#Life Orientation Programme

[sgiandubh]

(Perhaps) the right end of the stick?

Just before the sordid show of which I have been the unwilling subject, I have promised you my take on this whole Mexican charade and I intend to settle this once and for all.

In the meanwhile, I have been watching with a jubilatory smirk, from the side wings of the fandom, how the dots have been, as always, connected in the most mendacious possible way. And how rivers of pixels have ran amok with the utmost minutiae regarding that distillery trip to San Sebastián del Oeste.

For what is worth, everyone kept an eye exclusively on the Czech young woman, simply because that was the narrative to be sold to S's fandom. And what I believe is the wrong end of the stick, waterfall sound tidbit on top. But we know that, at least ever since that (in)famous 'Go, Sarah', right?

Despite my hinting in comments, almost nobody asked themselves anything of substance about The Fan, whose first selfie with S gave away the getaway (see what I just did here?).

This lady, to be more precise - forgive me, but I think you might not remember her, right?

Or should I rather say Dr. Sarah and Mrs Solange Neustadter, judging by her dual, and even manifold, online persona?

First, there was Dr. Sarah Neustadter, PhD, specialized in clinical and transpersonal psychology and author of Love You Like the Sky, a rather well received book on grief management and coping mechanisms, after someone's suicide:

[Source: https://sarahneustadter.com/about/]

Up until now, there is strictly nothing to write home about. Enter Mrs. Solange Neustadter, who is really Dr. Neustadter's version 2.0. With a slightly different profile, personal brand and short-term projects:

[Source: https://www.instagram.com/solange_neue/]

She is supposedly an OL/S fan, but how come there is zero OL-related content on her Instagram page? Not the slightest shred of an allusion, while we do have many references to travel (with Mexico a firm favorite), Anthony Bourdain, comparative mythology authors like Joseph Campbell and his Hero with a Thousand Faces (a great read I highly recommend, by the way), etc. And even her former boyfriend, that she unfortunately lost to suicide - hence the book, which I believe is a very good one.

Things become perhaps more interesting once we move to X, which proves that at some point, The Fan felt the need of a change in her own life:

[Source: https://x.com/SolangeNeue]

For some reason, I found this short comment tidbit quite interesting, especially considering her new, very recent Captain Solange personal brand:

But also a slowly emerging interest for Hollywood and its Tinseltown industry:

A screenwriter, absolutely. With a strong interest in learning how to become a professional and a romantic drama feature screenwriting project. As such, she took part to the Stowe Story Labs' Fifth Annual Sidewalk Narrative Lab, a workshop and networking-oriented side event of the Sidewalk Film Festival (Birmingham, Alabama), an indie oriented event which managed to attract Time Magazine's attention:

[Source: https://stowestorylabs.org/news/stowe-story-labs-announces-roster-for-fifth-annual-sidewalk-narrative-lab]

And now for her newest incarnation, Captain Solange, The (surprised?) Influencer. Not really successful, if compared with her ambitions, but hey, a girl can dream:

[Source: https://www.thehandbook.com/influencer/solange-neustadter/ - last updated on July 14th, 2023]

It is, of course, just a coincidence, that her new website has just been released after her Mexican trip:

[Source: https://www.solangeneue.com/]

Basically, yet another women-oriented empowerment and dating/ life coach service, with rather hefty price tags to boot:

Her six-weeks programme based in LAX promises her clients 'life changing tools', in order to 'make [them] feel outrageous and connected'. Also, this - for some reason, this caught my eye:

'Hot tips on where to meet great Angelenos' - here is where a bell does ring, indeed. I can't help but wonder if this very interesting person is on Raya, hmmm.

To cut the story short, I am honestly asking myself a couple of very simple questions:

What are the odds (and by this, I mean the organic odds) that a screenwriter-cum-influencer wannabe, who is in dire need of networking and/or some extra social media exposure, would spontaneously meet S in Nayarit, Jalisco, Mexico?

And what are the odds the above screenwriter-cum-influencer would post the selfie that relaunched some wild innuendo, in a very much overdriven fringe of a C-lister's fandom?

Come to think of it, this is a really, really small favor to ask of a friendly, but definitely transactional 'stranger'. And mutually beneficial, to say the least. Note she immediately knew what to do: after luring the iPhone Alarm Tumblr Brigade, she quickly deleted the tag on her post, along with all the nosy fan questions. Go figure, huh?

The rest of the story really did write itself. This is nothing we have not already seen. I could take bets, already, perhaps including what next week will bring us. Heh.

I am going to let you draw your own conclusions. I could be tragically wrong, in which case I am ready to acknowledge and recalibrate, as always. But let's also remember this simple cycle/pattern:

Instagram follow (mutual or not, it does not matter, at this point in time) -> Fan pic (usually a latergram) -> Instagram Story (now, with voices 🙄) -> Mutual/Collateral Instagram follow(s) -> even more innuendo -> if it does stick: double down, no matter how outrageously/if it does not stick, abort operation and leave in drawer, ready for future reactivation.

It never fails.

Aye, caramba! Exactly.

[valkerieccfinds]

The Path to the Veil Legacy Challenge

By SilverPhoenix42 aka me & @streetrabbit42

Needed Packs: EP: Life & Death, City Living, Snowy Escape, Island Living (OPTIONAL) GP: Werewolves, Parenthood, Vampires, Realm of Magic (OPTIONAL) SP: Paranormal (OPTIONAL)

Generation 1: Aspiring Occult

You’ve always loved the paranormal, so when you met your future spouse, you were overjoyed when they told you their secret.

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

Traits: Family-Oriented, Neat, [Your Choice]

Max Skills: Parenting

Career: Any Career

Rules:

Marry a Werewolf, Vampire, Mermaid or Spellcaster

After marrying you must quit your job

You must have at least 3 children

Have at least one  Werewolf child

Werewolf child is the Heir

You don’t have to complete the final level of your Aspiration

Generation 2: Happily Different

You live in a very crowded house, and nearly every one of you isn’t human, so you’ve come to take great pride in your differences.

Aspiration: Choose one of the Werewolf Initiate branches (except Cure Seeker)

Traits: Cheerful, Outgoing, [Your Choice]

Max Skills: Charisma

Career: Freelancer - Paranormal Investigator Branch

Rules:

Must have at least 2 children

Have a bad relationship with your child Heir, but have a good relationship with the other child(ren)

Generation 3: Family Feud 

You never got along with your siblings, and always wished you were like the other kids… which your family did not understand. So you sought out a way to become normal. But having a shitty mixology skill, you couldn’t take the usual route.

Aspiration: Werewolf Initiate - Cure Seeker route 

Traits: Loner, Gloomy, [Your Choice]

Max Skills: Piano

Career: Freelancer - Programmer Branch

Rules:

Have a low relationship with your sibling(s)

Don’t complete your aspiration

Have a low or non-existent mixology skill (if you have a mod for it, make it their ‘weakness’ or non talent)

Must complete your bucket list and reincarnate while alive

Generation 4: Another Chance

You remember your past life, and don’t want to repeat it again, so you set out to live it as differently as possible.

Aspiration: Neighborhood Confidante AND THEN Friend of the World

Traits: Good, Skeptic, [Your Choice]

Max Skills: Logic, Charisma

Career: Politician - Politician Branch

Rules:

Have at least 2 children

1 Child must become a vampire

Have a bad relationship with your vamp child after they turn

Have a good relationship with the human child

The Heir can be either child

Generation 5: Life Comes at You Fast

You want to learn more about what your parent hated so viscerally.

