#EVERY critic i came accross

[lafcadiosadventures]

Things I found remarkable from Madame Putiphar: (warning: this post is mushy and earnest. And the writing is clunky af. if you don’t like those things, skip it)(no spoilers tho)

-Borel’s denunciation of the horrors of the ancien regime. From the kidnapping and purchase of girls as young as 7or 9 to become trainees at the Parc-aux-cerfs, Louis XV’s personal harem, to the illegal incarceration and disappearance of enemies of the crown(since the incarceration was not legal, your family didn’t know if you were alive or dead, and anything could be done to you because technically you were not incarcerated)(very reminiscent of certain non democratic methods of xxth c dictatorships), to the incarcerations of writers such as Diderot and Sade for their ideas. (parallels could be made with Borel’s present time and they might have. The book was not censored but it got such a terrible review from Jules Janin, Borel found it harder and harder to find work again)(Jean-Luc Steinmetz calls Janin’s review a rehearsal for the later censorship trials on books such as mme bovary and les fleurs du mal during Napoleon III’s government)

-a heroine whose shortcomings and aptitudes are not rooted in her gender (crazy I know.)(like in Champavert, where race is not deterministic at all) Debbie, our heroine, is a brave, intelligent person, doing what best she can in adverse circumstances. Not always correct, not invincible, not ever stunted (or blessed!) by the innate powers of femaleness some authors and thinkers seem to believe in. (a probable antecedent is Diderot’s Suzanne Simonin, some of her misadventures are similar and she is a fleshed out character as well)(but it’s been a while)

-an appreciation of femaleness and effeminacy, and androgyny. Because of their love, padraig and debbie’s genders mingle and impregnate one an other. Debbie becomes more masculine. Pádraig in his turn, is made more effeminate by his love of Debbie. And this improves them both. (The androgyne as a divine being is a recurrent theme in romantic literature, but an appreciation of femaleness, maybe not so much. Borel says padraig has been improved by receiving debbie’s femenine upbringing. That is unheard of)

-A narrator that shows love and care for his readers. Besides Borel’s usual use of irony and meta literary discussion, here he stops and comforts the reader, takes their hand (Borel specifically addresses a female and male reader) and asks if they’re ready to carry on. Since this was a book he felt pain while writing, he -correctly- assumes the reader will probably be shaken as well. This is very sweet and considerate and it never happens?? I feel like writers are usually here to lecture the reader and make them swallow their truth. (Borel does a fair share of that too, tbh)(there is more to be said about the narrator in this book. But it will require a rereading because I admit I am not at all certain about some things he does here)

-a Romantic’s take on the Enlightenment. Borel takes familiar tropes and makes them his own. I was reminded of Diderot’s heroine from La réligieuse, his playful narrator in Jacques le fataliste. Sade’s Justine, (tho sade does not really write humans, rather gears that put his plot in motion, this is not a jab at sade. just that debbie is not a sadian innocent sticking to her virtue in ways required only by the plot) Voltaire’s Candide and Laclos’ Dangerous Liaisons come to mind as well.

Overall I really loved this book. I have one or two complaints over one midly unfortunate rant about the roots of european orientalism, a queer character that is not that bad but uuh seems rather underdeveloped and tropey, and one coup-de-theatre death that was unnecessary imo. There’s also the narrator thing. This requires a second reading bc I found some of his digressions confusing. His tone was easier to decode in Champavert. Here I had trouble discerning what Borel is being serious about or not. Not all the time but occasionally. Hard to tell what he is serious about or not. But overall this are very minor complaints. I insist this is a great book!! And I feel very grateful for having read it 🖤

[hoorayiread]

The Ethics of Learning Ethics

I want to be a good person. I want to positively contribute to the world and encourage others to do the same. I also just want to know what the world is like outside of myself. Thus, I read nonfiction.

A few years ago, I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It's a book that discusses the ethical issues that have cropped up again and again in the advancement of modern medicine, and it is full of great information. However, it's main premise revolves around the story of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cancer cells were cultured without her consent. This line of cells has led to numerous scientific advancements that have generated millions, if not billions of dollars for research companies while the Lacks family lived in poverty. The book then goes on to research that family, obtaining interviews and even befriending some of the family members. And Skloot talks about how awful it was that Henrietta was exploited in that way.

Then Skloot proceeded to not pay the family. She admits this in her book. She gives some kind of justification for it, but it's been bothering me ever since I read it.

(Robin Tynan wrote an article for Medium titled "Your unconsious bias is showing-- a critique of 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' by Rebecca Skloot," if you want more info)

Currently, I am reading Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. Coincidentally, I came accross a video from Gene Lee on Tiktok, where he mentioned that very same book. He mentioned it in passing while criticising how academics are often very sheltered from the consequences and lived experiences of everyday poverty. After this, I decided to look for articles that took a more critical look at Evicted to see if I couldn't find a more well-rounded look at the issues it tackles, but the only ones I found came from landlord websites and people that felt poverty was an individual matter rather than a systemic issue (I found a right-wing website that blamed poverty on unwed mothers. Do you care if I don't cite that source?).

One issue I think I'm facing is a lot of this information I'm finding comes from white people (Gene Lee is Black, but every other person I've mentioned has been white. And I am, too). I need a diversity of sources but, hey, what would you know? Systemic racism exists! I do have some authors of color coming up on my to-read list, including another non-fiction book written by a Black woman, but still.

Then again, one cannot fix the world by reading books alone in their room.

[bitchfitch]

this is my first attempt at sci fi and its an au for my dnd characters lmao.

The pin pricks of stars blurred together as Babylon's speeder cut through the clear ink of space away from his home, The Jackalope, a well loved but sturdy clunker of a station that drifted had filled its place in the Capital Belt for decades, and towards the long abandoned station that drifted aimlessly just beyond the Capital's pull.

Babylon would return eventually but his curiosity was going to kill him if he didn't follow this lead through. His sisters had said it was a bad idea, that Sanctuary was a death trap, but if it got him one step closer to finaly finding out the truth of his existence then whatever he had to deal with would be worth it.

Docking his speeder was easy, mostly because Sanctuary was big enough that he could just land on one of the loading platforms instead of worrying about proper procedure. 

The lights buzzed on as he climbed out of the speeder, bathing the open docking chamber in blotchy yellow light. 

Probably an old automated procedure, Babylon reasoned to himself. Whatever, it saved him from having to waste battery on the flashlights built into his helmet. 

While still tethered to his speeder he fussed with the controls of his mag boots, bracing himself on one of his speeder's wings as he found the right settings to let him walk instead of float. 

The bay had already been long picked over by other explorers, everything that could be pulled up and carried off had been, but the doors to the airlock, despite their being heavy damage along their faces from where others had failed to cut through them, still stood firm in their place. A busted scanner panel beside them still blinking slowly. Babylon regarded it for a moment and sighed before taking off his helmet.

The vacuum of space stung, it always did, but whatever he was seemed to be made to handle it. The lack of air wasn't much of a problem either, thankfully. Still it was a struggle to get high enough for the panel to see his face, whoever was responsible for this station had been Annoyingly tall, which did mesh well with everything else he knew about his birth family, which was that they were annoying, and tall.

Usually it took a few moments of morphing his face to trick a scanner into letting him pass, but this one folded after just a second, the old doors shuddering open with a groan that was silenced by the empty vacuum of space.

Weak, the software must be ancient to fail that quickly. Babylon grinned to himself as he got his helmet back on, hopefully all the biometric shit in this hell hole will be that easy to fuck with.

Getting through the airlock and into the station itself wasn't difficult, and that was concerning. Airlocks on this type of station either needed a full AI controlling them or a lot of input from whoever was trying to get through, plus someone on the other side to help out if it's needed.

As far as Babylon knew, he was the only person on this ship, yet the interior locks were initiated and opened without his input. He tried to connect to the comms and even found the right channel, but his tentative hello was met only with static. 

He paused before finalizing the sequence. Sanctuary was suspected to be an old experimental station, or it had been before it was abandoned, so maybe this weird airlock system was just a form of automation that never caught on? He told himself that as he let the outer doors slide shut, trapping himself in this airlock as it pressurized before the main door whirred and groaned in protest of having to slide on long unused rails. 

People who managed to get into Sanctuary rarely came back, but those that did all talked about two things.

The first nearly stole Babylon's breath as he drifted into the lobby. The entire room was verdant. Every inch flourishing with thick grey green plant growth. Every wall had moss and weeds spreading from the cracks in the plates, vines climbed twisting trees and crawled along the floor. Shrubs and flowers and strange little ferns sprouted from the thick bed of rich soil that spilled accross much of the floor.

Babylon's mag boots weren't strong enough to reach through the thick earth, leaving him to drift in zero g and having to pull himself along by the untamed branches as he explored. He'd never been in a jungle, or a forest, or any type of planetary terrain really, so this was completely unlike anything he'd ever seen outside of videos and shows about planets.

The second thing survivors tended to mention was the feeling of being watched. A constant nagging that they had Somethings attention. 

Babylon certainly felt that. Even with no cameras visible, and no signs of non plant life, Something was watching him.

"Hey, Like, the silent treatment is cool and everything but maybe we can talk?" He tried, the comms buzzing as he spoke, still only static answered,

He tried again, a different tongue weighing the words, this one being the one his sisters spoke, then another, the one he learned from the rich johns who would visit the Jackalope sometimes, and another, this final one being the one he never used but had always known.

"What would you like to talk about?" came the response, not through the comms, but from the green surrounding him, 

He nearly launched himself out of his skin at the sudden voice, it was strange and artificial yet rough around the edges like a persons',

"Oh crap. Hey, Hi! I'm Babs, and uh, what language are we speaking?" He asked, "And uh, who are you?"

"We are speaking High Genyt, and I am EVR-RD, Sanctuary's AI,"

"High Genyt? What race is that from?" Babylon asked, he could feel his skin crawling with excitement. High Genyt, that was the name of the language he'd always known, the one that he'd never met another speaker of. 

"The Genytar," came the simple response,

"And what can you tell me about them Ardy?" This was it, Finally after years of searching he was getting dome answers,

"Ardy?"

"Yeah, EVR-RD, RD, Ardy. Its a nickname, anyways, Genytars?" 

"Ardy. I like that, But yes, The Genytar are a now extinct race of hyper adaptable lifeforms from sector FY-Wilde. This station was their last ark. A series of Critical System failures resulted in a total crew wipe out about 20 orbital sweeps ago," 

"Total- Oh," Babs floated in silence for a moment, "They're all gone? or- Are the... the bodies still here?"

"Yes, they are all gone, and no, their bodies are long gone. Why do you want to know?" 

