#Zolton

[atribe]

(be-at.co)

[azuzeldraws]

Zolton Chivay-The Tower for @witchertarot-thelawofsurprise 

[florintradat]

So This is Love, Huh?

TW FOR BLOOD, DEATH, DYING!! [nothing in super detail, if I forgot something let me know!!]

Florin knew he was old. He had been around before medieval times and had seen the uprising and crashing of many kingdoms in Europe. 

He was happy though.

He had his parents and that’s all he really needed. He was never faced with the hate and fear that humans held for his kind. Their parents didn’t want him to suffer through that at a young age. They wanted him happy and they did that well. He never complained and he always smiled.

Big and bright.

Until they came.

The Hunters.

The castle once bustled with family and friends until there was no one. The raid was horrible, hunters storming in and his parents, aunts and uncles trying to protect everyone. He was forced into a closet and was forced to hear the sound of his family members being slain, scream after scream. Florin only felt the pain in his heart and the hot tears rolling down his face as he tried to follow what his mother told him. ‘Stay quiet. Don’t let them hear you and don’t come out. No matter what you hear.’ 

After a couple hours it was completely quiet. No more screams. No more footsteps or yelling. So Florin carefully got up and got out of the closet. He walked out into the hallway and numbly looked around. His eyes were dull and lifeless as he looked over the bodies that littered the ground. He walked around until he stopped in front of two bodies. 

His parents. 

Without thinking he took off his mom’s rings, slipping them on. Her necklaces, his dad’s brooch and watch. He put them all on before carefully pulling them along. One by one each person he buried. 

He had to bury his family as a kid and everything hurt and everything felt numb. 

He cleaned up the floors before packing his bag and walking out of the castle. 

Where was he going? He wasn’t sure. He just wanted to be away. He will be back…he’s not abandoning his family. Never. He just needs time away.

“I see you gained a new power there?” A soft voice spoke as they laughed, blue eyes looking at the vampire as he floated around.

“I can fly!” He yelled happily as he floated around the human in circles.

“More like…float. Barely-”

“Don’t ruin my fun!” He whines as he pouts at Zoltan, prince Zoltan Csekonics. He was the next in line for the throne in a small Hungarian kingdom. Flo had traveled to Hungary for a change of scenery, to get away from the pains of the past. That’s when he found Zoltan and they instantly clicked. The one problem was…his parents didn’t approve of vampires. Hated them really. But anytime the castle was empty Zoltan brough Florin in and made sure the servants shut their mouths on the man’s presence in the castle.  

Zoltan laughed as he rolled his eyes taking Flo’s hand. “Stop floating around and walk with meee!” He whines back letting out a snort as Flo just huffs and walks alongside him, holding his hand back. 

“Why do I stick around? You’re mean-” They said as they pursued their lips out and looked away. Zol rolled his eyes and turned Flo’s chin to face him before pecking his lips quickly. 

“You know why~” He made kissy sounds while Flo fake gagged at him. “You love me~” 

Oh yeah, they were dating too. 

One night of sneaking out some royal wine, getting drunk and secrets being spilled lead to a, so far, happy relationship.

Zol had learned a lot about Flo’s family that night while Flo learned how deep Zol’s parent’s hate for vampires was. 

They kept walking along the corridors, laughing and smiling until Zolton looked out the window. His heart dropped and skin went paler than it was before. He lightly pushed Flo over. “Go! You have to go! They’re back!” He whispered yelled while Flo’s eyes widened. He gave Zol a quick peck before going invisible and floating out of the window. Zolton quickly fixed his appearance as he kept walking pretending he was heading to wherever they had been walking. 

Later in the same day Zolton had been in his room, writing some letters for Florin with a small lovestruck smile. He hummed softly to himself as the candles glowed, them being his only light source, watching his quill write over the parchment in front of him. He was about to continue his letter, dipping his quill in more ink, before a knock on his door stopped him mid-write. His eyebrows furrowed as he opened the door and looked at a maid. “What is it that you need?” He asked, eyebrows raised as the maid bowed quickly. 

“I’m so sorry young master for the bother. But the King and Queen want you asap in their office.” Zolton looked confused but nodded and got dressed before walking to his parent’s office. He knocked before coming into the room to see his dad sat at the desk and his mother sat in front of it. 

“You wanted to see me?”

“Ah yes! My boy. The person I wanted to see. Sit.” He motioned to the chair next to him as Zolton just nodded slowly before sitting down. His mother didn’t say a word before he looked at his dad for him to continue. “We walked to talk about that…’friend’...of yours.” The way he said friend made Zol’s blood run cold. ‘Did he know? Did he know they’re dating? That he isn’t human?’ He was panicking now as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

“W-What about him?” He asked, a shake in his voice, as he cleared his throat lightly. 