Note: This works for either heir option

Aspiration: Ghost Historian

Traits: Chased by Death, Adventurous, [Your Choice]

Max Skills: Thanatology, Medium AND/OR Vampire Lore, Rock Climbing  OR Skiing OR Snowboarding

Career: Secret Agent - Either Branch

Rules:

Have a bad relationship with your sibling(s)

Have a bad relationship with your (reincarnated) parent

Die as a young adult

Generation 6: Epilogue

You died. Good job. Now, are you going to take your anger out on the living, or will you move on into the light?

Aspiration: Choose your aspiration

Max Skills: Mischief

Career: Unemployed

Rules:

Complete your Aspiration

Either become a mad ghost or complete a bucket list to move on

Credit to @cafekitsune for the dividers!

[hayhayter]

Profile of the character Victor:

Name: Victor Berthier

Race: Vampire spawn (formerly human)

Country of origin: France

Age: 202 years (25 years)

Born: December 1, 1823.

Height: 189 cm.

Gender: Male

Orientation: Demisexual.

According to the horoscope: Sagittarius.

Character: Has sadistic tendencies, is clingy, manipulative, patient, easily amorous, arrogant.

Abilities: Similar in habits and abilities to a regular vampire. He is quite strong, hardy and agile, but weaker than true vampires. No need for sleep. Has the ability to regenerate, but slowly.

Likes: Sweets, classical music, expensive wine, night walks, looking into the eyes of his victims, knives.

Dislikes: Bitter, feeling lonely, being rejected, other convergents (except Raff), keeping your back open or bare.

Job: Software developer by day, bartender by night.

Favorite animal: Dog.

Voice: similar to Julien Loko's voice.

Backstory.

Victor was born in a difficult time for him, and he was also the son of a prostitute who got pregnant by a high-ranking official. His mother did not love him and often beat him, mocked and tortured his body and soul, but then showed signs of tenderness, destroying the already unstable psyche of a small child. Thanks to this, he developed false ideas about love and how to show it.

As an adult, he, like his mother, began to engage in prostitution with women and men in order to help his mother financially. One such day, a vampire client came to him and offered him eternal life and love until the end of time. Victor accepted this offer and became a vampire spawn.

But one day, during another intercourse, and because of his sick idea of ​​love, he killed his "master" right in bed. He freed himself from her influence, but did not know that it was possible to drink her blood to become a true vampire, which he later deeply regretted.

After some time, Hat Hor found him and they found a common language due to the fact that they were both immortal. But their friendship was destroyed after Hat Hor saw how Victor killed an innocent girl, literally tearing her apart because of his sick and sadistic inclinations. After that, Victor lost all contact with his only friend. He does not give up trying to find him to this day because of his unhealthy attachment to him.

Already in our century, on another hunt, he finds a boy-convergent - a half-breed of a human and a werewolf, and taking pity on him, took him in, starting to raise him the way his mother did: with cruelty.

Currently, due to the development of technology, he began to work as a programmer, receiving quite good amounts of money for living and his desires. At night, he works as a bartender, so that it would be easier to hunt because the victims were drunk or high.

[tealin]

McMurdo Internet

Internet service is supplied to Antarctica via a geostationary satellite. This far south, the satellite is only a few degrees above the horizon, and unfortunately for McMurdo, it's behind Mt Erebus. So the signal is beamed to a receiver on Black Island, about 20 miles away to the southwest, and bounced over to the sheltered alcove at the end of the Hut Point Peninsula where McMurdo sits.

The Chalet, administrative hub, with Black Island in the distance

The Black Island telecommunications infrastructure was installed in the 1980s, long before the internet we know and love today. It was upgraded in 2010 to allow more data transfer, mainly realtime weather data to feed into global forecast models. For this reason, it's probably the only place I've ever been where upload speed is remarkably faster than download speed – 60Mbps for outbound traffic, but only 20Mbps for inbound. Most regular internet use is receiving, not sending, so that's an entire base running on a connection that's only marginally faster than the average American smartphone. As you can imagine, this is somewhat limiting.

The limits to one's internet access actually begin before one even reaches the Ice. At the orientation in Christchurch, one is directed to a URL from which one must download and install a security programme from the U.S. government. It may feel like a hippie commune full of nerds, but McMurdo is an installation of the American state, and as such its computer network is a target of whatever disgruntled conspiracy theorist decides to hack The Man on any given day. Computers that are allowed onto this network (such as the one on which I am typing right now) have to have an approved firewall and antivirus service installed, then this extra programme on top of them. I am not sure what it does. For all I know the CIA is spying on me even now. (Hi, guys!) But you need to install it to get on the McMurdo Internet, such as it is, so I did.

To be honest, I was rather looking forward to a month cut off entirely from the hyperconnected world, so I was a tiny bit disappointed that quite a lot of day-to-day communication is done by email, and I would need to be on my computer a fair bit to get it. Had I known just how important email would be, I'd have installed an email client that actually downloads one's messages instead of just fetching them; as it was, the cycle of loading an email and sending the reply, even in Gmail's "HTML for slow connections" mode, took about five minutes, not counting the time it took to write. Tending one's email was a serious time commitment; sometimes I felt like I was spending more time on the computer in Antarctica than I did at home.

Crary scientists waiting, and waiting, and waiting

In a way, though, I was lucky, because I was technically a scientist and therefore had access to the one building on base with WiFi, the Crary Lab. And don't think you can just waltz into Crary with your laptop and poach the WiFi – in order to access it at all, you have to get set up by Crary IT with your own personal WiFi login. If you do not have Crary access, your portal to the Internet is one of a handful of ethernet cables in each of the dorm common rooms, or some public terminals in the main building. You can hop on, download your emails, maybe check the news or Google something you needed to look up, and then leave it for someone else. When most online time sinks are either blocked or too heavy to load, it’s amazing how little internet time you actually turn out to need.

Things that we have come to take for granted in The World are not a part of McMurdo life. Social media is pretty much out – the main platforms are bandwidth hogs even before you try to load a video or an animated GIF. There is no sharing of YouTube links, and no Netflix and chill. Someone was once sent home mid-season for trying to download a movie. Video calls with family and friends? Forget it. People do occasionally do video calls from Antarctica, often to media outlets or schools, but these have to be booked in advance so as to have the requisite bandwidth reserved. Jumping on FaceTime does not happen – not least because handheld devices have to be in airplane mode at all times for security reasons. Your phone might be secure enough for your internet banking, but not for US government internet!

It is, unavoidably, still a digital environment, it just gets by largely without internet access. Nearly everyone has an external hard drive, mostly for media that they've brought down to fill their off hours. If you want to share files you just swap hard drives, or hand over a memory stick. When the Antarctic Heritage Trust wanted some book material from me, I dropped it onto an SD card and ran it over to Scott Base on foot – a droll juxtaposition of high- and low-tech, not to mention a good excuse for a hike over The Gap on a beautiful day. It took half an hour, but was still faster than emailing it.