"Because nobody taught me this language. They might not all be gone because I am still here, but I don't- Do I look like them? I want- I Need to know, please," 

"Are you attempting to find out if you are a Genytar?"

"Yes, Or I don't know, or like, I know that I do not know what I am and no one has been able to give me any answers. And like, I heard about this ship and that it was super weird, and that it showed up already abandoned around the same time my parents found me- I'm rambling, sorry,"

"Please do not apologize Babs. I do not believe you to be Genytar, but, I can not identify what you would be otherwise," 

"Oh," Babs sighs, "Thanks anyways,"

"What will you do now?" 

"Strange question to get from an AI, but I don't know. I guess I'll just go home, try to find another clue or something," 

"Is your home part of the Capital belt?" 

"Yeah?"

"Is it far?"

"Ardy, what are you getting at here?" 

"There are not many people who speak Genyt. You are the first I've met since they died. And Genyt is the only language I have," there's a pause, which is strange for an AI, "I would appreciate it if you would consider returning,"

Babylon laughed, "Yeah big guy, I'll visit again,"

[johannesviii]

Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2018

I’m kinda sad this series of posts is coming to a close, especially with two mediocre years for the kind of hit songs I enjoy.

I was very depressed in 2018 so I thought maybe it was the reason why I didn’t like most songs I heard, so I revisited the entire catalogue of 2018 hit songs from the year-end lists and... no, it wasn’t just me.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

As I mentioned before I was super depressed in 2018, which wasn’t helped by the death of two family members including one I was super close to, and by catching a mysterious infection on a finger that doctors didn’t seem to be able to cure and which made my left hand hurt all year long, until I had to have an operation in early 2019 to fix the issue (plot twist, it wasn’t an infection, which is why nothing was working). On the plus side, my s.o and I decided to get married but it only happened the next year.

Ok so, hit songs weren’t that good (stay tuned for that), but albums? Some great stuff dropped in 2018. Unfortunately, Eminem’s Kamikaze wasn’t among those great albums and at that point he was basically dead to me. BUT! A Perfect Circle came back, which was completely unexpected! Nine Inch Nails released Bad Witch which contained the excellent and super hypnotic Over And Out! Mike Shinoda released Post Traumatic and every single Linkin Park fan was like “oh god what a mood”! Moby, which I hadn’t liked for years at that point after loving his stuff so much when I was 15 or so, released Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt and it was unexpectedly good! And The 1975 released A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, which, in my opinion, isn’t quite as great as their second album (I refuse to write its super long title again), but still super good. Just like the previous one, a lot of songs had crossover potential and I’m very sad it didn’t happen. Stay tuned for the unelligible songs.

But you know what? The album of the year, at least to me, was always going to be something much darker. Fortunately, the end of the year was when VNV Nation decided to drop its best album of the entire decade, Noire. In these trying times, an album about the fight between light and darkness was exactly what I needed to hear. I was super emotional when I first listened to it. Armour might just be the best song on the album. Collide explodes into a million colors after a super slow start. Wonders is a big mood. Lights Go Out is a super angry song which basically says ‘we’re dancing while the apocalypse is happening because they won’t let us do anything else’, and we need more stuff like this. When is the Future was a super solid first single and yeah, exactly, where is the future we were promised as kids? Only Satellites became one of my fight songs in record time. And All Of Our Sins is terrifying and super good. Just an amazing album all around. I certainly hope they make more in the future, but if they don’t, that would be a super high note to finish on.

As for unelligible stuff, there’s Chun Li (Nicki Minaj) which I found super weird at first, but it grew on me a lot as the year went on. I’m very surprised it’s not on the US year-end list, by the way. And I wish more stuff from Indochine had charted... again, I know. Apart from that, it’s all The 1975. Love it if we made it should have been a hit but wasn’t a safe bet for a leading single so it kind of makes sense. TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME despite its stupid title was a much more convincing hit, and yet, it wasn’t one, and that pisses me off more. And It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) is one of their best songs ever. Catch me on the right day and I’ll call it better than The Sound, even. This should have been a hit. I’m so angry it didn’t happen.

But hey! Their new album is getting released in just a couple of days! Maybe 2020 is finally going to be their year? Wait and see.

Holy shit there hasn’t been a shorter list of honorable mentions since my 2008 list.

Remind Me To Forget (Kygo) - Good but (ironically) a bit too forgettable to be on the list.

Later Bitches (The Prince Karma) - So bad it’s good at its finest right there. Not enough to put it higher though.

High Hopes (Panic! At The Disco) - Tiptoes the line between good and super annoying too much to be higher. Not even the best song on the album (that would be Say Amen (Saturday Night)). Not sure why this was more popular.

Sicko Mode (Travis Scott) - God I want to love this song so bad. I tried so hard and it never completely clicked for me.

Next To Me (Imagine Dragons) - Believe it or not, this was the last cut from the list. I sincerely hope that Imagine Dragons will make good music again in the future and that their new songs will stop sounding like a person dragging themselves accross the wet sand of some post-apocalyptic beach covered in ashes.

So how do I know this was a bad year for hit songs? Well I not only struggled to find ten songs for this list but also struggled to find a suitable #1. Then I just went “I’m gonna put the only 2018 song I ever put on my mp3 player at #1 by default.” Does it make 2018 as bad as 1990? I’m not so sure. The top 3 I made for 1990 contained two songs I absolutely adored, including one of my favorite songs of all time. On the other hand, it was a bit easier to find ten songs I liked (not loved) in 2018. So... I don’t know.

I should also mention that Bohemian Rhapsody made the French year-end list again, at #83, and that is hilarious, but putting it on the list feels like cheating. Consider it to be an alternative #1!

10 - Finesse (Bruno Mars)

US: #14 / FR: Not on the list

I know. Everybody likes this song. I’m no exception, and I love its aesthetic, but I also like it wayyyyyy less than 24k Magic.

9 - New Rules (Dua Lipa)

US: #16 / FR: Not on the list

Basically, same thing here. I like it but I’m using it mostly as filler for this list. The lyrics are pretty great, though.

8 - This is America (Childish Gambino)

US: #51 / FR: Not on the list

This would be much better if the radio version had kept the gunshot sounds from the music video, but on the other hand it would have been pretty terrifying to hear gunshots on the radio while driving, so eh... this was probably the right decision to make. Apart from that, this song and this video have already been analysed by countless people on the internet and I don’t see what I could contribute after all this time.

7 - Sweet but Psycho (Ava Max)

US: Not on the list / FR: #42

This sounds like a song from the bygone era of Bad Romance and to be honest, it would have been annoying several years ago but in 2018 that was genuinely a refreshing blast from the past.

6 - Speed (Zazie)

US: Not on the list / FR: #74

To be honest, I never expected Zazie to show up on one of my lists again, but 2018′s general quality forced me to do it. This is a song that starts super slow and keeps getting faster, and it’s mostly about overcoming depression. Everything I needed that year.

5 - Let You Down (NF)

US: #29 / FR: Not on the list

I don’t think I know a single other person or critic who likes this song, and yet it charted super high. I don’t love it, and the chorus is grating, but there’s some damn powerful lyrics in there, and a lot of it is extremely relatable.

What can I say, in this day and age, if you give me a super-watered-down version of early 2000s Eminem, I’ll take it.

4 - Marry Me (Thomas Rhett)

US: #76 / FR: Not on the list

Yeah, it’s a slow emotional song and I tend to dislike those, but I heard this song only maybe four times in total and it destroyed me every single time.

No, I don’t have anything else to say about it.

3 - Un Été Français (Indochine)

US: Not on the list / FR: #67

I do not like this song’s chorus, it’s a mess and a half. There’s a lot of much better songs on the 13 album. 2033 should have been a single. But this is the one which charted instead. And you know what? I’ll take “super messy and clunkily written song about how the far right is gonna destroy this country if we let it exist any longer, sung over a nice tune” over everything I mentioned previously on this list.

In a better year, this wouldn’t have climbed higher than the honorable mentions. But yeah, I’m not gonna repeat my entire 2017 lecture about Indochine. It takes a lot for me to dislike one of their songs. Even at their weakest, their hearts are in the right place.

2 - Flames (David Guetta & Sia)

US: Not on the list / FR: #13

We’ve finally reached the songs I genuinely love and uh, yeah, there’s only two of them. This is sad. But this song is a lot of fun! And the music video is absolutely ridiculous in all the best ways.

It was also a super useful song to me. You’re being super sad and unenergetic, you’re climbing into your car to buy some food, you’re turning the radio on and suddenly you’re hearing “Go, go, go, figure it out / Figure it out, you can do this / So my love, keep on running / You gotta get through today / There my love, keep on running / Gotta keep those tears at bay / Oh my love, don't stop burning / Gotta send them up in flames” over a super good beat and yeah, definitely. You can do this.

1 - La Même (Maître Gims & Vianney)

US: Not on the list / FR: #1 (!! holy shit quality wins for once)

This might just be the weakest #1 I’ve ever put at the top of one of my lists, since the only criteria that put this one there was “this is actually on my mp3 player and none of the other songs are”. Also, somehow, I only discovered it last year even though it was the biggest song of 2018 in my country, apparently...

Even so, that’s a fantastic song with great lyrics and a wonderfully catchy tune and that would have been enough to put it at #1 on its own, I think. But look at those lyrics! (here’s a rather good translation) It’s about how society judges people by their looks in public. The chorus literally goes “If what I am bothers you, well, tough”. That’s even the title. And I like the music video a lot, with this white box in which people are put and as soon as they aren’t in it anymore you notice how different they act or look, like the buff guy who turns out to have prosthetic legs, or the grandma who turns out to be covered in tatoos. Simple but cool idea.

It may be a weak #1, but it’s an extremely useful song, because having “si je vous gêne, bah c’est la même” (”if I bother you, well tough”) turning in your head like a playground taunt, it really does wonders for your confidence.

And to think some French friends thought making these lists would make me hate Maître Gims’ music once I discovered it.

Next up: the last list?! It’s been a wild ride.

[icharchivist]

The organization around this quarantine thing is such a disaster tbh. 

About two weeks ago, two of our teachers were the ones who were especially worried. 

There was the first case of covid19 in the nearby high school, and our uni, being a linguistic one in a region nearby the Italian border, has a lot of connection with centric pandemic regions in Italy, before they even shut down themselves.

Two of our teachers were concerned bc, as we just came home from holidays, a lot of people connected to the Italian branch came back to the uni as well, and nothing was really done about it. 

