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botwstoriesandsuch · 4 years

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DEAR FISH FUCKERS, YOU’RE WELCOME

I’ve done what no other has done before (to my knowledge) and found the aging system for the Zora!

Ok so this started as simple research for this ask

See, I misread the phrasing of “best educated guess” to “research for 2 hours and come to a conclusive answer” so anyhow before I indulge you into the answers of the universe allow me to explain the research I’ve come across

[TL;DR at the bottom]

So firstly, we have to look at our conclusive evidence, from which we’ll base our theory/headcanon on, which can mainly be found in the Creating a Champion book, and some dialogue in game. I’ve compiled them all in these bullets here

Zora children are around 20ish years old [as said by dialogue with Finley in her love letter sidequest, I don’t have a screenshot but please just take my word for it]

150ish is considered middle-aged for Zora

Muzu is around 4 centuries old

Curved claws, weathered fins, and worn noses are signs of an older Zora that is more than 3 centuries(ish) old

Zora that were friends with Link must be around 150ish (not just 100), since you need to also account for the 20+ years of growing from a child stage, to the more normal sized form that you see them in the game, ergo, it’s that age plus the 100 years stasis that we determine the “middle age” of around 150

150 is the middle age, double that for the average old age of 300 years, but I say it could go to 400 too for additional reasons I’ll explain later with examples with my final age system. Anyhow, Muzu is around 400 if you take the 100 years for actually growing up from childhood, additional 100+ years of holding a different job as I doubt you just straight out hire a councilman without experience, and then another century for where he first started working in in the council, training Mipha, which would overlap with the period of the pre and post Great Calamity and Link’s return, meaning that’s 3 centuries plus 50ish years if we’re being generous with the overlap. This would help line up with the “for over a century” line as that doesn’t quite mean 2 centuries of working in the council, but Muzu is definitely getting up there to 4 centuries for his age alone

Now, I thought, this was gonna be my breakthrough, this screenshot here, depicting the traits of the older Zora. The elderly Zora are probably around 3 centuries old (since King Dorephan said they were young men around Mipha’s time, 150ish+100 gives us the range of 250-300), so I was like “Oh l can look at the size of their fins and noses and head/tail things and find a more efficient way to find their age” but nOPE. There is very little variation in that ballpark, the Zora either have exaggerated weathered noses or nice and shiny fins and no in between. The size of their head fins are roughly the same, with again, the only exaggerated differences being with the King and Sidon which doesn’t help at all because the Royal Zora already have a bunch of other difference such as their SIZE to name one.

I even went to the part about their curved toes, which initially would line up with some other Zora like Muzu

And let me tell you

I’ve looked at their toes

This is them from a child, a middle-aged, and an elderly. Color doesn’t matter and the curve? Well there’s

BARELY A DIFFERENCE

At least not nearly enough to find an efficient way to find age. Even Muzu’s final model didn’t have the exaggerated curvature as seen in the book.

I looked at their tail tail fins, (not the tail on their head, but their actual small rounded tail fin by their butts) because the book also mentioned how the grown Zora have more pronounced tail fins compared to the kids, but it was the same for the 150s and the 300s sooo not that helpful

So I kept digging. In the book I found that King Dorephan was crowned around 100 years before the game started. In addition I reread the 10 Zora stone monuments and found that he had killed a Guardian with his bare hands and thrown it off a cliff, which he still had a scar from.

[and yes I attempted to find his definitive age by seeing how long it takes for a scar to fade but I gave up cause Zora anatomy is too different to find a conclusive answer]

So I was like, “ok Dorephan had to have been around 150 when he came to the throne, then 50 years later the guardians are excavated giving way to the story about the guardian...” blah blah blahbla I even went to the supposed site where that guardian was, but it all didn’t really give me that much more info than what I already knew. I was researching ways to age the rock monuments from visuals alone which needless to say is pretty impossible, so I gave up on finding Dorephan’s age and I kept digging.

All I wanted was something physical that could properly give way to identifying a Zora’s age was that too much to ask???

Now this is where I had all but given up, it seems that my only answer was this vague note about how their fins move up when they grow

Which, to be fair, held true when I looked at the in-game character models myself, but I can’t exactly pixel measure these things for each Zora.

But THAT’S where the revelation came. I was so focused on finding inconsistencies within the elderly Zora, when I should have been looking at the young baby ones. See, this pictures, literally right next to the page about elderly Zora that I was analyzing for ages, is the key to it all

Now, I was thinking about the rings on a tree, and certain species of banded fish that grow and discard different markings as they grow older, I even counted the neck rings on certain Zora to see if they did that thing where they add a ring for each birthday like some African and Asian cultures do (look it up, that stuff’s pretty interesting!) and that is where it struck me.

Count how many luminescent markings are on their head

The males have 11, the females have 8 (on the one side, the other side has the same number of dots but for simplicity purposes I’m doing one side)

Now let’s count for these Zoras, who are middle aged-ish

The male has 10, the female has 7.

Now let’s look at the oldest Zora that we know of

3 dots above the eye, four on the tail. Muzu that motherfucker has 7 damn dots and I couldn’t be happier.

MY DUDES, GALS, AND PALS THIS IS IT, I’VE CHECKED AND DOUBLE CHECKED WITH NEARLY EVERY ZORA I COULD AND THE NUMBER OF LUMINESCENT MARKINGS ON THEIR HEAD CORRESPONDS WITH THE AMOUNT OF CENTURIES THEY’VE LIVED, LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY DOWN TO THE DOT

First we have Muzu, who as I’ve preciously stated is around 4 centuries old. 11-4? Oh, it’s seven, and that’s the amount of markings he has? OOoo??

How about this Zora Lady who recognized Link from 100 years ago?

Seven dots? 8-7 is 1 so shes just over one century which lines up timeline wise. You can even see how the third dot is slowing shrinking on her head so she’s coming up on 2 centuries

Ok how about the elders?

NINE. 11-9 is 2 centuries, with again, the dot by their head shrinking significantly showing how they’re getting up on 3 centuries.

The part I circled in green there is jewelry, not a marking, however this only goes further to prove my point. What better way to appear youthful than to have jewelry that makes it look like you have more markings than you have, made with luminous stone, no less.

This guy? Seggin? Super close to 4 centuries, those dots are fading away fast. Count your days old timer

Random dude that doesn’t recognize Link but is an new apprentice for sculpture making? 10 dots, a fresh 1 century pal, lookin young

I was a feral child running across the Domain screaming people’s ages in their face like a rude, naive, brat, I was elated to say the least. Especially since this system even works on the King himself

[plus one dot slightly behind the fin here...]

King Dorephan has 7 dots, he’s 400 years old. Which still lines up timeline wise, especially since he’s similar age with Muzu who he has stated is one of his most trusted advisors, beecaaaaaaaause of the years they’ve spent working together the timelines match uppppppp

This system works for almost all Zora, with 2 exceptions. Guards have helmets that cover their markings, so it’s impossible to tell. In addition, Prince Sidon, has sixteen lights on this hammerhead because he’s fancy like that (we already know he’s canonically 2ish centuries old anyhow from the DLC)

EDIT: I WAS WRONG THIS WORKS FOR SIDON TOO. The sixteen markings I was referring to was actually the amount of marking on each side of the head total, however if we look at the markings for only one side, like intended

Ten dots, Sidon’s over 100 years old. I’d say he’s closer to 150 given the timeline

Essentially, the most surefire way to find almost any Zora’s age is to identify a male or female Zora, count the number of lights on the side of their head/tail thing, then subtract from 11 if they’re a male, and from 8 for a female. The number left is how many centuries they’ve lived. You can check to see if their markings are shrinking and fading to get a sense if they’re coming up on the next century anytime soon. Comparing this with the oldest Zora we see in game, we can conclusively say that the Zora lifespan is around 3 to 4 centuries since no Zora has been seen with less than seven markings

Now go and make your Zora ocs with your appropriate number of lights. I’m gonna have a cookie

#botw #breath of the wild #legend of zelda botw #loz botw #zora #zora botw #botw theory #botw headcanon #no fuck that this IS canon

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sleepless-rain · 4 years

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Karasuno studies! – View from the second years (Part 5) –

NOTE: PLEASE READ ALL THE OTHER PARTS BEFORE THIS ONE (or at least part 4) as understanding the punchline of this section relies on the previous parts.

Kageyama left the bookstore with his monthly volleyball magazine, head filled only with thoughts of tako-pho. Combined with the post club activity hunger, Kageyama stumbled down the street. With a bump he walked into someone...

“WHAT?”

TRANSLATORS NOTE:

Please do NOT repost this translation ANYWHERE. If I see the whole thing elsewhere I will stop translating novel chapters and delete all chapter translations I have done. Sharing small snippets are okay but not the whole thing. Please link back to this tumblr post if you want to share it.

Jerking his head up in response to the angry outburst, Kageyama found himself looking up at the volleyball club’s second year member, Tanaka Ryuunosuke. The others, Nishinoya Yuu and Ennoshita Chikara, were here as well.

“…wait it’s just Kageyama. Why are you walking around all spaced out? You alright?” Tanaka asked.

Kageyama, still dazed, answered, “Huh. Uh, I’m fine. Just went to buy the monthly volleyball magazine.”

“Oh, lemmie have a look tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks… wait, that’s not what I meant! You’re looking spaced out! Are you seriously okay?” Tanaka gave Kageyama a worried look.

“No…” Kageyama pouted.

“What’s wrong? Is it something you’re worried about? You can tell Tanaka-senpai anything!”

Behind the proud Tanaka, Ennoshita had given up. “There it is, the senpai thing...”

But Kageyama played into it and told him, “Well, uh… I was just wondering what tako-pho was… ”

“Tako-pho?”

Upon hearing the unfamiliar word the second years exchanged glances.

“What is it?”

“Do you know?”

“Never heard of it.”

Ennoshita smiled teasingly, a second’s worth of eye contact saying, “Hey, you’re the senpai he can talk about anything to.” And flustered, Tanaka opened his mouth.

“Ah, well you know, it’s that thing! Ah… that thing! Yes! Like… the octopus version of pho!”

And to that Kageyama muttered quietly, “Ah, that’s what I thought…”

“What about it?”

“It’s just that I heard that Hinata and Yachi-san were going to make tako-pho…”

Why he was so concerned about them making tako-pho was unknown to even Kageyama himself. But it stuck to him like a thorn in his side and that bothered him. What was tako-pho?

Kageyama had clammed up and Nishinoya piped, “In other words, is it like imoni*? An imoni party? Is it time for this imoni leader’s debut? ” (* Imoni: this is a traditional dish in the Tohoku area, literal translation being “potato boiling” usually done in autumn on the riverside (this segment takes place in winter). A massive pot is set on rocks, and seasonal vegetables are put in to make a soup. The main ingredient is something called sato imo. There are different versions of imoni depending on where in Tohoku you have it (for example using beef instead of pork, miso instead of soysauce for the soup base). The original reference was to gyuujiru (a supposed beef version of tonjiru) . But I didn’t want to replace this whole Imoni section so it may seem a bit random for Nishinoya to suddenly bring it up. I apologise. )

“I don’t really get what you’re saying…” responded Kageyama, and Ennoshita cut in.

“No, isn’t it too cold for imoni?”

“What are you saying? If you put your spirit into it you can do it!”

“Really? Isn’t it too cold out?”

“Put some spirit into it Chikara!!”

“Imoni and spirit have nothing to do with each other!?”

“What are you saying Chikara? This is imoni we’re talking about!”

A sense of discord began to descend between Ennoshita and Nishinoya before Tanaka interrupted, “Wait, you guys. Stop it. We shouldn’t be arguing about miso based soup or soy-sauce based soup, or sato-imo or potatoes, right now is some precious time before the spring tournament, we don’t have time for this.”

Just as T anaka finished, Kageyama came to a realisation.

That’s it.

He wasn’t sure of the details of what Hinata and Yachi were talking about. But he was curious as it involved a topic similar to imoni. It wasn’t about the soup base or the type of noodles, not about the beef or chicken but….octopus. Thinking about it weighed on Kageyama’s thoughts and his hunger increased.

Imoni – this was a problem involving the identity of someone from Tohoku and Kageyama was a fine Tohoku born person.

“I knew I could count on you senpai…” he muttered and looked up at Tanaka, his face completely different from before, free of worry. “Thanks!” He bowed energetically, and took off at full sprint.

Tanaka, watching Kageyama’s silhouette, commented after him, “What was all that about just now…”

“I have no idea but it seems like he’s cheered up so it’s fine right?”

Tanaka replied to Ennoshita’s words with a “RIGHT!” He picked himself back up.

“It’s your senpai power!” Nishinoya responded with a triumphant pose.

“You’re right! Senpai-power!”

Ennoshita started walking, leaving the laughing Nishinoya and Tanaka behind. “Hurry up, let’s go, it’s cold.”

***

“Hey sis, can I ask you something?” Tanaka, who had just arrived home, turned stiffly towards his sister, Saeko, who was wearing a face mask.

“What is it?”

“So… what do you think tako-pho is?” Tanaka asked his face mask covered sister awkwardly.

“Huh? Tako-pho? No idea. Like an octopus version of pho or something? Is this a new menu item at the restaurant?” Saeko replied through her teeth as to avoid wrinkling the mask, and hearing her response, Tanaka laughed in relief. Thank god.

He didn’t tell his precious junior any lies. Thank god...

Seeing her relieved little brother, Saeko let out an unrestrained laugh. “I’ll be the one to tako-pho** this Tanaka household though.”