There is also a McMurdo Intranet, which includes a server for file sharing. Emailing someone your photos will take ages, but popping them into a folder on the I: drive and sending them a note to say you've done so (or, better yet, phoning them, or poking your head into their office) is much more efficient. To conserve space, this informal server partition is wiped every week, so you have to be quick about it, but it's an effective workaround, and also a good way to get relatively heavy resources to a large number of people in one go.

The telecommunications centre on Black Island is mostly automated, but like anything – perhaps more than some things, given the conditions – it needs to be maintained. There is a small hut out there for an equally small team of electricians and IT engineers; Black Island duty attracts the sort of person who might have been a lighthouse keeper back in the day.

Towards the end of my time on the Ice there was a spell where they needed to shut off the connection overnight, to do some necessary work. Given that most people's workdays extended at least to the shutoff time at 5:30 p.m., this meant essentially no internet for a large portion of the population, and some amusing flyers were posted up to notify everyone of the impending hardship.

Someday, faster, more accessible internet will come to Antarctica.  It's more or less unavoidable, as communications technology improves, and everyone's work – especially the scientists' – depends more and more on having a broadband connection at all times.  It will make a lot of things more convenient, and will make the long separation from friends and family much easier.  But I'm pretty sure that many more people will mourn the upgrade than celebrate it.  One can, theoretically, curtail one's internet use whenever one likes, but even before the pandemic it was almost impossible to live this way with the demands of modern life: I know from personal experience that opting out of Facebook alone can have a real detrimental effect on relationships, even with people one sees in the flesh fairly regularly, simply because everyone assumes that is how everyone else communicates.  Being in a community where no one has access to assumed channels, and is more or less cut off from the rest of the world in a pocket universe of its own, levels the playing field and brings a certain unity.  The planned (and, unarguably, necessary) updating of the physical infrastructure of McMurdo will wipe out a lot of the improvised, make-do-and-mend character of the place; how much would free and easy access to the online world change it in a less tangible way?

I'm sure the genuine Antarctic old-timers would shake their heads at the phone and email connections we have now, and say that no, this has already ruined Antarctica.  It's not Antarctica unless your only link to the outside world is a dodgy radio.  It's not Antarctica unless you only get mail once a year when the relief ship arrives.  Doubtless the shiny new McMurdo will be seen as 'the good old days' by someone, someday, too.  Change may happen slower there than elsewhere, but just like the rust on the tins at Cape Evans, it comes eventually, regardless. 

For my own part, I'm glad I got to see 'old' McMurdo, such as it was, all plywood and cheap '90s prefab.  The update will be much more efficient, and tidy, but yet another generation removed from the raw experience of the old explorers.  My generation is probably the last to remember clearly what life was like before ubiquitous broadband; to some extent, Antarctica is a sort of time capsule of that world, just as the huts are a time capsule of Edwardian frontier life.  I hope they'll find a way to hang on to the positive aspects of that. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to waste an hour mindlessly refreshing Twitter ...

If you'd like to learn more about the Black Island facility, there's a lot of good information (and some photos!) here: https://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/90s/blackisland.html

And this Antarctic Sunarticle goes into greater depth on the 2010 upgrade: https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/features/2114/

[invisiblequeen]

For @someone-elsa 's BC: May I Introduce...Haskell Azuma?

Age: Adult

Pronouns: He/Him

Orientation: Bisexual

Hometown: Tomorang

Current Town: San Myshuno

Occupation: Head Programmer At SimsGames Co.

Aspiration: Philantropist

Traits: Booksmart, Snob, Computer Whiz

Likes: Fitness, Programming, Red, White, Polished Fashion, Preppy Fashion, Hard-Working Sims, Cerebral Sims, Easy Listening Music, Latin Pop Music

Dislikes: Dancing, Snowboarding, Pink, Blue, Boho Fashion, Country Fashion, Country Fashion, Ambitionless Sims, Argumentative Sims, Strange Tunes, Island Music

Jealousy Parameters: Non-Physical Intimacy, Intimacy Outside Of Woohoo, AND Woohoo all inspire jealousy, but it can be changed!

Bio: It's not every day your college-age code gets you an immediate spot at the biggest Game Development Company. But that's what happened to Haskell. And it was quite a metaphorical whiplash, from social estrangement to hordes of students trying to hang out after class. Far from boosting his ego, this change only made him bitter and resentful, so as soon as he got the chance, he left home, deactivated all his socials, changed his number, and disappeared from the public eye for five years until he emerged as the new, polished, mysterious, smirking CEO of SimGames Co. Think Tony Stark before his character arc. All bark and bite to hide the scars still hiding underneath.

So why is he even on this show? Because he likes this lady's style, her smile, and her seductive wiles. He'd like to introduce her to all the finer things in life he enjoys. They'd make a most attractive pleasure seeking couple. As long as she doesn't make fun of him in any way at all.

WHAT DO WE THINK?

[japanesedoramaandanimelover91]

Safari, May, 2025, vol 36. Translation of an article with Aiba Masaki from the May, 2025 issue of SAFARI magazine.

AIBA MASAKI-ADULT GAMES. Part 36.

Photography by Takaharu Tsuchiya.

Stylist-Takeshi Yanagawa.

Hair and make-up by Yoshinori Takeuchi.

Text-Takumi Endo.

Photo 1.

Arriving at a place that resembles the lobby of a stylish hotel, I relaxed a bit. The furniture creates an atmosphere that somewhere reminds of good old France. Perhaps this place is related to a historic and traditional hotel!? But no, it is related to one of the artists representing France.

The jumper-¥370,500. The shirt is for reference. Denim trousers-¥180,400. Bracelet-item for reference. Bag-¥918,500 (Bottega Veneta/Bottega Veneta Japan).

Photo 2.

No, i am in an art museum with a vast area! This time i visited the "Lalique Museum" in Hakone. Here you can enjoy many works by Lalique, who worked in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco era, in an elegant space.

Shirt-37,400 yen(Noah/Noah Clubhouse). Knitwear thrown over the shoulders-104,500 yen. Trousers-over 39,600 yen(MAISON et VOYAGE/ MAISON et VOYAGE Azabudai Hills). Bangle bracelet-53,900 yen(ADAWAT'N TUAR EG ).Bracelet-44,000 yen(SYMPATHY OF SOUL/ S.O.S fp Ebisu Main Shop). Sneakers-22,000 yen(Moonstar x MAISON et VOYAGE/ MAISON et VOYAGE, Azabudai Hills).

Photo 3.

It may be a shortcut to enjoying art: "the desire to learn more deeply" about the works and their authors.

Now in touch with culture, Aiba-san is slowly exploring the exhibited cafés and rooms recreated in Belle Epoque style on the Orient-Express. The pieces on display in Paris symbolise Lalique's success as a glassblower, having created such works throughout his life. Inside the museum, vases and interior decorations from the Art Deco era are on display. He began creating beautiful accessories and decorative objects in the 50s, and began his career as a jeweller in his 20s and 30s by creating perfume bottles. René Lalique, a jeweller whose works are kept in museums, now aspires to the "Lalique Museum in Hakone." Aiba-san says, "I've always had an interest in art and museums, and although I haven't visited for a long time, i wanted to travel to enjoy art." Naoshima Island in Utsunomiya is called the ‘holy place of modern art’, and it's really fascinating. Plus, when i came here, i had the opportunity to immerse myself a little bit in that kind of experience. i always thought it should be that way. If i can learn more deeply about the creators, that would be interesting….. But i seemed to just admire the works and not delve deeper into the content. "When i see great work, i always feel it's amazing," he says, looking at interior jewellery created by Lalique. "An exhibition where you can feel the "background" of the works is wonderful."