“You see…a little bird has told us some interesting information about you two.” The man shuffled through some papers. “That you two have been seen acting in ways friends do not act and that this…man…isn’t human at all…” he ended with looking Zolton in the eyes. The boy’s demeanor had given him away fully. He was extremely pale, sweat on his forehead as he shook. His mother held his hand, fake sympathy in her eyes. 

“Oh honey. It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything. Everything will be forgotten but we do want one thing from you.” He looked at the two of them frantically as he had a strange feeling in his stomach. 

“Kill him.” The wind felt like it was knocked out of him as he quickly shook his head, snatching his hand away from his mother. 

“No. Please no.” His father’s jaw clenched as he set the papers down.

“I was fearing you would say that.” He stood up and looked Zolton down with an icy stare. “You will do it or you are no longer a part of this family. You will be taken care of and I will make sure everyone is erased of the memory of you. You never existed.” Zolton’s eyes filled with tears as he choked back a sob. “It’s your choice.” 

With that it was over. 

It had been a couple days since his parents told them his demands and Zolton hadn’t been able to calm down. He lashed out at Flo one day and he stopped coming over for a few days. The human prince was in his fencing room, late at night, sword in hand. He wasn’t allowed typically when others were there but alone in the dead silence of night he didn’t care about the rules. He took his favorite sword and started to let his frustrations out. He was so stuck in his head he hadn’t heard the soft creaking of wood or the person behind him. “Boo~” A soft whisper was heard in his ear. Zolton screamed as he dropped his sword on the ground and turned his hand to his chest. He relaxed when he was met by the laugh he loved so much and always sounded like music to him. 

“I told you to stop doing that!” He smacked Flo’s arm before picking up the sword from the ground. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! You were just so into it, I couldn’t help it.” He smiled and Zol wasn’t sure if it was possible to fall more in love with the vampire in front of him. 

The moment was soon ruined when his mind was flooded with his parent’s words. He put his sword back in its seith before smiling sadly at Flo. The vampire’s eyebrows raised at him as his demeanor changed. They lightly cup his face in their cold hands and look him over. “What’s wrong sweetheart?” He asked worry flooding in his eyes. “Is something the matter?” Zol’s eyes fell to the ground as he let out a pained sigh.

“Just…Just the parents.” He muttered as Flo just nodded sadly. They didn’t ask anymore questions as he pulled the prince into his arms. 

“It’s alright my little prince. Things will get better once you take the throne.” He muttered and in that moment Zolton wanted to break down and sob. He wanted to tell them everything he was told but he just couldn’t. His mind clouded in panic as he feared what could happen. He didn’t want to let go of Flo but he also didn’t want to die at the hands of his parents.

So his foggy pained mind could only think of one thing.

Kill two birds with one stone.

As he went to hug Flo back and slowly and quietly pulled the sword with him…and then he blunged it. He made sure the sword impaled both of them. He heard Florin’s pained gasp and small hisses of pain. Tears welled up in the human’s eyes as the pain spread along his body, knowing it was hurting Florin way more since it was silver. Florin’s eyes were blown out as he looked at Zolton. Betrayal written all over his face as his own tears fell, blood pouring from his lips as he gasped holding his open wound. “W-Why?” He croaked out. Zolton sobbed as he let words out.

“They were going to k-kill me if I-I didn’t kill you. I c-couldn’t. N-No.” He wrapped his arms around Flo’s shoulders, the sword pushing further into the human’s body. “I d-didn’t want to let go…”

“So you thought it was a good idea to kill us both?!” Florin shouted, ignoring any pain he had, his blood boiling as he looked at him, his hands shaking as he pushed the arms around him. “You thought this…” He took the handle to the sword and started pulling it out. Zolton gasped as he started coughing up blood. Florin’s nose wrinkled as the smell filled his nose. “You thought this would be better than maybe running away?” He threw the sword down as he coughed up blood, tears running down his face as he looked at the man he thought he loved. “You’re pathetic!” He held his middle as he bled out, watching as Zolton slowly lost the color in his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I love you.” He whispered and with that he went limp. 

Florin stared 

Numbly. 

Like he did centuries ago.bin

He took the crown and started limping out of the castle, hand around his middle hoping he would heal soon.

Where to now?

@evicted-oc

[estradasphere]

re: the Lodusphere/LotusFear thing, here's what I have:

two song demos from mp3.com: "Ooh Ahh *click*" and "Zolton Sprackles".

three Archive.org set recordings: (1) (2) (3)

two YouTube videos: (1) (2) Here's what I know is missing:

Studio/live EP "Lifebreath, Etc."

Live EP "Night of the Cow".