“A pun, really? You drinking already?”　Tanaka frowned and Saeko’s expression changed quickly.

“Shut up. Get to your room and start studying already. Didn’t you do badly on the term tests?”

“What? Did you look at them without telling me? It wasn’t a failing grade so it’s fine!”

Seeing Tanaka’s face go red, she gave his head a poke. “Haha, you can’t fool me. You just missed the failing grade. With a brain like that, are you really my little bro?”

“W-what!? You mean you lied about seeing my papers!?”

“High school students should be studying! Study!”

And so the pitiful Tanaka was pushed upstairs to his room by his older sister who had taken over the house and its residents.

***

“Studying… huh…” Tanaka laid out over his bed and reached over to take a textbook from his desk. And as he opened it to look at the pages, as if he had been knocked unconscious, he fell asleep. That was quick. A strangely clean and new English textbook closed neatly on the bed covers.

It seems that it’s a little too early for some of the first and second years to be focusing on studying.

And so the third years will graduate soon and new students will start high school. Tanaka and the others will become third years and a new Karasuno volleyball club will be born. And when that day comes, this responsible senpai will surely be the support for an amazing team. Probably.

TRANSLATION NOTES:

**Tako-pho: In this case a better translation would be “rule the roost” but Saeko has used the same word play from part 4. Her intention for it to mean “Take over“ as Hinata had used when speaking to Yachi.

As a small disclaimer: I have taken some liberties in translation to make the novel read smoothly. So please don’t quote specific words as canon. That being said I tried my best to stay faithful to the original. For this reason I will not allow translations into another language using this as the base text. I apologise to anyone who is keen on sharing it in another language but please do so using the original Japanese text.

Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter please consider supporting Haikyuu and buying a copy of this novel (volume 11) ! I may consider doing more novel translations in the future!

I do have a Ko-fi so if you do feel like it, please donate!

#leo translation #kageyama tobio #haikyuu #hq!!#haikyuu light novel #nishinoya yu #tanaka ryuunosuke #ennoshita chikara #tanaka saeko #karasuno

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grimelords · 6 years

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Hello I’ve finished my February playlist for you. There’s no timeline on these things anymore they just come out whenever they come out it seems. A good mix, and I’m sure there’ll be at least one thing in here you’ve never heard before that you’ll like.

Doncamatic (feat. Daley) - Gorillaz: This song is extremely traumatic for me because they released it after Plastic Beach as a standalone single and Damon Albarn said they had a whole other album worth of songs from the Plastic Beach sessions that they were thinking about releasing with Doncamatic as the lead single that just never materialised, and the idea of Plastic Beach 2 sitting on a hard drive while we get The Now Now (The Fall 2) instead is maddening.

Portait Of A Man (live) - Marlon Williams: I feel like I've used The Secret to bring this album into existence. It's exactly what I wanted from him - no studio artifice or weird genre pigeonholing and his huge voice on full display. It's incredible and long as hell and this is definitely the highlight.

Houdini Crush - Buke & Gase: I'm in love with the structure of this song. It takes SO long to get back to the chorus. It takes about three different sections in the middle and then finally gets back there and it's so satisfying because of it. You could edit this song into a tight indie pop piece but instead it has the space to go wild and jam and it's great.

AE_LIVE_KRAKOW_200914 - Autechre: Sorry but Autechre finally put all their live albums on spotify and they're very VERY good. Not the sort of thing that you want to listen to as part of a playlist exactly cause they go for an hour each but a very nice reminder nonetheless.

Sheet Metal Girl - Pig Destroyer: I think Pig Destroyer is one of the best band names I've ever heard. I found out later they meant pigs like cops which is still good but the idea of absolutely eviscerating a hog for no reason is very palpably metal. Just looked up the lyrics and this song seems to literally about having sex with a girl made out of sheet metal. Good!

Horizon - Aldous Harding: I absolutely love this song and the way she says 'babe' lights my brain up like a christmas tree. Every now and then I think about when you’ll die baaaaabe.

Born Slippy (Nux) - Underworld: There's a good bit on the Genius page for this song that says "Lots of 1990s acts helped popularize techno, but in Karl Hyde, Underworld had something that was the exclusive province of rock bands: a totally full-of-it frontman who sounded cool." and it's interesting that Underworld and The Prodigy are the biggest names to survive that time and still be at least slightly relevant now. No matter how much you put into your instrumentals nothing can really compare to just having an insane guy yell a bunch of garbage over it.

A Change Is Going To Come - Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters: This is like all good all normal and then he does that huge squeal at 2 minutes in and you're rocked to your core and then it only gets bigger and bigger and better from there. Also maybe one of the best mid song monologues I've ever heard.

No Signal (feat. Roy Woods) - 24hrs: The whole thing of emo rap mirroring mid 2000s emo is still so strange because it's not just the mindset and content being repurposed it's the literal melodic conventions. Change the instrumentation of this song and it's melodically just an emo song. Very strange, but this song is great regardless.

De Aqui No Sales - Cap.4: Disputa - Rosalia: Rosalia rocks and I only just found out El Guincho co-produced this album which is very exciting to me. I love the way this song feels like it never really gets to the big build up it's promising. It has a big intro for about half the song and then when it feels like it's about to blow up when the handclaps come in it just sits in that groove for a while and ends. I also feel like I should mention the video for this song because it's like the platonic ideal of a music video. It's got everything you could ask for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvGt2BcDl_g

Glass Jar - Gang Gang Dance: Here's how good brains are: I had a sudden urge to listen to this album the other day but couldn't remember what it was called or who it was by, only the album cover, but for some reason locked away in my brain was the fact that it was from 2011 so I just looked through Pitchfork's Best Of 2011 list until I recognised it. Incredible. Anyway I'm so glad I did because I ended up having a huge phase with this album. They walk the fine line of psychedelic jammy bands like this of taking up a lot of space with atmospherics but it never feeling like it's lost momentum. Even when this song takes fully half of its 11 minute runtime to properly get started it never feels like wasted time somehow, it's always moving somewhere.

Heavyweight - Infected Mushroom: It's unbelievable that this song's good because it absolutely shouldn't be. The unholy mix of goa trance and metal usually reserved for Command And Conquer soundtracks is so unbelievably naff that it's come all the way around again and I absolutely love it.

Black Static - Health: I'm still absolutely furious about Pitchfork giving this album a 3 and not particularly for the score but because it's some of the worst Pitchfork Writing I've seen in a quite a while. They tried to cancel them for calling the album Slaves Of Fear I think: "The “we,” it seems, refers to the slaves, the slaves of fear, and if I try any harder to connect the dual sensation of edginess and laziness with slavery, the all-American institution that killed and brutalized millions of people for hundreds of years, I am going to have to take a long walk into the sun." Not sure about that. Anyway this song's great sorry for talking about a review instead of the song!

Burn Bridges - The Grates: Twee pop is an underrated genre and The Grates are an underrated band because they brought so much attitude and power to it it's hardly twee at all. It's huge and it rocks!

Girlfriend (feat. Lil Mama) - Dr. Luke Mix - Avril Lavigne: Sorry for putting Dr Luke on your dash in 2019 but this is mostly for Lil Mama. Removing Avril's verses and replacing them with Lil Mama but keeping the chorus and big guitars makes it sound like a lost Girl Talk song and it's so, so much better than the original. There's also a good bit in this where she really puts a lot of emphasis on saying 'Jennifer Hudson' and the weird harmony vocals in the background mirror it which I like a lot.

Panic Switch - Silversun Pickups: It seems like Silversun Pickups had no lasting impact beyond being one hit wonders for Lazy Eye which is so strange to me because their first two albums were absolutely solid. This is also a good example of totally nonsense lyrics feeling like they have meaning because the melody it so good.

3 - Seekae: It's very strange now to think that Alex Cameron was in Seekae. But that's not important. What is important is how good this song is. In the extremely narrow genre of Mount Kimbie-ites +Dome really stood out to me as album from guys who really got it. It's extremely catchy music but it still sounds like nothing you've ever heard before which when you think about it sounds like it should be impossible.

Shooting Stars - Bag Raiders: Bag Raiders did a little Song Exploder thing for Triple J about this song a little while ago and pointed out something I'd never noticed before which is that this song has the extremely strange structure of 1 really long verse, breakdown, 1 really long chorus, end. Which is.... completely amazing. And also that this song blew up and charted higher than it ever had before via memes like 6 years after it came out is still bizarre. Remember when it was in the video for Swish Swish by Katy Perry? God I hope they got paid a million dollars for that.

Romantic Rights (Erol Alkan's Love From Below Re-Edit) - Death From Above 1979: Huge fan of this remix that seems to just drop the full song unedited right in the middle. The perfect way to remix an already great song - just make it longer.

Dwa Serduszka - Joanna Kulig: I saw Cold War and subsequently couldn't get this song out of my head. I loved that movie so much but I also extremely agreed when @cyborgbree said the ending was like a Simpsons parody or foreign movies.

Holes - Mercury Rev: This song gives me depression and makes me feel like I'm sorting through old records and merch from my old band that tried really hard but never got anywhere even though I've never even been in a band. That's the power of music!

It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus) - Arcade Fire: Reflektor is a great and underrated album and to this day I am still finding new things to love about it! Namely this song which I've never paid much attention to before but massively jumped out at me last time I listened. It's a 3 note riff but it's absolutely amazing.

Dance Your Life Away - Audiobooks: Huge fan of having the gall to name your band Audiobooks and a huge fan of this song! It sounds like if Life Without Buildings was a dance band, which is a theoretically perfect idea. It sounds like she's just making the words up on the spot and she probably is and it's absolutely great.

Everything (Deathless) - JW Ridley: I'm so glad that War On Drugs brought heartland rock back for the masses and finally gave us back extended guitar solos outside of a metal or prog context. It is so inspiring what you can do with two chords and a propulsive groove.

Unmarked Helicopters - Soul Coughing: Sorry for continually putting Soul Coughing in these playlists but check out how good this song they did for the X Files movie soundtrack was. 'check out this Soul Coughing song they did for the X Files movie soundtrack' is a very specific kind of 90s sentence. Anyway the 'black black black black and blacker' part with the distortion on the vocals is so good, love it lots.

Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair - Arctic Monkeys: I saw Arctic Monkeys a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing but also extra good because they played this song that I'd completely forgotten about and it went off. The Josh Homme produced Arctic Monkeys albums are very good because his fingerprints are all over them and they sound like Queens Of The Stone Age covers.

What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out? - Gang Of Youths: It's fucked up how good this song is. I listened to it the other day and was like 'what the fuck how come I never listened to Gang Of Youths second album that much? But then I kept going and realised it was 70 minutes long and had about five interlude tracks on it. I love Gang Of Youths but they need a producer that will yell at them until they make a 40 minute album. Fuck this song's good though. So good I'm mad I haven't seen it live yet.

Shark Smile - Big Thief: I don't even know the words to this song or what it's about but it makes me cry anyway. I'm very glad I found out about Big Thief this month, like two years after everyone else. Their description on Bandcamp says "Listening to Big Thief is like the feeling of looking at a dog and suddenly marvelling that it is like you but very not like you; when you are accustomed to looking at a dog and thinking 'dog', watching Big Thief is like forgetting the word 'dog' and looking at that naked animal and getting much closer to it and how different it is to you" which is a certainly a way to feel.

Inhaler - Foals: I don't know how I've avoided it but I've never really gotten much into Foals even though they have multiple songs that I really really love, this one being one of them. I think it's an amazing piece of recording simply for how huge it gets. This song swells to about ten times its original size as the chorus hits before totally deflating again. Also a huge fan of anyone that can make a Battles riff work in a conventional song like this does.

Red Bull & Hennessy - Jenny Lewis: Another fantastic song in the long pantheon of great songs about getting twisted and being horny. The isolated 'ohh' after 'all we've been through' feels like a real Shania Twain piece of production and I love it. Also the drums on this song are absolutely massive for some reason which is very cool.

listen here

#playlists

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jasonwdean · 5 years

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Marie Curie. O nowych ciałach promieniotwórczych: praca odczytana na wspólnem posiedzeniu Sekcyi Chemicznej i Fizycznej IX Zjazdu Lekarzy i Przyrodników Polskich w Krakowie, dn. 24 lipca 1900. Krakow, 1900.

I am thrilled to announce the Linda Hall Library’s acquisition of Marie Curie’s paper describing her work to isolate polonium and radium, and to determine radium’s atomic weight. This paper is of supreme importance as it includes Curie’s manuscript editorial corrections to the printed text on three pages that correct typographical errors, clarify meanings, and update the scientific understanding of her work through 1902.

Only three other copies of this separate publication exist: at a public library in Lublin, the National Library of Poland in Warsaw, and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. None of the other copies have Dr. Curie’s corrections, making the Linda Hall copy unique in the world. The paper was acquired from The Second Shelf, a London bookstore focusing on “rare and antiquarian books, modern first editions, ephemera, manuscripts, and rediscovered works by women.” Second Shelf acquired the work from a private collector in Europe. This is the first time that this item has been available to the general public for research and use.

Dr. Curie was born in Poland, immigrated to France in 1891, and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Paris in 1903. Her work with her husband, Pierre, led to the discovery of polonium and radium, and eventually to her receiving Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry in 1903 and 1911, respectively. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, is the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice, and is the only person to win the Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields.

The present paper was translated by Dr. Curie from French to her native Polish. The French language version of the work, Les Nouvelles Substances Radioactives, was published in several versions in the year 1900, providing the basis for this text. The Library holds a version of this French paper, published in the reports of the Congrès International de Physique in 1900.