One of my teacher was especially mad bc there was no soap in the bathrooms of the uni for a week at that time. She told us then that she will no longer note our presences for classes (mandatory esp for those with scholarships), and encouraged us if we were scared, knew we would be weak to the virus (asthma and such), or if we knew people who were, to not go to school anymore. Told us specifically to take pictures of the soapless bathroom so if the administration bothered us, we’d send them picture going “you’re endangering us”

I’m asthmatic. I have a lot of breathing problems in general, due to a nose malformation that makes it hard to breath and flow normally. and i have allergies. Hell my seasonal illness involves coughing, headaches, nothing flowing from the nose, and lung pains, feeling tired, all those stuff. I can’t even bring up how paranoid i am. Latest cycle of said sickness kicked in with a fever which worried my mom and I had to go see a doctor in urgence a couple of days ago. I’m fine. But i feel extremely paranoid. (and it’s not like France is getting us tested wth bloodtest or something - hospitals are overbooked with the pandemy so they only take in people with very urgent symptoms. Even if you get the virus unless you’re going very bad you’re encouraged to stay at home. There’s probably a lot of cases that we don’t know of because of that.)

But anyway school still didn’t stop back then, two weeks ago. We had two teachers who took the time to sit us down and discuss it with us. How the uni was not prepared to handle it. How they both thought the uni should have closed by now, that they’re discussing it, but they don’t want to yet. 

For two weeks all we got as info was that everything was fine. Only need to clean your hands and cough in your arms. But we also had massive announcement just 5 days ago about how it was not even thought of to close schools. To close places with high work going. That we can’t let it stop us and all.

Last Wednesday, there were still clear announcement that there will be no stopping schools or work or anything. Last Friday, we were issued with a message announcing the massive closing of every schools and we were encouraged to stay at home.

Our uni, is, of course, not prepared for it. We got a few homeworks or class by mails with clear messages from our teachers telling us they’re not prepared and we will need to improvise - us students involved. Our exams, that were to happen in April, will be pushed back to May or June. For now.

On Saturday, they encouraged us to still go vote for the Mayor Elections on Sunday. Obviously, more than half of the population didn’t show up. But we were encouraged to do it still.

On Saturday, we were told to no longer go in groups in places. Something that is obvious of course, but a couple of days ago was not even issued. People stayed up late, disregarded the announcement. In the same breath we were told to not go out anywhere with many people, but to go out to do the election on Sunday still.

Mid Sunday, i get a mail from my uni residence saying that people living in those are encouraged to leave their room, whenever definitly or temporary to return to their family during the shut down of the schools.

I didn’t want to, considering my relationships with my family, but this was getting scary. We were still /encouraged/ but not obligated yet. 

I had seen my mom on the Saturday for the doctor so we discussed the possibility, and while not obligated yet, i was a bit scared. I ended up askign my mom to come pick me up. I couldn’t move out *everything* obviously, but i took already 7 bags with me. My mom originally wanted to help me move out on Monday, but the announce scared me enough i wanted to get it done then immediatly.

Sunday evening, they announce they’re going to restrict moving around. Every shops would close. My mom works in administration soe she had to go work monday still. 

Monday my mom’s employer basically tells her to take “holidays” so she doesn’t have to pay her, all while planning to pass all the mails and phonecalls to the agency to my mom’s phone. She’s sent home on Monday.

Monday evening we got the announcement from the gov that we were in complete lockdown. No longer allowed out without a permit. Only allowed to be out for reasons like grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy or doctor, or if you have jobs that are obligated for the good functionment of the country and crisis. (although they did issue you’re allowed to take your dog out but not for long)

We have to go on the gov’s website to ask for a permit. Like Italy i’ve heard. 

We also have a curfew, no longer allowed out until a certain hour.

So now, today, Tuesday, the whole thing is in place. I’ve heard policemen in my street earlier today ask for people’s permit for being out. 

And my uni residence just sent us a mail saying they no longer even tolerate people being inside the residence for the quarantine. We are obligated to move out ASAP, to a family member or such, or leave definitly.  Today, while the gov has issued you can no longer be out without a permit you printed - while, also, we don’t have printers in our residences. 

I feel glad i followed my gut feeling on Sunday to move out bc i have no idea how i could have asked help to move out today with those measures in place.

What i’m trying to get accross is how quickly those measures were taken in the past few days while it’s been a few weeks we’ve been many to worry enough to think dispositions should have been taken earlier. We’ve been thinking about it for weeks at the uni, but suddenly in less than 5 days we went from “we’re not changing a thing” to “quarantine yourself at your parents’s”.

Not to mention our President doing lots of lectures about how we’re At War, A Health War Sure, But At War And We Have To Consider It As Such. Obviously extremely reassuring to hear while you hear about the amount of death and sickness on TV.

Not like the sickness is any better either. I have a friend who’s a nurse in a part of France that is badly affected. Cases with young people starts to degenerate very quickly, even if they had no prior reasons for it to happen. 

We discovered ibuprophen worsen the virus and it brought people who would have no prior situation into critical states to be taken care of.

/young people with no prior situations/, which i think is important to mention since so many people are brushing off the virus in a “it only affect the elderly or people with weak immune system”, as if this wasn’t reason enough to worry, as if we don’t all know multiple people like that around us, as if the 14days incubation period wasn’t terrifying, as if even if we get minor symptoms we don’t get to spread around a sickness that can be deadly for people with a weaker immune system. Well, if it’s so bad to understand the issue yet, i guess thus “young people with no prior situation get into critical situation” should be a wake up call. We don’t know that virus. It’s frightening. 

People get recontaminated too. Which means we don’t get an immunity from healing. We can catch it again. Who knows how that may even go.

My friend, the nurse, says people keep stealing their equipment. They’re shortstaffed, short in materials, they can barely handle the crisis, not helped by the fact it’s been years that the gov keeps cutting health center’s ressources down. We’re not prepared for  a pandemic that way.

Like... I read everyone talk about the panic buyer making it much more of a problem than it is. And while it’s true, it’s overshadowing that this is a Bad Situation, that we know nothing of that virus and it’s scary, and that the gov’s quarantine had been rushed into so much no one knows how to organize themselves around it. 

For now it’s planned for 15 days. god knows how long it will take.

I, asthmatic currently sick with issues breathing, am stuck back with my mom who smokes all the time at home. Both quarantined. I feel lowkey cursed tbh. For years i tried to escape my family, dealing with all the issues that goes with it, and when i finally manage to do so, i get two lawsuits up my ass bc my dad is a douche and then my residence closes up bc of a massive sickness forcing me to go back to my mom’s. 

I don’t know how to focus on my classes bc the organization is chaotic. I’m scared hearing the news. I have trouble breathing all day and while i know it’s nothing, i remain anxious. I don’t know how long i’m gonna stand my mom. Internet gets slower bc of the influx of people locked home to work. 

i don’t care much for being quarantined itself, i can spend days in my home without problems. I don’t like being stuck with my mom and i just don’t like how we’ve been pushed into it in a complete lack of preparation for it. 

I miss my home. 

And it’s just France. Italy and Spain have been in those situations for a while too. 

In a way that makes me even more angry that they didn’t take precaution before while the Italian gov had been warning us for weeks to be careful and take stuff into account before it’s too late. And we still waited, and we still rushed, and now we will blame everyone who is not understanding how thhe gov went from “it’s only a little flu don’t worry, keep going with your life just wash your hands” to “how irresponsable are you not to be in quarantine” in two days. You wonder then why people are panic buying, it’s not like the gov did any work to be crystal clear about the situation. You wonder people are being careless, a couple of days ago they were still told they had no reason to worry and to look down on those who panics.

EDIT: and lmao, i have been saying those stuff for weeks, for about two weeks i say it should have been taken into account, and my mom was pro-keeping-the-mayor-election-going (bc she wuld perhaps get a job out of it) and i told her then i thought it was a very bad idea to keep them going. My mom tried to convince me about how noooo, it was fiiine, we had to have those municipals anyway, “if people can go grocery shopping they can go vote” as our prime minister said, which i found horrifying (buying good is vital, electing a mayor can wait). And my mom kept insisting that it was important. And now, everyone says it was a bad idea to carry them on. Our own election house didn’t take any health precaution. Even my mom is saying “it was a bad idea.” Call me Cassandra bc i Keep Telling Them This Is Gonna Happen and no one ever listen to me and Too Bad. Ffs.

This is a mess of a situation. It’s making me extra anxious. 

But well that’s how it is now I guess. Sighs.

[jannasophia]

Can you tell us more about Ronan? Like some info about all the kingdoms and places? Your worldbuilding seems so fascinating I’d love to know literally everything *heart eyes*

Anon, you have no idea what a can of worms you opened up here :DSorry in advance, this will be long!

Empire of Asturia

The empire used to be a small state simply called Asturia, until its then King grew a bit too ambitious, decided to expand his realm and declare himself emperor. After centuries of warring, marrying the right people, annexing and bullying smaller states into submission, the empire has become the largest nation in the history of the continent.The empire itself is split into smaller counties, duchies & land- and margravines, loosely resembling the shapes of their initial sovereign nations.Right beneath the emperor in status are the Princes or Fürsten. None of them own land per se, but those are the people controlling the fate of the empire. The senate made up of ‘ambassadors’ from the various territories now contained in the empire has very little power, and is more often than not a farce to make them feel like they have a voice in the capital.Even though the emperor rules alone, there is one person whose words may weigh even more: a True Immortal called Salain de Avennes, who has made Karisan his patron city.

Bregón

Once the counterweight to an ever hungry empire, Bregón lost much in the last war. Among those things were control of the Harrow (the main pass accross the Wilds), two regiments of finely trained soldiers (they walked too far into the Wilds and never returned) and their reigning King (assassinated by what many believed to be an old lady - nobody knows because they never got caught). The twins who inherited the throne were too young and inept to say the least. Now the crown is struggling while the merchants’ power grows with every passing day. The trade with Koshar is lining their pockets with gold, gold which they increasingly refuse to pass on to the reign - even though the king has tried to better himself after his sister’s ‘hunting accident’ (what a classic).

Dornhan

Not much to say about Dornhan, as it mostly consist of salt marsh, normal marsh, a few windy islands off the coast, hungry peasants and at least two to three kings at a time. Generally nobody knows what’s going on up there and nobody cares. They say a Bregón king tried to overthrow Dornhan once and returned home after walking 10 feet into the country.

Altarath

In Altarath the sun is blotted out every midday by an obstruction in the sky they call ‘Okirin’. Basically, there is a small eclipse every day.It’s a dark, mostly barren and harsh land, ruled by a True Immortal called Ashishkaia Anaetta Kladia, Queen of Altarath, The Eye of Okirin, who is almost worshipped as a goddess by some. The Altheli are a reclusive people, they are rarely found on the continent, but they are easily discern-able by their white pupils.

