#Landmark Annotation

[tarnishedtwill]

Nevarran Locations & Landmarks

Nevarra City– This is the capital of Nevarra. Home to the Grand Necropolis among other things. This is also primarily where most festivals and balls are held, as well as where the Palace of King Markus is located. Nevarra City is also home to the  residence of the Anaxas house, and location of the Duchess Games. [Though the current ruler of Cumberland hails from this family: Duke Sandral Anaxas.] It is also home to the Castrum Draconis as well as the Minanter River which carves through it.

Castrum Draconis– Vast Botanical Gardens with hundreds of statues depicting Royalty and Heroes of legend [Powerful Generals, Dragon Hunters etc.] Along the roadways leading up to the Castrum are stately columns of black marble amidst which statues of Kings & Queens of Nevarras past are on prominent display. In Autumn there is a festival held [ see Ancestral Pageant in my Nevarran Culture Post] where many great families hire performers to recreate famous moments in the statues lives by lantern light. Often draping the statues themselves with their house colors. Notably the Pentaghasts and Van Markhams tend to compete for the best show each year.

Blackthorne Manor– The estate was gifted to a family who then took on it’s name by Queen Vanneska the Fourth. [codex: ‘A Tale of the Blackthornes’] Twenty Generations have walked its halls, [meaning if a generation is estimated at 25-30 years, I would potentially date both the manner and Vanneska to 500-600 years ago, placing somewhere around 3:50 Towers to 4:50 Black.] That said, the codex this is from is annotated by Emmrich stating this must have been written in better days– that no one knows what horrible fate befell the Blackthornes. Noting rumors of suspicious deaths, untended crypts and salacious affairs. [This means that my date estimates could be to young and the manor could be even older.] At some point since its abandonment, it became the base for the Necromancer Johanna Hezenkoss.

Grand Necropolis– A large mausoleum sometimes said to be at the heart of Nevarra city while other sources say it's on the outskirts of the city. This is the main base of operation for all Mortalitasi, including the Mourn Watch. There are open-air gardens, crypts, and mausolieums. The structure is as large as a city in its own right, some royal burials being described as palaces of their own. [Lead concept artist Matt Rhodes remarked while designing the structure that, at least in early concepts, his inspiration was an inverted Tower of Babel. The Mortalitassi, instead of seeking knowledge from the stars, they seek it from their dead.] It is also of note that the geography of the Necropolis shifts quite a bit. Chambers are known to shift and change sporadically. [Note the Memorial Gardens being lost until Rook discovers they had moved to the Vault of the Beloved & also the lack of panic over the Basalt Hypogeum at first because it was thought they moved within the Necropolis, not that they were stolen.] Though Emmrich does say during the 'Walking the Graves' questline that it is unlikely for a section to move while people are inside of it, impling it's more common for less traversed chambers to shift. Unless I am mistaken it appears the cause of this is shift is largely unknown, if not gently implied that it's something to disuade tomb raiding. [I cannot remember which dialogue it is said in, I will search, but I am pretty sure looting deterents are mentioned at one point.] While some areas like the gardens are open to the public for days of mourning, many of the lower wings are heavily restricted even among the order.

Basalt Hypogeum– A vast section of the Necropolis that was stolen and transported to Blackthorne Manor to facilitate Johanna Hezenkoss’ experiments. Many Watchers were curious of its disappearance as it was sudden, though the Necropolis does tend to shift often. Myrna noted it was a ‘matter of strange obliquity’. Once Johanna is defeated Myrna notes a great magic will be required to attempt to transport and restore the wing to its place in the Necopolis. Design wise we know this is one of the more impressive and old sactums within the Necropolis, the basalt being shipped from Rivain in 4:57 Black. We also know the name of the Stonemason who crafted its impressive halls: Othmar Gerdebrand.

Cascades– One of the ‘Lost Watcher’s Wings’

Chamber of the Unforged– This is a hexagonal chamber with several small treasure caches on each spoke. Notably this is where Rook faces the Formless One when it possessed the body of a taxidermied high dragon. It is considered one of the ‘Lost Watcher’s Wings’. The hallway leading to this chamber seems to hold several important memorials, as statues, paintings and gated off rooms of gold and urns line each side. [Knowing that the Tanhausen family commissioned the high dragon to be taxidermied it could possibly be a wing for their quite prominent family. However we do know that the ‘last’ crypt of the Tanhausen’s is in the Memorial Gardens.]

Charnel Bridge– Mentioned briefly in banter between Bellara and Emmrich for good places to learn more about undead. It’s briefly mentioned that the ‘nightmare fog’ has overwhelmed it.

Charnel Pyramid– A section of the Necropolis that is ‘disagreeably cursed.’ [Codex entry: From Myrna, on Rediscovering the Gardens] Myrna recommended that the Pyramid should go through a lustration before the next Equinox. [Lustration: a policy that removes public officials or beings from positions of power associated with a repressive regime; this makes me wonder if it is similar to the situation with undead during the War of Banners.] The area surrounding the pyramid must also be quite sizeable as it was debated to be used as a backup location for public days of mourning in the event the location of the Memorial Gardens was not rediscovered in time.

Cobalt Ossuary– A resting place for skulls within the Necropolis. This is the location of the spiritual disturbance in the short story ‘A Flame Eternal’ in which a skull began to hiss and scream from it’s niche. [We know that some royal families and high nobility have full Palaces as their resting places. I would assume an Ossuary with skulls in niches more than likely is for lower nobility, or even commoners if they are able to be inturned in the necropolis, based oh how unextravagant in sound in comparison. But this is just a guess.]

Crescent Fane– Another chamber of burial, described vaguely as having sunken black walls, with bowls of silver flames [I am not sure if this is a descriptor for veilfire or something else entirely.] around each coffin. [‘A Flame Eternal’] The only known person interred here is a woman named Mathilde, whose husband’s skull became restless until they were once again joined together. [Fane, also means a temple or shrine, so it is possible this is a temporary resting place for the recently dead, maybe to prepare them or just until they are moved to a more final resting place, as Emmrich mentions Mathilde passed ‘in her sleep, last midnight.’]

Hollow Belfry– This seems to be a common area, or main spoke. Several hallways branch off into the other chambers of the Necropolis. The center has a lowered portion where Myrna and Vorgoth tend to be stationed, alerting watchers to hauntings & providing the guild market. It also has an upper atrium. Above the chamber sets a massive bell called the Sunken Star. It is responsible for keeping malign spirits from entering certain chambers of the Necropolis (but probably not 100% of them). A ritual is need to ring the bell, so more than likely it happens intermittently through the year as the wards weaken. The direct quote when pertaining to the Sunken Star’s ability: “…in fact any malicious spirit that hears the tolling of the bell will be banished back into the Fade.”

The Memorial Gardens– This is where public days of mourning are held, while we don’t know it’s original location we do know that this chamber went missing before appearing at the vault of the Beloved [Which, in my opinion is in some way the Necropolis foreshadowing Emmrich & Rook getting together (conditional) since this seems to be Emmrich’s favourite spot to wander, and well Vault of the Beloved… anyways I digress.] The Garden is a cemetery that spralls outward amongst an array of flowers and statues.  This includes the Tableau of the Dead, created from real skeletons in 7:20 Storm. As well as the large statuary monument ‘Love in Life and Death’ which displays two skeletons kissing among other posed figures, overgrown with a flower called shrouds kiss. This is a statue dedicated to the enduring passion of those bound by love. We know that the Rites of Rememberance can be performed by Watchers here as well as a meditative puzzle involving the cleansing bells. In addition to that, the only known/named people to be buried here are Rupert & Elannora Volkarin [Emmrich’s parents], and  the last tomb of the Tanhanhausen line. 

The Path of Glory– Just off to the Side of the Memorial gardens. It holds rooms featuring boardgames, grave mist, and such along with it’s skeletons.

The Path of Sighs– One of the ‘Lost Watcher’s Wings’.

Shrouded Halls– One of the ‘Lost Watcher’s Wings’.

Spectral Court– One of the ‘Lost Watcher’s Wings’.

Unspoken Valley- Mentioned briefly in banter between Bellara and Emmrich for good places to learn more about Spirits. It’s briefly mentioned that the ‘nightmare fog’ has overwhelmed it.

Upper Mortuary- in banter with Neve, Emmrich mentions he left several of his books in his apartment at the Necropolis. When questioned if most Mourn Watchers live on the Necropolis grounds, he simply replies that the ‘Upper Mortuary is quite pleasant.’ this to me signifies that he is not the only one, and/or this could be one of many more residential areas within the Necropolis. I would assume if this is an area for high up faculty, students and trainees may be housed elsewhere.

Vault of the Beloved– One of the ‘Lost Watcher’s Wings’. This is the new resting place of the Memorial Gardens.

Weeping Vale– We simply do not know much about what the Weeping Vale is, but dialogue between Emmrich and Rook (conditional to Mourn Watch) tells us that recently there was a problem solved by the Mourn Watch to stop wandering cenotaphs from appearing. [A cenotaph is a memorial or monument to someone whose body is buried elsewhere. This is typically done to honor those who died in war, but not always.]

Flora of the Necropolis– I cannot find much on plants related to Nevarra specifically, but some are mentioned directly, or visually matched from past games: Variegated Weeping Widower, Shrouds Kiss, Blue Creepvine, Moon Blossom, Embrium* [A flower that is similar in apperance and color except for the ember at the center is found in some of the vases] & unknown willows capable of making their own noises [Codex: New Fauna].

Hunter Fell– A small city west of the capital. This is where King Caspar Pentaghast is from, as well as the location of the tea house that Charter calls a meeting of spies to discuss the movements and motivations of Solas. [Tevinter Nights: The Dread Wolf Take You] The only other thing to really note is that when Tylus Van Markham seized the throne from King Nestor Pentaghast [5:37 Exhalted], several surviving Pentaghasts fled to Hunter Fell. Eventually in 9:42 Dragon, the Inquisiton was called in to investigate Duke Tythas Pentaghst, ruler of Hunter Fell. He commanded a network of spies and warriors called the ‘Five Belles of Hunter Fell’ suspected of being tied to the Venatori.

Cumberland– One of the largest cities in Thedas, it sits South of Nevarra city, where the Imperial highway forks and portside to the Waking Sea. Not only does it function as a major trading port but also as a seat of immense knowledge. Home to the College of Magi, which is thought to bear the brightest mages and scholars throughout Thedas. It is also where many tournaments of combat, and archery are held. The current ruler is Duke Sandral Anaxas.

Diamond Lass– in the ‘Dragon’s Den’ district of Cumberland, this is a luxury inn. Drinks are said to be served with crystal goblets alongside runes said to keep the beverage cold.

‘Dragon’s Den’– This is a walled off sector of town, adjacent to the more wealthy quarters of the city. It functions as a Dwarven trading hub and due to his most of the buildings are described to have distinctly Dwarven Architecture.

Forsythia Estate– This is the ancestral residence of the noble house Forsythia.

College of Magi– The college of Magi sits at the center of the city the Sun Dome’s golden exterior and massive spires making the city itself seem gilded and brilliant.  The palace itself was gifted to the Chantry by  a Nevarran Duchess. Keeping with the Nevvarran tradition of statues, the College of Magi is no different, the entryway featuring busts of ever Grand Enchanter from the last 600 years since this is the place from which they are chosen by a council of First Enchanters. The College of Magi is thought to bear the brightest mages and scholars throughout Thedas, some of which then move on to recruitment with the Mortalitasi.

Additional notes about historical events at the College of Magi [& some Dorian and Ashur lore]: In 9:38 following the Kirkwall Rebellion, the Chantry disbands meetings of the College of Enchanters [Based on context and what I am able to find, it seems the College of Enchaters is the name of the council of First Enchanters.], as well as any unsanctioned mage gatherings. This meant the dissolving of mage fraternities. This is also around the time that former Warden Fiona is elevated to the position of Grand Enchanter. [Wynne blames this as the reason the conclave was disbanded.] Grand Enchanter Fiona was quick to begin campaigning for independence, leading a vote among the College of Enchanters to secede from the Chantry entirely. Though the vote did not pass, the existence of the vote was enough for the Templar order to call for the dissolution of the College of Enchanters. More political unrest insues leading to Divine Justinia II calling for a meeting of the College of Enchanters, now disbanded, to the White Spire instead of their traditional seat in Cumberland. This lead to Grand Enchanter Fiona once again pleading for secession, causing High Seeker Lambert to declare the College of Enchanters treasonous. After a daring rescue of some of the enchanters, Fiona once again led a vote on succession in Cumberland. This time since too few first enchanters remained, some having died in capture, the fraternities casted their votes. This lead  ultimately to the dissolution of the circles and the movement towards mage freedom. The factions mentioned above include:

Aequitarians– This is the most dominant of the fraternities in the College of Magi. Their ideology is moderate, and thus popular. It is that mages must use their abilities ethically, and responsibly within society regardless of Chantry law. They believe mages have the power to help people, and should be doing so. Historically leaders of this group include Wynne & Rhys.

Isolationists– While less popular, this smaller faction simply believes mages should separate from the Chantry, and society as a whole. Creating their own systems and culture without any scrutiny towards the practice of magic or danger towards those without.

Libertarians– This group desires the Circle to become self governed and separate rom the chantry. While on the surface the Libertarians seek to do this peacefully, a subgroup of resolutionists within the faction have no issue usng violent means to achieve this. This group has been led historically by Fiona & Adrian.

Loyalists– As the name implies this group is the most devout, following the word of the Chantry. They are often viewed negatively by other mages for being apologists to the oppression faced by mages.

Lucrosians– the smallest fraternity amongst the College of Magi, these mages simply align themselves with the priority of gaining wealth, and political influence over any social cause.