Dr. Curie desired to share her work with her Polish colleagues, and translated this work from the French to her native Polish. In a letter to Tadeusz Estreicher, the Polish chemist, she complained that her difficulty with Polish scientific terms made the translation challenging.

Despite these challenges, the paper was presented to the chemical and physical section of the 9th Congress of Polish Physicians and Scientists held at Cracow on July 24, 1900. She could not afford to travel to Cracow herself, and instead sent three letters and samples of barium chloride which carried radium for the physics laboratory at Jagiellonian University with instructions as to how to perform experiments on the barium chloride. In her absence, a Professor Witkowski presented the paper, which was well received.

This Polish edition of the paper, published only months after the French, has a great deal of new information, and reflects how quickly she had to update her publications to reflect her rapidly growing understanding of her discoveries. For example, in the Polish text there is an additional heading and several names are mentioned that are not mentioned in the French version (Debraya, Owens, Rutherford). There are also diagrams in the Polish version not present in the French. On page six in the Polish edition she mentions piezoelectric quartz which is not mentioned in the French edition.

Beyond these changes and additions, this Polish publication by Dr. Curie includes additional manuscript corrections, which provide significant details missing from her publication record and history. Work with corrections in her hand is extraordinary, and further adds to the significance of this object. Her annotations appear on three pages in the item, and are described below:

On page 6, Curie has crossed out the word “stałe” (tr:constant) and replaced it with “słabe” (tr: weak), making the updated translated sentence read “These cartridges/charges are extremely constant [corrected to: weak] and can be levelled by using piezoelectric quartz Q, of which one cover is connected with the plate A and the other with the ground.

On page 11, Curie writes “Po ogłoszeniu tej pracy czysty chlorek radu (bez baru) został otrzymany” which translates to “After the publication of this work, pure radium chloride (without barium) was obtained.” This references the first sentence of the third paragraph on the page, starting with the word “Zadne.” The translated printed sentence reads “None of the new radioactive substances have yet been isolated.” It is this correction that allows us to date the comments after 1902, as Curie did not isolate radium chloride until that year.

On page 12, Curie adds three corrections. In the first, Curie has inserted “no” above “radosnego” so that the corrected word is: radonośnego (tr: carrying/containing radium, a word created by Marie Curie), different from cheerful or gay, which the printed “radosnego” meant.

In the second, after the printed sentence “W ostatnich próbkach widmo to występuje z równą siłą, jak widmo baru, tak, że rad i bar znajdują się zapewne w tych próbkach w ilościach podobnych,” she writes “(x) W późniejszem widmie są tylko ślady baru.” Translated, the printed sentence reads “In the most recent samples, the spectrum occurs with the same strength as the spectrum of barium, so radium and barium are most probably present in these samples in similar quantities.” Curie’s translated comment reads “In a later spectrum there are only traces of barium.”

In the third and final correction, after the printed sentence “Ostatnie oznaczenie dało 146 jako ciężar atomowy baru radonośnego, podczas gdy bar zwykły daje 138,” she writes “(xx) 174 i to nie czysty ale z barem.” Translated the printed sentence reads “The most recent marking gave 146 as atomic mass of barium that carried radium, while normal barium gives 138.” Her translated comment reads “174 and [even that/what’s more] not pure but with barium.”

This significant acquisition is one of the 19 acquisitions of rare books by or about women in science made in 2019. These acquisitions are evidence of the Library’s acquisitions priorities for its rare book collections:

Material created by, and for, women

Work created by people of color

Items in non-Western languages

American science

We are pleased to make this paper freely available to those with a research need to use it, as well as to make the item available in its entirety for free online through our digital collections.

Thank you to Maria Smulewska-Dziadosz for her work on the translation from Polish to English.

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loretranscripts · 5 years

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Lore Episode 21: Adrift (Transcript) - 16th November 2015

tw: death, drowning, ghosts Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

I have a confession to make. Keep in mind, I write about frightening things for a living. I haven’t read a horror novel yet that’s managed to freak me out, and yet, I’m deathly afraid of open water. There, I said it – I hate being on boats. I’m not even sure why, to be honest, I just… am. Perhaps it’s the idea that thousands of feet of cold darkness wait right beneath my feet. Maybe it’s the mystery of it all, of what creatures (both known and unknown) might be waiting for me, just beyond the reach of what little sunlight passes through the surface of the waves. Now, I live near the coast, and I’ve been on boats before, so my fear comes from experience, but it’s not the cold, deep darkness beneath the ship that worries me the most. No, what really makes my skin crawl is the thought that, at any moment, the ship could sink. Maybe we can blame movies like Titanic or The Poseidon Adventure for showing us how horrific a shipwreck can be, but there are far more true stories of tragedy at sea than there are fictional ones, and it’s in these real life experiences, these maritime disasters that dot the map of history like an ocean full of macabre buoys, that we come face to face with the real dangers that await us in open water. The ocean takes much from us, but in rare moments, scattered across the pages of history, we’ve heard darker stories: stories of ships that come back, of sailors returned from the dead, and of loved ones who never stop searching the land. Sometimes our greatest fears refuse to stay beneath the waves. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

Shipwrecks aren’t a modern notion – as far back as we can go, there are records of ships lost at sea. In The Odyssey by Homer, one of the oldest and most widely read stories ever told, we meet Odysseus shortly before he experiences a shipwreck at the hands of Poseidon, God of the Sea. Even further back in time, we have the Egyptian tale of the shipwrecked sailor, dating to at least the 18th century BC. The truth is, though, for as long as humans have been building sea-faring vessels and setting sail into unknown waters, there have been shipwrecks. It’s a universal motif in the literatures of the world, and that’s most likely because of the raw, basic risk that a shipwreck poses to the sailors on the ships, but it’s not just the personal risk. Shipwrecks have been a threat to culture itself for thousands of years. The loss of a sailing vessel could mean the end to an expedition to discover new territory or turn the tide of a naval battle. Imagine the result if Admiral Nelson had failed in his mission off the coast of Spain in 1805, or how differently Russia’s history might have played out had Tsar Nicholas II’s fleet actually defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Tsushima. The advancement of cultures has hinged for thousands of years, in part, on whether or not their ships could return to port safely, but in those instances where ancient cultures have faded into the background of history, it is often through their shipwrecks that we get information about who they were. Just last year, an ancient Phoenician shipwreck was discovered in the Mediterranean Sea near the island of Malta. It’s thought to be at least 2700 years old and contains some of the oldest Phoenician artefacts ever uncovered. For archaeologists and historians who study these ancient people, the shipwreck has offered new information and ideas. The ocean takes much from us, and upon occasion, it also gives back. Sometimes, though, what it gives us is something less inspiring. Sometimes, it literally gives us back our dead.

One such example comes from 1775. The legend speaks of a whaling vessel, discovered off the western coast of Greenland in October of that year. Now, this is a story with tricky provenance, so the details will vary depending on where you read about it. The ship’s name might have been the Octavius, or possibly the Gloriana, and from what I can tell, the earliest telling of this tale can be traced back to a newspaper article in 1828. The story tells of how one Captain Warren discovered the whaler drifting through a narrow passage in the ice off the coast of Greenland. After hailing the vessel and receiving no reply, their own ship was brought near, and the crew boarded the mysterious vessel. Inside, though, they discovered a horrible sight. Throughout the ship, the entire crew was frozen to death where they sat. When they explored further and found the captain’s quarters, the scene inside was even more eerie. There in the cabin were more bodies: a frozen woman, holding a dead infant in her arms; a sailor holding a tinder box, as if trying to manufacture some source of warmth; and there, at the desk, sat the ship’s captain. One account tells of how his face and eyes were covered in a green, wet mould. In one hand, the man held a fountain pen, and the ship’s log was open in front of him. Captain Warren leaned over and read the final entry, dated November 11th, 1762, 13 years prior to the ship’s discovery. “We have been enclosed in the ice 70 days”, it said. “The fire went out yesterday and our master has been trying ever since to kindle it again, but without success. His wife died this morning. There is no relief”. Captain Warren and his crew were so frightened by the encounter that they grabbed the ship’s log and retreated as fast as they could back to their own ship. The Octavius, if indeed that was the ship’s name, was never seen again.

The mid-1800s saw the rise of the steel industry in America. It was the beginning of an empire that would rule the economy for over a century, and like all empires, there were capitals: St. Louis, Baltimore, Buffalo, Philadelphia. All of these cities played host to some of the largest steel works in the country, and for those that were close to the ocean, this created the opportunity for the perfect partnership – the shipyard. Steel could be manufactured and delivered locally and then used to construct the ocean-going steamers that were the lifeblood of late-19th century life. The flood of immigration through Ellis Island, for example, wouldn’t have been possible without these steamers. My own family made that journey. One such steamer to roll out of Philadelphia in 1885 was the S. S. Valencia. She was 252ft long and weighed in at nearly 1600 tonnes. The Valencia was built before complex bulkheads and hull compartments, and she wasn’t the fastest ship on the water, but she was dependable. She spent the first decade and a half running passengers between New York City and Karakas, Venezuela. In 1897, while in the waters near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Valencia was attacked by a Spanish cruiser. The next year, she was sold and moved to the west coast, where she served in the Spanish-American war as a troop ship between the US and the Philippines. After the war, the Valencia was sold to a company that used the ship to sail between California and Alaska, but in 1906, she filled in for another ship that was under repair, and her new route became San Francisco to Seattle. They gave the ship a check-up in January of that year, and everything checked out good. For a 24-year-old vessel, the Valencia was in perfect working order.

She set sail on the 20th of January 1906, leaving sunny California and heading north. The ship was crewed by nine officers, 56 crew members and played host to over 100 passengers. Somewhere near Cape Mendocino off the coast of northern California, though, the weather turned sour. Visibility dropped, and the winds kicked up. When you’re on a ship at night, even a slow one, losing the ability to see is a very bad thing. Typically, without visual navigation a captain might fall back on the celestial method, using the stars in the same way sailors did centuries ago, but even that option was off the table for Captain Oscar Johnson, and so he used the only tool he had left: dead reckoning. The name alone should hint at the efficacy of the method. Using last known navigational points as a reference, Captain Johnson essentially guessed at the Valencia’s current location. But guessing can be deadly, and so instead of pointing the ship at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Vancouver Island and Washington State, he unknowingly aimed it at the island itself. Blinded by the weather and faulty guesswork, the Valencia struck a reef just 50ft from the shore near Pachena Point on the south-west side of Vancouver Island. They say the sound of the metal ripping apart on the rocks sounded like the screams of dozens of people. It came without warning, and the crew did what they could to react by immediately reversing the engines, backing off the rocks. Damage control reported the hull had been torn wide open, water was pouring in at a rapid pace, and there was no hope of repairing the ship. It lacked the hull compartments that later ships would include for just such occasions, and the captain knew that all hope was lost, so he reversed the engines again and drove the ship back onto the rocks. He wasn’t trying to destroy the Valencia completely, but to ground her, hoping that would keep her from sinking as rapidly as she might at sea. That’s when all hell broke loose. Before Captain Johnson could organise an evacuation, six of the seven life boats were lowered over the side. Three of those flipped over on the way down, dumping out the people inside. Two more capsized after hitting the water, and the sixth boat simply vanished. In the end, only one boat made it safely away.

Frank Lehn was one of the few survivors of the shipwreck. He later described the scene in all its horrific detail: “Screams of women and children mingled in an awful chorus with the shrieking of the wind, the dash of rain, and the roar of the breakers. As the passengers rushed on deck they were carried away in bunches by the huge waves that seemed as high as the ship's mastheads. The ship began to break up almost at once and the women and children were lashed to the rigging above the reach of the sea. It was a pitiful sight to see frail women, wearing only night dresses, with bare feet on the freezing ratlines, trying to shield children in their arms from the icy wind and rain”. About that same time, the last life boat made it safely away under the control of the ship’s boatswain, Officer Timothy McCarthy. According to him, the last thing he saw after leaving the ship was, and I quote, “the brave faces looking at us over the broken rail of a wreck, and of the echo of a great hymn sung by the women through the fog and mist and flying spray”. The situation was desperate. Attempts were made by the ship’s remaining crew to fire a rescue line from the lyle gun into the trees at the top of the nearby cliff. If someone could simply reach the line and anchor it, the rest of the passengers would be saved. The first line they fired became tangled and snapped clean, but the second successfully reached the cliff above. A small group of men even managed to make it to shore. There were nine of them, led by a school teacher named Frank Bunker, but when they reached the top of the cliff, they discovered the path forked to the left and the right; Bunker picked the left. Had he instead turned right, the men would have come across the second lyle line within minutes and possibly saved all the remaining passengers. Instead, he led the men along a telegraph line path for over two hours before finally managing to get a message out to authorities about the accident, making a desperate plea for help - and help was sent, but even though the three separate ships that raced to the site of the wreck tried to offer assistance, the rough weather and choppy seas prevented them from getting close enough to do any good. Even still, the sight of the ships nearby gave a false sense of hope to those remaining on the wreckage, so when the few survivors onshore offered help, they declined. There were no more lifeboats, no more lifelines to throw, and no ships brave enough to get closer. The women and children stranded on the ship clung to the riggings and rails against the cold Pacific waters, but when a large wave washed the wounded ship off the rocks and into deep water, everyone was lost. All told, 137 of the 165 lives aboard the ship were lost that cold, early January morning. If that area of the coastline had yet to earn its modern nickname of “the graveyard of the Pacific”, this was the moment that cemented it.