Profile: Aiba Masaki. Date of birth-24 December, 1982. Place of birth-Chiba City. Performs at PARCO Theatre, Tokyo, Mar.

Performs in Fukuoka and Osaka in the title role in ‘Farewell Lenin!’ Hosts the programme ‘Aaaah! Minna No Doubutsen’ (Nippon TV), “Aiba Marubatsu” (Fuji TV), “Aiba Manabu” (TV Asahi).

Photo 4.

Enjoy a tea party aboard the retired Orient Express trains. Enjoy tea and sweets while admiring Lalique's luxurious furnishings and experience the luxury of the train. of the train. Knitted jacket-133,100 yen(Lardini Toyoda Trading Press Room), Shirt-27,500 yen (James Perse/James Perse Aoyama Store).

Photo 5.

This art museum permanently exhibits around two hundred and thirty carefully selected works by René Lalique from a collection of around 1,500 objects, including jewellery, glass works and interior decorations. The numerous glass works reflecting light and emitting beautiful colours are impossible to ignore. "After all, only by seeing the real works can one truly feel their charm and beauty."

Necklace-209000 yen(SYMPATHY OF SOUL/S.O.S fp, EBISU HONTEN). Sunglasses-46200 yen(EYEVAN/EYEVAN Tokyo Gallery), All stylisations are the same as on page one hundred and eighty.

Not far from the entrance, on the way to the museum from the restaurant, i found a bright red classic Ford Model T car on display. It was manufactured in 1920, and on the radiator cap of this class car museum is an automobile mascot of Lalique's design. It is said that the owner of this museum became a Lalique collector after encountering an automobile mascot designed by Lalique at a Paris flea market.

Photo 6.

Something like the power of art. You can enjoy it as a separate piece of art. "Even the interior of a car interior. I felt it."

This is the only place in Japan where the Orient Express still exists.

Jacket-231,000 yen(TAGLIATORE/TREMEZZO). Shirt-33,000 yen(MAISON et VOYAGE/MAISON et VOYAGE, Azabudai Hills). White denim trousers-13,200 yen. Belt-5,500 yen(Also the previous product is from LEVI'S/LEVI'S STRAUSS JAPAN). Thick bracelets-71,500 yen(GARDELL/SYMPATHY OF SOUL, EBIS U HONTEN). Thin bracelet-57,200 yen(SUMAN DHAKHWA/SYMPATHY OF SOUL, EBISU HONTEN). Bracelet-11,000 yen(RUFUS/SYMPATHY OF SOUL, EBISU HONTEN). Sunglasses in hand-121,000 yen(10 EYEVAN/ EYEVAN PR). Sneakers-22,000 yen(MOONSTAR x MAISON et VOYAGE/ MAISON et VOYAGE, Azabudai Hills).

I visited this month! Hakone Lalika Museum of Art

In addition to Orient-Express, the museum also has a café with informal French food and sweets, Hakone Emoa Teras, and a museum shop(admission to the shop and restaurant is free).

Kanagawa Prefecture, Ashigara-kawa District, Hakone City, Sengokuhara 186-1 9:00-16:00 (last entrance at 15:30). Every third Thursday(no weekend in August). 0460-84-2255 (Sorry if my translation looks incorrectly).

[password-door-lock]

Mystictober day 6-- Skull/Possession

You’re a demon. You try to possess Suit Saeran and get more than you bargained for (931 words)

As a general rule, demons such as yourself prefer a human host. However, once you were summoned to this place called Magenta, you found it practically impossible to locate one that would be suitable. The closer you got to the humans populating the compound, the more clearly you could feel their ear-splitting headaches, rattling your skull to the point that you knew you’d never be able to carry out your demonic duties here on Earth if you remained in one of their bodies.

So you settled for the next best thing. Like all demons, if you can’t get a human host, then you’d be almost as happy to possess a computer. You’d prefer to have access to a brand-new device, the larger the better, and not one that can be closed or turned off easily. Considering these stipulations, the Mint Eye computers aren’t half bad. 

In the few days that you have occupied this computer, only one human has touched it: a thin man in a black suit. If the bags under his eyes don’t make it clear that he’s not taking care of himself, then his habits certainly do. You don’t know the man’s name, because nobody has come in here to call him by it. He rarely ever leaves his workspace; he sleeps at his desk for only a few minutes at a time, and his meals (also taken right in front of you) consist of snacks chased by a strange blue beverage that absolutely radiates negative energy. He spends hours each day engaging with green code on a black screen, and even from inside the computer, you can’t make very much sense of the tasks that he’s doing. All you know is that his work habits are taking a toll on his physical and mental health.

So, your plan is simple: you’re going to do whatever you can to ensure that this human takes a break. 

Your first tactic is to render his computer unusable for a short period to allow the poor man some rest. As a demon, an agent of chaos, this is no great feat for you— but the programmer simply redirects his attention to another computer and continues his efforts there. You can’t possess every device at once, of course— but you can use your current position to disconnect the Mint Eye server. 

The programmer’s first response is to start hitting various items of mechanical equipment within his intelligence room. Your computer can’t feel pain, of course— that’s a blessing for you, since as long as you’re inside the device, you can’t get hurt, either. You can, however, see exactly where this is going— either your human will bust his knuckles on metal hardware, or he’ll stay up all night trying to fix the unfixable server. Or both, knowing him.

So you reverse the damage and begin concocting a plan even more foolproof than the last. It’s so simple: you’ll just possess the human momentarily, feed him, put him to bed, and let him wake up well taken-care of. Humans are such malleable creatures, and as a demon, you’ve never exactly been kind to them before— but half the time, they don’t even notice that they’ve been possessed. Surely, this guy will be just as easy to direct as all the others. 

So, when he puts his fingers to the keys, you slip into them, squeezing yourself through his blood vessels to reach into his mind. It’s cozy inside his skull— you’ve possessed humans before, but it’s never felt so crowded. Intuitively, you arrive at the understanding of his name: Saeran. It’s a pretty name, and it suits him well; it rolls around through every corner of your being as you orient yourself in this human’s head. 

The knowledge of his name opens the door to a good deal of other knowledge to which you had not previously been party. In horrifying flashes, you’re greeted with this man’s reality: Saeran has spent his entire life being manipulated and forced to act by others. Though, much to your surprise, there are parts of his consciousness that you just can’t access— that’s never happened before— one thing is incredibly clear. Your plan, while well-intentioned, would only constitute one more person forcing him to do something that he didn’t want to do. You would only be hurting him further, which is not what you want at all. You like this human. You want him to enjoy his life. 

As fast as you can, you retreat back into the computer, nestling into the comforting embrace of familiar wires and circuit boards. Then, you set to work. Just because you can’t guide Saeran as you initially intended doesn’t mean you can’t help him in any way. You rearrange the pixels on the machine you inhabit to spell out a message for him: “You matter.” It’s not much— you aren’t really one for all that sappy stuff— but it seems like a reminder he might need. 