In Veilguard we receive a conversation between Dorian Pavus and Ashur [who may or may not be Divine Aequitas II] in which Dorian comments, ‘Speaking of brash rebels, remember Cumberland? Spring of ‘38?’ to which Ashur replies ‘I wish I didn’t.’ This has had me so curious as to why they were present, were they part of the fraternities that helped vote against the circles since fraternities voted in the place of first enchanters? Or were they simply there as support to keep templars from intervening the College of Enchanters meeting. Either way. Super interesting additional lore on Dorian & Ashur. We know Dorian was part of the Lucerni [a faction dedicated to redeeming and restoring Tevinter] but that is a group exclusive to the Magistirium and not one of the fraternities of the College of Magi. In fact it is more than likely closer tied to the Shadow Dragons. [If you want a less summarized version of 9:38 Dragon, most of the information comes from Dragon Age: Asunder.]

Thank you all for the kind words on my first lore post. In this next section I tried to break down several key locations. If there are ones you'd like to see that I did not explore please let me know! If there is anything I missed or got incorrect, I am open to corrections! Additionally I would love any additional descriptions or information about the sections of the Necropolis, information is scarce, so any additional notes are welcomed. For more posts on this topic, they will be marked on my page under the tag Nevarran lore.

I hope for this to be a resource for fic writers but also knowledge for my fellow lore nerds. More will be posted soon as feel sections become complete.

Update Edits: More insight on the shifting chambers of the Necropolis, and additional lore on the Basalt Hypogeum. Info on the Sunken Star.

Thank you guys for the feedback <3

[bunnwich]

Devourer👑(Scar!Leona x Yuu) 02

Leona got everything he wanted, except for one thing. After 7 long years of being king, Yuu comes back into his life. As Yuu finds themselves in his nightmare, will they be able to "find " Leona and wake him? Or will they both be devoured?

Characters: Leona Kingscholar x Yuu!Reader (GN. No physical description for Yuu. They/Them pronouns. Yuu majored in alchemy and graduated as a Doctor of Botany)

Words: 7k, 3rd person Notes: A darker AU based on Leona’s Chapter 7 Dream. Parts: Part 1, Part 2

CW: None

Tagging: I will be tagging in comments! Let me know if you wanna be added!

-- The scent of leather and cologne filled the stretch of silence between them. 

Yuu almost keeled over when the King himself volunteered to escort them to the Tree of Life. Apparently, only the royals were allowed there, and now they supposed he was the only one left. Once a common cultural touchstone and protected nature reserve, what remained had been boarded up from the common people years ago. 

Yuu smoothed down the hem of their travel coat, pretending to review all the annotated field notes in their lap. Harvest yields in the semi-arid zones, and things like that: scrawled in their scratchy, uneven handwriting. All of it seemed infinitely less important under Leona's gaze from beside them. 

He wasn’t even trying to hide it. 

They shifted, the hum of the royal limo rolling beneath them. "So…I- um... I’ve marked three regions near the border where the native flora’s struggling. If we don’t intervene soon, it could trigger soil collapse by the peak of the drought season." Their words came out fast, too rehearsed. “M-my goal today is to gain insight from the soil in the reserve and assess why that flora seems to be still thriving there despite well-.”

Leona didn’t answer right away. He never did. He liked to listen. Wait. Let the words stagnate in the air until Yuu started babbling once again.

They glanced up from their work journal, they shouldn’t have. His sharp green eyes were on them, unreadable, heavy, and framed in their usual dark shadows. He always noticed more than they wanted him to.

They used one hand to rub the back of their neck under the collar of their coat. "We could…start collecting samples at the southern ridge, near the landmark itself, if you like." Yuu added quickly, tapping the corner of the notebook. "There’s a species of Helichrysum there I haven’t catalogued. It might help replenish the-"

"Mm." Just a sound, from taut lips. A small one at that. But it landed like a heavy boulder.

They straightened, tucking a piece of hair behind their ear under his gaze. His dark mane was brushed back as usual, besides a few strands that the wind had tugged loose. 

He was the king, they reminded themself. And you’re here to be his environmental adviser. A doctor of botany. Not for...anything else.

But then he leaned over, the bright wooden beads dripping from his beige, low-cut tunic, fanning across his chest. It was much more casual attire than his usual sharp, black dashiki. He said they should ‘blend in’ after all. “Doctor.” Ever so slightly, he rested his chin on his hand, "You’ve got a bit of dirt in your hair…" 

Yuu let out a strangled breath and felt the sun beating harder on their face through the car window. They slid as close as they could towards the car door, creating some much-needed space to check their reflection. “Oh.”

Damn him, he was right. They looked down sharply, eyes fixed on a scribbled note in the corner of the page. He had said it like a joke, not unkind.

Though after their last interaction, they had no idea how to receive him or his attempts at ‘teasing them’ going forward. Fear, fear was easy, a thorny thing in their guts that made it hard to breathe. But, now…taking harbor in their insides lurked something else. Something more dangerous.

“Yes, I was…harvesting some cuttings from-” They muttered, attempting to reclaim some dignity, reaching up to ruffle their hair, a pang of annoyance that he was probably not taking what they were saying seriously.

A soft chuckle rumbled from his side of the backseat, low and infuriatingly unbothered. Was the King really in such a nonchalant mood today?

They didn’t trust it. Nope, not anymore. Leona had always been one for games, sure, but they had no idea of the scope of the game afoot now. A week and he had acted as if that intimate moment in the throne room never happened; a strange dream or maybe…a shared delusion. Either way, it disturbed them.

Back at Night Raven College, Leona he'd always been more interested in bothering them in class than lectures, lounging in the back of the room like he’d seen and heard it all before. Always…prodding them outside their comfort zone so he could get a read on their truths. Getting them to let their guard down, he was good at that.

Now there he was, a King, still lounging, still watching, his gaze still infuriatingly proding. But, something had changed in the way he looked at them. Like he remembered more than they did. Or maybe he just remembered it better.

They clutched the notebook tighter as a beat of silence passed, ears burning. "Well…did I get it?" Their mouth formed a little line of annoyance he wouldn't miss.

"Almost," he said, reaching over, and before they knew it, Yuu could feel those claws on their scalp. His fingertips never actually touched their skin, but they froze anyway as he bent over them.

One of his long nails traced the top of their temple as he leaned away. "There. Good now, Doctor." Leona let his hand drop back down into his knee. 

He was toying with them.

Yuu’s gaze shifted down, ignoring the tingling that went from their scalp down into their spine as they slammed their journal closed.  “Thanks.”

Outside, desert scrub blurred past the tinted windows, dry and sun-bleached. How Yuu longed to be out there already, knee-deep in thistle, where the king’s intrusive gaze couldn’t reach them.

But the limo kept rolling. And the king was still mere feet away. And Yuu’s heart, the traitorous thing…kept forgetting exactly who he was.

His plan was working, his silent insistence made them want to speak to fill the quiet. To reveal themselves. “So, have you…visited the Tree of Life recently…Your Highness? I heard the land used to be the most fertile of all,” Yuu asked. It was something to keep their mind on the mission and not on him. The question came out casual, but something in their gut already knew the answer. 

Leona’s face turned solemn. He stared out the window, his voice low and even. “No… I haven’t.” A pause as his eyes remained fixed on the passing scenery. “I’ve been occupied with other… matters.”

That word ‘matters’ dripped with something bitter. Yuu caught it immediately, like he resented having to explain himself at all.

Yuu's brow arched slightly, but they bit their tongue. The rumors had whispered truths they couldn’t ignore: too much new construction, over-farmed soil, dwindling crops, famine creeping in at the edges of the kingdom. And he was doing…what, exactly?

“I wonder respectfully, Your Highness... what matters may have come about before such a thing?” They asked, tone neutral, as if they hadn’t just tiptoed across a landmine. Yuu was careful to bury their disdain beneath a mask of curiosity.

Leona’s eyebrows furrowed. Slowly, he turned to look at them, the whites of his eyes stark against the black kohl in his waterline. It was a warning. “Watch yourself, Doctor,” he said, voice low, the danger in it unmistakable. 

Why did they push their luck with him, knowing what could happen? 

Surely, his interest in them…it was superficial. They didn’t know why they expected any special treatment from the King after one little incident or even a shared past. If anything, they were just an object of brief comfort to him, like an old stuffed animal on a shelf. Did he actually want their help to fix the kingdom, or their…attention?

Yuu’s stomach turned cold. They swallowed the lump forming in their throat and dropped their eyes, “I meant no disrespect. But… you hired me to help, My King. I just want to learn as much as I can about the problems this kingdom faces. I…apologize.” Their voice softened, gaze turning toward the window, pulse hammering in their chest. 

For a moment, he studied them from the edge of his gaze, reading their displeased reaction. Then finally, “Mmm...Apology accepted. But don’t forget your place here, Doctor. You’re here to help me fix this mess, not question my decisions.”

Not like they used to. 

Yuu’s chest ached. His words were cold, a slap in the face. They nodded, forcing composure. “Of course... sir.” The honorific left a bitter taste in their mouth.

Holding their journal close to their chest, their fingers pressed tighter on the spine than they needed to be. They shouldn’t let it get to them. But it did. That brief time on the throne beside him when he whispered to them like they mattered, it had fooled them and dared to think the old Leona still lived…beneath the crown.

Stupid.

The air in the car suddenly felt too thick. With a huff, they reached for the window button and rolled it down, letting in a gust of sharp, hot wind.

Leona’s eyes flicked to theirs. “What are you doing?” His voice came out rougher than before.

Yuu let out a huff. “Surveying the local fauna, Your Highness.” The title rolled off their tongue with the smallest edge of facetiousness. Keeping their eyes trained on the barren fields, empty houses blurred past: newly built, but lifeless, the walls tagged with graffiti.

Long Live the King.

The sarcasm in the paint was unmistakable.

Leona followed their gaze, then scowled. “That again…” he muttered, tension rippling through him. “And…Don’t bother. As for the fauna, it's long gone in this area,” he said flatly, reaching over their lap quickly to roll the window up. “We’ll have to go deeper into the countryside to collect samples.”

The window buzzed in their ear as the man's arms stretched over their lap. Yuu nodded but held their breath; a sour feeling building in their gut. Their fingers drifted to their neck, instinctively as if to protect it from him. The spot where he’d drifted his lips across only a few days ago. 

They had wanted to know why, but maybe they shouldn’t have. “Yes…” Yuu murmured, their voice barely filling the silence between them.

Leona noticed as he retreated to his corner, eyes lingering on their fingers at their neck. Of course. 

He didn’t say anything, but something shifted behind his expression. Then, like always, the mask dropped back in place. “You can relax,” he muttered quickly. His voice was softer now, but they couldn’t tell if it was for their sake. “We’ll be there soon.”

Yuu let their head rest against the glass to try to do as he said. Impossible with him, less than a foot away.  “Sure. If you don’t mind...sir. I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit,” They let out a wry laugh. “I usually end up falling asleep at my desk in the greenhouse...The royal limo is a luxury compared to that.” Their voice faded, eyes closing. At least pretending to sleep would relieve them of any more conversation. Yuu curled their legs up onto the seat, trying best to let go of the tension in their limbs.

Of course, they didn’t mean to actually fall asleep. But it came so…easily. The rhythm of the car, the low hum of the engine, the warmth from the sun through the window, and of course…that familiar smell.

Out of nostalgia, their lips mouthed the notes: Cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, citrus. And in minutes, they were gone.

Yuu didn’t notice their fingers curl lightly around his arm, or that they leaned over at some point, their head resting against his shoulder, nor the way they murmured his name in their dreams.

Say my name.

Leona-

Yuu stirred awake with a faint hum as the car slowed, their cheek brushing against something firm and warm. Their brows knit. It wasn’t the window. And the steady rise and fall beneath their ear wasn’t just the bumps in the road. 

Yuu could feel him breathing near their ear, exhales warming their neck, long silk-pressed hair draped over their shoulder.  For a moment, he was there…behind their lids: the man they knew, early twenties, with an easy, lop-sided grin that always infuriated them.

They didn’t wanna open their eyes to see him. The King. Stoic, prematurely greying, gaze a thousand miles away, with frown lines to match.

Yuu swallowed, finally letting their eyes flutter open, just slightly, enough to see their arm looped with his.

Oh shit.

A sharp jolt of panic raced down their spine as the fantasy faded away. Yuu froze, willing themselves not to react too suddenly. If they moved too fast, it would draw attention. But if they lingered, they’d have to live with the knowledge that they’d let their guard drop that much. That they had sought him out, even unconsciously.

Instead, Yuu tilted their head just enough to glance up at him.

Leona’s eyes were closed, his jaw slack with something approaching peace. He hadn’t shoved them off, or said another word. And…damn, he looked tired.

They hated the way their chest ached at the sight. Hated how easily their body betrayed them with warmth. How stupidly soft they’ve become in the moment.

Finally, Yuu pulled away, slow and careful, trying not to wake him if he was asleep. They flattened their hair, sat up, and stared out the window again. Their jaw tightened. What the hell was wrong with them?

A few moments passed before Leona stirred. Whether he’d been asleep or simply letting them rest, they’d probably never know.

"You really haven't changed, have you? Still falling asleep in the most inconvenient places." His voice was rough, with sleep or maybe…something else. The familiarity in his tone stung.

You’re one to talk. Is what they wanted to say.

Yuu nodded without looking at him. “Yeah, thanks. I didn’t mean to doze off like that…sir.” They straightened their coat, heat blooming in their cheeks. When their hand met their face, their heart was still racing. His smell had seeped into their cheek, the seam of his tunic creating a temporary crease on their skin.

He didn’t press. Didn’t mock. Just let the silence settle as they collected themselves.

Yuu’s hands dropped to their lap. They couldn’t afford to be stupid and careless like that again. That close. Not with him. The last thing they wanted was to encourage what happened before or have a repeat of it. But a part of them…some stubborn, stupid, still bleeding part…had wanted to dream of the past for just a little longer.