Studio self-titled album that may have never existed in the first place Here's everything I know about the band and these releases so far:

They changed their name from Lodusphere to LotusFear sometime in early 2002 (at least partially because it was too similar to Estradasphere. Funnily enough, Adam said in 2001 that they were adamant on not changing their name because of that... and then they did anyways.)

They had at least 4 websites: ninlist.tripod.com/lodusphere (which is miraculously still up!), lodusphere.com, lodusphere.cjb.net, and http://lotusfear.ath.cx/. All are accessible via the Wayback Machine, though somewhat broken. Why they moved domains so much, who knows.

Night of the Cow released sometime between June and October 2001, and was orderable by mail. If I had to guess, it probably at least partially consists of the first Archive set recording.

Lifebreath, Etc. was likely not released in 2001 like the Discogs page says; according to their site, it was orderable 12/17/2002 at the earliest. Though, oddly, Estradasphere's biography for Adam Stacey says that it released in 2003. It consisted of one studio 18-minute-long song (Lifebreath) plus some live songs. This was released under their new name LotusFear, and was orderable by emailing them.

They alluded to working on a self-titled studio album throughout 2001 and 2002, but as far as I can tell this never materialized. The two mp3.com songs may have been intended to be part of the tracklist. There was an unfathomably low-resolution copy of the album art (maybe) on their website, though:

Members were Adam Stacey on keys (he went on to join Estradasphere in 2004), Justin Baker on bass, Jordan Perkins-Lewis on drums, Nick Alvarado on guitar, and Ryan Young on percussion.

They opened for Estradasphere a few times, as well as Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and Kevin Kmetz's pre-Estradasphere projects. Oddly, they aren't mentioned on Estradasphere's show database at all, though lodusphere.com was briefly listed in estradasphere.com's "Links" section.

If they released more than two songs to mp3.com, I have no idea; their pages on there are not accessible at all via the Wayback Machine.

[ask-pastkeirastarlight-discord]

Keira: It's possible. If that's the case, maybe since I'm considered the Element of Special, maybe my cutie mark has something to do with making the best of unique situations? Even so, I only got three of the talismans I have from you three, and I have limited information on who my dad collected the other four from. Not to mention I still have that one that's missing!

Every pony in the room took a moment to think about what Keira had said and attempted to come up with some form of a solution.

Twilight: Do you think your dad's friend Oasis would have any information on that? I know Rainbow Dash has made many comments about how much she's researched and about how much she learned about your dad.

Timber: That's not a bad idea, Keira! It'd definitely be worth a shot.

Keira: That's a good place to start at least. I also want to check in with Zolton since he knew my dad and about his research. It may also be worth seeing if Princess Celestia has any tips or information for me. It may be a long shot, but it's worth at least checking, right?

Heartistry: That's the spirit! I'm sure there's got to be some pony that knows something about all this. Maybe we'll find a book to translate the book in Old Ponish too!

Moondancer: Well, it would certainly seem we have a plan set out! What are we waiting for?

Just as their plans were about to be put into motion, the markings on the map started shifting about.

Twilight: What now?!

Heartistry: I was afraid you'd ask that...

[hopesworld-96]

Shitpost I just made rn at 1am

I messed up Zolton's O=0 typing quirk at the end plz

They're both rlly silly I want to draw them so I'll probably do that later lolz B)

[capitol-scholar]

Greetings, Scholars!

After our initial introduction, it's time to dive into the heart of our journey - the essential readings. These foundational texts provide a comprehensive exploration of American politics, covering everything from the grassroots to the echelons of power. We'll be going through these readings systematically, discussing their main arguments, implications, and relevance to contemporary political discourse.

Below, I have provided our initial list of essential readings. This list is, by no means, exhaustive. It's a starting point for our exploration, but we're not confined to it. If you have any requests, recommendations, or come across a gem that you believe should be shared, please feel free to suggest. After all, academic pursuit thrives on collaboration and openness to new perspectives.

The list is as follows:

Aldrich, John Why Parties?

Alvarez & Brehm Hard Choices, Easy Answers

Arnold, Douglas The Logic of Congressional Action

Bartels, Larry Unequal Democracy

Baumgartner & Jones The Politics of Attention

Baumgartner & Jones Agendas and Instability in American Politics (latest ed.)