Somewhat predictably, Saeran’s response is to slap the side of the computer. “Ugh—what the hell is going on?” He demands, clearly more frustrated than anything else. Yet another of your well-intentioned plans has failed miserably: of course he would view your cryptic words as a manipulation tactic. Deceit and betrayal are all he’s ever known. “Is this some new trick?” He mutters under his breath, cocking his head to the side as he studies your message. 

You allow the text to dissolve into the lines of code that you know he expects to see, resolving nevertheless to continue your efforts to comfort this human.

[fic--writer]

Hi!!! I come to you for ideas about Lia. What about her sexual orientation and romance HC? Is there someone in Baldur's Gate she is romantically interested in? Does she want a family or does she prefer to focus on her career as a Flaming fist member?

Hi,

I like the concept of Baldur's Gate being a game where there is no prejudice against the sexual orientation of the characters. You can show interest in creatures regardless of their sex, creating an open and inclusive environment. Let's assume that this also applies to Lia.

Is there someone in Baldur's Gate she is romantically interested in?

As a Tiefling with a history of her own, a colourful personality and deep convictions, Lia can find several potential romantic interests. Given her tendency to protect her loved ones and her desire for justice, there are a few characters who might pique her interest:

Wyll

• Wyll, with his desire for justice and his willingness to help others, resonates with Lia's inner beliefs. She sees him as an ideal partner who shares her values and is willing to fight for what's right.

• Their relationship can be based on mutual respect and support. Lia may admire Wyll's nobility and willingness to fight for justice, which will strengthen their bond and create a foundation for deep feelings. His ability to forgive and see the good in people can help Lia become more open and trusting.

• Lia and Duke Wyll met in the town square, where he gave a fiery speech about the need to fight injustice and help those in need. Sensing a kindred spirit in the man, Lia could not remain indifferent. She approached him and got into a lively discussion about plans to defend the city and help the refugees. There was an instant spark between them. Wyll was impressed by Leah's determination and passion, and she in turn admired his nobility and selfless dedication.

• One evening, Wyll took Lia to his luxurious residence. As the sun set, he invited her to be his partner in more than just political life, asking her to become his Grand Duchess and share the responsibility of defending the city. Stepping into the role of Duchess at Wyll's side, Lia will face new challenges and responsibilities that will significantly change her life and her perception of herself and the world around her.

• Accustomed to solving problems through force and ingenuity, Lia will be faced with difficult political and administrative decisions. She'll have to learn from Wyll how to run a city where her former skills are replaced by the art of negotiation and diplomacy.

• Her temper can be a problem, but she learns restraint and patience, especially in resolving conflicts between different interest groups. Despite her sometimes fiery temper, Lia's honesty and genuine desire to help have earned her the respect of the people of her town. Her actions, including initiatives to help poor families, are supported by the people, despite opposition from some of the nobility.

• Rolan helps Lia develop a magical defence for the city, using his knowledge and the resources of the Tower, which strengthens their relationship. Rolan and Cal continue to be an important support to Lia. They help her with advice and participate in the running of the town, which helps Lia feel more confident in her new role.

• She, used to being an activist, doubts her abilities as a manager, but with the support of Wyll and her brothers, she finds confidence in her decisions. She and Wyill work together to rebuild the town and develop new social programmes, which strengthens their relationship.

• Lia and Wyll spend long nights discussing plans to rebuild the town and develop new social programmes, which brings them even closer together. There share responsibility for running the town, using their respective strengths. Lia deals with law and order and social reform, while Wyll concentrates on foreign policy.

• Their love and strong relationship has a positive effect on those around them. The townspeople see them as the ideal couple, which increases their authority and trust in their decisions.

• Lia and Wyll have similar names and may choose to name their own children accordingly: Liyan or Luis for a boy and Lilla or Wyllina for a girl.

Dammon

• Lia and Dammon, both Tieflings, find in each other not only a romantic attraction, but also understanding and support. Their relationship grows out of a shared desire to help the Tieflings and to cope with the hardships of the fall of their ancestral home. Both have strong charisma and magnetism: Lia impresses Dammon with her determination, passion for justice and concern for the fate of others, while Dammon attracts Lia with his kindness and optimism.

• Their relationship grows stronger as they begin to work together on common tasks. They work together to help the Tieflings, organising shelter and making sure they have everything they need, organise supplies of food and resources for the Tieflings who have been left without a home. Their combined efforts and successes bring them closer together.

• With a fiery temperament, Lia often prefers to solve problems quickly and decisively, while Dammon tends to be more gentle and diplomatic. These differences can lead to conflict, but also teach them to compromise and work together.

• As Lia watches Dammon work in the forge, she sees his strong but caring hands forge metal and feels her heart begin to beat faster. Dammon notices and asks her out on a date.

• A date at the forge: Dammon meets Lia at the entrance to the forge, which is decorated with fresh flowers and lights, creating a warm and cosy atmosphere. He gives Lia a small bouquet of metal flowers that he has forged himself, demonstrating his skill and attention to detail.

Dammon takes Lia on a tour of the forge, talking about the different tools and techniques he uses in his work. He shows how exquisite metalwork is created and tells stories of working with infernal machinery. She admires Dammon's skill and creativity, feels inspired and interested, and appreciates the tour he has given special for her.

Dammon suggests that they create something together. He shows her how to use the tools and explains the forging process. Together they work on a small metal sculpture or piece of jewellery to symbolise their work together. Lia is enthusiastic about the process, relishing the opportunity to learn something new and to work side by side with Dammon. The date ends with a sweet declaration of affection and a kiss.

Lae'zel

• Lae'zel, like Lia, has a strong character and is not afraid to express and defend her opinions.

• She values combat skills and strength, which may resonate with Lia, who also takes pride in her skills and is not afraid to use weapons and spells to defend her beliefs.

• Lia and Lae'zel may find common ground in discussing combat strategies. They can train together, and Lia admires Lae'zel's tenacity and discipline.

• Lia may be attracted to Lae'zel because of her steadfastness, her willingness to fight for her ideals, and her speed in battle.

• But her brothers are unlikely to appreciate her close relationship with the fierce Githyanki warrior.

Astarion

• Astarion attracts Lia with his charisma and mystery. His dark past and complex emotions may make her want to protect and help him.

• Lia appreciates Astarion's openness and honesty as he reveals his secrets.

• She may meet Astarion in his moments of vulnerability, which may make her want to help him and show him that he is not alone in his suffering. She can offer her support and blood.

• Lia can be a source of strength and understanding to Astarion, strengthening their bond and allowing him to confide in her.

• Bites to her sister's body will cause serious conflict between Astarion and Rolan. This can be a serious obstacle in their relationship. The brothers are not happy about the vampire fiancé. And this love boat will easily crash on the rocks of the brothers' disapproval. I can hear Rolan telling her: “Lia, no. It won't happen in my lifetime.”

Romance HC:

• As a sister who protects her brothers, Lia has complicated feelings about romantic relationships. She fears that her potential partner may not accept her family or understand how important it is for her to protect her loved ones. This makes her cautious and even suspicious of those who show interest in her.

• Lia's fiery temper and passion for defending her point of view is projected onto relationships. She is not afraid to argue with her partner, and these arguments can be very heated, but this also means that she is deeply involved and cares about the person. She believes that arguments strengthen a relationship if they are based on respect and honesty. She is not afraid to discuss difficult issues as she believes this leads to a deeper understanding of each other.