And that scared them more than anything. 

Meanwhile, the king’s expression stayed hidden, and his attention suddenly seemed focused on whatever scenery rushed past the window, craning his head strategically away from them. The only indication of his emotions was his clawed fingers, twitching restlessly on the leather seat between them. 

Yuu swallowed down the dryness of sleep still caught in their throat. “And, uh…thank you for... not waking me. I must’ve…needed that,” they said, voice lighter than they felt, tagging on a forced laugh at the end.

A chuff, almost a laugh. “Yeah, you were drooling on me, ya know.” A smirk appeared at last to match his tone, slow and crooked on his lips.

 ���S-sorry, sir.” They huffed, trying to play it off, stretching their arms up over their head. “Not very professional of me, huh?” A smile tugged helplessly at their lips.

“Not very professional at all, Doctor,” They could hear his smirk.

Was that actually a joke? 

“Drooling all over the king’s shoulder. Hmph, what would the council think if they knew you had such sloppy sleeping habits, hm?”

Yuu snorted, leaning into the teasing, despite the prickling of their cheeks. “Aaa, exile, I expect? Or maybe…they won’t invite me to any more of those…parties. That’s fine. I’m sure the council doesn’t think much of me anyway.”

Leona chuckled, low and rough. His gaze lingered on them for a second too long, like he was seeing something that was not in the present.

“Well…it’s a good thing for you I hired you, isn’t it? Tch, and the council-” He shrugged. “It’s true they couldn’t care less about you. To them, I’m afraid you’re just an outsider, like me.”

That caught Yuu off guard. They turned their head, studying him with a quiet curiosity. “You really feel that way?” they asked softly. “I mean... You grew up there, in the palace, didn’t you?” Their mouth went off without them again, almost as if this was just normal conversation.

He shrugged, slower this time. His face closed off, solemn.

"Yeah...yeah, I did," he replied gruffly. “But remember, I was the second-born, the spare. Born with a magic that could level the palace. My life was never my own. Besides, my brother was always the one destined for greatness, not me." There was no venom in his voice, just that worn-down bitterness, like a stone that had been smoothed by years of erosion.

Yuu tilted their head, watching him carefully. It was just like before, a glimmer of pain, seeping from the cracks of a mask, “But...you…you’re the King now,” They said.

Leona scoffed, the sound sharp. “Right, of course. I’m the king now.” He leaned back against the seat, exhaling a breath that seemed to carry all the weight of their years apart. “Even now, there are still whispers behind my back. Questioning my competency. Calling me a monster. Nothing’s changed, really,” He squinted. “I'm not supposed to be here. To the kingdom, I'm just a usurper, sitting on a throne that never belonged to me.”

Yuu hesitated, biting their lip before glancing at him once more. His voice was raw just as it was before. They wanted to help, but what could they say that could actually help him navigate any of this? Instead, their words came out like a sloppy bandage. “But- even if it’s not exactly as you expected, there’s still so much potential... Le-” They caught themselves. “er-Your Highness.”

From the corner of their eye, they saw him watching them, a flicker of something softer in his eyes, amusement maybe.

“Potential, huh? That’s naive,” he echoed, voice wrapped in nostalgia. “...You sound like he did.” It was a softer response than they expected. Yuu was sure that few dared even bring up the subject of the past to the King. 

Their heart slowed, and it instilled them with false confidence to keep running their damn mouth. “Even if it wasn’t destined to be yours, it is now. You…have the power to mold it into whatever you desire.”

Too much.

Leona laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You make it sound so painfully simple, Doctor," he muttered, his voice laced with a hint of frustration. "As if it's so easy to change everything. I’ve tried…I don't have the vision that Farena had, the drive to make this kingdom better. Sometimes…I'm not sure that I even care. Power? Sure, I’ve got that. But it all comes with a price. Political games. Backstabbin’. Assassination threats-” He shook his head and looked out the window again.

Yuu frowned, the frustration tugging at Leona’s words made their next thought slip out before they could stop it. “Well... then why are you still here then? Why not leave it to another? Let the council figure it out. Elect a-”

“What?” His laugh this time was dark and sharp, like a blade drawn. “Ha. Just leave? This is my home. My kingdom. My birthright.” His eyes flashed, wild and cornered. “The council would never let me go. I’m not Farena, the perfect heir. I’m the wild card. The dark horse. They’d never allow me to walk away…unscathed.” There was a pause. Then, more quietly, he muttered, “Besides... even if I could leave, where would I even go?”

Yuu winced. “That’s…fair.” They shook their head, eyes stinging from the sharpness in his tone. “Maybe it was…childish of me to suggest. But... if you can’t leave, and you don’t care, then…?” Their grip tightened on the bottom of the seat. “I guess…I don’t understand, sir.”

Leona scoffed again, the noise hard and hollow. “You don’t understand... of course you don’t.”

He ran a hand through his hair, and Yuu watched him, heart sinking with the sight of him unraveling just enough to reveal what he kept hidden beneath the surface.

“You think it’s easy to care when everything you ever cared about is gone,” he said, each word raw. “When you have nothing left to fight for. When everything you ever…loved has been taken from you.” His voice rose slightly, shaking. “How could you possibly understand what it’s like to be trapped like this? To have your life decided for you. To be living in your own casket?”

Nothing left? 

Yuu swallowed hard at that word in particular. Nothing. They didn’t look away, feeling their own emotions bubble up. Anger even.

“Maybe you’re right...but-” Their voice was quiet, throat tight. “It’s true, I’ve never been through exactly what you have. I can’t imagine how it must be if...I lost what you’ve lost.” They exhaled, slow and steady. “But I’ve lost. I don’t have a home. No family. I know what it means to feel alone.” They bowed their head slightly, slipping their composure back into place like a mask. “I wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone- I apologize again...I just wish I knew what to say to help…Your Highness.” They gritted out the title, blinking away any tears that threatened to swell up.

It had been a horrible move. This wasn’t the Leona that Yuu once knew. That ‘Leona’ was gone…as much a relic of the past as he saw them to be. What sat next to them now was the King of Beasts: a husk with memories that they happened to share of better times.

For what seemed like forever, there was only silence. When they glanced back up, Leona was watching them as expected.

“Hear me when I say this. I told you before: there’s nothing anyone can say or do to help me,” he muttered, voice rough, almost defeated. “This…this is my destiny,” his eyes turned from Yuu to the Savanna. “There’s no getting out of this alive for me. That’s all there is to it.”

He was right, he had warned them that day on the throne. They were powerless to help him. “Yes, my King.” --

The limo pulled off the main road with a gentle crunch of gravel, tires rolling to a stop at the edge of a sun-baked ridge. Up ahead lay the Tree of Life itself, providing shade from the shimmering heat waves, its great branches swaying in the wind. Yuu opened their door first, tossing their bag over their head. They stepped out quickly, grateful, for once, for the dry heat that greeted them. It was tangible, real, and a much-needed distraction.

Wind tugged at the loose pieces of their hair as they scanned the dusty landscape. As they were told, the southern ridge was blooming, dotted with flecks of stubborn green blooms. They dropped to one knee, already unzipping their field kit bag, their heart steadying with the rhythm of a ritual they had done thousands of times before.

Behind them, they could feel Leona watching. Of course, he was.

His sandals crunched the gravel behind them, measured and unhurried.

“This area hasn’t seen sustained rainfall in eight months,” They started. “But the helichrysum stoechas here are thriving, somehow. If it’s evolved a drought-resilient trait, it could be useful for-”

Yuu caught themselves rambling, and shut their mouth before they could say something foolish like: Would you stop standing so close?

Leona crouched beside them, surprisingly quiet for someone so used to being announced when he entered a room. “You speak of it like it’s a damn miracle,” he said, brushing a clawed finger just over a cluster of yellow blooms, gently spreading the petals with his knuckles.

Their eyes flicked to him. “In a way, it is”

He looked up at them, and for a moment, the wind stilled. Something in his face softened like some old, half-forgotten memory had passed behind his eyes. “You…always got like this around the gardens. Like the world could be narrowed down to the size of a single stem.”

Yuu frowned to hide their slight amusement. “I didn’t realize you remembered anything from school.”

“I remember everything, Doctor,” he said, voice low. As his head tilted, the curled locks of dark hair whipped around his furrowed brow. 

They were a bit taken aback. “Well…I’m afraid most of us don’t share your talent, Your Highness. It…must be nice.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t ya, Doctor?” He made a small click with his tongue, the edge of his mouth flicking up.

Before Yuu could answer, their datapad in their pocket chimed, a notification from the soil sensor. Fishing it from their pocket gratefully, they retreated back into the safety of their task. Numbers. Ratios. Things that didn’t look at them like that.

“Hmm, I’ll need to collect some root samples. The acidity levels here are off the charts. It’s strange…Seems something’s affecting the soil from underneath.” Yuu stood, brushing their knees off. “I’ll have to dig deeper.”

Leona rose too beside them, his gaze steady. “Then I’ll stay.”

“You…don’t have to, s-sir.” They said a little too quickly, maybe seeming a bit too eager to get rid of him.

“Oh, I know.” He chewed his lip as he spoke, quirking a brow at them.

Of course.

Resisting the urge to roll their eyes, they chose to grit their teeth instead. Yuu knelt again, turning their device scanner, eyes narrowing at the sudden spike in the moisture index. “That’s not right,” They muttered, head tilted at the screen.

Leona hovered beside them, quiet but present, letting them take the lead.

“It’s saying: there’s…water deeper down,” They said. “But the surface here is bone-dry. Like something’s… blocking it.”

“Hmm,” He crouched beside them once more, brows slightly furrowed as he scanned the readout. “Need  me to open the ground?” He didn’t move. Just waited for their instruction, patiently. But, they could feel his strong magic already building. After being the only person without it back then, it was something that became quite familiar to Yuu. They could sense it, coiled beneath the skin of others like a second heartbeat.

With Leona, it was like static, smooth, and gritty at the same time. The type of power that made you stop breathing for a second. It was the same earth magic they’d seen him use many times: splitting entire sports fields or…reducing a man to dust in seconds.

They swallowed. “Yes, uh-I need a trench around these bushes. About two feet deep.”

Leona nodded. Then, with a soft grumble and sweep of his hand, the ground cracked and parted. The loose dirt shifted effortlessly like silk being pulled away from skin. It danced to his will, calculated and precise, like the man controlling it. Nothing like the chaos they remembered from his overblot all those years ago, when that same talent had been a brutal storm. 

Yuu couldn’t help it, their hands froze over their scanner, eyes fixed not on the newly made trench, but on him as they stepped back from the crack in the ground.

He noticed. “You’re afraid of me,” he said, not accusing. Not even surprised.

“Just being cautious, My King.” They replied, fast, a bit too fast. 

He stood slowly, clapping his palms of sand even though they were spotless. “Same thing.”

“N-no.” They straightened, gripping their datapad with white-knuckles. “It’s…not.”

Leona looked at them, and for once, his gaze wasn’t severe; it was tired. Heavy in a way that almost made their chest ache. He sighed. “There ya go…Doctor.” He said, putting an uncomfortable emphasis on their title. Tucking his hands behind his back as he stepped away, he plastered on the most unconvincing smile Yuu had ever seen.

“Thank you…Your Highness.” They mumbled, echoing his cadence before kneeling back near the new trench. Meanwhile, the sensors continued buzzing in their hands. “Strange, the deeper layers are reacting to something… It’s shifting something upward. Like the soil’s been…disturbed recently.” They dug, a bit of dirt collecting under their nails.

The pad beeped again, it was sharper this time. Yuu leaned forward, brushing away the topmost grains of sand with a few fingers. Beneath the dirt, something caught the light, faint, reflective. “Your Highness,” they called, “There’s something here-.”

“I know.” He grumbled. “I can smell it.” He moved beside them again, silent as a shadow. In an instant, he was kneeling beside them, hovering his hands over theirs. 

They swallowed. Yuu could feel it, the way his magic caressed their palm, tugging subtly at the edges of the sand beneath their fingers, and making the hair on their arms stand on end. He was making it easier for them, softening the dirt for them to sift through faster.

What emerged wasn’t just rock.

“Is that?”

He tsked. “A magestone.”

“There’s…a lot.” They gasped.

Magestones were not their specialty, but they’d lived in this world long enough to know they were rare. Too rare. And loose? They’d never heard of them being mined in the Sunset Savanna. A gem known for holding and focusing magical energy… Yuu craned their head to look at him. “I didn’t know magestones were mined in this area of the world.”

Leona didn’t answer immediately. He pressed his palm to the earth near the cluster as if he could feel the pull. “Dammit.” The sand around Yuu’s fingers trembled briefly, reacting to him. “No,” he said finally. “But, someone’s buried them here.”

Their breath caught, mind spinning. “Why?”

Leona rose, brushing sand from his knees. His eyes were sharper now, no longer just watching them, but the horizon too. “If someone’s stockpiling magestones here,” he said slowly, “They’re not interested in healing the soil.”

Then it clicked, Yuu stared down at the pile of glimmering stones, their raw crystalline edges catching the sun. And for the first time since they stepped onto the ridge, they weren’t thinking about his magic. Or how close he stood to them. This seemed bigger.

Who had the motive to bury something this valuable in the middle of a dying ecosystem…and why?

Leona turned to them. “Document everythin’. Quietly. Don’t report it to the council yet.”

Their brow furrowed. “But if this is a threat to-”

“I said not yet.” He hissed, his nostrils flaring slightly with a barely contained frustration. His voice was sharp, but not cruel. They understood his frustration was not directed at them.

Yuu nodded slowly, swallowing questions they weren’t ready to ask him yet. Was someone staging a coup? One of the rebel groups? Or someone on the council? It was clear Leona didn't trust any of them, and neither did they put much stock in their king. Especially now after his stunt with Griza.

The wind picked up again, the yellow blooms around them bent low to the ground, as if they knew something was coming.