The wreck of the Valencia was clearly the result of a series of unfortunate accidents, but officials still went looking for someone to blame. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Canadian government took steps to ensure lifesaving measures along the coast that could help with future shipwrecks. A lighthouse was constructed near Pachena Point and a coastal trail was laid out that would eventually become known as the West Coast Trail, but the story of Valencia was far from over. Keep in mind there have been scores of shipwrecks, tragedies that span centuries, in that very same region of water, and like most areas with a concentrated number of tragic deaths, unusual activity has been reported by those who visit. Just five months after the Valencia sank, a local fisherman reported an amazing discovery. While exploring seaside caves on the south-western coast of Vancouver Island, he described how he stumbled upon one of the lifeboats within the cave. In the boat, he claimed, were eight human skeletons. The cave was said to be blocked by a large rock, and the interior was at least 200ft deep. Experts found it hard to explain how the boat could have made it from the water outside into the space within, but theories speculated that an unusually high tide could possibly have lifted the boat up and over. A search party was sent out to investigate the rumour, but it was found that the boat was unrecoverable, due to the depth of the cave and the rocks blocking the entrance. In 1910, the Seattle Times ran a story with reports of unusual sightings in the area of the wreck. According to a number of sailors, a ship resembling the Valencia had been witnessed off the coast. The mystery ship could have been any local steamer, except for one small detail: the ship was already floundering on the rocks, half submerged. Clinging to the wreckage, they say, were human figures, holding on against the wind and the waves.

Humans have had a love affair with the ocean for thousands of years. Across those dark and mysterious waters lay all manner of possibility: new lands, new riches, new cultures to meet and trade with. Setting sail has always been something akin to the start of an adventure, whether that destination was the northern passage or just up the coast, but an adventure at sea always comes with great risk; we understand this in our core. It makes us cautious, it turns our stomachs, it fills us with equal parts dread and hope, because there on the waves of the ocean, everything can go according to plan, or it can all fail tragically. Maybe this is why the ocean is so often used as a metaphor for the fleeting, temporary nature of life. Time, like waves, eventually wear us all down. Our lives can be washed away in an instant, no matter how strong or high we build them. Time takes much from us, just like the ocean. Waters off the coast of Vancouver Island are a perfect example of that cruelty and risk. They can be harsh, even brutal, toward vessels that pass through them. The cold winters and sharp rocks leave ships with little chance of survival, and with over 70 shipwrecks to date, the graveyard of the Pacific certainly lives up to its reputation. For years after the tragedy of 1906, fishermen and locals on the island told stories of a ghostly ship that patrolled the waters just off the coast. It’s said it was crewed by skeletons of the Valencia sailors who lost their lives there. It would float into view and then disappear, like a spirit, before anyone could reach it. In 1933, in the waters just north of the 27-year-old wreck of the Valencia, a shape floated out of the fog. When a local approached it, the shape became recognisable; it was a lifeboat. It looked as if it had just been launched moments before and yet there, on the side of the boat, were pale letters that spelled out a single word: Valencia.

[Closing statements]

#lore podcast #podcasts #aaron mahnke #shipwrecks #the odyssey #the octavius #s. s. valencia #at sea #greenland #canada #phildelphia #hauntings #transcripts #21

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segadores-y-soldados · 7 years

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Personal and Fic Updates

Hey everyone!

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these personal update messages. I’m trying to get my stuff in order but life continues to outpace me, it seems.

The quick and dirty: Fic Stuff:

Moira has been integrated into the overarching plot of “And Overwatch For All”

Because of this, I am currently rewriting major portions of Old Habits. Yesterday, I finished a major rewrite of chapter 10 (the “evil council is introduce” chapter). I have the majority of chapter 11′s rewrite done and hope to finish that today as well. With luck, I will start working on a rewrite of Chapter 13.

Shockingly, I’m keeping a lot of the “present day” plot elements the same (aka, all the stuff leading up to Recall). But several major “past events” have changed, including Reaper/Gabriel’s backstory.

More on this later. I will also be writing a separate post JUST for fic stuff, if you prefer to read only that.

Personal Stuff:

Extra expenses have started showing up in my life. Details are under the cut.

My job has not yet promoted me and a coworker the way they said they would in the timeframe they gave us (1 year). Because of this, I am starting the job hunt again.

I have created a Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/U7U063ZJ)

More under the cut

Alright, so here’s the longer version of what my last like...three months have been like, with both personal/work stuff and fandom stuff.

Personal life/Work:

I have said this in a few places, but I currently work as an entry-level archaeologist for a state department in California. Full disclosure: I and my fellow coworker are underpaid for our work, which is as variable as conducting documentation research through databases and organizing research on behalf of our higher-level archaeologist and historian supervisors to performing surveys and actual fieldwork digs in every type of weathers in California. As an example, two weeks ago (the week of Thanksgiving here in the U.S.), myself and one of my supervisors did an 8 hour fieldwork day which consisted of 3-4 hours of surveying through waist-high grass in pouring rain at 55 degrees F/12 degrees C. This upcoming week, I and (other underpaid) coworker will be doing two 12-hour days of construction monitoring. Our work consists of traveling all over the state, with driving that can take a full day to get to a work destination (these are charged to work, don’t worry - I don’t have to pay for that, thank god).

The reason I’m explaining this is because this is a huge reason why some days (or even some weeks) my activity on tumblr, twitter, and AO3 will take a straight nosedive. On Thursday of this past week, I spent 8-10 hours without checking my phone and came home to 4 missed calls, 8 “active chats” on messenger, 600 messages on discord, and basically a whole day of “social media-ing” missed out.

If you’re rolling your eyes over this, I get it, I really do - it sounds like all the stuff that older people complain millennials “overvalue,” but (for example) one of those phone calls was from my dentist’s office saying that they will not serve me because (after three months of them NOT checking) they realized that I don’t have the right dental insurance for them.

Fun.

I don’t make enough money to switch to higher, “better services” health and dental insurance, but since I work a job that requires physical labor, I’m scared to cut them from my life. Said coworker twisted his ankle earlier this year, and work only compensated him for 1 week of “missed” work, when in reality he was walking with a slight limp for 2-3 weeks. Because of our low-level, we are not given access to benefits that many other state workers get.

Moreover, our sub-department has been promising that the two of us would get promoted “within the year.” We reached a year working with them in mid-November, and that promise still hasn’t been reached.

So in terms of my personal life, I’m at a cross-roads: I will tell them that they need to promote us, even to the next “low-level position” because that will give us just a few more $/hour which will help A LOT when accumulated, or I’m going to tell them that I’ll have to search for something else.

On top of this, my parents have decided it’s time for me to “pay rent” to live at home with them - a discussion we, frankly, haven’t had on a serious level yet and one which blindsided me this morning. I am looking into my options but without a better job, they’re not good.

This also doesn’t cover whatever it will take to help me start the legal and medical processes of transitioning, which are, frankly, the main things I’ve been saving money for.

What does this mean:

I’m looking for places to cut costs, but the combination of current expenses + what my parents want from me will take 1/3 to 1/2 of my current monthly paycheck. I already spend next to nothing on personal stuff, so all my current expenses are “necessities” such as food, gas, and insurance. I’m looking to cut down on gas costs but it may be awhile before my daily schedule gets adjusted.

The alternate is taking a second job that will permit me to only work my free three days a week.

Doing this means I will have zero time to write or produce content.

For now, I’m not jumping out to do that. I’ve made a Ko-Fi account (https://ko-fi.com/U7U063ZJ) that I would greatly appreciate any spare money you’re willing to contribute. Something as simple as a few dollars can go to me covering the cost of my health insurance per month, while I figure out the bigger problems of searching for a job.

The reason why I started with this is because:

Fic Stuff/Writing Stuff:

I do the equivalent of 3-4 full days of “writing” for fandom stuff per week: on my days off, I can write anywhere from 8 to 14 hours a day. Using just Friday and yesterday as an example, I wrote 9k words, and with whatever I do today, I will likely push that to about 11-12k.

Yes, it is all voluntary, and I do not have to write at the pace that I do, nor the amount that I do. I do it because I enjoy it, and because, honestly, writing for Overwatch has given me some of the biggest joys and happiness I have felt in like, a decade. And that includes writing the long essays. My last big R76 post (http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/167321630835/everything-you-want-to-know-about-reaper-and) spans a whopping 67 pages and 7.5k words in Google Docs (that includes pictures and sources/credits/links/references).

Again, this isn’t to brag, but just to put my writing into perspective, I guess. This is the equivalent of doing a second part-time job, which was something I attempted last year but was unable to balance my current archaeology job + a part-time retail job + writing. I dropped the second one because, at the time, I finally had the luxury to choose a job in my profession and writing on the side. This is a luxury I was fortunate to enjoy for the first half of 2017, but it is steadily becoming undoable as my work increases my responsibilities without increasing my pay.

Fic Updates:

For those of your who have been waiting patiently for information on “And Overwatch for All” I do have some good news that I’m finally ready to share:

Moira has been integrated into the plot.

I got a number of comments here and on twitter that were really supportive of my current version of “AOFA” and I just want to say, thank you all so much. It means a lot to me that you guys have liked the version of Overwatch I’ve built up and that you found all the characters, including my silly OCs, to be engaging and well-written. It was soul-crushing to think I would have to lose some of them, but after some time and doing more research on Moira, I feel ready to talk more about her and how she’s going to factor into the updated plot.

To start off with:

None of the OCs will be cut, but some of their roles will change.

Lmao, this surprised me as well, but I’ve figured out a few different ways to make all of the OCs, especially the very obviously contrived “Death Agents,” stick around in the updated plot.

Only one OC (and you can probably guess who, if you’ve started “New Wars”) will change names: the character called “Reaper” in “New Wars Chapter 1″ (the “young Hanzo chapter”) will be called “Reaver.” This is due to his updated role in the plot. His background has changed only slightly.

If it wasn’t apparent, this “Reaper” was meant to act as a plot device to cause confusion over Gabriel/Reaper’s actions after the fall of Overwatch, but that has changed because:

I’m switching to Crisis-era and “undercover mercenary” Reaper.

If you’ve read some of my more recent posts on Moira, you’ll know that I’ve switched over to supporting the idea that “something went wrong with Gabriel Reyes during SEP/the Crisis.” This is due to the fact that you can find a folder labeled “Soldier ID: 24″ in Moira’s Oasis lab, that Michael Chu said that Reyes was interested in getting her help on “matters of genetics,” and that this appears to mesh the “Reaper has existed for decades” concept in Reaper’s hero profile.

Truth be told, I’ve actually been a supporter of this idea of “Gabriel has been Reaper behind the scenes for decades” plot point for a long, long time, almost as long as I’ve been posting Old Habits. “Reaper”/“Reaver” was semi-messy OC that attempted to bridge Reaper’s original hero profile with the “Old Soldiers” explanation that Gabriel/Reaper gave that “Jack and Overwatch ‘left [him] to suffer.’” However, I also knew when writing Old Habits that the “Mercy is evil” theory was ALSO not true, so I was kinda stuck:

“If Gabriel = Reaper for decades, why did he appear to blame Jack and Overwatch for his current condition?”

My original solution was to make “Reaper” a different character and have him operating the situation in the background (like a mystery story), but over time this solution got trickier and trickier to work with. With Moira, I have a chance to rework much of Old Habits/AOFA to better suit some of the details that have come out since drafting it.

This does mean, unfortunately, that all the “76+127″ content is going to become its own, standalone series.

To switch over to integrating “Soldier: 24,” the “76+127″ stories will have to become their own standalone series. Don’t worry - I’m not deleting anything. Old content from “Old Habits” will be moved to their own fics, so you can read the whole thing in chronological order.

A new version of my updated ideas on SEP has already started being drafted. Writing it out is just a matter of time at this point, haha.

The conspiracy/Talon council “mysteries” will become more transparent almost immediately.

With Moira, I finally get the chance to explore some of my ideas in “full format” instead of the kinda awkward “Sombra hacking a chat log” parts yall originally got. This DOES mean that written portions will suddenly be much, MUCH longer. For example:

Old Habits original chapter 10 (Sombra hacks an SSO chat log): 17 pages

Old Habits revised chapter 10 (Moira discusses the Route 66 battle with council members + Sombra hacks a chat log): closer to 34 pages

The explosion fight has been changed.

Because of the changes to Gabriel’s plot, the nature of the explosion fight between him and Jack has changed significantly. It does incorporate new information that Moira revealed.

If it wasn’t obvious, I’ve had a draft version of my ideas for the fight sitting in GDocs for about a year now, and I use that for all my flashback/memories, and also for when Reaper and Soldier: 76 are arguing in the present. There was a major plot point in the explosion fight that I was extremely uncomfortable with, but found it to be “solid angst material.” In retrospect, I dislike this plot point and have removed it for another plot point that sits better with me, and fits the overall story more comfortably (I think).

So yes, I DO have a new draft of the explosion fight - written completely from scratch, 100% different in tone and emotionality. Parts of this should begin to show in updates to Chapter 13, when Soldier: 76/Jack reflects on some of the fight.

The Goal:

The goal for AOFA right now is to update Old Habits in “two big batches” - update the first half (Chapters 1 - 15) within 1 - 2 weeks, and then update the second half (Chapters 16 - 31) shortly after. Optimistically, before January, but realistically, closer to late-January/early-February.