• Lia is drawn to those who show courage and a willingness to help those in need. Her heart begins to beat faster at the sight of someone who, like her, is willing to take risks for others. However, she can also feel jealousy and competition if her lover pays excessive attention to someone else.

• Because of her fiery temper and fear of betrayal, Lia can find it difficult to trust her partner. She often fears that she will be betrayed or not supported in a difficult moment. She therefore needs time to open up and trust her lover.

• Lia sees love as a form of service. She will be willing to sacrifice her own interests for the happiness of her partner. Helping and supporting her lover is as important to her as helping her family. She may spend a lot of time and effort trying to make her partner's life better.

• It is important to her that her partner not only accepts her as she is, but also understands the reasons for her actions. She wants her feelings and actions to be seen not just as outbursts of anger, but as caring and protective.

• Lia's ideal partner is someone who respects and supports her decisions, but is also able to argue with her on an equal footing. He must be willing to move forward, not be afraid of difficulties and be able to withstand her turbulent emotions. She is looking for a man who will not only be her lover, but also a real battle buddy.

• Lia will not be able to form a relationship with someone who cannot accept her family as their own. A mate for her is someone who will be part of her small but friendly and close-knit society. She wants her mate to love and respect her brothers as much as she does, and to be willing to support them in any situation.

• Despite her fiery temper, Lia can be surprisingly romantic at unexpected times. She might cook dinner at sunset or take a romantic trip to a favourite spot. These moments show that beneath the outward toughness and determination lies a soft and tender heart.

• Lia protects her family not only in battle, but also in everyday life. She can watch over a loved one and make sure no one hurts them. For example, if someone tries to cheat her partner in a trade deal, she won't hesitate to step in and insist on justice, even if it means open conflict.

• Lia feels the need for physical contact and support, even if she doesn't always show it. In difficult moments she will seek the opportunity to simply hold her partner's hand or rest her head on his shoulder.

Does she want a family or does she prefer to focus on her career

• Lia grew up surrounded by her brothers, who have become the meaning of her life. She believes in the power of family and wants to create a family that is as strong and united as her current one. She wants to surround herself with people she can trust and do anything for. Lia sees her brothers taking care of each other and it makes her think about one day starting a family of her own that will be just as strong and supportive.

• She realises that family is not necessarily a limitation, but an opportunity for support and inspiration. She begins to see her brothers and her partner not only as close to her, but as partners with whom any ambitious project can be realised. She has enough strength and wisdom within her to combine these spheres successfully.

Thanks for the question, you literally pulled me out of my writing crisis!

[justforbooks]

Charles Handy

Philosopher and management thinker who coined the phrase ‘portfolio’ career, and believed companies should retain their humanity

For a country that prides itself on its professional and financial services sector, the UK has produced remarkably few world-ranking management and organisational thinkers. At the very top of that pile, however, is Charles Handy, the writer and social philosopher – his preferred designation – who has died aged 92.

As both a thinker and educator, Handy was unusual. Although a professor – he was a founding faculty member of the London Business School (LBS), the UK’s first graduate business school, in the 1960s – he never followed the conventional path, ploughing a narrow furrow and publishing in specialist journals.

What he did was think, about the big human issues of business, society and democracy, turning his thoughts, often anchored in his own experience, into books, articles and talks with characteristically evocative titles such as The Age of Unreason (1989), The Empty Raincoat (1994), The Hungry Spirit (1997) and The Second Curve (2015). They gained him an international audience and global sales of more than 2m.

In his ability to perceive and articulate developments in the world of work before they crystallised, and in his big-picture approach, Handy took after another atypical European academic, Peter Drucker, dubbed the “father of management”, whom Handy admired. Handy was writing about the future of work as early as 1984, foresaw an era of discontinuous change in The Age of Unreason – his breakthrough book – as well as predicting the advent of the gig economy, remote working and the fragmentation of the traditional career. The “portfolio life” was his coinage, which he defined by living it.

In management terms, Handy’s legacy is his steadfast defence of the company as an evolving community of people rather than a machine or set of contracts. This was based on an unshakeable belief in humanity – “humanity will triumph – people need people”, he said in a podcast interview in 2021, at the height of a pandemic lockdown.

To thrive, a company had to make space for human purpose, human balance and human fulfilment. “Doing your best at what you are best at,” was his Aristotelian recipe, adding “for the benefit of others” at the end. This fed into his belief that the organisation of the future needed to be flexible, decentralised and built on trust rather than formal hierarchy and a rule book.

Born in Ireland, in Clane, Co Kildare, the son of Joan (nee Scott) and Brian Handy, a Protestant clergyman, Charles went to Bromsgrove school, Worcestershire, then studied classics at Oriel college, Oxford, from which he absorbed influences that marked his thinking throughout his life.

Just as formative was his first job at an outpost of Shell in Borneo in 1956, only doubly so: first because it was while there that he met Elizabeth Hill, then working at the British High Commission in Singapore, at a party in Kuala Lumpur, and second because, with her trenchant help, it showed him what he did not want to be. They married in 1962.

The epiphany came in 1965, when he found himself back in London, in an anonymous shared office at Shell HQ, greeted by a three-page list of responsibilities on his desk with no name on it. That struck him as not very human. Liz more forcefully gave him to understand that seeing the adventurous expat she had met and married turn into a dull office drudge was not part of their life’s plan.

Instead he relocated to the US – another formative experience – to attend the Sloan executive study programme at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he returned to London in 1967 to set up a UK version of the programme at the LBS.

He endowed it with a humanistic cast far removed from the usual finance and quantitative orientation. “Charles always had a sense of what it is to be human,” his friend and close LBS colleague Lynda Gratton said. “He inspired students, readers and friends to think more deeply, question more profoundly and live a life nearer to being human – with all its complexities and questions.”

Handy left LBS for a four-year stint as warden of St George’s House at Windsor Castle (1977-81), a sort of spiritual thinktank, before, again egged on by Liz, deciding to quit and go freelance as a writer and speaker. They reorganised their life, and, half-joked Handy, rewrote their marriage contract.

Henceforth they would split the year in two, with the work of first one, then the other, taking priority. Liz became his formidable agent as well as resuming her own career as a successful photographer – they subsequently collaborated on several books – and their time would be spent half in their former farm labourer’s cottage in rural Norfolk and half in their London home. They also shared cooking duties for the many visitors who arrived at both places to discuss world events, photography and politics over a generous lunch.

Relishing the new regime, Handy launched into a series of books that conquered an audience stretching far beyond business types. In fact, the latter were sometimes dismayed by what he had to say. He rejected shareholder capitalism, deeming shareholder ownership of companies a fiction and a fraud, and fretted that big corporations had become “prisons of the soul”.

For him, “good organisations are like a small English village. Everyone knows each other and what the other does. There’s no job title, you’re just Charles or Liz, and you help each other out. It’s not owned, people belong to it.” In those circumstances, management becomes a matter of common sense, not the technocratic exercises described in the textbooks he scorned.

If Handy’s writing style was conversational and accessible, his speaking could reach heights worthy of the ancients he had learned from. This was done without bravado, PowerPoint or notes, but with a quiet intensity that made every listener feel as if he was addressing them personally.