Documenting the coordinates of the location in silence, Yuu managed to keep their hands steady despite the tremble they could feel somewhere deeper, caged inside their ribs. 

Meanwhile, Leona stood behind them like a statue, back to theirs. They glanced back to see the outline of his silhouette gilded in the morning light, unmoving. 

“I’ll log the data,” Yuu started, voice soft, almost getting lost in the wind. “Leaving out the obvious, of course-”

“Good,” Leona replied. And there was a short beat of silence. “I…trust ya.”

Yuu paused at that, letting out a breath before turning off the display of their data pad. As they stared down at their reflection in the dark screen, they couldn’t help but notice how quiet his words were… so unadorned, casual. But the words made their heart flutter anyways.

I trust ya.

Yuu wondered if he knew what that meant to hear aloud, after everything. After all these years. 

Sliding the datapad into their satchel, they stood slowly, brushing their fingers clean. The trench Leona created remained open beside them, like a gaping wound in the earth. “What… happens now?”

Leona’s gaze didn’t waver. “Now? We keep it between us. For now.”

Yuu turned to face him. The sun hung low, casting gold over his cheekbones and curling in the dark strands of his hair. It should’ve softened him. It didn’t. But something else did. His expression wasn’t stoic or commanding. Just...searching. Leona usually wasn’t one to mince words but…did he really trust them? 

They swallowed under his gaze, as the reality settled upon them: they were in the middle of nowhere with a powerful man- no a King, capable of casual murder. And they were letting an old school crush cloud their vision. They should have been furious with themselves. 

“You’re…afraid I’ll report it,” They confessed, not as a question.

“No, Doctor. I’m afraid…you’ll get hurt if you do, that you don’t understand the consequences,” he replied.

That stopped their breath, just for a second. He was afraid for them?

“You think someone would try to…silence me?”

“I tend to work on absolutes, Doctor. Things I know,” he said carefully, “And I know that someone took a whole lotta’ effort to bury these stones. I know there are only a few uses for a country to stock this many unregistered magestones. Especially ones that the King of that country isn’t privy to.” He scowled. 

“We don’t know who’s behind this… However, I know, currently, I don’t hold the council's favor. And I… being the one that hired you,” His arm reached out, a single claw tracing their scalp like before in the car. “Well, that makes us… affiliated.” His eyes dropped, tracing their face. “Don’t it?”

Heat worked its way up the back of their neck, though not from the sun this time. 

Leona shot them a crooked smile, clearly amused by his effect on their expression. He dropped his hand from them, face growing stern once more. “If someone on the council is involved, I have my ways to draw them out. ‘Til then-”

Before they had time to process further, Leona stepped closer, slow, deliberate. His presence wasn’t something they could escape, not with distance, not with logic. Not anymore.

“We’re in cahoots,”  A pause. “Doctor,” 

They let out a choked sound. An hour ago, they wanted to avoid him for the sake of the past, but now it was possible they needed him, for all things…protection? They wanted to scream, stomp their feet in the dirt like a child. Curse themselves for accepting his invitation for this damn job in the first place. But, all Yuu managed was a pathetic response. “But-you…you’re in danger too.”

Leona’s dark lids dipped low over the cat-like pupils of his green irises. They were close enough to his face now to see them double in size. Had they pleased him so much? “Mmm, your concern is precious as always. But, do ya really think this is the first time the council has schemed to get ridda’ me?” 

The wind kicked up dust again, spiraling around both their sandals. Somewhere above the stillness, a few vultures cried overhead.

Yuu exhaled, at a loss, shaking their head slowly as the weight of it all pressed onto them. They could only imagine what it must have been like…to keep one eye open at all times, to constantly look over your shoulder, to have no one to truly watch your back.  “No, no, but I sincerely hope...that this is not the case, Your Highness.”

He just laughed, well, more like chuffed. --

The sun had dipped in the sky by the time they left the ridge, Leona making sure to leave the dirt packed exactly as it was before they came.

Inside the limo, the air was quieter than before, but strangely less tense. Yuu sat beside their King, satchel clutched to their chest, datapad encrypted and safely tucked away. Their eyes drifted to the window as the busy streets of an outlying city sped past.

Leona hadn’t spoken since they left the site. Neither had they. But, this silence felt less awkward and more like something…shared, the new secrets held between them. There was an understanding of survival.  Somehow, it was easier to coexist with him now, to reach his gaze. 

They opened their mouth to speak.

Until the driver stopped.

Yuu slid forward, brows knitting, nearly dropping their bag. Their stomach churned uneasily at the King’s reaction.  “W-why are we stopping?”

Leona had already straightened beside them, his brown ears flicked forward. “Something’s wrong.”

They had stopped at a bend in a dirt road, as a crowd began surrounding the car.

A blockade?

Dozens of them. Faces masked, signs raised, some glowing with enchanted script. Yuu couldn’t read them from this distance, but the tone was unmistakable. “Protesters?” They asked, already reaching for the door controls.

“No, these aren't protesters, they're...ex-guards,” Leona said grimly, a pained familiarity rushing past his gaze. 

Yuu had heard that the prior palace guard had all quit shortly after Farlena’s death, refusing to serve the new King. Rumors had ravaged the capital that he was responsible for his brother’s death, and the whole family. Yuu had never really put stock in it. Sure, he was a different man now, but murder his own family? 

Shouts rang out as heavy rocks began hitting the vehicle. There was the familiar glow of magic, then a crack in the window near their head. Yuu’s breath stopped, biting back a yelp.

They even jumped at the whirl of the limo's partition sliding down. Then the driver’s voice came through, tight with panic: “Your Highness, we’re surrounded and someone’s jammed the car's radio signal. I can’t call for backup.”

“Stay inside,” Leona ordered, already moving, his hand wrapped around the door handle. 

“Wait, Le-”

But he was already out the door.

They watched from inside. The moment his feet hit the ground, the sand answered.

A jagged wall surged up from the road in front of the limo, cutting off the nearest rebels. Not harming, yet, but enough to stagger the front line back. Enough to say: ‘Back off.’

Through the tinted glass, they saw him standing at the center of it, eyes sharp, tunic whipping around him.

When the dust rose, it was getting hard to see him in the chaos. There came an odd hush over the crowd. Then a blinding light. Someone hurled a small explosive, and judging by the flashing of prismatic colors, it was magic-laced.

It must have struck somewhere near the back wheel, because the shockwave knocked the limo sideways.

“Ah!”

Yuu’s shoulder slammed hard into the cracked window, the dust causing their eyes to water. Their satchel spilled from their lap. It all seemed to happen in a heartbeat, but they were unsure if they had lost consciousness or not. Pain had zipped up their arm as they palmed near their feet for the datapad, all the ringing in their ears was so shrill they thought they might be bleeding. As they slipped the object back in their bag, a lioness crept beside the sunroof to peer in at them. Her wide eyes softened at the sight of them, lying there. “There’s someone else in the car!” Just like that, she was gone into the cloud of dust that surrounded the car.

When the other door, now above their head, burst open, their breath caught, expecting a stranger's face.

But it was Leona. He was dust-covered too, wild-eyed, furious, but he was okay.

They didn’t have time to sigh in relief, he was already reaching inside the cab and pulling them out with both arms, “Are ya hurt?”

Yuu blinked, still dazed by the bomb, they found their hands on his shoulders as he maneuvered them around the flipped vehicle. “What n-no, I-”

Another blast went off nearby, causing them to jump into the cage of his arms. He cursed low, pressing himself against them, against the limo, his body a shield between them and the attack.

His palms were on either side of their face now, his gaze seeming to scan them for injuries. 

“I-I have the datapad I-” Yuu’s fingers gripped his shoulders as if to reassure him of their well-being, the heat of his body soaking into theirs.  “I-I’m okay. My ankle got caught under the seat, and my arm-” They grit their teeth, “...just some scratches.” They glanced down at their left arm, it had taken most of the impact when the car flipped.

“Don’t cha’ lie to me.” He breathed back, pressing himself harder against them, a section of his dark hair shifting over his shoulder. It should have hurt, but instead, they felt relieved to be at the center of his focus for once.

Maybe it was how hard they hit their head, but they actually laughed in the King’s face, his expression more resembling a worried puppy than any sort of intimidating figure. “I would be better…if my King wasn’t pressing all his weight onto me,” they said, teeth gritted.

Leona’s own laugh was brief, ragged, and almost a growl. There was a manic levity to the sound, as if the sight of them being here to scold him relieved him. He backed off of them some, his fingertips still touching the frame around them to keep them near. 

“Jus’ focus on me-.” He mused, then his sand moved again. It spiked in uniform arcs around them, curling like protective serpents, walling them both in until it was only them. Everything else fell away, and the outside was silenced besides their tandem breathing. Their heart thundered as they felt the thrum of his magic pulsing through the earth beneath their sandals, through their body from his.

He wasn’t just guarding; he was focusing only on Yuu. 

Safely encased from the chaos, the ground cracked before them, just feet from where they stood against the limo. A tunnel? Stairs and all? Smart. But, they expected nothing less of him.

“Follow, n’ lean on me, that ankle is worse than you’re actin’.” he said, so quietly Yuu barely heard it over the wind. 

All they could do was nod when the thought struck them: “Wait…Where’s the driver?” --

[mariacallous]

When the American Jewish Committee began working with U.S. bishops years ago to educate Catholics about antisemitism, they didn’t anticipate a global spike in the hatred they were trying to combat.

Nor did they know that just weeks before they would ultimately publicize their work, Pope Francis would suggest that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza.

But when Rabbi Noam Marans and Bishop Joseph Bambera came together last week to launch a glossary of antisemitic terms, annotated by Catholic commentary, that was the context. Marans described the glossary as a “milestone” ahead of the 60th anniversary of the church’s landmark declaration that Jews did not kill Jesus. And he noted that while relations between Catholics and Jews have massively improved from centuries past, they’re facing new stresses.

“It’s easy to lose perspective on an event like this, which was surely unimaginable to my grandparents in Bialystok, Poland,” Marans said at the launch event on Wednesday. “This has been a complete transformation in the relationship that has benefitted both communities.”

Referring to the Jewish blessing to mark significant occasions, he said, “It’s a shehechiyanu moment.”

Then he added, “And even shehechiyanu moments have flies in the ointment.”

In the document published last week, the AJC’s “Translate Hate” ongoing glossary — which has around 60 entries on antisemitic terms — has been appended with Catholic commentaries on 10 of those entries. The commentaries were written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, which Bambera chairs.

The entries with commentary range from “Blood libel” to “From the river to the sea,” a common chant at pro-Palestinian rallies that the AJC and other Jewish groups say is a call for Israel’s annihilation.

For example, in the entry on “Blood libel,” the canard that Jews kill Christian children and use their blood for ritual purposes, the Catholic gloss notes that the church has long rejected the idea, but that it still pops up in some Catholic discourse.

“Today, this charge may disguise itself in less traditional forms that must also be disavowed, such as the idea that the Jewish people support abortion as a means of ritualistic child sacrifice, or that Jews are intent on spilling the blood of their enemies for its own sake,” it says.

The entry on “From the river to the sea” says the church endorses the two-state solution and “encourages Catholics to understand and respect the deep religious connection Jews feel towards Israel.”

And in the entry on “philosemitism,” the Catholic commentary notes that the church has advised against seders that appropriate Jewish tradition. “The best way for Christians to experience the Seder meal is to observe it by invitation from a Jewish family or organization that welcomes non-Jews to this central celebration of Jewish life,” the commentary says.

The guide comes at a time when, perhaps awkwardly, the topic of Catholic antisemitism could hardly be more topical.

The adherence of J.D. Vance, the U.S. vice president-elect, to a strain of traditional Catholicism has renewed attention to varieties of Catholic belief. (Vance has weighed in on church debates, saying, for example, that while he is “not a big Latin Mass guy,” he did not support the church’s recent effort to restrict the traditional liturgy that prays for Jews to convert to Christianity.) Both Marans and Bambera said antisemitism exists in the traditionalist wing of the church but portrayed it as a fringe attitude.

Meanwhile, a series of recent statements by Pope Francis has provided a case study in the way Catholic values and scriptural citations can grate on Jewish ears.

Last month, Francis cited experts saying “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” and called for the charge — which Israel strenuously rejects — to be “carefully investigated.” Then, this month, he attended the inauguration of a nativity scene at the Vatican that positioned baby Jesus on a keffiyeh, or Palestinian scarf — a nod to activists who have identified Jesus, a Jew born in Roman times, as a Palestinian. Both incidents drew outcry from Jewish groups, and the nativity scene has since been removed.

Earlier, in a letter to Middle Eastern Catholics on Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, Francis denounced “the spirit of evil that foments war,” and quoted a passage from the Gospel of John to call it “murderous from the beginning” and “a liar and the father of lies.” The quote raised eyebrows because, in the New Testament, it is spoken by Jesus to a group of Jews, whom he calls children of the devil.

The word choice drew criticism from Philip Cunningham, a theology professor specializing in Jewish-Catholic relations at St. Joseph’s University.

“It is perilous to cite polemical words out of context, particularly words that have consistently sparked enmity toward Jews for centuries,” he wrote in America, a Jesuit magazine. “There is also something peculiarly surreal about this in a letter dated Oct. 7.”

A considerable portion of Wednesday’s event was taken up with Marans and Bambera discussing — and not quite seeing eye to eye — about Francis’ recent comments. (The pope has also issued statements condemning antisemitism, including during the current Gaza war.) Marans, AJC’s director of interreligious affairs, said in an interview that Francis has demonstrated his opposition to antisemitism — but added that his conduct has precipitated a “crisis” borne of “a lack of proper attention to Catholic-Jewish relations.” The genocide accusation, Marans said, was the most problematic.