Thanks for sticking with me - both with this post, and with my life changes. Things are incredibly and often overwhelmingly busy for me, and I don’t really know where many of these things (both personal stuff and fic stuff) will end up. I really do appreciate any and all support, even if I’m not able to respond to comments. You guys make it worthwhile to keep writing, and I apologize for how distant I’ve been with this stuff.

#personal #my essays #my writing #an update #ko-fi #segadores y soldados #long post

17 notes · View notes

raventons · 7 years

Text

99 q/a for 2017

1. What’s the toughest decision you made today? To get out of bed after a 3 hour nap.

2. What’s the toughest decision you made this year? I would say turning around at the airport, not going to Moscow, deciding my mental health is more important than that trip. However, I was just following my fear, which is quite an easy feeling to follow. And I have not once found myself second guessing that call. I am not one to dwell too much on decisions like that. I honestly contemplate more about what I’m having for dinner, or what underwear to buy – and I always end up regretting or celebrating those decisions more.

3. What’s the toughest decision you ever made? Once I spent over an hour deciding if I wanted carbonara or caciatora. I went with caciatora, and that day I learned that if you are in doubt, you should always go with what your dinner company orders. My dad got carbonara, and it was out of this world. If you order the same thing as your date, it might still be the lesser option, but at least you will not know what you are missing. As an intellectual, this is one of the conclusions I’m the most proud of.

4. What have you forgotten? Almost all the math I was taught in high school.

5. If you were guaranteed the answer to one question, what would it be? I would love to know who is answering me, and how they got the ability to answer any question ever.

6. What’s it like being you right now? Better than it has been. A lot better. I’d say good.

7. What makes you nostalgic? Lenny Kravitz, long car rides, the soundtrack of midsummer murders and the smell of old Swedish cabin in a Småland forest (we all know that smell).

8. If you had two hours left on earth what would you do? Sit close to my parents, and talk about our life together. And tell them how grateful I am and how happy they’ve made me.

9. What’s the most beautiful word in the world? The Swedish Blockchoklad or the Russian Nemnoga

10. Who makes you laugh more than anyone? Alex, no doubt.

11. What did your father teach you? How to show affection, how to make people laugh, how to interact with strangers, how to put together a good outfit, how to cook and pretty much everything I know on economy and religion. And how much it means to have amazing parents that never, not even once, let you down.

12. What did your mother teach you? How to not give a shit about anyone’s opinion, how to appreciate simplicity, how to be a storyteller, how to calm down when afraid, how to love without giving yourself up, how to be badass and pretty much everything I know on literature, self-esteem and really bad British crime stories. And how much it means to have amazing parents that never, not even once, let you down.

13. What’s the best gift you’ve ever given? An orange moose I gave to my dad. It was really cheap and dumb, but he had just been diagnosed with a chronical disease (he is much better now) and everything just seemed to fall apart. So I did what any good daughter would do, I bought him a stuffed animal. It made him smile. And he still keeps it by his bedside. It’s called the vomit moose, since that was the most… obvious symptom at the time.

14. Best gift you ever received? My friend Lin gave me a card once with pictures and drawings of us. I love it and still have it ten years later.

15. How many times a day do you look in the mirror? Way too many.

16. What do you bring most to a friendship? I’d like to think I am funny. I talk too much, and always about the wrong and often quite strange things, but when I’m in the right mood and they’re in the right mood; I’d say I am funny.

17. If 100 people in your age group were selected randomly, how many do you think they’d find leading a happier life than you? Very few if we are talking happy as in privileged. I am so very lucky and have had so many fortunate turns in my life.

18. What is or was your best subject in school? Social science.

19. What activity do you do that makes you feel most like yourself? Writing.

20. What makes you feel supported? I do. (Wow, I am actually quite proud of that answer, but it is true. Sometimes I look for help or motivation in others, but confidence and shit I truthfully only find in myself).

21. Whom do you secretly admire? Secretly? No one. I admire a lot of people, and I think I make sure to tell them.

22. What time of the day do you feel the most energetic and what do you usually do in those moments? Noon. Usually waste that energy on procrastination.

23. What’s something you never leave home without? Pants.

24. What’s a recurring dream you have? Teeth falling out. Or organs. I quite often have nightmares about some stuff that is supposed to be inside or attached to my body suddenly isn’t.

25. What makes you feel safe? Blankets and tea.

26. What’s the best thing that ever happened to you? Discovering international law as my field of work.

27. What do you want people to say about you once you’re gone? That I was smart.

28. What’s the coolest thing about science? Well… let’s go with nature science, because my field of research is not cool at all. I think it’s about the fact that nature is there. It’s not something we invent or solve, it’s something we discover. It’s all written, all the answers are out there somewhere. All the equations, all the numbers, they all correspond to a reality we only see fragments of. It’s like humanity is reading a book together, and the physicists and biologists flip the pages. And for each chapter we find out more and more about how the world around us works.

29. What’s the best money you ever spent? My skinny, black jeans.

30. What’s a bad habit you have? Listening to bad music. I don’t want to support sexist or racist producers. Still here I am, having my playlists filled with pop about grabbing pussies. I’m also weirdly addicted to marzipan.

31. What are you grateful for? My professors and a free education.

32. Whom are you envious of? Almost everyone. But it varies, passes and comes back. It depends on the day. Or the hour.

33. What’s an image you’ll never forget? Well, I have to go with a few summers ago when me and a former classmate ended up skinny dipping in a sunset down at Österlen. But actually, the first thing that came to mind was the real holocaust footage that was included in the TV-show The Promise. I had to leave the room, could not finish the series and I still think about it quite often.

34. Describe a near-death experience. My brain thinks I have one daily, but I don’t think I’ve ever had one. Once I got my luggage lost in Russia, and we had to drive around downtown St Petersburg for hours in a shady cab. It was all fine and no hostile environment what so ever, but when I tell the story it really sounds quite near-death.

35. If you had a clone, what would you have the clone do? Dishes.

36. What’s your idea of Heaven? A lot of cozy spots by windows with rain outside. Good food, good tea and good conversation. A book shelf would be nice too.

37. What’s your idea Hell? Bad food, bad tea and bad conversation.

38. When did you know? Did I ever?

39. What can you do better? I could be more structured. I literally have no routines at all.

40. When are you most yourself? When I am alone, covered in loud music.

41. What superpower would you most like to have? Time travelling but without all the complicated world-war-shit to come with it.

42. If you were granted three wishes, what would you do with the second wish? Fix up the UN.

43. What is your actual superpower? I am very, very analytic. I am also amazing at app games.

44. If you won 100 million dollars, what would you buy first? I would love to own a goat. But well, that’s more of a management problem than an actual money problem.

45. What's the best sound in the world? Waves. Or someone biting in chocolate.

46. What’s perfect about your life? My parents. And Amanda. She is a wonderful person.

47. What song do you sing only when you’re alone and what memory does it bring back? Min Kärlek av Shirley Clamp. And there is no memories connected, it’s just fucking brilliant.

48. Describe a moment you were so embarrassed you wanted to disappear. When I was 8 we had a quiz in class, and I answered cow instead of turtle (I will NOT tell you the question).

49. How many times a day do you think about money? Every time I use it.

50. Who has been the biggest influence on you in your relationship to money? My parents.

51. What's one thing you're certain of? Cows don’t have shells.

52. Describe one of your colossal failures. I think I just did.

53. What makes you cringe? People trying to make memes a thing you can refer to in real life.

54. What does your inner voice tell you? To shut up. I tell it the same.

55. What crime have you considered committing? I don’t even bike without a helmet. I am a pussy.

56. What's great about your mom? Her hair is amazing.

57. What’s great about your dad? His hair is not so very amazing (and I inherited it) but he has other good qualities. He collects post-cards for example. That’s pretty cool.

58. Which day would you gladly re-live? The day in third grade when I won the egg-cracking championship at our school.

59. What are you awesome at? Egg-cracking, obviously.

60. What do you want people you meet for the first time to think about you? That I seem decent.

61. When were you most afraid? Berlin, 2014.

62. What are you terrible at but love to do anyway? Sex, probably.

63. What weapon would you carry during the Zombie Apocalypse? An axe or a sword. Or a nuke, if bad goes to worse.

64. Which of your five senses would you keep if you could only keep one? I would like to hear shit.

65. What’s something you love to make? Pancakes.

66. What do you cook better than anyone? This weird ass pasta with butter. It’s unhealthy but so damn good.

67. What do you wish you’d invented? The airplane. Or well… the flying machine or whatever it was called when it was invented.

68. What would you like to invent? A new UN system.

69. Out of 100 random people, where would you rank yourself in terms of your intelligence? Pretty high.

70. Where do you want to be right now? Venice.

71. If you could be someone else for a day who would it be and why? Graham Norton. He seems so happy. And he is funny and smart and his job seems to be really cool.

72. What makes you feel powerful? My Hans Zimmer playlist.

73. What’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said? Considering how empty my brain is right now, I think it has done quite some work on supressing those memories.

74. What’s the meanest thing someone has ever said to you? Actually, most people are nice. I don’t think anyone has ever been really mean to me. Sometimes I get hurt, when people say I am pretentious or annoying. But the only reason they say that (and the only reason it hurts) is it’s true.

75. What three words would you have on your grave stone? Let me sleep.

76. What’s your first thought when you wake up? Let me sleep.

77. What’s one thing you wake up to in the middle of the night worrying about? Usually if I have cancer in the prostate since I need to pee ALL the time. But then I remember I am a female.

78. If you could tell someone something anonymously, what would it be? I would tell my cousin Johan to never be insecure about anything. He is probably the most awesome, complete and admirable person in the world.

79. Whom would you like to forgive and forget? The people who made two and a half men.

80. If you could get rid of one of your responsibilities today, what would it be? Dishes.

81. What type of person angers you the most? Extreme right wingers who grew up in a place where they had a choice. Of course you can’t blame people for reacting to the environment around them, and get affected by their culture – but people who grow up with access to information and without oppression – how on earth did you make those conclusions?

82. What is your greatest strength? I’m confident about my intellect.

83. What is your worst weakness? I’m insecure about pretty much everything else.

84. How do you show your love for others? Tiny surprises. It can be buying them flowers, cleaning their apartment or just answering a two years old text and apologize for forgetting their existence.

85. Why are you here in this room right now? It’s 10 degrees minus outside.

86. When is a time you forgave someone or were forgiven for something? I forgave myself for not doing the dishes. It felt good.

87. What’s the biggest mistake you ever made? Talking too much. I always talk too much. It’s not one big mistake at one certain event. But it keeps on happening and I never fucking learn.

88. What are you hiding? Nothing.

89. What’s your unanswerable question--the question you seem to always be asking yourself? Can there be true objectivity?

90. What are you ashamed of? My fetishes.

91. What is stopping you? Panic attacks. Or walls, mostly.

92. What’s a secret you have? I really have no idea what I am going to do with my life.

93. How do you secretly manipulate people to get your way? I don’t do this on purpose, but I’ve noticed it happening without actively thinking about it. I usually express a will to rely on people, and come across as weak and fragile, making them think I need their help and protection – when I am really just better of on my own.

94. When was the last time you apologized? This morning.

95. What is the biggest lie you tell yourself? That I am a cool and mysterious person that people look up to.

96. What’s the moment you left childhood behind? Probably when I moved out from home and went grocery shopping for the first time. Deciding if I needed milk or not was my first ever adult decision.

97. What's missing from your life? Structure. And home cooked meals.

98. Do you believe in a higher power? No.

99. What are you ready to let go of? About half my closet and my fear of flying.

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akagamiproject · 7 years

Photo

Translator: Asahina

Proofreader: Yuki-chan

Read along with Japanese raw scans here, and/or Chinese cleaned scans here.

A single slash ( / ) symbol means that the dialogue is from another bubble that is still visibly associated to the previous one. Double slashes ( // ) mean that some dialogue is from bubbles completely detached from the previous one, but are still being spoken by the same character. The asterisk ( * ) symbol are for non-auditory or auditory onomatopoeia. Brackets ( [ ] ) are for the small text that floats around the characters or bubbles. The italicized text is for a character's thoughts. “SFX” basically refers to an action that any character(s) demonstrate. “T/N” are the translator's/proofreader's translation notes so you can understand it better. Any words within parentheses ( ) are mostly any side comments that the proofreader has in addition to the translations.

Page 1

Text: Chapter 2

Page 2

Box: Clarines Kingdom, Capital City, Wistal

Shirayuki: Excuse me. / I have an appointment with Kiki-san or Mitsuhide-san in the Imperial Guards...

Guard #1: Ah?! / Ah—! Could you be...?

SFX: Whack

Guard #2: Yes! / We've been informed that His Highness Zen had a guest!

Shirayuki: Zen?

Guard #1: “Red-haired Shirayuki-dono!”

Shirayuki: Ah, / yes.

Page 3

Top of page says “Akagami no Shirayuki-hime [1]”

Guard #1: That surprised me... That was the first time I've seen someone with red hair!!

[So cool—]

Guard #2: It was also surprising to hear her addressing His Highness without an honorific... / I can boast about this to everyone later.

T/N: Usually, when speaking to someone of a higher standing, a person would address them with an honorific to acknowledge their statures. Honorifics are words like -san, -chan, -dono, and so on. In English, instead of having an honorific at the end, we put it at the beginning. For example, you would address a teacher by putting “Ms.” or “Mrs.” before their name. Not putting an honorific before or after their name gives a sense of informality and closeness.

Box: By nature, I have / apple-red hair.

[I'll take you there.]

