#Silo City

[silocityreadingseries]

June 11, 2022 Silo City Reading Series featuring poets Richie Hofmann & Albert Abonado, musicians Yuki Numata Resnick & Clarice Jensen and an art installation by Pat Cray & Max Collins. Photographs by Melody Hyatt.

[spockvarietyhour]

Bunker Chic feat. Tim Robbins

[softquietsteadylove]

While attending something important Thena gets suddenly and very boldly proposed from a man with high position. And Gil is there, watching, slightly amused and curious!

Would be funny if you would write it!

"Sankta Olga," her people bowed to her as they greeted the regent after their recent triumph in battle.

Thena overlooked the masses, looming over Olga's shoulder as her most trusted war advisor. Not that Olga had needed 'inspiration' for her ideas--equal parts ingenious and cruel. Thena had no qualms with what the human queen wished to inflict upon her enemies, no matter Ajak's claims of inhumanity and needless violence.

Let the humans know they were true beings of power, Thena thought. No matter their mortality, humans were fierce when it came to their loved ones. Whether protecting them or avenging them, it seemed.

"I owe this greatly to you."

"I contributed nothing," Thena argued with Olga's soft, gentle words (for a woman with a continually rising death count on her hands). What Thena meant was that Olga had fashioned the idea to attack during the Drevlian revelry herself. Thena had never - and still would never - pick up a blade against a human.

"Your support is more than you think," Olga smiled at Thena over her shoulder during the brief reprieve between subjects and nobles gathered in the palace. "For I could never have...after they..."

Thena offered Olga a slight bow - more respect than the Warrior Eternal tended to show to human leaders - before moving away. She had been by Olga's side when news of the Queen's husband arrived. She had done what she could, but she had to admit that she did not have the stomach for thinking about the death of one's husband.

"Hey."

Thena inhaled as Gilgamesh received her at his side, his hand settling at the small of her back, over her fine velvet dress but under the heavily fur lined cloak she wore as a member of court. "Hey."

Gil hadn't been there to witness the massacre. He, like Sersi, didn't really have the stomach for the violence of it. Thena had only gone alongside Olga to lend her support (and to keep her from going too far, if need be). "How is she?"

Thena looked back up to the throne, where Olga was continuing to receive grateful subjects now free of Drevlian invasion. The woman still had the glow of victory to her, but Thena could see the fatigue of grief still heavy over the woman. "I think she is nearing the end of her vengeance."

"Nearing?" Gil asked and looked at Olga just for a second. He ducked his head down and whispered, "she's not done?"

"I believe she had one more act to see through," Thena said just as quietly. She looked at Gil, knowing how he felt about Olga's actions. "If it were you, I would still be laying waste to the entire continent."

He smiled, pushing some hair away from her cheek and over her shoulder, "you don't have to worry about that."

"Hm," Thena sufficed as a response, nonetheless leaning into his touch.

"I'll get you something," he said gently, referring to either food or drink or both. She didn't need either, but he liked to think they could help her relax--feel a little more in the human spirit. He brushed his lips over her temple, "wait here, Solnyshkuh."

Thena watched him go, excusing himself as he attempted to navigate among the fragile little humans.

"Sankta Athena."

Thena frowned; both of those names were wrong. The man standing before her was a member of nobility, although she wouldn't be able to recall his rank if given a thousand years to do so. She tilted her head, "you cannot mean me."

"But I can," the nobleman bowed to her in greeting first before straightening up again. He was tall for a human, with reasonably agreeable features. "You are the Queen's most trusted War Advisor, are you not?"

"I am her only War Advisor." Because as soon as Thena had proved her worthiness of such a title, Olga had dismissed the entire panel of others.

"Then your reputation precedes you all the more."

"Do you have a point?" she asked in a painfully direct manner. This was the kind of manner that usually kept humans on her outskirts. But she supposed every once in a while, one or two - and they were always males, usually of high status - would walk right up to her, brazen as daylight.

"I would like to ask you something, oh great War Advisor," he continued to schmooze and flatter her. He had an insipid grin under his moustache.