“Whimsical use of the word ‘genocide’ against the Jewish people is dangerous because it characterizes the only Jewish state in a way that is grist for the mill of Jew-haters — which Pope Francis is absolutely, unequivocally not,” Marans said. “How does one rationalize those disappointments in speech and action with that overwhelming commitment to opposing antisemitism?”

For Bambera, the pope’s statements are simply expressions of the Catholic emphasis on the value of peace and human life. Francis’ statements stem from his concern for “the dignity of the human person,” the bishop said, including both Palestinians and Israelis.

“When he reflects upon the suffering of people who are victimized by terrorism and war, whether it be the Jewish people or countless others around the world, he will always speak of the value of human life and the need to preserve and protect it,” Bambera said at the event. He also reiterated Francis’ opposition to antisemitism.

But while Bambera and Marans read Francis’ words differently, they agreed on the path forward: more dialogue.

“I absolutely understand and appreciate the reaction of the Jewish community, the concern, perhaps the hurt, perhaps a worry about what this says about our relationship,” Bambera said in an interview. “One of the most significant things about the relationship that we have established, and that quite frankly Pope Francis supports and encourages, is the fact that we Jews and Catholics alike can talk candidly about this.”

The AJC has promoted Catholic-Jewish dialogue for more than half a century. It was active in shaping the 1965 church declaration that rejected antisemitism and said the Jews did not kill Jesus, called “Nostra Aetate” and adopted as part of Vatican II. The group consulted on the document, bringing on Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel as an adviser.

Marans said the relationship has only improved since then. He added that — even in light of the pope’s statements on Israel — Catholic attitudes toward Israel are in a better place than those of some liberal Protestant denominations that have weighed divestment from Israel.

“It is a different universe on the Catholic side because there is such commitment to Catholic-Jewish relations,” he said. “It is a given of the Catholic Church today that it is supportive of Catholic-Jewish relations wholeheartedly.”

The AJC touted plans to translate the Catholic edition of its glossary into more languages, including Spanish and Polish, and hopes to use it as a model both for Protestant denominations and other religions. Holly Huffnagle, the AJC’s U.S. director for combating antisemitism, said the group’s core goal is to teach people what antisemitism is and how to recognize it.

“People are more likely to listen to those they know, those they trust,” she said. “If you are Catholic, you’re more likely to listen to your priest than a Jewish leader.”

Working with interfaith partners, she said, has become especially important as those ties have frayed recently, in a moment where protest of Israel’s actions, and antisemitism, have been on the rise.

“The Christian space is a natural partnership,” she said. “What does it look like to go to other faiths and figure out how to do this project jointly? We have to take a step back in this moment, as we’ve seen real relationships decline.”

Both Bambera and Marans said the key to success in this project would be Catholic leadership using the glossary and imparting its message to the rank-and-file. Bambera said the archbishop of a major American archdiocese asked if he could distribute it to his clergy — which he took as a good sign.

He added that he hopes to have “more conversations about hard questions” between Catholics and Jews.

“Those hard questions shouldn’t stop the dialogue,” he said. “They should be able to grow because the dialogue is rooted in mutual respect and understanding.”

[mentheii]

genshin drawings i did for inktober!

notes:

1. backpack: tighnari!!! creature

2. discovery: i feel like alhaitham’s the kind of guy to leave stupid notes everywhere for kaveh to find when he cleans the house. not his books though

5. binoculars: kaveh from the genshin x discovery thing. you know you’ve drawn kaveh too many times when you draw him very differently from only a month ago 💀

12. remote: skyfrost nail!! ignore how the top is not supposed to be gold

15. guidebook: the tcg guide is the most heavily annotated book cyno has

20. uncharted: the world opens itself before those with noble hearts. yeah woo

22. camp: inspired by washi art :) digitigrade tighnari also because i think it’s cool

26. camera: charlotte!! goofy octopus camera

27. road: happy sabzeruz festival!

29. navigator: melusine tour guide 👍 very cute. sure hope there’s no lore reason they have normal legs because i like this more

31. landmark: palace of alcazarzarzarzarzaray. i like how this turned out but i don’t think i got the dappled lighting right 💀

the genshin brainrot is real

[kit-williams]

Note: Barn Anon. decided to play around with this idea while zoning out through work.

He hoists his backpack higher as he trudges through the thick undergrowth. The mocking words of his fellow researchers echo in his mind and he grits his teeth. Soon, soon he will prove them wrong. His backpack suddenly gets pulls off him and he turns to see none other than his own Ultramarine staring back at him. No words are spoken but he can feel the disapproval and wariness in his gaze.

"Look, all I need is proof okay? Just something, anything! I know I'm right about this... You believe me don't you?" He looks up at his Ultramarine who has been his loyal pet friend for the past few years.

A deep sigh comes from the blue behemoth but his friend doesn't leave. Good enough for him he figures. Slipping a hang into his pocket he pulls out a map that's decorated with the ramblings of a madman and old drops of blood. But if he is right then the former owner of this map isn't mad, the former owner didn't die chasing fantasies. Crude sketches of landmarks and arrows with half sensible annotations give him the directions he seeks. A few more days of trekking through this unforgiving forest, just a few more days.

--

The sun was just starting to set behind the mountains when he spots it, rushing forward and ignoring the alarmed shouts from his Ultramarine. His eyes are set on the massive and slightly eerie run down structure in front of him. it looks like part of a fortress's outer walls. It's design reminds him of what that massive pack of Imperial Fists had built in the park near his home. Yet it has it's own distinct characteristics that differ from the typical fortresses built.

His Ultramarine is at his side and trying to pull him away from the structure but he pulls away from his pet friend. Instead he takes his camera out and starts snapping pictures. His eyes are drawn to an worn out symbol and he rushes to clear the leaves and vines off it. Could it be? The symbol of one of the Lost Legions? A frustrated grumble leaves his lips when he realizes it's getting quite dark. When he turns to get his backpack from his Ultramarine, he's annoyed when his Ultramarine refuses to do so and starts pulling at his arm.

Why? He knows how much this discovery means to him! With this he can prove to his fellow researchers that he was right! The Lost Legions? They still exist, far from the touches of human civilization. There's more breeds of space marines out there than they thought and he will be right!

Then his Ultramarine seems to have heard something. He lets out a startled shout when he's picked up and held over his Ultramarine's arm. His Ultramarine now at full sprint away with him from the structure. Anger and annoyance flares and burns only to sputter out when in the growing darkness, he spots shadows moving without a sound. Each one the size of a Space Marine yet with they have their own distinct style that mark them different from the Loyalists and Chaos that are already so well known.

Then a shot rings out. His Ultramarine falls and he hits the ground hard, half crushed under his Ultramarine. The last thing he sees are more silhouettes of the Lost Legion marines closing in as his Ultramarine tries fruitlessly to fight them off. He closes his eyes one last time.

He was right about the Lost Legions.

Barn Anon gonna be honest I feel like a publisher for your works because how do I add onto this? I spent the past 5 minutes trying to figure out how to add onto this.

I tried my best

Feel free to ignore my addition I decided to try something a little bit more horror? A little bit more dread? A little bit more

But like I said feel free to ignore this

He opens his eyes feeling sore... sore? He makes the mistake of looking down and swallowing a scream. There must be a tech-marine around or a techpriest as the leg that was crushed under his Ultramarine companion was fully replaced by mechanics that few people seem to understand how it works.

No one wants to look deeper into the sudden appearance of these demi-god like beings... no one wants to question their behaviors... no one wants to look beyond the surface that there are suddenly demigods who decided to spend time with certain humans. Everyone likes to joke how they adopted their marine when in the painful itching cancerous thought in the back of your mind tells you the truth... they chose you for some reason. To accept the love and affection that people give to them just like his Ultramarine.

They speak in that language that no one can really follow as soon the helmeted heads all turn to his groggy face. He is painfully aware of how thirsty he is and how weak he is. He's painfully aware of his own mortality is this how some owners feel right before they get mauled.

He sees his Ultramarine rush into the room and carefully pick him up.

"I was right." He says deliriously with a pale smile, "They do exist."

A childing sigh and some words he doesn't understand are the reply as an unarmored hand just pets his hand. In this situation he feels like the silly little pet that got hurt and just woke up... tail wagging and happy to see its owner.

"Rest." A raspy voice scrapes out from a hooded figure as he looks away from the uncomfortable face... with tubes and wirings pushing and plugged into human flesh. He never did like admech... far too horrifying. But he somehow heeded it leaving his Ultramarine to deal with the consequences of this expidition.

What was going to happen to them?

[transskywardsword]

25 for the bovzek ask meme pls squire!!!

Alois is the second of two protagonists, the other being his betrothed, Bovzek, and is fascinated with the literature and political structures of ancient Rome; he's a bookworm on a good day, but add anything having to do with the Romans to it and he'll go off the deep end. In particular, Alois enjoys annotations and translating things; he speaks and reads Latin, as they are languages of the court and Catholicism (he's the only son of King Claudius during the push of Catholicism into Slavic areas) but also West Slavic, the language that predates Czech-Slovak, the language family that developed into Czech. Alois' kingdom is called Milan-Rosae, and is located in what will eventually become the Czech Republic with time, so much of its landmarks and cultural development comes from Czech and Slovakian areas. Alois holds little respect for the Pope and doesn't believe in a Christian God, despite his blood and title, so the Romans with their pantheon fascinate him. He's also particularly interested in their political structures, as he feels feudalism and absolute monarchy are unjust-- though to what degree, he only learned when he falls in love with Bovzek, a peasant. Alois loves to annotate, but keeps his collection of prized books and annotated and translated copies under lock and key, out of fear of what his emotionally volatile father might do if he learned just how much they mean to him.

[golden-valya]

I finally got the time AND energy/will to start drawing again (I haven't drawn in like. A year lmao (oops)) and I expected to be worse after that long of a break.

Working on gesture drawing since my poses are often really stiff (not going too badly)

Reading my PDFs of "The Vilppu Drawing Manual" and "Figure Drawing: Design & Invention"

Did 7 gesture drawings + annotated them with critiques (it's not very many but I am falling asleep (I've been caffeined yet again))

Lately I've also been reading Sayers' translation of Inferno, and I'm up to canto IX

I just need to get better with the bony landmarks, using minimal lines, utilizing the CSI curves, and making my lines less chicken scratchy

[ kitty below cut ]

Cruella is being a sweetie :3

[bakersstreetirregulars]

The Lost Golden City: Part 1 - Patch Notes

Text is copy/pasted from the posts in the official CRK Discord Server’s patch notes channel. Pictures posted here are from that same channel and server. GIFs are replaced with still screenshots. My personal annotations will use Tumblr’s indented format.

-

September 26 Update Notice

-

Greetings from the Kingdom team!

-

Let’s take a look at the list of new features that have arrived with the September 26 update.

​Some portions of this update’s content may change before its release. The finalized changes will be available in the patch notes once the update is complete.

The update schedule may change depending on various factors. We’ll let you know the exact schedule in a separate notice.

-

WHAT’S NEW

■ NEW EPISODE: EP. 17 THE LOST GOLDEN CITY

- Amidst the dunes of the Parmesan Desert, where golden cheese flows freely! The ever-gleaming “Golden Cheese Kingdom” is finally here!

- Embark on a new adventure to the final Ancient Kingdom in CookieRun: Kingdom! Play Ep. 17 “The Lost Golden City,” and clear both Story/Dark Mode stages.

- Explore the new episode on the Bear Jelly Balloon after you clear all its Story Mode stages.

- Certain stages in Ep. 17 include exciting new features like puzzles and mini-games.

The phrase “Final Ancient Kingdom” after only 4 Ancient Cookies were released/announced essentially hard-confirms that White Lily Cookie didn’t have her own Kingdom at any point during her story.

-

■ GOLDEN CHEESE KINGDOM’S ERROR BUSTERS

- Everyday, Cheesebirds gather at the heart of the Golden Cheese Mines to remove unidentified errors.

- Deal damage to monsters during battle and gain points in the Golden Cheese Kingdom’s Error Busters! Defeat monsters and fix bugs plaguing the mines!

- Golden Cheese Kingdom’s Error Busters are split into two Seasons, and each Season offers different Season Cookies and Bug Fix Effects.

While this is a temporary 2-part event, it gives us insight on the kinds of desired perfections and futuristic designs of the Golden Cheese Kingdom. This speculation is for lore purposes mainly, but one should wonder how a mainly ancient Egyptian-themed kingdom would be if it had modern/futuristic technologies.

1) SELECTING AND SWAPPING COOKIES IN ERROR BUSTERS

- Five Cookies are chosen randomly when entering battle in Error Busters.

- Reach the Cookie swapping point to swap one of the remaining Cookies. Here, you can choose to swap a Cookie or keep your current selection within the time limit. Fight monsters and select the Cookies you want in your team to bust those errors!

-

2) BUG FIX EFFECTS

- You receive Bug Fix Points when you defeat monsters in Error Busters.

- Your Bug Fix Points are displayed on a gauge at the upper left part of the screen. Once the gauge fills up, you can select one out of three Bug Fix Effects that will help you in battle.

- Bug Fix Points are applied only for the duration of a single round. Choose wisely and select Effects that will make your team stronger!

3) ERROR BUSTERS SEASONAL COOKIES

- In Error Busters, you will be provided with special Seasonal Cookies only available for use in Error Busters. Every player will have the same stats, as Season Cookies have fixed levels and promotions ranks.

- This game mode is not affected by external buffs and stats provided by your Guild, Sugar Gnome Laboratory, Bonds, Landmarks, etc.

The Cookies shown below are not consistent of the entire list, as we see Herb Cookie, Angel Cookie, Gumball Cookie, Milk Cookie, and Tea Knight Cookie in the above picture, but select high-rarity Cookies such as Oyster Cookie and Hollyberry Cookie (both absent from their respective rarities in the below image) may not be on the list for one or both of the event’s seasons.