It was there that his inner firebrand sometimes surfaced. Few of those present will forget his closing speech, or the spontaneous standing ovation it prompted, at the Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna in 2018, when he called for a Lutheran Reformation of management, urging the audience not to wait for a great leader but “to start small fires in the darkness, until they spread and the whole world is alight with a better vision of what we could do with our businesses … If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”

Handy was active almost until the last. His final book, suitably titled The View from Ninety: Reflections on Living a Long, Contented Life, is due for publication in 2025.

Liz died in a car accident in 2018. Handy is survived by his son and daughter, Scott and Kate, four grandchildren and by two sisters, Ruth and Margaret.

🔔 Charles Brian Handy, social philosopher and management thinker, born 25 July 1932; died 13 December 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[marcia-11111]

Daffodils. II. The diary

I apologize for the late update, however I was busy due to the university's workload.

Tag list: @idk-bro-gay @kiopanxp @hellothere9597 @hsxhype @mareonyan

TW!

Breakup, angst, and heartache

Sae Itoshi is a Japanese prodigy pursuing his dream of becoming the world's best midfielder. In the race to his own goals, he loses the person dearest to him: you. 

(y/n) (l/n) - Sae’s ex-partner. You are an exchange student from a Spanish university who came to Japan. You met him a few years ago during your year abroad in Spain and became his partner. You have moved on, or you thought you had. However, what will happen when the one who wanted you to avoid him the most finds himself again in your life? Is he going to prove his love to you? Or will everything turn into another heartbreak? Does your heart want the Japanese prodigy back?

All "Blue lock" characters belong to the authors of the manga and anime "Blue lock".

Please don't translate, plagiarise nor use my works on other social media platforms, etc.

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

Being abroad, far away from home isn't something one could deem as simple. Without an understanding of culture it's hard to fit in and adjust to your new "home".

You're one of many people who are able to relate to such a statement - having come to Japan completely by yourself, left to your own devices. The country was the only one who offered a programme to your field of interest, therefore there was no other option. It didn't upset you though. With Sae's not being fond of his homeland, you could rest assured.

After the exchange students' orientation meeting, you bump into someone while you're returning.

"I apologize", you say, meeting a pair of blue eyes.

"すみません (Sumimasen)," the young man replies and then he checks if you are fine. You recognize him as one of the "Blue Lock" project's participants, however you couldn't remember his name.

"It's no problem," you answer, your eyes scanning his face.

"Wait? Are you also a fan of soccer?" He points at the necklace with a small soccer ball, causing your eyes to fill with sadness. Sometimes being sentimental could be one's weakness.

"No," your voice is stable, but even though your facial expression seems conflicted, you don't want to talk about your past with a stranger. The question reminded you of him, the one who broke your heart instead of guarding it. The blue-eyed soccer player couldn't stop you when he tried to understand your reaction.

When you arrive at the beach, you take your diary out of your backpack. You read some of the pages with the thoughts about the former relationship with Sae. The one you want to forget. The one who shattered you. You start to write.

"The soccer necklace Sae bought me… It is something that I cannot get rid off no matter how my heart hurts when I look at it. Please past, let me go…" You sob slightly, drawing lines in your diary. The waves cause your crying to be inaudible.

After a while, you calm down, but the wind starts to be faster out of nowhere and the sea level rises. You have to go back home.

The weather doesn't seem to improve anytime soon, therefore you take a bus to your place, not having noticed you left the diary near the beach…

[stormlit]

aside from kindergarten in japan, and then kindergarten again once she moved to the states (the repetition because of a mixture of age limits for education being different and the fact that she didn't speak any english), emiko does not attend school until her junior year of high school.

until then, she's educated by a mixture of on-set tutors, private tutors, her parents, and online programmes. she's working a lot, rarely in one place, and when she isn't working, one or more of her parents are, so there's a lot of travel involved. it's definitely a rigorous, academic kind of homeschooling. for elementary education it enables her parents to have her follow a more japanese-style curriculum, with emphasis on both japanese and english language and maths, as well as some of the non-academic subjects taught in japanese elementary schools. her secondary education follows a more american programme, with additional japanese lessons. she's smart, and she does well in testing.

however, there's also a lot of emphasis placed on non-traditional education. she's working, so that's an education in itself, as is instruction into things like finances and taxes. she's all over the world, so there are a lot of educational field trips with her parents, and then research projects or essays about the place or time period, or direct experience of science and geography in the field, even orienteering (giving her a good sense of direction), enabling her to learn about things not on the california curriculum. she learns a lot.

but after she quits acting, she asks to go to traditional school. as much as anything, she wants the experience and the social interaction. academically, she's ahead of her peers, but the social/school life kind of education is so different that it takes her a while to adapt. and she's famous at this time, so being recognised is an experience. but like everything else, emiko does adapt, she does have a primarily positive time, and she's still friends with her best friends from high school today. it does take until she's in college for her to fully find herself though, and to fully thrive in formal education. college is less regimented and more self-driven, and that suits her a lot better. she's always been very self-motivated with learning, because she's had to be.

[thegiantsansshipkidproject]

Meet Malware!

It's a coder and programmer whose hell bent in finding ways to infect others with parasites only using viruses and non-physical means. Though fresh is happy his kid is finding less destructive ways to continue the necessary evil required for life as a parasite, he still wishes it'd abstain altogether. Error, however, finds it amusing.

Here's it's head!

Info under the cut!

Name: Malware

Gender: Agender

Pronouns: It/Its

Orientation: NBLW

Species: Skeleton (½ Parasite)

Age: 5

Birthday: 09/21

Personality:

Chill

Playful

Introverted

Magic color: Lavender

Parents:

Error

Fresh

[sag-dab-sar]

Spring Prayer to Inana & Dumuzid for Global Food Security

[Please feel free to edit and use this prayer with any fertility, agricultural, or food deities/spirits of any pantheon. Diĝirene simply means "gods" in Sumerian]

"I address the Great Diĝirene, shrouded in divine light, please hear my words:

Holy Inana, Lord Dumuzid, you are the fertility of the world. Without you, lifecycles cease.

Your glory is present in every corner of the world.

Every fruit that grows, every lamb that is born, every flower that blooms, every egg that hatches, are testaments to your splendor!

I ask that life be renewed this Emesh (Spring/Summer)! That life continues in its never ending cycle of death and renewal.

Holy Inana, Lord Dumuzid, I seek your assistance to improve food security throughout the world.

I pray:

May farms produce a full harvest of crops.

May domesticated animals be born with healthy meat.

May gardens bear the best fruits and vegetables.

May subsistence hunts bring home good resources.

Hear my words Great Diĝirene:

In our world ocean shipping is uncertain stifling the food supply.

In our world many sources of global food lay in war zones

In our world inequality leaves many without food access

Our world cries out in hunger!

Holy Inana and Lord Dumuzid I ask you to assist us in bringing sources of food to all humanity.

I ask all these things humbly, praying to improve the state of the world.

Holy Inana, Lord Dumuzid sweet is your praise"

—by IzkurEreškigal

Information

World Bank Food Security Report — Link

World Food Programme 2025 Outlook — Link

Addressing World Hunger (+6 good charities) — Link

Donate

Feed The Children — Link

Action Against Hunger — Link

World Central Kitchen — Link

Meals On Wheels (US) — Link

Find Your Local Food Bank (US) — Link

🔹Prayer Notes

Northern Hemisphere oriented, prayer could be said in Southern Hemisphere at the correct Spring Equinox in September

Emesh is Summer in Mesopotamia, which is when things die. I localized my practice. If you wish to maintain the original Sumerian tradition replace it with Enten Winter when things grew to be harvested in that climate. — Link

This was not written with vegetarians or vegans in mind.