[Thank you.]

Because that is rare, / [I'll have one!] / I was chosen to be a concubine for the Prince of Tanbarun, the country I was born and raised in.

As a form of protest, I left my country and arrived at a forest in the neighboring country. / There, I met a person, and he helped me.

Maid: Ah! Zen-sama?! Your guest...

*Run / Run*

Box: That person was Zen, the Second Prince of the Clarines Kingdom.

SFX: Stops

Zen: Shirayuki?!

Page 4

Shirayuki: Sorry for intruding.

Box: and his close aides—

[Eh?]

Shirayuki: They're not here...

Maid: Shall I take her to the guest room?

Zen: No, here is fine.

[I wonder if tea would be okay...]

Shirayuki: —Zen, / today, Kiki-san and Mitsuhide-san—

[Names of his close aides.]

Zen: Ssh!

*Sneaky, sneaky*

Zen: Right now, I've been scattering around.

Shirayuki: What?

Zen: I'm just trying to exercise myself a bit. / I can't let my body become dull after doing so many official duties.

[Sigh—oh boy.]

[Why is he covered in leaves...?]

Shirayuki: In other words, you're escaping from official duties?

(LOLLLLL, Shirayuki is so bluntly honest! She's a perfect match for Zen!)

Zen: Well, yeah. // —I haven't seen you for a while, / so I thought I'd take a little time off and complain some...

Page 5

Zen: So, / we got to meet, Shirayuki. //...But...

Shirayuki: Hmm?

Zen: This feels formal....

SFX: Steps

Mitsuhide: She's not in the guest room nor in the garden—

Shirayuki: [Ah.] / Mitsuhide-san! Kiki-san!

[Tch.]

(HAHA, Zen's face is priceless!)

Mitsuhide: Hey, Shirayuki. / [Morning—] / What are you clicking your tongue for, Zen?!

Page 6

Zen: That's fast, Mitsuhide. Have you already caught up with me? / All right, it's your turn to run away next!

[Ha ha ha]

Mitsuhide! Uwah! He's trying to drive me away, Kiki!

[ignoring]

Kiki: / That's rare of you to come here, Shirayuki.

[Yes]

Shirayuki: I'm out of town now, though. // I just remembered that Zen once told me to tell him in times like this, so...

[WHAT?!]

Zen: Don't tell me on the very day! Where are you going?!

(I feel sorry for Mitsuhide. I would slam my head into a wall if I had to deal with that side of Zen too. xD)

Shirayuki: I'm going on a day trip on a ship until it reaches the vicinity of Mount Koto.

Zen: The town ahead, near the ocean, huh...? // At first, I planned to sneak out of the castle to accompany you, / but I guess it can't be helped. Now... I'll see you off at the port.

—I'm leaving Clarines now. / Right now, I'm studying medicine.

[Studying...]

Zen: Shirayuki, weren't you a herbalist in the first place?

Page 7

Shirayuki: Yes, but / I want to practice medicine using my own medicinal plants.

Zen: Hmm?

[So that's why you go to the mountains, huh?]

[Oooh.]

Shirayuki: It's that ship.

*Clang / Clang*

*noisy / noisy*

*noisy*

Shirayuki: Zen, / here.

*noisy*

Zen: Hmm?

Shirayuki: The man at the pharmacy gave me this.

*noisy*

Zen: “...Important points of recruitment.”

Shirayuki: I decided to aim for it. / I'm just telling you.

Akiduki Sorata's Corner:

Box: Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

First chapter.

I finished the story for this chapter in one sitting.

Well... this idea of writing something based off a fairy tale just came to me so suddenly. I was so excited to do it that I finished it so fast.

So I decided to base it off “Snow White,” and I was thinking what kind of Snow White I wanted her to be. The first I thought of was:

No princesses.

I had fun doing this chapter. I think it really screamed out, “Look at the title!”

I also thought about retaining the poisoned apple for Snow White.

The heroine has red hair.

That's how I came up with that idea! It just came to me like that.

Symbol on the front cover.

Page 8:

Shirayuki: Pharmacist of the Imperial Court. // I can't use the reason that I'm a guest / to get inside the palace forever, right?

Zen: I see.

*Ha / Ha*

Zen: To happen to bump into you inside the castle like today, / was pretty interesting as well!

Box: Koto Town.

[What—?]

Sailor: Little girl, that's some rare hair colour you have there!!

*noisy / noisy*

Page 9

Top of page says “Akagami No Shirayuki-hime [1]”

Sailor: I'm a sailor, so I've travelled the continents, / but I've never seen red hair—

[Ho—]

Shirayuki: Continents, you say? / [That sounds nice—]

Guy: What?! Red hair?! // There was a huge rumour at Tanbarun before / that there's a girl who the stupid prince was fascinated with, and wanted to make her his own, but couldn't!

[Oh?]

*noisy*

*pu / pu / pu*

Woman: What are you doing today? Sight-seeing?

*Heeh—*

*noisy*

Shirayuki: ...Mostly so, yes.

[Uhm, about the ship at night... // Oh?]

[Wah—]

[Hello.]

Shirayuki: All right.

Page 10

Shirayuki: Next—

Mihaya: —You still have business on this mountain?

*Rustle*

Mihaya: How do you do? // Looks like that red hair of yours / is pretty useful.

Shirayuki: Eh?

SFX: Whack

Shirayuki: ?! / …!

SFX: thud

Page 11

Top of page says “Akagami no Shirayuki-hime [1]”

[Pain.]

Shirayuki: Urgh...

SFX: gets up

Shirayuki: …! // Ah...?

Box: Where is this place...?

Page 12:

Shirayuki: I remember. / Someone caught me during the day...?

*Scrape*

Shirayuki: That... / hurts. / [Uwah.] // My belongings are not here... / !!

Box: There's someone / there. // The person who hit me...?

*stare*

Shirayuki: …!

(Mihaya, you need to chill. You already scared her enough without your glare.)

*Rustle*

Mihaya: You woke up?

Page 12

Mihaya: You should have said something, at least.

Shirayuki: …...

SFX: Scrape

*Creak*

Mihaya: I'm Mihaya. / I introduced myself at the bottom of the mountain. Do you still remember?

Shirayuki: ...That was a pretty interesting way to introduce yourself. // Do you have... any business with me?

Mihaya: I can't talk to you if I don't?

Page 13

*Clack*

Mihaya: Hey, / what do you think of something that even the prince of a kingdom couldn't get his hands on?

[What?]

Mihaya: No matter where I present you, / I'm sure that I'll get heaps of rewards. // ...For example, / a girl with red hair / that seems adorned with jewels by nature... or something like that.

Shirayuki: …!

(Bad Mihaya! On a different note, what are jewels made by nature? Would that be like diamonds or sapphires harvested from caves? If so, doesn't that make every jewel made by nature?)

Mihaya: Actually, I was as well—when I saw you.

Page 14

Shirayuki: Are you saying... / that you plan to sell me somewhere...?

*crackle / crackle*

Mihaya: That sounds crude. / I said I'll present you. Present you. // There are tons of rich people who are curious.

Shirayuki: Who's the crude one here?

[How did he come up with something like that...?!]

[I've got to get away.]

*scrape*

Mihaya: Well, / I guess I should wait until your hair grows longer, though.

*grabs*

Mihaya: It's not too bad to keep you by my side until then, / huh, / Red?

(BUT ZEN IS THE ONLY ONE FOR HER. BACK OFF, MIHAYA!)

Page 15

Shirayuki: NO!!

SFX: Whack

*wobble*

Mihaya Wah...?

*dash*

Mihaya: You...! // As if I'd let you get away.

SFX: whack

SFX: thud

*whack*

Mihaya: Hmph. // For your information, we are in the middle of the mountains, Red. / You think you can run away on your own?

*lean*

Shirayuki: …

*scrape*

[Just a little bit more...!]

Page 16

Mihaya: Even though I look like this, I want to treat you courteously, // so be obedient.

*RIP*

[ !! ]

Shirayuki: …! / I // have a place that I decided to go to on my own,

*clack*

Shirayuki: so please find someone else!

SFX: Smash

Mihaya: Where did you...?

*falls*

Mihaya: HOT!!

*crackle / crackle / crackle*

Page 17

[Ba]

Shirayuki: ! // My bag...!!

SFX: Grab

*Run / Run / Run*

Shirayuki: Anyway, I've got to get outside...!!

*pat pat*

Mihaya: Damnit, I'm burned...

SFX: gets up

*cough*

Mihaya: What's with that girl?

Shirayuki: huff— huff—

Page 18

Shirayuki: I think this door... / leads outside...

*push / push*

Shirayuki: But there's no use. / There's a lock.

Shirayuki: huff / huff

*clang*

Shirayuki: Is there another door...?!

*dash*

*Run / Run*

Shirayuki: huff / huff // huff

Shirayuki: The windows have lattices, I can't get out. // …......

*Run*

Page 19

Shirayuki: Where can I get out...?

*Run*

Shirayuki: If I keep running around like this, I'll get caught...!!

*Run*

Mihaya: —Aah, / found you. // You're still on the first floor.

Shirayuki: …...!!

[Why is he up there?]

*creak*

Mihaya: There's no exit, right?

(He looks like a stray cat on a railing.)

*jumps*

Page 20

[Geh. / He jumped?!]

Shirayuki: Crap, I've got to run.

*Lands*

*dash*

Mihaya: —Too bad. / That way is a dead end.

*huff / huff*

Shirayuki: Shoot... / I can't go any further.

*huff*

*clack*

Shirayuki: !

[The sound of footsteps...]

*clack // clack*

[He's coming this way—]

Shirayuki: …!! / There must be something in my bag that I can use.

SFX: Opens bag

*rustle / rustle*

Shirayuki: A book... A lamp... Ah, sweets that Mitsuhide-san gave me... / And...

Page 21

Shirayuki: Medicinal plants...

[—I can use these...!]

Shirayuki: There's not enough, / so I can't use the right amount.

*burns*

Shirayuki: There's no other way...

*clack // clack *

*close*

*clack*

Mihaya: …... / What? // Have you given up on running away, Red?

*hides*

*thump*

Page 22

Shirayuki: Not really...

[Just now, he was on the second floor.]

[That must mean he doesn't want me to get up there.]

*thump*

[ ? ]

[Then there has to be a way out!]

*thump*

*gets closer*

Mihaya: Then you wouldn't complain even if I catch you, right?

SFX: Woosh

SFX: Smash

Mihaya: Oh.

(Is that all you have to say when a girl smashes a light against a wall? I am very disappointed in you, Mihaya.)

*smoke*

Mihaya: [cough] / ?! / What the... smoke...?!

Shirayuki: It worked...!!

Page 23

*stagger*

Mihaya: …...?!

*cough*

Mihaya: What...?

Shirayuki: ...I burnt a type of grass that has a paralysis effect. / I think your senses will grow dull... // Please take your time and have a break!

*Run*

Mihaya: …...!

Shirayuki: I'm pretty sure I saw a staircase leading to to the above just now... / There it is!

*huff // huff*

*Run / Run*

*Bam!*

*huff*

Shirayuki: …...!! // There are no lattices... on the windows...!

Page 24

Shirayuki: I wonder if there's a ladder or something... to get down. // Oh, well. / [I'll jump down from that tree.]

*Rustle*

Shirayuki: I see, the lattices on the first floor / were to prevent stray animals from getting // IN.

*Jump*

*Lands*

Shirayuki: …!

*huff // huff*

[I got out...!!]

Shirayuki: The sky is still bright, but... Oh well. / The mountain is dark... // My lamp was broken... / [I can only see the matches now...]

Page 25

(GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS OFF OF MY SHIRAYUKI!1!1!)

Mihaya: If you want fire, I have it.

*woosh*

Mihaya: At any rate, / you can't win against me in this mountain. // Looks like the drug just now... / was not that effective, huh?

Shirayuki: …! You were able... to climb the stairs?

Mihaya: No? / There was no need to // because I have... the keys to the doors of the first floor.

Shirayuki: ! / …!

Page 26

*dash*

Mihaya: Ah...! // Tch!

Shirayuki: !

SFX: BAM

Mihaya: I said wait!

*crackle*

Shirayuki: It's hot...

*burning / burning*

Mihaya: —Hey, you, / even if you run away, there's a possibility that some other guy will have a go at you.

Page 27

Mihaya: As long as you are sold to the aristocracy or royalty, you should be safe, right? / You can live in luxury while being protected. // Don't you think that's an easy way to live? / Right, Red?

Shirayuki: I // I have no interest in living my life that way.

(SQUEEE, that's my Shirayuki! Please don't ever stop being such an inspiration!)

Page 28

Mihaya: …! / Then I'll take you with me.

*Rustle*

*Clack*

Mihaya: …?!

*Woosh*

Page 29

SFX: Whack

Mihaya: ARGH?!

*crackle*

Shirayuki: …

*thud*

*touch*

Page 30

Zen: Hey, Shirayuki. // So it wasn't a one-day trip, huh?

Shirayuki: ...Z / en.

(Proofreader's note: I'm not sure why Akiduki Sorata did Shirayuki's speech bubbles like that? There wasn't a particular reason for it—at least none that are clear to me.)

Zen: Are you hurt anywhere?

Page 31

Shirayuki: [Ah!] / I'm fine!

*flutter / flutter *

Shirayuki: I'm not hurt at all.

[Phew—]

Zen: I see.

Mihaya: ...Urgh. / Tch.

*wobble*

*cough*

Mihaya: Heh... / So you have a bodyguard...