My assumptions regarding levels are that all Cookies will be defaulted to level 75 with a level 75 skill. Epic+ Cookies will have a 5 star rank, while Common and Rare Cookies will have a 5A rank to put them on point with- if not stronger than- the higher-rarity Cookies. Magic Candies and Crystal Jams will probably not exist here.

■ [ANCIENT] GOLDEN CHEESE COOKIE

Worship the Ever-Radiant Sovereign of the Golden City!

- The one who dwells in a gilded palace amidst the dunes of the Parmesan Desert, the one who rules the eternal city of gold: the long-awaited Golden Cheese Cookie is here!

- Golden Cheese Cookie is a Ranged Cookie who uses the skill, “Brilliance of the Absolute.”

- Skill description: Heed the Sun Deity’s call! Upon using her skill, Golden Cheese Cookie throws her Spears of Radiance, dealing damage up to 8 times when there are five or more enemies. For each enemy defeated, she gains an extra Spear of Radiance. The number of Spears of Radiance can increase to up to 12 in total. When hit by Golden Cheese Cookie’s spear, enemies receive a debuff amplifying the Earth-type damage received. While Golden Cheese Cookie is using her skill, she harnesses her Light of Abundance and hurls the Spear of the Absolute to the enemy Cookie with the highest ATK. The Spear of Absolute removes the target’s buffs, deals DMG that partially ignores the target’s DMG Resist, and Explosion DMG based on the current number of Spears of Radiance to all enemies in range. Once per battle, if Golden Cheese Cookie is about to be defeated, she encloses herself in a Sarcophagus for a certain period of time. While enclosed in her Sarcophagus, she casts a Shield around herself. This Shield takes the DMG dealt to nearby allies covered by it and provides Knockback Immunity. When using her skill, Golden Cheese Cookie is not affected by ATK Speed changes and is protected from the Glitch: Data Corruption effect by her Light of Abundance.

Earth is most likely going to be a new element/damage type. As for the skill’s description… this is a mouthful and a half to try to analyze until we have definite video footage to examine. So she throws spears doing damage 8 times with 5+ enemies? What if there’s 4 or less? Does she just throw another spear and repeat the process if she defeats something? Here’s the perceived attack order and other things I’m getting. This may be completely wrong though, since these are my assumptions.

Attacks Everyone: Spear of Radiance damage with up to 8 ticks with 5+ enemies in play (unknown to me how many spears she throws in her first attack), Earth damage weakness, attacks again with another Spear of Radiance for each enemy destroyed up to a max of 12

Attacks the Strongest Cookie: Takes effect after Spears of Radiance are resolved, Spear of the Absolute damage to Cookie with highest ATK with partial DMG Resistance bypass, remove buffs -> explodes for extra Explosion Damage to cause wide splash damage, increases with the number of Spears of Radiance thrown earlier in the attack

Self-Buffs: Immune to attack speed-changing effects during skill use, unknown if immune to interrupts/stuns. Passive immunity to “Glitch: Data Corruption” which is probably a gimmick for Episode 17.

Last Stand Effect: Hides in a Sarcophagus when she’s about to get KO’d, creating a Shield that protects nearby teammates and grants Knockback Immunity. Takes effect on her first would-be KO, has priority over revive effects, unknown if she heals/revives afterwards or can be healed while in her sarcophagus, also unknown what happens if her shield is destroyed.

- You can now pull Golden Cheese Cookie and her Soulstones in the Nether-Gacha.

· Collect or purchase Light of Abundance and use it in the Nether-Gacha.

· Golden Cheese Cookie and her Soulstones will be available in the Nether-Gacha with an increased probability.

· Once you have performed 250 Nether-Gacha pulls, you will be able to meet a guaranteed Golden Cheese Cookie.

· Any Light of Abundance remaining after the Nether-Gacha ends will be converted into Coins.

■ [EPIC] BURNT CHEESE COOKIE

- The Gatekeeper who guards the gates of the eternal Golden Paradise, Burnt Cheese Cookie is here!

- Burnt Cheese Cookie is a Charge Cookie who uses the skill “Keeper of the Gates.”

- Skill description: Summons giant boulders from beneath the earth, dealing DMG to nearby enemies and granting Earth-type CRIT buff for all allies. Afterwards, the boulders explode, dealing DMG and Stunning enemies. Burnt Cheese Cookie grants the Keeper of the Gates and the Curse Protection buffs to himself and the ally Cookie with the highest ATK. The Cookie with the Keeper of the Gates buff receives DMG Focus and becomes Immune to Debuffs. Burnt Cheese Cookie and Golden Cheese Cookie's DMG Resist increases when entering a battle together. If Golden Cheese Cookie becomes enclosed in her Sarcophagus during battle, Burnt Cheese Cookie's ATK and ATK SPD will temporarily increase, and his Cooldown will reset. The Keeper of the Gates and Curse Protection buffs will be applied to Golden Cheese Cookie enclosed in her Sarcophagus first. While using his skill, Burnt Cheese Cookie will briefly become resistant to interrupting effects.

After a quick search, Burnt Cheese Cookie appears to be based on the Egyptian god Anubis, jackal-headed god of the afterlife and funeral rites and the one who would guide souls to the underworld to be judged. Anyone deemed worthy who had not sinned greatly during their life would then be taken to Osiris to enter the afterlife. Would the Golden Cheese Kingdom be the equivalent of an afterlife or some sort of aforementioned paradise? Who knows?

Unrelated, but Fun Fact: Anubis shares a similar role to the Greek god Hermes, who also led souls to the underworld. [sourced YouTube video for this statement and the one listed above]

In relation to the above statement, Sherbet Cookie’s Legendary Costume essentially makes him look like Hermes, and even has a story bit where he visited Black Pearl Cookie deep in the abyss. Think about it. Even if he and Burnt Cheese Cookie have no associations lore-wise, it would make for an interesting AU. Anyways, back to business. Shortened skill analysis.

Summon Boulders: Damage nearby enemies, gives earth-type CRIT buff to all teammates, gives Curse Protection and Keeper of the Gates buff to himself and the ally with the highest ATK UNLESS Golden Cheese Cookie as an ally is in her Sarcophagus (see above for how she gets into this state), where she takes priority in this state.

Boulders Explode: Additional damage, inflicts stun.

Keeper of the Gates Buff: Grants DMG Focus and Debuff Immunity

When Paired with Golden Cheese Cookie: Both Cookies’ DMG Resist increases, gains temporary ATK Up and ATK SPD Up buffs and resets own skill cooldown if Golden Cheese Cookie enters her Sarcophagus. Golden Cheese Cookie’s Sarcophagus takes priority for his skill’s Curse Protection and Keeper of the Gates buffs over highest-ATK Cookie.

Resistant to interruptions (same as everyone else with this perk)

-

■ NEW TREASURES

- [EPIC] VIAL OF RAGING DUNES

· Description: At the beginning of battle, ally Cookies receive the Vial of Raging Dunes buff, increasing their ATK and CRIT Resist. When an ally Cookie is revived, the buff is stacked once more and can be stacked up to a certain amount of times. Additionally, whenever an ally Cookie is revived, a fierce sandstorm will deal DMG to enemies based on the total ATK of allies and reduce enemies’ ATK.

This MIGHT replace the Scroll if the ATK buff is better or if CRITs are prevalent, especially in Arena. Or maybe since this isn’t a Scroll variant, you could use both…! The stacking/sandstorm effect requires additional revival factors like Sugar Swan’s Shining Feather or Vampire Cookie’s Magic Candy’s revive effect to actually work though, which may cause more problems than it’s actually worth. Unknown how many times this buff can stack.

- [EPIC] EXPLORER’S MONOCLE

· Description: Overcomes crises with the Explorer’s Monocle by purifying and healing Max HP of allies, while increasing DEF and weakening debuff effects for a certain period of time.

This is essentially a non-Guild version of the Bookseller’s Monocle, which heals and purifies debuffs. This one adds extra DEF and reduces the effect of further debuffs, which puts into question the healing difference between both Monocles and what you consider a survival priority: a big heal with debuff removal, or a potentially smaller heal with debuff removal/resistance and extra Defense?

■ NEW BACKGROUND & DECORS

- New Kingdom Decor and Castle Designs are here with the Golden Cheese Kingdom update!

· New Background “Eternal Golden City.”

· New Castle Design “Dazzling Golden Cheese Castle.”

· New Fountain Design “Fountain of Paradise.”

Possibly accessible for completing Episode 17, but also just as likely to only appear in packages or events. Any of these three situations can happen.

- Check out the new luxurious golden decor theme, “Land of Gold & Abundance.”

■ SPECIAL TOPPINGS

- The new Resonant Radiant Cheese Toppings that can only be equipped by specific Cookies have been added.

· Radiant Cheese Raspberry

· Radiant Cheese Chocolate Chip

· Radiant Cheese Almond

· Radiant Cheese Caramel

· Radiant Cheese Apple Jelly

- Find more information on which Cookies that can equip the Toppings in Topping Details.

We don’t know who can equip these Toppings yet, but my guess is that at the very least, Golden Cheese Cookie and Burnt Cheese Cookie can equip them. Maybe Black Raisin Cookie too since she’s the only known returning Epic Cookie that appears in the preview.

- The set effect of Toppings will activate regardless of whether they’re regular or Resonant Toppings, as long as all of the Toppings equipped are of the same set.

- When the Bonus effect of Resonant Toppings is enhanced, Resonant Toppings have a higher minimum Bonus Stat value than regular Toppings.

- Additional bonus effects of Resonant Toppings may differ from that of regular Toppings.

■ HALL OF ENCOUNTER: GRAND CHARCUTERIE BOARD OF RELAXATION

- The Hall of Encounter has been updated.

- Obtain Monument Fragments, Unity Essence, Legendary Soul Essence, Radiant Cheese Toppings and more in the Hall of Encounter Random Reward Chests.

Black Raisin Cookie appears here and in the preview. I doubt it’s filler, especially with Chili Pepper Cookie out of the picture since Episode 15/16. Why else would they put her here? She’s bound to get a buff by Part 2. I can sense it a mile away, but don’t call me a psychic just yet. It’s all speculation… for now.

ADDITIONS, CHANGES & IMPROVEMENTS

■ NEW SHOP LAYOUT

- Made improvements to the Shop layout for your convenience.

- Packages are listed and categorized according to the new Shop layout.

■ STORAGE IMPROVEMENTS

- Star Jellies will now stack up to x99,999 instead of x9,999 in the Storage.

■ CHOICE CHEST IMPROVEMENTS

- You can now use the “Claim Rewards 5 times” feature and select rewards you want and receive it in one-go for multiple Skill Powders, Toppings, Sugar Crystals of Choice Chests.

[anniekoh]

The Portland Bridge Book by Sharon Wood Wortman with Ed Wortman

Third edition of The Portland Bridge Book is like an old faithful bridge that's been restored by a dedicated crew of specialists to increase its carrying capacity for the public's enjoyment. Over a span of 225 pages (50 percent larger than the second edition and more than twice the size of the first edition), this edition delivers: Profiles 15 highway bridges and four railroad bridges across the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the metro area. Each structure's general history, technical details, source of its name, and more are explained in accessible language. 150 historic and large format contemporary photographs, many published for the first time. Annotated drawings by Joseph Boquiren showing Portland's movable bridges in operation. How & Why Bridges Are Built, written by Fremont Bridge field engineer Ed Wortman. Expanded and localized glossary of bridge termsPortland transportation history timeline, truss patterns, bridge poetry, lyrics.

Images 1 & 2 from the Portland Bridge Book. Image 3 is the cover of the book.

Snippets

Multnomah County owns four of the five large movable bridges: Hawthorne, Morrison, Burnside, and Broadway bridges, as well as Sellwood and Sauvie Island bridges. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) owns state and interstate highway structures, i.e. Ross Island, Marquam, Fremont, St. Johns, Oregon City, and Abernethy bridges, and across the Columbia River, Glenn Jackson Bridge and in a joint agreement with WA state, the Interstate Bridge.

Other notable bridges in Portland Oregon that do not cross the river.

Balch Gulch Bridge on Thurman Street in Northwest Portland, built for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. One of about 150 highway and pedestrian bridges owned and maintained by the City of Portland, this unusual hanging deck truss is the oldest highway deck truss bridge in Oregon. Vista Avenue Viaduct, a 248-foot open-spandrel reinforced concrete highway arch located 128 feet above SW Jefferson St on the way to US Highway 26 in Portland's West Hills.

Tilikum Crossing: Portland's Bridges and a New Icon by Donald MacDonald & Ira Nadel (2020)

Portland, Oregon's innovative and distinctive landmark, Tilikum Crossing Bridge of the People, is the first major bridge in the U.S, carrying trains, busses, streetcars, bicycles, and pedestrians- but no private automobiles. When regional transportation agency TriMet began planning for the first bridge to be constructed across the Willamette River since 1973, the goal was to build a something symbolic, which would represent the progressive nature of the Twenty-First Century. Part of that progressiveness was engaging in a public process that involved neighborhood associations, small businesses, environmentalists, biologists, bicycling enthusiasts, designers, engineers, and the City Council. The result of this collaboration was an entirely unique bridge that increased the transportation capacity of the city while allowing Portlanders to experience their urban home in an entirely new way—car-free. In this book, the award winning architect of Tilikum Crossing, Donald MacDonald, and co-author Ira Nadel, tell the story of Portland through its bridges. Written in a friendly voice, readers will learn how Portland came to be known as "The City of Bridges" and the home to this new icon in the city's landscape. MacDonald uses 98 of his own drawings to illustrate the history of Portland river crossings and to show the process of building a Twenty-First Century landmark

Image 4 is the Tilikum Crossing book cover. Image 5 is a photo of the bridge itself.