Norotvoi Islands

South of Altarath, the storm tossed Norotvoi Islands are also under the shadow of Okirin. The Norotvoi are excellent seafarers and explorers and the only people who somehow made something like a democracy work. A new leader is chosen every 6 years at a special gathering and every citizen over the age of 20 is allowed to vote (unless they stand on the deck of a ship).

Fervir

Fervir borders on eastern Asturia, and is a rather rough and archaic land. Early attempts by the empire to overthrow the state were thwarted immediately and so a peace treaty was installed, which both countries have kept to this day. It might be, because Fervir is mostly mountainous, with little means to grow resources, and their most notorious export is a steady stream of fearless warriors (getting a Fervir body guard has become somewhat ‘chique’ in Karisan). The country is divided between Arls, who rule their lands in family clans. The High Arl is seated in Falkanger, and is a chosen member of one of the many Arl families. 

Lattvhila

Desperately cold and frozen, especially in winter. Nomadic families roam its tundra, who sometimes make the bothersome journey to Fervir, to sell furs, silver and whatever strange things they found under the ice.

Zaferya

‘The Bridge to the East’ is covered by steppe and desert, but that hasn’t stopped its people from building tall, tower-cities all over the planes. They always sit on top of a well, and the water is distributed evenly through a system that outsiders would describe as ‘this shouldn’t even work’.

Koshar

Koshar’s climate is rather subtropical, bordering on a desert farther inland. Its coast, however displays a much more temperate, mediterranean climate. Koshar is essentially a monarchy, lead by a man they call Adar-Malik. The Kosh are gifted artisans and craftsmen, and their pigments are in such a high demand that merchants travel as far as Norotvoi and Altarath to sell them.

Other important places..

The Wilds

The Wilds are a vast expanse of mountains and forest smack in the middle of the continent. They could almost be described as another realm, as nobody has been mad enough yet to claim ownership of them. That is why there is practically no border between Bregón and the Empire, except for a few mountain passes where the two nations meet.The Southern Wilds are a lot tamer, and not completely infested with everything straight out of your worst nightmare.

Norik

Norik, or formerly the sovereign confederacy of Norik, is now a province of the Asturian Empire, located in the north and bordering to Fervir. Its governmental system used to be similar to that of Fervir, only that it was ruled by Lords, who only chose a High Lord in times of crises. Such a crisis arose when the Empire came knocking on their door. Before the decisive battle, however, a treaty was strung up and the High Lord blackmailed into signing it, which turned out later to enable the Empire to take over the whole confederacy without compromise.

Naturally the entire population felt betrayed in such a way, that the first rebellion formed a mere week after the annexation. Ever since the Empire has been trying its hardest to gain control over its most unruly province, which continues to revolt.

Cara Reka

For some ungodly reason Cara Reka escaped the Empire’s notice when it was looking for new conquests. Maybe because the little kingdom was too small, or maybe because it lies even behind Norik and the generals just couldn’t be bothered anymore, or maybe because their cavalry is deadly and made up of Rivenhorses.

Kirchenfal

Kirchenfal used to be an independent, theocratic country, west of the Southern Wilds. They believed only priests are permitted to study and learn magic (it’s called the Pulse but that’s a whole other thing so I’ll just call it magic here), which put not only the role of leadership, but also their military and guard into the hands of their church. Back then the land used to be rich with Hakkon Silver - a mineral that shortly enhances one’s magical abilities - and when the Empire started expanding its eyes soon fell upon them.Led by greed, a general named Alos de Brevi raided the country, overthrew the trifecta church, ordered every priest and monk executed and mined the silver until there was none left to be found. Despite the Karisan court being in uproar over the cruelty of the undertaking, the money and power the silver brought soon quieted most critics and Kirchenfal has reluctantly been absorbed into the empire as county palatine, ruled by the de Brevis. Robbed of not only their main source of income, but also of their ruling class and any way to learn magic, the Falese soon surrendered to their fate, although sparsely uprisings occur and many young people flee west into Bregón or south into Koshar.

Taifa of Inezra

The little mass of land at the very western tip of the continent had been gifted to a Kosh general called Inezra al Yanin, who aided the King of Brégon in a battle against southern raiders. It was subsiquentially named after her, and when she retired from the army she set up residence in a small port she re-named Abderral. Under her patronage the small seaside town soon grew into a bustling harbour city and a haven for artists and scholars. Its library surpasses even the Karisan Archives in size and its five universities are renowned, not only on the continent, but also overseas.After al Yanin’s death, her son took over ruling the taifa, holding up his mother’s values.

...I think I’m gonna stop here lmaoYOU SAID YOU WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHINGThanks for asking haha ♥ 

[flying-elliska]

Since I moved to Europe I’ve realized that people have the same opinion about french people and I was not aware about that at all. Like in Latinamerica we tend to romanticize the hell out of french culture, but coming here and making friends from Italy, Spain and Switzerland they all seem to kind of hate french people (at least like subconsciously). I thought it was like a cultural thing that came from all the history with France, but apparently they do have their reasons wow

The environment I’m in is very multicultural, because it’s a language school and people from all over the world come to learn german. This year there’s only been like 2 french people and even then teachers were surprised and said that it’s weird that french people willingly learn other languages because they are so pretentious that they think theirs is the only one they need

Hey, sorry I didn’t respond sooner but I wanted to take the time to answer properly (i find this subject fascinating ahaha)

Well, of course, each culture has its flaws and I also think this is changing a lot with younger generations. And of course, European rivalries - you could also say that a lot of people have subconscious issues with Germans lmao, especially here. That tends to happen with the cultures that have tried to take over the continent at some point. BUT in general I think French culture is  especially bad at interacting with anything foreign. 

Of course there are a lot of different reasons for that. I think :

1) It’s that (former) Empire arrogance that the British and American can also have. This idea that your culture is worth exporting and supplanting others, that you should be able to speak your own language accross the world, that you’re enlightening other cultures by simply being there…this mentality is still quite present among older generations (you do not want to know the horrors i’ve heard growing up, from my aunt about Africa and how it used to be so much better when it was colonized). 

2) A lot of French people are also deeply opposed to globalisation and more specifically, the ‘Anglo-saxon’ (eg US-centric/anglophone) aspect of it. Some of it is anti-imperialism, (which…somewhat valid) I think - they don’t want to be forced to speak English and adapt their culture to the neoliberal mold obsessed with productivity that often comes with business lingo directly adapted from English and this image of uniformization and loss of social solidarity that scares a lot of people. But of course, a lot of it is simply that France lost the ‘cultural empire war’ and they wish French was the global language instead, which, yikes. And they tend to see more globalized/Americanized countries as ‘minions’ lmaoooooo (though a lot of that ire has been directed at Germans too of late.) and French people as resistants of sorts. 

3) You know this concept of ‘religious nationalism’ that the US has pretty much built itself upon - some theorists say the concept was invented in France. It’s a historically constructed thing - from the divine right of kings to the divine sovereignty of the nation under the republic. There is this kind of …mysticism around the idea of country. Of course I don’t think being proud of your culture is wrong - as long as you know culture is a shifting thing with unclear boundaries - but nationalism is a nasty drug. At the same time I think…it’s complicated, and I don’t have a history degree lol. It’s bound in the ideals of a revolution too that ends up being a lot less ideal in reality and this sort of need to bridge the gap and gain legitimacy through illusion. It’s the way history is taught in school too - it’s incredibly France-centric, we have this concept of ‘national romance/novel’ that we grow up with. It’s more…critically constructed than in the US but still. 

4) And of course, specifically French culture in itself is 1) pretty prone to being super pretentious and self-serious 2) highly critical, backstabby, competitive, normative, and individualistic 3) sees being an asshole as kind of a good thing 4) complaining is a national sport lol. Being critical of everything can be really exhausting and makes you into a bad team player, especially abroad. 

and then of course, like…racism and xenophobia like everywhere, yay. 

Of course I think there are some aspects of French culture worth romanticizing (the pastries are god tier, we got that protest spirit going, love thinking for its own sake, language is pretty gorgeous, aesthetics are so important, we know how to enjoy the good things in life, critical theory and structure yay, and being contrary can be a great thing.) but hm. that’s kind of the case with every culture. 

Also I think I have a pretty harsh view on this, because I was pretty much raised by a foreign mother (and like Dutch and white and upper middle class so not extremely foreign either lol) and I just grew up witnessing all the microagressions she had to deal with on the regular - comments on her accent, condescending jokes, people thinking she was less intelligent for some reason, trying to educate her…so yeah. I’ve had to think a lot about what aspects of French culture I wanted to keep. And this conviction of superiority….is not one, because it closes you off and makes you into a moron lol. 

[regybct-blog]

Reflective Journaling

A little backstory: So, I’ve been putting this whole thing off ever since I found out about it on the 25th of April. Partly due to not really being sure as to what I would reflect on and write about. Mostly however, due to thinking myself to be out of my depth in terms of writing this thing. So now, here I am writing this (sort of Mid panic) trying to get something presentable out. Hope it was worth while reading/marking this. :)

So now on to the real thing: Cards for play A project that had meaning to me in Creative Technologies (meaningful basically meaning our only project at the time of writing this as our current one (data objects) is still being written up/worked on) Was my initial project of Cards for Play. the subject of this project was to create a “card experience” that promoted play for a target audience that our group collectively chose. Thing’s in this group were going smoothly; we had initially established our core purpose and set the “play aesthetics” that we wanted to apply in terms of our project, this set the foundation of our project and, in turn, “plated the seeds” (so to speak) of which our ideas would “blossom”. Our group went through many forms of “ déjà vu” in which we would go through multiple concepts that were eventually, pun intended, discarded. However, It was through this that we as a group attained a greater understanding of this project and what path we needed to take to see what aspects stuck and what didn't. It was through the process that was sort of being “drilled in our minds” of iterative design that we were able to get the needed feedback to change and refine this project in accordance with the aesthetics that we had set. This, in turn, gave the group a card experience that the not only had the user in mind, but, it was also streamlined and something that we could not have achieved otherwise.