"Is it related to battle?" Thena droned. She couldn't much refuse if it was, as much as she might come to want to.

"The greatest battle," he chuckled before lowering himself to his knee before the whole throne room to observe. But he ignored the looks and whispers, staring up at Thena. "The battle of marriage, my Lady. Indeed, I would like to ask you to become my wife."

Silence stretched over massive and echous room. The flames lining the walls in sconces and torches flickered, and no one dared take a breath.

"This is Arthur all over again."

The human blinked, "my Lady?"

"The answer is no," she offered just as directly as before, staring down at him with disdain. She glanced at Olga, who was watching with shameless curiosity. Thena sighed, "you dishonour yourself just by asking."

"This is just the battle to which I was referring."

Did he think she was being coy in her refusal? Thena looked down at him again, making her distaste for his actions even more plain to see, if at all possible. "There is no battle to be won, sir. I have no interest in your nor any proposals."

"I do relish a challenge, my Lady," he grinned still, even moving closer to her in his crouched position. "I am no stranger to the harsh ways of the world. And I believe that you could find no better a match-"

"You are glaringly wrong," Thena drawled, more and more bored with the conversation, if it could be called that. "Everything from my name to your intentions are misdirected."

The man was at least starting to feel jilted. "That's-"

"I do not know why you thought I would say yes."

He laughed, finally rising to his feet again, although it allowed him to move even closer to her. "Because I believe you are a woman of intellect. And it would be most unwise-"

"To reject a stranger's proposal?" Thena finished the truest form of that statement. His humiliation was starting to show the more she frustrated him. She took a step back, "do not speak to me of wisdom."

He reached out, nearly grasping her arm over her cloak.

"I wouldn't, buddy."

Thena smiled as he made his way back, two goblets in one hand and a grin on his face. He was clearly watching the proceedings. "You could have come and dissuaded him."

Gil laughed, sloshing some of his mead onto the deep brown bear fur of his own cloak. "And miss the show? You know I love to see these idiots throw themselves at you."

The human man flushed at being insulted, not even directly. "I never-!"

Thena looked at him, reminded that he was indeed still there. "Leave."

"Wh-!" he was fuming mad, now, gripping the hilt of the sword on his hip. He glared at Gilgamesh, "and who are you to speak to me in such a way?"

Thena laughed faintly this time. "He has seen me reject more suitors than you can count, I'm sure."

That finally made the human flinch, if just a little. He looked at Gil, "is he a royal concubine, then?"

"Ooh," Gil practically giggled, "I've never been called a concubine before."

"Hm," Thena looked back at him, drawn in by the music of his laughter. She tilted her head at him, "it doesn't do you justice."

The human bristled, forced to witness the salacious behaviour of Gil moving Thena's hair away from her cheek and her leaning into his touch again. The indecency! "Oh, I see."

"Look, pal," Gil finally snorted outright. He made eye contact with the nobleman as he pulled Thena closer to him with his arm around her waist. "She said no. If you ask again, she's gonna use that sword to make a kebab outta you."

"Hm," Thena purred as Gil's chest moved, pressing the soft fur he wore against her cheek. "You make wonderful kebab."

At some point, the nobleman decided he had had enough. He would perhaps complain about it later, but it wasn't as if he would have the Queen on his side for it.

"I swear, there's always at least one idiot who thinks it's a good idea to propose to you," Gil shook his head, still shamelessly moving his hand over her back, although her heavy cloak disguised such lascivious behaviour. "After - what? - two words to you?"

"I do not believe even that much," Thena sighed, enjoying pressing her cheek to his chest far too much. "No matter."

"That's true," he chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head (avoiding the golden circlet sitting on top of it). "You're all mine."

And she had been since long before this kingdom came to be, and would be long, long after.

[oceanusborealis]

Worldbuilding that Astounded Us in 2023

One of the benefits of film is that it is a visual medium, which means that it can do in a frame what it might take a book several pages of description to pull off. We see this the most in its ability to build worlds in front of our eyes.These worlds could be great space operas exploring galaxies, a small period piece that looks back in time, or anything. But when every part of the film is used…

[icleanedthisplate]

Buffalo Tempeh + Sesame Cauliflower. City Silo. Memphis, Tennessee. Germantown, Tennessee. 10.21.2023.