I used "shrouded in divine light" rather than "melam" so the prayer might be adaptable. Sumerian polytheists may want to use melam

[banana-sims]

The Bennett Legacy - update post!   

Hi! This is where I'm going to update stats for my legacy :) I'll also periodically update the family tree as seen above!

I'm currently on generation three, playing with Romeo as my heir (he's like 25 years old right now). It took me forever to decide who to choose but I've realized I love his little family so much that I can't resist.

I'm going to do a bunch of posts about everyone and everything that's happened to catch you up, plus you'll get a much better look at them :)

EXPLORE:

Aspirations

Friend of the Animals, Bodybuilder, Extreme Sports Enthusiast, Painter Extraordinaire (G3), Musical Genius, Bestselling Author, Master Actor, Master Maker, Lady of the Knits (G1), Successful Lineage (G2), Big Happy Family (G2), Super Parent (G2), Master Chef, Master Mixologist, Fabulously Wealthy, Mansion Baron, Renaissance Sim, Nerd Brain, Computer Whiz, Archaeology Scholar, Academic (G2), Serial Romantic, Soulmate (G3), City Native, Beach Life, Mt. Komorebi Sightseer, Freelance Botanist, The Curator, Angling Ace, Outdoor Enthusiast, Jungle Explorer, Eco Innovator (G1), Country Caretaker, Joke Star, Party Animal, Friend of the World (G2), World-Famous Celebrity, Inner Peace, Self-Care Specialist, Zen Guru

Artistic Prodigy (G3), Rambunctious Scamp, Social Butterfly, Whiz Kid, Mind and Body, Playtime Captain, Creative Genius

Drama Llama, Goal Oriented, Live Fast, Admired Icon

Careers

actor, astronaut, athlete, business, civil designer (G1), conservationist, critic, culinary, detective, doctor, education (G2), engineer, entertainer (G1), freelance writer, freelance programmer, freelance artist, freelance fashion photographer, gardener, law, painter, politician (G2), scientist, social media, secret agent, style influencer, tech guru, writer, salaryperson, interior decorator, any part time job

own/run a vet clinic, own/run a retail store, own/run a restaurant

Degrees

Art History, Biology, Communications, Computer Science, Culinary Arts (G3), Drama, Economics, Fine Art (G2), History, Language and Literature, Physics, Psychology (G2), any distinguished degree (G2)

Worlds

Brindleton Bay (G1), Britechester (G2), Copperdale, Del Sol Valley, Evergreen Harbour (G2), Henford-on-Bagley, Mt. Komorebi, Newcrest, Oasis Springs, San Myshuno, Sulani, Tartosa, Willow Creek (G2), Windenburg

Traits

ambitious, cheerful (G1), childish, clumsy, creative (G3), genius, gloomy, goofball, high maintenance, hot-headed, romantic, self-assured (G1), squeamish, unflirty, art lover, bookworm (G2), dance machine, foodie (G3), geek, loves outdoors (G1), maker, music lover (G1), recycle disciple, active, adventurous (G1), child of the islands, child of the ocean, freegan, glutton, green fiend, lazy, materialistic, neat (G2), overachiever, perfectionist, slob, vegetarian (G2), animal enthusiast, bro, cat lover (G3), dog lover, family-oriented (G2), good (G2), hates children, insider, jealous, loner, loyal (G3), noncommittal, outgoing, party animal, proper, self-absorbed, snob, socially awkward

toddler angelic trait (G3), toddler charmer trait, toddler clingy trait (G2), toddler fussy trait, toddler independent trait, toddler inquisitive trait (G3), toddler silly trait (G4), toddler wild trait (G3)

infant cautious trait (G4), infant sensitive trait, infant calm trait, infant intense trait, infant wiggly trait, infant sunny trait

good manners trait (G2), bad manners trait, responsible trait (G2), irresponsible trait, mediator trait (G2), argumentative trait, compassionate trait (G3), insensitive trait, emotional control trait (G3), uncontrolled emotions trait

Skills

charisma (G2), comedy, cooking (G1), fishing, fitness (G2), gardening, gourmet cooking (G1), guitar, handiness (G1), logic (G1), mischief, mixology, painting (G3), piano (G1), photography (G2), programming, rocket science, video gaming, violin, writing, herbalism, baking (G3), wellness, DJ mixing, singing, dancing (G2), bowling, parenting (G2), veterinarian, pet training, archaeology, selvadoradian culture, flower arranging, acting, media production, robotics, research & debate (G2), fabrication, juice fizzing, knitting (G1), rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, cross-stitch, entrepreneur

Household

male heir (G2), single mom/dad heir, blended family (kids from both previous partners), queer heir (G2), have 1 kid in the generation, have 2 kids in the generation (G1), have 3 kids in the generation, have 4 kids in the generation (G2), have 5 kids in the generation, have twins (G1), have triplets, adopt a child (G2), one night stand pregnancy, broken engagement, marry a childhood friend, marry a coworker, marry someone who was once your enemy/rival, marry someone famous, never get married, have a cat (G1), have a dog (G1), have kittens/puppies

Extra things/collections

live in a tiny home, live off-the-grid for a season, live in an apartment (G2), live in a 3-storey home (G2), live on a farm, sell craftables on plopsy (G1), make/sell candles, have bees/sell honey, craft/sell fizzy juice, reach 5-star reputation for odd jobs

have a child do scouts, have a child do drama club, compete in E-Sports, compete in soccer, join cheer team, join chess team, join computer team, join football team

omiscan treasures and omiscan artifacts collections, city posters collection, snow globes collection, feathers collection, seashells collection, postcards collection, elements collection, mysims trophies collection

GENERATIONS:

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GEN 1 FOUNDER - Willa Bennett - Adventurous, Loves Outdoors, Self-Assured / Eco Innovator + Lady of the Knits

SPOUSE - Damon Napier - Music Lover, Self-Assured, Cheerful / Friend of the Animals

Living in: Brindleton Bay

CHILD #1 - Lyra Bennett - Creative, Foodie, Goofball / Musical Genius

CHILD #2 - Dawson Bennett - Cheerful, Neat, Bookworm / Academic

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GEN 2 HEIR - Dawson Bennett - Cheerful, Neat, Bookworm / Academic

SPOUSE - Jack Sanders - Good, Family-Oriented, Vegetarian / Friend of the World

Living in: Britechester, Evergreen Harbour, Willow Creek

CHILD #1 - Nora Bennett - Bookworm, Unflirty, Hot-Headed / Renaissance Sim

CHILD #2 - Romeo Bennett - Neat, Loyal, Foodie / Soulmate

CHILD #3 - Bea Bennett - Animal Enthusiast, Cheerful, Dance Machine / Friend of the World

CHILD #4 - Sage Bennett - Goofball, Genius / Musical Genius

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GEN 3 HEIR - Romeo Bennett - Neat, Loyal, Foodie / Soulmate

SPOUSE - Makenzie Thompson - Creative, Vegetarian, Cat Lover / Painter Extraordinaire

Living in: Willow Creek

CHILD #1 - Felix Bennett - ?? / ??

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If you want to play like this yourself, the template and info is all here!