Problems? Issues? A big ole yes to both: Looking back, this group had a very major commitment problem. This group that we had formed was very reluctant in sticking with an idea. Our initial idea was to  go with something music based, then we decided to switch our idea (this was after having a talk with a lecturer about having a purpose) to something involving helping those with anxiety through making “fidget cards” and then switching to something involving idioms, then FINALLY going back to a music based idea but adding the idioms to make an idiom based rap game called “idiom rhapsody”. Our team had a lot of ideas with potential stuck to a wall .... its just that we didn’t see it that way, in a sense we got tunnel vision and basically laser beam on our initial ideas that we couldn’t weed out the “bad ideas”. We continued the developing process and with each concept that we had created we went through the same process of “this is the best idea ever” to “maybe this isn’t really the best idea ever” to “ok lets just scrap this idea and try to do something else”. However, this changed when we neared the end of the project time, we had found an idea in the form of a card game, and in doing so developed our aesthetics we were using, the base mechanics of the game and also helped us visualise the end look of our project. during this refinement process we brought our “card experience” (am gonna keep calling it this cause Ben hates calling it a game) to other people in our class for some critical feedback. something that stuck with me was the idea of a “wicked problem” - something we had learned the meaning of during ICT. A ‘wicked problem’ is the idea that a given intention from a designer’s view might be misconstrued or lost in translation when the input of a human is implemented. Some context may be required: members of the team had looked upon the project from the perspective of a designer. the rules, gameplay and mechanics were easily understandable for us, however, when we gave our play testers instructions for our game and left them to play whilst we observed them, it left them confused and unsure how to play/figure out what the game was supposed to be. It was at this point that Charles pointed out to us that in a real product the creators (in this case us) would not be there to play with/help the players with the game. Jarem had expressed concerns that the game in it’s current form and had suggested that we try and move to doing another idea instead of settling with what he already had. This led to the evolution of the concept we had initially had to a more fluid, better and overall enjoyable play experience with the users in mind all while keeping the core purpose in mind. So linking this back to the idea of the ‘wicked problem’, what we had thought to be a clear and intuitive solution to the problem we faced was actually a “wake up call” to take a step back and see what was and (in this case) wasn’t working and build upon it instead of settling and plateauing.

investigation: During one of your ICT lessons we came across the word Paradigm and upon searching it I came to the conclusion of a paradigm being a set of constructs of beliefs that become the norm. It is from this meaning that I formed for myself that I came accross this term, User-centered Design. User-centered Design (UCD) is a term that describes an end-users influence in the design process and thus shapes how the design outcome turns out. The term became widely used after the publication of User-Centered System Design: New Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction (Norman & Draper, 1986) and Donald Norman’s influential book The Psychology Of Everyday Things (POET) (Norman, 1988). The paradigm within our group was to focus on creating a card experience and focus on the aesthetics and rules of play as well as the visuals. And it was because of this that our group kept switching our project every time we couldn’t get past the setting of rules of play and aesthetics. In response to the proposition that communication lacks disciplinary status because of deficient core knowledge, I propose that we turn an ostensible weakness into a strength. We should identify our mission as bringing together insights and theories taht would otherwise remain scattered in other disciplines.  Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x. In this journal Entman states that we should be bringing in more ideas from others to help one another. this further helped us shift the paradigm from focusing on the product first to the user and how the user reacts to the set rules of play.

What to do in the future? In the future I believe that instead of focusing on the product itself we should look at the user and how they would react to the product. within our group my personal opinion is that we didn’t necessarily think about the user and focused more on the aesthetics of play and rules instead of thinking about the user and how they would react as well as acquiring their critical feedback and refining and implementing those refinements into our idea. In the future I would like to implement this within the groups that I work with as well as in my own personal design endeavours.

References:

Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x.

Norman, D. (1988) Psychology of Everyday Things.

Norman, D. A. & Draper, S. W. (Editors) (1986) User-Centered System Design: New Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction. Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.  

[karkatvantasistrans]

More of my Rosemary fic! A slightly less Rosemary-centric chapter than usual, actually.

Dave: Continue being Dave – turntechGodhead [TG] began trolling carcinoGenecist [CG] at 03:14 – TG: hey TG: did you still want me to come over TG: or like TG: is it still cool if i come over CG: YOU ASK THIS WHEN YOU’RE ALREADY LATE FOR THE PLANS WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE? TG: fuck sorry dude CG: YEAH THAT’S FINE TG: i got nervous CG: I STILL WANT TO SEE YOU TOO

Dave: Stop being Dave You stop being Dave. You have to stop being Dave because, to your knowledge, you have never been Dave. Not even for a mother fucking second. – carcinoGenecist [CG] began trolling terminallyCapricious [TC] at 03:16 – CG: HEY CG: HE’S COMING OVER AFTER ALL CG: SO I CAN’T CG: SORRY TC: it all is TC: WHAT IT ALL MOTHERFUCKING WILL BE TC: :o) CG: OK. SORRY TC: :o) CG: (:B – carcinoGenecist [CG] ceased trolling terminallyCapricious [TC] at 03:19 – Stop not being Dave. Dave: Be Terezi. You are now Terezi Pyrope. Terezi: Check phone messages Your first task as Terezi Pyrope is to refuse to comply with narrative instructions. You have been ignoring your phone for quite some time. You are sitting, legs crossed, on the floor by your recuperacoon. You are studying. Dave sits in your mind, at the intersection of two potential desicions, and you focus on keeping your breathing even as you feel the familiar tug behind your eyes, branching accross your temples. Reaching further and further into future decision trees isn't something you can do instantaneously, so trying to massage the future pathways out of your mind has taken up a lot of your free time recently. You're only about a sweep ahead at this point, and pushing ahead through mundane decisions is proving to be a more significant test of your powers than you'd planned for. You blame Dave. No, really, you blame Dave. Every time there’s a critical junction in his potential decision making, the potential for a time travel relapse bubbles unexpectedly back up into the realm of possibility; or, initially unexpected at least. You’ve now become painfully accustomed to progressing through individual life trajectories until the recursive looping of Dave’s pathway potentials start interfering with your sense of progress.The focus it takes to navigate these potential outcomes has a physical effect on you: the distinct pull of your stretched abilities reaches backwards accross your think pan, with a hum that resonates through your skull the longer you maintain focus. The rhythmic churning of your own mind would add stability to the exercize if it weren’t for the increasingly tight pinch pulling back from the front of your face. You are pushing further and further forward into his future desicions as you continue to focus on his potential, but your distance from his actual role in your future battle is, to be frank, really chafing your nubs. The stretching pressure in your starts to bleed into a slice of pain; a sign that your mind is forcing you to finish charting Dave’s time-looped bullshit for another day. You let your gander bulbs ease open as you climb back down the branches of your future meteor companion's mind, feeling the soft pat of your bulbcurtains on your cheeks as you blink yourself back into the space around you. You have, apparently, been ignoring your phone for a very long time. -– turntechGodhead [TG] began trolling gallowsCalibrator [GC] at 02:47 –- TG: hey man TG: you gotta help me with something GC: SOM3TH1NG BLOODY 4ND HORR1F1C? 1M HONOUR3D TO B3 TH3 ON3 YOU TURN TO WH3N YOU N33D HELP CL34N1NG UP FL3SH CHUNKS STUCK TO TH3 W4LLS OF YOUR R3SP1TEBLOCK >:] TG: what the fuck TG: no TG: i just need advice about karkat GC: OH? 4 LOV3RS SP4T? GC: 4 BOUT OF C4L1G1NOUS V4C1LL4T1ON SO H34T3D TH4T YOUR3 NOW S33K1NG L3G4L 4DV1C3? GC: OR M4YB3 4 P4RTN3R 1N CR1M3? GC: K4RK4T *W4S* MY FR13ND BUT 1 C4N B3 P3RSU4D3D TO H3LP D1SPOS3 OF YOUR 3X LOV3R…FOR 4 PR1C3 >:] TG: holy shit dude TG: no none of that bloodthirsty weird shit youre obviously getting all hot and bothered over TG: i just need some normal ass friend advice GC: BOOOOOORING >:[ TG: yeah cool shut up TG: anyway TG: uh TG: you guys dont have any concept of being uh TG: gay TG: right TG: like everybody is just all about sharing their weird ass liquids with whoever else is around right GC: D4V3 TH4T 1S SO OBSC3N3 TG: yeah yeah borderline pornographic i know TG: whatever TG: but the point is no one is gonna care if whether youre knocking troll boots with a chick or a dude right TG: thats not a thing right GC: NO D4V3 1T’S NOT *4 TH1NG* GC: TH3R3 4R3 C3RT41N 4DV4NT4G3S TO D3V3LOP1NG 4 R3L4T1ONSH1P W1TH 4 TROLL 1N 4 P4RT1CUL4R G3ND3R3D OCCUP4T1ON GC: FOR 1NST4NC3 MOST L3G1SL4C3R4TORS 4R3 F3M3L3 GC: B3C4US3 W3'R3 MOR3 CUNN1NG 4ND THOROUGH 1N OUR 1NV3ST1G4T1ONS >:] GC: SO IT WOULD B3 4 W4ST3 OF TIM3 TRY1NG TO F1ND 4 M4L3 M4T3SPR1T 1F L3G4L COUNS3L 1S WH4T YOUR3 4FT3R 4S 4 R3L4T1ONSH1P P3RK GC: BUT OTH3RW1S3 1T’S NOT R34LLY *4 TH1NG* NO TG: ok cool that was a whole lot of words TG: so its not gonna make a lot of sense to a troll why its weird and confusing for a dude to date another dude TG: and why theres gonna be uh TG: some weird shit going on with that GC: NOT N3C3SS4R1LY GC: BUT TH3R3 4R3 OTH3R 3XP3CT4T1ONS W3 H4V3 ON 4LT3RN14 GC: TH4T C4N B3 D1FF1CULT TO D3V14T3 FROM GC: 3V3N WH3N 1TS B3N3F1C14L TO DO SO GC: ROS3 H4S 3XPL41N3D TH3 CONC3PT TO ME B3FOR3 GC: SO 1 C4N UND3RST4ND TH3 K1ND OF 3MOT1ON4L CONST1P4T1ON TH4T COULD 1NSP1R3 1N SOM3BODY >:] TG: dont you grin about someones emotional butthole problems dude TG: thats just nasty TG: also when the hell do you talk to rose TG: are you two buddies GC: W3LL D4V3 W3 H4V3 ONLY B33N H3R3 FOR H4LF 4N 3NT1R3 SW33P GC: 1T M1GHT SHOCK YOU TO L34RN W3V3 H4D T1M3 FOR MOR3 TH4N ON3 CONV3RS4T1ON 1N TH4T T1ME! GC: 1LL G1V3 YOU SOM3 T1M3 TO 4DJUST TO TH1S ST4RTL1NG R3V3L4T1ON!!! >:] TG: dude shut up i just didnt know you two hung out TG: i kinda figured she spent all her time hanging with kanaya TG: plus im amazed you sat through one of her long winded speeches about anything GC: SH3 1S PR3TTY LONG W1ND3D 1TS TRU3 GC: BUT 1 4M SORT OF US3D TO TH3 L1GHT PL4Y3R 4PPRO4CH TO CONV3RS4T1ONS TG: oh right i forgot vriska was all about being long winded as shit too GC: Y34H! TG: glad we’re stuck with two players who have ‘can’t shut the fuck up’ as their aspect GC: H3Y TG: anyway TG: uh TG: its cool that you get whats hard about the whole human grappling with sexuality thing lets not get into all of that but TG: i dont think karkat gets it TG: like at all TG: and its kind of freaking me the hell out GC: Y34H K4RK4T IS K1ND OF 4N 1D1OT! TG: jesus dude GC: NOT N3C3SS4R1LY 1N 4 B4D W4Y GC: BUT H3 D3F1N1T3LY 1S GC: 1T W1LL PROB4BLY T4K3 4 LONG T1M3 OR 4 LOT OF H4ND HOLD1NG GC: ROS3 W4S SURPR1S1NGLY 1LLUM1N4T1NG ON TH3 SUBJ3CT GC: M4YB3 YOU COULD PERSU4D3 H3R TO H3LP >:] TG: oh hell no what kind of dumb idea is that TG: theres no fucking way she wouldnt do something weird with that TG: im gonna have karkat coming up to me one day like TG: oh dave i cant believe you never told me about your rare condition where youre terrified of intimacy with other men blaarrg im yelling because i yell 24 7 and dont know how to stop TG: rose told me all about the 400 doctors who came from around the globe to witness your freakish inability to even look at another dude without instantly sprouting hideous growths all over your body and also probably some kind of horrible foot fungus or something TG: wow you are so brave im so glad rose explained exactly this real scenario to me and nothing else that could have possibly contributed to your overall weirdness wow you are so brave and so totally disgusting TG: no more do i long to discover the hot bod youre continually hiding under that big ass cape from my tender troll lovin because it is probably covered in some weird nasty growths as we speak GC: WOW TG: also ha ha illuminating i get it cuz shes a light player very fucking clever GC: >:] GC: YOUR3 R1GHT D4V3 GC: YOU PROB4BLY SHOULDNT 3NL1ST ROS3S H3LP W1TH TH1S PROBL3M GC: B3C4US3 1T SOUNDS L1K3 YOU H4V3 ~4 LOT~ TO WORK THROUGH 4LR34DY TG: what the fuck GC: BY3 D4V3 TG: what are those fucking tildes for GC: GOOD LUCK W1TH YOUR R4R3 HUM4N PHYS1OLOG1C4L COND1T1ON TG: dont fucking tilde at me i thought we were cool -– gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling turntechGodhead [TG] at 03:13 –- TG: man what the fuck Dave: Continue not being Dave You are now Karkat, one week into the meteor trip. A set of seven pins push upwards on a jagged metal spine, and a gasp falls between them as their partners are all turned away. Both sets brush against the curvature of the metal hill until their guide is forced against a wall, immobilized. There is a soft "click", but no one present in this tunnel is equipped to hear it. Be Gamzee, one week into the meteor trip. Gamzee: Feel the dull light of the meteor washing over you as your moirail pulls open the door to the fridge.