NOTE TO SELF: This started out really good, but then I got tired of eating it. Not enough of a flavor pop to keep me interested. It was good and I'll definitely come back because it was the rest of the menu looks intriguing (and healthy). The roasted sesame cauliflower was the best part. And I remain unimpressed with tempeh.

Currently ranked 12th of 21 October meals.

[clairity-org]

Mill City Museum, Minneapolis 5/29/22 by Sharon Mollerus

[louisdotmp3]

i'll b honest i think christopher nolan really ate with oppenheimer

[wfxue]

20230621_F0001: Silo D by Wei-Feng Xue Via Flickr: - A east London scene just moments before landing in the London City Airport. This building surrounded by a construction site is listed as Silo D, a Grade II Listed concrete grain silo just south of south west of the airport.

[roadside-enshrined]

sorry. "six minutes and six seconds past six o clock" im trying to watch silo and the acting is phenomenal but. c'mon. guys.

[skk-fan-page]

What does this:

Mean in the context of skk, 15, stormbringer, and dazai acting like a lovesick puppy.

Well, the first thing I notice is that it's heavily implied that dazai didn't say shit and hasn't in his entire employment at the ada. Everyone talks about the mafia with a certain level of "hey I heard about you because my mom's dad's aunt's best friend's knitting club was talking about you and one of the members' dog's coparent said they saw you at Walmart."

Between akutagawa, higuchi, and now chuuya, it's like they know nothing that might help them with the mafia.

Why wouldnt yosano know though, she used to be mafia? Well that's what I thought at first too. I figured maybe rumors had just spread throughout the mafia in her time there.

But, at the same time, add up these numbers and then tell me if the math is mathing for yosano to know anything about chuuya

Chuuya is 22 and joined when he was 15, meaning he joined 7 years ago. 14 years ago (11 when she finally escaped) means not only would she not have met him, he would've been 11 by the time she left.

Not only that, but she was an 11 year old child-doctor, which means she would've had no contacts in the Mafia and no friends to tell her anything.

And, most damning of all, in 15 phase.02 mori says this when asked about suribachi city.

By the time chuuya was awakened, yosano was already out.

So maybe it's kyouka. But here's the thing: she doesn't seem to know shit outside of her (old) job description. She was in such an information silo that she didn't know what a crepe was. That makes her out of the picture for me, especially considering she was the subordinate of the subordinate of the boss's subordinate.

So that leaves 2 options: word on the street, and dazai.

If I can get information on the second highest ring of your underground murder organization by asking around, your organization is getting shit on by the feds in 4 seconds flat.

So that leaves one option: dazai.

But he doesn't seem to be much of a sharer, so why would he share about mafia things? Well we have precedent for it.

There's this incident, proving he's totally chill with sharing about the mafia. And then, there's something so gay it will make you want to claw your eyes out and join the witness protection program to get away from how single you feel

I wish someone would look at me the way dazai looks at chuuya's corruption form. And he's even bragging about him and how cool and powerful he is.

Regardless, this proves that he does totally talk about chuuya when he's not listening, and that he's not the inscrutable clamshell of a man he pretends to be.

Now: the other implication. Chuuya just assumes dazai was talking about him, meaning this was a pattern in the past. We can see this pattern manifest in the party that dazai tries to throw in 15, as well as the fact that ango knows chuuya in dead apple.

How many times do you think dazai genuinely set up challenges for chuuya back in his mafia days, to the point where upon being recognized, his first thought is "dazai did this."

Just put a ring on it already guys.

[chlobody]

in silo city [ shot by @ohseephotography ]

[spockvarietyhour]

I did forget Tim Robbins is in this, a show about a mysterious bunker in a post apocalypse (allegedly) after being in a movie (FIFTEEN YEARS AGO THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT) about a mysterious bunker in a post apocalypse....