Baumgartner, et al. Lobbying and Policy Change

Bensel, Richard The Political Economy of American Industrialization, 1877-1900

Berry, Jeffrey The New Liberalism

Browning, Rufus, et al. Protest Is Not Enough

Burns, Schlozman & Verba The Private Roots of Public Action

Cameron, Charles Veto Bargaining

Campbell, Louise How Policies Make Citizens

Cohen, et al. The Party Decides

Converse, Philip "The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics," in Apter (Ed.),

Ideology and Discontent

Cox & McCubbins Setting the Agenda

Delli Carpini & Keeter What Americans Know About Politics and Why it Matters

Erikson, MacKuen, & Stimson The Macro Polity

Fiorina, Morris Retrospective Voting in American National Elections

Fiorina, Abrams & Pope Culture War? (3rd ed)

Gilens Affluence and Influence

Green & Shapiro Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory

Green, Palquuist, & Schickler Partisan Hearts and Minds

Hacker, Jacob The Divided Welfare State

Hajnal, Zolton America’s Uneven Democracy

Hansen, John Mark Gaining Access

Harvey, Anna Votes Without Leverage

Hibbing, Smith & Alford Predisposed

Hero, Rodney Latinos and the US Political System.

Iyengar, Shanto Is Anyone Responsible?

Jacobson, Gary The Politics of Congressional Elections

Kernell, Samuel Going Public (latest ed.)

King & Smith Still a House Divided

Kingdon, John Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (latest ed.)

Krehbiel, Keith Pivotal Politics

Mann & Ornstein It's Even Worse Than it Looks

Mayhew, David Electoral Realignments

Mettler, Suzanne Soldiers to Citizens

Milkis & Nelson The American Presidency (latest ed.)

Mutz, Sniderman, Brody Political Persuasion

Neustadt, Richard Presidential Power

Olson, Mancur The Logic of Collective Action

Ostrom, Elinor Governing the Commons

Page & Shapiro The Rational Public

Patashnik, Eric Reforms at Risk

Pierson, Paul Politics in Time

Putnam, Robert Bowling Alone

Rosenstone & Hansen Mobilization, Participation and Democracy in America

Schlozman, Verba & Brady The Unheavenly Chorus

Skocpol, Theda Protecting Soldiers and Mothers

Skorownek, Stephen The Politics Presidents Make

Smith, Steven S. Party Influence in Congress

Stone, Clarence Regime Politics

Stone, Deborah Policy Paradox and Political Reason

Stonecash & Brewer Split: Class and Cultural Divisions in American Politics

Strolovitch, Dara Affirmative Advocacy

Verba, Schlozman & Brady Voice and Equality

Weimer & Vining Policy Analysis (latest ed.)

Wilson, J.Q. Bureaucracy

Zaller, John The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion

Each reading will have its dedicated blog post, where I'll summarize the key arguments, provide a critical analysis, and relate the text to our broader understanding of American politics. More importantly, I encourage you to share your thoughts, critiques, and insights as well.

The sequence of our reading will not necessarily follow the order in which the books are listed. Depending on our discussions, current political events, or requests, we might jump around the list. Flexibility will keep our exploration fresh and relevant.

So, let's embark on this intellectual adventure! It's time to dig into these fascinating texts and unravel the complex, dynamic world of American politics. Here's to a journey full of discovery, debate, and deep insights!

Happy Reading,

The Capitol Scholar

[generactionx]

Zolton - Purple Jacket, Yellow Shoes (AWITW Remix) by AWITW

[shelldeleo]

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in their yard 1941.

Photo by Zoltan Glass

[atribe]

we/are/spectral ...

[whispering-willows-lair]

Gwent Players by Iromonik

[star-clad-dragon]

"Will you shake my hand? Me, a thief and a thug?"

"Without hesitation. Because I'm not as easy to deceive as I once was. Although I don't enquire into people's motives, I'm slowly learning the art of looking beneath masks."

-Baptism of Fire

[ask-pastkeirastarlight-discord]

Pinkie: To celebrate you solving this crazy mystery of yours! Duh!

Heartistry: But we haven't even scratched the surface yet, let alone have anything solved!

Moondancer: I agree with Heartistry. It seems like it's a little too early to celebrate anything.

Keira looked at the map again and let out an almost defeated sigh. While there was still just the amulet symbol hovering, something still didn't sit right with her.

Keira: Looks like I'm going there ...alone...

Timber: Who said you had to?

A little shocked and confused, Keira looked back up to the ponies behind her.

Keira: Huh?

Heartistry: Bonehead over there's got a point. I could be wrong, but there's no cutie marks glowing or anything.

Moondancer: She's right, Keira. It would be different if your cutie mark was glowing. No pony's is! I would take that as a hint that you got us to keep you company at the very least.

Timber: After all, isn't that was friends and family do?

???: You're most certainly right there, Timber!

From out of nowhere, Discord now appeared, wearing the same garb as when he had traveled up the mountain to see Zolton some long time ago.

Discord: You've got all of us to help you through this! Don't forget that, dear.

[pokemoneverlastingorchard]

So I kind of thought about it, and I think that Zolton’s natural hair color should be the same bluish purple color of a Zoroark.

I don’t know if I’m ever going to show that though.