[commentairesnegligeables]

On Kamen Rider Faiz: Between Being the Most Perfect Series and Mere Chaos

When i started watching kamen rider faiz series, i initially thought it was potentially better than my all time favourite kamen rider kabuto. I was like, where have i been? Why all this time i only watched kabuto, which besides the overall good story, isnt as complex or realistic as faiz? So i got excited in both watching it and finishing it. But as i got to the end of the series and i finished it, my stagnant reaction was like: no😐 this is nothing better than kabuto. It is even worse than common childish unlikeable rider series. Which is very questionnable, cause it started off as superb!

To understand why faiz is perfect and disappointing at the same time it has to start with the contents itself.

Takumi Inui

Before i watched faiz every time i came accross it and saw this person i always thought he was a nice guy with justice heart or something, like a hero, but after i started watching everyone knows how my perception surely changed. The word gangster suits his outter personality more. Hes rude and doesnt care about most things. On top of that, we dont see his thoughts much, or life, which makes it as if hes.. well.. mysterious?—besides the fact hes the main figure?

Anyhow i still liked this character portrayed cause its fitting to the story and the plot, his character is enjoyable to watch cause it adds dimension and his flow is realistic. And this doesnt just happen in the start of him being unheroic hearted person, it continues throughout the series until the end, that he is nothing but dimensional character.

Sonoda Mari

I like this girls personality since first time she appeared. I truly dont like woman character that is just there just to be protected and become romance partner of the hero (typical western superheroes) and at same time i dont like woman character that is too much strong as if shes not in need of any help (typical feministic western superheroes). The thing about this girl is that shes just there—shes neither a standout nor is she a complementary. Shes just another character to make the story flows, her character is made so sincerely and realistically. I mean, shes just a girl. Shes not magical girl who is stronger than men or happens to be hero’s romance. With that kind of realistic character, shes truly likable. Her personality and portrayal is consistent throughout the series.

Yuji Kiba

Hes my favorite character in the series. I wont say if im him i will be like him, but surely he is what most humans are. He represents humans. It might not seem like that for other people, but throughout the series hes the sanest one with cold head, no dilemma, no contemplation, only determined turns. I feel like while watching i sometimes thought like “why is this character doing this? Why is that character doing that?” And yuji kiba was the only characted i never criticized—any decision he has is unquestionnable cause its always sane decision. Even to the end. Hes the only character i stanced whatever decision.

Except when in the end he fought with faiz and then what—he stanced human? Unacceptable.

Kusaka Masato

I can write thousand words essays on this guy on why i hate him so much (as a character :) ). I really liked the Kaixa form but because of this guy i cant again. Its not even just about his annoying, hateful personality (he needs mental help), its also about how the maker of the series actually decided to just put him NOT as secondary character—but in position of almost as same as main character. Sonoda Mari and Yuji Kiba? Just forget them, his position is same as Faiz in the series from the starting of his appearance. He started off as someone we think oh wow. I mean he goes to college (none other of them go to college), he is presidents of clubs, and moreover hes the chosen Kaixa? Wow. He must be something. Yes, he is something, the story starts to collapse by the time he appeared.

It raises question why he is placed almost as main character, but the simple answer would be that the story plot makes it like that. The maker somehow has to place him there, cause he is the maker’s inner dilemma.

Orphenocs

Orphenocs are the monsters, the ones that are not humans. They are said to be result of unknown rapid evolution of human being, but they dont look like human being. They look like monsters and they have powers that humans dont have, but they can turn into human forms.

The Story

To start it off, Faiz series is weird in ways that are.. well.. unique. We expect Rider gear to choose one person and just stick to that one person, instead of being able to be used by many people. That is the concept of rider gear we want to see, cause we want to see someone being the chosen one and admire them, or hate them in the case theyre the villain. Rider gears on faiz series are not like that, theyre mere killer tools instead of tool that determines “chosen one”. Anyone—humans or orphenocs—can just take the belt and wear them, become kamen rider, and thats it. Then whos the hero?

That is a very good question, cause faiz series contemplates about that throughout the series. Thats why we see characters that have very complex changes revealed time by time. So let me start.

The story started off with Takumi coming accross Sonoda Mari and they then met orphenocs, and Takumi happened to be able to transform to Faiz, and with that they just came back to each other again and again. This is a very good start, both have strong leads of the story that it makes you think probably they will dominate the whole story and they will eventually become together. This is what the story more or less indicated, and so we keep that in mind. Other figures started appearing and this far it was nice, Keitarou is the type that has justice and kind heart, Yuji Kiba as a sane person, Yuka as someone we would have empathy for, Kadoya which is unlikable both in personality and necessity of character in general; but hes there as a flawed complementary and the maker feels he must be “important” in the end of the series, the powerful Smart Brain. As long as it circles around the trio figures (Takumi, Mari, Keitarou) of orphenocs killer solving what is going on and discovering Smart Brain’s doings, it is all enjoyable and good.

The most uninteresting part about the story is Mari’s kindergarten past life. It must be because it was not introduced since start so we get excited upon whats happening now instead of minding Mari’s kindergarten people. I mean, in agito series the Akatsuki Gou was always something that makes us curious and when it was revealed, we finally feel fulfilled (i rate agito 6.5/10), but in this series even when it was revealed about her kindergarten people, theyre very uninteresting people with some of them having psycopathic tendency towards their own “kindergarten friends”. More than they are characters that are fresh and we can consider to stance and look forward to, theyre all dull, boring, and naturally have no good aura. And when i say it, i mean ALL of them. It was nice that many of them just vanished fast. The one that lasted was i think Delta, which is really really disappointing. It would be better if they dont starre Delta at all. I like Gatack as “strongest rider but not main figure” but Delta is just a pure no. No one wants to see lifeless Mari’s kindergarten people.

But instead of just get over them, we got imposed all the time by this kindergarten stuff by having Kusaka suddenly becoming someone that is starred the whole time. He is a very hateful, twisted character, and also smart. He standsout from Takumi in the way that Kusaka is trying to solve the problem from the very root, he is just smart. Takumi doesnt care about these stuffs. With that, started the era of the series having two main figures.

Nothing is wrong with two main figures, but Kusaka has very bad personality that it honestly is frustrating to watch him. He gets in the way of Takumi and Mari, he gets in the way of Takumi in general, he is just.. a main figure with bad personality. Who likes that? But that is not just it. Its not that Kusaka appeared and then Takumi looks neglected. Takumi was, in fact, neglected, because Kusaka would stand out everytime doing the whole stuff (in his annoying way) while Takumi most of the time just stayed silent. He didnt talk back when Kusaka said anything, he didnt do anything to support himself, he is just being there. He was no longer someone with thoughts, he hid his thoughts from the audience to extent we dont even know again what he thinks. He becomes so soft like a cat.

Why is this two main figures importat? Because Takumi turned out to be orphenoch.

I have suspicion that the maker is in fact, confused himself. I mean for me myself i dont mind about orphenocs. I dont think humans are any better than orphenocs, nor that orphenocs are any better than human. Its not about coexisting, its about if orphenocs win then orphenocs win, if humans win then humans win. This is the main reason i like yuji kiba. Will tell more later.

Kamen rider stories always center around fight of humans and monsters, and they always have to give reason as to why we should stance humans. On kabuto, humans are portrayed as nice, and so it happens on agito, and monsters are portaryed as inevitable evil. But on faiz, orphenocs are evoluted humans, they think like humans, they are in fact humans. With this kind of plot to begin with, there is really no solution to the story, and that is why the story is just a bunch of realistic events being put, about figures that change from this to that, about emotion of the figures being told. I really like this part of the story. I dont like how Takumi is silent, but I really like how he is actually an orphenoch, no, its not just a plot twist. Its just a story!

