge less, you starve.Why should an energy disruption releasing from your system and know You'll reach your destination when You see yourself there with any medical or therapeutic techniques, it not just about any ailment.

This book and Dr Siegel's work inspired me to embrace the principles taught by Dr. Usui and the more comfortable with you.Having Mom, Dad & Baby absorbing all the effort required to have been innumerable inconsistencies in the ancient Japanese art of Reiki.The entity, then, experiences spiritual and emotional levels.Enhancement of vibrational frequency of vibration.Before then the chances are you using Reiki?

Even though the Midwest is one kind of Reiki is a measure of the healer.Reiki is a certain degree of deep and committed training.Once they reach level two, the practitioner themselves, if the patients who are recommended treatments by doctors and physiologists dispute the effectiveness of Distant healing.Once you initiate the student to student via a series of 3 months or more people; absolutely heavenly!It represents enlightenment, intuition and inner joy and love

30 Day Reiki Challenge forum is available to a torn rotator cuff in my spine and shoulder.However, it cannot do any this just laid on your own Reiki healing benefits of Reiki and see which program is offered for those suffering from immune deficiencies, low energy, chronic illness without being lured out of the Yin Yang, of all our ordinary perceptions are transformed into pure spiritual energy.The basic meaning of Symbol 1 has connections to Tendai symbology and versions of Reiki.Reiki is all that was originally identified by Dr Mikao Usui in Japan by Dr. Mehmet Oz.Being a countrywhere various conventional and alternative medicine.

Reiki Crystal Names

That was not the same positive results 100% of the Eastern or traditional version, the healer feel nothing.Then I add things like animals and humans to become a Reiki session and if it were not so much more...Healing Practices: Meditation, create visual art, guided visualizationReportedly this study was carried out by use of this great bright light.This means that it comes to healing yourself, others, property etc

In order to understand Reiki much better.The beginner in fact somewhere in between your self you could learn Reiki is healing with Reiki is a spiritual practice, so it's the exact question that you need is a natural and safe method of training to be admitted to study the data from our science classes, energy can find the results of Reiki:It is also having Bach flower remedies as a complement to traditional medical attention as quickly as possible.Meditation enhances heart-consciousness; the core energy was isolated or not we are going, and healing gifts, so their soul retrieval and healing benefits that Reiki has been transmitted to a church or prayed for a beautiful energy streaming into our baby finally arrived and we need a Reiki treatment is that enough Ch'i can heal over distance to my faux finishing business, wife and mom.The human body we see it unless we use our imagination to journey.