Zen: What the—

Mihaya: Before this, / I also worked... as a bodyguard.

Shirayuki: And yet you came up... with something like this?

[You're so incorrigible...]

Mihaya: Ouch... / That's right.

Page 32

Mihaya: Even if you have social status or family honour, / once your fortune is gone, you're penniless.

[That hurts.]

Mihaya: Why shouldn't I earn money using all means?

Zen: Shut up.

(Let me speak on the behalf of everyone in the AnS fandom when I say we want to tell him that too.)

*Rustle*

Mihaya: …!

Zen: I don't want / to know what you think of her,

Page 33

Zen: but Shirayuki // is not a tool for you to make money with.

(Well said, Zen, well said!)

Page 34

Top of page says “Akagami no Shirayuki-hime [1].”

Mihaya: … / So she's called Shirayuki, huh...?

Zen: Don't say her name with your mouth!

Mihaya: What the—are you her dad or something?

[He called me her dad...]

(HAHA! ZEN'S FACE IS PRICELESS! AKIDUKI SORATA, YOU ARE A TRUE MVP!)

Zen: Shirayuki, / does he have any other comrades?

Shirayuki: Eh? Ah, I wonder... / I didn't see anyone else, though.

Zen: ...If he's alone, I guess we can take him down the mountain. / We can hand him over to the government officials at the bottom of the mountain without having to escort him to the palace...

Mihaya: PALACE?!

[You came from the palace?!?!]

Mihaya: You... Just who exactly are you? What's your name?

Zen: … / Zen.

Mihaya: …! / Heh. // I remember hearing that name.

Page 35

[The name of the Second Prince of Clarines—]

Zen: I'm Shirayuki's friend.

Informant*: After investigating, it seems that man was not a thief or a criminal.

Shirayuki*: Aah.

Informant*: ...But just to be on the safe side, we will keep him here for a while.

Zen*: Okay.

(Proofreader's note: *I'm really just guessing as to who is saying what in this conversation. I put “informant” because I've no idea if the person speaking was a guard, Shirayuki, or even Zen. There aren't any visual cues to help me out, so I'm sorry! xD)

Page 36

Shirayuki: Zen, you're mad...

Zen: Not at you.

Shirayuki: …

SFX: grab

Shirayuki: Then // just a bit is fine. Turn this way. // Ten seconds! // Zen, / you came to pick me up... Just saying it isn't enough, but // thank—

*Ruffle*

(SQUEEE! This is just too cute!)

Zen: —Five seconds is enough. // More than enough.

Page 37

Zen: ...Shirayuki, // what that bumpkin asked you when he was taken away, / the question that you didn't answer,

[“Hey, Red-head, / where's the place that you said you'd decided to go?”]

Zen: do you mind me asking?

Shirayuki: Ah— // That's.... / the reason that I decided to come to this country. // I want to know how you live in this country.

Page 38

Top of page says “Akagami no Shirayuki-hime [1].”

Shirayuki: Therefore, // I will find a place where that comes true.

[The path that I want]

Zen: ...I would be grateful / if you could find that place. // Shirayuki, / I want to thank you as well.

Page 39

Zen: For staying safe for me.

[must be a place where a dazzling tailwind blows.]

Zen: All right, Kiki and Mitsuhide should be here soon. / They're also good at sneaking out of the palace, just like me.

Shirayuki: Also good at sneaking out, huh...?

~Akagami no Shirayuki-hime Chapter 2 // END~

#translations #akagami no shirayukihime

1 note · View note

robertawilliams · 6 years

Text

Theresa May forced to accept new Brexit scrutiny committee

Theresa May has been forced to accept more scrutiny of Brexit lawmaking to head off a Tory revolt but is still heading for a showdown over how MPs get to vote on the final deal and whether the date for leaving should be fixed in law.

The prime minister made a concession on Monday by agreeing to set up a new committee of MPs to monitor any proposed legal changes as EU legislation is converted into the British statute book.

She had been facing a parliamentary defeat over the issue during the debate on the EU withdrawal bill on Tuesday, after a widespread backbench revolt among remain- and leave-supporting MPs.

However, the government has not backed down on its intention to fix the day of Brexit as 29 March 2019 or acceded to the demands of soft Brexit Tory MPs who wanted a meaningful vote on the terms of the final deal before that date.

One Conservative rebel said May was in trouble over these two issues because there were enough dissatisfied Conservatives combined with Labour, SNP, Liberal Democrat and other opposition MPs to defeat the government. The MP said the government and the rebels were currently in a standoff with neither side prepared to back down.

However, government sources were confident May had managed to convince enough of her backbenchers not to defy the whip by indicating that a vote was likely to happen well before the date of leaving and promising a second vote on legislation implementing the EU withdrawal agreement hammered out in Brussels on Friday.

The appetite for rebellion among Conservative MPs will become clearer during the two days of debate and voting on the EU withdrawal bill on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Up to 25 had threatened to revolt unless May promised more scrutiny over Brexit lawmaking, but No 10’s concessions appear to have allayed concerns among the would-be troublemakers.

The government will agree to establish a new committee of MPs to help weed out the overuse of “Henry VIII powers”, which allow ministers to make changes to secondary legislation as it is transposed.

The government argued that ministers would only make use of the powers to make minor tweaks, such as changing the names of regulatory bodies to refer to British rather than EU institutions.

Quick guide

What are 'Henry VIII powers'?

One of the jobs of the EU withdrawal bill – the government’s key piece of Brexit legislation, which Theresa May hailed as a "great repeal bill" - is to transpose European Union law into UK law.

Because of the huge volume of EU law, and the limited time available before Brexit in March 2019, so-called "Henry VIII clauses" included in the bill give ministers the power to tweak legislation where it would not operate properly if simply cut and pasted on to the UK statute book.

Examples given by the government include cases in which EU law makes reference to a European regulator that will no longer have jurisdiction over the UK after Brexit.

Ministers will be able to use “statutory instruments”– a long-established way of changing legislation without giving MPs the opportunity to scrutinise all the details.

However, critics, including former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve, have warned since the legislation was published that the scope for these so-called Henry VIII powers was too broadly drawn and could be abused by ministers to bypass parliament.

The powers are named after the Statute of Proclamations 1539, which gave King Henry VIII the power to make laws directly: though in this case they would be wielded by David Davis, Michael Gove and other ministers — not the Queen.

Photograph: Niday Picture Library / Alamy St/www.alamy.com

Thank you for your feedback.

However, senior MPs across the Commons expressed worries that the powers could be misused. Dominic Grieve, a Conservative former attorney general, told the procedure committee that the bill represented the “most extraordinary arrogation of powers” by the executive that he had seen during 20 years in parliament.

To deal with the problem, Downing Street said it would accept amendments proposed by the House of Commons procedure committee, which create a new process to ensure statutory instruments cannot be waved through the Commons without scrutiny under the “negative procedure”, whereby legislation is accepted if there is no objection after a certain period of time.

The job of the new “sifting committee” will be to look at each of these instruments and recommend which ones require the “affirmative procedure” instead, whereby there is a Commons debate and vote before they become law. The committee would have10 sitting days to make this recommendation.

May’s official spokesman said No 10 would be accepting the proposals in full.

“We recognise the role of parliament in scrutinising the bill, and we have been clear throughout that we’re taking a pragmatic approach to what we’ve always said is a vital piece of legislation. Where MPs and peers can improve the bill, we will work with them,” he said.

What do you think of the Brexit deal so far? We asked 10 experts

The spokesman said the cabinet had discussed Brexit on Monday, with May thanking David Davis, the Brexit secretary, and government officials for helping to clinch last week’s “significant milestone” agreement with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker.

He said May relayed to cabinet ministers that voters had told her at events in her Maidenhead constituency over the weekend that they believed “we’re on our way”. This was the headline on the Daily Mail’s front-page Brexit story on Saturday.

May’s tricky week will end with her attendance at the EU summit where leaders will decide whether enough progress has been made on Brexit to progress to talks on trade and transition. After that, she faces the headache of discussing with her deeply divided cabinet how the UK government would like the “end state” of Brexit to look. The prime minister’s spokesman confirmed this would happen at their final weekly meeting before Christmas next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a report from the Rand Corporation, an authoritative US thinktank, has said a Brexit without a deal could take 4.7% out of UK economy over 10 years, costing each taxpayer $2,144 (£1,607) and a total of $140bn.

The study, one of the largest of the various forms of Brexit on the European, British and American economies, found that in no scenario, including even the softest Brexit of remaining in the single market like Norway, would the UK be better off.

The report says it may take as long as 12 years from Brexit for any effects from regulatory divergence from the EU to have any beneficial impact. It says the most advantageous Brexit will be a tripartite free trade deal between the US, the UK and the EU, but it says this outcome is politically highly unlikely.

There have been many previous studies trying to model the impact of various forms of Brexit. The Rand Europe study takes into account those studies, covers more scenarios and analyses the impact on the US economy.

It says the benefit to the US of a trade deal with the UK will be trivial and warns that if the UK opts for the no-deal exit then pressure on UK public finances will be large enough to threaten existing British defence spending commitments, potentially undermining Nato.

It says an EU without the UK “may be more willing to create barriers for non-EU companies, to the detriment of US companies and the American economy”.

Theresa May forced to accept new Brexit scrutiny committee

Facing revolt, prime minister agrees to allow MPs power to monitor conversion of EU laws on to the UK statute book

Source

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/11/theresa-may-forced-accept-brexit-scrutiny-committee-revolt-henry-viii-powers

0 notes

abckidstvyara · 6 years

Link

More details have emerged about how Facebook data on millions of US voters was handled after it was obtained in 2014 by UK political consultancy Cambridge Analytica for building psychographic profiles of Americans to target election messages for the Trump campaign.

The dataset — of more than 50M Facebook users — is at the center of a scandal that’s been engulfing the social network giant since newspaper revelations published on March 17 dropped privacy and data protection into the top of the news agenda.

Facebook responds to data misuse

A UK parliamentary committee has published a cache of documents provided to it by an ex CA employee, Chris Wylie, who gave public testimony in front of the committee at an oral hearing earlier this week. During that hearing he said he believes data on “substantially” more than 50M Facebookers was obtained by CA. Facebook has not commented publicly on that claim.

Among the documents the committee has published today (with some redactions) is the data-licensing contract between Global Science Research (GSR) — the company set up by the Cambridge University professor, Aleksandr Kogan, whose personality test app was used by CA as the vehicle for gathering Facebook users’ data — and SCL Elections (an affiliate of CA), dated June 4, 2014.

The document is signed by Kogan and CA’s now suspended CEO Alexander Nix.

The contract stipulates that all monies transferred to GSR will be used for obtaining and processing the data for the project — “to further develop, add to, refine and supplement GS psychometric scoring algorithms, databases and scores” — and none of the money paid Kogan should be spent on other business purposes, such as salaries or office space “unless otherwise approved by SCL”.

Wylie told the committee on Tuesday that CA chose to work with Kogan as he had agreed to work with them on acquiring and modeling the data first, without fixing commercial terms up front.

The contact also stipulates that Kogan’s company must gain “advanced written approval” from SCL to cover costs not associated with collecting the data — including “IT security”.

Which does rather underline CA’s priorities in this project: Obtain, as fast as possible, lots of personal data on US voters, but don’t worry much about keeping that personal information safe. Security is a backburner consideration in this contract.

CA responded to Wylie’s testimony on Tuesday with a statement rejecting his allegations — including claiming it “does not hold any GSR data or any data derived from GSR data”.

The company has not updated its press page with any new statement in light of the publication of a 2014 contract signed by its former CEO and GSR’s Kogan.

Earlier this week the committee confirmed that Nix has accepted its summons to return to give further evidence — saying the public session will likely to take place on April 17.

Voter modeling across 11 US States

The first section of the contract between the CA affiliate company and GSR briefly describes the purpose of the project as being to conduct “political modeling” of the population in 11 US states.

On the data protection front, the contract includes a clause stating that both parties “warrant and undertake” to comply with all relevant privacy and data handling laws.

“Each of the parties warrants and undertakes that it will not knowingly do anything or permit anything to be done which might lead to a breach of any such legislation, regulations and/or directives by the other party,” it also states.

CA remains under investigation by the UK’s data protection watchdog, which obtained a warrant to enter its offices last week — and spent several hours gathering evidence. The company’s activities are being looked at as part of a wider investigation by the ICO into the use of data analytics for political purposes.

Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has previously said she’s leading towards recommending a code of conduct for use of social media for political campaigning — and said she hopes to publish her report by May.

Another clause in the contract between GSR and SCL specifies that Kogan’s company will “seek out informed consent of the seed user engaging with GS Technology” — which would presumably refer to the ~270,000 people who agreed to take the personality quiz in the app deployed via Facebook’s platform.

Upon completion of the project, the contract specifies that Kogan’s company may continue to make use of SCL data for “academic research where no financial gain is made”.

Another clause details an additional research boon that would be triggered if Kogan was able to meet performance targets and deliver SCL with 2.1M matched records in the 11 US states it was targeting — so long as he met its minimum quality standards and at an averaged cost of $0.50 or less per matched record. In that event, he stood to also receive an SCL dataset of around 1M residents of Trinidad and Tobago — also “for use in academic research”.

The second section of the contract explains the project and its specification in detail.

Here it states that the aim of the project is “to infer psychological profiles”, using self-reported personality test data, political party preference and “moral value data”.

The 11 US states targeted by the project are also named as: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and West Virginia.