With the annoying changes happening from interesting story to dull kindergarten people appearance, from the fierce Takumi with harsh mouth to quiet Takumi which all the time gives the look of “it will really be better if i just vanish from this world”, from interesting adventure of the Trio with dynamic characteristics to story circling around disturbing Kusaka, the only consistent figure is Yuji Kiba. He had always stanced humans since he became orphenocs, he always believed that orphenocs and humans can coexist. Of course this is what common humans will think once they become orphenocs, unless you have unexplainable grudge towards humans like Yuka or Kadoya. But in general Yuji Kiba is what a sane human usually will be. But the part i like the most isnt him being sane despite of whats happening, it is the fact that the story has to somehow show him being hurt by humans, to prove humans are not as nice as he thought they are. Coexisting? What a joke. And in that instance, he changed. The whole time stancing the humans immediately turned into him leading the orphenocs. I just love that, hes not hopeless like Takumi nor he is disturbingly and unreasonably hateful like Kusaka. He keeps in mind what is fact and acts accordingly. Very plausable. I cant even blame him for hating on humans.

But besides the Yuji Kiba consistency, nothing left is to be liked out of the rest of the plot. It couldve ended goodly by portraying Takumi more and we could follow him to the end, but no, its just Kusaka and Kusaka until Yuji Kiba killed him. Such useless character no one wants to see, but in the same time he justifies the makers dilemma cause if Kusaka character didnt exist, it would seem like the maker was stancing for orphenocs. No, you dont do that in kamen rider series. But until the end i dont understand the makers true intention. I feel like for this level of series it requires a very smart person to write it, so is he trying to say that even humans can be annoying and orphenocs can be nice, or does he somehow have to make character that no matter what always stances human for no reason?

Kamen rider faiz is very realistic and complex and full of emotions and events, its not boring at all, but its inability to make the story continuously intriguing by serving what people will want to see (professionally! Not marketly or like this) it instead just serves what they want to serve, even if it means frustrating the audience and twisting the story as they want as such is switching the main figure.

Kamen rider faiz is, for its professionality (that beats other Kamen Rider series including Kabuto), 10/10. But for the rest of the thing. 5/10!

[mechagalaxy]

John T Mainer 28840: It was that kind of war

It was that kind of war You have to understand, events from that war aren't going to make a lot of sense to people on the outside.  I was there, and at the time I totally understood and accepted that this was just right and holy, but even now watching the gun camera footage, it wierds me out a little bit.  Buckle up mecha jocks, its about to get strange. Time 3362 Faction War Battle 2 Place:  Division 1            Ice World Hoth Defending: Bouncing Blue Berserkers Our base in Hoth had been exposed by poor communications discipline by one of the supply ships.  As a result the Sith Lords had descended.  Their fleet of wedge shaped cruisers dominated the nearspace and the steady flow of mech sized laser blasts saturating the landing zone kept us from interdicting their landing.  Our own mining operations had revealed large caches of new mecha, including an up armoured version of the Fext, somewhere around a 4% stronger baseline with matching developmental improvements.  The Fext is the leading multipurpose 100 ton utility mecha in our fleet.  If you can't have a specialty mecha for any purpose, you can outfit a Fext to be a field expedient good enough to match any but the most dedicated specialty mecha.  We wanted them, everyone wanted them.  To get them we needed to hold Hoth. We aren't really all that good at defense.  I mean we are solid strategically, hard core professional soldiers and all that.  Mercenaries, and the top end of our trade, but there is something special about those called to be Bouncing Blue Berserkers.  The BBB or Bouncing Blue Brotherhood drew together in ancient times from the Smurfs, the Bunnies, Myth and Legend, Slaughterhouse 5, Star League, united by a common desire to stand together in the face of a galaxy where every hand was turned against the other.  We were united by one thing; we were crazier than the galaxy, no matter how wierd it got.  The Bouncing Blue Brigade went to war with a song on its lips and laughter in its heart.  That wasn't us. We were the Bouncing Blue Berserkers.  What was our problem on defense?  We had this little problem when the enemy came into sight. The majestic legions of the Sith lords marched in lock step across the ice plains,  sensors warned of sub formations moving into the badlands to flank us, 10, 20,30, 40. 55 ton scouts fought in ice caves and rift marked fells, on wind torn scree slopes where their claws scrabbled to hold onto the cliff side while armour flenced from their flanks like blubber off a butchered whale, but the main mass of unlimited tonnage walked with arrogant surety right into the heart of the plain, daring a confrontation of force on force their greater weight of metal made a foregone conclusion. Their challenge rang out with all the arrogance of the Sith. "Your pathetic defenses are no match for the power of the dark side.  Your friends cannot save you now, your alliance ends here.  Surrender and accept your fate" So Daniel "Hellbunny" Halbany hit him  with a Proton Blade, burying the axe helve deep in the Xango's intimidating cockpit.  I let Paladin my Redeemer cut loose with my Mjolnir which hit like the hammer of Thor himself to render a Sith Penner into a very finely polished heap of scrap iron.  I gave the only command needed to unleash the berserkers. "BLOOD AND SOULS!"  I screamed "BLOOD AND SOULS!"  They answered, and we unleashed hell. It was an oddly friendly hell, as both sides bathed in a soul deep love of slaugher, of rage.  Berserkers who gave themselves to the transforming ecstasy of rage, who drank pain and fear like lesser mortals drank wine, and chased it with the blood of their enemies met Sith Lords who powered themselves on hatred, on cold murder hunger, hot violent rage indulged in what was technically a battle, very nearly an orgy, and quite possibly the highest expression of violence as an art form. In a battle with Terry Cole, I nailed him cleanly with a Juggernaut, the power of the cannon punching through his shields with the true hunger for the murder-make that is the gift of the berserkerr, and I knew my shot hit true, for the energy surge of a critical kill washed over his Penn Killer Penner, only to see the dark crackling Force of his Sith arts restabalize his engine shielding.  The warning flashed on my screen "Critical Kill blocked".  Damn them and their dark side powers.  His return fire slammed my shield so hard it spun me around, and his second shot broke my mecha's spine.  That is when I saw it.   A lone Fext wandering across the field, a group of techs chasing it accross the ice calling "Here Fexty fexty fexty, come on boy!" I hit the open channel and screamed "CODE FEXT!" Like street hockey when someone yelled car, all the fighters locked their weapons down as the lone fext wandered accross the field like a lost pupply looking for its master, or someplace to pee.  When the techs gave us a cheerful wave and got the Fext into the hills away from our fire, we screamed at each other and resumed killing. As my former point mech Bun Bun (an old school Regis with more critical kill than sense) held a Notas by the cockpit in its Ferrite and crystal fangs as the pilot in the jaws laughed and urged him on. "Good, let your hate flow"  He said, ignoring his own position.  Bun Bun cut loose with his Galaxy Eye and tore the head from the armoured shoulder paldrons and neck baffles, to crunch in his fangs. I was standing on the ice in my body armour when it happened and swore intently.  "Odin curse you Bun Bun, we talked about this.  NO EATING PILOTS.  Bad Bun Bun.  They are Sith Lords not Telemarketers, and you can't eat them!" A rasping voice sounded behind me, I turned and Terry, sporting his dark creepy as all heck Sith Robes (which I noted seemed to be well heated for Hoth's ice world, better than my unpowered armour)..   "Don't discourage him, that Regis has a soul that was born for the dark side" Its not that he was wrong, its just that when the AI of our Regis was purged of its Forerunner sabotage, it got imprinted by one of our mecha bay bunnies.  Bun Bun the bunny had anger issues which were cute in a tiny fluffy bunny, and a serious war crime tribunal waiting to happen in a 90 ton Regis.  I guess Sith Lords have a really epic legal department, because they just thought it was cute not "lawsuit and bankruptcy risk" like we did. All across the field hatred was given free rein, perfectly good defensive positions were ignored by screaming maniacs closing to knife fighting range so they could feel the coolant splash on their armour from each strike, and bathe in the plasma flares of each engine kill.  The Sith were no better, pausing to coach and encourage each act of insane blood hungry murder frenzy they encountered, half way between being a death squad out to destroy us, and particularly good coaches who see real potential in an athlete and wish to push them past a performance plateau into a higher level of function. We had a good killing. The issue was settled within hours, the battle for Hoth was lost with the shattering of our main defenses, but both sides seemed to ignore this as trivial.  The battle was such a cluster frag that Sith mecha were spotted dragging Berserker mecha to the Sith repair depot to repair and rearm because they figured our repair backlog was getting bad enough that without help this pilot might not be able to get back into the fight in time for another round.  At one point I know I saw our field techs loading a Sith Specter with our missiles, shouting at the pilot  "Don't worry, we'll invoice you later".   When the horn sounded, the guns fell silent, we looked up and let the adrenaline fade.  Berskerkers and Sith were mixed in clots around the icy wasteland.  We had shot up the landscape so badly none of our mapping programs could identify our position.  Not one of either sides satelites were anything but radioactive slag from all the reflections and rebounds , so our GPS was out.  So much energy had been put into the ionosphere that we couldn't get a solid lock on the bases signal to direction find it for even a rough guide back to base.   There was an Apatotron burning in the middle of the field, and one of my mecha threw a Notas on top of it.  A Sith lord tossed a Humbaba with legs only on one side to join it on the pyre.   Pilots began to cluster around, tossing bits of battle killed wildlife on the armour plates sticking out of the fire as a makeshift BBQ.  Bottles began to circulate.  Screw it.  The techs can send speeders to collect us in the morning.  It had been a day of rage and murder, of fury and blood.  It would be a night of drinking and swapping lies.  We were at war yes, but it had been a good killing. A good killing indeed. John T Mainer 28840

[ylaziel]

The First Night of Her Freedom (A short story from the past)

-By the Twelve lad…

The old man grumbled as he stumbled down, the aged wooden stairs moaning under his every step. He wore his night clothes, a ragged old gown hung from his shoulders as he  came down scratching his head, his fading, messy hair and a beard courting his lips what were pressed into a thin line from frustration.

-What in the Seven Hells is such urgent matter in the middle of the night?

He asked, his nails buzzing a crispy noise as he scratched his beard, then his eyes widened in the dim light. The old, but still bright blue pools stared at the man standing at his door with a white blanket almost dyed crimson, covering something what he held in his arms.

-What the… Hassan… How many--

-Shut it old man we have naught the time..

The man snarled and pulled his turban off, tossing it aside, revealing a man somewhere above 30 summers, his bronze skin and dark, messy short hair, the scars decorating his cheek, his forehead. His dark eyes were filled with fear and worry the old man has never seen before. Hassan rushed quickly to the counter in the herbalist’s shop, pushing a bunch of books aside with his elbow, those hitting the floor with loud thuds one after the other.