[fantastic-nonsense]

Kaz Isn't Actually Motivated By Greed

Or at least, not primarily. Don't get me wrong, his stated primary driving factor is getting the money he was promised from Van Eck, but his reasoning isn't actually greed-based. Kaz's desire for money is goal-oriented and his fixation on it during the duology is fairness-based. He initially wants his share of the money because it will allow him to split from Per Haskell and start his revenge scheme over Pekka. He then pursues getting it with such zeal because Van Eck broke their deal and Kaz (rightly) feels cheated; Van Eck contracted him for a job, which he successfully completed, and then refused to pay him for it.

He fixates on destroying Van Eck because like Pekka Rollins, he broke his deal with Kaz and scammed him out of his money. It's the scamming and deal-breaking (and his inability to figure it out beforehand) that hit Kaz's pride and motivate him. If it were really just about the money, he could have gotten it any number of ways. But despite talking a big game about worshipping money and it being his primary motivating factor, he throws away an awful lot of opportunities to get and keep it during the duology:

He doesn't take the Ice Court job until he's shown the effects of parem and promised 30 million kruge (enough that when split he could realize his dreams of splitting from Haskell and taking out Rollins)

He gives up his shares in the Crow Club and Fifth Harbor to Pekka in order to rescue Inej and kickstart the Sugar Silo scheme

He doesn't abandon Inej after she's taken by Van Eck and sell Kuwei to the highest bidder, even though that would have been the most logical and lucrative option (as both Inej and Matthias think about)

He liquidates all of his existing financial assets to free Inej AND tells her where his emergency stash is so she and the rest of the Crows can get out of the city safely

He gives Rotty and Specht Per Haskell's share of the Ice Court Heist money (recognizing their loyalty and help) and Nina Matthias's share (to somewhat compensate her for her grief and honor Matthias's contributions) instead of keeping it for himself

He buys Inej a ship with part of HIS share of the money

And while several of the things he abandons money for are for Inej, to keep her safe and free and happy, the rest of the Crows and the Dregs at large benefit too. So do people he's probably never met. Pre-canon!Kaz fixed up the Slat with his own money so it's a safe-ish place for the Dregs to live, for example, and in Crooked Kingdom he totally goes along with Nina's plan to get all of Ketterdam's Grisha onto the boat to Ravka after a mostly token protest even though it massively complicates his plans.

It's pretty clear that no matter what he says, at the end of the day Kaz values loyalty, fairness, and keeping his promises more than he values money. The money is just a means to an end for him: he wants it because it will a) allow him to have an amount of safety and security for himself and the people he cares about (and those who have pledged their loyalty to him), b) let him keep his deals with and promises to said people, and c) give him the ability to one-up Pekka and destroy his empire.

[mamawasatesttube]

i got bit by the "two eleven truths and a lie" bug, so heres a lil quiz!!

if you follow me you PROBABLY know the answer. or at least can rule several of these out. but hey if you know, don't say it until the poll's over!!! rb and tag with what you guessed/if you Know, i wanna see if i made it too easy :3

*11th choice should say "at Cadmus", it got cut off and i didn't notice and i can't edit the poll :(

[essektheylyss]

Conrad and Justin really are so sweet and heartwarming, but there is something that makes me lose my mind about them being friends in particular.

Given Mark Bition having such an influence in the city, with Mayor Logic being elected because, you know, it just made sense, and just Elias Hodge's general career path and interests, Justin could've been running with the big dogs. People who are ambitious and rational, particularly those funneled into siloed scientific development jobs for those traits, often justify their actions extensively. Progress, the momentum of civilizations, the greater good, economic upswing—these are all justifications for scientific and technological development that work well on the people doing the work as much as they do on those funding it. It is a simple story to tell.

But Justin isn't with those people. He's with Conrad, the stunted conscience that has been neglected and ignored out of pain and fear and anxiety for years. He's been encouraging Conrad to act, to speak up, to push through those fears to make a change, and after all of those years, he is still Conrad's best friend.

Even when Conrad thought he had been wrong, Justin didn't. Which means Elias Hodge knew all along that his conscience was right.

[clairity-org]

Mill City Museum, Minneapolis 4/4/24 by Sharon Mollerus