Short video: Aerial footage of some of the bridges in Portland, Oregon. Relaxing views of the Broadway, Fremont and Steel bridges. Apr 26, 2021

[afpwestcoast]

Colony, Woodstock, NY, 9/2/23

This was the last of a three-night stand at Colony in Woodstock. I missed the first show, but you can find my write-up of the second one here.

The previous show got off to a bit of a slow start (I’m not saying it’s because they didn’t open with Good Day, but I’m not NOT saying that either) but tonight they lit the afterburners from the first beat and never looked back. High energy, excellent execution, with just the right amount of antics and hijinx. Overall a stellar performance.

It was also a landmark event in Dresden Dolls history. The running joke is that when they hand out the set list to the crew before a show a common response is to just crumple it up with a ‘yeah, whatever’ because the Dolls are notorious for not following the set list. Tonight, however, for reportedly the first time in Dresden Dolls history, they executed the published set list to the letter. In response the crew “graded” the list like homework and gave it back to the band marked up as though by a third-grade teacher. After the show Amanda gifted me this remarkable document, suitable for framing.

As she had last November, Amanda hosted a Patreon brunch at the venue on the Sunday following the shows. At the November shows Brian had taken to drumming on the string of lightbulbs running across the stage, breaking several of them. It had been noted that the lights in question had been removed, and the thought was that this was a permanent modification. But no! At brunch on Sunday the lights were back! So this was definitely a Brian-specific alteration.

The highlight of the brunch - by far - was the presentation of a very special gift to Amanda. Melissa, an avid fan and Campersander, hand-crafted a beautiful ukulele and laser-engraved it with the names of everyone who attended the most recent Campersand. It was stunning and Amanda was deeply touched. Since she had never made a ukulele before Melissa was a little nervous about how it would sound, but Amanda played In My Mind on it and it sounded great!

Annotated Set List:

Good Day - The opener that god intended.

Sex Changes

Gravity

Night Reconnaissance

Bad Habit

Mrs. O

My Alcoholic Friends

After torching through the first seven songs without stopping for breath, Amanda paused to take the temperature of the crowd. I was exhausted from the previous night and told her I didn’t know whether I would make it through the set. Amanda responded, “Oh I am going to fuck you,” and then yelled “Everyone tonight gets fucked!” The crowd erupted into cheers at this, causing Amanda to muse about the nature of Dresden Dolls fandom. “It’s a little bit of a cult in some ways.”

Welcome to the Internet (Bo Burnham cover)

Amanda said they were about to play some brand new songs and asked that they not be recorded, but then said, “Before we play you that newnewnewnew stuff we’re gonna play an old old old old old one. … I am going to play you the very first Dresden Dolls song I ever wrote. I was 15 when I wrote this song.”

Slide

She then told the story of the Director of her high-school musical stopping a rehearsal to yell, “Amanda! You can’t sing!”, which is the source of the line Sing for the teachers who told you that you couldn’t sing in the song Sing. 

Whakanewha (pronounced fuckin-A fa)

Boyfriend in a Coma

Before heading into the brand new material Amanda placed an order with the bar. Manhattan, up, in a small glass, in case you’re wondering.

Mister God - This is Amanda’s new favorite song; she thought it was good … and then Brian ran it through his rigorous criteria in the Test Kitchen and turned it into fire!

Houdini

The band came to the front of the stage for the next song and Amanda used Betsy (stilt-walker extraordinaire) as a footrest.

Mein Herr

Merch Commercial

Ultima Esperanza

Coin-Operated Boy - During this song Brian had some sort of mechanical issue with his kit and eventually gave up, left the stage, and came and stood with us in the crowd. I handed him my phone and he proceeded to stare at it like the kid in the back with the phone who refuses to sing, which is actually a bit of a sore point. Eventually everything was sorted and the band played on.

Half Jack

— —

Girl Anachronism

Sing

Photo Gallery:

Amanda came out over-dressed.

Whole lotta drummin’ goin’ on!

Brian is having a moment.

Welcome to the Internet.

The Dresden Dolls are essentially a hair band.

Mein Herr! (Betsy is the best footrest.)

Brian is a vampire.

The first ever perfectly-executed set list!

Left: Lights removed from Brian’s reach during the show. Right: Lights replaced for Sunday brunch.

Amanda playing a beautiful ukulele hand-crafted by Campersander Melissa. It sounded great!

[govindhtech]

Introducing SAIR: Quantum AI Drug Discovery Accelerator

Structurally Enhanced IC50 Repository

The open dataset Structurally Augmented IC50 Repository (SAIR) of protein-ligand structures tagged by binding affinity is released by SandboxAQ.

SAIR (Structurally Augmented IC50 Repository) was introduced today by SandboxAQ, a B2B quantum and AI company. This landmark release of protein-ligand pairings with annotated experimental potency data, the largest and most thorough open dataset, might revolutionise computational drug development. SAIR uses cutting-edge AI algorithms to give researchers a new resource that will speed up and improve binding affinity predictions.

SAIR fills a critical gap in AI-driven drug design, marking a turning point in AI in biology. Historically, deep learning algorithms that employ 3D chemical structures to create medications have struggled with data shortages. Because few protein-ligand complexes have a resolved 3D structure and measurable potency (IC50 or Ki values), many AI methods use sequences or 2D chemical structures.

SAIR was created to overcome this restriction by providing a large library of computationally folded protein-ligand structures with equivalent experimental affinity values. Closing this data gap will help machine learning algorithms predict binding affinity more accurately.

SAIR has almost one million protein-ligand complexes, 1,048,857 of which are unique pairings, and 5.2 million synthetic 3D molecular structures. The Boltz-1x model cofolded structures in this huge dataset from ChEMBL and BindingDB. Citizens can access 2.5 gigabytes of data. These structures were built using SandboxAQ's advanced AI Large Quantitative Model (LQM) and NVIDIA DGX Cloud, a powerful AI training and tuning platform. The relationship with NVIDIA doubled GPU utilisation and increased throughput across SandboxAQ's scientific workloads to optimise SAIR's computing infrastructure.

SAIR's unique combination of LQM skills and physics-based modelling improves generality, dependability, and application across drug development processes. By sharing the SAIR dataset, SandboxAQ showcases its patented LQMs' unrivalled potential and quantitative AI for drug discovery expertise.

Using NVIDIA's AI LQM and knowledge SAIR was meant to make large-scale in silico protein-ligand binding affinity predictions using accelerated computation. SandboxAQ General Manager of AI Simulation Nadia Harhen stressed the significance of this achievement. Harhen added, “This achievement marks a pivotal moment in drug discovery, demonstrating capacity to fundamentally transform the traditional trial-and-error process into a rapid, data-driven approach” to highlight the revolutionary potential.

It gives any scientist the raw fuel to train breakthrough models overnight, setting a new pace for drug discovery,” she said, adding that over five million affinity-labeled protein-ligand structures were publicly available. SAIR turns limited experimental data into a chance, and this release shows SandboxAQ's LQM platform's breadth and complexity.

The comprehensive and outstanding SAIR dataset can be used to train AI models that accurately predict protein-ligand binding affinities. SAIR allows these models to forecast 1,000 times faster than physics-based methods. This enormous acceleration is projected to speed drug researchers' journey from discovery to commercialisation, improving patient outcomes and therapeutic breakthroughs. The bioRxiv preprint “SAIR (Structurally Augmented IC50 Repository): Enabling Deep Learning for Protein-Ligand Interactions with a Synthetic Structural Dataset” provides technical details about the dataset.

SandboxAQ's quantitative artificial intelligence platform has yielded exceptional outcomes through strategic partnerships with top academic institutions and pharmaceutical industries. Riboscience, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, UCSF's Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Stand Up To Cancer are these partners. Large quantitative models from the company frequently outperform conventional methods, indicating a major improvement in medical development pace.

Non-commercial use of the SAIR dataset is free under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. After submitting a simple form to SandboxAQ, commercial users can utilise the data for free. Researchers can access the dataset using SandboxAQ or Google Cloud Platform.

Researchers can contact SandboxAQ at [email protected] to work on expanding SAIR or using these unique models for their hardest targets. A upcoming webinar with SandboxAQ and an NVIDIA speaker will explain how to access and use the data. SandboxAQ plans to deliver new datasets, AI models, and innovative solutions to revolutionise drug development.

About SandboxAQ

SandboxAQ provides quantum-AI solutions to businesses. The organization's Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) aim to improve financial services, navigation, and life sciences. Top investors and strategic partners like T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Alger, IQT, US Innovative Technology Fund, S32, Paladin Capital, BNP Paribas, Eric Schmidt, Breyer Capital, Ray Dalio, Marc Benioff, Thomas Tull, and Yann LeCun helped SandboxAQ become an independent, growth-backed business from Alphabet Inc.

[wisepl]

Decode Every Pixel of Retail - with Wisepl

Behind Every Retail Image Lies Untapped Intelligence. From checkout counters to smart shelves, every frame holds critical insights only if labeled with precision. We turn your raw retail data into high-impact intelligence.

Whether it’s SKU-level product detection, planogram compliance, footfall analytics, or shelf-stock status: Our expert annotation team delivers pixel-perfect labels across:

Bounding Boxes

Semantic & Instance Segmentation

Pose & Landmark Annotations

Object Tracking in Video Footage

Retail is not just physical anymore - it’s visual. Get the high-quality annotations your AI needs to predict demand, optimize layouts, and understand shopper behavior like never before.

Let’s make your retail data work smarter, faster, sharper.

Let’s collaborate to bring clarity to your retail vision. DM us or reach out at info@wisepl.com Visit us: https://wisepl.com

[tripleatranscription]

From Talks to Timeless Records: The Hidden Strength of Precision Transcription

Accurate transcription can change how knowledge travels through time. A clear record of spoken words becomes a reliable reference, a teaching tool, and even a historical artifact. This article uncovers why precision transcription matters far beyond simple typing, and how it transforms lectures and interviews into lasting legacies.

When Every Word Counts

Imagine a landmark lecture slipping through memory’s cracks. Key insights vanish. Precise transcription captures each nuance. It picks up on tone shifts, pauses, and emphasis—the subtle markers that give speech its full meaning. Capturing these details creates a document that reads with the speaker’s original intent intact. And that level of fidelity can influence research, policy decisions, and cultural archives for decades.

Behind the Scenes of Quality Transcripts

Transcription isn’t just fast typing. It demands subject‑matter knowledge and sharp listening skills. Transcribers learn to navigate accents, jargon, and technical terms. They distinguish overlapping voices and mark speaker changes. This craft often combines human expertise with AI tools. The human ear corrects machine misreads. Together they form a workflow that balances speed with nuance.

Integrating Tech Without Losing Human Touch

Modern platforms offer automated transcription. They promise instant outputs at a click. But raw AI text can misinterpret specialized vocabulary or context. That’s where human editors step in. They refine timestamps, validate terminology, and ensure logical flow. This blend of automation and human review defines the best transcription services available today.

Why Scholars Rely on Precision

Academic research hinges on credible sources. A misquoted phrase can derail an argument or misrepresent findings. Researchers often turn to academic transcription services for dissertation interviews, focus groups, and oral histories. These providers follow strict confidentiality protocols and deliver documents formatted to meet publication standards. The result is a trustworthy foundation for rigorous scholarship.

Beyond Academia: Business and Media Uses

Transcription drives content creation in marketing, journalism, and legal fields. Video producers extract captions for SEO and accessibility. Lawyers use verbatim court transcripts for appeals. Podcasters publish show notes that improve discoverability and user engagement. In each case, accuracy shapes credibility and audience trust.

Extra Layers: Timestamping and Metadata

Good transcripts include more than plain text. They feature timestamps that link text to audio or video. They log speaker identities and annotate non‑verbal cues like laughter or applause. Metadata tags highlight keywords and themes, making documents searchable. This structure turns raw transcripts into dynamic research tools.

Training Transcribers: The Human Element

Apprenticeship remains vital. New transcribers learn through hands‑on practice under mentors. They refine ear training by working on diverse audio samples—from noisy conference halls to intimate interviews. Peer reviews and feedback loops help maintain high standards. This communal learning fosters a culture of continual improvement.

Ethics and Confidentiality

Handling sensitive material requires discretion. Professional transcribers abide by non‑disclosure agreements and secure data protocols. They respect privacy laws and data‑protection regulations. Transparent workflows and encrypted file storage ensure client trust. In fields like medicine or law, this rigor is non‑negotiable.

Future Horizons: AI and Beyond

AI models continue to evolve, offering better speech recognition and language understanding. As they improve, turnaround times shrink and costs drop. Yet human oversight remains essential. Transcription will likely shift toward real‑time editing and multilingual support. Regardless of tools, the core mission stays the same: to preserve every spoken insight faithfully.

Conclusion

Precision transcription bridges the gap between spoken word and enduring record. It safeguards knowledge, supports scholarship, and empowers diverse industries. By combining human expertise with smart technology, today’s transcription services ensure that lectures, interviews, and meetings leave an indelible mark. Quality transcripts transform fleeting talks into timeless legacies.

[gts6465]

What Is an Image Annotation Company and Why You Need One

Introduction

In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), data has become the new oil; however, unprocessed data by itself will not yield effective outcomes. It requires refinement, organization, and labeling to gain value. This is where image annotation firms are crucial. Whether you are developing a self-driving vehicle to identify pedestrians, assisting a medical AI in tumor detection, or enhancing facial recognition technologies, accurately annotated images are necessary. Let us explore the functions of an Image Annotation Company and the importance of collaborating with one for achieving success in AI.

What Is Image Annotation?

Image annotation involves the labeling of images with pertinent metadata to enhance their comprehensibility for machine learning algorithms. This may include tasks such as drawing bounding boxes around vehicles, delineating organs in medical imaging, pinpointing key positions in human movement, or segmenting objects at the pixel level. These annotations enable AI models to 'perceive' and interpret the visual environment with precision, akin to the way humans utilize their eyes and cognitive processes.

What Does an Image Annotation Company Do?