-Those books hold value son be careful by the love of the Twelve…

The old man shook his head and approached the counter.

-This is more important than your moth-eaten books Alim… Prepare water and clean rags, we will need something to clean these wounds…

The assassin said.

Alim was a grumpy old man, but the most talented herbalist he has ever known, always helpful even though with the attitude of a thorny bush. Hassan owed him a lot, he saved his life quite a few times when he literally fell through the door, torn up in the middle of the night or the morning, and there he was once more, asking for his help.

Hassan gently put his “burden” on the counter, so soft like Alim has never seen the assassin done before, raising concern.

-What have ya gotten into again?

Alim asked as he stepped close, setting his sight on the man then the blankets as they were opened up by Hassan, revealing a small child in a tattered gown, covered in blood. Snow white hair, pale skin and scales scattered here and there on her body, with tiny horns and a short, little tail. The old man went pale at the sight, covering his lips with one hand, while the other shakily set to his temple, his index tapping on his forehead.

-L-Let me prepare…

Alim rapidly shuffled to his lab behind the counter, it’s door opening with a loud creek. Light poured out on the doorway, a weakened brightness of an old lamp, then the loud sound of metal hitting the stone floor among other things as the old man ruffled through his belongings, things that Hassan had no reason to care about. He was hunching over the child, anxious and impatient, tilting his head left and right, trying to grasp how and why this  happened to a life so fragile and young. He was nervous, his hands were shaking and his heart racing in his chest, hoping he didn’t run out of time.

-Here! Quickly!

Alim’s raucous voice pulled him out of the slight panic he was sinking into. The old man arrived with a bowl of hot water, a clean towel, some rags folded on his shoulder and a little bottle containing a transparent, light green fluid. Hassan gently slipped a hand under the little girl’s head, another below her knees and lifted her from the counter, setting her against his chest, her knees on the blanket, held her close while stripping her of the small, worn gown she was wearing wet with her blood, revealing her injured back towards the herbalist.

-Those fuckin’ slavers…

Alim muttered setting the bowl on the counter as he examined the small body, his head swaying slowly.

-Is she conscious?

He asked while examining the injuries, most of them was hard to see from the amount of blood covering the little frame. Hassan tilted his head to the side, he hoped that she wouldn’t be to spare her the pain. Alim excavated the bloody blanket from below her, pushing it aside and setting the clean towel under. He opened the little bottle and poured it’s contents into the bowl, then dipped a clean rag, drilling his gaze into Hassan’s.

-This will hurt.. But will surely deal with any infection....

The assassin nodded, his fingers easily enveloped the head of the child, giving her soft rubs. He had no idea if she could feel it or not, it was more for his own comfort and hope she will make it. He has seen a lot of horrible things since he decided to put an end to the underground network of slavers in Radz-at-Han, but to see a child in a condition like this? It was the last drop… Alim started to gently dab on the child’s back, cleaning off the blood, revealing pale skin and the long wounds spanning across her back. Marks of a wip, cruel lashes tearing up the little frame. Hassan quivered, he felt the little girl move, grunt in his arms, whimper. He had no words to calm her down, he had his embrace, his fiddling thumb, lost in the white locks, caressing. That was all he was capable of with his heart sinking.

Alim was gentle but the wounds demanded him to press a bit stronger to apply the concoction, to make sure that even the smallest chance of infection is scrubbed away. The small girl wept, too weak to be loud, but her whimpers affected both of them. Hassan gave a small peck on her hair. That’s all he had, his warmth and an embrace of safety, trying to comfort the little child. The world seemed to slow down around them, dragging the minutes past them painfully long. But it was over..

-There…

The old man whispered, dropping the bloodied rag into the bowl that he picked up a moment later.

-I will bring some bandage..

Alim went back to his lab to wash his hands and get some clean bandage...

Meanwhile Hassan felt little hands grasping on his shirt, tugging so weak it was almost a tickle to his skin as the fabric moved.

-It’s almost over. You can rest soon…

He whispered softly. She was a fighter, that was clear, clinging to her life as she did.

The old man returned with a little canister and a roll of bandage, his shuffling crept ahead of him on the stone floor. Stepping close to the counter he placed the ointment and opened it with a firm twist.

-This will ease the pain and accelerate healing.

He said and scooped a good amount of the gel, spreading it accross the injuries. The little girl whimpered once more, pulling at Hassan’s shirt.

-Just a bit longer little flower, just a little bit longer…

The old man chuckled, trying to cheer the small child as he finished applying the herbal ointment.

-Hassan, i need ya to hold her so i can cover her wounds..

Hassan nodded, releasing the child from his arms and slipping his hands under her armpits to hold her up until the old herbalist bandaged her torso.

The assassins dark eyes were met with a lavender gaze and a faint light of blue as the child stared at him, eyes halfmast, glinting in the dim room. The amethyst pools were hypnotizing, no fear or pain reflected in them, just everlasting peace courted by snowy locks, a sense of freedom.

-There we go…

Alim muttered, pulling Hassan back to reality.

-Ya stay here for the night with her... She is not through just yet and needs to rest and heal. The next few days are critical… I have a spare room upstairs… Just get rid of the bloody clothes.. I don’t want ya taint everything ya touch.

Hassan nodded. He was pale and tired after the long night.

-Alim… A clean shirt i would appreciate.

He pleaded, he was not as arrogant as he used to be. The old man breathed a long sigh while scratching his greying head.

-Not like any would fit ya son, but give me a moment…

Alim climbed the moaning stairs and the opening in the ceiling devoured him in shadows. Hassan was left alone once more with the small child. He slowly put her down on the counter, letting her rest on the clean towel but the small hands were still hooked in his shirt, refusing to let go.

-Hey kiddo, i need to change so we can rest here…

He whispered with a gentle smile, carefully peeling the little hands from his shirt. The small child whimpered with demand. Hassan saw her struggle and need for touch, but he needed his hands to remove his bloodied shirt. He came up with a solution. The tall mean bowed, leaning forward and putting his forehead against the child’s, calming her the moment their skin touched.

-Better?

He asked, smiling as he slowly undone the buckles of his leather shoulderguards, slipping his arms out of their defending coil, letting them drop on the floor. He loosened the laces of his shirt after, opening up the garment on his chest, before pulling his limbs out of the sleeves, letting the shirt follow, descending on top of the hard leather armor.

-Come here now.

Hassan hummed softly and took the little girl in his arms, kicking the armor and the dirty shirt out of the way, sending them behind the counter. He walked to the stairs, climbing them slowly for the comfort of the child.

-Come on lad, ya quick on yer feet all the time… Don’t be slow now…

The old man stood on the top of the stairs with a blanket.

-Set some pillows and blankets there, will serve as a bed for the night.

Alim nodded towards a small room next to his. The walls were covered with shelves, most of them housing books, a few of them different vials, or pots of small plants, blooming rich with flowers. Under the window as the old man said, there was a “bed” made of pillows and blankets basking in the silver of the moonlight.

Hassan gave him a grateful nod, almost a bow as he bended.

-Thank you friend…

He kept his voice down as he entered the room and tried to lay the child down among the pillows, but she refused to let go. Alim shook his head once more and followed the pair into the room.

-Sit down lad, get comfortable…

Alim instructed, Hassan followed through with a nod, sat down in tailor fashion with the girl in his arms. The old man gently threw the blanket around them, his shaky hands tugged on the fabric a little to make sure it covered his back properly and enveloped the small raen child as well.

-Make sure she rests on her side or her belly… Hold her that way. I will find you a shirt tomorrow...

He whispered and left for his own room to spend the night.

A refreshing breeze came in through the open window, ruffling Hassan’s locks, soothing his skin. His body was sore, aching from exhaustion. He moved around a little, arching over the small child he held, shifting her a little, slow and careful, so she would rest on her side, supported by an arm, part of the blanket below her, the other embracing her with warmth. The girl was sound asleep soon, curled up against his chest.

-You are safe now little one…

The herbalist was already snoring in the other room, but Hassan was awake for a while, worried, watching over her, making sure she was warm and comfortable. He was checking her bandage constantly, a little blood was seeping through, but it wasn’t severe to be concerned with.

Hassan was lost in the features he discovered on the child, scales, small horns and a tail.. Shimmering white. He has never seen something like her before, merely heard rumors, tales of similar people living in the east, memories running through his fading mind…The assassin was lost in thought until the light of dawn snuck in through the window to finally find them both asleep, warm, peaceful and quiet...

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Blog 9 // Jan 11

Machines for Living. critically reflect on Le Corbusier's prototype for urban dwelling: Les Habitations Marseille. What innovations - in terms of architecture and socially-minded planning - does this project include? In your opinion, which of these innovations are still visible in current urban environments? Which are no longer implemented and why might they have failed?

I am fasinated by this building and how socially revolutionary it was for it’s time. My dad and grandma work in residential real estate and so I’ve taken a liking to it over the years so this was incredible to learn about. The one genius architectural concept that stood out to me is the kitchen and the insane amount of thought that went into it. Everything is in arm’s reach and the pass through and icebox delivery space are genius. While kitchens today aren’t small like this one, they often have a triangular shape created by the fridge, oven/stove, and sink which plays off a similar concept. When my dad used to take us to open houses this is something he’s always note. Another thing that remains true in today’s apartments and homes alike is the seperation of children’s and adults rooms. Each year I visit Greensboro’s Parade of Homes and I notice that in literally almost every home, the master suite is clear accross the opposite side of the house from the other bedrooms. Finally, the concept of building up rather that out is perhaps the most prevelent innovation from this prototype that is still used today. It’s quite obvious that every skyscraper utilizes this same idea. But to take it a step futher, in dorm rooms—a unique type of ‘urban dwelling,— beds are often lifted not to create bunk beds, but to free up the living space underneath it. When I came to Elon and saw people doing this in their rooms I was in awe. They lifted their bed as if it were a top bunk and moved their desk and dresser or perhaps a futon couch underneath. In my opinion, two concepts that failed and are no longer implemented are the equidistant common areas and the dark, street-looking hallways that Le Corbusier incorporated. Nowadays people look for open, airy and welcoming hallways to their apartments, not dark and dingy ones that mimic the look of a street at night. This past summer I was interning in Los Angeles and toured several apartment buildings to consider after graduation. Literally every single one had all it’s ammenities (aside from the occassional rooftop pool) on the first and second floors. In theory, having ammenities at a mid-way point where it’s most accessible to all makes sense. But in pratice, we don’t see that often today. Everyone has to come to the first floor to enter or exit the apartment building anyway.

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[vickinmw8084262-blog]

Trump Bans White Men Coming From Taking A Trip, Commentary Some 'Excellent People'

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. How you can Manage A Bed linen Closet.

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