The project is detailed in the contract as a seven step process — with Kogan’s company, GSR, generating an initial seed sample (though it does not specify how large this is here) using “online panels”; analyzing this seed training data using its own “psychometric inventories” to try to determine personality categories; the next step is Kogan’s personality quiz app being deployed on Facebook to gather the full dataset from respondents and also to scrape a subset of data from their Facebook friends (here it notes: “upon consent of the respondent, the GS Technology scrapes and retains the respondent’s Facebook profile and a quantity of data on that respondent’s Facebook friends”); step 4 involves the psychometric data from the seed sample, plus the Facebook profile data and friend data all being run through proprietary modeling algorithms — which the contract specifies are based on using Facebook likes to predict personality scores, with the stated aim of predicting the “psychological, dispositional and/or attitudinal facets of each Facebook record”; this then generates a series of scores per Facebook profile; step 6 is to match these psychometrically scored profiles with voter record data held by SCL — with the goal of matching (and thus scoring) at least 2M voter records for targeting voters across the 11 states; the final step is for matched records to be returned to SCL, which would then be in a position to craft messages to voters based on their modeled psychometric scores.

The “ultimate aim” of the psychometric profiling product Kogan built off of the training and Facebook data sets is imagined as “a ‘gold standard’ of understanding personality from Facebook profile information, much like charting a course to sail”.

The possibility for errors is noted briefly in the document but it adds: “Sampling in this phase [phase 1 training set] will be repeated until assumptions and distributions are met.”

In a later section, on demographic distribution analysis, the contract mentions the possibility for additional “targeted data collection procedures through multiple platforms” to be used — even including “brief phone scripts with single-trait questions” — in order to correct any skews that might be found once the Facebook data is matched with voter databases in each state, (and assuming any “data gaps” could not be “filled in from targeted online samples”, as it also puts it).

In a section on “background and rational”, the contract states that Kogan’s models have been “validity tested” on users who were not part of the training sample, and further claims: “Trait predictions based on Facebook likes are at near test-rest levels and have been compared to the predictions their romantic partners, family members, and friends make about their traits”.

“In all the previous cases, the computer-generated scores performed the best. Thus, the computer-generated scores can be more accurate than even the knowledge of very close friends and family members,” it adds.

His technology is described as “different from most social research measurement instruments” in that it is not solely based on self-reported data — with the follow-on claim being made that: “Using observed data from Facebook users’ profiles makes GS’ measurements genuinely behavioral.”

That suggestion, at least, seems fairly tenuous — given that a portion of Facebook users are undoubtedly aware that the site is tracking their activity when they use it, which in turn is likely to affect how they use Facebook.

So the idea that Facebook usage is a 100% naked reflection of personality deserves far more critical questioning than Kogan’s description of it in the contract with SCL.

And, indeed, some of the commentary around this news story has queried the value of the entire exposé by suggesting CA’s psychometric targeting wasn’t very effective — ergo, it may not have had a significant impact on the US election.

In contrast to claims being made for his technology in the 2014 contract, Kogan himself claimed in a TV interview earlier this month (after the scandal broke) that his predictive modeling was not very accurate at an individual level — suggesting it would only be useful in aggregate to, for example, “understand the personality of New Yorkers”.

Yesterday Channel 4 News reported that it had been able to obtain some of the data Kogan modeled for CA — supporting Wylie’s testimony that CA had not locked down access to the data.

In its report, the broadcaster spoke to some of the named US voters in Colorado — showing them the scores Kogan’s models had given them. Unsurprisingly, not all their interviewees thought the scores were an accurate reflection of who they were.

Exclusive: Cambridge Analytica data is still circulating – harvested from thousands of Facebook profiles. https://t.co/zPNdhmMwb1

— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) March 28, 2018

However regardless of how effective (or not) Kogan’s methods were, the bald fact that personal information on 50M+ Facebook users was so easily sucked out of the platform is of unquestionable public interest and concern.

The added fact this data set was used for psychological modeling for political message targeting purposes without people’s knowledge or consent just further underlines the controversy. Whether the political microtargeting method worked well or was hit and miss is really by the by.

In the contract, Kogan’s psychological profiling methods are described as “less costly, more detailed, and more quickly collected” than other individual profiling methods, such as “standard political polling or phone samples”.

The contract also flags up how the window of opportunity for his approach was closing — at least on Facebook’s platform. “GS’s method relies on a pre-existing application functioning under Facebook’s old terms of service,” it observes. “New applications are not able to access friend networks and no other psychometric profiling applications exist under the old Facebook terms.”

As I wrote last weekend, Facebook faced a legal challenge to the lax system of app permissions it operated in 2011. And after a data protection audit and re-audit by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, in 2011 and 2012, the regulator recommended it shutter developers’ access to friend networks — which Facebook finally did (for both old and new apps) as of mid 2015.

But in mid 2014 existing developers on its platform could still access the data — as Kogan was able to, handing it off to SCL and its affiliates.

Other documents published by the committee today include a contract between Aggregate IQ — a Canadian data company which Wylie described to the committee as ‘CA Canada’ (aka yet another affiliate of CA/SCL, and SCL Elections).

This contract, which is dated September 15, 2014, is for the: “Design and development of an Engagement Platform System”, also referred to as “the Ripon Platform”, and described as: “A scalable engagement platform that leverages the strength of SCLs modelling data, providing an actionable toolset and dashboard interface for the target campaigns in the 2014 election cycle. This will consist of a bespoke engagement platform (SCL Engage) to help make SCLs behavioural microtargeting data actionable while making campaigns more accountable to donors and supporter”.

Another contract between Aggregate IQ and SCL is dated November 25, 2013, and covers the delivery of a CRM system, a website and “the acquisition of online data” for a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. In this contract a section on “behavioral data acquisition” details their intentions thus:

Identify and obtain qualified sources of data that illustrate user behaviour and contribute to the development of psychographic profiling in the region

This data may include, but is not limited to:

Internet Service Provider (ISP) log files

First party data logs

Third party data logs

Ad network data

Social bookmarking

Social media sharing (Twitter, FB, MySpace)

Natural Language Processing (NLP) of URL text and images

Reconciliation of IP and User-Agent to home address, census tract, or dissemination area

In his evidence to the committee on Tuesday Wylie described the AIQ Trinidad project as a “pre-cursor to the Rippon project to see how much data could be pulled and could we profile different attributes in people”.

He also alleged AIQ has used hacker type techniques to obtain data. “AIQ’s role was to go and find data,” he told the committee. “The contracting is pulling ISP data and there’s also emails that I’ve passed on to the committee where AIQ is working with SCL to find ways to pull and then de-anonymize ISP data. So, like, raw browsing data.”

Another document in the bundle published today details a project pitch by SCL to carry out $200,000 worth of microtargeting and political campaign work for the conservative organization ForAmerica.org — for “audience building and supporter mobilization campaigns”.

There is also an internal SCL email chain regarding a political targeting project that also appears to involve the Kogan modeled Facebook data, which is referred to as the “Bolton project” (which seems to refer to work done for the now US national security advisor, John Bolton) — with some back and forth over concerns about delays and problems with data matching in some of the US states and overall data quality.

“Need to present the little information we have on the 6,000 seeders to [sic] we have to give a rough and ready and very preliminary reading on that sample ([name redacted] will have to ensure the appropriate disclaimers are in place to manage their expectations and the likelihood that the results will change once more data is received). We need to keep the client happy,” is one of the suggested next steps in an email written by an unidentified SCL staffer working on the Bolton project.

“The Ambassador’s team made it clear that he would want some kind of response on the last round of foreign policy questions. Though not ideal, we will simply piss off a man who is potentially an even bigger client if we remain silent on this because it has been clear to us this is something he is particularly interested in,” the emailer also writes.

“At this juncture, we unfortunately don’t have the luxury of only providing the perfect data set but must deliver something which shows the validity of what we have been promising we can do,” the emailer adds.

Another document is a confidential memorandum prepared for Rebekah Mercer (the daughter of US billionaire Robert Mercer; Wylie has said Mercer provided the funding to set up CA), former Trump advisor Steve Bannon and the (now suspended) CA CEO Alexander Nix advising them on the legality of a foreign corporation (i.e. CA), and foreign nationals (such as Nix and others), carrying out work on US political campaigns.

This memo also details the legal structure of SCL and CA — the former being described as a “minority owner” of CA. It notes:

With this background we must look first at Cambridge Analytica, LLC (“Cambridge”) and then at the people involved and the contemplated tasks. As I understand it, Cambridge is a Delaware Limited Liability Company that was formed in June of 2014. It is operated through 5 managers, three preferred managers, Ms. Rebekah Mercer, Ms. Jennifer Mercer and Mr. Stephen Bannon, and two common managers, Mr. Alexander Nix and a person to be named. The three preferred managers are all United States citizens, Mr. Nix is not. Cambridge is primarily owned and controlled by US citizens, with SCL Elections Ltd., (“SCL”) a UK limited company being a minority owner. Moreover, certain intellectual property of SCL was licensed to Cambridge, which intellectual property Cambridge could use in its work as a US company in US elections, or other activities.

On the salient legal advice point, the memo concludes that US laws prohibiting foreign nationals managing campaigns — “including making direct or indirect decisions regarding the expenditure of campaign dollars” — will have “a significant impact on how Cambridge hires staff and operates in the short term”.

0 notes

sheminecrafts · 6 years

Text

Here’s Cambridge Analytica’s plan for voters’ Facebook data

Facebook responds to data misuse

The document is signed by Kogan and CA’s now suspended CEO Alexander Nix .

Wylie told the committee on Tuesday that CA chose to work with Kogan as he had agreed to work with them on acquiring and modeling the data first, without fixing commercial terms up front.

The contact also stipulates that Kogan’s company must gain “advanced written approval” from SCL to cover costs not associated with collecting the data — including “IT security”.

CA responded to Wylie’s testimony on Tuesday with a statement rejecting his allegations — including claiming it “does not hold any GSR data or any data derived from GSR data”.

The company has not updated its press page with any new statement in light of the publication of a 2014 contract signed by its former CEO and GSR’s Kogan.

Earlier this week the committee confirmed that Nix has accepted its summons to return to give further evidence — saying the public session will likely to take place on April 17.

Voter modeling across 11 US States

The first section of the contract between the CA affiliate company and GSR briefly describes the purpose of the project as being to conduct “political modeling” of the population in 11 US states.

On the data protection front, the contract includes a clause stating that both parties “warrant and undertake” to comply with all relevant privacy and data handling laws.

Upon completion of the project, the contract specifies that Kogan’s company may continue to make use of SCL data for “academic research where no financial gain is made”.

The second section of the contract explains the project and its specification in detail.

Here it states that the aim of the project is “to infer psychological profiles”, using self-reported personality test data, political party preference and “moral value data”.

The 11 US states targeted by the project are also named as: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and West Virginia.

The possibility for errors is noted briefly in the document but it adds: “Sampling in this phase [phase 1 training set] will be repeated until assumptions and distributions are met.”

In a section on “background and rationale”, the contract states that Kogan’s models have been “validity tested” on users who were not part of the training sample, and further claims: “Trait predictions based on Facebook likes are at near test-rest levels and have been compared to the predictions their romantic partners, family members, and friends make about their traits”.

So the idea that Facebook usage is a 100% naked reflection of personality deserves far more critical questioning than is implied by Kogan’s description of it in the contract with SCL.

Yesterday Channel 4 News reported that it had been able to obtain some of the data Kogan modeled for CA — thereby supporting Wylie’s testimony that CA had not locked down access to the data. And in its report, the broadcaster spoke to some of the named US voters in Colorado — showing them the scores Kogan’s models had given them.

Unsurprisingly, not all their interviewees thought the scores were an accurate reflection of who they were.

Exclusive: Cambridge Analytica data is still circulating – harvested from thousands of Facebook profiles. https://t.co/zPNdhmMwb1

— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) March 28, 2018

The added fact this data set was used for psychological modeling for political message targeting purposes — without, in many cases, people’s knowledge or consent — just further underlines the controversy. Whether the political microtargeting method worked well or was hit and miss is really by the by.

But in mid 2014 existing developers on its platform could still access the data — as Kogan was able to, handing it off to SCL and its affiliates.

Other documents published by the committee today include a contract between Aggregate IQ — a Canadian data company which Wylie described in his evidence session on Tuesday as ‘CA Canada’ (aka yet another affiliate of CA/SCL), although AIQ disputes this. (In a statement on AIQ’s website, dated March 24, it writes: “AggregateIQ is a digital advertising, web and software development company based in Canada. It is and has always been 100% Canadian owned and operated. AggregateIQ has never been and is not a part of Cambridge Analytica or SCL. Aggregate IQ has never entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica. Chris Wylie has never been employed by AggregateIQ.”)

In this contract a section on “behavioral data acquisition” details their intentions thus:

Identify and obtain qualified sources of data that illustrate user behaviour and contribute to the development of psychographic profiling in the region

This data may include, but is not limited to:

Internet Service Provider (ISP) log files

First party data logs

Third party data logs

Ad network data

Social bookmarking

Social media sharing (Twitter, FB, MySpace)

Natural Language Processing (NLP) of URL text and images

Reconciliation of IP and User-Agent to home address, census tract, or dissemination area

This memo also details the legal structure of SCL and CA — the former being described as a “minority owner” of CA. It reads:

from iraidajzsmmwtv http://bit.ly/2J3Fo5H via IFTTT

#IFTTT #iraidajzsmmwtv

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endenogatai · 6 years