A company specializing in image annotation offers expert services to accurately and consistently label large quantities of images and videos. They utilize skilled human annotators, AI-enhanced tools, and stringent quality assurance measures to produce labeled datasets customized for particular AI applications.

The services generally encompass: bounding box annotation,

polygon and polyline annotation,

semantic and instance segmentation,

3D point cloud labeling,

video frame annotation,

and keypoint and landmark detection.

Organizations such as GTS.AI provide comprehensive image and video annotation services to enhance AI training across various sectors.

Why You Need an Image Annotation Company

When developing AI or machine learning models that utilize visual data, annotation is not merely an option — it is a necessity. Here are the reasons why collaborating with a specialized company is crucial:

High-Quality, Consistent Data

The precision of your model is contingent upon the quality of your training data. Skilled annotators guarantee consistency and mitigate bias, leading to more dependable AI systems.

Accelerated Turnaround at Scale

Labeling thousands (or millions) of images internally is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Image annotation firms can rapidly scale their efforts to adhere to stringent project timelines.

3. Advanced Tools & Infrastructure

Professional organizations employ proprietary platforms equipped with automation capabilities, quality assurance measures, and data protection — all of which minimize errors and expedite delivery.

Cost Efficiency

Establishing an in-house annotation team can incur significant expenses. Outsourcing to a specialized partner frequently proves to be more effective, particularly for large-scale or ongoing initiatives.

Domain-Specific Expertise

Sectors such as healthcare, autonomous vehicles, and retail often necessitate specialized knowledge for annotation. A professional image annotation company provides that domain expertise, ensuring precision and compliance.

The Bottom Line

When investing in computer vision or AI development, the quality of your training data is crucial to your success. A dependable image annotation company offers the necessary tools, expertise, and technology to efficiently and accurately prepare your data. If you seek a reliable partner for your image and video annotation requirements, consider our services at Globose Technology Solution .AI to discover how we facilitate data labeling on a large scale across various industries, use cases, and technologies.

[macgenceblog]

Image Annotation Services: Powering AI with Precision

Image annotation services play a critical role in training computer vision models by adding metadata to images. This process involves labeling objects, boundaries, and other visual elements within images, enabling machines to recognize and interpret visual data accurately. From bounding boxes and semantic segmentation to landmark and polygon annotations, these services lay the groundwork for developing AI systems used in self-driving cars, facial recognition, retail automation, and more.

High-quality image annotation requires a blend of skilled human annotators and advanced tools to ensure accuracy, consistency, and scalability. Industries such as healthcare, agriculture, and e-commerce increasingly rely on annotated image datasets to power applications like disease detection, crop monitoring, and product categorization.

At Macgence, our image annotation services combine precision, scalability, and customization. We support a wide range of annotation types tailored to specific use cases, ensuring that your AI models are trained on high-quality, well-structured data. With a commitment to quality assurance and data security, we help businesses accelerate their AI initiatives with confidence.

Whether you're building object detection algorithms or fine-tuning machine learning models, image annotation is the foundation that drives performance and accuracy—making it a vital step in any AI development pipeline.

[nursingwriter]

. Identify the mental health policy and specific population. Policy and Specific Population: Social work and the implications of a mental health policy for African Americans Mental Health Policy: African Americans require a comprehensive and holistic approach to mental health that leverages their unique cultural experience. These issues must acknowledge how to properly help African Americans better navigate many of the mental hurdles they face on day to day basis, while also being cognizant of their ability to evoke change within their respective communities. The Policy: H.R. 5469 116th Congress Pursing Equity in Mental Health Act Mental health has become a very contentious and polarizing issue within America at large. For one, it is still one of the few ailments that suffers from a social stigma attached to it through various society mechanisms. Particularly in the African American community, the admissions of mental health conditions are often perceived as being weak of inferior to others. This is particularly troublesome as mental health issues continue to rise within the African American community. Many have suffered various hardships such as low incomes, lower wealth accumulation, weaker job prospects, racial profiling, and other issues related specifically to the African American community. No single issue can solely contribute to mental health, but the combination of all these elements can surely contribute to it. Black men, in particular, often face a disproportionate burden of preventable morbidity and mortality rates compared to other groups within the United States. These issues are often stigmatized specifically within this group. Research has validated these points and has even shown that black men often have more adverse life experiences that men of other racial groups (Carlton-LaNey, 2013). Social work related to African Americans has previously been very meager. Little to no research had been conducted until the Research on Social Work Practice published a landmark issue in 2011. This issue specifically addressed the challenges that many Black men face and how these challenges compare to other racial groups. From a social work perspective these issues include black fatherhood, the lack of utilizing medical care, and adverse mental health circumstances. Here, this article, was ground breaking in the sense that it furthered the role of social workers in identifying and presenting peer-reviewed research specifically catered toward Black men. The below annotated bibliography provides an attempt to assess the current landscape related to peer-reviewed articles specifically catered towards the mental health issues that African Americans face. From the preliminary review below, the discourse is heavily dominated by racial and ethnic experiences that must be incorporated into the overall social work practices in order for the living and working conditions for African Americans to improve. Here, the research suggests that a more holistic rather than theoretical approach is requires from the social work profession to address the needs of the African American community. Traditionally, this has been done through Afrocentric paradigms in which social workers review the totality of African American worldviews and how these view impact their overall behaviors and experiences towards mental health. Here these view often incorporate the history of slavery and oppression, African American pop culture, socio-economic well-being, and many other elements that can all the utilized to form an opinion related to African Americans. Roughly 7% of social workers in the United States are African American. Black men in particular are heavily underrepresented within the profession (Allen-Meares, 2020). Unfortunately, due to the many adverse circumstances prevailing in the life of an African American, it is likely that they will interact with the social service system on a regular and consistent basis. As African Americans tend to have few monetary resources, it becomes hard for them to deal with many of the conditions associated with mental health. Here, research has shown that more consultations and social work interventions would actually be very beneficial to African Americans. Black men in particular are heavily vulnerable to mental health as they must often deal with a litany of circumstances including obtaining employment, family relationships, trauma associated violence and living in poor neighborhoods and even legislations that adversely impacts their lives. Social workers can help mitigate these influences through proper intervention and help through consultations (Penderhughes, 2019). 2. Review at least 10 articles related to the selected mental health policy and population. At least 5 of the 10 articles must be peer-reviewed journal articles. Compile annotated bibliography from at least ten articles Annotated Bibliography Aymer SR (2010).Clinical practice with African American men: What to consider and what to do.Smith College Studies in Social Work,80, 2034. https://www.paperdue.com/customer/paper/mental-health-conditions-impact-african-american-community-2180866#:~:text=Logout-,MentalHealthConditionsImpactAfricanAmericanCommunity,-Length7pages This research articles looks to address how the social work clinical practice can be catered to improve the outcomes for African American men. Here, the research details many of the hardships that are unique to the African American community. Many of these issues which include racial profiling from the police, a higher propensity to be killed while in police custody, lower socio-economic status, and many other issues impact the overall social work profession. This article looks to discuss intervention techniques specially designed to aid in the overall process in provided practical care to the black community. Here the researchers advocate for psychodynamic and Afrocentric theories to be leveraged by social workers. Finally, the article concludes by providing suggestions related to clinical work with African American men. Here the authors found that clinical work can facilitate functional coping strategies, which in turn can diminish feelings of invisibility and release their true selves. Banks KH, Kohn-Wood LP, & Spencer M (2006).An examination of the African American experience of everyday discrimination and symptoms of psychological distress.Community Mental Health Journal,42, 555570. This research article provides further validity related to the many in which discrimination and psychological distress can adversely impact African Americans communities. Here the authors provide theorical models that can be used to determine how a history of racial injustice impacts the overall mental health of African Americans. The authors specifically utilize the Jim Crow era and how unconscious forms of discrimination impacted African Americans on a daily basis. The study looks to investigate the relationship between perceived everyday discrimination and anxiety and depressive symptoms. From their research, the authors determined that perceived discrimination is directly related to both symptoms of depression and anxiety. The research also found that this depression and anxiety had different patterns in both black men and black women. Bryant-Bedell K, & Waite R (2010).Understanding major depressive disorder among middle-aged African American men.Journal of Advanced Nursing,66, 20502060. This research article looks to study how African American men recognize and express their symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here, men are very reluctant to express mental health issues due in part to the stigma attached to it. In addition, the article illustrates how socio-economic circumstances often prevent African Americans from engaging with the requisite social work professional. This combination often has adverse impacts on the community and their overall ability to cope with mental health issues such as depression. Here the authors utilized a descriptive qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with ten African American men between the ages of 40 and 59. The authors determined that social workers wuld benefit from taking into account cultural factors when reviewing mental health conditions. Calvert WJ, Isaac EP, & Johnson S (2012).Health-related quality of life and health-promoting behaviors in Black men.Health & Social Work,37, 1927. This article looked to research health promoting behaviors specifically for low-income African Americans. Here, the authors found a strong correlation between unhealthy days and various health-promoting behaviors. The authors also discuss the implications of their findings on the social work profession and how it can improve outcomes for the African American community. Namely, the authors advocate for a comprehensive approach which can lead to better health promotion for lower income African Americans. Chatters LM, Bullard KM, Taylor RJ, Woodward AT, Neighbors HW, & Jackson JS (2008).Religious participation and DSM-IV disorders among older African Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL).The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry,16, 957965. This research article looks to establish the relationship between religion and overall mental health disorders for older African Americans. Here, the overall African American community is heavily religious. Here, the researchers found that religious service attendance was significantly and inversely associated with the odds of having a lifetime mood disorder. This research is unique in that it was the first ever conducted to find the correlation between mental health disorders and religion within the older African American community. Here, the findings suggest that higher attendance at religious meetings will ultimately result in lower mental disorders and health complications. Dupree LW, Watson MA, & Schneider MG (2005).Preferences for mental health care: A comparison of older African Americans and older Caucasians.Journal of Applied Gerontology,24, 196210. The research here is related to mental health outcomes between African Americans and Caucasians. The findings of the research suggest that African Americans tend to have a higher rate of adverse circumstances and a higher rate of mental health disorders. Per the research, the cause of these issues is varied and multi-faceted. For one, many African Americans faced adverse circumstances the ultimately undermine their overall mental health stability. This includes pervasive racism, lower employment prospects, higher crime rates within their communities, and lower socio-economic status. Overtime, these issues create adverse mental health circumstances for African Americans. Watkins DC, & Jefferson SO (2013). Recommendations for the use of online social support for African American men. Psychological Services, 10, 323332. This research provides evidence of the importance of online social support for African American men as it relates to their overall mental health. Here, the authors use meta-analysis to support the use of online mechanisms to support black men with mental health disorders. Traditionally, black men are reluctant to use treatment options related to mental health due to the stigma attached to them. Online mechanisms allow for individuals to leverage the benefits of treatment without necessarily being subject to the social stigma attached to using the services. Watkins DC, Johnson-Lawrence V, & Griffith DM (2011).Men and their father figures: Exploring racial and ethnic differences in mental health outcomes.Race and Social Problems,3, 197211. This research looks to reveal the correlation between fatherhood and mental health outcomes for African American men. Here the research found adverse circumstances related to the absence of a father figure within a childs life and their overall development of mental health. Williams DR (2003).The health of men: Structured inequalities and opportunities.American Journal of Public Health,93, 724731. This research looks to provide an evidence of the structure inequalities that impact African Americans as their ability to cope with mental health issues. The authors reveal has structural racism, laws that disproportionately impact African Americans and slavery have all created structural inequalities that are difficult to dislodge within society. Woodward AT, Taylor RJ, & Chatters LM (2011).Use of professional and informal support by Black men with mental disorders.Research on Social Work Practice,21, 328336 This research articles provides additions support for the need for mental health treatment for African Americans. Here, the articles look to establish both formal and informal mechanism that the black community can use to better cope with mental health disorders. References 1. Allen-Meares, P., & Burman, S. (2020). The endangerment of African American men: An appeal for social work action. Social Work, 40, 168274. 2. Aymer SR (2010).Clinical practice with African American men: What to consider and what to do.Smith College Studies in Social Work,80, 2034. 3. Banks KH, Kohn-Wood LP, & Spencer M (2006).An examination of the African American experience of everyday discrimination and symptoms of psychological distress.Community Mental Health Journal,42, 555570. 4. Bryant-Bedell K, & Waite R (2010).Understanding major depressive disorder among middle-aged African American men.Journal of Advanced Nursing,66, 20502060. 5. Calvert WJ, Isaac EP, & Johnson S (2012).Health-related quality of life and health-promoting behaviors in Black men.Health & Social Work,37, 1927. 6. Carlton-LaNey, I. (2013). Notes on a forgotten Black social worker and sociologist: George Edmund Haynes. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 10, 430539. 7. Chatters LM, Bullard KM, Taylor RJ, Woodward AT, Neighbors HW, & Jackson JS (2008).Religious participation and DSM-IV disorders among older African Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL).The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry,16, 957965. 8. Dupree LW, Watson MA, & Schneider MG (2005).Preferences for mental health care: A comparison of older African Americans and older Caucasians.Journal of Applied Gerontology,24, 196210. 9. Penderhughes, E. (2019). Understanding race, ethnicity, and power. New York: Free Press. 10. Watkins DC, & Jefferson SO (2013). Recommendations for the use of online social support for African American men. Psychological Services, 10, 323332. 11. Watkins DC, Johnson-Lawrence V, & Griffith DM (2011).Men and their father figures: Exploring racial and ethnic differences in mental health outcomes.Race and Social Problems,3, 197211. 12. Williams DR (2003).The health of men: Structured inequalities and opportunities.American Journal of Public Health,93, 724731. 13. Woodward AT, Taylor RJ, & Chatters LM (2011).Use of professional and informal support by Black men with mental disorders.Research on Social Work Practice,21, 328336. 2 Read the full article